Ranger Games A Story Of Soldiers Family And An Inexplicable Crime

Ranger Games A Story Of Soldiers Family And An Inexplicable Crime Book in PDF, ePub and Kindle version is available to download in english. Read online anytime anywhere directly from your device. Click on the download button below to get a free pdf file of Ranger Games A Story Of Soldiers Family And An Inexplicable Crime book. This book definitely worth reading, it is an incredibly well-written.

Ranger Games

Author : Ben Blum
Publisher : Bond Street Books
Page : 368 pages
File Size : 55,7 Mb
Release : 2017-09-12
Category : Biography & Autobiography
ISBN : 9780385681438

Get Book

Ranger Games by Ben Blum Pdf

In the tradition of Truman Capote and Jon Krakauer, a brilliant exploration of an inexplicable crime and its devastating consequences for the author's family. As a child Ben Blum was a math prodigy adrift in a family of alpha males, foremost among them his first cousin Alex, an immensely popular high school hockey star who had one unshakeable goal in life: endure a brutally difficult training course, become a U.S. Army Ranger and fight terrorists for his country. He succeeded, but on the last day of his leave before deployment, Alex got into his car with two fellow soldiers and two strangers, drove to a local bank in Tacoma and committed armed robbery. The question that haunted Ben, the entire Blum family and even Alex was: Why? Alex didn't need money--his family was well off. He had never had the slightest trouble with the law. He believed passionately in the Ranger's creed, which emphasized honour above all. At first, Alex insisted he thought the robbery was just another exercise in the famously daunting Ranger training program. His attorney presented a case based on the theory that the Ranger indoctrination mirrored that of a cult. Or was it the influence of the soldier who planned the robbery, Alex's superior, Luke Elliott Sommer, a charismatic combat veteran full of swagger and grandiose schemes? Facing his own personal crisis, and in the hopes of helping both Alex and his splintering family cope, Ben delved into these mysteries, growing closer to Alex in the process. As he probed further, he also came to know Sommer, whose manipulative tendencies, combined with a magnetic personality, lured Ben into a relationship that put his loyalties to the test. Intricate, heartrending and morally urgent, Ranger Games is a true crime story like no other. Ben's enormous compassion for his cousin deepens and complicates his search for the answers to profound questions of guilt and innocence, conformity and free will, truth and lies, right and wrong, and how far crisis can stretch the bonds of family.

Ranger Games

Author : Ben Blum
Publisher : Anchor Canada
Page : 0 pages
File Size : 40,5 Mb
Release : 2018-07-31
Category : Biography & Autobiography
ISBN : 9780385681445

Get Book

Ranger Games by Ben Blum Pdf

In the tradition of Truman Capote and Jon Krakauer, a brilliant exploration of an inexplicable crime and its devastating consequences for the author's family. As a child Ben Blum was a math prodigy adrift in a family of alpha males, foremost among them his first cousin Alex, whose one unshakeable goal in life was to endure the brutally difficult training course and become a U.S. Army Ranger, fighting terrorists for his country. He succeeded, but on the last day of his leave before deployment, Alex got into his car with two fellow soldiers and two strangers, drove to a local bank in Tacoma and committed armed robbery. The question that haunted Ben, the entire Blum family and even Alex was: Why? Alex didn't need money--his family was well off. A model citizen, he believed passionately in the Ranger's creed, which emphasized honour above all. Was the robbery an elaborate Ranger exercise, as Alex claimed it was? His attorney presented a case based on the theory that the Ranger indoctrination mirrored that of a cult. Or was it the influence of the soldier who planned the robbery, Alex's superior, Luke Elliott Sommer, a charismatic combat veteran full of swagger and grandiose schemes? Facing his own personal crisis, and in the hopes of helping both Alex and his splintering family cope, Ben delved into these mysteries, growing closer to Alex in the process. As he probed further, he also came to know Sommer, whose manipulative tendencies, combined with a magnetic personality, lured Ben into a relationship that put his loyalties to the test. Intricate, heartrending and morally urgent, Ranger Games is a true crime story like no other. Ben's enormous compassion for his cousin deepens and complicates his search for the answers to profound questions of guilt and innocence, conformity and free will, truth and lies, right and wrong, and how far crisis can stretch the bonds of family.

Secrets of a Marine's Wife

Author : Shanna Hogan
Publisher : St. Martin's Press
Page : 320 pages
File Size : 43,6 Mb
Release : 2019-02-26
Category : True Crime
ISBN : 9781250127327

Get Book

Secrets of a Marine's Wife by Shanna Hogan Pdf

In Secrets of a Marine's Wife, award-winning journalist and New York Times bestselling author Shanna Hogan tells the true story of a young Marine wife whose illicit affair ended in tragedy. In June 2014, 19-year-old Erin Corwin was living a quiet life in Twentynine Palms, California, expecting her first child with her husband, U.S. Marine Corporal Jon Corwin—until the day she drove off into the desert and never returned. As temperatures climbed into the hundreds, friends and family teamed up with local law enforcement in a grueling search of Joshua Tree National Park. Nearly two months after her disappearance, Corwin's body was found at the bottom of an abandoned mine shaft, a homemade garrote wrapped around her throat. Suspicions mounted within the tight-knit Marine community as residents questioned if the killer was one of their own. Fellow Marine Christopher Lee and his wife lived next door to the Corwins, and the two young couples had leaned on each other for support. But detectives soon discovered that Chris and Erin's relationship had developed into a whirlwind romance that consumed them both and called the paternity of Corwin's baby into question. Lee told investigators he'd been out hunting the day of Corwin's disappearance, but his claims of innocence soon began to crumble. And while Erin was researching baby names, Lee was reportedly searching the internet for ways to dispose of a human body. Through interviews, court records, and extensive research, bestselling true-crime author Shanna Hogan constructs a chilling story of betrayal, deception, and tragedy.

Couple on Cedar Close

Author : Anna-Lou Weatherly
Publisher : Sphere
Page : 352 pages
File Size : 41,7 Mb
Release : 2021-01-21
Category : Electronic
ISBN : 0751579807

Get Book

Couple on Cedar Close by Anna-Lou Weatherly Pdf

One sunny August afternoon, the residents of Cedar Close throw their annual summer barbecue. Children play in the cherry-tree lined street, tables are laden with food, and the wine is flowing. For Laurie Mills, it's her first time meeting the neighbours. And it's the first time she discovers her husband Robert is having an affair.Cedar Close has always been a nice place to live - a quiet suburban street where everyone looks out for one another and bad things don't happen.Until late one evening, when Robert Mills is found dead in his bedroom.Downstairs, in their beautiful kitchen, his wife Laurie sits alone in the dark with her head in her hands.She can't remember the last few hours, but she knows she didn't kill Robert.The trouble is, no-one believes her...An utterly gripping page-turner about the dark secrets that lie behind closed doors. Perfect for fans of JP Delaney's The Girl Before and Gone Girl, The Couple on Cedar Close will keep you reading late into the night.Read what everyone is saying about The Couple on Cedar Close:'A.......maz........ing, what a fantastic book, loved every word on every page, a great psychological thriller that held my interest throughout and I didn't want it to end...I could carry on raving about this book but just read it for yourself, I can definitely recommend, you will not be disappointed.' NetGalley Reviewer, 5 stars'Gripping, page turner, disturbing, just a few words I would use to describe this fantastic read! I loved this book, it reminded me of The Girl on the Train and quickly became one of my new favorites!' Goodreads Reviewer, 5 stars'Ten stars for being able to keep me up until 4 a.m. I just HAD to finish this book! I cannot begin to describe how riveting this novel was. Great writing, characterizations, plot, timing, suspense--it has it all. Trust me, you will NOT be able to put it down until you finish reading it. So many mediocre thrillers out there that this one hit me like a ton of bricks. Absolutely SUPERB!' NetGalley Reviewer, 5 stars'What an explosive read...this is a loop the loop rollercoaster of a ride, you better strap in and get ready, your head will be spinning trying to keep up with all the twists, betrayals, friendships, heartache, loss... this book has it all, puts a whole new meaning on the term psychological thriller!!!' Goodreads Reviewer, 5 stars

Fish Girl

Author : Donna Jo Napoli,David Wiesner
Publisher : HarperCollins
Page : 192 pages
File Size : 45,5 Mb
Release : 2017-03-07
Category : Juvenile Fiction
ISBN : 9781328809391

Get Book

Fish Girl by Donna Jo Napoli,David Wiesner Pdf

The triple Caldecott winner David Wiesner brings his rich visual imagination and trademark artistry to the graphic novel format in a unique coming-of-age tale that begins underwater. A young mermaid, called Fish Girl, in a boardwalk aquarium has a chance encounter with an ordinary girl. Their growing friendship inspires Fish Girl's longing for freedom, independence, and a life beyond the aquarium tank. Sparkling with humor and brilliantly visualized, Fish Girl's story will resonate with every young person facing the challenges and rewards of growing up.

Acceptable Loss

Author : Kregg P. Jorgenson
Publisher : Presidio Press
Page : 262 pages
File Size : 45,5 Mb
Release : 2010-08-25
Category : History
ISBN : 9780307432582

Get Book

Acceptable Loss by Kregg P. Jorgenson Pdf

In just ten months in Vietnam, he was overrun, shot up, but not underworked—he survived fifty-four missions as point man. He has one hell of a story to tell. You didn't get into the Rangers without volunteering, and you didn't stay on point unless you liked it. But after watching most of his buddies die in a firefight when his LRRP team was overrun by the NVA, Kregg Jorgenson volunteered to serve on a Blue Team in the Air Cavalry, racing to the aid of soldiers who faced the same dangers he had barely survived. Whether enduring NVA sapper attacks, surviving “friendly” fire, or landing in hot LZs, Jorgenson discovered that in Vietnam you never knew whether you were paranoid or just painfully aware of the possibilities.

The Year of the Dogs

Author : Vincent J. Musi
Publisher : Chronicle Books
Page : 309 pages
File Size : 54,7 Mb
Release : 2019-12-03
Category : Photography
ISBN : 9781452182094

Get Book

The Year of the Dogs by Vincent J. Musi Pdf

From an opera-loving Labrador to a tooting bulldog, a chronicle of the character and personality of everyday dogs from a National Geographic photographer. Discover the stunning collection of photographs that shows the majesty, playfulness, and joy that is man’s best friend: As a National Geographic photographer, taking pictures of lions, tigers, and bears was a regular day’s work for Vincent Musi, but in 2017 he gave himself a new challenge: dogs. Using the same lighting and photographic techniques he uses for his National Geographic photography, Musi spent a year shooting portraits of dogs and compiling them into a book complete with all of the tail wags, wet noses, and dogs of all shapes and sizes. With delightful and informative bios displayed next to each portrait, The Year of the Dogs will have you entertained and doggedly coming back for more. “This gorgeous tribute to man’s best friend is the perfect gift for the dog-lover in your life—or anyone who needs to be convinced that dogs have just as much personality as humans.” —The Pioneer Woman “You’ve probably seen work by Vincent Musi before. He’s a regular National Geographic photographer and his work has covered topics like volcanoes, illegal immigration, global warming, hurricanes and the like. His latest book, though, is quite different in subject matter. It’s a book about dogs—your average pet pooch—and it’s fabulous . . . Paging through the book is a delight.” —Photo District News “For the dog lover who also loves photography, you can’t go wrong with this coffee table book from photographer Vincent J. Musi.” —InStyle (Holiday Gift Pick)

In the Sanctuary of Outcasts

Author : Neil White
Publisher : William Morrow
Page : 0 pages
File Size : 52,7 Mb
Release : 2016-06-13
Category : Biography & Autobiography
ISBN : 0062158317

Get Book

In the Sanctuary of Outcasts by Neil White Pdf

Following conviction for bank fraud, White spent a year in a minimum-security prison in Carville, Louisiana, housed in the last leper colony in mainland America. His fascinating memoir reflects on the sizable group of lepers living alongside the prisoners.--"Publishers Weekly."

What I Learned at The 'Zoo

Author : Dale Beasley
Publisher : Bookbaby
Page : 0 pages
File Size : 54,6 Mb
Release : 2020-04-25
Category : Family & Relationships
ISBN : 1098307216

Get Book

What I Learned at The 'Zoo by Dale Beasley Pdf

Sent from his military family's assignment in Germany back to learn his roots, 14-year-old Dale Beasley discovers in just one summer that his story encompasses a bizarre assortment of individuals, incidents, and experiences. Addiction, conspiracies, music, and religion -- all wrapped up in a humorous blend of summertime heat. Family. Relationships. Memories. Some tears but mostly deep belly laughs.

Rescuing Soldiers of Misfortune

Author : Evan R. Seamone
Publisher : Charles C Thomas Publisher
Page : 370 pages
File Size : 47,8 Mb
Release : 2018-12-06
Category : Law
ISBN : 9780398092498

Get Book

Rescuing Soldiers of Misfortune by Evan R. Seamone Pdf

This unique book concerns those veteran inmates who have failed to complete a readjustment process and who continue to wage their own personal wars to regain a sense of normalcy – those veterans who have not yet redeployed home from combat even though they have relocated to the inherently traumatizing confinement setting. Aside from identifying factors that will help those seeking to be aware of the unique problems of incarcerated veterans and those advocating for them, the book attempts to help these individuals as well as correctional professionals understand veteran inmates and their “unique” needs, which stem from military service. The text offers that programs must be implemented flexibly despite operational and budgetary challenges. The book clearly provides guidelines to develop relevant programs that do far more than simply warehouse troublesome individuals. Major topics include: components of veterans’ readjustment; military discipline and military discharge; the relationship between military service and crime; criminal manifestations of military service, war zone deployment, and combat trauma; veterans’ benefits and outreach during incarceration; popular approaches to divert veterans from confinement; attributes of veterans’ groups in confined settings; institutionally-based programs for veterans; veterans’ dorms; and urgency in the preparation for the coming “storm” of veteran offenders. This book, which represents years of research and the author’s experience as a military lawyer in both prosecution and defense, is an important reference for a variety of readers, including law enforcement and first responders, corrections professionals, mental health providers, lawyers, judges, and anyone who desires to understand the challenges faced by military veterans in conflict with the law.

Unbroken (Movie Tie-in Edition)

Author : Laura Hillenbrand
Publisher : Ballantine Books
Page : 722 pages
File Size : 52,5 Mb
Release : 2018-08-21
Category : Biography & Autobiography
ISBN : 9781984818447

Get Book

Unbroken (Movie Tie-in Edition) by Laura Hillenbrand Pdf

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The incredible true story of survival and salvation that is the basis for two major motion pictures: 2014’s Unbroken and the upcoming Unbroken: Path to Redemption. On a May afternoon in 1943, an Army Air Forces bomber crashed into the Pacific Ocean and disappeared, leaving only a spray of debris and a slick of oil, gasoline, and blood. Then, on the ocean surface, a face appeared. It was that of a young lieutenant, the plane’s bombardier, who was struggling to a life raft and pulling himself aboard. So began one of the most extraordinary odysseys of the Second World War. The lieutenant’s name was Louis Zamperini. In boyhood, he’d been a cunning and incorrigible delinquent, breaking into houses, brawling, and fleeing his home to ride the rails. As a teenager, he had channeled his defiance into running, discovering a prodigious talent that had carried him to the Berlin Olympics and within sight of the four-minute mile. But when war had come, the athlete had become an airman, embarking on a journey that led to his doomed flight, a tiny raft, and a drift into the unknown. Ahead of Zamperini lay thousands of miles of open ocean, leaping sharks, a foundering raft, thirst and starvation, enemy aircraft, and, beyond, a trial even greater. Driven to the limits of endurance, Zamperini would answer desperation with ingenuity; suffering with hope, resolve, and humor; brutality with rebellion. His fate, whether triumph or tragedy, would be suspended on the fraying wire of his will. In her long-awaited new book, Laura Hillenbrand writes with the same rich and vivid narrative voice she displayed in Seabiscuit. Telling an unforgettable story of a man’s journey into extremity, Unbroken is a testament to the resilience of the human mind, body, and spirit. Praise for Unbroken “Extraordinarily moving . . . a powerfully drawn survival epic.”—The Wall Street Journal “[A] one-in-a-billion story . . . designed to wrench from self-respecting critics all the blurby adjectives we normally try to avoid: It is amazing, unforgettable, gripping, harrowing, chilling, and inspiring.”—New York “Staggering . . . mesmerizing . . . Hillenbrand’s writing is so ferociously cinematic, the events she describes so incredible, you don’t dare take your eyes off the page.”—People “A meticulous, soaring and beautifully written account of an extraordinary life.”—The Washington Post “Ambitious and powerful . . . a startling narrative and an inspirational book.”—The New York Times Book Review “Marvelous . . . Unbroken is wonderful twice over, for the tale it tells and for the way it’s told. . . . It manages maximum velocity with no loss of subtlety.”—Newsweek “Moving and, yes, inspirational . . . [Laura] Hillenbrand’s unforgettable book . . . deserve[s] pride of place alongside the best works of literature that chart the complications and the hard-won triumphs of so-called ordinary Americans and their extraordinary time.”—Maureen Corrigan, Fresh Air “Hillenbrand . . . tells [this] story with cool elegance but at a thrilling sprinter’s pace.”—Time “Unbroken is too much book to hope for: a hellride of a story in the grip of the one writer who can handle it.”—Christopher McDougall, author of Born to Run

The Trouble with Twins

Author : Kathryn Siebel
Publisher : Yearling
Page : 258 pages
File Size : 50,8 Mb
Release : 2018-01-09
Category : Juvenile Fiction
ISBN : 9781101932766

Get Book

The Trouble with Twins by Kathryn Siebel Pdf

Kate DiCamillo meets Lemony Snicket in this darkly comic novel about two sisters who learn they are each others' most important friend! Imagine two twin sisters, Arabella and Henrietta--nearly identical yet with nothing in common. They're the best of friends . . . until one day they aren't. Plain and quiet Henrietta has a secret plan to settle the score, and she does something outrageous and she can't take it back. When the deed is discovered, Henrietta is sent to live with her eccentric great-aunt! Suddenly life with pretty, popular Arabella doesn't seem so awful. And, though she's been grievously wronged, Arabella longs for her sister, too. So she hatches a plan of her own and embarks on an unexpected journey to reunite with her other half.

Hotels, Hospitals, and Jails

Author : Anthony Swofford
Publisher : Twelve
Page : 189 pages
File Size : 49,7 Mb
Release : 2012-06-05
Category : Biography & Autobiography
ISBN : 9781455506729

Get Book

Hotels, Hospitals, and Jails by Anthony Swofford Pdf

The publication of Jarhead launched a new career for Anthony Swofford, earning him accolades for its gritty and unexpected portraits of the soldiers who fought in the Gulf War. It spawned a Hollywood movie. It made Swofford famous and wealthy. It also nearly killed him. Now with the same unremitting intensity he brought to his first memoir, Swofford describes his search for identity, meaning, and a reconciliation with his dying father in the years after he returned from serving as a sniper in the Marines. Adjusting to life after war, he watched his older brother succumb to cancer and his first marriage disintegrate, leading him to pursue a lifestyle in Manhattan that brought him to the brink of collapse. Consumed by drugs, drinking, expensive cars, and women, Swofford lost almost everything and everyone that mattered to him. When a son is in trouble he hopes to turn to his greatest source of wisdom and support: his father. But Swofford and his father didn't exactly have that kind of relationship. The key, he realized, was to confront the man-a philandering, once hard-drinking, now terminally ill Vietnam vet he had struggled hard to understand and even harder to love. The two stubborn, strong-willed war vets embarked on a series of RV trips that quickly became a kind of reckoning in which Swofford took his father to task for a lifetime of infidelities and abuse. For many years Swofford had considered combat the decisive test of a man's greatness. With the understanding that came from these trips and the fateful encounter that took him to a like-minded woman named Christa, Swofford began to understand that becoming a father himself might be the ultimate measure of his life. Elegantly weaving his family's past with his own present-nights of excess and sexual conquest, visits with injured war veterans, and a near-fatal car crash-Swofford casts a courageous, insistent eye on both his father and himself in order to make sense of what his military service meant, and to decide, after nearly ending it, what his life can and should become as a man, a veteran, and a father.

Theft of Swords

Author : Michael J. Sullivan
Publisher : Orbit
Page : 487 pages
File Size : 40,5 Mb
Release : 2011-11-23
Category : Fiction
ISBN : 9780316200714

Get Book

Theft of Swords by Michael J. Sullivan Pdf

Royce Melborn, a skilled thief, and his mercenary partner, Hadrian Blackwater, make a profitable living carrying out dangerous assignments for conspiring nobles-until they are hired to pilfer a famed sword. What appears to be just a simple job finds them framed for the murder of the king and trapped in a conspiracy that uncovers a plot far greater than the mere overthrow of a tiny kingdom. Can a self-serving thief and an idealistic swordsman survive long enough to unravel the first part of an ancient mystery that has toppled kings and destroyed empires? And so begins the first tale of treachery and adventure, sword fighting and magic, myth and legend. When author Michael J. Sullivan self-published the first books of his Riyria Revelations, they rapidly became ebook bestsellers. Now, Orbit is pleased to present the complete series for the first time in bookstores everywhere.

Feeding Ghosts

Author : Tessa Hulls
Publisher : McClelland & Stewart
Page : 402 pages
File Size : 45,9 Mb
Release : 2024-03-05
Category : Comics & Graphic Novels
ISBN : 9780771010712

Get Book

Feeding Ghosts by Tessa Hulls Pdf

Persepolis meets Crying in H Mart in this astonishing, deeply moving graphic memoir of three generations of women, exploring love, grief, exile, identity, and forgiveness. In her evocative, genre-defying graphic memoir, Tessa Hulls tells the story of three generations of women: her grandmother, Sun Yi; her mother, Rose; and herself. Sun Yi was a Shanghai journalist caught in the political crosshairs of the 1949 Communist victory in China. After fleeing to Hong Kong with her young daughter, Sun Yi wrote a bestselling memoir about her persecution and survival—then promptly had a breakdown that left her committed to a mental institution. Growing up, Tessa watches her mother care for Sun Yi, both of them struggling under the weight of Sun Yi’s unexamined trauma and mental illness. Vowing to escape her mother’s smothering fear, Tessa leaves home and travels to the farthest, most remote corners of the globe. But once she turns thirty, her roaming begins to feel less like freedom and more like running away, so she returns to face the history that shaped her family. Extensively researched and gorgeously rendered, Feeding Ghosts is Tessa’s homecoming, a vivid journey into the beating heart of one family, set against the dark backdrop of modern Chinese history. By turns fascinating and heartbreaking, inventive and poignant, Feeding Ghosts exposes the fear and trauma that haunt generations, and the love that holds them together.