*One of Bloomberg's Best Books of the Year* The master geopolitical forecaster and New York Times bestselling author of The Next 100 Years focuses on the United States, predicting how the 2020s will bring dramatic upheaval and reshaping of American government, foreign policy, economics, and culture. In his riveting new book, noted forecaster and bestselling author George Friedman turns to the future of the United States. Examining the clear cycles through which the United States has developed, upheaved, matured, and solidified, Friedman breaks down the coming years and decades in thrilling detail. American history must be viewed in cycles—particularly, an eighty-year "institutional cycle" that has defined us (there are three such examples—the Revolutionary War/founding, the Civil War, and World War II), and a fifty-year "socio-economic cycle" that has seen the formation of the industrial classes, baby boomers, and the middle classes. These two major cycles are both converging on the late 2020s—a time in which many of these foundations will change. The United States will have to endure upheaval and possible conflict, but also, ultimately, increased strength, stability, and power in the world. Friedman's analysis is detailed and fascinating, and covers issues such as the size and scope of the federal government, the future of marriage and the social contract, shifts in corporate structures, and new cultural trends that will react to longer life expectancies. This new book is both provocative and entertaining.

As Press Secretary to Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush, Marlin Fitzwater's role was to record and present the official events of the Presidency. In Calm Before the Storm, Fitzwater recounts his private discussions and observations while serving those two Presidents. When Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait in August 1990, Fitzwater started a diary in which to record the events of Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. Calm Before the Storm features a collection of the author's private views inside President Bush's White House during the Persian Gulf Crisis. Fitzwater, as writer and storyteller, shares anecdotes and insights from his Kansas upbringing to his career in Washington, D.C., as a key member of two White House administrations. His engaging writing provides behind-the- scenes accounts of important events in modern American history.

Something happened in early 2011 that hasn't happened in decades, perhaps centuries—and we didn't even notice it. That is, we didn't see it for what it was. Massive unrest from Tunisia to Egypt to Libya rocked the Arab world and threw the globe into political crisis. Within days, an earthquake-tsunami-nuclear calamity of terrifying proportions shocked Japan and sent the world reeling once again, even as the globe's financial markets shuddered to sustain themselves while states and nations tottered on the brink of bankruptcy-where many still linger. All of this, of course, we did notice. What we may have missed was that ancient predictions for this period of time called for exactly this: simultaneous environmental, political, and financial disasters. Were we seeing the beginning of "the end of history"-and not picking up the signal? In The Storm Before The Calm, seven-time New York Times best-selling author Neale Donald Walsch offers a startling answer: yes. But Walsch also says there is nothing to fear, advancing an extraordinary explanation for what is happening even now all over the planet. Then-and more important-he provides a stunning prescription for healing our lives and our world through the answering of seven simple questions, inviting people everywhere to join in an earth-saving exchange at TheGlobalConversation.com. Compelling and perfectly timed, The Storm Before The Calm answers every question that is worth asking about December, 2012 and beyond.

At the age of thirty-three, Delanie Stephenson was enjoying life with her husband, two kids, and a teaching job she loved. Blessings abounded, and Delanie thanked God for each one. But it only took a single instant to change it all. A terrible headache struck her on June 6, 2012, and no amount of ibuprofen could take care of it. Delanie had a stroke—similar to the stroke that Delanie’s twenty-nine-year-old sister had suffered a year before. What were the odds of two sisters suffering the same ailment? Delanie’s entire family was in a state of shock, and the news became worse when the doctors were unsure whether Delanie would walk or talk again. In her memoir, Delanie describes that summer of 2012 in detail, from those first harried days in the ICU to the tedious physical therapy as she slowly began to crawl her way back to recovery. Not only did Delanie walk and talk again; she emerged from her ordeal even stronger and decided that she would never again take life for granted. Filled with intimate details and the amazing resilience of the human spirit, The Calm before the Storm shares one woman’s amazing journey from stroke victim to stroke survivor.

A clean slate. People pray for one on occasion, some desperate individuals go to drastic measures to achieve one. I wasn't given the choice. I woke up in a foreign country alone, afraid and with no idea who I am. I was lucky. The reigning monarch of Cynthera and his family took me in, nursed me back to health. There's one problem, the Crown Prince, Emory Bryn. He's not what one would expect and the last thing I should be getting involved with. He has priorities too, his own restrictions. I'm off limits. No exceptions, no alternatives. Trying to discover my identity and navigate my new life is exhausting enough without adding a torrid love affair into the mix. He's a Prince and I, well; I'm a conflict of interest. Fighting our nature, choosing our duties over our desires and things turn hostile in a hurry. When memories of my previous life start to reveal themselves I'm torn between two worlds. The one I've created and come to love and the one filled with questions and hints of something terrifying. How do I keep my new family and return to the family of my birth? There's something dark buried deep in my mind, something I don't know if I can face. A darkness that threatens both my lives. Now I have a choice and it's one I never wanted to make.

During a class field trip to an island nature preserve, a freak storm causes Joey and Dawson to become lost in the woods, where they take shelter in an abandoned cabin.

All is war when love isn't fair... Don't ask... Deeply closeted to protect her career, Colonel Marcel Robicheaux has limited her love life to discreet flings with no strings-until the brazen but not entirely unwelcome advances of beautiful young Lieutenant Jordan McGowen send the seasoned officer running for cover. Don't tell... Saved from disaster by a timely transfer, Marcel is looking forward to retiring from the military. Just when she thinks she can finally let down her guard and ease out of the closet, Jordan suddenly reenters her life-only now she's a general's wife. While her marital status may have changed, her intentions toward Marcel have not, leaving Marcel caught between her heart and her honor. Secret passion amidst the heartbreaking compromise of Don't-Ask-Don't-Tell leads to sizzling romance in this Peggy Herring classic.