World War II saga, In the Claw of the Tiger, is a creative-nonfiction written by G. Thomson Fraser, based on the true story of Massachusetts resident, Franklin "Porky" LaCoste, a survivor of the Bataan Death March and POW camps in the Philippines and Japan. Porky joined the Army Air Corps in October 1940 with six high school buddies out for a good time, adventure, and an escape from their Depression-era hometowns. Determined to go to Hawaii and the Philippines, they live a life straight out of their fantasies - until December 7, 1941 changed their lives forever when Japan attacked Hawaii and soon afterwards U.S. outposts in the Philippines. Like a grown-up Tom Sawyer thrust into the brutal machinations of a world at war, Porky survives adventure after adventure often with a trusted companion by his side. Porky perseveres through the Battle of Bataan and the Death March - where thousands die - as well as in the malaria and dysentery infested POW Camps O'Donnell and Cabanatuan. He is pitched into a Hell Ship bound for Japan and lives the danger plagued existence of a miner living in rat infested, near starvation conditions. His spunk and determination often land him in trouble. (At one point he is court-martialed at Imperial Army Headquarters in Tokyo.) He survives through native optimism, gut instinct, an ability to accept life as he finds it, but most of all, because of an unquenchable desire to help those around him. Along with suffering at the hands of enemy forces, to his surprise Porky is helped on occasion by an unlikely source - the enemy. Later, in a dramatic twist of fate, while working at the copper mines in Ashio, Japan, Porky saves the life of the 4-year old son and only child of one of the village guards which earns him the respect of friend and foe alike. In the Claw of the Tiger contains 150 photos, many of which had been stored away for six decades. The three part narrative reads like a novel and feels like a docudrama, complete with historical references and candid shots of the friends together, National Archive, Department of Defense, Library of Congress and other photos and illustrations. Remarkably, out of the seven friends who joined the service and plotted and planned to stick together, five survived the ordeal. G. Thomson Fraser holds degrees in theater/playwriting and communications. She is a former editor of a weekly news magazine, an investigative journalist, exhibits developer, environmental writer and former aide to a state senator. She has served both as college staff and faculty. During the five years Fraser spent interviewing Franklin "Porky" LaCoste, parts of the narrative were developed through improvisational theater techniques designed to evoke intimate details as well as the dramatic elements of the story. Many more years were spent in extensive research of historical events and details of time and place. The end result is an intimate portrayal of coming-of-age in the midst of the Pacific Theater, during one of the greatest struggles of the 20th century. Trapped in a war for which he and the country were ill-prepared, In the Claw of the Tiger is a remarkable tale of courage, hope, and reconciliation in the midst of horror.

Shauna Singh Baldwin first heard of the mysterious story of Noor Inayat Khan (codename Madeleine) at The Safe House, an espionage-themed restaurant in Milwaukee. A former Dutch spy told her of the brave and beautiful Indo-American woman who left her family in London, England to become a spy in Nazi-occupied France during the Second World War. The story immediately intrigued Baldwin, inspiring her to travel to Europe, seek out the places where Noor lived, interview the people who knew her and discover more about the enigmatic woman. The Giller Prize finalist The Tiger Claw — Baldwin’ s follow-up novel to her award-winning What The Body Remembers — was born from the silences, conflicting stories and significant gaps she discovered along the way. As the novel begins, we’re thrown into a bleak German prison cell with Noor, where she is shackled hand and foot and freezing from the winter’s cold. It is December 1943, the turning point in the war raging in Europe. Noor’s captor, Herr Vogel, allows her onionskin paper on which he directs her to write children’s stories. She does so, but also secretly writes letters to someone she addresses as “ma petite,” the spirit of the child she had conceived with Armand Rivkin, a French Jewish musician and the love of her life. Although she must keep the letters hidden from her captor, it is through these words to her unborn child, alternating with a thrilling third-person narrative, that we learn Noor’s courageous and heartbreaking story. Noor’s mother is an American from Boston who married a Sufi musician and teacher from India. Growing up in France, Noor is extremely close with her liberal Muslim father, but when he dies, Noor’s conservative uncle Tajuddin and her brother Kabir govern the family. Uncle Tajuddin and Kabir disapprove of Noor’s love for Armand, and as the men of the family in 1930s France, they have the legal right to stop her engagement. Noor is faced then with the choice between defying her family and turning against her heart. She stops seeing Armand, but is devastated and lonely. Once the war begins, Noor’s family heads to England while Armand’s family stays. When Germany invades France, Noor despairs of ever seeing Armand again, until Kabir unwittingly introduces her to his new friend who is recruiting bilingual women for the resistance. Noor is offered training, and she accepts. She will help defeat the Germans, but her true purpose will be to find and reunite with Armand. As a resistance agent, Noor trains to be a radio operator, taking on a second identity — Nora Baker — one of many names she will eventually assume. When she arrives in France, she plays Anne-Marie Régnier — a woman caring for her sick aunt — and to other spies in her resistance network, she is known as “Madeleine.” She has secret rendezvous with other agents, transmits messages from various safe houses, and risks capture at every turn. She rents an apartment across the street from Drancy, the concentration camp where she knows Armand is being held. At great peril, she sends him a message — the tiger claw pendant she always wears for luck and courage. Noor must wade her way through oppression and hypocrisy from all sides: h her beloved Armand could be killed by the Germans at any time; her French and British colleagues fight the occupation of France while Britain still occupies India; she learns of dark family secrets; and, one by one, members of the spy network are being ratted out by a double agent. Betrayal can come from anyone. We know from the beginning that Noor will end up imprisoned, but who betrays her? Will she ever be released? Will Kabir find her? Will she and Armand be reunited? Baldwin paces the story like a nail-biting thriller, revealing only a little bit at a time. The Tiger Claw is packed with complex characters riding the line between good and evil. In the end, it is the reader who must be the judge, and decide where he or she stands.

This newest book of the War-Torn series focuses on the aftermath of the Last War, in which every realm in the Eberron setting fought a bitter and long-lasting battle. Original.

Former Air Force captain and New York Times bestselling author Dale Brown is an acknowledged master when it comes to bringing military action to breathtaking life and he has received glowing accolades since his debut publication, Flight of the Old Dog. Tiger’s Claw proves once again that every rave has been well deserved. Set in the near future, Tiger’s Claw imagines a scenario in which tensions escalate between an economically powerful China and a United States weakened by a massive economic downfall, bringing the two superpowers to the brink of total destruction. Brown’s popular protagonist, retired Air Force lieutenant-general Patrick McLanahan (of A Time for Patriots, Rogue Forces, and other Brown bestsellers), is back with his son Brad McLanahan and they’re preparing for the impending apocalyptic clash of men and military technology. The incomparable Dale Brown scores again with a frighteningly possible story of war and global politics that’s ideal for fans of Vince Flynn and Brad Thor.

When Cody is 14, he runs away from home, leaving behind his abusive mother, and flees across the country. He doesn’t stop until he hits Texas and the Sam Houston Tiger Ranch. Under the guidance of Sunny, the ranch’s owner, he cares for the animals in ways he never imagined. He feeds them a diet of raw, bloody meat. He cleans out their cages. He takes them for exercise. He finds out how to get a tiger to back down, and when he should back down himself. But there is another lesson Cody has to learn—sometimes people are harder to handle than tigers.

"Based on the teleplay 'Wormquake!' by Brandon Auman and John Shirley."

Chamron Phal was a carefree teenager when Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge overthrew Cambodia's capital, forever changing his life. Almost immediately, Chamron and his family, along with millions of Cambodians, were ejected from their home, herded into the forest, and forced to labor under torturous conditions. With barely enough food to survive, Chamron watched helplessly as members of his family died and countless individuals were dragged from camp, never to be seen again. Yet through each trial and near-death circumstance, Chamron marveled as one miracle after another saw him through. Eventually daring to risk escape, Chamron journeyed into the unknown, promising God that if he survived, he would serve Him the rest of his life. Would the God he hardly knew spare his life once more?