"As a foreign correspondent, Scott Peterson witnessed firsthand Somalia's descent into war and its battle against US troops, the spiritual degeneration of Sudan's Holy War, and one of the most horrific events of the last half century: the genocide in Rwanda. In Me Against My Brother, he brings these events together for the first time to record a collapse that has had an impact far beyond African borders."--BOOK JACKET

First discovered in 1930, the diamonds of Sierra Leone have funded one of the most savage rebel campaigns in modern history. These "blood diamonds" are smuggled out of West Africa and sold to legitimate diamond merchants in London, Antwerp, and New York. This book is the gripping tale of how the diamond smuggling works, how the rebel war has effectively destroyed Sierra Leone and its people, and how the policies of the diamond industry--institutionalized...

"On November 6, 1860, Abraham Lincoln became the fluky victor in a tight race for president. The country was bitterly at odds; Southern extremists were moving ever closer to destroying the Union, with one state after another seceding and Lincoln powerless to stop them. Slavery fueled the conflict, but somehow the passions of North and South came to focus on a lonely federal fortress in Charleston Harbor: Fort Sumter. Master storyteller Erik Larson...

"Charleston attorney Hanna Walsh finds her life in emotional and financial ruin when her husband is found murdered and a ruthless stranger thinks she's hiding millions he'll do anything to get back. Detective Alex Frank comes to Hanna's aid, but it may be too late to save what remains of her fragile life in this twisting story of mystery and suspense. An old letter and journal found in the attic of the family's beach house on Pawleys Island reveals...

"Union soldier John Chenneville suffered a traumatic head wound in battle. His recovery took the better part of a year as he struggled to regain his senses and mobility. By the time he returned home, the Civil War was over, but tragedy awaited. John’s beloved sister and her family had been brutally murdered. Their killer goes by many names. He fought for the North in the late unpleasantness, and wore a badge in the name of the law. But the man...

In A Chain of Thunder, the action shifts to the fortress city of Vicksburg, Mississippi. There, in the vaunted "Gibraltar of the Confederacy," a siege for the ages will cement the reputation of one Union general-and all but seal the fate of the rebel cause. In May 1863, after months of hard and bitter combat, Union troops under the command of Major General Ulysses S. Grant at long last successfully cross the Mississippi River. They force the remnants...

Journey to Tennessee at the end of the Civil War. Heaven Wharton has been left in charge of her father's farm, but weeks of facing marauders has finally taken its toll. Meaning to fire into the air, she accidently shoots a man charging the house. Shocked, she and her sister Angel drag the semi-conscious man into the house and nurse him back to health. As Travis recovers he finds his heart turning to the possibilities of love. But can he and Heaven

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Recounts the story of Emma Edmonds, the Canadian-born woman who disguised herself as a man and slipped behind Confederate lines to spy for the Union army.

Details the effect of the war on all Americans. You'll learn how armies were recruited, equipped, and trained. You'll learn about the hard lot of prisoners. You'll hear how soldiers on both sides dealt with the rigors of camp life, campaigns, and the terror of combat. You'll understand how slaves and their falling masters responded to the advancing war. And you will see the desperate price paid by the families so many left behind.

James Edmond, a sixteen-year-old orphan, keeps a journal of his experiences and those of "G" Company which he joined as a volunteer in the Union Army during the Civil War.