Civil Action

Drawing on comprehensive research and his own intimate knowledge of the Vicksburg Campaign, Jeff Shaara once again weaves brilliant fiction out of the ragged cloth of historical fact. From the command tents where generals plot strategy to the ruined mansions where beleaguered citizens huddle for safety, this is a panoramic portrait of men and women whose lives are forever altered by the siege.

In the concluding novel of his epic Civil War tetralogy, Jeff Shaara tells the dramatic story of the final eight months of battle from multiple perspectives: the commanders in their tents making plans for total victory, as well as the ordinary foot soldiers and cavalrymen who carried out their orders until the last alarm sounded. The Civil War did not end quietly. It climaxed in a storm of fury that lay waste to everything in its path. The Fateful Lightning brings to life those final brutal, bloody months of fighting with you-are-there immediacy.

“The bridge.” Sheriff Dean Coleman paused, then said, “The bridge? What about it?” “The bridge that the Texas Pacific rides on, over Bitter Gorge. That’s a drop of one hundred feet or more, down into the Pecos River.” Dean leaned in. “You don’t figure they’re blowing it up?” “I don’t know. It makes sense. Blow up the bridge, take the gold.” After finding a train schedule in the pocket of a dead outlaw, Sheriff Dean uncovers the most sinister plot yet of the deadly militia Los Bandidos Rojos. There’s a train car full of gold due to pass through Dean’s town. ...

A Texas Legacy Family Saga - Book 3 Just before the Civil War, in the dark corners of the New Orleans waterfront, Billy Jefferson's dreams are yanked from him before he'd barely walked off the ship from Scotland. In the summer of 1860, America is a tinder box, ready to blow. Issues of states' rights, slavery and regionalism have come to a boiling point. Citizens across the South are willing to fight and die to maintain their Southern way of life. The South is a tough place to be if you disagree with that philosophy. It's especially tough if you are a free person of color or their friends. ...

U.S. Marshal Frank Kennedy is on a relentless pursuit through 100 miles of harsh, lawless land. Each mile more dangerous than the last… In 1869, Frank’s quarry is the notorious outlaw Amos Pickett, whose brutal crime of murdering innocent men with dynamite has made him a wanted man across the West. Frank’s mission is fraught with peril as he ventures into the treacherous No Man’s Land – a dangerous expanse between Texas and Kansas where Pickett and his gang thrive. To capture Pickett, Frank enlists the aid of Fierce Warrior, a Comanche with a personal vendetta, and Ida Bishop, a ...

For Clint Beck, a quest to arrest Ruffen is also his chance at redemption. Rustling is a big problem for the God-fearing folks of Perryville in 1870. Not only that, but it’s now escalated with the killing of community pillar Jonas Davidson – a farmer, husband and father of five. The town screams for justice. As Perryville sheriff, Clint sets out to arrest the guilty parties. Almost everyone in the county knows that Clyde Ruffen and his gang are behind the heinous crime but… proving it is another story. Ruffen has spent thirty years learning how to hide his crimes and avoid the law. He...

A rip-roaring adventure set in the American Civil War where friendship, love, and family are tested by the madness of war. An accusation of treason sends friends and enemies spiraling into chaos as the Yankee invasion pushes deeper into the South, countered by a Rebel push into the border State of Kentucky. The Perils of Perryville follows the stories of heroes and villains on both sides through the very real battles of Shiloh, New Orleans, First Corinth, Memphis, Munfordville, and ultimately Perryville, where the fate of Kentucky will be decided. This is the second book in the "2nd ...

With a foreword by Dred Scott's great-grandson, Shelia P. Moses' stunning story chronicles Dred Scott's experiences as a slave, as a plaintiff in one of the most important legal cases in American history, and, at last, as a free man. Dred Scott's story is one of tremendous courage and fierce determination. His is a life that should be known by, and should inspire, all Americans.

U.S. Marshal Hunter Cole is called upon to restore peace and stop a gang from attacking a sacred site of the Apaches. The small town of Thunder Ridge is built near an ancient Apache ruins, where whispers of hidden treasure stir excitement. A notorious gang led by Lucas Crane rides into town, seeking gold and priceless artifacts rumored to be buried by Apache ancestors. The town’s peace crumbles when its residents start fearing the outlaws’ greed might provoke a war with the Apache tribe. The town’s mayor realizes he has no choice but to call in U.S. Marshal Hunter Cole to capture ...

An Afro-Russian KGB agent returns to his forefathers' homeland — Chicago — to track down a Russian dissident prepared to unleash the ultimate doomsday device. Dissatisfied by the results of the Post World War I Civil Rights movement, angry African-Americans immigrated to the Soviet Union in the 1930's, for the promise of equality under Communism. Colonel Damian Turner, a native Afro-Russian KGB agent, returns to Chicago, the former home of his grandfather, as part of a worldwide manhunt for one of his nation's highest ranking officers, Marshall Victor Craig. Craig, infuriated at the ...

"Whirligig is a magnificent novel, epic in scale!"– Gill Thompson, Author of 'The Child on Platform One.' Shire leaves his home and his life in Victorian England for the sake of a childhood promise, a promise that pulls him into the bleeding heart of the American Civil War. Lost in the bloody battlefields of the West, he discovers a second home for his loyalty. Clara believes she has escaped from a predictable future of obligation and privilege, but her new life in the Appalachian Hills of Tennessee is decaying around her. In the mansion of Comrie, long hidden secrets are being slowly ...

It’s 1868 and many people are relying on the skills of scout Drake Sagewater. Drake is helping settlers on their way to California. The Andrews family, riding in a canvas wagon, has been attacked by a shrewd renegade from the Apache Nation, named Jace. With a rag-tagged band of fellow renegades, Jace is making life miserable, and sometimes deadly, for settlers. That is the case with the migrating Andrews family, who loses their patriarch, Jed Andrews, in a raid. While seeking justice, Jed’s daughter, Lydia, takes a shine to the handsome young Drake Sagewater. Drake’s challenge is ...

Looting - a crowd of people publicly, openly, and directly seizing goods - is one of the more extreme actions that can take place in the midst of social unrest. Even self-identified radicals distance themselves from looters, fearing that violent tactics reflect badly on the broader movement. But Vicky Osterweil argues that stealing goods and destroying property are direct, pragmatic strategies of wealth redistribution and improving life for the working class - not to mention the brazen messages these methods send to the police and the state.

Sigrid Cadwell possesses a rare talent for herbal remedies and healing, but her abilities are misunderstood by the superstitious townsfolk. Gossips start to spread like wildfire, and soon enough, everybody begins to think that Sigrid is a witch. Eventually the gossips reach the ears of a nearby Indian tribe. And once Sigrid flees her own town, the Indians pursue her. The tribe will not stop until they get hold of the witch. But for what? Sigrid is prepared to face an onslaught, for which she will defy with her life… until she crosses path with gunslinger Benjamin Sterling. Ben is on a ...

Summer, 1863. The Federal triumph at Vicksburg has secured complete control of the Mississippi River from the Confederacy, cementing the reputation of Ulysses S. Grant. Farther east, the Federal army under the command of William Rosecrans captures the crucial rail hub at Chattanooga. But Rosecrans is careless, and while pursuing the Confederates, the Federal forces are routed in north Georgia at Chickamauga Creek.

'Quality from cover to cover.' Helen Hollick - Author of Harold the King Shire is far, far from home, his old life in Victorian England a fading memory. He’s battled through war-torn America to keep a cherished promise to his childhood companion. Now she’s pushing him away, while the war won’t let him go. Fighting for the Union, Shire must survive the brutal campaign for Atlanta and try to imagine a future without her. Clara is free from her husband but not from his ghost. After a violent end to an abusive marriage, she struggles to keep her home in the Tennessee hills as the war ...

Hunting the men who did it. One by one. After learning the truth about his family’s killers, Deputy Lucas Butler leaves behind his East Texas home and tracks down the Bloodhoof Gang, the seven men responsible for the fateful night that tore apart his childhood. Some of the brutes have vanished from sight. But others still eke out their heartless trades. Elwood Roscoe, the engine behind the Bloodhoof reign of terror, hasn’t lost his taste for blood and theft. He’s made his living making a mockery of justice. As Lucas uncovers an ocean of pain left behind by the gang, he also finds ...

It is the summer of 1862 and the Northern army is threatening to capture Richmond, the Confederate capital. Bloodied but victorious at the battles of Ball's Bluff and Seven Pines, Nate suddenly finds himself accused of being a Yankee spy. Proving his innocence and finding the real spy will require courage and endurance rarely seen even in the brutal fog of war. Failure could mean the fall of Richmond and a career-ending defeat for Robert E. Lee.

Betrayal has left Janna Quinlin broken hearted. But a honey-eyed desperado and the gift of a derringer change her life forever. She embarks on a bold journey. A charmer, a global traveler, a connoisseur of languages and the arts, H. G. Sheffield is on the precipice of having all his dreams come to fruition. Betrayal brings Janna and H. G. together. But Intrigue and jealousy threatens to destroy their tender beginning. In a dance as old as time, they seek the ultimate prize—a love worth fighting for.

Why is it that so many efforts by liberals to lift the Black underclass not only fail, but often harm the intended beneficiaries? In Please Stop Helping Us, Jason L. Riley examines how well-intentioned welfare programs are in fact holding Black Americans back. Minimum-wage laws may lift earnings for people who are already employed, but they price a disproportionate number of Blacks out of the labor force. Affirmative action in higher education is intended to address past discrimination, but the result is fewer Black college graduates than would otherwise exist.