This collection of short, action-filled stories of the Old West's most egregiously bad family-based gangs caught in the act of mayhem, distraction, murder, and highway robbery, includes famous names like the James brothers and lesser known families just as the Deautremonts, the Newtons, and many more. The book will include archival illustrations and photographs of the shady characters and the scenes of their crimes.

In thirty-five chapters, The Greatest Air Aces Stories Ever Told covers many of the leading American and British Commonwealth fighter aces of WW I and II, together with a few bomber crews whose gallantry made a substantial contribution to the end of WW II. Other nations had their aces, but this book concentrates on American and Commonwealth pilots. These aviators were chosen not only because of their "scores" and their great courage, but also for other qualities which set them apart, like the WWII Royal Air Force Wing Commander who shot down more than 20 Germans while flying with two artificial legs. Here are a few of the aces. Note that the air forces of Europe and the United States did not always have today's names, used here for simplicity's sake: Albert Ball, RAF, son of the Lord Mayor of Nottingham, winner of the Victoria Cross. He had 44 victories in WWI when he was killed at the age of 20, well known to his German foes, who much admired him. Gabby Gabreski, USAF. Son of hard-working Polish immigrants. An ace in WWII with 28 kills and later in Korea, with another six. He was an accomplished commander, finished a long career as a colonel. Mick Mannock, RAF. Tough and aggressive in spite of his fear of fire, he won not only the Victoria Cross, but five other high awards for gallantry. Highest British scorer of WWI with 73 victories, he detested Germans, and rejoiced with every kill. He was shot down by ground fire in the last year of the war. David McCampbell, USN. Scored 34 WWII kills to become the U.S. Navy's all-time ace. In 1944, set an all-time record with nine victories on a single mission. Winner of the Congressional Medal. Pick Pickard, RAF. Led the RAF rooftop bomber raid on Amiens Prison In WWII, freeing many underground members, some of whom were facing death, and who were promptly spirited away by French partisans. Frank Luke, USAF. Deadly American famous for his busting of German observation balloons in WWI. Shot up over German territory, he managed to land safely, but, being Luke, tried to fight it out with enemy infantrymen with only his pistol. The book will also touch on the equipment these aces flew, from the famous Fokkers and Sopwith Camels to the ungainly two-seater FE2b, which was driven by a pusher engine and looked like a bathtub with wings and a miniature oil derrick glued on the back. Also included are our own Grumman carrier fighters, the P-40s, the P-38s, as well as the P-51 Mustang, probably the finest fighter of the war, a happy marriage of an American airframe and a British engine. The deadly, graceful Spitfire has its place, as do the Hurricane, the biplane Gladiator, and even the four-engine Lancaster.

Massacres, mayhem, and mischief fill the pages of "Outlaw Tales of Oklahoma 2," with compelling legends of the Sooner State's most despicable desperadoes. Ride with horse thieves and cattle rustlers, duck the bullets of murderers, plot strategies with con artists, and hiss at lawmen turned outlaws.

This collection of short, action-filled stories of the Old West's most egregiously badly behaved female outlaws is a great addition to Western author Robert Barr Smith's books on the American frontier. Pulling together stories of ladies caught in the acts of mayhem, distraction, murder, and highway robbery, it includes famous names like Belle Starr and lesser known characters as well. The book also contains archival illustrations and photographs.

From Dodge City to Abilene and beyond, Kansas in its early years was one fine place for outlaws, and one of the most violent places in America's history. Consider the exploits of Jesse James-a sociopathic killer or a Robin Hood who redistributed Union wealth? Or those of Big Nose Kate, whose true identity was much nobler than her reputation as Doc Holliday's longtime companion. That's not to mention the dangerous inmate who became the learned Bird Man of Kansas-a renowned canary expert whose life story became a hit film. All this and more is yours for the reading in Outlaw Tales of Kansas, which introduces fifteen of the most dramatic events, and the most daring and despicable desperados, in the history of the Sunflower State.

The people who pushed west were mostly ordinary folks, the guts of the young United States, tough, ambitious, hardworking, and anxious to leave the world better for their kids than it had been for them. Those who did not come of that hardy stock did not last. With them came the trouble-makers, to everybody's sorrow. Some of them were already running from the law someplace else. Others were simply dishonest, looking for a time and place to blossom into full-blown hoodlums. Some of the young people emulated them: there was some illusory swagger in being a hoodlum, witness the nicknames they carried around . . . many of which they had invented themselves, a sort of phony glory. This collection of short, action-filled stories of the Old West's most egregiously bad bad guys caught in the act of mayhem, distraction, murder, and highway robbery, includes famous names like the Dalton gang, lesser known bandits like Kaiser Bill Goodman, and many more. The book will include archival illustrations and photographs of the shady characters and the scenes of their crimes.

Not long ago, an appellate court fined a lawyer for filing an "incomprehensible brief." That negligence hurt the lawyer's wallet and reputation, but his carelessness hurt his client's case even more. Today, most of our law depends on the written word. A single error can tarnish the writer's image in the eyes of the court and make his or her writing less persuasive. In the end, the client suffers. Even the simplest error reduces the effectiveness of any brief or pleading. Spellcheck won't cure every ill; neither will a loyal and efficient secretary. This little book is dedicated to real legal writing, terse, persuasive, and accurate. It not only teaches brevity, clarity and power in writing, but lists the common pitfalls that infest so much legal writing and destroy the lawyer's meaning and the client's life. It includes tables of commonly misspelled and misused words and commonly confused prepositions. It lays out guidelines for persuasive brief-writing, deals with the letters lawyers regularly write - and some they shouldn't - with office memoranda, and with the basic rules of punchy, persuasive oral argument. It addresses the rules of grammar; the violations of those rules that instantly mark the writer as illiterate at best, and can destroy any amount of clever reasoning and knowledge of the law. It gives examples of how to write effectively . . . and some horrors that good lawyers must avoid. Most important, The Literate Lawyer shows the road to simple, common-sense persuasion, powerful, solid writing that makes the lawyer's point with strength and clarity. And wins cases. About the author: Robert Barr Smith is a Professor at the University of Oklahoma Law Center. He earned a BA in History and a Doctor of Laws from Stanford, and is a member of both the Oklahoma and California Bars. He came to the Law Center in 1982, after retiring from the United States Army as a Colonel. He designed the Law Center's writing, oral advocacy and research class, taught and directed it for fifteen years, served six years as Associate Dean for Academics, and taught trial and appellate advocacy, advanced brief writing, and paralegal writing courses.

The only people tougher than the bank and train robbers of the Old West were the citizens who banded together to create law and order on the streets of their towns. Shoemakers and storekeepers, bank men and local lawmen, barbers and liverymen--they all fought to defend their homes and to defend their lives against the outlaws who threatened them.
Tough towns faced down famous gangs like the Daltons and the James-Youngers, drove off Mexican bandits, killed Pretty Boy Floyd's chief lieutenant, and helped put an end to the nineteenth-century rash of bank robbing in the West. Ordinary-people-turned-heroes joined their neighbors and fought--and sometimes died--because they wouldn't run away or turn a blind eye to crime. Their stories, told by historian and writer Robert Barr Smith, are a fascinating part of the legend of the Old West.

Throughout WWII, thousands of Allied prisoners dreamed of outwitting their captors and returning to war against the Axis. Their ingenuity knew no bounds: they went over the barbed wire surrounding them and under it as well; they built tunnels of enormous length and complexity, often working with only their bare hands. They concealed themselves in their captors' vehicles and hitched rides to freedom. They became world-class forgers and tailors; they stole anything that might be useful to their escapes that wasn't actually red-hot or nailed down. Some of them made it to freedom; some did not. Many of those who failed simply tried again and again until they succeeded. Some of the escapers who were caught were murdered by the Japanese or the German Gestapo. That did not stop others from risking torture or death to gain their freedom. Many men whose break was initially successful would not have survived save for the dangerous, selfless help of civilians, especially in occupied Europe and the Philippine Islands. The stories in The Greatest Escapes of WWII highlight the courage, endurance, and ingenuity of Allied prisoners, chronicling their ceaseless efforts and the alarm that spread far and wide when one or more escaped. These escapes tied up thousands of Axis soldiers who might otherwise have prolonged the war for many more bloody months. The troops committed to guard the Allied prisoners and recapture escapers numbered in the hundreds of thousands.