Hitch a ride with Captain Bill Behrns in his P-38 Lightning fighter through hair-raising adventures including flying at an altitude of 50 feet over the Southwest desert, patrolling the Northwest coast during the potential Japanese invasion, and dogfights over the jungles of the CBI during WWII. The San Joaquin Siren is the true-life adventure of a determined young man who decided he was going to become a P-38 pilot. With the odds stacked against him from birth, Bill used his grit, drive, and quick mind to make his dream become a reality. Bill's story goes far beyond the tale of a pilot and his place in the history of WWII. The authors lead the reader on a first-hand adventure through the sometimes unorthodox escapades of Bill's flight-training experience through his travels to exotic locations in Southeast Asia with unforgettable descriptions of people and places halfway around the world. Told in an engaging style by authors William Behrns with Kenneth Moore, The San Joaquin Siren is a compelling read for those interested in being fully entertained by travel adventures, WWII history, and the strength of this American's spirit and will.

During World War II, Allied casualty rates in the air were high. Of the roughly 125,000 who served as aircrew with Bomber Command, 59,423 were killed or missing and presumed killed—a fatality rate of 45.5%. With odds like that, it would be no surprise if there were as few atheists in cockpits as there were in foxholes; and indeed, many airmen faced their dangerous missions with beliefs and rituals ranging from the traditional to the outlandish. Military historian S. P. MacKenzie considers this phenomenon in Flying against Fate, a pioneering study of the important role that superstition played in combat flier morale among the Allies in World War II. Mining a wealth of documents as well as a trove of published and unpublished memoirs and diaries, MacKenzie examines the myriad forms combat fliers' superstitions assumed, from jinxes to premonitions. Most commonly, airmen carried amulets or talismans—lucky boots or a stuffed toy; a coin whose year numbers added up to thirteen; counterintuitively, a boomerang. Some performed rituals or avoided other acts, e.g., having a photo taken before a flight. Whatever seemed to work was worth sticking with, and a heightened risk often meant an upsurge in superstitious thought and behavior. MacKenzie delves into behavior analysis studies to help explain the psychology behind much of the behavior he documents—not slighting the large cohort of crew members and commanders who demurred. He also looks into the ways in which superstitious behavior was tolerated or even encouraged by those in command who saw it as a means of buttressing morale. The first in-depth exploration of just how varied and deeply felt superstitious beliefs were to tens of thousands of combat fliers, Flying against Fate expands our understanding of a major aspect of the psychology of war in the air and of World War II.

Wild Curiosity brings together cutting-edge neuroscience and psychology research with simple, effective advice for parents and teachers on how to ignite the fire of curiosity in children. The author offers a new way to think about parenting and teaching—one that values autonomy, creativity, and celebrates the spontaneous and unexpected joys of learning. Following the groundbreaking work of researchers like Peter Gray and thought-leaders like Richard Louv, the book offers justification for the de-institutionalization of learning and a roadmap for how to create engaging, inspiring, and exciting experiences to nurture curiosity for children of all ages.