Phoenix's Ahwatukee Foothills grew from open desert to a community of nearly ninety thousand in just a few decades. From the first homesteaders and farmers to the modern visionaries and trailblazers who established homes and businesses, it is a very compelling story. Discover the mystery of the Lost Ranch, the reason for Elliot Road's misspelling, the battle over annexation and the origins of the Easter Parade. Local historian Marty Gibson recounts the challenges, struggles and successes in this collection of tales from the other side of the hill.

South of Phoenixs South Mountain, west of Interstate 10, north of the Gila River Indian Community, and east of Arizona state land lies the picturesque village of Ahwatukee-Foothills, home to some 87,000 people. Its proximity to adjacent cities, cultural centers, shopping, and dining combines with these natural boundaries to give the area its beautiful topography, sense of peaceful isolation, and high desirability as a great place to live, work, and play. But long before there was a freeway, the area was part of the Kyrene farming community, a rural patchwork of hardy pioneer families typifying the countrys agricultural way of life during the first half of the 20th century.

Over 25,000 years ago a humanoid race stumbled upon the earth. They were amazed that the humanoids on the earth were quite similar to them as their colonization efforts had never led them to an inhabited planet. Deciding to watch and wait they witnessed five natural disasters destroy most of the life on Earth, but each time mankind proved resilient. Finally, the leaders of the home planet, Osiriat, decided that mankind could become an ally in space and decided to help him once he reached that point. They also noticed star signs/alignment patterns that would clue man into upcoming disasters if he would learn to read them. The fifth mission to Earth secretly built the pyramids of Egypt and Meso-America, but instead of reading the signs, man interpreted them as signs from the gods. Knowing mankind was doomed to disaster in the earth calendar year 2012, the leaders of the fifth mission decided to send their children on the sixth and final mission to earth to rebuild society, this time as a mixed race. Why didn't mankind locate Osiriat with his long range space based telescopes? Because it is hidden in the binary Sirian system. The two suns of this system are too bright and hide it well. Besides, man was looking into deeper space for habitable planets. Why didn't man read the signs? He did, but his perception created gods and then God. Once he had the "answer", the structures which carried the signs became tourist attractions. Why do I discuss the next 4300 years? To answer the questions, "Will history repeat itself? and Will mankind learn from the past and save himself?" You decide.

From the author of the acclaimed The Dry Grass of August comes a richly researched yet lyrical Southern-set novel that explores the conflicts of gentrification—a moving story of loss, love, and resilience. In 1961 Charlotte, North Carolina, the predominantly black neighborhood of Brooklyn is a bustling city within a city. Self-contained and vibrant, it has its own restaurants, schools, theaters, churches, and night clubs. There are shotgun shacks and poverty, along with well-maintained houses like the one Loraylee Hawkins shares with her young son, Hawk, her Uncle Ray, and her grandmother, Bibi. Loraylee’s love for Archibald Griffin, Hawk’s white father and manager of the cafeteria where she works, must be kept secret in the segregated South. Loraylee has heard rumors that the city plans to bulldoze her neighborhood, claiming it’s dilapidated and dangerous. The government promises to provide new housing and relocate businesses. But locals like Pastor Ebenezer Polk, who’s facing the demolition of his church, know the value of Brooklyn does not lie in bricks and mortar. Generations have lived, loved, and died here, supporting and strengthening each other. Yet street by street, longtime residents are being forced out. And Loraylee, searching for a way to keep her family together, will form new alliances—and find an unexpected path that may yet lead her home.

When Soviet soldiers force their way into the Nowicki home at 3:00am, Ziuta has no idea why her family is being arrested, where they are going or when they will return. From the safety of home in Poland to the slave labor camps of Soviet Russia, Ziuta's family suffers starvation, arctic temperatures, and separation. At their most desperate hour, only a miracle would keep each family member alive. Could a kind-hearted Maharaja from faraway India be the one to rescue Ziuta and hundreds of other distressed Polish children? Imogene Salva reconstructs her mother's wartime experiences to expose us to a part of World War II history not familiar to most Westerners. This thought-provoking true-life story is sure to inspire you, while reminding us that human compassion can be found in the most remote corners of the world. Imogene Salva is a first generation American-born Pole. She grew up in Jackson Heights, Queens, NY, and traveled yearly to Poland throughout her childhood. She studied in France and holds an MA in Linguistics. She has taught Spanish, Polish and French, K-12, in New York and Colorado. She presently lives in Westminster, CO with her husband Brian. As an adult Imogene realized that her mother's wartime story was shared by thousands but known only to a few. She is happy to have this opportunity to broaden the knowledge of this little known topic.

Spring Awakening is an extraordinary new rock musical with book and lyrics by Steven Sater and music by Grammy Award-nominated recording artist Duncan Sheik. Inspired by Frank Wedekind's controversial 1891 play about teenage sexuality and society's efforts to control it, the piece seamlessly merges past and present, underscoring the timelessness of adolescent angst and the universality of human passion.