Books
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Gunflint Falling: Blowdown in the Boundary Waters
Stories from survivors of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness's epochal weather disaster On July 4, 1999, in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW), a bizarre confluence of meteorological events resulted in the most damaging blowdown in the region's history. Originating over the Dakotas, the midsummer windstorm developed amid unusually high heat and water-saturated forests and moved steadily east, bearing down on Fargo, North Dakota, and damaging land as it crossed the Minnesota border. Gunflint Falling tells the story of this devastating storm from the perspectives of those who were on the ground before, during, and after the catastrophic event--from first-time visitors to the north woods to returning paddlers to Forest Service Rangers. The pre-dawn forecasts from the National Weather Service in Duluth for that Sunday of the holiday weekend predicted the day would be "warm and humid. Partly sunny with a thirty percent chance of thunderstorms." But as the afternoon and evening settled over the Boundary Waters, the first eyewitness accounts began to tell a dramatic and terrifying story. Five friends camping on Lake Polly watched in wonder as the sky turned green and the winds began to whip. They scrambled to pull canoes on shore and secure tarps when a tree snapped and struck one of them in the head, rendering her unconscious. Three women enjoying their last day of a camping trip near the end of the Gunflint Trail took shelter in their tent as winds increased. Water drenched the nylon walls as trees crashed around them, one flattening the tent and pinning a woman beneath its weight. A family vacationing at their cabin dodged falling trees and strained against straight-line winds as they sprinted from the cabin to the safest place they knew: a crawl space underneath it. They watched in awe as trees snapped and toppled, their twisted root balls torn out of the water-logged earth--as they prayed their cabin would hold. By the time the storm began to subside, falling trees had injured approximately sixty people, and most needed to be medevacked to safety. Amazingly, no one died. The historic storm laid down timber that would later blaze in the Ham Lake fire of 2007, ultimately reshaping the region's forests in ways we have yet to fully understand.
$21.95 $16.95
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Debunking FDR: The Man and the Myths
The myths about Franklin Delano Roosevelt live on. For the Left, FDR was a champion of the working class and the oppressed, suffering abuse as a "traitor to his class." He gave up the lifestyle of the Hudson River gentry to lead his country out of the Depression and to victory against fascism. For many on the Right, FDR was out of his depth on economics but provided Americans with the optimism and confidence necessary to prevail during the Depression and gain victory in World War II. Debunking FDR: The Man and The Myths exposes the suppressed and distorted facts about FDR's life and the legends about him (many invented by FDR himself!) promoted by generations of historians. Born into immense wealth and insulated from the struggles of everyday Americans, FDR's young life was one of vast privilege and mediocre talents. Mary Grabar chronicles FDR's path to the presidency: his second-rate studies at Harvard, his indifference to law school and the legal profession, and his steady, insouciant rise through the government ranks. You will not think of FDR the same way again.
$37.99 $32.99
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Rangers, Trappers, and Trailblazers: Early Adventures in Montana's Bob Marshall Wilderness and Glacier National Park
Great Stories well told about the pioneer era in Montana's "Crown of the Continent." True adventures of people who earned their living among the mountains and along the cold, clear rivers of Glacier National Park and the Bob Marshall Wilderness in the 19th and early 20th centuries.
$21.95 $16.95
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Our Jackie: Public Claims on a Private Life
Tells the story of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis through her evolving public persona, from campaign wife to First Lady to fallen idol to treasured national icon When Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis became First Lady of the United States over sixty years ago, she stepped into the public spotlight. Although Jackie is perhaps best known for her two highly-publicized marriages, her legacy has endured beyond twentieth-century pop culture and she remains an object of public fascination today. Drawing on a range of sources- from articles penned for the women's pages of local newspapers, to esteemed national periodicals, to fan magazines and film- Our Jackie evaluates how media coverage of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis changed over the course of her very public life. Jackie's interactions with and framing by the American media reflect the changing attitudes toward American womanhood. Over the course of four decades, Jackie was alternatively praised for her service to others, and pilloried for her perceived self-interest. In Our Jackie, Karen M. Dunak argues that whether she was portrayed as a campaign wife, a loyal widow, a selfish jetsetter, or a mature career woman, the history of Jackie's highly publicized life demonstrates the ways in which news, entertainment, politics, and celebrity evolved and intertwined over the second half of the twentieth century. Examining the intimate chronicles of this famous First Lady's life, Our Jackie suggests that media coverage of this enigmatic public figure revealed as much about the prevailing views of women in America- how they should behave and whom they should serve- as it did about Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis as an individual.
$35.00 $30.00
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Story of the Buddha
For readers of mythology, an original and introspective journey through the life of the Buddha accompanied by 26 beautiful color illustrations and 8 meditations. From longtime Zen teacher and poet John Tarrant, this is an original retelling of the foundational myth of Buddhism--the life of the Buddha. Told and retold for centuries, this story holds a special place in the human legacy because it is, ultimately, an investigation of the nature of mind and consciousness. Literary-minded readers and fans of myths and folklore will be especially drawn to the Buddha's encounters with kings, gods, heroes, monsters, and wise teachers in his spiritual quest. In this captivating narrative, the author leans into his memories of the Egyptian and Greek myths he encountered as a child. "If we pour ourselves into the story of the Buddha," he writes, "we enter the journey from an unusual place as far as myths go; we begin where the Odyssey ends." The Buddha already had everything--a palace, family, food, wealth--yet he was suffocating with discontent. He needed to embark on a journey involving pain, searching, magic, and personal discovery. This led to his awakening and the teachings that form the basis of Buddhism. John Tarrant frames the story with an intimate, inquisitive introduction and postscript that reflect his decades of studying koans and will resonate with a broad readership. The story of the Buddha is personal--it becomes your own story, opening an unexpected path to awakening. If you listen to the images that arise in its telling, you can find where you are in life and where you are headed. The Buddha's story becomes more personal with the concluding section of reflections and eight meditations about his life drawn from the Zen tradition. The book's gorgeous full-color historical illustrations of characters and events in the Buddha's life enrich the narrative journey. This lovely little book is a meaningful gift or addition to your own bedside or coffee table.
$24.95 $19.95
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Writings of Eugene V Debs: A Collection of Essays by America's Most Famous Socialist
A collection of speeches, pamphlets and writings from Eugene V Debs, from 1888 to 1925. Beginning his career as an organizer for the American Railway Union, Debs ran for President on the Socialist Party ticket five times, polling up to 6 percent of the total vote in 1912. Jailed in 1919 for an antiwar speech in Ohio, Debs ran for President from his jail cell in 1920, polling almost a million votes, 3.4 percent of the total votes cast.
$18.99 $13.99
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Lake Effect: A Deckhand's Journey on the Great Lakes Freighters
A deckhand's coming-of-age story of sailing the Great Lakes steamboats during the social and political turbulence of the early 1970s, "Lake Effect" is a vivid and memorable account, told in an entertaining narrative style, of life aboard the giant ore boats. This humorous yet poignant memoir follows his voyage of self-discovery.
$22.95 $17.95
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Unbecoming a Lady: The Forgotten Sluts and Shrews Who Shaped America
A quippy and irreverent collection of illustrated profiles of the great American women who weren't attractive, well-spoken, demure, or sinless enough to receive their rightful place in history, until now, from New York Times bestselling author Therese Oneill. Slut. Shrew. Sinful. Scold. The 19th- and early 20th-century American women profiled in this collection were called all these names and worse when they were alive. And that's just fine. These glorious dames earned those monikers, and one hundred years later they can wear them proudly! They refused to conform to societal standards. They bucked everyday niceties and blazed their own trails. They were collectively unbecoming as women, but they forever changed what women can become. With irresistible charm and laugh-out-loud impertinence, New York Times bestselling author Therese Oneill chronicles the lives of eighteen unbecoming ladies whose audacity, courage, and sheer disdain for lady-like expectations left them out of so many history books. Curious readers will learn about forgotten heroines such as: -Dr. Mary Edwards Walker: who, despite being the only woman ever awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor, was shunned and forgotten due to her insistence on wearing pants in public. -Elizabeth Packard: whose careful record of her own unjust incarceration in a 19th century madhouse by her husband (her crime: not wanting to be Presbyterian anymore) led to nationwide law reforms to protect the rights of those with mental health issues. -Lilian Gilbreth: best remembered for being the real-life mom of Cheaper by the Dozen but who probably should be remembered for scientifically removing the stigma of the sanitary napkin and designing the modern-day kitchen. -And many more! With dozens of illustrations and historical photographs throughout, Unbecoming a Lady shines a light on unforgettable, impressive women who deserve to be remembered.
$29.99 $24.99
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Minnesota's Most Notorious Mobster: The Making and Breaking of Kid Cann
"Ninety percent of [what] was written about me is bullshit"Isadore Blumenfeld, aka Kid Cann, came to Minnesota as a toddler when his family emigrated from Romania. In Prohibition-era Minneapolis, a city of vast wealth inequality and vicious antisemitism, young Isadore rose from impoverished newsboy to millionaire. Kid Cann's ruthless determination, growing organized crime network and willingness to commit wanton violence ignited his meteoric ascent. He got away with innumerable crimes over four decades before a series of relatively minor offenses brought him down. Although ravaged by stress and stripped of his social stature, the infamous gangster earned a place in the folklore of Minnesota. Historian Ron de Beaulieu recounts the saga of the state's most notorious crime boss.
$29.99 $24.99
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Flee North: A Forgotten Hero and the Fight for Freedom in Slavery's Borderland
A Publishers Weekly Top 10 Book of the YearA riveting account of the extraordinary abolitionist, liberator, and writer Thomas Smallwood, who bought his own freedom, led hundreds out of slavery, and named the underground railroad, from Pulitzer Prize-winning author and journalist, Scott Shane. Flee North tells the story for the first time of an American hero all but lost to history. Born into slavery, by the 1840s Thomas Smallwood was free, self-educated, and working as a shoemaker a short walk from the U.S. Capitol. He recruited a young white activist, Charles Torrey, and together they began to organize mass escapes from Washington, Baltimore, and surrounding counties to freedom in the north. They were racing against an implacable enemy: men like Hope Slatter, the region's leading slave trader, part of a lucrative industry that would tear one million enslaved people from their families and sell them to the brutal cotton and sugar plantations of the deep south. Men, women, and children in imminent danger of being sold south turned to Smallwood, who risked his own freedom to battle what he called "the most inhuman system that ever blackened the pages of history." And he documented the escapes in satirical newspaper columns, mocking the slaveholders, the slave traders and the police who worked for them. At a time when Americans are rediscovering a tragic and cruel history and struggling anew with the legacy of white supremacy, Flee North -- the first to tell the extraordinary story of Smallwood -- offers complicated heroes, genuine villains, and a powerful narrative set in cities still plagued by shocking racial inequity today.
$25.00 $20.00
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No Bullet Got Me Yet: The Relentless Faith of Father Kapaun (Original)
*A 2025 Kansas Notable Book!*The incredible story of Father Emil Kapaun, the most decorated chaplain in US military history, who has been declared "Venerable" by Pope Francis and is now a step closer to Sainthood.Father Emil Kapaun, a humble priest, went far beyond the call of duty during World War II and the Korean War. Often found with the combat medics on the front lines, unarmed, ministering to the wounded, and known for his intense devotion to the soldiers whom he called "my boys," Kapaun became the most decorated chaplain in US military history, awarded a Medal of Honor, the Distinguished Service Cross and the Legion of Merit.But Father Kapaun's leadership, bravery and selflessness don't end there. When the story of human history is over, evil, death, darkness--they don't get the final word. It was Father Kapaun's love for God that gave him the courage to lay down his life for his friends and for his country.Writer John Stansifer has spent years interviewing veterans and ex-POWs. Coupled with other interviews or self-published war experiences, as well as material from the National Archives and rare access to thousands of unseen documents, No Bullet Got Me Yet unveils the compelling history of the life of Father Kapaun as related by his friends, family and fellow soldiers, as well as in his own words from the numerous letters he wrote from the 1930s all the way to the battlefields of the Korean War.
$35.00 $30.00
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There's a Sheep in My Bathtub: Tenth Anniversary Edition (Tenth Anniversary Updated)
What happens when you drop an American family with three small children into the post-Communist chaos of Outer Mongolia? There's a Sheep in my Bathtub chronicles the adventures of the Hogan family as they try to follow God's leading into one of the world's most remote and mysterious enclaves. Brian and Louise meet during their college days at Cal Poly State University in San Luis Obispo and embark on a pursuit of a calling to the nations that propels them from the Navajo Nation's painted desert in Arizona to the wild steppes of Central Asia. Along their way five children join the cross-cultural roller coaster. Disarmingly honest and charmingly humorous, their tale will thrill you and bring tears to your eyes. An intensely personal memoir, this book still manages to pack a powerful dose of missionary insight and Biblical principles for seeing the Church explode into life among peoples that have never even heard of Jesus. Get comfortable. You will not be able to put it down.From the very first page this book jerks you irretrievably into the outrageous, the uproarious and the impossible to imagine. It has got to be one of the most absolutely fascinating tales to ever prove that the truth is stranger than fiction. Nevertheless, it throbs with a sobering and relentless sense of calling and purpose that is truly inspiring. --- the late Dr. Ralph D. Winter, Founder, U.S. Center for World MissionI wept, laughed and was stirred by this book. I love a good story, and this is a really good one! You won't be able to put it down! --- Floyd McClung., author of Living on the Devil's DoorstepBrian Hogan's apostolic passion shines through with an incredible combination of raw honesty and witty humor. A gripping real-life parable unfolds that will have you laughing, weeping and rejoicing at the amazing testimony of God's grace and power revealed through ordinary people facing extra-ordinary obstacles. I wholeheartedly recommend this book as it not only tells an amazing story, but also becomes a discipleship tool that reveals to us a whole new paradigm of church and missions. --- David Broodryk, Kingdom People Network, South AfricaIf you want a radically cross-cultural journey without leaving your favorite easy chair - this book is your ticket. If you desire to plant churches that reproduce among the least reached - this is your training manual wrapped up in a most delightful, brawny and instructive story-box! I laughed - I cried - and wrestled through the realities of what it means to leave the easy chair and watch God prove Himself faithful - accomplishing His dreams for a people through one ordinary and obedient family. Brian Hogan is courageous, practical and real. Focused in the same direction for many years, he is a pioneer, church planter, mentor and model. His journey is a challenge to all those who want to be used by God. Brian's thinking will stretch and grow you; his passion and lifestyle will confront every comfortable corner of your life. There's a Sheep in my Bathtub will be top on the reading list for those I train. --- Carol Davis, director of LeafLine InitiativesBrian Hogan's Erdenet-story had been told to me a number of times as a real and astonishing exception and a true, powerful secret. I am thrilled to see it in print. Brian experienced church history in the making in 1993-1996. May his insights multiply like an epidemic and grip an entire new generation of an apostolic people, so that this planet will never remain the same. --- Wolfgang Simson, author of Houses that Change the World & The Starfish Manifesto
$20.00 $15.00
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