Earl Brockelsby was a fearless showman, an intrepid entrepreneur, an icon of western tourism and a complex man who struggled with his own demons. Brockelsby's remarkable biography offers rare insight into the evolution of tourism in the American West in the years after World War II when millions of families piled into their automobiles and set out on vacation adventures that shaped the national identity and fueled the mythology of the region. Born in Kadoka, South Dakota in the last days of the Western frontier, Brockelsby grew up in the badlands and the Black Hills. The oldest of three children, he came of age in the Great Depression. With the carving of Mount Rushmore in progress, he awed tourists at a local roadside attraction by hiding a live rattlesnake under his hat. As a scout and sergeant for the Army in Europe, he witnessed the horrors and depredations of World War II. Brockelsby's entrepreneurial drive was unleashed after he came home from the war. But as Rattlesnake Under His Hat reveals, his creative mania was paired with bouts of depression and even a nervous breakdown. His Reptile Gardens became one of the most successful roadside attractions in the Hills-the largest private collection of reptiles in North America. College students beat down the doors to "wrestle a gator" for the tourists in the summer and sit around the campfire listening to Earl talk about his adventurous travels into the jungles of Papua New Guinea in search of the largest crocodiles in the world. In Rattlesnake Under His Hat, former NBC News producer, documentary filmmaker and Emmy Award- winning journalist, Sam Hurst, paints a vivid portrait of Earl Brockelsby's complex life and his influence on the development of western tourism.

Rattlesnake Under His Hat: The Life & Times of Earl Brockelsby

Sam Hurst

Vantage Point

The definition of irony is being a nurse and a nursing instructor, who suddenly ends up being a patient (who knows way too much) with breast cancer. Well, maybe irony isn’t the exact word Maryellen D. Brisbois uses to describe her situation in her book Why I Hated Pink – it’s just that the word she does use, while a whole lot funnier, is also more profane than should be used in this format. It’s all here; the shock, the tears, the anger, the horrifying treatments and frustrating medical establishment, but there’s also a lot to laugh at – once you get past the whole life and death thing. Oh yeah – there are also all those damn pink ribbons.
“Are you sitting down?” I swear that’s what the nurse practitioner said as I picked up the phone early one December morning in 2006. They really say that to people, It’s not just in the movies!” So begins this moving and hilarious memoir written by a nursing instructor turned cancer patient whose life and experience with the world of cancer treatment has just gone from being the caregiver to being the one who needs the care – and she had just celebrated her 41st birthday a couple of days before.
“I mean, I never thought I’d find myself in an MRI machine lying on my stomach with my breasts hanging toward the floor in these “cone-like” compartments. All I could think was that a man must have invented such a thing.” Thankfully, the Maryellen D. Brisbois story has a happy ending – and a lot of laughs along the way. But this is serious book, about a serious subject that affects far too many women; our mothers, sisters, wives, and daughters. Many of them will be facing the fight of their lives – as they fight FOR their lives. Reading Why I Hated Pink by Maryellen D. Brisbois will make that fight a little easier for those women, and offer a much needed laugh along the way.

Why I Hated Pink: Confessions of a Breast Cancer Survivor

Biographies & Memoirs

Brisbois, Maryellen

Professionals & Academics

Since the war in Afghanistan began there have been "first person" books, movies, and memoirs galore about the intense experience on the ground, the political controversies, and the regrettable losses that go hand in hand with any war. Just to be clear about this; Charles@Afghanistan: Crazy Encounters from the Not-So-Front Lines by Charles McDonald Holt IS NOT THAT BOOK - not by a Texas mile! There are more than a few stories in this book that will frighten you, or bring a tear to your eye - but there are far more that will bring you make you gasp for air, and wipe away tears - of laughter. This story of a good old boy from the South East Texas Piney Woods turned truck driver for the U.S. Military in Afghanistan, is told in a series of emails he sent home to family and friends to document his experiences as a "stranger in a strange land." From stories of fallen comrade ceremonies, plumbing that is both primitive and mystifyingly complicated at the same time, to sharing his chicken dinner with the biggest Wasp he had ever seen: "He is as large as a Bumble Bee, the color of a Red Wasp, and his tail is black in color with a big yellow ring. He looked like a Hornet on steroids." Holt, sees it all, and tells it all, and never loses his dry sense of humor. His stories have heart and humor, and he is also a truth-teller; a non-military man in the middle of a very military operation - it's called war. War is never fun, but that doesn't mean that it can't be funny.

Charles@Afghanistan: Crazy Encounters from the Not-So-Front Lines

Holt, Charles McDonald

Leaders & Notable People

One might imagine that a clinical psychologist and trauma counselor would be unusually self-aware in times of pain and transition, and from that very expert lens comes this healing journey that will leave the reader with tears of sorrow – and laughter.  Dr. Gail Feldman may have seen it all before in her patients, but no amount of prior knowledge could prepare her for the impact of a series of bodily and emotional shocks: a divorce after 35 years of marriage, a subsequent relationship that imploded with upending revelations, and a skiing accident that resulted in broken bones and a head injury. Both deeply personal and universally relatable, Dr. Feldman tells not only her own story, but that of the mythological heroine archetype.  Midlife Crash Course stands as an inspirational missive for women who have been stopped, stunned, left, lost, wounded – women who wonder what’s next. The climatic endings and ensuing pursuit for new beginnings that characterize midlife journeys are recounted, tussled with, reveled in – uniquely and unflinchingly honest, Dr. Feldman’s latest book is a reminder that as we all suffer, so shall we recover. 

Midlife Crash Course: The Journey from Crisis to Full Creative Power

Self-Help

Gail Feldman

Personal Transformation

In a thrill a minute read, author Paul McKellips poses a frightening “what if” scenario that will leave the human race on the brink of certain disaster. When a series of attacks on animal researchers leave several people dead, the government—including the President—issues an immediate ban on animal testing. And that’s when the real trouble begins…At the heart of the action are two government agents, the dashing Commander “Camp” Campbell, a man as decorated for his bravery in Iraq as for his own self-professed charm. Lieutenant Colonel Leslie Raines is the more practical of the two, a woman defined by her dedication to rules. Camp has returned to the States, newly reassigned to a government-funded test site. When the ban on animals comes down, Camp pulls a restless act by making off with two hundred rats…and winds up in deep trouble. He is immediately banished for a year, his superiors hoping the ramifications of his stunt will have worn off by then. Raines, uncharacteristically covering for him, finds herself joining him. But where they are headed only increases the risk—both to themselves, to the scientist whose very existence is threatened…and the future of the human race. Who is really behind the ban on animal testing? And why? Could a deadly, dangerous fanatical group be behind the threat of a new vein of plague sweeping across the country…or worse, could it be someone people have come to trust?

Uncaged: A Thriller

Literature & Fiction

McKellips, Paul

Genre Fiction

Have you ever wondered about the person sitting next to you a plane? Who are they, why are they traveling, and what is their life like? For flight attendant Heather McKeown, by the time the plane has taken off and subsequently landed, she has heard countless stories of these men and women who shoot through the sky with her, and truth be known, she cannot wait for her next flight, for the next series of stories that strike a curious and caring chord in her soul. With the easy rattle of turbulence, many flyers look to their fellow travelers and the flight attendants charged with caring for them, for assurance. Heather has the ability to tune in to any person she meets and she believes most of her peers could develop this innate but often dormant quality. With profound listening skills and total recall, Heather writes down her observations and stories after almost every landing. Now, in ABOVE AND BEYOND, Heather presents a compilation of stories that encompass the microcosm of the traveling public—all the blessings, troubles, moods, foibles and insecurities of those who have been put in her flight path. This inspiring, humorous, and empowering book is evidence of how close a flight attendant can get to someone in the space of one airplane ride. Heather passion is meeting new customers and welcoming them to “her” airplane, and she believes that all of those who work in the service industry can benefit from her worldly experience. The relationship between the buyer and seller can evolve into a sacred trust. Heather McKeown, now a grandmother, says, “People tell me everything. Other times I glean information from observation of behaviors, attitudes and other clues. I’m open and most folks are looking for just such an invitation to share their stories or display dispositions to leave an identifying impression on someone they’ll never see as anything but a servant. I love them all unconditionally.” Welcome aboard."

Above and Beyond: Inspiring Adventures into the Blue

McKeown, Heather

The body of a young woman washes up in Hong Kong harbour. To Inspector Herman Lok of the Hong Kong Police Force it appears to be an acccidental death - a fisherwoman who drowned. But Lok soon discovers that the woman is linked not just to the triads, the city's infamous criminal societies, but also to an organization not usually associated with murder and conspiracy - the Hong Kong Symphony Orchestra. Meanwhile Hector Siefert, an American musician living in Hong Kong, learns that his colleague for Leo Stern has disappeared. Enlisting the help of a newspaper reporter with the unlikely name of Twinkie Choi, Hector digs deeper, and finds a secret that put his life in danger: behind the day -to-day life of the Symphony is something more evil than he could ever imagine. Did it kill Leo? And would it kill him next? Neon Panic is the story of a murder investigation set within the clash of cultures that is Hong Kong - a relentlessly-paced thriller which reveals the darkness behind the glittering facade of this cosmopolitan yet mysterious city.

Neon Panic

Mystery, Thriller & Suspense

Martin, Charles Philipp

Mystery

Truly Yours: Wise Words on the Miracle of Adoption

Truly Yours is a collection of thoughts, ideas, and stories about the miracle of adoption. From the great thinkers to the simple truths in children's books; from the memoirs of parents in the midst of the process, to the insights of their adopted sons and daughters, this book includes the most poignant and the most candid ideas about adoption. The thoughts are both wonderful and inspiring, for example:  "Adoption carries the added dimension of connection not only to your own tribe but beyond, widening the scope of what constitutes love, ties, and family. It is a larger embrace."   Truly Yours is meant to be a source of inspiration and insight as well as a resource (with extensive reading lists both for adults and for children) for all who are touched by the incredible act of adopting a child.  Revised and updated, it is the ideal gift for anyone considering adopting! Originally published in 2003, TRULY YOURS, now has fifty percent new material.Truly Yours is not just for adoptive families and those pursuing adoption -- though it is the perfect gift for them and every adoptive family should have it -- but also for their friends and extended families who want a better understanding of the experience. More than 5 million people in the United States are adopted. Considering that birth parents, adoptive parents, siblings, grandparents and other extended family members are connected to each adoptee, the number of Americans whose lives are directly and intimately affected by the adoption of a child reaches into the tens of millions. 

Parenting & Relationships

Dail, Laura

Adoption

A string of unlikely coincidences turn a simple scam into a deadly confrontation between a convivial con man and a conniving killer. It all starts semi-innocently. Todd Gleason, amateur confidence man and all-around charmer, just can’t stand the fact that Henri and Elise Procopio, already rich beyond avarice, has just won, all things, the lottery. So, Todd does what any self-respecting crook would do, he schemes to bilk them of their undeserved winnings. Todd follows them to London, where the Procopios are celebrating their tenth wedding anniversary. That flat were Todd is setting up shop, however, falls through when he stumbles upon the landlord lying on the carpet, fatally shot With sirens blaring the background, this frog out of water suddenly finds himself running from the law and falling into the hands of a couple of goons. They’re not the only folks caught up in a scam spirally dangerously out of control. There’s Clive, the hitman with a quick right hook; Brandy Alexander, the lovely blonde scholar from the airplane; Beth Simon, an American friend of Todd’s who just can’t stop talking; the bumbling Birdie, a man seeking revenge against Todd; and Inspector Brury, the cop with the bad stomach, determined to solve a seemingly senseless murder. Oh, and then there’s Toad, Todd’s pet frog, who may hold a secret all his own. With sharp comic timing and a pace that never quits, London Frog jets from New York to London and back again (and back again) for a wryly suspenseful, sexy tale of crime, punishment, and amphibians.

London Frog: A Todd Gleason Crime Novel

Pittman, Joseph

Reporter Bertie Mallowan has drifted away from hard news stories and into the shallows of "fluff" features, the kind you find buried in the back of the newspaper. Writing about preschool fashion shows and the latest in designer garbage bags bores her so she amuses herself by inventing naughty passwords for her computer and pushing the envelope when it comes to creative lying to management types. When she interviews greedy, nasty Robert Bellingham, the king of must-have luxury items for the rich of Southern California - like monogrammed airbags for "The Crash with Panache" and mink coats pre-streaked with red paint to foil PETA kamikazes. Over the years, his products have become de rigueur for the class that has two of everything and is seeking the one and only of something else. He's made a lot of money and a lot of enemies. Two days after Bertie's interview, Bellingham's body is found on the floor of the foyer in the family mansion; someone has aerated his skull with the stereotypical blunt object. Thanks to her interview, Bertie has inside information about the life and times of a rich and powerful murder victim and is thrust into a big story again. Bertie is convinced that the family's bizarre emotional ticks make them all uniquely capable of committing murder. A second murder and an attack on Bertie herself brings her face-to-face with the kind of danger she's only ever written about, never experienced first-hand.

Trashy Chic: A Bertie Mallowan Mystery (Bertie Mallowan Mysteries)

Lubenski, Cathy

United States

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