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  Band of Sisters - American Women...

  Kirsten Holmstedt

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  Twelve American women serving in the military share their gripping personal stories of combat in Iraq. In Iraq, the front lines are everywhere—and everywhere in Iraq, no matter what their job descriptions say, women in the U.S. military are fighting. More than 155,000 of them have deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan since 2003—four times the number of women sent to Desert Storm in 1991. More than 430 have been wounded and over seventy killed—almost twice the number of American women killed in action in Korea, Vietnam, and Desert Storm combined.  But should women be in combat? Do they have what it takes to be warriors? Compelling questions once, but now empty because, more than ever, American women are in combat, and they are warriors. The real question is: What are their experiences of war? We haven’t heard their stories—until now. Band of Sisters presents a dozen groundbreaking and often heart-wrenching stories of American women in combat in Iraq, such as the U.S.’s first female pilot to be shot down and survive, the military’s first black female pilot in combat, a young turret gunner defending convoys, and a nurse struggling to save lives, including her own.  As one female service member said, “We love our country as much as any man, and we have made the same sacrifices as our brothers in arms.” Band of Sisters reveals those sacrifices for the first time. Praise for Band of SistersWinner of the 2007 American Authors Association Golden Quill AwardWinner of the 2007 Military Writers Society of America Founder's Award“An insightful, intimate portrait of America’s fighting women in Iraq. This is must reading.” —Charles Jones, author of Red, White, or Yellow?: The Media and the Military at War in Iraq “Lyrical, visceral, and potent. Kirsten Holmstedt sets a peerless standard as a raconteur with powerful stories of the valor of today’s women in combat.” —David J. Danelo, author of Blood Stripes and The Border“This overdue account . . . reads a swiftly as a thriller, but the thrills here come from the real sacrifices and valor of America’s fighting women.” —Ralph Peters, author of Never Quit the Fight and Wars of Blood and Faith“Inspirational and revealing.” —Paul Riechkhoff, executive director, Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, and author of Chasing Ghosts

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  Pocket Guide to Victorian...

  Russell James

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  A fact-filled reference for discovering, and learning more about, the literary greats of the nineteenth century.   The Victorian era produced many famous writers and poets, including Dickens, Thackeray, H.G. Wells, and Tennyson. Magazines like The Strand launched famous creations such as Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes, whose cliffhanger stories were told in part-works to add to the excitement. And the poetry was epic—Tennyson’s Morte d’Arthur and The Lady of Shalott tapped into the Pre-Raphaelite style so popular in the art of the day.   In this guide, Russell James has explored the role of the Victorian writer and their genres, from Dickens’s desire to correct social wrongs and expose poverty to H.G. Wells’s desire to escape the modern world. The responsibility of the Victorian poet is also revealed from romantic declaration and escapism to heroism and historical commemorations—would modern generations know about the Charge of the Light Brigade if Tennyson hadn’t immortalized it? Together with A–Zs of writers and poets, this is a must-read book for everyone who loves good writing and wants to discover more.

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  My Tour through the Asylum - A...

  William E. Dufford, Aïda Rogers,...

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  “[A] testament to his journey toward South Carolina’s—not only desegregation of schools—but full integration and voice for African American students.” —Libby Bernardin, author of Stones Ripe for Sowing 
   
  Immortalized in the writings of his most famous student, bestselling author Pat Conroy, veteran education administrator William E. Dufford has led an inspirational life as a stalwart champion for social justice and equal access for all to the empowerment of a good public education. A quintessential Southern storyteller now in his nineties, Dufford reflects on his own transformation through education, from his upbringing in the segregationist Jim Crow Era-South of the 1930s and 1940s to becoming an accomplished integrationist revered by his pantheon of former colleagues and students. In My Tour through the Asylum, several of these supporters share their own candid recollections of Dufford alongside his life story, adding context and anecdotes to the narrative. 
   
  Dufford credits the evolution of his mindset from segregationist to integrationist to the good influence of two experiences: his service in the US Navy in the 1940s opening his eyes to a larger worldview and his later doctoral training at the University of Florida under nationally recognized professors introducing him to global perspectives of education. 
   
  Drawing the book title and themes from nineteenth-century statesman James Louis Petigru’s infamous assessment that South Carolina was “too small to be a republic and too big to be an insane asylum,” Dufford offers an insightful, pragmatic, and ultimately hopeful tour through his lived experiences in the courageous, committed service of education and enlightenment. 
   
  “William Dufford’s memoir is a remarkable example of courage, passion, and determination.” —Peggy B. Winder, Newberry College

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  John Connolly

  Steve Black

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  Sevendust guitarist John Connolly spoke with Steve Black in the summer of 2017.

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  They Are All My Family - A...

  John P. Riordan

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  Published for the fortieth anniversary of the final days of the Vietnam War, this is the suspenseful and moving tale of how John P. Riordan, an assistant manager of Citibank's Saigon branch, devised a daring plan to save 106 Vietnamese from the dangers of the Communist takeover.Riordan-who had left the military behind for a career in international banking-was not the type to take dramatic action, but once the North Vietnamese Army closed in on Saigon in April 1975 and it was clear that Riordan's Vietnamese colleagues and their families would be stranded in a city teetering on total collapse, he knew that he could not leave them behind. Defying the objections of his superiors and going against the official policy of the United States, Riordan went back into Saigon to save them.In fifteen harrowing trips to Saigon's airport, he maneuvered through the bureaucratic shambles, claiming that the Vietnamese were his wife and scores of children. It was a ruse that, at times, veered close to failure, yet against all odds, the improbable plan succeeded.They Are All My Family is a vivid narrative of one man's ingenious strategy that transformed a time of enormous peril into a display of extraordinary courage.

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  The Future of Conservatism -...

  Charles Dunn

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  Once on the wings of the American political stage, conservatism now plays a leading role in public life, thanks largely to the dynamic legacy of Ronald Reagan. But despite conservatism’s emergence as a powerful political force in the last several decades, misunderstandings abound about its meaning and nature—economically, internationally, philosophically, politically, religiously, and socially. In examining these misunderstandings, The Future of American Conservatism: Consensus and Conflict in the Post-Reagan Era reveals the forces that unite, and the tensions that divide, conservatives today.Edited by noted Reagan scholar Charles W. Dunn, this collection casts conservatism as a collage of complexity that defies easy characterization. Although it is commonly considered an ideology, many of conservatism’s foremost intellectuals dispute this notion. Although it is thought to embody a standard set of principles, its principles frequently conflict. Although many leading intellectuals, liberal and conservative, believe that conservatism lacks a significant tradition in America, it has contributed more to American life than the credit lines indicate. And although it is usually thought to create homogeneity among its adherents, in truth conservatism is marked by a great deal of heterogeneity in both its adherents and its ideas.In fact, conservatism’s complexity may well be its strength—or so the essays gathered here suggest. In painting a bright picture of the prospects for conservatives, The Future of American Conservatism is a timely and thought-provoking volume. 

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