Native Hawaiians have long been confused by the history they learn at school, which doesn't match up with the family stories they have heard so often from their elders. Drawing on oral histories and personal interviews with elderly Hawaiians, author Jack Kelly presents this first essay in a series of modern treatments of Hawaiian history, reflecting the truth as it was lived, told and retold by the people of the Islands. This grassroots history of events leading up to the bloody 1779 death...

Finalist, New England Book Awards"Vivid." —The Wall Street Journal"A dazzling addition to the history of the American Revolution." ―Kirkus Review (starred)"Finally... a full and fascinating portrait of a true hero of the American Revolution, until he was visited by villainy. A riveting read." ―Tom Clavin, New York Times bestselling author of Follow Me to Hell...

**"Covers a narrow chronology, from September 1776 to January 1777. These were the darkest days of the Revolutionary War. They were also the months that produced some of Paine’s most famous writings. The conjunction of these events and ideas is the subject of Mr. Kelly’s narrative." —**Wall Street JournalTen Books We are Looking Forward to in Early 2026 —NPR**In 1776, one man’s words—and the determination of American patriots—allow...

When Chinese alchemists fashioned the first manmade explosion sometime during the tenth century, no one could have foreseen its full revolutionary potential. Invented to frighten evil spirits rather than fuel guns or bombs-neither of which had been thought of yet-their simple mixture of saltpeter, sulfur, and charcoal went on to make the modern world possible. As word of its explosive properties spread from Asia to Europe, from pyrotechnics to battleships, it paved the way for Western expl...

Band of Giants brings to life the founders who fought for our independence in the Revolutionary War. Jefferson, Adams, and Franklin are known to all; men like Morgan, Greene, and Wayne are less familiar. Yet the dreams of the politicians and theorists only became real because fighting men were willing to take on the grim, risky, brutal work of war. We know Fort Knox, but what about Henry Knox, the burly Boston bookseller who took over the American artillery at the age of 25? Eight...

"Timely and urgent...The core of The Edge of Anarchy is a thrilling description of the boycott of Pullman cars and equipment by Eugene Debs's fledgling American Railway Union..." — The New York Times"During the summer of 1894, the stubborn and irascible Pullman became a central player in what the New York Times called "the greatest battle between labor and capital [ever] inaugurated in the United States." Jack Kelly tells the fascinating tale of th...

The wild and suspenseful story of one of the most crucial and least known campaigns of the Revolutionary War"Vividly written... In novelistic prose, Kelly conveys the starkness of close-quarter naval warfare." — The Wall Street Journal"Few know of the valor and courage of Benedict Arnold... With such a dramatic main character, the story of the Battle of Valcour is finally seen as one of the most exciting and...

This essay, the second in Jack Kelly's series of modern treatments of Hawaiian history, frames a historic alliance that would shape the future of Hawaii – between the famed British explorer Captain George Vancouver, and King Kamehameha of the Big Island. Arriving in Kealakekua Bay 15 years after Captain Cook's bloody death, Vancouver was intent on the mission of the British Empire, to foster order and trade. But in dismissing the Hawaiians as uneducated savages, the great navigator failed ...

Stop Drowning in Your Own Bullshit: A No-Nonsense Guide to Anxiety Relief.Life is going to fuck you. It's inevitable. You work the twelve-hour shifts, you pay the bills, and you still feel like you're losing. Whether it's an unfriendly boss, mounting debt, or a strained relationship, the struggles of the daily grind are real—but you are likely making them ten times worse by adding "imaginary bullshit" on top.

What does the American Dream really look like—when it's earned the hard way? In A Great American Love Story, first-time author Jack Kelly tells the remarkable true story of a poor boy from a small town in Western New York who built a life—and a legacy—through grit, perseverance, faith, and love. With no money and no safety net, Kelly joined the military, earned his way to Cornell University on scholarships, survived a near-fatal marine calamity, and arrived on Wall Street at the bottom run...

Born in a century when women were viewed as nothing more than chattel, Elizabeth Eastbridge rose through the ranks of the Royal Navy to become one of the most feared pirate-killers of her time. Enter Christiaan Alden, second son of the most powerful duke alive and Elizabeth’s first officer. After years of fighting side by side, Christiaan had denied himself the one woman he thought he could never have. He had convinced himself that because she was the daughter of a sailor, or so he thought...

A page-turning narrative, Heaven's Ditch offers an excitingly fresh look at a heady, foundational moment in American history.The technological marvel of its age, the Erie Canal grew out of a sudden fit of inspiration. Proponents didn't just dream; they built a 360-mile waterway entirely by hand and largely through wilderness. As excitement crackled down its length, the canal became the scene of the most striking outburst of imagination in American history. ...