Mountaintops and Mai Tais


Book Description

In this fascinating book, award-winning author Douglas Johnston traces his circuitous and largely unpredictable path from gathering intelligence on Soviet naval forces through the periscope of a nuclear submarine to blazing new trails in diplomacy by incorporating religious considerations into the practice of international politics. The first half of the book, which is laced with humorous episodes in his life's journey, marries with a more serious half that describes the role he played in developing and later putting into practice a new form of engagement called Faith-based Diplomacy. The results of its practice are little short of amazing and make for captivating reading. They also reaffirm the value of living out a higher sense of purpose. 18. Dr. Douglas Johnston is President Emeritus and founder of the International Center for Religion & Diplomacy. Prior to that he was Executive Vice President and COO of the Center for Strategic and International Studies and before that founding Director of Harvard University's Executive Program in National and International Security. Among his publications are Religion, the Missing Dimension of Statecraft (Oxford, 1994) and his more recent award-winning book, Religion, Terror, and Error: U.S. Foreign Policy and the Challenge of Spiritual Engagement (Praeger, 2011). In 2008, he was identified in Christianity Today as the "Father of Faith-Based Diplomacy." No website An award-winning author, Douglas M. Johnston, Jr., is President Emeritus and founder of the International Center for Religion and Diplomacy (ICRD). He is a distinguished graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy and holds a Masters Degree in Public Administration and a PhD in Political Science from Harvard University. He has served in senior positions in government, the military, and the private sector, including six years at Harvard where he taught international affairs and was founding director of the University's Executive Program in National and International Security. Prior to ICRD, Dr. Johnston was Executive Vice President and COO of the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies.




Faith- Based Diplomacy Trumping Realpolitik


Book Description

For most of the twentieth century, the most critical concerns of national security have been balance-of-power politics and the global arms race. The religious conflicts of this era and the motives behind them, however, demand a radical break with this tradition. If the United States is to prevail in its long-term contest with extremist Islam, it will need to re-examine old assumptions, expand the scope of its thinking to include religion and other "irrational" factors, and be willing to depart from past practice. A purely military response in reaction to such attacks will simply not suffice. What will be required is a long-term strategy of cultural engagement, backed by a deeper understanding of how others view the world and what is important to them. In non-Western cultures, religion is a primary motivation for political actions. Historically dismissed by Western policymakers as a divisive influence, religion in fact has significant potential for overcoming the obstacles that lead to paralysis and stalemate. The Incorporation of religion as part of the solution to such problems is as simple as it is profound. It is long overdue. This book looks at five intractable conflicts and explores the possibility of drawing on religion as a force for peace. It builds upon the insights of Religion, the Missing Dimension of Statecraft (OUP, 1994) -- which examined the role that religious or spiritual factors can play in preventing or resolving conflict -- while achieving social change based on justice and reconciliation. The world-class authors writing in this volume suggest how the peacemaking tenets of five major world religions can be strategically applied in ongoing conflicts in which those religions are involved. Finally, the commonalities and differences between these religions are examined with an eye toward further applications in peacemaking and conflict resolution.




Mountain Hookup


Book Description

Single and alone, Eve Windsong finds her long-lost father and his family at the Sugarland Lodge in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park. When her father’s family needs help, Eve jumps in, hoping to finally belong somewhere. Sunny Days, her new sister, believes love is the only family Eve needs. To get Sunny off her back, Eve agrees to try MountainMatch.com. When a handsome hunk announces he’s arrived to hook her up, she mistakes his job as the cable guy for an online date. When she overcomes her faulty assumption, the global pandemic reaches the mountains. A quarantine is issued and the National Guard commandeers the Lodge. Eve and Beau are forced to live together for who knows how long. Just as they begin to adjust to their Covid-habitation along with Beau’s ex-wife and his tattooed teenage son, Eve learns his ex wants to rebuild their fractured family. Can Eve and Beau’s connection last beyond the pandemic, or will it remain a temporary hookup?




Whispers


Book Description

#1 New York Times bestselling author Dean Koontz “pulls out all the stops” (Publishers Weekly) in this haunting psychological thriller... For thirty-five years, Bruno Frye has lived in the shadow of the adopted mother who made his heart beat with constant fear. And even though she died five years ago, the whispers still haunt him in the dark...enough to make him kill—and kill again. Hilary Thomas is one of his intended victims. And she’s about to learn that even death can’t keep a bad man down...




Price of Exit


Book Description

"The risk of a fatal catastrophe was constant. The NVA was the enemy, but the ultimate opponent was, quite simply, death. . . ." For assault helicopter crews flying in and around the NVA-infested DMZ, the U.S. pullout from Vietnam in 1970-71 was a desperate time of selfless courage. Now former army warrant officer Tom Marshall of the Phoenix, C Company, 158th Aviation Battalion, 101st Airborne, captures the deadly mountain terrain, the long hours flown under enormous stress, the grim determination of hardened pilots combat-assaulting through walls of antiaircraft fire, the pickups amid exploding mortar shells and hails of AK fire, the nerve-racking string extractions of SOG teams from North Vietnam. . . . And, through it all, the rising tension as helicopter pilots and crews are lost at an accelerating pace. It is no coincidence that the Phoenix was one of the most highly decorated assault helicopter units in I Corps. For as the American departure accelerated and the enemy added new, more powerful antiaircraft weapons, the helicopter pilots, crew chiefs, and gunners paid the heavy price of withdrawal in blood. For more than 30 Percent of Tom Marshall's 130 helicopter-school classmates, the price of exit was their lives. . . .




Cape Cod Connection


Book Description

Sloane Wentworth’s deathbed promise to her husband leads her straight to her old flame, Seth, in Truro, Cape Cod. She soon discovers that he’s neither friend nor frenemy, but he is trouble, especially when her heart gets involved. To complicate matters, she still doesn’t know why her late husband sent her on this quest, and Seth isn’t telling. Cape Cod’s trade winds could blow in the answers, but what happens when she discovers those answers can change her future?




Mountain Fever


Book Description

Once burned by love, Second Lieutenant Dawn Winters vows she’ll never surrender her heart again. That is, until an unfortunate collision with Drew Sunrise forces her to reconnoiter and gather her forces. Not only must she battle the coronavirus pandemic—her latest mission—but she also has to combat Drew’s sexy appeal and charm. Drew Sunrise, single and never married, is concerned with two things, raising his teenage niece while her mother fights in Afghanistan, and his passion for work. When Dawn bumps into his truck—literally, with her car—the attraction is instant, and he can’t help falling victim to his growing feelings for her. He doesn’t need the added struggles life decides to throw his way. Can these two work past the worries in their lives and form a perfect union, or will they lose the peace that lasting love can bring?




Indianapolis Monthly


Book Description

Indianapolis Monthly is the Circle City’s essential chronicle and guide, an indispensable authority on what’s new and what’s news. Through coverage of politics, crime, dining, style, business, sports, and arts and entertainment, each issue offers compelling narrative stories and lively, urbane coverage of Indy’s cultural landscape.




Love and Darts


Book Description

You'll be entranced by these twenty-four stories as Nath Jones finds her way into this fun and biting life. She conducts you from the kaleidoscopic moment when a toddler loses her innocence to the last breath an old man takes in a rowboat at sunrise.




Los Angeles Magazine


Book Description

Los Angeles magazine is a regional magazine of national stature. Our combination of award-winning feature writing, investigative reporting, service journalism, and design covers the people, lifestyle, culture, entertainment, fashion, art and architecture, and news that define Southern California. Started in the spring of 1961, Los Angeles magazine has been addressing the needs and interests of our region for 48 years. The magazine continues to be the definitive resource for an affluent population that is intensely interested in a lifestyle that is uniquely Southern Californian.