Ia is a precog, tormented by visions of the future where her home galaxy has been devastated. To prevent this vision from coming true, Ia enlists in the Terran United Planets military with a plan to become a soldier who will inspire generations for the next three hundred years-a soldier history will call Bloody Mary.

From one of America’s most esteemed military correspondents and the author of Making the Corps comes a “briskly paced, engrossing tale” (Los Angeles Times) about a brutal brushfire war in Afghanistan that sets off a titanic struggle for the soul of the twenty-first-century American military.

Bestselling author Joe Drape reveals the unique pressures and expectations that make a year of Army football so much more than just a tally of wins and losses. The football team at the U.S. Military Academy is not like other college football teams. At other schools, athletes are catered to and coddled at every turn. At West Point, they carry the same arduous load as their fellow cadets, shouldering an Ivy League–caliber education and year-round military training. After graduation they are not going to the NFL but to danger zones halfway around the world. These young men are not just football players, they are soldiers first. New York Times sportswriter Joe Drape takes us inside the world of Army football, as the Black Knights and their third-year coach, Rich Ellerson, seek to turn around a program that had recently fallen on hard times, with the goal to beat Navy and "sing last" at the Army-Navy game in December. The 2011 season would prove a true test of the players' mettle and perseverance. Drawing on his extensive and unfettered access to the players and the coaching staff, Drape introduces us to this special group of young men and their achievements on and off the field. Anchoring the narrative and the team are five key players: quarterback Trent Steelman, the most gifted athlete; linebacker Steve Erzinger, who once questioned his place at West Point but has become a true leader; Andrew Rodriguez, the son of a general and the top scholar-athlete; Max Jenkins, the backup quarterback and the second-in-command of the Corps of Cadets; and Larry Dixon, a talented first-year running back. Together with Coach Ellerson, his staff, and West Point's officers and instructors, they and their teammates embrace the demands made on them and learn crucial lessons that will resonate throughout their lives—and ours.

From the former secretary of defense, a strikingly candid, vivid account of serving Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. When Robert M. Gates received a call from the White House, he thought he’d long left Washington politics behind: After working for six presidents in both the CIA and the National Security Council, he was happily serving as president of Texas A&M University. But when he was asked to help a nation mired in two wars and to aid the troops doing the fighting, he answered what he felt was the call of duty.

Walking tall, literally, and figuratively, Lt Gen Harbakhsh Singh, VrC, was one of the most gallant and outstanding officers of the Indian Army. He was among the first batch of officers commissioned from the Indian Military Academy, Dehradun. His military career of nearly 35 years was acknowledged for his distinguished service of an exceptional order. He commanded the 1st Battalion the Sikh Regiment during operations in J&K in 1947-48; the historic battle of Shelatang was fought under his command; Battle of Tithwal won him the award of Vir Chakra. He had the rare distinction of having had combat experience in command of troops of or against many nationalities, at all levels of command from a platoon of 40 men to an Army Group consisting of 400,000 military personnel. Born on 1st October, 1913 he started his military career in a war zone in the North- West Frontier Province of erstwhile British India in 1935. He then participated in Allied operations in Malaya during World War II and was held as a prisoner-of-war by the Japanese. He attended Imperial Defence College, London in 1958. Thereafter he held almost all important and key command and staff appointments in Western Command, and in November 1964, took over as Army Commander. In 1962 during the Chinese invasion he was posted as the Corps Commander NEFA and later on in the Sikkim Sector. In 1965 as Army Commander Western Command, it was under his leadership and overall command of the Western Army both in J&K and the Punjab theatre that the Pakistani attacks were repulsed. He was honoured with both Padma Bhushan and Padma Vibhushan in recognition of his meritorious services. This is a book about a soldier who had the courage of his convictions and was not afraid to use his judgement and face the consequences. He not only set a standard for himself to perform to the best of his ability but inspired others to do the same. The General has highlighted the shortfalls in strategic thinking on the part of a few military commanders during the J&K operations in 1947, Sino-Indian conflict of 1962 and Indo-Pak war in 1965. At the fag-end of his life he wrote his Magnum opus with the object of passing on his experiences to the younger generation of officers coming up to serve the country. The autobiography recounts all the details of the eventful life of a highly distinguished soldier.

"The book demonstrates how African American soldiers used military service as a tool to challenge white notions of second-class citizenry"--

In times of war, these brave dogs serve their country proudly

Ia is a precog, tormented by visions of the future where her home galaxy has been devastated. To prevent this vision from coming true, Ia enlists in the Terran United Planets military with a plan to become a soldier who will inspire generations for the next three hundred years-a soldier history will call Bloody Mary.