His college football career taken away by a horrible car accident, Timothy Alexander never let that slow him down. He earned a scholarship with the football team at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and when the higher powers shut down the program, he helped bring it back from his wheelchair. Now a well-respected public speaker, Timothy's story is one of courage and motivation. He epitomizes that statement that things "don't need to be easy, they just need to be possible.''

Known for much of the nineteenth century as "the ever-faithful isle," Cuba did not earn its independence from Spain until 1898, long after most American colonies had achieved emancipation from European rule. In this groundbreaking history, David Sartorius explores the relationship between political allegiance and race in nineteenth-century Cuba. Challenging assumptions that loyalty to the Spanish empire was the exclusive province of the white Cuban elite, he examines the free and enslaved people of African descent who actively supported colonialism. By claiming loyalty, many black and mulatto Cubans attained some degree of social mobility, legal freedom, and political inclusion in a world where hierarchy and inequality were the fundamental lineaments of colonial subjectivity. Sartorius explores Cuba's battlefields, plantations, and meeting halls to consider the goals and limits of loyalty. In the process, he makes a bold call for fresh perspectives on imperial ideologies of race and on the rich political history of the African diaspora.

Twenty-three-year-old Bill Putney enlisted in the Marines in 1943 in search of military glory. Instead, Putney, a licensed veterinarian, was relegated to the Dog Corps. Putney became the Commanding Officer of the 3rd War Dog Platoon, and later the chief veterinarian and C.O. of the War Dog Training School at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. At Lejeune Putney helped train America's dogs for war in the Pacific. He later led them into combat in the invasion of Guam in 1944, the first liberation of American soil in World War II. Always Faithful is the story of the dogs that fought in Guam and across the islands of the Pacific, a celebration of the four-legged soldiers that Putney both commanded and followed. It is a tale of immense courage, but also of incredible sacrifice. On Guam, as on islands such as Iwo Jima and Okinawa, the Japanese were infamously tenacious, refusing to surrender as long as there was a hole left to crawl into. Rooting out the enemy was an awful, painstaking job. To this task, Putney's dogs were well suited. Used for scouting, attack, carrying messages, detecting mines, and also as guards, the war dogs were so well trained that they could locate nonmetallic mines that had been buried for months deep underground; their hearing was so precise they could detect enemy trip wires by listening to them "sing" in the breeze. Their record in action was perfect. More than 550 patrols on the island of Guam were led by dogs; not one patrol was ambushed. But for this success, the dogs, always out in front, paid a terrible price. Although Putney worked feverishly as veterinarian and C.O. to keep the dogs alive, many were lost. After the war, Putney returned home only to discover that the dogs he had served with were being put to sleep. These dogs were ex-household pets, recruited from civilians with the promise that they would someday be returned. Outraged, Putney fought for the dogs' right to go home. He won, and headed the overwhelmingly successful program to "detrain" the dogs so they could return to their families. Alas, quickly learned, the lesson was quickly forgotten. The dogs of Korea and Vietnam did not come home. Then, in the final days of his administration, President Clinton signed into law a bill that allows military handlers to bring home the dogs with which they work. Once again, Putney was at the front of the charge. For anyone who has ever read Old Yeller, or the books of Jack London, here is a real-life story, never before told, that beats any fiction. At once wistful tribute and stirring adventure, Always Faithful describes what may be the greatest man-dog effort of all time. It will both astound and move you.

William Le Queux's Ultimate Collection features an extensive selection of 100+ spy thrillers, detective mysteries, adventure classics, historical novels, war stories, and crime tales, all illustrated to enrich the reader's experience. Le Queux's writing style is characterized by a gripping narrative filled with intrigue, suspense, and intricate plot twists. His works are set in a literary context that reflects the espionage and detective fiction genres of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, providing a glimpse into the political tensions and social issues of the era. Readers can expect a thrilling journey through various settings and time periods, with each story crafted to captivate and entertain.

It is two years after Julian, the last pagan emperor of Rome, has died in the disaster of his Persian invasion and the east of Rome now is in chaos. A usurper has appeared to challenge the rule of the emperor Valens while all along the frontiers of the empire, the Persians and the Saraceni are rising up in war and revolt. For one lonely legion, marching south from Damascus to a transit camp, these events conspire to lead it out into the hostile deserts and ruins deep in the lands of the Saraceni. There, it must garrison an abandoned fort far from home; a fort riddled with betrayal and in whose shadow lies the awful legacy of a dead emperor. Follow the exploits of the men and officers of the Quinta Macedonica Legio as it makes a final stand far from empire and succour.