The story takes many twists and turns, but always lays out clues in advance. Anton Chekhov said, 'If you say in the first chapter that there is a rifle hanging on the wall, in the second or third chapter it absolutely must go off.' If you follow everything in the first half of the book, from 5:00 AM to 5:00 PM on the Saturday before Marine Corps Marathon, then you may be able to anticipate the fast-moving action in the second half, from 6:00 PM that Saturday to 8:00 AM on the Sunday of Marine Corps Marathon. This book is the first-ever fiction novel to involve Marine Corps Marathon, and you learn what it takes to train for and then run Marine Corps Marathon, but wait, there's more. Along the way, you learn quantum mechanics, astrophysics, the elusive "Theory of Everything," Internet history, a little bit of Russian language, a lot of chess, and how three families show their love in three very different ways.

The Missouri River Basin is home to thousands of bird species that migrate across the Great Plains of North America each year, marking the seasonal cycle and filling the air with their song. In time immemorial, Native inhabitants of this vast region established alliances with birds that helped them to connect with the gods, to learn the workings of nature, and to live well. This book integrates published and archival sources covering archaeology, ethnohistory, historical ethnography, folklore, and interviews with elders from the Blackfoot, Assiniboine, Mandan, Hidatsa, Arikara, and Crow communities to explore how relationships between people and birds are situated in contemporary practice, and what has fostered its cultural persistence. Native principles of ecological and cosmological knowledge are brought into focus to highlight specific beliefs, practices, and concerns associated with individual bird species, bird parts, bird objects, the natural and cultural landscapes that birds and people cohabit, and the future of this ancient alliance. Detailed descriptions critical to ethnohistorians and ethnobiologists are accompanied by thirty-four color images. A unique contribution, The Winged expands our understanding of sets of interrelated dependencies or entanglements between bird and human agents, and it steps beyond traditional scientific and anthropological distinctions between humans and animals to reveal the intricate and eminently social character of these interactions.

A path through hell is their only way toward a future together. Star leads a dangerous life. Beneath the brutal sun, he helps his father, Ty, guide settlers through the harshest lands. Those who survive the monsters, bandits, and other omnipresent threats often succumb to the elements. Star has his own demons to worry about—ones from his past that he’s never been able to outride—but so long as he has Ty and the wind at his back, he’s content. Damien Sole is a wanted man. His ragtag family of outlaws is on the run from bounty hunters who would as happily kill them as arrest them, and they’re in need of a guide. Star doesn’t look like much—with his slim build and cat-like features—but there’s ferocity in his sharp green eyes that Damien can’t resist. What starts as a spark of lust between the two men flares into an inferno. As ancient secrets surface, they bring new enemies with them. Men like Damien and Star don’t die old in their beds, and they don’t get a happy ever after. With everything against them, nothing will come easy. Especially not love.

There are hundreds of ancient flood legends around the world that tells of vast inundations in ancient times caused by catastrophic events. It's often assumed that these legends refer to the flood of Noah and his ark. Although many do mirror this biblical story, some people say these legends simply refer to local floods that only affected the world of the locals, not the whole globe. There are three types of flood legends: global, local, and a confusion of global mixed with local floods. We sorted these legends into categories, presented the evidences, and exhibited the causes of each type. From this discussion emerges a frightful picture of the ancient world where civilizations were affected time and time again by vastly destructive cataclysmic events. The world changed—mountains rose, continents shifted, cities and islands sunk, species were obliterated, and whole populations were wiped off the face of the earth. Legends regularly validate others as true histories. If the floods they spoke of were not global, their effect was. This roller coaster ride of evidence will challenge the worldview of ancient and geologic history that have been taught to us. Legends of the floods often mentioned God or the gods, which were considered to be either responsible for the floods or saved people from them. The age when the gods ruled is associated with advanced technology and flood legends. Atlantis is considered central in flood legends, and many researchers have incorrectly linked its destruction with all flood legends. The gods, too, are related to Atlantis and are frequently tied with floods, which necessitated a section devoted to the age of the gods wherein we discover their origins and who they are.

Passed down from generation to generation, the myths and rituals of Native Americans form a rich religious and cultural base from which all members of each society can create and maintain a sense of community, physical and emotional health, identity, family, and self. Such traditions, handed down through stories and rites, stand as the lifeblood of every Native American culture. This thoroughly illustrated and carefully researched guide explores the amazing array of mythical beasts, heroic humans, and nurturing spirits that make up the fascinating spectrum of Native American mythology. With over one thousand alphabetically arranged entries, representing over one hundred different Native American cultures, readers can quickly explore the meaning of hundreds of elements of Native lore--from names, phrases, and symbols, to images, motifs, and themes. Accompanying essays take a closer look at other issues related to the origin, development, and perpetuation of Native American mythology, such as the Christian influence on myth, varying mythology between tribes, storytelling, and more. We learn about such mythical creatures as Apotamkin of the Maliseet-Passamaquoddy tribe of the Southeast (a bogey monster with long hair and huge teeth who, through the fear he generates, keeps small children from straying onto thin, newly frozen ice in the winter and unguarded beaches in the summer), ritual healing ceremonials such as the Southwestern Navajo's Uglyway ceremony (a ceremony to remove and protect against the forces of chaos and disorder that give rise to illness), and the Marau ceremony of the Hopi Indians of the Southeast (a complex ceremony concerned with rain, the ripening of corn, and the fertility of women, as well as rites of initiating new members into the society). This compelling volume honors the richness of the beliefs and values of the many peoples of native North America, from northern Mexico to the Artic Circle. In addition, a complete bibliography of primary sources and secondary sources points the way to further research, making this the perfect reference for anyone interested in the mythical history of America's original inhabitants.