Life is sweet for Katherine Langley. A freshman at the University of Virginia, she is free from the drama of her parents' dysfunctional marriage and ready to focus on studying to become a nurse. Her brother, Ben, belongs to the hottest fraternity on campus, and her new roommate, Emma, is beautiful and charming, a party girl whose answer for a hangover is happy hour. She is also a psychopath. When Katherine's obsessive-compulsive overprotective brother succumbs to Emma's charms and falls dangerously off-track, Katherine must save Ben from himself. Lives are threatened and someone disappears on New Year's Day. The only evidence left: a single set of footprints in the snow. From the university campus to a cozy cottage on Carter's Creek, Virginia, Saving Ben is a haunting tale of love and loyalty, anger management, substance abuse, and betrayal.
Journalist, filmmaker, and environmental activist Ben Raines turns his attention to Alabama's Tensaw Delta in this gorgeously illustrated and meticulously researched book. Identified by Raines and others as America's own Amazon, the Tensaw Delta is the most biodiverse ecosystem in our nation. This special book celebrates this most significant of Alabama's waterways while also chronicling how it is increasingly at risk.
When it comes to planning for retirement the majority of people are on their own. There's no one to coach you or hold your hand to make sure you understand what you need to do, when you need to do it, or how to make wise decisions with your life savings. The goal of this book is to help remove some of the stress, confusion, and anguish involved in the process of saving and investing for retirement. Money is a tool that can either cause or solve a lot of problems in your life. This book guides you through the big decisions necessary to get you on the right track towards financial independence so you can move on with your life to focus on more important things and let your money do the work for you. Everything You Need to Know About Saving For Retirement covers: *How to get started with your retirement savings *Why saving is more important than investing *How much you should save for retirement *How to spend your money on the things you care about *Where to invest your money *How to become a 401(k) millionaire *How to make up for a late start to saving and retirement planning *How much you need to retire *How to think about Social Security *The 3 biggest things you need to know about investing and much more Ben Carlson is the Director of Institutional Asset Management at Ritholtz Wealth Management. He has spent his career working with nonprofits and individuals to help them plan and invest their money wisely. Ben is the author of three other books including A Wealth of Common Sense: Why Simplicity Trumps Complexity in Any Investment Plan as well as the blog A Wealth of Common Sense.
Father Joe O’Callahan, S.J. was the unlikeliest war hero. A bespectacled math professor from Holy Cross, he became the U.S. Navy’s first Jesuit chaplain in World War II and served in combat operations in the Atlantic and Pacific theaters. Father O’Callahan was on the aircraft carrier Franklin, known as “Big Ben”, in the Okinawa campaign in early 1945 when massive explosions and fire from a kamikaze bomb attack nearly destroyed his ship. Hundreds of sailors died within moments of the attack, and the Franklin, lay dead in the water, drifting toward Japan just 60 miles distant. As flames consumed the carrier, the chaplain organized and led fire-fighting crews and prevented a potentially fatal explosion while ministering to injured, dying and terrified sailors. Father O’Callahan’s deeds were instrumental in saving the Franklin, and he stayed with the ship on its voyage under power to New York Harbor. The carrier’s captain called him “the bravest man I ever saw,” and Father Joe became the first American military chaplain to receive the Medal of Honor, the nation’s highest decoration for valor. But the price of glory was high for Father O’Callahan. He suffered a stroke after returning to Holy Cross and spent the rest of his life enduring incapacitating pain. Through it all, the priest displayed the same leadership and strength derived from unwavering faith that enabled him to help save his ship and comrades. The book incorporates primary sources, interviews with Franklin survivors and O’Callahan family members and other materials never before published, including documentation of the Navy’s review of Father O’Callahan’s recommendation of the Medal of Honor and the process leading to the priest’s receipt of the decoration.
When Ben Hewitt met Erik Gillard, he was amazed. Here was a real-life rebel living happily and comfortably in small-town Vermont on less than $10,000 per year. Gillard's no bum. He has a job, a girlfriend, good friends, and strong ties to the community. But how he lives his life—and why—launches Hewitt on a quest to understand the true role of money and mindless consumerism in our lives. By meeting and befriending people like Erik Gillard, Hewitt realized that their happiness was real. What was he—and the rest of a deeply unhappy population—missing? Saved is the humorous, surprising, and ultimately life-changing result of Hewitt's quest, a narrative that challenges everything we know about the meaning of money. Hewitt uses his sharp eye for story, exhaustive reporting, and his own experience living below his means to bring what he learned into an even larger context. How does money really work? How can a bankrupt society move forward? The answers are not what you think, and Hewitt has written an important book for our times.
Dear Reader, In February 2013 I gave a speech at the National Prayer Breakfast. Standing a few feet from President Obama, I warned my fellow citizens of the dangers facing our country and called for a return to the principles that made America great. Many Americans heard and responded, but our nation’s decline has continued. Today the danger is greater than ever before, and I have never shared a more urgent message than I do now. Our growing debt and deteriorating morals have driven us far from the founders’ intent. We’ve made very little progress in basic education. Obamacare threatens our health, liberty, and financial future. Media elitism and political correctness are out of control. Worst of all, we seem to have lost our ability to discuss important issues calmly and respectfully regardless of party affiliation or other differences. As a doctor rather than a politician, I care about what works, not whether someone has an (R) or a (D) after his or her name. We have to come together to solve our problems. Knowing that the future of my grandchildren is in jeopardy because of reckless spending, godless government, and mean-spirited attempts to silence critics left me no choice but to write this book. I have endeavored to propose a road out of our decline, appealing to every American’s decency and common sense. If each of us sits back and expects someone else to take action, it will soon be too late. But with your help, I firmly believe that America may once again be “one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.” Sincerely, Ben Carson
The inventions and inspiration of Benjamin Franklin and how they've stood the test of time What would you do if you lived in a community without a library, hospital, post office, or fire department? If you were Benjamin Franklin, you'd set up these organizations yourself. Franklin also designed the lightning rod, suggested the idea of daylight savings time, and invented bifocals-all inspired by his common sense and intelligence. In this informative book, Gene Barretta brings Benjamin Franklin's genius to life, deepening our appreciation for one of the most influential figures in American history. Now & Ben is a 2007 Bank Street - Best Children's Book of the Year.
Outlines how baby-boomers can plan for retirement, discussing how to invest to get the maximum return from savings and how to use an established nest egg to get the most income.