The adventures of Daniel Boone, rendered in verse.

People may choose to ignore their animal heritage by interpreting their behavior as divinely inspired, socially purposeful, or even self-serving, all of which they attribute to being human, but they masticate, fornicate, and procreate, much as chimps and apes do, so they should have little cause to get upset if they learn that they act like other primates when they politically agitate, debate, abdicate, placate, and administrate, too." -- from the book King of the Mountain presents the startling findings of Arnold M. Ludwig's eighteen-year investigation into why people want to rule. The answer may seem obvious -- power, privilege, and perks -- but any adequate answer also needs to explain why so many rulers cling to power even when they are miserable, trust nobody, feel besieged, and face almost certain death. Ludwig's results suggest that leaders of nations tend to act remarkably like monkeys and apes in the way they come to power, govern, and rule. Profiling every ruler of a recognized country in the twentieth century -- over 1,900 people in all­­, Ludwig establishes how rulers came to power, how they lost power, the dangers they faced, and the odds of their being assassinated, committing suicide, or dying a natural death. Then, concentrating on a smaller sub-set of 377 rulers for whom more extensive personal information was available, he compares six different kinds of leaders, examining their characteristics, their childhoods, and their mental stability or instability to identify the main predictors of later political success. Ludwig's penetrating observations, though presented in a lighthearted and entertaining way, offer important insight into why humans have engaged in war throughout recorded history as well as suggesting how they might live together in peace.

I've always dreamed of renting a cottage in the mountains for a week to write a romance novel and now I'm finally here. I have everything I need.- Log cabin on a secluded mountain (check)- A week off work to do nothing but write (check)- A light snow falling outside as I sit under a blanket at the desk (check)- An amazing love story that writes itself (what's the opposite of a check?)It's my second day here and I haven't written one word.Can you still get writer's block if you're not a real writer?It's all a disaster until I'm wandering through the woods and see some much-needed inspiration.It comes in a big, bearded, growly package.His name is Jayden Rowe and he's a rugged mountain man who says he owns everything on this mountain.Including me.Suddenly, with Jayden's shirtless body to gawk at while he chops wood, the words start flowing and my book comes alive.But when it's time to write the love scene, the words dry up and I have nothing.What I need is a little mountain man inspiration to get the book going again.Research. That's what I need.Hot, sweaty, sultry research with my gorgeous new mountain man friend.That's when I decide that I'm going to seduce Jayden......for research purposes of course.