Lessons From A Warzone

One day, everything is going well; the next, disaster strikes. What do you do when every pillar is collapsing, every rule is being broken and chaos seems to be all around you? 'Pessimism be damned. This man steered his bank through four years of a hellish civil war - and the lessons he learnt will benefit us all.' Sathnam Sanghera, author of EmpireLand ________________ An inspiring story of resilient leadership in the toughest of times. Louai Al Roumani was head of finance and planning at one of the largest banks in Syria when the war broke out in 2011. In Lessons from a Warzone, Al Roumani shares his very personal account of coping with the day-to-day realities of leading an organization in dangerous and hostile conditions. His story shows how inspiration can come from the unlikeliest of places, and how a business can not only survive in chaos, but can learn to thrive - the bank became the undisputed sector leader as people's trust in its capability to protect their life-long savings strengthened. In this book, Al Roumani distils the knowledge and skills he and his colleagues developed while steering the bank through four impossible years into ten lessons applicable to any leader facing a crisis today. His valuable and often counterintuitive advice will help anyone understand how to be resilient even in the most challenging of times. ________________ 'A compelling guide for leaders grappling with the pandemic... the lessons in resilient leadership in turbulent times that Roumani offers are universal.' Pilita Clark, Financial Times 'Contains powerful lessons about resilience that show how companies can come out of crises better and stronger if they focus on long-term opportunities, no matter how tough it gets in the short term' Ana Botín, executive chair, Banco Santander

The Life and Lessons from a Warzone: A memoir of Dr. Robert Nyeko Obol by Robert Obol

The Life and Lessons from a Warzone: A memoir of Dr. Robert Nyeko Obol by Robert Obol

A military psychologist's poignant account of tending to hidden wounds in Iraq---her patients', her colleagues', and finally her own. When Lieutenant Commander Heidi Kraft's twin son and daughter were fifteen months old, she was deployed to !--?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" /--Iraq. A clinical psychologist in the US Navy, Kraft's job was to uncover the wounds of war that a surgeon would never see. She put away thoughts of her children back home, acclimated to the sound of incoming rockets, and learned how to listen to the most traumatic stories a war zone has to offer. One of the toughest lessons was perfectly articulated by the TV show M*A*S*H: "There are two rules of war. Rule number one is that young men die. Rule number two is that doctors can't change rule number one." Some Marines, Kraft realized, would be damaged by war in ways that she couldn't repair. And sometimes people were repaired in ways she never expected. Rule Number Two is a powerful firsthand account of providing comfort amid the chaos of war, and of what it takes to endure. !--?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /--

In this true story set in the 1970s, you'll look through the eyes of then 14-year-old Kevin Purcell, who's now a professional advertising writer, as he watches his perfect childhood neighborhood turn into a racial battleground, where two young kids are stabbed to death, including one of Kevin's friends. Read as the author describes what it was like as young kids, black and white, from working-class families suddenly find themselves on the front lines of racial upheaval.

Few people are better able to describe how to survive in a war zone than those who have seen, experienced, and lived it first-hand. Comprised of a collection of original stories from international contributors, Surviving the International War Zone: Security Lessons Learned and Stories from Police and Military Peacekeeping Forces contains true accounts of unimaginable scenarios that could only occur in war-torn and conflict-ridden areas. Presenting accounts written by military and police officers who lived in different dangerous regions across the world, the book offers an inside look at the lives of the officers and the local people living in the war zone environment. Covering many facets of daily life, the book helps readers understand how to survive in deadly terrain. With contributions from soldiers and law enforcement personnel from 13 different countries who have lived and served in Iraq, Afghanistan, Sudan, Bosnia, Kosovo, East Timor, Cambodia, Haiti, and Liberia, the book includes practical tips for day-to-day life in a war zone. It examines topics such as: Surviving extreme temperatures and staying healthy Interacting with the indigenous population and cultural awareness Adjusting to the challenges of limited technology and resources Protecting oneself from the imminent threat of violence that is present in all war-torn regions Enhanced with photographs from the war zone, the stories in this volume range from accounts of unspeakable torture, to descriptions of deplorable living conditions, to moments of humor. Some of the stories will make you laugh; others may make you cry. Ultimately, the book provides an unparalleled insight into the full range of deep-seated and sometimes conflicting emotions of the people who have lived and served in war zones and have come home to tell about it.

Whether you're a war correspondent or an aid worker, a tourist worried about an increasingly hostile world or an armchair traveler concerned that your own backyard is fast becoming a war zone, How to Avoid Being Killed in a War Zone will help you survive some of the world's most volatile environments. Well-traveled journalist Rosie Garthwaite offers practical advice drawn from her own personal experience and that of others, including many seasoned colleagues, who have worked in some of the world's most hostile regions. Topics covered include everything from avoiding land mines and hostage situations to amputating a limb and foraging for safe food. The book is a true survival manual (all medical advice has been vetted by doctors from Doctors Without Borders), but it is also a transporting read, filled with vicarious thrills and written with brio and humor by a woman who has seen it all. Perfect for those planning short trips or extended stays in dangerous destinations, or-much like the popular Worst-Case Scenario handbooks-for readers who simply prefer to be thoroughly prepared, wherever life may take them.

In 2003, after serving five and a half years as a carpenter in a North Dakota National Guard engineer unit, Bronson Lemer was ready to leave the military behind. But six months short of completing his commitment to the army, Lemer was deployed on a yearlong tour of duty to Iraq. Leaving college life behind in the Midwest, he yearns for a lost love and quietly dreams of a future as an openly gay man outside the military. He discovers that his father’s lifelong example of silent strength has taught him much about being a man, and these lessons help him survive in a war zone and to conceal his sexuality, as he is required to do by the U.S. military. The Last Deployment is a moving, provocative chronicle of one soldier’s struggle to reconcile military brotherhood with self-acceptance. Lemer captures the absurd nuances of a soldier’s daily life: growing a mustache to disguise his fear, wearing pantyhose to battle sand fleas, and exchanging barbs with Iraqis while driving through Baghdad. But most strikingly, he describes the poignant reality faced by gay servicemen and servicewomen, who must mask their identities while serving a country that disowns them. Often funny, sometimes anguished, The Last Deployment paints a deeply personal portrait of war in the twenty-first century. InSight Out Book Club selection Bronson Lemer named one of Instinct magazine’s Leading Men 2011 QPB Book Club selection Finalist, Minnesota Book Awards Finalist, Over the Rainbow Selection, American Library Association Amazon Top Ten 10 Gay & Lesbian Books of 2011