The critically acclaimed account of life in Iraq under US occupation with a new afterword.

Robert Young Pelton first became aware of the phenomenon of hired guns in the War on Terror when he met a covert team of contractors on the Afghanistan/Pakistan border in the fall of 2003. Pelton soon embarked on a globe-spanning odyssey to penetrate and understand this shadowy world, ultimately delivering stunning insights into the way private soldiers are used. Enter a blood-soaked world of South African mercenaries and tribal fighters backed by ruthless financiers. Drop into Baghdad’s Green Zone, strap on body armor, and take a daily high-speed ride with a doomed crew of security contractors who dodge car bombs and snipers just to get their charges to the airport. Share a drink in a chic hotel bar with wealthy owners of private armies who debate the best way to stay alive in war zones. Licensed to Kill spans four continents and three years, taking us inside the CIA’s dirty wars; the brutal contractor murders in Fallujah and the Alamo-like sieges in Najaf and Al Kut; the Deep South contractor training camps where ex–Special Operations soldiers and even small town cops learn the ropes; the contractor conventions where macho attendees swap bullet-punctuated tales and discuss upcoming gigs; and the grim Central African prison where contractors turned failed mercenaries pay a steep price. The United States has encouraged the use of the private sector in all facets of the War on Terror, placing contractors outside the bounds of functional legal constraints. With the shocking clarity that can come only from firsthand observation, Licensed to Kill painstakingly deconstructs the most controversial events and introduces the pivotal players. Most disturbingly, it shows that there are indeed thousands of contractors—with hundreds more being produced every month—who’ve been given a license to kill, their services available to the highest bidder.

Three men: an Iraqi, a former coalition soldier and a journalist, drive together from Baghdad towards Fallujah as the US Marines encircle the city to take it apart. It seems the men are on a single mission to seek a recent kidnap victim, but in truth all three have very different aims in the besieged town, and each keep a dark secret from the others. Greed, ambition - and guilt - are what separates their individual motivations, but a single miscalculation could bring an end to them all . . .

Leadership for Green Schools provides aspiring and practicing leaders with the tools they need to facilitate the design, leadership, and management of greener, more sustainable schools. Framed by theory and research, this text draws from the fields of sustainability science, built learning environment, and educational leadership to explain what green schools look like, what role school buildings play in advancing sustainable organizational and instructional practices, and why school leaders are "greening" their leadership. Sustainability can often seem like an unreachable, utopian set of goals, but this important resource uses illustrative examples of successful schools and leaders to show how establishing and managing green schools aligns with the work they are already doing to restore engaged learning within their schools and communities. Leadership for Green Schools is a unique and important resource to help leaders reduce the environmental impact of school buildings and immerse students in purposeful, meaningful learning for a sustainable, just future. Special Features: Examples from award-winning schools and leaders—best-practices and illustrative examples throughout make whole school sustainability come to life and show how green leadership is a real possibility for the reader. Aligned with Professional Standards for Educational Leadership—provides the tools necessary for leaders to advance sustainability goals while at the same time fulfilling the core purposes of their job. End-of-chapter discussion questions—valuable pedagogical tools invite personal reflection and conversation.

Kiki and Mish are best friends, but what Kiki doesn?t know is that Michelle Pena was born a gang princess. ?Princess P? grew up destined to inherit leadership of the Snakes: a future filled with crime and fear. Michelle, on the other hand, is a nationally ranked athlete and academic superstar. This is her new life, and she?s finally put her past?and her childhood love for Silver?to rest. Then Silver helps kidnap both girls, and Michelle has to figure out how to free them both?and reconnect with a future that might now be beyond her reach.

In his fourth book on President George W. Bush and his controversial 'War on Terror,' Bob Woodward takes us behind closed doors, into the hidden rooms of the White House, the Pentagon, the State Department, and US intelligence agencies, where the details of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan were fiercely debated and eventually determined. Today, the Iraq War is a major source of contention around the world, and may become the defining political, social and moral issue of this brief period in American history. In an attempt to understand the Bush presidency, and its divisive legacy, Woodward examines this conflict at its source: in Washington D.C. This fast-paced, groundbreaking book includes never-before-published information, as Woodward draws upon his vast experience a veteran political journalist to provide a richly detailed and meticulously researched examination of the war in Iraq over the past two years. In The War Within, Woodward expands upon his study of the Bush administration in his previous three books, with his signature authoritative, measured, and deeply human sense of perspective.

When Blake Adams enters a contest set up by a Corporate Mephistopheles who seduces others into his power schemes, he realizes that his obsession with a game of solitaire called Gaps reveals a solution. He travels to Baghdad, Kigali, Manzini, down the Current River, to the resort town of Branson and through the Corporate world with his sexy wife Brooksie and his trusted friend Jonathan, searching for the key to unlock the confusion about family values and the meaning to life. This is a novel about the search for significance and the discovery of authenticity, investigating the nuances of sex, abuse of political power and the contest for spiritual and social values. This romance/mystery offers a poetic love story reserved for mature readers.

From the authors of Walk in My Combat Boots, “American Heroes is a gripping collection of firsthand accounts…capturing the indomitable spirit of our nation’s finest” (Jack Carr, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Terminal List series). U.S. soldiers who served in overseas conflicts—from World War II, Korea, and Vietnam to Iraq and Afghanistan—share true stories of the actions that earned them some of America’s most distinguished military medals, up to and including the Medal of Honor. They never acted alone, but always in the spirit of camaraderie, patriotism, and for the good of our beloved country. There has never been a better time for all of us to think about duty, sacrifice, and what it means to be an American hero.