Former secretary of state Colin Powell (pictured, via) has inked a deal at HarperCollins for a new book entitled It Worked For Me: Lessons in Leadership and Life. The nonfiction title is slated for publication in May 2012.

Powell will be collaborating with writer Tony Koltz on this project. Publisher Jonathan Burnham negotiated the deal with Josephson International LLC’s Marvin Josephson. Executive editor Tim Duggan will edit the book.

Here’s more from the release: “[This book] is a collection of lessons and personal anecdotes that have driven the four star-general and former Secretary of State’s legendary career in public service. Leading off with Powell’s ’13 Rules,’ culled together from scraps of paper that he accumulated at his desk and are now used in leadership presentations throughout the world, the book sheds light on the making and success of one of our most revered statesmen. Powell’s short-but-sweet rules—like ‘Get mad, then get over it’ and ‘Share credit’—set the tone for the rest of his book, in which he tells revealing personal stories to expand on his principles for effective leadership: conviction, hard work, and above all, respect for others.”

Nonfiction writer James H. Keeffe, III authored a guest piece for Inside Google Books titled “A 67-year reunion of wartime survivors, inspired by Google Books.” Keefe’s book, Two Gold Coins and a Prayer: The Epic Journey of a World War II Bomber Pilot and POW, recounts his father’s (James H. Keeffe, II) military service experiences.

At one point, Keefe’s father was compelled to hide with a Jewish family in the attic of a kindly Dutch doctor; the family consisted of a mom, dad and nine year-old little girl. After Keefe’s distributor listed the title on Google Books, Helen Cohen-Berman found it from searching on Google and then got in touch with Keefe; she revealed herself to be that daughter who shared the attic space with Keeffe’s father six decades ago.

Here’s more from the piece: “Six months after Helen’s email to me, after much planning, Helen flew to Seattle and was reunited with my father on September 13, 2011. Sixty-seven years had passed since last they saw each other. It was a very moving experience—all possible because of Google Books. I was greatly honored to have been able to bring my father and Helen together again. Helen said the reunion was a ‘closing of a circle’ and a healing time for her as she was finally able to talk about some of the events she had endured. For my father, the reunion was a joyful occasion.”

This fall Clive Cussler, Sandra Brown, Kathy Reichs, Mark Bowden and Andrew Peterson will embark on Operation Thriller, a USO/Armed Forces Entertainment tour.

Operation Thriller sends authors to military bases around the world to entertain our troops–follow this link to read about last year’s tour. At the moment, the exact locations and tour dates cannot be revealed for security reasons. 2011 marks the 70-year anniversary of the USO organization.

Here’s more from the release: “OPERATION THRILLER, will fly to the Middle East, where they will sign autographs, pose for photos with the troops and talk about their books, movies, television series and writing. This trip marks the tour’s second installment, the first one kicked off in November 2010 and was comprised of Steve Berry, David Morrell, Doug Preston, James Rollins and Andy Harp.”

Osama Bin Laden‘s death was carried out by a group of United States Navy SEALs called Team Six. Past member, Howard E. Wasdin, signed a book deal with St. Martin’s Press one year ago. In light of current events, the publisher is preparing for wide spread interest in the title.

On May 24th Wasdin’s memoir, SEAL Team Six: Memoirs of an Elite Navy SEAL Sniper, will be released. Publishers Weekly reports that the memoir will have full national distribution by the middle of next week.

The book was co-authored by Meio University professor Stephen Templin. According to the description, the book talks about Wasdin’s entrance into military service and a past mission concerning Somalian warlord Mohamed Farrah Aidid.

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Bestselling author Suzanne Collins (pictured, via) is writing a new picture book. According to The New York Times, the untitled project will be her “most autobiographical work to date,” using  family members’ names and illustrations inspired by family photos.

This new project will focus on war, a theme present in her two series, The Underland Chronicles and The Hunger Games. Collins’ grandfather, uncle, and father all served in military careers, and the novelist will write about war for teenage audiences.

Collins explained: “I specifically want to do this book, one as a sort of memory piece kind of honoring that year for my family, and two, because I know so many children are experiencing it right now — having deployed parents. And it’s a way I would like to try and communicate my own experience to them.”

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To honor our veterans today, we’ve collected links to share books with our troops.

The nonprofit E-Books for Troops will help you share your used Kindle with our troops overseas.

Through Operation Warrior Library, writers share hundreds of books with military personnel overseas.

A Story Before Bed offered 100,000 free story recordings for our troops–military parents can produce videos of themselves reading a story to their children.

Finally, the Kindle community has setup a discussion thread entitled “Happy Veteran’s Day!!”