On January 6, 1945, a P-61 Black Widow night fighter crashed into the slopes of Mount Cyclops on the island of New Guinea. Forty years later, a team from the Mid Atlantic Air Museum set out to recover the wreckage and restore the rare aircraft to its original flying condition.This is their story.The Mid Atlantic Air Museum was founded in 1980 under the direction of World War II veteran Gene Strine and his son, Russ. As experienced pilots, aircraft mechanics, and businessmen, the Strines were the perfect candidates to recover the Black Widow from Indonesia. Together, they would spend twelve years and thousands of man hours negotiating salvage rights and traveling halfway around the world to the remote jungle mountainside where the Black Widow lay. They risked everything to save this important piece of aviation history, negotiating difficult terrain, dangerous working conditions, and a maze of bureaucracy. But their gamble paid off, and in the end they emerged victorious.Today, the museum proudly displays its collection of more than eighty aircraft at its facility in Reading, Pennsylvania. With the goal of restoring their planes to award-winning airworthy museum condition, the Strines work tirelessly. The P-61 Black Widow is nearing the end of its long restoration process, and will soon take to the skies once again. When it does, it will be the only known P-61 in the world to fly.

Forgotten Widow

Wagner, Sharon Wells & Steve

Aperture Press

The 25th Infantry Division moved to Korea within hours after the North invaded the South on June 25, 1950. All combat units of the 8th Army arrived in Korea within those first thirty days. Only a handful of officers and enlisted men were veterans of WWII and well trained for combat. The rest of us were mediocre at best. Most felt there would not be another war. After all, we had the bomb. Everyone knew of its destruction capability. Who would dare to confront a country with such potential?Walter Zweizig enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1948, trained at Fort Dix, and spent two years in Occupied Japan prior to the outbreak of the Korean War. In his journey, he experiences disappointments and joy, hardships and adventure, and reflects on his growing up years on a Pennsylvania Dutch dairy farm, contrasting them to the Japanese and Korean cultures in which he finds himself.Book proceeds go to Disabled American Veterans and Paralyzed Veterans of America.

One Infantryman's Journey

History

Zweizig, Walter Mahlon

Nestler, Shirley Zweizig

Military

A homeless boy in the Great Depression who dreams of finding a family of his own joins Special Forces during World War II.  Sharon Wells Wagner makes her literary debut with the story of her father, Red Wells - a man who has seen hardship, joy, and adventure. Telling the tale through his eyes, she takes us on a remarkable journey from childhood through the Second World War and beyond. Growing up poor in small-town America, Red spends his days as a youth wandering the streets, hopping freight trains, and shuffling from home to home. But when he joins the Army, his life changes forever. From his early training in the jungles of Panama to his battles in the war-torn streets of Belgium and France, Red learns the meaning of family from the men with whom he serves - the men of the 99th Infantry Battalion (Separate). The lessons he learns and the events he witnesses influence who he becomes, and he returns home a new man.  Red Wells is more than a book. It is a true story - a legacy to an extraordinary man and his life's journey.

Red Wells

Biographies & Memoirs

Wells Wagner, Sharon

Leaders & Notable People

Sixty-four heroes. One story. Sharon Wells Wagner, author of Red Wells, collaborated with her son, Stephen Wagner, on this extraordinary account of one of history's greatest conflicts: World War II. Told through the eyes of its participants, Ordinary Heroes is a compelling collection of true stories woven into a single narrative spanning the entire war-from the waters of Pearl Harbor to the sands of Normandy to the mountains of Okinawa. The result of more than sixty interviews, this is a story about enlisted men-ordinary men whose families struggled to survive the Great Depression, who grew up on farms and in the small towns of rural America. When called upon to serve they rose to the challenge. In war they saw the best and the worst of humanity. They experienced hope and despair, joy and heartbreak. Those who survived returned home profoundly changed. War leaves its mark on the best of men, and the courageous individuals within these pages are no exception. They did not turn their backs when history needed them most, but met the challenge head on. In doing so they brought peace to a world at war.

Ordinary Heroes: Untold Stories of World War II

Wagner, Stephen

Historical

A Survivor's Story

When Germany invades Poland in 1939, seventeen year old Severin Fayerman sees his world change forever. His family's factory is seized by the Germans. Inevitably, the Fayermans are arrested and sent to a forced labor camp. Severin, separated from his family, is left alone in captivity. For more than a year, he endures the horrors of Auschwitz, Buchenwald, and other concentration camps, relying on hard work and ingenuity to survive. When the war ends so does his nightmare, but his journey has only just begun. A Survivor's Story is the inspirational memoir of Severin Fayerman, Holocaust survivor and the founder of Baldwin Hardware. His journey from Poland to the United States, from young boy to successful businessman, proves that determination trumps adversity, and that goodness can shine in the darkest of places. His story is the American dream. Severin Fayerman was born in Bendzin, Poland in 1922. During World War II, he survived imprisonment and forced labor at Auschwitz and Buchenwald concentration camps. Reunited with his family after the war, he emigrated to the United States in search of a new life. In 1946 the Fayermans purchased the Baldwin Tool and Die Company in Newark, New Jersey. Together they transformed the small metal forming business into a world-class operation. Today, Baldwin Hardware is a premier manufacturer of locks and hardware, and a testament to Severin's hard work and entrepreneurial spirit.

Fayerman, Severin

Lone Wolf: In Enemy Skies

During World War II, a select few bomber crews from the 15th Air Force flew special missions out of Italy against targets in range of the B-24 Liberator. Flying at night without escorts and in groups of only two or three bombers, these "Lone Wolf" pilots served as pathfinders for the main assault. Their missions were dangerous but essential. This is the story of one such pilot. Walter Mattson served as a U.S. Army Air Force B-24 pilot with the 15th Air Force during World War II. He flew 35 missions out of Italy, including several "Lone Wolf" missions, and earned two Air Medals for his service. Born and raised in Pennsylvania, Walter currently lives near Harrisburg.

Mattson, Walter

High school sweethearts Melanie Thomson and Adam Gerhart seem destined to spend the rest of their lives together. From her job at an upscale art gallery to their cozy Manhattan apartment, Melanie is having the time of her life. But their perfect world is shattered in an instant when tragedy strikes. Now, at the crossroads of love and loss, Melanie fears she may lose Adam forever. Will she struggle against her fate? Or will she awaken to the realization that love was there all along? Return to Dawn is a contemporary romance set in New York City. It is a story of passion and broken hearts, of courage and reawakening. It will stir your imagination and set your heart aflutter.

Return to Dawn

Romance

Stephens, Madalyn

Contemporary

Socky is a brand new soccer ball. He looks like a lot of other soccer balls, but with one big difference... Socky has feelings. When a bully threatens the little kids' soccer team, can Socky stand up for them and save the day?

Socky, The Soft-Hearted Soccer Ball

Children's Books

Voigt, David Quentin

Voigt, Grady

Growing Up & Facts of Life

Worlds apart: The autobiography of a dancer from Brooklyn

In this story of his first sixteen years, Robert Maiorano tells how a small boy who once wanted to be a Brooklyn Dodger became a world-renowned dancer. He describes the years of hard work, the arduous training, the frustrations, triumphs, and disappointments before he was accepted into the New York City Ballet. He details the fast-paced life of his tour with the company in Russia, where as a sixteen-year-old he danced for Khrushchev on the eve of the Cuban Missile Crisis. Robert's story is one of many contrasts-of hope and despair, of love and sorrow, and of the two worlds in which he moved: the gang-ridden Brooklyn of the fifties and the brilliant, demanding, exciting world of the ballet.

Worlds Apart: The Autobiography of a Dancer from Brooklyn

Maiorano, Robert

Arts & Literature

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

Books by Aperture Press

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

Forgotten Widow

One Infantryman's Journey

Red Wells

Ordinary Heroes: Untold Stories of World War II

A Survivor's Story

Lone Wolf: In Enemy Skies

Return to Dawn

Socky, The Soft-Hearted Soccer Ball

A Survivor's Story

Worlds Apart: The Autobiography of a Dancer from Brooklyn