In the 1940's Jules Busch is a poor but independent bachelor who lives in the Little Dixie part of Missouri called Possum Walk. Possum Walk is a small agricultural community (not a town) and it is primitive (mud roads, no electricity, no indoor plumbing, wood stoves for heating and cooking, and the like). The people of Possum Walk work their subsistence farms and only a few can afford tractors. Most use horse drawn and hand equipment. The depression, which is over in certain places, still holds a firm grip here. The nearest towns, Mexico and Centralia, are also small. Jules leads a somewhat dissolute life and some refer to him as "poor white trash." Certainly he is so regarded in the community, as is his brother and mother. He has yearnings however of which he is not fully conscious. He is not sure who his father was, and even the one who so claimed, died before Jules knew him. Jules is rejected by the Army for duty in WW II because of a heart murmur. He only has a eighth grade education, however he is quite intelligent, a fact of which he is not initially aware. He has two friends, John Harrison and Willy Woolf. Harrison is a poor but well respected farmer and Woolf own a large property and is the area's rich man. Jules roams the country roads on his horse Rhony, and wears two revolvers like an old time bad man. Most respectable people keep well clear of him, at least in public, but he seems to have ample lady friends. He lives on a small isolated acreage in the middle of forest land owned by Woolf. Woolf sold him the property after Jules won a big poker pot. Wiley, his dog, is Jules' closest companion, and helps protect the property when Jules is away. Harrison encourages Jules to give up his destructive ways which include adultery, general philandering, gambling, and drinking. This good advice has little effect until Harrison dies and Jules takes a close look at himself and doesn't like what he sees. He has promised Harrison to reform sometime and realizes it's now time. He listened to Harrison, because Harrison always treated him with respect, something that few others did. Harrison also helped get him out of jail more than once. Jules believes he needs to repay his moral debt to John by helping the Harrison family (Eloise the mother, and Mary, Jany, and Jimmy the children). In particular he believes he needs to advise Harrison's young son Jimmy, more or less as John Harrison advised him. He begins to clean up his life by dropping a relationship with a married woman, Grecia Kuhn, and by getting a part time job. Along with "Uncle Tyrone," Harrison's somewhat disreputable hobo brother who arrives after John's death, Jules begins to help the Harrison family. The Harrison's sell their farm and move to Columbia, MO where the children can economically obtain degrees at the University of Missouri. Jules further troubles include the suicide of his brother triggered by the brother and his wife accidentally smothering their baby who slept in their bed. In addition the anger of the brothers (Heintz and Herman) of Klaus Kuhn, who Jules has cuckolded, causes problems. Jules is convinced by Willy Woolf that he needs to further his education as an aid to turning his life around and resolving the moral debts he owes to others and indeed to himself. To that end he works to earn a High School Equivalency and then goes to the University of Missouri where he earns a bachelor's degree (in physics), and eventually a law degree. Hard continuous study, as well as living in a cosmopolitan (for its time) town and being judged by students and professors, is a difficult adjustment for Jules After graduation, Woolf helps him join a law firm in Mexico and Jules takes over the job of working with farmers to assist them with government programs, obtaining loans, taxes, and in other ways. He also has the opportunity to aid John Harrison's son and thus square his obliga

John Harrison and his son Jimmy are taking the overnight Wabash train from Des Moines, Iowa to Centralia, Missouri. They are returning from visiting John’s mother as a tenth birthday present to Jimmy. It is Sept. 10, 1944 and a rainy night. John over ate before leaving and is suffering from heart pains. He is particularly worried as he had a heart attack five years ago. During a night of little sleep he reviews his past life as he struggles to hang on at least until getting home.

JOHNSTONE COUNTRY. VENGEANCE IS HERE. A good man like Perley Gates knows that when you race with the devil, you’d better cross the finish line first—or you won’t finish at all . . . They rode into town like the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Four armed outlaws bringing their own brand of hell to Paris, Texas. First they rob the First National Bank. Then they take a woman hostage as insurance. When Perley Gates learns that local waitress Becky Morris is in the hands of these tough customers, he rides alone to get her back. Problem is, the outlaws are heading toward the Red River—straight into Indian Territory. That’s where the ranch hands draw the line. But Perley won’t give up. He manages to rescue the girl, but not before killing the gang’s leader. Now he’s incurred the wrath of the other three . . . The race is on. Come hell or high water, Perley has to get Becky across the Red River—before three vengeful devils make it flow with their blood . . . Live Free. Read Hard.

Presents a comprehensive Texas almanac that contains color maps, census records, and information on over thirty Spanish mission sites, the culture and environment of the state, holidays and county profiles, and much more.

Walks in Rome is travel book by Augustus John Cuthbert Hare. It depicts Rome vividly, including legendary spots such as the Colosseum, Via Appia, the Capitoline and many others.

Includes music.

Provides song histories, set lists, show reviews and statistics, and biographies of the band members.