Small-town boy Luke Binelli could hit a baseball, and he could hit it hard. That one skill would open up a world he could have never imagined; a world of big money, beautiful women, and fast cars. Luke would soon learn that his lifestyle did not come without a price. In an attempt to make his dreams a reality, Luke is drawn into the sordid world of drug smugglers and con artists. 'Greed is a sin against God, just as all mortal sins, in as much as man condemns things eternal for the sake of temporal things.' St. Thomas Aquinas
“The word ‘porridge’ has connotations, which associate it with a term of imprisonment which is how I perceived my formative years. The mere thought of yesterday’s uneaten porridge conjures up a picture of something cold wet and slimy with a possible dried crust on top. There can be but a handful of people for whom the victual conjures up such images and memories as it does for me. Amongst those, I would include a long-forgotten colleague in the navy whilst on a deep sea voyage to the Far East. He was always keen to extol the virtues of the cereal and had been eating it for breakfast for some eight weeks or more when he happened to be collecting rubbish from the galley one day and came across the empty porridge sack. To his horror, the bottom was full of live weevils, looking very energetic. He was promptly sick.”Yesterday’s Porridge is a novel based on Gordon Finn’s experiences as an evacuee during WW2 but seen through the eyes of Francis Tenby who makes a discovery some thirty five years later which alters the course of his life. It is the saga of the fictional lives and relationships of characters that Gordon created, based on people he knew in a foster home. The book will appeal to readers of historical fiction. Gordon is inspired by many authors, including Charles Dickens, Jeffrey Archer and Catherine Cookson.
It was supposed to be a relaxing vacation. Even though he can't spend time in the warm waters of Belize, policeman Conrad Bishop is happy to spend time with his girlfriend, Amber, at a private beachfront home in Nantucket. After a tranquil evening walking the beach, Conrad wakes at 3:00 AM, turns on the television, and hears a disturbing news report about a deadly influenza plague-the direct result of a terrorist attack on the United States. Rushing into his bedroom, he finds his girlfriend unconscious and suffering from a high fever. When he tries to take her to the hospital, the town is in a panic. Cars clog the road, and he's forced to return to the beach house. Amber never regains consciousness, and by that evening, she is dead. Grief stricken, Bishop is suddenly thrust into a world that changes by the minute. Terrorists attack every major city in the United States with car bombs and invade American embassies overseas. With a small group of survivors, Conrad struggles to stay alive. His fight will take him to the very steps of the White House and have him waging a valiant crusade to keep a dying nation alive.
Fifty years ago, Stefan Zweig, who committed suicide in 1942, was the most widely read and translated living writer in the world. Zweig's Vienna was a world of bright, brittle superficialities, in which the bourgeoisie "gradually elevated the eternal business of seeing and being seen to the purpose of the existence." To break through the facades of this society, Zweig developed a remarkable literary and psychological method. In The World of Yesterday's Humanist Today, thirty scholars of history, literature, and music share their studies of Zweig and their insight into his works.
A collection of stories of people and events in the Florida Keys extending from the time the Keys were first occupied by humans, through the Second Seminole War, the coming of the Overseas Railway, and finally the opening of the first Overseas Highway in 1927. The tales tell of American Indians, Cubans, Bahamians, New Englanders, and of fishing, turtling, shipwreck salvaging, warring, and of course dealing with heat and mosquitoes. John Viele's three volumes, The Florida Keys, have been Keys bestsellers for years. Now he presents a fascinating new batch of historical vignettes.
This book offers an exploration of unique laws and customs placed around warfare throughout history, from Indigenous Australians to the American Civil War.
WAS AN IMMATURE BOY WITH NO FUTURE WHEN ENLISTED MADE THE UNITED STATES ARMY HOME CHOSEN MARTIAL ARTS INSTRUCTOR FOR SPECIAL FORCES PARTICIPATED IN BLACK OPS MISSIONS RETIRED AS A TOP KICK CIA CAME CALLING DEVISED CAMPAIGNS AT LANGLEY AND NAVAL WAR COLLEGE TAUGHT MILITARY STRATEGY AT WEST POINT LEFT POST TO COMFORT SPOUSE WITH CANCER AND DEATH NEPHEWS SENT ME ON A FALL TRAIN TRIP THEN THE STRANGEST THING HAPPENED I FOUND A MEDALLION, AND NOW I CONTROLLED THE MAGIC IN THEE OLDE WORLD
When American novelist John Steinbeck told Patricia Wilson “It’s a helluva story, Pat, you should write it!” she didn’t know it would take her nearly fifty years to get around to it. Yesterday’s Mashed Potatoes: The Fabulous Life Of A Happy Has-Been tells the story of a third generation actress from a theatrical family, a child performer who grew up to become a star during Broadway’s “Golden Age” and a respected Hollywood actress. Set against an authentic backdrop of theatrical, TV, and film history, the story spills over with anecdotes of the celebrated—Jackie Gleason, Richard Burton, Rodgers and Hammerstein, Carol Burnett, and among others, Bob Fosse and Gene Kelly (“I wasn’t a dancer, and I was too tall for both of them!”) But Patricia Wilson’s personal life reads, in her words, “like a Danielle Steel novel!” This is a compelling tale of an everywoman’s journey through love, loss, success and sorrow. Yesterday’s Mashed Potatoes: The Fabulous Life Of A Happy Has-Been won First Place For Excellence In Writing at The Santa Barbara Writers Conference, 2007. “Fiorello! opened in 1959, won the Pulitzer Prize, and Patricia Wilson was one of its stars. She played Marie LaGuardia, wife of New York’s still most beloved mayor, and did it with uncommon grace, charm—and yes, loveliness. Every word sung or spoken by Pat possessed extraordinary intelligence and modesty, and she was crucial to the success of that show. Her reminiscences make delightful reading.”…..Harold S. “Hal” Prince “—lucid, touching, candid, human—I’ve applauded your singing and acting—now I’m delighted to applaud your writing.Brava! …..Sheldon Harnick “Yesterday’s Mashed Potatoes: The Fabulous Life Of A Happy Has-Been. has all the qualities of a fine novel: funny, sometimes painfully touching, with sharply defined characters, cinematic flair, pungent dialogue, big close-ups, eloquent flashbacks, and voice-over asides, it is theatrical and film history as well as personal memoir, an intriguing blend of the two.”…..Cork Millner , author: Hollywood Be Thy Name, The Warner Brothers Story “What a privilege to read this memoir! I was riveted, and impressed by the deep spiritual strength Pat expresses. The rich theatrical heritage of her parents and grandparents is not only important to her personal story, but to that of our country.”…..Preshy Marker, actress (A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum) “A lively and unpretentious autobiography! Patricia Wilson has written a book that can hold its own with the best of celebrity memoirs.”…..David Meyers, music historian
