I'm No Hero


Book Description

'I'm No Hero' is the story of Charlie Plumb, but it is also the story of all POWs who faced an isolated world of degradation, loneliness, tedium, hunger, and pain. It is no pretty story. It tells of the torture room with walls built to muffle human screams, of the 'rope trick' and 'fanbelt' techniques designed to make a man talk, of illness, of insanity. But it also tells of the ingenuity and creativity which allowed the men to outsmart their guards and to set up communication systems, classes, escape plans, and to maintain their chain of command. It is a revealing story. It pictures men who are reduced to the basics physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. It shows how these situations can be survived with individual integrity and pride intact. It tells of growing relationships with God which came as a result of desperate need. It outlines a closed society's methods of developing rules which allow members to live together in harmony. It is a story of hope, for it suggests that the techniques used by POWs to survive their conditions can be used by others to overcome similar situations faced in day-to-day living.




Running Man


Book Description

"After a decade-long addiction to crack cocaine and alcohol, Charlie Engle hit rock bottom after a near-fatal six-day binge ended in a hail of bullets. Then he found running, and it has helped keep him sober, focused and alive. He began to take on the most extreme endurance races, such as the 155-mile Gobi March, and developed a reputation as an inspirational speaker. However, after he made the documentary Running the Sahara, narrated by Matt Damon, which followed him on a 4500-mile crossing of the desert and helped raise $6 million, he was sent to prison after failing to complete his mortgage application properly. It was while he was in jail that he became known as 'The Running Man' as he pounded the prison yard, and soon his fellow inmates were joining him, finding new hope through running. Now, in his brilliantly written and powerful account, Engle tells the story of his life and how running has brought him so much pleasure and peace. Like such classics as Born to Runor Running with the Kenyans, this is a book that anyone who has ever found solace in the freedom of running will enjoy"--Google Books.




Charlie's Superhero Underpants


Book Description

When a gusting wind blows the laundry off the clothesline, Charlie travels the world searching for his favorite scarlet superhero underpants.




Isaiah Dunn Is My Hero


Book Description

A coming-of-age tale about a boy who discovers a love of poetry after finding his late father's journal. Adapted from a story that first appeared in Flying Lessons & Other Stories and perfect for fans of The Parker Inheritance by Varian Johnson. Isaiah is now the big man of the house. But it's a lot harder than his dad made it look. His little sister, Charlie, asks too many questions, and Mama's gone totally silent. Good thing Isaiah can count on his best friend, Sneaky, who always has a scheme for getting around the rules. Plus, his classmate Angel has a few good ideas of her own--once she stops hassling Isaiah. And when things get really tough, there's Daddy's journal, filled with stories about the amazing Isaiah Dunn, a superhero who gets his powers from beans and rice. Isaiah wishes his dad's tales were real. He could use those powers right about now! Kelly J. Baptist's debut novel explores the indomitable spirit of a ten-year-old boy and the superhero strength it takes to grow up. "Isaiah's optimism, drive, and loyalty to friends and family make him a hero to cheer for." -Publishers Weekly, Starred Review




The Journey of Little Charlie


Book Description

The Newberry Medalist brings humor and heart to this story of a Civil War–era boy struggling to do right in the face of history’s cruelest evils. Twelve-year-old Charlie is down on his luck: His sharecropper father just died, and Cap’n Buck—the most fearsome man in Possum Moan, South Carolina—has come to collect a debt. Fearing for his life, Charlie strikes a deal with Cap’n Buck and agrees to track down some folks accused of stealing from the cap’n and his boss. It’s not too bad of a bargain for Charlie . . . until he comes face-to-face with the fugitives and discovers their true identities. Torn between his guilty conscience and his survival instinct, Charlie needs to figure out his next move—and soon. It’s only a matter of time before Cap’n Buck catches on. Praise for The Journey of Little Charlie A National Book Award Finalist “This is a compelling and ugly story for middle-grade readers told with genuine care. Little Charlie is a product of his Southern upbringing, yet in Curtis’s skillful hands he learns the world is not as he’d thought . . . Christopher Paul Curtis does it again.” —Historical Novel Society “A characteristically lively and complex addition to the historical fiction of the era from Curtis.” —Kirkus Reviews




Charlie Mike


Book Description

Traces how two veterans of the wars in the Middle East organized ways that injured veterans could continue to serve, sharing inspiring stories of disaster relief in Haiti and post-Sandy New York as well as tales of support for newly returned and traumatized vets.




Agents of Darkness


Book Description

In international bestselling author Campbell Armstrong’s thrilling, sophisticated tale of espionage, an assassin’s vengeance triggers the exposure of a lethal conspiracy at the heart of the US government The director of the CIA lies unconscious and close to death in a private clinic, and his likely successor waits on his Pennsylvania estate while the power brokers in Washington, DC, do their deals. In the meantime, a man in Dallas is murdered. And on the other side of the globe, in Manila, a nondescript American is killed in his lover’s back-alley apartment. Hard-drinking Scotsman Charlie Galloway, who has been suspended from his job in the LAPD, unofficially looks into the murder of a Filipino woman. Step by step, his investigation leads him to the nation’s capital, where a shocking conspiracy reaches deep into the heart of government. [Reviews]




A Hero's Welcome


Book Description

American soldiers who returned from the war in Vietnam were not always treated kindly or with understanding. For Culver, his memory of the love he and Mabel shared before he went to war was a painful reminder of how his life was changed by being in Vietnam. A Hero’s Welcome, in the words of leading Vietnam War literature critic David Willson, “has got baseball, summer camp, college dorm life, and war. It’s got everything. This is an all-American novel.” It’s about how one veteran rediscovered America and about how America treated those it sent to fight an unpopular war. “A classic of the American war in Vietnam War. A brilliant novel of love gone wrong. Naparsteck makes the 1960’s come alive.” —David Willson, co-editor of Vietnam War Literature: An Annotated Bibliography; Willson [please note: he has two l’s in his name] is widely considered one of the nation’s leading experts on Vietnam War literature). Date: February 2000 Martin Naparsteck’s writing is “knee deep in particulars, with the power of close-focus psychological observation.” —Veronica Geng, Mississippi Review, Fall 1964 Naparsteck’s writing “takes risks and survives, indeed prospers because of its honesty….As readers and human beings we all too seldom reflect on truth until we’ve the fortune to read authors like the one here.” —novelist Colin Hester, Diamond Sutra, 1997 “Quirky, playful, and original, the work of Martin Naparsteck is not easily forgotten.” —Janet Hutchings, editor of Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, July 1996




Cannabis Paradise


Book Description

Is it a novel? A neurolinguistic operating system? A textbook? Or all of the above? For the first time ever, discover the most scientifically accurate and leading edge truths about the plant in Cannabis Paradise. Join Silex Stone as he learns about cannabis and experience the world in the year 2045. The United States has divided into two different societies and Silex is caught in the middle of both worlds as he tries to find the truth about the plant.




Charlie Goodbear


Book Description

Nothing in life is to be feared. It is only to be understood. (Marie Curie) The nature of people is to shun the unknown, which is what a handful of people in the town of Springdale were doing to Charlie Goodbear. Charlie Goodbear by Tom Thunderhorse is an inspirational tale about the lives of a few small town folks and a good-hearted and misunderstood man named Charlie. The book begins with a detailed explanation of the characters and the town of Springdale. Thunderhorses perfect description of the stereotypical small town life makes you feel close to the characters. It is as if you are part of the gang and not just a silent spectator. The story unfolds only to pull you deeper into the lives of these colorful characters. A wonderful element this book has to offer is humor, and more than one kind. This book will have its reader laughing as well as sitting in silent amusement at some particular quirk. Do not think for one minute that this book is a comedy, however, it will have you near tears at some points too. A word of warning to all the books potential readers: This book is religious! Thats right, Ive said the R word. However, what is more important for those who are sensitive about the aforementioned R word, it is not preachy. This story does not attempt to convert you or convince you of the benefits of believing what these characters do believe. Feel safe, people of all faiths, your beliefs are out of harm's way, so if you can get past the rest of it, just sit back and enjoy the tale. Charlie Goodbear offers an ending that can only be described as bittersweet, but I will not spoil it for any potential readers who may be reading this. You will just have to acquire a copy of this wonderful book for yourself. When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left and could say, I used everything you gave me. ~Erma Bombeck "I have known Tom Thunderhorse for a good amount of time now and knowing him has made this book all the more enjoyable for me. I could hear his voice in my head as I read and his sense of humor and personality comes though in every character. I feel very touched to have been given the opportunity to enjoy his novel before it becomes available to the rest of the world and truly blessed to have met him." ~This Review By, Christina Malley