Killing Davy Crockett attempts to answer basic questions concerning the death of the famous hunter, trapper, soldier, and politician. Crockettseveral times a member of the US Congress and foe of President Andrew Jacksonwas ultimately defeated for reelection to Congress and chose to throw his famous coonskin cap into the struggle for Texas independence. Killing Davy Crockett encompasses this homespun Tennessee heros early years, military, then political experiences, and his trip to beaconing Texes, as he called it. Davy entered the Alamo, an old Spanish mission turned into a makeshift fort, with a small group of marksman volunteers. They dedicated and lost their lives when the small garrison at the Alamo was besiegedthen assaultedby Mexican president and general-in-chief Antonio Lopez de Santa Annas large Mexican army. Did Davy lose his life in combat, or was he executed by the Mexicans? This work attempts to answer that question, which has long been debated among eminent Texas historians.
Think public libraries are staid and quiet? Then welcome to the “Best Little Library in Texas” where restroom fires/accidents, a surprise birth upstairs, angry female demonstrators at the front door, even a study group pledged to kill people because of their DNA (and a subsequent murder) are almost routine. How do six committed librarians and one lonely Texas cowboy survive these dangers? Credit their high quotient of humor, affection for one another, teamwork and community service. The “Best Little Library” proves it’s not the quality of the book collections, it’s the individuals of the staff who make the library exceptional.
“KIA: Killed In the Alamo” highlights the struggle of three Alamo Colonels (Travis, Bowie and Crockett) to organize, sustain and lead the stubborn defenders of the Alamo who gave their lives fighting for an independent Texas. On March 6, 1836, Mexican General, (and President) Santa Ana directed his powerful army to not only assault the old Alamo and its Texas defenders, he ordered the immediate execution of any survivors. The defenders of the Alamo, mostly volunteers, came from eastern and southern United States, Ireland, England, Scotland, Germany, and Denmark as well as well as Texas. Sadly, the birthplaces of 48 of the 212 slain defenders are unknown. To honor their heroism and bravery, a roster of their names is at Chapter 14. Perhaps the highest accolade for these heroic defenders is that inscribed on the Cenotaph in San Antonio, Texas, next to the Alamo: “IN MEMORY OF THE HEROES WHO SACRIFICED THEIR LIVES AT THE ALAMO MARCH 6, 1836, IN THE DEFENSE OF TEXAS. THEY CHOSE NEVER TO SURRENDER NOR RETREAT; THESE BRAVE HEARTS, WITH FLAG STILL WAVING, PERISHED IN THE FLAMES OF NOBILITY THAT THEIR HIGH SACRIFICE MIGHT LEAD TO THE FOUNDING OF TEXAS.”
Remember Goliad! was as famous a rallying cry during the Texas Revolution as Remember the Alamo! Despite the disparity in casualties (Goliads were over twice those of the Alamo), relatively little is remembered about the grisly massacre of an estimated 490 Texan and American prisoners of war by order of Santa Anna on Palm Sunday, March 27, 1865. Killing Fannin is not only about the execution of the Texas commander at Goliad. It is a recounting of the decisions leading to his defeat by a superior Mexican army. Overriding Fannins death is the tragic, cruel massacre of his men, most of them volunteers from the US who cared enough for Texan independence that they fought and lost their lives for it. Remember Goliad!
Father Murphy, an Irish priest in the city of Mallow, Cork, is the rector of Saint Timothys Church contending with much more than the normal pastoral headaches. There is a murder in his church, a recalcitrant vestry that prefers meeting in the local bar, assorted criminals, a wealthy matriarch with her own church agenda, plus an attractive young church administrator who wants Father Murphy married offto her! Murphy also contends with a police inspector whod like the priest confined to the church confessional instead of solving crimes.
The ruins of Adobe Walls, one-time saloon, fort, and trading post with the Plains Indians was the 1864 site of the largest battle between the Indian and the U.S. Army. Some three hundred army troops, mostly cavalry, were led by famous western explorer, Indian agent, fighter and trapper Christopher (Kit) Carson. Not only was it the largest battle between the Indian and U.S. Army, it was the only time the army was forced to withdraw. Why withdraw? Because Carson and his New Mexico and California volunteers were outnumbered ten to one by their combined Kiowa, Comanche, and Arapaho enemy. Had it not been for Carson's command ability, a greater massacre than the Little Big Horn would have occurred.
“Mayaguez and the Murder Ship” trace the marine exploits of First Mate, later Captain, Casey Flynn. Aboard the container ship Mayaguez, he was First Mate during the surprise capture of that vessel and crew by Cambodian communists in 1975. During the four days between their capture and release to the U.S. Navy, Flynn acted as calm intermediary with his crew’s communist captors. The Americans were fearful of being summarily shot, ransomed or tried before a Cambodian court, then imprisoned. Once U.S. aircraft appeared overhead firing and bombing, their captors became hysterical and unpredictable, making Flynn’s protection of his crew even more difficult. Promoted to captain for his performance on the Mayaguez, Flynn’s trials had just begun. His first command, an old oil tanker, was beset with problems: a dispirited crew, several of whom mysteriously and regularly disappeared. The anxious, short-handed, double-dutied crew labeled their vessel the “Murder Ship.” To help him solve the mysterious disappearances or murders, an inexperienced Security Officer (who happened to be the transport lines owner’s beautiful daughter) was added to assist Flynn in this his new command. What could possible go wrong on Casey’s maiden voyage of the “Murder Ship”?
Although depicted on a U.S. postage stamp and post card, Confederate Brigadier General and Cherokee Chief Stand Watie is virtually unknown to readers. The only Indian to be promoted to general on either side of the civil war, Watie was also the last Confederate general to surrender to Union forces. This book traces his skirmishes and battles--some victories, some defeats--during that terrible war. Pea Ridge was the largest battle west of the Mississippi where Watie led his Cherokee Mounted Rifles regiment. Later, Watie became the first cavalry commander to capture a Union ship, the J.R. Williams, underway in the Arkansas River. After his surrender to a Union commissioner, Watie--a man called by events and his Cherokee people to uncommon valor and leadership--continued to represent and inspire his people during the bitter period of reconstruction in the Indian Territory which eventually became the state of Oklahoma.
Army lieutenant colonel Sam Briscoe volunteers for a job in exotic, wartime Cambodia to escape the routines of Pentagon duty and an acrid divorce. His new job gains an unexpected dimension when the Army Chief of Staff assigns Briscoe a secret task while in Cambodia which only the Chief of Staff and an Assistant Secretary of State know about. Once in Phnom Penh, Briscoes immediate boss, Brigadier General Cleveland, orders him to eliminate phantom soldiers from Cambodian army payrolls. Cleveland also admonishes Briscoe against advising the Cambodians and talking to reporters, particularly American ones. Briscoe quickly discovers that the pay for the non-existent or phantom soldiers goes into the pockets of their commanders. This introduces him to the fraud and graft rampant in the Cambodian armed forces as well as the government. Briscoes no win job is further complicated by an instantaneous--but forbidden romance--withAmerican freelance reporter Beth Keller. Once the American ambassador, to whom General Cleveland reports, hears about the romance, he tries to blackmail Briscoe into coercing Beth to soften her scathing investigative reporting about diplomatic bumbling at the American Embassy. While inspecting Cambodian infantry battalions, Briscoe unwittingly crosses the grey line between advising and assisting about which Cleveland warned. Beth Kellers widely publicized article in U.S. media highlights Briscoes disobeying the U.S. Congressional edict, as well as his own generals admonition against advising. How Beth and Briscoe solve their personal problems, while balancing their jobs and precarious positions with the ambassador and general, add to the drama of the helicopter evacuation of Americans from Communist-besieged Phnom Penh. The struggle between the army officer, his general, the ambassador plus an embassy political officer stalking Beth ends with the evacuation. One of the four will be the last American escaping Phnom Penh. Another wont make it.
Following their helicopter evacuation during the fall of Phnom Penh to the Khmer Rouge communists, Sam Bristol and his bride, Beth, returned home to the United States. Following an excruciating illness, Beth dies, leaving Bristol a sad, disgruntled Army colonel assigned to a sensitive position in the Pentagon. Sams work, particularly his writing a highly classified nuclear manual, makes him the prime target of several foreign attempts, led by two voluptuous females, to filch the manual from the distraught widower. Sam is duped, eventually realizing the depth of his near-treasonous dilemma, and asks for agency assistance to extricate him. How the agency plan enables his escape from the Pentagon--requiring vast personal changes in Sam--and an awesome climax vastly different from his previous flight from Phnom Penh. Can he ever revert to his old self after this latest escape?
In his latest exploit, larger-than-life Curacao private investigator Jan Kokk is hired to unravel a 126-year-old mystery. Who killed Van Gogh, the famous Dutch painter? At the time, popular rumor insisted van Gogh shot himself while painting in the picturesque village of Auvers-sur-Oise near Paris. With passing time, the rumor became legend. Kokk’s job was to find the truth. As usual, Kokk teamed with an attractive, talented young lady for help as interpreter and assistant sleuth. As usual, teamwork turned tender. Once the strange case ended, Kokk found himself alone without the young lady. Had Kokk’s famed charm with the ladies failed, or was there yet another mystery?
Jan Kokk, famous investigator from Curacao, finally comes to Texas. Not by design, the visit is caused by the emergency landing of his California flight in Texas. Once landed in Kerrville, Kokk is the star witness to a bomb threat during the flight. If that isnt enough, a wealthy Hollywood magnate is found dead in the planes rest room. While assisting the FBI, Homeland Security, Texas Rangers and the local sheriff, Kokk falls in love with a flight attendant. Will Kokk, the famous, scrupulous investigator, allow love to interfere with--even override--the law?
Abbie Brown calls her old high school flame, Bruno, to help her brief a rich client on Abbie’s extensive design and decoration project for the client’s already elegant home. The client is Lois, Abbie’s close friend and former college roommate. Before Abbie and Bruno arrive in Canyon Lake to conduct their briefing, Lois’ husband, Hugh, goes missing. Lois insists Abbie and Bruno stay at her home and find her husband. Abbie’s design and decoration project is on hold until Hugh is found. Meanwhile, a red bikini and bra-clad female is found dead on a nearby beach. Local newspaper dubs the dead girl ‘The Lady in Red.’ Police Chief Rogers of Canyon Lake can’t identify the girl, so focuses his investigation on her, rather than the missing Hugh Grimes. Wealthy Hugh Grimes is best known for his speeding around town in his bright red sports car. A fire on the north shore of the lake, a burned male corpse found in that fire and a third murder--a well-known female who recently dyed her hair fiery red--is linked to the previous two ‘red’ deaths. Chief Rogers is unable to solve either case. Can Abbie and Bruno--increasingly interested rekindling their old relationship--restore peace and quiet to this rural Texas Hill Country community, despite the three murders?
A story about a man, an evil man killing the innocent in the name of everything unholy, as a small town is terrorized and paralyzed with fear. The townspeople then pull together and destroy this evil man as he attempts to fulfill the devil's deed. As years go by, the man returns as an evil spirit and continues to carry out what was started so long ago. A girl faces the nightmare and must set out to find a way to end the evil forever before it is too late.
The Republic of Texas was its own nation for ten years after winning independence from Santa Ana at San Jacinto. A navy was needed to defend 600 miles of Texas Gulf coast from Mexico which wanted Texas back. Texans had three navies: the Impromptu, First and Second Navies. S4370HB - $19.00
Undeterred by the Mexicans' heavier cannon, both Texas warships sailed into the interval between the enemy steamships and their sailing ships. The steamers were on the Texans' port side and were given five broadsides by the Austin and the Wharton without appreciable damage to the Mexican steamers. Then the Texans turned their attention to the more vulnerable enemy sailing ships firing at them from their starboard "They (the steamers) don't intend to let us get any closer to them," Commodore Moore observed caustically. "They are paddling off stern foremost, faster than we can come up to them. Keep her away a little so our broadside can bear." Then Moore ordered, in true Farragut style, "Damn them! Give it to them!
Provides a fictional account of Sam Briscoe, an Army lieutenant colonel, whose secret job in wartime Cambodia exposes him to fraud in the Cambodian armed forces. His situation is further complicated by a forbidden romance with an American freelance reporter.
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