Phil Gioia grew up an army brat during the decades after World War II. Drawn to the military, he attended the Virginia Military Institute, then was commissioned in the U.S. Army, where he completed Jump School and Ranger School. Not even a year after college graduation, he landed in Vietnam in early 1968-in the first weeks of the Tet offensive, which marked a major escalation of the war. Commanding a company in the 82nd Airborne Division, Gioia led his paratroopers into the city of Hue for intense fighting-danger was always just around the corner -and the grisly discovery of mass graves. Wounded, he was sent home in May but returned with the 1st Cavalry Division a year later, this time leading a rucksack company of light infantry. Inserted into far-flung landing zones, Gioia and his men patrolled the jungles and rubber plantations along the Cambodian border, looking for a furtive enemy who preferred ambushes to set-piece battles and nighttime raids to daylight attacks. Danger Close! recounts the Vietnam War from the unique boots-on-the-ground perspective of a young officer who served two tours in two different divisions. He tells his story thoughtfully, straightforwardly, and always vividly, from the raw emotions of unearthing massacred human beings to the terrors of fighting in the dark, with red and green tracers slicing the air. Hard to put down and hard to forget, Danger Close! will remind readers of the best Vietnam memoirs, like Guns Up! and Baptism.

There are only three days left until Christmas. Thousands of elves in Santa's huge workshops at the North Pole are busy, building the finest toys for all good little girls and boys, around the world. On Christmas Eve, Santa will once again make his famous, world-circling tour in a single night. Led by Rudolph with his red nose, Santa's famed team of nine champion reindeer will pull his huge sleigh, loaded with toys of every description. But Santa and Mrs Claus learn that one of the reindeer cannot join the team this Christmas. So they set out to find a replacement reindeer. Then, ALL of the reindeer come down with a malady known as 'Flying Reindeer Flu', and are grounded For the first time since the very first Christmas, it appears that little girls and boys around the world may not receive any presents at all, on Christmas morning. It could be a disaster, but at the last minute, a cute little Yak steps in, and in a way that can only be appreciated by Phil's imaginative dialogue and writing, saves the day