Recently there have come to light several unpublished manuscripts by Walt Whitman which clarify the purpose, growth, and gradual unfoldment of Leaves of Grass, and possess at the same time sufficient literary distinction in their own right to warrant consideration as independent pieces of writing. This material covers a wide range of subject matter. The various manuscripts of prefaces for American editions of Whitman's poems, which were lost during Whitman's lifetime before they reached print and were rediscovered only after his death, have a fascinating history, and possess marked significance for the student and collector, as well as the casual reader of Whitman. In addition to these American prefaces, a selection of other significant Whitman manuscripts, dropped or withheld for various reasons during his lifetime, here appears for the first time. This material has been collected from scattered sources and has shaped itself into a single volume, the primary purpose of which is to contribute a composite picture of Walt Whitman, the literary workman. - Introduction.

A fascinating mix of local legends who could be characterized as “the right people, in the right place, at the right time” arrived in Central Oregon during the past century and a half to make Bend the fascinating city it has become. Some of these people—explorer John Charles Fremont, publisher George Palmer Putnam, economist William A. Niskanen, and “World’s Greatest Athlete” Ashton Eaton among them—gained national prominence and even global stature. Others were and are more ordinary people who have done and continue to do extraordinary things in an extraordinary place, a small but singular city of some 80,000 souls astride the Deschutes River at the eastern foot of the Cascade Range.

The Great Rat Race for Europe: Stories of the 357th Fighter Group (Sortie One) tells the true stories of the Yoxford Boys of the 357th Fighter Group; arguably the best Army Air Force fighter group in the European Theater during World War Two. Aces Kit Carson, Bud Anderson, Johnny England, Pete Peterson, Chuck Yeager and others from this elite group of "tigers" eventually became famous after the war, while other Yoxford Boys just melted back into the scenery that was the American post war years. Those were the lucky ones as scores of these brave, young American lads flying their P-51 Mustangs into combat against the Luftwaffe never saw home again as the result of this epic air war over Europe. Their stories are all here including Leonard "Kit" Carson's account of The Great Rat Race which helped to break the back of the Luftwaffe (from his fantastic book Pursue and Destroy), the strange and sad end of decorated fighter ace Dittie Jenkins who safely returned from his last mission against the Nazis only to be killed while celebrating with an impromptu air show over Station 373 at Leiston, and the first hand account of life in a Stalag Luft (prisoner of war camp) with Colonel Henry Spicer, the irascible commanding officer of the American section of the POW camp (and one-time 357th Fighter Group Commanding Officer) who drove the German officers to the brink with his rock solid spirit of rebellion and the love and admiration of his men. Fly into weather so thick that the ducks are walking with Pete Peterson, one of the leading aces of the Group, as he walks you through a hair-raising landing on Leiston Field with zero visibility and three inexperienced pilots on his wing. Then 357th fighter pilot Joe Shea recaptures the common boredom ridden hours and terror stricken moments faced by replacement pilots of the Group during their first combat missions, including Shea's account of his last encounter, eyeball to eyeball, with a German pilot in an Me-262 jet fighter as it slid over his wing and lined up perfectly in his gun sight. Relive the greatest (as well as the worst) days of the 8th Air Force's first long range Mustang fighter outfit in short stories written by the pilots of the 357th Fighter Group, their families, and this author in this collection of memories and tall tales of the famous Yoxford Boys.

Dirty Money describes the origin of financial investigations of narcotics traffickers through four landmark prosecutions in Los Angeles. The House that Heroin Built tells of how a major heroin dealer's purchases of luxury items, including a San Marino mansion and several expensive cars, were used to prove he was the leader of a national organization and obtain a life without parole sentence. The Hunt for the Architect details how a small bank's reports of currency deposits helped identify and bring to justice an organization which derived more than $32,000,000 from heroin and cocaine. A Very, Very Honest Lawyer concerns the detection and investigation of a sophisticated money laundering service for narcotics traffickers run by a Beverly Hills attorney. The Grandma Mafia relates how a courageous banker helped uncover a multi-million dollar money laundering and cocaine trafficking operation run by middle-aged grandmothers. The recounting of these significant cases is told by former Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Perry, who supervised the investigations and represented the government at trial. Today, financial investigations are a major weapon in the federal government's continuing fight against narcotics. This important investigative technique originated in the cases described in this book.