The Red Cotton Fields is story written in the tradition of great historical epics. The story begins on a Georgia plantation in the year 1850, ending on the gold fields of Australia in the year 1884. This is a story surrounding three southern families (the plantation owners, the plantation overseer's family and a Negro slave family) leading up to and including the Civil War. The reader will experience the demise of a southern plantation and follow two of plantation's previous occupants (Bart Royal, the white overseer's son, and Reiner Washington, an escaped slave) as they rise to become two of the richest men in the world. Also, The Red Cotton Fields is a classic love story between the plantation's owner's daughter, Holly Ballaster, and the overseer's son, Bart Royal, The Red Cotton Fields is destined to become a classic. Read it and you will understand why.

The renowned leader in higher education provides “a testament to the power of aspiration, character and education to overcome poverty and adversity” (Michael L. Lomax, President & CEO, United Negro College Fund). Charlie Nelms had audaciously big dreams. Growing up black in the Deep South in the 1950s and 1960s, working in cotton fields, and living in poverty, Nelms dared to dream that he could do more with his life than work for white plantation owners sun-up to sun-down. Inspired by his parents, who first dared to dream that they could own their own land and have the right to vote, Nelms chose education as his weapon of choice for fighting racism and inequality. With hard work, determination, and the critical assistance of mentors who counseled him along the way, he found his way from the cotton fields of Arkansas to university leadership roles. Becoming the youngest and the first African American chancellor of a predominately white institution in Indiana, he faced tectonic changes in higher education during those ensuing decades of globalization, growing economic disparity, and political divisiveness. From Cotton Fields to University Leadership is an uplifting story about the power of education, the impact of community and mentorship, and the importance of dreaming big. “In his memoir, the realities of his life take on the qualities of a good docudrama, providing the back story to the development of a remarkable educational leader. His is ‘the examined life,’ filled with honesty, humor, and humility. While this is uniquely Charlie’s story, it is a story that will lift the hearts of many and inspire future generations of leaders.” —Betty J. Overton, Director, National Forum on Higher Education for the Public Good

"Fields of Gold and Sorrows" begins in the allied trenches in France during the peak of World War One. One of the American wounded lying in this particular trench is Mark Royal, an heir to one of the wealthiest families in the entire world. Why would such a wealthy individual be here in the first place? Only Mark Royal knew the answer to that question and might never reveal the answer as he lie critically wounded in a muddy ditch with little chance he would make it out alive. On a sprawling piece of Georgia land known as the "Royal Farm" Mark's only sister who had just buried their father, was about to get word of another tragedy, with the news of her severely wounded brother someplace in France. "I have to travel to France and bring Mark home," Catherine said to her father's grave. "But first, I have to go find Billy. I know he's down in Florida someplace and I'll find him. I'll bring him back here where he belongs. He can oversee the farm while I'm gone to France so I can bring our brother home. Dead or alive, he will be buried on this farm like the rest of our family. I swear to you Mama and Daddy," Catherine said to the two stone markers before her, "I will bring Mark home!" Catherine wiped the tears from her eyes and walked slowly to the awaiting car. And so begins the second book in 'THE RED COTTON FIELDS' trilogy, an epic tale surrounding three of the wealthiest families in the entire world carrying the reader through the dark days of WWI into the happier days of the roaring twenties followed by the traumatic times of the great depression ending on the eve of the bombing of Pearl Harbor and the beginning of WWII. It is a story of love, war, tragedy, and the human will to survive. The saga continues in 'Fields of Gold and Sorrow'. Hope you enjoy.

This book is centered around the different aspects that happened in my life, situations I had to deal with beginning with my childhood, young adult life, family life, and the many challenges I faced when I became the first black, female firefighter in the state of Mississippi.

Since the earliest days of colonial America, the relationship between cotton and the African-American experience has been central to the history of the republic. America's most serious social tragedy, slavery and its legacy, spread only where cotton could be grown. Both before and after the Civil War, blacks were assigned to the cotton fields while a pervasive racial animosity and fear of a black migratory invasion caused white Northerners to contain blacks in the South. Gene Dattel's pioneering study explores the historical roots of these most central social issues. In telling detail Mr. Dattel shows why the vastly underappreciated story of cotton is a key to understanding America's rise to economic power. When cotton production exploded to satiate the nineteenth-century textile industry's enormous appetite, it became the first truly complex global business and thereby a major driving force in U.S. territorial expansion and sectional economic integration. It propelled New York City to commercial preeminence and fostered independent trade between Europe and the United States, providing export capital for the new nation to gain its financial "sea legs" in the world economy. Without slave-produced cotton, the South could never have initiated the Civil War, America's bloodiest conflict at home. Mr. Dattel's skillful historical analysis identifies the commercial forces that cotton unleashed and the pervasive nature of racial antipathy it produced. This is a story that has never been told in quite the same way before, related here with the authority of a historian with a profound knowledge of the history of international finance. With 23 black-and-white illustrations.

Penny Nelson grew up listening to her older sister and brother recount their adventures in Tamarind, a magical island not found on any map, but she sometimes she can't tell which of her memories are hers and which are theirs. After drifting out to sea, Penny once again finds herself on the shores of Tamarind. But things are wrong on the island: portals lead to treacherous places, a strange creature is wreaking havoc, and a Great Wave is coming to bring the Bloom, magic that can stabilize the island. Whoever completes three challenges gets to catch the Bloom—and keep some of that life-changing magic for their own use. To save Tamarind and collect the magic, Penny has to brave dark ocean depths, survive the perils of the jungle, and outwit a cunning creature bent on bringing chaos. Don't miss The Great Wave of Tamarind, the stunning conclusion to Nadia Aguiar's critically acclaimed middle-grade trilogy!

Meet Amanda, John, and Melanie. It's always an adventure with these three siblings. The fun and mischief they manage to find themselves in will have you wishing you could be a kid forever. Each story is followed by a simple worksheet that connects the lesson learned to scripture.