Although a host of adventurers stormed west in 1806 after Lewis and Clark's safe return, seven of them left unique legacies because of their monumental journeys, their lionhearted spirit in the face of hardship, and the way their paths intertwined time and again. The Perilous West tells this riveting story in depth for the first time, focusing on each of the seven explorers in turn - Ramsay Crooks, Robert McClellan, John Hoback, Jacob Reznor, Edward Robinson, Pierre Dorion, and Marie Dorion. These seven counted the Tetons, Hells Canyon, and South Pass among their discoveries. More importantly, they forged the Oregon Trail-a path destined to link the Atlantic coast with the Pacific, spurring national expansion as it carried trappers, soldiers, pioneers, missionaries, and gold-seekers westward. The Perilous West begins in 1806, when Crooks and McClellan meet Lewis and Clark, and the vast expanse from the Dakotas to the Pacific coast appears a commercial paradise. The story ends in 1814, when a band of French Canadian trappers rescue Marie Dorion, and even John Jacob Astor's well-financed enterprise has ended in violence and chaos, placing the protagonists squarely in the context of Thomas Jefferson's monumental opening of the West, which stalled with the War of 1812.

What would you do to save a sister? As the last mortal kingdom of Kepler resists the Immortal Empire, its young queen faces a devastating attack. Queen Vivian is two minutes into her reign when an arrow pierces her heart and infects her with the Immortality Virus. But she has too much magic to become immortal and not enough to survive. She must find more magic fast, or she’ll die. Meanwhile, another young mortal faces an uncertain future of her own. Carina is fleeing for her life, but her magic is a tracking beam for immortals. She must learn to harness and control it, or she’ll be captured and killed. Then she meets the queen of South Kepler. Vivian needs Carina’s magic, and she can offer safe haven in exchange. But can Vivian trust this common girl? Carina isn’t on the kingdom’s registry of magicians. What if she’s a Northern rebel? A spy for the Immortal Empire? And will the truth be revealed in time to save them both? Sisters of the Perilous Heart is Book One of the Mortal Heritance.

In a rousing account of one of the critical turning points in American history, Through the Perilous Fight tells the gripping story of the burning of Washington and the improbable last stand at Baltimore that helped save the nation and inspired its National Anthem. In the summer of 1814, the United States of America teetered on the brink of disaster. The war it had declared against Great Britain two years earlier appeared headed toward inglorious American defeat. The young nation’s most implacable nemesis, the ruthless British Admiral George Cockburn, launched an invasion of Washington in a daring attempt to decapitate the government and crush the American spirit. The British succeeded spectacularly, burning down most of the city’s landmarks—including the White House and the Capitol—and driving President James Madison from the area. As looters ransacked federal buildings and panic gripped the citizens of Washington, beleaguered American forces were forced to regroup for a last-ditch defense of Baltimore. The outcome of that “perilous fight” would help change the outcome of the war—and with it, the fate of the fledgling American republic. In a fast-paced, character-driven narrative, Steve Vogel tells the story of this titanic struggle from the perspective of both sides. Like an epic novel, Through the Perilous Fight abounds with heroes, villains, and astounding feats of derring-do. The vindictive Cockburn emerges from these pages as a pioneer in the art of total warfare, ordering his men to “knock down, burn, and destroy” everything in their path. While President Madison dithers on how to protect the capital, Secretary of State James Monroe personally organizes the American defenses, with disastrous results. Meanwhile, a prominent Washington lawyer named Francis Scott Key embarks on a mission of mercy to negotiate the release of an American prisoner. His journey will place him with the British fleet during the climactic Battle for Baltimore, and culminate in the creation of one of the most enduring compositions in the annals of patriotic song: “The Star-Spangled Banner.” Like Pearl Harbor or 9/11, the burning of Washington was a devastating national tragedy that ultimately united America and renewed its sense of purpose. Through the Perilous Fight combines bravura storytelling with brilliantly rendered character sketches to recreate the thrilling six-week period when Americans rallied from the ashes to overcome their oldest adversary—and win themselves a new birth of freedom. Praise for Through the Perilous Fight “Very fine storytelling, impeccably researched . . . brings to life the fraught events of 1814 with compelling and convincing vigor.”—Rick Atkinson, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of An Army at Dawn “Probably the best piece of military history that I have read or reviewed in the past five years. . . . This well-researched and superbly written history has all the trappings of a good novel. . . . No one who hears the national anthem at a ballgame will ever think of it the same way after reading this book.”—Gary Anderson, The Washington Times “[Steve] Vogel does a superb job. . . . [A] fast-paced narrative with lively vignettes.”—Joyce Appleby, The Washington Post “Before 9/11 was 1814, the year the enemy burned the nation’s capital. . . . A splendid account of the uncertainty, the peril, and the valor of those days.”—Richard Brookhiser, author of James Madison “A swift, vibrant account of the accidents, intricacies and insanities of war.”—Kirkus Reviews

“A wonderfully satisfying magical saga.”—Publishers Weekly A girl and a boy wake up in the Sahara Desert, in the midst of a howling sand storm. They have no idea who they are or how they got there. They cannot be sure whether they are friends or foes. All they know is that they are relentlessly pursued and must run for their lives. No past. No future. Only danger--and each other. In this magical epic fantasy adventure, Sherry Thomas has created a fast-paced, intricately woven plot, a simmering romance, and a pair of protagonists who will stay with you long after you have reached the last page. Sequel to The Burning Sky. Magic, girl disguised as boy, dragons, boarding school, young adult romance, first love, epic fantasy Royalty, sahara desert, Egypt, action adventure, battle, war

In this dazzling expeditionary volume, Mark Dion investigates the layered history of the Lone Star State.

In 1860 a Scottish lass protects her younger sister from a savage beast on the windswept highlands above Pentland Firth. An Iowa farm boy discovers a dark secret on the gory battlegrounds of Shiloh in 1862. Two years later a Colonel of the Taiping Army retreats in shame after the bloody fall of Nanjing. Born of an English father and a Sioux mother, a U.S. Cavalry Scout fights for his life on the unforgiving plains of western Kansas in 1867. During autumn of the same year, a Russian fur trapper sails from Sitka, Alaska on an American ship bound for San Francisco in a farcical quest for gold. Two years later an enigmatic law student calmly departs Budapest after the brutal murder of a corrupt policeman. In Salt Lake City during the spring of 1871, a young woman a few months shy of fifteen gallops away from her wedding reception to escape an arranged marriage. And after the dawn of the twentieth century, the winsome Muireall Anne Ravenscroft—inspired by the tragic intertwining of these seven lives—will write her definitive history of the American West. But this is only a prelude to the magnificent epic that awaits you....

A book that will fascinate and inform readers who love Canadian writing Part cultural history, part personal memoir, this accomplished, sweeping, yet intimate book demonstrates that the story of Canadian publishing is one of the cornerstones of our literary history. In The Perilous Trade, former publisher, literary journalist, and industry insider Roy MacSkimming chronicles the extraordinary journey of English-language publishing from the Second World War to the present. During a period of unparalleled transformation, Canada grew from a cultural colony fed on the literary offerings of London and New York to a mature nation whose writers are celebrated around the world. Crucial to that evolution were three generations of book publishers–mavericks, gamblers, entrepreneurs, political activists, and true believers–sharing a conviction that Canadians need books of their own. Canadian publishing has long made headlines—be it Jack McClelland’ s outrageous publicity stunts, American takeovers, the collapse of venerable imprints, or bold political moves to ensure the industry’s survival. Roy MacSkimming takes us behind the headlines to draw memorable portraits of the men and women who built Canada’s literary renaissance. With a novelist’s eye for character and incident, he weaves their tangled relationships with authors, agents, booksellers and each other into a lively narrative rich in anecdote and revealing personal recollection. Canadian publishers large and small have nurtured a literature of extraordinary diversity and breadth, MacSkimming argues, giving us English Canada’s greatest cultural achievement.

The Straits of Florida is a 110-mile sea passage between the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean bordered on the northern side by the Florida Keys and the Florida Reef. In its waters, along the reef, and on desolate keys, thousands of men and women have died in shipwrecks, attacks by natives, sea battles, and pirate boardings. Few of their stories have survived, but those that have tell gripping tales of their struggles against the perils of the sea and the onslaughts of men. This book presents a selection of such stories during the age of sail from the time Spanish navigators discovered the Straits to the end of the Second Seminole War in 1842. Excerpted from ships' logs, captains' diaries, court-martial transcripts, and newspaper accounts, the stories in this volume—a companion to The Florida Keys, Volume 1: A History of the Pioneers—will make you glad you live in a modern world. Read harrowing tales of the cruelty and torture inflicted on mariners at the hands of bloodthirsty pirates; of pistol and cannon battles between merchant ships and wayward privateers; and of the hardships endured by some of Florida's earliest settlers. Sprinkled with hand-drawn illustrations, photographs, and maps depicting the lay of the land during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, this book presents a scholarly, historically accurate account of life on the Keys and in the perilous Straits of Florida during the age of sail. An index and extensive bibliography are included. Next in series > > See all of the books in this series

This book analyzes the economic challenges facing symphony orchestras and contrasts the experience of orchestras in the United States (where there is little direct government support) and abroad (where governments typically provide large direct subsidies). Robert J. Flanagan explains the tension between artistic excellence and financial jeopardy that confronts most symphony orchestras. He analyzes three complementary strategies for addressing orchestras' economic challenges—raising performance revenues, slowing the growth of performance expenses, and increasing nonperformance income—and demonstrates that none of the three strategies alone is likely to provide economic security for orchestras.

An undead necromancer. A curse written in blood. Sier Bryn hoped her return would provide the chance to rebuild her life, but her new knighthood quickly earns the animosity of her fellow warriors. After learning of a family curse that claims the lives of innocents, Bryn journeys to the Perilous Keep to confront her undead, curse-casting ancestor. But in those ancestral halls, Bryn must pay a terrible price. Can she regain what she lost at the Perilous Keep and prove her worth to the person who doubts it the most: herself? Authors 4 Authors Content Rating This title has been rated 17+, appropriate for older teens and adults, and contains: - graphic violence - moderate language - brief implied sex - child murder For more information on our rating system, please, visit Authors4AuthorsPublishing.com/books/ratings