Now, for the first time, comes a long-overdue book that presents all of the U.S. Navy’s rich cargo of paranormal phenomena. There is the great Stephen Decatur, whose mournful apparition still stalks the halls of his famous home, said to be one of the most haunted spots in Washington, D.C. USS The Sullivans, now a floating museum, is the source of much disturbing spectral activity—poltergeists opening locks, hurling objects, and turning on radar that’s no longer under electrical power. Then there are the repeated sightings of the handsome USS Lexington ghost, “polite . . . kind . . . smartly dressed in a summer white Navy uniform.” From translucent sails to phantom crews, from a flaming ghost ship to the infamous psychic anomaly at the U.S. Naval Academy to battleships where the dead still linger, this book offers no less than a haunted history of the U.S. Navy.

A detailed and riveting account of the U.S. Navy's greatest mutiny and its wide-ranging cultural and historical impact The greatest controversy in the history of the U.S. Navy of the early American Republic was the revelation that the son of the Secretary of War had seemingly plotted a bloody mutiny that would have turned the U.S. brig Somers into a pirate ship. The plot discovered, he and his co-conspirators were hastily condemned and hanged at sea. The repercussions of those acts brought headlines, scandal, a fistfight at a cabinet meeting, a court martial, ruined lives, lost reputations, and tales of a haunted ship bound for the devil and lost tragically at sea with many of its crew. The Somers affair led to the founding of the U.S. Naval Academy and it remains the Navy's only acknowledged mutiny in its history. The story also inspired Herman Melville's White-Jacket and Billy Budd. Others connected to the Somers included Commodore Perry, a relation and defender of the Somers' captain Mackenzie; James Fenimore Cooper, whose feud with the captain, dating back to the War of 1812, resurfaced in his reportage of the affair; and Raphael Semmes, the Somers' last caption who later served in the Confederate Navy. The Curse of the Somers is a thorough recreation of this classic tale, told with the help of recently uncovered evidence. Written by a maritime historian and archaeologist who helped identify the long-lost wreck and subsequently studied its sunken remains, this is a timeless tale of life and death at sea. James P. Delgado re-examines the circumstances, drawing from a rich historical record and from the investigation of the ship's sunken remains. What surfaces is an all-too-human tale that resonates and chills across the centuries.

**One of Vogue’s Best Books of the Year ** “Incisive, funny, and tinged with melancholy, the timely novel follows two lost but clever souls desperate for connection.” —Entertainment Weekly June Bloom is twenty-nine, broke, and an aspiring comedy writer. Hugo Best is a beloved late-night TV icon and notorious womanizer who invites her to his mansion for Memorial Day weekend. This is the story of their four days together, a “zippy…magnificent…devilishly fun ride” (Vogue). When June Bloom, an assistant on the late-night comedy show, Stay Up with Hugo Best, runs into Hugo himself at an open mic following his unexpected retirement, she finds herself fielding a surprising invitation: Hugo asks June to come to his mansion in Greenwich for the long Memorial Day weekend. “No funny business,” he insists. “Incisive, funny, and tinged with melancholy, this timely novel follows two lost but clever souls desperate for connection” (Entertainment Weekly). June, in need of a job and money, but harboring the remains of a childhood crush on the charming older comedian and former role model, is confident she can handle herself. She accepts. As the weekend unfolds and the enigmatic Hugo gradually reveals appealingly vulnerable facets to his personality, their dynamic proves to be much more complicated and less predictable than June imagined. “A witty and subtle commentary on sex, power, and social politics” (Refinery 29) and “an outstanding comedic debut” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review), Stay Up with Hugo Best announces a gloriously irreverent, bold, and winning new voice in fiction.

Since 1841, a farm place located off Exeter Crossing Road near New Glarus Wisconsin, has seen it’s share of tragedy. A series of unnatural deaths and suicides have haunted the farm for decades. Superstition, ghosts and other paranormal activity is the legend of folklore surrounding the property. Over the years, hundreds of cars have slowly driven past the farm at dusk hoping to see a ghost or anything else to keep the myth alive. In May of 1974, a brutal murder occurred at the farm house. The wife of a prominent business man from Monroe was killed under suspicious circumstances. Green County Sheriff, Thomas Wahl, is understaffed and asked Monroe Police Chief, Brandon Johns, to handle the investigation. He agrees and along with Detective Samantha Gates begin to work their way through a maze of suspects, lies and deception in order to bring the killer to justice. At the same time, they must work through all the myths and folklore that swirls around the farm. Putting all the pieces of the puzzle together to find the killer has proved to be a very difficult challenge. As they get deeper into the investigation, their frustration grows. They seem to be missing that one piece of evidence that is hiding in plain sight. Will they find it and solve the case?

A Study Guide for Herman Melville's "Billy Budd," excerpted from Gale's acclaimed Novels for Students.This concise study guide includes plot summary; character analysis; author biography; study questions; historical context; suggestions for further reading; and much more. For any literature project, trust Novels for Students for all of your research needs.