Mike Ryan

Recker finally reaches his boiling point and confronts Jones about his lack of progress in finding Agent 17. The professor, feeling guilty about not locating him, admits to a secret he's been hiding. As Recker is trying to find Agent 17, Mia launches her own investigation into her friend's death, frustrated that the killer still hasn't been brought to justice. Her lack of experience causes a major mistake--one that may cost the life of both her and Jones. Recker must not only find Agent 17, but save the lives of his friends before it's too late.

Shot in the head and recovering from brain surgery, Delta Force soldier Thomas Nelson wakes up in a military hospital unable to remember who he is. Faced with going through recovery alone, with no family that he's aware of, he is recruited by a top secret government agency. Project Specter is tasked with eliminating targets they deem to be a threat to the United States. Their goal is to turn Nelson into a super assassin named Matthew Cain. Cain's first mission is supposed to be a piece of cake. Just take out an escaped fugitive in Honduras who's on the run for the rape and murder of a little girl in New York. There's only one problem...somebody beat him to it. Everything is not what it seems as Cain gets mixed up with an international arms dealer and an ex government agent who's gone rogue and supposed to be dead.

It's been almost a year since Alex Parker left the CIA. Though the agency had repeatedly tried to get her to come back for various missions in that time, she always had the same answer. She wasn't coming back. In her mind, there was only one thing that would ever get her to go back into the field as an agent again. And that was if someone she cared about was in grave danger. Unfortunately for Parker, her worst fears have come true. Jim Cole is missing. While on a mission in Colombia, Cole is supposed to be gathering intel on Santiago Barrios, a leader of a drug cartel, who has been expanding his business to include illegal arms dealing in Asia. Once Cole goes missing for several days, he's assumed to be dead or held hostage. And there's one person they know will find him. Alex Parker.

Alex Parker and Jim Cole are back for another assignment, this time dealing with a highly sought after Russian crime syndicate. As her time at the CIA as one of their top "Ghosts" winds down, a series of events unfolds that makes her question whether she should leave, or remain in the only role she's ever known. Further complicating matters is her relationship with Ryan Turner, who has also joined the company, and his family. As the trio follow the trail of the Russian crime boss, Darius Yevenko, Parker must come to grips with the fact that she is not the same ruthless assassin she once was. Once they finally get onto Yevenko's trail, Parker sees that the end is near. The final battle is one that has deadly consequences, and one in which everyone may not survive.

Alex Parker is back and, along with her partner, Jim Cole, still on the trail of a rogue CIA agent. Their pursuit takes them all over the world. Every time they get close to nabbing their target, he manages to slip away. Just as they're about to nab Heath Davis in Brazil, Parker is faced with the option of either capturing Davis or saving an innocent person's life. She defies orders and is temporarily suspended. While on suspension, she starts enjoying a normal life causing increasing dissatisfaction with her job. Once Parker returns from suspension, she's hot on Davis' tail. He feels the heat and tries to slow her down by making her choose between two impossible scenarios and the death of someone she cares about. Will Davis' plan work or will Parker be able to overcome the obstacles that are thrown in front of her in finally capturing or killing her former partner?

CIA operative Alex Parker is one of the most successful "ghosts" the agency has. Recruited as a 17 year old, she has over 100 kills to her credit. But ten years of blending in, disappearing, and assassinating targets has taken a toll on her and she'd like to get out. Now, she has a new problem....her partner's gone rogue. After stealing government secrets, he intends to sell them to the highest bidder. It's up to Parker, and her new partner, to find him and bring him in...dead or alive.

After being ambushed, Recker goes missing for several days and is presumed dead. Once he returns, he seeks retribution on the men responsible and turns to an unlikely source to help him get his revenge. As he embarks on his plot for retribution, he must not only carefully navigate around Mia's growing feelings for him, but also his own feelings for her. While still not forgetting his main goal of helping the innocent, Recker also further cements his relationship with Tyrell by helping him with a family problem. Though he still keeps Mia at a distance, they can't help but become closer as Recker investigates the disappearance of one of her closest friends. As Recker embarks on his deadly rampage, Jones worries about The Silencer's growing reputation amongst the public and government agencies.

CIA Black Ops agent John Smith is on his latest assignment in London. Little does he know--it'll also be his last. Barely surviving an attack on his life, Smith lays low for six months until he returns to the United States. His flight is strangely diverted to Philadelphia where he meets a mysterious man who already knows about his past and recruits him for a job. Needing a new identity, Smith becomes Michael Recker. He tries to prevent bad things happening to innocent people while also interacting with several crime factions who are battling for control over the city. All the while, Recker begins to plan his revenge on Agent 17, who is responsible for a heinous act that Recker will never forget

Amazing Football is chock full of the biggest superstars of the NFL, as well as a 10-page primer on the parts of the game that matter most to kids. Players like Aaron Rogers, Russell Wilson and J. J. Watt line the pages of this book because their outstanding gridiron skills have merged with their will to succeed. From backgrounds as diverse as the population of the United States, these all-pros have had to deal with all manner of road blocks to get to the top of the football world. Through adversity, defeat and triumph, players like Jamaal Charles, Jason Witten and Antonio Brown have carved a space in football history for themselves, and each one gives back to the community in ways that will benefit kids today. Lighting up smiles by day and stadiums by night, the athletes featured in Amazing Football are a shining example of what can happen if you keep focused on your goals and make the right choices. These football stars are role models for today's generation.

The exciting history of the modern game with profiles of its greatest players. From the heat of the Australian Open to the red clay of the French Open, to the majesty of Wimbledon All England Club to the humidity at the US Open, tennis has been a global sport for decades. Starting with the tennis pioneers of the 20th century right up to today, star players have influenced cultural movements, ushered in the casual sporting style and sex appeal and the fight for equal rights. Tennis was the first sport to have openly gay athletes and is the only major sport where women and men take home equal earnings. Tennis has been a leader in race relations starting in the 1960s and 1970s. Tennis' Greatest Stars profiles the 50 greatest and most influential players of the game and presents a historical narrative of athletic prowess, popular culture and social responsibility. Tennis' Greatest Stars features 50 player profiles in the following categories: PIONEERS AND TRAILBLAZERS: The players who set the stage for modern tennis, including Don Budge, who won the Grand Slam before becoming a professional; Rod Laver, one of the first to adopt the topspin; and Althea Gibson, the first African-American to win a major tennis championship. THE GOLDEN AGE: The rise of tennis players as celebrities, including Billie Jean King, who defeated Bobby Riggs in the 'Battle of the Sexes'; tantrum-throwing John McEnroe; and equal rights advocate Arthur Ashe. THE 21st CENTURY: Tennis has reached new heights in skill and speed as well as entered popular culture. Champions include the powerhouse Williams sisters, Venus and Serena; Roger Federer; Rafael Nadal; and Novak Djokovic. Tennis' Greatest Stars is packed with action photographs that celebrate the game and thoughtful essays, which cover such topics as the birth of modern tennis, the major tournaments, international play, the various court surfaces and new technologies. This is a superb book for the fan and a compelling history of a great game.

In the nine years since the launch of Operation Enduring Freedom, Afghanistan has rarely been out of the news. Over a thousand coalition military fatalities have been reported, and many times that number of Afghan civilians. The country is in the process of rebuilding, and yet the fighting continues. Following the success of his previous book, Battlefield Afghanistan, Mike Ryan looks at the state of this war-ravaged nation as Barack Obama finally decides to escalate America’s military presence. He considers the current role of coalition troops and the progress being made, or not being made – more than 100 British troops died in Afghanistan in 2009, the highest death toll for any year since the mission began in October 2001 – things are getting worse, not better. The author has unrivalled access not only to commanding officers, but also to the ‘boots on the ground’. With more than 200 colour photographs and analysis of the situation from those actually doing the fighting, Frontline Afghanistan may help the reader to make up his or her mind about the legitimacy of the conflict and the possible way forward.

The Army Cadet Force is a youth organisation sponsored by the UK’s Ministry of Defence. It instils all the best core values of Her Majesty’s Forces into young people – so as to enable them to live better and more fulfilling lives. This is achieved by means of fantastic training packages that include adventure training, military skills such as shooting and field craft, first aid and even foreign travel. In an era when the youth of today are so often seen as out of control and lacking direction, Mike Ryan presents a study of an organisation that seeks to provide key skills to its members, 30% of whom go on to join the armed forces. This book honours these young people who are a credit to our country, and yet seldom get recognition for their achievements. In this respect – its praise for our young people,,whatever their background – if in nothing else, The Army Cadet Force is a rare delight!

From interviews with his numerous contacts among the coalition forces stationed in Afghanistan, Mike Ryan has done what journalists have so far been unable to do. Battlefield Afghanistan is the first thorough-going account of the war in the former Taliban state: not the politics behind the conflict, but the actual situation for the men on the ground. Far from simply 'keeping the peace,' coalition forces in Afghanistan are currently involved in full-scale warfare with both al-Qaeda militants and the forces of the resurgent Taliban. Battlefield Afghanistan tells the real, inside story of the men under fire, based upon first-hand evidence from members of 3 Para, 16 Air Assault Brigade, the Royal Marines and the Special Forces community, together with the views and experiences of the US and French troops. As their accounts indicate, the hostilities faced have proved to be far greater than was anticipated, and the situation in Afghanistan far more serious than the politicians would like the public to realise.

Encyclopedia of the World's Special Forces.

This heavily illustrated informative book is the most comprehensive guide available to anyone interested in the special forces and it includes detailed listings and information on special force units and their tactics. - Special forces are trained small, elite teams of soldiers who perform operations deemed too risky or demanding for regular troops. - Special forces missions include counter-insurgency, hostage rescue, political assassination, sabotage, spying, covert surveillance and force ambush. - Most of these operations are performed deep behind hostile lines or within enemy strongholds. - With a battlefield effect out of all proportion to their numbers, special forces today are usually the first into combat and the last out.