DAVID MICHAELS

A radical Islamic leader who dreams of the past will do anything in his power to ensure that the future is destroyed-by hitting the technological world where it hurts: oil.

Freedom has a cost. One man pays the price. In response to the growing use of sophisticated digital encryption to conceal potential threats to the United States, the National Security Agency has ushered forth the new dawn of intelligence-gathering techniques. The top-secret initiative is dubbed Third Echelon. Its existence denied by the U.S. government, Third Echelon deploys a lone field operative. He is sharp, nearly invisible, and deadly. And he has the right to spy, steal, destroy, and assassinate to protect American freedoms. His name is Sam Fisher. He is a Splinter Cell®. 1 It's like being in a state of nonexistence. A vacuum. Darkness and light at the same time, and no sense of gravity. There's no air, but I know I'm breathing. Certainly no sounds are present. I see and feel nothing. There are no dreams. That's what sleep is like for me. I'm blessed, I suppose. I can will myself to sleep anywhere, anytime. I didn't train to do it. It's always been that way, ever since I was a kid. I simply tell myself, "It's time to sleep now." And I do it. I'm sure a lot of people in the world would envy this talent. I don't take it for granted because in my business I have to catch sleep in the strangest places and at the oddest times. I feel the pulsating pressure on my wrist. It gently pulls me out of this dimensionless world, and I slowly regain the use of my senses. I feel the warm metal against my face. I hear far-off nondescript echoes. The OPSAT attached to my wrist continues to wake me. There's a little T-shaped rod that protrudes from the flexible band when the silent "alarm" goes off. The rod rocks back and forth, nudging my pulse, telling my body that it's time to rouse. When I first saw it demonstrated, it reminded me of a James Coburn spy movie from the sixties in which he played a secret agent who could stop his heart on command. This apparently put him in some kind of hibernation. He had a wristwatch with the same kind of T-shaped rod that poked him until he woke up. I remember laughing in the movie theater when I saw that. It was too ridiculous to take seriously. Now look at me. I tak

An encyclopaedic, eye-catching tribute to one of the world's most popular foods - the humble hamburger Celebrate the classic hamburger with this unprecedented collection of essays, photographs, and ephemera - a colourful look at the burger's origins and impact, assembled by a true burgerphile whose passion has taken him around the globe. Perfect for home cooks and pop-culture addicts alike, the book is chock-full of original research, exclusive interviews with culinary icons, never-before-seen archival photographs from brands such as McDonald's and White Castle, and twelve delicious

In this eye opening expose David Michaels reveals how unscrupulous product defense consultants have increasingly shaped and skewed the scientific literature manufactured and magnified scientific uncertainty and influenced policy decisions to the advantage of polluters and the manufacturers of dangerous products He proves that our regulatory system is broken and offers concrete workable suggestions for how it can be restored by taking the politics out of science and ensuring that concern for public safety rather than private profits guides our regulatory policy

All in a day's work for a Splinter Cell® He is Sam Fisher: Third Echelon special operative. And when a cargo freighter loaded down with radioactive material is headed towards the coast of the United States, he has minutes to disable the ship - or die trying.