An exploration of the initiation rituals of fourteen elite groups, both historical and contemporary, providing a roadmap for modern organizations to better themselves by implementing and managing their own rigorous portal processes.Throughout human history, civilizations have stratified their citizens, often by establishing royal, priestly, executive, or warrior castes. Many who have achieved elite-level power joined their civilizations’ premier organizations not t...

Ubulembu and Other Stories is a collection of seventeen curious tales exploring the existential nature of being, or not being, human. Sitting on an edgy cusp where historical fiction, magical realism, science fiction, and surrealism collide, this collection transports readers into worlds that may not quite exist, but could, and perhaps should. Crossing continents, spanning centuries, and leaping from the primordial ooze to the stars beyond the stars, Ubulembu and Other Stories...

Every gravestone in every graveyard can frame a story far more complex than the dates engraved upon it. It's common for spouses to be memorialized together as a final affirmation of the commitments made in life, or for bereaved parents to be buried with children who tragically preceded them in death. Close proximity burials of seemingly unrelated figures can similarly reveal the tales of people who otherwise walked together in life, by choice or by chance. For example, the Confederate buri...

J. Eric Smith's bracing debut novel Eponymous paints a darkly humorous, yet reality-rooted, portrait of frustrated musician (but successful music critic) Hutson Colcock Collie Hay III. This entertaining, engaging novel is crafted with a detailed understanding of the forces that drive and foibles that define the music industry on both a national and a local plane, focusing heavily on the regional element of the music-making experience, where the vast majority of contemporary musici...

Throughout human history, civilizations have stratified their citizens, often by establishing royal, priestly, executive, or warrior castes. Many who have achieved elite-level power joined their civilizations' premier organizations not through birthright or sociopolitical attainment, but rather by completing codified rites of passage that demonstrated their exceptional physical, spiritual, or psychological capabilities, and their deep commitment to their cultures.Crucibles: His...

A leadership guide drawn from the books that shaped America’s top military officers.For the last several years Adm. James Stavridis and his co-author, R. Manning Ancell, have surveyed over two hundred active and retired four-star military officers about their reading habits and favorite books, asking each for a list of titles that strongly influenced their leadership skills and provided them with special insights that helped propel them to success in spite of the m...

This fascinating history tells the story of the people of Japan, from ancient teenage priest-queens to teeming hordes of salarymen, a nation that once sought to conquer China, yet also shut itself away for two centuries in self-imposed seclusion.First revealed to Westerners in the chronicles of Marco Polo, Japan was a legendary faraway land defended by a fearsome Kamikaze storm and ruled by a divine sovereign. It was the terminus of the Silk Road, the furthest end ...

From multi-award-winning Neil Gaiman comes a spectacularly silly, mind-bendingly clever, brilliantly bonkers adventure – with lip-smackingly gorgeous illustrations by Chris Riddell.'A self-referential gem ... Both author and illustrator are craftsmen at the top of their game, making it look easy' Sunday Times, Children's Book of the YearMum's away. Dad's in charge. There's no milk. So Dad saves the day by going to buy some....

December 1941 traces, day-by-day, the most important 31 days in the history of America's participation in WWII, which snuffed out the lives of millions and changed history forever.From December 1, 1941, until the morning of December 7, 1941, America was at peace and-with the exception of the stubborn and persistent high unemployment of the Great Depression-was a relatively happy country. By the afternoon of the December 7 attack on Pearl Harbor, America wa...

WARS CHANGE, WARRIORS DON'TWe are all warriors. Each of us struggles every day to define and defend our sense of purpose and integrity, to justify our existence on the planet and to understand, if only within our own hearts, who we are and what we believe in. Do we fight by a code? If so, what is it? What is the Warrior Ethos? Where did it come from? What form does it take today? How do we (and how can we) use it and be true to it in our internal and external lives?

This sixth volume of the year's best science fiction and fantasy features over thirty stories by some of the genre's greatest authors, including Yoon Ha Lee, James Patrick Kelly, Ken Liu, Robert Reed, Lavie Tidhar, Carrie Vaughn, and many others. Selecting the best fiction from Asimov's, Clarkesworld, F&SF, and other top venues, The Year's Best Science Fiction & Fantasy is your guide to magical realms and worlds beyond tomorrow.

Instant New York Times Bestseller · Winner of the General Wallace M. Greene Jr. Award from the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation“Buzz Bissinger’s Friday Night Lights is an American classic. With The Mosquito Bowl, he is back with a true story even more colorful and profound. This book too is destined to become a classic. I devoured it.” — John GrishamAn extraordinary, untold story of the Se...