**An Apple Best Book of the MonthFrom award-winning journalist and coauthor of The 15:17 to Paris, an affecting human history of the first self-steering bomb**Paveway, the first "smart" bomb, was created to be a more precise and ostensibly humane weapon, reducing civilian casualties. The true impact of the bomb, however, is ever more complex and unpredictable.In The Warhead, Jeffrey Stern tells the story of Paveway through the lives of seven interc...

A thrilling and emotional story about the bonds forged in war and good intentions gone wrong.In the early days of the Afghanistan war, Jeff Stern was scouring the streets of Kabul for a big story. He was accompanied by a driver, Aimal, who had ambitions of his own: to get rich off the sudden infusion of foreign attention and cash.In this gripping adventure story, Stern writes of how he and Aimal navigated an environment full of guns and danger and opportuni...

Under the protection of foreign forces, a special place has flourished in Afghanistan. The Marefat School is an award-winning institution in the western slums of Kabul, built by one of the country's most vulnerable minorities, the Hazara. Marefat educates both girls and boys; it teaches students to embrace the arts, criticize their leaders, interrogate their religion, and be active citizens in a rapidly changing country. But they are dependent on foreign forces for security. When the Unite...

**An Apple Best Book of the MonthFrom award-winning journalist and coauthor of The 15:17 to Paris, an affecting human history of the first self-steering bomb**Paveway, the first "smart" bomb, was created to be a more precise and ostensibly humane weapon, reducing civilian casualties. The true impact of the bomb, however, is ever more complex and unpredictable.In The Warhead, Jeffrey Stern tells the story of Paveway through the lives of seven interc...

A thrilling and emotional story about the bonds forged in war and good intentions gone wrong.In the early days of the Afghanistan war, Jeff Stern was scouring the streets of Kabul for a big story. He was accompanied by a driver, Aimal, who had ambitions of his own: to get rich off the sudden infusion of foreign attention and cash.In this gripping adventure story, Stern writes of how he and Aimal navigated an environment full of guns and danger and opportuni...

An ISIS terrorist planned to kill more than 500 people. He would have succeeded except for three American friends who refused to give in to fear.On August 21, 2015, Ayoub El-Khazzani boarded train #9364 in Brussels, bound for Paris. There could be no doubt about his mission: he had an AK-47, a pistol, a box cutter, and enough ammunition to obliterate every passenger on board. Slipping into the bathroom in secret, he armed his weapons. Another major ISIS attack was ...

The 15:17 to Paris: The True Story of a Terrorist, a Train, and Three American Heroes: Booktrack Edition adds an immersive musical soundtrack to your audiobook listening experience! *An ISIS terrorist planned to kill more than 500 people. He would have succeeded except for three American friends who refused to give in to fear.On August 21, 2015, Ayoub El-Khazzani boarded train #9364 in Brussels, bound for Paris. There could be no doubt about his mi...

An ISIS terrorist planned to kill more than 500 people. He would have succeeded except for three American friends who refused to give in to fear.On August 21, 2015, Ayoub El-Khazzani boarded train #9364 in Brussels, bound for Paris. There could be no doubt about his mission: he had an AK-47, a pistol, a box cutter, and enough ammunition to obliterate every passenger on board. Slipping into the bathroom in secret, he armed his weapons. Another major ISIS attack was ...

Once perceived as distant, cold, dark, and seemingly unknowable, Pluto had long been marked as the farthest and most unreachable frontier for solar system exploration. After Voyager accomplished its final planetary reconnaissance at Neptune in 1989, Pluto and its cohort in the Kuiper Belt beckoned as the missing puzzle piece for completing the first reconnaissance of our solar system. In the decades following Voyager, a mission to the Pluto system was not only imagined but also achieved, c...

The "gripping and inspiring" true story (Washington Examiner) of how Congressman Steve Scalise survived a political mass shooting and returned to Congress with the help of his friends, family, and faith.On the morning of June 14, 2017, at a practice field for the annual Congressional Baseball Game, a man opened fire on the Republican team, wounding five and nearly killing Louisiana congressman Steve Scalise.In heart-pounding fashion, Scalise's minut...

The "gripping and inspiring" true story (Washington Examiner) of how Congressman Steve Scalise survived a political mass shooting and returned to Congress with the help of his friends, family, and faith.On the morning of June 14, 2017, at a practice field for the annual Congressional Baseball Game, a man opened fire on the Republican team, wounding five and nearly killing Louisiana congressman Steve Scalise.In heart-pounding fashion, Scalise's minut...