The adventures of a young customs officer who leaves his close knit community to find himself in an alien world of smuggling and international intrigue. The book details his adventures on his journey, in the 1960 ́s, from a "wet behind the ears" rookie, to an experienced revenue man

A brief history of the Wal-Mart corporation as the most successful discount retail chain in America today.

In 1955, Clyde Kennard, a decorated army veteran, was forced to cut short the final year of his studies at the University of Chicago and return home to Mississippi due to family circumstances, where Kennard made the decision to complete his education. Yet still on the eve of the civil rights movement in America, Kennard's decision would be one of the first serious attempts to integrate any public school at the college level in the state. The Life and Times of Clyde Kennard tells the true story of Kennard's efforts to complete his further education at Mississippi Southern College (now the University of Southern Mississippi) against the backdrop of the institutionalized social order of the times and the prevailing winds of change attempting to blow that social order away. As Meredith's admission to "Ole Miss" became more widely known at the time, Kennard became the forgotten man. Author Derek R. King shares his extensive research into Kennard's life, and touches on key events that shaped those times.

The #1 New York Times bestseller and New York Times Book Review 10 Best Books of 2017 “Eminently readable but thick with import . . . Grant hits like a Mack truck of knowledge.” —Ta-Nehisi Coates, The Atlantic Pulitzer Prize winner Ron Chernow returns with a sweeping and dramatic portrait of one of our most compelling generals and presidents, Ulysses S. Grant. Ulysses S. Grant's life has typically been misunderstood. All too often he is caricatured as a chronic loser and an inept businessman, or as the triumphant but brutal Union general of the Civil War. But these stereotypes don't come close to capturing him, as Chernow shows in his masterful biography, the first to provide a complete understanding of the general and president whose fortunes rose and fell with dizzying speed and frequency. Before the Civil War, Grant was flailing. His business ventures had ended dismally, and despite distinguished service in the Mexican War he ended up resigning from the army in disgrace amid recurring accusations of drunkenness. But in war, Grant began to realize his remarkable potential, soaring through the ranks of the Union army, prevailing at the battle of Shiloh and in the Vicksburg campaign, and ultimately defeating the legendary Confederate general Robert E. Lee. Along the way, Grant endeared himself to President Lincoln and became his most trusted general and the strategic genius of the war effort. Grant’s military fame translated into a two-term presidency, but one plagued by corruption scandals involving his closest staff members. More important, he sought freedom and justice for black Americans, working to crush the Ku Klux Klan and earning the admiration of Frederick Douglass, who called him “the vigilant, firm, impartial, and wise protector of my race.” After his presidency, he was again brought low by a dashing young swindler on Wall Street, only to resuscitate his image by working with Mark Twain to publish his memoirs, which are recognized as a masterpiece of the genre. With lucidity, breadth, and meticulousness, Chernow finds the threads that bind these disparate stories together, shedding new light on the man whom Walt Whitman described as “nothing heroic... and yet the greatest hero.” Chernow’s probing portrait of Grant's lifelong struggle with alcoholism transforms our understanding of the man at the deepest level. This is America's greatest biographer, bringing movingly to life one of our finest but most underappreciated presidents. The definitive biography, Grant is a grand synthesis of painstaking research and literary brilliance that makes sense of all sides of Grant's life, explaining how this simple Midwesterner could at once be so ordinary and so extraordinary. Named one of the best books of the year by Goodreads • Amazon • The New York Times • Newsday • BookPage • Barnes and Noble • Wall Street Journal

Richard West didn't want to be psychic. He tried, over the years, to ignore the voices that he heard and the gentle prods he received from a higher place. However, he always wondered why his hands got warm when he was near someone unwell. He also became accustomed to a certain sense of knowing about people and events before they happened and used this to good advantage in his life, first as a customs officer and later as a successful businessman. In the end, Richard couldn't avoid the persistent nudging. As his life unfurled, his reticence shrank and his inquisitiveness grew. The Reluctant Psychic is the story not only of how he eventually came to terms with his abilities but also regarding how he puts those abilities to good use as a healer, dowser, and ghostbuster. His bulging case files are full of ghost stories, both funny and poignant, that he has collected in the course of his work around the world. The stories are informative and interesting, and they give valuable insight into the work of a dowser and psychic operating with a foot in both worlds. This book provides comfort and reassurance to all of us who have encountered things that go bump in the night, and it explains in detail how places can affect us in a variety of ways.

The definitive and revealing biography of Chicago Cubs legend Ernie Banks, one of America's most iconic, beloved, and misunderstood baseball players, by acclaimed journalist Ron Rapoport. Ernie Banks, the first-ballot Hall of Famer and All-Century Team shortstop, played in fourteen All-Star Games, won two MVPs, and twice led the Major Leagues in home runs and runs batted in. He outslugged Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, and Mickey Mantle when they were in their prime, but while they made repeated World Series appearances in the 1950s and 60s, Banks spent his entire career with the woebegone Chicago Cubs, who didn't win a pennant in his adult lifetime. Today, Banks is remembered best for his signature phrase, "Let's play two," which has entered the American lexicon and exemplifies the enthusiasm that endeared him to fans everywhere. But Banks's public display of good cheer was a mask that hid a deeply conflicted, melancholy, and often quite lonely man. Despite the poverty and racism he endured as a young man, he was among the star players of baseball's early days of integration who were reluctant to speak out about Civil Rights. Being known as one of the greatest players never to reach the World Series also took its toll. At one point, Banks even saw a psychiatrist to see if that would help. It didn't. Yet Banks smiled through it all, enduring the scorn of Cubs manager Leo Durocher as an aging superstar and never uttering a single complaint. Let's Play Two is based on numerous conversations with Banks and on interviews with more than a hundred of his family members, teammates, friends, and associates as well as oral histories, court records, and thousands of other documents and sources. Together, they explain how Banks was so different from the caricature he created for the public. The book tells of Banks's early life in segregated Dallas, his years in the Negro Leagues, and his difficult life after retirement; and features compelling portraits of Buck O'Neil, Philip K. Wrigley, the Bleacher Bums, the doomed pennant race of 1969, and much more from a long-lost baseball era.

The deeply personal story of a friendship between two teammates, and of a human bond which ultimately transcends the game itself. As back-to-back No. 1 draft picks for the New York Yankees, Ron Blomberg and Thurman Munson made for an odd couple. One was a good-looking, gregarious kid from Atlanta who cheerfully talked anyone's ear off at the slightest provocation; the other was a dumpy, grumpy dude from the Midwest rust belt who was about as fond of making idle chit-chat as he was of shaving. Despite the surface differences, the two men would form a close attachment as they ignited a youth movement with the 1970s Yankees. Now, over 40 years after Munson's shocking death in a plane crash at age 32, Blomberg opens up to author Dan Epstein about the beloved Yankees captain in an extraordinary memoir that reaches far beyond baseball.? By turns hilarious and heartbreaking, The Captain & Me shares tales of clubhouse hijinks during the infamous Bronx Zoo era, adventures on the road, and even rubbing shoulders with mobsters. Blomberg also offers a fascinating glimpse into baseball history, including the first-ever strike and lockout, the escalation of the Yankees–Red Sox rivalry, and the start of full-scale free agency. This illuminating remembrance of Munson is filled with untold stories about his analytical-yet-hard-nosed approach to baseball, as well as his kindness and generosity off the field.

Find out how communities can help people transcend their individual needs to live richer, fuller lives The Spirituality of Community Life is a deeply personal analysis of community life and its importance in helping people develop to their full potential. Dr. Ron McDonald, a pastoral counselor, examines the dynamics of community life from the perspective of the participant in a variety of settings, including the classroom, sports teams, church groups, recreational groups, and the workplace. This unique book presents alternatives to a culture that creates competition, separation, and insecurity, focusing instead on communities that encourage civility, understanding, compromise, and altruism. The Spirituality of Community Life analyzes the need for community life and the obstacles to it found in American culture, where money and power rule and people conform to stay out of trouble. The book presents insights into the importance and manner of building communities instead of efficient organizations that are fueled by crisis. Topics examined include growth and size as mistaken ideals, early Christian community life, the “What Would Jesus Do?” phenomenon, the spiritual disease caused by fighting enemies, the place of art and dance in community life, and leadership. The Spirituality of Community Life looks at a variety of communities, including: hikers on the Appalachian Trail a college track and country team a seminary course on the Gospel of Mark a church health center a traditional Quaker meeting an open education elementary school a championship basketball team an annual meeting of pastoral counselors and much more The Spirituality of Community Life also examines the deeply spiritual nature of community life, including insights into early Christian community history and how community life was crucial in the lives of our greatest spiritual leaders. The book is essential for anyone seeking to be the kind of leader who can build and nurture communities.

Diamond Pearl Hope is a biracial news reporter. She experiences a hard childhood. Diamond is only ten years old when her black mother dies. She goes to live with relatives who discriminate against her because she is mixed race. Diamond is rescued from abusive family members through adoption. While growing up, she is kept in the dark about her white father. After graduating from college she meets and marries an older abusive man. Diamond gets arrested for assaulting her husband; and comes face to face with the man she thought shed never meet. Diamonds life story comes to a wonderful ending when her white and black relatives unite in love, as one big happy blended family. Book Review BlueInk Review of Diamonds Fate (paperback 978-1-4568-8877-0) revised by Author Angie Singleton, 09/15/2011 This intriguing novel captures the tumultuous life of Diamond Pearl Hope, a biracial news reporter living in Florida. Diamond was born to a white father and African-American mother. Due to the death of her mother, Diamond is forced to go live in a household with family members who frequently torment her, because of her light skin and interracial heritage. Diamond gets adopted by a white couple and experiences life on the other side of the color line, after the horrific death of her grandmother. When Diamond graduates from college, she meets and marries a man twice her age. She learns, firsthand, the intricacies of the criminal justice system, after getting arrested for assaulting her husband, who attacks her in a drunken rage. Struggling to put her life back together, Diamond finds strength in her Christian faith, caring friends and a loving family, including her newly discovered biological father, whom she reconciles with. In the end, Diamond not only wins an award for investigative reporting of domestic violence, she makes peace with those family members whod hurt her in the past; and her black and white relatives unite in a joyful celebration. Written in a distinctive voice Diamonds Fate conjures up past and current history making events such as the O.J. Simpson trial with telling details. References are made to popular music, movies and television shows that influenced society for generations. While the book contains idiosyncrasies or elements not typically found in most novels, such as: the authors personal photo album included in the back of the book and a frequency of italicized words and paragraphs, the story is compelling enough to make for an exciting, enjoyable and enlightening read. Readers interested in Christian and inspirational stories, as well as those curious about the unique challenges facing biracial children, will appreciate this tale of struggle and triumph. Novel is also available in hardcopy and ebook.

Chinese (mainland and Taiwan), European, Japanese, Canadian, and North American scholars address a subject of increasing interest in modern Chinese and world history: the emergence of a modern citizenry. While much attention has focused to date on the rise of the modern Chinese nation, little or none has been directed at the important concomitant element of a politically active "citizenry" and what that might mean in a Chinese context. After a detailed introduction by the editors on this theme in Western and East Asian theory and practice, each essay examines a thinker or group of thinkers from the crucial transition period in modern China, 1890-1920, and assesses their views on how China might forge a modern society with a participatory political citizenry.