This is the saga of the Roshensky family. Jacov, the father, is a prosperous jeweler who, in his youth, was a Marxist rebel in tsarist Russia and still possesses the heart of an idealist. Mikhail, Jacovs oldest son, is brilliant, handsome, and fearless; he is drawn to the underside of life and becomes a notorious professional gambler known as Mickey Russian. Bobby, the youngest Roshensky, dazzled by his older brothers lifestyle, finds himself entangled in the violent world Mickey lords over. Their tale journeys through the Spanish Civil War, Nazi Germany, betrayal, murder, revenge, and the landing at Normandy on June 6, 1944. Please visit www.martinstarkand.com and www.MICKEYRUSSIANSBROTHER.com for more information. This book is also available at Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble and Borders Marketplace BOOK REVIEWS: "Vivid and intriguing, Mickey Russian's Brother is a compelling novel." Martin Richards Tony Award and Golden Globe and Academy Award winner for Chicago "The Book is an unusual amalgam of several genres, part gangster novel, part war story, part thriller. It is well written and often quite funny." Kirkus Discoveries

When the past collides with the present, the only way to ensure the future lies in the ultimate kill… Naomi McCall is a woman of many secrets. Her family has been murdered and she’s been forced into hiding. No one knows her past or her real name, not even the man she loves. Jake Tyler, former Marine and the newest recruit to the private criminal investigation agency, CORE, has been in love with a woman who never existed. When he learns about the lies Naomi has weaved, he’s ready to leave her—until an obsessed madman begins sending her explosive messages every hour on the hour. Innocent people are dying. With their deaths, Naomi’s secrets are revealed and the truth is thrust into the open. All but one. Naomi’s not sure if Jake can handle a truth that will change their lives. But she is certain of one thing—the only way to stop the killer before he takes more lives is to make herself his next victim.

This riveting account reveals the secret corners of our supposedly flat world: black markets where governments are never seen but still spend outrageous amounts of money. Journalist Matt Potter tells the story of Yuri and his crew, a gang of Russian military men who, after the collapse of the Soviet Union found themselves without work or prospects. So they bought a decommissioned Soviet plane-at liquidation prices, straight from the Russian government-and started a shipping business. It wasn't long before Yuri, and many pilots like him, found themselves an unlikely (and ethically dubious) hub of global trading. Men like these are paid by the U.S., the Taliban, and blue-chip multinational companies to bring supplies- some legal, some not-across dangerous borders. In a feat of daring reportage, Potter gets onto the flight deck with these outlaws and tells the story of their fearless missions. Dodging gunfire, Potter is taken from place to place by men trafficking everything from illicit weapons to emergency aid, making enemies everywhere but no reliable friends. As the world changes, we see the options for the crew first explode, then slowly diminish, until, in a desperate maneuver, they move their operations to the most lawless corners of Africa, where they operate to this day. The story of these outlaws is a microcosm of the world since the end of the cold war: secret contracts, guerrilla foreign policy, and conflicts too thorny to be handled in public. Potter uses the story of these men to articulate an underground history of the globalized world. At once thrilling, provocative, and morally circumspect, this book is a must-read for anyone with an interest in espionage, or in how the world works today.

Bill Gant and Alan Pulis, both retired Alaska State Troopers are halibut fishing when they find a body floating in the rip at the center of Cook Inlet. They discover the victim, wearing a life preserver, has been shot in the back. Captain Rollin Caswell of the Alaska State Troopers recruits the retired men to investigate the case on a contract basis. They find the victim is a local banker and suspect the killing was a mob hit. A local waitress had been dating the banker and is found to be on the list of hit men. The investigation leads the investigators to New Jersey and to an organized crime boss, causing them to rely on the FBI and U.S. Marshals to assist in the investigation. From local intrigue to international banking the story winds leaving death and fear in its wake.

I want to share my experiences with you. I am eighty four years old, and I am not senile. Everything I wrote in this book is the truth. I am concerned about the way this country is heading. I have lived to see many administrations operate since nineteen thirty two. These politicians in DC ARE arrogant and power crazy. They want to dictate to us how we work, live and carry on. Many of them are guilty of tax evasion. They walk around as if they are immune to any penalty they should be given. WE tell them that majority of people are against their version of the health plan. They will use any trick to get their plan into the law. They forget that they are employed by the taxpayer. They want to run your life as they see fit. I and millions of veterans fought for our freedom, because we love this country We do not want these socialist thugs to ruin this. If you agree with me vote these politicians out of office, if they do not perform the American way. When you read this book you will thank me for enlightening everyone. Today you hear quite a bit about discrimination. In my early days there was always people being discriminated. To start with there were no laws to protect them. They took in stride, because they were too busy trying to survive the great depression. Today the so called depressed are always whining. They are lazy, do not want to work or get an education. All they want is handouts from the government. The only people should get money are the sick, handicap, elderly. Politicians cater to the lazy ones to get their votes. They are scheming to get illegals citizenship, to get more votes. They do not care about the future of this country. I do I want the younger generation to enjoy this great country, as I did. Especially my sons and grandchildren.

This book is the first to provide an in-depth understanding of the 2014 crisis, Russia’s annexation of Crimea and Europe’s de facto war between Russia and Ukraine. The book provides a historical and contemporary understanding behind President Vladimir Putin Russia’s obsession with Ukraine and why Western opprobrium and sanctions have not deterred Russian military aggression. The volume provides a wealth of detail about the inability of Russia, from the time of the Tsarist Empire, throughout the era of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), and since the dissolution of the latter in 1991, to accept Ukraine as an independent country and Ukrainians as a people distinct and separate from Russians. The book highlights the sources of this lack of acceptance in aspects of Russian national identity. In the Soviet period, Russians principally identified themselves not with the Russian Soviet Federative Republic, but rather with the USSR as a whole. Attempts in the 1990s to forge a post-imperial Russian civic identity grounded in the newly independent Russian Federation were unpopular, and notions of a far larger Russian ‘imagined community’ came to the fore. A post-Soviet integration of Tsarist Russian great power nationalism and White Russian émigré chauvinism had already transformed and hardened Russian denial of the existence of Ukraine and Ukrainians as a people, even prior to the 2014 crises in Crimea and the Donbas. Bringing an end to both the Russian occupation of Crimea and to the broader Russian–Ukrainian conflict can be expected to meet obstacles not only from the Russian de facto President-for-life, Vladimir Putin, but also from how Russia perceives its national identity.

Brother and sister detectives search for a missing husband and father while wrestling with their own family discord. When all is said and done, will they turn up one man short?

Blends history and memoir in an account that in alternating chapters explores the author's quest to understand the impact of his brothers on his life and the complex relationships between iconic brothers, including the Thoreaus, the Van Goghs, and the Marxes.

"This lively and often moving collection of essays is an important contribution to Western scholarship on Soviet society and culture during the Second World War. . . . [a] straightforward but lively description of cultural life, unhampered by excessive interpretation or cultural theory. For all those who love Russia's cultural heritage, these essays cast a welcome spotlight on some of the people and pockets of life from that tragic but compelling time." —Canadian Slavonic Papers "Enjoyable to read and accessible to the nonspecialist, Culture and Entertainment is not only an indispensable addition to any Soviet studies library but will prove valuable to anyone interested in or teaching courses on World War II, propaganda and popular culture, homefront politics, or the interacation between cultural creation and governmental power." —Journal of Modern History "This comprehensive recollection of articles goes beyond cultural history, and provides an original approach to the study of war. War, we learn, is fought on many fronts, and the cultural one should not be underestimated." —SAIS Review " . . . takes the reader to the heart of the patriotic struggle, to the cultural and spiritual imperatives that roused Russian resistance." —Canadian Military History "This collection . . . furthers knowledge of Soviet high and popular culture, and also demonstrates the extremely important role that cultural productions played in helping to maintain Soviet spirits in the midst of the Nazi onslaught." —Choice "This anthology of scholarly articles provides surprising insights into Soviet cultural propaganda during the Great Patriotic War." —War, Literature and the Arts ". . . the essays here provide much food for thought and constitute a valuable addition to a relatively neglected area of study." —The Slavonic Review World War II (The Great Patriotic War) had a pronounced cultural and emotional impact on the Russian people. The subjects of these essays range from the Moscow press to frontline correspondents, from entertainment brigades to amateur songs by fighting men and women, from symphonic compositions to revivals of literary classics, and from Moscow stages to folk ensembles on the battlefield—the cultural outpourings in the hearts and souls of ordinary Russians at war.

A wealthy man’s bitter decline takes a sinister turn in this “slow-burn noir” of love, greed, and deceit in 1970s New York (Washington Post Book World). Neil Fox has made a fortune off the “head we win / tails you lose” venture capital deals negotiated by his brother, costing him almost everything but money. His ex-wife and daughter spurn him, and he lost his young son years ago. Now he spends his days working as a lawyer at a small investment-banking firm and his nights at home with a drink. When the affable Bud Younger moves in next door—on a parcel that Neil had sold off—Neil takes an almost instant dislike to him. Bud is nearly everything Neil is not—a gregarious, energetic striver loved by his family. When Bud asks Neil to fund a new business venture, it sets in motion events that hurtle to a startling and haunting conclusion. Named a Booklist Top 10 First Novel of 2011, The Arriviste delves into the psyche of avarice and envy, presenting a portrait of a man both ordinary and monstrous.