"Hiroshima was one of the great tragedies of WWII.
But out of the devastation of the first atomic bomb, some survivors emerged—twenty-five courageous Japanese women who became part of a remarkable humanitarian epic. Victims of the atomic blast that ushered in the Nuclear Age, these women were brought to the United States in 1955, where they underwent reconstructive surgery to repair the ravages of the bomb. Schoolgirls when the bomb destroyed their futures, they began to remake their lives and re-create themselves.
This is the compassionate, often bittersweet chronicle of the Hiroshima Maidens.
It follows their lives from the terrifying moments of the detonation of the bomb, through their years as outcasts in their own country, to their not always idyllic stay in America, and on to their lives since—some tragic, some heroic, some affectingly ordinary."
"In this account, Rodney Barker tells the full and terrifying story of a microorganism popping up along the Eastern seaboard—far closer to home than the Ebola virus and equally frightening. In the coastal waters of North Carolina—and now extending as far north as the Chesapeake Bay area—a mysterious and deadly aquatic organism named Pfiesteria piscicida threatens to unleash an environmental nightmare and human tragedy of catastrophic proportions. At the very center of this narrative is the heroic effort of Dr. JoAnn Burkholder and her colleagues, embattled and dedicated scientists confronting medical, political, and corporate powers to understand and conquer this new scourge before it claims more victims."
"In 1986, newspapers across America called it 'the espionage case of the century.' While serving as a security guard at the American Embassy, Sgt. Clayton Lonetree, a Native American marine, fell in love with a beautiful Russian woman. Then, a KGB officer posing as the woman' s 'Uncle Sasha' recruited Lonetree to become a spy for the Soviet Union. The 'sex-for-secrets Marine spy scandal'— as it was called by the press— had all the elements of a great novel. As the investigation proceeded, more marines were implicated, but after a witch-hunt that ruined many reputations and careers, only Lonetree was brought to trial. In this account, journalist Rodney Barker reveals information he obtained from KGB officers— as well as U.S. military and intelligence personnel— which raises questions about whether justice was served in Lonetree's trial."
