Lee, and her great-grandmother, Martha Washington; many have visited the cemetery that now occupies her family estate. But few today know much about Mary Custis Lee herself. Chronically ill and often in excruciating pain, Mary raised seven children, faithfully witnessing to her husband for years before his conversion. She retained her dignity and faith throughout a fruitless, heartbreaking attempt to win compensation for the confiscation of her home and possessions. History is never more powerful than when it provides a role model for enduring hardship with sturdy and radiant faith. Mary Custis Lee is such an example.

    Many allege that the Confederacy lost the Civil War because of internal division or civilian disaffection; others point to flawed military strategy or ambivalence over slavery. But, argues distinguished historian Gary Gallagher, we should not ask why the Confederacy collapsed so soon but rather how it lasted so long. In The Confederate War he reexamines the Confederate experience through the actions and words of the people who lived it to show how the home front responded to the war, endured great hardships, and assembled armies that fought with tremendous spirit and determination. Gallagher's portrait highlights a powerful sense of Confederate patriotism and unity in the face of a determined adversary. Drawing on letters, diaries, and newspapers of the day, he shows that Southerners held not only an unflagging belief in their way of life, which sustained them to the bitter end, but also a widespread expectation of victory and a strong popular will closely attuned to military events. In fact, the army's "offensive-defensive" strategy came remarkably close to triumph, claims Gallagher--in contrast to the many historians who believe that a more purely defensive strategy or a guerrilla resistance could have won the war for the South. To understand why the South lost, Gallagher says we need look no further than the war itself: after a long struggle that brought enormous loss of life and property, Southerners finally realized that they had been beaten on the battlefield. Gallagher's interpretation of the Confederates and their cause boldly challenges current historical thinking and invites readers to reconsider their own conceptions of the American Civil War.

    With a dwindling army and an epic threat, he is forced to supplement his fighters with new-young-recruits. From thousands, four will be chosen to lead a special mission."Infidel"-Stretched to their limits, the heroic young Forest Guard recruits-Johnis, Silvie, Billos, and Darsal-face new dangers on their mission to secure the seven Lost Books of History. In the end, one will be revealed an Infidel. And nothing will be the same for the remaining Chosen."Renegade"-Turning his back on all he once believed, Billos does the forbidden and enters a Book of History. He lands in a reality as foreign to him as water is to oil-a place called Paradise, Colorado. He has strange new powers given to him courtesy of a mysterious figure-Marsuvees Black."Chaos"-Deep in the mountains of Romania stands a fortress. Within it lies a dark chamber where one Shataiki bat straight from the bowels of the Black Forest has been ruling the dead for over two thousand years. He seeks the final Book of History with which he will destroy the world. But there are four who stand in his way.

    Virtually broke, they turn to embarrassing home invasions and petty hits to rebuild their nest egg. In addition to each other, Callie and Creed have dreams. Creed’s is to retire and live in a scenic lake house. Callie’s is to romance a local hot mom. The same hot mom who happens to be the target of a creepy, dangerous stalker named Walter Develin.

    Enter a world of proud fathers and their powerful sons as only Kathryn Le Veque can create! Medieval Times brought about some of the most powerful legends and audacious tales. Fathers establish the family legacies and sons carry them forth. In a world of brutal majesty and daring adventure, live the passion of true Medieval Romance in these four majestic full-length novels. Spectre of the Sword – Rhys du Bois, a powerful knight, falls in love with the hunted heiress to the throne of England. Will he risk love over duty? Unending Love – Maddoc du Bois has had an admirer all his life, a lady he has ignored… but soon becomes his reason for living. Shield of Kronos – Garret de Moray falls for a much-sought-after lady… who can bring him death. The Gorgon – Bose de Moray finds himself on the tournament circuit after the death of his wife and falls for a young woman with tragic secrets of her own. Bonus book: Realm of Angels - a damaged knight and a lady who never gave up hope in this tale of miracles. Purchase this spectacular collection or read for FREE in Kindle Unlimited!

    And It’s Not Happening Inside a Courtroom. Lawyers come in all shapes and sizes, male and female, brilliant and dim. Michael Gresham is a Chicago lawyer who is quietly—and sometimes not so quietly—going about his business, defending his criminal clients, and providing for his wife and children. When a new client walks in, the lawyer must have the upper hand in all dealings and the client must allow the lawyer to run the show. To do otherwise is to risk jail or worse for the clients of Michael Gresham. But without warning, a client turns on him. Without warning, Michael’s world is turned on its head one life at a time. Michael, being Michael, fights back. A trial takes over and the book begins a runaway contest with a runaway jury that neither the judge nor the lawyers can control. When it is over, the last man standing will walk away with his life and his world and the other will lose it all. The pawns are Michael’s wife and children—his everything. In the end Michael must face his own demons and try to lay hold of the person he is ultimately meant to be: the lawyer who roared.

    Suddenly, he finds himself living on the other side of the country with Fey, an aunt that he only met once when he was very little. She’s a bit of a hippy, living alone in the middle of nowhere, with no Internet or cell service. Life isn’t much better with Aunt Fey, at least at first. But it’s only a few weeks before Kenny starts to notice strange changes to his body. His hips are widening, his skin is softening, and a pair of subtle lumps are starting to form on his chest. If he didn’t know any better, he would think that he’s going through some sort of female puberty! But even that doesn’t really explain his sudden desire to try on the cute outfits he finds around Aunt Fey’s house.

    The excitement of planetfall is indescribable, but quickly transforms into sick disappointment when they find the atmosphere is a roiling mass of hydrochloric acid, carbon dioxide and other deadly poisons. They fly onward, seeking better planets. They find them, but none are ideal. The search goes on for a century, then longer still. As they move farther from Earth, aliens discover the intruding ship, and they begin to investigate humanity. They find our species unacceptable. The years and the light-years go by without relief. The colony begins to splinter. Some accept that their voyage is eternal, while others seek to end it any way they can. The colony’s culture grows darker, and a war begins, both inside and outside the vast ship. What lives among the stars we see at night? Can we reach out to them and survive? Find out in BLACK PHOENIX, a story of exploration, colonization, alien contact and civil war by Wayne Wightman and B. V. Larson, bestselling SF authors with over three million copies sold.

    This series features classic tales retold with color illustrations to introduce literature to struggling readers. Each 64-page eBook retains key phrases and quotations from the original classics. Moby Dick is an exciting story about Captain Ahab's compelling obsession to get his revenge and defeat the Great White Whale. The story truly portrays the tragedy of hatred. This timeless epic is considered one of the strangest yet most powerful stories ever written.

    In these contemporary romances from Lisa Wingate, four women find love, hope, and unexpected adventures on the shores of Moses Lake, Texas.Includes four novels in one volume:1 Larkspur Cove2 Blue Moon Bay3 Firefly Island4 Wildwood Creek

    FROM A GLOBALLY BEST-SELLING AUTHOR WHO HAS SOLD OVER 1.5 MILLION BOOKS. YOU GET THREE ENTHRALLING MYSTERIES IN THIS BOX SET BOOK 1: CRIME ON THE FENS The town is being terrorised by gangs of violent thugs, all wearing identical hideous masks. Then a talented young female student goes missing on the marsh and Nikki and Joseph find themselves joining forces with a master criminal in their efforts to save her. They need to look behind the masks, but when they do, they find something more sinister and deadly than they ever expected . . . BOOK 2: SHADOW OVER THE FENS A man is found executed on a piece of wasteland in Greenborough town. The cold-blooded murder triggers terrible memories for Detective Joseph Easter. Just when things seemed to be going well for DS Easter, he realises that the nightmare is coming back, threatening his career, his sanity, and maybe his life. In a breath-taking conclusion even Nikki begins to doubt DS Easter as he faces a race against time to save someone very close to him. BOOK 3: HUNTED ON THE FENS A vicious criminal is targeting Detective Nikki Galena and her team. One by one he will hunt them down and destroy their lives, unless she can stop him first. DI Nikki Galena faces her toughest challenge yet. Can she save her team and herself from a cruel and determined adversary who will stop at nothing to harm Nikki and her colleagues? First she must work out who wants revenge against her or one of her detectives. Full of twists and turns, this is a crime novel that will have you turning the pages until the stunning ending. Perfect for fans of Rachel Abbott, Robert Bryndza, Mel Sherratt, Angela Marsons, Colin Dexter, or Ruth Rendell. DISCOVER ONE OF THE WORLD’S FAVOURITE DETECTIVES THE DETECTIVE DI Nikki Galena: A police detective with nothing left to lose, she’s seen a girl die in her arms, and her daughter will never leave the hospital again. She’s got tough on the criminals she believes did this to her. HER PARTNER DS Joseph Easter is the squeaky-clean new member of the team. But his nickname “Holy Joe” belies his former life as a soldier. He has an estranged daughter who blames him for everything that went wrong with their family. THE SETTING The Lincolnshire Fens: great open skies brood over marshes, farmland, and nature reserves. It is not easy terrain for the Fenland Constabulary to police, due to the distances between some of the remote Fen villages, the dangerous and often misty lanes, and the poor telephone coverage. There are still villages where the oldest residents have never set foot outside their own farmland and a visit to the nearest town is a major event. But it has a strange airy beauty to it, and above it all are the biggest skies you’ve ever seen.

    But they have two urgent matters to attend to before they leave: Prevent Gertie's cousin, Barbara, from marrying Harvey Chicoron and settle a score with their arch enemy, Celia.It's a simple mission.Until they discover a mysterious stranger has been tracking their every move.Who is he? And why is he also stalking Marge's Aunt Louanne, a woman with a few mysteries of her own?Undercover is book 1 in the Sinful Past series of stories featuring Ida Belle, Gertie and Marge in their younger years. Join the original Swamp Team 3 as they raise hell, solve mysteries, and keep the town of Sinful, Louisiana from going to pot. Oh, and maybe have a romance or two along the way. These stories take place from the 60s on up and can be read in any order.A WORD FROM THE AUTHOR: Undercover is a novella in the Miss Fortune World, wherein Jana DeLeon has allowed writers to create stories using the world of Sinful and the wacky characters it's famous for. I wish to thank Ms. DeLeon for graciously allowing other writers to explore their own writing in a most Sinful way.

    But his reason for choosing this career was even less common, perhaps even unique. This story was first published in BEDLAM'S EDGE, Aug 2005.

    In Firetrap, Trey Brown is a man tormented by race, by family, and now by a political firestorm that has erupted because fourteen people died in an illegal Seattle nightclub . . . and someone must take the fall.Captain Trey Brown is a black man in a Seattle fire department where the color of his skin keeps him largely on the outside looking in. As a child, Trey was adopted by a white family whose children were bred for wealth and power–but now Trey simply does his job, rides his Harley, and lives in bitter solitude. Then the Z-Club goes up in flames, killing more than a dozen people, all of them black, and the city's African American community demands to know: Did these people die because of their skin color?Jamie Estevez, the beautiful, ambitious reporter who becomes Trey's partner in the investigation, is everything Trey is not. Outgoing and gregarious, she tries to bring the lone-wolf fireman back into the world. But as their relationship heats up, Trey is forced to relive a painful episode from his past, when he was accused of a horrible crime and shunned by his adoptive parents. Suddenly, two mysteries–one of passion and family, the other of fire and murder–are unraveling around Trey. But so is everything he has done to protect himself. . . .Firetrap is vintage Earl Emerson: a gritty, emotionally charged novel set in a world of camaraderie and urban chaos, where one man has been a hero, a villain, and a victim–and hasn’t even faced the deadliest danger yet.

    Bestselling author Brenda Jackson's brings you five more stories in the Westmorelands saga, now available in one convenient download! This bundle includes books eleven through fifteen of the series: Spencer's Forbidden Passion, Taming Clint Westmoreland, Cole's Red-Hot Pursuit, Quade's Babies, and Tall, Dark...Westmoreland!