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.

While others have written about the people who were interned in Japanese relocation centers during WWII, this is the story about one of the camps, told by two brothers who lived there. This book records the history of the Heart Mountain Relocation Center beginning on December 7, 1941, with the bombing of Pearl Harbor to April 22, 1953, when the Heart Mountain Post Office closed because nobody lived there anymore. The Center, located between the towns of Cody and Powell in northern Wyoming, was built in just 60 days to imprison 11,000 persons of Japanese ancestry living along the West Coast during WWII. This is the record of who built the internment camp, where the blueprints came from, how its infrastructure turned out the way it did, who managed it, how the prisoners completed its construction with their own labor, what life was like living in such a place, and what happened to the camp after the war was over. It is a fascinating study of a temporary city, its people, and all the accompanying community services that had to be created from scratch in a short time with few resources.

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

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)

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.

Two-time Newbery Honor Book author Jim Murphy writes a stunning nonfiction masterpiece about a Christmas miracle on the Western Front during World War I. On July 29th 1914, the world''s peace was shattered as the artillery of the Austria-Hungary Empire began shelling the troops of the country to its south. What followed was like a row of falling dominoes as one European country after another rushed into war. Soon most of Europe was fighting in this calamitous war that could have been avoided. This was, of course, the First World War. But who could have guessed that on December 25 the troops would openly defy their commanding officers by stopping the fighting and having a spontaneous celebration of Christmas with their "enemies"? In what can only be described as a Christmas Miracle, this beautiful and heartrending narrative will remind everyone how brotherhood and love for one another reaches far beyond war and politics.

"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?

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

This powerful book is kaleidoscopic in all ways-patterns of language, history, and landscape tumble down the page to be formed anew on the next. It is reflective and absorbing at once. It brings dignity and insight to a raw, unlettered world in order to find its worth and its grief. It is an effort to remember and redeem, and a further effort to find the truth. Yet finally, I think, this book is joyous; it delivers a rare and hard-sought vision of joy. One cannot read this book and not feel lifted and, thereby, free. Maurice Manning, author of "The Gone and the Going Away," Professor of English at Transylvania University in Lexington, Kentucky, and past recipient of the Yale Series of Younger Poets Award for Lawrence Booth''s Book of Visions.

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.

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.

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?

TRAIN YOUR BRAIN FOR EXTRAORDINARY SUCCESS Now more than ever, you need a competitive edge to succeed-no matter what your field or profession. This step-by-step training manual from one of North America''s top performance coaches taps into the winning mindsets of Olympic stars, professional sports teams, and Navy Seals among others to help you achieve higher levels of performance than you ever thought possible. Jim Murphy''s complete program of proven mental techniques is based on life principles that easily apply to your company, your career, and everything you do. Inner Excellence shows you how to: CONNECT WITH YOUR PASSION-and run with it FOCUS YOUR ENERGY-and reach your goals BUILD ON YOUR STRENGTHS-and live your dreams GET IN THE ZONE-and achieve the extraordinary Filled with mental performance-enhancing exercises, creative goal-driven game plans, and 50 inspiring interviews, Inner Excellence raises the bar for success in business and in life. “Jim is an expert in his field. Inner Excellence transcends athletics and will have a profound effect on everyone who applies these methods in their life.” -John Kehoe, author of Mind Power into the 21st Century

Enhanced with maps, photographs, and black-and-white illustrations, the story of the battle of Antietam Creek in Maryland in 1862 is described via first-person accounts and factual details with an examination of how this major event changed a nation with regard to Lincoln drafting the Emancipation Proclamation.

While some singularity or egotism may be unavoidable in poetry, not every poet chooses, as Jim Murphy does, to temper subjectivity with sensitivity to the world around him. Murphy''s choice-or his compulsion-to attend to his community, its geographies and histories, is a gift to all readers: this poetry concerns us as much as anything else. Over the last fifty years, American''s most visible poetry has been a poetry of ego and personality, in which the writer''s self serves as a primary subject-so much so the most readers seem to expect every poem to be a confession or autobiography. But the poetry of community-of environment, of city, of nation-the poetry of concern has also abided, albeit less visibly, as a counterpoise. Heaven Overland draws from both traditions. As it turns outward, this collection extends the ethical tradition, and as it turns inward, marries the subjective to the receptive, recalling Whitman''s work more perfectly. This is to say that this book is important, that its commitments and accomplishments are rare and always to be kept in mind.

Every account of the American Revolution mentions Benedict Arnold and brands him--correctly--as a traitor. There''s no question that Arnold, an American army officer, switched his loyalty to the British side. Over the years, however, historians, partisans, and gossips have added to Arnold''s unsavory reputation by distorting, embroidering, or simply ignoring factual details. In this informed and thoughtful account, Jim Murphy goes in search of the real man behind the "traitor" label, rumors, and folktales that became part of the Benedict Arnold legend. Drawing on Arnold''s few surviving writings and on the letters, memoirs, and political documents of his contemporaries, Murphy builds a fascinating portrait of a brilliant man, consistently undervalued by his peers, who made a choice that continues to reverberate through American history. Dramatic accounts of crucial battles and political maneuvers round out this lively biography of a patriot who could have been a hero.

Presents a history, based on personal accounts and newspaper articles, of the massive snow storm that hit the Northeast in 1888, focusing on the events in New York City.

On his way to town to have some fun, a lazy but clever young man faces a terrible demon, who declares that his time has come.

In the mid-1800s, with both her father and her uncle in jail on an assault charge, Maggie, her brother, and her ailing mother rush their barge along the Erie Canal to deliver their heavy cargo or lose everything.

In the early days of whaling, whales were plentiful and it seemed that they would always fill the sea. When people realized how much money could be made from whales in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, entire species were wiped out in the rush to hunt these gentle and magnificent creatures. This account is an even-handed portrayal of the exciting, grisly, and sometimes profitable business of pelagic whaling, told from the perspective of young whalers through their detailed journal entries and letters.

It''s 1793, and there''s an invisible killer roaming the streets of Philadelphia. The city''s residents are fleeing in fear. This killer has a name--yellow fever--but everything else about it is a mystery. Its cause is unknown and there is no cure. This powerful dramatic account by award-winning author Jim Murphy traces the devastating course of the epidemic.

In this entertaining and informative work, former ChicagoCub and noted author, speaker, and coach Jim Murphyshares invaluable insight and wisdom from interviews with39 of the top managers in baseball. Legendary coachesSparky Anderson, Gene Mauch, Jim Leyland and many othersoffer their insight on how to build individual champions,coach the details, practice under pressure, and much,much more.

Following her father''s death from a disease that swept through her Nebraska town in 1881, teenaged Sarah Jane must find work to support herself and records in her diary her experiences as a young school teacher.