Military Disasters

So said Brigadier S. James Hill, commanding officer of the British 3rd Parachute Brigade, in an address to his troops shortly before the launching of Operation Overlord - the D-Day invasion of Normandy. No more prophetic words were ever spoken, for chaos indeed reigned on that day, and many more that followed.

An astonishing civil rights story from Newbery Honor winner and National Book Award finalist Steve Sheinkin. On July 17, 1944, a massive explosion rocked the segregated Navy base at Port Chicago, California, killing more than 300 sailors who were at the docks, critically injuring off-duty men in their bunks, and shattering windows up to a mile away. On August 9th, 244 men refused to go back to work until unsafe and unfair conditions at the docks were addressed. When the dust settled, fifty were charged with mutiny, facing decades in jail and even execution.

What do elite members of the military, first responders in the disaster zone, and high-performing leaders in fast-paced, high-pressure, modern day organizations have in common? The ability to have clarity of mind and purpose when surrounded by chaos. To operate at peak performance under risk. To be able to see clearly when others are blinded by fear, and act when others are paralyzed. To craft plans even with incomplete information, then execute those plans decisively...

In Charlie Mike, Joe Klein tells the dramatic story of Eric Greitens and Jake Wood, larger-than-life war heroes who come home and use their military discipline and values to help others. This is a story that hasn't been told before, one of the most hopeful to emerge from Iraq and Afghanistan - a saga of lives saved, not wasted.

Killian ‘Ricochet’ Briscoe was lonely. Rumors flew about the coming changes with the team, whispers in corridors, and he knew that he needed to brace himself – never expecting to have his life handed to him on a silver platter… with a tarnished, dirty spoon. Fate had a sick sense of humor. Destiny Richards desperately needed help and bribing the man who yearned for his freedom seemed like the ideal solution. She wanted a family and Killian needed a place to call home for four weeks out of the year when he took leave from the Air Force. A fake marriage seemed like a perfect remedy to...

Former US Navy Top Gun Kevin Sullivan, captain of the ill-fated Perth-bound QF72, breaks his silence to give a gripping account of how a rogue computer went 'psycho', causing the Airbus A330 he was piloting to pitch down, nose first, towards the Indian Ocean—twice. Unlike other well-publicised near air disasters, the plane carrying 315 passengers and crew was out of control, a g-force of –8 propelling anyone and anything untethered through the cabin roof. It took the extraordinary skill and presence of mind of the veteran Top Gun to wrestle back control of the plane.

The key to understanding the calamitous Afghan war is the complex, ultimately failed relationship between the powerful, duplicitous Karzai family and the United States, brilliantly portrayed here by the former Kabul bureau chief for The Washington Post.

Based on more than five years of clandestine reporting on the front lines, No Turning Back is an utterly engrossing human drama full of vivid, indelible characters that shows how hope can flourish even amid one of the 21st century's greatest humanitarian disasters.

Romeo and Juliet eat your heart out... Corporal Leo Talbot wished things would lighten up on the team. No one could appreciate a few practical jokes, and he desperately needed an outlet for the darkness within him. No one would understand the scars on his soul… until he received that first email from Sadie. Sadie Gomez thought writing some soldier overseas was the stupidest idea that her grief counselor entrusted her to do – especially anyone with the last name of Talbot. The nightmares wouldn’t simply go away by discussing them, especially when Leo was dealing with his own issues. ...

In December 1944, while supporting General MacArthur's invasion of the Philippines, Admiral William "Bull" Halsey neglected the Law of Storms, placing the mighty US Third Fleet in harm's way. Drawing on extensive interviews with nearly every living survivor and rescuer, as well as many families of lost sailors, transcripts and other records from naval courts of inquiry, ships' logs, personal letters, and diaries, Bruce Henderson finds some of the story's truest heroes exhibiting selflessness, courage, and even defiance.

Crater Lake is the deepest lake in the United States and at the bottom rests a B-1B bomber and its cargo of 24 nuclear weapons. Scott Tanner, a former Navy SEAL, and his eccentric partner, David Stafford, are called into action to recover the plane and its deadly cargo, a mission that could determine the fate of Crater Lake National Park forever. Tanner and Stafford soon discover the horrific facts surrounding the accident and are face to face with an enemy who will do anything to prevent the safe removal of the weapons. The terrorists are on the run and with them the means to detonate the ...

Following the Weavers Enclave Grand Exchange, Feng Yu and his party had decided to venture to the mysterious and renowned Five Element Mirage Zone in hopes of quickly improving their strength to the next level. Of course, their fame from their endeavors had garnered the interest of a few powerful forces and rogue assassin groups, each moving with their own intentions. With their overwhelming power, you would think their quest to be a simple one, but little did they know, the secret of the special zone would lead to an unexpected change and the start of a disaster.

The year was 1922: World War I had just come to a close, the Ottoman Empire was in decline, and Asa Jennings, a YMCA worker from upstate New York, had just arrived in the quiet coastal city of Smyrna to teach sports to boys. Several hundred miles to the east in Turkey's interior, tensions between Greeks and Turks had boiled over into deadly violence. Mustapha Kemal, now known as Ataturk, and his Muslim army soon advanced into Smyrna, a Christian city, where a half a million terrified Greek and Armenian refugees had fled in a desperate attempt to escape his troops.

Martin and Annelise Anderson drew upon their access to more than eight million classified documents housed within the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in California. What emerges from this treasure trove of material is evidence that Reagan intended from his first days in office to bring down the Soviet Union, that he considered eliminating nuclear weapons his paramount objective, and that he was the principal architect of the policies that brought the Soviets to the nuclear-arms negotiating table.

A riveting account of the greatest small-boat rescue in American history.

Ava is a Grim Reaper...a special forces soldier patrolling an earthquake flattened London. John is a citizen who has lost his wife and child when the largest earthquake in the world flattened London. Ava battles a group of terrorists called "The Red Hand," when she and her team mates are ambushed. Ava escapes, but is badly wounded. John discovers her in a broken alley, where his grief is broken by the sudden attraction he has to this soldier, who if he is not careful, will kill him if he unmasks her. But he has to unmask her to save her. What happens next will change everything..for both of...

The gripping story of a chemical weapons catastrophe, the cover-up, and how one American Army doctor’s discovery led to the development of the first drug to combat cancer, known today as chemotherapy.

His mission was top secret: deliver mysterious components of some superweapon that would end this awful war to the island of Tinian, then return to the fleet to prepare for the invasion of Japan. Little did Captain Charles McVay III know that he would survive his ship's sinking, shark attacks, starvation, and five days adrift in the Pacific Ocean before being rescued. Discover this untold story of Captain McVay and his amazing men of courage: the crew of the USS Indianapolis.

AN EPIC TALE OF VOLCANIC CATASTROPHE Mount Rainier is one of the most dangerous volcanoes on earth because of its awe-inspiring size and close proximity to the population centers of Seattle and Tacoma. What if this primordial giant were to erupt—tomorrow? Thomas P. Hopp vividly portrays the all-too-possible day when the mountain unleashes its pent-up fury. Enter a world gone mad with explosions that dwarf nuclear bombs, giant mudflows, choking ashfalls, and spouting red-hot lava. Flee in desperation with mountain climbers caught in the first outbursts. Experience one family’s struggle ...

There is a popular saying that declares "timing is everything", and in no other field of study is that truer than in history. For instance, under normal conditions, a ship that sank with more than 2,000 passengers aboard - most of whom died - would be big news, yet today the sinking of the SS Sultana is often overlooked if not entirely forgotten.