Blog

An enduring dichotomy of war is that even as it evolves, its savage heart remains unchanged. For more than two decades Green Beret combat veteran, David A. Maurer, delved into the Civil War in order to compare his experiences in Southeast Asia with those of his great-granduncle, Jacob Shriver, who fought for the Union during the War of Rebellion. At times their two paths nearly merge when shared circumstances clear the blur of history. The rush of gratitude felt when sideling up to a campfire on a wet, cold night does not change. As this book reveals, just as unchangeable is the core of war that combat veterans see.

<p>For the love of love…and books...<br/> Mattie Mobley planned to be a teacher, but when times grew tough during America’s Great Depression and there were no teaching positions in her hometown of Asheville, NC, Mattie found work starting a school and helping the Pack Horse Librarians just over the mountains in the rural town of Certain, Kentucky. She’s not certain at all that this is a good situation, but she’s determined and honestly, a little desperate. Of all the things that Mattie does have—money, comforts, a good name, she doesn’t have what matters most—friends, love, and a purpose of her own.<br/> Daniel, “The Grizzly Bear,” Barrett had a lovely life for a little while. Overcoming his family’s bad name and worse reputation, he made a life for himself in Certain. He was married with children and a figure of respect in his church, but desperate times called for desperate measures and a terrible tragedy was the result. Now exiled with his children along the wily run of the Hell for Certain Creek, Daniel has gotten used to being the town pariah again. It’s in his blood after all. Right? Maybe not, but he’ll need the powerful influence of love not only to change his own mind about himself but to convince his estranged extended family and the whole town as well.<br/> Can one librarian with a saddlebag full of books make people see the difference between fact and fiction? Mattie loves a good story, and this may be her best one yet. Fiction tells the best truths and the best truth of all is love.</p>

A modern retelling of Jules Verne’s high-seas adventure, with an exiled captain using an illicit submarine for smuggling, discovering riches, and revenge. When a US expedition is attacked, three survivors are saved by a mysterious vessel. The enigmatic Captain Nikto elects to keep the captives alive, requiring each of their skills for his daring pursuits. As Nikto’s true motives emerge –and evidence of a rogue submarine alerts the world’s navies– the captives must work together to avoid annihilation. A fast-paced adventure-thriller that's described as "The classic Disney adventure meets The Hunt for Red October

Being a prisoner of war wasn’t an option. . . As Japanese forces corral almost eleven thousand prisoners after the fall of Corregidor Island in the Philippines, the remaining crew of the USS Tanager band together to escape to freedom. Pursued by a relentless Japanese officer, the escapees commandeer an old schooner. Through uncharted islands and stormy seas, they must outsail and outsmart Japanese forces sent to capture or kill them. Inspired by a true story of early World War II heroism, Flight to Freedom is the story of a diverse group of people who just won’t give up.

The Garretts and their friends and family tell our American story; the story we didn’t hear about in school. In Fire-Eaters, the second book in the Snakebit series, John Poniske skillfully shows how our Dis-United States came to be on a war footing. The humor, the humanity, and the horror blend in a tightly woven tale, as historical as it is fictional. Geoffrey Garrett acts as his family’s conscience. Geoff’s dead father, Valentine, acts as Geoff’s compass in a world gone snakebit-crazy. The Garret and McCune families introduced in book one Prelude to War live in Maryland, a border state torn between abolitionists to the North and slavers to the South. The McCunes are slavers, the Garretts are not. Geoff and his family pay a steep price for the stand they take. Runaways flock North, where they overrun Fortress Monroe. Armed militias spring up in every county of the country. Baltimore, Maryland, sees the first bloodshed in its streets and you are there to witness it. War profiteers slink forth as cannons are aimed and fired in Charleston, South Carolina, and the American Civil War begins in earnest.

It’s Tucson, it’s summer, and it is stinking hot. Sturdy, stalwart Detective Marie Stransky has returned to work after the birth of her fifth baby, another girl, to find that “he’s back.” Called to Santa Rita Park, a gathering place for the homeless and addicted, Marie studies the strangled body of a young woman. The cigarette burn on her right wrist pegs her as a victim of a stalker that has already killed two homeless women. Then there is the young Mexican woman found shot in a wash. Homicide department head, Lieutenant Carl Lindgrin, a man Marie loves to hate, dismisses the murder as gang related, but the tattoo of a unicorn on the girl’s shoulder visible in the autopsy photo gives Marie pause. What self-respecting gangbanger has a tattoo of a unicorn? And the bodies pile up.

It’s the early 1980s and a rogue group is stealing historical artifacts from New England. At the top of their list is the USS Constitution. The FBI knows it needs help, but the president isn’t interested in using any more government resources on the operation. With limited options and time running out, the director of the FBI must find a way to stop the thieves before “Old Ironsides” sails into the sunset. This is when he makes an unexpected call—to his godson—Pierce Spruce. Pierce is on his honeymoon in Paris when his hotel room phone begins to ring. The question is—will he answer the call?

It wasn’t supposed to be like this. Cast adrift in an unfamiliar city, a young Irish immigrant named Molly finds herself forced into prostitution and has a child stolen out of her arms. With the city descending into the chaos of the Draft Riots, Molly must save herself before she can save the child. From the green fields of Galway to the crowded streets of New York and the ornate parlors of New Orleans, Molly never stops fighting to free herself and the child she hardly knows from a terrible fate.

Robert MacHugh is a late 17th century Scots wine merchant and smuggler in New York who finds himself (not totally willingly) chasing pirates, perfidious French persons, angry Native Americans and others as a “favor” for a very powerful London power broker. A story filled with straining canvas, roaring cannons, spies, crooked Dutch patroons, Maroons and pretty girls, among other things.

The Cookbook that Fueled a Movement-in more ways than one. To all appearances the intent of this cookbook was to raise money for the Equal Franchise Federation of Western Pennsylvania; but there was more to it than that. A lot more. In order to get the 19th (Suffrage) Amendment passed, women had to win the support of a large number of male voters, as well as the support of other women. The first goal was not easy because, among other things, men were worried that women would lose sight of their traditional roles as homemakers. And the education of their fellow women was made difficult because, in many homes, suffrage literature was simply not allowed. So what could be more innocent and less threatening then to produce a cookbook filled with homey recipes? Yet it also contained on its pages messages of equality, and notes of support for universal suffrage. There were recipes for orange marmalade, but there were also recipes for a "Pie for a Suffragist's Doubting Husband." In effect, this book, and others like it, was both an exemplary demonstration of domesticity-and a Trojan Horse. To be sure, several of these recipes might give a modern day, health conscious, nutritionist a case of the vapors. Neverthe-less, they were among the best recipes these women had; and even by today's standards, they're still delicious! From its pages you can not only generate a great meal, but you can read a slice of history while you're at it.