Uncle Sam, a cavalry horse, travels to Louisiana in the months before America enters World War II.Sam and his best friend, Sergeant Ed, take part in the Louisiana Army Maneuvers, a mock battle featuring infantry, tanks, jeeps, and traditional cavalry units.As the battles end and Pearl Harbor nears, Uncle Sam and his friends escape into the piney woods of western Louisiana where they become the forerunners of the famous Fort Polk wild horse herd.Told by storyteller C...

"The mockingbird that sang at midnight was only one of a thousand steps on my road to restored health and joyful living. I firmly believe it was a gift from God just for me. It is a gift that i now pass on to you" -Curt Iles

Bursting forth from the Louisiana Piney Woods is Deep Roots, a collection of essays/short stories from author Curt Iles. In the warm and touching style loved by readers of his previous eight books, Curt weaves stories of the people, places, and history of rural Louisiana.So come into the woods with me for these stories. Stories of faith. Stories of the deep-rooted things that really matter.

Come to the woods this Christmas.A place where a faithful dog dozes by the crackling fire.A place where a strong pot of Louisiana is always brewing.Cozy kitchens where hot homemade cathead biscuits are topped with homemade Mayhaw jelly.A place where stories from the heart abound.Stories that will make you smile, cry, and laugh all in the space of three pages.You'll be reminded of the gift of common ground in the award-winning short story, My Gr...

Late summer 1941. Louisianas piney woods are engulfed by a tidal wave of soldiers engaged in the largest army maneuvers ever undertaken on American soil. For many of these young men, as well as the isolated Southern communities, life will never be the same. Although no one knows it, our nation will be at war in three months.Elizabeth Reed is a young Louisiana schoolteacher who dislikes soldiers. Harry Miller is a Wisconsin soldier who hates Louisiana. It only makes sense that they ...

“Lake Wobegon Days is about the way our beliefs, desires and fears tail off into abstractions--and get renewed from time to time. . . this book, unfolding Mr. Keillor's full design, is a genuine work of American history.” -The New York Times“A comic anatomy of what is small and ordinary and therefore potentially profound and universal in American life…Keillor’s strength as a writer is to make the ordinary extraordinary.” -Chicago Tribune

A reporter's investigation of a snake-handling preacher accused of murdering his wife leads to a haunting exploration of faith."One of the best books on American religion from the last twenty-five years." — Chicago TribuneNational Book Award FinalistFor New York Times reporter Dennis Covington, what began as a journalistic assignment—covering the trial of an Alabama pastor convicted...

Wisdom and Humor from the Front PorchMaster storyteller Philip Gulley shares tender and hilarious real-life moments that capture the important truths of everyday life.When Philip Gulley began writing newsletter essays for the twelve members of his Quaker meeting in Indiana, he had no idea one of them would find its way to radio commentator Paul Harvey Jr. and be read on the air to 24 million people. Fourteen books later, with more than a million books in print, Gulley still...

Wacky Wisdomabout the Weird and Wonderful Things of Lifethat bring Refreshment to Your SoulMartin Babb's slightly skewed view of the world makes for engaging, enlightening, and enlivening reading as he waxes eloquent about the weird and wonderful things of life. Amid the humor, you'll find spiritual refreshment for your soul and wisdom for living life as God intended.In this hilariou...

Each sunrise seems to bring fresh reasons for fear.They're talking layoffs at work, slowdowns in the economy, flare-ups in the Middle East, turnovers at headquarters, downturns in the housing market, upswings in global warming. The plague of our day, terrorism, begins with the word terror. Fear, it seems, has taken up a hundred-year lease on the building next door and set up shop. Oversized and rude, fear herds us into a prison of unlocked doors. Wouldn't it be great to wa...

Undaunted—both the book and movie—chronicles the riveting true story of a young farm boy named Josh who carried unspeakable memories of an alcoholic father and a farmhand’s abuse, causing him to defy God’s existence. Yet God redeemed a horrible situation with his unbelievable grace. Today Josh McDowell is one of the most popular evangelists in the world who defends the reality of Jesus Christ to millions through his presentations and classic book More Than a Carpenter.

Daniel Woodrell's modern classic is an unforgettable tale of desperation and courage that inspired the award-winning film starring Jennifer Lawrence.Ree Dolly's father has skipped bail on charges that he ran a crystal meth lab, and the Dollys will lose their house if he doesn't show up for his next court date. With two young brothers depending on her, 16-year-old Ree knows she has to bring her father back, dead or alive. Living in the harsh poverty of the Ozarks, R...