WILLIAM ELLIOTT was born on September 23, 1951, in Fort Bragg, North Carolina. During his childhood, he was interested in baseball. He was also interested in science. He won first prize in a science fair for building a Geiger counter. He had a paper route as his first job. He was in junior high school when desegregation took place. He remembers playing baseball in his neighborhood with both African American and Caucasian children. In 1966, William and his family moved to Hot Springs, South Dakota. His family consisted of his mom, dad, three sisters, and one brother. He completed his high school education in Hot Springs. During high school, he was athletic and was involved in track and field. He graduated from high school in 1969. After high school, William took two years of college at Northern State College. Then in 1972 he joined the air force. He was primarily stationed at Altus Air Force Base in Altus, Oklahoma, and Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas. He was honorably discharged from the air force in 1975. William completed his BS degree in environmental science in 1977. During college, he met Nancy Rempfer, whom he married in June of 1976. He later completed a master’s in business administration from the University of South Dakota in December of 1984. His work experience includes being a health inspector for the state of South Dakota; a business manager for the Cheyenne River Community College in Eagle Butte South Dakota; a business and computer instructor at Little Hoop Community College in Ft. Totten, North Dakota; taught small business management at National American University in Rapid City, South Dakota; then took a position at Oglala Lakota College teaching computer science and business, on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota. William lost his wife of nearly 41 years in 2017. He is retired and continues to reside in Hot Springs, SD. William became interested in poetry while experiencing health issues and found it to be therapeutic. After retirement, he took his poetry to the next level. He recently took two first place and one second place awards at the Veterans Creative Arts Festival in the Black Hills Region. His insight of his surroundings is both humorous and inspiring. • A War of Love • Facebook • Twitter • Google Plus • LinkedIn

Is it still worth it for low-income students to attend college, given the debt incurred? This book provides a new framework for evaluating the financial aid system in America, positing that aid must not only allow access to higher education, but also help students succeed in college and facilitate their financial health post-college. Higher education plays a critical role in the economy and society of the United States, creating a ladder of economic opportunity for American children, especially for those in poverty. Unfortunately, higher education today increasingly reinforces patterns of relative privilege, particularly as students without the benefit of affluent parents rely more and more on student loans to finance college access. This book presents penetrating new information about the fiscal realities of the current debt-based college loan system and raises tough questions about the extent to which student loans can be a viable way to facilitate equitable access to higher education. The book opens with relevant parts of the life stories of two students—one who grew up poor and had to take on high amounts of student debt, and another whose family could offer financial help at critical times. These real-life examples provide invaluable insight into the student debt problem and help make the complex data more understandable. A wide range of readers—from scholars of poverty, social policy, and educational equality to policymakers to practitioners in the fields of student financial aid and financial planning—will find the information in this text invaluable.

A War Of Love - 2nd Edition, builds on the work of “A War Of Love – Poems by William T. Elliott”. It has 302 pages compared to the first edition's 128 pages. The book is a book of poems expressing the reflections on love and life of a Vietnam Era Veteran after the Vietnam War. The poems are easy to read and fall into three categories, pretty poems, humorous poems and spiritual poems. Below is a review of the first 6 sections of the book by the National Review of Books. I hope this will give you some idea of what the book is like. reviewed by Mihir Shah "Some say you need a gun to fight but no you really don’t Instead you need your God above with Him there is your might." In A War of Love, William T. Elliott seeks a therapeutic reprieve from nagging panic attacks, but instead ends up capturing the essence of the human spirit through a series of timeless, evergreen poems revolving around prayer, philosophy, nature, and animals. With no clear structure or rhythm, A War of Love won’t be mistaken for an Edgar Allen Poe or Sylvia Path piece; however, the stream of conscious style that Elliott exudes in his work has a genuine, heartfelt aura that will likely resonate with individuals of all ages. Although the poems are split into six sections, including the compilation’s namesake, Elliott’s observations on animals remain consistent throughout. Four consecutive poems, “THE BEAGLE,” “A CAT,” “THE CHICKADEE,” and “THE DEER,” grace the opening of the collection and establish a romanticization of everyday animals. What makes these poems sparkle is the elimination of age appeal. In “A CAT,” young or old can reminisce fondly on the memorable temperament of a cat that, “gives me not a nod at all,” unless it is feeding time. In “THE HAWK AND THE BLACKBIRD,” like in the poems above, there is unique energy in the author’s writing style and pace that matches the animals’ love of life that Elliott successfully portrays. Perhaps the most intriguing poem, appearing in “Additional Poems,” is “THE BUTTERFLY.” In a matter of five quatrains, the poet injects the reader with childhood nostalgia. The poem itself is emblematic of coming of age: Children are in their own cocoon, and when they become adults, they too, like a butterfly, fly away. Elliott adds a distinctly personal touch to his words by including personal photographs, none more riveting than the picturesque landscapes of Angostura Reservoir and Coldbrook Dam in South Dakota. This ode to nature is in full form in “THE MISSOURI” and “THE SNOWFLAKE,” both poems that use mother nature and imagery of all five senses to reinvigorate the human spirit and help readers remember what it really means to be alive, be it hearing “the waves that wash upon the sand,” or “the feel of flakes past chilly ears.” While Elliott appears to be focused more on evoking a particular emotion from the reader rather than spectacular structure, his poem, “THE SNOWFLAKE,” exhibits an abundance of strong structure, repetition, and simile that allows the readers to conjure the image of snowflakes falling like “cotton tuffs” in the day and “dandruff’s spite” in the night. As the poetry progresses, so does Elliott’s depth of observation. While the poems on animals and nature dwell on what is apparent to the eye, his thought-provoking philosophy poems touch on many of the world’s “elephant in the room” topics that most try to avoid. Poems like “Loneliness,” “Frustration,” and “Hope,” discuss the struggle man faces throughout life’s journey, while “Pipe Dreams” seeks to keep readers grounded and avoid the sometimes inevitable delusions of grandeur that find ways into one’s thoughts. “DEATH OF A THOUGHT,” however, stands on its own and represents the metaphysical element of time, inciting a debate of whether one should wait for the right moment to act or simply seize the moment. Directly or indirectly, A War of Love seeks to infuse the reader with life and love that is ultimately actualized with prayer. Poems like “PRAYER,” and “PEACE” are indicative of the hope that prayer brings, but “WAR OF THE SPIRIT” is not only representative of prayer, but, from a subjective point of view, is central to the compilation and renders spirit and love as synonymous. There are numerous other poems that don’t necessarily fit in a category mentioned above, though that is hardly a knock on their ability to captivate. Both “THE DELICATE KISS” and “HOW TO GET ALONG WITH A WOMAN” share the spirit of intimate love with legendary poems like “When You are Old” by literary behemoth, William Butler Yeats. A War of Love will fall short for those who are looking for precision with meter, pinpoint use of literary devices, and poetic perfection. For poetry aficionados who are looking for an authentic voice and heartfelt poetry that drives home the meaning of being alive, A War of Love is a pleasurable endeavor. RECOMMENDED by the US Review

During the Civil War, John Singleton Mosby led the Forty-third Battalion, Virginia Cavalry, better known as MosbyÕs Rangers, in bold and daring operations behind Union lines. Throughout the course of the war, more than 2000 men were members of MosbyÕs command, some for only a short time. Mosby had few confidants (he was described by one acquaintance as Òa disturbing companionÓ) but became close friends with one of his finest officers, Samuel Forrer Chapman. Chapman served with Mosby for more than two years, and their friendship continued in the decades after the war. Take Sides with the Truth is a collection of more than eighty letters, published for the first time in their entirety, written by Mosby to Chapman from 1880, when Mosby was made U.S. consul to Hong Kong, until his death in a Washington, D.C., hospital in 1916. These letters reveal much about MosbyÕs character and present his innermost thoughts on many subjects. At times, MosbyÕs letters show a man with a sensitive nature; however, he could also be sarcastic and freely derided individuals he did not like. His letters are critical of General Robert E. LeeÕs staff officers (Òthere was a lying concert between themÓ) and trace his decades-long crusade to clear the name of his friend and mentor J. E. B. Stuart in the Gettysburg campaign. Mosby also continuously asserts his belief that slavery was the cause of the Civil WarÑa view completely contrary to a major portion of the Lost Cause ideology. For him, it was more important to Òtake sides with the TruthÓ than to hold popular opinions. Peter A. Brown has brought together a valuable collection of correspondence that adds a new dimension to our understanding of a significant Civil War figure.

There have been many books on Theodore Roosevelt, but there are none that solely focus on the last years of his life. Racked by rheumatism, a ticking embolism, pathogens in his blood, a bad leg from an accident, and a bullet in his chest from an assassination attempt, in the last two years of his life from April 1917 to January 6, 1919, he went from the great disappointment of being denied his own regiment in World War I, leading a suicide mission of Rough Riders against the Germans, to the devastating news that his son Quentin had been shot down and killed over France. Suffering from grief and guilt, marginalized by world events, the great glow that had been his life was now but a dimming lantern. But TR’s final years were productive ones as well: he churned out several “instant” books that promoted U.S. entry into the Great War, and he was making plans for another run at the Presidency in 1920 at the time of his death. Indeed, his political influence was so great that his opposition to the policies of Woodrow Wilson helped the Republican Party take back the Congress in 1918. However, as William Hazelgrove points out in this book, it was Roosevelt’s quest for the “vigorous life” that, ironically, may have led to his early demise at the age of sixty. "The Old Lion is dead,” TR’s son Archie cabled his brother on January 6, 1919, and so, too, ended a historic era in American life and politics.

With intrepid good spirits, author Bill Elliott interviews the world's foremost spiritual figures, acquainting us with their exuberant earthly charms as well as their insight and intelligence. Propelled since childhood by the untimely deaths of his parents, Elliott traveled the globe to meet with these luminaries and directly find out their answers to the fundamental questions of existence: What is life's purpose? What is God or Ultimate Reality? Why do people suffer? Does a part of us live on after death? The list of people he met is both diverse and impressive. Not only do they represent every major religious tradition, from Rober Schuller, Rabbi Harold Kushner, and Norman Vincent Peale to His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Jack Kornfield, but also an exciting variety of perspectives, from Ram Dass to Mother Teresa to psychologist B.F. Skinner. Time and again, the sages included here warmed to Elliott's heartfelt longing for meaning in the world. Their views are framed by Elliott's endearing voice, engaging and perceptive, and by his wonderfully warm sense of humor. Tying Rocks to Clouds is sometimes sad, often funny, and always filled with freshness and joy as it reveals wisdom collected from across the world.

The wild & woolly adventures of a nineteenth-century sportsman.

The Great Gatsby has sold 25 million copies worldwide and sells 500,000 copies annually. The book has been made into three movies and produced for the theatre. It is considered the Greatest American Novel ever written. Yet, the story of how The Great Gatsby was written has not been told except as embedded chapters of much larger biographies. This story is one of heartbreak, infidelity, struggle, alcoholism, financial hardship, and one man’s perseverance to be faithful to the raw diamond of his talent in circumstances that would have crushed others. The story of the writing of The Great Gatsby is a story in itself. Fitzgerald had descended into an alcoholic run of parties on Great Neck, New York, where he and Zelda had taken a home. His main source of income was writing for the “slicks,” or magazines of the day, the main source being the Saturday Evening Post, where Fitzgerald’s name on a story got him as much as $4,000. Then on May 1, 1924, he, Zelda, and baby daughter Scottie quietly slipped away from New York on a “dry” steamer to France, the writer in search of sobriety, sanity, and his muse, resulting in the publication of The Great Gatsby a year later.

Eastern Kentucky University (EKU) in Richmond, Kentucky, celebrated its centennial in 2006. EKU has had a colorful history, from the political quandaries surrounding the inception of its predecessor institutions to its financial difficulties during the Depression to its maturing as a leading regional university. Reflecting on the social, economic, and cultural changes in the region over the last century, William E. Ellis follows each university president's administration in the context of the times. Interviews of alumni, faculty, staff, and political figures add to the story. A History of Eas.