"The air had no oxygen, like being trapped underwater...I was being cremated, the pain unbearable."--Jim Scymanky "I was on my knees, my back to the hot wind. It blew me along, lifting my rear so I was up on my hands...It was hot but I didn't feel burned--until I felt my ears curl."--Mike Hubbard A napping volcano blinked awake in March 1980. Two months later, the mountain roared. Author Richard Waitt was one of the first to arrive following the mountain's early rumblings. A geologist with intimate knowledge of Mount St. Helens, Waitt delivers a detailed and accurate chronicle of events. His eruption story unfolds through unforgettable, riveting narratives--the heart of a masterful chronology that also delivers engrossing science, history, and journalism.

At 5:02 A.M. on August 29, 2005, Power Went Out in the Superdome. Not long after, wind ripped giant white rubber sheets off the roof and sent huge shards of debris flying toward Uptown. Rivulets of rainwater began finding their way down through the ceiling, dripping and pouring into the stands, the mezzanine, and the football field. Without ventilation, the air began to get gamy with the smell of sweat and garbage. The bathrooms stopped working. Many people slept; others waited, mostly in silence.

If you think the current administration is mismanaging the economy straight towards disaster, you're not alone: so do two top economists from both sides of the political aisle. In Seeds of Destruction, former Bush chief White House economist R. Glenn Hubbard and well-known CNBC commentator Peter Navarro explain why current economic policy is a catastrophic failure. Then, they offer a comprehensive, bipartisan blueprint for reversing the decline of America's currency, manufacturing base, and standard of living - setting the stage for the epic policy debates that will precede the 2010 elections. Hubbard and Navarro begin with a "checklist" of what it takes to be a prosperous, democratic nation - and show why Obama's policies (some of Bush's also) fail on every level. They explain why the activist Federal Reserve and Obama fiscal stimulus policies are doing far more harm than good... why we must restore the U.S. manufacturing base, whatever China says about it... how to transform tax policy into an engine of growth and innovation... how to apply the "tough love" needed to save Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid... why America must resign the job of world policeman... how market-based solutions can finally deliver real energy independence... how to reform our antique financial regulatory system without imposing heavy-handed rules that cause even more trouble.

The first time Adeline Ivey danced into my life, high on ecstasy instead of life, was at the party before the kickoff of our seventh tour. I spotted her out on the lawn, a gorgeous girl spinning around in circles with her arms wide and a big smile directed at the Los Angeles sky.We shared an insane summer on the road, surrounded by sex, drugs, and rock n' roll-a combination that could only end in disaster.That was ten years ago. The world has forgotten Lincoln Hayes, rock god and guitarist in Path of Destruction. As the date of my parole hearing approaches, I'm nothing but a number in the system of the Michigan Department of Corrections. And as much as I want to forget the events of that summer and move on, the girl I can't get out of my head is trying to make an encore appearance in my life.

Set a thousand years before the events of Star Wars: A New Hope, Drew Karpyshyn’s electrifying Darth Bane novels take us deep into the dark side. This action-packed series follows the transformation of a lost young man who becomes a legendary Sith Lord, able to wield the awesome power of the Force as never before. Packed with nonstop thrills, the entire Darth Bane trilogy is now available as an eBook bundle featuring PATH OF DESTRUCTION RULE OF TWO DYNASTY OF EVIL After a high-stakes card game ends violently, Dessel, a lowly miner, vanishes into the ranks of the Sith army and ships out to join the war against the Republic and its Jedi champions. There, Dessel’s brutality, cunning, and exceptional command of the Force swiftly win him renown as a warrior. But in the eyes of his watchful masters, a far greater destiny awaits him . . . if he can prove himself worthy. As an acolyte in the Sith Academy, studying at the feet of its greatest masters, Dessel embraces his new identity: Bane. However, in order to gain full acceptance into this chilling Brotherhood, he must surrender completely to the dark side. Only by defying the most sacred traditions of the Sith can Bane hope to triumph—and forge from the ashes a new era of absolute power.

Jihadi ideologues mobilize Muslims, especially young Muslims, through an individualist, centered Islam. Appealing to a classical defense doctrine, they argue that the mandates of jihad are the individual duty of every Muslim and therefore transcend and undermine both the authority of the state and the power of parental control. Yet emphasizing the duty and right of individually initiated jihad is just one side of do-it-yourself Islam. The other involves protecting the purity of doctrinal beliefs against deviation, even by fellow jihadis. The pursuit of doctrinal purity has led some jihadis to resort to takfir, a pronouncement that declares fellow Muslims unbelievers and makes it legal to shed their blood. Set against the background of the Kharijites, Islam's first counter-establishment movement, this book explores the religious philosophy underlying jihadism. The Kharijites's idealistic and individualistic ideology forces members to deploy takfir against one another, thus hastening their extinction as a group.