In January 1929, in a grimy, working-class neighborhood on the south bank of the Thames, Eileen Gwynneth Yvonne Redfern was born. From her inauspicious beginning as the unwelcome third occupant of Old Ma Tanners one-room apartment on Coin Street to an eighteen-year-old on the brink of university life, author Gwen Southgate weaves a fascinating story of a vanished time and a way of life on Londons old south bank. In this memoir, telling tales of the 1930s and 1940s, Gwen provides a glimpse into a broader tapestry portraying the sweep of life in Britain as seen through the eyes of a young girl. Among its many colorful and lively characters are the big-hearted, chain-smoking Aunt-mum; yarn-spinning, practical joker Grampa Benson; and Gwens feisty, much-married mother. After a wartime evacuation from London opens wider horizons, Gwen shares how she managed to survive in a world where the mere stealing of a spoonful of rice pudding could lead to dire consequences and even the enjoyment of a Sunday walk was condemned as sinful. Coin Street Chronicles paints a vivid and captivating portrait of Britain and her people before, during, and after World War II.

This is a collection of short stories that I have written in the past couple of months. They vary from humorous to serious. Some may be believable and some on the far end of the spectrum.

For author Robert Batten, his Irish-Celtic, Western European heritage molded his past and helped shape the present. It continues to mold his future. Robert Batten comes from a line of interesting individuals who have stories in need of telling. The G Street Chronicles: Our Amazing Journey is a true story told through the eyes and words of a small boy, now grown. It is a story of three brothers and those by-gone days of earlier times in America. Batten takes you on a story-book journey of childhood and family secrets, pending poverty, faith in God, and visiting angels. Batten and his ancestors have been through it all. From depression to near dynasty, these heartwarming tales are a fantastic reminder that sometimes the truth is better than fiction. Join in on the struggles, life lessons, and successes in those early days of finding the American dream.

Here, Missouri Hall of Famer and sports educator Jim Aziere has crafted a remarkable true story, a classically American story, about an essential part of his youthful struggles and our own, featuring a one-of-a-kind Kansas City parochial high school called De La Salle Academy that flourished in the years between wars--1941-1959--a time of great social strife in our city. It's an eye-opening tale of the seismic shifts in America in the 1960s, about a unique group of Christian educators who managed to integrate a high school before Brown v. Board of Education--but could not keep the dream alive beyond Watergate. You're sure to find Jim's story about his years at De La Salle--where he was first a student and later faculty--highly affecting and personal as he recounts his many life lessons, survives a learning disability, and uses athletic skill and determination to excel despite everything. It's bound to touch and inspire anyone who's ever felt more at home on AstroTurf than in a classroom. Michael Pritchett, Author of The Melancholy Fate of Capt. Lewis (Unbridled Books)