The Christmas story and the origin of many holiday traditions are thoroughly detailed in the text of S is for Star: A Christmas Alphabet. The first Christmas cards were printed and sold in the United States by a German immigrant in 1874. Long ago, eating pie was believed to bring good luck, and during the holidays they were baked in an oblong shape to look like a manger. The message of Christmas is a message to all the world and is beautifully conveyed and illustrated in S is for Star. Our tradition of gift-giving is based on the Wise Men's visit to Baby Jesus. Nearly every country has its own gift-giving traditions. In Great Britain, children eagerly await Father Christmas. In France, he is called Pere Noël. In Italy, Befana brings presents, and German and Austrian children wait for a visit from the Christkindl. Celebrate these and many other traditions of the holiday season with S is for Star: A Christmas Alphabet.

Visit the author's website at www.thelightonthestar.com Six months before he is murdered, President John F. Kennedy looks into the eyes of the graduating cadets of the Class of 1963 at the U. S. Air Force Academy. He speaks of the singular burden America shoulders in protecting freedom around the globe. He says, "This is the role which history and our own determination has placed upon a country which lived most of its history in isolation and neutrality, and yet in the last 18 years has carried the burden f or free people everywhere. I think that this is a burden which we accept willingly, recognizing that if this country does not accept it, no people will, recognizing that in the most difficult time in the whole life of freedom, the United States is called upon to play its greatest role." the graduates rise, vigorously applauding their young warrior-president, answering his call to serve their country, having no inkling of the turbulent decade about to break over them.The Light on the Star is about a time of upheaval in America, as a war in Asia fans the flames of incendiary turmoil at home. Through it all, idealistic young men from the Class of '63 struggle with duty, hon or and bonds forged with classmates as their once-proud, once-victorious Air Force staggers to defeat, trying to fight a new kind of air war. Unlike earlier air battles in World War II where civilian casualties mattered little, they become central in political debates as Americans grapple with the realities of a war televised nightly.The Light on the Star is also about the end of one era in the American way of aerial warfare and the emerging of another dimly. the consequences reverberate through the lives of fighter pilots caught in the crosshairs, battered by forces they can't comprehend. Their long, tumultuous journey through the sixties is an inspiring story of service to country under adversity, marked by the breadth of emotions of the cockpit - ranging from the pure thrill of flying jet airplanes to the stark terr or of things going desperately wrong under fire.Steve Dotson's novel, The Light on the Star, is well-written, gritty and intelligent. Combining drama with history, it captures the turmoil of the sixties at a gut level. Its authentic flying scenes, especially its vivid combat missions, make the joys and fears of the cockpit real. It's a great read.-- General Ronald R. Fogleman, U. S. Air Force (Retired)-- Fighter pilot and former Chief of Staff, U.S. Air ForceContact the auth or -- [email protected] Visit the author's website at www.thelightonthestar.com

The letters of the alphabet are represented by words, set in short rhymes, relating to Christmas, with accompanying scripture and commentary.

A 12-year-old slave on a gigantic, traveling "wagon city" joins forces with a new--and magical--slave, and as they plan their escape they encounter mystery, enchantment, and deadly monsters while their one chance for freedom draws ever nearer.

Presents a brief introduction to star lore in Native American beliefs and culture; describes and provides illustrations of classical Greek constellations; and features information about the cultures and star lore of various Native American tribes, organized by culture area.

Son of the Morning Star is the nonfiction account of General Custer from the great American novelist Evan S. Connell. Custer's Last Stand is among the most enduring events in American history--more than one hundred years after the fact, books continue to be written and people continue to argue about even the most basic details surrounding the Little Bighorn. Evan S. Connell, whom Joyce Carol Oates has described as "one of our most interesting and intelligent American writers," wrote what continues to be the most reliable--and compulsively readable--account of the subject. Connell makes good use of his meticulous research and novelist's eye for the story and detail to re-create the heroism, foolishness, and savagery of this crucial chapter in the history of the West.

This book constitutes the thoroughly refereed post-proceedings of the 9th International Workshop on Approximation and Online Algorithms, WAOA 2011, held in Saarbrücken, Germany, in September 2011. The 21 papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected from 48 submissions. The volume also contains an extended abstract of the invited talk of Prof. Klaus Jansen. The Workshop on Approximation and Online Algorithms focuses on the design and analysis of algorithms for online and computationally hard problems. Both kinds of problems have a large number of applications in a wide variety of fields. Topics of interest for WAOA 2011 were: algorithmic game theory, approximation classes, coloring and partitioning, competitive analysis, computational finance, cuts and connectivity, geometric problems, inapproximability results, mechanism design, network design, packing and covering, paradigms for design and analysis of approximation and online algorithms, parameterized complexity, randomization techniques and scheduling problems.