By the author of "Trammel's Trace-The First Road to Texas from the North."Houston oilmen. A TV repairman. Some tough Texas lawmen. An MIT-educated electrical engineer, and the self-proclaimed "world's greatest underwater treasure hunter." These are just some of the men who believed the treasure legend of Hendricks Lake in east Texas enough to search for silver there.For over 150 years, people have heard the tale that Jean Lafitte plundered the Spanish brig Santa Rosa in Matagorda Bay in 1816. His caravan of six wagonloads of silver headed north along Trammel's Trace but was overtaken by soldiers. Rather than give up the silver, the wagons were cut loose and rolled into Hendricks Lake. At least that what the legend says.By combining meticulous historical research with personal accounts, this work brings the story of these characters to life. W.C. Jameson (author of The Lost Canyon of Gold), says "this book is a compelling history artfully wrought by an excellent writer with an intimate connection to the land and the people." The book is supported by a website (www.hendrickslake.com) and a Facebook Group (https://www.facebook.com/groups/hendrickslake/) to keep readers engaged in the ongoing stories around the Hendricks Lake treasure.

Trammel’s Trace tells the story of a borderlands smuggler and an important passageway into early Texas. Trammel’s Trace, named for Nicholas Trammell, was the first route from the United States into the northern boundaries of Spanish Texas. From the Great Bend of the Red River it intersected with El Camino Real de los Tejas in Nacogdoches. By the early nineteenth century, Trammel’s Trace was largely a smuggler’s trail that delivered horses and contraband into the region. It was a microcosm of the migration, lawlessness, and conflict that defined the period. By the 1820s, as Mexico gained independence from Spain, smuggling declined as Anglo immigration became the primary use of the trail. Familiar names such as Sam Houston, David Crockett, and James Bowie joined throngs of immigrants making passage along Trammel’s Trace. Indeed, Nicholas Trammell opened trading posts on the Red River and near Nacogdoches, hoping to claim a piece of Austin’s new colony. Austin denied Trammell’s entry, however, fearing his poor reputation would usher in a new wave of smuggling and lawlessness. By 1826, Trammell was pushed out of Texas altogether and retreated back to Arkansas Even so, as author Gary L. Pinkerton concludes, Trammell was “more opportunist than outlaw and made the most of disorder.”

A collection of sermons, addresses, question and answer formatted lessons, catechisms, and other documents addressed to the members and officers of the National Baptist Convention. There is a section containing biographical sketches of prominent Baptists, as well as an autobiographical sketch of Morris' life and works. The book contains a directory of ordained African-American ministers in the Southern states and territories.

Harry E. Rieseberg's autobiographical writings include stories like being attacked by a giant octopus while recovering sunken treasure, defending himself from an attack by a 15-foot shark with only a diving knife, and surviving a hurricane and a severely broken leg while at sea--all captivating tales for audiences in the 1940s and 1950s, and all invented by a very successful charlatan. This is a biography of Harry E. Rieseberg, a shameless self-promoter who passed himself off as the world's greatest treasure salvor but who never got wet. His entire public persona was based on stories he retold in dozens of books and thousands of articles in which he made claims of feats that were fantasy but sold as fact. Despite the often-obvious facts of his fabrication, his books influenced a generation of legitimate divers and underwater archaeologists like Sir Robert Marx and Robert Stenuit. Thoroughly researched, this book uses sources including his personal records and letters to his agents to provide deep insight into the nature of his life and the way he created a false persona for popular consumption.

Ghosts and other supernatural phenomena are widely represented throughout modern culture. They can be found in any number of entertainment, commercial, and other contexts, but popular media or commodified representations of ghosts can be quite different from the beliefs people hold about them, based on tradition or direct experience. Personal belief and cultural tradition on the one hand, and popular and commercial representation on the other, nevertheless continually feed each other. They frequently share space in how people think about the supernatural. In Haunting Experiences, three well-known folklorists seek to broaden the discussion of ghost lore by examining it from a variety of angles in various modern contexts. Diane E. Goldstein, Sylvia Ann Grider, and Jeannie Banks Thomas take ghosts seriously, as they draw on contemporary scholarship that emphasizes both the basis of belief in experience (rather than mere fantasy) and the usefulness of ghost stories. They look closely at the narrative role of such lore in matters such as socialization and gender. And they unravel the complex mix of mass media, commodification, and popular culture that today puts old spirits into new contexts.

Powerful yet concise, Leaders Who Last instructs, warns, inspires, and challenges leaders with what it takes to live, lead, and make a lasting difference in the lives of others.

You Don't Have to Learn This the Hard Way... Anyone involved in leadership knows that it's tough and mistakes are bound to happen. But some mistakes are more costly than others and can result in the end of effectiveness, the loss of important relationships, and disqualification from ministry. Using the story of a fictitious church team to demonstrate the problems, principles, and practice of finding solutions, leadership expert Dave Kraft uncovers the top 10 critical mistakes leaders make and shows you how to avoid them so you can have ministry and relationships that last.

The book includes six chapters that cover Virginia history from initial settlement through the 20th century plus one that deals with the important role of underwater archaeology. Written by prominent archaeologists with research experience in their respective topic areas, the chapters consider important issues of Virginia history and consider how the discipline of historic archaeology has addressed them and needs to address them . Changes in research strategy over time are discussed , and recommendations are made concerning the need to recognize the diverse and often differing roles and impacts that characterized the different regions of Virginia over the course of its historic past. Significant issues in Virginia history needing greater study are identified.