Why did many Irish Americans, who did not have a direct connection to slavery, choose to fight for the Confederacy? This perplexing question is at the heart of David T. Gleeson's sweeping analysis of the Irish in the Confederate States of America. Taking a broad view of the subject, Gleeson considers the role of Irish southerners in the debates over secession and the formation of the Confederacy, their experiences as soldiers, the effects of Confederate defeat for them and their emerging ethnic identity, and their role in the rise of Lost Cause ideology. Focusing on the experience of Irish southerners in the years leading up to and following the Civil War, as well as on the Irish in the Confederate army and on the southern home front, Gleeson argues that the conflict and its aftermath were crucial to the integration of Irish Americans into the South. Throughout the book, Gleeson draws comparisons to the Irish on the Union side and to southern natives, expanding his analysis to engage the growing literature on Irish and American identity in the nineteenth-century United States.

Hitchcock meets Serling in this deadly game of cat-and-mouse between a young couple and alien races from a #1 New York Times–bestselling author. After engaging in bloody warfare against each other, two alien races—the Greens and the Grays—take refuge on Earth, both believing their home and their enemy destroyed. For seventy-five years, they have been passing as humans, living peacefully—until each side discovers the other has survived. Now, in order to avoid another destructive conflict, these extraterrestrial rivals have united and agreed that a sacrifice must be made . . . On a dark and cold October night in Manhattan’s Riverside Park, a strange ceremony is about to begin. The group is focused on a young girl who is ready to do what she must for peace, but the ritual comes to an abrupt halt when the child is mysteriously kidnapped. Meanwhile, after four years of marriage, Roger and Caroline Whittier struggle to get through a day without fighting. Their bickering is interrupted when a bizarre mugger leaves them with a little girl named Melantha. While they disagree on most matters, they both know they must protect Melantha. Unfortunately, they have no idea who is looking for their foundling or the lengths they will go to get her back. Now, the chase is on . . . “[Timothy] Zahn has lots of surprises up his sleeve, and the ability to make the strange sound real.” —Statesman Journal “Compelling . . . One nice touch in this highly enjoyable hybrid of SF and mystery is that at no point does any one character know exactly what’s going on.” —Publishers Weekly

An unusual collection of Civil War essays as seen through the lens of noted environmental scholars, this book's provocative historical commentary explores how nature--disease, climate, flora and fauna, etc.--affected the war and how the war shaped Americans' perceptions, understanding, and use of nature.