In the summer of 2010, brothers-in-law Marty and Jim embark on a cycling trip along the Great Allegheny Passage and C&O Canal, a 335-mile trek from their home in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to Jim's boyhood home in Washington, DC. Chance encounters with colorful local characters and other surprising escapades during five days on the trail make for nonstop laughs. As they travel through forests and along winding rivers, they experience the breathtaking scenery of western Pennsylvania, Maryland and West Virginia, exploring early American history while learning more about each other as well as themselves. This true story is for adventurers and cyclists as well as couch potatoes looking for a lighthearted take on friendship and some hilarious fun.

The award-winning action/adventure book for kind kids now in an expanded second edition! Featuring 52+ impactful adventures for kids, to make kindness and compassion a daily practice. Easy-to-follow, brilliant illustrations.

Never-before-published photographs display the history and beauty of Potomac, Maryland. Many of the images have been donated from Montgomery History and private collections. Located in Montgomery County, Potomac is close to Washington, DC, and many notables from the past and present, including political figures and celebrities, have made the area their home. The Civil War and its aftermath left its mark on Offutts Crossroads, the early name of Potomac. The book tells the story of the 1865 gold rush and the mining that continued until 1940. The Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Historical Park borders Potomac with the wonder of Great Falls and historic lock tender houses. Rare photographs highlight the celebrated Potomac Hunt. Potomac still has quiet country roads and estate homes interspersed among new neighborhoods and modern shopping. Like its historic past, present-day Potomac Village is the area's commercial hub, with multiple banks, grocery stores, shops, and restaurants.

Highlighting some of the most breathtaking scenery and wildlife in the eastern United States, this guide to the greater Washington, DC, area makes it easy to explore natural beauty spots in central Maryland and northern Virginia over a day or a weekend. With an emphasis on efficiency, all the destinations listed can be reached within a three-hour drive from the nation's capital. To save time, the book goes after the best outdoor experiences, including the best hiking, biking, and paddling in the region; the best vantage points to glimpse birds and animals; and the best times for seasonal events such as the spring bloom and the peak autumn color. From hiking in the Appalachian Mountains or paddling the mighty Potomac River to watching the winter snow geese migrate on the eastern shore of Maryland, the book provides an inspiring range of adventures, all illustrated with stunning, full-color photos.

War is waged not only on battlefields. In the mid-1980s a high-stakes political struggle to redesign the relationships among the president, secretary of defense, Joint Chiefs of Staff, chairman of the Joint Chiefs, and warfighting commanders in the field resulted in the Goldwater-Nichols Act of 1986. Author James R. Locher III played a key role in the congressional effort to repair a dysfunctional military whose interservice squabbling had cost American taxpayers billions of dollars and put the lives of thousands of servicemen and women at risk. Victory on this front helped make possible the military successes the United States has enjoyed since the passage of the bill and to prepare it for the challenges it must still face.Victory on the Potomac provides the first detailed history of how Congress unified the Pentagon and does so with the benefit of an insider's view. In a fast-paced account that reads like a novel, Locher follows the bill through congressional committee to final passage, making clear that the process is neither abstract nor automatic. His vivid descriptions bring to life the amazing cast of this real-life drama, from the straight-shooting chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Barry Goldwater, to the peevishly stubborn secretary of defense, Caspear Weinberger.Locher's analysis of political maneuvering and bureaucratic infighting will fascinate anyone who has an interest in how government works, and his understanding of the stakes in military reorganization will make clear why this legislative victory meant so much to American military capability. James R. Locher III, a graduate of West Point and Harvard Business School began his career in Washington as an executive trainee in the Office of the Secretary of Defense. He has worked in the White House, the Pentagon, and the Senate. During the period covered by this book, he was a staff member for the Senate Committee on Armed Services. Since then, he has served as an assistant secretary of defense in the first Bush and the early Clinton administrations. Currently, he works as a consultant and lecturer on defense matters.

When Sarah Carr's husband Jamie drowns, her young life is shattered and takes a turn that she never expected. Pregnant and now widowed, she reaches out to Jamie's family for help but they are unwilling. Instead they devise a plan to have her kidnapped and taken to the Colonies to live a life of servitude. In the wilds of Maryland, Sarah endures the hardships of being indentured and the debasement of being a woman. In despair, she offers up faithful prayers that are answered. But Sarah's new life in the Colonies finds her surrounded by a family's whirlwind of secrets, while she hopes the young doctor she loves will bring her freedom.