William S. Cohen

From New York Times bestselling author, former Secretary of Defense, and US Senator William S. Cohen, the political, apocalyptic thriller Final Strike dramatizes one of the most terrifying global security nightmares: an asteroid hurtling towards Earth. Sixty million years ago, the K-T Asteroid obliterated the dinosaurs, and now its apocalyptic twin is rocketing toward the US on a similar mission of extermination. Russian President Boris Lebed, the charismatic successor to Vladimir Putin, wants to turn that asteroid into a superweapon to use against the US and is holding Hamilton hostage in Moscow until Hamilton agrees to help. Former Senator and National Security Advisor Sean Falcone leads a dangerous off-the-books operation to bring Hamilton home and derail Lebed's disastrous plan. But will Falcone succeed in time? The asteroid is hurtling toward earth. If it is not deflected, humanity will go the way of dinosaurs, and the entire planet will burn. Only one strategy has a chance of stopping humanity's extinction--only one. There is no Plan B. The fate of the world hangs in the balance.

It is America's worst nightmare: A nuclear bomb destroys a major city. Thousands of Americans are dead and many more will die from radiation poisoning. Threats promising more attacks spread through the media. Panic has broken out in many cities. How could American intelligence have failed to detect a nuclear device? Who is responsible for the blast?Sean Falcone, national security advisor, is tasked with identifying and tracking down the attackers. Powerful forces within the Capital point the finger at Iran. But appearances are always deceiving, and never more so than when millions of innocent people may die for a crime they did not commit. With the potential to incite the entire Muslim world against America and bring the world to the brink of Armageddon, Falcone discovers an astonishing secret hidden deep within the upper echelons of Washington's elite...but why should the President--or the American people--believe him?Pulling from years of international affairs and defense planning experience, the former Secretary of Defense under Bill Clinton creates a sweeping, all-too-real political thriller.

Race and racism have played a divisive and defining role throughout much of America's history. Slavery, Jim Crow laws, segregation, and Ku Klux Klan terrorism have inflicted deep psychic wounds, social disparities, and economic disadvantages that have diminished the promise of equal rights and opportunities for all. While much progress in race relations has been made in recent years—including the election of Barack Obama as President of the United State—it's clear that our journey to a post-racial era is far from complete. In virtually every measurable category, whether income levels, job opportunities, access to health care, life expectancy, high school diplomas, incarceration rates, do not fare well compared to their white counterparts. The dialogue entitled Race and Reconciliation in America was convened to provide a forum for a long overdue, open, honest, and constructive discussion among people of good will about the need for the American people to truly grasp the depth of past misdeeds, why the legacies of past oppression persist, and how we can achieve a more fair and just society embodied in the American Dream.

Race and racism have played a divisive and defining role throughout much of America's history. Slavery, Jim Crow laws, segregation, and Ku Klux Klan terrorism have inflicted deep psychic wounds, social disparities, and economic disadvantages that have diminished the promise of equal rights and opportunities for all. While much progress in race relations has been made in recent years_including the election of Barack Obama as President of the United State_it's clear that our journey to a post-racial era is far from complete. In virtually every measurable category, whether income levels, job opportunities, access to health care, life expectancy, high school diplomas, incarceration rates, do not fare well compared to their white counterparts. The dialogue entitled Race and Reconciliation in America was convened to provide a forum for a long overdue, open, honest, and constructive discussion among people of good will about the need for the American people to truly grasp the depth of past misdeeds, why the legacies of past oppression persist, and how we can achieve a more fair and just society embodied in the American Dream.

William S. Cohen, former Secretary of Defense, US Senator and Congressman, has walked the most powerful corridors in the world. Now, in Dragon Fire, he takes us with him into the top-secret rooms where the fate of the world is held in the hearts and minds of men with dangerous and hidden agendas. Packed with action and espionage, intrigue and romance, Dragon Fire is a riveting, intricate, ripped-from-the-headlines thriller that so convincingly written, readers will wonder just how much of it is true.Upon the assassination of the Secretary of Defense, former senator and Vietnam POW, Michael Patrick Santini, is called upon by his President to fill the vacancy. Once there, he discovers that the United States is under attack by a silent, sinister force, someone determined to alienate our allies and undermine our position as a global superpower. But America is hours away from going to war with the wrong enemy. Rejecting direct orders from the president, Santini races across the world in a desperate attempt to prevent a catastrophic global war. When Democratic President Bill Clinton chose Republican William S. Cohen to join his staff in 1997 as the 20th Secretary of Defense, it was the first time in modern U.S. history that a president selected a member of the opposing party for his cabinet. Cohen, the first Secretary of Defense to make biological warfare and terrorism almost a personal crusade, was integral in orchestrating a comprehensive strategy to deal with the threat of terrorism. In Dragon Fire, he takes his experience, knowledge, expertise, passion, and fears and melds fact and fiction into a political thriller only he could write."

A dual portrait of the half-Jewish Secretary of Defense author and his African-American businesswoman wife recounts their experiences with racial and religious intolerance throughout the mid-twentieth century, in a personal account that urges readers to judge people in accordance with their characters and merit. 75,000 first printing.