Once a Laird


Book Description

Reunited at long last, will they give in to their passion? After the death of his fiancée, Kai Ramsey left Scotland to roam distant lands. Having barely survived after being imprisoned as a spy during the Napoleonic War, Ramsay has lived on the edge of danger for years, but everything changes when a letter arrives for him from Scotland... Signy Matheson has dedicated her life to the people of Scotland’s remote Thorsay Islands. With a fiery spirit and agile mind, she is a faithful ally to the aging laird. Now their leader is ailing and Signy must summon the laird's successor at once – it’s time for Ramsey to come home. When Ramsay returns to Thorsay, he’s shocked to find that Signy has blossomed into an alluring beauty, and a force to be reckoned with. Because of their complicated past, Ramsey and Signy must deny their desire for each other. But after a wild storm sparks undeniable passion, the discovery of an ancestral treasure trove places them in harm’s way, and the two will have to come together to protect Thorsay. A thrilling Scottish Regency romance from New York Times bestseller Mary Jo Putney, for fans of Julia Quinn and Stephanie Laurens.




With Honor


Book Description

In 1968, at the peak of the Vietnam War, centrist Congressman Melvin Laird (R-WI) agreed to serve as Richard Nixon’s secretary of defense. It was not, Laird knew, a move likely to endear him to the American public—but as he later said, “Nixon couldn’t find anybody else who wanted the damn job.” For the next four years, Laird deftly navigated the morass of the war he had inherited. Lampooned as a “missile head,” but decisive in crafting an exit strategy, he doggedly pursued his program of Vietnamization, initiating the withdrawal of U.S. military personnel and gradually ceding combat responsibilities to South Vietnam. In fighting to bring the troops home faster, pressing for more humane treatment of POWs, and helping to end the draft, Laird employed a powerful blend of disarming Midwestern candor and Washington savvy, as he sought a high moral road bent on Nixon’s oft-stated (and politically instrumental) goal of peace with honor. The first book ever to focus on Laird’s legacy, this authorized biography reveals his central and often unrecognized role in managing the crisis of national identity sparked by the Vietnam War—and the challenges, ethical and political, that confronted him along the way. Drawing on exclusive interviews with Laird, Henry Kissinger, Gerald Ford, and numerous others, author Dale Van Atta offers a sympathetic portrait of a man striving for open government in an atmosphere fraught with secrecy. Van Atta illuminates the inner workings of high politics: Laird’s behind-the-scenes sparring with Kissinger over policy, his decisions to ignore Nixon’s wilder directives, his formative impact on arms control and health care, his key role in the selection of Ford for vice president, his frustration with the country’s abandonment of Vietnamization, and, in later years, his unheeded warning to Donald Rumsfeld that “it’s a helluva lot easier to get into a war than to get out of one.” Best Books for Regional Special Interests, selected by the American Association of School Librarians, and Best Books for Special Interests, selected by the Public Library Association




A Laird for All TIme


Book Description

Four modern day heroines find themselves facing an unpredictable future when time connects them to Highlanders of old. Once they discover that a mysterious Scotsman called Auld Donell has been manipulating the past, they must fight to keep the love they've found for all time. A LAIRD FOR ALL TIME After ten long years of education and residency, Dr. Emmy MacKenzie feels the time is long overdue for a vacation. A little “me” time. A little alone time. But when travelling the British Isles, a twist of fate at the gates of the ancient castle of Duart hurls Emmy more a hundred years into the past and into the arms of a magnificent highlander who thinks she is his long-lost wife, Heather MacLean! A TIME & PLACE FOR EVERY LAIRD On the run, Claire and Hugh hide away from the agents pursuing them but cannot hide from the undeniable desire that ensnares them and both must face their pasts, the loss and heartache that plagues them if they hope to discover that there is a true time and place for every Highland laird. TAKEN Actress Scarlett Thomas never wanted fame. Now she’s ready to make big changes, but she could never have imagined how big those changes might turn out to be. When an old Scotsman named Donell directs her to an ancient claymore, Scarlett slips back 500 years to a time when her modern struggles are dwarfed by a far more dangerous conflict brewing between Scotland and England and into the arms of a Laird beyond her imagination. As they try to fight against their growing attraction, they are confronted by choices that they never imagined they'd have to make. Will they seize their second chance before the Battle of Flodden separates them forever? LOVE IN THE TIME OF A HIGHLAND LAIRD When she was accidently pushed into a wormhole, Allorah ‘Al’ Maines never imagined she’d be thrown back in time, land at the feet of a gorgeous Highlander… and taken as his prisoner. Al is awestruck by the savage Scot who chained her up in his dungeon. But once she emerges from her cell, she finds herself even more captivated by the roguish Highlander he’s transformed into. An undeniably enticing manifestation of all her secret fantasies. Ones she’s tempted to explore. No matter what the fairytales say, Al knows passion fades and lust dies. Keeping her heart intact and planning for a future on her own is the only way their story can end. Can Keir convince Al to share a life with him before she walks away forever? A LAIRD TO HOLD Not for a moment had Scarlett missed the constant scrutiny of a celebrity life. Now, to save her unborn child, she has no choice but to reappear, inexplicably pregnant in the eyes of the modern world. But Scarlett knows she can fight the media circus with Laird at her side and the help of new friends drawn together across time itself by the enigmatic Scotsman known as Auld Donell. The crafty old Scot had been busy over the years, not just meddling in Scarlett’s life but browsing through time, tweaking history and changing the fates of his other ‘projects’. Connor and Emmy. Hugh and Claire. They’d all received a second chance at love, but are unaware of how closely they’re connected despite the years separating them. Unaware of how their Fates are entangled. Now Auld Donell’s ‘master plan’ will put all their lives in peril against an unforeseen enemy.




Laird Cregar


Book Description

In 1944, Laird Cregar played Jack the Ripper in The Lodger, giving one of the most haunting performances in Hollywood history. It was the climax of a strange celebrity that saw the young American actor--who stood 6' 3" and weighed more than 300 pounds--earn distinction as a portrayer of psychopaths and villains. Determined to break free of this typecasting, he desperately desired to become "a beautiful man," embarking on an extreme diet that killed him at 31. This first biography of Cregar tells the heartbreaking story of the brilliant but doomed actor. Appendices cover his film, theatre, and radio work. Many never before published photographs are included.







Melvin Laird and the Foundation of the Post-Vietnam Military, 1969-1973


Book Description

This biography examines the former Congressman Melvin Laird's efforts to reconstitute the Department of Defense during the last years of the Vietnam war.




A Laird to Hold


Book Description

A journey through time to save one life jeopardizes the lives of everyone Scarlett holds dear in this finale of the Laird for all Time series. Scarlett would do anything to save her unborn baby, even return to a time she never thought she’d see again. Not for a moment had she missed the constant scrutiny of a celebrity life. To reappear now, inexplicably pregnant in the eyes of the modern world would create a media circus, but Scarlett knows she can overcome any obstacles with Laird at her side and the help of new friends drawn together across time itself by the enigmatic Scotsman known as Auld Donell. The crafty old Scot had been busy over the years, not just meddling in Scarlett’s life but browsing through time, tweaking history and changing the fates of his other ‘projects’. They’d all received a second chance at love, but are unaware of how closely they’re connected despite the years separating them. Unaware of how their Fates are entangled. And unaware of how Auld Donell’s ‘master plan’ to right a few wrongs of his own will put all their lives in peril against an unforeseen enemy. Laird Hepburn spent years enjoying his wife’s fantastic tales of the future world, but he’d never expected—or wanted to see it for himself. Now to ensure the survival of his unborn bairn and protect his family, he must face that alien world head on. Alas, the future holds more surprises and danger than any of them had anticipated. Soon, Laird realizes that in order to avert disaster and save the lives of his loved ones, he may be forced to sacrifice his own.




Competitive Arms Control


Book Description

The essential history of the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT) during the Nixon Administration How did Richard Nixon, a president so determined to compete for strategic nuclear advantage over the Soviet Union, become one of the most successful arms controllers of the Cold War? Drawing on newly opened Cold War archives, John D. Maurer argues that a central purpose of arms control talks for American leaders was to channel nuclear competition toward areas of American advantage and not just international cooperation. While previous accounts of the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT) have emphasized American cooperative motives, Maurer highlights how Nixon, National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger, and Secretary of Defense Melvin Laird shaped negotiations, balancing their own competitive interests with proponents of cooperation while still providing a coherent rationale to Congress. Within the arms control agreements, American leaders intended to continue deploying new weapons, and the arms control restrictions, as negotiated, allowed the United States to sustain its global power, contain communism, and ultimately prevail in the Cold War.




Below


Book Description

Drawing inspiration from a chilling, real-life enigma of an airline crash in the Gulf of Mexico, this thriller plunges deep into the heart of the southern U.S. What dark secrets did the passenger on the ill-fated flight harbor, and what unspeakable terror was he transporting? Dive into a tale where every twist beckons a haunting question, pulling you deeper into the mystery.




The Rise of the American Security State


Book Description

This book examines the impact of the National Security Act of 1947, the most important foreign policy legislation that many Americans (including policymakers and academics) have never heard of. Since September 11, 2001, the White House-under both Bush and Obama-has pushed the envelope of taking the United States to war (without declarations), interrogating prisoners of war, spying on potential threats, and acting unilaterally. Why have these trends occurred? How has the apex of foreign power shifted, causing a sea change that has fueled a continual turf war between Capitol Hill and the White House? And perhaps most critically, what is America's role in the world now, and what should it be? The Rise of the American Security State: The National Security Act of 1947 and the Militarization of U.S. Foreign Policy argues that the National Security Act of 1947 and the early Cold War created a bipartisan consensus among U.S. policymakers that spanned several administrations. The result of this consensus and the National Security Act was the creation of permanent institutions: the permanent Defense Department with a secretary of defense; the intelligence community, which has grown to 17 agencies; and significantly, the National Security Council inside the presidency. Collectively, these three developments have led to the militarization of U.S. foreign policy. Readers will grasp how concepts and strategies that were in their infancy during the Cold War era have persisted and continued to affect today's U.S. foreign policy.