At the beginning of World War I, the English were more fascinated than frightened by the gigantic, silently floating Zeppelins. Using their flashlights they sought them through the fog unthinking that they were guiding them to drop bombs over London.At Pearl Harbor the Japanese samurai damaged or destroyed all the ships on Battleship Row almost destroying the harbor's usefulness for the duration of the war.Over Ploesti, Rumania, the American Fifteenth Air Force never did su...

In a beautiful and touching memoir, Mona Sizer brings the l930's and 40's to life as she lived them on a farm in South Texas. Intended for her daughter Rachel, she shares them with her readers as well in this warm-hearted recounting of the problems and pleasures facing women alone in a world suddenly threatened by World War II. The author is a popular writer of more than twenty historical romance novels, ten books of Texas history, biography, and true crime, a book of poetry, and numerous ...

Hailed as a masterpiece of American travel writing, Blue Highways is an unforgettable journey along our nation's backroads.William Least Heat-Moon set out with little more than the need to put home behind him and a sense of curiosity about "those little towns that get on the map -- if they get on at all -- only because some cartographer has a blank space to fill: Remote, Oregon; Simplicity, Virginia; New Freedom, Pennsylvania; New Hope, Tennessee; Why, Ari...

In this "richly imagined" dystopian vision, mankind must find a way to survive as modern civilization slowly comes apart ( O, The Oprah Magazine).When Earth ran dry of oil, the age of the automobile came to an end; electricity flickered out. With deprivation came desperation—and desperation drove humanity backward to a state of existence few could have imagined.In the tiny hamlet of Union Grove, New York, every day is a struggle. For Mayor Robert E...

The New York Times bestselling author of the Cat Who mysteries presents a fantastic collection of feline fiction which includes fourteen short stories about kitties who just can’t keep their whiskers out of trouble...Filled with furballs like a courageous Siamese who bags a cunning cat burglar, a country kitty who proves a stumbling block in a violent murder, and an intuitive feline whose premonition helps solve the case of the missing antiques dealer, thi...

An eleven-year-old girl discovers the wonder of the natural world—and the drive to blaze her own trail—in this Newbery Honor Award–winning historical novel.The summer of 1899 is hot in Calpurnia's sleepy Texas town, and there aren't a lot of good ways to stay cool. Her mother has a new wind machine from town, but Callie might just resort to stealthily cutting off her hair, one sneaky inch at a time. She's also spending a lot of time at the river with her notoriously...

In ships and planes, they crossed the English Channel.On the other side Hitler’s army waited.And the longest day was about to begin....In the spring of 1944, 120,000 Allied soldiers crossed the English Channel in the most ambitious invasion force ever assembled. Rangers, paratroopers, infantry, and armored personnel, these soldiers--some who had just cut their teeth in Africa and Sicily and some who were brand-new to war--joined a force aimed at the h...

From Charles Portis, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of True Grit**,** The Dog of the South is a novel about a husband on a crazy road trip pursuing his runaway wife.“Hilarious . . . A very American voice.” —Bob Odenkirk, The WeekRay Midge is waiting for his credit card bill to arrive. His wife, ...

"[A] perfect blend of sympathetic career biography and gripping military history . . . a definite winner for all World War II military history buffs" ( Library Journal).In July 1944, the Allies were stunned by the appearance of the Messerschmitt Me 262, the world's first operational jet warplane. More than one hundred mph faster than any other aircraft in the skies, the Me 262 gained scores of victories over Allied fighters and bombers, and by the end of th...

The author in flight gear after photo twelfth mission – second Air Medal (age nineteen)He still wears lucky Air Cadet ring!Hutch's third book contains short stories of boys on B-17 Flying Fortress crews in deadly missions with the Eighth Air Force in World War II and stories of his own teenage combat experiences as radio/gunner on twenty missions with the Mighty Eighth.Teenagers enlisted or were drafted, trained and went into combat before they could legally vote or ...

In the 1950s, a series of dams was proposed along the Brazos River in north-central Texas. For John Graves, this project meant that if the stream’s regimen was thus changed, the beautiful and sometimes brutal surrounding countryside would also change, as would the lives of the people whose rugged ancestors had eked out an existence there. Graves therefore decided to visit that stretch of the river, which he had known intimately as a youth.Goodbye to a Riveris his a...

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • The definitive history of combat aviation and fighter aircraft, from World War I to presentINCLUDES 32 PAGES OF PHOTOGRAPHS AND 12 MAPSLords of the Sky is the “dramatic, fast-paced, and definitive" (Michael Korda) aviation history of fighter pilots and aircraft and their extraordinary influence on modern warfare, masterfully written by "one of the most decorated pilots in Air Force history” (New York Post). A twenty-year USAF veteran ...