Two former members of the National Security Council trace the evolution of terrorist activities and the history of radical Islam, the September 11th attacks, and the U.S. government's efforts to stop further threats.

"This textbook will deliver a comprehensive, systematic introduction to homeland security today, including its conceptual foundations, legal underpinnings, historical evolution, constituent federal agencies, emerging technologies, and linkages to businesses, non-profits, civic groups, and individual citizens. Throughout the course of the book, particular emphasis will be placed on three paradigm shifts in homeland security: the new role of so-called "big data" analytics for risk assessment in homeland security decision-making; emerging understandings of the "homeland security enterprise," a term used by practitioners to describe whole-of-government efforts to manage natural and man-made threats; and the growing recognition of how international affairs can influence and shape domestic security considerations. The authors are all experts in homeland security and have published widely on the subject. In addition, the authors bring to bear on this project a compelling blend of academic and practitioner experience that will help this book to stand out among its competitors in the marketplace. Two of the authors (Busch and Givens) co-authored the 2014 book The Business of Counterterrorism: Public-Private Partnerships in Homeland Security. Alan Bers in has worked at the highest levels of the federal government, most recently as Assistant Secretary of International Affairs and Chief Diplomatic Officer at the OHS, and previously as Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Their combined expertise means that this project will benefit from both a rigorous scholarly approach and a compelling first-hand view of the federal government's inner workings from a former senior leader in the OHS. This project can be distinguished from other comparable textbooks, including those that focus upon specific sub-fields of homeland security. Some of these books offer introductions to homeland security but include little in the way of unifying themes or trends transcending the sub-fields of homeland security. Other books address specific problems in homeland security, such as terrorism or emergency management, and use these problems as starting points for broader discussions of government organizations involved in homeland security"--

That precursors of adult coronary artery disease, hypertension, and type II diabetes begin in childhood have been clearly established by the Bogalusa Heart Study. This unique research program has been able to follow a biracial (black/white) population over 35 years from childhood through mid-adulthood to provide perspectives on the natural history of adult heart diseases. Not only do these observations describe trajectories of cardio-metabolic risk variables leading to these diseases but provide a rationale for the need to begin prevention beginning in childhood. The trajectories of the burden of cardio-metabolic risk variables in the context of their fetal origin and chromosome telomere dynamics provide some insight into the metabolic imprinting in utero and aging process. The observed racial contrasts on cardio-metabolic risk variables implicate various biologic pathways interacting with environment contributing to the high morbidity and mortality from related diseases in our population. To address the seriousness of the onset of cardiovascular disease in youth, approaches to primordial prevention are described focussing on childhood health education as an important aspect of Preventive Cardiology.