What would you do if a wildfire swept through your area without warning?In October 1908, a wildfire swept through northeast Michigan and consumed 900 homes and two million acres of farms and forest. Despite the valiant efforts of the farmers, lumbermen, and shopkeepers, only Lake Huron could quench the flames. With no fire watch towers, spotting aircraft, telephones, or organized firefighting and only limited telegraph, warnings were too few and too late.Devil in the North Woods accurately depicts the fire's genesis, growth, and aftermath. The story's real-life protagonist, 10-year-old Henry Hardies, survived the fire but family did not. Relying on Henry's personal recollections and author Walt Shiel's faithful recreation of time and place, the book vividly brings Henry's ordeal to life.Devil in the North Woods contrasts the terror of nature's destruction with a chronicle of family, love, sorrow, and recovery. The story leaves the reader buoyed by faith in the resilience of the human spirit and belief in love's ability to germinate amid the ashes of ruin.Includes a map and six historical photos.=========="This is first rate writing that at times will leave you wondering whether it is fact or fiction but in a manner that does not deceive or talk down to the reader. Highly Recommended." -Charles M. Noble, Amazon Vine reviewer"Walt Shiel takes his readers into a vivid turn-of-the century adventure through Devil in the North Woods. This is a historically accurate account of a 1908 fire that destroyed the town of Metz, Michigan. Tragically, many of the town's citizens perished whether they tried to fight the fire or escape. Through their trials, Shiel highlights how different life was in the early 1900s, with horse-drawn transportation and one-room schoolhouses the norm. His account of the fire provides a drama that is entertaining, but not for the squeamish. Therein lies the power of this book, Shiel's writing is so visceral it will cause the reader to blanch, but then turn the page for more." -Military Writers Society of America"The terror of the fire and the way it impacts these families and threads, cause you to lose yourselves in the words on the pages, which flip all too fast...This is a story that you feel in your gut, and the lessons to be learned are on every page. " -Clifford Feightner, author of Views from Sandhausen"This is more than the story of an out-of-control wildfire; it is the story of everyday heroes and the way they reclaim their lives after tragedy." -Danielle Feliciano, ReaderViews.com"I stayed up till 3AM three nights in a row, exhausted but unable to put this book down. And now that I've finished it, I'm sad that it's done, and I wish there was a movie based on this book, or this historical event" -Amazon customer review by M. Staller"Devil in the North Woods will forever live on in hearts and minds of all who read it." Amazon customer review by jimtown

Devil In The North Woods: A Novel Based On The 1908 Metz, Michigan, Wildfire

Literature & Fiction

Shiel, Walt

Contemporary

Slipdown Mountain Pubns

"A well-written and eclectic mix of short stories that are what short fiction ought to be: short." -Amazon customer review by Andy VL"His country might forget and her politicians might forgive, but Pete could not, no matter how much he might want to. World War II had changed him forever." -from "Remember" in Pilots and Normal People"Dolton hadn't seen Jennifer and her long legs in eight months. Not since he'd left her to search for a good night's sleep." -from "Perchance to Dream" in Pilots and Normal People                  Is it really possible to forget a prejudice ingrained during war?Does death really close the door to life?Can a grounded pilot find another way to return to the sky?Are physical laws the same throughout the universe?Is aviation mostly intellect or mostly emotion?Are criminals just as smart as the law-abiding?Can one man fight back against society's increasing crudeness?Do space explorers really need a spaceship?  These and many other intriguing questions are explored in Walt Shiel's eclectic short fiction collection, which includes the award-winning "Remember" about a WW II veteran still haunted by memories of violence. Pilots and Normal People presents 21 tales of mystery, science fiction and humanity (six involving pilots and aviation)."He'd been a captain then, a young man fighting a war that was screwed up, poorly led, and misunderstood by everyone from the White House to the grunts in the field. But it was the only war they had..." -from "Grounded" in Pilots and Normal People"My job was to serve the community, even when the community suffered from monthly schizophrenia." -from "Give Him a Hand" in Pilots and Normal People"Roland shook off the unpleasant memory and gave himself to the night, letting the enveloping darkness isolate and insulate him from the world below." from "Siren Song" in Pilots and Normal People

Pilots and Normal People: Short Stories from a Different Attitude

NOTE: The updated Second Edition is being released as a series of books in full color. The first two in the series are: <ul>
<li>T-41 MESCALERO: THE MILITARY CESSNA 172 (ASIN 0974655333), released in 2007.</li>
<li>CESSNA WARBIRDS: THE WAR YEARS (1941-45): THE T-50 BOBCAT AND THE CESSNAS IMPRESSED INTO MILITARY SERVICE (ASIN 1934631310), released May 2015. </li>
</ul>This landmark book by former Air Force pilot and internationally-known aviation author Walt Shiel, provides the complete and rarely-told story of the 12,000+ Cessna aircraft that have served in the US military and in armed forces around the world. Cessna Warbirds blends hard technical information about each aircraft with personal anecdotes by the pilots who flew them. Over 400 photos, many in color, illustrate the aircraft and their operational use. Read about amazing feats accomplished by ordinary men with extraordinary courage when these aircraft were flown in hot conflicts around the world. This book is perfect for anyone who has flown military aircraft, is interested in military aviation, owns of flies Cessna aircraft, or experiences a military Walter Mitty episode whenever they take to the skies.

Cessna Warbirds: A Detailed and Personal History of Cessna's Involvement in the Armed Forces

History

Military

Slipdown Mountain Publications LLC

Battle fatigue...shell shock...PTSD... Terminology changes. The pain remains.Paul Eastman, a small-town Wisconsin boy turned P-40 fighter pilot, lands in the jungles of Assam and Burma in 1943. Lt. Eastman's compelling story, gleaned from his diary and letters home and illustrated with his personal photos, provides unique insights into the realities of combat life and death, punctuated by love and concern for the wife he left behind. Author Walt Shiel skillfully interleaves an informative history of the broader war into Eastman's personal accounts.Eastman evolves from an innocent abroad to a fatalistic combat veteran -- through missions that careen from mundane to adrenalin-fueled in a single heartbeat and through the humor, revelry, camaraderie, fatigue, and death that surround daily life. And through the "soul-numbing terror" of being shot down behind enemy lines. Like warriors before and after him, Eastman's war does not end after his 20 months of combat. After a decade of struggling to adapt, he finally takes his own life in a poignant episode that could be lifted from today's headlines.Paul Eastman's war is, indeed, a Rough War.Read Eastman's story, then give thanks to the veterans, past and present, who fight and die to preserve our freedoms.Rough War: Finalist, 2012 USA Best Book Awards and 2012 Next Generation Indie Book Awards!++++++++++++"In the annals of WWII aerial warfare Rough War is a jewel that has been missing for far too long."--Jim Hooper, Author of A Hundred Feet over Hell"Rough War is an important story that makes an equally important connection to the effects of war on the members of the US military today. A rare achievement that offers a rewarding, creative approach to history that should be a model for more writers."--Ed Rasimus, Author of Palace Cobra and When Thunder Rolled"A story of the war generation, of the forgotten theater, and of the terrible things just being in a war does to people."--Eric Hammel, Author of The Road to Big Week"Rough War presents a unique history of the making of a combat fighter pilot...While aviation technology changed for America's next war in SE Asia, the threats of the jungle, monsoon, and a determined enemy created similar issues during my own fighter-pilot experiences in Vietnam."--William H. Lawson, Brig. Gen, US Air Force, Retired"Rough War presents a highly personal view of air combat and daily life in the WW II jungles of Burma. Walt Shiel skillfully blends a history of that war with young fighter pilot Paul Eastman's personal diary, letters, and photographs. An engaging history of a small part of a global war."--Robert F. Dorr, Author of Mission to Berlin

Rough War: The Combat Story of Lt. Paul J. Eastman, a Burma Banshee P-40 and P-47 Pilot

Biographies & Memoirs

Leaders & Notable People

Slipdown Mountain Publications

Everett Ross often feels like a fish out of water, an ex-Texas Ranger who traded his horse and six-gun for the cockpit of a pursuit aircraft in the British Royal Flying Corps. Through his inimitable West Texas narrative, Ross thrills the reader with a riveting tale of authentic aerial combat in the skies above the stalemated trenches of World War I. On the ground, Ross, who speaks no French, pursues the enchanting Geneviève, who speaks no English. Despite their torrid and frenetic passion, the war rips them apart, and Ross plunges behind enemy lines in a desperate gamble to rescue her.Push that Buy Now button and catapult yourself into a breathless ride through history. Why wait?Once A Knight was awarded the Bronze Medal in Historical Fiction in the Military Writers Society of America 2011 Book Awards!

Once a Knight: A Novel of Aerial Combat & Romance in World War I

Genre Fiction