A broken-hearted Ward Cartwright left town to join the army when his boyfriend Tyler Hughes turned his back on their love and married a woman. Ten years later, Tyler is a widower with two young boys, and Ward has returned home. He is hopeful he can re-establish his relationship with Tyler. Even though a decade has passed, Tyler still feels tied to the family-owned feed mill. He has folks depending on the mill for employment, there are his children to consider, they live in a small town, and ... But despite this, Tyler finds there are plenty of benefits to giving Ward a job in the mill -- lots of out-of-the-way places to explore Ward’s army-honed, muscular body. Just when Tyler resolves to live more openly with Ward, rumors begin to surface, not just at the mill, but at his sons’ school. Ward knows the upcoming battle is just as serious as anything he’s faced in Afghanistan. Instead of fighting for his country, the soldier is fighting for his lover’s heart. Will Ward finally emerge victorious, or will Tyler’s self-doubt and fear of prejudice win out again?
Growing up in the well-heeled Detroit suburb of Grosse Pointe, Michigan, Carey Neesley always thought she and her younger brother, Peter, would never be separated. The children of divorced parents and outcasts in their neighborhood, Carey and Peter supported, loved, and encouraged each other when it seemed no one else cared. It was a bond that grew through the years, and one that made Peter’s eventual decision to enlist in the Army all the more difficult for Carey. With Peter having stepped up to help her raise her young son, Carey was closer than ever to her brother, and the thought of him serving far from home was painful. While stationed in Iraq, Peter befriended a stray dog and her four puppies, only to watch three of the young pups die in the warzone. With only two surviving dogs—Mama and Boris—Peter became determined to save the strays. Carey helped her brother with his mission, but everything changed on Christmas Day in 2007 when word arrived at the Neesley household that Peter had been killed. Amidst the grief of coming to terms with her brother’s death and the turmoil of trying to plan his funeral, Carey devoted herself to bringing Peter’s dogs home to the U.S. It was the final honor she could pay to her brother and a way of keeping a piece of him with her. With the help of an unlikely network of heroes, including an animal rescue organization in Utah, a civilian airline, an Iraqi family, and a private security contractor with military connections, Mama and Boris mad the journey form the streets of Baghdad to Carey’s suburban house. Carey’s mission garnered widespread attention and requests from other soldiers for help in bringing home dogs they had become attached to on deployment, and she continues to work with organizations dedicated to bringing home wartime strays.
NEW YORK TIMES bestselling authors Tessa Bailey and Sophie Jordan team up for a collaboration featuring two sexy contemporary romance novellas. OFF BASE: KENNA AND BECK by Tessa Bailey A welcome home he never expected...and will never forget... When Kenna Sutton is tasked with driving home newly returned Beck “True Blue” Collier, she expects the strategic Army mastermind to be a pasty number cruncher. Never at a loss for words, Kenna is nonetheless rendered speechless by the gorgeous, inexperienced and tightly-wound Army major that lands in her passenger seat. Outraged by Beck’s lack of a welcome home after seven long years overseas, Kenna takes matters into her own hands, giving Beck something he’s only ever fantasized about in his bunk. Beck has never shied away from a test of will and Kenna gives new meaning to the word challenge. One problem? Kenna’s father is the lieutenant general presenting Beck with the Silver Star and Beck is determined to treat Kenna with the respect she deserves, even if her eyes beg Beck to act out his most secret desires with her. Desires he's always been told were the work of the devil. But how long can one lonely, starving man hope to resist the woman he craves? OFF BASE: HUNTLEY AND CULLEN by Sophie Jordan Being a good girl has its drawbacks... Huntley Collier, an emergency room nurse and all-around do-gooder, is tired of living in the friend zone. Cullen Brooks was given the job of babysitting Huntley when her brother—his best friend—deployed. But their friendly coffeehouse hangouts and TV marathons leave her wanting more. When one crazy night leads to too many drinks and an explosion of long-denied lust, Huntley's dreams become a reality. And reality is one hot, wild place she never wants to leave. But only a good girl can bring down a bad boy... Known as Sullen Cullen around Black Rock, Cullen Brooks doesn’t have many friends, but Huntley is one of them ... and despite his decidedly unfriendly fantasies of the curvy blonde, she is far too sweet for his darker tastes. Keeping his hands off is easier said than done, however, when demure, little Huntley responds to his touch like the wildcat he never expected...and can't stop pursuing, despite his better judgment. But when Cullen suddenly faces losing her, will this bad boy risk it all to keep his good girl? PRAISE: “Tessa Bailey's alpha heroes will make you combust!” —Laura Kaye, New York Times Bestselling Author “Sophie Jordan infuses all of her books with memorable characters, sharp wit, smoldering sexual tension and heart melting romance. It doesn't matter what genre of romance she's writing, if Sophie Jordan writes it I will read it.” —Jay Crownover, New York Times Bestselling Author “Off Base was an absolute PERFECT read [...] This is the kind of book that makes you get grabby hands! You NEED it on your kindle and in your hands!” —Megan Wickland, Ana's Attic “In Beck & Kenna, Tessa Bailey brings us a male virgin story. WHAT?!? Tessa Bailey the Queen of Dirty Talk is bringing a male virgin to life? Is she abandoning her signature style? Oh NO! She's inventing a brand new hero type. The Alpha Virgin! Kenna unleashes the BEAST in Beck and Tessa keeps it fun and believable. [Five stars]” —Nelle, Shameless Book Club “Cullen and Huntley burned up the sheets!!! These two short stories will set your panties ablaze!!” —Adrian, Shameless Book Club “You get a lot in both novellas, with so many hot and sweet quotes, you will find yourself squirming in your seat and holding your breath to see if they make the right decisions.” —Marissa, Shameless Book Club
Intense, powerful, and compelling, Matterhorn is an epic war novel in the tradition of Norman Mailer’s The Naked and the Dead and James Jones’s The Thin Red Line. It is the timeless story of a young Marine lieutenant, Waino Mellas, and his comrades in Bravo Company, who are dropped into the mountain jungle of Vietnam as boys and forced to fight their way into manhood. Standing in their way are not merely the North Vietnamese but also monsoon rain and mud, leeches and tigers, disease and malnutrition. Almost as daunting, it turns out, are the obstacles they discover between each other: racial tension, competing ambitions, and duplicitous superior officers. But when the company finds itself surrounded and outnumbered by a massive enemy regiment, the Marines are thrust into the raw and all-consuming terror of combat. The experience will change them forever. Written by a highly decorated Marine veteran over the course of thirty years, Matterhorn is a spellbinding and unforgettable novel that brings to life an entire world—both its horrors and its thrills—and seems destined to become a classic of combat literature.
I served as an Army trauma surgeon at the 85th Evacuation Hospital, Phu Bai, Vietnam, '70-'71. Into our emergency room were intermittently deposited the wounded, some greviously others not, by the dare- devil Dust Off medieval pilots who risked imminent death with each mission. We routinely witnessed the devistation of war on body, mind and soul. The corpsmen, technicians, nurses, anesthesiologists and surgeons explored every known and out-of-the- box technique to salvage life and limb. If the wounded arrived alive at the 85th, he had a 95% chance of survival. It was and still is that 5% whose injuries were so severe or whose blood loss could not be stemmed that haunt us today. That's PTS. By storytelling for fifty years since returning to the US in late August 1971, I have avoided the (D) and mollified my demons. The intense emotions during my traumatic experience have softened greatly but, I am back in Vietnam on a daily basis. In 2015 I compiled my stories into Welcome Home From Vietnam, Finally, A Vietnam Trauma Surgeon's Memoir. It is gripping, honest, real-life and disturbing. Then we realize that the 58,000+ lives lost did not change a thing. No dominos fell and Vietnam is now our close trading partner. They have been gratious victors. I've lived, studied and researched PTS(D). I now understand that when we were "partying" with booze and weed, we were actually self-medicating to numb recognition of the demons. That process continues today as there exists an epidemic of active duty military and veteran PTS(D), substance abuse ane suicide. I address these issues in this book's appendices but have more current information on the book's web site. Our nation must shift their concentration from treating PTS(D) as a developed disorder and initiate the PREVENTIVE approach I propose PRIOR to discharge. If prevention by vaccination is the answer to Covid-19 why not apply the same principle to PTS(D)?
Winner of the 2019 William E. Colby Award "The book I had been waiting for. I can't recommend it highly enough." —Bill Gates The era of autonomous weapons has arrived. Today around the globe, at least thirty nations have weapons that can search for and destroy enemy targets all on their own. Paul Scharre, a leading expert in next-generation warfare, describes these and other high tech weapons systems—from Israel’s Harpy drone to the American submarine-hunting robot ship Sea Hunter—and examines the legal and ethical issues surrounding their use. “A smart primer to what’s to come in warfare” (Bruce Schneier), Army of None engages military history, global policy, and cutting-edge science to explore the implications of giving weapons the freedom to make life and death decisions. A former soldier himself, Scharre argues that we must embrace technology where it can make war more precise and humane, but when the choice is life or death, there is no replacement for the human heart.
Haynie shares his struggles and his successes, completing a 20-year career in the Army culminating as an instructor at the U.S. Army Sergeants Major Academy. His story is one that clearly demonstrates just how wrong those protestors were, and just how much our country does owe these men and women who served their country with bravery and honor.