Sheila Adams has been performing Appalachian ballads and telling stories for over twenty years. A native of Madison County, North Carolina, she was introduced to the tale-telling tradition by her great-aunt 'Granny,' well-known balladeer Dellie Chandler Norton. This collection of Adams's stories provides a rare portrait of a distinctive mountain community and charts the development of an artist's unique voice. The tales range from stories of heroic, sometimes fierce, mountain settlers to the comic adventures of local drifters and tricksters, from magical childhood encounters to adult rites of passage. We meet Bertha and the snake handlers, local preacher Manassey Fender (who 'looked like a pencil with a burr haircut, in a suit'), and Adams's beloved grandfather Breaddaddy, who taught her about life and death with an enchanting graveyard dance. But perhaps the most powerful character depicted here is 'Granny,' whom Adams calls 'the most exciting person I have ever known and the best teacher I would ever have.' By weaving these remembrances into her stories, Adams both preserves and extends a rich artistic heritage.

Sheila Adams has been performing Appalachian ballads and telling stories for over twenty years. A native of Madison County, North Carolina, she was introduced to the tale-telling tradition by her great-aunt "Granny,'"well-known balladeer Dellie Chandler N

You Go Home, Make More Money and Come Back is a non-fiction book that takes you to six continents and many diverse places and cultures. It covers a 35 year period from 1969 to 2004. It is about a man who develops an interest in geography in college. He lives a conventional life while having a dream of seeing the world. He travels by working and saving his money for vacation trips of a few days to a month long over a lifetime. The book tells of adventure on the Yangze River, an African photo safari, the outback of Australia, seeing the pyramids of Egypt, traveling solo by train through Europe, train travel in the USA and Canada, and more. It takes you around the world traveling alone with few advance reservations as well as going on organized group tours.

Osborne joined the Confederate Army in the spring of 1861. He had no idea what he was getting into. Before he was captured in April 1865, he had been in numerous battles. In his diaries, he constantly complained about the miles and miles of marching through the countryside. He and his fellow soldiers seldom had enough food or supplies. He helped scour battlefields after the fighting, searching for food, weapons, ammunition, and supplies. Letter writing was an everyday ocurrence. Often his poor health required him to help guard the ammunition train or aid with the sick and wounded in various hospitals. Some of his writings about fighting, especially at Antietam and Gettysburg, make us wonder how any of the soldiers survived the war.