Welcome to the bloody end of bleeding Kansas…
Based on true events, this unforgettable novel tells the story of the Bloody Benders, a family of grifters and thieves running an isolated feed store on the Kansas plains, boarding travelers along the Great Osage Trail.
Beautiful Kate Bender was mysterious and well-versed in the dark arts; Ma and Pa were quiet and foreboding, speaking in guttural tones; and young John Bender was thought to be insane. On land soaked with the blood of conflict, the Benders made their home. And one by one, prairie travelers began to disappear…
Rooted in history, this is a vivid tale of the Benders’ origins, and how they became some of the most horrific figures in early post-Civil War America. This gruesome Western thriller is perfect for lovers of Sweeney Todd, and fans of John Harwood and Sarah Raynes.

Hell's Half-Acre: A Novel

Literature & Fiction

Nicastro, Nicholas

Genre Fiction

Witness Impulse

How do you measure the size of the planet you’re standing on? “Circumference" is the story of what happened when one man asked himself that very question. Nicholas Nicastro brings to life one of history's greatest experiments when an ancient Greek named Eratosthenes first accurately determined the distance around the spherical earth. In this fascinating narrative history, Nicastro takes a look at a deceptively simple but stunning achievement made by one man, millennia ago, with only the simplest of materials at his disposal. How was he able to measure the land at a time when distance was more a matter of a shrug and a guess at the time spent on a donkey’s back? How could he be so confident in the assumptions that underlay his calculations: that the earth was round and the sun so far away that its rays struck the ground in parallel lines? Was it luck or pure scientific genius? Nicastro brings readers on a trip into a long-vanished world that prefigured modernity in many ways, where neither Eratosthenes' reputation, nor the validity of his method, nor his leadership of the Great Library of Alexandria were enough to convince all his contemporaries about the dimensions of the earth. Eratosthenes' results were debated for centuries until he was ultimately vindicated almost 2000 years later, during the great voyages of exploration. “Circumference” is a compelling scientific detective story that transports readers back to a time when humans had no idea how big their world was--and the fate of a man who dared to measure the incomprehensible.

Circumference: Eratosthenes and the Ancient Quest to Measure the Globe

St.Martin's Press

Empire of Ashes: A Novel of Alexander the Great

In the aftermath of the death of the conqueror Alexander the Great, the late emperor's friend Machon offers a stunning and tragic take on Alexander's meteoric rise to the heights of power and his ultimate collapse and early death. Original.

Signet

During the Peloponnesian War between Athens and Sparta, two brothers--Epitadas, the spoiled son of Damatria, and Antalcidas, an honorable and courageous warrior--meet on the battlefield and fulfill their destinies. Original.

The Isle of Stone: A Novel of Ancient Sparta

United States

BERKLEY

Told in the voice of a fictitious American officer, the story conjures up a vivid cast of high and low characters among racy cameos of well-drawn historical figures, and steers them through a rich landscape of rousing adventure and telling period detail.

The Eighteenth Captain (The John Paul Jones Novels)

UNKNO

How do you measure the size of the planet you're standing on?
"Circumference" is the story of what happened when one man asked himself that very question. Nicholas Nicastro brings to life one of history's greatest experiments when an ancient Greek named Eratosthenes first accurately determined the distance around the spherical earth. In this fascinating narrative history, Nicastro takes a look at a deceptively simple but stunning achievement made by one man, millennia ago, with only the simplest of materials at his disposal. How was he able to measure the land at a time when distance was more a matter of a shrug and a guess at the time spent on a donkey's back? How could he be so confident in the assumptions that underlay his calculations: that the earth was round and the sun so far away that its rays struck the ground in parallel lines? Was it luck or pure scientific genius? Nicastro brings readers on a trip into a long-vanished world that prefigured modernity in many ways, where neither Eratosthenes' reputation, nor the validity of his method, nor his leadership of the Great Library of Alexandria were enough to convince all his contemporaries about the dimensions of the earth. Eratosthenes' results were debated for centuries until he was ultimately vindicated almost 2000 years later, during the great voyages of exploration. "Circumference" is a compelling scientific detective story that transports readers back to a time when humans had no idea how big their world was--and the fate of a man who dared to measure the incomprehensible.

CIRCUMFERENCE

History

Ancient Civilizations

Griffin

In the chilly summer of 1888, the city of London was introduced to an innovation in evil. A brutal series of prostitute murders cast the city into a frenzy of fear and suspicion, pushing it to the brink of ethnic strife not seen in centuries. Jack the Ripper had arrived."'The Passion of the Ripper' is a different kind of Ripper story: not a whodunit, but an unflinching exploration of the killer, his city, and his times. It tells this well-known story from the inside out, from the points of view of the cops, his final victim, and the man who--years later--became the case's prime suspect. Contrary to legend, Jack's career didn't end with his last mutilation. After chasing a phantom for years, will Scotland Yard see Jack's handiwork in a series of seemingly unrelated murders? Will the world's most notorious serial killer be brought to justice at last?"A disturbing, engrossing tale. Nicastro takes you to hell and back with the larger than life mystery--and the man--behind the name Jack the Ripper."--Doug Clegg, author of "Neverland""A strong new entry in the world of Ripper fiction..."--Ripperologist Magazine

The Passion of the Ripper

CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform

323 BC. The great Alexander is dead--and the uneasy peace of his former empire is unraveling. Machon, the late king's friend and ally, is the scapegoat for Alexander's downfall, charged with the capital crime of the corruption of a god. As an Athenian and an outsider, Machon is prepared to accept the challenge of his accusers and tell the truth behind Alexander's meteoric rise and fall. From his bloody ascent to power and his string of victories, to the seething hatred of the people he conquered, to his slow descent into drunkenness, madness, and wanton brutality, this is a stunning and tragic saga of a peerless military leader who proclaimed himself a god--and lost his humanity.

"Welcome to the bloody end of bleeding Kansas…" Based on true events, this unforgettable novel tells the story of the Bloody Benders, a family of grifters and thieves running an isolated feed store on the Kansas plains, boarding travelers along the Great Osage Trail. Beautiful Kate Bender was mysterious and well-versed in the dark arts; Ma and Pa were quiet and foreboding, speaking in guttural tones; and young John Bender was thought to be insane. On land soaked with the blood of conflict, the Benders made their home. And one by one, prairie travelers began to disappear… Rooted in history, this is a vivid tale of the Benders’ origins, and how they became some of the most horrific figures in early post-Civil War America. "This meticulously researched, vividly told story marries an almost biblical poetry to the rough action of a Western. Readers who can stomach its violence will find a bleak beauty in this portrayal of one of the American prairie’s ugliest stories. A heavenly retelling of a hellish tale.” — Kirkus Reviews "'Hell’s Half-Acre' is a powerful and involving work. Nicastro’s anti-heroine, Kate Bender, is so winningly characterized he made me pull for her in a very unexpected way. But what sticks with me most is the land as the austere staging for this drama. The world is a stage and it’s as stark as all of Kansas with nowhere to hide. Nicastro’s language is equal to it." — Lamar Herrin, author of "The Unwritten Chronicles of Robert E. Lee" and "The Lies Boys Tell"

Hell's Half-Acre

It is a tale of two cities--the legendary duel between haughty, democratic Athens and brutal, unbeaten Sparta. After seven years of bloody conflict, a barren island in a remote corner of Greece becomes the stage for what promises to become a second Thermopylae. Four hundred Spartan soldiers are cut off by enemy ships on a narrow strip of land, starving, without supplies, yet sworn to uphold their indomitable heritage. Meanwhile, all around them, the powerful Athenian Navy masses for the inevitable assault. As the war of nerves wears on, Spartan nobles and Athenian demagogues maneuver in the background--and two estranged Spartan brothers serve together for the first time. The eldest, Antalcidas, is a legendary warrior hobbled by a damaging secret. His brother Epitadas is envied, popular, and cruel. Together they must overcome a lifetime of hostility to survive the battle of their lives.“With 'The Isle of Stone', Nicholas Nicastro joins the illustrious pedigree of Mary Renault, Valerio Massimo Manfredi and Steven Pressfield with great style and enormous panache. His hero's checkered life story is used to frame a dark and darkening history of Sparta between a hugely destructive natural disaster, a great earthquake in 464 BC, and a self-inflicted, man-made debacle during the prolonged and even more destructive Peloponnesian War. Nicastro knows his ancient sources intimately, but also has the born novelist's instinct to flesh out their bare bones all too plausibly. Nicastro's antiheroes of the isle of Sphacteria are the dark side of Pressfield's heroes in Gates of Fire: both demand and repay the attention of all lovers of expert historical fiction.”--Paul Cartledge, Professor of Greek History, University of Cambridge, and author of "Alexander the Great: The Hunt for a New Past"“From its explosive first pages, 'The Isle of Stone' draws you into the gritty reality of Sparta during the Peloponnesian War. Nicastro writes powerful prose, but this is no exercise in debunking. With drama, passion, and a sure touch for the facts, Nicastro reveals the heroism behind the humiliation of the shocking day when some of Sparta's unconquerable soldiers surrendered. His images of life and death under the Mediterranean sun hit you like the glare of a polished shield.” --Barry Strauss, author of The Battle of "Salamis: The Naval Encounter that Saved Greece - and Western Civilization" and Professor of History and Classics, Cornell University"Having brought John Paul Jones and Alexander the Great to life, Nicastro ('Empire of Ashes') turns his formidable skills as a historical novelist on an obscure episode in the Peloponnesian War, that almost three-decade conflict between Athens and Sparta, which he labels antiquity's 'war to end all wars.' The choice to have a narrow focus, rather than an all-encompassing epic sweep, proves a wise one, as it enables Nicastro to go into nitty-gritty detail about the lifestyles of Greece in 425 B.C., making the harsh Spartan attitudes, for example, comprehensible, if not acceptable, to a modern sensibility. The author instills emotional depth in his three main characters—Damatria, a wealthy Spartan woman, and her two sons, Antalcidas and Epitadas—and the supporting cast through adept use of the telling descriptive phrase. The careful research and study that went into this book should enthrall fans of the classics, military history buffs and general readers." --Publisher's Weekly

The Isle of Stone

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Nicastro, Nicholas. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Nicastro, Nicholas

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Nicastro, Nicholas. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Hell's Half-Acre: A Novel

Circumference: Eratosthenes and the Ancient Quest to Measure the Globe

Empire of Ashes: A Novel of Alexander the Great

The Isle of Stone: A Novel of Ancient Sparta

The Eighteenth Captain (The John Paul Jones Novels)

CIRCUMFERENCE

The Passion of the Ripper

Empire of Ashes: A Novel of Alexander the Great

Hell's Half-Acre

The Isle of Stone