"One of the most elusive and controversial figures in NASA's history, George W.S. Abbey was called "the Dark Lord," "the Godfather," and "UNO" (unidentified NASA official) by those within NASA. From young pilot and wannabe astronaut to engineer, bureaucrat, and finally director of the Johnson Space Center ("mission control"), Abbey's story has never been fully told--until now. This fascinating account takes readers inside NASA to learn the real story...

"At the turn of the twentieth century, in a time of great change, two women -- separated by societal status and culture but bound by their expected roles as the daughters of famed statesmen -- forged a lifelong friendship. Portia Washington's father Booker T. Washington was formerly enslaved and spent his life championing the empowerment of Black Americans through his school, known popularly as Tuskegee Institute, as well as his political connections....

An untouched woman ... Lorabeth Holdridge longed for life and experience! Cloistered by her strict father, her world was confined to chores and prayer. Her chance of escape came when she took a job as housekeeper to a boisterous family. Lorabeth reveled in her newfound freedom. And when Benjamin Chaney visited, she felt the stirrings of her first crush. A hard-bitten man ... Jaded and cynical, Ben found it hard to trust, though Lorabeth's sweetness...

"At the turn of the century, the open country of Oklahoma was changing. Cowpunchers depended on those wild places for their herds, but then land started disappearing, parceled up by land-grabbing homesteaders. The cowmen couldn't live with fences, They needed space and plenty of it. But in September of 1893, there would be a land rush the likes of which no one had ever seen. The last of the open range would be settled and fenced, unless Trago, a man...

A Sand County almanac is often hailed as a foundational work of the modern environmental movement. Here, it is paired with over fifty other pieces by Leopold: uncollected articles, essays, speeches, and other writings that chart the evolution of his ideas over the course of three decades.