Air Force One: The Final Mission

Air Force One: The Final Mission
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Air Force One: The Final Mission
Joel Haskel Cohen
Manufacturer: Donning Company Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
General | Aviation | Transportation | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1578643635

CODENAME: MAGPIE: The Final Nazi Espionage Mission Against the U.S. in WW II
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review from Sara T. Watson

Brilliant and Entertaining Book about Nazi Spying in America

CODENAME: MAGPIE: The Final Nazi Espionage Mission Against the U.S. in WW II
By: James L. Centner
Manufacturer: BookSurge Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | United States | Americas | History | Subjects | Books
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A Spy at the Heart of the Third Reich: The Extraordinary Story of Fritz Kolbe, America's Most Important Spy in World War II

ASIN: 1419621564
Release Date: 2006-04-27

Product Description

The carefully researched and presented reconstruction of failed attempts by Nazi Intelligence to advance its cause of war during the Second World War. This history outlines the ultimately useless career of supposed spymaster Nikolaus Ritter. With his inept advances into the clandestine arts, readers will meet his protégés Erich Gimpel and William Curtis Colepaugh, true Nazi spies lurking in New York City.

Customer Reviews:

review from Sara T. Watson.......2006-10-14

Although I am a peaceable old woman whose professional life was spent teaching English literature to college students, I have an interest in military history, especially accounts of the "good war", which shaped so much of the imagination of my generation. I have been reading with enjoyment an excellent account of a relatively unknown episode of that conflict: Codename: Magpie, by James L. Centner. Colonel Centner's encyclopedic knowledge of his subject, as well as his lively style combine to make an extremely entertaining story of the almost incredibly consistent failure of Germany's espionage and sabotage, especially in the effort to carry these out in the United States. It is sobering to reflect that World War II was won by great valor, sacrifice and determination, but also by the seemingly providential failures of the enemy, the results of that hubris, arrogance and folly that consistently underestimated his foes.

Codename: Magpie resonates in today's world in ways that make the reader grateful for the past, wary of the future, hopeful that, ultimately, good prevails.

Brilliant and Entertaining Book about Nazi Spying in America .......2006-09-14

Never judge a book by its cover. I was not sure what I was expecting when I got my hands on a simple and non-discreet looking book called "Codename: Magpie - the final espionage mission against the U.S. in WWII". What I found inside was far from a simple telling of historic events about Nazi spies in America but a brilliantly written story that puts all the pieces together for the entire spy ring that Germany had in the U.S., England and other places. I was hooked and could not put the book down. Author James L. Centner nails the important issues and gives a superb analysis of the entire operation and the people involved.

It is not just the facts of this story that make this a great book but it is how Centner captures the full character and nuisances of each participant. He gets inside their heads and gives you an insightful look at what these people were like and what motivated them. I was duly impressed and fascinated. In fact, I could not put the book down until I finished it completely. It is as much a page turner as any novel. But if this were a fictional accounting of these events no one would ever believe it--it is just that hard to believe that this group was so incompetent. This whole history of this spy ring and how they actually helped Germany to lose the war is amazing stuff.

I was born in 1946 and for whatever reasons, I had missed this whole little piece of Nazi history and I thought I was a real student of WWII events. I can honestly say that I learned something from this book and enjoyed doing so. Centner makes this history come alive and is very entertaining reading. His narratives work very well as he weaves facts and details into the fabric of his story. I honestly enjoyed reading this book.

When one reads the author's bio in the back of the book it is not hard to see why this book is as good as it is. James Centner seems to have done everything in his life at the highest levels of achievement. He also has a extensive background in intelligence and the military among other things. I would actually love to read the author's autobiography someday if he chooses to write one.

This book is given the MWSA's highest book rating of FIVE STARS! It also receives my personal recommendation as a must read book. Even non-history buffs will enjoy the story.

The Last Mission: The Secret History of World War II's Final Battle

Average customer rating:

Super
Important piece of history
Good, interesting book about late war bombing of Japan
A Gripping Account of the Final Bombing Mission of WW II
Eye Witness Review

The Last Mission: The Secret History of World War II's Final Battle
Jim Smith , and Malcolm Mcconnell
Manufacturer: Broadway
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Japan | Asia | History | Subjects | Books

General | Military | History | Subjects | Books

War | Genre Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0767907787
Release Date: 2002-08-13

Book Description

A gripping account of the final American bombing mission of World War II and how it prevented a military coup that would have kept Japan in the war.

How close did the Japanese come to not surrendering to Allied forces on August 15, 1945? The Last Mission explores this question through two previously neglected strands of late—World War II history, whose very interconnections could have caused a harrowing shift in the course of the postwar world. On the final night of the war, as Emperor Hirohito recorded a message of surrender for the Japanese people, a band of Japanese rebels, commanded by War Minister Anami's elite staff, burst into the palace. They had plotted a massive coup that aimed to destroy the recordings of the Imperial Rescript of surrender and issue false orders forged with the Emperor’s seal commanding the widely dispersed Japanese military to continue the war. If this rebellion had succeeded, the military would have proceeded with large-scale kamikaze attacks on Allied forces, costing huge casualties and just possibly provoking the Americans to drop a third atomic bomb on Japan over Tokyo–and continue to drop more bombs as Japanese resistance stiffened.

Meanwhile, in the midst of an “end-of-war” celebration on Guam, Air Force radio operator Jim Smith and his fellow crewmen received urgent orders for a bombing mission over Japan’s sole remaining oil refinery north of Tokyo. As a stream of American B-29B bombers approached Tokyo, Japanese air defenses, fearing the approaching planes signaled the threat of a third atomic bomb, ordered a total blackout in Tokyo and the Imperial Palace, completely disrupting the rebels’ plans. Smith and his fellow crewmembers completed the mission, and a few hours later, the Emperor announced the surrender over Japan’s airwaves, dictating the end of the war.

The Last Mission is an insightful piece of speculative investigation that combines narrative storytelling with historical contingency and explores how two seemingly unrelated events could have profoundly changed the course of modern history.

Customer Reviews:

Super.......2007-01-19

Engaging. This is the stuff movies are made of. I hope Steven Spielberg gets a hold of this. I would be more than happy to do the adaptation and take a deferred pay.

Important piece of history.......2006-07-16

(EDIT: I'd rate the book four or five stars; somehow it is showing up here as three stars.)

This book covers an important time in history, with events toward the end of WWII, leading up to Japan's surrender.

What makes the book unique is the tie-in of author Jim Smith's bombing missions with the final events of the war, which is interesting in its own right.

But of even more interest to me was the coverage of the general events leading to the end of the war. While this material is covered in other sources, and the author includes a number of references, it is material that I was never taught in any high school or college history classes. This material is crucial to, and generally omitted from, the debate about the atomic bombings of Japan.

In my college history classes 20 plus years ago, there was a definite tilt in what we were taught, that Japan was ready to surrender, dropping the bombs was unnecessary, and it was a pretty mean-spirited thing to do.

This book shows that many in Japan were quite willing to fight on, even despite the atomic bombings. The author does a nice job weaving the tale of his final bomb run over Japan with events on the ground, and how his mission affected these events.

There is an earlier version of this story by author Smith, "The Last Mission - An Eye Witness Account by Jim B. Smith: The B29 Raid that Ended WWII." This is essentially the same story, but told in first person, and including more of a personal perspective. I also enjoyed this book, and would recommend it as well.

Good, interesting book about late war bombing of Japan.......2005-03-20

The Last Mission is subtitled "The secret history of World War II's final battle". This subtitle is a little misleading, in my opinion, as the book really focuses on late war (1945) bombing runs over Japan.

One of the two authors of the book (Jim Smith) was on a B-29B bomber at the conclusion of the war, including what he calls "The Last Mission", which was a bombing run to attack a strategic oil refinery at Akita, with the routing taking the bombers directly over Tokyo.

It is the routing of the bombers that leads Smith and McConnell to write that this mission was the final battle of the war, and perhaps their mission succeeded in ending the war by preventing the attempted coup d'etat from achieving its mission in Tokyo during that final night of August 14-15, 1945. With a full blackout in effect in Tokyo (because of the stream of American bombers passing overhead), the rebels were unable to accomplish their goals of destroying the Emporer's surrender message and convincing the armed forces of Japan to carry on the fight through the final Ketsu-go, or invasion of the Japanese home islands, where the military intended to cause heavy casualties on the Allied forces.

There is no doubt that that had the coup succeeded, the war would have continued and Allied casulaties would have been enormous during Operation Olympic (the invastion of the Japanese islands), but I do not believe that this bombing mission single-handedly prevented those casualties). I agree that the timing & routing of the bombers did indeed hamper the rebels' efforts, but I think that the war would still have ended at the same time regardless of whether this mission was conducted or not.

I enjoyed the book quite a bit; the personal history interwoven with the known history of the war makes for very interesting reading. The only reason I gave the book just 3 stars is because I disagree with the author's conclusions. I recommend the book for anyone that is seeking to understand the American bombing missions over Japan at the end of the war, but I recommend that each reader carefully draw his or her own conclusions from the text rather than simply accepting that this mission of August 14-15 made as much difference as is suggested in the manuscript.

A Gripping Account of the Final Bombing Mission of WW II.......2004-07-16

This book provides a detailed examination of the last B-29 bombing mission against the Japanese Empire, as well as a very good description of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and a compelling discussion of the attemped coup by junior Japanese military officers against the Japanese government.

By the summer of 1945, the Japanese government was on its knees. Months of stinging defeats coupled by the continuous bombing of the homeland had brought the Japanese to a state of near extinction. Some factions of the Japanese were ready to surrender, citing the mounting losses from the American bombings, but most in the military favored continuing the war while preparing for the inevitable Allied invasion. Japan would strike at the Allies with massed kamikaze attacks while fighting to the last man on the invasion beaches.

Meanwhile, the Americans had perfected the world's first atomic bombs. After a successful test in the New Mexico desert, two bombs were shipped to the Marianas for eventual drops on Japan. The first bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, while the second was dropped on Nagasaki. Even after the atomic bombings, Japan refused to surrender. The Japanese were still holding out for the final battle on the Japanese mainland. However, Hirohito and members of his cabinet were discussing the acceptance of the Potsdam Decleration, the Allied message to Japan stating the Allies would only accept unconditional surrender from the Japanese. This caused the Japanese great concern, for they wanted the freedom to disarm their own troops, prosecute their own war criminals, maintain the emperor, and have no Allied occupation. All of these terms were considered unallowable by the Allies.

At the same time, Russia had entered the war against the Japanese, and they were sweeping through Manchuria with their sights set on Northern Japan and a chance at being allowed as part of the post-war occupation force. The Allies wanted to avoid this possibility.

After a moratorium on bombing raids over Japan, the raids began again. Since most important targets had been destroyed, the target selected was the Akita Oil Company refinery in Northern Japan. Was this a coincedence, or did the Americans specifically select this target so it wouldn't fall to the Russians in the event they advanced into Northern Japan?

Radar picked up the B-29s as they were heading North, and a total blackout of Tokyo was ordered. It was feared by the Japanese that the Allies were prepared to drop a third atomic bomb on Tokyo, thus the city was blacked out. It just so happened that the blackout occurred precisely when the scheduled coup was supposed to start. The main objective was to find the wax disks that Hirohito had used to make his surrender recording on. The militants wanted to destroy these disks and make their own broadcast stating the continuance of the war. However, due to the blackout, the militants had a very difficult time finding their way around the Imperial Palace, and the coup failed. Hirohito's broadcast went on as planned. Is it possible that this one final mission indirectly lead to the failure of the coup due to the blackout order? There is compelling evidence in this book to support this argument.

I found this book to be good overall, but the title is a little misleading. Most of the book deals with the coup plotting, while only a chapter or two actually deals with the "last mission". However, I did learn some things that I didn't know before. I do recommend this book. It contains excellent information on the coup, as well as the atomic bombings, and the information that is presented about the final ission is interesting. Read this book and learn about a turbulent period in August, 1945.

Eye Witness Review.......2003-06-26

This book describes the last bombing mission by the B-29's of the 315th wing of the 20th Air Force. This is an important piece of history mainly because this mission took place after the 2nd A bomb was dropped . . . the time most historians claimed the war with Japan ended. The research that was done to write this book was done by Jim Smith, who was on this mission and knew there was more to it than just another raid on Japan's oil refineries. What came out of the research and is presented in this book is a story so important that it had to be told. What might have happened if this mission had not been flown could have cost the lives of millions of Americans and Japanese. In addition to being a good and exciting story, this is history that has not been reported before in anywhere near as much detail and with as much accuracy. I flew this mission also and have waited nearly 60 years for this story to be told. It is done well and with a high concern for accuracy by Smith and McConnell. Read it if you care anything about history as it really happened.

Average customer rating:

A Real Rambo
Not buying it
Bogus
95% Fiction
You want be able to put this book down.

The Final Mission: Spooky 8
Bob King
Manufacturer: St. Martin's Paperbacks
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

General | Military | History | Subjects | Books

Intelligence & Espionage | Military | History | Subjects | Books

Vietnam War | Military | History | Subjects | Books

Espionage | True Accounts | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0312971451

Book Description

IN VIETNAM THEY TRAINED HIM TO DO WHAT NO ONE ELSE WOULD.For seventeen years, Bob King, who began his military career as a member of the Special Forces Unit in Vietnam, led an incredible double life, carrying out the U.S. government's high-risk missions-- without involving its military. Then, in 1992, King and his men, secret members of a U.S. Tactical Reconnaissance Team, were sent to Colombia. The mission was "an easy breather," until the men walked into an ambush and found out the real reason they were there. They had been sent to die.IN SOUTH AMERICA, HE HELPED THEM FIGHT THEIR DIRTY LITTLE WAR.With three men dead, and King himself wounded, the band of mercenaries began a desperate battle for survival-- and for the truth-- that led from South America all the way to Washington, D.C. Now, in this chilling, action-packed book, Bob King goes public: with the covert operations he carried out, the hidden deals he witnessed, and the horrific shadow war he survived-- against a U.S. government desperate to bury its secrets and its own men.NOW HE KNEW THEIR SECRETS. AND THEY WANTED HIM DEAD.

Customer Reviews:

A Real Rambo.......2006-03-26

This book was written as a means of therapy and to give closure to his secret life. While every effort was made to be accurate, names, dates, places, and events were intentionally altered (p.ix). It is about a secret side to our government that is kept hidden, one that is not elected but controls our lives never the less. The book begins with an easy job that promised big money. (Shouldn't this be a warning?) The team is introduced by their talents. The job was to place some monitoring equipment at a rural airstrip, then return. But an ambush occurred, and team members were killed. They cleaned up the mess, and escaped (pp.62-4). When the remaining members of the team met at the rendezvous in Colorado, they were warned against using a cordless or cellular phone.

Chapters 9 and 10 tell of his entry into the world of black operations in Thailand, where he was involved in transporting "military supplies". In Chapter 16 Chance learns these "military supplies" were opium; this was a forerunner for Iran-Contra drug smuggling. In Chapter 17 Chance found out about the history of his black operations. It was to enrich high-level intelligence operations; they were "the biggest drug dealers in the world" (p.221). All the surviving team members wanted was to be let alone, and not hassled in other ways (pp.233-4). The Appendix gives examples of coded memos from the CIA, the Department of Energy, and the Environmental Protection Agency (what a great cover name!).

A few years before his execution, an excerpt from a letter of Timothy McVeigh was printed in the "NY Times'. It said the Federal Government wanted to recruit him for a secret organization that would execute drug dealers and corrupt politicians in this country and abroad. This book corroborates that statement. The book "Compromised" by Terry Reed tells of higher level drug deals by Government officials. Why were the Spooky 8 teams "contaminated with toxic wastes"? Because they knew too much, and their continued employment presented a future security risk (like that C-5 shot down in 1986 Nicaragua). 1992 was a critical election year. The old saying is still true: "if you sup with the Devil be sure to use a long spoon".

Not buying it.......2005-02-16

A book about a supposed "Black op" from an alleged operator. Does this TYPE of thing happen? Sure. Did this "true story" happen? No.

The book reads as though the author read one of Marcinko's books and said "I can do that". There are some glaring problems with some of the things the author claims to have done for example buying a standard camcorder and leaving it unattended to tape a target for 24 hrs. How many camcorders have you seen that have enough tape and battery life to tape 24 hrs straight? And this is minor compared to his military and combat claims.

There are plenty of books available from real oparators about real secret missions. This is a poor copy of a rogue warrior book.

Bogus.......2004-09-15

There is no doubt in my mind that the United States Government, with CIA, NSA, etc. intervention, sanctions black operations of this sort, but Bob King and this book are complete fabrications of his imagination. From technical mistakes in the content to the picture of the author on the back page, everything this title entails is bogus.

95% Fiction.......2004-05-21

I was riveted by the first 6 chapters as everything seemed quite believable. However, starting with chapter 7, characters and events became implausible and fictional. Key events and characters that moved the story forward were completely based on coincidence.

The lead character Chance has a friend in DC he hasn't seen in a number of years. He asks to stay with her. She has a friend, Beth that coincidently Chance has previously met. What a small world! Then, Beth happens to coincidently know a former SEAL, Kevin Stacey, who works in Black Ops who knows Chance and his predicament. She sets up a meeting. And guess what, he has all this documentation Chance needs to answer his unknown questions. Coincidently, this guy keeps it all in a briefcase that never leaves his side because he can't trust anyone with it. Chance later acquires the briefcase and some of the documents he needs. Inside he finds a note from Stacey saying that he hopes Chance can use the info wisely and that he hopes it will help protect Chance. Give me a break!

What really got me questioning the truth of the story is the incident in Jamaica where Chance accidentally wondered into the wrong neighborhood and had to defend himself from the local hoodlums. A nice little event to move the story along; however I don't believe that this guy is dumb enough to accidentally wonder off into the bad side of town. This character is smarter than that.

I don't question the point the story is trying to make, US Government running drugs to fund secret operations etc. I do question this story however. Chapters 1-6 could well possibly be true; however the remainder of the book reads like fiction or a movie script. It's a great read if you like fiction, but if you are looking for a story that is believable, I wouldn't recommend this book.

You want be able to put this book down........2003-06-01

I have recently become an avid reader, and this book started my hunger. Having read several books throughout college I was not one to read alot, to much going on in life. This book was recommended to me by someone at my gym. Bob King's Spooky-8 The Final Mission was written so well that I felt like Bob King in the story. I was caught up in the more than likely true story of an individual who had served our country well, yet was repaid with the threat of his life being taken from him. How can one not be captivated by a story like this. It would have been easy for an unintelligent man to tell this story in the wrong way, but Bob King does not do that. He reintroduced me to the way a story can be told, and not many books that I have read since have lived up to this mark (although mostly a fiction writter, not even Clancy). Thanks Bob King for such a revitting non-fiction book.

Flights Into History: Final Missions Retold By Research and Archaeology

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Flights Into History: Final Missions Retold By Research and Archaeology
Ian McLachlan
Manufacturer: Sutton Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Aviation | Military | History | Subjects | Books

General | Military | History | Subjects | Books

Book Description

During the Second World War, men of many nations--Britons, Americans, airmen from the Commonwealth and Occupied Europe--and their equally determined, courageous German foes--fought and died in the skies over Europe. Decades later, these wrecks and relics can reveal their secrets to the expert investigator. Their excavation and preservation can serve as a tribute to the bravery and airmanship of their crews. By reconstructing wartime events from evidence in the wreckage, eyewitness accounts and contemporary documentation, aviation archaeologists can identify the flyers involved and shed new light on the air war over Europe during the Second World War. Reconstructing events, often from wreckage recovered, new lines of research and eyewitness accounts, Ian McLachlan presents a new selection of stories vividly describing how airmen of these nations flew into history.

Average customer rating:

A work of Fiction
The Real Deal
Dialog
A Real Rambo
loved it

Spooky 8: The Final Mission
Bob King
Manufacturer: St Martins Pr
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Military & Spies | Professionals & Academics | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

State & Local Government | Government | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

General | Politics | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Rogue Warrior

ASIN: 0312205791

Amazon.com

For readers who believe truth is stranger than fiction, Bob King's tell-all book about the U.S. government's covert operations is an eye-opener. "In a world inundated with deception, media disinformation, cover stories, and lies, it's impossible to know exactly what the truth really means," writes King. "All I know for sure is that a very dark side of our government is in control." King tells how his ragtag team of blue-collar commandos, known as "Spooky 8," was frequently assembled to perform sensitive operations for the U.S. government in Central and South America. King takes a novelistic approach to his story (which purports to be rooted in fact), creating tough characters and macho dialogue. He shares Tom Clancy's love of technical detail and describes the unusual tools used by black-op professionals, such as high-powered amphetamines that "allowed us to work at 150 percent for three or four days without sleep." (The side effects: "At the end of the mission, your body shut down so hard, you might sleep for a couple of days.") The plot revolves around a government conspiracy to eliminate Spooky 8's members on what is supposed to be a simple mission of setting up surveillance equipment in the Colombian jungle. Apparently King and his buddies know too many secrets, and somebody high up wants them eliminated. Fans of Richard Marcinko's Rogue Warrior won't want to miss Spooky 8. --John J. Miller

Customer Reviews:

A work of Fiction.......2006-03-26

Every read Clancy's _Clear and Present Danger_? This is that, but not as well written. Good for conspiracy buffs.

The Real Deal.......2006-02-16

Hey, everyone - Chance is the real deal, and the book's all true. I know, because I've heard about it from some of the other guys that were on the Spooky 8 team. Sergeant James Frey can attest that the book is a true recollection of the events, as can Sergeants Jayson Blair or Stephen Glass.

Okay, I lied. But so did "Chance". This book would have been a poor excuse for fiction. The fact that it's sold as non-fiction is unbelievable. What an insult to those that actually served in the military.

About the only detail that rings true is in the acknowledgements, where he mentions SFC James D. Cohron, who is indeed missing in action.

Dialog.......2004-01-19

I read this book for a school project, after reading the back cover it sound like it was going to be a good action book, which it was for the most part. After getting done reading the whole book it left me wanting more there was simply put no conclusion, and the dialog between characters was ridiculous, it was some of the worst writing I have ever read. I will give him props for the action scenes that is when the authors writing was truly superb. King says this book is based on true accounts of his own experiences, which I do not believe, mainly because the whole plot of the book was unbelieveable, especially the part about the far seers.

A Real Rambo.......2003-09-05

Chapters 9 and 10 tell of his entry into the world of black operations in Thailand, where he was involved in transporting "military supplies". In Chapter 16 Chance learns these "military supplies" were opium; this was a forerunner for Iran-Contra drug smuggling. In Chapter 17 Chance found out about the history of his black operations. It was to enrich high-level intelligence operations; they were "the biggest drug dealers in the world" (p.221). All the surviving team members wanted was to be let alone, and not hassled in other ways (pp.233-4). The Appendix gives examples of coded memos from the CIA, the Department of Energy, and the Environmental Protection Agency (what a great cover name!).

A few years before his execution, an excerpt from a letter of Timothy McVeigh was printed in the "NY Times'. It said the Federal Government wanted to recruit him for a secret organization that would execute drug dealers and corrupt politicians in this country and abroad. This book corroborates that statement. The book "Compromised" by Terry Reed tells of higher level drug deals by Government officials. Why were the Spooky 8 teams "contaminated with toxic wastes"? Because they knew too much, and their continued employment presented a future security risk (like that C-5 shot down in 1986 Nicaragua). 1992 was a critical election year. The old saying is still true: "if you sup with the Devil be sure to use a long spoon".

loved it.......2003-04-11

i liked the extent of detail and thinking that this book portrayed and it had a great plot and theme.

2003 Columbia Space Shuttle Tragedy: Commemorating and Documenting the Final Mission of Shuttle Orbiter Columbia, STS-107: Photo Galleries, Images, Audio and Video Files, Mission and Experiments

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2003 Columbia Space Shuttle Tragedy: Commemorating and Documenting the Final Mission of Shuttle Orbiter Columbia, STS-107: Photo Galleries, Images, Audio and Video Files, Mission and Experiments
NASA World Spaceflight News
Manufacturer: Progressive Management
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: CD-ROM
ASIN: 159248137X

Book Description

This set of two CD-ROMs commemorates and documents the last flight of space shuttle Columbia which ended in the horrible, sudden loss of the vehicle and crew during entry on February 1, 2003. World Spaceflight News has covered the Space Shuttle program since its inception, and we had the unfortunate duty of reporting on the Challenger tragedy in 1986. We hoped that such a profound disaster would never occur again, but history is indeed repeating itself. It is with a heavy heart that we offer this work to memorialize the courageous efforts of the brave crew of Rick Husband, William McCool, Michael Anderson, Kalpana Chawla, David Brown, Laurel Clark, and Ilan Ramon. Their hard work in the Spacehab module aboard Columbia during STS-107 should be remembered as much as their tragic demise. It is in that spirit that we provide a comprehensive collection of documents and photographs that represent a unique historical and commemorative resource. Once again, it is the solemn duty of the nation to fix what went wrong and move forward.

Disc One begins with a brief summary of what is known about the accident, and then provides NASA biographies of each crewmember, complete experiment and hardware descriptions, and mission science information. It includes the text of the address to the nation by President Bush, mission status reports, a review of each of Columbia's previous 27 missions, and two annual shuttle program reports. Our "Photo Gallery" in Adobe Acrobat PDF format presents over 150 in-flight and pre-flight electronic images. Electronic still images from JSC are also presented as JPG files in high, medium, low, and thumbnail resolutions. Audio files provide clips of the wakeup calls during the mission.

Disc Two is devoted to KSC image files and video movie clips. There are about 1500 image files in high, medium, low, and tiny resolutions. Sixty-six video movie clips include:

* Thirteen that show animations of the payloads and Spacehab module; * Launch day activities including suitup, the walk to the astro van, and liftoff; * In-flight highlights with significant views and audio descriptions of onboard experiments; and * Landing day events including Mission Control discussing landing weather and giving the crew the "go" for the deorbit burn, and the subsequent loss of signal.

STS-107 images cover everything from crew training, orbiter processing, VAB assembly, pad rollout, suitup and launch, and inflight experiment activities.

Over 5000 pages of documents in 18 files are reproduced using Adobe Acrobat PDF software - allowing direct viewing on Windows and Apple Macintosh systems. Reader software is provided. In addition, over 2000 image files at various resolutions in JPG and GIF computer format, and 66 movie clips in MPG, MOV (Quicktime), and Real Player (RM) formats are included. In all, the two discs have over 1.2 gigabytes of digital material.

Our CD-ROMs are privately-compiled collections of official public domain U.S. government files and documents - they are not produced by the federal government. They are designed to provide a convenient user-friendly reference work utilizing the benefits of the Adobe Acrobat format to uniformly present thousands of pages that can be rapidly reviewed, searched by finding specific words, or printed without untold hours of tedious research and downloading.

Penetrating Missions' Final Frontier: A New Strategy for Unreached Peoples
Average customer rating:
Penetrating Missions' Final Frontier: A New Strategy for Unreached Peoples
Tetsunao Yamamori
Manufacturer: InterVarsity Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Evangelism | Christianity | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
Missions & Missionary Work | Evangelism | Christianity | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
General | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
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Tentmaking: Business as Missions

Focus: The Power of People Group Thinking

Missions in the Third Millennium: 21 Key Trends for the 21st Century

On Kingdom Business: Transforming Missions Through Entrepreneurial Strategies

ASIN: 0830813705

Book Description

Many governments around the world still do not allow the gospel of Jesus Christ to be preached freely. Even in open countries, many people groups still strongly resist outside influences and hold tenaciously to their traditions.Is there a way to reach across these barriers with the light of truth and a heart of love? Yes. In this fast-paced book, you will get a whirlwind tour of the world that remains virtually untouched by Christianity. In addition, the author offers creative stragies for penetrating those parts of the world that have been most resistant.It is exciting. It is practical. And it is a grand venture that you can be part of.

David Wilkerson: A Final Warning to America

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Well worth reading!
a total misrepresentation of God's true nature...

David Wilkerson: A Final Warning to America
Nicky Cruz
Manufacturer: New Leaf Press (AR)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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The Cross and the Switchblade
One Holy Fire: Let the Spirit Ignite Your Soul
Run, Baby, Run
Soul Obsession: When God's Primary Pursuit Becomes Your Life's Driving Passion

ASIN: 0892211946

Customer Reviews:

Well worth reading!.......2006-06-03

"If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear them from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land. " 2 chronicles 7:14.

I was stunned to see that this book has such a low rating. Have we truly taken to heart the teachings in the Bible? Can we honestly read it and say that all we have to do is take Jesus as our Savior, and then live as we please?

Jesus told people to sin no more, or worse things will come upon them--not to go out and do whatever they wanted--. Read it yourself: John 5:14.

How many of us truly reckon ourselves dead to sin? Romans 6:11. If this were not absolutely imperative, would it be in the Bible?

Romans 6: 6 "Knowing this ,that our old man is crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be destroyed that henceforth we should not serve sin. "

Christians should not be living like the world dabbling in sin. So often, I have heard a Christian say, "I am like everyone else only saved" That is so sad!!!

We are to be in the world, but not of it. We are no longer our own. We were redeemed at a very, very high price. We are not to be like the unsaved. I am a baby Christian--before I became a Christian, I saw how Christian's behaved. The world is definitely watching. Christians may be the only Bible some people ever read. (I read that somewhere and it is definitely a true statement!) There is no power, no holiness in the lives of people who steal and cheat and lie. If you are living in the flesh--people like me, will not see one good reason to become a Christian. It was only through, the small few Godly people I met, that I saw that Chrsitianity could be a life of victory and of joy!!!

David Wilkerson is continuing to warn us of the "worse things that will come upon us," if the people of this country continue to be ruled by the flesh instead of the spirit. Read this and ask the Holy spirit to open your eyes.

a total misrepresentation of God's true nature..........2005-08-04

God is a good God! He isn't mad at us. He not only loves us, He likes us! He will never leave us nor forsake us, no matter how badly we miss it. His love is unconditional. His mercies are new every morning. Great is His faithfulness!

These are radical statements! They go contrary to the typical Christian teaching concerning God. Usually God is represented as stern, angry, and ready to get us for the slightest misstep. This leads to conclusions and attitudes about God that hinder an intimate relationship with Him.

There are reasons for the Lord being represented harshly. In the Old Testament, the Lord vented His anger and judgment often and in devastating ways. There was Noah's flood; the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah; a death angel killed all the first born of Egypt in one night; an angel killed 185,000 Assyrian soldiers in one night; and on and on the list goes. There is no doubt our God is a holy God who hates sin and demands justice.

But there is also the portrait of God that Jesus painted through His teachings and actions. He showed mercy on the worst of sinners. He associated with publicans and harlots. The only people to receive His harsh rebukes were religious hypocrites. And His ultimate action of dying for our sins proved beyond any doubt that He came to save, not condemn the world.

How does this fit with the Old Testament view of the harshness and severity of God? Is God schizophrenic? Does He sometimes love us and other times hate us? How can we have a healthy relationship with someone who changes His moods frequently?

These are questions that present a dilemma keeping many people at arm's length from the Lord. The vast majority of people KNOW there is a God. They just don't know how to relate to Him. They are confused because there have been confusing signals sent to them, often by the church.

A minister will say that it was the Lord who sovereignly killed a baby and in the next breath ask if anyone wants to serve this GOOD GOD. We are told that God won't answer the prayer of anyone in sin, yet we are told that we all sin. Where does that leave us?

Without a prayer!

There is a simple answer to these questions and a harmony between the wrath and mercy of God. God is not schizophrenic. There is one true nature of God clearly represented in the Word and that is LOVE! First John 4:8 says,

"...God is love."

He doesn't just love at times. Love is the nature of God! Jesus gave us the greatest representation of the true nature of God ever presented. But what about the harshness of God's judgments in the Old Testament? Many expect God's mercies when we do well, but what about when we sin?

God placed our sin on Jesus and punished Him in our place. God satisfied His own demands for justice, not by punishing us but by punishing His Son in our place. This wasn't a partial payment for our sins, conditional on our holiness being added to it. It was a total payment that leaves us with nothing to do except believe and receive or doubt and do without.

Jesus' payment for our sins forever changed our relationship with the Father. If Jesus had made His sacrifice for sins in the Old Testament, then we wouldn't have seen the wrath of God vented as recorded in the Old Testament scriptures.

Here's an example. In 2 Kings 1, Elijah called fire down from heaven and killed 102 soldiers who had come to arrest him. Jesus' disciples asked to do the same thing and cited Elijah as their example. Jesus rebuked them for even thinking about such an act, saying,

"Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of. For the Son of man is not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them..." (Lk. 9:55-56)

Jesus rebuked His disciples for trying to follow Elijah's example. This shows that if Jesus had been present on the earth in His role as Messiah, Elijah's act of judgment wouldn't have happened.

There is a difference between the way God dealt with mankind under the Old Covenant and the way He deals with mankind under the New Covenant. One of the biggest problems in the church today is a failure to understand these differences. Before the sacrifice of Jesus there was harsh judgment. It wasn't because the Lord desired to punish us. His nature has always been love. But there was a price that had to be paid for sin, and until that price was paid by Jesus, He had to do something to restrain sin.

It's similar to the way we train our children. If you wait until your child is twenty years old and can comprehend exactly what you say before you begin disciplining him, you and the child will be in big trouble. A child has to be restrained from doing wrong from a very young age. At one or two years old, a child may not understand that it is the devil tempting him to take his sibling's toys. But he can understand, "If you do that again, you are going to get a spanking." He may not comprehend the issues of heaven and hell, but when the devil tempts him with covetousness, he will say "NO!" because of the fear of a spanking.

Likewise, before the new birth, the Lord restrained the amount of sin in the earth through enforcing the strict Old Testament law by harsh judgments. This put the fear of God in men, but. . .

"...fear has torment." (1 Jn. 4:18)

Although the amount of sin may have decreased by those under the law, the sin they did commit became more exceedingly sinful and damaging to their lives through the law (Rom. 7:8-13). Therefore, the law wasn't God's best, or first, way of dealing with sin. Prior to the time God gave the law through Moses, God didn't impute men's sins unto them. That means He wasn't holding men's sins against them or, as the word impute literally means, God wasn't putting men's sins on their account. Romans 5:13 says,

"Until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law."

Men were sinning, and that sin was destroying their lives. God didn't want to punish them. He was willing to show them mercy, in a sense on credit, looking forward to the sacrifice of His own Son for their sins. But men began to take the lack of God's judgment as approval.

This can be clearly seen with Cain and his descendants. Cain killed his brother Abel (Gen. 4). Instead of punishment, God extended mercy toward Cain, even putting a mark on his forehead to warn others that God was protecting him. But Cain's great-great-grandson, Lamech, interpreted this as approval of Cain's murder. Lamech killed a man in self-defense and therefore felt more justified in his killing than Cain was. He said,

"If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold, truly Lamech seventy and sevenfold." (Gen. 4:24)

God didn't say that. Lamech said that. Lamech was being presumptuous because of God's lack of punishment upon Cain. Therefore, mankind began to move so far away from a proper standard of holiness that if God had not intervened there wouldn't have been a virgin left from whom Jesus could've been born.

As Paul stated in 2 Corinthians 10:12,

"...but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves with themselves, are not wise."

This has always been the case. If one gets by with sin, others will be emboldened to commit more sin. So, before the Lord could produce the new birth where He came to live within us and guide us through the indwelling of His Holy Spirit, He placed external restraints on sin that even lost people could understand. "You sin and you die." That's the way it was. Not because that's the way God really wanted it to be, but sin had to be restrained until Jesus' atoning sacrifice could be made.

God's lack of punishment on sin had also led to a total loss of a true standard of right and wrong. Men compared themselves with others so often and for so long that no one knew what God originally intended. Something had to be done.

Therefore, God gave the law, but not because it was His best. He could have given the law to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden when they first transgressed, but He waited 2000 years until the time of Moses. That's because the law had serious side effects of condemnation and guilt. God didn't want us to run from Him but to Him. However, sin was destroying the human race and had to have some restraint before Jesus came. That's why He gave the law.

The law wasn't God attempting to save mankind. It was God showing us that we could never measure up to His holy standard. It was to drive us away from self-righteousness and toward receiving the sacrifice of Jesus by faith. Yet, amazingly, the church has interpreted it in a completely opposite manner. Most Christians think the law is wonderful and something that we are obliged to comply with as much as possible. Not!

The law was given for two main purposes. It caused us to fear God's punishment on our sins, and therefore, to those who listened, it lessened the amount of sin in our lives, thereby diminishing Satan's in-roads. Second, it totally took away all hope of being saved by any virtue of our own. The law made everyone guilty before God with no hope of justice. We needed mercy.

Those were the main purposes of the law. It was not God's list of steps one through ten thousand of what you must do to be right with God. It was God's list of all you have done wrong, proving that you can never be right with God unless He provides another form of payment. It was not to set you free. The law was to bind and destroy you. It was a severe spanking for the whole human race to turn us from sin and self-salvation.

Luke 2:14 says,
"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will TOWARD MEN."

1 John 2:2,
"And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the WHOLE WORLD."

Romans 2:4,
"knowing that it is the GOODNESS of God that leads man to repentence."

Before I learned these truths, I used to say that God would have to apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah if He didn't judge America, because we are just as deserving of judgment as they were. But now that I know the truth, I say, "If God does judge America, He will have to apologize to Jesus, because Jesus satisfied God's demands of justice."

Brave Man Fallen: The Story of the Man, His Crew, Their Planes, and His Final Mission: Regensburg, Germany, 25 February 1944

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Brave Man Fallen: The Story of the Man, His Crew, Their Planes, and His Final Mission: Regensburg, Germany, 25 February 1944
Richard J. Voynik
Manufacturer: Merriam Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1576383237

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