Math-U-See Beta Instruction Pack

Kit Story Collection (American Girl)

Blaze (Blaze Trilogy)

Review "Vivid. The perfect picture of the adolescent human condition that both entertains and empowers." -A. R. Conti Fulwell, author of An Angel in the Distance "Blaze peels back the curtains of our world's desires, and reveals the beasts lurking behind. Packed with relevant topics and worldview, the book draws readers into a white-knuckle adventure where anything can happen--and anything can go wrong. Hope Bolinger delivers a fiery page-turner perfect for students and pyromaniacs, and shows what happens when we're called into the lions' den." - Caroline George, author of The Vestige "When I heard that Hope Bolinger was writing a series of books taking the Daniel story and putting it into modern times, I knew it would be something special. And indeed, it is.Even though you know the Bible story, Blaze will keep you turning pages as you watch events unfold, as you cheer the faith of four brave students, and as you wait to see how Bolinger will tell the story next. Bolinger is creative, funny,and engaging. Blaze does not disappoint."-Linda Taylor, M.A., M.F.A.,assistant professor Professional Writing, Taylor University "Bolinger has created a captivating academy world and engaging characters in Blaze. Readers will easily relate to the characters' struggles, and will find comfort in the humor and grace with which the characters navigate a never-ending slew of incredibly trying experiences. - DelSheree Gladden, author of "Invisible"Hope Bolinger is a fresh new voice in young adult fiction. Teen readers won't be able to stop turning pages to find out what will happen to Daniel and his trio of friends in this witty, contemporary take on familiar Bible stories for a new generation. Blaze has something for everyone: adventure, relatable characters, themes of faith in difficult times, humor, and, of course, lots of fire. - Amy Green, author of the Amarias Adventures "Blaze explores the classically icky elements of high school--mean girls, boys who bully, crappy cafeteria food, pressure to compete, insensitive teachers, midterm stress--and amps it all up a notch when students find themselves involuntarily enrolled in a boarding school from, well, hell. The story's protagonists, firm in their Christian faith, rise above and put a bold new spin on the concept of school spirit as a school principal attempts to place himself on an impossible pedestal. Author Hope Bolinger cleverly and stealthily superimposes her contemporary teen drama with symbolic content based on old-school values."--Kelly Anne White,author of The Legend of the Fairy Stones (Morgan James Publishing), The Bible Adventure Book of Scavenger Hunts (Healthy Learning), and other books for kids "We see the Book of Daniel unfold in a completely contemporary way, full of the same intrigue as the Bible story...yet young adult readers will be able to relate to the characters and the plot as it twists and turns in a story that keeps you turning the pages."- Michele Chynoweth, award-winning author of contemporary, biblically based novels The Faithful One, The Peace Maker, The Runaway Prophet and The Jealous Son. "Bolinger's Blaze is a unique twist on the classic high school drama." - Amalie Jahn, YA author of The Clay Lion Series and The Next to Last Mistake "Debut author Hope Bolinger entertains the young and young-at-heart with her YA novel, Blaze. She introduces us to Danny Belte and his friends and their struggles and triumphs of life in high school. But this book is so much more. Blaze is a contemporary twist on stories from the book of Daniel in the Bible. The way Hope threads allegory throughout the modern high school setting is masterful. Above all,Blaze is a fun, and can't-put-it-down, delightful story." - Jennifer Hallmark, author of Jessie's Hope " Blaze is a wonderful YA novel of the trials and tribulations of four different but likeable students navigating their way through a challenging school year . . . (Danny's) voice, guiding the reader through the plot, is often funny and authentic."- Jim Doran, Reviewer at Tales of Fascination About the Author Hope Bolinger is a literary agent at C.Y.L.E. and a recentgraduate of Taylor University's professional writing program. More than 300 ofher works have been featured in various publications ranging from Writer'sDigest to Keys for Kids. She has worked for various publishing companies,magazines, newspapers, and literary agencies and has edited the work of authorssuch as Jerry B. Jenkins and Michelle Medlock Adams. Her column "Hope'sHacks," tips and tricks to avoid writer's block, reaches 2,700+ readersweekly and is featured monthly on Cyle Young's blog, which receives 63,000+monthly hits. She is excited for her modern-day Daniel "Blaze" tocome out with IlluminateYA (an imprint of Lighthouse Publishing of theCarolinas). She enjoys all things theater, cats, and fire. You can find moreabout her at hopebolinger.com

DEN: If You Don't Want to Die, Don't Sleep with Lions (Blaze Trilogy Book 2)

From the Author This book came out of a really difficult time. I won't go into all the details, but a number of events that happened far too close to home had inspired a great deal of the content. But with that being said, there's always hope and healing, even if it doesn't happen quite how we expect it to. Thank you to all the readers who have followed Danny on his journey, and I cannot wait for you to continue on it. About the Author Hope Bolinger is literary agent, freelance author and editor, YA novelist, and obsessed with anything to do with theater. Books include The Quiet and the Storm (Taylor University Press), Blaze (IlluminateYA), Den (IlluminateYA), Dear Hero (INtense Publications), and Dear Henchman (INtense Publications). She's also contributed to books that were published by Broadstreet Publishing and New Hope. When she isn't busy adding to her 600+ bylines, or showing up in her town square dressed as Red Riding Hood, she loves to connect with readers. Find her at hopebolinger.com or connect with her @hopebolinger --This text refers to the paperback edition.

Math-U-See Primer Introduction to Math Instruction Pack

Frog and Toad Storybook Treasury: 4 Complete Stories in 1 Volume! (I Can Read Level 2)

From the Back Cover Contains Four Frog and Toad Books! Come celebrate the power of friendship with all four of the beloved Frog and Toad stories—now in one volume! Share the adventures of best friends Frog and Toad as they fly a kite, resist the temptation of cookies, and search for a lost button. No matter what kind of situation they find themselves in, one thing is certain: Frog and Toad will always be together. This reading collection includes: Frog and Toad Are FriendsFrog and Toad TogetherFrog and Toad All YearDays with Frog and Toad About the Author Arnold Lobel (1933–1987) illustrated many wonderful children’s books but is most beloved for his Frog and Toad stories, including the first one, Frog and Toad Are Friends , published in 1970. The books have garnered much acclaim, including a Caldecott Honor for Frog and Toad Are Friends and a Newbery Honor for Frog and Toad Together . These were followed by Frog and Toad All Year and Days with Frog and Toad .

This Is The House That Jack Built (Classic Books With Holes)

About the Author Pam Adams was born in 1919 in Swindon, Wiltshire. She was always drawing as a child so Swindon Art College was the natural place to begin her formal art training. In the 50’s and 60’s, following several years at the Central School of Art in London, she worked as a graphic artist for various advertising agencies in the city. When she returned to Swindon in the 70’s she teamed up with Michael Twinn who had recently founded Child’s Play. Her first book ‘There was an Old Lady who Swallowed a Fly’, published in 1972, is still Child’s Play best selling title. Her bright, clear colours, appealing shapes and attention to detail make her pictures instantly successful with children. Pam moved into writing with the ‘Mrs Honey’ series. Her attractive artwork, sense of humour and great versatility made her an invaluble member of the Child’s Play team. Pam worked for Child’s Play for nearly forty years, illustrating her final book, a prequel to ‘There was an Old Lady who Swallowed a Fly’ in 2006. Sadly Pam passed away in 2010 at the age of 91.

Python Machine Learning - Second Edition: Machine Learning and Deep Learning with Python, scikit-learn, and TensorFlow

Review "I bought the first version of this book, and now also the second. The new version is very comprehensive. If you are using Python - it's almost a reference. I also like the emphasis on neural networks (and TensorFlow) - which (in my view) is where the Python community is heading. I am also planning to use this book in my teaching at Oxford University. The data pre-processing sections are also good. I found the sequence flow slightly unusual - but for an expert level audience, it's not a major issue." --Ajit Jaokar, Data Science for IoT Course Creator and Lead Tutor at the University of Oxford / Principal Data Scientist About the Author Sebastian Raschka , author of the bestselling book, Python Machine Learning, has many years of experience with coding in Python, and he has given several seminars on the practical applications of data science, machine learning, and deep learning, including a machine learning tutorial at SciPy - the leading conference for scientific computing in Python. While Sebastian's academic research projects are mainly centered around problem-solving in computational biology, he loves to write and talk about data science, machine learning, and Python in general, and he is motivated to help people develop data-driven solutions without necessarily requiring a machine learning background. His work and contributions have recently been recognized by the departmental outstanding graduate student award 2016-2017, as well as the ACM Computing Reviews' Best of 2016 award. In his free time, Sebastian loves to contribute to open source projects, and the methods that he has implemented are now successfully used in machine learning competitions, such as Kaggle. Vahid Mirjalili obtained his PhD in mechanical engineering working on novel methods for large-scale, computational simulations of molecular structures. Currently, he is focusing his research efforts on applications of machine learning in various computer vision projects at the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at Michigan State University. Vahid picked Python as his number-one choice of programming language, and throughout his academic and research career he has gained tremendous experience with coding in Python. He taught Python programming to the engineering class at Michigan State University, which gave him a chance to help students understand different data structures and develop efficient code in Python. While Vahid's broad research interests focus on deep learning and computer vision applications, he is especially interested in leveraging deep learning techniques to extend privacy in biometric data such as face images so that information is not revealed beyond what users intend to reveal. Furthermore, he also collaborates with a team of engineers working on self-driving cars, where he designs neural network models for the fusion of multispectral images for pedestrian detection.


What's New at the Zoo? An Animal Adding Adventure (Arbordale Collection)

Review Educational purpose takes the front seat here, but rests lightly enough on the rhymed text and animal pictures to remain more a game than a chore. --BooklistThis cheerful package of images and information delivers intellectual nourishment in the guise of a tasty treat for the eyes. It’s a fun introduction to early math skills and basic animal facts. --School Library JournalThe solid math and informative backmatter make this a worthwhile addition to libraries and math programs. --Kirkus Reviews From the Back Cover Come along on an animal adding adventure. Add baby animals to the adults to see how many there are all together. And while you are at it, learn what some of the zoo animals eat or what the baby animals are called. Follow the lost red balloon as it soars through the zoo. At the end of the day, count up all the animals you have seen. The For Creative Minds educational section includes: How many animals do you see?, Tens make friends, Adding by columns, Fact families, Food for thought, Animal matching activity, and Animal classes. About the Author Suzanne Slade is the award-winning author of over 80 books for children including The Great Divide, Multiply on the Fly, What's the Difference?, What's New at the Zoo?, and Animals are Sleeping for Arbordale. Her works include picture books, biographies, as well as many non-fiction titles about animals, sports, and nature. One of her favorite parts of the writing process is researching and learning new things. Suzanne lives near Chicago with her husband, Mike, two children, and their tiny dog, Corduroy. She enjoys visiting schools in-person or during her live virtual author visits.  Joan Waites (What's the Difference? and What's New at the Zoo?) has been a freelance illustrator for the past 18 years. She received a Bachelor of Science degree from DeSales University in 1982. Employment followed for 15 years as a neo-natal intensive care nurse in Philadelphia and Washington DC, while she simultaneously returned to college to study illustration and launch her freelance career. In addition to What's the Difference? and What's New at the Zoo?, Joan has illustrated nearly 40 books for the educational and trade marketplace. She is also an adjunt faculty member of The Corcoran Museum School of Art and Design in Washington, DC, where she teaches various children's classes for the college's "Aspiring Artists" program. Read more

Weeds of the Northeast

Review I highly recommend Weeds of the Northeas t if you ever happen to be in a masochistic mood and don't have a sharp stick handy with which to poke yourself in the eye. As I leafed through the pages, wincing at the depressingly clear color photographs, a horrible sense of familiarity set in. Ninety-nine percent of the weeds were in my garden. It was like looking at a family album of all your least favorite relatives. There was mean and scary Great-Aunt Margaret (Scotch thistle); passive-aggressive Cousin Isobel with the mustache (hairy bittercress); Uncle Ralph with the drinking problem and disgusting table manners (prostrate pigweed). Despite the feeling of nausea that gripped me, I was able to gather much useful information of a scientific sort. As Nietzsche said, that which doesn't kill me makes me stronger, and so I suppose my encounter with an army of unnaturally über-weeds could be looked at as an exercise in character-building. ― Horticulture Lavishly illustrated and exceptionally well-done.... Here is a model to be emulated for California and other weedy areas of the United States and Canada. ― Taxon 47 The appeal of Weeds of the Northeast is broad, ranging from home gardeners to professional gold course managers to farmers. The book deserves a slot in the reference library. ― American Reference Books Annual This detailed and user-friendly guide identifies nearly 300 weedy plant species commonly found from southeastern Canada south to Virginia and west to Wisconsin. Sharp color photographs illustrate each plant in seed, seedling, and mature stages. In addition, plants can be readily distinguished using an identification key based on vegetative characteristics such as leaf orientation, leaf shape, and presence or absence of hairs. A handy fold-out chart helps with identification of those tricky grasses. Weeds that can be identified easily by characteristics such as thorns or milky sap are listed in a series of 'shortcut' tables. ― The American Gardener This impressive factual Weed Identification Manual, the first ever compiled of the Northeast, is thorough and well designed.... This is a distinctive book and reference guide on weeds, one that will be welcomed in a library, school, garden club, a gift for friends, and definitely a copy for yourself. ― News of the Federated Garden Clubs of New York State Weeds of the Northeast is the first comprehensive weed identification manual available for the northeastern region of the U.S.... The manual will facilitate appropriate weed management strategies in horticultural or agronomic cropping systems and will also serve home gardeners, landscape managers, pest management specialists, and allergist. ― Weed Technology Review This is a thorough and well-designed book that's been needed for a long time. The system of having both drawings and photographs accompanying the description of each plant will be of great help to amateur gardeners as well as to professional growers and horticulturists. The identification tables are also very useful. -- Elisabeth Sheldon, author of A Proper Garden

What's the Difference? An Endangered Animal Subtraction Story (Arbordale Collection)

Review Public and school libraries would find this a useful title for their collection, as would nature centers, museums, or the book lists of environmental, nature, or outdoor educators. --ALA Social Responsibility RoundtableYou will learn how many of these creatures became endangered, what is being done to protect and keep them safe, and in some cases, you'll find out if their numbers have increased. --Puget Sound Council for the Review of Children's MediaAs we read about what is being done to help endangered animals, we can be made to hope that no more species will be “subtracted” from the circle of life on earth. --Home School Book Review From the Inside Flap Whats the Difference? weaves subtraction and endangered species education into rhyming, cross-curricular family fun. From the Back Cover In Suzanne Slade's latest book, What's the Difference?, you can celebrate the huge difference caring people make for endangered animals while you practice subtraction skills. In this sequel to her popular addition title, What's New at the Zoo?, Slade presents a new subtraction problem in each clever rhyming verse. The colorful watercolors include realistic animals set in lush spreads by illustrator, Joan Waites. So join in the celebration of our world's precious animals with this exciting title, and have fun practicing math skills along the way! The For Creative Minds educational section includes: Endangered Animal Vocabulary, Food Chains and Webs, Missing Links in Food Chains, Endangered Animals, and Fact Families. Additional teaching activities and interactive quizzes are available for free at the Sylvan Dell Publishing website. About the Author Suzanne Slade is the award-winning author of over 80 books for children including The Great Divide, Multiply on the Fly, What's the Difference?, What's New at the Zoo?, and Animals are Sleeping for Arbordale. Her works include picture books, biographies, as well as many non-fiction titles about animals, sports, and nature. One of her favorite parts of the writing process is researching and learning new things. Suzanne lives near Chicago with her husband, Mike, two children, and their tiny dog, Corduroy. She enjoys visiting schools in-person or during her live virtual author visits.  Joan Waites (What's the Difference? and What's New at the Zoo?) has been a freelance illustrator for the past 18 years. She received a Bachelor of Science degree from DeSales University in 1982. Employment followed for 15 years as a neo-natal intensive care nurse in Philadelphia and Washington DC, while she simultaneously returned to college to study illustration and launch her freelance career. In addition to What's the Difference? and What's New at the Zoo?, Joan has illustrated nearly 40 books for the educational and trade marketplace. She is also an adjunt faculty member of The Corcoran Museum School of Art and Design in Washington, DC, where she teaches various children's classes for the college's "Aspiring Artists" program. Read more

The Inventor's Secret: What Thomas Edison Told Henry Ford

From School Library Journal Gr 3–6—Emphasizing the power of perseverance, this cheery picture book alternates between the lives of two inventors, beginning with Thomas Edison, who was 16 years Henry Ford's senior. Many of Edison's major inventions are touched on, and young Ford is portrayed as curious as to the secret of Edison's success. Ford continues to work on developing engines and designing cars and finally seizes the opportunity to meet Edison in person. The two go over Ford's designs, and Edison urges the younger man to "keep at it!" With that, Ford discovers that "he'd known Thomas's secret all along!"—a realization illustrated with a light bulb over Ford's head. The rest of the story focuses on Ford's work on creating a car for all Americans, which resulted in the Model-T. Fanciful watercolor sketches depict Edison and Ford dreaming, inventing, and working, with a variety of expressions on their faces. The drawings are framed on the page, providing an old-fashioned feel. Inset images provide details and information on their inventions. The front and endpapers are filled with sketches of various light bulbs and gears in muted brown tones. The early lives and activities of these men are covered briefly. The factual text emphasizes how both started as dreamers who took action. Back matter includes a section on Edison and Ford's friendship, more material about the inventions, author and illustrator notes, and extensive source notes with citations for dialogue and other facts. VERDICT A suitable addition for those seeking biographies of inventors.—Tamara Saarinen, Pierce County Library, WA Review What would a renowned, established inventor have to say to a hopeful young tinkerer?Slade precedes her description of a historical meeting with interwoven accounts: one of Thomas, a disaster-prone experimenter who parlays an early interest in gadgets and electricity into a pen that produces multiple copies, a phonograph, and hundreds of other popular innovations; the other of Henry, born 16 years later, whose yen to produce a practical, inexpensive motor car encounters obstacle after frustrating obstacle. At last, hoping for insight into Edison's success, Henry buttonholes the great inventor at an 1896 dinner. The two instantly fall into a technical discussion, climaxed by the excited Edison's "Keep at it!" . . . the author and illustrator close with fuller notes on major Edison-ian inventions, the development of the Model T, and particularly the lifelong friendship that the encounter kindled between these two giants of industrial technology. . . .- Kirkus Reviews "What's his secret?" That's the question dogging Henry Ford as he watches Thomas Edison's phonograph and incandescent bulb take off, while his own attempts to create steam and gas engines sputter. Slade shifts between the developing careers of both men until, while discussing engines with Edison at a dinner in 1896, Ford gets his answer: "Keep at it!" Edison shouts encouragingly. Reinhardt's mixed-media artwork includes several lighthearted moments (parallel scenes featuring Edison and Ford as children highlight the explosive results of early failed experiments). Extensive endnotes discuss Slade's and Reinhardt's processes and several of the inventions mentioned, along with a time line and source notes. It's a rewarding look at the importance of persistence, as well as the friendship that developed between these prominent inventors. - Publishers Weekly Emphasizing the power of perseverance, this cheery picture book alternates between the lives of two inventors, beginning with Thomas Edison, who was 16 years Henry Ford’s senior. Many of Edison’s major inventions are touched on, and young Ford is portrayed as curious as to the secret of Edison’s success. Ford continues to work on developing engines and designing cars and finally seizes the opportunity to meet Edison in person. The two go over Ford’s designs, and Edison urges the younger man to “keep at it!” With that, Ford discovers that “he’d known Thomas’s secret all along!”—a realization illustrated with a light bulb over Ford’s head. The rest of the story focuses on Ford’s work on creating a car for all Americans, which resulted in the Model-T. Fanciful watercolor sketches depict Edison and Ford dreaming, inventing, and working, with a variety of expressions on their faces. The drawings are framed on the page, providing an old-fashioned feel. Inset images provide details and information on their inventions. The front and endpapers are filled with sketches of various light bulbs and gears in muted brown tones. The early lives and activities of these men are covered briefly. The factual text emphasizes how both started as dreamers who took action. Back matter includes a section on Edison and Ford’s friendship, more material about the inventions, author and illustrator notes, and extensive source notes with citations for dialogue and other facts. VERDICT A suitable addition for those seeking biographies of inventors.- School Library Journal This dual picture-book biography of how Thomas Edison inspired Henry Ford succeeds in showing the emotional side of the life of an inventor: success requires more than just one or two—or even two dozen—attempts. Reinhardt’s soft, amiable watercolor, ink, and colored-pencil artwork provides a lot of visual detail about both Edison’s and Ford’s passions, while Slade’s text explains each man’s inspiration and the way his inventions fundamentally changed the world. Ample source notes and a comprehensive dual time line help explain some of Slade and Reinhardt’s depictions of Ford and Edison, and photo-illustrated notes about each inventor’s most memorable creations provide substantial information to get kids started on research projects. While there are abundant compilations for kids about inventions and inventors, Slade and Reinhardt keep the focus solidly on the human element of frustration, persistence, and the power of a mentor. It’s an unusual angle and well executed, which makes it a good fit for STEM-oriented programs as well as storytimes about the benefit of good friendships.- Booklist About the Author Suzanne Slade loves finding out how things work. A mechanical engineer by degree, she once worked on Delta IV rockets and automotive brake systems. Now a full-time author, she has written more than one hundred children's books, including Friends for Freedom: The Story of Susan B. Anthony & Frederick Douglass and The House That George Built . Suzanne lives near Chicago, where she writes from home on her favorite invention--a laptop computer. Jennifer Black Reinhardt is fascinated by the stories behind old objects. While researching this book, she studied the Victorian clothing and furnishings in her collection of antique photographs--and fell in love with fancy borders. Jennifer is the illustrator of Rabbi Benjamin's Buttons and The Adventures of a South Pole Pig (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt). She could not have illustrated this book without the invention of the lightbulb. Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. Not so long ago the world was a little slower. A little simpler. And a whole lot quieter.             No airplanes roaring overhead. No cars rumbling down roads. No phones ringing in pockets.             Then things began to change—because of two curious boys, Thomas and Henry.             And one secret. Read more

Little Lions, Bull Baiters & Hunting Hounds: A History of Dog Breeds

From School Library Journal Grade 2–5—Featuring more than breeds that are categorized as hunting, herding, working, or companion dogs, this attractive volume includes interesting and sometimes unusual facts about canines. The animals included cover a broad spectrum from well known and popular, such as the Labrador retriever and pug, to the less-familiar Canaan dog and Neapolitan mastiff. The painterly illustrations are often action-packed, showing, for example, Akitas in a confrontation with a bear, a dachshund down in a tunnel with a badger, and the Portuguese water dog working with fishermen. There is also a brief history of the origin of dogs and a succinct look at mixed breeds. Although there is not enough information for reports, this is a great browsing book. It gives an appreciation of the common traits and unique personalities and talents of "man's best friend," accompanied by high-quality illustrations, that readers will enjoy looking at again and again.— Carol Schene, formerly at Taunton Public Schools, MA Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From Booklist Lively painted action portraits of dogs, pictured mostly in outdoor and historical settings, animate this overview of modern canine breeds and their traditional functions. For each of 42 breeds (hunting, working, herding, or companion dogs), the authors provide brief notes on distinctive physical characteristics, most common uses in the past, and general temperament. The text is as engaging as the pictures, chockablock with the sorts of facts that dog fanciers love to sink their teeth into: bloodhounds are prone to drooling; an Afghan Hound is “one of the few dogs that notices birds and planes flying through the sky.” The scenes of fighting and of bull-baiting are bloodless, but they may still be mildly disturbing to some. Closing with a look at mixed-breed dogs and the suggestion that they often make better, healthier pets than purebreds do, this will be an irresistible draw for both browsers and for children hoping to add a four-legged new family member. Grades 2-4. --John Peters Review “If you're curious about that unusual looking dog you saw, if you are thinking about getting a dog for the family, or it you are simply interested in the animal that so often shares our lives, this book will satisfy you…. This book, a first collaboration for the husband/wife team of professional illustrators, is richly illustrated with vibrant paintings that show the dogs in action in their historical setting or activity. The authors give mixed breeds a quick mention and offers to donate some proceeds from the book to animal welfare and rescue organizations. An engaging read for all dog lovers.” Highly Recommended— Canadian Review of Materials “ . . . an irresistible draw for both browsers and for children hoping to add a four-legged new family member.” — Booklist “. . . this attractive volume includes interesting and sometimes unusual facts about canines. . .It gives an appreciate of the common traits and unique personalities and talents of ‘man’s best friend,’ accompanied by high-quality illustrations, that readers will enjoy looking at again and again.” — School Library Journal “ . . .a very thorough and more-than-beguiling disquisition (with illustrations) on the history of . . .dogs” — The Globe and Mail About the Author Jeff Crosby and Shelley Ann Jackson are graduates of the prestigious MFA illustration program at the School of Visual Arts in New York City. They live in Manhattan with their daughter, Harper, dachshund, Baron, and shih tzu, Millie. Jeff has illustrated six children’s picture books. The duo’s first book together, Little Lions, Bull Baiters & Hunting Hounds , received a nonfiction research grant from the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. Read more

To Die in Vienna

Review “Echoes of The Third Man , as well as Hitchcock…” — Sunday Times “There is something rather special about this book. Freddie Makin isn’t your ordinary hero and Kevin Wignall isn’t your ordinary writer.” — Bookanista About the Author Kevin Wignall is a British writer, born in Brussels in 1967. He spent many years as an army child in different parts of Europe and went on to study politics and international relations at Lancaster University. He became a full-time writer after the publication of his first book, People Die (2001). His other novels are Among the Dead (2002); Who is Conrad Hirst? (2007), shortlisted for the Edgar Award and the Barry Award; Dark Flag (2010); The Hunter’s Prayer (2015, originally titled For the Dogs in the USA), which was made into a film directed by Jonathan Mostow and starring Sam Worthington and Odeya Rush; A Death in Sweden (2016); The Traitor’s Story (2016); and A Fragile Thing (2017).

The Long Road Home

Review · "The action-packed plot of this novel delivers a powerful, long-lasting punch!" Katherine Williams Blogger · "I found the book easy to read. It's chick lit meets Agatha Christie, with a liberal dose of Southern charm." Read All AboutIt 101 ·  "Bowen's plot is taut and twisty, and she gives plenty of red herrings for armchair sleuths. The Long Road Home is highly recommended." Reviewed by Jack Magnus for Readers' Favorite ·"A Truly Suspenseful Ride" Amazon Customer Bowen's characters are credible and well-defined, especially Kate, Jake, AJ, and Nap. Bowen's plot is taut and twisty, and she gives plenty of red herrings for armchair sleuths. The Long Road Home is highly recommended. 5 Stars - Reviewed by Jack Magnus for Readers' Favorite About the Author CAROLYN BOWEN is a mystery author who calls on her life escapades and an adventurous, imaginative spirit to inspire and entertain. Bowen uses travel as a muse to explore cultures and dialogue to bring her stories to life. Her writing credits include: Cross-Ties, a romantic adventure; The Long Road Home, a contemporary crime fiction mystery; The Sydney Jones Series Mystery Thrillers; Book 1: Primed For Revenge, Book 2: Chance, and Book 3: ONE.

When God Walked the Earth


Empire of the Summer Moon: Quanah Parker and the Rise and Fall of the Comanches, the Most Powerful Indian Tribe in American History

Review “Transcendent... Empire of the Summer Moon is nothing short of a revelation...will leave dust and blood on your jeans.”— New York Times Book Review "In Empire of the Summer Moon , Sam Gwynne has given us a rich, vividly detailed rendering of an important era in our history and of two great men, Quanah Parker and Ranald Slidel Mackenzie, whose struggles did much to define it."—Larry McMurtry About the Author S.C. Gwynne is the author of Hymns of the Republic and the New York Times bestsellers Rebel Yell and Empire of the Summer Moon , which was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award. He spent most of his career as a journalist, including stints with Time as bureau chief, national correspondent, and senior editor, and with Texas Monthly as executive editor. He lives in Austin, Texas, with his wife. Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. One A NEW KIND OF WAR CAVALRYMEN REMEMBER SUCH moments: dust swirling behind the pack mules, regimental bugles shattering the air, horses snorting and riders’ tack creaking through the ranks, their old company song rising on the wind: “Come home, John! Don’t stay long. Come home soon to your own chick-a-biddy!”1 The date was October 3, 1871. Six hundred soldiers and twenty Tonkawa scouts had bivouacked on a lovely bend of the Clear Fork of the Brazos, in a rolling, scarred prairie of grama grass, scrub oak, sage, and chaparral, about one hundred fifty miles west of Fort Worth, Texas. Now they were breaking camp, moving out in a long, snaking line through the high cutbanks and quicksand streams. Though they did not know it at the time—the idea would have seemed preposterous—the sounding of “boots and saddle” that morning marked the beginning of the end of the Indian wars in America, of fully two hundred fifty years of bloody combat that had begun almost with the first landing of the first ship on the first fatal shore in Virginia. The final destruction of the last of the hostile tribes would not take place for a few more years. Time would be yet required to round them all up, or starve them out, or exterminate their sources of food, or run them to ground in shallow canyons, or kill them outright. For the moment the question was one of hard, unalloyed will. There had been brief spasms of official vengeance and retribution before: J. M. Chivington’s and George Armstrong Custer’s savage massacres of Cheyennes in 1864 and 1868 were examples. But in those days there was no real attempt to destroy the tribes on a larger scale, no stomach for it. That had changed, and on October 3, the change assumed the form of an order, barked out through the lines of command to the men of the Fourth Cavalry and Eleventh Infantry, to go forth and kill Comanches. It was the end of anything like tolerance, the beginning of the final solution. The white men were grunts, bluecoats, cavalry, and dragoons; mostly veterans of the War Between the States who now found themselves at the edge of the known universe, ascending to the turreted rock towers that gated the fabled Llano Estacado—Coronado’s term for it, meaning “palisaded plains” of West Texas , a country populated exclusively by the most hostile Indians on the continent, where few U.S. soldiers had ever gone before. The llano was a place of extreme desolation, a vast, trackless, and featureless ocean of grass where white men became lost and disoriented and died of thirst; a place where the imperial Spanish had once marched confidently forth to hunt Comanches, only to find that they themselves were the hunted, the ones to be slaughtered. In 1864, Kit Carson had led a large force of federal troops from Santa Fe and attacked a Comanche band at a trading post called Adobe Walls, north of modern-day Amarillo. He had survived it, but had come within a whisker of watching his three companies of cavalry and infantry destroyed.2 The troops were now going back, because enough was enough, because President Grant’s vaunted “Peace Policy” toward the remaining Indians, run by his gentle Quaker appointees, had failed utterly to bring peace, and finally because the exasperated general in chief of the army, William Tecumseh Sherman, had ordered it so. Sherman’s chosen agent of destruction was a civil war hero named Ranald Slidell Mackenzie, a difficult, moody, and implacable young man who had graduated first in his class from West Point in 1862 and had finished the Civil War, remarkably, as a brevet brigadier general. Because his hand was gruesomely disfigured from war wounds, the Indians called him No-Finger Chief, or Bad Hand. A complex destiny awaited him. Within four years he would prove himself the most brutally effective Indian fighter in American history. In roughly that same time period, while General George Armstrong Custer achieved world fame in failure and catastrophe, Mackenzie would become obscure in victory. But it was Mackenzie, not Custer, who would teach the rest of the army how to fight Indians. As he moved his men across the broken, stream-crossed country, past immense herds of buffalo and prairie-dog towns that stretched to the horizon, Colonel Mackenzie did not have a clear idea of what he was doing, where precisely he was going, or how to fight Plains Indians in their homelands. Neither did he have the faintest idea that he would be the one largely responsible for defeating the last of the hostile Indians. He was new to this sort of Indian fighting, and would make many mistakes in the coming weeks. He would learn from them. For now, Mackenzie was the instrument of retribution. He had been dispatched to kill Comanches in their Great Plains fastness because, six years after the end of the Civil War, the western frontier was an open and bleeding wound, a smoking ruin littered with corpses and charred chimneys, a place where anarchy and torture killings had replaced the rule of law, where Indians and especially Comanches raided at will. Victorious in war, unchallenged by foreign foes in North America for the first time in its history, the Union now found itself unable to deal with the handful of remaining Indian tribes that had not been destroyed, assimilated, or forced to retreat meekly onto reservations where they quickly learned the meaning of abject subjugation and starvation. The hostiles were all residents of the Great Plains; all were mounted, well armed, and driven now by a mixture of vengeance and political desperation. They were Comanches, Kiowas, Arapahoes, Cheyennes, and Western Sioux. For Mackenzie on the southern plains, Comanches were the obvious target: No tribe in the history of the Spanish, French, Mexican, Texan, and American occupations of this land had ever caused so much havoc and death. None was even a close second. Just how bad things were in 1871 along this razor edge of civilization could be seen in the numbers of settlers who had abandoned their lands. The frontier, carried westward with so much sweat and blood and toil, was now rolling backward, retreating. Colonel Randolph Marcy, who accompanied Sherman on a western tour in the spring, and who had known the country intimately for decades, had been shocked to find that in many places there were fewer people than eighteen years before. “If the Indian marauders are not punished,” he wrote, “the whole country seems in a fair way of becoming totally depopulated.”3 This phenomenon was not entirely unknown in the history of the New World. The Comanches had also stopped cold the northward advance of the Spanish empire in the eighteenth century—an empire that had, up to that point, easily subdued and killed millions of Indians in Mexico and moved at will through the continent. Now, after more than a century of relentless westward movement, they were rolling back civilization’s advance again, only on a much larger scale. Whole areas of the borderlands were simply emptying out, melting back eastward toward the safety of the forests. One county—Wise—had seen its population drop from 3,160 in the year 1860 to 1,450 in 1870. In some places the line of settlements had been driven back a hundred miles.4 If General Sherman wondered about the cause—as he once did—his tour with Marcy relieved him of his doubts. That spring they had narrowly missed being killed themselves by a party of raiding Indians. The Indians, mostly Kiowas, passed them over because of a shaman’s superstitions and had instead attacked a nearby wagon train. What happened was typical of the savage, revenge-driven attacks by Comanches and Kiowas in Texas in the postwar years. What was not typical was Sherman’s proximity and his own very personal and mortal sense that he might have been a victim, too. Because of that the raid became famous, known to history as the Salt Creek Massacre.5 Seven men were killed in the raid, though that does not begin to describe the horror of what Mackenzie found at the scene. According to Captain Robert G. Carter, Mackenzie’s subordinate, who witnessed its aftermath, the victims were stripped, scalped, and mutilated. Some had been beheaded and others had their brains scooped out. “Their fingers, toes and private parts had been cut off and stuck in their mouths,” wrote Carter, “and their bodies, now lying in several inches of water and swollen or bloated beyond all chance of recognition, were filled full of arrows, which made them resemble porcupines.” They had clearly been tortured, too. “Upon each exposed abdomen had been placed a mass of live coals. . . . One wretched man, Samuel Elliott, who, fighting hard to the last, had evidently been wounded, was found chained between two wagon wheels and, a fire having been made from the wagon pole, he had been slowly roasted to death—‘burnt to a crisp.’ ”6 Thus the settlers’ headlong flight eastward, especially on the Texas frontier, where such raiding was at its worst. After so many long and successful wars of conquest and dominion, it seemed implausible that the westward rush of Anglo-European civilization would stall in the prairies of central Texas. No tribe had ever managed to resist for very long the surge of nascent American civilization with its harquebuses and blunderbusses and muskets and eventually lethal repeating weapons and its endless stocks of eager, land-greedy settlers, its elegant moral double standards and its complete disregard for native interests. Beginning with the subjection of the Atlantic coastal tribes (Pequots, Penobscots, Pamunkeys, Wampanoags, et al), hundreds of tribes and bands had either perished from the earth, been driven west into territories, or forcibly assimilated. This included the Iroquois and their enormous, warlike confederation that ruled the area of present-day New York; the once powerful Delawares, driven west into the lands of their enemies; the Iroquois, then yet farther west into even more murderous foes on the plains. The Shawnees of the Ohio Country had fought a desperate rearguard action starting in the 1750s. The great nations of the south—Chicasaw, Cherokee, Seminole, Creek, and Choctaw—saw their reservation lands expropriated in spite of a string of treaties; they were coerced westward into lands given them in yet more treaties that were violated before they were even signed; hounded along a trail of tears until they, too, landed in “Indian Territory” (present-day Oklahoma), a land controlled by Comanches, Kiowas, Araphoes, and Cheyennes. Even stranger was that the Comanches’ stunning success was happening amid phenomenal technological and social changes in the west. In 1869 the Transcontinental Railroad was completed, linking the industrializing east with the developing west and rendering the old trails—Oregon, Santa Fe, and tributaries—instantly obsolete. With the rails came cattle, herded northward in epic drives to railheads by Texans who could make fast fortunes getting them to Chicago markets. With the rails, too, came buffalo hunters carrying deadly accurate .50-caliber Sharps rifles that could kill effectively at extreme range—grim, violent, opportunistic men blessed now by both a market in the east for buffalo leather and the means of getting it there. In 1871 the buffalo still roamed the plains: Earlier that year a herd of four million had been spotted near the Arkansas River in present-day southern Kansas. The main body was fifty miles deep and twenty-five miles wide.7 But the slaughter had already begun. It would soon become the greatest mass destruction of warm-blooded animals in human history. In Kansas alone the bones of thirty-one million buffalo were sold for fertilizer between 1868 and 1881.8 All of these profound changes were under way as Mackenzie’s Raiders departed their camps on the Clear Fork. The nation was booming; a railroad had finally stitched it together. There was only this one obstacle left: the warlike and unreconstructed Indian tribes who inhabited the physical wastes of the Great Plains. Of those, the most remote, primitive, and irredeemably hostile were a band of Comanches known as the Quahadis. Like all Plains Indians, they were nomadic. They hunted primarily the southernmost part of the high plains, a place known to the Spanish, who had been abjectly driven from it, as Comancheria. The Llano Estacado, located within Comancheria, was a dead-flat tableland larger than New England and rising, in its highest elevations, to more than five thousand feet. For Europeans, the land was like a bad hallucination. “Although I traveled over them for more than 300 leagues,” wrote Coronado in a letter to the king of Spain on October 20, 1541, “[there were] no more landmarks than if we had been swallowed up by the sea . . . there was not a stone, nor a bit of rising ground, nor a tree, nor a shrub, nor anything to go by.”9 The Canadian River formed its northern boundary. In the east was the precipitous Caprock Escarpment, a cliff rising somewhere between two hundred and one thousand feet that demarcates the high plains from the lower Permian Plains below, giving the Quahadis something that approximated a gigantic, nearly impregnable fortress. Unlike almost all of the other tribal bands on the plains, the Quahadis had always shunned contact with Anglos. They would not even trade with them, as a general principle, preferring the Mexican traders from Santa Fe, known as Comancheros . So aloof were they that in the numerous Indian ethnographies compiled from 1758 onward chronicling the various Comanche bands (there were as many as thirteen), they do not even show up until 1872.10 For this reason they had largely avoided the cholera plagues of 1816 and 1849 that had ravaged western tribes and had destroyed fully half of all Comanches. Virtually alone among all bands of all tribes in North America, they never signed a treaty. Quahadis were the hardest, fiercest, least yielding component of a tribe that had long had the reputation as the most violent and warlike on the continent; if they ran low on water, they were known to drink the contents of a dead horse’s stomach, something even the toughest Texas Ranger would not do. Even other Comanches feared them. They were the richest of all plains bands in the currency by which Indians measured wealth—horses—and in the years after the Civil War managed a herd of some fifteen thousand. They also owned “Texas cattle without number.”11 On that clear autumn day in 1871, Mackenzie’s troops were hunting Quahadis. Because they were nomadic, it was not possible to fix their location. One could know only their general ranges, their hunting grounds, perhaps old camp locations. They were known to hunt the Llano Estacado; they liked to camp in the depths of Palo Duro Canyon, the second-largest canyon in North America after the Grand Canyon; they often stayed near the head waters of the Pease River and McClellan’s Creek; and in Blanco Canyon, all within a roughly hundred-mile ambit of present-day Amarillo in the upper Texas Panhandle. If you were pursuing them, as Mackenzie was, you had your Tonkawa scouts fan out far in advance of the column. The Tonks, as they were called, members of an occasionally cannibalistic Indian tribe that had nearly been exterminated by Comanches and whose remaining members lusted for vengeance, would look for signs, try to cut trails, then follow the trails to the lodges. Without them the army would never have had the shadow of a chance against these or any Indians on the open plains. By the afternoon of the second day, the Tonks had found a trail. They reported to Mackenzie that they were tracking a Quahadi band under the leadership of a brilliant young war chief named Quanah—a Comanche word that meant “odor” or “fragrance.” The idea was to find and destroy Quanah’s village. Mackenzie had a certain advantage in that no white man had ever dared try such a thing before; not in the panhandle plains, not against the Quahadis. Mackenzie and his men did not know much about Quanah. No one did. Though there is an intimacy of information on the frontier—opposing sides often had a surprisingly detailed understanding of one another, in spite of the enormous physical distances between them and the fact that they were trying to kill one another—Quanah was simply too young for anyone to know much about him yet, where he had been, or what he had done. Though no one would be able to even estimate the date of his birth until many years later, it was mostly likely in 1848, making him twenty-three that year and eight years younger than Mackenzie, who was also so young that few people in Texas, Indian or white, knew much about him at the time. Both men achieved their fame only in the final, brutal Indian wars of the mid-1870s. Quanah was exceptionally young to be a chief. He was reputed to be ruthless, clever, and fearless in battle. But there was something else about Quanah, too. He was a half-breed, the son of a Comanche chief and a white woman. People on the Texas frontier would soon learn this about him, partly because the fact was so exceptional. Comanche warriors had for centuries taken female captives—Indian, French, English, Spanish, Mexican, and American—and fathered children by them who were raised as Comanches. But there is no record of any prominent half-white Comanche war chief. By the time Mackenzie was hunting him in 1871, Quanah’s mother had long been famous. She was the best known of all Indian captives of the era, discussed in drawing rooms in New York and London as “the white squaw” because she had refused on repeated occasions to return to her people, thus challenging one of the most fundamental of the Eurocentric assumptions about Indian ways: that given the choice between the sophisticated, industrialized, Christian culture of Europe and the savage, bloody, and morally backward ways of the Indians, no sane person would ever choose the latter. Few, other than Quanah’s mother, did. Her name was Cynthia Ann Parker. She was the daughter of one of early Texas’s most prominent families, one that included Texas Ranger captains, politicians, and prominent Baptists who founded the state’s first Protestant church. In 1836, at the age of nine, she had been kidnapped in a Comanche raid at Parker’s Fort, ninety miles south of present Dallas. She soon forgot her mother tongue, learned Indian ways, and became a full member of the tribe. She married Peta Nocona, a prominent war chief, and had three children by him, of whom Quanah was the eldest. In 1860, when Quanah was twelve, Cynthia Ann was recaptured during an attack by Texas Rangers on her village, during which everyone but her and her infant daughter, Prairie Flower, were killed. Mackenzie and his soldiers most likely knew the story of Cynthia Ann Parker—most everyone on the frontier did—but they had no idea that her blood ran in Quanah’s veins. They would not learn this until 1875. For now they knew only that he was the target of the largest anti-Indian expedition mounted since 1865, one of the largest ever undertaken. Mackenzie’s Fourth Cavalry, which he would soon build into a grimly efficient mobile assault force, for the moment consisted largely of timeservers who were unprepared to encounter the likes of Quanah and his hardened plains warriors. The soldiers were operating well beyond the ranges of civilization, beyond anything like a trail they could follow or any landmarks they could possibly have recognized. They were dismayed to learn that their principal water sources were buffalo wallow holes that, according to Carter, were “stagnant, warm, nauseating, odorous with smells, and covered with green slime that had to be pushed aside.”12 Their inexperience was evident during their first night on the trail. Sometime around midnight, above the din of a West Texas windstorm, the men heard “a tremendous tramping and an unmistakable snorting and bellowing.”13 That sound, as they soon discovered, was made by stampeding buffalo. The soldiers had made the horrendous mistake of making camp between a large herd of buffalo and its water source. Panicked, the men emerged from their tents in darkness, screaming and waving blankets and trying desperately to turn the stampeding animals. They succeeded, but by the smallest of margins. “The immense herds of brown monsters were caromed off and they stampeded to our left at breakneck speed,” wrote Carter, “rushing and jostling but flushing only the edge of one of our horse herds. . . . one could hardly repress a shudder of what might have been the result of this nocturnal visit, for although the horses were strongly ‘lariated out,’ ‘staked,’ or ‘picketed,’ nothing could have saved them from the terror which this headlong charge would have inevitably created, had we not heard them just in time to turn the leading herds.”14 Miraculously spared the consequences of their own ignorance, the bluecoats rounded up the stray horses, broke camp at dawn, and spent the day riding westward over a rolling mesquite prairie pocked with prairie-dog towns. The latter were common in the Texas Panhandle and extremely dangerous to horses and mules. Think of enormous anthills populated by oversized rodents, stretching for miles. The troopers passed more herds of buffalo, vast and odorous, and rivers whose gypsum-infused water was impossible to drink. They passed curious-looking trading stations, abandoned now, consisting of caves built into the sides of cliffs and reinforced with poles that looked like prison bars. On the second day they ran into more trouble. Mackenzie ordered a night march, hoping to surprise the enemy in its camps. His men struggled through steep terrain, dense brush, ravines, and arroyos. After hours of what Carter described as “trials and tribulations and much hard talk verging on profanity” and “many rather comical scenes,” they fetched up bruised and battered in the dead end of a small canyon and had to wait until daybreak to find their way out. A few hours later they reached the Freshwater Fork of the Brazos, deep in Indian territory, in a broad, shallow thirty-mile-long valley that averaged fifteen hundred feet in width and was cut by smaller side canyons. The place was known as Blanco Canyon and was located just to the east of present-day Lubbock, one of the Quahadis’ favorite campgrounds. Whatever surprise Mackenzie had hoped for was gone. On the third day the Tonkawa scouts realized they were being shadowed by a group of four Comanche warriors, who had been watching their every move, presumably including what must have seemed to them the comical blunders of the night march. The Tonks gave chase, but “the hostiles being better mounted soon distanced their pursuers and vanished into the hills.” This was not surprising: In two hundred years of enmity, the Tonkawas had never been close to matching the horsemanship of the Comanches. They always lost. The result was that, while the cavalrymen and dragoons had no idea where the Comanches were camped, Quanah knew precisely what Mackenzie was doing and where he was. The next night Mackenzie compounded the error by allowing the men the indulgence of campfires, tantamount to painting a large arrow in the canyon pointing to their camp. Some of the companies blundered yet again by failing to place “sleeping parties” among the horses. At around midnight, the regiment was awakened by a succession of unearthly, high-pitched yells. Those were followed by shots, and more yells, and suddenly the camp was alive with Comanches riding at full gallop. Exactly what the Indians were doing was soon apparent: Mingled with the screams and gunshots and general mayhem of the camp was another sound, only barely audible at first, then rising quickly to something like rolling thunder. The men quickly realized, to their horror, that it was the sound of stampeding horses. Their horses. Amid shouts of “Every man to his lariat!” six hundred panicked horses tore loose through the camp, rearing, jumping, and plunging at full speed. Lariats snapped with the sound of pistol shots; iron picket pins that a few minutes before had been used to secure the horses now whirled and snapped about their necks like airborne sabres. Men tried to grab them and were thrown to the ground and dragged among the horses, their hands lacerated and bleeding. When it was all over, the soldiers discovered that Quanah and his warriors had made off with seventy of their best horses and mules, including Colonel Mackenzie’s magnificent gray pacer. In west Texas in 1871, stealing someone’s horse was often equivalent to a death sentence. It was an old Indian tactic, especially on the high plains, to simply steal white men’s horses and leave them to die of thirst or starvation. Comanches had used it to lethal effect against the Spanish in the early eighteenth century. In any case, an unmounted army regular stood little chance against a mounted Comanche. This midnight raid was Quanah’s calling card, a clear message that hunting him and his Comanche warriors in their homeland was going to be a difficult and treacherous business. Thus began what would become known to history as the Battle of Blanco Canyon, which was in turn the opening salvo in a bloody Indian war in the highlands of west Texas that would last four years and culminate in the final destruction of the Comanche nation. Blanco Canyon would also provide the U.S. Army with its first look at Quanah. Captain Carter, who would win the Congressional Medal of Honor for his bravery in Blanco Canyon, offered this description of the young war chief in battle on the day after the midnight stampede: A large and powerfully built chief led the bunch, on a coal black racing pony. Leaning forward upon his mane, his heels nervously working in the animal’s side, with six-shooter poised in the air, he seemed the incarnation of savage, brutal joy. His face was smeared with black warpaint, which gave his features a satanic look. . . . A full-length headdress or war bonnet of eagle’s feathers, spreading out as he rode, and descending from his forehead, over head and back, to his pony’s tail, almost swept the ground. Large brass hoops were in his ears; he was naked to the waist, wearing simply leggings, moccasins and a breechclout. A necklace of beare’s claws hung about his neck. . . . Bells jingled as he rode at headlong speed, followed by the leading warriors, all eager to outstrip him in the race. It was Quanah, principal warchief of the Qua-ha-das.15 Moments later, Quanah wheeled his horse in the direction of an unfortunate private named Seander Gregg and, as Carter and his men watched, blew Gregg’s brains out. © 2010 S. C. Gwynne Read more

The Lee Bros. Simple Fresh Southern: Knockout Dishes with Down-Home Flavor

Amazon.com Review Product Description From two South Carolina-bred brothers comes the ground-breaking cookbook for new Southern cooking: The Lee Bros. Simple, Fresh, Southern. Matt and Ted Lee were raised on long-simmered greens, slow-smoked meats, and deep-fried everything. But after years of traveling as journalists and with farm fresh foods more available than ever, Matt and Ted have combined the old with the new, infusing family recipes with bright flavors. Using crisp produce, lighter cooking methods, and surprising combinations, these are recipes to make any night of the week. From The Lee Bros. Simple Fresh Southern : Ginger Lemonade If we were musicians, we’d write a torch song about ginger and lemon, a match made in heaven. And though we’ve been drinking fresh lemonade as long as we can remember (Coca-Cola was taboo at 83 East Bay Street), we never thought to make a cold fresh-ginger lemonade until recently. Now we’re making up for lost time. This drink is easy to make, super-refreshing, and happens to be a kick-ass mixer with bourbon and tequila, so those of you who are of age should mix up the Lemon Gingerita variation that follows. --Matt Lee and Ted Lee Ingredients 2 ounces fresh ginger, peeled, cut into thin disks (1/3 cup) 2 ounces fresh ginger, peeled, cut into thin disks (1/3 cup) 1/4 cup honey, or more to taste 1/4 cup honey, or more to taste 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt 3/4 cup fresh lemon juice (from about 4 large lemons) 3/4 cup fresh lemon juice (from about 4 large lemons) (Serves 8) Directions 1. Put the ginger in a medium heatproof bowl. Bring 2 cups cold water to a boil, then pour it into the bowl and stir to agitate the ginger. Slowly pour in the honey, stirring until it’s dissolved in the concentrate. Add the salt, cover, and let steep for 10 minutes. 2. Strain the concentrate into a large pitcher (it will keep for 5 days, covered, in the refrigerator), reserving the ginger slices. Add 3 cups cold water and the lemon juice to the pitcher, and sweeten to taste with honey. Set the pitcher in the refrigerator to cool further; store the ginger slices in the refrigerator as well. (The lemonade and ginger slices will keep in the refrigerator for 5 days.) 3. Fill each highball or pint glass two-thirds of the way to the rim with ice, and pour the ginger lemonade over it. Garnish with a slice of the steeped ginger. Time: 10 minutes steeping, 5 minutes preparation Lemon Gingerita With a fine Microplane grater, zest one of the lemons you’ll squeeze to make the Ginger Lemonade onto a plate; from another lemon, cut as many thumbnail-size pieces of lemon peel as the number of margaritas you plan to make. Prepare the ginger lemonade, and when it’s ready to serve, for each margarita, take a piece of the lemon peel and rub it around the rim of the glass. Dip the rim in the grated lemon zest (it’s okay if the lemon-zest rim is patchy; lemon zest is intense), fill the glass with ice, and top with 3 ounces Ginger Lemonade and 1 ounce silver tequila. Stir, and garnish with a slice of lemon peel and a slice of the steeped ginger. From Publishers Weekly The Lee brothers' second cookbook builds on the success of The Lee Bros. Southern Cookbook by applying the principles of the current fashion for simplicity and speed in the kitchen to the revered down-home flavors of the South, which normally require far more extended cooking times and special ingredients. Readers who are nostalgic for the food of the South or have acquired a taste for it, but lack the time to recreate old-fashioned dishes, will be eager to try the brothers' new takes on old classics like chicken and dumplings, shrimp cocktail and ambrosia, which cut down on some of the usual preparation time without sacrificing flavor. They manage this partly through their judicious use of less traditional ingredients, such as curry powder in potato salad or chorizo in collard greens and partly through their emphasis on using top-notch fresh, in-season ingredients. Though the brothers got their start with a catalogue selling Southern pantry staples that are unusual elsewhere, these recipes rarely call for items that are not available in any well-stocked supermarket. The recipes are easy to follow and engagingly written, dotted with amusing anecdotes and historical asides that make the book a breezy read. Detailed shopping, preparation and garnishing notes throughout help ensure cooks' success following the Lee brothers in bringing Southern cooking into the 21st century. (Nov.) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From Booklist The Lee Brothers have become leading exponents of contemporary southern cooking. Their new cookbook shows what great tastes can come from tweaking classic dishes from America’s south. Instead of the usual brown-sugar glaze for sweet potatoes, the Lees add a whisper of cinnamon and a big dose of lemon juice for a citrus tang. They turn to Mexico for a bit of inspiration and roast potatoes with poblano peppers, keeping the dish southern with some strips of country ham. Ambitious cooks will want to make their simple recipe for fresh buttermilk cheese, a close cousin of ricotta, which they enhance with an assortment of herbs and spices to yield all sorts of variations. Desserts have always been an essential component of southern dining. The Lees produce a special treat from everyday rice pudding by perfuming it with Indian spices and freezing it in popsicle molds. --Mark Knoblauch Review The Lee Bros. are truly the best at interpreting the last remaining great regional American cuisine—that of our southern states—for the rest of us.  The magnificent collection of simple deliciousness makes me want to jump in the kitchen and get jiggy with a cold watermelon margarita.”Mario Batali “With Simple Fresh Southern , the Lee Bros. give us a southern cuisine fit for the twenty-first century. Matt and Ted offer the home cook recipes that are lighter, more flavorful, and simpler to execute, while still holding tight to their southern soul.”Tom Colicchio “These two boys are not only great cooks, I consider them the modern-day Lewis and Clark of southern cuisine.”Paula Deen  “The charming Lee Bros. cook delicious, real food that’s alive with flavor. How wonderful to be invited into their Southern kitchen!”   Alice Waters“To hell with hidebound and hardshell definitions of southern cookery. These recipes—collard greens with chorizo, clams with sweet potatoes—are honest, smart, and yes, modern.”John T. Edge  “ The Lee Bros. Simple Fresh Southern has me eying stalwarts of the southern kitchen like field peas and sweet potatoes with renewed enthusiasm. The brothers’ combine their ingenuity and quirky charm with clever techniques and a modern aesthetic to create an inspiring fresh take on southern cuisine.”Martha Hall Foose “Can the words fresh and southern be in the same sentence when talking about food? You bet. This Lee Bros. book is good enough to eat.”Amy Sedaris  “The southern savants of cooking, Matt and Ted Lee, have updated and simplified all of my favoirite recipes. Their peach tea juleps have found a permanent place on my cocktail party menu.”Katie Lee Joel About the Author Matt Lee and Ted Lee , founders of The Lee Bros. Boiled Peanuts Catalogue, a mail-order source for Southern pantry staples, grew up in Charleston, South Carolina. They are the authors of The Lee Bros. Southern Cookbook, which won the James Beard Award for Cookbook of the Year in 2007, and The Lee Bros. Simple Fresh Southern, which won the IACP award for Best American Cookbook in 2011. They are contributing editors for Travel + Leisure and contributors on Cooking Channel’s Unique Eats. Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. Lemon-Glazed Sweet Potatoes Preparation time: 5 minutesCooking time: 50 minutes- 2 pounds sweet potatoes (about 3 medium potatoes) - 1 tablespoon unsalted butter - 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar - 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice (from about 3 lemons) - 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon - 1/8 teaspoon kosher saltHeat the oven to 325°F.Peel the sweet potatoes and cut them into 1-inch-thick slices. Grease a 9-x-13-inch baking dish with the butter. Arrange the sweet potato disks in a single layer in the pan. Mix the brown sugar, lemon juice, cinnamon, and salt in a small bowl, and pour the glaze mixture evenly over the potatoes.Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil, and bake until the potatoes are fork-tender, about 45 minutes. Remove the foil and cook for about 5 more minutes, until the glaze has thickened and become syrupy. Serve immediately. (The glazed sweet potatoes can be cooked in advance, stored in the refrigerator, and reheated in a warm oven.) Read more

Galvanized: The Odyssey of a Reluctant Carolina Confederate

Review " Galvanized is a thought-provoking work well suited to the contemplative general reader."—Kathryn A. McKee, North Carolina Historical Review “‘The Civil War is just as complicated now as the day it started.’ . . . Brantley deftly combines military and social history, a gripping narrative of one private soldier, and his personal struggle to make sense of a savage, fratricidal war and the morally fraught heritage that continues to haunt the South.”—Philip Gerard, author of The Last Battleground and Cape Fear Rising Published On: 2019-09-19“In this meticulously researched account, Michael Brantley weaves the fascinating history of his great-great-grandfather with his own present-day search to understand the complex and tangled issues of culture, place, and identity that divided our country during the Civil War and continue to divide us now.”—Rebecca McClanahan, author of The Tribal Knot: A Memoir of Family, Community, and a Century of Change Published On: 2019-09-19“Michael Brantley’s Galvanized is a conscientious and sweeping hybrid narrative gathering together fragments of the author’s personal history—that of his great-great-grandfather’s life in nineteenth-century North Carolina—alongside elaborately researched accounts of the Civil War. When Brantley offers, ‘These were the stories that had become interesting to me, the stories about real people, regular people,’ he focuses our attention on the plural, people , and reminds us how interconnected our histories are and forever will be.”—Jon Pineda, author of Let’s No One Get Hurt Published On: 2019-09-19“As the author’s research reveals the journey of his great-great-grandfather across Nash County and battlefields of the Civil War, Michael K. Brantley discovers that exploring the past reveals the explored but changes the explorer. A worthy literary effort!”—Wade G. Dudley, author of Remembering North Carolina and Splintering the Wooden Wall Published On: 2019-09-19 About the Author Michael K. Brantley is the great-great-grandson of Wright Stephen Batchelor. He is an assistant professor of communications at Barton College in Wilson, North Carolina, and a former newspaper editor. He has published creative nonfiction, fiction, and poetry in numerous publications, including the First Day , Dunes Review , Broad River Review , WordRiver , and Broadkill Review . He is the author of Memory Cards: Portraits from a Rural Journey .

Basic Optical Engineering for Engineers and Scientists

Deep Run Roots: Stories and Recipes from My Corner of the South

Review One of the Best Cookbooks of 2016 --The New York Times , Bon Appetit, Amazon, Food & Wine, Saveur, People, USA Today, Garden & Gun, Eater, Cherry Bombe, Tasting Table, Nashville Scene, Epicurious, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Library Journal, Sun News, Star Chefs, Food Republic "This is an epic work of art .... It is stunning. It is so beautiful. And what I love best about this book is the storytelling. It's such a vivid work."― Rachael Ray "A comprehensive, thoughtful study of the food and culture of North Carolina's coastal plain."― The New York Times "[Vivian's] warm banana pudding is a dream come true."― Bon Appetit " The book reads like a memoir , with lengthy and lush descriptions of Howard's hometown thoughts...I was prepared to pick this book based on the story... alone.... Certifiably delicious. .. [and] Howard's voice is folksy and endearing, and I loved her stories about her family and the Piggly Wiggly-and I wanted very badly for her to be cooking instead of me.... Gorgeously photographed, with [an] encouraging, warm voice, and scores of enticing recipes ."― Emma Straub , Food52 " My favorite cookbook of the season --the one doomed to the most splatters--is Vivian Howard's Deep Run Roots ... Howard cooks with what can only be called wit... but also magnificent heart.... [It] will keep your soul fed for weeks ."― Jonathan Miles, Garden & Gun "[One of] our favorite new cookbooks... Vivian Howard overdelivers on the comfort food of her Southern home with drippy, crunchy, tangy dishes for every season."― Food and Wine "Chef and television star Vivian Howard can now add cookbook author to her impressive resume. Deep Run Roots focuses on her brand of Southern food and country cooking, both from her home and from her acclaimed Kinston, NC restaurant, Chef and the Farmer. These are compelling recipes, like fried yams paired with five-spice maple bacon and fried okra updated with a tempura batter. There are over 200 recipes and, remarkably, each has a photo ."― Hillary Dixler , Eater " The first lady of Carolina cooking .... Howard has been restoring Kinston's soul."― Saveur "You won't find a fried chicken recipe anywhere in [ Deep Run Roots' ] 570 pages...Vivian has the opportunity to redefine the cuisine of her region." ― Vice Munchies "Sandwiched amid the fine culinary writing are many delicious recipes... Howard is happily unafraid to offer her readers shortcuts, such as already-shelled raw peanuts or Uncle Ben's rice.... For 10 years, [Vivian's] honesty and authenticity have been on display at her restaurants and on TV. Her new book shows them off, too."― The Washington Post "In this outstanding debut... fans of Southern cooking will find plenty of catfish, corn cakes, cast-iron skillet dishes, and cooking-with-Grandma stories--but it's not all biscuits and gravy ... Going beyond the glories of grits, Howard's text is storytelling at its best , rich in mouthwatering detail and reminiscences... This tribute to her family roots is destined to become an enduring classic ."― Publishers Weekly (starred review) "It's rare that reminiscences and recipes mix holistically in one book. Remember, though, that . . . Howard hails from North Carolina, where a penchant for storytelling is in everyone's DNA. . . . A must-read compendium of wisdom ."― Booklist (starred review) "An intriguing story of reconnecting with family and rediscovering ingredients such as turnips, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, peaches, and collards. Home cooks of all skill levels will devour Howard's recipes...whose appeal goes far beyond that of typical Southern fare. A standout collection of regional Southern foods, both simple and restaurant-worthy."― Library Journal "The Southern chef and A Chef's Life star gives you a reason to love eastern North Carolina . More than 200 reasons, in fact, including fried yams with five-spice maple bacon candy and cucumber crab dip. Each recipe shows just how tuned in Howard is to Southern cuisine traditions, and her stories will leave you homesick--wherever you're from ."― Tasting Table "A love letter to [Vivian Howard's] culinary backyard."― Forbes "Vivian Howard can write as well as she cooks... [with] endearing, revealing honesty... it's the writing in the book that should be the real star of the show-a book entirely written by a working chef, mother, and TV star all without the help of a ghost writer."― Charleston City Paper "With a straight-forward, personal tone, it's hard not to come away charmed as well as enlightened."― The Charlotte News & Observer "Howard likes to keep the focus on the farmers and the 'unsung heroes' of Southern food... [and] ties her food and her roots in North Carolina together.... Howard is looking toward new culinary horizons."― Lexington Herald-Leader "She's been doing something right.... Howard's ability to make us identify with the person behind the chef's apron makes her vision of exploring the South one ingredient at a time a vital one."― Nashville Scene "Lucky for us, [Vivian's] decided to share the experience of growing up in a Southern farm community via passed-down tales and crowd-pleasing recipes."― Modern Farmer "In Deep Run Roots ... [Howard] introduces readers to the foods of her world, explaining butter beans and calling cheesy grit fritters the Southern brother to arancini while giving insight into the difference between turnip eaters and collard eaters. It's regional and Southern, with a thoughtful approach elevated by ingredients and technique."― Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel "[ Deep Run Roots ] is no ordinary cookbook.... The reader who finishes these chapters about foods will also have read Vivian Howard's memoir."― Richmond County Daily Journal "There are more than 200 recipes and they appeal to anyone with an interest in cooking."― Savannah Morning News "Clocking in at 576 pages, with 200 recipes organized by ingredients that define the region around her hometown of Deep Run, NC, Deep Run Roots is a deliciously ambitious volume that doubles as biography and cookbook... Howard gives us a feel for who she is."― Wendell Brock , The Atlanta Journal-Constitution "A refreshing update of rural North Carolina's traditional foods."― Better Homes and Gardens "There are recipes for every meal and occasion--for beginners to more experienced cooks--and plenty of practical tips... it's truly a year-round resource."― Try Small Things "Readers will enjoy Howard's clever, warm writing as much as her recipes."― The Advocate "Award-winning chef and PBS show host Vivian Howard's new cookbook is a deep dive into Southern food. Rather than publishing a few well-known recipes from this region and that, Howard focuses on the ingredients and techniques that have sustained her native North Carolina for generations. Get your hands on this hefty tome and prepare to see the Tar Heel State as never before."― Food Republic "Vivian Howard offers a tome for cooking in the New South-a place where myriad cultures and a modern sensibility build on a rich culinary tradition.... This is big picture South."― Star Chefs "Howard's book is a big, gorgeous example of an approach to food that gets to the heart of the recent love-fest for southern cooking. Farm to table is the real deal here, and Howard organized Deep Run Roots the way she determined the menu for her restaurant, Chef and the Farmer-by ingredient-in order to focus on what is fresh and local throughout the year."― Omnivoracious About the Author Vivian Howard is the chef and owner of the acclaimed Chef and the Farmer restaurant in Kinston, North Carolina, fifteen miles from her home of Deep Run. She trained under Wylie Dufresne and Sam Mason at WD-50 and was a member of the opening team at Jean-Georges Vongerichten's Spice Market in New York. The first woman since Julia Child to win a Peabody Award for a cooking program, she co-created and stars in the PBS series A Chef's Life .

Humble Bumbles Baby Journal

About the Author Amy Meyer Allen has been drawing since she was old enough to hold a crayon. She has always been attracted to color and design. As a child she would line up her markers in the order of a rainbow: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple. She lives in Maryland with her husband, Tim, and is the author and illustrator of What is It? and Are There Ants In Your Pants?", as well as the creator of the Humble Bumbles line of products.

Vampire Royalty: Raven's Blood

About the Author BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH Valerie Hoffman is a psychotherapist who resides in Ormond Beach Florida. She was born in Brooklyn, New York and grew up in Syracuse. Dr. Hoffman moved to Florida in 1983. Despite going blind at the age of nineteen due to retinal detachments, Dr. Hoffman pursued her education and attained her doctorate in 1997. She currently has a thriving private practice with two offices in Ormond and Daytona Beach. In addition to her private practice, Dr. Hoffman also is the Vice President of the National Board of Forensic Evaluators and serves on the interviewing committee to credential eligible candidates for certification as a forensic psychological evaluator. This author has written several programs for professionals in her field to receive continuing education credits. She has recently published a journal article based on forensic psychology. She is currently the president of the board of directors at the Center for the Visually Impaired. She also serves on the board of the Friends of the Library Access for the talking book library. She enjoys writing, cooking, singing in her chorus and traveling in her spare time. She is currently at work on the fourth sequel in the Vampire Royalty series.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar

Amazon.com Review "In the light of the moon a little egg lay on a leaf." So begins Eric Carle's modern classic, The Very Hungry Caterpillar . More than 12 million copies of this book have been sold in its original, full-sized edition, and the beloved tale of science and gluttony has been translated into 20 languages. This five-by-four-inch miniature edition is truly tiny, with tiny type, but it is a nice size for small hands to hold and flip through the pictures. Despite its diminished state, the book is complete in every detail, following the ravenous caterpillar's path as he eats his way through one apple (and the pages of the book itself) on Monday, two pears on Tuesday, three plums on Wednesday, and so on, through cherry pie and sausage--until he is really fat and has a stomachache. And no doubt you know what happens next! Kids love butterfly metamorphosis stories, and this popular favorite teaches counting and the days of the week, too. A fun gift package for caterpillar fans. (Baby to preschool) --Karin Snelson Eric Carle and Tomie dePaola: Author One-on-One Eric Carle is the creator, author, and illustrator of The Very Hungry Caterpillar and many other children’s books. Tomie dePaola is the author and illustrator of Strega Nona: Her Story and countless other books. They recently had a conversation about their careers as picture book authors. Tomie dePaola: When I was only four years old, I announced to my family in particular and to the world in general that I was going to become an artist, and write stories and draw pictures for books. I never swayed from that early declaration. I’ve always been curious to know, what inspired you to become a creator and illustrator of picture books? Eric Carle: My career began as a graphic designer and for a number of years I worked as an art director for an advertising agency in New York. In the mid 1960's Bill Martin, Jr. saw an ad of a red lobster that I had designed and asked me to illustrate his Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? Well, I was set on fire! I was so inspired by this book, and the opportunity to illustrate it changed my life. After that, I started to create my own books, both words and pictures, and really it was then that I had found my true course in life.   Now, I have a question for you, Tomie. How would you describe your artistic style, and has it changed over time? Tomie dePaola: My illustration style is heavily influenced by folk art--strong simple shapes, bold lines, color, color, color and a deceptive simplicity. My style began to develop early in art school, and through the years, it hasn’t changed very much, but it has refined itself. How would you describe yours? Eric Carle: My aim with my work is to simplify and refine, be logical and harmonious. I like to use simple shapes, bright colors and a lot of white space. I write for the child inside of me. That is always where I begin. Tomie dePaola: I do, as well. The only audience I keep in mind is that four-year-old in me. People sometimes ask me what advice I would give to young artists. I always think of the wonderful advice I received from my twin cousins when they were in art school in the late '30s. They told me, “Practice, practice, practice and don’t copy.” Eric Carle: I often tell people about the four magic letters: DO IT. I want to be encouraging but I can only offer the example of my own experience, which is just one approach. There are many wonderful artists to learn about, which is important. But you must use your own imagination. You have to just do it. Tomie dePaola: How do you feel knowing that a copy of The Very Hungry Caterpillar is sold every 30 seconds, somewhere in the world? Eric Carle: It is hard for me, maybe for others too, to grasp this concept. But I am truly honored that my story is enjoyed by so many and that it is now being shared by a generation of parents who grew up with my book. How about your Strega Nona . She is one of your most popular characters. Can you share how she came to be? Tomie dePaola: In the ‘70s when I was teaching at a college, we were required to attend faculty meetings. I always sat in the back with a yellow legal pad. Everyone thought I was taking notes. At one meeting a doodle appeared of a little lady with a big nose and a big chin. I named her Strega Nona, and the rest is history. Speaking of history, how will you be celebrating the third annual Very Hungry Caterpillar Day this year? Eric Carle: On The Very Hungry Caterpillar Day, March 20th, I will probably be at home with my wife, Bobbie (I am a bit of a hermit, actually). But I will be saying a little toast to the caterpillar for whom I have a special place in my heart. And speaking of holidays, isn’t your favorite holiday Christmas. Do you have a special Christmas memory? Tomie dePaola: Christmas is my favorite holiday. My favorite Christmas was the one when I received tons and tons of art supplies: everything from an easel to paints, pads and pads of paper, and “how to draw” books. A Look Inside The Very Hungry Caterpillar (Board Book) (Click on Images to Enlarge) About the Author Eric Carle is acclaimed and beloved as the creator of brilliantly illustrated and innovatively designed picture books for very young children. His best-known work, The Very Hungry Caterpillar , has been translated into 70 languages and sold over 55 million copies. Carle illustrated more than seventy books, many best sellers, most of which he also wrote, and more than 170 million copies of his books have sold around the world. In 2003, Carle received the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award (now called the Children’s Literature Legacy Award) for lifetime achievement in children's literature. In 2002, Eric and his wife, Barbara, cofounded The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art (www.carlemuseum.org) in Amherst, Massachusetts, a 40,000-square-foot space dedicated to the celebration of picture books and picture book illustrations from around the world, underscoring the cultural, historical, and artistic significance of picture books and their art form. Eric Carle passed away in May 2021 at the age of 91. His work remains an important influence on artists and illustrators at work today. www.eric-carle.com