From 1960 to 1973, the United States and the communist powers waged a hidden war in Laos, which led ultimately to the catastrophe of the Vietnam War. Warner's groundbreaking book offers the first full account of this secret war, based on his access to previously closed files and to interviews with intelligence players, military officers and government officials who have not spoken out before.

An insider's look at the internal turmoil at one of the world's premier high-tech companies This is the inside story of Hewlett-Packard Company's struggle to regain its former glory, and of the high-stakes battle between CEO Carly Fiorina and family scion Walter Hewlett over how best to achieve that goal. For decades, HP was admired not only for its innovative products and soaring stock price, but for its egalitarian corporate culture and father-knows-best integrity. Backfire explains how the company fell on hard times, recounts the historic decision that made Fiorina the world's top-ranking female executive, and brings to life the backlash that resulted when she tried to impose her charismatic salesmanship on the aging icon. Top BusinessWeek journalist Peter Burrows gives the dramatic blow-by-blow of Hewlett's effort to kill Fiorina's most controversial move of all, her $19 billion purchase of rival Compaq Computer. Fiorina won by a whisker, after the most expensive proxy fight in history and a dramatic lawsuit that accused the company of illegally fixing the vote. This gripping, ongoing story includes fascinating personalities and dramatic boardroom and courtroom drama. Peter Burrows (Alameda, CA) has been a technology reporter for BusinessWeek for nine years and has covered the HP saga from the start. The department editor for BusinessWeek's computer coverage, he has been the principal chronicler of Fiorina's tenure at HP, and has written three cover stories on the subject. He has also written numerous other cover stories, including looks at Steve Jobs's Apple Computer and Sun Microsystems' Scott McNealy.

STANDALONE CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE No matter how unbreakable he may seem, every man has a weakness. A year ago, my home became a bloodstained crime scene. That night marked the beginning of my hell-the same night I was tortured by my enemies and tossed into an underground prison to die. They failed. I survived. Now that I'm free, only one motive burns in my soul: revenge. Lucky for me, they think Jase Hawkins is dead. Maybe I am. I've got nothing but a cold, merciless rage, and Black Betty, the sharp steel blade that never leaves my side. Then she drifts into my life. Lucia wants answers-so much so, she's willing to fall into the darkness where my enemies lie in wait, to kill her for what she knows. Or to take her for the depraved fantasies her body alone can rouse in a man's mind. Me? I want her for the fire in her touch that feeds my addiction, forces me to feel what has become numb, but my appetite for bloodshed runs deeper than flesh. For my own sanity, I've vowed to stay away from her. Because she's my only weakness, an obsession that leaves me craving more-one that could make even the most steadfast plan backfire. **Not recommended for readers under the age of 18. Trigger warning for violence, drug abuse and scenes of rape and torture. BACKFIRE is a spin-off of RICOCHET and can be read as a standalone.

Discusses what led us into Vietnam, how it has changed our culture today and how it may change our culture in the future.

After twenty-six years in the fire service, author Kennedy Seagrave came to realize that many of the tactics used in firefighting could be helpful in fighting metaphorical fires in everyday life as well. Now she seeks to share the wisdom she gained over the years, while telling her story along the way. Backfire provides a series of practical strategies and problem-solving approaches that can be applied to anyones life, in a wide variety of circumstances. For example, small decisions made correctly can make a tremendous difference in life. Identifying the significance of choices is also essential. Embracing a size-up outlook in life can help you to disregard the often overpowering distractions and evaluate the situation before you make a decisionwhether its entering a burning building to save a life or deciding which college to attend. From the initial sizing up of the situation to the postincident analysis, each step offers methods for dealing with the difficult situations in life based in the techniques used by firefighters every day. Based on the personal narrative and knowledge of a firefighter with more than two decades of experience, this self-help guide presents problem-solving strategies for all people.

David Chalmers, the leading historian of the Ku Klux Klan, brings the story of America's oldest terrorist society up to date. Chalmers skillfully shows how Klan violence actually aided the civil rights movement of the 1960s and revolutionized the role of the national government in the protection of civil rights. He follows the forty-year struggle to punish Klan murderers through the courts of Alabama, Georgia, and the U.S. Supreme Court, and how Morris Dees and the Southern Poverty Law Center finally found a way to bring the Klan down.