Freedom Memoir

Valerie Wilson, the object of the "Plame" CIA leak case that resulted in the conviction of the vice-president's chief of staff, Scooter Libby, has spoken publicly only twice since she was outed in July 2003. Now she tells not only the real story behind the leak, but describes her life at the CIA and what happened when her cover was blown.

For soldiers in the 101st Airborne Division, the road to Baghdad began with a midnight flight out of Fort Campbell, Kentucky, in late February 2003. For Rick Atkinson, who would spend nearly two months covering the division for The Washington Post, the war in Iraq provided a unique opportunity to observe today's U.S. Army in combat.

Addressing the leaders of today and tomorrow, An Other World alternates between heart-wrenching but hopeful letters to Hanif Fazal’s daughter Amina, reflections on Fazal’s formative life experiences and lessons on identity, Black and Brown relationships, and a unique type of freedom that could be available to all of us. In this moving blend of social commentary and memoir with a call to action, Fazal—co-founder of the Center for Equity and Inclusion—documents his journey towards Black and Brown joy, freedom, and belonging

What if the government decided to invent a great lie to justify a disastrous war? What would happen to the people who know the truth? Extreme Prejudice delivers an explosive, high tension expose of the real facts surrounding the CIA's advance warning of 9/11 and an insider's look at Iraqi pre-war intelligence, told by one of the very few US assets covering Iraq before the war.

Master Sergeant Jan W. “Dutch” Wierenga is a little known but highly respected Special Forces and CIA legend. He has served the USA for 60 years in total, in some of the most dangerous and difficult circumstances imaginable. Born in Indonesia in 1936, he and his family spent a total of four years imprisoned in Japanese and Indonesian internment camps under unspeakably harsh conditions. They were rescued under fire by British Gurkha troops in 1946. He was running jungle combat patrols by age 16, and emigrated to Holland by cargo ship in 1955.

"Like the Wind I Go" is a sweeping memoir about identity and independence, as a young man grapples with his burgeoning adulthood and an ancient empire faces its final hours of existence. It’s 1978, and Iran is swept up in a revolutionary fever. Still in college, author Vahid Imani remains cautious, even as his friends and family celebrate a new vision for the country. The people demand democracy, but is that what awaits them? Then, a mysterious tragedy. Vahid stumbles upon the corpse of his missing neighbor, hanging from the beams of his warehouse. He’s just one of many acquaintances to...

On Faith is an inspiring collection of the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia's reflections on his own faith, on the challenges that religious believers face in modern America, and on the religious freedoms protected by the Constitution. Featuring a personal introduction by Justice Scalia's son Father Paul Scalia, this volume will enrich every listener's understanding of the legendary justice.

For sixteen years, Angela Merkel was Chancellor of Germany. She led the country through numerous crises, shaping both Germany and international politics with her actions and attitudes. In her memoirs, co-written with her long-time political advisor Beate Baumann, she reflects on her life in two German states - thirty-five years in the German Democratic Republic, thirty-five years in reunited Germany.

This audio adaptation focuses primarily on Martin Luther King, Jr. and the key moments that defined his rise to the forefront of the civil rights movement. From Rosa Parks' monumental arrest in Montgomery to King's imprisonment in Birmingham and his triumphant march on Washington, Taylor Branch provides an unsurpassed portrait of King's rise to greatness.

When civil rights leader Hosea Lorenzo Williams died in 2000, US Congressman John Lewis said of him, "Hosea Williams must be looked upon as one of the founding fathers of the new America. Through his actions, he helped liberate all of us."

A true story as exhilarating as a great spy thriller, as turbulent as today's headlines from the Middle East, A Time to Betray reveals what no other previous CIA operative's memoir possibly could: the inner workings of the notorious Revolutionary Guards of Iran, as witnessed by an Iranian man inside their ranks who spied for the American government.

Intrepid's Last Case chronicles the post-World War II activities of Sir William Stephenson, whose fascinating role in helping to defeat the Nazis was the subject of the worldwide best seller A Man Called Intrepid.

The fascinating and very moving story of the lovers, lawyers, judges, and activists behind the groundbreaking Supreme Court case that led to one of the most important national civil rights victories in decades - the legalization of same-sex marriage.

From Mae West and Lenny Bruce to Richard Pryor and Howard Stern to Kathy Griffith and Kevin Hart, comedians have long been under fire for using provocative, often taboo subjects to challenge mores and get a laugh. But in the age of social media, comedians are at greater risk of being silenced, enduring shaming, threats, and damaged careers because of angry, censorious electronic mobs.

A Sea Between Us is the harrowing true story of Yosely Pereira, the love of his life, Taire, and their incredible fight to escape the brutal bonds of communist Cuba. Ninety miles lay between their island prison and their dreams. But crossing those miles was only the beginning of this gripping journey. After building a boat and enduring the Florida Straits, Yosely secured his freedom, but his own escape was not enough. Taire and their two young children still needed to be rescued.

After details of American government surveillance were published in 2013, Edward Snowden, formerly a subcontracted IT analyst for the NSA, became the center of an international controversy: Was he a hero, traitor, whistle-blower, spy? Was his theft legitimized by the nature of the information he exposed? When is it necessary for governmental transparency to give way to subterfuge? Edward Jay Epstein brings a lifetime of journalistic and investigative acumen to bear on these and other questions.

Somalia, on the tip of the Horn of Africa, has been inhabited as far back as 9,000 BC. Its history is as rich as the country is old. Caught up in a decades-long civil war, Somalia, along with Iraq and Afghanistan, has become one of the most dangerous countries in the world. Getting there is a 45-hour, five-flight voyage through Frankfurt, Dubai, Djibouti, Bosaso (on the Gulf of Aden), and, finally, Galkayo. Somalia is a place where a government has been built out of anarchy.

Mark Felt's role in history was secured when he decided to share his views on the Watergate break-in with a young reporter on the Washington Post named Bob Woodward. He made sure that the greatest political scandal in the 20th century, which would besmirch an entire administration and bring down a presidency, was revealed in an unchallengeable way.

Arrested in 1962 as South Africa's apartheid regime intensified its brutal campaign against political opponents, 44-year-old lawyer and African National Congress activist Nelson Mandela had no idea that he would spend the next 27 years in jail. During his 10,052 days of incarceration, Mandela wrote hundreds of letters to unyielding prison authorities, fellow activists, government officials, and, most memorably, his courageous wife, Winnie, and his five children. Now, 255 of these letters, a majority of which were previously unpublished, provide the most intimate portrait of Mandela since Long Walk to Freedom.

By March 4, 1865, the Civil War had slaughtered more than 700,000 Americans. After a morning of rain-drenched fury, tens of thousands crowded Washington’s Capitol grounds that day to see Abraham Lincoln take the oath for a second term. As the sun emerged, Lincoln rose to give perhaps the greatest inaugural address in American history, stunning the nation by arguing, in a brief 701 words, that both sides had been wrong, and that the war’s unimaginable horrors - every drop of blood spilled - might well have been God’s just verdict on the national sin of slavery.