Chained alone in a barn by the couple he thought might give him a good home, a very ugly stray dog is miserable until a new neighbor moves in and he falls in love.

This is the first book to take a deep dive into the philosophical, social, moral, political, and religious issues tackled by Seth MacFarlane's marvelous space adventure, The Orville. These new essays explore what The Orville has to say on everything from climate change, artificial intelligence, and sexual assault, to gender, feminism, love, and care. Divided into six "acts" (just like every episode ofThe Orville), with the show as its backdrop, the book asks questions about the dangers of democracy and social media, the show's relationship to Star Trek and the puzzle of time travel.

Four-time Emmy Award winner Seth MacFarlane creates a new sci-fi dramedy universe on the Fox Network with his new show, The Orville. MacFarlane plays Captain Ed Mercer, an officer in the Planetary Union in the 25th century who gathers a crew from the farthest reaches of the galaxy—his ex-wife included—to man the exploration vessel Orville and patrol the mysteries of deep space. Filled with alien species, exotic worlds, futuristic technology and awe-inspiring spaceships, this lavish companion to The Orville takes you behind the scenes through concept art, on-set photography and technical schematics to explore the show’s production design, costumes, makeup prosthetics and visual effects. This is the ultimate guide to this new space-faring epic adventure.

The literature on political machines of American mayors is rich and varied. Essentially undiscovered, however, is "Orvie," the most flamboyant and original of them all-and, on his home turf, arguably the most powerful. David L. Good describes the public and private life of Orville L. Hubbard, a man whose remarkable political career overlapped the terms of seven presidents. Hubbard was mayor of Dearborn, Michigan, home of the Ford Motor Company, from 1942 to 1978, ranking him as the second-longest-tenured mayor in U.S. history. He became a model for successful suburban leaders, establishing a reputation for outstanding municipal services and low taxes-as well as for the most notorious racist rhetoric north of the Mason-Dixon line. During his reign, Hubbard was compared with nearly all the tyrants of the twentieth century and some before. At his peak of some 350 pounds, Orvie was a blimp-shaped dreadnaught who set up a government in exile in Canada because sheriff's deputies were waiting to arrest him back home; was pictured in the newspapers on his way to the Republican National Convention disguised in a clown mask; and ordered his fire chief to take an axe to the office door of Henry Ford II. Acquitted in a federal civil rights case, Hubbard showed his appreciation to the jury by taking them out to dinner. After the 1967 riots in Detroit, Orvie threatened to "shoot looters on sight." Hubbard took over a town-the town run by the American legend Henry Ford-without a traditional party organization, extensive patronage, or other trappings of a political machine. The "Hubbard machine" was essentially a one-man operation, consisting of Hubbard himself who prevailed on the sheer force of his personality. David L. Good, who reported on Hubbard for eighteen years, bases his book on personal observation, public and private records, and interviews with Hubbard and family members. Although the book reads like the stuff of novels, Orvie: The Dictator of Dearborn is a serious study of one of the most controversial figures in American municipal government.

During the year 2003, hundreds of events will mark the one-hundredth anniversary of the Wright brothers' historic first flights at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. The centennial year will witness exhibitions, lectures, television documentaries, films, air shows, flight recreations of Wright aircraft, the issuing of postage stamps and medals, the publication of dozens of new books and articles, and numerous other commemorative activities. One of these events, although not likely to make the evening news, is among the most important of all in terms of a lasting contribution to the observance of this ultimate aviation milestone: the reprinting of Arthur G. Renstrom's Wilbur & Orville Wright: A Chronology Commemorating the Hundredth Anniversary of the Birth of Orville Wright, August 19, 1871. Since its appearance in 1975, Wilbur & Orville Wright: A Chronology has become indispensable to students and authors concerned with the life and work of the famous brothers. No doubt every book on the subject published in the last quarter century, including three of my own, was written with this treasure close at hand. This volume is far more than a simple compilation of dates and facts. Renstrom was a master reference librarian and bibliographer with a passion for aviation and the Wright brothers. He brought his considerable research skills to bear on the topic, and the result is a richly detailed, ever-informative, often entertaining walk through the lives and achievements of these two extraordinary individuals. Renstrom was not content to offer a date with a one-line tidbit. His entries are brimming with information. This is a highly readable reference work that, believe or not, can be enjoyably read from cover to cover. The project was clearly a labor of love by a talented professional. During most of the last twenty years, I have been privileged to be the curator of the 1903 Wright Flyer at the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum. The position brings a steady stream of inquiries about the Wright airplane and the endlessly fascinating brothers who created it. I do not know how I would have done this job without Renstrom's superb volume on my bookshelf. It is the first place I go to check anything on the Wright brothers, and I typically find what I am looking for in its pages. Arthur Renstrom also published two other classic reference works on the Wright brothers: Wilbur & Orville Wright: A Bibliography Commemorating the Hundredth Anniversary of the Birth of Wilbur Wright, April 16, 1867, in 1968 (an updated revision was published by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration in 2002) and Wilbur & Orville Wright, Pictorial Materials: A Documentary Guide in 1982, completing a series of research tools for which there are few peers on any subject. He was also part of the team that produced the landmark two-volume compilation of the Wrights' letters, notebooks, and diaries in 1953, The Papers of Wilbur and Orville Wright, edited by Marvin W. McFarland. Renstrom's contribution to the documentation and preservation of the Wright story is a lasting legacy that will serve researchers, students, and general enthusiasts for generations to come. In this busy, high-profile anniversary year, the reprinting of a nearly thirty-year-old reference book may seem a mundane and quiet contribution to the celebration surrounding the Wright brothers' world-changing achievement, but it is perhaps one of the most important. The U.S. Centennial of Flight Commission and NASA are to be commended for their foresight.

Based on extensive interviews and archival research, this book traces the career of Orville Redenbacher, the popcorn king, from his agricultural studies at Purdue University to his emergence as an American advertising icon. Born in Brazil, Indiana, in 1907, Orville began his lifelong obsession with the development of new strains of seed at Purdue where he earned a degree in agronomy while also playing in the All-American Marching Band. After experimenting with thousands of varieties, Orville and his partner Charlie Bowman launched Orville Redenbacher's Gourmet Popping Corn in 1970. Through a combination of shrewd marketing and a notably superior product, the partners controlled a third of the market for popping corn by 1976, when their Chester Hybrids business was sold to Hunt Wesson Foods. While the company gradually became absorbed into the food giant ConAgra, Orville Redenbacher prospered as a larger-than-life brand spokesperson and a symbol of wholesomeness and fun until his death in 1995.

The six pioneers profiled here were promising graduates of the Wright Brothers' School of Aviation, which flourished in Ohio from 1910 to 1916. These airmen fairly represent their 113 fellow alumni in their all-consuming love of flying. The pilots are Arthur L. Welsh, a Russian immigrant who rose to become Orville Wright's chief instructor; Howard Warfield Gill, heir to an international tea dynasty; Archibald Freeman, whose flour-bag bombing of Boston Harbor won him attention as an early exponent of the supremacy of air power; Grover Cleveland Bergdoll, whose promise as a pilot quickly soured; George A. Gray, whose marriage resulted in an extraordinary husband and wife exhibition team; and Howard Max Rinehart, aerial mercenary, international racing competitor, Wright test pilot, South American explorer, and co-owner of one of America's premier charter services.