Ash Carter

From the former Secretary of Defense, a fascinating, behind-the-scenes memoir that reveals the inner workings of the Pentagon. A straight-talking account that explains not only what happens in the Pentagon but why--and why it matters--written by the man who used to run it. There is no single institution in America as big as the Department of Defense. It spends more money than any other. It employs millions of Americans. It owns and operates more real estate than any other entity. It manages the world's largest and most complex information network and performs more scientific research by far than any other institution. For all these reasons, the Pentagon is a vast and powerful presence in our national life. Yet to most Americans, it is mysterious--a largely opaque five-sided box that many regard with a mixture of awe and suspicion. Especially now, as the president levels accusations against the Pentagon and other intelligence agencies, the need for this book, which demystifies the Pentagon and lays bare the inner workings of Department of Defense, is more urgent than ever. And there is no person alive better suited to telling it than the 25th Secretary of Defense, Ash Carter. This will be the essential book for understanding the Pentagon and America's defense establishment. As secretary, Carter advised President Obama and transformed the department's strategic thinking and operations on critical global politics. Drawing from Carter's thirty-six years of experience at the Defense Department, including the department's #2 and #3 jobs before serving as secretary, this memoir provides clear insight into the most important decisions of the last four decades, to shed light on exactly what is happening inside one of the nation's most iconic buildings and most closely guarded institutions.

Lessons from a Lifetime of Leadership in the Pentagon

Inside the Five-sided Box

Luc Sante

Larry Fink

Vanity Fair's Oscar parties have become a legend of their own over the last decade. A summit of the greatest Hollywood stars, they are the ultimate melting pot of beauty, fame, glamour, and wealth. For ten years American photographer Larry Fink, famous for a keen, uniquely sensual documentary eye, has been the official interpretive Vanity Fair photographer of these events. His view of superstars and their entourages is in sharp contrast to everything we know and expect of official Hollywood. His look is clear and honestly searing; his flash light is married to the instant in devilishly expressive ways. His photographs capture the atmosphere of these meetings reminiscent of evenings at a royal court. With his sensual and intuitive eye, Larry Fink shows the celebrities of the glamorous movie world anxiously at leisure.

Hollywood Parties 2000-2009 : Photographs

The Vanities

The twenty-fifth Secretary of Defense takes readers behind the scenes to reveal the inner workings of the Pentagon, its vital mission, and what it takes to lead it. The Pentagon is the headquarters of the single largest institution in America: the Department of Defense. The D.O.D. employs millions of Americans. It owns and operates more real estate, and spends more money, than any other entity. It manages the world’s largest and most complex information network and performs more R&D than Apple, Google, and Microsoft combined. Most important, the policies it carries out, in war and peace, impact the security and freedom of billions of people around the globe. Yet to most Americans, the dealings of the D.O.D. are a mystery, and the Pentagon nothing more than an opaque five-sided box that they regard with a mixture of awe and suspicion. In this new book, former Secretary of Defense Ash Carter demystifies the Pentagon and sheds light on all that happens inside one of the nation’s most iconic, and most closely guarded, buildings. Drawn from Carter’s thirty-six years of leadership experience in the D.O.D., this is the essential book for understanding the challenge of defending America in a dangerous world—and imparting a trove of incisive lessons that can guide leaders in any complex organization. In these times of great disruption and danger, the need for Ash Carter’s authoritative and pragmatic account is more urgent than ever.

Inside the Five-Sided Box

The Pentagon serves as headquarters to the single largest institution in America- The Department of Defense. The D.O.D. employs millions of Americans. It owns and operates more real estate, and spends more money, than any other entity. It manages the world's largest and most complex information network and performs more scientific research by far than any other institution. Yet to most Americans, the dealings of the D.O.D are a mystery and the Pentagon nothing more than an opaque five-sided box that they regard with a mixture of awe and suspicion. In this memoir, Ash Carter, the twenty-fifth Secretary of Defense, demystifies the Pentagon and lays bare the inner workings of the D.O.D in order to shed light on all that happens inside one of the nation's most iconic buildings and most closely guarded institutions. Drawing from Carter's thirty-six years of leadership experience in the Department of Defense, this will be the essential book for understanding the Pentagon and the tireless work of the capable men and women who run it. Especially now, as the President levels spurious accusations against the Pentagon and U.S. intelligence agencies, the need for Ash Carter's authoritative memoir is more urgent than ever.

Sam Kashner

An up close and personal portrait of a legendary filmmaker, theater director, and comedian, drawing on candid conversations with his closest friends in show business and the arts—from Dustin Hoffman and Meryl Streep to Natalie Portman and Lorne Michaels. The work of Mike Nichols pervades American cultural consciousness—from The Graduate and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? to Angels in America, The Birdcage, Working Girl, and Primary Colors, not to mention his string of hit plays, including Barefoot in the Park and The Odd Couple. If that weren’t enough, he was also one half of the timelessly funny duo Nichols & May, as well as a founding member of the original improv troupe. Over a career that spanned half a century, Mike Nichols changed Hollywood, Broadway, and comedy forever. Most fans, however, know very little of the person behind it all. Since he never wrote his memoirs, and seldom appeared on television, they have very little sense of his searching intellect or his devastating wit. They don't know that Nichols, the great American director, was born Mikail Igor Peschkowsky, in Berlin, and came to this country, speaking no English, to escape the Nazis. They don't know that Nichols was at one time a solitary psychology student, or that a childhood illness caused permanent, life-altering side effects. They don't know that he withdrew into a debilitating depression before he "finally got it right," in his words, by marrying Diane Sawyer. Here, for the first time, Ash Carter and Sam Kashner offer an intimate look behind the scenes of Nichols' life, as told by the stars, moguls, playwrights, producers, comics and crewmembers who stayed loyal to Nichols for years. Life Isn't Everything is a mosaic portrait of a brilliant and original director known for his uncommon charm, wit, vitality, and genius for friendship, this volume is also a snapshot of what it meant to be living, loving, and making art in the 20th century.

Ash Carter

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