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Robert Macomber's Honor series of naval fiction follows the life and career of Peter Wake in the U.S. Navy during the tumultuous years from 1863 to 1901. At the Edge of Honor is the first in the series and winner of the Patrick D. Smith Literary Award as Best Historical Novel of Florida. The year is 1863. The Civil War is leaving its bloody trail across the nation as Peter Wake, born and bred in the snowy North, joins the U.S. Navy as a volunteer officer and arrives in steamy Florida for duty with the East Gulf Blockading Squadron. The idealistic Peter Wake has handled boats before, but he's new to the politics and illicit liaisons that war creates among men. Assigned to the Rosalie, a tiny, armed sloop, Captain Wake commands a group of seasoned seamen on a series of voyages to seek and arrest Confederate blockade-runners and sympathizers, from Florida's coastal waters through to near the remote out-islands of the Bahamas.Wake risks his reputation when he falls in love with Linda Donahue, whose father is a Confederate zealot, and steals away to spend precious hours with her at her Key West home. Their love is tested as Wake learns he must make the ugly decisions of war even in a beautiful, tropical paradise¿decisions that take him up to the edge of honor.
The night turned prematurely dark as the storm seemed to suck the light out of the day. Captain Nicholas Fallon and his crew aboard the British privateer Rascal stood to the monstrous seas hour after hour, their minds numb and their bodies bloodied from the fight.Suddenly, a light.Only the remarkable seamanship of Rascal's indomitable first mate Beatrice McFarland can save a simple cod fisherman who brings aboard a fantastic tale of gold ransom, kidnapping, and the unimaginable cruelty of the Barbary pirates.Thus begins a superbly written tale of heroism and greed, duplicity and cunning that will thrust Fallon and Beauty into the dangerous currents of American politics and British appeasement of a wicked ruler half a world away. Barbarians on an Ancient Sea is awash in spectacular battle scenes so vivid and concussive that the smell of spent gunpowder hangs about the reader. Bahamian pirates work in tandem to attack salt ships convoyed by Rascal; a French frigate appears within a snow squall like a deadly apparition; a dead American lieutenant is found adrift in a ship's boat, condemned to death by a ruthless pirate who must be lured from his lair and made to pay; and, finally, the armed galleys of the dey of Algiers attack Rascal on the high seas, searching for something more precious than the gold ransom she carries. Fallon's cunning escape from an Algerian prison and the climactic battle against a vengeful Algerian admiral at the height of a sirocco rank with the best of historical naval fiction.All Fallon's courage and strategic brilliance are called into play in this exciting tale-a worthy follow-up to The Bermuda Privateer and The Black Ring. Author William Westbrook has a modern storyteller's voice and a sure knowledge of the sea and the men and women who brave it.
In 1869, more than twenty years after Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony made their declaration of the rights of woman at Seneca Falls, New York, the men of the Wyoming Territorial Legislature granted women over the age of 21 the right to vote in general elections. And on September 6, 1870, a grandmother named Eliza Swain stepped up to a ballet box in Laramie, Wyoming, and became the first woman in the United States to exercise that right, ushering in the era of Western states¿ early foray into suffrage equality. Wyoming Territory¿s motives for extending the vote to women might have had more to do with publicity and attracting female settlers than with any desire to establish a more egalitarian society. However, individual men¿s interests in the idea of women¿s rights had their roots in diverse ideologies, and the women who agitated for those rights were equally diverse in their attitudes.No Place for a Woman explores the history of the fight for women¿s rights in the West, examining the conditions that prevailed during the vast migration of pioneers looking for free land and opportunity on the frontier, the politics of the emerging Western territories at the end of the Civil War, and the changing social and economic conditions of the country recovering from war and on the brink of the Gilded Age. The stories of the women who helped settle the west and who ushered in voting rights decades ahead of the 19th Amendment and the stories of the country they were forging in the west will be of great interest to readers as the 100th anniversary of national woman suffrage approaches and is relevant in our current political climate. Revealed through the individual stories of women like Esther Hobart Morris, Martha Cannon, and Jeannette Rankin, this book fills a hole in the story of the West, revealing the real story of how the hard work and individual lobbying of a few heroines, plus a little bit of publicity-seeking and opportunism by promoters of the Wyoming Territory, ushered in a new era for the expansion of women¿s rights.
A legendary journalist presents his rock 'n' roll journey, featuring more than one hundred short interviews with popular musicians from 1967 to 1973.
An effective new songwriting vocabulary supported by ASCAP, BMI, and SESAC. A definitive manifesto for contemporary songwriters in every genre to organize, understand, and practice the rules, principles, definitions, forms, and song craft needed to create good songs, songs of undeniable creative power and beauty, songs that last
The Bad Old Days of Colorado celebrates the state''s glorious and rowdy past. Many people born and bred here relish just how "bad" things used to be: the terrain, the inhabitants and especially the quality of whiskey. It almost goes without saying that Colorado had all the characteristic Wild West elements-and in abundance! The chapters focus on the infamous and notorious rather than the law-abiding and civic-minded settlers. These pages, like the state, recount the tales of people who came West seeking, if not their fortune, at least opportunity. It is no secret that Colorado was settled by the adventurous willing to brave the harsh conditions and to prevail. Whether on the right or the wrong side of the law, all settlers and pioneers made unique contributions to the state''s complex culture. Certainly, in the nineteenth century, Colorado was not for the faint of heart.
Stagecoach Women offers a non-academic, but expansive survey of stagecoach history in the United States enriched by the personal stories of women who contributed to the evolution and success of a captivating facet of American history.
These entertaining stories from Old West history include cowboys, Indians, lawmen, lawbreakers, entertainers, prostitutes, priests, and politicians.
Through photos, interviews, how-tos, and recipes, this book offers a guide to creating your own Cowboy Christmas and a celebration of the style, traditions, food, and family celebrations unique to the lifestyles of American cowboys.
When Geronimo and his warriors surrendered to the US Army, General Miles made a number of promises for the surrender terms that were in fact false. Geromino: Prisoner of Lies provides insights into how Chiricahua prisoners of war lived while held in captivity by the United States Army in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries as seen through the eyes of their war leader Geronimo. The indignities and lies they suffered, and how they maintained their tribal culture in the face of great pressure to change or vanish entirely, are brought to life and provided new context through this book.
The vast space of the American West that has been designated as the state of Montana is such a diverse and varied landscape that it¿s been said it could easily be sliced up into several smaller states. And with its smorgasbord of industry, history, culture and the various worldviews held by its residents, getting a bead on Montanäs personality is a challenge. That may be because Montana, in fact, has several fairly distinct personalities. This book examines those personalities, through the lens of seven geographic and cultural regions commonly recognized in the state. While Montanans share a few attitudes and love of the land that attracts them to Big Sky country, it¿s the differences between the regions that truly give the state its unique flavor. Through interviews, photos, history and personal observations, Therriault profiles each region and in the process gives a more complete view of the state as a whole. Along the way the reader will learn why some people choose to live where they do, how they view the rest of the state, and what some of the factors are that give each region its singularity.
You've heard Doc Holliday's history, but do you know his story?Dead Man's Hand brings John Henry Holliday to Tombstone, Arizona, the richest silver boomtown in the country, where he's caught up in a secretive plot to stop a gang of cattle rustlers and stage robbers before they start a threatened war with Mexico. When suspicions rise and tempers ignite, the plot turns into a war between cowboys and lawmen, and he becomes a player in the most famous street fight in the Wild West. The aftermath brings retribution and a reckoning that sends John Henry and his friend Wyatt Earp fleeing for their lives, but a hoped-for sanctuary in Colorado is broken by legal battles that attract national newspaper coverage and hired guns hoping for a moment of fame against the infamous Doc Holliday. He can never return to the life he once knew, and as the mountain altitude and illness take their toll, he is forced to turn to the one person he thought he'd never see again. And with luck, he'll have one last chance to prove himself as the Southern gentleman he was raised to be.Dead Man's Hand is the final book in the award-winning Saga of Doc Holliday, an epic American tale of heroes and villains, dreams lost and found, families broken and reconciled, of sin and recompense and the redeeming power of love.
You've heard Doc Holliday's history, but do you know his story?Dance with the Devil is the story of a how a gentleman becomes an outlaw, how an outlaw becomes a lawman, and how a Southern son named John Henry becomes a legend called Doc Holliday. The year is 1873, and the West is wild. Jesse James and his gang are robbing trains, the Sioux Indians are on the warpath, and Dr. John Henry Holliday arrives in Texas as a young man with a troubled past hoping to regain his place as a Southern gentleman and win back the love of the girl he left behind. But his life in the West doesn't turn out the way he's planned, and soon he's in trouble with the law and facing a terrifying truth as desperation drives him toward the frontier and leads to deadly action. And as the story races from the gambling halls of Dallas to the saloons of Dodge City and the dangers of the Santa Fe Trail, John Henry finds a new love affair and a new hero to follow-and an old enemy eager for a reckoning. Dance with the Devil is the second book in the award-winning Saga of Doc Holliday, an epic American tale of heroes and villains, dreams lost and found, families broken and reconciled, of sin and recompense and the redeeming power of love.
You've heard Doc Holliday's history, but do you know his story?His name conjures images of the Wild West, of gunfights and gambling halls and a legendary friendship with Wyatt Earp, but before Doc Holliday was a Western legend, he was a Southern Son. The story begins in Civil War Georgia, as young John Henry Holliday welcomes home his heroic father and learns a terrible secret about his mother, with his only confidant his favorite cousin Mattie. As the Confederacy falls and tragedy strikes, John Henry's hero-worship turns to bitter anger and he joins with a gang of vigilantes to chase the Reconstruction Yankees out of their small Georgia town. When their murderous plot is discovered and brings threats of military prison, he vows to change his reckless ways, leaving home to attend dental school in Philadelphia and hoping to become a respected professional man worthy of asking for his cousin Mattie's hand. But when he returns from two years in the North he finds family intrigues, lies and revelations, rivals for Mattie's affections-and a violent encounter that changes everything and starts him on the road to Western legend. Southern Son is the first book in the award-winning Saga of Doc Holliday, an epic American tale of heroes and villains, dreams lost and found, families broken and reconciled, of sin and recompense and the redeeming power of love.
Arizona and New Mexico each had their share of working girls and madams like Sara Bowman and Dona Tules who remain notorious celebrities in the annals of history, but Collins also includes the stories of lesser-known women whose roles in this illicit trade help shape our understanding of the American West.
As more and more pioneers braved the harsh, unforgiving conditions of moving West, prostitution grew and flourished within the mining camps, small towns, and cities of the nineteenth-century Pacific Northwest. Whether escaping a bad home life, lured by false advertising, or seeking to subsidize their income, thousands of women chose or were forced to enter an industry where they faced segregation and persecution, fines and jailing, and battled the other hazards of their profession. Some dreamed of escape through marriage or retirement, and some became infamous and even successful, but more often found relief only in death. An integral part of western history, the stories of these women continue to fascinate readers and captivate the minds of historians today.Oregon, Alaska, and Washington State had their share of working girls and madams like Lou Graham and Klondike Kate who remain notorious celebrities in the annals of history, but Collins also includes the stories of lesser-known women whose roles in this illicit trade help shape our understanding of the American West.
"The dashing British privateer Nicholas Fallon is back again, helping himself to a fistful of mayhem in The Black Ring. The year is 1798. The African slave trade is in brutal flower, and the great powers are fighting for control of the Caribbean's immensely profitable sugar plantations. Nicholas, meanwhile, has been trying his damnedest to become a salt merchant under Ezra Somers, father of the beautiful Elinor. But when an urgent request arrives from Admiral Davies of the Leeward Island Station, Ezra and Elinor give Nicholas their blessing to head off in search of plunder and adventure. Sailing aboard the American-built topsail schooner Rascal, Nicholastakes on the job of slipping a secret agent into Cuba, but soon becomes entangled in numerous dangers--or opportunities, as he likes to call them. There's an escaped slave trying to burn every stalk of sugarcane in Cuba, a pirate running riot with a flotilla of "little wolves," an admiral's lady that needs a bit of rescuing, and a French plot that threatens Britain's very presence in the islands. Bill Westbrook's follow-up to The Bermuda Privateerwill delight any fan of exciting saltwater yarns"--
One of the most colorful parts of American History is the time of train robberies and the daring outlaws who undertook them in the period covering from just after the Civil War to 1924. For decades, the railroads were the principal transporters of payrolls, gold and silver, bonds, and passengers who often carried large sums of money as well as valuable jewelry. For the creative outlaw, trains became an obvious target for robbery. Willis Newton has never enjoyed the recognition and fame of the better known train robbing outlaws such as Frank and Jesse James, Butch Cassidy, the Daltons, and the Doolins, but he was the most prolific and successful train robber in the history of North America. Newton stole more money from the railroads than all of the others put together. During his lifetime, Newton robbed six trains and an estimated eighty banks, pulled off the greatest train robbery ever, netting $3,000,000, yet remains virtually unknown. So unknown was he that, despite all of his success as a robber, he was rarely identified as a suspect.Following his greatest heist, Newton and his gang member, composed of his brothers, were arrested, tried, convicted, and sent to serve long terms at Leavenworth Prison. When they were granted early release for good behavior, they lost no time in returning to robbing banks.Willis Newton's life and times as America's greatest, and last, train robber has been gleaned and developed from extensive interviews he granted during the 1970s when he was in his eighties. In addition, newspaper reports of his numerous train and bank robberies have been obtained and researched for precise details of robberies and pursuit.
Who was the biggest, baddest outlaw in the Old West? Billy the Kid or Jesse James? Which outlaw did the most to wreak havoc across the frontier? And which outlaw left behind the biggest legacy? Author Bill Markley takes on those questions and more in this thoughtful and entertaining examination of these legendary lives.
The Santa Fe Trail's role as the major western trade route in the early to mid-nineteenth century made it a critical part of America's Westward expansion and the stories of its heyday include some of the greatest adventures in the history of the Old West. Drawn from first-hand accounts of early entrepreneurs and emigrants who braved the Santa Fe Trail between 1820 and 1880, this history reveals the lure of the West and puts its importance to American history in context. On the Santa Fe Trail paints a portrait of the land before the wagon tracks were carved in its surface and recounts the hardships, dangers, and adventures faced by the hardy souls who went West to make their fortunes.
While settlers were drawn out West by the often empty promises of the Gold Rush, prostitution grew and flourished within the mining camps, small towns, and cities of the nineteenth-century Rocky Mountain region. Whether escaping a bad home life, lured by false advertising, or seeking to subsidize their income, thousands of women chose or were forced to enter an industry where they faced segregation and persecution, fines and jailing, and battled the other hazards of their profession. Some dreamed of escape through marriage or retirement, and some became infamous and even successful, but more often found relief only in death. An integral part of western history, the stories of these women continue to fascinate readers and captivate the minds of historians today.Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho all had their share of working girls and madams like Dell Burke and Annie "Peg Leg" McIntyre who remain notorious celebrities in the annals of history, but Collins also includes the stories of lesser-known women whose roles in this illicit trade help shape our understanding of the American West.
The Centennial State had its share of working girls and madams like Mattie Silks and Jennie Rogers who remain notorious celebrities in the annals of history, but Collins also includes the stories of lesser-known women whose roles in this illicit trade help shape our understanding of the American West.
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