Having barely escaped Germany, several Jewish friends are determined to strike back at the Third Reich while their families languish in concentration camps. After months of training with the U.S. Army, a small group of spies is formed, including several former German soldiers now willing to betray their Fuhrer for the greater good of Germany. The mission's commander is a Jewish sergeant who only months earlier was plucked from the streets of Brooklyn. The men are sent on a covert operation deep into the heavily fortified area of Austria's Alpine Redoubt, where Hitler planned to make his last stand. Capture meant almost certain death; success, a swift end to the war. Using recently declassified files, private documents, and personal interviews, military historian Patrick K. O'Donnell has written another cinematic World War II drama, filled with an unforgettable cast of characters and packed with action, suspense, and intrigue.
The Oxford Guide to the United States Government is the ultimate resource for authoritative information on the U.S. Presidency, Congress, and Supreme Court. Compiled by three top scholars, its pages brim with the key figures, events, and structures that have animated U.S. government for more than 200 years. In addition to coverage of the 2000 Presidential race and election, this Guide features biographies of all the Presidents, Vice Presidents, and Supreme Court Justices, as well as notable members of Congress, including current leadership; historical commentary on past elections, major Presidential decisions, international and domestic programs, and the key advisors and agencies of the executive branch; in-depth analysis of Congressional leadership and committees, agencies and staff, and historic legislation; and detailed discussions of 100 landmark Supreme Court cases and the major issues facing the Court today. In addition to entries that define legal terms and phrases and others that elaborate on the wide array of government traditions, this invaluable book includes extensive back matter, including tables of Presidential election results; lists of Presidents, Vice Presidents, Congresses, and Supreme Court Justices with dates of service; lists of Presidential museums, libraries, and historic sites; relevant websites; and information on visiting the White House, the Capitol, and Supreme Court buildings. A one-stop, comprehensive guide that will assist students, educators, and anyone curious about the inner workings of government, The Oxford Guide to the United States Government will be a valued addition to any home library.
No wine category has seen more dramatic growth in recent years than American Rh™neÐvariety wines. Winemakers are devoting more energy, more acreage, and more bottlings to Rh™ne varieties than ever before. The flagship Rh™ne red, Syrah, is routinely touted as one of CaliforniaÕs most promising varieties, capable of tremendous adaptability as a vine, wonderfully variable in style, and highly expressive of place. There has never been a better time for American Rh™ne wine producers. Ê American Rh™ne is the untold history of the American Rh™ne wine movement. The popularity of these wines has been hard fought; this is a story of fringe players, unknown varieties, and longshot efforts finding their way to the mainstream. ItÕs the story of winemakers gathering sufficient strength in numbers to forge a triumph of the obscure and the brash. But, more than this, it is the story of the maturation of the American palate and a new republic of wine lovers whose restless tastes and curiosity led them to Rh™ne wines just as those wines were reaching a critical mass in the marketplace. Patrick J. ComiskeyÕs history of the American Rh™ne wine movement is both a compelling underdog success story and an essential reference for the wine professional.
This book sheds new light on the life and times of Theodore Roosevelt, drawing on a remarkable set of oral histories gathered in the 1950s from those who knew him. Remembering Theodore Roosevelt presents fourteen intimate interviews with Roosevelt’s friends, family, and contemporaries. Never before published, the transcripts reveal colorful details about the infamous Rough Riders, the political scene in New York City, the lives of his extended family, including the Hyde Park Roosevelts Franklin and Eleanor, and how the former president inspired successive generations. The book benefits from the author’s discerning annotations and commentary that provide the reader with lesser-known facts and a full appreciation of the oral history project.
A book that challenges the word "powerful" and obliterates it Written in searing prose, this is the story of two boys: Erik, who performs miracles, and Thorn, who hears voices. The book chronicles their lives as their minds devolve into hallucinations, and shows the way their worlds intersect, culminating in a final stand-off. This debut novel offer a raw, insightful look at the forces that compel us to act against our will. Even more so, it captivates and dares us to look away, knowing full well we can't. Praise for FELL OF DARK: * "Downes brilliantly plays with language and metaphor, and explores the dualities of sanity/insanity, beauty/ugliness, voice/voicelessness in a chilling echo of real incidents of school violence. A stunning debut novel that offers sophisticated readers a glimpse into the psychological disintegration of two distinct characters."--Kirkus Reviews *STARRED* * "For many readers, this will be an impersonal but impressive work of literary art. But for some, serendipity will strike, whether in an image or in a confused, despairing reaction to an incomprehensible world, and Downes’s vision will connect into an epiphany."--Publishers Weekly *STARRED* * "Readers willing to sink into the depths of two unstrung teens and their frantic individual struggles to understand the cruelties and redemptions of the universe will be rewarded by this disarming, thought-provoking, and entrancing story."--Booklist *STARRED* "Readers who are up for a literary challenge will find this dual narrative provocative, beautiful, and deeply sad."--BCCB “Here is a book built of darkness and gleam, of raw emotion and shattering poetry, of harrowing compulsions and zero compromise. Patrick Downes possesses blazing, beautiful, terrifying talent. His characters walk the shadows. His language bursts like sky.”—Beth Kephart, National Book Award nominee and author of Small Damages “Luminous and pure. A masterwork of astonishing authority and beauty.”—Julie Berry, author of All the Truth That’s In Me
Ideal for working programmers new to Java, this best-selling book guides you through the language features and APIs of Java 21. Through fun, compelling, and realistic examples, authors Marc Loy, Patrick Niemeyer, and Dan Leuck introduce you to Java's fundamentals, including its class libraries, programming techniques, and idioms, with an eye toward building real applications. This updated sixth edition expands the content to continue covering lambdas and streams, and shows you how to use a functional paradigm in Java. You'll learn about the latest Java features introduced since the book's fifth edition, from JDK 15 through 21. You'll also take a deep dive into virtual threads (introduced as Project Loom in Java 19). This guide helps you: Learn the structure of the Java language and Java applications Write, compile, and execute Java applications Understand the basics of Java threading and concurrent programming Learn Java I/O basics, including local files and network resources Create compelling interfaces with an eye toward usability Learn how functional features have been integrated in Java Keep up with Java developments as new versions are released
Officiating a professional boxing match can be a thankless job. When a match goes well, no one focuses on the referee. But when a controversy arises, everyone remembers the man who made the call. Third Man in the Ring explores the lives of thirty-three officials as they discuss what goes on inside the ropes and recount the disputes and clashes that have occurred when they worked at home and abroad. The referees share stories from the high-profile fights they worked, with such superstars as Oscar De La Hoya, Manny Pacquiao, Floyd Mayweather Jr., Muhammad Ali, Mike Tyson, Evander Holyfield, Larry Holmes, and Julio Cesar Chavez. Readers will hear from Rudy Battle, the first ref to officiate a title fight in an Eastern bloc country, and about Mills Lane, the third man during the infamous Mike Tyson/Evander Holyfield ear-biting match. Several officials reveal memorable moments such as arbitrating contests in nations experiencing civil unrest. One referee admits fearing for his life after disqualifying a hometown hero in front of a packed stadium, while another recalls his experience officiating in communist North Korea. MMA legend Big John McCarthy describes from his experience the differences between officiating a boxing contest in a traditional ring versus the increasingly popular mixed martial arts (MMA) events held in a cage. Readers will also hear stories from refs who have gone Hollywood, consulting on film sets alongside such legends as Sylvester Stallone. An old boxing adage states, The best referees are the ones no one knows are there. Third Man in the Ring sheds much-needed light on these hardworking officials and their stories.
A century after his death, Theodore Roosevelt remains one of the most recognizable figures in U.S. history, with depictions of the president ranging from the brave commander of the Rough Riders to a trailblazing progressive politician and early environmentalist to little more than a caricature of grinning teeth hiding behind a mustache and pince-nez. Theodore Roosevelt’s Ghost follows the continuing shifts and changes in this president’s reputation since his unexpected passing in 1919. In the most comprehensive examination of Roosevelt’s legacy, Michael Patrick Cullinane explores the frequent refashioning of this American icon in popular memory. The immediate aftermath of Roosevelt’s death created a groundswell of mourning and goodwill that ensured his place among the great Americans of his generation, a stature bolstered by the charitable and political work of his surviving family. When Franklin Roosevelt ascended to the presidency, he worked to situate himself as the natural heir of Theodore Roosevelt, reshaping his distant cousin’s legacy to reflect New Deal values of progressivism, intervention, and patriotism. Others retroactively adapted Roosevelt’s actions and political record to fit the discourse of social movements from anticommunism to civil rights, with varying degrees of success. Richard Nixon’s frequent invocation led to a decline in Roosevelt’s popularity and a corresponding revival effort by scholars endeavoring to give an accurate, nuanced picture of the 26th president. This wide-ranging study reveals how successive generations shaped the public memory of Roosevelt through their depictions of him in memorials, political invocations, art, architecture, historical scholarship, literature, and popular culture. Cullinane emphasizes the historical contexts of public memory, exploring the means by which different communities worked to construct specific representations of Roosevelt, often adapting his legacy to suit the changing needs of the present. Theodore Roosevelt’s Ghost provides a compelling perspective on the last century of U.S. history as seen through the myriad interpretations of one of its most famous and indefatigable icons.
New Orleans: The Underground Guide shows visitors how to experience the Big Easy like a local, looking past staples like beignets and Bourbon Street to reveal a city bursting with contemporary and experimental art, genre-busting DJs, international cuisines, and even kid-friendly activities. This fully updated edition offers an expansive collection of alternative recommendations for exploring the city of Mardi Gras, brass bands, and weekly festivals. Featuring over two hundred new entries on local bands, rappers, restaurants with live music, galleries, and more, this guidebook takes readers on a one-of-a-kind journey through New Orleans, giving advice on everything from what thrift stores and bookshops to visit to what bands to catch in concert and what parades to attend. Lead author Michael Patrick Welch provides a detailed guide of the less traditional, more adventurous side of New Orleans, from bars that hold readings of poetry and erotic literature to costume shops that sell handmade masks, party supplies, and all the parade throws you can carry. Drawing on the wisdom of New Orleans celebrities, journalists, artists, and musicians from throughout the Crescent City, the fourth edition of New Orleans: The Underground Guide is an authentic and reliable resource for where locals listen to music, art hop, shop, eat, drink, and let loose.
The book explains how the Allies, after a series of swingeing defeats, sank their differences and came together to turn the tide against the German Army in the Summer of 1918. Although it is a detailed history of the fighting by British divisions, it also highlights the growing presence of American forces and their huge contribution to victory, too often understated in earlier works. The book deliberately binds together the genesis, size and equipment of the British and American divisions and seeks to inter-mingle the American and British campaigns of 1918.By blocking the Third German Offensive on the Chemins des Dames and then arriving in time to turn the Kaiser's army out of the Marne salient, the Allied divisions cleared the way for the decisive counter offensive at Amiens. Exhausted and demoralized, the German Army collapsed and the outcome of The Great War was decided.
This completely revised and updated third edition to the Young Oxford Companion to the Supreme Court of the United States (1994) and The Supreme Court of the United States, second edition (2001) contains a complete, A-to-Z encyclopedia of the Supreme Court, its history, and current operations. This third edition includes new articles on six cases: American Library Association v. United States (2003), Bush v. Gore (2000), Grutter v. Bollinger (2003), Lawrence v. Texasr (2003), Pierce v. Society of Sisters (1925), and Zelman v. Simmons-Harris (2002). Other new articles cover Fundamental rights doctrine, Intermediate scrutiny, Preferred freedoms doctrine, Strict scrutiny, and National security issues. There are updates to articles on all sitting justices, and new articles on the two newly appointed justices, Chief Justice John Roberts and Samuel Alito. The following 17 articles are updated with new examples and cases: Abortion, Affirmative action, Appointment of justices, Capital punishment, Due process of law, Equality under the Constitution, Federalism, Freedom of speech and press, Impeachment, Jurisdiction, Lemon test, Privacy, right to, Property rights, Religious issues under the Constitution, Rights of the accused, Searches and seizures, Separation of powers. All of the back matter is thoroughly updated.
As technology changes rapidly, new words and phrases are being introduced into our vocabulary, many with Net or Web affixed to them. The convergence of the media industries often brings with it a clash of professional vocabularies. Over time, some terms remain stable while others seem to disappear or transform their meaning. Multimedia and the Web from A-Z is a comprehensive dictionary aimed at stabilizing and clearly defining the language of multimedia. This second edition has been completely revised and expanded and contains 1,500 entries, including 500 new terms or phrases, all clearly and concisely defined.Extensive cross-referencing, an annotated bibliography, and an acronym table are other useful additions to this dictionary.
When it was first published in 1993, Secrets of Screen Acting broke new ground in explaining how acting for the camera is different from acting on stage. Reaction time is altered, physical timing and placement are reconceived, and the proportions of the digital frame itself become the measure of all things, so the director must conceptualize each image in terms of this new rectangle and actors must 'fit' into the frame. Based on a revolutionary non-Method approach to acting, this book shows what actually works: how an actor, an announcer--anyone working in front of the cameras--gives excellent performances on screen. Instead of starting with what is real and trying to wrestle that onto the screen, Patrick Tucker explains how to work with the realities of a shoot and work from there towards the real. His step-by-step guide to the elements of effective screen acting is an extension and explanation of a lifetime of work in the field, containing over 50 acting exercises and the tried-and-tested Screen Acting Checklist. As well as being completely updated to cover new techniques, film references and insights, this third edition now includes a set of Film Clip Time Codes for each film. These not only itemise the films discussed in each chapter, but also pinpoint the precise moments where each example can be found so that students, teachers, and professional actors can refer to them quickly and easily.
The business of sports has become a multi-million dollar industry with legalities in sports leading the way. Sports Law looks at major court cases, statutes, and regulations that explore a variety of legal issues in the sports industry. The early chapters provide an overview of sports law in general terms and explore its impact on race, politics, r
Collects the private letters of an American statesman who not only represented New York in the Senate but also served in key positions under four presidents.
This book takes recent theoretical advances in Finance and Economics and shows how they can be implemented in the real world. It presents tactics for using mathematical and simulation models to solve complex tasks of forecasting income, valuing businesses, predicting retail sales, and evaluating markets and tax and regulatory problems. Busine
A positive legacy of the troubled Nixon administration--and one virtually unknown to the American public--is the extensive acquisition of valuable art and antiques for the White House and the redecoration of the executive mansion by Pat Nixon. With the help of an aggressive curator, Clement Conger, and a talented interior designer, Edward Vason Jones, the First Lady quietly erased much of the historic decor of Jacqueline Kennedy's Camelot and introduced an academic look to the State Rooms which endures to this day. Nixon marked his presidential territory with a complete renovation of the West Wing--a harbinger of the First Lady's plans. They implemented a massive fundraising campaign to bankroll the refurbishment, which resulted in one of the foremost collections of art, art objects, furniture, paintings and sculpture in America. This book presents the never before told story of the Nixons' remodeling of the White House, motivated by the approaching American Bicentennial and a desire to restore respect to the presidency through the arts.
One of The Atlantic's Best Food Books of 2014: fifty ways to be an enlightened carnivore, while taking better care of our planet and ourselves, from the founder of Slow Food USA. We have evolved as meat eaters, proclaims Patrick Martins, and it's futile to deny it. But, given the destructive forces of the fast-food industry and factory farming, we need to make smart, informed choices about the food we eat and where it comes from. In 50 short chapters, Martins cuts through organize zealotry and the misleading jargon of food labeling to outline realistic steps everyone can take to be part of the sustainable-food movement. With wit, and insight, and no small amount of provocation, The Carnivore's Manifesto is both a revolutionary call to arms and a rollicking good read that will inspire, engage, and challenge anyone interested in the way we eat today.
It's July 1943. Frederick Mayer, a German-born Jew is recruited to secret operations unit, the OSS. Along with 4 other German-Jews, he volunteers for behind-enemy-lines operations. All have family members in concentration camps. All want revenge. Mayer and his comrades are dropped into the 'Alpine Redoubt' area of Austria, where Hitler plans to gather his SS units and make a desperate last stand against the Allies. This is the most heavily-policed area of the Third Reich, swarming with Gestapo. Capture means certain death; and for Fred and the other Jews, it means a horrible death. Yet under Hitler's nose this tiny army blows up trains, steals secrets and even impersonates German officers. Eventually Mayer is captured and tortured by the Gestapo, but still he does not break. Meanwhile the Allies are approaching, sounding the end for Nazi Germany. Mayer, in his greatest act of chutzpah, convinces his tormentor, the commander of German forces in Innsbruck, to surrender his forces to him, convincing the officer that it would be better to surrender early than risk being shot defending a lost cause. This is a great World War Two story of derring-do and revenge. And it's never before been told.
In the late 1880s, the Pecos River region of Texas and southern New Mexico was known as “the cowboy’s paradise.” And the cowboys who worked in and around the river were known as “the most expert cowboys in the world.” A Cowboy of the Pecos vividly reveals tells the story of the Pecos cowboy from the first Goodnight-Loving cattle drive to the 1920s. These meticulously researched and entertaining stories offer a glimpse into a forgotten and yet mythologized era. Includes archival photographs.
He who can change the Constitution controls the Constitution. So who does control the Constitution? The answer has always been: “the people.” The people control the Constitution via the Article V amending process outlined in the Constitution itself. Changes can only be made through Article V and its formal procedures. Article V has always provided a means of perfecting the Constitution in an explicit, democratically authentic, prudent, and deliberative manner. In addition to changing the Constitution Article V also allowed the people to perfect and preserve their Constitution at the same time. In recent years Article V has come under attack by influential legal scholars who criticize it for being too difficult, undemocratic, and too formal. Such scholars advocate for ignoring Article V in favor of elite adaptation of the Constitution or popular amendment through national referendums. In making their case, critics also assume that Article V is an unimportant and expendable part of the Constitutional structure. One notable scholar called the Constitution “imbecilic” because of Article V. This book shows that, to the contrary, Article V is a unique and powerful extension of the American tradition of written constitutionalism. It was a logical extension of American constitutional development and it was a powerful tool used by the Federalists to argue for ratification of the new Constitution. Since then it has served as a means of “perfecting” the US Constitution for over 200 years via a wide range of amendments. Contrary to contemporary critics, the historical evidence shows Article V to be a vital element in the Constitutional architecture, not an expendable or ancillary piece. This book defends Article V against critics by showing that it is neither too difficult, undemocratic, nor too formal. Furthermore, a positive case is made that Article V remains the most clear and powerful way to register the sovereign desires of the American public with regard to alterations of their fundamental law. In the end, Article V is an essential bulwark to maintaining a written Constitution that secures the rights of the people against both elites and themselves.
New to teaching chorus? If so, you may be filled with anticipation and anxiety. Getting Started with Middle School Chorus is here to point you in the right directions. Like other books in the Getting Started series, there's enough specific information here to get you started and on your way! This second edition of Getting Started with Middle School Chorus gives you new information on working with young adolescent changing voices, designing optimal rehearsals for middle schoolers, managing growing choral programs, and helping youngsters gain musical skills they can carry with them for a lifetime of making music. This practical outline will help build your confidence as you take on the new responsibilities associated with teaching middle school chorus.
Winner of the Governor General's Award for Fiction, the Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize, the Prix des libraires du Quebec and the Stephen Leacock Medal. Shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize, the Scotiabank Giller Prize, and the Walter Scott Prize. Hermann Kermit Warm is going to die: Eli and Charlie Sisters can be counted on for that. Though Eli has never shared his brother’s penchant for whiskey and killing, he’s never known anything else. On the road to Warm’s gold-mining claim outside San Francisco — and from the back of his long-suffering one-eyed horse — Eli struggles to make sense of his life without abandoning the job he's sworn to do. Patrick deWitt, acclaimed author of Ablutions, doffs his hat to the classic Western, and then transforms it into a comic tour-de-force with an unforgettable narrative voice that captures all the absurdity, melancholy, and grit of the West — and of these two brothers, bound to each other by blood and scars and love.
Questions of how the design of cities can respond to the challenge of climate change dominate the thoughts of urban planners and designers across the U.S. and Canada. With admirable clarity, Patrick Condon responds to these questions. He addresses transportation, housing equity, job distribution, economic development, and ecological systems issues and synthesizes his knowledge and research into a simple-to-understand set of urban design recommendations. No other book so clearly connects the form of our cities to their ecological, economic, and social consequences. No other book takes on this breadth of complex and contentious issues and distills them down to such convincing and practical solutions.
Thrilling crime stories about cars, driving, and the road from the world's bestselling and critically acclaimed writers. Like fiction, cars take us into a different world: from the tony enclaves of upper crust society to the lowliest barrio; from muscle car-driving con men to hardscrabble kids on the road during the Great Depression; from a psychotic traveling salesman to a Mexican drug lord who drives a tricked-out VW Bus. We all share the roads, and our cars link us together. Including entirely new stories from Michael Connelly, C.J. Box, George Pelecanos, Diana Gabaldon, James Sallis, Ace Atkins, Luis Alberto Urrea, Sara Gran, Ben H. Winters, and Joe Lansdale, The Highway Kind is a street-level look at modern America, as seen through one of its national obsessions.
The 1960s were a tumultuous period in U.S. history and the sporting world was not immune to the decade's upturn of tradition. As war in Southeast Asia, civil unrest at home and political assassinations rocked the nation, professional football struggled to attract fans. While some players fought for civil rights and others fought overseas, the ideological divides behind the protests and riots in the streets spilled into the locker rooms, and athletes increasingly brought their political beliefs into the sports world. This history describes how a decade of social upheaval affected life on the gridiron, and the personalities and events that shaped the game. The debut of the Super Bowl, soon to become a fixture of American culture, marked a professional sport on the rise. Increasingly lucrative television contracts and innovations in the filming and broadcasting of games expanded pro football's audiences. An authoritarian old guard, best represented by the revered Vince Lombardi, began to give way as star players like Joe Namath commanded new levels of pay and power. And at last, all teams fielded African American players, belatedly beginning the correction of the sport's greatest wrong.
The US Central Intelligence Agency is no stranger to conspiracy and allegations of corruption. Across the globe, violent coups have been orchestrated, high-profile targets kidnapped, and world leaders dispatched at the hands of CIA agents. During the 1960s, on domestic soil, the methods used to protect their interests and themselves at the expense of the American people were no less ruthless. In CIA Rogues and the Killing of the Kennedys, Patrick Nolan fearlessly investigates the CIA’s involvement in the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy and Senator Robert F. Kennedy—why the brothers needed to die and how rogue intelligence agents orchestrated history’s most infamous conspiracy. Nolan furthers the research of leading forensic scientists, historians, and scholars who agree that there remain serious unanswered questions regarding the assassinations of John F. Kennedy fifty years ago and Robert F. Kennedy in 1968. He revisits and refutes what is currently known about Lee Harvey Oswald and Sirhan Bishara Sirhan, and offers readers a compelling profile of the CIA’s Richard Helms, an amoral master of clandestine operations with a chip on his shoulder. Bolstered by a foreword by Dr. Henry C. Lee, one of the world’s foremost forensic authorities, CIA Rogues and the Killing of the Kennedys is an unmatched effort in forensic research and detective work. As the fiftieth anniversary of the JFK assassination approaches, Nolan has made a significant contribution to the literature on that fateful day in Dallas as well as shed light on that dark night at the Ambassador Hotel. Readers interested in conspiracy, the Kennedy family, or American history will find this book invaluable.
The most prodigal, prolific, and visionary director to emerge from post-sixties Hollywood, Robert Altman is a man whose mystique sometimes threatens to overshadow his many critically acclaimed films (including MASH).
With the popularity of P.T. Barnum's circus and America's game-baseball-peanuts became the snack food of the people across the country in the late 1800s. Sold hot from a roaster to the cries of "Peanuts, get your hot peanuts here," this popular snack soon became a valuable cash crop. The farmland around Suffolk, Virginia was perfect for growing goobers, and the town was soon known as the "World's Greatest Peanut Market." Suffolk's peanut star was already on the rise when an Italian immigrant named Amedeo Obici moved his chocolate and nut operation, Planters Peanuts, to town in 1913 to be in the heart of peanut country. Three years later, Mr. Peanut was born in Suffolk. The success of the goober gave the community cause to celebrate, and it did so on the first large-scale basis in 1941 with the National Peanut Festival and Exposition, complete with a parade and queen. Today the Suffolk Peanut Fest carries on the legume's legacy. More than 200,000 people attend the fete each fall to enjoy family entertainment and pay homage to the humble peanut.
The Pecos River flows snake-like out of New Mexico and across West Texas before striking the Rio Grande. In frontier Texas, the Pecos was more moat than river—a deadly barrier of quicksand, treacherous currents, and impossibly steep banks. Only at its crossings, with legendary names such as Horsehead and Pontoon, could travelers hope to gain passage. Even if the river proved obliging, Indian raiders and outlaws often did not. Long after irrigation and dams rendered the river a polluted trickle, Patrick Dearen went seeking out the crossings and the stories behind them. In Crossing Rio Pecos—a follow-up to his Castle Gap and the Pecos Frontier—he draws upon years of research to relate the history and folklore of all the crossings—Horsehead, Pontoon, Pope’s, Emigrant, Salt, Spanish Dam, Adobe, “S,” and Lancaster. Meticulously documented, Crossing Rio Pecos emerges as the definitive study of these gateways which were so vital to the opening of the western frontier.
First published in 1988, Castle Gap and the Pecos Frontier was acclaimed by reviewers as “superb,” “significant,” and “utterly delightful.” In this revised edition, Patrick Dearen draws upon the latest in scholarship to update his study of the Pecos River country of West Texas. It’s a land wild with tales that blend history, geography, and folklore, and from his search emerge six fascinating accounts: -Castle Gap, a break in a mesa twelve miles east of the Pecos River, used by Comanches, emigrants, stage drivers, and cattle drovers; -Horsehead Crossing, the most infamous ford of the Old West; -Juan Cordona Lake, a salt lake where sandstorms and skull-baking sun defied early efforts to mine salt vital to survival; -The “bulto” or ghost who wanders the Fort Stockton night; -Lost Wagon Train, a forty-wagon caravan buried in the sands; -The lost mine of Will Sublett, who found gold and kept its location secret unto death. Although linked by the search for treasure, the stories are as varied as the land itself. They speak eloquently of the Pecos country, its heritage, and its people.
Fourteen individual state essays elucidate the complexitites of local and regional interests that shaped the debate over individual rights and the eventual adoption of the Bill of Rights.
An Entrenched Legacy takes a fresh look at the role of the Supreme Court in our modern constitutional system. Although criticisms of judicial power today often attribute its rise to the activism of justices seeking to advance particular political ideologies, Patrick Garry argues instead that the Supreme Court’s power has grown mainly because of certain constitutional decisions during the New Deal era that initially seemed to portend a lessening of the Court’s power. When the Court retreated from enforcing separation of powers and federalism as the twin structural protections for individual liberty in the face of FDR’s New Deal agenda, it was inevitably drawn into an alternative approach, substantive due process, as a means for protecting individual rights. This has led to many controversial judicial rulings, particularly regarding the recognition and enforcement of privacy rights. It has also led to the mistaken belief that the judiciary serves as the only protection of liberty and that an inherent conflict exists between individual liberty and majoritarian rule. Moreover, because the Court has assumed sole responsibility for preserving liberty, the whole area of individual rights has become highly centralized. As Garry argues, individual rights have been placed exclusively under judicial jurisdiction not because of anything the Constitution commands, but because of the constitutional compromise of the New Deal. During the Rehnquist era, the Court tried to reinvigorate the constitutional doctrine of federalism by strengthening certain powers of the states. But, according to Garry, this effort only went halfway toward a true revival of federalism, since the Court continued to rely on judicially enforced individual rights for the protection of liberty. A more comprehensive reform would require a return to the earlier reliance on both federalism and separation of powers as structural devices for protecting liberty. Such reform, as Garry notes, would also help revitalize the role of legislatures in our democratic system.
Science news is met by the public with a mixture of fascination and disengagement. On the one hand, Americans are inflamed by topics ranging from the question of whether or not Pluto is a planet to the ethics of stem-cell research. But the complexity of scientific research can also be confusing and overwhelming, causing many to divert their attentions elsewhere and leave science to the “experts.” Whether they follow science news closely or not, Americans take for granted that discoveries in the sciences are occurring constantly. Few, however, stop to consider how these advances—and the debates they sometimes lead to—contribute to the changing definition of the term “science” itself. Going beyond the issue-centered debates, Daniel Patrick Thurs examines what these controversies say about how we understand science now and in the future. Drawing on his analysis of magazines, newspapers, journals and other forms of public discourse, Thurs describes how science—originally used as a synonym for general knowledge—became a term to distinguish particular subjects as elite forms of study accessible only to the highly educated.
A spellbinding narrative account of America in the Middle East that "reads almost like a thriller" (The Economist) The Middle East is the beginning and the end of U.S. foreign policy: events there influence our alliances, make or break presidencies, govern the price of oil, and draw us into war. But it was not always so—and as Patrick Tyler shows in A World of Trouble, a thrilling chronicle of American misadventures in the region. The story of American presidents' dealings there is one of mixed motives, skulduggery, deceit, and outright foolishness, as well as of policymaking and diplomacy. Tyler draws on newly opened presidential archives to dramatize the approach to the Middle East across U.S. presidencies from Eisenhower to George W. Bush. He takes us into the Oval Office and shows how our leaders made momentous decisions; at the same time, the sweep of this narrative—from the Suez crisis to the Iran hostage crisis to George W. Bush's catastrophe in Iraq—lets us see the big picture as never before. Tyler tells a story of presidents being drawn into the affairs of the region against their will, being kept in the dark by local potentates, being led astray by grasping subordinates, and making decisions about the internal affairs of countries they hardly understand. Above all, he shows how each president has managed to undo the policies of his predecessor, often fomenting both anger against America on the streets of the region and confusion at home. A World of Trouble is the Middle East book we need now: compulsively readable, free of cant and ideology, and rich in insight about the very human challenges a new president will face as he or she tries to restore America's standing in the region.
An exploration of the origins and development of American country music in the Piedmont's mill villages celebrates the colorful cast of musicians and considers the impact that urban living, industrial music, and mass culture had on their lives and music.
The follow-up to Game On! Awesome Activities for Clever Kids, this book serves up a second helping of baffling brain games for ages 8 to 12. More than 100 colorful puzzles feature all kinds of kid-friendly themes and activities, including unique and challenging crosswords, secret codes, word scrambles, spot the differences, mazes, and much more. It's the perfect book for at home or on the go, and the fun starts with just a pencil — no electricity or batteries needed! Complete solutions appear at the end of the book.
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