In the late 1870's a group of forward-thinking St. Louisans began gathering to discuss the idea of constructing a building and apparatus to perform Cremations in their city. These friends of Cremation organized into what would become the Missouri Crematory Association, which was incorporated in 1885. The Missouri Crematory was completed in 1888 and was the tenth modern Crematory in the United States. The beautiful Romanesque structure still stands today with its imposing presence. Its rich history, unique architecture and unmistakable place in the history of the city of St. Louis have made this enigmatic structure a monument to those who have been entrusted to its care, and to the Cremation movement in the Midwest.

In the late 1970s and early '80s, a cadre of freewheeling, Southern pot smugglers lived at the crossroads of "Miami Vice" and a Jimmy Buffett song. These irrepressible adventurers unloaded nearly a billion dollars worth of marijuana and hashish through the eastern seaboard's marshes. Then came their undoing: Operation Jackpot, one of the largest drug investigations ever and an opening volley in Ronald Reagan's War on Drugs. In "Jackpot," author Jason Ryan takes us back to the heady days before drug smuggling was synonymous with deadly gunplay. During this golden age of marijuana trafficking, the country's most prominent kingpins were a group of wayward and fun-loving Southern gentlemen who forsook college educations to sail drug-laden luxury sailboats across the Mediterranean, the Atlantic, and the Caribbean. Les Riley, Barry Foy, and their comrades eschewed violence as much as they loved pleasure, and it was greed, lust, and disaster at sea that ultimately caught up with them, along with the law. In a cat-and-mouse game played out in exotic locations across the globe, the smugglers sailed through hurricanes, broke out of jail and survived encounters with armed militants in Colombia, Grenada and Lebanon. Based on years of research and interviews with imprisoned and recently released smugglers and the law enforcement agents who tracked them down, "Jackpot" is sure to become a classic story from America's controversial Drug Wars. "The adventures, the long-gone economy, and the sting that ultimately brought them down and changed US drug policy are meticulously documented and lucidly spun.... Part "New Yorker" feature-part Jimmy Buffet song. . . . The result is adventuresome, lavish, informative fun." --"GQ" " A] rollicking story, Ryan manages to pack in one amusing tale after another.... "Jackpot" is a rip-roaring good read." --"Charleston"" City"" Paper" "High times on the high seas: Investigative reporter Ryan recounts the glory days of dope smuggling and their terrible denouement.... A well-told tale of true crime that provides a few good arguments for why it should not be a crime at all."" --Kirkus Reviews """ "Reads like an international thriller. . . . chock-a-block with hilarious and hair-raising anecdotes of fast times." --"New York"" Journal of Books" " A] thoroughly researched account of Operation Jackpot, the drug investigation that ended the reign of South Carolina's 'gentlemen smugglers, '.... Ryan recreates the era with a vivid, sun-drenched intensity." --"Publishers Weekly" ""