The United States Military Academy at West Point is one of America’s oldest and most revered institutions. Founded in 1802, its first and only mission is to prepare young men—and, since 1976, young women—to be leaders of character for service as commissioned officers in the United States Army. West Point’s success in accomplishing that mission has secured its reputation as the foremost leadership-development institution in the world. An Academy promotional poster says it this way: “At West Point, much of the history we teach was made by people we taught.” Carved from Granite is the story of how West Point goes about producing military leaders of character. An opening chapter on the Academy’s nineteenth-century history provides context for the topic of each subsequent chapter. As scholar and Academy graduate Lance Betros shows, West Point’s early history is interesting and colorful, but its history since then is far more relevant to the issues—and problems—that face the Academy today. Drawing from oral histories, archival sources, and his own experiences as a cadet and, later, a faculty member, Betros describes and assesses how well West Point has accomplished its mission. And, while West Point is an impressive institution in many ways, Betros does not hesitate to expose problems and challenge long-held assumptions. In a concluding chapter that is both subjective and interpretive, the author offers his prescriptions for improving the institution, focusing particularly on the areas of governance, admissions, and intercollegiate athletics. Photographs, tables, charts, and other graphics aid the clarity of the discussion and lend visual and historical interest. Carved from Granite: West Point since 1902 is the most authoritative history of the modern United States Military Academy written to date. There will be lively debate over some of the observations made in this book, but if they are followed, the author asserts that the Academy will emerge stronger and better able to accomplish its vital mission in the new century and beyond.

Referred to by some as The Eighth Wonder of the World, Stone Mountain, located 16 miles from Atlanta, Georgia, is the largest exposed mass of granite in the world. Freeman, a freelance historian, narrates the development of the mountain from the days that it served as a Native American domain, through the carving of an historic Confederate monument, to its present status as a tourist attraction and recreational area. Enhanced with bandw photographs. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

A Dark and Brutal Frontier.An Unlikely Friendship.And Sacrifice - the only currency to barter with time or death.At the Battle of Sheriffmuir, as his brother dies in his arms, Cornelius Campbell pledges a new life on the contested New England frontier. In the spring of 1722, he settles with his wife and daughter in the remote New Hampshire province, unprepared for circumstances he faces. Despite the conflicts between the English and the Abenakis, he builds trust with Chocorua, a Pequawket, whose family isolates from hostilities yet remain tormented by the suffering their loved ones have endured.Determined to live peacefully, their friendship offers a beacon of light on a dark and brutal frontier - a light that shines all the brighter for the growing affections between their strong-willed children. The Province of Massachusetts Bay prepares to quell the strife between the Abenakis and the French agitators by sending allies to intervene while simultaneously enacting the Scalp Act. Amid the violence that inevitably follows, grievous losses and treacherous acts further spawn chaos, setting Cornelius against Chocorua as he fights to unravel the clues to save his family. Based on a legend in New Hampshire folklore, Carved in Granite weaves a tale of hope forged from friendship, the binding promise of young love and of sacrifice - the only currency with which death and time will barter.

Overlooking the Hudson River on the campus of the United States Military Academy at West Point are 12 granite benches, each inscribed with a word representing a key leadership virtue: compassion, courage, dedication, determination, dignity, discipline, integrity, loyalty, perseverance, responsibility, service, and trust. These benches remind cadets of the qualities that lead to victory and success, not just on the battlefield, but in all of life. With his signature enthusiasm and insight, Pat Williams shares the incredible stories of West Point graduates who exemplified these traits, from the Civil War to the War on Terror. He shows readers of all backgrounds how to develop these 12 essential virtues in their lives, whether they are in the corporate world, the academic world, the military, the church, or in some other sphere.

A country boy born in a small town named Porterdale just southeast of Atlanta became a man with a purpose. How does someone rise up from barely completing high school take on such a monumental task such as etching out three historical figures from the Civil War. I tell you how...a man that went above and beyond the vision that God gave him to work day and night and sometimes seven days a week until the job was finished.. My dad is a man who has been dedicated to everything he has come in contact with ...from helping his mother around the house as well enlisting into the Marine Corp to help provide financial support and then soon marrying my mom to start his own family. He knew that day on Jefferson Street when he was playing football and the ball struck my mom's ankle that she would one day be his wife and the mother of his children. Daddy loved the ocean so much that once a year in August he would take us on a family vacation to Daytona Beach and other trips he would go to Panama City to enjoy one of his favorite past times which was deep-sea fishing. He was so determined that he would never leave his boat until he was satified with his catch. A young man with many jobs starting out as a newspaper boy and moving onto a position as a welder never dreamed that one day he would be hired as the man to erect an outside 400-foot elevator that would ascend up the side of Stone Mountain. This man who fell in love with the mountain and became the Chief Carver of the Confederate Memorial is the same simple man that never took an art lesson in his life and believed that he had a purpose which soon became a historical monument that we all have come to love and enjoy."

Her gilded world holds a deeply hidden secret. After years of tragedy, Gwen Kellerman now lives a quiet life as a botanist at an idyllic New York college. She largely ignores her status as heiress to the infamous Blackstone dynasty and hopes to keep her family's heartbreak and scandal behind her. Patrick O'Neill survived a hardscrabble youth to become a lawyer for the downtrodden Irish immigrants in his community. He's proud of his work, even though he struggles to afford his ramshackle law office. All that changes when he accepts a case that is sure to emphasize the Blackstones' legacy of greed and corruption by resurrecting a thirty-year-old mystery. Little does Patrick suspect that the Blackstones will launch their most sympathetic family member to derail him. Gwen is tasked with getting Patrick to drop the case, but the old mystery takes a shocking twist neither of them saw coming. Now, as they navigate a burgeoning attraction and growing danger, Patrick and Gwen will be forced to decide if the risk to the life they've always held dear is worth the reward. Elizabeth Camden's writing is full of . . . "Richly drawn characters and fascinating American history."-- All About Romance "Fabulous love stor[ies] wrapped around compelling historical events."--Booklist "Adventuresome, entertaining romance."--Foreword Reviews

'Get away from here before you're completely bewitched and enslaved...' Dorothy Carrington was told, while sitting in a fisherman's cafe at the magically quiet midday hour. But enslaved she was. GRANITE ISLAND, much more than a travel book, grew out of years spent in Corsica and is an incomparably vivid and delightful portrait. For the first time Corsica is brought to light as a vital element in Europe: a highly individualistic island culture whose people have nurtured their love of freedom and political justice, as well as their pride, hospitality and poetry.