Shortly after Charlie is left at the orphanage, he realizes that any boyhood happiness he once had was doomed. Charlie hadn’t been there long before he heard terrifying rumors floating through the orphanage, tales of the old caretaker who cuts up orphans in his bloody dungeon in the orphanage basement. Late at night, said the boys, the caretaker would row out into the lake alongside the orphanage to feed the body parts to the sea monster who dwells in the deep dark waters of the lake. Charlie is warned to never enter the orphanage’s basement, but when his only prized possession is thrown down his dorm room’s trash chute, he must somehow find the courage to enter the caretaker’s abode.

Charlie enjoys playing baseball even more after he teaches his sister how to play better.

Charlie Chaplin is universally hailed as the greatest comedic talent in the history of motion pictures. And yet Chaplin's early efforts-which account for more than half of his total output-are often overlooked in favor of his later films. In 1914 Chaplin appeared in a total of 35 films for the Keystone Film Company; the following year he signed with the Essanay Film Manufacturing Company, where he wrote, directed and starred in more than a dozen short comedies. Though the resulting pictures were frequently crude and erratic, they reveal the emergence of a formidable comic genius. Charlie Chaplin at Keystone and Essanay: Dawn of the Tramp is a film-by-film examination of this period in Chaplin's career, tracing the birth of his beloved 'Tramp" character and his evolution as an actor and filmmaker. Also discussed are how these movies have been re-edited, recopied, reissued and retitled over the years, with a special section that matches pseudonym titles to their original source film. Charlie Chaplin at Keystone and Essanay: Dawn of the Tramp is a fascinating look at the first celluloid steps taken by this legendary laughmaker, and is a must for all Chaplin fans, old and new.

Greatness is often overlooked in its own time. For Ezzard Charles--one of boxing's most skilled practitioners, with a record of 93-25-1 (52 KO)--recognition took decades. Named by The Ring magazine as the greatest light heavyweight of all time, Charles was frustrated in his attempts to get a shot at the 175-pound title, and as World Heavyweight Champion (1949-1951) struggled to win the respect of boxing fans captivated by Joe Louis' power and charisma. This first-ever biography of "The Cincinnati Cobra" covers his early life in a small country town and his career in the glamorously dirty business of prizefighting in the 1950s, one of the sport's Golden Ages. Charles' fights with Louis, Jersey Joe Walcott, Rocky Marciano and his three wins over the legendary Archie Moore are detailed.

Having written nonfiction articles and books __ about law, science, religion, politics and even epistemology __ Edward Mendler has now put all of that into this book. Is it fiction or nonfiction? Either way, you will possibly learn something ___ and will surely enjoy and benefit from this story of the life of Anthony Bennett Champion, known as Tobe, a Great American of the 21st century. You don't know about Tobe Champion? Well, you surely wont want to miss knowing all about his life and adventures __ sailing in the Atlantic and the Caribbean, traveling in the US from Massachusetts to Washington, D.C., to California, touring and doing business in several foreign lands, and engaging in the droll and bewildering politics of America __ and finally, learning about his various amorous escapades. In the process of becoming a Great Man, Tobe Champion had to have come from a great family __ including his great grandfather, known as Nappa, his Champion parents and his relatives, the Stanfelds of New Mexico, whose adopted daughter, Honor, partly of Navajo descent, plays a very important role throughout Tobe's life. He also had to have had wide and diverse contacts with others of his contemporaries __ dozens of friends, associates and supporters who recognized his greatness, all of them being fascinating characters. This is a story of some length and complexity. It is actually three Books in one! Each of Book One, Book Two and Book Three has its own introduction and table of contents, and the volume is introduced with a family tree and lists of persons involved other than family members. So if you find it a bit hefty and possibly pricey, remember that you are getting Three Books __ and that the subject is A Great Man!