In the summer of 1940, the most important battle in the history of air warfare was fought between the British Royal Air Force and the German Luftwaffe in the skies over southern Britain. Only after a tightly-fought series of aerial battles did the RAF secure a narrow victory – or did it? Although glamourised by the press and cinema alike over the past 60 years, the battle was an intense war of attrition in which luck, skill, judgement and bravery all played a role. The Battle of Britain ex...

The first virtually all-jet war, the conflict in Korea saw F-86 Sabres of the USAF take on MiG-15s of the North Korean and Chinese air forces. Although the Allied pilots were initially taken aback by the ability of the communist fighter in combat, sound training and skilful leadership soon enabled Sabre pilots to dominate the dogfights over the Yalu River. In all 39 F-86 pilots achieved ace status, and a number of these are profiled in this volume, as are notable pilots from the US Navy, M...

The first virtually all-jet war, the conflict in Korea saw F-86 Sabres of the USAF take on MiG-15s of the North Korean and Chinese air forces.Although the Allied pilots were initially taken aback by the ability of the communist fighter in combat, sound training and skilful leadership soon enabled Sabre pilots to dominate the dogfights over the Yalu River. In all 39 F-86 pilots achieved ace status, and a number of these are profiled in this volume, as are notable pi...

Paddling a canoe into sunrise on the longest day of the year... watching a child take her first kayak ride with her father... gazing at a bald eagle, riding air currents high above the lake... chuckling as a hummingbird defends his feeder against intruders... dodging campfire smoke while burning marshmallows and telling scary stories to wide-eyed kids. These are some of the moments and memories depicted in Summers at the Lake. The essays-often humorous; sometimes tinged with a swe...

The story revolves around Steve, a man in his late fifties, who returns to a familiar lake from his childhood. As he stands at the edge of the lake, he is flooded with memories of his youth, the carefree summers spent with his family, and the simple joys of childhood. The lake, once a boundless playground, now seems smaller, its shores subtly altered by the relentless hand of nature. Steve reflects on the passage of time, the changes in the landscape, and the changes within himself.

Reckoning, reconciliation, and reflection are changing our landscapes. In When Heroes Become Villains, Jon Bartlett and Brian Robertson bring home the “naming” controversy, telling the stories of three erstwhile heroes, and how our reconsideration of their roles in our collective story is unsettling our maps.John Sebastian Helmcken, a trained medical doctor and senior colonial politician, bears a singular responsibility for the rampant spread of smallpox that decimated coa...

Fargo rides for victory—and his life.The Salt Lake Run is one of the most dangerous horse races in the west. One hundred and twenty miles through a hostile wasteland of barren desert and volcanic rock, with only one stop for water—and no hope for those who fall by the wayside. This is the hell Skye Fargo finds himself riding through after he agrees to help a hapless family of greenhorns lost in the wilderness. But the elements are the least of his worries when a pa...

An assassin prowls an archeological dig site.An astronomer comes face-to-face with an ancient race.A conspiracy resurfaces inside the walls of the National Museum.High on the summit of Mount Whitaker, the Vatican employs the world's most advanced ground-based telescope. Night after night, the stars are scanned by hand-picked papal astronomers - researchers who know better than to share the secrets of their search.But what are they looking for?And more i...