Before the latest reunion of his circle of university friends who have gathered periodically to renew acquaintance since their graduation over thirty years ago, Tony Rocco is asked to deliver a eulogy of the friend whom this group has come to regard with unusual respect and admiration for his humanity, professionalism and personal probity. As Tony visits members of the group of his college contemporaries to gather impressions and feelings to use in his eulogy, he discovers some surprising things about his youthful friends and manages to resolve a dilemma which has brought him to the brink of destroying his marriage and escaping to the uncertainty of a financially desperate and lonely life.

"By defining personal letters as a vernacular genre, Attebery provides a model for discerning immigrants' shared culture in correspondence collections. By studying their words, she brings to life small Swedish communities throughout the Rocky Mountain region."--BOOK JACKET.

From the bestselling author of The Prince of Providence, a revelatory biography of Rocky Marciano, the greatest heavyweight champion of all time. The son of poor Italian immigrants, with short arms and stubby legs, Rocky Marciano accomplished a feat that eluded legendary heavyweight champions like Joe Louis, Jack Dempsey, Muhammad Ali, and Mike Tyson: He never lost a professional fight. His record was a perfect 49-0. Unbeaten is the story of this remarkable champion who overcame injury, doubt, and the schemes of corrupt promoters to win the title in a bloody and epic battle with Jersey Joe Walcott in 1952. Rocky packed a devastating punch with an innocent nickname, “Suzie Q,” against which there was no defense. As the champ, he came to know presidents and movie stars – and the organized crime figures who dominated the sport, much to his growing disgust. He may have “stood out in boxing like a rose in a garbage dump,” as one sportswriter said, but he also fought his own private demons. In the hands of the award-winning journalist and biographer Mike Stanton, Unbeaten is more than just a boxing story. It’s a classic American tale of immigrant dreams, exceptional talent wedded to exceptional ambitions, compromises in the service of a greater good, astounding success, disillusionment, and a quest to discover what it all meant. Like Suzie Q, it will knock you off your feet.

Corky lured me into his story of fame, addiction, lies and discovery of the only true path to freedom. In our world, athletes are "idols" someone whom followers desire what they have. What we desperately need is "heroes" someone we want to emulate. The transition, idol to hero, is a common challenge for all addicts. Each of us battles his own addictions; destructive behaviors that we cannot control. Addiction is loss of self. This is the story of Corky's pain and acceptance by the One source of hope. If ever a life appeared wasted, it was Corky's during the eighteen months I knew him. As a teenager in Newark, he perfected a deadly jump shot. His skill carried him to the Pistons and the Lakers. But first, he spent endless hours perfecting Newark city basketball moves as the only white kid in the neighborhood. He was compelled by an inner urge that guided him when and how to pass and when to shoot. Minimal notice was given to responsibility. For two years he set scoring records in junior college. Corky strutted into George Washington University. Coach Bill Reinhart molded a team that became champions of the Southern Conference ( Corky is still highest scorer for three-year players). He finished as game high scorer in the East vs West college All-star game in Madison Square Garden. It was 1955 and his picture appeared on the cover of Life magazine. After pro-basketball, Corky fell under a deadly addiction to gambling. His story is told through the memories of those who knew him. My own interaction with him opens the book. Walter Corky' Devlin lay comatose on a couch. I discovered him sleeping in a bipolar trance. Later, I would become fascinated by his pro basketball and fast lane experiences. I thought we became friends. But friendship requires differing contributions from its participants. Corky enlisted me as observer during his march to self-destruction. I served as willing accomplice. He boasted that he could, "See my soul." During those days, I possessed limited understanding of what he revealed. Never trust a con. I knew nothing of compulsive gambling. I encouraged him to victimize me. Finally, penniless, he migrated to a monastery in Kentucky. Initially I planned to visit Corky to record his story on videotape. A fortuitous warning from a friend short-circuited my trip. Corky's version of his life consistently fabricated facts. His death launched a posthumous search, which threatened my faith. I couldn't accept writing write a life story risking a negative outcome. I solicited opinions and insights from those who knew him. Corky's stories proved fraudulent the creation of what he wanted me to find. I uncovered a complex mosaic of a soul struggling with addiction before surrendering he admitted his lies. A few sources verified his accounts of basketball accomplishments at George Washington University. Corky starred on a renowned nationally ranked team. He constantly basked in his story of punching the villainous Hot Rod Hundley. He repeated that story for forty years. His punch proved only imagined. I spoke with players Hot Rod, Chuck Noble, Paul Arizin, Tom Gola and Zelda Spoelstra (at NBA Headquarters). Everyone liked charismatic Corky. Most gave him money. His gambling progressed into compulsion. He claimed that on the day his father died, he lost his wife to his best friend. Those traumas provided his trigger; neither incident proved true. Destructive gambling proved to be his real deal. He focused solely on his next bet feeling little regret for those he hurt. Corky's younger brother, Bob, idolized players in the NBA. Bob enabled his brother's addiction until Corky found Gethsemani, a Trappist monastery in Kentucky. Bob and his wife alone represented the family at Corky's funeral. Jim Murray (1980 GM of the Philadelphia Eagles) and Corky were close friends. Jim founded the Ronald Mc

Rocky Balboa, the underdog palooka who boxed his way to box office super-success, burst into popular culture in 1976. Now 45 years later, “Yo, Adrian” has joined the very short list of very short quotes that are instantly identifiable with a classic character from a classic film. Tourists still run the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Marching bands play “Gonna Fly Now” as halftime entertainment. High school football teams get crazy-eyed to “Eye of the Tiger.” LIFE Rocky looks back the story conceived by actor and writer Sylvester Stallone and the iconic 8-film franchise it has become, celebrating Rocky's friends, his foes, his fights and the songs and scenes that endure today.

Hollywood, 1913: In the dusty desert community of Los Angeles, a ragtag film company cranks out silent movies in defiance of the law. Young Dmitri Pulski works for his father's ice company in the snowy Sierra Nevadas, and is sent on a journey south to investigate an astonishing order for ten tons of ice by something called the Rocky Mountain Moving Picture Association. Almost immediately, Dmitri, an aspiring writer, finds himself writing movie scenarios. But things get rocky when the company is threatened with foreclosure by the local sheriff--they're grinding out their movies just outside the reach of the monopolistic Eastern Trust, which claims the exclusive right to make moving pictures under Thomas Edison's patent. Loren D. Estleman's The Rocky Mountain Moving Picture Association is the story of the frontier's last boomtown, whose cast of big guns includes D.W. Griffith, Tom Mix, Lillian Gish, and unseen villain Thomas Edison. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Robert Morrison Sr. is one of the sons of William Morrison and Janet Hall who was born in Scotland in 1728, married in Pennsylvania in about 1755 and died in North Carolina in 1810. Descendants live in North Carolina and other areas of the United States, especially the South.