Darryl Kimball always wanted to fly. This is the story of how he accomplished his dream. It's the story of how a small town country boy found his way to San Diego, California, and eventually into the helicopter unit of one of the largest sheriff's departments in the country. In many ways it's a success story, a story of perseverance -- one that says when the odds seem to be stacked against you, or when your mind tells you that you're not smart enough or good enough, or tells you to quit and go home, you don't listen. You stick it out, you move forward . . . and you persevere. As a helicopter pilot with the elite air support unit of the San Diego Sheriff's Department, Darryl Kimball has hunted for missing children, extracted captured drugs and other contraband out of cramped locations, medevac'd injured hikers from valleys thick with boulders and brush, directed deputies during gun battles, and tracked carjackers as they tried to escape pursuing officers through heavy freeway traffic. Catch the Sky is the first in-depth look at the life of a police helicopter pilot. Kimball pulls no punches, unfolding his nail-biting personal story in enthralling detail. From death-defying rescues to stories both bizarre and humorous, Catch the Sky puts you inside the helicopter cockpit for a breathtaking ride you'll never forget.

The New York Times bestselling author of the Wild About You series delivers the first in a brand-new series that takes readers on the wild ride that comes with loving a cowboy.… When Vince Durant left Bickford, Texas, he was a rowdy cowboy just looking for a good time. He also left unfinished business. He hadn’t captured the Ghost, a wild stallion that roams the hills, and he never convinced Georgina Bickford to go out with him. Georgie might be a lost cause, but the Ghost has been calling his name ever since.... When Vince returns to Bickford, he finds his old stomping ground a shell of what it used to be, and Georgie still wants nothing to do with him. To her, he’ll always be the womanizing cowboy she knew seven years ago. And when Vince comes up with a plan that might restore Bickford to its former glory, Georgie wonders if the rough-and-tough cowboy has truly changed. As they get closer, Georgie will have to decide whether to resist Vince’s charm or to attempt to tame the wild stallion who’s stolen her heart.

"Chronicles the life and achievements of Dean Smith, a Texan and Olympic gold medal winner who became a Hollywood stuntman and actor"--

Published for devotees of the cowboy and the West, American Cowboy covers all aspects of the Western lifestyle, delivering the best in entertainment, personalities, travel, rodeo action, human interest, art, poetry, fashion, food, horsemanship, history, and every other facet of Western culture. With stunning photography and you-are-there reportage, American Cowboy immerses readers in the cowboy life and the magic that is the great American West.

"Fresh from the wilds of Wyoming, young Marine Corporal Rankin is savagely tested in the Battle of Manila Bay and the Boxer Rebellion."--Page 4 of cover.

A no-holds-barred memoir from the primary architect of hip hop and one of the culture's most revered music icons—both the tale of his life and legacy and a testament to dogged determination. Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five fomented the musical revolution known as hip hop. Theirs was a groundbreaking union between one DJ and five rapping MCs. One of the first hip hop posses, they were responsible for such masterpieces as “The Message” and “Adventures of Grandmaster Flash on the Wheels of Steel.” In the 1970s Grandmaster Flash pioneered the art of break-beat DJing—the process of remixing and thereby creating a new piece of music by playing vinyl records and turntables as musical instruments. Disco-era DJs spun records so that people could dance. The original turntablist, Flash took it a step further by cutting, rubbing, backspinning, and mixing records, focusing on “breaks”—what Flash described as “the short, climactic parts of the records that really grabbed me”—as a way of heightening musical excitement and creating something new. Now the man who paved the way for such artists as Jay-Z, Sean “P. Diddy” Combs, and 50 Cent tells all—from his early days on the mean streets of the South Bronx, to the heights of hip hop stardom, losing millions at the hands of his record label, his downward spiral into cocaine addiction, and his ultimate redemption with the help and love of his family and friends. In this powerful memoir, Flash recounts how music from the streets, much like rock ’n’ roll a generation before, became the sound of an era and swept a nation with its funk, flavor, and beat.

Covering many aspects of the Vietnam War that have not been addressed before, this book supplies new perspectives from academics as well as Vietnam veterans that explore how this key conflict of the 20th century has influenced everyday life and popular culture during the war as well as for the past 50 years. How did the experience of the Vietnam War change the United States, not just in the 1950s through the 1970s, but through to today? What role do popular music and movies play in how we think of the Vietnam War? How similar are the recent wars in Iraq and Afghanistan—and now Syria—to the Vietnam War in terms of duration, cost, success and failure rates, and veteran issues? This two-volume set addresses these questions and many more, examining how the Vietnam War has been represented in media, music, and film, and how American popular culture changed because of the war. Accessibly written and appropriate for students and general readers, this work documents how the war that occurred on the other side of the globe in the jungles of Vietnam impacted everyday life in the United States and influenced various entertainment modes. It not only covers the impact of the counterculture revolution, popular music about Vietnam recorded while the war was being fought (and after), and films made immediately following the end of the war in the 1970s, but also draws connections to more modern events and popular culture expressions, such as films made in the aftermath of September 11, 2001. Attention is paid to the impact of social movements like the environmental movement and the civil rights movement and their relationships to the Vietnam War. The set will also highlight how the experiences and events of the Vietnam War are still impacting current generations through television shows such as Mad Men.