An engaging and provocative history of John Thomas Geary, a London lawyer who left everything he knew to travel to the American West in the 1850s. Geary went from a life of privilege and ease in Victorian England to a rough-and-tumble experience settling the unexplored Utah Territory. This biography carefully documents Geary's life as he learns difficult lessons and overcomes many obstacles. "John Thomas Geary stood at the crossroads, looking toward the mountains. The landscape couldn't be more different than his British birthplace and he paused to find a connection to this bleak view. Utah Territory in the dead of winter did not feel welcoming. But he had made his choice. It took John and his wife, Sophia, the better part of three years to make it across the American plains to Great Salt Lake City and he intended to make it his home. When John arrived in Utah in December, 1856 he was 33 years old with two small children. John and Sophia came to the remote desert for religious reasons - they were Mormon emigrants following their prophet. They left England and their extended families behind, knowing they would never see them again. It seemed both a privilege and an immeasurable price to pay for their beliefs."

According to company lore, Gibson, the guitar manufacturer, had ceased guitar production during World War II with only "seasoned craftsmen" too old for battle doing repairs and completing the few instruments already in progress at their Kalamazoo, Michigan factory. However, beginning in 1942, Gibson started producing wartime guitars each marked with a small, golden "banner" displaying the slogan: "only a Gibson is good enough." Over 9000 of these "Banner" guitars were produced between 1942 and 1945 and they are considered to be some of the finest acoustic guitars ever produced but who was making them? In this work of musical and social history, Thomas explores the origins of the Gibson "Banner" guitars and the remarkable women, many of whom had no prior training in instrument construction, who built them.

This multigenerational memoir sketches the lives of three generations of the author’s family that were involved with some of the most profound issues of the twentieth century. Smith’s paternal grandfather was present at the creation of General Motors Corporation and served as its Vice President and General Counsel. His maternal grandfather, William G. Maguire, was an entrepreneur and natural gas pipeline pioneer with a visionary grasp of natural gas’s significance in the twentieth century American economy. Smith’s father served as a senior diplomat under five presidents, working to constrain the nuclear arms race between the United States and Russia and to curtail proliferation of nuclear weapons.

Hard times and suffering affect everyone, but the way we handle it will change our lives forever. Is this indiscriminate pain fair and just? Does it have a point? "Enduring Your Season of Suffering" serves as a resource for everyone struggling with questions about suffering, pain and trial. This book, crafted by John Thomas and Gary Habermas, presents important biblical insight on why suffering impacts us and how we should respond to it. These two men tap into their decades of experience in counseling and ministry so you can emerge from suffering stronger, wiser and more complete than before. Inside You'll Find: Answers to your Why Questions: Why Me? Why This? Why Now? Universal Truths about Suffering Real Stories of People Coping with Suffering and How they Managed Steps for Helping Yourself and others Through Suffering Comfort and Direction for Anyone Experiencing Trials