In his youth, Leonardo da Vinci wrote confidently, "I wish to work miracles." By the time of his death in 1519, when he was sixty-seven and famed throughout Europe, it seemed that he had accomplished wonders aplenty as an artist, engineer, inventor, and scientist. Here, from author Jay Williams, is the moving story of the man behind the Renaissance myth.

In the summer of 1588, a great body of ships sailed from Spain on a Crusade: to restore England to Catholicism. The ensuing events brought a Spanish word, armada, into the English language and created a host of legends. Intrepid English sea dogs in tiny ships, it was said, had bravely faced down towering Spanish galleons. Finally, a storm sent by a vengeful God wrecked most of that proud fleet on its way home. Award-winning author Jay Williams sheds new light on the traditional picture. Al...

Danny uses a computer that Professor Bulfinch has created for NASA to prepare his homework, despite Professor Bullfinch's warning that Danny is to leave the machine alone. With his friend Joe Pearson and his new neighbor, Irene Miller, Danny has some success with the machine before it is sabotaged. Can Danny figure out what is wrong with the computer and fix it? And will their teacher learn what's really going on with homework?

Through a mishap in Professor Bulfinch's laboratory, Danny accidentally creates an anti-gravity paint. The natural use, of course, is for a spaceship -- the paint can replace rockets to get the ship into space. Unfortunately, the spaceship is launched prematurely after Danny and Joe follow Professor Bulfinch and Dr. Grimes on a tour of the ship. A mechanical failure dooms the four to a one-way trip out of the Solar System -- unless they can repair the spaceship in time!This is the ...

Who says nobody does anything about the weather? Danny Dunn does! Of course if there hadn't been a drought when Danny went to the weather bureau to return a radiosonde, just maybe nothing would have happened. But has there ever been a time when Danny could contain his curiosity? Danny is naturally attracted to all the weather-forecasting instruments and decides to do some volunteer weather-observing. And when Danny and his friends Joe Pearson and Irene Miller discover that Professor Bullfi...

"I challenge you to a duel of desert islands!" Dr. Grimes cries, when Professor Bulfinch accuses him of not being practical. Grimes plans to go ashore on an uninhabited desert island, and the Professor on another. After a month they will see who has survived the best!Danny and his best friend Joe soon get permission to join them, and the four take off in the scientists' plane. But when they crash-land in the ocean and are really marooned on an island off the coast of Peru -- the fo...

New York Times BestsellerThis big-hearted memoir by the most promising professional basketball player of his generation details his rise to NBA stardom, the terrible accident that ended his career and plunged him into a life-altering depression, and how he ultimately found his way out of the darkness.Ten years ago, Jay Williams was at the beginning of a brilliant professional basketball career. The Chicago Bulls' top draft pick—and the second pick ...

Beast of Prey by Jay Williams delivers a gripping and suspense-filled science fiction narrative that explores the primal tension between hunter and hunted in an unfamiliar and dangerous world. Williams crafts a story where survival is not guaranteed, and the line between human intelligence and raw instinct begins to blur. As the narrative unfolds, readers are drawn into a relentless pursuit where danger lurks in every shadow, and the true threat may be mor...

Who says nobody does anything about the weather? Danny Dunn does! Of course if there hadn't been a drought when Danny went to the weather bureau to return a radiosonde, just maybe nothing would have happened. But has there ever been a time when Danny could contain his curiosity? Danny is naturally attracted to all the weather-forecasting instruments and decides to do some volunteer weather-observing. And when Danny and his friends Joe Pearson and Irene Miller discover that Professor Bullfi...

Pay Your Taxes! But get a TAX BREAK The IRS has a storied history. There’s the story of the 10-year-old boy who had his savings account confiscated by the IRS. There’s the story of the 17-year-old girl who the IRS threatened to garnish her wages and put a lien on her property if she didn’t fork over $16 in taxes her uncle had already paid. There’s the story of IRS workers throwing away or hiding returns in order to keep up with work. TAX BREAK relates the story of Jim Greenwald, a man so e...

The little party came through the air lock bearing a limp figure on an improvised litter. "Who was it this time?" Fenner asked. Gorsline pulled off the transparent hood that covered his head and face, and unzipped his suit. He dug his fingers wearily into his eyes. "Bodkin," he said. "Same as the others." He turned back to the group. "Get him right to the infirmary. Not that it'll do much good," he added, in an undertone, to Fenner. Fenner sighed, glancing at Bodkin on the litter. Behind t...

In 1985 an unknown killer stalks the skies of North Carolina, shooting down defenseless, unarmed small aircraft. His weapon of choice: a Fokker Dr. I, a replica of the machine used so effectively in WWI by Manfred von Richtofen, the “Red Baron.” WINGS OF HONOR takes off on the tale of the two men who attempt to hunt down that killer. Dallas Wright, an NTSB investigator, loves to do everything by the book, from keeping the stats on his beloved Baltimore Orioles, to writing such detailed rep...