Historical Survival

Christchurch, New Zealand. September 2010. A city sleeps. In the early hours of the morning came the noise of a freight train and a ferocious shaking the likes of which this South Island city had never before experienced. A 7.1 magnitude earthquake came without warning or prejudice and transformed a city forever, setting off a string of devastating events that were to have a lifelong impact on all who experienced them. This is a personal account of the lasting effects of that day and the effects of all the earthquakes that were to follow. This is the story of how the fury of Mother Nature ...

In the deadly chaos of the First World War, one horse witnesses the reality of battle from both sides of the trenches. Bombarded by artillery, with bullets knocking riders from his back, Joey tells a powerful story of the truest friendships surviving in terrible times. One horse has the seen the best and the worst of humanity. The power of war and the beauty of peace. This is his story.

It was November 1806. The explorers had gone without food for one day, then two. Their leader, not yet thirty, drove on, determined to ascend the great mountain. Waist deep in snow, he reluctantly turned back. But Zebulon Pike had not been defeated. His name remained on the unclimbed peak-and new adventures lay ahead of him and his republic. In Citizen Explorer, historian Jared Orsi provides the first modern biography of this soldier and explorer, who rivaled contemporaries Meriwether Lewis and William Clark.

Eva and her identical twin sister, Miriam, had a mostly happy childhood. Theirs was the only Jewish family in their small village in the Transylvanian mountains, but they didn't think much of it until anti-Semitism reared its ugly head in their school. Then, in 1944, ten-year-old Eva and her family were deported to Auschwitz. At its gates, Eva and Miriam were separated from their parents and other siblings, selected as subjects for Dr. Mengele's infamous medical experiments.

A nautical adventure novel set in the Atlantic Ocean near Sable Island during the late 18th century. In "The Secrets of Sable Isle," join Captain Jeremy and his spirited crew aboard the Antelope as they navigate the treacherous waters of the Atlantic. Adrift and desperate, they encounter the infamous Sable Island, a haunting silhouette against the horizon that could either be their doom or a promise of refuge. As the intrepid crew approaches the island, they are met with the unexpected hospitality of the local Governor, who shares tales of the island's shipwreck-laden history. Captivated by...

Having had unparalleled access to the Chilean mine disaster, award-winning journalist Jonathan Franklin takes readers to the heart of a remarkable story of human endurance, survival, and historic heroism. 33 Men is the groundbreaking, authoritative account of the Chilean mine disaster, one of the longest human entrapments in history.

A gripping maritime adventure novel set in the vast Atlantic Ocean during the late 1800s. Step into an epic saga of seafaring peril and heart-rending bravery with "Shipwreck in the Shadows." This meticulously crafted historical fiction takes you on a journey aboard the Pacific, a noble vessel caught in the clutches of an Atlantic tempest. As the storm rages, Captain Osborn, the Seagrave family, and their seasoned crew are thrust into a fierce battle for survival. The narrative unveils the daunting aftermath of a devastating shipwreck, where William, a young boy on the cusp of adolescence, ...

A historical fiction book set in the Kansas prairie during the late 19th century. Step into a world where dreams are built on barren soil and the ghosts of the past linger in the windswept landscape. In "The Ghost Town," follow Calvin Morgan, a tenacious man determined to carve out a life as a farmer in the unforgiving Kansas prairie. As he battles the harsh realities of lawlessness and despair, his journey reveals the thin line between hope and destruction in the small, chaotic town of Levi. As Calvin arrives in Levi, he quickly discovers a community haunted by tragedy and moral decay. The...

It is 1879. Jem’s Welsh family farm is flooded for the second year running and they can no longer stay. Father has turned to drink. One day, Father declares: “We are moving to New Zealand”. When Mama falls sick and Father is attacked by whalers, the children must live by their wits and instincts to survive in the wilds of what is now the Abel Tasman National Park. From sea adventure to new beginnings on the other side of the world, three 19th century children must survive the brutalities and wild beauty of a new country, far from home.

Young Nina Macciocco weds handsome Italian soldier Angelo Taglieri in an arranged marriage, and they move to Steubenville, Ohio. Angelo works in a steel mill, and Nina cares for their daughter. They live happily in a house on Seventh Street. Years later, Angelo dies.Steubenville is a rough town where Mafia don Vincenzo Santucci runs everything from bars to restaurants to brothels. His vast influence extends over some local doctors, lawyers, judges, and police. Vincenzo’s cousin, Vito Santucci, is also a Mafia don in Italy. Brothers Enzo and Bruno Pagano work for him. Everyone likes even-...

A brother and sister are orphaned in an isolated cove on Newfoundland's northern coastline. Their home is a stretch of rocky shore governed by the feral ocean, by a relentless pendulum of abundance and murderous scarcity. Still children with only the barest notion of the outside world, they have nothing but the family's boat and the little knowledge passed on haphazardly by their mother and father to keep them.

Two stories about William Booth, the founder of the Salvation Army; two stories about amazing women aviators; and two true-to-life adventures!

Keeping a secret is hard. . . Living a secret is even harder.Hidden behind the tall trees lies a secret fortress in the middle of the woods. No one knows about it. . . until now.To avoid a tyrannical king's corruption and the devastating aftermath of a societal collapse, a group of young people build their own castle in the middle of a forest. It serves as a secret community, which is a dream come true for them. After getting ambushed near the forest, the corrupt king's knights begin to close in on the castle. Bryce, Elizabeth, and the rest of the secret castle's inhabitants find their ...

Twelve-year-old Ann understands there is only one thing to be grateful for as a slave: having her family together. But when the master falls into debt, he plans to sell both Ann and her younger brother to two different owners. Ann is convinced her family must run away on the Underground Railroad. Will Ann's family survive the dangerous trip to their freedom in the North? This Girls Survive story is supported by a glossary, discussion questions, and nonfiction material on the Underground Railroad, making it a valuable resource for young listeners.

"What kind of world is this?" It’s five years later, and Tom Cook is living a “normal” life with his Neanderthal family 40,000 years ago. But when a life-threatening crisis strikes his daughter, Tom decides to carry her to the future for the medical help she desperately needs. And in the process, he’s entangled in a modern world very different from the one he left behind. Now, caught up in a secret plan to exploit his daughter’s unique Neanderthal DNA, Tom must find a way to save everything he loves and cherishes. If you're a fan of the time travel novels of Jack Finney (Time and ...

In 1946, after five years as a prisoner - first as a Soviet POW in Nazi concentration camps, then as a deportee in the Arctic Gulag - 29-year-old Lev Mishchenko unexpectedly received a letter from Sveta, the sweetheart he had hardly dared hope was still alive. Amazingly, over the next eight years, the lovers managed to exchange more than 1,500 messages and even to smuggle Sveta herself into the camp for secret meetings. Their recently discovered correspondence is the only known real-time record of life in Stalin's Gulag.

With the utterance of a single line - "Doctor Livingstone, I presume?" - a remote meeting in the heart of Africa was transformed into one of the most famous encounters in exploration history. But the true story behind Dr. David Livingstone and journalist Henry Morton Stanley is one that has escaped telling. Into Africa is an extraordinarily researched account of a thrilling adventure - defined by alarming foolishness, intense courage, and raw human achievement.

The ancient land of Eirinn is mired in war. Ciara, princess of Mide, has never known a time when Eirinn's kingdoms were not battling for power or Northmen were not plundering their shores. The people of Mide have always been safe because of Ciara's unearthly ability to control her enemies' minds and actions. But lately a mysterious crow has been appearing to Ciara, whispering warnings of an even darker threat. Although her clansmen dismiss her visions as pagan nonsense, Ciara fears this coming evil will destroy not just Eirinn but the entire world.

Young, sharp-tongued Paula Masters, used to her cell phones, cherry lattes and designer jeans, suddenly finds herself thrust back in time to 1848 and the Oregon Trail. In modern life, she rebels against the curfews and restrictions of her day, seeing them as unfair hardships. But now in this alien world with its buffalo stampedes, wild Indians, and deadly pestilence, she is about to find out what real hardships are.

This is my story of survival during and after Hurricane Helene in Burnsville, North Carolina. It was a time when there was no power, water, cell phones, or outside communication at all. We were trapped in a seven-mile radius. All the roads to leave were destroyed.