Grappling with centuries-old feuds, defeating a shrewd insurgency, and navigating the sometimes paralyzing bureaucracy of the U.S. military are issues that prompt sleepless nights for both policy makers in Washington and soldiers at war, albeit for different reasons. Few, however, have dealt with these issues in the White House situation room and on the front line. Michael G. Waltz has done just that, working as a policy advisor to Vice President Richard B. Cheney and also serving in the mountains of Afghanistan as a Green Beret, directly implementing strategy in the field that he helped devise in Washington. In Warrior Diplomat: A Green Beret’s Battles from Washington to Afghanistan Waltz shares his unique firsthand experiences, revealing the sights, sounds, emotions, and complexities involved in the war in Afghanistan. Waltz also highlights the policy issues that have plagued the war effort throughout the past decade, from the drug trade, to civilian casualties, to a lack of resources in comparison to Iraq, to the overall coalition strategy. At the same time, he points out that stabilizing Afghanistan and the region remains crucial to national security and that a long-term commitment along the lines of South Korea or Germany is imperative if America is to remain secure.

The founder -- Shadow diplomacy -- War by other means -- Chasing respectability -- Between truth and lies -- Diplomacy in retreat -- Selective integration -- Rethinking capitalism -- The fightback -- Ambition realized -- Overreach.

“[E]ver until the end — he retired in 1959 — a ‘diplomat among warriors’... this was Bob Murphy’s very special role. I doubt if any other diplomat has ever had an equivalent one. A normal Ambassador is assigned to prevent war or make peace. Much of his diplomacy was the diplomacy of war itself. He was a devoted, first-class public servant, a worthy companion to the great soldiers he accompanied. His memoirs, which include a great deal of fascinating, new historical material, should be widely read.” — C.L. Sulzberger, The New York Times “This important diplomatic memoir provides a wealth of rewarding insights and information about recent events in American foreign relations... Murphy’s lucid and well-written volume will be of great aid to the scholar and of absorbing interest to the general reader.” — Daniel M. Smith, The Journal of Modern History “[Robert Murphy’s] autobiography is more than a personal memoir; it is, in fact, a vivid history of our Foreign Service from an understaffed and inefficient bureau to ‘the finest diplomatic instrument in the world’... It is an important book, consistently readable, and thoroughly deserving to be every bit as long as it is.” — Kirkus “Diplomat Among Warriors gives a substantial account of the author’s participation in the execution of American foreign policy over a period of four eventful decades, 1917-1958... The narrative is interesting, sometimes exciting, and it contains many insights, much soul-searching, and even a few revelations, particularly for the period after 1940. The incisive characterization of actions, actors, and the author’s experiences is more dramatic and revealing than a systematic history could be... Murphy is an unassuming man. But modesty cannot disguise the key role he played in some dramatic events of contemporary history. Diplomat Among Warriors is a warm human story, written with great charm, compassion, and lucidity. It is a useful source for historians and the narrative is fascinating to the general reader.” — Stephen D. Kertesz, The Review of Politics

Captivating experiences from my unique childhood jump start the book. Human-interest vignettes punctuate fascinating accounts of developing the Predator drone, conducting the 2003 scud hunt in Iraq, and accompanying Senator Obama to Africa. I painfully describe surviving several terrorist attacks and then recount efforts to birth South Sudan.

More than a top Soviet bureaucrat

Leonardo da Vinci, Niccolò Machiavelli, and Cesare Borgia—three iconic figures whose intersecting lives provide the basis for this astonishing work of narrative history. They could not have been more different, and they would meet only for a short time in 1502, but the events that transpired when they did would significantly alter each man’s perceptions—and the course of Western history. In 1502, Italy was riven by conflict, with the city of Florence as the ultimate prize. Machiavelli, the consummate political manipulator, attempted to placate the savage Borgia by volunteering Leonardo to be Borgia’s chief military engineer. That autumn, the three men embarked together on a brief, perilous, and fateful journey through the mountains, remote villages, and hill towns of the Italian Romagna—the details of which were revealed in Machiavelli’s frequent dispatches and Leonardo’s meticulous notebooks. Superbly written and thoroughly researched, The Artist, the Philosopher, and the Warrior is a work of narrative genius—whose subject is the nature of genius itself.

Marine general Tony Zinni was known as the "Warrior Diplomat" during his nearly forty years of service. His credentials as a soldier were impeccable, whether he was leading troops in Vietnam, commanding hair-raising rescue operations in Somalia, or - as Commander in Chief of CENTCOM - directing strikes against Iraq and Al Qaeda. But it was as a peacemaker that he made just as great a mark - conducting dangerous troubleshooting missions all over Africa, Asia, and Europe, and then serving as Secretary of State Colin Powell's special envoy to the Middle East, before disagreements over the 2003 Iraq war and its probable aftermath caused him to resign." Battle Ready follows the evolution of both General Zinni and the Marine Corps, from the cauldron of Vietnam through the operational revolution of the '70s and '80s, to the new realities of the post-Cold War, post-9/11 military - a military with a radically different tools for accomplishing it. Opinions differ sharply about just what that job and those tools should be - and General Zinni makes it clear where he stands.

The absolute authority on Third Culture Kids for nearly two decades! In this 3rd edition of the ground-breaking global classic, Ruth E. Van Reken and Michael V. Pollock, son of the late original co-author, David C. Pollock, have significantly updated what is widely recognized as "The TCK Bible." Emphasis is on the modern TCK and addressing the impact of technology, cultural complexity, diversity and inclusion and transitions. Includes new advice for parents and others for how to support TCKs as they navigate work, relationships, social settings and their own personal development. New to this edition: · A second PolVan Cultural Identity diagram to support understanding of cultural identity · New models for identity formation · Updated explanation of unresolved grief · New material on "highly mobile communities" addressing the needs of people who stay put while a community around them moves rapidly · Revamped Section III so readers can more easily find what is relevant to them as Adult TCKs, parents, counselors, employers, spouses, administrators, etc. · New "stages and needs" tool that will help families and organizations identify and meet needs · Greater emphasis on tools for educators as they grapple with demographic shifts in the classroom

A portrait of empire through the biographies of a Native American, a Pacific Islander, and the British artist who painted them both Three interconnected eighteenth-century lives offer a fresh account of the British Empire and its intrusion into Indigenous societies. This engaging history brings together the stories of Joshua Reynolds and two Indigenous men, the Cherokee Ostenaco and the Raiatean Mai. Fullagar uncovers the life of Ostenaco, tracing his emergence as a warrior, his engagement with colonists through war and peace, and his eventual rejection of imperial politics during the American Revolution. She delves into the story of Mai, his confrontation with conquest and displacement, his voyage to London on Cook’s imperial expedition, and his return home with a burning ambition to right past wrongs. Woven throughout is a new history of Reynolds, growing up in Devon near a key port in England, becoming a portraitist of empire, rising to the top of Britain’s art world and yet remaining ambivalent about his nation’s expansionist trajectory.