I have been a colonial-era history buff since I was growing up. Exploring the neighboring forests with my bow and arrow fueled my imagination as a child. I would often visit the North Carolina mountains (which later became my home) with my family, and I learned about the Trail of Tears and Cherokee history. My parents gifted me my first boat in 1973 at age 12, and I have been paddling ever since, with over 400 bodies of water documented in my personal database. We raised our children in canoes, and there is nothing I enjoy more than being out on the water in a wilderness setting and time-traveling back into the spirit of yesteryear.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book primarily because of the strong connection to pirate history in southwestern Florida.
I could also relate to the main character as a young man and the trials and tribulations that he had to deal with. It had a surprise ending that left the reader wanting more.
School's out for the summer in Florida. For young Harley Cooper, that means endless days of adventure on the bays and cays around Pine Island. With his sea-going black lab, Hammerhead, by his side, Harley fishes the pristine waters for blue crab to help his mom make ends meet. When he hauls up an ancient treasure map one day, summer vacation explodes into a hunt for Spanish gold. A mysterious hermit, known only as Salt, steers Harley toward hidden doubloons with swashbuckling tales of the infamous pirate Gasparilla. But, does the hermit have reasons of his own? Or will nature…
This book was appealing to me because it dealt with a personal reckoning decision on the part of the author to undertake a historically based pilgrimage on foot.
The account of his journey was not only educational but personalized in a manner that kept me engaged. Various sites from previous eras were visited, and the saga of the adventure in and of itself was interesting.
“American Ramble is a dazzling mixture of travelogue, memoir, and history. At times profound, funny, and heartbreaking, this is the story of a traveler intoxicated by life. I couldn’t put it down.” — Nathaniel Philbrick
A stunning, revelatory memoir about a 330-mile walk from Washington, D.C., to New York City—an unforgettable pilgrimage to the heart of America across some of our oldest common ground.
Neil King Jr.’s desire to walk from Washington, D.C., to New York City began as a whim and soon became an obsession. By the spring of 2021, events had intervened that gave his desire greater urgency.…
What were America's first prisons like? How did penal reformers, prison administrators, and politicians deal with the challenges of confining human beings in long-term captivity as punishment--what they saw as a humane intervention?
The Deviant Prison centers on one early prison: Eastern State Penitentiary. Built in Philadelphia, one of the…
I love time-traveling adventures that connect the future to the past, particularly in a geographic area that I know very well.
This book is set in the majestic Southern Appalachians in a small town where friends are family. A futuristic world is presented in a creative manner that causes the reader to ask questions about current events and what impact they may ultimately have on our children and grandchildren.
In a previous life, I taught a class in constitutional law to undergraduates at a local university, many of whom had never heard of the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence from May 20, 1775.
That date appears on both the North Carolina state flag and state seal, and commemorates the first political break with England by any governmental body among the original colonies. I enjoyed how the author did his homework and documented sources and conflicting arguments with respect to how this document has been and should be viewed.
This is a comprehensive history of one of the greatest mysteries in American history--did Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, declare independence from Great Britain more than a year before anyone else? According to local legend, on May 20, 1775, in a log court house in the remote backcountry two dozen local militia leaders met to discuss the deteriorating state of affairs in the American colonies. As they met, a horseman arrived bringing news of the battles of Lexington and Concord. Enraged, they unanimously declared Mecklenburg County "free and independent" from Great Britain. It was known as the "Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence"…
History has always celebrated the "Founding Fathers, ” yet we almost never hear of the courageous, resourceful women whose actions shaped the nation.
In Obstinate Daughters, New York Times bestselling author Denise Kiernan asserts that, “If storytellers now, in the present day, continue to exclude these lives, experiences, and…
I have always loved the persona, writing style, and spirit of wanderlust that this famous author brought forth through his novels.
While most people may prefer On the Road, his breakout book that is also amazing, I like the way that characters are portrayed in this book as they explore spiritual values hand in hand with somewhat reckless adventure.
I enjoy visiting Jack’s last home in St. Petersburg, Florida, on occasion, and am proud to say that my novel, If Trees Could Testify…, is included in their personal library.
Published just one year after "On The Road", this is the story of two men enganged in a passionate search for Dharma or truth. Their major adventure is the pursuit of the Zen Way, which takes them climbing into the High Sierras to seek the lesson of solitude.
Award-winning novelist William Auman, author of If Trees Could Testify… among other works, takes the reader on a time-traveling paddling odyssey through 345 bodies of water in Florida, the Carolinas, Georgia, Tennessee, and Virginia. Readers will encounter stories that feature the saga of epic frontiersmen, Indigenous Peoples, Revolutionary War battles, and swashbuckling pirates. Particular emphasis is placed on remaining colonial-era wilderness waterways that are explored through the historical context in which they unfold.
Auman focuses on family-friendly access areas that will appeal to young and older explorers alike and help to foster a lifetime of memories that can be shared across generations. Many options are offered to assist all paddlers in constructing their own unique journeys.
No Color is My Kind tells the stories of the desegregation of Houston, TX, in 1960, the life of civil rights leader Eldrewey Stearns, and the author's relationship to Stearns.
They met in a psychiatric case conference while Stearns was hospitalized at the University of Texas Medical Branch. After his…
Nineteen: A Daughter's Memoir of Reckoning and Recovery
by
Leslie Johansen Nack,
At nineteen, her larger-than-life father dies suddenly in a plane crash in Mexico. In the wake of his death, she descends into addiction—caught in a downward spiral, her only solace is her next fix. Ultimately, however, Leslie’s story is one of resilience: she chooses sobriety and happiness, builds a healthy…
