Other books that might interest you

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  The Great War at Sea - The...

  Bob Carruthers

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  This powerful collection, depicting the events of the Great War at sea, showcases the work of the contemporary combat artists and illustrators from the Great War era. The result is a stunning and vivid graphic record of life and death on the high-seas from 1914-18, as reported to contemporary audiences at a time when the events of the Great War were still unfolding. During the Great War artists and illustrators produced a highly accurate visual record of the fleeting moments the bulky cameras couldn't reproduce. These works form a body ofwar reportage that are as valid as the written word. Today, the work of the combat illustrators and the official war artists from the Great War era is overlooked by historians in favour of photographs, but these illustrations are nonetheless important, as they provide a contemporary record of hand-to-hand fighting, trench raids, aerial dogfights, sea battles, desperate last stands, night actions and cavalry charges.

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  The Abolitionist and the Spy - A...

  Ken Lizzio

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  An abolitionist and a spy, father and son, in the forgotten Western theater of the Civil WarThe abolitionist legacies of Orville Brown and his son, Spencer, live on in this historic and daring nineteenth-century account. Journeying apart from each other, but with similar passion, Orville and Spencer's stories span virtually every major abolitionist event: from the battles of Bleeding Kansas and the establishment of the free-soil movement to the river wars of Memphis, Vicksburg, and Shiloh. Listeners will follow Orville west as he strikes out for Kansas Territory to help ensure its entry as a free state. But the life of his precocious eldest son, Spencer, serves as an eventful accompaniment to Orville's own adventures.As a young Navy recruit in the Civil War's Western theater, Spencer volunteered to go behind enemy lines on numerous occasions. With his bold sleuthing and detailed diaries, Spencer's life unfolds vividly against the exciting backdrop of the Union and Confederate battle for control of the Mississippi River. The lives of these daring men are a fortifying record of American perseverance.

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  Confederate General William...

  Scott L. Mingus

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  An award-winning biography of one of the Confederacy’s most colorful and controversial generals.  Winner of the 2013 Nathan Bedford Forrest History Book Award for Southern HistoryNominated for the 2014 Virginia Book Award for Nonfiction   Despite a life full of drama, politics, and adventure, little has been written about William “Extra Billy” Smith—aside from a rather biased account by his brother-in-law back in the nineteenth century. As the oldest and one of the most controversial Confederate generals on the field at Gettysburg, Smith was also one of the most charismatic characters of the Civil War and the antebellum Old South.   Known nationally as “Extra Billy” because of his prewar penchant for finding loopholes in government postal contracts to gain extra money for his stagecoach lines, Smith served as Virginia’s governor during both the war with Mexico and the Civil War; served five terms in the US Congress; and was one of Virginia’s leading spokesmen for slavery and states’ rights. Extra Billy’s extra-long speeches and wry sense of humor were legendary among his peers. A lawyer during the heady Gold Rush days, he made a fortune in California—and, as with his income earned from stagecoaches, quickly lost it.   Despite his advanced age, Smith took to the field and fought well at First Manassas, was wounded at Seven Pines and again at Sharpsburg, and marched with Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia into Pennsylvania. There, on the first day at Gettysburg, Smith’s frantic messages about a possible Union flanking attack remain a matter of controversy to this day. Did his aging eyes see distant fence-lines that he interpreted as approaching enemy soldiers—mere phantoms of his imagination? Or did his prompt action stave off a looming Confederate disaster?   This biography draws upon a wide array of newspapers, diaries, letters, and other firsthand accounts to paint a portrait of one of the South’s most interesting leaders, complete with original maps and photos.

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  Newtown - An American Tragedy

  Matthew Lysiak

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  A “meticulous account” of the devastating mass shooting at Sandy Hook elementary school in Connecticut from a journalist for the New York Daily News (Kirkus Reviews). 
   
  The world mourned the devastating shooting at Sandy Hook elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut, on December 14, 2012. 
   
  We remember the numbers: twenty children and six adults, murdered in a place of nurture and trust. We remember the names: teachers like Victoria Soto, who lost her life protecting her students. A shooter named Adam Lanza. And we remember the questions: outraged conjecture instantly monopolized the worldwide response to the tragedy—while the truth went missing. 
   
  Here is the definitive journalistic account of Newtown, an essential examination of the facts—not only of that horrific day but the perfect storm of mental instability and obsession that preceded it and, in the aftermath of unspeakable heartbreak, the controversy that continues to play out on the national stage. Drawn from previously undisclosed emails, police reports, and in-depth interviews, Newtown: An American Tragedy breaks through a miasma of misinformation to present the comprehensive story that must be told—today—if we are to prevent another American tragedy in the days to come. 
   
  “Packed with beautiful vignettes about the victims and some remarkably intimate details.” —USA Today 
   
  “Lysiak balances perfectly the ordinarily wondrous lives of [those] who were murdered against their killer’s depravity. Lysiak is a master of texture, at selecting precise, individualizing details.” —Salon 
   
  “A comprehensive, moving account . . . A chilling look at Lanza’s background and contributing factors . . . Readers will be hard-pressed to deny the raw emotional gut-punch.” —Publishers Weekly

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  David Hallberg - Extended Interview

  PBS NewsHour

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  Ballet star David Hallberg was the first American principal dancer to join the historically insular Bolshoi Theater in 2011. Jeffrey Brown talks to the dancer about his return to the Russian stage for the first time since an acid attack left Bolshoi artistic director Sergei Filin badly burned and nearly blind last January.

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  Where There's Hope - Healing...

  Elizabeth Smart

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  Elizabeth Smart follows up her #1 New York Times bestseller, My Story—about being held in captivity as a teenager, and how she managed to survive—with a powerful and inspiring audiobook about what it takes to overcome trauma, find the strength to move on, and reclaim one's life. 
  Author. Activist. Victim—no more. 
  In her fearless memoir, My Story—the basis of the Lifetime Original movie I Am Elizabeth Smart—Elizabeth detailed, for the first time, the horror behind the headlines of her abduction by religious fanatic Brian David Mitchell and his wife, Wanda Barzee. Since then, she's married, become a mother, and traveled the world as the president of the Elizabeth Smart Foundation, sharing her story with the intent of helping others along the way. 
  Over and over, Elizabeth is asked the same question: How do you find the hope to go on? In this audiobook, Elizabeth returns to the horrific experiences she endured, and the hard-won lessons she learned, to provide answers. She also calls upon others who have dealt with adversity—victims of violence, disease, war, and loss—to explore the pathways toward hope.  
  Through conversations with such well-known voices as Anne Romney, Diane Von Furstenburg, and Mandy Patinkin to spiritual leaders Archbishop John C. Wester and Elder Richard Hinckley to her own parents, Elizabeth uncovers an even greater sense of solace and understanding. Where There's Hope is the result of Elizabeth's mission: It is both an up-close-and-personal glimpse into her healing process and a heartfelt how-to guide for readers to make peace with the past and embrace the future.

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