A sudden war alert sends the Trident submarine U.S.S. Phoenix down to the ocean's floor. All communications from the outside world mysteriously vanish--including messages from the President of the United States canceling the alert. In six hours, the submarine commander will unleash an arsenal of devastating nuclear missiles--unless someone can stop him.

A study companion to Homer's "Odyssey" containing historical and mythological background; discussion of Homeric values and the plot, themes, and literary features of each of the epic's books; a character index; and suggested activities and classroom projects.

'Down in Flames' is an exploration of mental illness through the lens of fantasy. Arien Vlahos is a depressed soldier with a history of trauma and suicidal tendencies, but when a two-thousand-year-old shapeshifter offers him a chance for a life worth living and a death worth dying, Arien will try to save the world to end his pain.

In this thrilling sequel to ‘Down in Flames’, Arien Vlahos must traverse the past and the future to prevent the Fall, the destined end of the world, and hold back rise of Utopia, or all gods and men will be subject to an existence lacking choice or heart. Without aid of friend nor ally, Arien is thwarted at every turn by his craving for Eitr, the primordial blood from which all life arose. If he cannot overcome his desire, the Fall will come and end what it means to be human. The ‘Apocalypse Then’ shall be our fate.

A few short years of peaceful cohabitation are once again suddenly interrupted by yet another kidnapping, but this time the intentions are far more brutal in nature and the hopes of a second liberation require the entangled spells of mortal and immortal alike, in a battle of wit and magic to rescue the monarch and others from a perverse fate worse than death itself.

“This magnificent diplomatic memoir-history by the American ambassador to Panama at the time should be required reading for every diplomat . . . A classic.” —Foreign Affairs The Panama Canal Treaties of 1977 were the most significant foreign policy achievement of the Carter administration. Most Latin American nations had regarded the 1903 treaty and its later minor modifications as vestiges of “American colonialism” and obstacles to any long-term, stable relationship with the United States. Hence, at a time when conflicts were mushrooming in Central America, the significance of the new Panama treaties cannot be overestimated. Former Ambassador to Panama William J. Jorden has provided the definitive account of the long and often contentious negotiations that produced those treaties. It is a vividly written reconstruction of the complicated process that began in 1964 and ended with ratification of the new pacts in 1978. Based on his personal involvement behind the scenes in the White House (1972–1974) and in the United States Embassy in Panama (1974–1978), Jorden has produced a unique living history. Access to documents and the personalities of both governments and, equally important, Jorden’s personal recollections of participants on both sides make this historical study an incomparable document of U. S. foreign relations. In sum, this is a history, a handbook on diplomacy, a course in government, and a revelation of foreign policy in action, all based on a fascinating and controversial episode in the US experience. “Jordan’s closely knit account of those negotiations brings the whole question of colonialism into stark focus . . . a vivid account of diplomacy in action.” —The Christian Science Monitor