Saving Troy

A powerful account of the hazards, challenges, and dangers faced by America's first-responders.

In this perceptive retelling of The Iliad, a young Greek teacher draws on the enduring power of myth to help her students cope with the terrors of Nazi occupation. Bombs fall over a Greek village during World War II, and a teacher takes her students to a cave for shelter. There she tells them about another war—when the Greeks besieged Troy. Day after day, she recounts how the Greeks suffer from thirst, heat, and homesickness, and how the opponents meet—army against army, man against man. Helmets are cleaved, heads fly, blood flows. And everything had begun when Prince Paris of Troy fell in love with King Menelaus of Sparta's wife, the beautiful Helen, and escaped with her to his homeland. Now Helen stands atop the city walls to witness the horrors set in motion by her flight. When her current and former loves face each other in battle, she knows that, whatever happens, she will be losing. Theodor Kallifatides provides remarkable psychological insight in his version of The Iliad, downplaying the role of the gods and delving into the mindsets of its mortal heroes. Homer's epic comes to life with a renewed urgency that allows us to experience events as though firsthand, and reveals timeless truths about the senselessness of war and what it means to be human.

In response to a congressional request, GAO examined issues studied and recommendations made by the President's Private Sector Survey on Cost Control, better known as the Grace Commission, to determine whether: (1) the issues and recommendations made on program management and cost control had merit; (2) legislation would be necessary to implement the recommendations; (3) implementation efforts were completely underway; and (4) the savings estimates were realistic. GAO found that many of the issues studied and recommendations made by the Commission had overall merit and that, while many have already been implemented by legislative or administrative action, many more require additional legislative action to be fully implemented. However, GAO questioned the accuracy of many of the associated savings estimates, found flaws in the methodology used to develop some of the estimates, and found that the description of the methodology used in some estimates was insufficient to allow an assessment of its validity. In most of the instances where GAO questioned the methodology used, it believed that the savings were overstated. GAO supported management improvement issues more frequently than policy-oriented issues; however, policy-oriented issues constitute a large portion of the total estimated savings. GAO does not support restructuring federal subsidy programs and fixing federal health care costs to a percentage of the gross national product, and it disagreed with selected aspects of recommendations to reduce civilian and military retirement benefits. GAO support was most extensive in the areas aimed at strengthening federal management systems, federal automatic data processing operations, federal credit and cash management efforts, and civilian procurement and property management activities. GAO has made similar or related recommendations in nearly half of the areas in which it agreed with the Commission. Additional legislative action would be necessary to fully implement approximately half of the recommendations analyzed.

High adventure and epic storytelling combine in the final novel in Sunday Times bestselling author David Gemmell's bestselling Troy trilogy. Perfect for fans of Simon Scarrow, Bernard Cornwell and Conn Iggulden. 'In my pantheon of literary greats, David Gemmell stands alone . . . he put me on the path I still walk today' -- CONN IGGULDEN " [A] vivid, inspirational re-creation of the Troy myth." -- MANDA SCOTT "Gripping and fast-paced, intelligent and intensely readable...should appeal to anyone who enjoys an action-packed historical epic." -- JOANNE HARRIS "A splendid piece of work that traverses from hero fantasy into legendary and classic writing." -- ***** Reader review "Truly captivating" -- ***** Reader review ************************************** Darkness falls on the Great Green, and the Ancient World is fiercely divided. On the killing fields outside the golden city of Troy, forces loyal to the Mykene King mass. Among them is Odysseus, fabled storyteller and reluctant ally to the Mykene, who knows that he must soon face his former friends in deadly combat. Within the city, the Trojan king waits. Ailing and bitter, his hope is pinned on two heroes: his favourite son Hektor, and the dread Helikaon who will wreak terrible vengeance for the death of his wife at Mykene hands. War has been declared. As enemies, who are also kinsmen, are filled with bloodlust, they know that many of them will die, and that some will become heroes: heroes who will live for ever in a story that will echo down the centuries. Have you read the previous two books in the series Troy: Lord of the Silver Bow and Troy: Shield of Thunder?

Amiel Sander, a sixteen-year old boy of Planet Troy, is in search of a mysterious Truth about his Army Prodigy Father who is missing. One day at the library, he finds some clues and an unfinished work of his Father. As he strives to resolve the unknown about his Father to restore their lost family pride, he wants to complete his unfinished work too, but his dream and destination seem far-off from the reach of a commoner like him. Far somewhere, General Henry and Scientist George Watkins of Planet Cursia dream to build an equal society across the Planets of Star Magneta, but that seems impossible without Extra-Terrestrial Clashes. They devoted their lives in research to bring all the Planets under one umbrella and decide to land on Troy. How Amiel would decide what to do first - resolve mystery about his Father and win back their lost pride, settle his personal conflicts between friendship and love, do justice with Ethel and Arlyn, or save the Planet? Would he find a way or be torn apart and lost in the Terrestrial Chaos? Endora has lost her Husband years back and now seeing her only son Amiel set out for another dangerous Mission. Monk Narad travels from one Universe to the other to seek answer to his dilemma. Would he be able to find his answer, would Lord Vishnu be able to help him or would his question keep on running in the timeless space and be lost forever?