Women In The Line Of Fire

In 2004, Erin Solaro went to Iraq to study American servicewomen — what they were doing, how well they were doing it, how they were faring in combat. In 2005, she went to Afghanistan on the same mission. Having spent time embedded with combat troops and conducting stateside interviews with numerous analysts and veterans, Solaro is convinced that the time to drop all remaining restrictions on women's full equality under arms is now. The Army, the country, the women of America — and of the world — need it. Women in the Line of Fire details why this will not be an easy task. Although 15 percent of the military is female, the Army and Marines still resist acknowledging what is, in fact, already happening — women are fighting, and fighting well. For the Religious Right and the cultural conservatives, women in combat is a hot-button issue in their campaign to “take back the culture.” But for the young men and women on the lines, brought up in an America where equality between the sexes was never second guessed and where making up the rules as you go along comes with the territory, it's the new reality.

According to Time magazine, Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf holds "the world's most dangerous job." He has twice come within inches of assassination. His forces have caught more than 670 members of al Qaeda in the mountains and cities, yet many others remain at large and active, including Osama bin Laden and Ayman Al Zawahiri. Long locked in a deadly embrace with its nuclear neighbor India, Pakistan has come close to full-scale war on two occasions since it first exploded a nuclear bomb in 1998. As President Musharraf struggles for the security and political future of his nation, the stakes could not be higher for the world at large. It is unprecedented for a sitting head of state to write a memoir as revelatory, detailed, and gripping as In the Line of Fire. Here, for the first time, readers can get a firsthand view of the war on terror in its central theater. President Musharraf details the manhunts for Osama and Zawahiri and their top lieutenants, complete with harrowing cat-and-mouse games, informants, interceptions, and bloody firefights. He tells the stories of the near-miss assassination attempts, not only against himself but against Shaukut Aziz (later elected prime minister) and one of his top army officers (later the vice chief of army staff), and of the abduction and beheading of Daniel Pearl -- as well as the forensic and shoe-leather investigations that uncovered the perpetrators. He details the army's mountain operations that have swept several valleys clean, and he talks about the areas of North Waziristan where al Qaeda is still operating. Yet the war on terror is just one of the many headline-making subjects in In the Line of Fire. The full story of the events that brought President Musharraf to power in 1999 is told for the first time. He reveals new details of the 1999 confrontation with India in Kashmir (the Kargil conflict) and offers a proposal for resolving the Kashmir dispute. He offers a portrait of Mullah Omar, with stories of Pakistan's attempts to negotiate with him. Concerning A. Q. Khan and his proliferation network, he explains what the government knew and when it knew it, and he reveals fascinating details of Khan's operations and the investigations into them. In addition, President Musharraf takes many stances that will make news. He calls for the Muslim world to recognize Israel once a viable Palestinian state is created. He urges the repeal of Pakistan's 1979 Hudood law. He calls for the emancipation of women and for their full political equality with men. He tells the sad story of Pakistan's experience with democracy and what he has done to make it workable.

It is almost unprecedented for a head of state to publish a memoir while still in office. But Pervez Musharraf is no ordinary head of state. As President of Pakistan since 1999, his is one of the most dangerous jobs in the world, and he continues to play a crucial role in the global war on terror. A one-time supporter of the Taliban, a general who fought in several wars, President Musharraf took a decisive turn against militant Islam in 2001. Since then he has survived two assassination attempts; rooted out militants in his own government; helped direct countless raids against al-Qaeda both in his cities and in the mountains; and tracked Osama bin Laden with technical and human intelligence. IN THE LINE OF FIRE is astonishingly revealing and honest about dozens of topics of intense interest to the world. Among its many revelations: exactly how Pakistani authorities tracked down and smashed three major al-Qaeda control centres in the mountains; how al-Qaeda's many-layered structure was revealed after the assassination attempts; Bin Laden's current position within the al-Qaeda hierarchy; what it has been like to deal with Bush and Blair; how Pakistan and India have avoided nuclear confrontation; and much more. The terrible earthquake of 2005, killing nearly 40,000 Pakistanis, is just one chapter in a life and career that has been filled with danger and drama. The worldwide launch of President Musharraf's memoir promises to be a sensation.

"On September 19, 1992, Admiral William J. Crowe, Jr., made headlines with his endorsement of Democrat Bill Clinton as President of the United States. Washington took sharp notice: Crowe, a staunch advocate of military strength, had served for four years - under both Presidents Reagan and Bush - as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. As the top-ranking officer in the American military, he held all of its branches and forces, outposts from the South Pacific to the North Atlantic, from Antarctica to Central America, under the sweep of his command. To this day, many Clinton strategists perceive Crowe's endorsement and his subsequent work for Clinton as one of the campaign's turning points." "It was an unexpected move. But Washington, luckily, had learned to expect surprises from the candid, witty Oklahoman whose tenure as commander was marked by an openness to change rarely encountered in the military hierarchy's upper ranks." "As his memoir, The Line of Fire, makes clear, quick change has been a constant in Crowe's career - a fast flight up the chain of command that began just after World War II at the height of the Cold War, reaching its apex with the thaw and the beginning of a new era in foreign relations. Few military men's careers provide such a vantage on so many momentous transitions and events: women in the ranks; the new high-tech range of weaponry and machinery; and the rise of a new breed of military leader, men like Crowe himself, trained in the halls of Congress as well as on the battlefield. Crowe shows where the military has been - and where it must go." "He takes us into the secret world of the Pentagon, where we see the sophisticated war games staged by the highest officials in the land. He takes us inside the story of the build-up of tensions in the Gulf, explaining what we have never really understood about the accidental shoot-down of an Iranian Airbus by the cruiser Vincennes and about the U.S. raid on Libya (why we never intended to kill Qaddafi; why Caspar Weinberger would never admit that the U.S. did hit the French embassy). Admiral Crowe shows us the most significant military and political events of the last decade as we have never seen them before." "Crowe explains why nuclear weapons are our least effective defense; takes a critical look at Desert Storm (an ideal battle situation); speculates on the ending of the Cold War (George Bush was only one of the many contributors); and tells the story of his special friendship with Marshal of the Soviet Union Sergei Akhromeyev (the Soviet chief of staff), who shared many of his concerns about the future of nuclear weapons and U.S.-Soviet relations." "As never before, Crowe's memoir explains the world of political maneuvering that lies behind military decision-making. From the battlefield to Capitol Hill, Crowe gives a candid, always interesting look at modern military life - and his concerns for our future."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved

“An exuberant and propulsive thriller laced with sex, art, and history. Lisa Barr has created an unforgettable story that forces readers to question where the line should be drawn between the pursuit of justice and the hunt for revenge.”—Alyson Richman, bestselling author of The Secret of Clouds From the author of the award-winning Fugitive Colors and The Unbreakables, a gripping tale of a young, ambitious journalist embroiled in an international art scandal centered around a Nazi-looted masterpiece—forcing the ultimate showdown between passion and possession, lovers and liars, history and truth. After talking her way into a job with Dan Mansfield, the leading investigative reporter in Chicago, rising young journalist Jules Roth is given an unusual—and very secret—assignment. Dan needs her to locate a painting stolen by the Nazis more than 75 years earlier: legendary Expressionist artist Ernst Engel’s most famous work, Woman on Fire. World-renowned shoe designer Ellis Baum wants this portrait of a beautiful, mysterious woman for deeply personal reasons, and has enlisted Dan’s help to find it. But Jules doesn’t have much time; the famous designer is dying. Meanwhile, in Europe, provocative and powerful Margaux de Laurent also searches for the painting. Heir to her art collector family’s millions, Margaux is a cunning gallerist who gets everything she wants. The only thing standing in her way is Jules. Yet the passionate and determined Jules has unexpected resources of her own, including Adam Baum, Ellis’s grandson. A recovering addict and brilliant artist in his own right, Adam was once in Margaux’s clutches. He knows how ruthless she is, and he’ll do anything to help Jules locate the painting before Margaux gets to it first. A thrilling tale of secrets, love, and sacrifice that illuminates the destructive cruelty of war and greed and the triumphant power of beauty and love, Woman on Fire tells the story of a remarkable woman and an exquisite work of art that burns bright, moving through hands, hearts, and history.

"This book follows as LAW"--

The incredible stories of eight women spies whose adventures were exciting, ingenious, and often tragic, for they sometimes paid with their lives.