Books published by Virtualbookworm.com Publishing

In September 1868, the murder of a prominent citizen shattered the tranquility and enraged the citizens of Delaware Water Gap, a village nestled in the Pocono Mountains of northeast Pennsylvania.After robbing a hotel owned by Thomas Brodhead, drifters William Brooks and Charles Orme attempted to flee the area but were apprehended by Thomas and his brother, Theodore. The encounter left Theodore dead and Thomas badly mauled. Brooks and Orme were taken into custody within hours.A five-day trial resulted in a first-degree murder conviction and the judge sentenced both young men to hang. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court denied their appeal. Desperate, they hatched an escape plan, which they bungled, and Orme found himself back in jail the next day. Brooks, however, avoided capture.The hanging of Charles Orme took place in August 1869. It was shamefully botched and Orme suffered badly. After his burial, a minister opened an envelope which Orme entrusted to him. The contents were surprisingly insightful and useful.Twenty-five years passed and memories of the first murder and execution began to fade. Then, Brooks resurfaced and a young sheriff had to decide what was best for the law and the locals.

A vivid picture of life in the era when America was born, Mountain is based on the true story of Joseph Mountain - a free black raised by notable white Philadelphians before the revolutionary war. His adopted father - a signer of the Declaration of Independence - gives Joseph a stipend just before war breaks out and sends him abroad for his education. In London, he meets two itinerant entertainers who are also highwaymen. With dreams of adventure, young Joseph joins his new friends as a gentleman of the pike and as a sailor to make his fortune, but one day, fate places him on a notorious slave ship where his life changes. The novel is an account of his adventures in an intolerant world, his efforts to redeem his errant life, and subsequent visits to the Maroons of Jamaica, a Voudoo priest in Haiti, and thence to New Orleans where he seeks new allies. With a new-found perspective, Joseph returns home to the new United States.

An Extraordinary Chicken is a story of extreme heroism and is a good example of how a single soul can make a difference in this world. A devastating fire sweeps through John Pennywig's farm. All of the chickens perish, with the exception of a lone survivor named Edie. Mr. Pennywig takes Edie to the Honeywell farm, as he has no place to keep her. The Honeywell chickens become vicious. They ridicule and attack Edie unmercifully, after which they attempt to peck her to death! An ordinary chicken named Cora stands up to the bullies. She saves Edie's life and befriends her, proving that one needn't be exceptional to be a heroine. You just have to be available.

This companion lexicon to the Ancient Hebrew Torah lists every Hebrew word found in the Torah in alphabetical order with an English translation provided. Accompanying this lexicon is a dictionary defining each Hebrew word along with its corresponding numbers to the Ancient Hebrew Lexicon of the Bible and Strong's Dictionary. Also included is a detailed description of the mechanics of the Hebrew language. With the Ancient Hebrew Torah and the Ancient Hebrew Torah Lexicon, one may dig into the depths and nuances of the Hebrew language of the Torah, providing a unique perspective of this ancient text.

In the fifty essays of this book, the author explores a wide range of topics to better understand the mysteries inherent in life and human experience. Why is life so mysterious? Why are we fascinated by evil? What is the nature of time, of love, of death? What is universally appealing about music, and why is writing so difficult? What are our fellow animal species really like, and why do we focus so much on ourselves and our identities? These are among the many topics addressed. Each essay begins with one or more seminal questions about the topic, and in concise but often eloquent prose the author leads the reader through an engaging thought process to answer them. At times moving and profound, the author opens himself - and, hopefully, the reader - to the wonders and puzzles of life on Earth. To leaven the load the author sprinkles throughout several less serious essays. In these the reader may learn about the virtues of eating spaghetti, the benefits of moving house frequently, the art of bureaucratic obstruction, or the best way to get ready in the morning. These topics, too, are essential to a full appreciation of life.

Noah lives in Moab and works as an advice columnist for a Salt Lake City newspaper. His responses to his readers are often humorous, sometimes insightful, sometimes cynical, sometimes irreverent, and sometimes insulting. Noah is also an outdoors enthusiast who enjoys hiking in the enchanting, albeit unforgiving, Utah wilderness. Eliciting memories from his time hiking the trails, enjoy the author's vibrant descriptions of the rugged landscape as he recounts Noah's adventures.The heart of the story, however, lies in Noah's relationship with two women in his life: Dorothy, a park ranger he met while hiking, and Ana, the true love of his life who he has only met online. Follow his conflicts as he tries to decide if it's better to hang on to a dream or to commit to someone who is right in front of him. As Noah struggles to find his footing, the reader will be drawn into contemplation regarding the essential nature of truth: will it set you free . . . or not?

The essential idea of this book is to assist us to be problem solvers and peacemakers in our relationships as Christians. When difficult situations and people disrupt the mission and culture of an organization, group or personal relationships we need to create guard rails to protect the integrity of the identity of who we are. All of us are capable of being difficult and human. The goal is to grow from who we are to who we want to be.

Mass weddings. Matching ceremonies where people meet their future spouses for the first time. Desperate flower-sellers approaching bar customers late at night. Isolated farms where young men and women are rapidly transformed into fanatical devotees of the Reverend Sun Myung Moon. All these are well-known aspects of life in the Unification Church, often called the "Moonies."In Heartbreak and Rage: Ten Years Under Sun Myung Moon, a Cult Survivor's Memoir, K. Gordon Neufeld recalls his participation in all of these events in a powerful and engrossing, yet sometimes wistful and tender, memoir. Even when he was rejected by the woman Moon chose for his bride, and by the church to which he was dedicated, he refused to give up. This is an unforgettable story of persistence, devotion, love and loss.Now, in this new second edition of his memoir, Neufeld brings the reader up to date, by recounting the wonderful life and love he has found following publication of the first edition. Though the first edition ends on a pensive, yet slightly sad note, the second edition is much more reassuring, showing that even the most difficult circumstances, once endured, can lead to a life of creative fire and redeeming love.

Death is part of life - everyone gets a turn, some sooner than others. And if you are a young child when you lose your parent, chances are that loss will echo throughout your life. Saving for Good: Adieu Maman is the story of how I rediscover my mother and find myself in the process. My story begins on two paths that eventually converge and lead to my birth. From a poor Polish village to a posh French seaside resort, my parents meet, marry and move to California. It is 1946 and life is good. In my three year old voice, I describe the world around me. But seven years later my life would change forever: my mother dies and my father disappears emotionally, my little brother acts out, and I erase all memories of my mother. Within two years my father remarries and new challenges arise. I begin to awkwardly blossom and mature, often to hilarious effect. I juggle trying to find my place within my "new" family, now with an older stepbrother as well as a new mom. I struggle to learn how to "be" - with my family, my friends and myself. Each chapter describes one year of my life and ends when I move away from home in 1966. Join me as I rediscover my real mother, Maman, and world that created the possibility of me.

The Best Money Can Buy is a story where the Bible is challenged by wealth and fame. Author Matt Shea is at it again! This is his latest inspiring story about faith and the challenges this world presents. All encompassed around a local racing legend by the name of Rusty Hampton and a teen looking for direction. What starts out as a bumpy road full of checkered flags and trophies becomes one of prayer and intervention. A story that rejuvenates faith with a little spice thrown in! Matt feels this is his very best so far!

Earthlings prepare for interplanetary war against hunger-crazed deerlike creatures from the planet Tictoctic. However, mobile telepathic trees from the planet Oomb have persuaded the captain of starship Smoke and Mirrors to give peace a chance, flying into the heart of the Tictoctic Empire totally defenseless. Are they too naïve for their own good? Will faithless scheming sabotage their plans? Will the Watchers intervene?One civilization has already been destroyed. The fate of three others hangs in the balance.

Earthlings prepare for interplanetary war against hunger-crazed deerlike creatures from the planet Tictoctic. However, mobile telepathic trees from the planet Oomb have persuaded the captain of starship Smoke and Mirrors to give peace a chance, flying into the heart of the Tictoctic Empire totally defenseless. Are they too naïve for their own good? Will faithless scheming sabotage their plans? Will the Watchers intervene?One civilization has already been destroyed. The fate of three others hangs in the balance.

Unseemly complications unfold when a drunk driver steals the life of one of four inseparable college buddies. Flash back six years to the quartet's graduation from William's College, and trace the distinct, but intersecting paths their lives take. Join with them as they confront life's demons, some of which come from within. Endure an encounter with a dodgy college classmate who converts a long-coveted venture into a trek to Hell. Travel the bumpy road back from the abyss, and experience a romantic's ecstasy when reality and art become congruent.

Just Thinkin' is a collection of Dr. McBride's columns printed weekly in the Stigler (Oklahoma) News Sentinel. Readers will find considerable satisfaction in this selection of columns. These insightful and witty columns probe into the very nature of politics and social issues as well as the rituals of our holidays and our sports.Dr. McBride's exploration of the role of our founding fathers into the texture of modern life is exceptional and intellectually satisfying.

Travel companions on my journeys are four in number: Odysseus, Don Quixote, Huckleberry Finn and Basho." (Travel) "He walked in priestly garb. Arriving towards evening at a town or village, he'd chant sutras until passersby gave him, or flung him, enough money for a flophouse bed, a little food, a bath and enough saké to induce a measure of forgetfulness. 'A beggar,' he admonished himself, 'has to learn to be an all-out beggar. Unless he can be that, he will never taste the happiness of being a beggar.'" (Walking) '"The pleasantest of all diversions,' said the fourteenth-century Japanese priest Kenko," is to sit alone under the lamp, a book spread before you, and to make friends with people of a distant past you have never known.' Reading is inseparable from reverie. 'Sitting alone under the lamp,' I was soon not alone at all, but hosting, I venture to say, as vivid and varied a company as ever gathered under one roof. (Genji, Myshkin and Jones) "Everest is nothing, mere seismology." (Fuji, Sinai, Olympos)

Biology and Ethics provides a historian's perspective of the attempts to ground an ethics within a biological framework. Aside from its analysis of schools as social Darwinism, eugenics, and sociobiology, it attempts to evaluate their veracity using cases as Japan's Unit 731, the Guatemala Syphilis study, and others. In spite of the much disputed claims of evolutionary psychology, it appears that the key to establishing ethical institutions and societies lies in the realm of public information.

From Straight-laced to Cross-dressed tells the story of a disturbed adult in therapy seeking to understand and prevent his desire to commit suicide. Douglas starts by knowing that it has something to do with sex but soon discovers that he can't talk about his sexuality without first discussing his religious beliefs and drift away from strict Christian Fundamentalism.The overlapping issues dredge up a confused morass of anger and love, abuse and sex.

Zachary Stevens, a kid from the 50s, saw and felt it all - an assault and robbery of an old friend; marching in cadence as a "Christian soldier" or as a Boy Scout; the acceptance of abnormality of human behavior in the raw, viewed in mentally disturbed patients and one lone pedophile. And, most importantly, discovering childhood gang camaraderie."The squealing sounds were vocalized from the flatbed of a Ford truck and were loud, rhythmically repeated every few seconds."A girl appeared pinned underneath a guy who wore a cowboy hat that partially covered his head and face. Zachary Stevens witnessed from afar and thought she was in danger. He was concerned for her welfare and voiced his worries to gang member friend, Steve, who replied, 'No, leave them alone. She is okay, they are just relaxing.'At that point, the cowboy and the girl heard the kids' voices, jumped up, and someone yelled out, 'Who is there,' and then some non-stoppable cussing began. The guy adjusted his jeans, which appeared to be bulging in the front, while the girl yelled out some undecipherable words and readjusted her blouse. A shadow-like figure moved around toward the front of the dirty, rusty vehicle where a gun rack with a rifle was mounted. Two young boys felt fear as hearts pounded; was this to be the end of them?"

Beautiful Ipatia lives with her grandfather on the idyllic Greek island of Lipsi, where she follows the traditions of the Greek islanders. However, there is one tradition that she is determined to defy, and that is marriage. With her grandfather's blessing, she leaves for Piraeus, where she will live with her aunt while attending university.Just before her trip, Ipatia is rescued from a snake by handsome Tony, a Greek tycoon's son. He is smitten by her, but she is determined to go through with her education. Ipatia's carefully laid out plans go awry when her aunt is nowhere to be found in Piraeus. Circumstances bring Ipatia and Tony together again and their attraction grows. However, obstacles get in the way of their love, separating them. Ipatia leaves for America, determined to get her college degree. Will their love be strong enough to transcend the boundaries of distance and time?