First Strike Zero Dawn

First Strike : Zero Down follows an epic tale of humanity’s fight for survival in the face of an alien race that wants humans exterminated. Humanity’s fight is long-fought and bitter sweet.

It is the twenty-second century. Chris Vinter awakes aboard a UN starship on its way to Delta Pavonis, carrying two thousand colonists to a new planet, fleeing from an Earth on the brink of nuclear war. They are barely a quarter of the way into their journey and now, as the senior UN Security Officer, he has been awoken from cryogenic sleep to deal with an emergency that threatens everybody on board. All is not as it seems to be, however; within days there is a coup and Vinter finds himself forced to work for one of the power blocs the starship was trying to escape from, as the only way of protecting the colonists in the cryosleep chambers. He also discovers that someone has been tampering with his memories of Earth - and far more than that. He has been Augmented, gene-engineered as a semi-cyborg warrior, programmed to kill on demand, the first of his kind… He cannot trust his memory, nor can he control his reflexes, or even his allegiances but he is faced with the task of preventing Mankind’s last war in the depths of interstellar space. How is he to achieve this when the only people who can help him know that he could turn against them at any moment?

This emotionally riveting book traces the travails of three young Polish Jewish women attempting to resurrect their lives in the bitter aftermath of World War II. After years in a concentration camp, they must first fend off the lusty Russian soldiers who free them. Then comes the arduous trek home. Other people live in their houses now, and the village is hostile. Where will they go? How will they survive? Is anyone they knew and loved still alive? Traveling far, often passing as non-Jews, they learn to cope and endure. Finally, their search for freedom bears fruit in the promise of a Jewish homeland. But pioneering Israel means new hardships: housing shortages, scant medicine, food rationing, political conflict. And enemies everywhere, from harsh British rulers to warrior Arab neighbors. New Dawn is a book of many miracles. As history, it thrillingly recounts how Jews from vastly different cultures joined forces to fight for Israel. As Holocaust literature, it is significant. A half-century after the fact, time is running out for survivors, and the need for testimony is pressing. This book makes a major contribution to that growing genre.

Maicee is known to his peers as a fresh surgical graduate, distinguished and highly ambitious in his field. What they do not know is that he has a hidden past that haunts him in his dreams. When his uncle Kabi stumbles upon a Chamonkey, a talking, monkey-like creature, that he alone knows belongs to Maicee's royal sister, Princess Ausanne, Kabi knows it is time for the war between the light and the dark and for Maicee to uncover his true blood strength, borne of a human and an Archangel, that would be their ultimate weapon against the Supreme Emperor. However, having just been offered an illustrious career by his professor, and not knowing the truth of his past, Maicee refuses. Nonetheless, he is dragged into the battle. His reluctance is contrasted by his best friend and equally brilliant surgeon, Ben-ho, who joins the team enthusiastically with a self-serving agenda. Joined soon after by his sister, Princess Ausanne, whose blood ties with Maicee are only known by Kabi, the four embark on a journey across the world of Archeonis. Will Maicee and his companions survive the trap set by the Supreme Emperor and save the world from impending disaster or watch it burn to waste?

Entering service during the Sino-Japanese War, the Nakajima B5N (code-named 'Kate') excelled and went on to achieve surprising and dramatic successes in the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. It also contributed to the sinking of the US aircraft carriers USS Lexington at the Battle of the Coral Sea, USS Yorktown at the Battle of Midway, and USS Hornet at the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands. Its replacement, the Nakajima B6N 'Jill', while a marked improvement over its illustrious predecessor, was never able to achieve its full potential in combat due to advances in Allied aircraft, finding itself relegated to the dreaded Kamikaze strikes in the latter part of the war. Using previously unpublished photographs as well as colour illustrations, this book will cover the history of the 'Kate' and 'Jill' torpedo/attack bombers, including their design and development, as well as the combat highs and lows of the Imperial Japanese Navy's premier torpedo-bombers.

The Apache attack helicopter is the British Army's most awesome weapons system. Deployed for the first time in Afghanistan, it has already passed into legend. The only thing more incredible than the Apache itself are the pilots that fly her. For the first time, Apache Dawn tells their story - and their baptism of fire in the unforgiving battle of Helmand province. Their call-sign was 'Ugly' - and there was no better word for the gruelling 100-day deployment they endured. Day after day, four of the Army Air Corps' finest pilots flew right into the heart of the battle, testing their aircraft to the very limit. Apache Dawn takes the reader with them on a series of unrelenting and brutally intense combat missions, from daring, edge-of-the-seat rescues to dramatic close-air support in the white heat of battle. Bestselling author Damien Lewis has been given unprecedented access to these heroic aircrews and to the men on the ground whose lives they saved. It is an astounding story of bravery, skill and resilience in the face of unbelievable odds. And it is the story of the Apache itself - the ultimate fighting machine.

This detailed study of Japan’s fearsome WWII fighter covers its legendary combat career along with color images and technical information. The quality of Japan’s Mitsubishi A6M Zero shocked Allies Forces at the outbreak of the Pacific War. Armed with two 20mm cannon and two 7.7mm machine-guns, it was highly maneuverable and structurally very strong, despite being lightweight. When it first took flight in 1939, it was far superior to any other fighter in the skies. During the first months of the Pacific War, the Zeros carved out an impressive combat record. For example, in the battle for Java alone, they destroyed 550 Allied aircraft. But it eventually outclassed by American fighters such as the Grumman F6F Wildcat and Vought Corsair. In the latter months, many were fitted with bombs and expended in Kamikaze suicide attacks. This book provides a detailed overview of the design and combat career of a fighter that made history. Ideal for modelers and military history enthusiasts, it offers a wealth of technical information, photographs and color profiles.

From huddled command conferences to cramped cockpits, John Lundstrom guides readers through the maelstrom of air combat at Guadalcanal in this impressively researched sequel to his earlier study. Picking up the story after Midway, the author presents a scrupulously accurate account of what happened, describing in rich detail the actual planes and pilots pitted in the ferocious battles that helped turn the tide of war. Based on correspondence with 150 American and Japanese veterans, or their families, he reveals the thoughts, pressures, and fears of the airmen and their crews as he reconstructs the battles. These are the story of the Wildcat and Zero fighters, and the Dauntless, Avenger, Betty, Kate, and Val bombers. Lavishly illustrated with drawings, maps, and photographs, this fresh look at the campaign set a standard for aviation histories when first published in 1994.