A Life of Albert Pike, originally published in 1997, is as much a study of antebellum Arkansas as it is a portrait of the former general. A native of Massachusetts, Pike settled in Arkansas Territory in 1832 after wandering the Great Plains of Texas and New Mexico for two years. In Arkansas he became a schoolteacher, newspaperman, lawyer, Whig leader, poet, Freemason, and Confederate general who championed secession and fought against Black suffrage. During his tenure as Sovereign Grand Commander of the Scottish Rite—a position he held for more than thirty years beginning in 1859—Pike popularized the Masonic movement in the American South and Far West. In the wake of the Civil War, Pike left Arkansas, ultimately settling in Washington, D.C., where he lived out his last years in the Mason's House of the Temple. Drawing on original documents, Pike’s copious writings, and interviews with Pike’s descendants, Walter Lee Brown presents a fascinating personal history that also serves as a rich compendium of Arkansas’s antebellum history.

During the sale of a rickety farmhouse in Eureka Falls, AK, real estate agent Honey Ingersoll stumbles across the body of a murdered woman. Days later, she finds uncut diamonds nearby and a second victim. Now a prime suspect, Honey had better help the sheriff, her biggest admirer, solve the crimes before she ends up in jail or worse.

The 1862 battle of Pea Ridge in northwestern Arkansas was one of the largest Civil War engagements fought on the western frontier, and it dramatically altered the balance of power in the Trans-Mississippi. This study of the battle is based on research in archives from Connecticut to California and includes a pioneering study of the terrain of the sprawling battlefield, as well as an examination of soldiers' personal experiences, the use of Native American troops, and the role of Pea Ridge in regional folklore. "A model campaign history that merits recognition as a major contribution to the literature on Civil War military operations.--Journal of Military History "Shines welcome light on the war's largest battle west of the Mississippi.--USA Today "With its exhaustive research and lively prose style, this military study is virtually a model work of its kind.--Publishers Weekly "A thoroughly researched and well-told account of an important but often neglected Civil War encounter.--Kirkus Reviews "Offers the rich tactical detail, maps, and order of battle that military scholars love but retains a very readable style combined with liberal use of recollections of the troops and leaders involved.--Library Journal "This book is assured of a place among the best of all studies that have been published on Civil War campaigns.--American Historical Review "Destined to become a Civil War classic and a model for writing military history.--Civil War History "A campaign study of a caliber that all should strive for and few will equal.--Journal of American History "An excellent and detailed book in all accounts, scholarly and readable, with both clear writing and excellent analysis. . . . Utterly essential . . . for any serious student of the Civil War.--Civil War News

Here is an animated and wonderfully engaging work of cultural history that lays out America’s unruly past by describing the ways in which cutting loose has always been, and still is, an essential part of what it means to be an American. From the time the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock, Americans have defied their stodgy rules and hierarchies with pranks, dances, stunts, and wild parties, shaping the national character in profound and lasting ways. In the nation’s earlier eras, revelers flouted Puritans, Patriots pranked Redcoats, slaves lampooned masters, and forty-niners bucked the saddles of an increasingly uptight middle class. In the twentieth century, fun-loving Americans celebrated this heritage and pushed it even further: flappers “barney-mugged” in “petting pantries,” Yippies showered the New York Stock Exchange with dollar bills, and B-boys invented hip-hop in a war zone in the Bronx. This is the surprising and revelatory history that John Beckman recounts in American Fun. Tying together captivating stories of Americans’ “pursuit of happiness”—and distinguishing between real, risky fun and the bland amusements that paved the way for Hollywood, Disneyland, and Xbox—Beckman redefines American culture with a delightful and provocative thesis. (With black-and-white illustrations throughout.)

Double Pointed Knitting Needle Becomes Murder Weapon in the Cozy Mystery, A DOUBLE POINTED MURDER by Ann Yost --Red Jacket, Michigan, On the Keweenaw Peninsula-- When Cricket Koski, a barmaid from the Black Fly, is stabbed to death with a double-pointed knitting needle on New Year’s Eve and deposited in the bed of Lars Teljo, it's up to Hatti Lehtinen to exonerate her ex-brother-in-law. It’s not that Hatti, who runs a fishing-slash-knitting supply shop, is a trained detective. It’s just that Sheriff Clump considers his collar a slam dunk because an affair between Lars and Cricket three years earlier has made him vulnerable to blackmail. But there's a problem... Everyone in the tiny, Finnish-American town on the Keweenaw Peninsula has to wear more than one hat and, as acting president of the chamber of commerce, Hatti has to host a quintet of television personalities who arrive unexpectedly to film an Antiques Roadshow knockoff called What’s in Your Attic? What’s in the local attics are pieces of Nazi memorabilia from Finland’s World War II partnership with Hitler and when a letter disclosing the existence of a piece of Nazi artwork is discovered, all attention turns to trying to find the masterpiece. Hatti begins to suspect there’s a connection between the arrival of the newcomers and the death of Cricket Koski and after a second shocking murder, she is sure of it. The only question is, which one of them did it? And, since double-pointed needles are packaged in sets of four, does that mean there are two murders still to come? Publisher's Note: While you don’t need to be a knitter to enjoy this series, you just might pick up a fun and rewarding hobby in addition to enjoying a thoroughly delightful, clean and wholesome, mystery with a good dose of humor. Fans of Maggie Sefton, Ann Canadeo, Sally Goldenbaum and Mary Kruger will enjoy this fun mystery series set in the Finnish community of upper peninsula Michigan. The BAIT & STITCH SERIES: A Pattern for Murder A Double-Pointed Murder A Fair Isle Murder

During the sale of an abandoned farmhouse, Realtor Honey Ingersoll stumbles over the body of a young woman with big hair, silver stilettos and a bullet hole in her chest. A few days later, she discovers uncut diamonds on neighboring farmland. The owner turns up dead soon after - and once again Honey finds the body. Sheriff Matt Rameros, who's sweet on Honey, believes the two incidents are unrelated. Honey, now a person of interest in the murders, thinks otherwise. Why else would Sam Ridley, a big Fayetteville financial concern, and a U.S. senator all have an interest in these hardscrabble properties?