When Neil Reynolds was first asked to work as a private military contractor in Iraq, he didn’t even know where it was on the map. But the Border War veteran and former SANDF officer would quickly learn the ins and outs of working and surviving in that war-torn country. It was 2003 and the US-led coalition that had toppled Saddam Hussein was confronted with a savage insurgency.

His candid, unvarnished account tells of the numerous challenges faced by private military contractors in Iraq: from avoiding ambushes on the highways in and around Baghdad to buying guns on the black market and dodging bullets on several hair-raising protection missions. He describes how his team’s low-profile approach allowed them to blend in with the local population and mostly kept them and their clients safe.

Reynolds also tells the tragic story of four South African colleagues who were kidnapped and killed outside Baghdad in 2006.

As an asthmatic teenager in the 1950s, I longed for a life in a place more exotic and warm for my condition than the then dreary Britain. National Service seemed to offer such a chance to a stockbroker's clerk (office boy) such as me. It did. I ended up, after disappointments danger and drama, in Egypt. What could be more exciting to an 18 year old than the land of the Pharaohs, pyramids and permanent (almost) sun? Adventures and misadventures abounded there for me. I have tried to relate them in an as amusing a narrative as possible. Come with me on this sometimes hilarious, sometimes disastrous journey.

Counting the Days is the story of six prisoners of war imprisoned by both sides during the conflict the Japanese called the Pacific War. As in all wars, the prisoners were civilians as well as military personnel. Two of the prisoners were captured on the second day of the war and spent the entire war in prison camps: Garth Dunn, a young Marine captured on Guam who faced a death rate in a Japanese prison 10 times that in battle; and Ensign Kazuo Sakamaki, who suffered the ignominy of being Japanese POW number 1. Simon and Lydia Peters were European expatriates living in the Philippines; the Japanese confiscated their house and belongings, imprisoned them, and eventually released them to a harrowing jungle existence caught between Philippine guerilla raids and Japanese counterattacks. Mitsuye Takahashi was a U.S. citizen of Japanese descent living in Malibu, California, who was imprisoned by the United States for the duration of the war, disrupting her life and separating her from all she owned. Masashi Itoh was a Japanese soldier who remained hidden in the jungles of Guam, held captive by his own conscience and beliefs until 1960, 15 years after the end of the war. This is the story of their struggles to stay alive, the small daily triumphs that kept them going--and for some, their almost miraculous survival.

We've all heard the axiom that "people" are the greatest asset in every organization. But are all people "equal"? Designed to be a bit edgy, this book reveals how some people - today's Veterans - often bring more positive to the table than their civilian-trained constituents and how this difference is a benefit to the organization. Navy veteran Mike Schindler, Founder and CEO of Operation Military Family, tells the stories of our returning heroes so that we might gain a true understanding of life for returning vets and their families. While addressing some of the hardships of returning vets, Schindler also reveals another side of America's heroes the side that celebrates the triumphs and hirable qualities offered by our veterans including: A Strong Work Ethic A Positive Attitude The Willingness to Do More Strong Job Preparedness Being Solution Minded High Energy U.S. Veterans in the Workforce sheds light on the American heroes who come home to new heroic endeavors the ones that make America worth fighting for. It creates a bridge between the military and civilian divide and helps both veterans and civilians understand how their differences contribute to the overall vision.