Books with author James Macdonald Lockhart

From the merlin to the golden eagle, the goshawk to the honey buzzard, James Macdonald Lockhart’s stunning debut is a quest of beak, talon, wing, and sky. On its surface, Raptor is a journey across the British Isles in search of fifteen species of birds of prey, but as Lockhart seeks out these elusive predators, his quest becomes so much more: an incomparably elegant elegy on the beauty of the British landscape and, through the birds, a journey toward understanding an awesome power at the heart of the natural world—a power that is majestic and frightening in its strength, but also fragile. Taking as his guide the nineteenth-century Scottish naturalist and artist William MacGillivray, Lockhart loosely follows the historical trail forged by MacGillivray as he ventured from Aberdeen to London filling his pockets with plants and writing and illustrating the canonical A History of British Birds. Linking his journey to that of his muse, Lockhart shares his own encounters with raptors ranging from the scarce osprey to the successfully reintroduced red kite, a species once protected by medieval royal statute, revealing with poetic immediacy the extraordinary behaviors of these birds and the extreme environments they call home. Creatures both worshipped and reviled, raptors have a talon-hold on the human heart and imagination. With his book, Lockhart unravels these complicated ties in a work by turns reverent and euphoric—an interweaving of history, travel, and nature writing at its best. A hymn to wanderers, to the land and to the sky, and especially to the birds, Raptor soars.

From the merlin to the golden eagle, the goshawk to the honey buzzard, James Macdonald Lockhart’s stunning debut is a quest of beak, talon, wing, and sky. On its surface, Raptor is a journey across the British Isles in search of fifteen species of birds of prey, but as Lockhart seeks out these elusive predators, his quest becomes so much more: an incomparably elegant elegy on the beauty of the British landscape and, through the birds, a journey toward understanding an awesome power at the heart of the natural world—a power that is majestic and frightening in its strength, but also fragile.Taking as his guide the nineteenth-century Scottish naturalist and artist William MacGillivray, Lockhart loosely follows the historical trail forged by MacGillivray as he ventured from Aberdeen to London filling his pockets with plants and writing and illustrating the canonical A History of British Birds. Linking his journey to that of his muse, Lockhart shares his own encounters with raptors ranging from the scarce osprey to the successfully reintroduced red kite, a species once protected by medieval royal statute, revealing with poetic immediacy the extraordinary behaviors of these birds and the extreme environments they call home.Creatures both worshipped and reviled, raptors have a talon-hold on the human heart and imagination. With his book, Lockhart unravels these complicated ties in a work by turns reverent and euphoric—an interweaving of history, travel, and nature writing at its best. A hymn to wanderers, to the land and to the sky, and especially to the birds, Raptor soars.

From the merlin to the golden eagle, the goshawk to the honey buzzard, James Macdonald Lockhart’s stunning debut is a quest of beak, talon, wing, and sky. On its surface, Raptor is a journey across the British Isles in search of fifteen species of birds of prey, but as Lockhart seeks out these elusive predators, his quest becomes so much more: an incomparably elegant elegy on the beauty of the British landscape and, through the birds, a journey toward understanding an awesome power at the heart of the natural world—a power that is majestic and frightening in its strength, but also fragile. Taking as his guide the nineteenth-century Scottish naturalist and artist William MacGillivray, Lockhart loosely follows the historical trail forged by MacGillivray as he ventured from Aberdeen to London filling his pockets with plants and writing and illustrating the canonical A History of British Birds. Linking his journey to that of his muse, Lockhart shares his own encounters with raptors ranging from the scarce osprey to the successfully reintroduced red kite, a species once protected by medieval royal statute, revealing with poetic immediacy the extraordinary behaviors of these birds and the extreme environments they call home. Creatures both worshipped and reviled, raptors have a talon-hold on the human heart and imagination. With his book, Lockhart unravels these complicated ties in a work by turns reverent and euphoric—an interweaving of history, travel, and nature writing at its best. A hymn to wanderers, to the land and to the sky, and especially to the birds, Raptor soars.

Vietnam 1968: See what’s inside the mind of a new lieutenant as he leads two diverse infantry platoons and then commands a rifle company in the field. Walk in the rice paddies and jungles, outsmart the bad guys and, above all, keep the troops alive. Move past the mistakes and twists of fate in the company of everyday Americans who became exemplary infantrymen in the best traditions of their country.Here we find that most popular assumptions about the war do not apply to these men as they fought in Vietnam, even during this deadliest year. Their ability to perform at a higher level than their enemy belies granting any advantage to indigenous foes. These American infantrymen quickly adapted to the harshness of a hostile tropical environment and neutralized it as a factor favoring the enemy.This account of determined men overcoming the ever-changing challenges of war captures the essence of the American fighting man’s resourcefulness. From the day-to-day grind to the flashes of gunfire, they operate with careful success, accomplishing their mission while protecting their own. Fast forward 18 months and the same lieutenant returns to Vietnam but now as a combat-tested, Special Forces-trained captain assigned to a secret mission. As a key staff officer in the new training program for the Cambodian Army, he recognizes fundamental problems and crafts lasting solutions. The quirks and flukes of training third-country nationals in Vietnam are no less challenging than those in his first tour of duty.Language and cultural differences compound the difficulty of conducting training in a combat zone but no slack or extra points are given. The enemy, while less active in this new area, is still an imminent danger to both trainer and trainee.Unusual, even bizarre, problems arise and must be dealt with despite the lack of relevant standard operating procedures, applicable training, related examples or meaningful experience. These situations, some previously unpublished, require creativity, soul searching and sometimes panache to be successfully resolved.This book relates events in Vietnam as experienced by the author. They are described as he witnessed and remembers them. After presenting the details of each tour of duty, he offers comments and analyses separately from the narrative so as not to slow its pace or interrupt its flow.

Has hypocrisy crept into your life?It doesn’t just happen overnight. Drifting into hypocrisy is a long, drawn-out journey away from God’s will for your life and toward a two-faced existence. How do you know when your inner self has deteriorated, when you've become an expert at presenting a faithful-looking facade? Hold up the mirror of God's Word and take a good look. Acting like a Christian and saying all the right words sometimes leads to nothing more than empty piety. If you want to live that vibrant life, if you want to be truly blessed, you must get after the disciplines of genuine faith. Follow along with Pastor James MacDonald on the road toward Truth and explore the disciplines of personal Bible study, personal prayer, fasting, fellowship, and service for Christ.Become the real deal. Be authentic.

Vietnam 1968: See what's inside the mind of a new lieutenant as he leads two diverse infantry platoons and then commands a rifle company in the field. Walk in the rice paddies and jungles, outsmart the bad guys and, above all, keep the troops alive. Move past the mistakes and twists of fate in the company of everyday Americans who became exemplary infantrymen in the best traditions of their country.Here we find that most popular assumptions about the war do not apply to these men as they fought in Vietnam, even during this deadliest year. Their ability to perform at a higher level than their enemy belies granting any advantage to indigenous foes. These American infantrymen quickly adapted to the harshness of a hostile tropical environment and neutralized it as a factor favoring the enemy.This account of determined men overcoming the ever-changing challenges of war captures the essence of the American fighting man's resourcefulness. From the day-to-day grind to the flashes of gunfire, they operate with careful success, accomplishing their mission while protecting their own. Fast forward 18 months and the same lieutenant returns to Vietnam but now as a combat-tested, Special Forces-trained captain assigned to a secret mission. As a key staff officer in the new training program for the Cambodian Army, he recognizes fundamental problems and crafts lasting solutions. The quirks and flukes of training third-country nationals in Vietnam are no less challenging than those in his first tour of duty.Language and cultural differences compound the difficulty of conducting training in a combat zone but no slack or extra points are given. The enemy, while less active in this new area, is still an imminent danger to both trainer and trainee.Unusual, even bizarre, problems arise and must be dealt with despite the lack of relevant standard operating procedures, applicable training, related examples or meaningful experience. These situations, some previously unpublished, require creativity, soul searching and sometimes panache to be successfully resolved.This book relates events in Vietnam as experienced by the author. They are described as he witnessed and remembers them. After presenting the details of each tour of duty, he offers comments and analyses separately from the narrative so as not to slow its pace or interrupt its flow.