Are there signs of intelligent life on this planet? Those words certainly crossed the mind of ultra-intelligent nine-year-old James “Jimmy Rocket” Rockhurst, long before he and his family (including Bart, his beloved Labrador retriever) and 5,000 Earthlings launched into space on the Hephaestus. In Jimmy Rocket, a sci-fi/fantasy novel, everyone is cryogenically frozen before landing on a mineral-rich planet they dub “Ferrous,” where they form a fledgling society and begin to colonize its resources. When Jimmy discovers another sentient species, his curiosity and open-mindedness take him deep within the culture of aliens. Wise beyond his years, the youngster teaches the furry species English and takes part in a deadly skirmish with a rival alien troop. The ever-astute Jimmy soon realizes there’s a bigger foe lurking among the metal-laden forests: his fellow humans who seem intent on destroying the planet’s naturals resources and possibly its Indigenous inhabitants. Packed with adventure, Jimmy Rocket will ignite the imagination of youth audiences with its fast-paced scenes and lively hero who quickly comes of age when faced with the need to make difficult decisions and sacrifices. But there are deeper messages in this story—about environmentalism and embracing culture and difference—that are sure to resonate with adults, too.

Originally published in 1979, this book contains papers presented at a conference held in 1977 to celebrate the 500th anniversary of the University of Uppsala. Beyond the commemoration, the main reason for this conference was to get students of memory together to discuss and evaluate the memory research that had already been carried out, was presently underway and to speculate about the type of research in this area that would be carried out in the future. The contributors were specifically asked to concentrate on overall theoretical and metatheoretical questions at the cost of empirical problems. With chapters from many of the leading experts in the field this is an opportunity to enjoy some of their early insights.

It was the twang heard ’round the world: Rockabilly was born out of country, bluegrass, jazz, and the blues in the 1950s, becoming rock ‘n’ roll and ruling the world. Here’s the story of Elvis Presley’s first Sun records that inspired all. And here’s Carl Perkins, Gene Vincent, Eddie Cochran, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison, and many more rockabillies from the golden years of 1955—1959, in a book chock full of photos, collectible memorabilia, movie posters, rare records, fashion, and rebel lifestyle. The story continues today, with a rockabilly revival that began with stars, such as the Stray Cats and Robert Gordon, spreading around the globe from Europe to Japan. Today, rockabilly is better than ever, with bands like Rev. Horton Heat and others playing the music and living the life from Memphis to Helsinki to Tokyo. There’s still good rockin’ tonight!

With so much apparent alien activity and presence on our planet, what would happen if an American actually took a swing at a UFO and landed a punch? Who in Washington would take that call? What would such a government agency look like? How would it function in such a crisis? How would the aliens respond? This is the nexus of this novel. This disaster occurs in Indiana’s Hoosier National Forest two weeks before a close Presidential election. The incumbent President tries to keep a lid on the events that start erupting in southern Indiana in the wake of the UFO’s destruction. The aliens pursue the wannabe militia-men Jimmie Hatter and his buddy Brian Spangle who inadvertently destroyed an alien space craft. But so does a super-secret U.S. agency called ORA (Office of Retrieval and Analysis). The frantic search for the perpetrators is punctuated by explosions, firestorms and mysterious deaths the President and ORA seek to keep under wraps two weeks before the election. At the same time Indiana’s Governor Kasson of the opposite party senses a cover-up revolving around the mysterious and frightening happenings in his state and tries to unmask them to benefit his own re-election and elevate his standing by bringing down the President. In this riveting narrative, the author connects the dots regarding phenomenon reported by Americans for decades but denied by authorities. The narrative evokes some unsettling possibilities about the presence of aliens, strange creatures and what may be the real reasons behind the alien presence on earth. In the mayhem of events in this novel, will these secrets be revealed? Will the President be re-elected? Will Governor Kasson triumph? How prepared are we for the alien challenge? And what happens to our hapless, inadvertent protagonists Jimmie and Brian; two sympathetic, deplorable roofers who just wanted to defend the country, but must flee for their lives.

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