The success story of The Big Issue is both inspirational and paradoxical; rather than a charity, it is a flourishing commercial enterprise, but one that genuinely benefits those involved. The magazine is sold by homeless and vulnerable people and, in return, they achieve financial independence and status and self-reliance. The story of the paper's development has a practical angle; it should offer help and insights to NGOs and governments involved with the homeless, or to those businesses wishing to set up enterprises for the common good.

For author Robert Batten, his Irish-Celtic, Western European heritage molded his past and helped shape the present. It continues to mold his future. Robert Batten comes from a line of interesting individuals who have stories in need of telling. The G Street Chronicles: Our Amazing Journey is a true story told through the eyes and words of a small boy, now grown. It is a story of three brothers and those by-gone days of earlier times in America. Batten takes you on a story-book journey of childhood and family secrets, pending poverty, faith in God, and visiting angels. Batten and his ancestors have been through it all. From depression to near dynasty, these heartwarming tales are a fantastic reminder that sometimes the truth is better than fiction. Join in on the struggles, life lessons, and successes in those early days of finding the American dream.

How World War II changed New Castle, Indiana. “This is a unique look at the war, far from the front lines, but equally impacting life on the home front.” —Bookviews.com The War Comes to Plum Street brings to life the Second World War through the eyes of a small group of neighbors from a Midwestern town. Bruce C. Smith presents their stories just as they happened, without explanation or interpretation. To experience the war as they did, insofar as it is possible, we must understand how they perceived everyday events and recognize the incompleteness of their knowledge of what was taking place in Europe and the Pacific. The inhabitants of Plum Street in New Castle, Indiana, resemble many other average Americans of their day. As we discover how they experienced those fateful years, these Americans may have something to teach us about how we live in our own turbulent time. “This remains a superb story. Bruce C. Smith has a wonderful eye for detail and a compelling perspective and voice. We care about this place and the people who live here.” —James H. Madison, author of Hoosiers: A New History of Indiana “The book is worth reading for what it offers about the emotional life of the times. Smith recognizes that in a small community and, more particularly, on a single street, lives are enmeshed . . . Ultimately, this book is deeply personal, but it reminds us that life is lived at a deeply personal level.” —HistoryNet.com

The Girl Who Came Calling, is about Pilar Riviera, the beautiful bad-ass heroine with a blue blood pedigree (Ernest Hemingway's illegitimate daughter), tracing her Jewish ancestry all the way back to David who slayed Goliath. Killing is in her DNA. And kill she does, from JFK in Dallas, to Dorothy Kilgallen in New York, to Lucky Luciano in Naples, to Che Guevara in Bolivia. And along the way, she has an affair with Marilyn Monroe and Elvis Presley; seduces Jackie Kennedy; helps Fidel Castro plant hidden nuclear bombs in the US; assassinates Lucky Luciano, stealing his Rafael portrait that went missing during WW2; and then she fakes Jack Ruby's death, sneaks him out of Dallas and hides him away on a remote Cuban island. When Pilar isn’t bumping off the rich and famous, she’s hopping in bed with them. Smart, witty and beautiful, she can either seduce or kill you.