A bookseller whose customers included both British officers and American colonists, he married into a Loyalist family. He always wore a silk handkerchief around his hand to conceal an old injury.An unlikely Revolutionary War hero? Perhaps. But Henry Knox was an ardent patriot. He devoted himself to the service of his country and of General George Washington. And it was Henry Knox who devised a plan to bring heavy artillery from Fort Ticonderoga to relieve the siege of Boston—and managed, despite all obstacles, to make it work.Described here in brief chapters and beautifully detailed paintings, Henry Knox's heroic undertaking is a little known but thrilling chapter in the story of American independence.

    Yet contrary to popular belief, George Washington never had a set of wooden teeth. Starting at the age of twenty-four, he lost on average a tooth a year, and by the time he was elected President, he had only two left! In this reverentially funny tale based on Washington’s letters, diaries, and other historical records, readers will find out what really happened as they follow the trail of lost teeth to complete tooflessness.

    When the bus pulls up, they climb in and pay their fare, get out, walk to the back door, and climb in again. By the time they arrive in town, Michael's throat is as dry as a bone, so he runs to the water fountain. But after a few sips, the warm, rusty water tastes bad. Why is the kid at the "Whites Only" fountain still drinking? Is his water clear and refreshingly cool? No matter how much trouble Michael might get into, he's determined to find out for himself. Based on a transformative experience co-author Michael Bandy had as a boy, this compelling story sheds light on the reality of segregation through a child's eyes, while showing the powerful awareness that comes from daring to question the way things are.

    They eat together, sleep together, and even pick cotton together. So, on the night Lindy and her mama run away in search of freedom, Sally goes too. This young girl's rag doll vividly narrates her enslaved family's courageous escape through the Underground Railroad. At once heart-wrenching and uplifting, this story about friendship and the strength of the human spirit will touch the lives of all readers long after the journey has ended.

    With a drunken, violent mother, an unemployed brother who can't stay out of pub brawls and a wayward sister vulnerable to the smooth talk of shady men, it's hardly surprising when she falls for cheeky local lad, Ernie.But when he breaks her heart, she is drawn to the kind figure of Joe, despite the bad boys of the criminal underworld who lurk in the shadows and seem to have him in their sights.Bridget and Joe try hard to keep a hold on their livelihoods and to keep to the straight and narrow path, but misfortune dogs them and it seems that happiness is always just out of reach…

    “With its restrained poetic text and impressionist paintings, this is a picture book for older readers, too.”--Booklist

    In classic Western style, readers will follow Henry’s journey as he tries to right his wrongs. He is tested along the way with a cast of characters out for blood. Of his many exciting encounters, his chance meeting with Killer Miller has the most impact on his future. When circumstances force Henry to make a decision that will alter his entire identity, will he take a chance on this killer?

    Bob Smith, founded Alcoholics Anonymous in 1935, his hope was that AA would become a safe haven for those who suffered from this disease. Thirty years after his death, AA continues to help millions of alcoholics recover from what had been commonly regarded as a hopeless addiction. Still, while Wilson was a visionary for millions, he was no saint. After cofounding Alcoholics Anonymous, he stayed sober for over thirty-five years, helping countless thousands rebuild their lives. But at the same time, Wilson suffered form debilitating bouts of clinical depression, was a womanizer, and experimented with LSD.Francis Hartigan, the former secretary and confidant to Wilson's wife, Lois, has exhaustively researched his subject, writing with a complete insider's knowledge. Drawing on extensive interviews with Lois Wilson and scores of early members of AA, he fully explores Wilson's organizational genius, his devotion to the cause, and almost martyr-like selflessness. That Wilson, like all of us, had to struggle with his own personal demons makes this biography all the more moving and inspirational. Hartigan reveals the story of Wilson's life to be as humorous, horrific, and powerful as any of the AA vignettes told daily around the world.

    He'll head to the nearest town and live lavishly, with unlimited whisky and women. But no sooner does he arrive in town than the trouble starts. A crooked sheriff and his thieving daughter allow no chance for peace, and a trigger happy deputy has Balum on edge. They suspect Balum has possession of their stolen gold. They're determined to get that gold back, and to see him hung before his story gets out. To further complicate his situation, Balum's focus is distracted by the women of the town. The hotel proprietress, the sheriff's own daughter and more, manage to give him pleasure and grief all at once. With no opportunity to spend the gold and the pressure mounting, only one thing can save him; a trip back to Hell Country.

    He was the embodiment of the Enlightment man, the perfect synthesis of classicist, scientist, and visionary. How can we hope to understand such a towering figure? The Sage of Monticello, deified in American politics, speaks across the ages like a patriotic Moses, or Buddha, or Christ.Or so his disciples would have us believe.The real Thomas Jefferson was an ordinary man, with all the usual failings. Molded by the culture of the Virginia planter class, he fought against tyranny while oppressing his own slaves. He institutionalized racist attitudes, bickered with his rivals, lusted after other men's wives, and kept his own mixed-race children in bondage.Yet his accomplishments are too spectacular to be denied. The Declaration of Independence, the Louisiana Purchase, he even abolished taxes (for awhile). As a Founding Father, his contributions eclipsed all the rest. Without Jefferson, the American experiment might have ended before it began. So how can we make sense of his personal failings in the context of his great works?Thomas Jefferson: The Failures and Greatness of an Ordinary Man looks at Jefferson from the ground up, finding handholds in his love of Greek literature and fine wine, his affection for friends and family, and the compromises he deemed necessary for the survival of the nation. By exploring his relationships, the reader is invited into Jefferson's sanctum sanctorum, to stare unblinking at his complexity and follow truth where it leads.

     Abraham left Ohio with his pioneer spirit in his head and his heart.  His piece of Montana did not come easy, but, was pristine until his new neighbor, young Henry Weebow, started to mine for ore on the opposite side of the sacred mountain Abraham called home.Ride down that road to the ranch, choose the right fork when you get to the Y, and enter the gate that Abraham Rockhammer built.  You will get caught up in a poignant story that sends you back 150 years and you won't want to return.

    on September 11, 2001, an ashen-faced but composed President Al Gore stepped into the East Room of the White House to deliver a televised address to the nation. With him were former presidents Clinton and Bush, as well as Texas governor George W. Bush — flown to Washington from Dallas on a military jet, his first visit back to the capital after the close race that lost him the presidency just months before. That's not how you remember it?Imagine if the 2000 presidential election had turned out differently and Al Gore had defeated George W. Bush to become the 43rd president of the United States. How might events have played out? Would Osama bin Laden have loomed as large? Would the 9/11 attacks have been even worse? Would we have invaded Iraq? Would the economy have plunged into recession?This is the provocative alternate universe of 43*, a riveting thriller by veteran political commentator Jeff Greenfield. Richly reported and anchored in actual events, 43*: When Gore Beat Bush is the fascinating follow-up to Greenfield's bestselling Then Everything Changed, which imagined what-if scenarios for the Kennedy, Ford, Carter, and Reagan administrations. Greenfield takes readers deep inside the Gore administration and reveals high-level meetings, top-secret programs, and ego-fueled battles that forever altered the global landscape. And in Greenfield’s hauntingly plausible parallel universe, the law of unintended consequences has a dramatic effect on the fate of the United States."It’s the 'butterfly effect,'" writes Greenfield, "where one dead butterfly millions of years ago leads to a contemporary world immeasurably more coarse, less kind. It's the notion of the old nursery rhyme: 'For want of a nail the kingdom was lost.'"

    Sometimes the mixtures created personalities that exhibited indifference, coupled with the hardness of granite. Due to the hardships encountered in an unforgiving environment, harshness of personality became common. Especially on farms where families were intentionally large in order to insure that there would be enough hands within the household to handle the work involved in tilling the soil and harvesting the crops the fields hopefully would yield. In this environment, children were no more than a product and often treated no more humanely than the cattle. Many times as one group of children was raised and approached adulthood, when they often left the farm, more children were born to take their place. It wasn’t uncommon for a family to consist of nine to twelve children or more, whether by birth or by procurement through one sort or another.This was the era of the Orphan Train. A time when children who were placed in state custody because their parents were unable to support them, were shipped to all parts of the country to be adopted or placed into servitude as foster children. Children were compelled to grow up fast as a result of the burden of work forced upon them at an early age. In many families the natural born were treated no better than those procured. That was the case for Maggie Blackford. Within the pages that follow is Maggie’s story.

    A best-selling author. A runaway bride. A woman who cannot see the gifts she possesses.Though she is an adult, her mother dominates her life to a point that she feels she will never be able to break free.But Effie lives in Middle Falls, where all things are possible. After an untimely death, Effie wakes up at a critical juncture in her life. The question is, what can she do with this second chance?The Encore Lives of Effie Edenson is a standalone novel that is part of the Middle Falls Time Travel Series.

    In 1895 "women are good for two things, making babies and pleasuring a man," he said. Beth, as her mother called her, pushed her out the door before her father could take the whip to her again. Told to meet in the woods, Beth waited until her mother brought her a handcart carrying things to give her a start on her own. Agreeing on a new name so they could communicate by letter, Mother gave her a map to an abandoned homestead she knew of. Beth spent the last night on her father's ranch huddled around a campfire in the woods before embarking on a new life.