Opening paragraphs.............

I usually trust my instincts.  This time I did not, which almost proved fatal.  The day was pure Jamaica in February, the sun brilliant overhead, the air soft with only the hint of an afternoon thundershower.  Perfect flying weather, as we boarded the UH-1 helicopter.  My wife, Alma, and I were visiting the island of my parents' birth at the invitation of Prime Minister Michael Manley.  Manley had been after me for a year, ever since the Gulf War.  "Get some rest, dear boy," he had said in that compelling lilt the last time he had called.  "Come home, if only for a few days.  Stay at our government guesthouse."  This time I accepted with pleasure.

-Colin Powell (with Joseph E. Persico),  My American Journey