They are compassionate voices, they are dedicated professionals, they are critical players in the health care system with worn pairs of shoes that have miles of stories to tell. They are America’s nurses. Heroic Acts in Humble Shoes: America’s Nurses Tell Their Stories is more than just a quick glance into the trials, tribulations, joys and rewards of nursing. It is a gateway to understanding what today’s nurses are challenged with everyday. Irene Stemler, RN, BSN, goes beyond the research and gives a voice to the millions of nurses who directly or indirectly make a difference in the lives of patients. Each story opens with a photograph of the nurse’s shoes and offers a unique, passionate, personal, and sometimes controversial perspective on nursing in today’s health care environment. Inside you’ll find: • Over 40 interview-style stories • Each story accompanied by a photo of the featured nurse’s shoes • Stories that reflect the breadth and diversity of today’s nursing practice Heroic Acts in Humble Shoes also looks to be a springboard for spirited discussion about the future of nursing. When nurses read these reflections of the daily battle to provide quality health care to ordinary people, they are encouraged to act, taking a leadership position in transforming their profession and nurses’ role in health care delivery as a whole. Do you consider your work to be heroic? The often surprising answer to this question makes Heroic Acts in Humble Shoes: America’s Nurses Tell Their Stories a must-read for all nurses across the U.S. and those who know them.

"Irene Stemler, RN, BSN, goes beyond the research and gives a voice to the millions of nurses who directly or indirectly make a difference in the lives of patients. Each story opens with a photograph of the nurse's shoes and offers a unique, passionate, personal, and sometimes controversial perspective on nursing in today's health care environment. A springboard for spirited discussion about the future of nursing. When nurses read these reflections of the daily battle to provide quality health care to ordinary people, they are encouraged to act, taking a leadership position in transforming their profession and nurses' role in health care delivery as a whole"--

"Top Secret" mystery missions, many without other ships in support, were becoming uncomfortably familiar for the crew of the USS Nashville CL43. It started like a Hollywood thriller, secretly transporting from England $25 million in British gold bullion, delivered to the ship in unguarded bread trucks, a pre-war "Neutrality Patrol" that was really an unofficial hostile search for the far bigger and more powerful German battleship Prinz Eugen, and sneaking through the Panama Canal at night with the ship's name and hull number covered for secrecy. Now, with the ship bulging with an unusual load of fuel and supplies, in the company of a large fleet quietly passing under San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge, the crew was about to learn of their latest (but not last) and most improbable adventure yet as the captain made an announcement that would change the war and their lives forever, "We are going to Tokyo!". Over three years, scores of battles and hundreds of thousands of ocean miles later, the Nashville and her crew had earned 10 Battle Stars, served from the North Atlantic to the South Pacific, from the Aleutians to the Yangtze River, as McArthur's flagship and suffered heavy casualties from a devastating kamikaze attack. Tokyo Rose reported her sunk, repeatedly. Earlier, with goodwill trips that included France, England, Scandinavia, Bermuda and Rio de Janeiro, the new, sleek Nashville built a pre-war reputation as a "glamour ship". But with war came the secret missions, capturing the second and third Japanese POWs of the war, having a torpedo pass just under the stern, being strafed and bombed by Japanese planes, losing a third of the crew in a single Kamikaze attack, swimming in shark infested waters protected by marines with machine guns, enjoying the beauty of Sydney and her people, planning a suicide mission to destroy the Japanese fishing fleet, and bombarding Japanese troops and airfields across the Pacific. The Nashville crew served their ship and country well. They came from Baltimore rowhouses, New York walk-ups, San Francisco flats, Kansas wheat farms, Colorado cattle ranches, Louisiana bayous and Maine fishing towns. Many had never traveled more than 25 miles from home and had never seen the ocean until they joined the service. They were part Irish, part Italian, part Polish and All-American. Battered, burnt and bombed, they made the USS Nashville their home and lived and died as eternal shipmates. This is the story of their beloved Nashville and their personal experiences. A hardcover version is available on Booksurg.com (866-308-6235), an Amazon company.

Exploring the challenges that both the churched and the unchurched have faced regarding giving and receiving the word of God, Bob Ekblad encourages us all to learn to read the Bible together as a whole. In this compelling book, he reflects on how Christians have often found it difficult to proclaim God's good news to every realm of society, while those who have needed it most have frequently deemed themselves unworthy due to social circumstances or sinfulness. In Reading the Bible with the Damned, Ekblad offers concrete advice on how to bridge this gap through a variety of insights ultimately leading to spiritual transformation. This book is full of examples of how Scripture changes lives for those who attend Bible studies and for those who lead them, offering practical suggestions on many passages from the Old and New Testaments.

Whether in slogans, catchphrases, adages or proverbs, we encounter mottos every day, but we rarely take time to reflect on them. In Of Mottos and Morals: Simple Words for Complex Virtues, Martin explores the possibility that mottos themselves are worthy of serious thought, examining how they contribute to moral guidance and help us grapple with complexity.