The first-ever oral history of the attack that started the Civil War that combines illuminating historical narrative with intense first-hand accounts. On April 12, 1861, Confederate troops began firing on Fort Sumter, beginning the bloodiest conflict in American history. Since that time numerous historians have described the attack in many well-regarded books, yet the event still remains overlooked at times in the minds of the public. The Cannons Roar seeks to remedy that. Rather than providing a third-person, after-the-fact description, acclaimed author Bruce Chadwick will tell the story of the attack from the people who were in the thick of it. In so doing, readers can hear from people themselves, telling a compelling story in a new way that both draws readers in and lets them walk away with a better understanding and appreciation of one of the most dramatic and important events in our nation’s history. The Cannons Roar will not only provide portraits of the major players that are more descriptive than those offered by historians over the years, it will give voice to dozens of regular people from across the country and socioeconomic spectrum, to provide readers with a true and complete understanding of the mood of the country and in Charleston. Using letters, newspaper articles, diaries, journals, and other written sources, Chadwick describes in vivid detail the events preceding the attack, the attack itself, and its aftermath. While we hear from historic pillars like Abraham Lincoln to PGT Beauregard to Jefferson Davis, Chadwick also features Charleston merchants and Northern farmers, high society doyennes and “the dregs,” South Carolina’s new governor Francis Pickens, who was the blustery former Minister to Russia. Collectively, readers will obtain a fuller understanding of the politics and thinking of political and military leaders that influenced their decisions or lack thereof. The book will also capture both the South and North’s expectations regarding England entering the war (as well as letters from England’s leaders showing their reluctance to do so), as well as an expectation on both sides of a quick resolution. Skillfully combining traditional history with the in-the-moment ethos of an oral history, The Cannons Roar to bring this historic moment in American history to new and vivid life.

"You can't believe a letter of marque from a rebellious colony will be considered legal. You will be no better than a pirate." Miles Dunn has sailed the seas his entire life it seems. The moment he was old enough he learned the operations on his father's fishing ship, and as a youth he joined his father on a privateer that harassed French trade. Now he commands his own whaling vessel out of Nantucket and lives a comfortable life in Dunnstown, a town he and his family have built through the spoils of generations of smuggling and piracy. Miles is an honest man, though, and has no desire to engage in the smuggling so many on the coast are increasingly involved in as bitterness grows over taxes and British laws made so far away from the American lives they involve. That changes for Miles with the outbreak of war between England and the colonies. Miles is faced with a choice to relocate to England with his employer, or to become unemployed in the midst of a war that might soon end, or that might drag on for years. The timely meeting with a merchant whose family's wealth has been tied to the smugglers and pirates of Miles's own family presents Miles with a third option. It is an option that, once accepted, changes everything for Miles. It renders him a traitor to his king and the British navy's most wanted criminal. It sends him on his way to New York to locate an old friend in the service of the Royal Navy, and to incite a mutiny on a British ship of war. REVOLUTION is a queer historical fiction series set during the American Revolution in which all protagonists find happiness at the end of their harrowing journeys, regardless of whether or not their stories include romance or of which side of the war they are on. SERIES CONTENT WARNINGS: war and violence, 18th century social norms and prejudices (including those regarding gender, race, ethnicity, and sexuality) BOOK SPECIFIC CONTENT WARNINGS: mentions of whaling (no actual whaling scenes), mentions of sexual assault (no actual assault), one scene of torture (whipping - navy punishment)

These stories were gathered over the past fifty years by the Brewster groups, following the tradition of the Gurdjieff work by sharing teaching stories during lunches, dinners, and special events. They depict our idiosyncrasies and illustrate our common foibles. Many are humorous. All of them, if we are honest with ourselves, reveal an aspect of our own inner frailties, identifications, and foolishness. They can make us question what we believe we are, who we are, what we are, and maybe help to open ourselves to a new possibility.

HEY KIDS! COMICS! takes its cue from nearly a century of turbulence and triumph, despair and drama in the comics racket. Artists and writers, con men and clowns, ganefs and gangsters create the foundations of today's biggest entertainment businessÑor at least the tail that wags the dog. Some of it really happened, and the names have been changed to protect the innocent and guilty Éalthough in the end, everyone was guilty of something. Collects HEY KIDS! COMICS! #1-5