"'A masterful examination of Newfoundland-Canada relations from 1869–1949'—Corey Slumkowski, author of Inventing Atlantic Canada: Regionalism and the Maritime Reaction to Newfoundland’s Entry into Canadian Confederation. Coming on the 70th anniversary of Newfoundland joining Confederation, as well as the 150th anniversary of its first rejection of Canada, Where Once They Stood challenges popular notions that those who voted against Confederation in 1869 and for union with Canada in 1948 were uninformed, incompetent, ignorant, and gullible. Raymond B. Blake and Melvin Baker demonstrate that, in fact, voters fully understood the issues at stake in both cases, and in 1948 women too became instrumental in determining the final outcome, voting for Canada, believing it provided the best opportunities for their children. 'Blake and Baker make a persuasive case, turn[ing] the conspiracy on its head and demonstrat[ing] how Newfoundlanders knew what they were doing and expressly acted in their own self-interest when they chose Canada. . . . It is hard to imagine any two other authors who would know more about the subject.' —David MacKenzie, author of Inside the Atlantic Triangle."--

"The book throws much new light on the final, critical years of the 'Mission Era' of northern Florida. . . . [It] fills in a most interesting and important aspect of this story; namely, the difficult life led by the Franciscans, who established their simple, crude outposts among a most inhospitable people. The whole picture of the missionary's life--his simple mission buildings and the paucity and crudeness of his material blessings--is brought out by these studies. How different a picture than the one so many of us have of the Spanish missionary following in the wake of conquering armies. . . . An important contribution to the history of the Spanish period in America!"--American Antiquity "An historical-archaeological case study of two Spanish missions and of the area now comprising Leon and Jefferson counties. The authors reaffirm the fact that missions in the region were destroyed in the early 1700s and that they were not largely revived thereafter; and they properly conclude, it seems, that their documents and excavations furnish information on the missions during their heyday."--Florida Historical Quarterly In the early 17th century, 150 years before Spanish missions were established in California, a chain of missions reached westward from St. Augustine across northern Florida. Today nothing exists of those Florida Franciscan outposts. Our knowledge of them comes only from archival research and information gleaned from archaeological excavations. Florida's missions came to a fiery end in the first few years of the 18th century, victims of devastating raids by Carolinian militia and their Indian allies. The Apalachee and other mission Indians were slain, some by being burned at the stake or flayed alive. Others were taken back to Charleston as slaves and still others fled. Here They Once Stood, first published in 1951 and a classic example of collaborative research, presents the first-hand accounts describing the horrific fate of the missions. It also offers archaeological reports further documenting the missions and the lives of the native peoples who lived and died as Christians under Spanish rule. Mark F. Boyd, a well-known malariologist, was historian for the Florida Park Service and, from 1946 to 1949, president of the Florida Historical Society. Hale G. Smith, also an employee of the Florida Park Service, was chairman of the Department of Anthropology at Florida State University. John W. Griffin, the author of pathbreaking writing on the early years of historical archaeology in the Southeast, was the first professional archaeologist employed in the state of Florida, in 1946. In 1993 he received a posthumous Award of Merit from the Society for Historical Archaeology.

This first book-length presentation of the results of our excavations at el-Jib has been written for the general reader who is concerned with the contribution that archaeology has made to the biblical history of the site.... In telling the story of Gibeon I have tried to show how the tale of the city unfolded week by week and year by year through excavation and study. I have sought to give in these pages a personally conducted tour, as it were, of the ruins of ancient Gibeon and what we have seen in them.... The results of the excavations at el-Jib are unique in that they can be related with a high degree of certainty to specific events described in the Old Testament. For the first time in the history of scientific archaeology in the land of the Bible an actual place name of a biblical city, neatly incised on clay, has been found under circumstances which make certain the identification of the name with the ruins.--from the Preface

The Pushcart Prize–winning poet’s memoir of his criminal youth and years in prison: a “brave and heartbreaking” tale of triumph over brutal adversity (The Nation). Jimmy Santiago Baca’s “astonishing narrative” of his life before, during, and immediately after the years he spent in the maximum-security prison garnered tremendous critical acclaim. An important chronicle that “affirms the triumph of the human spirit,” it went on to win the prestigious 2001 International Prize (Arizona Daily Star). Long considered one of the best poets in America today, Baca was illiterate at the age of twenty-one when he was sentenced to five years in Florence State Prison for selling drugs in Arizona. This raw, unflinching memoir is the remarkable tale of how he emerged after his years in the penitentiary—much of it spent in isolation—with the ability to read and a passion for writing poetry. “Proof there is always hope in even the most desperate lives.” —Fort Worth Star-Telegram “A hell of a book, quite literally. You won’t soon forget it.” —The San Diego U-T “This book will have a permanent place in American letters.” —Jim Harrison, New York Times–bestselling author of A Good Day to Die

A Coretta Scott King Author Honor and Boston Globe / Horn Book Honor winner!"Powerful.... Johnson writes about the long shadows of the past with such ambition that any reader with a taste for mystery will appreciate the puzzle Candice and Brandon must solve." -- The New York Times Book ReviewWhen Candice finds a letter in an old attic in Lambert, South Carolina, she isn't sure she should read it. It's addressed to her grandmother, who left the town in shame. But the letter describes a young woman. An injustice that happened decades ago. A mystery enfolding its writer. And the fortune that awaits the person who solves the puzzle.So with the help of Brandon, the quiet boy across the street, she begins to decipher the clues. The challenge will lead them deep into Lambert's history, full of ugly deeds, forgotten heroes, and one great love; and deeper into their own families, with their own unspoken secrets. Can they find the fortune and fulfill the letter's promise before the answers slip into the past yet again?

Thirteen new stories by the celebrated writer, including two which he considers his greatest achievements to date, artfully blend elements from many literary geares.