Akron Public Library

"Stephen Crane's immortal masterpiece about the nightmare of war was first published in 1895 and brought its young author immediate international fame. Set during the Civil War, it tells of the brutal disillusionment of a young recruit who had dreamed of the thrill and glory of war, only to find himself fleeing the horror of a battlefield. Shame over his cowardice drives him to seek to redeem himself by being wounded -- earning what he calls the "red...

As the United States marks the 150th anniversary of our defining national drama, historian Adam Goodheart presents an original account of how the Civil War began. 1861 is an epic of courage and heroism beyond the battlefields. Early in that fateful year, a second American revolution unfolded, inspiring a new generation to reject their parents' faith in compromise and appeasement, to do the unthinkable in the name of an ideal. It set Abraham Lincoln...

"I'm just passing' through," the rider said when they asked him his name. And from then on, in the high country around Parrot City, he was called just that, Mr. Passing' Through, a man who rode a blue roan with a skull and crossbones brand and didn't know to keep to himself. And he wouldn't keep to himself. Because something about a parched and dusty ranch appealed to him, and something about a woman's hair made him think of not being alone, and something...

"The first nine months of Donald Trump's term were stormy, outrageous -- and absolutely mesmerizing. Now, thanks to his deep access to the West Wing, bestselling author Michael Wolff tells the riveting story of how Trump launched a tenure as volatile and fiery as the man himself. In this explosive book, Wolff provides a wealth of new details about the chaos in the Oval Office. Among the revelations : What President Trump's staff really thinks of him...

Luther and Nora Krank decide to avoid the chaos and frenzy of Christmas by taking a Caribbean cruise during the holidays, but their plans have unexpected consequences.

Logan Cates knew the many ways the Arizona desert could kill a man. He had ridden the sunblasted dunes, tracked the Apache over barren lava beds, sheltered in the dry washes of this forbidding land. Above all, he knew a man needed water to survive. Cates rode to Papago Wells a few miles ahead of an Apache war party led by the vicious Churupati. There he met a dozen desert wanderers whom chance had led to the only water between Yuma and hell. There...

The magic tree house whisks Jack and Annie back to a field hospital during the American Civil War. There they meet a famous nurse named Clara Barton and do their best to help wounded soldiers. It is their hardest journey yet--and the one that will make the most difference to their own lives!

"James Fenimore Cooper's romantic adventure brings the wilds of the American frontier and the drama of the French-Indian War vividly to life. The most popular of Cooper's Leatherstocking Tales, The Last of the Mohicans portrays the inevitable conflict of opposed cultures and stands as a testament to the ways in which this struggle has been mythologized. Featuring the well-loved noble woodsman Natty Bumppo, or "Hawk-eye," Cooper's novel is a memorable...

"For Ta-Nehisi Coates, history has always been personal. At every stage of his life, he's sought in his explorations of history answers to the mysteries that surrounded him -- most urgently, why he, and other black people he knew, seemed to live in fear. What were they afraid of? In Tremble for My Country, Coates takes readers along on his journey through America's history of race and its contemporary resonances through a series of awakenings -- moments...

"Serial killer James Michael Barrett leads a grim parade of police officers, FBI agents, and forensics into the woods of Pine Valley, forty-five miles east of San Diego. At the end of the second week of his high-profile murder trial, he has struck a plea deal with the prosecution: he'll reveal the location of his last victim's body in exchange for the D.A. taking the death penalty off the table. As they reach the site, a light rain begins to fall,...