Stephen Porter's Benevolent Empire examines political-refugee aid initiatives and related humanitarian endeavors led by American people and institutions from World War I through the Cold War, opening an important window onto the "short American century." Chronicling both international relief efforts and domestic resettlement programs aimed at dispossessed people from Europe, Latin America, and East Asia, Porter asks how, why, and with what effects American actors took responsibility for millions of victims of war, persecution, and political upheaval during these decades. Diverse forces within the American state and civil society directed these endeavors through public-private governing arrangements, a dynamic yielding both benefits and liabilities. Motivated by a variety of geopolitical, ethical, and cultural reasons, these advocates for humanitarian action typically shared a desire to portray the United States, to the American people and international audiences, as an exceptional, benevolent world power whose objects of concern might potentially include any vulnerable people across the globe. And though reality almost always fell short of that idealized vision, Porter argues that this omnivorous philanthropic energy helped propel and steer the ascendance of the United States to its position of elite global power. The messaging and administration of refugee aid initiatives informed key dimensions of American and international history during this period, including U.S. foreign relations, international humanitarianism and human rights, global migration and citizenship, and American political development and social relations at home. Benevolent Empire is thus simultaneously a history of the United States and the world beyond.

Stephen Porter's Benevolent Empire examines political-refugee aid initiatives and related humanitarian endeavors led by American people and institutions from World War I through the Cold War, opening an important window onto the "short American century." Chronicling both international relief efforts and domestic resettlement programs aimed at dispossessed people from Europe, Latin America, and East Asia, Porter asks how, why, and with what effects American actors took responsibility for millions of victims of war, persecution, and political upheaval during these decades. Diverse forces within the American state and civil society directed these endeavors through public-private governing arrangements, a dynamic yielding both benefits and liabilities. Motivated by a variety of geopolitical, ethical, and cultural reasons, these advocates for humanitarian action typically shared a desire to portray the United States, to the American people and international audiences, as an exceptional, benevolent world power whose objects of concern might potentially include any vulnerable people across the globe. And though reality almost always fell short of that idealized vision, Porter argues that this omnivorous philanthropic energy helped propel and steer the ascendance of the United States to its position of elite global power. The messaging and administration of refugee aid initiatives informed key dimensions of American and international history during this period, including U.S. foreign relations, international humanitarianism and human rights, global migration and citizenship, and American political development and social relations at home. Benevolent Empire is thus simultaneously a history of the United States and the world beyond.

Attracted by the heavenly vistas, cool summer breezes, and affable residents, professional spiritual channelers Clement and Jessica Bradford relocate their family to the coastal island of Manisses to raise their two eccentric daughters in a storybook New England atmosphere -- and talk to the dead. But a foolish mistake from their past haunts them, and when a local girl goes missing, it takes the whole family, including a peculiar doll named Otto, to stop history from repeating itself. Manisses is a rollicking adventure told through a thousand years of history, where you'll meet a brave native maiden, a demure pirate, Prohibition rum-runners, a vengeful witch and many others -- all connected through time by an inconspicuous pile of rocks.

Confessions of the Meek and the Valiant is not your father's -- or Godfather's -- mob story. The notorious underworld gangs of South Boston are gone, but loyal men still meet to glorify them in the backrooms of the raucous neighborhood pubs. So when Riley Lynch, a shy, bright and likable Irish-Catholic kid from Southie is accepted to a prestigious college in New York, his proud family and their old connections rally to support him. But in doing so, they inadvertently expose disturbing secrets from his family's past that cause Riley to question everything he was raised to believe. And it is only through the passion of a pure and innocent heart that he and those he loves can be rescued from his family's dark legacy, and from the control of a rising, new and ambitious mob kingpin. Confessions of the Meek and the Valiant is a fast-paced chronicle of love, family, adventure and redemption. It is a story of a young man's quest to discover who he is, who he wants to be, and whether he can accept what the world believes he has become.