The press-gang. An unmitigated evil, or the savior of a nation? You decide. Impressment was nothing new for the Royal Navy. It had been used as early as 1664 as a way of obtaining crews for warships. In many respects, impressment was inevitable. The number of trained sailors was finite, and had to be shared across both military and merchant ships. But, where the impact of an undermanned merchant fleet could be inconvenient, an undermanned navy could be disastrous. Britain was an island nation and depended on it's fleet to protect it. J. R. Hutchinson takes us on a tour of the "press-gang," the vehicle by which "eligible men of seafaring habits" were gathered into the Royal Navy. We learn, among other things, how the press-gang began, how it worked, how it was evaded, and how it was ended. While the argument can be made that the fate of the pressed man was certainly no worse, and in many ways much better, than his cousin on land; Hutchinson takes the opposite view-that it was an unmitigated evil. Whether Hutchinson is right, or guilty of analyzing 18th Century history with 20th Century standards, is for you to decide.

Rule Britannia: The Press-Gang Afloat and Ashore

History

Hutchinson, J. R.

Europe

Fireship Press

A joyous homecoming turns into a nightmare, as a trained assassin must do the one thing he didn't want to do -- become an assassin again. Talon, a young Frank, returns to France with his uncle Phillip, a Templar knight, to be reunited with his family who lost him to the Assassins of Alamut when he was just a boy. When he arrives, he finds a sinister threat hanging like a pall over the joyous reunion. Ruthless enemies, who will stop at nothing to destroy his entire family to achieve their ends, are challenging the inheritance of his father. Talon will have to depend upon a handful of Welsh Archers, whom he met at sea, and his uncle's trusty sergeant Max to help him defend his family from this plot. To accomplish that, however, he must also use the skills he learned as a Persian Hashshashin to tip the balance in his family's favor.

Knight Assassin: The Second Book of Talon

Literature & Fiction

James Boschert

Action & Adventure

"...the finest book on India since Kipling." India 1620: India is ruled by the son of the great Akbar, and is about to pass his crown to one of his sons. Brian Hawksworth, ship's captain and emissary of King James, must choose sides, but will he choose correctly? The future of England, and of India, depend on it. He had come to India to open trade for "barbaric" England and squeeze out the Portuguese, who try to kill him at every opportunity. But once on land, he becomes captivated by the country and the people. The beauty and romance of the exquisite Moghul Empire seduce him from his material goals to a new quest for supreme sensuality in music, mystical visions, and sacred lovemaking. From pulse-pounding sea battles, to tiger hunts, war elephants, harems and forbidden love-The Moghul takes you on a breath-taking tour of the India that existed before the British Raj.

The Moghul

Hoover, Thomas

Genre Fiction

The Untold Story of the First American Revolution Barbados, 1648. The lush and deadly Caribbean paradise, domain of rebels and freeholders, of brigands, bawds and buccaneers. Where the flames of revolution exploded a full 130 years before engulfing the American mainland. And where a dark, enslaved race secretly practiced the mysterious rites of a distant continent while daring to whisper the forbidden word... "Freedom." This is the sweeping tale of Hugh Winston, lusty, swashbuckling captain of The Defiance, and the lovely, tempestuous firebrand Katherine Bedford; the two trapped in a bloody pitched battle against the overwhelming forces of British tyranny. A story of love and betrayal, of slavery, war, piracy in the exotic land that gave birth to the fiery American ideal of "Liberty or Death." From the splendor of Barbados, to the rain forests of Tortuga, to the battle-scarred Jamaican coast, a magnificent novel of a time, a place, and a people you will never forget.

Caribbee

With 48 pages of additional articles, references, and bibliographies of recommended reading. Between roughly 43 AD and 410 AD, the Roman Empire had extended itself to Great Britain. The local tribes were no match for disciplined Roman troops, and breaches of the Pax Romana were treated promptly and with ferocity. The Britons were thus under a state of subjugation; but that was not, in all respects, a bad thing. With the law and order that the Romans brought came advances in agriculture, industry and architecture that can still be seen and felt today. In this tale George Henty introduces us to Beric, a young man who fights with the Iceni tribe, led by the Warrior Queen Boadicea, against the Roman occupiers. After their eventual defeat, he leads a guerrilla band against the Romans from the swamplands to the west of the Iceni territory, but is captured and shipped to Rome. There he is trained as a gladiator, gains fame when he defeats a lion single-handed, and winds up serving in the palace of the degenerate emperor, Nero. He journeys back home when Nero dies, but his welcome is not what he expected. This book is an excellent exposure to the Roman conquest of Britain, a chapter in history that is far too often neglected. Henty's History Series Learning History Through Fiction The Henty series is a unique way of learning about history. It consists of over 80 novels, each written by George A. Henty, and each featuring a significant historical person, period or event. * Perfect for busy people who have never lost their desire to learn. * An ideal way for homeschool students to learn history. * Organized by time period. * With additional nonfiction articles and a bibliography of recommended reading. "If you want to fall in love with history, there is simply no better way to do it than this."

Beric the Briton: A Story of the Roman Invasion

Henty,George A.

A new thriller from the best-selling author--Thomas Hoover   Genetic manipulation can be a wonderful thing; but what happens if you do it to an NFL football team?  Nolan Pharmaceutical was a company in trouble. So were the New York Wolverines, an NFL franchise that had fallen on hard times. Together, perhaps they could solve both of their problems; but it was to be a marriage made in hell.  Sequestered on the Caribbean Island of Bonaire, the Wolverines held their normal pre-season training camp, with one exception. Nolan Pharmaceutical was experimenting with DNA manipulation to enhance the player's performance in a way that could not be detected by any drug test. Everything was going well until the lead scientist did the unthinkable. He started splicing in genes from predatory animals.  Dr. Charlize Russell is called in to find out what's going wrong on Bonaire. After an accidental meeting with an old love, Alex Archer, the two of them find a seemingly endless line of people trying to kill them, which only gets worse after they discover what the scientists were doing.  The plot starts fast and accelerates from there, until you are swept from a tranquil Caribbean island, to a pre-season NFL football game you will never forget.

The Touchdown Gene

With 40 pages of additional articles, references, and bibliographies of recommended reading. The Cat of Bubastes is the earliest book in the Henty chronology. It is set in 1450 BC, about the midpoint of the reign of the Egyptian Pharaoh Thutmose III. During this period, Egypt experienced unprecedented growth, with Thutmose leading his armies in no fewer than 17 military campaigns, from Syria in the north to Nubia in the south. Amuba is a young prince of a tribe called the Rebu. When his land is attacked by the Egyptians, he is captured and, along with his chariot driver Jethro, sent back to Egypt as slaves. Amuba is placed in service to Chebron, the son of the high priest. One day, by accident, Chebron kills the sacred cat of the City of Bubastes. The penalty for this act is death, which sets up a variety of harrowing adventures as they attempt to escape back to Amuba's native land. Besides being a terrific adventure, Henty gives the reader an encyclopedic insight into the culture, religion, and everyday life of ancient Egypt. Henty's History Series - Learning History Through Fiction The Henty series is a unique way of learning about history. It consists of over 80 novels, each written by George A. Henty, and each featuring a significant historical person, period or event. * Perfect for busy people who have never lost their desire to learn. * An ideal way for homeschool students to learn history. * Organized by time period. * With additional nonfiction articles and a bibliography of recommended reading. "If you want to fall in love with history, there is simply no better way to do it than this."

The Cat of Bubastes: A Tale of Ancient Egypt

Ancient Civilizations

Have you been looking for a quick concise reference on writing fiction? Eight Things You Need to Know to Write a Novel offers a simple approach to learning this craft. Creativity, inspiration, and imagination must come from within you, but none of it will come across on the written page without craft. Learn the Eight Things You Need to Know About * Concept * Plot * Setting, Place and Time * Characterization * Dialogue, Voice and Point of View * Resolution and Research * Editing and Revising * Publishers and Publishing Whether you are writing your first short story, or working on a 100,000 word manuscript, you'll find this book staying at the top of the heap on your desk. These lessons will stay with you as you discover and realize your dream of becoming a writer of fine fiction.

Eight Things You Need to Know to Write a Novel

Reference

Frost, Jan Holmes

Words, Language & Grammar

With 35 pages of additional articles, references, and bibliographies of recommended reading. The Knights of St. John were among the most powerful of the religious-military orders of the Middle Ages. They were originally formed to support the many thousands of Christians who were making pilgrimages to the Holy City of Jerusalem, and to protect them from Muslim attacks. Because of this mission, they were also known as the Knights Hospitaller. By today's standards, however, they were quite unusual in that they were warriors, but they were also monks-having taken vows of obedience, chastity, and poverty. Our story begins with Gervaise Tresham joining the Knights of St. John on the island of Rhodes. He soon distinguishes himself by foiling a plot, which saves a large part of Italy from the ravages of the Muslim corsairs. For this, he is knighted by the Grand Prior of the Order; but all is not well, as he develops two additional problems. First, the Hospitaller garrison at Rhodes is under attack by 160 Ottoman ships, and 70,000 fanatical Muslim troops. Second, he has fallen in love and wants to get married, which can be a bit of a problem if you are a monk and have taken vows of chastity. Henty's History Series - Learning History Through Fiction The Henty series is a unique way of learning about history. It consists of over 80 novels, each written by George A. Henty, and each featuring a significant historical person, period or event. * Perfect for busy people who have never lost their desire to learn. * An ideal way for homeschool students to learn history. * Organized by time period. * With additional nonfiction articles and a bibliography of recommended reading. "If you want to fall in love with history, there is simply no better way to do it than this."

Knight of the White Cross: A Tale of the Siege of Rhodes

If Homer had written a nineteenth-century romance novel, this would have been it. Whatever happened to Odysseus after his disastrous return home to Ithaca? Adventure author H. Rider Haggard, most famous for writing King Solomon's Mines, and learned Hellenist Andrew Lang collaborate to make this epic romance as allegorical and folkloric as any of Grimm's fairy tales. They effortlessly capture the essence of the Iliad and the Odyssey. Grieving for his wife, Odysseus is visited in dreams by his former love, Helen of Troy, who shows him how to equip himself with the Bow of Erytus and his intact armor. Helen beckons Odysseus to search for her in Egypt, where he encounters heroic figures, free from the restrictions of time and death. Neither murderous political games at the court of the Pharaoh, nor epic battles, nor even the Pharaoh's wife's temptations can make him stray from his course. In this, his last journey, Odysseus completes his lifelong search for Beauty itself, in the person of the World's Desire, Helen of Troy. First published in 1890, this book has received critical acclaim throughout its century-long life.

The World's Desire: The Last Voyage of Odysseus

LANG, ANDREW

Haggard, H.Rider

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