The Wright Brothers: by David McCullough | Summary & Analysis


aBookaDay - 2015
    The Wright Brothers is an historical narrative that draws on extensive archival materials, personal journals, and public records to tell the story of the Wright brothers as men of incredible character and determination along the road towards their significant contributions to aviation history. The summary parallels the structure of the book which is divided into three parts. The first part explores the period of the boys’ childhood through their work on flight testing various models of gliders. The second part picks up with the addition of the engine to the Wright planes and traces the brother’s work through the early stages of powered flight, roughly 1903 to 1908. Part three follows the brothers, now globally famous, through the years when they captured the most attention for their accomplishments. A central aspect of this historical account is the development of Orville and Wilbur Wright as individuals who showed fierce determination in the face of relentless setbacks. It also sheds light on their private nature and their deep bond as brothers. McCullough is a two time winner of the Pulitzer Prize for other historical works, Truman and John Adams. He also won the National Book Award twice and is a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom. His educational background includes a degree in English Literature from Yale University. He is also a well-known narrator, as well as previous host of American Experience. Read more....

Humanity: How Jimmy Carter Lost an Election and Transformed the Post-Presidency (Kindle Single)


Jordan Michael Smith - 2016
    Carter's unpopularity helped Republicans win seats in the House and gain control over the Senate for the first time in over 20 years. The Reagan Era had begun, ushering in a generation of conservative power. Democrats blamed Carter for this catastrophe and spent the next decade pretending he had never existed. Republicans cheered his demise and trotted out his name to scare voters for years to come. Carter and his wife Rosalynn returned to their farm in the small town of Plains, Georgia. They were humiliated, widely unpopular, and even in financial debt. 35 years later, Carter has become the most celebrated post-president in American history. He has won the Nobel Peace Prize, written bestselling books, and become lauded across the world for his efforts on behalf of peace and social justice. Ex-presidents now adopt the Carter model of leveraging their eminent status to benefit humanity. By pursuing diplomatic missions, leading missions to end poverty and working to eradicate disease around the world, Carter has transformed the idea of what a president can accomplish after leaving the White House.This is the story of how Jimmy Carter lost the biggest political prize on earth--but managed to win back something much greater. Jordan Michael Smith is a contributing writer at Salon and the Christian Science Monitor. His writing has appeared in print or online for the New York Times Magazine, Washington Post, The Atlantic, Slate, BBC, and many other publications. Born in Toronto, he holds a Master's of Arts in Political Science from Carleton University. He lives in New York City. www.jordanmichaelsmith.typepad.com.Cover design by Adil Dara.

The Sure Thing: The Greatest Coup in Horse Racing History


Nick Townsend - 2013
    But one man has been proving them wrong for four decades. In the summer of 1975 Barney Curley, a fearless and renowned gambler, masterminded one of the most spectacular gambles of all time with a racehorse called Yellow Sam. It cost the bookmakers millions of pounds. They said that it could never happen again. But in May 2010, thirty-five years after his first coup, Curley staged the ultimate multimillion pound-winning sequel.The Sure Thing tells the complete story of how he managed to organise the biggest gamble in racing history – and how he then followed up with yet another audacious scheme in January 2014.

Billy the Kid: An Autobiography


Daniel A. Edwards - 2014
    Jesse walked out of prison a free man and disappeared, never to be heard from again. Never, that is, until 1949 when he came out of hiding after almost 60 years to claim his inheritance. In the course of proving his identity to a court Jesse told some amazing stories of his time when he was an outlaw but his biggest revelation of all was that his good friend Billy the Kid was still alive. Jesse led a young lawyer to an old man named not William H. Bonney but William H. Roberts who after some consideration finally agreed to come forward and reveal himself as Billy the Kid only if he would help him obtain a pardon from the Governor before his death so he could die a free man. You see, Billy the Kid was still wanted for murder and was condemned to hang. To come forward and reveal himself was to risk being arrested and put to death. This was a risk that William H. Roberts was willing to take. He sat down with the young lawyer and told his story. That story is the one true autobiography of Billy the Kid and told only one time, to one man. This is his story.

Rag Soup (An Emmett Love Western Book 5)


John Locke - 2015
    But when a mysterious man shows up in Dodge City, unannounced, things really get crazy! Preliminary Comments: I loved it! I absolutely loved it! You buy your ticket with no idea where John will take the story, but you’re always glad to ride the ride. Locke’s Rag Soup recipe is a perfect blend of winning ingredients: blistering pace; authentic dialog; crazy characters; improbable situations, non-stop humor; plot twists galore; and big-hearted, good-natured fun.

Roman History, Books I-III


Livy - 2004
    The title of his most famous work, Ab Urbe Condita ("From the Founding of the City"), expresses the scope and magnitude of Livy's undertaking. He wrote in a mixture of annual chronology and narrative. Livy claims that lack of historical data prior to the sacking of Rome in 387 BC by the Gauls made his task more difficult. He wrote the majority of his works during the reign of Augustus. However, he is often identified with an attachment to the Roman Republic and a desire for its restoration. His writing style was poetic and archaic in contrast to Caesar's and Cicero's styles. Also, he often wrote from the Romans' opponent's point of view in order to accent the Romans' virtues in their conquest of Italy and the Mediterranean.

The Philadelphia State Hospital at Byberry: A History of Misery and Medicine


J.P. Webster - 2013
    Webster as he explores the fascinating and complex history of the Philadelphia State Hospital at Byberry.The Quaker City and its hospitals were pioneers in the field of mental health. Yet by the end of the nineteenth century, its institutions were crowded and patients lived in shocking conditions. The mentally ill were quartered with the dangerously criminal. By 1906, the city had purchased a vast acreage of farmland incorporated into the city, and the Philadelphia Hospital dubbed its new venture Byberry City Farms. From the start, its history was riddled with corruption and committees, investigations and inquests, appropriations and abuse. Yet it is also a story of reform and redemption, of heroes and human dignity--many dedicated staff members did their best to help patients whose mental illnesses were little understood and were stigmatized by society.

Jim Bridger: Mountain Man


Stanley Vestal - 1970
    He was one of the greatest explorers and pathfinders in American history. He couldn't write his name, but at eighteen he had braved the fury of the Missouri, ascending it in a keelboat flotilla commanded by that stalwart Mike Fink. By 1824, when he was only twenty, he had discovered the Great Salt Lake. Later he was to open the Overland Route, which was the path of the Overland Stage, the Pony Express, and the Union Pacific. One of the foremost trappers in the Rocky Mountain Fur Company, he was a legend in his own time as well as ours. He remains one of the most important scouts and guides in the history of the West.The Christian Science Monitor has called this biography "probably the fairest portrait of Jim Bridger in existence." The New York Times has praise for a "painstaking job of research among the usual Bridger sources and among some others which have been neglected. . . . [The author] has adequately set the scene for his hero's adventures and has honestly appraised the great guide's historical stature."Other Bison Books by Stanley Vestal: Dodge City: Queen of Cowtowns, Joe Meek: The Merry MOuntain Man; The Missouri, The Old Santa Fe Trail, and Warpath: The True Story of the Fighting Sioux Told in a Biography of Chief White Bull

Elmer McCurdy: The Life and Afterlife of an American Outlaw


Mark Svenvold - 1967
    Word soon got out about the fun-house mummy, about whom so little was known that the autopsy took on the character of an archaeological dig. The body looked like something pulled out of a peat bog, or an ice cave high in the Andes. The brain was mummified and like a rock, as were all the other organs....Late in the autopsy came the biggest surprise of all. Removing the jaw, the coroner pulled from the back of the mouth a single green corroded copper penny, dated 1924, and several ticket stubs, one that read "Louis Sonney's Museum of Crime, 524 South Main Street, Los Angeles." After all the careful speculation and surmise, after the body had been completely dismantled, the biggest clue to its identity came straight from the corpse's mouth.Praise for Mark Svenvold: "Mark Svenvold writes with the top down, and his sleek late-model imagination in fifth gear. Honk if you love first books that can cruise or race with full-throated elegance. Here's one!" --J. D. McClatchy

Holocaust: A Jewish Survivor Testimony: The Truth of What Happened in Germany of World War 2


Dan Myers - 2015
    She was only a young girl of 22 at the time that she was captured by German soldiers, and the events of her life since then, provide a picture of what it was like to experience the horror of the Holocaust first hand. You will find out about: - • What is was like to Run for your Life • Living in the Ghetto in Poland • Experiencing a Concentration Camp • Being an unwilling subject for Medical Experiments • How she Survived in the Death Camp • The Chance of Life after the Holocaust The Holocaust forever affected the Jewish community. It tore apart families and caused immense suffering and pain. In this book, you will find out about what it was like to experience torture every day, being part of a death march, living in a concentration camp and being captured. Read this book for FREE on Kindle Unlimited - Download NOW This book celebrates the memories of Regina, bringing to life the horrors of the holocaust. This is so that there can be remembrance, and for the voices of the Jewish to be heard. It is also an account celebrating hope, and how this can change life. Just scroll to the top of the page and select the Buy Button. Download Your Copy TODAY

Courting Justice: From NY Yankees v. Major League Baseball to Bush v. Gore, 1997-2000


David Boies - 2004
    16 pages of photos.

The Godfrey Diary of the Battle of the Little Bighorn: (Expanded, Annotated)


Edward Settle Godfrey - 2014
    Godfrey was a central figure in the Reno-Benteen defense over the 25th and 26th of June, 1876. He kept a diary of the Yellowstone Expedition against the Sioux from May 17 to September 24.The diary reveals anecdotes and observations of General Custer's mood and behavior before the fight on June 25th, as well as the desperate story of survival experienced by the battalions under Reno and Benteen. It also contains fascinating details about how the cavalry moved, camped, and relaxed during the days leading up to the fight.In 1892, (then Captain) Godfrey wrote what became a very famous and widely-read article for Century Magazine about the Battle of the Little Bighorn. Both of these documents are cited by most serious Custer books..

As if it were yesterday: An old fat man remembers his youth as a Marine in Vietnam


Lee Suydam - 2017
    I try to tell what it was like for me and my brother Marines without fanfare or bravado and give the reader a vivid description of my 13 months.

The Prodigal Para: An Afghan War Diary


Andy Tyson - 2018
    He was 47 years old. During his time on the ground he kept a diary. Humorous, authentic and sad, it is a warts and all account of infantry soldiering in a hot and dangerous place. This is his storty.

Hollywood Untold: The true and incredible stories of some of Hollywood’s biggest and best known stars, but never before told . (Little Known Facts Book 1002)


Chaz Allen - 2017
    These are the true and incredible stories of some of Hollywood’s biggest and best known stars, but never before told . Every story has been researched and verified, no matter how surprising or out of character it may seem to the public, for some of the world’s best known people. * "This book is a pure delight." - Daily Oklahoman * " The research is incredible and told in a most      entertaining fashion." - Houston Courier * " Chaz does it again!  This time a Best Seller!      - Blake's Review * " I read until my eyes hurt and still couldn't      put it down." -  Dexter. MacBride      - Columbia Review. *  "A Winner!" - Ray Hibbard, Edmond Life & Leisure. * “A surprise on every page. Fantastic true stories. We loved having Little Known Facts on our radio station for more than 10 years.” - Craig Stallcup – NetRadio Boston * “I could forget the news and nobody would notice. But forget to air Little Known Facts and I would get 30 phone calls.”– Matt Batton – WPRG Radio * “What a fantastic way to spend a few hours. I love these stories of my friends and fellow actors.” - Dale Robertson, Actor, Host. * “Chaz is a dear friend. I can attest to many of these stories personally. What a pleasure to see them put together in one place.” - Tony Randall, Actor -What famous woman movie star invented the snooze alarm? - What famous woman television personality was a spy in WWII? - Did you know it was a glamorous woman movie star who invented the secret codes to direct navy topedos... - Which famous star was the real impetus for the movie Pretty Woman - The Beverly Hillbillies really existed - Which famous movie star was actually AWOL from the Army - Which famous Hollywood hunk was actually a Mailman - Which television star was responsible for one of the biggest toy crazes in history - Which famous comedy star was once completely blind And many many more.