On the brink of full-fledged adulthood, Nick James doesn't hear a barbaric roar for heroics in his head--but his friends sure do. When a severed arm is mysteriously found in the woods where they spent their summers as kids, Nick and his friends, lead by the irresistible Flint, seem determined to pull a phantom out of the realm of delusion and into the real world. Suspecting that the supposed specter they witnessed as teenagers is responsible for the severed arm, the five friends take to the wild for a camping reunion. And when a Lovecraftian cult arrives proclaiming the end of the world, Nick feels things are slipping into the surreal--exactly where Flint wants them to be. Bare Hands, Numb Skulls is a slice of pulp mythology that takes timeless motifs into off beat and unexpected directions. It explores the dynamics of pack buddy-dom and the growing pains of friendship. Nick may not share his friends' primitive lust for risk, but he may yet come to admire their willingness to rush in with the resurrected hope that monsters still lurk, that epic adventure still lives, even in the seemingly sterile woodlands of rural America.

A groundbreaking new narrative history that examines the never-before-told story of one of the most devastating battles of American involvement in World War I--the battle of Montfaucon.

A ground-breaking narrative history, which examines the never-before-told story of one of the most devastating battles of American involvement in World War I – the battle of Montfaucon. With Their Bare Hands traces the fate of the US 79th Division – men drafted off the streets of Baltimore, Washington, and Philadelphia – from boot camp in Maryland through the final years of World War I, focusing on their most famous engagement: the attack on Montfaucon, the most heavily fortified part of the German Line, during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive in 1918. Using the 79th as a window into the American Army as a whole, Gene Fax examines its mistakes and triumphs, the tactics of its commander General John J. Pershing, and how the lessons it learned during the Great War helped it to fight World War II. Fax makes some startling judgments, on the role of future Army Chief-of-Staff, Colonel George C. Marshall; whether the Montfaucon battle – had it followed the plan – could have shortened the war; and if Pershing was justified in ordering his troops to attack right up to the moment of the Armistice. Drawing upon original documents, including orders, field messages, and the letters and memoirs of the soldiers themselves, Fax tells the engrossing story of the 79th Division's bloody involvement in the final months of World War I.

A guide to surviving in the woods. It covers immediate needs like starting a fire, erecting temporary shelter, and finding edible plants. It shows how to make tools by chipping stones.

This is a startling window into the education of American doctors in the late 19th and early 20th centuries-on both a visceral level and for its revealing cultural record. Cringe-worthy shots of medical students-bare-handed gentlemen and a few ladies in street clothes show off their scalpels, saws and textbooks-while their cadavers, mostly poor and black, are awkwardly posed, and exposed. In one stunning shot, a black woman looks out from behind the young students. "What are we to make of an African-American woman, standing, broom handle in hand, behind the dissection table, her gaze fixed on the camera?" the authors ask. More importantly, they conclude, the photo is now drawn "out of the shadows of history" where "we can at least bear witness." A blood-soaked dissection table makes you want to look away and the dark humor of students playing pranks with skeletons are both hilarious and horrible. Postcards sent to family and friends must have caused shock and awe for postmen and recipient alike. Here, a difficult glance into medicine's "uncomfortable past" offers a grand opportunity to understand the legacy doctors and patients live with, and benefit from, today. Copyright Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From the famous, including Steve Jobs and Mona Simpson, to the not-so-famous, including Arch West, the inventor of the Dorito, this riveting collection of the 164 best obituaries from The New York Times, written by top journalists, is organized chronologically. Original.

Catching Shrimp with Bare Hands is the true story of Luong La, a boy growing up in the Mekong Delta in the midst of the Vietnam War. When the 1968 Tet Offensive forces Luong's family to flee the countryside, his mother continues to travel back and forth to their island farm despite threats from the Viet Cong and nearby firefights. Out on their farm in the middle of the Mekong River, Luong wants to catch fish and slingshot birds, but Viet Cong, called mysterious misters by the villagers, stop by his family's hut and stay. "The frog dies because of its big mouth," his mother warns. The mysterious misters behead a neighbor, and Luong's aunt goes missing. Luong plans to join the Army as soon as he's old enough to fight, but the war ends before he has a chance. Communism descends, pulling him back in time to a land without electricity or fuel where his family has to hide the books that haven't already been burned. Propaganda that "kneads their skulls," neighbors spying on each other, and the threat of starvation drive Luong to escalating acts of defiance. About to get caught by the authorities, he drops out of school to help his family build a boat to escape.

Part coming of age, part call to action, this fast-paced #ownvoices novel about a Deaf teenager is a unique and inspiring exploration of what it means to belong. Smart, artistic, and independent, sixteen year old Piper is tired of trying to conform. Her mom wants her to be “normal,” to pass as hearing, to get a good job. But in a time of food scarcity, environmental collapse, and political corruption, Piper has other things on her mind—like survival. Piper has always been told that she needs to compensate for her Deafness in a world made for those who can hear. But when she meets Marley, a new world opens up—one where Deafness is something to celebrate, and where resilience means taking action, building a com-munity, and believing in something better. Published to rave reviews as Future Girl in Australia (Allen & Unwin, Sept. 2020), this empowering, unforgettable story is told through a visual extravaganza of text, paint, collage, and drawings. Set in an ominously prescient near future, The Words in My Hands is very much a novel for our turbulent times.

The real-life Nickel and Dimed—the author of the wildly popular “Poverty Thoughts” essay tells what it’s like to be working poor in America. ONE OF THE FIVE MOST IMPORTANT BOOKS OF THE YEAR--Esquire “DEVASTATINGLY SMART AND FUNNY. I am the author of Nickel and Dimed, which tells the story of my own brief attempt, as a semi-undercover journalist, to survive on low-wage retail and service jobs. TIRADO IS THE REAL THING.”—Barbara Ehrenreich, from the Foreword As the haves and have-nots grow more separate and unequal in America, the working poor don’t get heard from much. Now they have a voice—and it’s forthright, funny, and just a little bit furious. Here, Linda Tirado tells what it’s like, day after day, to work, eat, shop, raise kids, and keep a roof over your head without enough money. She also answers questions often asked about those who live on or near minimum wage: Why don’t they get better jobs? Why don’t they make better choices? Why do they smoke cigarettes and have ugly lawns? Why don’t they borrow from their parents? Enlightening and entertaining, Hand to Mouth opens up a new and much-needed dialogue between the people who just don’t have it and the people who just don’t get it.

Life is messy. But life is also beautiful. These are the twin themes that author/artist Carolyn Arends (writer of ten Top 10 Christian songs) opens up in her searching exploration of how God meets people in the ordinary moments of life, part of the ConversantLife.com line of books. This humorous, tender, and passionate collection of personal stories illustrate the mysterious ways that God works to bring people through life's struggles and discover the amazing power of grace. Why the birth of her child and the death of a friend gave her a new perspective What a prairie storm and the beauty of a bright red canyon can teach people about God How mismatched shoes and Bach oratorios can give readers a glimpse into a deeper mystery Fans of Don Miller and Anne Lamott will discover a kindred spirit in Carolyn and her transparent and gutsy meditations on life's unanswered questions and the One who can be found there. Formerly titled "Living the Questions"