Throughout recorded history, the horse has played many roles in human life. He has been mans partner in war, his servant in work, his teammate in sports, his inspiration in art. So it is only natural that literature includes many masterpieces about horses and horsemanship.
The Greatest Horse Stories Ever Told gathers together the best of the equestrian genre. It includes stories and articles by Pulitzer Prize-winners Red Smith, Maxine Kumin, and Jane Smiley, and tales by jockey-turned-mystery novelist Dick Francis and veterinarian-turned-writer James Herriot. Here also are reflections on fox hunting by Steven Budiansky and Anthony Trollope; a profile of Buck Brannaman, the inspiration for The Horse Whisperer; an inspirational piece from Ellie Phayer; and a story about the Spanish Riding Schools dancing white horses by Felix Salten (author of Bambi), as well as writing from Tom McGuane, Bill Barich, humorist Cooky McClung, and classic western authors Will James and Zane Grey.
Heartwarming, adventurous, profound, and funny, this anthology is a treasure trove that includes favorite writers and little known or long-forgotten gems, illuminating our fascination - and captivation - with horses.

" "A woman was sitting on the witness stand, and the lawyer asked her, 'Did you, or did you not, on the night of June 23rd have sex with a hippie on the back of a motorcycle in a peach orchard?' She thought for a few minutes, then said, 'What was that date again?'" -- from the book Lawyers have long been known as master storytellers, and those from Kentucky are certainly no exception. Veteran oral historian and folklorist Lynwood Montell has collected tales from dozens of lawyers and judges from throughout the Bluegrass State, ranging from the story about the tough Jackson County judge who fined himself for being late to court to unwelcome dogs in the courtroom. Recorded just as they have been told for generations, these stories are sometimes funny, sometimes sad or frightening, sometimes raw and harrowing, but always remarkable. Far more than collection of lawyer jokes, Tales from Kentucky Lawyers recounts the most insightful, entertaining, and occasionally heartbreaking stories ever told by and about Kentucky lawyers and their clients, covering the spectrum from arson to homicide, domestic disagreements to sexual abuse, and everything in between. Tales from Kentucky Lawyers is a valuable resource for folklorists as well as an entertaining and vivid account of the often-surprising legal world.

Treasures is about memory and meaning. This collection brings to light the reflections and stories of women constructed around the objects they treasured that, in the past, may have been deemed unimportant. Through the telling of these stories, the women become tangible, no longer hidden from history. These objects contain each woman's life experience and act as a foundation for her values and for the development of her character. These treasured possessions serve as reminders of central life events and when shared with other women or family members, deepen relationships and build self-understanding. The objects themselves are often passed along to other women or handed down to family members, thereby connecting generations of women and creating a collective women's history.

Meet M. Dylan Raskin -- "MDR" to friends. At 22, he's the opposite of hip: a working-class college dropout who lives with his mother in Queens -- "Flushing-Stinking-Queens," to be precise. It's not that he doesn't like New York, exactly, it's just that lately he's felt more and more at odds with everything -- his family, his generation, his hometown, even himself. One day he gets fed up and decides to take his freedom on the road, setting off for Chicago in a quixotic attempt to turn his life around. Little New York Bastard is the story of an outsider for the ages, a mixed-up kid who knows what he wants in life but has no idea how to get it. Raskin's anger is palpable and his wounds are unabashedly raw, and readers will appreciate the immediacy and honesty of his story. Equal parts road story, coming-of-age memoir, and existential manifesto -- this debut is in the tradition of cult classics like Youth in Revolt and The Fuck Up.

At a time when we are once again talking and thinking about the meaning of America, bestselling author and award-winning journalist Dan Rather provides a powerful look at Americans who struggle to achieve their desires and ambitions. With the stories of ordinary men and women accomplishing the extraordinary, Rather demonstrates how the American dream brings us together and guides us, as it has for more than 200 years.

For some, the American dream is simply to own a home or rise out of poverty. Some wish to serve God, country, or community. There are those who want to learn to read or run their own business. Still others simply wish to exercise fundamental American rights: to openly practice their religion and to speak what is in their minds and hearts.

Stirring and provocative, The American Dream illustrates that the basic American desire for "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" is alive and well. It also confirms what our founding fathers always believed: that we are a country of visionaries, in ways big and small.

the Story of a Young Soldier in Hitler's Wehrmacht'. 'My story is not about the rise and fall of the third Reich. My story is about me. I am neither famous nor infamous, neither a dazzling success nor a dismal failure. I am a plain and ordinary human being who was too young to be a hero.' Ollie Weiss, the author's name for himself, was born in 1924 in a small town in Germany. When his father dies on the first day of school, Ollie feels deserted in an unfair, harsh world. He joins the Hitler Youth at ten and begins to greet his mother with 'Heil Hitler' instead of 'Good morning'.When Ollie signs up for the infantry he is willing to die for his beloved Fuhrer, the saviour of his Fatherland. But his years of brainwashing quickly wear off as he reaches the brink of insanity defending a corridor west of Stalingrad. Ollie's god has betrayed him and his world is turned upside down. too Young to be a Hero is an extraordinary true story of survival, moral conflict and of heartache.

In Feels Like Far, award-winning author Linda Hasselstrom paints an intimate portrait of family, love, work, nature, and survival against the backdrop of the far-flung South Dakota prairie. Sixteen linked stories tell of the joy of training a first horse, the heartbreak of finding a fatally injured cow, the beauty of cavorting nighthawks, the stubbornness of her father, a rigid old rancher who bucks at old age, the deep, almost spiritual bond she shares with a friend who is diagnosed with AIDS. “In deliciously direct and unsentimental style” (Kathleen Norris), Hasselstrom maps the landscape of her life, demarcating the same beauties and brutalities that intermingle on the Great Plains she calls home.

Exploring three generations of the men in his family -- his father and his two uncles, his own two brothers, and his two sons -- Bret Lott spins a sweeping true saga of the ties that bind. With quiet grace and his trademark talent for finding powerful revelations in the most unlikely places, master novelist Lott delivers a bracingly personal and honest memoir that confronts the often inexpressible complexities of contemporary maleness. Fathers, Sons, and Brothers describes not only the ways men and boys relate to one another but also how their lives evolve over decades, endlessly imitative yet varied. In the end, these essays constitute a celebration of humanity, regardless of gender -- of joy and sorrow, of intimacy and distance, of lingering secrets and universal truths.

Welcome to the world of the modern Asian American woman, where the willingness to cause "trouble" -- to stir the waters, think deeply, and go against what is expected -- is the first of many steps to self-discovery and power. Now, Phoebe Eng shatters stereotypes and offers a bold new vision for American-raised daughters like herself.

A second-generation eldest daughter, caught between cultures, codes of behavior, and colliding worlds, Eng had to learn that in order to be true to herself, conflict and tough choices were necessary. But with those, she found, came a wonderful payoff: the doors to opportunity flew open.

Serving as both guide and mentor, Eng addresses the range of issues Asian American women face, including:

• How can we deal with family expectations?

• What is "false power" and how do we recognize it in our lives?

• Can we trust one another?

• How do we build healthy relationships in the face of "geisha girl" stereotypes?

• How can we find a sense of "home"?
  

Warrior Lessons signifies a generation and goes far beyond the limiting portrayal of what Eng calls "The Good Little Model Minority Girl." At last, here is a manual for today's woman warrior as she channels her rage and cultivates her power.

Talk to women under forty today, and you will hear that in spite of the fact that they have achieved goals previous generations of women could only dream of, they nonetheless feel more confused and insecure than ever. What has gone wrong? What can be done to set it right?

These are the questions Danielle Crittenden answers in What Our Mothers Didn't Tell Us. She examines the foremost issues in women's lives -- sex, marriage, motherhood, work, aging, and politics -- and argues that a generation of women has been misled: taught to blame men and pursue independence at all costs. Happiness is obtainable, Crittenden says, but only if women will free their minds from outdated feminist attitudes.

By drawing on her own experience and a decade of research and analysis of modern female life, Crittenden passionately and engagingly tackles the myths that keep women from realizing the happiness they deserve. And she introduces a new way of thinking about society's problems that may, at long last, help women achieve the lives they desire.

Also Available as an eBook

"LET'S GO TO THE VIDEOTAPE!"

Every sports fan in America knows this legendary catchphrase, and it's all thanks to the dynamic commentary of sportscaster Warner Wolf. Here, in a book as colorful and good-humored as he is, Warner presents a sports feast of quirky observations, quotes, memories, debates, and trivia.

"C'MON! GIMME A BREAK!"

In this fast-break journey through the world of sports broadcasting, Warner Wolf plays back his fabulous career and some of his most memorable meetings with sports superstars. Share an elevator with Shaquille O'Neal and his entourage. Dine with Joltin' Joe DiMaggio. Ride in a Miami taxi cab with Joey Maxim, the man who beat Sugar Ray Robinson in 1952 when Robinson collapsed from the heat. Along the way, take a look at sports through the eyes--and voice--of Warner Wolf:

"HERE'S THE "BOO" OF THE WEEK!"

Ever since Charles Whitman gunned down over a dozen innocent people in 1966 from his perch atop the University of Texas clock tower, "SWAT team" has become a household word. In this compelling book, police veteran Robert L. Snow takes us into the midst of the nation's heroic SWAT teams, allowing us to eavesdrop on harrowing negotiations between killers and cops. He gives us a balanced look at what SWAT teams do right and what they do wrong and recommends ways to improve their tactics in future hostage situations. While he gives no-holds-barred analyses of such dire failures as Waco, he also celebrates SWAT's greatest triumphs--thousands of incidents in which no one was hurt. No policeman or citizen can afford to miss this harrowing yet hopeful look at society's main weapon against sudden terror.

True stories of exciting escapes and rescues have always been popular. This encyclopaedia presents escapes and rescues from the earliest times to the late-1990s in an A-Z format. Roger Howard describes the events themselves, the reasons why they were successful, and what motivated the escapees. Some of the escapes described are simple but ingenious, such as that of Hugo Grotius, the Dutch jurist and political philosopher. In 1619 Grotius had been condemned to life imprisonment, but he escaped in 1621 concealed in a small chest less than four feet in length. The entries relate to topics as varied as Colditz, John McVicar, the Russian Revolution, Stalin, and the Titanic. Also covered are instances of people who evaded capture altogether and escapees who, like Lord Lucan, have "disappeared".

This is an autobiographical account of experiences with historical BC's logging industry.

Dr. Rosenfeld spells out the details on how to prevent, treat, and/or slow down virtually every disorder and complication of aging, including Alzheimer's, cancer, heart disease, impotence, cataracts, osteoarthritis, osteoporosis, stroke, and loss of vision.

If burying a child has a special poignancy, the tragedy at a Catholic elementary school in Chicago almost forty years ago was an extraordinary moment of grief. One of the deadliest fires in American history, it took the lives of ninety-two children and three nuns at Our Lady of the Angels School, left many families physically and psychologically scarred for life, and destroyed a close-knit working-class neighborhood. This is the moving story of that fire and its consequences written by two journalists who have been obsessed with the events of that terrible day in December 1958. It is a story of ordinary people caught up in a disaster that shocked the nation. In gripping detail, those who were there-children, teachers, firefighters-describe the fear, desperation, and panic that prevailed in and around the stricken school building on that cold Monday afternoon. But beyond the flames, the story of the fire at Our Lady of the Angels became an enigma whose mystery has deepened with time: its cause was never officially explained despite evidence that it had been intentionally set by a troubled student at the school. The fire led to a complete overhaul of fire safety standards for American schools, but it left a community torn apart by grief and anger, and accusations that the Catholic church and city fathers had shielded the truth. Messrs. Cowan and Kuenster have recreated this tragedy in a powerful narrative with all the elements of a first-rate detective story.

We all know HOW TO SHIT IN THE WOODS--but do we dare? After reading this uproarious collection of "fecal misadventures" from a veteran river-rafting guide and yarn spinner extraordinaire, you may think twice before venturing out into the great beyond...or even down the hall to your nice safe water closet.

A doctor removes the normal, healthy side of a patient's brain instead of the malignant tumor. A man whose leg is scheduled for amputation wakes up to find his healthy leg removed. These recent examples are part of a history of medical disasters and embarrassments as old as the profession itself. In Medical Blunders, Robert M. Youngson and Ian Schott have written the definitive account of medical mishap in modern and not-so- modern times.

Youngson and Schott cover the gamut of medical accidents, from famous quacks to curious forms of sexual healing, from blunders with the brain to drugs worse than the diseases they are intended to treat. In Medical Blunders, we find shamefully dangerous doctors, human guinea pigs, masturbation treated as a disease requiring treatment, and the legendary surgeon who was himself a craven morphine addict. The resulting picture is one which depicts medical mistakes that are incredible, misguided, arrogant, cruel, or stupendously wrong-headed.

Exploring the line between the comical and the tragic, the honest mistake and the intentional crime, Medical Blunders illustrates once and for all that doctors are subject to the same political, social, historical, and personal pressures as the rest of humanity.

All of us like to think for ourselves. And so do children - if they have the skills to do it. That's why award-winning psychologist Dr. Myrna Shure decided to create a program to give them those skills. It's called I Can Problem Solve (ICPS) and for twenty-five years it has benefited thousands nationwide. Raising a Thinking Child, a book that will change your family dynamics forever - and help your child develop in ways you never thought possible - brings this positive parenting program directly into your home. Unlike other methods of child rearing, the ICPS approach teaches youngsters as young as four not what to think or do, but how to think - and the results are astounding. Through the program's specially designed and fun-to-do dialogues, games, and activities - easily incorporated into everyday family life - a young child learns how to solve problems and resolve conflicts with friends, teachers, and family; explore alternative solutions and their consequences; and understand the feelings of others. With ICPS, shy children become more assertive and impulsive children are less likely to act out when things don't go their way. Most important the ICPS-competent child is better equipped to avoid early destructive behaviors that later can lead to delinquency, substance abuse, violence, and depression. Helping your child become a thinking, feeling individual and grow up to be a socially adjusted, self-confident adult is what Raising a Thinking Child is all about. Based on years of research and evaluation, clinically proven, and child-tested, it may be the most important gift you can share with your child today...for tomorrow.

I opened my mouth and it came. It wasn't a cry, or even a sob. It came from deep in my soul... It was the sound of a mother helpless to save her child from danger. I asked the same unanswered questions over and again. Where was he? Where was my Damien? On 2 November 1996, sixteen-year-old Damien Nettles went out for the evening in his home town of Cowes on the Isle of Wight. CCTV recorded him in a chip shop at 23:40 and on the High Street just after midnight. He has never been seen since. His mother, Valerie, has spent over two decades desperately trying to find out what happened to her son. Arrests have been made, and suspects released without charge. Despite years of research by journalists and a private investigator, Damien's vanishing remains a mystery. In this hugely moving and compelling account, Valerie Nettles tells the full, perplexing story of her son's disappearance. Someone must know what happened to Damien. Will the truth ever emerge from the shadows?

As seen on ITV's Britain's Got Talent, where they captured the hearts of the nation, this is Amanda and Miracle's incredible story of survival, love and hope Snatched from the streets of Thailand, loaded onto a truck with hundreds of other stolen dogs and destined for the restaurants of Hanoi, Miracle the dog shouldn't be alive today. But an incredible rescue led to a fateful meeting with Amanda Leask, a dog lover from Scotland. Devastated by Miracle's plight and the hopelessness of his situation, she knew she had to do everything in her power to save him. But Amanda could never have imagined that in doing so she was really saving herself... Amanda's six year-old son Kyle, who was born with cerebral palsy and autism, built a deep and lasting connection with Miracle and their special bond has transformed not only Kyle's life but that of the entire family. Heartbreaking, inspirational and ultimately life-affirming, this incredible tale is proof that miracles really can happen...

In this true Western classic Jack Schaefer tells the story of a mysterious stranger who finds himself in the Wyoming Territory joining local homesteaders in their fight to keep their land and avoid the intimidating tactics of cattle driver Luke Fletcher. While trying to leave his gunslinging days behind him, the mysterious stranger, Shane, is tested by Fletcher and his men. In Shane, Schaefer executes a perfect Western narrative while exploring the overarching themes of virtue, the human condition, and a man's search for self.

Kyle Keegan was like many teenagers: eager to fit in at school, he experimented with alcohol and drugs. Soon, his abuse of these substances surpassed experimentation and became a ruthless addiction to heroin that nearly destroyed his life.
Now in recovery, Keegan tells his remarkable story in Chasing the High. Starting with the early days of alcohol and drug use, Keegan charts his decline into crime and homelessness as his need for heroin surpassed all thoughts of family and friends, of right and wrong. He then goes on to use these experiences to offer guidance and practical advice to other young people who may be struggling with substance abuse. In straightforward, easy-to-understand language and along with the psychiatric expertise of Howard Moss, MD, Keegan discusses what is known about the neurobiology of addiction in young people, how to seek treatment, and how to get the most out of professional help. He also covers such topics as therapies which are used to combat addiction, how to talk to families and friends about substance abuse, and how to navigate risky situations. Both an absorbing memoir and a useful resource for young people.
Part of the Adolescent Mental Health Initiative series of books written specifically for teens and young adults, Chasing the High offers hope to young people who are struggling with substance abuse, helping them to overcome its challenges and to go on to lead healthy, productive lives.

Heard the one about the airline that has introduced 'corpse cupboards' on new planes to cope with the number of people who die in the air? Heard the story about the First Class air hostess who got fired for sitting on the face of a passenger during a long haul flight? Heard about the amount of knickers and false teeth that are left behind in the body of the plane? Heard how pissed-off stewards put laxatives in your drinks? Heard about the pilot who ran out of runway? Heard of the disabled passengers who miraculously walk again? No? Then you haven't read Air Babylon. Do you know the best place to have sex on a plane? Do you know how to dress for an upgrade? Do you know that one drink in the air equals three on the ground? Do you know who is checking you in? Who is checking you out? Do you know exactly what happens to your luggage once it leaves your sight? Is it secure? Are you safe? Do you really know anything about the business that you entrust your life to several times a year? Air Babylon is a trawl through the highs, the lows, and the rapid descents of the travel industry. It catalogues the births, the deaths, the drunken brawls, the sexual antics, and the debauchery behind the scenes of the ultimate service industry - where the world is divided into those who wear the uniform and those who don't...

Master storyteller Ralph Moody tells the thrilling story of a plucky horse who refused to quit, a down-on-his-luck jockey who didn't let horrendous accidents keep him out of the saddle, and a taciturn trainer who brought out the best in both. During the Great Depression, Seabiscuit captured the hearts of Americans from the streets to the White House, winning more money than any horse at that time and shattering speed records across the country. In this real-life story Moody captures the hoof-pounding excitement of the explosive early races to an unforgettable showdown with the feared Triple Crown winner War Admiral. Moving and inspirational, Come on Seabiscuit! is a reminder of the qualities that make a real American champion. Ralph Moody is best known for his eight Little Britches books, which have delighted generations of readers and are all available in Bison Books editions. Ralph Moody captured the hearts of young readers everywhere with his beloved Little Britches saga. In this Bison Books edition of his 1963 classic, Moody brings to life the story of a knobby-kneed little colt called Seabiscuit, who against all odds became one of the most celebrated racehorses of all time. Although Seabiscuit was the grandson of the legendary Man O' War, he was neither handsome nor graceful. His head was too big, his legs too short, and his gallop was awkward. His owners gave up on Seabiscuit when he was two, raced him too heavily, and tried unsuccessfully to sell him. It took the keen eyes of trainer Tom Smith to recognize the heart, courage, and gallant determination of Seabiscuit, the qualities of a truly great horse. Smith's unfailing patience and astute treatments, the love and skill of jockey Red Pollard, and the continued support of owner Charles Howard forged Seabiscuit into a champion. Purchase the audio edition.