A true-life, sometimes gritty yet ultimately triumphant story, Until the Brighter Tomorrow is told straight from Valerie Rainford's heart. The daughter of southern sharecroppers, she takes the reader through her challenging young life in the projects, where her mother's steadfast work ethic and undying support motivates Valerie to choose a different path than that of her high school friends. After the devastating deaths of both her brother and mother, Valerie--determined to beat the odds--embraces her generational current of strength and goes on to graduate from Fordham University, accomplish impressive career firsts, and rise to her present position as a successful corporate executive. With the pulse of a finely written novel, this inspiring memoir radiates with the author's belief that anything is possible if one has enough faith, tenacity, and belief in self.

Right after World War II, the United States felt secure in its atomic monopoly. With the American "Pax Atomica" in place, the free world held an apparent strategic advantage over the Soviet bloc and saw itself as a bulwark against communist expansion. But America's atomic superiority in the early postwar years was more fiction than fact. From 1945 until 1950, the U.S. atomic arsenal was poorly coordinated, equipped and funded. The newly formed Atomic Energy Commission inherited from the Manhattan Engineer District a program suffering from poor organization, failing infrastructure and internal conflict. The military establishment and the Air Force's Strategic Air Command little knew what to do with this new weapon. The Air Force and the AEC failed to coordinate their efforts for a possible atomic air offensive and war plans were ill-conceived, reflecting unrealistic expectations of Air Force capabilities and possible political outcomes. This lack of preparedness serves as a case study in the tenuous nature of American civilian-military relationships. Instructors considering this book for use in a course may request an examination copy here.

To A Brighter Future is the story of one family's dream and prayer to make a better life for their children. It tells of the growing-up years in a relatively affluent Germany, which quickly changed during the great inflation of the early twenties, then fell into ruin after World War ll This book chronicles the immigration of two young people to Canada in 1928 and follows their struggles to create a "brighter future" for their children in a new homeland. For the young man who came first, there was job searching, jumping the freights, and finding the right piece of land. Together, they experienced the trials and adventures of homesteading in the Peace River Country of northern Alberta. There are vivid personal descriptions of education in a one-room country school; the poverty and hardships of the depression years, but also the rich social life and community spirit of that difficult era. Also portrayed is the fear and anxiety when illness, accident and tragedy struck an isolated wilderness home. The far-reaching effects of World War ll are portrayed in a very personal manner by way of a journal written by a German-Canadian civillian prisoner of war, while interned in Kananaskis, Petawawa and Fredricton. The story includes interesting characters, adventure, romance and tragedy, all portrayed in a candid, thoughtful style. The story is greatly enhanced by authentic photographs of the settling years in Western Canada. Also included are numerous excerpts from journals and letters written "at the homestead table," to family in the old homeland, creating a truly authentic story. To a Brighter Future is much more than a story of one family. It's a powerful legacy for every community that felt "the settling pains" of a new homeland.