Blue Skies Red Soil is a novel told through the eyes of a villain named Qin Shi Chong, a Chinese man whose father's wealth helps him come to America to gain a Western education. While in the United States, he is faced with extreme racial prejudice during the Korean War. Several transgressions happen to him, changing his life forever. The book covers many historical events that have never been explained over the years which are masterminded by Qin Shi Chong. While the story unfolds, the reader considers many potential futures for the United States, some of which are rather grim, to say the least. As Qin Shi Chong returns to China, he is determined to create havoc in a lifelong quest to destroy the United States. His revenge takes many avenues and clandestine plots. From creating a network to sell drugs to soldiers during the Vietnam War, to secretly training North Vietnamese soldiers in ways of killing American soldiers, Qin Shi Chong succeeds. Blue Skies Red Soil covers an 80-year span in Qin Shi Chong's life, including the explosion of the computer revolution, where he inadvertently stumbles on a weapon capable of immobilizing civilian and military technology in America.

Two young girls from very different backgrounds discover what they hold in common in this funny Australian classic.

Sarah Crook, a plantation owner’s wife, and her best friend and neighbor Nita, a black woman, are as close as any friends could ever be. Although the color of their skin is different, they share the same sass, the same can-do spirit, and the same loyalty to each another. Theirs is a friendship that defi es what is expected of a woman, traditional Southern conventions, and the segregation of the time period. Yet their friendship lasts their whole lives through. In many ways, the two women are intertwined over the span of several generations. The arrival of Sherman’s army changes their family dynamics. The Ku Klux Klan has an impact on their personal safety and livelihood. Education shapes the future for their children and grandchildren, and a lopsided system of justice leaves the future of some family members’ lives hanging in the balance. Sarah’s granddaughter Holly is blind at birth. Nita’s granddaughter Neely becomes her playmate, companion, and confi dant. Much like their grandmother, the girls live in separate households but share a common spirit and an undying frindship, depending upon each other for support as they enter adulthood and face personal challenges. When the Reverend Steven Canon, a Northerner, arrives in the rural North Carolina community of Saw Mill Cove, he sweeps Neely off her feet. Their relationship is out of the ordinary and troubled from the get-go. Steven has a secret that he must keep hidden from others in order to be successful, and he uses Neely as a means to an end. After Grandmama Nita and Mama Tress catch wind of how the reverend has mistreated Neely, they take matters into their own hands. Grandmama and her friend Laura must appear before a grand jury while Mama Tress is tried not once, but twice for the reverend’s demise. But things aren’t on the up and up in Anson County; the justice system is fl awed. A sheriff, judge, coroner, surprise witness, and clerk muddle the proceedings. As a result, Tress becomes a scapegoat. Once Neely is on her own, free from Reverend Canon, she has an opportunity to spread her wings in New York City. She makes choices that allow her to be true to herself and fi nd contentment. From that point on, the choices that she and her daughter, Lillian, make in regard to the snake oil salesman named Steven Canon are risky and fi lled with drama. Our Blue Skies, Red Birds, and White Magnolias chronicles four generations of strong women and proves what can happen when a woman trusts her heart and mind to make a right decision. —Paula M. Sheard, Editor

It's 1942: Tomi Itano, 12, is a second-generation Japanese American who lives in California with her family on their strawberry farm. Although her parents came from Japan and her grandparents still live there, Tomi considers herself an American. She doesn't speak Japanese and has never been to Japan. But after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, things change. No Japs Allowed signs hang in store windows and Tomi's family is ostracized. Things get much worse. Suspected as a spy, Tomi's father is taken away. The rest of the Itano family is sent to an internment camp in Colorado. Many other Japanese American families face a similar fate. Tomi becomes bitter, wondering how her country could treat her and her family like the enemy. What does she need to do to prove she is an honorable American? Sandra Dallas shines a light on a dark period of American history in this story of a young Japanese American girl caught up in the prejudices and World War II.

Albrecht, a noted management consultant, speaker, and author, draws on his experiences working with organizations around the world to define what organizational intelligence is and how it can be developed. Taking a critical look at organizations that have and have not achieved organizational intelligence, including Disney, Apple, Ford, and NASA, he defines seven components of organizational intelligence and uses them to analyze situations and identify the kinds of conditions necessary to nurture organizational intelligence. He also identifies 17 dysfunctional syndromes that keep companies from mobilizing their collective brain power. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

A story of lfe n Dolpo, g n te Hmalayan Mountans n Nepal, as seen troug te eyes of Namsel, a young grl wo grows up to be a great panter several centures ago.