Hailed as one of the finest examples of aviation research, this comprehensive 1984 study presents a detailed and scrupulously accurate operational history of carrier-based air warfare. From the earliest operations in the Pacific through the decisive Battle of Midway, it offers a narrative account of how ace fighter pilots like Jimmy Thach and Butch O'Hare and their skilled VF squadron mates--called the "first team"--amassed a remarkable combat record in the face of desperate odds. Tapping both American and Japanese sources, historian John B. Lundstrom reconstructs every significant action and places these extraordinary fighters within the context of overall carrier operations. He writes from the viewpoint of the pilots themselves, after interviewing some fifty airmen from each side, to give readers intimate details of some of the most exciting aerial engagements of the war. At the same time he assesses the role the fighter squadrons played in key actions and shows how innovations in fighter tactics and gunnery techniques were a primary reason for the reversal of American fortunes. After more than twenty years in print, the book remains the definitive account and is being published in paperback for the first time to reach an even larger audience.

Brock is on the run again in New York Times bestselling author Tim Green’s companion book to New Kid. Perfect for fans of Mike Lupica or Dan Gutman’s Baseball Card Adventure series. With his strong left arm, Brock knows he can be a great quarterback, and with the help of his new friend, Mak, he has a plan to make the first team. But the coaches have plans of their own, especially for the kids from the wrong side of the tracks, which is exactly where Brock now lives. As Brock is trying to fit in, his father’s past is catching up to him—and one chance meeting causes everything to come crashing down. Will Brock finally be able to navigate his new life, or will his past force him back on the run?

Do You Have a Game Plan? Premier agent Drew Pittman loves sports. Maybe even more than you do. But an experience early in his management career convinced him that a life of significance is about faith, family, and football--and always in that order. So how do you make significance your game plan? Competitive sports are filled with lessons about motivation, perseverance, hard work, and collaboration--and these lessons are powerfully transferable to everyday life. Yet few men apply them to the most important arena they'll ever play in: their home. In First Team Dad, Drew Pittman shares the principles that can change the game in your family, straight from a sports insider who has field-tested each and every one with his home team. With heart-pounding stories of unforgettable plays and one-in-a-million players, First Team Dad is your ticket to create a legacy of significance in your family. "It's my hope that by reading First Team Dad you will be motivated to do a better job of leading your family and that you will reach out to other men you know to help them catch this vision."--Tony Dungy, former NFL head coach and bestselling author "Knowing Drew, I've been encouraged and challenged by his example and wisdom--read this book so you can get to know this man as well."--John Schneider, executive vice president and general manager, Seattle Seahawks "To the football fan's delight, Drew shares behind-the-scenes stories about his experiences with famous players and coaches in order to demonstrate practical points about having a strong family. I believe every man who reads this book will walk away inspired and will have a game plan for his own family."--Robert Morris, founding senior pastor, Gateway Church, Dallas Texas; bestselling author, The Blessed Life

There is a competitive advantage out there, arguably more powerful than any other. Is it superior strategy? Faster innovation? Smarter employees? No, New York Times best-selling author, Patrick Lencioni, argues that the seminal difference between successful companies and mediocre ones has little to do with what they know and how smart they are and more to do with how healthy they are. In this book, Lencioni brings together his vast experience and many of the themes cultivated in his other best-selling books and delivers a first: a cohesive and comprehensive exploration of the unique advantage organizational health provides. Simply put, an organization is healthy when it is whole, consistent and complete, when its management, operations and culture are unified. Healthy organizations outperform their counterparts, are free of politics and confusion and provide an environment where star performers never want to leave. Lencioni’s first non-fiction book provides leaders with a groundbreaking, approachable model for achieving organizational health—complete with stories, tips and anecdotes from his experiences consulting to some of the nation’s leading organizations. In this age of informational ubiquity and nano-second change, it is no longer enough to build a competitive advantage based on intelligence alone. The Advantage provides a foundational construct for conducting business in a new way—one that maximizes human potential and aligns the organization around a common set of principles.

Larry Bond, New York Times bestselling author of Dangerous Ground, and Jim DeFelice have earned widespread acclaim for the gritty authenticity and spellbinding suspense of their military-political adventures involving the First Team. "The Team" lead by top CIA officer Bob Ferguson, and supported by Special Forces commando Stephen Rankin and Marine Jack Young, is authorized to take immediate action, beyond the bureaucratic restraints of US intelligence or the military establishment, in the ever-surprising War on Terror. After years of exhaustive negotiations, North Korea's Kim Jong Il abruptly agrees to surrender all of his nuclear weapons. This sudden change in policy has the US suspicious, and the Team is dispatched to uncover the truth. Newest Team operative, the young and beautiful Thera Majed, goes undercover during the preliminary inspections of the entire Korean peninsula, on a mission so sensitive that she will be disavowed if discovered. But when she discovers hidden weapons in South Korea, a firestorm of debate is set off in Washington. A public announcement of their suspicions could derail the North Korean agreement, and the South Korean government may not even be aware of the weapons' existence. Ferg and the rest of the Team jump in to investigate, and the closer they get to the truth, the harder mysterious forces work to keep them away. Someone is planning for a full-scale nuclear attack that would throw the civilized world into political and economic upheaval, and Ferg and the Team are the only ones in the position to stop them. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

From huddled command conferences to cramped cockpits, John Lundstrom guides readers through the maelstrom of air combat at Guadalcanal in this impressively researched sequel to his earlier study. Picking up the story after Midway, the author presents a scrupulously accurate account of what happened, describing in rich detail the actual planes and pilots pitted in the ferocious battles that helped turn the tide of war. Based on correspondence with 150 American and Japanese veterans, or their families, he reveals the thoughts, pressures, and fears of the airmen and their crews as he reconstructs the battles. These are the story of the Wildcat and Zero fighters, and the Dauntless, Avenger, Betty, Kate, and Val bombers. Lavishly illustrated with drawings, maps, and photographs, this fresh look at the campaign set a standard for aviation histories when first published in 1994.

In his classic book, The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, Patrick Lencioni laid out a groundbreaking approach for tackling the perilous group behaviors that destroy teamwork. Here he turns his focus to the individual, revealing the three indispensable virtues of an ideal team player. In The Ideal Team Player, Lencioni tells the story of Jeff Shanley, a leader desperate to save his uncle’s company by restoring its cultural commitment to teamwork. Jeff must crack the code on the virtues that real team players possess, and then build a culture of hiring and development around those virtues. Beyond the fable, Lencioni presents a practical framework and actionable tools for identifying, hiring, and developing ideal team players. Whether you’re a leader trying to create a culture around teamwork, a staffing professional looking to hire real team players, or a team player wanting to improve yourself, this book will prove to be as useful as it is compelling.

A basic overview of the Green Bay Packers, including their history and players. Also introduces football terminology, equipment and game rules.

The 1962 Green Bay Packers are still considered one of the most dominating teams in the history of the National Football League. In 2007, when the New England Patriots were trying to become the first team to go unbeaten during a 16-game season and win the Super Bowl, there were many stories written about their place in history, and the '62 Packers were always listed among the top three teams of all time. There are a number of books on the Packers already, showing a strong and sustained interest in one of the most popular sports franchises in America. There are also a number of books--though far fewer--on the Packers of the Vince Lombardi era. There has never been a book, however, focused on Lombardi's, and (arguably) pro football's, greatest team: the 1962 Packers. The 1962 Green Bay Packers will examine how the team was built and on Lombardi's coaching staff, how four of the five assistants went on to become head coaches -- Bill Austin, Tom Fears, Norb Hecker and Phil Bengtson. The team was rich with personalities, from the glamour-conscience Hourning to the emotional Nitschke to the determined Starr. Of course, the strongest personality of all was Lombardi's, who shaped

An award-winning journalist reveals the dramatic true story of the CIA's Team Alpha, the first Americans to be dropped behind enemy lines in Afghanistan after 9/11. America is reeling; Al-Qaeda has struck and thousands are dead. The country scrambles to respond, but the Pentagon has no plan for Afghanistan—where Osama bin Laden masterminded the attack and is protected by the Taliban. Instead, the CIA steps forward to spearhead the war. Eight CIA officers are dropped into the mountains of northern Afghanistan on October 17, 2001. They are Team Alpha, an eclectic band of linguists, tribal experts, and elite warriors: the first Americans to operate inside Taliban territory. Their covert mission is to track down Al- Qaeda and stop the terrorists from infiltrating the United States again. First Casualty places you with Team Alpha as the CIA rides into battle on horseback alongside the warlord Abdul Rashid Dostum. In Washington, DC, few trust that the CIA men, the Green Berets, and the Americans’ outnumbered Afghan allies can prevail before winter sets in. On the ground, Team Alpha is undeterred. The Taliban is routed but hatches a plot with Al-Qaeda to hit back. Hundreds of suicidal fighters, many hiding weapons, fake a surrender and are transported to Qala-i Jangi—the “Fort of War.” Team Alpha’s Mike Spann, an ex-Marine, and David Tyson, a polyglot former Central Asian studies academic, seize America’s initial opportunity to extract intelligence from men trained by bin Laden—among them a young Muslim convert from California. The prisoners revolt and one CIA officer falls—the first casualty in America’s longest war, which will last two decades. The other CIA man shoots dead the Al-Qaeda jihadists attacking his comrade. To survive, he must fight his way out against overwhelming odds. Award-winning author Toby Harnden gained unprecedented access to all living Team Alpha members and every level of the CIA. Superbly researched, First Casualty draws on extensive interviews, secret documents, and deep reporting inside Afghanistan. As gripping as any adventure novel, yet intimate and profoundly moving, it tells how America found a winning strategy only to abandon it. Harnden reveals that the lessons of early victory and the haunting foretelling it contained—unreliable allies, ethnic rivalries, suicide attacks, and errant US bombs—were ignored, tragically fueling a twenty-year conflict. "Masterful, complex, and heartfelt, from the deeply personal to the critically strategic. Captures many lessons on many levels." —Ambassador Hank Crumpton, former senior CIA officer