Malcolm MacPherson

Malcolm MacPherson, a former Marine in Vietnam, longtime foreign correspondent for Newsweek magazine, and the author of 12 fiction and nonfiction books, covered the Coalition Provisional Authority in Baghdad for Time magazine in 2003. What he saw there inspired Hocus Potus, a hilarious yet passionate antiwar satire that centers on the US search for a WMD to justify invasion and a con man's ingenious plot to supply one.

Afghanistan, March 2002. In the early morning darkness on a frigid mountaintop, a U.S. soldier is stranded, alone, surrounded by fanatical al Qaeda fighters. For the man's fellow Navy SEALs, and for waiting teams of Army Rangers, there was only one rule now: leave no one behind. In this gripping you-are-there account--based on stunning eyewitness testimony and painstaking research--journalist Malcolm MacPherson thrusts us into a drama of rescue, tragedy, and valor in a place that would be known as...ROBERTS RIDGEFor an elite team of SEALs, the mission seemed straightforward enough: take control of a towering 10,240-foot mountain peak called Takur Ghar. Launched as part of Operation Anaconda--a hammer-and-anvil plan to smash Taliban al Qaeda in eastern Afghanistan --the taking of Takur Ghar would offer U.S. forces a key strategic observation post. But the enemy was waiting, hidden in a series of camouflaged trenches and bunkers--and when the Special Forces chopper flared on the peak to land, it was shredded by a hail of machine-gun, small arms, and RPG rounds. A red-haired SEAL named Neil Roberts was thrown from the aircraft. And by the time the shattered helicopter crash-landed on the valley floor seven miles away, Roberts's fellow SEALs were determined to return to the mountain peak and bring him out--no matter what the cost.Drawing on the words of the men who were there--SEALs, Rangers, medics, combat air controllers, and pilots--this harrowing true account, the first book of its kind to chronicle the battle for Takur Ghar, captures in dramatic detail a seventeen-hour pitched battle fought at the highest elevation Americans have ever waged war. At once an hour-by-hour, bullet-by-bullet chronicle of a landmark battle and a sobering look at the capabilities and limitations of America's high-tech army, Roberts Ridge is the unforgettable story of a few dozen warriors who faced a single fate: to live or die for their comrades in the face of near-impossible odds.From the Hardcover edition.

From Amazon.com: In the late 1980s, a female baby elephant was born into a herd that lived on the plains of southern Africa. Her mother has carried her for two years, and normally she would have nursed her for five more. But the close-knit family of wild elephants was to face a predator for which it was no match--humans. In a "cull," her family was slaughtered in a few moments. Only the newborn female's life was spared. Terrified and bewildered the young elephant was transported to America to be sold. There she met the person who was to change her life forever. Bob Norris is a cowboy with an enormous empathy for animals that overwhelms his other emotions. He was raised with a pet bear and as a boy decided to become a real cowboy. He saw his dream come true in Colorado on one of the larger horse-and-cattle ranches in America. Handsome as a movie star, he became the Marlboro Man and appeared on TV and on billboards around the world. But with the passing of years, and with his own family grown up, he felt the need for something that he could not name. When she came into his life by happenstance, the hurt, vulnerable little elephant tapped the fullness of Bob's empathy, and an incredible bond between the most unlikely of friends was forged. Bob adopted the baby orphan elephant--named Amy--and patiently set about helping her recover from the trauma of her ordeal. He had never seen a real African elephant up close, except in zoos. He was a horseman and breeder of champion quarter horses. But through close observation, gentle training, humor, and endless perseverance, Bob gradually coaxed Amy into overcoming her mistrust of humans, and indeed, her fear of the world. The little elephant became a "hand" on Bob's ranch, tending to simple chores, riding the fences, and shadowing Bob on his horse. She developed a winning personality, and a strong character, and became a beloved member of the Norris family and partner to the ranch hands. But Bob knew from the start that the ultimate goal was for Amy to regain her confidence and her independence - even, if it were possible, to go back to the savannahs of Africa. This is the true story of how Amy and Bob came together. No one who reads The Cowboy and His Elephant can fail to be moved by such a simple tale of unlikely love.

A California truck driver embarks on a get rich quick operation when he learns a Disneyland is planned in his neighborhood. He enrolls friends and pawns his wife's broach to raise money and buy land, which he intends to sell to Disney at an inflated price. An amusing tale of one man's dreams. By the author of The Lucifer Key.

After the powerful and wealthy Dutchman Pieter Menten arranges for Bibi Krumholz to move to Palestine in 1935, Bibi learns that "Menten directed the execution of all Jews in the village--including every member of Bibi's family."--Jacket.

Compelling and dramatic insights into crucial moments inside the cockpit.Discover the most sensational air disasters of recent years. Transcripts of actual black box recordings of conversations between captains, their crew, and air traffic control on the ground reveal the final moments during which life-and-death decisions were made.In some cases, disaster is averted; in others, the results are fatal. Every one of these real-life stories contains heroism and terror, and shows the sheer professionalism of those involved when under extreme pressure. They enable the reader to get right inside the cockpit and relive what happened, minute-by-minute, second-by-second.• Includes Air France Flight 4590, the famous Concorde disaster in July 2000

"Two murders have rocked the city of Houston. When two FBI agents with opposite investigative styles are partnered on the case, their differences threaten to leave them deadlocked until an attempt on their lives brings them closer together"--

"Many brave hearts are asleep in the deep, so beware, beware," goes the chorus of an old sailors' sing-along that celebrates the allure and danger of the seafaring life. But make no mistake--there truly is much to beware for those who are drawn to risk their lives and seek their fortunes upon the waves. And perhaps none take more chances than the men and women who brave the tempestuous, bountiful waters of the Bering Sea. Season after season, they bond and battle with its icy depths, determined to reap yet one more rewarding harvest while eluding the ever-present threat of sudden, certain death. And among the rapidly diminishing ranks of these die-hard salts, brothers Andy and Johnathan Hillstrand have forged a reputation as fierce masters of their treacherous, enthralling trade. If you've watched their exploits on TV's Deadliest Catch, you've only scratched the surface. To read Time Bandit is to step into their skins, smell the sea air, feel the frigid wind, and know with all your senses the exhilarating, and terrifying life on the edge.Natives of tiny, fishing hamlet, Homer, Alaska; sons of a hard-bitten, highly successful fisherman; and born with brine in their blood, the Hillstrand boys couldn't imagine a life without a swaying deck underfoot and a harvest of mighty Alaskan king crabs waiting to be pulled from the ocean floor. In pursuit of their daily catch, the brothers brave ice floes and heaving waves 60 feet high, the perils of 1000-lb steel traps thrown about by the punishing wind, and the constant menace of the open, hungry water.Even the brothers' downtime on land--where the deadly realities of the unforgiving sea are never far from their minds--is lived as if borrowed: fast and hard, haunted by the knowledge that the next season at sea could end asleep in the deep.Here is the Hillstrands' own heartfelt hymn to the brutally hard, gloriously independent, and mysteriously soul-satisfying life that has earned them their daily bread and defined their existence. By turns raucous and reflective, exhilarating and anguished, enthralling, suspenseful, and wise, Time Bandit chronicles a larger-than-life love affair as old as civilization itself--a love affair between striving, willful man and inscrutable, enduring nature.From the Hardcover edition.