HOMER'S ILIAD: A NEW TRANSLATION

I'm happy to announce that we are publicizing Herbert Jordan’s new translation of HOMER’S ILIAD (University of Oklahoma Press; September 2008; hardcover), which promises to do what Seamus Heaney’s translation of Beowulf did for that classic saga.

Intended for American audiences, this blank verse, line-for line translation skillfully steers a course between excessive literalism and mere contemporary colloquialism. Jordan makes the ILIAD more accessible to audiences than ever before while still conveying its austere beauty.

E. Christian Kopff of the University of Colorado and author of The Devil Knows Latin: Why America Needs the Classical Tradition says, “Herbert Jordan conveys the action and movement of the Iliad in contemporary language and a supple verse that is loyal to the traditions of English poetry. Teachers, students and lovers of great literature will find this highly readable translation one of the most accessible translations of the Iliad ever done.”

Award-winning writer and critic Luc Sante calls it “a remarkably fresh and clear translation…at once true to its ancient original and inviting to readers today.”

Faithful to the text yet not sacrificing the spirit of the poem, Jordan’s ILIAD captures the force and vigor of the original poem. The result is, says Pulitzer-Prize winning poet Henry Taylor, “a splendid achievement."

Homer's Iliad is a pivotal work in the history of Western culture. If you've never had the chance to read it or want to read it again, you'll find Herbert Jordan's HOMER'S ILIAD an excellent translation.

HOMELAND INSECURITY

Why is America’s national security more vulnerable than ever before? Why have politicians from both parties betrayed our national security for the sake of partisan politics and personal advantage? And who are they?

HOMELAND INSECURITY: How Washington Politicians Have Made America Less Safe (September 2008, History Publishing Company, Hardcover, $24.95) by former FBI agents Terry D. Turchie and Kathleen M. Puckett give readers a disturbing insider’s look into how politicians’ devastating partisan political attacks have crippled the only government agency with the authority and capability to conduct investigations in the interests of both national security and domestic security: The FBI.

Turchie and Puckett pull no punches. This is the first book of its kind to name names and connect all the dots. Readers will be shocked as they discover politicians and bureaucrats who have:

• Fraternized with America’s enemies, more to enhance their own power than to protect the national security.

• Leaked classified information to the media with impunity--at the risk of the America’s security!

• Looked the other way in the face of massive political corruption and bad behavior only to the detriment of the American people.

• Abused their oversight authority to dictate political direction to the Bureau and make it their own personal fiefdom.

• The nearly invisible behind-the-scenes operator who virtually ensured that the 9/11 Commission would never get at the whole truth.

When it comes to national security few know better than Terry D. Turchie and Kathleen M. Puckett as to what it takes to keep America’s enemies at bay. As FBI agents, they were pivotal in tracking down home-grown terrorists such as Theodore Kaczynski (otherwise known as the infamous Unabomber) and the Olympic Park bomber Eric Rudolph, and each played crucial roles in disrupting Soviet intelligence during the Cold War.

After 9/11, argue the authors, neither political party could afford to be labeled as the one that allowed that tragedy to happen. For a brief time, politicians of all stripes united in what appeared to be in the best interests of America’s national security. In reality, however, the real reason the politicians rallied was to protect the exposure of the shortsightedness and complacency they had all exhibited for years regarding the growing danger of terrorism.

HOMELAND INSECURITY promises readers a first-hand look at how over thirty years of reckless actions by both Republicans and Democrats in the service of their own political ambitions and addiction to power have crippled the ability of the FBI to protect America’s national security under the laws of the land. From Watergate to the current War on Terror, Turchie and Puckett present a clear case that the alleged ineptitude politicians have continually ascribed to the FBI is instead the direct result of their own self-serving agendas to promote their careers and advance their own political power. As a result, these politicians have critically endangered the American way of life in the 21^st century.

HOMELAND INSECURITY shows that the FBI is the only government agency with the authority to conduct investigations in the interest of national security as well as violations of federal crimes. The FBI’s culture of independence from political pressures and interference is the only guarantee to all Americans that its work will be thorough and impartial, regardless of the party or individuals in power. It must never be allowed to be a political pawn for elected officials. Not if America is to remain the home of the free.

About the Authors:

Terry D. Turchie is a former Deputy Assistant Director of the Counterterrorism Division of the FBI. His leadership was the driving force behind the capture of the two most elusive and solitary domestic terrorists in U.S. history. Turchie is a recipient of the FBI Director’s Award as well as the Attorney General’s Award for Distinguished Service. From 2001 to 2007 he was the Director for Counterintelligence and Counterterrorism for the University of California at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. In his capacity as an author and a principal of TK Associates, LLC, he speaks to hundreds of corporate and law enforcement groups based on his knowledge of how to solve complex terrorism cases.

Dr. Kathleen M. Puckett spent 23 years as an FBI Special Agent, where she was primarily involved in the investigation and analysis of cases involving foreign counterintelligence and domestic and international terrorism. Dr. Puckett provides behavioral threat assessment consultation to international corporations and governmental security agencies, and is a law enforcement consultant to the Program of Psychiatry and the Law at the University of California at San Francisco. She is a frequent presenter at law enforcement and mental health community forums on the psychology of terrorism, as well as her own unique findings on what makes America’s most complicated adversaries tick.