Investigative reporter Emerson Moore heads to Chincoteague Island to recover from physical and mental wounds brought on by his near-death escape in Cuba. He decides to ponder his future and rest quietly in the home of legendary Chincoteague Island duck carver Roe "Duc-Man" Terry, but his peaceful idyll is disrupted when he becomes embroiled in a drug trafficking operation on the Delmarva Peninsula. With the help of Roe Terry and Chuck "Big Daddy" Meier, Moore's investigation unearths information that results in a lethal confrontation with drug lord Max Steiner at Steiner's Kings Creek waterfront fortress in Cape Charles. Moore accompanies the Drug Task Force on several raids in hopes of building a case that will stick against the slippery Steiner, but the closer he comes to nailing Steiner, the odds stacked against him become deadly. Accustomed to perilous working conditions, Moore must leverage every bit of his skill and fearless daring to survive as he finds himself one foot in the grave.especially when he ends up unceremoniously dumped into a sealed coffin. Will he be able to escape, or will this be the end of Mr. Emerson Moore? Set on Virginia's Delmarva Peninsula, the plot includes the annual Chincoteague Pony Swim; a lethal encounter in a Cape Charles restaurant; and shoot-outs near Accomac, Ocean City and the Redeye Fishing Club, plus an ensemble of spirited reprobates. Assateague Dark is filled with pulse-pounding, non-stop excitement and high stakes action.

The Confederacy extinguished the lights in all the lighthouses it controlled long before any shots were fired at Fort Sumter. When the Southern Lights Went Dark: The Lighthouse Establishment During the Civil War tells the story of the men who assumed the daunting task of finding the lenses and lamps, repairing deliberate destruction to the towers and lightships, and relighting them as soon as the Navy could afford them protection. From Cape Hatteras to Ocracoke Light, Jupiter Inlet to Tybee Island, St. Simons to Cockspur Island and others, these are the stories from a unique era in United States lighthouse history. Unlike in peace time, when military officers filled the posts of engineer and inspector in each lighthouse district, civilians had to be found who were not only talented enough to build and maintain lighthouses, but also could supervise a party of workmen and make decisions on their own. Those men in the field had to find keepers, see that they were paid, and ensure they had food, water, and essential supplies. The Lighthouse Board was far away in Washington and could do little more than give advice, order needed equipment, record the dispatches from the field, and pay the bills it received. From Cape Hatteras to Ocracoke Light, Jupiter Inlet to Tybee Island, St. Simons to Cockspur Island and others, these are the stories from a unique era in United States lighthouse history.

Go where the story is--that’s one tenet of journalism Earl Swift has had little trouble living up to. In two decades of covering the commonwealth, Swift has hiked, canoed--even spelunked--a singular path through Virginia. He has also stopped and listened. This collection brings together some twenty Virginia tales wherein hardship is revealed as tragedy, and humor appears as uncanny, illuminating strangeness. The Pulitzer-nominated title story takes us to the Chesapeake island of Tangier, home to a Methodist enclave over two hundred years old, with an economy almost wholly dependent on the blue crab. The gradual exodus of the island’s young people and the dwindling crab hauls point to an inevitable extinction that finds a dramatic metaphor in the erosion of the island itself, which is literally disappearing beneath its inhabitants’ feet. An epic piece of reporting, "When the Rain Came" revisits the August night in 1969 when Hurricane Camille descended on Nelson and Rockbridge counties, bringing with it a deluge of nearly Biblical proportions that killed 151 people. It was later characterized by the Department of the Interior as "one of the all-time meteorological anomalies in the United States." Swift looks beyond the extraordinary numbers to find the individual stories, told to him by the people who still remember the trembling floorboards and rain too heavy to see, or even breathe, through. Other stories include a nerve-wracking inside look at the Pentagon on the morning of 9/11, the travails of a failed novelist turned folk-art demigod, an account of a 1929 Scott County tornado (deemed the deadliest in Virginia history), and a profile of Nelson County swami Master Charles, who boasts a corps of meditative followers, a mountain retreat in Nellysford, and an incomplete resume. Each piece reconfirms Virginia as a land uncommonly rich in stories--and Earl Swift as one of its most perceptive and tireless chroniclers.

A Haunted Love Story and True Account of an Astounding Spiritual Journey Based on some riveting true stories, this is the tale of a daredevil pilot and atheist who comes to faith through his research into and encounters with supernatural phenomena and to love through his Jamaican wife Annie. The hero´s story is woven into a larger account of his family, which has been plagued for centuries by a demonic being, from the mountains of Greece to present-day New England. Reminiscent of the works of Edgar Allan Poe and Nathaniel Hawthorne, the novel´s dark, Gothic elements are leavened with humor and spiced with a playful sensuality that celebrates the joys of the marriage bed. (Now there´s a radical idea: a book that doesn´t portray the marriage bed as the source solely of boredom, bitterness and betrayal!) The story is told from the perspective of the demon itself and of Wolff Ladiakas Reinhardt, the latest member of his family to be marked by the Vouno Diavalos as his favored prey. (Author´s Note: The legend of the Vouno Diavolos or mountain devil is current to this very day in the author´s ancestral Greek village of Valteseniko.) Initially an atheist, Wolff soon learns through encounters with the demon and ghosts why he has been given the rare gift to see into the Spirit Realm: only he can see them, and only he can save those afflicted. Wolff eventually finds comfort in the love of his Jamaican-American wife, and they discover that their lives are entwined in The Haunted House of Assateague, where Wolff twice confronts the demon and Annie learns the truth about her Scottish ancestry. (An actual haunted house that the author wrote about when working as a newspaper editor, The Haunted House of Assateague is located near the National Park Service Visitor´s Center for Assateague National Seashore in Maryland, home to the famous wild ponies. This novel marks the first time that the home´s actual location is revealed, along with frightening details of its haunting.) Wolff is ultimately possessed by the demon, and he must struggle to free himself to save his young family and to prevent an evil new church from rising. The novel provides profound insights into the value of faith and a woman´s love. It will be prized by those who like spooky, Gothic stories, who are hungry for spiritual meaning and insights, who recognize Humor as a Divine Gift, and who cherish the rich sensual pleasures of this world. Written in a fresh voice with often startling power, the novel dares to provide verifiable answers to the Age-Old Questions: Are there Gods and Devils, and if so, what role do they play in our lives? Is there a Spirit World and Life after Death? What is the true nature of Original Sin? Yes, God is alive, the Devil still marks his favored prey, this way lies fascination...

Interest in the history and preservation of lighthouses has never been stronger. Lighthouses of the Mid-Atlantic Coast details the history of lighthouses and much more, and shows why these structures continue to fascinate us. Discover what life for lighthouse keepers was really like. Learn about the history of U.S. colonial lighthouses and the role lighthouses have played in several wars. Meet the brave, nefarious, and colorful characters who served as lighthouse keepers and government overseers. Learn about lighthouse technology and architecture and find out how these treasures are being preserved.

This title in the Scientists in the Field series sheds light on wild horse population control, a largely ignored area of equine animal science. Full color.