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.

Walter R. Somerville, Jr., was born in an impoverished community but worked his way up the ladder to becoming assistant commandant for civil rights in the United States Coast Guard. In his 54 years of public service to the people of the United States, he was a relentless advocate for creating a Coast Guard culture that values diversity, for increasing representation of minorities and women in the military service, for developing the Coast Guard's recruiting initiative for the 21st century, and much, much more. He is a graduate of the 1992 program for senior managers in government, the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University.

From their humble beginnings as a small, select band responsible for protecting the leader of the Nazi Party, to its million members and 38 divisions by the end of World War II, the SS achieved some of the most stunning victories in the annals of warfare, while also committing a catalogue of war crimes. Including 500 photographs, many seldom seen outside the personal archives of former soldiers, Waffen-SS: Hitler's Elite in Photographs contains all the battles and campaigns that the Waffen-SS fought, including Poland, France and on the Eastern Front. The book charts the growth of the Panzer divisions, their battlefield tactics, recruitment and organization of units, and an examination of the weapons and equipment. Leading figures, such as 'Sepp' Dietrich, Felix Steiner and Joachim Peiper, are also featured. But the Waffen-SS were not just highly-trained troops. From the beginning the black-uniformed men of the armed Schutzstaffel (Protection Squad) were ideological warriors, selected on the basis of rigid racial and physical standards, who viewed with contempt the members of those races classed by National Socialist ideology as being sub-human. This book does not shy away from their atrocities. Waffen-SS: Hitler's Elite in Photographs is a full pictorial record of the development, combat actions and criminal activity of Hitler's Praetorian Guard, before and during World War II.

Oppose Any Foe is the epic story of America's most elite warriors: the Special Operations Forces. Born as small appendages to the conventional armies of World War II, the Special Operations Forces have grown into a behemoth of 70,000 troops, including Navy SEALs, Army Special Forces, Air Force Night Stalkers, Special Operations Marines, Rangers, and Delta Force. Weaving together their triumphs and tribulations, acclaimed historian Mark Moyar introduces a colorful cast of military men, brimming with exceptional talent, courage and selflessness. In a nation where the military is the most popular institution, America's Special Operations Forces have become the most popular members of the military. Through nighttime raids on enemy compounds and combat advising of resistance movements, special operators have etched their names into the nation's registry of heroes. Yet the public knows little of the journey that they took to reach these heights, a journey that was neither easy nor glamorous. Fighting an uphill battle for most of their seventy-five year history, the Special Operations Forces slipped on many an occasion, and fell far on several. Presidents from Franklin Roosevelt to Barack Obama have enthusiastically championed Special Operations Forces, but their enthusiasm has often surpassed their understanding, resulting in misuse or overuse of the troops. Lacking clearly defined missions, Special Operations Forces have had to reinvent themselves time and again to prove their value in the face of fierce critics-many of them from the conventional military, which from the start opposed the segregation of talent in special units. Highlighting both the heroism of America's most elite soldiers and the controversies surrounding their meteoric growth, Oppose Any Foe presents the first comprehensive history of these special warriors and their daring missions. It is essential reading for anyone interested in America's military history-and the future of warfare.

Karel Kuttelwascher may have had a German surname, but he was a Czech who became the scourge of the Luftwaffe bombers operating from France and the Low Countries in 1942. Flying with the RAF's legendary No. 1 Squadron, his destruction of fifteen aircraft in only three months earned him the DFC twice in a mere forty-two days, and made him the RAF's top night intruder ace. After his daring escape from German-occupied Czechoslovakia, he flew in the ferocious Battle of France and participated in the final weeks of the Battle of Britain as one of Churchill's 'Few'. During the early circus operations, he clocked up his first three kills before playing a part in the famous Channel Dash. However, it was in the lauded but lonely night intruder role that his individualistic skills came to the fore. Flying a long-range Hawker Hurricane IIC armed with 20-mm cannon, the man the wartime media dubbed the 'Czech Night Hawk' unleashed a reign of terror that included shooting down three Heinkel bombers in just four minutes.

From the strong running currents of the Cunene River to the early morning dawn over Cassinga, this book tells the story of a South African Special Forces officer's dedication to his cause.

The rivalry between Captain Tom Maclachlan and Timothy Shikongo, commander of SWAPO's Special Units, takes the reader on a journey through the Angolan Bush war where no mercy was given or taken with the harsh reality of their destinies. Kill or be killed.

When a female doctor was abducted by Mamba as part of a grand betrayal, it was Tango Mike who followed the trail. The scene was set for a terriffic battle between two top military opponents with no clear outcome. There was only one parallel: they were both soldiers.

The truth behind the SAS' most famous mission. Drawing on extensive research, Operation Nimrod dispels the myths and reveals the truth of those six long days, and the dramatic rescue that thrust the SAS into the public eye. On 29th April 1980, British police assured Iran that their embassy was secure. The very next day, terrorists stormed the embassy and took twenty-six hostages. With the Iranian government willing to let the hostages become martyrs, and the British government only willing to talk if the terrorists surrendered, twenty-six lives hung in the balance. What followed was six days of tension and terror. It was finally ended when the SAS launched a daring rescue mission, broadcast live on television. Millions held their breath, waiting to see the outcome of Operation Nimrod.