David Sherman

Packed with hard-core action written by battle-savvy combat veterans, the explosive Starfist series has become hugely popular across America. Now the saga of the courageous Marines continues in Flashfire, as the 34th Fleet Initial Strike Team (FIST) ventures to the edge of Human Space to fight a number of enemies . . . some on their own side.Tensions erupt between the Confederation and several frontier worlds when civilians are shot dead at an army base on the planet Ravenette. Enraged, the Ravenette government and nine neighboring planets form a coalition, and their first act of secession is to overrun Ravenette's Confederation garrison. With the armed forces of ten worlds seizing the brutal upper hand, the embattled troops need help--now--and they need it bad.Enter the Marines of the 34th FIST. As the nearest ready-to-deploy unit, the team is sent to Ravenette with orders to hold the line until reinforcements arrive. The upcoming operation promises to be no picnic, for while sophisticates may ridicule the backward ways of the uncouth frontier folk, no one scoffs at their fighting ability.Charlie Bass doesn't mince words for his men in Company L's third platoon. Two army divisions--perhaps thirty thousand soldiers--are being overwhelmed, and somebody expects a thousand Marines to save the day. As pompous Confederation generals wreak even more havoc than the enemy, there are those who call the mission suicide . . . but not the Marines. Of course it sounds hopeless, but for Marines like Charlie Bass and the rest of the 34th FIST, accomplishing the impossible comes with the territory.From the Hardcover edition.

Profits You Can Trust demystifies global financial reporting for managers, board members, lenders, audit partners, analysts, and investors alike.Long before the Enron implosion, H. David Sherman and S.David Young exposed the techniques of dishonest financial reporting in a much-discussed Harvard Business Review article. In this book, they expand upon those ideas to present a complete framework for accurate financial reporting. Along with author Harris Collingwood, they systematically identify areas of unacceptable risk, and offer detailed guidance on both reporting strategy and communication.Every chapter is illuminated with non-technical, easy-to-understand examples. You’ll find specific questions to ask—-and actions to take—-to enhance your firm’s financial credibility, strengthen your personal financial literacy, and avoid detonating the accounting landmines that can destroy your business or your investments.complete framework for trust in corporate reporting: Systematically identifying real profits—and eliminating "fake" ones Sins of omission: What companies don’t tell you about risk Good will hunting: How to tell hard assets from hot air The mismeasure of business: The use—and misuse—of performance comparisons and benchmarks The fine art of revenue recognition: What is a sale? When do you book it? Don’t like the numbers? Make up new ones: Watching out for EBITDA, pro forma earnings, and "Stupid Cash Tricks"

Lieutenant Commander Matthew Reddy and the crew of the USS "Walker" find themselves caught between the nation they swore to defend and the allies they promised to protect.

375 p

Combat, betrayal, and murder at the edge of human space . . . Deployed to assist the oligarchs of Wanderjahr in putting down a rebellion that threatens the planet's political and economic stability, the Marines must fight two wars at the same time . . . one against the resourceful, well-led guerrillas and another with the entrenched police bureaucracy.But who is the real enemy and who can be trusted? On Wanderjahr, nothing is as it seems--not even the animal life--and everyone has his own agenda. Inexorably, the Marines of the 34th FIST are drawn deeper and deeper into the politics of a world where murder, terror, and betrayal are the accepted methods of government . . . and everyone is ripe for an old-fashioned butt-kickin'.

The men of 1st Marine Combat Force are in a life-and-death struggle with the Dusters, bird-like aliens who launched a surprise attack on Troy, and vanished the entire Human population. When Corporal John Mackie and his squad from India Company aren't fighting off human wave attack after human wave attack, they are aggressively patrolling in search of the Dusters, intending to meet and destroy them in their own bases. In space, the remnants of Amphibious Group 17 rescue soldiers and sailors from wounded Navy starships. They begin feeding small, reassembled units to the surface of Troy. As they make planetfall, the soldiers have their first contact with the Dusters even before they reach their target firebase. Soon after, they are engaged in the same kinds of defensive and offensive operations as the Marines. On Earth, the president of the North American Union orders the formation of a field army to be dispatched to Troy to aid the badly outnumbered Marines and soldiers, but have they any hope of arriving in time?

Through three centuries of interstellar travel, intelligent alien life- forms had never been encountered . . . until now.When a scientific team exploring an obscure planet fails to make its regular communications check, the Marines of third platoon are sent to investigate. They prepare for a routine rescue operation, but what they find on Society 437 is a horror beyond description. Only a handful of ragtag pirates who were in the wrong place at the very worst time have survived, and there is little trace of the scientists.What happened to the scientists? Why have the pirates been spared? Gunnery Sergeant Bass and the men of third platoon are about to find out, and the answer carries a terrifying implication for the Marines--and the entire human race.From the Paperback edition.

Book Description Publication Date: July 26, 2005 An exciting new special-ops adventure from the battle-tested vets who created the popular Starfist series Jorge Lavager, charismatic leader of the mysterious Union of Margelan, ferociously guards an agricultural research facility on the planet Atlas. What that facility conceals will prove whether Lavager is an idealist seeking to unify Atlas under a banner of freedom and prosperity–or a tyrant aiming to control all of Human Space. The Marines of Fourth Force Recon’s second platoon are dispatched to Atlas to uncover the truth. They will have to sneak past state-of-the-art surveillance equipment barring unlawful entry to the planet and land in a desolate area miles from their target. And if they discover lethal new weapons instead of legitimate research, the thirty-six Marines are to seize the compound–guarded by merciless, armed-to-the-teeth soldiers–and destroy it. But what the recon team finds on Atlas sets off a chain of events that will force some hard decisions on the Marines . . . and end in a deadly surprise.

With these ominous words, Pors Tonith, ruthless minion of Count Dooku, declares the fate of the Republic sealed. Commanding a Separatist invasion force more than one million strong, the cunning financier-turned-warrior lays siege to the planet Praesitlyn, home of the strategic intergalactic communications center that is key to the Republic's survival in the Clone Wars. Left unchallenged, this decisive strike could indeed pave the way for the toppling of more Republic worlds…and ultimate victory for the Separatists. Retaliation must be swift and certain. But engaging the enemy throughout the galaxy has already stretched Supreme Chancellor Palpatine's armies to the limit. There is no choice but to move against the surging waves of invading battle-droids on Praesitlyn with only a small contingent of clone soldiers. Commanding them will be Jedi Master Nejaa Halcyon — hand-picked by the Council for the do-or-die mission. And at his side, skilled young starfighter pilot Anakin Skywalker, a promising young Jedi Padawan eager to be freed of the bonds of apprenticeship — and to be awarded the title of Jedi Knight. Shoulder to shoulder with a rogue Republic army officer and his battle-hardened crew, a hulking Rodian mercenary with an insatiable taste for combat, and a duo of ready-for-anything soldiers, the Jedi generals take to the skies and the punishing desert terrain of occupied Praesitlyn — to gain back a vital position in the Republic. Already outnumbered and outgunned, when confronted with an enemy ultimatum that could lead to the massacre of innocents, they may also be out of options. Unless Anakin Skywalker can strike a crucial balance between the wisdom born of the Force…and the instincts of a born warrior.