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The fifth act : America's end in Afghanistan / by Ackerman, Elliot,author.;
"A powerful and revelatory eyewitness account of the American collapse in Afghanistan, its desperate endgame, and the war's echoing legacy. Elliot Ackerman left the American military ten years ago, but his time in Afghanistan and Iraq with the Marines and, later, as a CIA paramilitary officer marked him indelibly. When the Taliban began to close in on Kabul in August of 2021 and the Afghan regime began its death spiral, he found himself pulled back into the conflict. Afghan nationals who had, for years, worked closely with the American military and intelligence communities now faced brutal reprisal and sought frantically to flee the country with their families. The official US government evacuation process was a bureaucratic failure that led to a humanitarian catastrophe. With his former colleagues, and friends, protecting the airport in Kabul, Ackerman was drawn into an impromptu effort alongside a group of journalists, and other veterans, to arrange flights and negotiate with both Taliban and American forces to secure the safe evacuation of hundreds. These were desperate measures taken during a desperate end to America's longest war, but the success they achieved afforded a degree of redemption. And, for Ackerman, a chance to reconcile his past with his present. The Fifth Act is an astonishing human document that brings the weight of twenty years of war to bear on a single week at its bitter end. Using the dramatic rescue efforts in Kabul as his lattice, Ackerman weaves in a personal history of the war's long progress, beginning with the initial invasion in the months after 9/11. It is a play in five acts, the fifth act being the story's tragic denouement, a prelude to Afghanistan's dark future. Any reader who wants to understand what went wrong with the war's trajectory will find a trenchant accounting here. And yet The Fifth Act is not an exercise in finger-pointing: it brings readers into close contact with a remarkable group of characters, American and Afghan, who fought the war with courage and dedication, in good faith and at great personal cost. Understanding combatants' experiences and sacrifices while reckoning with the complex bottom line of the post-9/11 wars is not an easy balance; it demands reservoirs of wisdom and the gifts of an extraordinary storyteller. It asks for an author willing to grapple with certain hard-earned truths. In Elliot Ackerman, this story has found that author. The Fifth Act is a first draft of history that feels like a timeless classic"--
Subjects: Ackerman, Elliot.; United States. Central Intelligence Agency.; United States. Marine Corps. Marine Regiment, 8th. Battalion, 1st.; Afghan War, 2001-2021; Afghan War, 2001-2021; Afghan War, 2001-2021; Disengagement (Military science); Paramilitary forces;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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The fishermen and the dragon : fear, greed, and a fight for justice on the gulf coast / by Johnson, Kirk W.,author.;
Includes bibliographical references and index."A gripping, twisting account of a small town set on fire by hatred, xenophobia, and ecological disaster--a story that weaves together corporate malfeasance, a battle over shrinking natural resources, a turning point in the modern white supremacist movement, and one woman's relentless battle for environmental justice. By the late 1970s, the fishermen of the Texas Gulf Coast were struggling. The bays that had sustained generations of shrimpers and crabbers before them were being poisoned by nearby petrochemical plants, oil spills, pesticides, and concrete. But as their nets came up light, the white shrimpers could only see one culprit: the small but growing number of newly resettled Vietnamese refugees who had recently started fishing. Turf was claimed. Guns were flashed. Threats were made. After a white crabber was killed by a young Vietnamese refugee in self-defense, the situation became a tinderbox primed to explode, and the Grand Dragon of the Texas Knights of the Ku Klux Klan saw an opportunity to stoke the fishermen's rage and prejudices. At a massive Klan rally near Galveston Bay one night in 1981, he strode over to an old boat graffitied with the words U.S.S. VIET CONG, torch in hand, and issued a ninety-day deadline for the refugees to leave or else "it's going to be a helluva lot more violent than Vietnam!" The white fishermen roared as the boat burned, convinced that if they could drive these newcomers from the coast, everything would return to normal. A shocking campaign of violence ensued, marked by burning crosses, conspiracy theories, death threats, torched boats, and heavily armed Klansmen patrolling Galveston Bay. The Vietnamese were on the brink of fleeing, until a charismatic leader in their community, a highly decorated colonel, convinced them to stand their ground by entrusting their fate with the Constitution. Drawing upon a trove of never-before-published material, including FBI and ATF records, unprecedented access to case files, and scores of firsthand interviews with Klansmen, shrimpers, law enforcement, environmental activists, lawyers, perpetrators and victims, Johnson uncovers secrets and secures confessions to crimes that went unsolved for more than forty years. This explosive investigation of a forgotten story, years in the making, ultimately leads Johnson to the doorstep of the one woman who could see clearly enough to recognize the true threat to the bays--and who now represents the fishermen's last hope"--
Subjects: Ku Klux Klan (1915- ); Fisheries; Refugees; Vietnamese;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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We don't know ourselves : a personal history of modern Ireland / by O'Toole, Fintan,1958-author.;
Includes bibliographical references and index."A celebrated Irish writer's magisterial, brilliantly insightful chronicle of the wrenching transformations that dragged his homeland into the modern world. Fintan O'Toole was born in the year the revolution began. It was 1958, and the Irish government?in despair, because all the young people were leaving?opened the country to foreign investment and popular culture. So began a decades-long, ongoing experiment with Irish national identity. In We Don't Know Ourselves, O'Toole, one of the Anglophone world's most consummate stylists, weaves his own experiences into Irish social, cultural, and economic change, showing how Ireland, in just one lifetime, has gone from a reactionary "backwater" to an almost totally open society-perhaps the most astonishing national transformation in modern history. Born to a working-class family in the Dublin suburbs, O'Toole served as an altar boy and attended a Christian Brothers school, much as his forebears did. He was enthralled by American Westerns suddenly appearing on Irish television, which were not that far from his own experience, given that Ireland's main export was beef and it was still not unknown for herds of cattle to clatter down Dublin's streets. Yet the Westerns were a sign of what was to come. O'Toole narrates the once unthinkable collapse of the all-powerful Catholic Church, brought down by scandal and by the activism of ordinary Irish, women in particular. He relates the horrific violence of the Troubles in Northern Ireland, which led most Irish to reject violent nationalism. In O'Toole's telling, America became a lodestar, from John F. Kennedy's 1963 visit, when the soon-to-be martyred American president was welcomed as a native son, to the emergence of the Irish technology sector in the late 1990s, driven by American corporations, which set Ireland on the path toward particular disaster during the 2008 financial crisis. A remarkably compassionate yet exacting observer, O'Toole in coruscating prose captures the peculiar Irish habit of "deliberate unknowing," which allowed myths of national greatness to persist even as the foundations were crumbling. Forty years in the making, We Don't Know Ourselves is a landmark work, a memoir and a national history that ultimately reveals how the two modes are entwined for all of us"--
Subjects: Biographies.; Personal narratives.; O'Toole, Fintan, 1958-;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Universal : Renewing Human Rights in a Fractured World. by Neve, Alex.;
Human rights extend to everyone, everywhere, at all times, without exception. But too often, human rights are applied selectively. Weaving together law, history, and stories from decades on the front lines of the struggle for human rights, Alex Neve investigates where we went wrong, how we have progressed, and what we can do to fulfill the promise that human rights are inherent, inalienable, and applicable to all people. Neve lives in Ottawa, ON.Library Bound Incorporated
Subjects: POLITICAL SCIENCE / Geopolitics; POLITICAL SCIENCE / Human Rights; POLITICAL SCIENCE / International Relations / General;
Available copies: 0 / Total copies: 1
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Morning sun in Wuhan / by Compestine, Ying Chang.;
What was the pandemic of the century like at the start? This swift, gripping novel captures not only the uncertainty and panic when COVID first emerged in Wuhan, but also how a community banded together. Weaving in the tastes and sounds of the historic city, Wuhan's comforting and distinctive cuisine comes to life as the reader follows 13-year-old Mei who, through her love for cooking, makes a difference in her community.LSC
Subjects: COVID-19 Pandemic, 2020-; Cooking, Chinese;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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12 notes : on life and creativity / by Jones, Quincy,1933-author.; Weeknd,1990-writer of foreword.;
'12 Notes' contains wisdom and musings on creativity and life from one of the worlds most beloved musicians, producers, and mentors, Quincy Jones. Weaving his story throughout, Jones lets readers in on his own creative process, as well as the importance of letting honesty, hard work, and good relationships drive your career. Jones's career spans more than 60 years in the entertainment industry, with a record 80 Grammy Award nominations, 28 Grammys, and a Grammy Legend Award.
Subjects: Creative ability in business.; Creative ability.; Self-actualization (Psychology); Success in business.;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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A dangerous engagement / by Weaver, Ashley,author.;
PREVIOUS BOOK IN SERIES: AN ACT OF VILLAINY, ISBN 9781250159755. Set in Prohibition-era New York, this sixth novel in the 'Amory Ames' mystery series follows Amory as she investigates the murder of a man with ties to the gangster Leon De Lora. Amory is drawn into the dangerous world of nightclubs and bootleggers, but as she draws closer to unraveling the web of lies and half-truths the murdered man has left in his wake, the killer is weaving a web of his own.
Subjects: Detective and mystery fiction.; Ames, Amory (Fictitious character); Women private investigators; Murder;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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A room called earth / by Ryan, Madeleine,author.;
This debut novel from autistic writer and advocate for neurodiversity, Madeleine Ryan, is a story of a fiercely original young woman whose radical self-acceptance illuminates a new way of being in the world and opens up a whole new realm of understanding and connection. As a full moon rises over Melbourne, Australia, a young autistic woman gets ready for a party. As the events of the night unfold, she moves from person to person, weaving a web around the magical, the mundane, and the tragic.
Subjects: Psychological fiction.; Autistic people; Interpersonal relations; Parties;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Castle Rock. [videorecording] / by Abrams, J. J.(Jeffrey Jacob),1966-television producer.; Holland, André,actor.; King, Stephen,1947-television producer.; Levy, Jane,1989-actor.; Lynskey, Melanie,actor.; Newman, Thomas,1955-composer (expression); Rutkowski, Richard,1966-director of photography.; Shaw, Sam,screenwriter,television producer.; Skarsgård, Bill,actor.; Spacek, Sissy,actor.; Sweet, Robin(Producer),television producer.; Thomason, Dustin,screenwriter,television producer.; Westlake, Chris,composer (expression); Bad Robot (Firm),production company.; Old Curiosity Shop (Firm),production company.; Warner Bros. Home Entertainment (Firm),publisher.; Warner Bros. Television,production company.;
Directors of photography, Richard Rutkowski, Jeffrey Greeley ; editors, Trevor Baker, Matthew Colonna, David Bilow ; music, Chris Westlake, Thomas Newman.André Holland, Melanie Lynskey, Bill Skarsgård, Jane Levy, Sissy Spacek.A psychological horror anthology series set in the Stephen King multiverse, it is an original story that combines the mythological scale and intimate character storytelling of King's best-loved works, weaving an epic saga of darkness and light, played out on a few square miles of Maine woodland. In Season two, a feud between warring clans comes to a boil when budding psychopath Annie Wilkes (Lizzy Caplan), Stephen King's nurse from hell, gets waylaid in Castle Rock.Canadian Home Video Rating: 14A.DVD ; widescreen presentation ; Dolby Digital 5.1.
Subjects: Horror television programs.; Television programs.; Video recordings for the hearing impaired.; Castle Rock (Me. : Imaginary place); Good and evil; Supernatural;
For private home use only.
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Taylor Swift : the stories behind the songs / by Zaleski, Annie,author.;
From her humble beginnings as a teenage country singer to her record-breaking Eras Tour, Taylor Swift's career is incomparable both in her mastery over multiple genres and the pure scale of her fan base and success. By weaving effortlessly through country, rock, pop, indie, and folk music, Swift has created a style of her own. 'Taylor Swift: The Stories Behind the Songs' is a comprehensive review of her entire songbook to date, covering all 11 studio albums and more than 200 songs that tell a dramatic story of life, love, and triumph.
Subjects: Biographies.; Personal narratives.; Swift, Taylor, 1989-; Swift, Taylor, 1989-; Musicians; Singers; Women singers;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Results 261 to 270 of 380 | « previous |