2020 Texas Old Missions and Forts Restoration Association Book AwardAlongside the various people moving into and through the nineteenth-century Texas frontier was a group of European intellectuals bent on establishing a socialist utopia near the hamlet of Dallas. Their inspiration, French philosopher Charles Fourier, envisioned a society in which basic human ambitions would be expressed and cultivated, tied together by the bonds of emotion. Fourier’s self-appointed disciple Victor ...

On February 14, 1944, Caroline Thomas said goodbye to her beloved husband, a Navy pilot sent to the Pacific. For half a century, she waited for him to return— until a miracle happened and she received his "Last Valentine." Their son, Neil Thomas, Jr., wants to share the powerful message of his parents' tragic, yet triumphant, 50-year love story with the world. When Neil meets Susan Allison— a skeptical reporter who is looking for the perfect story about true love— neither of them expects t...

Recalling his growing-up years in Los Angeles following World War II, author James Pratt describes twelve lessons he learned from observing his father, an unpretentious and uneducated man who acquired little of this world's wealth but who lived an honorable life. 'For some, these twelve virtues may seem antiquated, out of date, or hopelessly provincial,' writes Pratt. 'I don't see it that way. What my father practiced and conveyed to me were principles that made it possible for children to...

Alexia Bathory befriends a mysterious girl at school who brings revelations of a family secret that spans centuries. The truth leaves Alexia with a stark choice of conscience, stay with her family and live a life of wealth and power or runaway and tear her family apart.

Americans are abandoning soft drinks and becoming tea drinkers. It has the ability to mellow us out as well as energize and exhilarate us. Pratt is a tour de force on the subject of tea. Let yourself be amazed by the history of tea, how it is harvested, the best way to brew it, and how it lubricates many social activities.

'Jimmy, eat your oatmeal, it'll stick to your ribs.' I recall as a boy feeling around my rib cage after eating my oatmeal and wondering if it took a trip other foods didn't. Maybe oatmeal really did hang out down there.'The advice of our mothers. Maybe we don't always understand it as children (how does my failure to clean my plate affect the starving children in Africa?), but it carries a message of love and concern that reaches far beyond words. In his reflective style, ...

Don Miller is a heart broken college student who mourns the death of his ex-girlfriend, Beth. Trying to keep her memory alive, he discovers how to break a hole into the fiction world, using a movie reel of her favorite movie. Instead of ending up in the movie he wants to be in, he finds himself dragged into a horror TV series set in the 1980s. Friends who witness him crossing over watch him, on the screen, in the TV show that he’s trapped in. They’re only able to give him spoilers to keep ...

James B. Pratt Jr., whose story is nothing short of inspiring. Born in the heart of Chicago, James grew up in a poverty-stricken neighborhood that presented him with challenges from an early age. However, he turned those challenges into opportunities, crafting a narrative of triumph against all odds using the construction industry. Discover the transformative power of careful planning, simple steps, smart strategies, and a few tricks of the trade to assist you in getting your residential u...

Your Passport to the World’s Most Beloved TeasJoin four of the world’s foremost tea experts on an unforgettable journey to expand your palate, deepen your understanding, and experience 101 of the most essential teas on the planet. From traditional teas that shaped history and rare treasures savored by devoted connoisseurs to budget-friendly favorites you can pick up at your local grocery store, this thoughtfully curated collection brings you a treasure trove of tru...

He expected peace, but it had not come. Would God require something from him for the secret he had kept for more than 40 years?One man dies, another lives through the gift of a transplanted heart. As the recipient heals, memories he was never aware of come to him in dreams and in bright flashes of recognition that have no past. As the heart memories become more vivid, Mike Stone begins to understand that the secret imbedded in his new heart can destroy the very person resp...

“The next financial collapse will resemble nothing in history. . . . Deciding upon the best course to follow will require comprehending a minefield of risks, while poised at a crossroads, pondering the death of the dollar.”The international monetary system has collapsed three times in the past hundred years, in 1914, 1939, and 1971. Each collapse was followed by a period of tumult: war, civil unrest, or significant damage to the stability of the global economy. Now James Rickards, ...

Ben Graham, the father of value investing, once said: "The investor's chief problem—and even his worst enemy—is likely to be himself." Sadly, Graham's words are still true today. Bias, emotion, and overconfidence are just three of the many behavioral traits that can lead investors to lose money or achieve lower returns. Fortunately, behavioral finance, which recognizes that there is a psychological element to all investor decision making, is now firmly embedded in the mainstream of finance...