On learning of the assassination of his godfather, President John F Kennedy, Boston College undergraduate DANIEL KELLY believes Communism is behind the unlawful killing, a backlash from the Cuban missiles crises. Beside himself, Daniel makes a spur-of-the-moment vow, dedicating his life to combating communists, the purveyors of evil. So as to advance his pledge, he joins the Navy and becomes an aviation pilot. Assigned to the aircraft carrier USS Annie Oakley, operating at Yankee Station off Vietnam, he gets stuck into fulfilling his personal mission in a practical way. On a rest-and-recreation visit to Hong Kong from the Vietnam War, he meets and falls for a beautiful singer, CHRISTINA ALZONA. His liaison with her sets off a change in his general attitude; towards people with skin less white than his, and towards the enemy. How is he to cope with his dilemma; his longstanding commitment to combating the purveyors of evil, precariously balanced against his new-found standpoint?

From Pulitzer Prize finalist Annie Jacobsen, the untold USA Today bestselling story of the CIA's secret paramilitary units. Surprise . . . your target. Kill . . . your enemy. Vanish . . . without a trace. When diplomacy fails, and war is unwise, the president calls on the CIA's Special Activities Division, a highly-classified branch of the CIA and the most effective, black operations force in the world. Originally known as the president's guerrilla warfare corps, SAD conducts risky and ruthless operations that have evolved over time to defend America from its enemies. Almost every American president since World War II has asked the CIA to conduct sabotage, subversion and, yes, assassination. With unprecedented access to forty-two men and women who proudly and secretly worked on CIA covert operations from the dawn of the Cold War to the present day, along with declassified documents and deep historical research, Pulitzer Prize finalist Annie Jacobsen unveils -- like never before -- a complex world of individuals working in treacherous environments populated with killers, connivers, and saboteurs. Despite Hollywood notions of off-book operations and external secret hires, covert action is actually one piece in a colossal foreign policy machine. Written with the pacing of a thriller, Surprise, Kill, Vanish brings to vivid life the sheer pandemonium and chaos, as well as the unforgettable human will to survive and the intellectual challenge of not giving up hope that define paramilitary and intelligence work. Jacobsen's exclusive interviews -- with members of the CIA's Senior Intelligence Service (equivalent to the Pentagon's generals), its counterterrorism chiefs, targeting officers, and Special Activities Division's Ground Branch operators who conduct today's close-quarters killing operations around the world -- reveal, for the first time, the enormity of this shocking, controversial, and morally complex terrain. Is the CIA's paramilitary army America's weaponized strength, or a liability to its principled standing in the world? Every operation reported in this book, however unsettling, is legal.

Barney McKenna, 'Banjo Barney from Donnycarney', was one of the founder members of the Dubliners. But he was also famous for another reason: he was capable of bringing any conversation to a sudden stop by uttering something so completely unexpected as to reduce everyone present to bemused silence. An Obstacle Confusion is a collection of stories about Barney and his 'Barneyisms'. It was compiled by the late Jim McCann, a former member of the Dubliners, and illustrated by Wendy Shea, a long-time friend of Barney. These wonderful flights of fancy are must-reads for Dubliners fans, young and old. * The Dubliners were travelling through a wine-growing region in southern Germany and had stopped at a scenic restaurant with a wonderful view over the vine-covered hills and valleys. They stood outside, gazing at the breathtaking, sun-dappled panorama, an occasional medieval castle peeking through the mist-shrouded trees, and basked in the beauty of the idyllic scene. Barney eventually broke the reverential silence. "Jaysus," he said, "there's a fair few hangovers growin' up there."

What has happened to Irish childhood? Parents are keeping their children indoors for fear of predators lurking around every corner and children are spending their days in front of screens or in supervised activities, over-controlled and growing steadily fatter and more unhappy. But it doesn't have to be like this. Commercial interests ensure parents feel anxious and filled with fear simply to sell them more stuff, when in fact childhood has never been safer; the rates of child mortality, injury and sexual abuse are lower today than at any time since records began. Cotton Wool Kids exposes the truth behind the scary stories and gives parents the information and the confidence to free themselves from the the treadmill of after-school activities and over-supervision that has become common today. The author provides parents with strategies to learn how to handle the relentless pressure from society and the media to provide a 'perfect' childhood and instead to raise their children with a more relaxed and joyful approach, more in touch with the outdoors and the community around them.