In 1871 a band of Indians attack a lone covered wagon traveling westward along the Gila River in Southern Arizona Territory. A few days later, a wagon train reaches that fateful site and finds Brian Jamison barely alive. They bury the dead and treat Brian’s wounds, whereupon he learns that his ten-year-old brother, Chad, was not among the dead and may have been taken captive. While recovering, Brian spends several months in Escondido, California helping the Hawkins family establish a farm. A romantic relationship develops between Brian and Abi Hawkins. Nevertheless, Brian cannot rest until he discovers Chad’s fate. Brian’s Search is the story of a valiant young man who risks everything to find his lost brother. Traveling alone, Brian soon learns his quest must include exhaustive questioning of mountain men and army personnel about rumors of white captives among the Indians. His journey encompasses hundreds of miles of open and often dangerous country in Arizona and Southern Utah Territories. Along the way the people he encounters and the obstacles he faces forever change his life and the lives of those he cares about.

Christmas at Cahill Crossing: One Christmas night, outcast Lucas Burnett finds a silver-haired angel buried in the snow. But Rosalie Greer is no pale spirit--she's a fiery, independent woman, as wild as the mustangs Lucas breeds. Can she be the one to finally thaw Lucas's frozen heart?"--Publisher.

The Sheriff Who Found Christmas by Marie Ferrarella Now that Sheriff Garrett Tanner is guardian of his niece, Lani Chisholm is more determined than ever to get the sexy Scrooge into the holiday spirit. With a heart the size of Texas, the ex-big-city cop has more than enough love for Garrett and his little girl. And with some unexpected help from a tree hunt and a missing angel, a certain Western lawman just may discover his own Christmas miracle.... A Rancho Diablo Christmas by Tina Leonard Trading kisses under the mistletoe is not what brought Johnny Donovan to Rancho Diablo. After all, he's a diehard bachelor--and Jess St. John's the most undomesticated woman in New Mexico. Then why does the petite horse trainer fill Johnny with such heart-soaring holiday spirit? The plan was to outsmart the Callahan matchmakers. Only, now it's Johnny who's hankering to get Jess to say yes. What's a love-charmed Santa to do?

We humans pride ourselves on our capacity to have ideas, but perhaps this pride is misplaced. Perhaps ideas have us. After all, ideas do appear to have a life of their own. Many biologists have already come to the opinion that our genes are selfish entities, tricking us into helping them to reproduce. Is it the same with our ideas? Jonnie Hughes, a science writer and documentary filmmaker, investigates the evolution of ideas in order to find out. Adopting the role of a cultural Charles Darwin, Hughes heads off, with his brother in tow, across the Midwest to observe firsthand the natural history of ideas--the patterns of their variation, inheritance, and selection in the cultural landscape. In place of Darwin's oceanic islands, Hughes visits the "mind islands" of Native American tribes. Instead of finches, Hughes searches for signs of natural selection among the tepees.--From publisher description.

This century's major disasters from Hurricane Katrina and the Fukushima nuclear meltdown to devastating Nepalese earthquakes and the recent crippling volcanic eruptions and tsunamis in Tonga have repeatedly taught that government institutions are ill-prepared for major disaster events, leaving the most vulnerable among us unprotected. These tragedies represent just the beginning of a new era of disaster – an era of floods, heatwaves, droughts, and pandemics fueled by climate change. Laws and government institutions have struggled to adapt to the scope of the challenge; old models of risk no longer apply. This Handbook provides timely guidance, taking stock of the field of disaster law and policy as it has developed since Hurricane Katrina. Experts from a wide range of academic and practical backgrounds address the root causes of disaster vulnerability and offer solutions to build more resilient communities to ensure that no one is left behind.

From the bloody banks of the Rio Grande to the edge of the American frontier comes this truly epic Western from the author of the acclaimed Here by the Bloods. A Twelve Man Massacre Along the Rio Grande, a dozen bodies fester in the sun. Harlan Two-Trees discovers the massacre, but wants nothing to do with it. Mistrusted by the whites who run Caliche Bend and estranged from the Navajo, Harlan heads west to California—to freedom. He will find the Rio Grande’s bloody baptism does not wash off so easily. Death Rides Alongside From his berth aboard the gleaming Santa Fe railway, Harlan brims with the promise of a new life in California. But when a daring robbery maroons him in the desert, he is back in the world he knows—where death is king, and justice comes from the smoking barrel of a gun. Pursued by a murderous, insane, lone lawman who dogs his every move, Harlan has a new goal—to stagger out of the desert alive . . .