Discusses how the family of Commander Jim Abele found the long lost USS Grunion, a Naval submarine that disappeared in 1942.

Peter F. Stevens offers an entertaining and compelling portrait of the Irish immigrant saga and pays homage to the overlooked episodes of the Boston Irish experience. When it comes to Irish America, certain names spring to mind - Kennedy, O'Neill, and Curley testify to the proverbial "footsteps of the Gael" in Boston. However, few people know of Sister Mary Anthony O'Connell, whose medical prowess carried her from the convent to the Civil War battlefields, earning her the nickname "the Boston Irish Florence Nightingale," or of Barney McGinniskin, Boston's first Irish cop, who proudly roared at every roll call, "McGinniskin from the bogs of Ireland - present!" Along with acclaim or notoriety, many forgotten Irish Americans garnered numerous historical firsts.

W hen the first Pilgrims arrived on the shores of Massachusetts, they set foot in a world full of promise and new beginnings. Colonists witnessed the births of new children, governments and traditions, but even the Puritans could not wholly escape the Old Worlds basest human instincts. In Plymouth, John Billington committed the nations first murder, and in Boston, the Mass Bay Madam Alice Thomas opened the first brothel. A Charlestown midwife and healer was hanged for witchcraft. Yet Massachusetts also produced William Phips, Americas first undersea treasure hunter; Peter Salem, the first black war hero; Ann Bradstreet, pioneer poetess; and William Ives, printer of the first board game. In these dramatic and vividly imaginative tales, Peter Stevens narrates fascinating episodes from Massachusetts history, piecing together forgotten yet essential aspects of American identity.

When it comes to the Boston Irish, names such as Bulger and Curley have long shaped the local turf. But most people are probably unaware of some of the most amazing and forgotten Irish men and women who helped mold this city. There was Patrick Gilmore, America's first famed bandleader. Louis Sullivan was the "Father of the Skyscraper." Other colorful characters included Patsy Donovan, the man who discovered Babe Ruth, and Ann "Goody" Glover, whose horrifying ordeal launched the Salem Witch Trials. Although each played a noteworthy role in his or her era, all have been unjustly forgotten. Local author Peter Stevens uncovers the missing pieces of the Irish experience in Boston.

A stunning collision of militaray eras--The heroic and tragic final campaign of the U.S. horseback cavalry against the mechanized Japanese Army of World War II. /FONT

The remarkable, untold story of World War II American Air Force turret-gunner Staff Sergeant Arthur Meyerowitz, who was shot down over Nazi-occupied France and evaded Gestapo pursuers for more than six months before escaping to freedom. Bronx-born top turret-gunner Arthur Meyerowitz was one of only two crewmen who escaped death or immediate capture on the ground, when their plane was shot down near Cognac, France, in 1943. After fleeing the wreck, Arthur knocked on the door of an isolated farmhouse, whose owners hastily took him in. Fortunately, his hosts had a tight connection to the French resistance group Morhange and its founder, Marcel Taillandier, who arranged for Arthur’s transfers among safe houses in southern France, shielding him from the Gestapo. Based on recently declassified material, exclusive personal interviews, and extensive research into the French Resistance, The Lost Airman tells the tense and riveting story of Arthur’s hair-raising journey to freedom—a true story of endurance, perseverance, and escape during World War II. INCLUDES PHOTOGRAPHS AND MAP

Reaching back as far as the 1600s, Peter Stevens has unearthed the stories of 30 men and women whose nefarious or noteworthy activities make them deserving of recognition.

A comprehensive history of the Secret Service provides coverage of assassinations and assassination attempts, presidential demands on the agency, the impact of a Secret Service career on its agents, and issues surrounding agency failures and gender gaps. Reprint.