On a gloomy Sunday afternoon at the height of the Troubles, rookie bomb disposal officer Ray Lane was called to the Border to defuse a 1,000kg bomb planted by the IRA. This was the beginning of an extraordinary career. From 10 beer kegs filled to the brim with explosives, to fiendish homemade devices designed to maim and murder, Ray's job was the very definition of hazardous. Developing unparalleled skills in wartime diplomacy, he went on to spend perilous stints on the front line of conflicts in Bosnia, Lebanon, Afghanistan and Ukraine. He witnessed the horrors of war up close and was left with deep personal scars. From the darkest depths of humanity to the pinnacle of bravery, this gripping memoir explores the nature of warfare, duty and the courage and mental strength it takes to be the person who overrides every natural human instinct and walks towards a 1,000kg bomb. 'A truly amazing story told with strength and courage' Ray Goggins 'A compelling story of outstanding courage' Ivan Yates

This book is personal. And it's about you. Nobody understands what it feels like to be a soldier except another soldier. It's about your family back home. It's about trying to gain respect. It's about achieving something important after feeling like a failure. It's about living far from home and feeling lonely. It's about discovering women. It's about good and bad bosses. It's about successes and failures, excitement and frustration. Sound like you yet? And the book will bring back memories. I'll share my story while you reflect upon your own. In fact, it will draw you back to your childhood, and spur visions of your future. No soldier's story is dull if you have a sense of humor. And you'll laugh at my story as well as your own as we quickly turn the pages together. It's an easy read, too. Stories of my life in the military are a quick, two-page read for the most part. I follow up with a few questions directed to you about your own story. That's why sometimes a bunch of guys might get together over lunch and read some of these together. It gets you laughing and sharing about your own journey down the road. This book is a chronological collection beginning with the decision to join the military, and continues the trip in 37 short pieces. There's a pretty good table of contents if you want to target a special spot in your career. Volumes 2-4 continue the journey if you'd like to travel on! This book is for the new recruit. This book is for the naive soldier. This book is for the career guys. It's for the lonely guy who needs a quick read. It's for hooch-mates to laugh about. It's food for the soul, like having a chaplain in your pocket. I'd like to be like your secret big brother, who comes from the same thread, who has been on the same road trip with you, and won't leave your side. One more thing. If you've had a hard time of it, if your life hasn't gone the way you had hoped, if you screwed it all up - then you need t

The Warrior Lifestyle is the last installment of the award winning Warrior Wisdom Series. This amazing book has been dubbed as highly inspirational and motivational by many of today's top martial artist. If you want to live your life to the fullest and live a life of excellence, you need to read The Warrior Lifestyle.Forwarded by top martial arts author, Loren W. Christensen, this amazing book guides the reader through what it takes to live the warrior lifestyle. The warrior lifestyle is not a lifestyle of violence as many assume, but rather a lifestyle of character, honor, and integrity. It is a way of living a life of excellence in every area of your life.Don't settle for an ordinary life; make your life extraordinary! The insightful advice and universal wisdom shines through on every page of this intriguing book. This is a MUST READ for every martial artist and is also a great book for anyone who seeks to live his or her life with character, honor and integrity.Author's note: This book was originally entitled Warrior Wisdom: The Warrior's Path. This is a revised and updated version of this work.

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • The Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and bestselling author lends his remarkable narrative skills to the story of the most famous POW this country has known. In I Am a Soldier, Too, Bragg lets Jessica Lynch tell the story of her capture in the Iraq War in her own words--not the sensationalized ones of the media's initial reports. Here we see how a humble rural upbringing leads to a stint in the military, one of the most exciting job options for a young person in Palestine, West Virginia. We see the real story behind the ambush in the Iraqi Desert that led to Lynch's capture. And we gain new perspective on her rescue from an Iraqi hospital where she had been receiving care. Here Lynch’s true heroism and above all, modesty, is allowed to emerge, as we're shown how she managed her physical recovery from her debilitating wounds and contended with the misinformation--both deliberate and unintended--surrounding her highly publicized rescue. In the end, what we see is a uniquely American story of courage and true heroism.

The astonishing, powerful debut by the winner of a 2016 Whiting Writers' Award WHEREAS her birth signaled the responsibility as mother to teach what it is to be Lakota therein the question: What did I know about being Lakota? Signaled panic, blood rush my embarrassment. What did I know of our language but pieces? Would I teach her to be pieces? Until a friend comforted, Don’t worry, you and your daughter will learn together. Today she stood sunlight on her shoulders lean and straight to share a song in Diné, her father’s language. To sing she motions simultaneously with her hands; I watch her be in multiple musics. —from “WHEREAS Statements” WHEREAS confronts the coercive language of the United States government in its responses, treaties, and apologies to Native American peoples and tribes, and reflects that language in its officiousness and duplicity back on its perpetrators. Through a virtuosic array of short lyrics, prose poems, longer narrative sequences, resolutions, and disclaimers, Layli Long Soldier has created a brilliantly innovative text to examine histories, landscapes, her own writing, and her predicament inside national affiliations. “I am,” she writes, “a citizen of the United States and an enrolled member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe, meaning I am a citizen of the Oglala Lakota Nation—and in this dual citizenship I must work, I must eat, I must art, I must mother, I must friend, I must listen, I must observe, constantly I must live.” This strident, plaintive book introduces a major new voice in contemporary literature.

Latro, a mercenary soldier, lost his memory after a head wound and must continually rediscover his identity. However, he is now able to converse with supernatural creatures which is both a triumph and a danger.

"...an engaging and enlightening account from which we all can benefit."—The Wall Street Journal A better way to combat knee-jerk biases and make smarter decisions, from Julia Galef, the acclaimed expert on rational decision-making. When it comes to what we believe, humans see what they want to see. In other words, we have what Julia Galef calls a "soldier" mindset. From tribalism and wishful thinking, to rationalizing in our personal lives and everything in between, we are driven to defend the ideas we most want to believe—and shoot down those we don't. But if we want to get things right more often, argues Galef, we should train ourselves to have a "scout" mindset. Unlike the soldier, a scout's goal isn't to defend one side over the other. It's to go out, survey the territory, and come back with as accurate a map as possible. Regardless of what they hope to be the case, above all, the scout wants to know what's actually true. In The Scout Mindset, Galef shows that what makes scouts better at getting things right isn't that they're smarter or more knowledgeable than everyone else. It's a handful of emotional skills, habits, and ways of looking at the world—which anyone can learn. With fascinating examples ranging from how to survive being stranded in the middle of the ocean, to how Jeff Bezos avoids overconfidence, to how superforecasters outperform CIA operatives, to Reddit threads and modern partisan politics, Galef explores why our brains deceive us and what we can do to change the way we think.

The “harrowing, heartbreaking, redemptive” memoir of a US Army veteran who fought through PTSD to play college football with the Clemson Tigers (Sports Illustrated). Daniel Rodriguez joined the army just weeks after graduating from high school. Almost immediately, he was deployed to Iraq and then to Afghanistan. While there, he made a promise to his best friend: “When I get out of this shithole, I’m going to play college football.” Wounded at the Battle of Kamdesh, Daniel received a Purple Heart and a Bronze Star. He was lucky enough to make it out alive; his friend was not. Back at home, Daniel was unemployed and stuck in the clutches of PTSD, but he remembered the promise he had made and resolved to make good on it. When he posted a video online of his grueling training efforts, it went viral overnight. Through a mixture of hope, determination, and the power of the Internet, Daniel earned a spot on the Clemson University football team as a wide receiver. In Rise, Rodriguez tells his powerful and inspiring story. “A compelling story of one man’s quest to overcome the horrors of war through fortitude and determination.” —San Antonio Express News