From Publishers WeeklyJohn Boyd (1927-1997) was a brilliant and blazingly eccentric person. He was a crackerjack jet fighter pilot, a visionary scholar and an innovative military strategist. Among other things, Boyd wrote the first manual on jet aerial combat, was primarily responsible for designing the F-15 and the F-16 jet fighters, was a leading voice in the post-Vietnam War military reform movement and shaped the smashingly successful U.S. military strategy in the Persian Gulf War. His writings and theories on military strategy remain influential today, particularly his concept of the "OODA (Observation, Orientation, Decision, Action) Loop," which all the military services-and many business strategists-use to this day. Boyd also was a brash, combative, iconoclastic man, not above insulting his superiors at the Pentagon (both military and civilian); he made enemies (and fiercely loyal acolytes) everywhere he went. His strange, mercurial personality did not mesh with a military career, making his 24 years in the Air Force (1951-1975) difficult professionally and causing serious emotional problems for Boyd's wife and children. Coram's worthy biography is deeply researched and detailed, down to describing the fine technical points of some of Boyd's theories. A Boyd advocate (he "contributed as much to fighter aviation as any man in the history of the Air Force," Coram notes), Coram does not shy away from Boyd's often self-defeating abrasiveness and the neglect and mistreatment of his long-suffering wife and children, and keeps the story of a unique life moving smoothly and engagingly.Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. From BooklistThe late Colonel John Boyd, United States Air Force, began his career as a supremely proficient fighter pilot in the Korean War, after which he went on to develop the concept of energy maneuvering that has been the basis for fighter tactics and designs for 30 years. He proceeded militantly to advocate simpler fighter designs and attracted a group of like-minded civilian and uniformed reformers, known as the Acolytes, who were mostly as unorthodox as he. After his retirement, he developed strategic concepts based on the velocity of attack, which, while they may not be as original as Coram claims, reminded the armed forces of velocity of attack at a time when they direly needed reminding. On the personal front, Boyd, the product of a dysfunctional family, generated another, which doesn't make pretty reading. The sheer mass of information Coram pumps out requires some military knowledge, if only not to be taken in by all of Coram's claims about Boyd, and such knowledgeable readers will most appreciate this study of an American military reformer. Roland GreenCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

In the one-trillionth of a second between life and death when time stops... will you be ready?Afterimage: the newest science fiction philosophical thrillerFor more: Afterimage Website

Sometimes honesty is a bitter pill to swallow. Attempting to escape a minor distraction in her medical career, Verity Thomas finds that to be true when she keeps her past private and her present, secret. Paramedic Travis Dupree vows to keep Verity's secrets, determined to crack her resolve in the process. Yet, when minor distraction becomes a major roadblock, he is forced to break his word.

Ward, ruler of Hurog, is striving to restore his lands and people to prosperity, wanting nothing more than a quiet life. But when an old friend, escaping from High King Jakoven's torturers, seeks refuge in his keep, Ward can no longer ignore the growing rebellion against the tyrannical High King. He realizes that he cannot stand aside — he must join with the rebels. However, Jakoven has a secret weapon with which he intends to crush the rebellion: farsonsbane, a magical artifact that has destroyed entire cities. But first, Jakoven needs blood to awaken it. Dragon's blood. The very blood that courses through Ward's veins…

In the pitiless post-apocalyptic future, Sparrow's confusion and self-doubt are more than mere teenage angst. How much more may determine the future. Mixing symbolism from the Tarot deck, voodoo mythology, and a finely detailed vision of life and technology after the nuclear war, Bull has come up with yet another winner. Sparrow's video-age consciousness has obvious appeal for the MTV generation. A tense, ferocious dance on the deteriorating high wire of the future. Nominated for Nebula Award for Best Novel in 1991. Nominated for Hugo and World Fantasy awards in 1992.

Each weekday from 2:00-4:00 p.m., Grace and Ashton cohost Battle of the Sexes, a radio program arguing the he-said/she-said issues of the day. Their fiery debates often have listeners wondering if there’s more to their relationship than just talk, even though Grace has been dating Phillip, Mr. Tall, Dark, and Perfect, since long before she ever met Ashton Miller. Yet when news comes that Battle of the Sexes is on the bubble for cancellation, Grace and Ashton need to step up their efforts to engage their audience to keep the show alive. When a charity organization approaches them and proposes that the two of them kiss for a fund raiser, Grace and Ash agree to kiss for a good cause. A kiss is just a kiss, right? Or can one kiss really change everything?**

The Ogre of Barega? Not this dad! Vet Jessica Harvey had need of Dr. Niall Mountmarche's professional services, and it was clear that he needed her loving support of his small daughter, Paige. Jess had to convince Niall that being reclusive and behaving like the Ogre of Barega wasn't the best way of helping Paige overcome her problems – or his own! But no matter how close the three of them became, Jess knew that Niall was holding something back, just as she was. If she could confide her past to him, would Niall stay on the island? It didn't seem likely…

The Second Algernon Blackwood Megapack collects 28 more classic tales of the supernatural by one of the greatest ghost story writers of all time. Included in this volume are:SKELETON LAKESMITH: AN EPISODE IN A LODGING-HOUSEA SUSPICIOUS GIFTTHE EMPTY HOUSETHE LISTENERMAY DAY EVECARLTON'S DRIVEIF THE CAP FITS—THE MAN WHO PLAYED UPON THE LEAFOLD CLOTHESTHE ECCENTRICITY OF SIMON PARNACUTETHE GOLDEN FLYTHE TRANSFERTHE ATTICTHE GLAMOUR OF THE SNOWSANDH.S.H.A DESERT EPISODEBY WATERTHE GOBLIN'S COLLECTIONA BIT OF WOODAN EGYPTIAN HORNETCAIN'S ATONEMENTTHE OTHER WINGTHE DANCE OF DEATHTHE GARDEN OF SURVIVALA CASE OF EAVESDROPPINGCLAIRVOYANCE