New Releases by Jim Murphy

This is the memoir of a C20th man. Jim Murphy left Canada at 15 years of age and emigrated to New Zealand where he completed school and university. He married an Australian and had two sons. Jim lived and worked in 10 countries in the South Pacific, Southeast Asia and Africa as a teacher, entrepreneur and university professor. His adventures and experience in different places among various cultures led him to Life Lessons for his grandchildren that are of universal merit. He discusses issues current over the years that give context to a life at the end of the C20th and beginning of the C21st. His story involves joy, heartache, pain and laughter. It is informative, up-lifting and funny. It involves bombs, counterfeiting, and export control evasion. It involves education, professional sport, relationships, work and UFOs. Today no-one can repeat his experience living freely around the globe the world has changed so much. This memoir answers the question, ''How did a common man live at this time and what was his experience of life?'' The memoir proves the value of family, friends and relationships to enjoy a good life that contributes to the growth of others.

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Jim Murphy proclaims himself "always more lucky than wise," but he writes about his lucky life with rueful wisdom, even as his tender love for family and the simple delights of daily life are constantly intruded on by the poet''s keen and pained awareness of the great machinations of the larger world and history''s depredations on happiness, which despite everything remains happiness, and Versions of May acknowledges it as such. This book is a "script that contains all the needed fissures and the cracks in sense" joyfully and with great artistry. Andrew Hudgins, Author of A Clown at Midnight and The Joker: A Memoir

Gold...silver...precious gems...the stuff dreams are made of. This is the story of a hoard of just such valuable metals and stones, whose journey begins in the year 1311, when the Knights Templar were prosecuted. A small band of valiant knights escape with the hoard and the turbulent journey begins. It''s 2525, and enter Mary and James McGoldenck, a young couple from Laramie, Wyoming, who fall in love with metal detecting and rock hounding, and because of those activities, trek all over Wyoming seeking buried treasures. Enter a villain from Louisiana, Jean Pierre LaCroix - drug dealer, money launderer, human trafficker, murder - these are just a few of his methods of making money. Follow Mary and James as they deal with deadly encounters, ambushes, difficult terrains, a mysterious American Indian, Thomas Light Horse, who shows up out of nowhere, and an old rancher named Chester Wilcox, who owns the ranch that holds Crashed Wagon Canyon.

Blacky has been an ocean-rescue lifeguard on the Atlantic Ocean at Jones Beach State Park for 15 years, and his job means everything to him. The summer of 1971 changes Blacky''s life when a new love awakens his hardened heart and a lover from his past comes crashing back into his life. All this, while New York State and the Jones Beach lifeguards are engaged in a deadly standoff during a lifeguard strike. Jones Beach State Park, located on the south shore of New York''s Long Island, is the largest, oceanfront public bathing facility in the history of the world. The park, founded in 1929, attracts more than 15 million visitors every summer. The Jones Beach Lifeguard Corps. consists of approximately 350 elite ocean-rescue lifeguards, men and women who watch over and protect thousands of swimmers in the rough ocean. The lifeguards make 500 rescues on any given weekend and thousands of rescues over the course of the summer season. In 1971, The Jones Beach lifeguards went on an eight-week strike in a bitter dispute with New York State involving workforce size, pay raises, continued employment for older lifeguards, and multiple safety issues. The result of the strike had deadly consequences.

Written for young AND old, this engaging story, along with alluring illustrations, may well encourage kids to feel confident to meet some of life''s challenges. "Donovan''s Dream" is a fun read for a child. And when a person reads it along with a child, important beliefs can surface, those that a child can grasp and practice. In his dream, building blocks go on different adventures. With teaching moments throughout the book, important values surface, such as showing kindness, respecting others (and yourself), and conquering your fears. The blocks also reveal individual gifts by being creative, strong, and pensive.

Some people are just destined for a bit of adventure. This compelling coming of age story follows the excitement, hardships, and life-long bond that forms when two young friends and a dog decide to risk it all and take a shot at life on a boat.

Long-term monitoring of juvenile Chinook salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha is needed to identify recruitment and mortality processes, to understand early marine biology and ecology, and develop tools useful for fisheries management. A sampling program for Yukon River salmon was established in the northern Bering Sea in 2003 but annual sampling has been tenuous due to funding limitations. This project was designed to maintain the sampling program for Yukon River stocks, develop a genetic baseline to identify Yukon River stocks, and evaluate a lower cost survey alternative using a smaller vessel and trawl configuration. Results indicated that the genetic baseline can identify four groups of populations from Western Alaska, the two vessel/trawl configurations provided similar estimates of juvenile Chinook salmon abundance (within 20%); however, sea state limitations of the small vessel required an earlier survey timing (August rather than September). The change in survey timing contributed to differences in the spatial distribution and length of salmon caught during the 2 surveys. Surveys identified above average juvenile Chinook salmon abundance during 2014-2016 and above average juvenile abundance per spawner in 2014 and 2015. Both indicate an improvement to the recent poor production of Yukon River Chinook salmon, because juvenile abundance in the northern Bering Sea is known to be a leading indicator of adult returns for this stock. Sampling 2 different time periods provided additional insight into the early marine growth rates of juvenile Yukon River Chinook and other salmon species. Average Chinook salmon growth rate was 1.55 mm per day from marine entry to August, and 1.06 mm per day from August through September. This project represents a critical step to enable the long-term monitoring of juvenile Chinook salmon in Western Alaska and continued pursuit of factors that determine productivity and cohort strength of Yukon River Chinook salmon.

Learn how to repair your own credit. Which laws matter when dealing with creditors, Collectors, and the Credit Bureau''s directly. This book shows you HOW credit is scored, why some debts can be removed, as well as laws that govern the different pieces. There is also a plan on how to start from scratch and start building your credit. Credit is a game, When you understand the rules of the game you can win.

An ALA Best Book for Young Adults: Firsthand accounts of the experiences of boys sixteen and younger who fought in the Civil War, with photos included. Winner of the Golden Kite Award for Nonfiction “Making extensive use of the actual words—culled from diaries, journals, memoirs, and letters—of boys who served in the Union and Confederate armies as fighting soldiers as well as drummers, buglers, and telegraphers, Murphy describes the beginnings of the Civil War and goes on to delineate the military role of the underage soldiers and their life in the camps and field bivouacs. Also included is a description of the boys'' return home and the effects upon them of their wartime experiences…An excellent selection of more than 45 sepia-toned contemporary photographs augment the text of this informative, moving work.” —School Library Journal (starred review) “This wrenching look at our nation’s bloodiest conflict through the eyes of its youthful participants serves up history both heartbreaking and enlightening.” —Publishers Weekly “This well-researched and readable account provides fresh insight into the human cost of a pivotal event in United States history.” —The Horn Book (starred review)

“If you ever went to Catholic school, or never went to Catholic school, you need to read this funny, smart, kid-true book. It explains everything.” —Jon Scieszka, author of Time Warp Trio and The Stinky Cheese Man Jimmy Murphy’s sixth grade teacher, Sister Angelica Rose, is out to get him. She humiliates him in class and punishes him when he hasn’t done anything wrong. She even forces him to perform onstage with second graders, wearing a giant green banana costume. A classic underachiever with a talent for trouble, Jimmy wants revenge, and with his friends he plans a prank that will embarrass Sister Angelica in front of the whole school. What could possibly go wrong? "This is a light and funny coming of age story. Even students who do not attend parochial school can identify with Jimmy and the struggles that he and his friends go through. The characters are all dynamic and the reader will want to know more about them all. This is a quick and enjoyable read that any upper elementary student will enjoy." —School Library Connection A Junior Literary Guild Selection

A survey of fish species in the Yukon River Delta, primarily focused on juvenile Chinook salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha, was conducted in 2014 and 2015. The primary objective of this project was to get basic information on the fish assemblage in the delta, the outmigration phenology of salmon smolt, and the size and distribution of species using delta habitats. Sampling occurred during summer months starting with ice breakup, and included regular collections in habitats in major distributaries of the delta as well as monthly surveys in marine waters of the delta front. Water temperatures were much warmer in 2014 and 2015 than previous surveys of the Delta in 1986. Juvenile Chinook salmon were abundant within distributary samples throughout the sample period, utilizing all major distributaries of the river delta. Outmigration phenology of juvenile Chinook salmon was earlier in 2015 (median outmigration date 10 June) than 2014 (median outmigration date 23 June) and 1986 (median outmigration date 24 June). Average size at outmigration for distributary samples was also variable and significantly different among years (mean length in 1986 was 95 mm, in 2014 was 98 mm and in 2015 was 92 mm). Non-Chinook salmon species also showed evidence of interannual differences in size, seasonal growth patterns, and interannual outmigration phenologies. For example, chum salmon O. keta, were smallest in 1986 (mean length 43 mm) and largest in 2014 and 2015 (48 mm). Like Chinook salmon, chum salmon outmigrated earliest in 2015 (median outmigration 10 June) compared to 2014 (median outmigration 20 June) and 1986 (median outmigration 18 June). Important non-salmon species captured in the Yukon River delta included: coregonids, burbot Lota lota, Arctic lamprey Lethenteron camtschaticum, saffron cod Eleginus gracilis, Pacific herring Clupea pallasii, ninespine stickleback Pungitius pungitius, rainbow smelt Osmerus mordax, and sheefish Stenodus leucichthys.

Learn how George Washington''s crossing of the Delaware River helped save the American revolution.

The Great Fire of 1871 was one of most colossal disasters in American history. Overnight, the flourshing city of Chicago was transformed into a smoldering wasteland. The damage was so profound that few people believed the city could ever rise again.By weaving personal accounts of actual survivors together with the carefully researched history of Chicago and the disaster, Jim Murphy constructs a riveting narrative that recreates the event with drama and immediacy. And finally, he reveals how, even in a time of deepest dispair, the human spirit triumphed, as the people of Chicago found the courage and strength to build their city once again.

"Murphy’s dramatic nonfiction narrative recounting of one of the first open heart surgeries ever performed is not to be missed." —School Library Journal (starred review) In 1944, a groundbreaking operation repaired the congenital heart defect known as blue baby syndrome. The operation’s success brought the surgeon Alfred Blalock international fame and paved the way for open-heart surgery. But the technique had been painstakingly developed by Vivien Thomas, Blalock’s African American lab assistant, who stood behind Blalock in the operating room to give him step-by-step instructions. The stories of this medical and social breakthrough and the lives of Thomas, Blalock, and their colleague Dr. Helen Taussig are intertwined in this compelling nonfiction narrative. Winner, Notable Books for a Global Society * Horn Book Fanfare List * A Booklist Best Young Adult Book

An ancient virus is turning animals into people and people into monsters. Two romantically inclined mutants lead a pack of transforming pilgrims from Miami across Africa to Rome. Their two-fold purpose: stop the cure for the disease that created them, and get the Pope''s OK for non-humans to marry. A virus from billions of years in the past has emerged from ancient salt beds with devastating results. As the virus turns evolution on its head, people are changed into monsters, animals begin to demand their rights, and civilization is brought to its knees. The few remaining humans seek safety in the quarantine of walled cities such as the Vatican. They desperately seek a cure, but the only one they find may have results too horrible to contemplate Judeus and Miranda, recent converts to the phylum Porifera, set out with a were-wolfish priest, a planeload of mutating pilgrims, and a sabre-tooth shape-shifting cat on their own journey from Miami to the Vatican. One wants to teach the Pope how to pray in this strange new world. The other wants to stop the cure being developed by the remaining humans. And they both want to get the Pope''s final answer on whether non-humans should marry. With their plane shot down over Africa, they learn that strange events are not limited just to the civilized parts of the world. Is the virus God''s punishment on the world? Or is there no god but the virus? Or is the virus going to create a new god? Can three sponge-monsters straighten this mess out?

National Book Award Finalist: An account of the disease that ravaged eighteenth-century Philadelphia, written and illustrated for young readers. 1793, Philadelphia: The nation’s capital and the largest city in North America is devastated by an apparently incurable disease, cause unknown… This dramatic narrative describes the illness known as yellow fever and the toll it took on the city’s residents, relating the epidemic to the social and political events of the day and eighteenth-century medical beliefs and practices. Drawing on first-hand accounts, Jim Murphy spotlights the heroic role of Philadelphia’s free blacks in combating the disease, and the Constitutional crisis President Washington faced when he was forced to leave the city—and all his papers—to escape the deadly contagion. The search for the fever''s causes and cure provides a suspenseful counterpoint to this riveting true story of a city under siege. Winner of multiple awards, this thoroughly researched book offers a look at the conditions of cities at the time of our nation’s birth, and draws timely parallels to modern-day epidemics. “A lavishly illustrated book, containing maps, newspaper columns and period illustrations…unflinchingly presents the horrors of the event as well as its heroes.”—The New York Times “Pair this work with Laurie Halse Anderson’s wonderful novel Fever 1793 and you’ll have students hooked on history.”—School Library Journal “History, science, politics, and public health come together in this dramatic account of the disastrous yellow fever epidemic that hit the nation’s capital more than 200 years ago.”—Booklist

Jon Scieszka''s Guys Read anthology series for tweens turns to nonfiction in its fifth volume, True Stories. The fifth installment in the Guys Read Library of Great Reading features ten stories that are 100% amazing, 100% adventurous, 100% unbelievable—and 100% true. A star-studded group of award-winning nonfiction authors and journalists provides something for every reader, all aligned with the Common Core State Standards. Compiled and edited by real-life literature legend Jon Scieszka, Guys Read: True Stories is a mind-blowing collection of essays, biographies, how-to guides, and more, all proving that the truth is most definitely out there. Supports the Common Core State Standards

The assertion that ''football isn''t a matter of life or death, it''s much more important than that'' has been verified repeatedly throughout modern history. It has bolstered tyrants and helped depose them; contributed to conflict and created ceasefires. It has been an incubator of racism at home and helped bring down a racist regime abroad; shaped cities, changed cultures and inspired resistance. Its impact is as dynamic as the game itself. In this fascinating exploration, Jim Murphy takes us on a journey around the world and through the years, from Franco''s Spain to Africa''s Alcatraz, Robben Island. Charting the match that sparked a Central American war, the Barcelona team threatened at gunpoint, and the game that helped save Rupert Murdoch''s media empire, among much else, Murphy lends a fresh new perspective to some of the most iconic moments in international football. Blending a love of the game with an appreciation of its place in global events, this is an authoritative and often humorous mix of sport and history, featuring fascinating first-hand insights from those most involved in the ten matches that changed the world ... and the one that didn''t.

When a 10-foot tall purported "petrified man" is unearthed from a backyard in upstate New York in 1869, the discovery immediately turns into a spectacle of epic proportions. News of the giant spreads like wildfire, and well over a thousand people come to view him in the first five days alone!Everyone has their own idea of his true origin: Is he an ancient member of the local Onandaga Indian tribe? Is he a biblical giant like Goliath? Soon the interests of world-renowned scientists and people from around the globe are piqued as arguments flare over who he is, where he came from, and if he is real--or just a hoax. In a riveting account of how the Cardiff Giant mystery snowballed into one of America’s biggest money-making spectacles--and scams--Jim Murphy masterfully explores the power of 19th-century media and the unexpected ripple effect that a single corrupt mastermind can produce when given a stage.

The Civil War JOURNAL OF JAMES EDMOND PEASE is now in paperback with an exciting repackaging!Ignorant to the bitter realities of military life, 16-year-old James enlists in the Union Army at the dawn of the Civil War. When his lieutenant assigns him to be the company historian of the G Company of the 122nd Regiment, New York Volunteers, he is initially at a loss as to what exactly he is supposed to record. As the days pass, James settles into his role, but he cannot take comfort in it. His country is divided by a bloody war, and his unit struggles through the hardships and turmoil. Through his journal entries, James poignantly captures the terror of battle, the drudgery of day-to-day life in the infantry, the loss of comrades, and the disillusionment of a young soldier.

The Raver Legacy - Book 2The dragon hunt is over and the Angels'' Blessing has been broken. Now the survivors of the party, and the other inhabitants of the Land must deal with the consequences.This is the follow up to ''April''. It picks up the story at the conclusion of the first book and continues from there.

This is the story of a killer that has been striking people down for thousands of years: tuberculosis. After centuries of ineffective treatments, the microorganism that causes TB was identified, and the cure was thought to be within reach--but drug-resistant varieties continue to plague and panic the human race. The "biography" of this deadly germ, an account of the diagnosis, treatment, and "cure" of the disease over time, and the social history of an illness that could strike anywhere but was most prevalent among the poor are woven together in an engrossing, carefully researched narrative. Bibliography, source notes, index.

It has become clear o those paying attention that America is in a downward spiral of moral decay and is spinning out of control. It is time to wake up the uninformed and to expose the causes of this moral decline. The future of America is at stake, and, unfortunately, the minds of America’s youth are the battleground. In Crisis in Our Classrooms: The Lies We Tell Our Children, author, teacher, father, and retired US Navy chief petty officer Jim Murphy presents a no-holds-barred rebuttal of America’s secular education system, especially of the two main culprits—evolution (with no mention of Creation) and sex education. Murphy begins by exploring the untruths being spread and the methods of control used by secular institutions, but he also shows how everyone has played a part in allowing these large and entrenched special interests to take control. Through lessons designed for group or individual study, Crisis in Our Classrooms offers hope and ammunition for the struggle and the change that needs to happen as America moves forward. This change needs to happen now, before it’s too late—parents, students, and all concerned citizens should stand united and show the educational system and historians of America that we are still accountable to a higher purpose and meaning beyond ourselves. We are still responsible for upholding the values and principles that alone can save America and her children.

A hair-cutting machine, a used gum receptacle, jumping shoes, and more of the strangest inventions ever! A hat that can tip itself. A suitcase that turns into a bathtub. A pair of protective eyeglasses for chickens. These are just three of the hundreds of unusual inventions that people have dreamed up over the last two centuries. Some, such as the mustache guard, made perfect sense when they first appeared. Others were considered just plain silly. Jim Murphy has compiled a collection of the weirdest and wackiest inventions and presented them in a quiz style that is challenging and fun. Simple, clear explanations are provided on how the inventions worked or failed to work. Complete with over 100 colored illustrations of these crazy creations, this is the perfect gift for any child interested in science and inventions. Ages: 9–12.

A talking watch. An overcoat for two. A pair of pants for poodles. In his companion to Weird & Wacky Inventions, Jim Murphy shows kids some additional baffling and utterly silly inventions in the form of a guessing game that is both challenging and fun. What is a finger-supporting device used for? Can you really buy that talking watch? What on earth is a beard grinder? Whether it’s a device for shaping the upper lip or a life preserver for horses, this parade of unusual inventions is a real treat for trivia lovers and any curious kid with an interest in science and inventions. Ages: 9–12.

Can a single act of love save the world from destruction? A peasant born in pre-war Vietnam has memories of a life he will live in the future. These memories offer clues as to why he must now face the horrors of slavery and war in his current life. Is karma a punishment, or is it simply a choice we make? An Dong, a peasant in French Indochina, has dreams of a life he has lived before, but the dreams are of a place and a time that no one could possibly have seen--a place in the future history of a different country. In contrast to his current life of degradation and slavery, his future life is one of freedom and happiness, at least at first. He becomes convinced that his dreams are telling him that he must take action in his current life in order to keep safe that world of the future, but what it is he is supposed to do is not clear. If such things as reincarnation and karma are real, what is their nature? What are the laws that govern them? Are they punishments for lives poorly lived, or are they choices we make?

Sam is a blacksmith in a small rural township. He has spent his whole life there and is quite content with his lot. Now, however, things are changing. For some reason a mature, red dragon has taken up residence in a cave outside the town and it has already killed Ralf and his family. As a member of the group sent to find help to deal with the dragon, Sam is leaving town for the first time in his life. And the outside world is nothing like the safe, predictable existence that he has been used to until now. He learns of other races in the world and the mighty wars between them that have shaped the whole land, wars that are still being fought and have a great deal to do with the arrival of the dragon. Can Sam and his compatriots survive the journey and find a way to rid the town of its dragon problems? That is for the reader to discover as he follows the young blacksmith through his journey and sees a completely different person end the trip to the one who had started out.