You will find in this book twenty-two stories. Each story is numbered. The easiest way to enjoy them is to begin with number one and proceed through the others in numerical sequence. Although some were written years ago, all have a contemporary feeling. Accurate details are designed to help the reader profit from many hours of painstaking research. If you are familiar with Chicago or Ireland, for example, the details tell you the scenes located there have been presented correctly. The same is true throughout this collection. Some topics are treated briefly, others at considerable length. If there is a common characteristic, it is the attempt at humor that flows throughout the book and hopefully adds to your enjoyment.

Drowning in grief over the death of his father and more literally underneath the boxes and bags that corral his mother’s obsession, Mark Brunson struggles just to tread water. Weighed down by high school hierarchy and a beautiful, yet vindictive ex-girlfriend Mark desperately needs a life raft. Instead, he is gifted Lester - the white trash, rodent-faced next-door neighbor who threatens to expose Mark’s hidden sin. One Big Mess follows Mark during his first week of tenth grade on his journey from outcast to icon culminating in a fist fight at “the pit” and a redemption made muddy by outmoded institutions and biased convictions.

This book explores the geography, climate, history, people, government, and economy of Michigan. All books in the It's My State! � series are the definitive research tool for readers looking to know the ins and outs of a specific state, including comprehensive coverage of its history, people, culture, geography, economy and government.

Donovan’s Dilemma begins with the all-star quarterback of The New York Giants coping with a serious head injury which threatens to end his career. Pain and memory loss raise the questions “Will he ever play football again?” and “If not, what should he do with the rest of his life?” David Donovan moves from New York to Raleigh, North Carolina, to sort out his options. In Raleigh, he impulsively opens The Mozart Cafe, a temporary business he hopes will distract him. Instead, he is challenged by a desperate man demanding possession of The Cafe, a man willing to murder to get what he wants. At the same time, a mother and gifted girl hiding from the girl’s jailed father learn he has escaped from prison. The frightened mother enlists Donovan’s protection, a move which adds powerful emotional currents to the quarterback’s impending decision.

When the U.S. Army discharges young Paul Dolan Kilcoyle in 1980 he is a decorated veteran of six years’ service in Afghanistan. He sets his civilian sights on big money and accepts a convenient job in the huge Cosmopolis Life Insurance company on East 20th Street in New York City. Cosmopolis Life, once an industry leader, has stumbled badly and is headed for disaster. A lucky break helps multitalented Kilcoyle start a conglomerate. He decides to gamble all his holdings on a one-year plan to achieve wealth through leverage. Meanwhile, Cosmopolis Life gets a new president determined to succeed. Board chairman Jacob Von Seewagen supports the new president, Harmon Gordon Elkins. At a much lower level Paul Kilcoyle is assisted by unorthodox Sylvia Turkowitz and regal Ernestine Hawkins, while veteran manager Mark Sitlo and senior vice president Richard Sheridan focus on Paul’s downfall, with help from Von Seewagen’s nephew, Barry Waltham. Glamorous Loretta Lace, the company’s only woman officer, relies on competence, while Clare Jacobsen and Kathryn Ryan are young women shifting into jobs at Cosmopolis Life after difficult starts elsewhere. Ryan, convinced Kilcoyle is corrupt, exerts every effort to bring about his downfall.

"The teacher begins with young Brian Desmond teaching math at Newtown High School in Queens, New York, despite a learning disability--he cannot write legibly ... A new principal comes to Newtown High with a wife, a lovely daughter and problems which threaten Brian's teaching career"--Page 4 of cover.

Young J.V. Sullivan, the son of an American Army officer and a Russian pianist, has grown up on Army posts around the world. His prosperous Aunt Nora has welcomed him to her home on Cape Cod each summer, allowing him to contrast the American way of life with his overseas experiences. Despite a gift for languages, Sullivan is unsure of his future. He persists in studying marketing. He completes an MBA program at NYU during his father's second tour of duty in Manhattan and wonders about his future. Aunt Nora discovers young Sullivan may also be a gifted artist. She challenges him to complete a dozen portraits for her. If he accepts the challenge she agrees to pay him $1,000,000. "Why?" he asks. "Paint the portraits and you'll know if an art career is for you. If so, I salute you. If not, I'll have a dozen fine paintings and you'll have a million dollars." He accepts the challenge.

Since the 1950s, Powers have been imposing their will on the world with little resistance besides self-imposed ethics. But now, that epoch is set into a tailspin thanks to Charlie, a mere mortal who commands deference from near-gods. Oh, and he’ll need a date for the prom, too.

THE THIRD SON, a family novel, features Lieutenant Barry Kernahans promise to care for Sarah, the 6-year-old daughter of his commanding officer, Charlie Abercrombie, who is killed in a night raid in Afghanistan. Wounded in the same raid and discharged as a hero, 23-year-old Barry goes to Abercrombies home in Raleigh, N.C. to check his options as Abercrombies beneficiary, only to find the situation complicated and frustrating. Middle son in a family of five children, Barry left home in Queens, New York at the age of 18 to enlist in the Army. Due to service in Japan and Afghanistan he has not been home since enlisting. Now, he must live in Raleigh, find a nanny to care for Sarah, and marry in haste to adopt the young girl. Aware he knows nothing about women, and because his proposed bride is targeted by an obsessed killer, Barry asks each member of his Bayside family for their advice before he takes action. Everyones perspective is different. The final choice is his alone.

Mutterings Of An Unsettled Mind is a collection of poems on the reflections of a life lived, and still living. Some are observations, some are comments. Most are on the remembering of moments, wishing for them to have lasted longer, but happy that they still linger, even if some are with regret.