{"product_id":"battle-born-isbn-9780553580037","title":"Battle Born","description":"Patrick McLanahan is back — and this time he faces his most difficult challenge. He must pull together a team of aggressive, maverick young pilots to face a world on the brink of massive nuclear conflict. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIt begins with a joint U.S.-Japanese-South Korean mock bombing raid. But the South Korean fighter pilots don't stick to the script. Instead, they race across the border into North Korea to support a massive people's revolt against the Communists.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eVirtually overnight, the fledgling United Korea is the world's newest nuclear power, igniting a fuse that threatens to blow Asia apart and trigger World War III. Only McLanahan has the top-secret aviation technology and the brash young heroes to stop the coming inferno — if he can get them to stop fighting each other and start fighting as a team before the world is reduced to cinders!\"A first-class thriller.\" \u003cbr\u003e-- \u003ci\u003eAbilene Reporter-News\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Brown serves up enough ... lethal hardware and over-the-top action to satisfy the most discerning techno-thriller fan.\" \u003cbr\u003e-- \u003ci\u003eUSA Today\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Brown's poetry lies in his exhaustive tribute to the machinery of war, and fans will thrill to it once again in this solid addition to the series.\"\u003cbr\u003e-- \u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAlso by Dale Brown:\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe Tin Man\u003c\/b\u003eDale Brown is a former captain in the U.S. Air Force. He lives in Nevada, where he can often be found high in the sky, piloting his own plane. He is the author of eleven previous novels.\u003cb\u003eMILITARY TECHNOLOGY SUBCOMMITTEE, SENATE ARMED SERVICES COMMITTEE, RAYBURN BUILDING,   WASHINGTON, D.C. \u003cbr\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \"I hoped we'd never be facing this question again in my lifetime,\"   the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee said, his voice serious. \"But   here it is. Looks like the devil's goin' to the prom, and we're praying he don't   ask us to dance.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e The main part of the morning's classified, closed hearing had   already concluded; the scientists and comptrollers had packed up their charts and   spreadsheets, leaving only the subcommittee members, several general officers, and   a few aides. This was the open debate portion of the session, a \"chat session\" where   everything was fair game and the uniformed officers had a last chance to persuade.   It was usually more casual and more freewheeling than formal subcommittee testimony,   and it gave all involved a chance to vent their frustrations and opinions.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \"I'd   say, Senator,\" Air Force General Victor G. Hayes, the chief of staff of the Air Force,   responded, \"that we've got no choice but to dance with that devil. The question is,   can we keep him from only tipping over the punch bowl, or is he going to burn down   the whole school gymnasium if we don't do something?\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \"You characterize the attacks   on Taiwan and Guam as just a tipped-over punch bowl, General?\" a committee member   asked.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e General Hayes shook his head and wiped the smile from his face. He knew better   than to try to get too chummy or casual with these committee members, no matter how   plain-talking and down-home they sometimes sounded.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e This was the first time Victor   \"Jester\" Hayes had testified before any committee in Congress. Although the Pentagon   gave \"charm school\" classes and seminars to high-ranking officers on how to handle   reporters, dignitaries, and civilians in a variety of circumstances, including giving   testimony before Congress, it was simply impossible to fully prepare for ordeals   like this. He did not feel comfortable here, and he was afraid it showed. Big-time.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Navy Admiral George Balboa, was seated   beside Hayes. The other members of the Joint Chiefs -- General William Marshall,   Army chief of staff; Admiral Wayne Connor, chief of Naval Operations; and General   Peter Traherne, commandant of the Marine Corps, along with senior deputies and aides   -- were also seated at the table facing the subcommittee. Out of the corner of his   eye, Hayes could see the barely disguised amusement on some of their faces. Balboa   in particular seemed to be enjoying the sight of Hayes roasting a little in front   of a congressional subcommittee.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Screw 'em all, Hayes told himself resolutely. I'm   a fighter pilot. I'm an aerial assassin. These congressmen may be high-ranking elected   government officials, but they wouldn't understand a good fight if it kicked them   in the ass. Be yourself. Show 'em what you got. As far as Balboa was concerned --   well, he was a weasel, and everyone knew it. He was virtually powerless, allowed   to keep his position by the good graces of powerful opposition party members in Congress   even though he publicly ambushed his Commander in Chief.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \"Forgive me for trying   to take some of the doomsday tone out of this discussion, Senator,\" Hayes responded.   \"After two days of secret testimony on some of the new 'black' weapons programs we've   included in the Air Force budget, I thought it might be time for a little break.   But I assure you: this is a very serious matter. The future of the United States   Air Force, and indeed the fate of our military forces and the nation itself, will   be determined in the next several years by the decisions we make today.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \"I characterize   the ballistic missile attacks on Taiwan and Guam by the People's Republic of China   as a repudiation of thirty years of arms reduction efforts and a warning to the United   States armed forces that we must develop a multilayered antimissile defense system   immediately. We bargained away our antimissile capabilities in the 1970s, believing   that nonproliferation would lead to peace. Now, in the face of renewed aggression,   rearmament, terrorism, and the spread of small-scale and black-market weapons of   mass destruction, I feel we have no choice but to rebuild our defensive forces. The   days of believing that our conventional precision war-fighting capability obviated   and obsoleted decades of nuclear warfare strategy and technology are history.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \"Apparently   so,\" one committee member said ruefully. \"I for one am mystified and angry about   this waste of time, money, and resources. We've spent hundreds of billions of dollars   on these new 'smart' weapons, and now you're saying they won't protect us?\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \"I'm   saying that the rules are changing, Senator,\" General Hayes said earnestly, \"and   we must change with them.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \"We gave away our defensive capability because we kept   a large, strong offensive force, including nuclear deterrent forces. We then dismantled   those deterrent forces when the threat from other superpowers diminished. Now the   threat is back, but we have neither defensive nor deterrent forces in place. That   leaves us vulnerable to criticism at best and attack at worst. The China incident   is a perfect example.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \"That's all fine and good, General, but these budget numbers   are staggering, and the path you want to embark on here reminds me of the nuclear   nightmare times of Eisenhower, Kennedy, and Reagan,\" the senator went on, motioning   to his staff report. \"You're asking for billions more on some truly horrifying programs,   like antiballistic missile lasers, space-based lasers, and these so-called plasma-yield   weapons. What's going on, General? Is the Air Force so desperate for a mission right   now that you'll even go back to 'mutually assured destruction' doctrines of the Cold   War?\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \"Members of the committee, I asked Secretary of Defense Chastain and Secretary   of the Air Force Mortonson to give the Air Force a budget for the deployment of a   new class of weapons not to shock or galvanize the Congress, but because I truly   believe the time has long passed for us to be thinking about this kind of war fighting,\"   General Hayes went on. \"China's recent nuclear attacks on Taiwan; its suspected nuclear   sabotage of the aircraft carrier USS \u003ci\u003eIndependence\u003c\/i\u003e in Yokosuka Harbor; and its shocking,   unprovoked, and horrific ballistic missile nuclear attack on the island of Guam,   which all but wiped Anderson Air Force Base off the map three years ago, all are   a warning to the United States.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \"It's a warning, all right,\" another senator offered.   \"But it seems more a warning to avoid stepping up to the edge of that slippery slope.   Do we want to start another nuclear arms race?\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e It seemed as if most folks in America   had all but forgotten what had happened only three years ago, Hayes thought grimly.   In 1997, just before their \"Reunification Day\" celebrations, the People's Republic   of China launched a small-scale nuclear assault on Taiwan, which had just declared   full independence and sovereignty from the mainland. Several Taiwanese military bases   were decimated; over fifty thousand persons lost their lives. At the same time, a   nuclear explosion in Yokosuka Harbor outside Tokyo destroyed several American warships,   including the soon-to-be-retired aircraft carrier USS \u003ci\u003eIndependence\u003c\/i\u003e. China was accused   of that unconscionable act, but the actual culprit was never positively identified.   When the United States tried to halt the PRC's attacks against Taiwan, China retaliated   by launching a nuclear ballistic missile attack on the island of Guam, shutting down   two important American military bases in the Pacific.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e The reverberations of that   fateful summer of 1997 were still being felt. Japan had closed down all U.S. military   bases on their soil and had only recently begun allowing some limited access to U.S.   warships -- provisioning and humanitarian shore leave only, with ships at anchor   in the harbor, not in port, and no weapons transfers in their territorial waters.   South Korea was permitting only routine provisioning and shore leave -- they were   allowing no weapons transfers within five miles of shore and prohibited staging military   operations from their ports. It was the same for most ports of call in the western   Pacific. American naval presence in the Pacific was almost nil.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e And America's response   to China's attacks was ... silence. Except for one massive joint Air Force\/Navy defensive   air armada around Taiwan that all but destroyed China's Air Force, and an isolated   but highly effective series of air raids inside China -- largely attributed to American   stealth bombers, aided by Taiwanese fighters -- the Americans had not retaliated.   It was world condemnation alone that eventually forced China to abandon its plan   to force Taiwan back into its sphere of influence.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \"I'm concerned about the path   Russia, Japan, and North Korea are taking in the wake of the economic collapse in   Asia and the conflict in the Balkans,\" Hayes went on. \"Russia appears to be back   in the hands of hard-liners and neo-Communists. Food riots in North Korea have led   to the slaughter of thousands of civilians by military forces foraging for food.   Japan has isolated us out of the Pacific and is proceeding with plans to remilitarize,   all in an apparent attempt to shore up confidence in its government. I don't believe   the United States sparked this return to the specter of the Cold War, but we must   be prepared to deal with it.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \"We are all shocked and horrified about all those   events as well, General,\" the senator pointed out, \"and we agree with the President   that we must be better prepared for radical changes in the political climate. But   this ... this buildup of such powerful weapons that you're asking for seems to be   an overreaction. What you are proposing goes far beyond what any of us see as a measured   response to world events.\"","brand":"Bantam","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46305475035365,"sku":"NP9780553580037","price":8.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780553580037.jpg?v=1767722255","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/es\/products\/battle-born-isbn-9780553580037","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}