Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Triple Cross: How bin Laden's Master Spy Penetrated the CIA, the Green Berets, and the FBI--and Why Patrick Fitzgerald Failed to Stop Him

Triple Cross: How bin Laden's Master Spy Penetrated the CIA, the Green Berets, and the FBI--and Why Patrick Fitzgerald Failed to Stop Him Review



This is the story of the most dangerous triple-agent in US history. Peter Lance, author of the highly acclaimed "1000 Years for Revenge and Cover Up", returns to uncover the story of Ali Mohamed, a trusted security advisor of Osama bin Laden who hoodwinked the United States for more than a decade. As Lance reveals for this first time, this one man served in a series of high-security position within the United States security establishment, as a Special Forces advisor, FBI informant, and CIA operative, while simultaneously helping orchestrate the al Qaeda campaign of terror that led to 9/11. In October 2000, after tricking three U.S. intelligence agencies for almost two decades, Ali Mohamed appeared in handcuffs and a blue prison jumpsuit in a Federal District courtroom on Manhattan's Lower East Side, where he pleaded guilty five times. His crimes included brokering terror summits, financing an attack on two Black Hawk helicopters, training jihadis in improvised bomb building and the creation of secret cells. And yet, for decades Mohamed had lived the life of a Silicon Valley computer executive. How did this evildoer move in and out of and around the U.S.? is just one of the questions answered. From the Able Danger scandal of the Clinton Administration to today's CIA Leakgate, Mohamed appears at nearly every crucial turn of America's terror probes. An important final piece to the 9/11 investigation, "Triple Cross" penetrates Mohamed's secret past and the dark reaches of Al Qaeda to reveal the danger that still threatens America and its internal security.


Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Predators and Prey (Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight, Vol. 5)

Predators and Prey (Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight, Vol. 5) Review



Buffy's world goes awry when former-classmate-turned-vampire Harmony Kendall lands her own reality TV show, Harmony Bites, bolstering bloodsucking fiends in the mainstream. Humans line up to have their blood consumed, and Slayers, through a series of missteps, misfortunes, and anti-Slayer propaganda driven by the mysterious Twilight, are forced into hiding. In Germany, Faith and Giles discover a town where Slayers retreat from a world that has turned against them, only to find themselves in the arms of something far worse. A rogue-Slayer faction displaces an entire Italian village, living up to their tarnished reputation as power-hungry thieves. And finally, with the help of a would-be demon lover, Dawn addresses her unfaltering insecurities.


Monday, August 29, 2011

Part of the Bargain (Hayden Carruth Award for New and Emerging Poets)

Part of the Bargain (Hayden Carruth Award for New and Emerging Poets) Review



Part of the Bargain, winner of the Hayden Carruth Award and selected from nearly 1,000 entries, is both a cabinet of curiosities and a sweep of philosophical idylls. Hightower’s poems range in style and subject, with soliloquies, laments, eccentric ponderings, and contemplations of appetite and art.

From Door to the Terrace

You withdraw from me like a match
From a final cigarette and dance every
Abandonment. The strains of music
That accompany you float away with you.

The book’s epigraph evokes a Faustian contract, which is echoed in the tensions between urban and rural, light and dark, moral and amoral action. Hightower’s influences—Sappho, Virgil, Blake, and Wilde—make their presence known as he reflects upon life in urban America after growing up in rural Texas, about coming of age as a gay man, about art and artists, poetry and painting.

From Spending the Night

Now, in another part of the country,
I hear it called “staying over.”
Back then, a couple of years
was a gaping difference.
The ornately carved door
covering the strings of an upright
melded into the headboard
of the bed . . .

Part of the Bargain also explores the imperceptible reconciliations that one makes as an individual, a part of a community, and as a conscientious heir to a culture. Valences of sexuality, nationality, literality all swirl together and perform a balancing act as the poet aspires to pull back the curtain of “the ineffable pageantry” of our multilayered lives.

Scott Hightower is the author of two books of poems, Tin Can Tourist and Natural Trouble. His writings have appeared in many magazines and anthologies, including Salmagundi, The Yale Review, and The Paris Review. He teaches at Fordham University and New York University and is a contributing editor to The Journal. He lives in New York City.


Saturday, August 27, 2011

Rogue Forces LP

Rogue Forces LP Review



Originally contracted to provide air transport services into hostile areas of the world for the U.S. government and some non−governmental agencies‚ Sky Masters Inc. has upgraded its fleet of high−tech transport planes to provide much more militarily useful services for its clients‚ including aerial refueling‚ intelligence−gathering‚ reconnaissance‚ clandestine infiltration‚ and even aerial long−range bombardment. The planes are on lease to Scion Aviation International‚ a private security company run by former president Kevin Martindale and retired Air Force lieutenant−general Patrick McLanahan. Their task is to take over aerial patrols in northern Iraq as the U.S. military begins to downsize its forces there.

In the face of even more murderous attacks by Kurdish nationalists‚ the Republic of Turkey expands its campaign to root out the terrorists by invading northern Iraq. The few remaining American forces are quickly overwhelmed. The new government in Persia joins with the Turks to completely eradicate the Kurdish threat. The new American president‚ who pledged to start pulling U.S. forces out of Iraq on his first day in office‚ is reluctant to send U.S. forces back in to deal with the matter. As the only credible force in the region capable of blunting the Turks′ advances‚ Scion Aviation International is contracted to respond.

But when Patrick McLanahan makes the decision to take the fight to the Turks‚ can the President rein him in? Where will McLanahan′s loyalty lie: with his country‚ his President‚ his fellow warriors...or with his company′s shareholders?


Friday, August 26, 2011

Prom

Prom Review



Philadelphia high school who doesn’t care about the prom. It’s pretty much the only good thing that happens there, and everyone plans to make the most of it—especially Ash’s best friend, Natalia, who’s the head of the committee and has prom stars in her eyes. Then the faculty advisor is busted for taking the prom money and Ash finds herself roped into putting together a gala dance. But she has plenty of help—from her large and loving (if exasperating!) family, from Nat’s eccentric grandmother, from the principal, from her fellow classmates. And in making the prom happen, Ash learns some surprising things about making her life happen, too.


Wednesday, August 24, 2011

A Faustian Bargain: U.S. Intervention in the Nicaraguan Elections and American Foreign Policy in the Post-Cold War Era

A Faustian Bargain: U.S. Intervention in the Nicaraguan Elections and American Foreign Policy in the Post-Cold War Era Review



As an analysis of the controversial US role in the 1990 Nicaraguan elections, this book exposes the duplicitous and possibly illegal intervention of the US in the electoral process of a sovereign nation. Drawing on secret documents and interviews, the author brings to light the clandestine activities of US officials and examines the implications of the "electoral intervention project" for US foreign policy and for social change in the Third World in the post-Cold War era.


Tuesday, August 23, 2011

The Book of Love

The Book of Love Review



A sweet little book with a sweet message—veteran cartoonist and author Monica Sheehan brings timely words on love accompanied by whimsical illustrations. This book strikes a chord with all types of lovers, while showing the different forms that love can take. From long distance love, to young love, to crazy in love. Sheehan has captured them all.

Building on Sheehan’s other adorable and inspirational books, The Book of Love tackles a topic at the very center of human nature: love and how it affects us. This book is not just for the lovestruck, but for everyone in every stage of love.


Sunday, August 21, 2011

Healing Hepatitis C: A Patient and a Doctor on the Epidemic's Front Lines Tell You How to Recognize When You Are at Risk, Understand Hepatitis C Tests, Talk to Your Doctor About Hepatitis C, and Adv

Healing Hepatitis C: A Patient and a Doctor on the Epidemic's Front Lines Tell You How to Recognize When You Are at Risk, Understand Hepatitis C Tests, Talk to Your Doctor About Hepatitis C, and Adv Review



Get the facts about Hepatitis C

Having hepatitis C can be a transformative, extremely tough experience—especially without the right information. Healing Hepatitis C remedies that by combining the personal story of Christopher Kennedy Lawford, who unknowingly contracted the virus during his years of drug use, with the medical expertise of Dr. Diana Sylvestre, who has devoted her career to treating hepatitis C sufferers. Together they deal with the stigma and misinformation, and the fears and frustrations of this illness. Healing Hepatitis C serves as a valuable sourcebook for medical and treatment information: from what hepatitis C is to what it does, and from what to expect during treatment to how to communicate with your physician, to finding the support you need. Most of all, it walks you through the process of facing the diagnosis and treatment head-on, showing you that it is possible to get through hepatitis C—to be cured of it—without surrendering your life to it.

Together Lawford and Sylvestre offer hope, humor, and medical expertise to help patients, their friends, and families navigate the numerous challenges of hepatitis C virus education, testing, and treatment.


Friday, August 19, 2011

Angeles y demonios (Spanish Edition)

Angeles y demonios (Spanish Edition) Review



En un laboratorio de maxima seguridad, aparece asesinado un cientifico con un extraño simbolo grabado a fuego en su pecho. Para el profesor Robert Langdon no hay duda: los Illuminati, los hombres enfrentados a la Iglesia desde los tiempos de Galileo, han regresado. Y esta vez disponen de la mas mortifera arma que ha creado la humanidad, un artefacto con el que pueden ganar la batalla final contra su eterno enemigo. Acompañado de una joven cientifica y un audaz capitan de la Guardia Suiza, Langdon comienza una carrera contra reloj, en una busqueda desesperada por los rincones mas secretos de El Vaticano. Necesitara todo su conocimiento para descifrar las claves ocultas que los Illuminati han dejado a traves de los siglos en manuscritos y templos, y todo su coraje para vencer al despiadado asesino que siempre parece llevarle la delantera. / An ancient secret brotherhood. A devastating new weapon of destruction. An unthinkable target. When world-renowned Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon is summoned to his first assignment to a Swiss research facility to analyze a mysterious symbol -- seared into the chest of a murdered physicist -- he discovers evidence of the unimaginable: the resurgence of an ancient secret brotherhood known as the Illuminati...the most powerful underground organization ever to walk the earth. The Illuminati has now surfaced to carry out the final phase of its legendary vendetta against its most hated enemy -- the Catholic Church. Langdon's worst fears are confirmed on the eve of the Vatican's holy conclave, when a messenger of the Illuminati announces they have hidden an unstoppable time bomb at the very heart of Vatican City. With the countdown under way, Langdon jets to Rome to join forces with Vittoria Vetra, a beautiful and mysterious Italian scientist, to assist the Vatican in a desperate bid for survival. Embarking on a frantic hunt through sealed crypts, dangerous catacombs, deserted cathedrals, and the most secretive vault on earth, Langdon and Vetra follow a 400-year-old trail of ancient symbols that snakes across Rome toward the long-forgotten Illuminati lair...a clandestine location that contains the only hope for Vatican salvation. Critics have praised the exhilarating blend of relentless adventure, scholarly intrigue, and cutting wit found in Brown's remarkable thrillers featuring Robert Langdon. An explosive international suspense, Angels & Demons marks this hero's first adventure as it careens from enlightening epiphanies to dark truths as the battle between science and religion turns to war.


Thursday, August 18, 2011

Weekends for Two in Southern California: 50 Romantic Getaways

Weekends for Two in Southern California: 50 Romantic Getaways Review



From a private balcony with a view of Malibu Beach to a chateau in the mountains above Lake Arrowhead, this definitive "lovers' guide" is now completely revised and updated with seven newly discovered destinations.

For updates on the Weekends for Two books, email weekends42@aol.com.


Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Blessed

Blessed Review



With a wink and a nod to Bram Stoker, New York Times best-selling author Cynthia Leitich Smith unites the casts of Tantalize and Eternal in a delicious dark fantasy her fans will devour.

Quincie P. Morris, teen restaurateuse and neophyte vampire, is in the fight of her life -- or undeath. Even as she adjusts to her new appetites, she must clear her best friend and true love, the hybrid werewolf Kieren, of murder charges; thwart the apocalyptic ambitions of Bradley Sanguini, the seductive vampire-chef who "blessed" her; and keep her dead parents’ restaurant up and running. She hires a more homespun chef and adds the preternaturally beautiful Zachary to her wait staff. But with hundreds of new vampires on the rise and Bradley off assuming the powers of Dracula Prime, Zachary soon reveals his true nature -- and a flaming sword -- and they hit the road to staunch the bloodshed before it’s too late. Even if they save the world, will there be time left to salvage Quincie’s soul?


Monday, August 15, 2011

Essential Captain America, Vol. 5 (Marvel Essentials)

Essential Captain America, Vol. 5 (Marvel Essentials) Review



Captain America and the Falcon, two unlikely partners, united in battle against threats domestic, extraterrestial, and extradimensional; evil psychiatrists, druids, and scientists; monsters, super villains, and armies; and all the while balancing their love lives with Sharon Carter and Leila Davis! Featuring the threats of the Druid, the Alchemoid, Deadly Nightshade and her robot assassin, Stilt-Man, Dr. Faustus, the Secret Empire, the Night-People, and Agron! Plus, the first appearance of Karla Sofen, the future Moonstone and Ms. Marvel! And the mysterious Mister Buda leads Cap on a tour of the world's wars! Collects Captain America (1968) #187-205, Annual #3, and Marvel Treasury Special: Captain America's Bicentennial Battles.


Sunday, August 14, 2011

Her Husband's Christmas Bargain (Harlequin Presents Marriage and Mistletoe)

Her Husband's Christmas Bargain (Harlequin Presents Marriage and Mistletoe) Review



" The Italian's marriage demand...
When Italian businessman Luigi Costanzo discovers that Megan, his beautiful estranged wife, is also the mother of his child, he is incensed! She's left him no alternative: he will do anything in his power to possess his wife and child.
Megan is less than impressed when Luigi turns up on her doorstep -- the week before Christmas! Luigi is as arrogant as ever -- and still as impossible to resist. But Luigi is adamant...Megan will be a wife to him -- in every way -- once more!"


Saturday, August 13, 2011

The Good Soldiers

The Good Soldiers Review



A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR FOR:
THE NEW YORK TIMES
CHICAGO TRIBUNE

SLATE.COM
THE BOSTON GLOBE
THE KANSAS CITY STAR
THE PLAIN DEALER
(CLEVELAND)
THE CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR

WINNER OF THE HELEN BERNSTEIN BOOK AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN JOURNALISM

It was the last-chance moment of the war. In January 2007, President George W. Bush announced a new strategy for Iraq. It became known as "the surge." Among those called to carry it out were the young, optimistic army infantry soldiers of the 2-16, the battalion nicknamed the Rangers. About to head to a vicious area of Baghdad, they decided the difference would be them.

Fifteen months later, the soldiers returned home — forever changed. The chronicle of their tour is gripping, devastating, and deeply illuminating for anyone with an interest in human conflict.  With TheGood Soldiers, Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter David Finkel has produced an eternal story — not just of the Iraq War, but of all wars, for all time.


Friday, August 12, 2011

The Long Run: A New York City Firefighter's Triumphant Comeback from Crash Victim to Elite Athlete

The Long Run: A New York City Firefighter's Triumphant Comeback from Crash Victim to Elite Athlete Review



New York City firefighter's emotional and inspiring memoir of learning to run again after a debilitating accident, based on the wildly popular March 2009 piece in Runner's World.

On the morning of December 22, 2005, Matt Long was cycling to work in the early morning when he was struck by and sucked under a 20-ton bus making an illegal turn. The injuries he sustained pushed him within inches of his life. Miraculously, more than 40 operations and months later, Matt was able to start his recovery. In spite of the severity of his injuries, Matt found the psychological consequences of the accident nearly as hard to process. He would no longer be able to compete at the highest level.
In the 18 months before the accident, he had competed in more than 20 events including several triathlons and marathons and had qualified for running's most prestigious race, the Boston Marathon. After the accident, his doctor told him he'd be lucky if he could even walk without a cane.
The Long Run is an emotional and incredibly honest story about Matt's determination to fight through fear, despair, loneliness, and intense physical and psychological pain to regain the life he once had. The book chronicles Matt's road to recovery as he teaches himself to walk again and, a mere three years later, to run in the 2008 New York City Marathon--a gimpy seven-and-a-half hour journey through the five boroughs. "Running saved my life," Matt says, and his embrace of the running community and insistence on competing in the marathon has inspired many, turning him into a symbol of hope and recovery for untold numbers of others.
 


Thursday, August 11, 2011

The Bride And The Bargain (Silhouette Special Edition)

The Bride And The Bargain (Silhouette Special Edition) Review



If the running shoe fits... As head of his family's Seattle-based software empire, workaholic Grayson Hunt was married to the job. Then Dear Old Dad issued Gray and his brothers an ultimatum--find brides, fast, or lose their fortunes. Gray was at wit's end--until he literally ran into the perfect candidate on his favorite jogging path. But did humble school librarian Amelia White have a hidden agenda? This Cinderella will wear it! Amelia was going to teach this billionaire-in-training that his actions had consequences--and make him pay for what he had done to her sister. But when she signed up for this marriage of convenience, she didn't know she was signing away her heart in the bargain. Could she stick to her plan the more she fell for the man?


Tuesday, August 9, 2011

How to Make a Fortune from the Biggest Bailout in U.S. History: A Guide to the 7 Greatest Bargains from Main Street to Wall Street

How to Make a Fortune from the Biggest Bailout in U.S. History: A Guide to the 7 Greatest Bargains from Main Street to Wall Street Review



For those in the know, today's financial headlines don't spell disaster--they spell the sale of the century. But it takes a trustworthy veteran of the trading trenches to guide investors through these volatile times. Drawing on his two decades as a financial reporter, plus three recent years working on Wall Street, Ron Insana helps readers restore their depleted portfolios by showing them:

*How to determine reemerging opportunities in submerged markets

*Where to invest in really legit real estate

*How to magnify the magnificent opportunities in municipal bonds and Treasury Inflation Protected Securities (TIPS)

*Where to go mining for the rare gems among the heaps of junk bonds now piling up around the world, and more

Revealing essential tricks of the trade and explaining complex concepts in an easy way, Insana makes Wall Street's lucrative tips accessible to Main Street. For anyone sifting through retirement-account wreckage or a tanking net worth, How to Make a Fortune from the Biggest Bailout in U.S. History is the ultimate rescue manual for reaping rich rewards.