David Glasgow Farragut, the Civil War icon and Americas first four-star admiral, had a family worthy of fiction. The main character -- those who influenced him most -- were heroes themselves in their day: In the American Revolution, it was George, this Spanish immigrant father; in the War of 1812, David Porter, both his foster father and commander; and in the Civil War, David Dixon Porter, his adopted brother and naval partner. This book tells how Farraguts hero-relatives impacted him at successive stages in his growth and career. A kind of family album in text and illustration, the book begins with details of Farraguts Spanish and Irish ancestry. It concludes with a profile of his son, Loyall, his chosen biographer, who along with the admirals wife, Virginia, became guardians of his legacy when he passed.
Beginning in the 1960s in California, erstwhile music producer Tony Alamo became interested in authoritarian religion and, along with his charismatic wife, Susan, began gathering followers. By the 1970s, Tony Alamo Christian Ministries had established particularly strong footholds in Arkansas, as well as maintaining outposts in California. The ministry gained a legion of followers, with branches not only in the USA but in places as diverse as Africa and Sri Lanka. Even through their leader’s eventual imprisonment under federal charges (related to transporting minors across state lines for sexual purposes), Alamo’s vision survived—and his community survives him today. Whispering in the Daylight: The Children of Tony Alamo Christian Ministries and Their Journey to Freedom is based on numerous interviews from group members and, more importantly, on interviews with the children—second and third-generation followers. Author Debby Schriver chronicles how this group was formed, documenting its many abuses and its gradual adoption of cult-like behaviors and practices. Like many cult leaders, Tony Alamo had different faces. The public saw him as a somewhat self-important but harmless music promoter and designer of bedazzling denim jackets. Schriver chronicles firsthand the condemnation, rejection, and torment that the second-generation survivors of Tony Alamo’s abuses experienced. Schriver’s interviews, particularly those with children, illuminate the real horrors of the Alamos’ behavior, ranging from economic exploitation, extreme forced fasts, and beatings, that resulted in permanent injury. Schriver’s extensive research—including interviews with Tony Alamo himself, harrowing visits to Alamo compounds, and witnessing gut-wrenching confrontations between freed children and their unreformed parents—tells the story of a closed group whose origins and history are unlikely ever to be definitively unraveled.
The first volume of Lewis’ masterful biography of David Glasgow Farragut’s long career in the U.S, Navy covers his life before the Civil War. Farragut served with Captain David Porter in the USS Essex; cruised in the Mediterranean; hunted pirates in the Caribbean; almost died of yellow fever; observed the French bombardment of Vera Cruz; sailed into Buenos Aires, Montevideo, and Rio de Janeiro when revolution threatened those cities; fought in the Mexican War; and commanded the steam sloop of war Brooklyn. During these years he slowly rose from midshipman to captain, then to the highest rank in the United States Navy.
"Long before the Confederacy was crushed militarily, it was defeated economically," writes Charles L. Dufour. He contends that with the fall of the critical city of New Orleans in spring 1862 the South lost the Civil War, although fighting would continueøfor three more years. On the Mississippi River, below New Orleans, in the predawn of April 24, 1862, David Farragut with fourteen gunboats ran past two forts to capture the South's principal seaport. Vividly descriptive, The Night the War Was Lost is also very human in its portrayal of terrified citizens and leaders occasionally rising to heroism. In a swift-moving narrative, Dufour explains the reasons for the seizure of New Orleans and describes its results.
Run along with Hopkins as he learns that even with all the excitement of a day at the beach, nothing compares to the love and security of his mommy. Bright ocean colors and playful rhyme come together in this beautiful dog story that is sure to garner lots of giggles and big hugs from the littlest of ones.
