So many love stories stop at the wedding vows...when couples pledge to love each other "for better or worse, in sickness and health, til death do us part." But not this one. In 1968, Linda sat next to a handsome sailor in the Penn State cafeteria. Who could resist a handsome sailor? Not Linda, who fell head over heels in love. Against the backdrop of the tumultuous sixties, they married and had three children, and Bud became the Navy officer of his dreams. But their perfect Navy family life unraveled with Bud's frightening symptoms hearkening back to two tours in Vietnam. A sudden collapse led to a diagnosis virtually impossible for a vital young man. While Linda raised their children and followed her vows to care for her husband, two questions plagued her: How could her young and healthy husband suddenly have such a sinister cancer? And how could his beloved Navy abandon him? On a mission of love, Linda spent years unearthing what really happened to Bud, only to find that the military that discarded him had hidden the truth about his illness for decades. Tainted Seas is the sometimes hilarious, sometimes heart-breaking story of a passionate couple coping with tragedy, and the continuing journey of a woman dedicated to justice for military families shattered by the very institutions they nobly served. A loving wife on a mission of true love and truth proves that nothing can stay hidden forever--even against the power of the US government.

Alastor Cerberius is a troubled man. After over a century enslaved in the oppressive underground, he and his best friend, Koby Bacia, escape their chains. They emerge onto the surface a new world full of the unknown, freedom, and discovery. Desperate to leave his tragic past behind, Alastor changes his name to Calder and delves into the dangerous blood science of shapeshifting. With the new ability to transform into a lethal lizard at will, Calder finally has power after a lifetime of captivity. Calder and Koby answer the ocean's call with dreams of smuggling illegal goods as mercenary sailors. This is easier said than done, for the seas are full of horrors of their own, and each time Calder transforms into the beast, it further scars his damaged psyche. Worst of all, a botched business deal puts them at odds with a criminal ring of pirates that are determined to remain the greatest threat on the seas. Origins of the Tainted Bloodline is Book 1 of a character-driven origin trilogy in the Six Elements universe. Reading the completed Six Elements series is recommended but not required. Origins of the Tainted Bloodline explores adult themes (tragedy, torture, psychological trauma, sexual and substance abuse) and contains graphic violence, gore, sexual situations, and cursing.

"Destined from birth to serve as protector of the princess Zariya, Khai is trained in the arts of killing and stealth by a warrior sect in the deep desert; yet there is one profound truth that has been withheld from him"--Book jacket.

The English explorer and author Sir Richard Francis Burton (1821-90) began his long and adventurous career in India, where he arrived in 1842 to join the 18th regiment of Bombay infantry as a young commissioned officer. In 1844 Burton's regiment was posted to Sind, the province located in present-day southeastern Pakistan, at that time only recently annexed by the British. Burton lived in Sind for a number of years and published three early books based on his experiences and observations: Scinde, or, The Unhappy Valley (two volumes, 1851), Sindh, and the Races that Inhabit the Valley of the Indus (1851), and Falconry in the Valley of the Indus (1852). The "unhappy valley" of the title of his first book refers to the valley of the Indus, which, along with the Indus River delta, largely defines the geography of Sind. More than two decades later, in 1875-76, Burton and his wife Isabel made a return visit to the province. Sind Revisited, published in London in 1877, is a result of this later journey. The book contains Burton's observations on the cities of Karachi and Hyderabad; the state of the Anglo-Indian army; relations among Muslims and Hindus and, in particular, the relentless pressure on the Hindus to convert to Islam; Sindi men and women; the Indus Valley Railway; and many other topics. Throughout, Burton uses the literary device of a fictitious traveling companion, "Mr. John Bull," to whom he addresses comments and asides. He also includes translations of poems and summaries of colorful local tales and legends, for example, that of "the seven headless prophets." In concluding remarks, Burton judges British rule to have had a positive influence, by bringing improvements in health and access to education for the Sindi people. The book is indexed but has no maps or illustrations.

A practical book for those engaged in marine surveying and charting activities who must acquire, process and present data for hydrographic or engineering purposes. It covers the latest instrumental and equipment development, automation and computerization, as well as conventional methods for those without access to sophisticated instrumentation.

Reprint of the original, first published in 1877.