Most Popular Books by John Lechner

A very clever stick finally discovers how he can communicate with the world around him.

A little frog is upset when his simple life is changed by such things as other animals moving in nearby, but during an unexpected adventure away from the pond he learns that change can be good, after all.

Scurvy and Spiny Burr team up with an exiled and bitter burr in an attempt to take over Burrwood Village and get rid of nice guy, Sticky Burr, once and for all.

The first Chechen language course available in English! Chechen is spoken by over 1.4 million people worldwide, mostly in the Chechen Republic. It is also spoken in the Chechen diaspora in Russia, Europe, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and the Middle East, notably in Jordan and Turkey. It is a Northeast Caucasian language that is written in the Cyrillic script. Ideal for those new to Chechen, learning at home or in the classroom, Beginner's Chechen with Online Audio teaches both written and spoken Chechen using modern pedagogy, and includes: - An introductory section on the Chechen language and its main features - Twelve carefully-paced chapters, each one opening with dialogues about an everyday topic followed by vocabulary, grammar lessons, and exercises - Dialogues in 3 forms: literary Chechen (Cyrillic), spoken Chechen, and Romanized - Answer key to the exercises - Chechen-English and English-Chechen glossaries - Online MP3 audio files for free download featuring pronunciation by native speakers

"Extraordinary."-CHRIS MILLER, author of Chip War "Incredible."-ANNIE JACOBSEN, author of Nuclear War, via X From John Lechner, "an amazingly bold reporter" (Adam Hochschild), the shocking inside story of how the Wagner Group made private military companies inextricable from Russia's anti-Western foreign strategy. In 2014, a well-trained, mysterious band of mercenaries arrived in Ukraine, part of Russia's first attempt to claim the country as its own. Upon ceasefire, the “Wagner Group” faded back into shadow, only to reemerge in the Middle East, where they'd go toe-to-toe with the U.S., and in Africa, where they'd earn praise for “tough measures” against insurgencies yet spark outrage for looting, torture, and civilian deaths. As Russia gained a foothold of influence abroad, Wagner founder Yevgeny Prigozhin, known as “Putin's Chef,” went from caterer to commander to single greatest threat Putin has faced in his over-twenty-year rule. Dually armed with military and strategic prowess, the Wagner Group created a new market in a vast geopolitical landscape increasingly receptive to the promises of private actors. In this trailblazing account of the Group's origins and operations, John Lechner-the only journalist to report across its many warzones-brings us on the ground to witness Wagner partner with fragile nation states, score access to natural resources, oust peacekeeping missions, and cash in on conflicts reframed as Kremlin interests. After rebelling, Prigozhin faced an epic demise-but Wagner lives on, its political, business, and military ventures a pillar of Russian operations the world over. Featuring exclusive interviews with over thirty Wagner Group members, Death Is Our Business is the terrifying true tale of the renegade militia that proved global instability is nothing if not an opportunity.

The first Circassian language course available in English! West Circassian, also known as Adyghe, is a Northwest Caucasian language spoken by an estimated 500,000 people worldwide. It is spoken mainly in Russia, as well as Turkey, Jordan, Syria and Israel, where Circassians settled in the late 1800s. West Circassian is written in the Cyrillic script. Ideal for those new to West Circassian, learning at home or in the classroom, Beginner's Circassian (Adyghe) with Online Audio teaches both written and spoken Circassian using modern pedagogy, and includes: An introductory section on the West Circassian (Adyghe) language and its main features Twelve carefully-paced chapters, each one opening with dialogues about an everyday topic followed by vocabulary, grammar lessons, and exercises Answer key to the exercises West Circassian-English and English-West Circassian glossaries Online MP3 audio files for free download featuring pronunciation by native speakers

Sango, also known as Sanngo and Sängö, is an official language of the Central African Republic (CAR). It is also spoken in Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Republic of Congo and Cameroon and considered a lingua franca of the region. Spoken by nearly 6 million people in the CAR, there are also an estimated additional 1.6 million speakers of Sango worldwide. Although French is still used in most official communication and education in CAR, Sango is spoken by 98% of the population and is the primary language of socialization and oral communication through the country. This unique two-part resource uses the official Sango Latin alphabet and orthography. It provides travelers to Central Africa with tools for daily interactions. The bilingual dictionary has a concise vocabulary for everyday use, and the phrasebook allows instant communication on a variety of topics. Ideal for businesspeople, travelers, students, and aid workers, this guide includes: 4,000 dictionary entries Essential phrases on subjects such as healthcare, time, dates, transportation, money, communication services and much more An introduction to the basics of Sango grammar (including a short guide to alphabet and pronunciation)