Books by Jim DeFelice

Country music icon, army veteran, father, outdoorsman—Craig Morgan shares all aspects of his life, revealing stories even his most avid fans don’t know. Written with Jim DeFelice, author of the #1 New York Times bestseller American Sniper In 1989, as US news outlets declared an end to Operation Just Cause, Craig Morgan was part of an elite group of military operatives jumping into the jungle along the Panamanian border on a covert operation. Fans know the country music star from his hit songs and acclaimed albums, but there’s a lot more to him—a soldier who worked with the CIA in Panama, an undercover agent who fought sex traffickers in Thailand, and a dedicated family man who lives the values he sings. Craig details these many facets of his life and more in God, Family, Country. An on-stage appearance with his father’s band at age ten may have planted the seeds for life as a country star, but first he trained as a paratrooper in the army. After earning numerous distinctions, his path to sergeant major was all but assured. Then came a momentous decision: he left the active military to pursue music. With unwavering support from his wife and a pack of part-time jobs, he toughed out the lean years and achieved his first big success with the poignant ballad “Almost Home.” Other hits soon followed, from party songs like “Redneck Yacht Club” to the soul-rending “The Father, My Son, and the Holy Ghost.” Born from the anguish of his son Jerry’s passing, the song’s tribute has consoled and inspired millions across the world. Duty to country has been a constant throughout his life and globe-spanning career. In 2006, as “That’s What I Love about Sunday” topped country radio charts, Craig was riding in a convoy of Humvees in Iraq. An avid outdoorsman, a former sheriff’s deputy who’s still a member of the auxiliary, and always a husband and father first, Craig Morgan will inspire you with his life lived by the deepest values: God, family, country.

From Arizona Senator Ruben Gallego, a "powerful" and "searing" memoir of his journey from childhood poverty to Harvard to the Marine Corps, where served in the hardest-hit unit of the Iraq War At first, they were “Lucky Lima.” Infantryman Ruben Gallego and his brothers in Lima Company—3rd Battalion, 25th Marines, young men drawn from blue-collar towns, immigrant households, Navajo reservations—returned unscathed on patrol after patrol through the increasingly violent al Anbar region of Iraq. After two months, Lima didn't have a casualty, not a single Purple Heart, no injury worse than a blister. Then, in May 2005, Lima’s fortunes flipped. Unknown to Ruben and his fellow grunts, al Anbar had recently become a haven for al Qaeda in Mesopotamia. The bin Laden-sponsored group had recruited radicals from all over the world for jihad against the Americans. On one fateful day, they were lured into a death house; the ambush cost the lives of two men, including a platoon sergeant. Two days later, Ruben’s best friend, Jonathon Grant, died in an IED attack, along with several others. Events worsened from there. A disastrous operation in Haditha in August claimed the lives of thirteen Marines when an IED destroyed their amphibious vehicle. It was the worst single-day loss for the Marines since the 1983 Beirut bombings. By the time 3/25 went home in November, it had lost more men than any other single unit in the war. Forty-six Marines and two Navy Corpsmen serving with the battalion in Iraq were killed in action during their roughly nine-month activation. They Called Us “Lucky” details Ruben Gallego’s journey and includes harrowing accounts of some of the war’s most costly battles. It details the struggles and the successes of Ruben and the rest of Lima Company following Iraq, examining the complicated matter of PTSD. And it serves as a tribute to Ruben’s fallen comrades, who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country.

"Now at 95, one of the few living members of the Greatest Generation shares his experiences at last in one of the most remarkable World War II stories ever told. As the Allied Invasion of Normandy launched in the pre-dawn hours of June 6, 1944, Henry Langrehr, an American paratrooper with the 82nd Airborne, was among the thousands of Allies who parachuted into occupied France. Surviving heavy anti-aircraft fire, he crashed through the glass roof of a greenhouse in Sainte-Me re-E glise. While many of the soldiers in his unit died, Henry and other surviving troops valiantly battled enemy tanks to a standstill. Then, on June 29th, Henry was captured by the Nazis. The next phase of his incredible journey was beginning. Kept for a week in the outer ring of a death camp, Henry witnessed the Nazis' unspeakable brutality--the so-called Final Solution, with people marched to their deaths, their bodies discarded like cords of wood. Transported to a work camp, he endured horrors of his own when he was forced to live in unbelievable squalor and labor in a coal mine with other POWs. Knowing they would be worked to death, he and a friend made a desperate escape. When a German soldier cornered them in a barn, the friend was fatally shot; Henry struggled with the soldier, killing him and taking his gun. Perilously traveling westward toward Allied controlled land on foot, Henry faced the great ethical and moral dilemmas of war firsthand, needing to do whatever it took to survive. Finally, after two weeks behind enemy lines, he found an American unit and was rescued. Awaiting him at home was Arlene, who, like millions of other American women, went to work in factories and offices to build the armaments Henry and the Allies needed for victory. Whatever It Took is her story, too, bringing to life the hopes and fears of those on the homefront awaiting their loved ones to return. A tale of heroism, hope, and survival featuring 30 photographs, Whatever It Took is a timely reminder of the human cost of freedom and a tribute to unbreakable human courage and spirit in the darkest of times."--Amazon.com

"Seventy-five years ago, he hit Omaha Beach with the first wave. Now Ray Lambert, ninety-eight years old, delivers one of the most remarkable memoirs, a tour-de-force of remembrance evoking his role as a decorated World War II medic who risked his life to save the heroes of D-Day."--Publisher's description.

The New York Times–bestselling author shares "moving and passionate" true stories of people who found their purpose through perseverance and service ( Publishers Weekly, starred review). Taya Kyle entered a period of deep grief when she lost her husband, "American Sniper" Chris Kyle. Yet the experience served as a catalyst for profound growth. Taya found her own reserve of strength with the help of family and friends—and also many strangers across America, who shared their own stories of suffering and survival. Inspired by their courage, Taya discovered her calling: spreading a message of how we can triumph over personal pain and heal our communities. Working with trusted collaborator Jim DeFelice (coauthor of American Sniper and American Wife), Taya tells her own story, as well as those of other Americans who have built extraordinary lives after grappling with loss, illness, all manner of setback: a 9/11 survivor, badly burned over 60% of his body, who asked himself What debt to do I owe to God?; a man with the hole in his heart who runs ultramarathons; a young cancer victim whose lemonade stand inspired a revolutionary new model for fighting cancer; a pastor who became an undercover investigator, and more. The more than thirty individual profiled here embody the "American spirit" of resilience, faith, and togetherness that has built the nation. In the end, their stories teach us that "every action, big or small, has the potential to spark someone else's movement."

The Red Dragon Rising Series discounted ebundle includes: Shadows of War, Edge of War, Shock of War, Blood of War "Larry Bond is the literary heir of Tom Clancy.”—Stephen Coonts More than twenty years ago, Larry Bond helped Tom Clancy write Red Storm Rising, the iconic techno thriller of the Cold War era. Now he returns (with Jim DeFelice) to start a new classic series for our era, Larry Bond’s Red Dragon Rising, which imagines the globe torn apart by climate change and its economic and geopolitical fallout. Shadows of War Rapid climate change leads to mass riots in China, and a new communist premier seeks to relieve pressure by marching on traditional Chinese enemies in Southeast Asia. Desperately coping with its own problems, the United States wants to avoid nuclear war at all costs--but ultimately must fight to preserve world peace. Edge of War CIA officer Mara Duncan faces her most grueling assignment yet: get scientist Josh MacArthur and a seven-year-old witness to Chinese atrocities in Vietnam out of the country safely. With a relentless Chinese monk turned commando and the entire Chinese secret service in Vietnam at their back, it's not going to be easy. Shock of War Under secret orders from the President, U.S. Army Major Zeus Murphy sabotages a Chinese invasion fleet on the eve of its assault against Vietnam. But after Murphy and fellow officer Win Christian are trapped behind enemy lines, Christian's erratic behavior gives them away. The pair shoot their way out of a Chinese airport terminal, hijack a bus, then barely escape two truckloads of soldiers before disappearing into the night. Blood of War As depression and drought wrack China, the country's new premier has launched a deadly war with Vietnam. The assault has left the world on the precipice of disaster....U.S. Army Major Zeus Murphy disobeys his commander and plunges headlong into the conflict, leading the Vietnamese in a covert attack against the Chinese army massing on the border. If the gambit fails, China will roll over Vietnam—and Zeus will lose the only woman he has ever loved, kept prisoner in a secret base north of Hanoi. Forge books by Larry Bond & Jim DeFelice First Team Series Larry Bond's First Team Larry Bond's First Team: Angels of Wrath Larry Bond's First Team: Fires of War Larry Bond's First Team: Soul of the Assassin At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

The #1 New York Times–bestselling coauthor of American Sniper details the history of the nineteenth-century express mail service that spanned the American west. On the eve of the Civil War, three American businessmen launched an audacious plan to create a financial empire by transforming communications across the hostile territory between the nation's two coasts. In the process, they created one of the most enduring icons of the American West: the Pony Express. Daring young men with colorful names like "Bronco Charlie" and "Sawed-Off Jim" galloped at speed over a vast and unforgiving landscape, etching an irresistible tale that passed into myth almost instantly. Equally an improbable success and a business disaster, the Pony Express came and went in just eighteen months, but not before uniting and captivating a nation on the brink of being torn apart. Jim DeFelice's brilliantly entertaining West Like Lightning is the first major history of the Pony Express to put its birth, life, and legacy into the full context of the American story. The Central Overland California and Pikes Peak Express Company—or "Pony Express," as it came to be known—was part of a plan by William Russell, Alexander Majors, and William Waddell to create the next American Express, a transportation and financial juggernaut that already dominated commerce back east. All that stood in their way were almost two thousand miles of uninhabited desert, ice-capped mountains, oceanic plains roamed by Indian tribes, whitewater-choked rivers, and harsh, unsettled wilderness. The Pony used a relay system of courageous horseback riders to ferry mail halfway across a continent in just ten days. The challenges the riders faced were enormous, yet the Pony Express succeeded, delivering thousands of letters at record speed. The service instantly became the most direct means of communication between the eastern United States and its far western territories, helping to firmly connect them to the Union. Populated with cast of characters including Abraham Lincoln (news of whose electoral victory the Express delivered to California), Wild Bill Hickock, Buffalo Bill Cody (who fed the legend of the Express in his Wild West Show), and Mark Twain (who celebrated the riders in Roughing It), West Like Lightning masterfully traces the development of the Pony Express and follows it from its start in St. Joseph, Missouri—the edge of the civilized world—west to Sacramento, the capital of California, then booming from the gold rush. Jim DeFelice, who traveled the Pony's route in his research, plumbs the legends, myths, and surprising truth of the service, exploring its lasting relevance today as a symbol of American enterprise, audacity, and daring.

Fighting was a practiced routine for Lieutenant Ivan Castro. But when a mortar round struck the rooftop of his sniper's post in Iraq, he found himself in a battle more difficult than even he could have imagined. The direct hit killed two other soldiers and nearly claimed Castro's life as well. Mangled by shrapnel and badly burned, Castro was medevac'd to Germany more dead than alive. His lungs were collapsed. He couldn't hear. One eye had been blown out, the nerve to the other severed. In the weeks and months that followed, Castro would find that physical darkness was nothing compared to the emotional darkness of loss and despair. Desperate for a reason to live, he eventually fought his way back to health through exercise and a single-minded goal: running a marathon. Once he set his course, there was no stopping him. Stubborn to a point that at times bordered on insanity, he managed not only to recover but to return to active duty. Since 2007, he has run over two dozen marathons, including the Boston Marathon in 2013, where he was one of the runners diverted when the bombs exploded. Today, Castro helps prepare soldiers for combat, working exactly as if he were "sighted." Fighting Blind, this frankly told account of his struggle through adversity, the highs and lows and the always bumpy road in between, is a story of hope and perseverance against the odds: an Unbroken for the present generation.

New York Times–Bestselling Authors: A roboticist aids the FBI in fighting Eastern European criminals using AI—until things go very wrong . . . Louis Massina is revolutionizing the field of robotics. His technological wonders are capable of locating disaster survivors, preventing nuclear meltdowns, and replacing missing limbs. After one of Massina's creations makes a miraculous rescue, an FBI agent recruits him to pursue Russian mobsters running a massive financial scam—and not coincidentally, suspected of killing the agent's brother. Massina agrees to deploy a surveillance bot that uses artificial intelligence to follow its target. But when he's thrust into a dangerous conspiracy, the billionaire inventor decides to take matters into his own hands—unleashing the greatest cyberweapons in the world and becoming the Puppet Master . . . . Acclaim for Dale Brown "Authentic [and] riveting." — San Francisco Chronicle "Gripping." — New York Times

After tracking a mysterious UAV to a group of Muslim extremists in Borneo, the Whiplash team race against time to recover their stolen technology and discover who is bankrolling the group before they start World War III.

Now a major motion picture From 1999 to 2009, U.S. Navy SEAL Chris Kyle recorded the most career sniper kills in United States military history. His fellow American warriors, whom he protected with deadly accuracy from rooftops and stealth positions during the Iraqi War, called him "The Legend"; meanwhile the enemy feared him so much they placed a bounty on his head. Gripping and unforgettable, Kyle's masterful account of his extraordinary battlefield experiences ranks as one of the great war memoirs of all time. Includes new material by Taya Kyle

On the President's orders . . . one man is tasked with averting nuclear war When the U.S. develops intelligence showing that Iran is in the final stages of assembling a nuclear bomb, the President orders Breanna Stockard and the Whiplash team to destroy it before the renegade nation can destabilize the shaky Middle East. Left with no other choice, Stockard sends young Air Force ace Turk Mako behind enemy lines. His orders: pilot a squadron of high-tech nano-UAVs from inside Iran to destroy the weapon and its assembly bunker. Turk and his accompanying Delta Force team succeed, only to discover another site and another device. With the fate of the region hanging in the balance, Turk and Delta Force must fight off Revolutionary Guards, Iranian MiGs, and the elite Quds Force to locate and destroy the second weapon. With time running out, Turk takes matters into his own hands, hoping to accomplish what no machine ever could . . . stop a nuclear war before it begins.

Captain Breanna Stockard is training the Brunei Air Force to fly the EB-52 Megafortress, but the routine assignment is sent into a tailspin with a violent attempted kidnapping. With a major arms deal about to take place in this volatile region on the world, it's up to Breanna and her husband Major Jeff 'Zen' Stockard to uncover a plot that could mean Armageddon...

He was known as "the G.I. General" - humble, self-effacing, hard-working, reflecting the small-town virtues of the America whose uniform he wore. But those very virtues have led historians to neglect General Omar Bradley - until now. Bestselling author Jim DeFelice, in this, the first-ever biography of America's last five-star general, tells Bradley's full story, and argues that the neglected G.I. General did more than any other to defeat Hitler in World War II. DeFelice reveals: Why Bradley deserves most of the credit for America's victories in North Africa How Bradley was one of Patton's great defenders and tried to cover up the infamous slapping incident How Eisenhower panicked - when Bradley didn't - during the early stages of the Battle of the Bulge Why Bradley expected the Germans might use radiological weapons at Normandy Meticulously researched, using previously untapped document and unpublished diaries, Omar Bradley: General at War deserves a place on the shelf of every reader of World War II history.

NOW A BLOCKBUSTER MOTION PICTURE DIRECTED BY CLINT EASTWOOD—NOMINATED FOR SIX ACADEMY AWARDS, INCLUDING BEST PICTURE This special enhanced edition features more than 10 exclusive videos with Chris Kyle and an additional 15 images and descriptions of the weapons used by the armed forces in their fight against terrorism overseas. From 1999 to 2009, U.S. Navy Seal Chris Kyle recorded the most career sniper kills in United States military history. His fellow American warriors, whom he protected with deadly precision from rooftops and stealth positions during the Iraq War, called him “The Legend”; meanwhile, the enemy feared him so much they named him al-Shaitan (“the devil”) and placed a bounty on his head. Kyle, who was tragically killed in 2013, writes honestly about the pain of war—including the deaths of two close SEAL teammates—and in moving first-person passages throughout, his wife, Taya, speaks openly about the strains of war on their family, as well as on Chris. Gripping and unforgettable, Kyle’s masterful account of his extraordinary battlefield experiences ranks as one of the great war memoirs of all time. Please note that due to the large file size of these special features this enhanced e-book may take longer to download then a standard e-book.

A volatile U.S. ally has fallen prey to the terrorist beast. India is the target of radical Islamic jihadists, and the world watches breathlessly as tensions escalate between the uneasy giant and its longtime nemesis Pakistan—with China waiting in the wings, eager to flex its military might. A nuclear showdown seems inevitable, unless the masterminds at Dreamland can get to the mysterious source of the terror and end it, swiftly and permanently. Every technological wonder the military possesses must be employed to avert an all-out Apocalypse—from an awesome new hybrid Navy destroyer to robot Flighthawks. But the fate of the region and the world will depend on the newest brainchild of the Dreamland team: an unproven instrument of ultimate power code-named End Game.

By the summer of 1944 it was clear that Japan's defeat was inevitable, but how the drive to victory would be achieved remained unclear. The ensuing drama—that ended in Japan's utter devastation—was acted out across the vast theater of Asia in massive clashes between army, air, and naval forces. In recounting these extraordinary events, Max Hastings draws incisive portraits of MacArthur, Mao, Roosevelt, Churchill, Stalin, and other key figures of the war in the East. But he is equally adept in his portrayals of the ordinary soldiers and sailors caught in the bloodiest of campaigns. With its piercing and convincing analysis, Retribution is a brilliant telling of an epic conflict from a master military historian at the height of his powers.

“Once upon a time there was a REVOLUTION.” There’s never been a nation like the United States of America. It's impossible to imagine the world without it—but do you know the wild and true story of how it came into existence? On our 250th anniversary, the hunger for America’s story has never been greater. Who better to tell it than historian Eric Metaxas, author of seven New York Times bestsellers, including the ground-breaking, million-selling biography of Dietrich Bonhoeffer? With the passion, erudition, and irrepressible wit that have become his signature, Metaxas’s REVOLUTION brings the epic of America’s birth to life so fully that you will feel you are a part of the story, which is precisely the point. By turns deeply moving, gripping, and spectacularly entertaining, these are the stories every American must know, including some of history’s noblest heroes — and some despicable villains. REVOLUTION also touches on the role that sacrifice, character, and faith played in the great struggle for “the Sacred Cause” of liberty. George Washington, John Adams, Nathan Hale, Henry Knox, Horatio Gates, Israel Putnam, Benedict Arnold and many others all come to life for a new generation of Americans. At more than 600 pages—with photos, maps, and illustrations—REVOLUTION is definitive and sweeping, an astonishing epic containing a dazzling array of stories, ranging from the explosive events that led up to Lexington and Concord,all the way through the impossible twists and turns of the war itself—including the Battle of Bunker Hill, the Crossing of the Delaware, Saratoga, and the bitter winter at Valley Forge — all the way to the final victory in Yorktown and “The World Turned Upside Down.” Unless we ourselves know the true story of the Revolution—what some have called America’s “founding myth”—we cannot play the role we are meant to play in the Revolution that still continues today. This is our story. We need to know it. For such a time as this.

Investigating the murder of the only woman he has ever loved, rogue FBI agent Andy Fisher discovers that the killing is linked to a clean energy project that has been sabotaged as part of a Chinese government plot to steal technology.

New York Times–Bestselling Authors: These CIA operatives are on a mission in the Sudan that's classified—and illegal . . . In the blistering heat of the Sudan, the CIA has gone rogue. On the trail of a notorious terrorist, Agency operatives have overstepped their sanctioned boundaries. And now the ultimate weapon has fallen into the wrong hands. As Danny Freah and his spec-ops team scramble to recover a top-secret aircraft that has crashed in Africa, Whiplash Director Jonathon Reid finds himself mysteriously shut off from information about the robot drone and its mission. Maneuvering through the twisted back corridors of the CIA and Washington's power elite, Reid discovers secrets both illegal and highly dangerous—a virtually unstoppable assassin and an out-of-control clique within the Agency. Torn between loyalty and conscience, Reid must find a way to alert the president and avert a national disaster. But with the Whiplash team caught in the chaos of a brutal African civil war and CIA officials desperate to keep Reid from telling what he knows, a monster re-emerges to target its creators . . . Praise for Dale Brown "The best military adventure writer in the country." —Clive Cussler "The novels of Dale Brown brim with violent action, detailed descriptions of sophisticated weaponry, and political intrigue . . . His ability to bring technical weaponry to life is amazing." — San Francisco Chronicle

"The 20th mystery in the #1 New York Times-bestselling Armand Gamache series. Somewhere out there, in the darkness, a black wolf is feeding. Several weeks ago, Chief Inspector Armand Gamache of the Sûreté du Québec and his team uncovered and stopped a domestic terrorist attack in Montréal, arresting the person behind it. A man they called the Black Wolf. But their relief is short-lived. In a sickening turn of events, Gamache has realized that plot, as horrific as it was, was just the beginning. Perhaps even a deliberate misdirection. One he fell into. Something deeper and darker, more damaging, is planned. Did he in fact arrest the Black Wolf, or are they still out there? Armand is appalled to think his mistake has allowed their conspiracy to grow, to gather supporters. To spread lies, manufacture enemies, and feed hatred and division. Still recovering from wounds received in stopping the first attack, Armand is confined to the village of Three Pines, leading a covert investigation from there. He must be careful not to let the Black Wolf know he has recognized his mistake. In a quiet church basement, he and his senior agents Beauvoir and Lacoste, pore over what little evidence they have. Two notebooks. A few mysterious numbers on a tattered map of Québec. And a phrase repeated by the person they had called the Grey Wolf. A warning... In a dry and parched land where there is no water. Gamache and his small team of supporters realize that for the Black Wolf to have gotten this far, they must have powerful allies, in law enforcement, in industry, in organized crime, in the halls of government. From the apparent peace of his little village, Gamache finds himself playing a lethal game of cat and mouse with an invisible foe who is gathering forces and preparing to strike"--

The hunt is on for a mystery weapon shooting down American planes over Iraq in the New York Times–bestselling author's high-tech military thriller series. Hidden in the Nevada desert is Dreamland—a top-secret research center developing experimental artillery and aircraft that push beyond the cutting edge. It is also home to Whiplash—a covert team of special forces trained to deploy the high-tech weapons in extreme situations. Whiplash's latest mission begins when a series of American planes are shot down over Iraq in mysterious circumstances. There is no way that conventional weapons could have executed the deadly efficient strikes. Can the Iraqis have developed a laser capable of causing such mayhem? Fearing a major international crisis, the President sends a call out to Dreamland. Within hours, some of the most sophisticated aircraft in the world are heading for the Gulf, with orders to track down the mystery weapon—and destroy it.

CIA officer Mara Duncan travels to bomb-torn Hanoi to get scientist Josh MacArthur and a seven-year-old witness to Chinese atrocities in Vietnam out of the country safely. This operation will either be one of the most daring triumphs of all time or one of the most foolish suicide raids ever attempted.

From the coauthor of the #1 New York Times bestselling American Sniper comes a remarkable true story of heroism and sacrifice in World War II. In the darkest days of 1942, an Allied force set out to capture the Nazi-occupied French port of Dieppe. More than two years had passed since the British had been humiliated at Dunkirk, and nearly nine months since the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor. The Germans held the continent in a death grip. Now, some six thousand British and Canadian troops were attempting to gain a foothold on Hitler's domain. Joining the crusaders were fifty hand-selected, specially-trained soldiers from a new commando unit. These were to be the first Americans to fight in Europe, and they would become known as the U.S. Army Rangers. The mission was doomed, but the bravery the Rangers displayed proved that Americans were every bit as tough as their allies and enemies. Drawn from firsthand accounts and historical documents, this is an unforgettable story of the forging of an American legacy that still endures today. “[A] carefully researched and brilliantly executed narrative of the modern Rangers’ baptism in blood.”—America in WWII

"Move over Clancy, readers know they can count on Coonts." -Midwest Book Review A spy plane gathering data on a new Russian weapon is blown out of the sky by a mysterious MiG. Is it an accident or the start of the next world war? One U.S. agency has what it takes to find out-the National Security Agency and its covert operations team: DEEP BLACK. Working for the NSA, ex-Marine sniper Charlie Dean is dispatched to Russia, hooking up with former Delta Force trooper Lia DeFrancesca to find out what happened to the plane. The Deep Black team stumbles across an even more alarming secret-a plot to assassinate the Russian president and overthrow the democratic government by force. The coup could have dire consequences for Russia and the world. With no clearance from the government it's called on to protect, the National Security Agency goes to war. But before Lia and Dean can unravel the conspiracy, they learn that one of the spy plane's passengers-an NSA techie-survived the crash. Critical information could fall into enemy hands. And that enemy is playing to the death. "Coonts knows how to write and build suspense." --The New York Times Book Review

When the CIA is tipped off that one of its most wanted men is going to be in Bologna, Italy, Ferg and the First Team are tasked to apprehend him at any cost--but under no circumstances can Italian authorities be made aware. There is just one problem: no one has seen the man in over ten years, and he is only known by a decades-old code-name: T-Rex. This assassin has been involved in the murder of at least a dozen prominent western leaders, and the grapevine reveals he's been called out of a long, silent hiding for one more major strike. Ferg and the Team arrive in Italy, where they recruit the help of a beautiful French Samaritan named Jane Foucoult. Her knowledge leads them on a search that goes behind the scenes of a conference on genetics and onto a trail to a sinister Russian scientist, a leader at the forefront of biological-weapons research. Splitting the team in two, Ferg and Guns go after the ghosts they speculate could be T-Rex, and Rankin and Thera get on the scientist's tail. But what they uncover is way beyond a single assassination attempt, and they find themselves about to go head-to-head with the most lethal terrorist cells known to man.

A journey into the hell that is the War on Terror—a Heart of Darkness for the new century. Former Army Special Forces soldier Jack Pilgrim has it all – big bucks, a successful security business with plush government contracts, a beautiful wife. Then Pilgrim's partner, Merc Conrad, goes missing in Afghanistan with a chunk of government cash and most of the company's assets. The CIA threatens to throw Pilgrim in jail if he doesn't find Merc and return the money. Pilgrim knows his business--and his extravagant lifestyle--are on the line, but Merc saved Jack's life three times while they served together in the Army in Afghanistan. So Jack owes him. Big. Determined to find Conrad, Pilgrim returns to Afghanistan. The country in chaos as the US prepares to pull out. Pilgrim follows Merc's trail to the border area of Pakistan; with every step he seems to descend deeper into a Dantesque hell. Rumor has it that Conrad has fielded a guerilla army and is hot on the trail of Osama bin Laden. The further into the uncharted border zone Jack Pilgrim goes, the larger the legend of Merc Conrad becomes. Warding off insurgent attacks and pockets of terror cells, Pilgrim's odyssey into the Afghan badlands has him questioning his own reality, and the closer he seems to get to Conrad, the more peril he faces. If Jack Pilgrim wants to get out of Afghanistan alive, he may need Merc Conrad now more than ever.