Keeping the Republic: Saving America by Trusting Americans


Mitch Daniels - 2011
    His reply to the crowd: "A republic, if you can keep it." Now America's most respected governor explains just how close we've come to losing the republic, and how we can restore it to greatness.Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels has been called "the most presidential man in America." He has brought more change to his state in a few years than most see in decades.During his tenure, Daniels turned a $700 million deficit into a billion dollar surplus, balanced Indiana's budget even during the recession, converted its once unattractive business climate into one of the strongest for private sector job growth.The Hoosier state is now a model of good and efficient governance. Its public sector payroll is now the smallest per capita in the nation. And yet services have improved across the board. Even its Bureau of Motor Vehicles -- the ultimate symbol of dysfunctional bureaucracy - has been rated the best in the country.Daniels has done this by focusing on government's core responsibilities, cutting taxes, empowering citizens, and performing what he calls an "old tribal ritual" - spending less money than his state takes in, while distinguishing between skepticism towards big government and hostility towards all government.Unfortunately few politicians have the discipline or courage to follow his lead. And worse, many assume that Americans are too intimidated, gullible or dim-witted to make wise decisions about their health care, mortgages, the education of their kids, and other important issues. The result has been a steady decline in freedom, as elite government experts -- "our benevolent betters," in Daniels' phrase -- try to regulate every aspect of our lives.Daniels bluntly calls our exploding national debt "a survival-level threat to the America we have known." He shows how our underperforming public schools have produced a workforce unprepared to compete with those of other countries and ignorant of the requirements of citizenship in a free society. He lays out the risk of greatly diminished long term prosperity and the loss of our position of world leadership. He warns that we may lose the uniquely American promise of upward mobility for all.But, the good news is that it's not too late to save America. However, real change can't be imposed from above. It has to be what he calls "change that believes in you" -- a belief that Americans, properly informed of the facts, will pull together to make the necessary changes and that they are best- equipped to make the decisions governing their own lives. As he puts it:"I urge great care not to drift into a loss of faith in the American people. We must never yield to the self-fulfilling despair that these problems are immutable, or insurmountable. Americans are still a people born to liberty. Addressed as free-born, autonomous men and women of God-given dignity, they will rise yet again to drive back a mortal enemy."

Leaving Kansas


Frank Roderus - 1983
    The town is a boring dead end, filled with unlettered roughnecks. His uncle Stewart - from whom he stands to inherit the Running W Ranch - can't stand him. Harrison doesn't even have enough money to get to the big city, where he belongs. There are few bright spots. Things begin to look up when Uncle Stewart turns up missing and feared dead while chasing rustlers. Then Harrison invests $4,000 in a very lucrative and secret deal. Of course Harrison "borrowed" the money from Uncle Stewart's safe. And Harrison also seems to be winning at love. But things do come crashing down....

Tinder Street


Nick Russell - 2020
    Following Rachel McNally to the big city, he had no idea how much his life and the world around him would change.Chronicling the days leading up to World War I and the events that followed, Tinder Street is the first book in a saga that will take readers from rural farms to a major industrial city in the Midwest, across an ocean where German U-boats lurk waiting for a target to come within range of their deadly torpedoes, to the bloody trench warfare of France, and home again. And of how, back at home, the soldiers of a victorious Army try to put their experiences behind them and pick up the pieces of the lives they once had, to look toward a future bright with promise. Lucas was one of those soldiers, a man who hated the thought of killing, but did his duty. A duty that would haunt him long after the last shots were fired.This is also the story of the simple working class people who built America. Farmers, factory workers, streetcar conductors, midwives, and public servants. Their joys and sorrows, their wins and losses, and how these people who struggled together to build a better life for themselves and their children changed a place named Tinder Street to Tender Street, a reflection of one family’s devotion to their neighbors.

The Enemy: A Novel of Life Aboard a U.S. Navy Destroyer in World War II


Wirt Williams - 1951
    Navy destroyer, the USS Dee (based on the author's experiences while serving aboard the USS Decatur in the North Atlantic). The ships' mission is to locate and destroy German submarines while protecting an aircraft carrier. The book details life aboard the destroyer and the inevitable conflicts that arise between men at sea for long periods. The ship also encounters and engages enemy submarines, receiving slight damage. Following author Wirt Williams' service aboard the USS Decatur, he was transferred to the Pacific theater where he captained a Landing Ship. After the war, Williams worked as a reporter, then became an English professor in California. He continued to write and published six novels, and was nominated for three Pulitzer Prizes, once for his reporting and twice for his novels. The Enemy was his first novel. Williams passed away in 1986 at the age of 64.

Let the Lion Eat Straw


Ellease Southerland - 1979
    Missing her mother, she clings to Mamma Habblesham, a woman with enviable reserves of love and hope. Their affection for each other seems boundless –– until Abeba's mother returns to take her to Brooklyn.As Abeba grows up, her exceptional musical talent promises to be an avenue of escape. But a handsome singer distracts her, and opportunities that once seemed so close begin to fall away. Now married with children of her own, she fights to maintain the dignity of her family. Let the Lion Eat Straw is a revelation of the glory in apparently ordinary lives.

America Unbound: The Bush Revolution in Foreign Policy


Ivo H. Daalder - 2003
    Bush has launched a revolution in American foreign policy. He has redefined how America engages the world, shedding the constraints that friends, allies, and international institutions once imposed on its freedom of action. In America Unbound, Ivo Daalder and James Lindsay caution that the Bush revolution comes with serious risks–and, at some point, we may find that America’s friends and allies will refuse to follow his lead, leaving the U.S. unable to achieve its goals. This edition has been extensively revised and updated to include major policy changes and developments since the book’s original publication.

Terrible Honesty: Mongrel Manhattan in the 1920s


Ann Douglas - 1995
    In a strikingly original interpretation that brings the Jazz Age to life in a wholly new way, Ann Douglas arugues that when, after World War I, the United States began to assume the economic and political leadership of the West, New York became the heart of a daring and accomplished historical transformation.

USS Stonewall Jackson


Stephen Makk - 2018
    Enough is enough. It’s time to take out this threat and take apart North Korea’s People’s Navy one boat at a time.They say cometh the hour, cometh the man. Cometh the foe, cometh the submarine.In exercises against allied diesel-electric boats, the United States Navy watched and learned. Its answer? The most powerful and silent diesel-electric boat ever to patrol the deeps: the USS Stonewall Jackson.It would require a cunning warrior of the seas to command such a boat. The USN has chosen its best young submariner: Commander Nathan Blake. He’ll need to employ stealth and guile to seek out the foe.The USS Stonewall Jackson is on her way; she’s mean and mad as hell. But will Nathan find that the Korean People’s Navy has a trick up its sleeve? Follow Nathan and the USS Stonewall Jackson into hell and damnation.

All of it Singing: New and Selected Poems


Linda Gregg - 2008
     Worlds of achievement out of mind and remembering,           just as the poem lasts. In the concert of being present.                                                           —from “Arriving” Linda Gregg’s abiding presence in American poetry for more than thirty years is a testament to the longevity of art and the spirit. All of It Singing: New and Selected Poems for the first time collects the ongoing work of Gregg’s career in one book, including poetry from her six previous volumes and thirty remarkable new poems.

Maisie Dobbs


Jacqueline Winspear - 2010
    It is #25 in their Mysterious Profiles" series. In this book, Jacqueline Winspear tells about the "origins" of Maisie Dobbs, the heroine of her popular mystery series. This booklet is NOT to be confused with her full-length mystery with the same title.

The Mothers of Sweet Cheyenne


Caroline Lee - 2016
    These stories are meant to be read after the rest of the Quartet. Christmas Wishes: Molly struggles with her toddler's feelings towards his new baby brother and her sister's decision to leave for St. Louis. Meanwhile, she's determined to create the perfect Christmas for all of them... but can Mothers really do everything?[Note: this story has appeared in publication in the Christmas Caring Anthology of 2015]Spring Fever: Wendy aches to become a mother, but their efforts have ended in heartbreak so far. Is there anything Nate can say to convince her that it isn't either of their faults, so that he can enjoy the spring with his wife?Summer Lovin': Tess knows she still has a month to go in this pregnancy, so when the contractions start, she doesn't want to alarm her precious family. But with Cam's love and support, she'll learn that to appreciate God's blessings she needs to first go through Hell. ***************************Heat Level: 0 out of 5 References to infertility and childbirth

It Will All Make Sense When You're Dead: Messages From Our Loved Ones in the Spirit World


Priscilla A. Keresey - 2011
    After a brief tale of her own introduction to the paranormal, the author shares funny, poignant, and insightful words straight from the spirit people themselves. Together, the living and the dead seek forgiveness, solve family mysteries, find closure, settle scores, and come together for birthdays, anniversaries, and graduations. Quoting directly from her readings and séances, Priscilla reports the spirit perspective on mental illness, suicide, religion, and even the afterlife itself. For those readers interested in developing their own spirit communication skills, the last section of the book offers meditations and exercises used by the author herself, both personally and with her students. "It Will All Make Sense When You’re Dead" is chock-full of simple and entertaining wisdom, showing us how to live for today, with light hearts and kindness.

WWI: Tales from the Trenches


Daniel Wrinn - 2020
    Uncover their mesmerizing, realistic stories of combat, courage, and distress in readable and balanced stories told from the front lines.Witness the creation of new technologies of destruction: tanks, planes, and submarines; machine guns and field artillery; poison gas and chemical warfare. It introduced U-boat packs and strategic bombing, unrestricted war on civilians and mistreatment of prisoners.World War I reduced Europe’s mightiest empires to rubble, killed twenty million people, and cracked the foundations of our modern world. In its wake, empires toppled, monarchies fell, and whole populations lost their national identities.If you like gripping, authentic accounts of life and combat during WWI, then you won't want to miss WWI: Tales from the Trenches.

RedCon 1: Memoirs of a Fallujah Marine


Michael Scot Smith - 2014
    Most of them are honorable, but in the end, they are just attempts.Michael S. Smith’s memoir, on the other hand, is the reality of modern combat.Gear up and settle in, but don’t get too comfortable—you’re joining a platoon of United States Marine Corps scouts as they make their way through a pre-deployment workup, a transition to the Middle East, and ultimately into Operation Al Fajr, an assault to retake Fallujah, Iraq. It will be the largest and deadliest American battle since Hue City, Vietnam. The memoir is a microscopic and unwavering look at personal interactions, struggles, nightmares, and scars of the men in the platoon, its 1st Section in particular. They grow from an untested unit into a seasoned group of combat veterans. In addition to life amid the horrors of death and destruction, Smith also delivers the hilarity lost in most accounts of war, which the men must maintain in order to keep their sanity.You’re going to be frightened as you slug it out with the enemy, but with that come unwavering friendships forged in battle and the irrefutable honor in the defense of freedom.

Gunsmithing - The Ar-15


Patrick Sweeney - 2010
    Written by master gunsmith and best-selling firearms author Patrick Sweeney, Gunsmithing the AR-15 is your one-stop guide to repairing, maintaining and modifying America's favorite rifle. It's all here!Hundreds of detailed photosMaintenanceRepairAccessories and modificationsTips, tools and techniquesAnd more!Whether you're interested in simple tasks, such as disassembling and maintaining your AR rifle, or if you're ready to tackle more complex projects, such as rebarreling or converting your AR to a piston design, Gunsmithing the AR-15 tells you everything you need to know. Protect your investment and avoid costly mistakes, with Gunsmithing the AR-15!