Terrorists have developed a biological weapon that is unleashed in Mexico, with the hope of it spreading to the United States. The disease does as it was intended, spreading flu like symptoms throughout Mexico and from there it is carried to the United Sates and around the world. Within weeks, the disease has spread across the globe, and though most nations try to stop the spread, the virus is already out of control in most countries. In the United States the CDC has discovered a possible cure in the Catskill Mountains of New York State, but the combined efforts of the US Government are thwarted a bit when the terrorist forces, taking advantage of man power shortages due to the disease, manage to detonate nuclear weapons in Tel Aviv, Moscow and Washington D.C. With the disease rampant throughout North America, and as the infrastructure begins to collapse, people all across North America begin to head to New York's Catskill Mountains in the hope of attaining the 'cure' for themselves. A small group of Army National Guardsmen, led by Sergeant John Powers, are ordered to move from their host base in central Massachusetts to the Catskills, to assist the small detachment stationed there and maintain order. These men begin the move and enlist the support of people from small towns in their efforts to reach the Catskills. This combined unit soon arrives at the location and discovers the location of the CDC lab, and together with the help of the troops already there, begin to establish order and issue inoculations to the thousands of people arriving as well. In the meantime, convicts escaping from prisons in New York push to get the cure as well, though they have different intentions. Rather than help others, they plan to take the cure for themselves and establish a monarchy with Larry Andrews, one of their own, as King of the area. As the convicts approach the location, they encounter the troops there and soon both sides, the convicts led by Andrews, and the troops, now led by Powers, clash in a battle that will determine the fate of those who have survived. Andrews commands a hard core group of freed criminals, and with the assistance of Mafia elements, has created a well armed and increasingly dangerous force. Powers, supported by a small group of dedicated and hard working companions, have created a council to govern the land by creating a republic, and the discovery of a castle in the town of Liberty where they store the remnants of the CDC personnel and hope to protect the cure for anyone in need, while trying to maintain order and reestablish order. In the end, the convicts break through the territory controlled by Powers and the republic and in an all out effort, attempt to storm the castle, where they have learned the cure is being stored, to take it for themselves. Outnumbered and outgunned, Powers and the council do what they can to protect what they have built. With the stage set, both sides engage in an all out battle for control of the cure, with both sides desperate to control the cure. In the end, desperate people on both sides struggle to control the cure which will decide the fate of millions around the world.

Abigail Chesney has it all; a husband more loving than she could have dreamt, three healthy children, and a house on thriving farmland. She's happy in her little world until it crashes down around her. Losing almost everything tests Abby in ways she never expected. Can she learn to accept what she can't change and trust those she loves? Relying on help from the people of Fitch's Eddy, a tiny Catskill logging town, Abby discovers her own strength. Will Fate's cruel blows crush her? Or will love give her a new reason to go on? Abigail's Journey - travel back to Colonial America, 1786, with this heartfelt, sweet, historical romance, where the flavor of the past leaps off the page.

On the eve of her sixtieth birthday, Nina Shengold embarks on a challenge: to walk the path surrounding the Catskills’ glorious Ashokan Reservoir every day for a year, at all times of day and in all kinds of weather, trying to find something new every time. Armed with lively curiosity, infectious enthusiasm, and renewed stubbornness, she hits the path every day with all five senses wide open, searching for details that glint. As Shengold explores the secrets of this spectacular place, she rediscovers the glories of solitude and an expanded community, both human and animal. Step by step, her reservoir walks rekindle connections with family, strangers, and friends, with a landscape she grows to revere, and with a new sense of self. Like the writings of John Burroughs, Annie Dillard, and Barry Lopez, Shengold’s reflections on her personal journey will resonate with outdoor enthusiasts and armchair hikers alike. Quietly transformative, Reservoir Year encourages readers to find their own ways to unplug and slow down, reconnecting with nature, reviving old passions and sparking some new ones along the path.

Eighty-eight different mountaineers/writers offer 101 true tales of high adventure in the Catskill Mountain High Peaks, as compiled and edited by Carol Stone White. The stories are divided into sections that include: Marathon Hikes, Wildlife Encounters, Wild Weather, Navigating in the Wilderness, Misadventures, Winter Adventuring, Lost in the Wilderness, Mysteries, Reminiscences, and Catskill Mountain Highs.Since 1962, mountain climbers in the Northeast have joined the quest for membership in the Catskill 3500 Club, reserved for hikers who summit all thirty-five Catskill Mountain peaks over 3,500 feet high. Adding to the challenge, four peaks must be climbed in winter, and thirteen of the peaks are trailless. (A special, separate membership badge is awarded to those who summit all 35 peaks in winter.) Despite these obstacles, the Catskill 3500 Club has over 1,700 members, and membership continues to flourish. It?s no surprise that many seekers after this hikers? Holy Grail come out of the wilderness with tales to tell. Some of these tales of success and failure, misery and exultation, rejuvenation and near-death, make their way into the Club?s quarterly newsletter, the Catskill Canister (named for the canisters the club has placed on the trailless peaks to pinpoint the summits). Carol Stone White, a Club member (summer and winter) and accomplished writer and editor of hiking guidebooks, sifted through 45 years of Canister issues and solicited stories from current hikers to come up with over 100 tales that run the gamut from exhilaration to sheer terror.

"Should appeal to all rugged individualists who dream of escape to the forest."—The New York Times Book Review Sam Gribley is terribly unhappy living in New York City with his family, so he runs away to the Catskill Mountains to live in the woods—all by himself. With only a penknife, a ball of cord, forty dollars, and some flint and steel, he intends to survive on his own. Sam learns about courage, danger, and independence during his year in the wilderness, a year that changes his life forever. “An extraordinary book . . . It will be read year after year.” —The Horn Book

Hot on the heels of the Lizzie Borden case from 1893-1894, newspapers around the world began closely following a new and unusual case in upstate New York. Lizzie Halliday, a seemingly harmless woman, was about to stand trial for a triple homicide in Burlingham, NY. Lizzie Halliday lived in the hamlet of Burlingham and worked as a housekeeper, eventually marrying her employer, Paul Halliday. After Paul went missing, a search of their property revealed the bodies of two unidentified women. The investigation which followed revealed that Lizzie, in her twenties, left behind a trail of failed marriages, bigamy, horse theft, arson, insurance fraud and murder, even having served time in the infamous Eastern State Penitentiary. If found guilty Lizzie Halliday would be the first woman in the world to face the electric chair. After her sensational trial in Sullivan County, NY she was locked away for life but managed to continue her reign of terror even behind bars. This true account of one of America's most dangerous women details Lizzie Halliday's lifestyle of indefensible crimes. The author provides the most complete, factual and thoroughly researched biographical timeline of Lizzie Halliday to date, providing the most accurate account of Lizzie Halliday's disturbing criminal career, while correcting misinformation of the past.

A man who sleeps for twenty years in the Catskill Mountains wakes to a much-changed world.

Discover the ghosts who wander these upstate New York mountains—includes photos! Washington Irving called the Catskill Mountains in upstate New York a “spellbound region”—and the ghosts that linger from more than four hundred years of history provide proof of Irving's intuition. In Hudson, Maggie Houghtaling’s ghost haunts the Register-Star building, where she was hanged in 1817 for murdering her child—a crime for which she was later cleared. The ghost of a young Native American girl haunts Claverack Creek, where she threw herself into the water when her father forbade her to be with the man she loved. In Greenport, Peter Hallenbeck was murdered by his nephews in his home, where his spirit still lingers. Discover these and other eerie tales of hauntings in the Catskill Mountains in this collection of fascinating stories and local lore.

This 304 page coffee table book takes a look at 26 of America s great authors and the places that inspired them. Unique to this book of literary biography is the element of the photograph. With over 140 photographs throughout, the images add mood and dimension to the writing and they are often shockingly close to what the featured authors described in their own words. Lushly illustrated, and beautifully designed, the book is as much of a pleasure to look at as it is to read. Rags to riches. Forbidden loves. Supernatural experiences. Narrow escapes. Some of the greatest stories of American literature are the stories of the scribes themselves and of the places that sparked their imaginations. In 2007, writer Thomas Hummel and photographer Tamra Dempsey set out in search of the sources of inspiration for 26 of this country's greatest authors. Two years and twenty thousand miles later, the result is A Journey Through Literary America -- a literary pilgrimage in photography and prose. In the words of one reviewer, "this is a beautiful and necessary book."