Books with author Michael Cooper

An absolutely essential book for every modern football fan, about the development of Premier League tactics, published to coincide with 25 years of the competition.Back in 1992, English football was stuck in the dark ages, emerging from a five-year ban from European competition. The game was physical, bruising and attritional, based on strength over speed, aggression over finesse. It was the era of the midfield general, reducers, big men up front and getting it in the mixer; 4-4-2 was the order of the day. Few teams experimented tactically.And then, almost overnight, it all changed. The creation of the Premier League coincided with one of the most seismic rule changes in football history: the abolition of the back-pass. Suddenly defenders had no-get-out-of-jail-free card, goalkeepers had to be able to field and play the ball and the pace of the game quickened immeasurably. Tactics evolved dramatically, helped by an increased foreign influence.The Mixer is the first book to delve deep into the tactical story of the Premier League, and take a long view of how the game has developed over the last quarter century. From Ferguson’s directness to Keegan’s relentlessly attacking Newcastle outfit, to Mourinho’s cagey, reactive Chelsea, all the way to Ranieri’s counter-attacking champions, The Mixer is one of the most entertaining, rich and knowledgeable football books ever written.

An absolutely essential book for every modern football fan, about the development of Premier League tactics, published to coincide with 25 years of the competition.Back in 1992, English football was stuck in the dark ages, emerging from a five-year ban from European competition. The game was physical, bruising and attritional, based on strength over speed, aggression over finesse. It was the era of the midfield general, reducers, big men up front and getting it in the mixer; 4-4-2 was the order of the day. Few teams experimented tactically.And then, almost overnight, it all changed. The creation of the Premier League coincided with one of the most seismic rule changes in football history: the abolition of the back-pass. Suddenly defenders had no-get-out-of-jail-free card, goalkeepers had to be able to field and play the ball and the pace of the game quickened immeasurably. Tactics evolved dramatically, helped by an increased foreign influence.The Mixer is the first book to delve deep into the tactical story of the Premier League, and take a long view of how the game has developed over the last quarter century. From Ferguson’s directness to Keegan’s relentlessly attacking Newcastle outfit, to Mourinho’s cagey, reactive Chelsea, all the way to Ranieri’s counter-attacking champions, The Mixer is one of the most entertaining, rich and knowledgeable football books ever written.

Led by former Navy SEAL Victor Seymour, an elite team of mercenaries are sent by the CIA to rescue hostages, and secure data from an under siege top-secret island facility. But upon arrival, they discover ravaged military equipment, a mass grave, and a platoon of hostile forces already in retreat. As the team investigates, they uncover the secret that the island has contained for centuries.For the first time, modern man will come face-to-face with a being from beyond the stars. A member of a deadly intergalactic invasive species, the beast is ravenous, cunning, lacking emotion or empathy. With his team dwindling, Seymour must fight to keep the beast from leaving the island, and to save humanity from the terrifying extraterrestrial known as The Pilot.

In a marble crypt in Annapolis, Maryland, at the U.S. Naval Academy Chapel, lies an American hero. In death, as in life, John Paul Jones commands the deepest affection of his fellow countrymen. Veteran children's writer Michael Cooper takes a fresh look at one of the most colorful characters of the Revolutionary War period. The war is viewed from Jones's perspective and the reader lives out all the uncertainties, the risks, and the dangers faced by Jones with each dramatic battle at sea. A Scots immigrant, John Paul Jones arrived in America on the eve of the War for Independence, and went on to serve in the Continental Navy. The arc of his exciting life's narrative would lead him to deliver the sting of war to the British people. We follow Jones's seaborne odyssey until his fate is forged in the biggest naval battle of the American Revolution. Jones and his crew aboard the Bonhomme Richard engage the Royal Navy's Serapis and vanquish the world's greatest sea power. The name of John Paul Jones is thereafter etched into the imagination of generations of American schoolboys. Now, Hero of the High Seas gives our generation an original, accurate, and objective historical reference point for one of our country's earliest naval heroes. In Jones we meet a determined, commanding man who demanded perfection and constantly strove for improvement. Although he remained a well-respected inspirational figure to his men, Jones's fiery temper also led him into several clashes with authority. Michael Cooper tells the story of this hero of the high seas with an invigorating realism and eye for detail. This historical biography is generously illustrated with period artwork, and photographs of historical artifacts. Fine National Geographic cartography traces the voyages and ports of call of this American hero.National Geographic supports K-12 educators with ELA Common Core Resources.Visit www.natgeoed.org/commoncore for more information.

An incurable sickness has infected a fishing village along the coast of Ishalar. The sick do not die - they vanish, leaving behind footprints and ashen shadows. Delanis, the fourth throne of Ishalar, has already lost his wife to The Vanishing, and now his daughter is deep in the throes of the illness. More in his village are succumbing almost every day. Desperate to save his daughter from a seemingly inevitable fate, Delanis defies the first throne and secretly journeys through an icy sea to a forsaken land with those loyal to him. But they are hunted, and their journey turns to one of both miraculous discovery and deepening desperation. Among frozen cliffs and ghostly water, Delanis begins to uncover the source of The Vanishing and his role in an unseen war between the living and The Vanished.

In this close look at the first relocation camp built for Japanese evacuees living on the West Coast after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, social historian Michael Cooper makes extensive use of the actual wordsfrom diaries, journals, memoirs, and news accountsof the people who were held behind barbed wire in the high California desert. Many were American citizens who felt betrayed by their country. They had to leave their jobs, their homes, and their friends and go live in crowded barracks, eat in noisy mess halls, and do without supplies or books for work or schooling. They showed remarkable bravery and resilience as they tried to lead normal lives, starting their own schools, playing baseball, attending Saturday night dances, and publishing their own newspaper. Archival photographs, some by Ansel Adams and Dorothea Lange, augment the informative text. Manzanar is now a National Historic Site and hosts an annual pilgrimage that is attended by former internees, their families, and friends. Endnotes, Internet resources, index.

From colonial times to the modern day, two things have remained constant in American history: the destructive power of fires and the bravery of those who fight them.Fighting Fire! by Michael L. Cooper brings to life ten of the deadliest infernos this nation has ever endured: the great fires of Boston, New York, Chicago, Baltimore, and San Francisco, the disasters of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory, the General Slocum, and the Cocoanut Grove nightclub, the wildfire of Witch Creek in San Diego County, and the catastrophe of 9/11. Each blaze led to new firefighting techniques and technologies, yet the struggle against fires continues to this day. With historical images and a fast-paced text, this is both an exciting look at firefighting history and a celebration of the human spirit.

From colonial times to the modern day, two things have remained constant in American history: the destructive power of fires and the bravery of those who fight them.Fighting Fire! brings to life ten of the deadliest infernos this nation has ever endured: the great fires of Boston, New York, Chicago, Baltimore, and San Francisco, the disasters of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory, the General Slocum, and the Cocoanut Grove nightclub, the wildfire of Witch Creek in San Diego County, and the catastrophe of 9/11. Each blaze led to new firefighting techniques and technologies, yet the struggle against fires continues to this day. With historical images and a fast-paced text, this is both an exciting look at firefighting history and a celebration of the human spirit.

From colonial times to the modern day, two things have remained constant in American history: the destructive power of fires and the bravery of those who fight them.Fighting Fire! brings to life ten of the deadliest infernos this nation has ever endured: the great fires of Boston, New York, Chicago, Baltimore, and San Francisco, the disasters of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory, the General Slocum, and the Cocoanut Grove nightclub, the wildfire of Witch Creek in San Diego County, and the catastrophe of 9/11. Each blaze led to new firefighting techniques and technologies, yet the struggle against fires continues to this day. With historical images and a fast-paced text, this is both an exciting look at firefighting history and a celebration of the human spirit.