"In 1942, in coordination with the Belgian resistance, Schepens stage-managed a highly secret information and evacuation service through the counterfeit operation of a backcountry lumbering enterprise. This book traces Schepen's gradual transformation from an apolitical young ophthalmologist into double agent "Jacques Perot," and his emergence in the postwar period as a modern folk hero to the residents of Mendive. Woven into the account are the stories of a remarkable international cast of characters, most notably the Basque shepherd Jean Sarochar, regarded as a local misfit, with whom Schepens formed his most unlikely partnership and an enduring friendship.".

Of the thousands of people who escaped through the Pyrenees during World War II, at least one hundred owe their lives to a daring scheme that Belgian Charles Schepens masterminded in Mendive, a remote Basque village near the French-Spanish border. The story of this near-miraculous resistance effort, an epic undertaking carried out in plain view of the Nazis, is recounted in full for the first time in The Surgeon and the Shepherd, an incredible, true tale of wartime heroism. In 1942, in coordination with the Belgian resistance, Schepens stage-managed a highly secret information and evacuation service through the counterfeit operation of a back-country lumbering enterprise. This book traces Schepens's gradual transformation from an apolitical young ophthalmologist into double agent "Jacques Pérot," and his emergence in the postwar period as a modern folk hero to the residents of Mendive. Woven into the account are the stories of a remarkable international cast of characters, most notably the Basque shepherd Jean Sarochar, regarded as a local misfit, with whom Schepens formed his most unlikely partnership and an enduring friendship. Part biography, part spy tale, part cultural study, The Surgeon and the Shepherd is based on more than ten years of oral history research. The saga of a Belgian "first resister" who, by posing as a collaborator, successfully duped both the Germans and the local French Basque population, it offers a powerful and illuminating picture of moral and physical courage. Meg Ostrum is a museum professional and arts consultant based in Vermont who has worked in the heritage preservation field for more than twenty-five years. She has edited several documentary studies and collections of oral histories, including Visit'n: Conversations with Vermonters, an annual anthology published by the Vermont Folklife Center.

In March of 1863, the days were ticking down on Brenton Christie's medical leave. If he had been lucky, he would have been lounging by the cracker barrel back in Delaware, Ohio impressing his neighbors with stories of the real war. But the foot soldier had not smelled Lady Luck's perfume in a long time, and she was not courting him now. Instead, General Ulysses Grant had shanghaied him as scout aboard the ironclad Cincinnati, and he was steaming up Deer Creek with Admiral David Porter's swamp navy to take Vicksburg by the back door. It should have been easy duty, but instead he encountered primeval forests, cannibalistic wildlife, and tenacious Confederates. The Army of the Tennessee did not take winters off, and Grant had already lit the fuse to his Vicksburg juggernaut. Ensuing events catch Christie in the crossfire riding with Benjamin Grierson and he discovers a second war behind the front linesone fought by warriors without rifles who are just as idealistic and ruthless, comrades in enemy colors, and enemies among his own. This is the second Civil War novel by Jeane Heimberger Candido, who has contributed to Blue & Gray Magazine, Civil War Historian, has appeared on PBS, and enjoys living in two world.

Finding Refuge Shunned by the Amish community, shepherd Carl King has given up on his dream for a family. Yet when captivating Lizzie Barkman shows up at the sheep farm where he works, Carl sees the wife he once dreamed of. Lizzie is looking for a new start, for herself and her sisters, and discovers Carl to be a kind and gentle man who cares deeply about the Amish way of life. But he is under the bann. Is it possible that this forbidden man holds the key to her family's safety—and the one to her heart? Brides of Amish Country: Finding true love in the land of the Plain People

Includes the papers and/or proceedings of various surgical associations.