Heroes and Cowards

Heroes and Cowards PDF

Author: Dora L. Costa

Publisher: Princeton University Press

Published: 2010-09-02

Total Pages: 344

ISBN-13: 1400829755

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When are people willing to sacrifice for the common good? What are the benefits of friendship? How do communities deal with betrayal? And what are the costs and benefits of being in a diverse community? Using the life histories of more than forty thousand Civil War soldiers, Dora Costa and Matthew Kahn answer these questions and uncover the vivid stories, social influences, and crucial networks that influenced soldiers' lives both during and after the war. Drawing information from government documents, soldiers' journals, and one of the most extensive research projects about Union Army soldiers ever undertaken, Heroes and Cowards demonstrates the role that social capital plays in people's decisions. The makeup of various companies--whether soldiers were of the same ethnicity, age, and occupation--influenced whether soldiers remained loyal or whether they deserted. Costa and Kahn discuss how the soldiers benefited from friendships, what social factors allowed some to survive the POW camps while others died, and how punishments meted out for breaking codes of conduct affected men after the war. The book also examines the experience of African-American soldiers and makes important observations about how their comrades shaped their lives. Heroes and Cowards highlights the inherent tensions between the costs and benefits of community diversity, shedding light on how groups and societies behave and providing valuable lessons for the present day.

Company of Cowards

Company of Cowards PDF

Author: Jack Schaefer

Publisher: University of New Mexico Press

Published: 2017-08-15

Total Pages: 191

ISBN-13: 0826358640

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This classic novel of courage and redemption introduces Jared Heath. Heath, a captain in the Union army, is stripped of rank and court-martialed for cowardice after refusing to march his men into a suicide mission. Yet he has a chance to regain his honor when he is charged with leading Company Q, a unit of misfit officers also disgraced and charged with cowardice. If Heath can make them an effective fighting force, there is a possibility that all of them will be redeemed and pardoned. Will this unit of outcasts prevail and succeed when given the opportunity to show their courage, or will they find defeat deep in Comanche country?

Where Cowards Go to Die

Where Cowards Go to Die PDF

Author: Benjamin Sledge

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Published: 2022-07-05

Total Pages: 312

ISBN-13: 1684513111

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A former soldier awarded the Bronze Star and Purple Heart tells the story of overcoming the mental and physical wounds of war on a fifteen year odyssey that led him back to the very place where his nightmares began—and the only place redemption was possible. While serving a portion of his time under the Special Operations Command, Benjamin Sledge fought to keep his humanity amid the killing fields of Iraq and Afghanistan. But war never leaves its participants uscathed. In Where Cowards Go to Die, Sledge reveals an unflinchingly honest portrait of war that few dare to tell. Stationed on a small base on the border of Pakistan in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks of September 11, the young warrior returned home shattered after embracing the barbarity he witnessed around him. Haunted by his experiences overseas, he began a 15 year odyssey wrestling with mental health, purpose, and faith, that eventually drove him to volunteer for another combat tour in the deadliest city of the Iraq War—Ramadi. In his memoir, Sledge vividly captures the reality of the men and women who learn to fight without remorse, love each other without restraint, and suffer the high cost of returning to a country that no longer feels like home. “In life or war, you’ll die a coward by refusing to live and act selflessly. Or you can kill your inner cowardice for something greater to emerge. But either way, a coward dies.” -Benjamin Sledge

Nation of Cowards

Nation of Cowards PDF

Author: David H. Ikard

Publisher: Indiana University Press

Published: 2012-09-04

Total Pages: 174

ISBN-13: 0253007011

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An argument for intense and organized activism from the African American community to generate discussion on race in the United States. In a speech from which Nation of Cowards derives its title, Attorney General Eric Holder argued forcefully that Americans today need to talk more—not less—about racism. This appeal for candid talk about race exposes the paradox of Barack Obama’s historic rise to the US presidency and the ever-increasing social and economic instability of African American communities. David H. Ikard and Martell Lee Teasley maintain that such a conversation can take place only with passionate and organized pressure from Black Americans, and that neither Obama nor any political figure is likely to be in the forefront of addressing issues of racial inequality and injustice. The authors caution Blacks not to slip into an accommodating and self-defeating “post-racial” political posture, settling for the symbolic capital of a Black president instead of demanding structural change. They urge the Black community to challenge the social terms on which it copes with oppression, including acts of self-imposed victimization. “A clarion call to our nation’s conscience. Free from overly academic jargon, but full of powerful wordplay and brilliant juxtapositions, this book is a fascinating tour de force from start to finish. Those seeking a clear and concise explanation of the state of African America and the ongoing need for a “black agenda” during—and even after—the administration of the first African American president need look no further.” —Reiland Rabaka, author of The Hip Hop Movement and Du Bois: A Critical Introduction “Nation of Cowards offers an analysis of the Obama administration is as thorough as it is compact. Here are the hard questions that must be asked of the first black presidency and an insightful draft of how history may regard it. Ikard and Teasley are well ahead of that curve.” —Jelani Cobb, author of The Substance of Hope:Barack Obama & the Paradox of Progress

The Characters of Easter

The Characters of Easter PDF

Author: Daniel Darling

Publisher: Moody Publishers

Published: 2021-02-02

Total Pages: 178

ISBN-13: 0802499724

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Meet the unlikely people who witnessed history’s greatest event. At Easter, the Son of God took on the world’s sin and defeated the devil, death, and grave. How is it, then, that history’s most glorious moment is surrounded by fearful fishermen, despised tax collectors, marginalized women, feeble politicians, and traitorous friends? In The Characters of Easter, you’ll become acquainted with the unlikely collection of ordinary people who witnessed the miracle of Christ’s death and resurrection. Enter their stories and ultimately draw closer to Christ Himself as you encounter His Passion through their experiences. Take a journey back to first-century Palestine and walk in the shoes of legendary people like Simon Peter, Judas, Pilate, John, Mary Magdalene and others. This book provides a fresh approach to the Lenten season and can be used as a devotional or study for both individuals and groups. Once you’ve learned about the characters of Easter, meet those who witnessed the birth of Christ in the companion title The Characters of Christmas.

Just Get Home

Just Get Home PDF

Author: Bridget Foley

Publisher: MIRA

Published: 2021-04-13

Total Pages: 400

ISBN-13: 1488078335

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"Breathtaking... so much more than a thriller." —Josh Malerman, bestselling author of Bird Box and Malorie "Hits the thriller trifecta: a natural disaster, danger around every corner, and compelling well-drawn characters." —Heather Gudenkauf, New York Times bestselling author A one-more-page, up-all-night story about two strangers who need each other's help to survive the night after a devastating earthquake shakes Los Angeles. Beegie is riding the bus when the quake hits. The teenager was heading back to her unhappy foster home, but then she’s thrown into a broken world. Roads crumble, storefronts shatter and people run wild. Dessa, a single mom, is enjoying a rare night out when it strikes. Cell towers are down, so without even knowing if her three-year-old daughter is dead or alive, she races to get back across town. As danger escalates in the chaotic streets, Beegie and Dessa meet by a twist of fate and an act of violence. The two form a fragile partnership, relying on each other in ways they never thought possible, and learn who they really are when there’s only one goal: just get home. “A flat-out thriller [that is] also smart and insightful on timely, important ideas…. Heartbreaking and complicated in the best way… This is addictive reading that changes you as you turn the pages and stays with you long after you’ve finished.” —Laurie Frankel, New York Times bestselling author of This Is How It Always Is

Cowards, Crooks, and Warriors

Cowards, Crooks, and Warriors PDF

Author: J. C. De Ladurantey

Publisher: iUniverse

Published: 2015-04-24

Total Pages: 362

ISBN-13: 149176435X

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Family man and police officer Howard Hamilton happily works the quiet night shift in the Orchard Hills community of California. One evening, he is in a situation where he might have used his firearm but froze, which is when he starts to question his qualifications as a Police Officer. Then, the unthinkable happens: a rookie officer is killed. When the department struggles with their first on-duty death in ten years, the new chief transfers HH to day watchwhere the bad luck really begins. Within days, another officer has a heart attack. Then, HHs good friend accidently kills an officer while hunting. HH becomes unwittingly embroiled in a drug-dealing cops arrest. The OHPD is in a state of duress! While the department swirls in the windstorm of deaths, HH discovers the body of Ginny, sister to the largest business owner in town. She has been brutally slain in a ritualistic murder, which brings in LAPDs occult expert. HH wants nothing more than to return to the usual night shift and his family, but first, he has to work with his nemesis to unravel a horrendous crime in a city once lauded for its peace and quiet.

Chemical Heroes

Chemical Heroes PDF

Author: Andrew Bickford

Publisher: Duke University Press

Published: 2020-11-16

Total Pages: 205

ISBN-13: 1478010304

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In Chemical Heroes Andrew Bickford analyzes the US military's attempts to design performance enhancement technologies and create pharmacological "supersoldiers" capable of withstanding extreme trauma. Bickford traces the deep history of efforts to biologically fortify and extend the health and lethal power of soldiers from the Cold War era into the twenty-first century, from early adoptions of mandatory immunizations to bio-protective gear, to the development and spread of new performance enhancing drugs during the global War on Terrorism. In his examination of government efforts to alter soldiers' bodies through new technologies, Bickford invites us to contemplate what constitutes heroism when armor becomes built in, wired in, and even edited into the molecular being of an American soldier. Lurking in the background and dark recesses of all US military enhancement research, Bickford demonstrates, is the desire to preserve US military and imperial power.

After the Fire

After the Fire PDF

Author: Robin Gaby Fisher

Publisher: Little, Brown

Published: 2008-08-25

Total Pages: 141

ISBN-13: 0316032794

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On January 19, 2000, a fire raged through Seton Hall University's freshman dormitory, killing three students and injuring 58 others. Among the victims were Shawn Simons and Alvaro Llanos, roommates from poor neighborhoods who made their families proud by getting into college. They managed to escape, but both were burned terribly. After the Fire is the story of these young men and their courageous fight to recover from the worst damage the burn unit at Saint Barnabas hospital had ever seen. It is the story of the extraordinary doctors and nurses who work with the burned. It is the story of mothers and fathers, of faith and family and the invisible ties that bind us to each other. It is the story of the search for the arsonists -- and the elaborate cover-up that nearly obscured the truth. And it is the story of the women who came to love these men, who knew that real beauty is a thing not seen in mirrors.

The Heroes

The Heroes PDF

Author: Joe Abercrombie

Publisher: Hachette UK

Published: 2012-05-10

Total Pages: 572

ISBN-13: 0575100729

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This enhanced eBook contains: # An introduction from Joe Abercrombie # The full text of THE HEROES # THE HEROES Audio edition # A critical afterword from the editor Plus: # THE FOOL JOBS short story, featuring characters from THE HEROES # A 20,000 word 'planning' document which contains all of Joe's behind-the-scenes notes, plans and timeline for THE HEROES # A before-and-after chapter showing the first draft, the last draft, and many stages in between if one of the most critical chapters of the book # A full behind-the-scenes interview with Joe Abercrombie covering the writing process, the importance of maps, the genesis of and influences on the novel, the six main characters and their story arcs, and the cover . . . amongst other things! # 'Blog archive' - all of Joe's blog posts from the period when he was writing THE HEROES. This is half-diary, half book progress updates, and includes illustrations, links to interviews, events, award ceremonies and reviews of games and books from Joe as well as incidents from his life # Cover file: view the several elements of the cover in all their final and rough stages, plus the different stages the cover itself went though during the design process. Comes with commentary from Joe Abercrombie, Dave Senior, Didier Graffet and Laura Brett - teh design team that won a publically-voted design award for the cover of BEST SERVED COLD # A full author biography, and an author photo gallery