NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERA fascinating fear of flying book from a commercial airline pilot and author of the popular website askthepilot.com.For millions of people, travel by air is a confounding, uncomfortable, and even frightening experience. When you go behind the scenes, however, you can see that the grand theater of air travel is actually fascinating. From the intricate design of airport architecture to the logistics of inflig...

A New York Times bestsellerFor millions of people, travel by air is a confounding, uncomfortable, and even fearful experience. Patrick Smith, airline pilot and author of the web's popular Ask the Pilot feature, separates the fact from fallacy and tells you everything you need to know...How planes fly, and a revealing look at the men and women who fly themStraight talk on turbulence, pilot training, and safetyThe real story on conge...

In June of 2016, I was staring at my best friend's corpse floating face down in Lake Sequoia. I had lost my wife and little girl only a month before. I clung to the hope that Morgan and Ava would return before Morgan's habit got the better of her. There was no hope for Rob Erwin. Murders did not happen in Seven Lakes, North Carolina. Folks left their doors unlocked there. I was devastated.To manage grief, I ran. Actually, I drank and also ran around the lake each day. One morning, ...

My Judge, My Jury, My Executione is an epic story about friends, family, faith, death, survival, overcoming and love.David was an ordinary kid, growing up in a small East Texas town. A simply country boy, he was torn by the loss of his baby brother. Once he finished high school, he decided to follow in the footsteps of his grandfather and his father by joining the military. After being injured in combat and becoming addicted to painkillers, he was dishonorably discharged. While hom...

A classic and heartbreaking tale of one man's fight to protect nature, and a treasured way of life, against the forces of greed.In a corner of the Big Cypress Swamp, to the north of the Florida Everglades, lives Charlie Jumper, and eighty-six-year-old Seminole man. Unlike the younger American Indians who have adopted white civilization, Charlie and his wife cling to the old ways, hunting and fishing in the great swamp and farming a tiny plot of higher ground. Charl...

The Outperformers: Lessons from Top Law Firm Leaders steps inside the boardrooms of the legal profession’s most admired and profitable institutions to uncover the approach to leadership, strategic choices and cultural attributes that have propelled these firms to evolve and become stronger versions of themselves. Through candid, first-hand accounts from top law firm leaders, authors Kent Zimmermann, Patrick Smith and Carlyn Kolker examine how visionary management, detailed planning, consen...

Millions of species have come and gone. Some can't compete, while others evolve. All species are ephemeral. Our day will come.This is a story of our extinction. Voluntarily, by our own will.

Americans cherish their national myths, some of which predate the country's founding. But the time for illusions, nostalgia, and grand ambition abroad has gone by, Patrick Smith observes in this original book. Americans are now faced with a choice between a mythical idea of themselves, their nation, and their global "mission," on the one hand, and on the other an idea of America that is rooted in historical consciousness. To cling to old myths will ensure America's decline, Smith warns. He...

From one of our foremost experts on Asia and its history comes this brilliant dissection of the relationship between East and West.In three succinct essays, Patrick Smith investigates the East’s endeavor to adopt Western technology and all that we consider modern. He underscores a crucial distinction between modernization (the simple emulation of the West) and the true task of “becoming modern.” He examines the strategies that three prominent cultures—those of Japan, China, and Ind...

Wandalbert of Prüm, after reviewing earlier accounts, undertakes a careful compilation of eyewitness reports about St. Goar's life and posthumous miracles, aiming to preserve trustworthy testimony for posterity. He limits his record to events observed firsthand or reliably reported by credible witnesses such as Heriradus and Theodradus. He recounts how Ahasuerus, abbot of Prumi, rebuilt and enlarged the church over St. Goar's burial place; during construction, rain miraculously avoided the...

Amid current arguments related to human life and dignity, Christians must be clear about how their faith speaks to such concerns and what other outlooks have to say. This book brings together noted ethicists--Russell DiSilvestro, David P. Gushee, Amy Laura Hall, John F. Kilner, Gilbert C. Meilaender, Scott B. Rae, and Patrick T. Smith--to make a Christian case for human dignity. It offers a robust critique of five influential alternative positions, including the emerging outlook of transhu...

A young woman is brutally murdered on an island near Stockholm – a haunt of wealthy retirees and arty weekenders. Suspicion falls first on a family of Iraqi refugees, initially welcomed into the community but gradually feared and shunned. But then, as the victim's story unfolds, suspicion begins inexorably to fall elsewhere.Lena Sundman was rude, dysfunctional, and very young. Everything a fastidious man like Dan Byrne disliked. Taking refuge on the island after the sudden death of...