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Book Masters of Chaos

    Book Details:
  • Author : Linda Robinson
  • Publisher : PublicAffairs
  • Release : 2009-03-05
  • ISBN : 0786738154
  • Pages : 418 pages

Download or read book Masters of Chaos written by Linda Robinson and published by PublicAffairs. This book was released on 2009-03-05 with total page 418 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Special Forces soldiers are daring, seasoned troops from America's heartland, selected in a tough competition and trained in an extraordinary range of skills. They know foreign languages and cultures and unconventional warfare better than any U.S. fighters, and while they prefer to stay out of the limelight, veteran war correspondent Linda Robinson gained access to their closed world. She traveled with them on the frontlines, interviewed them at length on their home bases, and studied their doctrine, methods and history. In Masters of Chaos she tells their story through a select group of senior sergeants and field-grade officers, a band of unforgettable characters like Rawhide, Killer, Michael T, and Alan -- led by the unflappable Lt. Col. Chris Conner and Col. Charlie Cleveland, a brilliant but self-effacing West Pointer who led the largest unconventional war campaign since Vietnam in northern Iraq. Robinson follows the Special Forces from their first post-Vietnam combat in Panama, El Salvador, Desert Storm, Somalia, and the Balkans to their recent trials and triumphs in Afghanistan and Iraq. She witnessed their secret sleuthing and unsung successes in southern Iraq, and recounts here for the first time the dramatic firefights of the western desert. Her blow-by-blow story of the attack on Ansar al-Islam's international terrorist training camp has never been told before. The most comprehensive account ever of the modern-day Special Forces in action, Masters of Chaos is filled with riveting, intimate detail in the words of a close-knit band of soldiers who have done it all.

Book Secret and Special

    Book Details:
  • Author : Will Davies
  • Publisher : Random House Australia
  • Release : 2021-03-02
  • ISBN : 0143784994
  • Pages : 402 pages

Download or read book Secret and Special written by Will Davies and published by Random House Australia. This book was released on 2021-03-02 with total page 402 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Soon after the declaration of war on Japan, a secret military reconnaissance unit was established, based on the British Special Operations Executive (known as SOE) and called the Inter-allied Services Department. The unit was tasked with the role to "obtain and report information of the enemy ... weaken the enemy by sabotage and destruction of morale and to lend aid and assistance to local efforts to the same end in enemy occupied territories." In 1943 it became known under the cover name Special Reconnaissance Department (SRD) and included some British officers who had escaped from Singapore. After arriving in Australia, they assembled in Melbourne, forming the nucleus of ISD and together with some Australians established what became the Z Special Unit. Training began in a number of locations around Australia including on Fraser Island off the Queensland coast, In Broken Bay near Sydney, at Careening Bay in Western Australia, at the “House on the Hill” in Cairns and at East Arm near Darwin. From these training areas and bases, Z Special undertook intelligence gathering and raiding missions throughout Southeast Asia including New Guinea, Singapore, Timor, Malaya, Borneo, Vietnam and the Dutch East Indies. The first operation was Jaywick in September 1943. Led by a 28 year old officer from the Gordon Highlanders, Captain Ivan Lyon. Using an old Japanese fishing boat renamed Krait this captured vessel was re-fitted and provisioned for a voyage from Australia to just south of Singapore where it released six commandos in three folding kayaks to attack Japanese shipping in the harbour. They placed limpet mines on several Japanese ships sinking 40,000 tons of shipping. After the successful attack, they paddled south, were picked up by the Krait and successfully returned to Australia. This was followed by Operation Rimau again led by Lyon but this time things went very wrong very early. Identified, they made a fighting withdrawal but all of the raiding party were shot or captured, with the last ten being executed just before the end of the war. Important in Z Special operations were a number of vessels designated “snake boats”. Four 66’ modified trawlers were constructed as well as a range of Asian vessels that allowed their operation in South East Asian areas of operation. One Z Special, the last in PNG, set out on the night of the 11 April 1945. Eight operatives were landed on the Japanese held island of Muschu about five kilometres off the coast near Wewak to determine the status of two 140mm Japanese naval guns that had been placed there. These guns would prove dangerous to planned naval landings at Wewak, and allied command needed to know if these were operational. The operatives were launched in four double folding kayaks from a HTML fast crash boat but the current carried them away from their landing position and the surf capsized their boats. The men swam ashore but both their radio and their signal torches had been destroyed and the men had no way of connecting with the return crash boat. Soon their lost equipment was found by the Japanese and a massive search with 1,000 troops scoured the island. Quite soon seven of the eight men had been captured, killed or died trying to swim to the mainland and only one man, Sergeant ‘Mick’ Dennis remained. Over the next three days he continued a one man war, fighting off Japanese patrols and living off the land. Unable to do this for long, he took to the dangerous shark and crocodile infested waters and with the aid of a log, paddled to the mainland. Landing on a Japanese controlled beach, he snuck ashore and after further firefights and a difficult journey travelling west, he finally was found by an Australian patrol. Mick Dennis was able to provide valuable information and for his service and bravery, was awarded a Military Medal. During the course of the war, Z Special Unit carried out 81 covert operations in the Southwest Pacific theatre. While the unit was disbanded after the end of the war, many of its techniques would be modified and used by Australian Special Forces to this day.

Book Killer Elite

    Book Details:
  • Author : Michael Smith
  • Publisher : Macmillan
  • Release : 2008-03-04
  • ISBN : 9780312378264
  • Pages : 388 pages

Download or read book Killer Elite written by Michael Smith and published by Macmillan. This book was released on 2008-03-04 with total page 388 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A British journalist specializing in defense topics offers a readable, useful addition to the literature on American special operations forces.

Book Rose s Special Secret

Download or read book Rose s Special Secret written by Kay Woodward and published by Frederick Warne Publishers. This book was released on 2006 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Rose's old home has been destroyed, so she sets off into the great unknown to find a new place to life. After a magical journey, she arrives in Flower Fairyland. But she can find nowhere to live, until she discovers an old overgrown thicket in a far corner of the garden where no-one goes.

Book The Secret Lunch Special

Download or read book The Secret Lunch Special written by Peter Catalanotto and published by Henry Holt and Company (BYR). This book was released on 2014-12-16 with total page 65 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Meet Emily, and her new friend—sort of . . . Emily loves her shiny black lunch bag—the jewels, the way it sparkles. But one day a new school bus picks her up, and in the confusion she forgets her lunch bag on the bus. Will she get a ticket, like that loud girl Vincetta Louise said? Or will Emily be forced to eat the Secret Lunch Special? From fickle friendships to mystery meat, kids everywhere will identify with Emily as she navigates the rough waters of second grade.

Book The Super Secret Special Powers Club

    Book Details:
  • Author : Justin T. Miller
  • Publisher : Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
  • Release : 2017-01-31
  • ISBN : 9781541070790
  • Pages : 176 pages

Download or read book The Super Secret Special Powers Club written by Justin T. Miller and published by Createspace Independent Publishing Platform. This book was released on 2017-01-31 with total page 176 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: -I can just feel that you have a power, - Prince Gold tells his neighbor Ashley Pea one day. Ashley is surprised. She didn't realize she had any kind of special ability. Instead, Ashley is often the victim of other kids' taunts and tricks. They make fun of her last name and her love of books. The three meanest bullies even tried to steal her book! Fortunately, Prince shows up and the bullies are instantly stopped from harming Ashley or her possessions. Prince has a special power, and he uses it to help people. Now, he tells Ashley that she also has a power of her own. The two will have to discover the true extent of their abilities when a local bank is robbed. No one can figure out how the thieves got in or out with the contents of the bank vault. It looks like a job for the Super Secret Special Powers Club! Together, Prince and Ashley will try to discover the secret of the strange heist and catch the crooks before they can strike again! The Super Secret Special Powers Club is the debut book of Justin T. Miller's charming new series about two daring young detectives.

Book Relentless Strike

    Book Details:
  • Author : Sean Naylor
  • Publisher : St. Martin's Press
  • Release : 2015-09-01
  • ISBN : 1466876220
  • Pages : 692 pages

Download or read book Relentless Strike written by Sean Naylor and published by St. Martin's Press. This book was released on 2015-09-01 with total page 692 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The New York Times Bestseller and Winner of the 2015 Army Historical Foundation Distinguished Writing Award for Unit History. Since the attacks of September 11, one organization has been at the forefront of America's military response. Its efforts turned the tide against al-Qaida in Iraq, killed Bin Laden and Zarqawi, rescued Captain Phillips and captured Saddam Hussein. Its commander can direct cruise missile strikes from nuclear submarines and conduct special operations raids anywhere in the world. Relentless Strike tells the inside story of Joint Special Operations Command, the secret military organization that during the past decade has revolutionized counterterrorism, seamlessly fusing intelligence and operational skills to conduct missions that hit the headlines, and those that have remained in the shadows-until now. Because JSOC includes the military's most storied special operations units-Delta Force, SEAL Team 6, the 75th Ranger Regiment-as well as America's most secret aviation and intelligence units, this is their story, too. Relentless Strike reveals tension-drenched meetings in war rooms from the Pentagon to Iraq and special operations battles from the cabin of an MH-60 Black Hawk to the driver's seat of Delta Force's Pinzgauer vehicles as they approach their targets. Through exclusive interviews, reporter Sean Naylor uses his unique access to reveal how an organization designed in the 1980s for a very limited mission set transformed itself after 9/11 to become the military's premier weapon in the war against terrorism and how it continues to evolve today.

Book Secret Alliances

Download or read book Secret Alliances written by Tony Insall and published by Biteback Publishing. This book was released on 2021-04-08 with total page 530 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Europe, 1940. Nazi forces sweep across the continent, with A British invasion likely only weeks away. Never before has a resistance movement been so crucial to the war effort. In this definitive appraisal of Anglo-Norwegian cooperation in the Second World War, Tony Insall reveals how some of the most striking successes of the Norwegian resistance were the reports produced by the heroic SIS agents living in the country's desolate wilderness. Their coast-watching intelligence highlighted the movements of the German fleet and led to counter-strikes which sank many enemy ships – most notably the Tirpitz in November 1944. Using previously unpublished archival material from London, Oslo and Moscow, Insall explores how SIS and SOE worked effectively with their Norwegian counterparts to produce some of the most remarkable achievements of the Second World War.

Book A Special Friend

    Book Details:
  • Author : Linda Chapman
  • Publisher : Puffin
  • Release : 2018-05
  • ISBN : 9780241354230
  • Pages : 144 pages

Download or read book A Special Friend written by Linda Chapman and published by Puffin. This book was released on 2018-05 with total page 144 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Lauren is almost sure that Moonshine, the scruffy grey pony at the dealer's stable, is another secret unicorn who hasn't yet found a unicorn friend to turn her into her magical shape. Feeling sorry for the lonely pony, Lauren pays her a visit and is surprised to see a strange boy talking softly to Moonshine and stroking her. Michael explains that he loves ponies but his foster parents won't let him have one because, among other things, they live in the city. Lauren and her unicorn, Twilight,are certain that Michael is the special friend that Moonshine needs and are determined to unite them before the summer holidays end and Michael has to return home.

Book Rogue Heroes

    Book Details:
  • Author : Ben Macintyre
  • Publisher : Crown
  • Release : 2016-10-04
  • ISBN : 1101904178
  • Pages : 344 pages

Download or read book Rogue Heroes written by Ben Macintyre and published by Crown. This book was released on 2016-10-04 with total page 344 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The incredible untold story of World War II’s greatest secret fighting force, as told by the modern master of wartime intrigue—now a limited series on Epix! “Reads like a mashup of The Dirty Dozen and The Great Escape, with a sprinkling of Ocean’s 11 thrown in for good measure.”—Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times ONE OF NPR’S BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR • “Rogue Heroes is a ripping good read.”—Washington Post (10 Best Books of the Year) Britain’s Special Air Service—or SAS—was the brainchild of David Stirling, a young aristocrat whose aimlessness belied a remarkable strategic mind. Where most of his colleagues looked at a World War II battlefield map and saw a protracted struggle, Stirling saw an opportunity: given a small number of elite men, he could parachute behind Nazi lines and sabotage their airplanes and supplies. Defying his superiors’ conventional wisdom, Stirling assembled a revolutionary fighting force that would upend not just the balance of the war, but the nature of combat itself. Bringing his keen eye for detail to a riveting wartime narrative, Ben Macintyre uses his unprecedented access to the SAS archives to shine a light on a legendary unit long shrouded in secrecy.

Book The Secret  Book   Scone Society

Download or read book The Secret Book Scone Society written by Ellery Adams and published by Kensington Cozies. This book was released on 2017-10-31 with total page 321 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: First in the mystery series from the New York Times-bestselling author: “Anyone who loves novels that revolve around books will savor this tasty treat.”—Library Journal (starred review) A quirky club in small-town North Carolina holds the keys to health, happiness, friendship—and even solving a murder—all to be found within the pages of the right book… Strangers flock to Miracle Springs hoping the natural hot springs, five-star cuisine, and renowned spa can cure their ills. If none of that works, they often find their way to Miracle Books, where, over a fresh-baked “comfort” scone, they exchange their stories with owner Nora Pennington in return for a carefully chosen book. That’s Nora’s special talent—prescribing the perfect novel to ease a person’s deepest pain. So when a visiting businessman reaches out for guidance, Nora knows exactly how to help. But before he can keep their appointment, he’s found dead on the train tracks. Stunned, Nora forms the Secret, Book, and Scone Society, a group of damaged souls yearning to earn redemption by helping others. To join, members must divulge their darkest secret—the terrible truth that brought each of them to Miracle Springs in the first place. Now, determined to uncover the truth behind the businessman’s demise, the women meet in Nora’s cozy bookstore. And as they untangle a web of corruption, they also discover their own courage, purpose, and a sisterhood that will carry them through every challenge—proving it’s never too late to turn the page and start over… “Adams kicks off a new series featuring strong women, a touch of romance and mysticism, and both the cunning present-day mystery and the slowly revealed secrets of the intriguing heroines’ pasts.”—Kirkus Reviews

Book Snowy s Special Secret

Download or read book Snowy s Special Secret written by Guido van Genechten and published by . This book was released on 2005 with total page 32 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Snowy the polar bear wants to show his mother that he loves her more than anything else in the world by making a special gift for her, but to do that, he has to sneak away every chance he gets.

Book Top Secret Files

    Book Details:
  • Author : Stephanie Bearce
  • Publisher : Routledge
  • Release : 2021-09-23
  • ISBN : 1000490041
  • Pages : 139 pages

Download or read book Top Secret Files written by Stephanie Bearce and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2021-09-23 with total page 139 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Poison dart umbrellas and cyanide guns were all a part of the arsenal of tools used by spies of the Soviet KGB, American CIA, and British MI6, but you won't learn that in your history books! Learn the true stories of the Cold War and how spies used listening devices planted in live cats and wristwatch cameras. Discover how East Germans tried to ride zip lines to freedom, while the Cambridge Four infiltrated Britain and rockets raced to the moon. Then make your own submarines and practice writing secret codes. It's all part of the true stories from the Top Secret Files: The Cold War. Take a look if you dare, but be careful! Some secrets are meant to stay hidden . . . Ages 9-12

Book Semut

    Book Details:
  • Author : Christine Helliwell
  • Publisher : Penguin Group Australia
  • Release : 2021-07-02
  • ISBN : 014379003X
  • Pages : 456 pages

Download or read book Semut written by Christine Helliwell and published by Penguin Group Australia. This book was released on 2021-07-02 with total page 456 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: March 1945. A handful of young Allied operatives are parachuted into the remote jungled heart of the Japanese-occupied island of Borneo, east of Singapore, there to recruit the island’s indigenous Dayak peoples to fight the Japanese. Yet most have barely encountered Asian or indigenous people before, speak next to no Borneo languages, and know little about Dayaks, other than that they have been – and may still be – headhunters. They fear that on arrival the Dayaks will kill them or hand them over to the Japanese. For their part, some Dayaks have never before seen a white face. So begins the story of Operation Semut, an Australian secret operation launched by the organisation codenamed Services Reconnaisance Department – popularly known as Z Special Unit – in the final months of WWII. Anthropologist Christine Helliwell has called on her years of first-hand knowledge of Borneo, interviewed more than one hundred Dayak people and all the remaining Semut operatives, and consulted thousands of military and other documents to piece together this astonishing story. Focusing on the operation's activities along two of Borneo’s great rivers – the Baram and Rejang – the book provides a detailed military history of Semut II’s and Semut III’s brutal guerrilla campaign against the Japanese, and reveals the decisive but long-overlooked Dayak role in the operation. But this is no ordinary history. Helliwell captures vividly the sounds, smells and tastes of the jungles into which the operatives are plunged, an environment so terrifying that many are unsure whether jungle or Japanese is the greater enemy. And she takes us into the lives and cavernous longhouses of the Dayaks on whom their survival depends. The result is a truly unique account of the encounter between two very different cultures amidst the savagery of the Pacific War.

Book Sonya s Special Secret

    Book Details:
  • Author : Elizabeth Pappas
  • Publisher : Reader's Digest Young Families
  • Release : 1998-03
  • ISBN : 9781575842011
  • Pages : 0 pages

Download or read book Sonya s Special Secret written by Elizabeth Pappas and published by Reader's Digest Young Families. This book was released on 1998-03 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Book The Secret Life of Special Advisers

Download or read book The Secret Life of Special Advisers written by Peter Cardwell and published by Biteback Publishing. This book was released on 2022-06-14 with total page 183 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "A cracking read by a great writer." – Chris Mason, BBC political editor "A rare, fascinating and funny look at life in the corridors of power." – Isabel Hardman, author of Why We Get the Wrong Politicians and Spectator assistant editor "It's the book we have long needed." – Michael Crick "A timely look at how some of the key relationships in Westminster work, and how they sometimes misfire." – Laura Kuenssberg, BBC presenter and former political editor *** Shadowy geniuses whispering, Rasputin-like, into the ears of our elected politicians under a cloak of secrecy, or a crucial but undervalued cog in the machinery of government? ... Or just a rag-tag band of weirdos and misfits? Despite the acres of speculation devoted to special advisers from Alastair Campbell to Dominic Cummings, their role is much misunderstood. Who are the people Piers Morgan once called 'these miserable little creatures' and just how much influence do they have? Peter Cardwell served as SpAd to four Cabinet ministers, acting as media adviser, political fixer, troubleshooter and occasional wardrobe consultant. In this candid, compelling and frequently hilarious insider account, he reveals what the job really involves, from dealing with counter-terror emergencies in Cobra to explaining to the Justice Secretary what a dental dam is, to having your inside leg measured in a government office. Packed with advice on navigating the perks and pitfalls of the job, The Secret Life of Special Advisers will inform and entertain anyone who has ever wondered what these mysterious figures really do all day.

Book The Secret of the First One Up

Download or read book The Secret of the First One Up written by Iris Hiskey and published by NorthWord Books for Young Readers. This book was released on 2003 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Kindergarten-Grade 2-When Lila, a young groundhog, objects to going to sleep for the winter, Uncle Wilbur tells her to rest so that she can try to be the first one to wake up in the spring and discover a big secret. She is indeed the first groundhog to awaken and quickly runs up the tunnel and outdoors, where she is greeted by all of the animals that do not hibernate and learns from them how important her shadow is. Lovely, warm illustrations, created with gouache, colored pencils, and acrylics, depict the groundhog household as well as a variety of winter animals. A short note on Groundhog Day is appended. This book can be used for holiday celebrations or as an addition to a storytime or unit on hibernation. ---SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL