Free Republic

Jim Brosnan, who achieved modest baseball success as a relief pitcher but gained greater fame and consequence in the game by writing about it, died on June 29 in Park Ridge, Ill. He was 84. The cause was an infection he developed while recovering from a stroke, his son, Timothy, said. In 1959, Brosnan, who played nine years in the major leagues, kept a diary of his experience as a pitcher, first with the St. Louis Cardinals and later, after a trade, with the Cincinnati Reds. Published the next year as "The Long Season," it was a new kind of...

Any thoughts why?

Dear XXXX, We appreciate you taking the time to email Costco Wholesale. Costco is not influenced by political considerations in selecting product for sale in our warehouses or on Costco.com. This includes our selection of books. Our book buyers are solely interested in book sales, and do not favor any political persuasion over another. Recently, after deciding to sell the book "America: Imagine the World Without Her", beginning on June 1, a decision was made to pull the book from sale on July 1. This decision was based solely on the number of copies sold during that month, and had...

Former U.S. president George W. Bush recently opened the doors to his gorgeous Texas ranch to reveal rooms where he once hosted world leaders and where he now bides his time painting them. Bush gave a tour of the Crawford home he completed just after becoming the nation's 43rd president in 2001 to Architectural Digest for the magazine's August cover story. It's a rare glimpse at the sprawling property where Vladimir Putin once rode shotgun in Bush's pickup and where the younger of W.'s twins, Jenna, held her intimate 2008 wedding. George and Laura Bush have retired to Dallas, Texas...

I just spent the last nine hours reading Brad Thor's latest thriller- Act of War. It will definitely go down as one of his best. Five stars - Highly recommended.

#1

Amazon description: There is little in this world that a family cannot endure, if endure they must. For we all have it within us to lose everything, absolutely everything, and still find strength in the most simple, beautiful things. Pat and Mandy Retzlaff lived a hard but satisfying farming life in Zimbabwe. Working all hours of the day on their sprawling ranch and raising three boisterous children, they savored the beauty of the veld and the diverse wildlife that grazed the meadows outside their dining room window. After their children, the couple's true pride and joy were their horses. But...

#54

Author, editor, and pulp magazine scholar Frank M. Robinson, 87, died June 30, 2014. Robinson lived in San Francisco and had suffered from health problems in recent years... His first novel, The Power (1956, filmed in 1967), was an extremely successful SF thriller — one of the first of that genre. In the ’70s and ’80s, he co-wrote a number of technothrillers (most with SFnal elements) with Thomas N. Scortia: The Glass Inferno (1974, filmed as The Towering Inferno) ...

The Clintons have been in the news for a different reason every day since Hillary's book blitz began in late May Much of the coverage about the former first family has not been favorable as both Bill and Hillary have stumbled over questions about Hillary's health and their wealth Now, Americans are getting what Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus calls 'Hillary fatigue' In hypothetical match-ups against other prospective 2016 presidential candidates, Hillary Clinton would beat Republican contenders, but by an increasing smaller margin Hillary Clinton's presidential popularity has dropped significantly since she launched a media blitz to promote her...

American reality TV star Kim Kardashian has called her trip to Vienna to attend the Opera Ball “a true nightmare,” adding that “it was so racist”. Scenes from the trip were shown on Sunday night's episode of Keeping Up With The Kardashians, and Kim told her sister that “it's like we're honestly in a time warp. Racial insensitivity, everything from this trip, has just been a true nightmare.”

Who says only cats get nine lives? With the help of his feline friend, James Bowen has been given a few extra chances of his own. Just a few years ago Bowen was down and out, selling copies of The Big Issue, a magazine sold by homeless people, on rainy London streets, when his fortune changed forever. He met a stray orange kitten with an outgoing demeanor that he named Bob. The cat had an abscess on his leg, and Bowen cobbled together money for antibiotics and nursed the little kitty back to health. “When his treatments were done and...

The ultimate historical traveler's guide to the American Revolution Nearly 150 chronologically arranged entries on everything from meeting halls to battlefields Includes contemporary accounts and the writings of leading historians, offering site-by-site details and an overview of the Revolution Written for the vast and ever-growing crowd of history tourists In 1996, Congress commissioned the National Park Service to compile a list of sites and landmarks connected with the American Revolution that it deemed vital to preserve for future generations. Some of these sites are well known--Bunker Hill, Valley Forge, Fort Ticonderoga--and in no danger of being lost; others less so--...

What are you reading? There used to be a quarterly "What are you reading?" thread, but I haven't seen it for a long time. I got a lot of good book suggestions that way, and I miss it. So here's a thread! If you're reading something interesting you think others would like, or something boring you'd recommend we all avoid, jump in! If you have a ping list of FReepers who might be interested, ping them!

I am working on a project to collect as many books as possible for a new library that opened on May 21 in Tuttle, Oklahoma. Tuttle is a tiny town of about 6,000 people west of OKC. This library is operated and funded by volunteers. To my knowledge, they receive no public funding.The volunteers have worked incredibly hard to raise money for their location, books, and services. If you're an author, or know of one, this would be a great way to get your book(s) on library shelves. Tuttle Public Library 305 W Main Street Tuttle, OK 73089 http://www.tuttlelibrary.org/ I...

For as long as she can remember, Jazz says she felt different. The 13-year-old was born a boy, but loved all things mermaid, pink and princesses. "I felt like a girl and I felt uncomfortable in my body," Jazz said. Jazz, who goes only by her first name out of fear of threats, told her parents the moment she first could speak that she was not a boy. Ft. Lauderdale Backs Marriage Equality After Last-Minute Lobbying "After getting some professional support, diagnosis, they said, you know, she's transgender,” said Jeanette, Jazz’s mother. “Something difficult to come to terms with, because...

A considerable documentary about the great horror writer available for free on YT. An impressive guest list too, Guillermo Del Toro, John Carpenter, Neil Gaiman and others.

It seems everyone loves the hit HBO series “Game of Thrones,” – even real-life royalty. Britain’s Queen Elizabeth toured the show’s sets during a three-day trip to Belfast, Ireland. The 88-year-old monarch met many of the show’s stars on Tuesday, including Lena Headey, Kit Harington, Sophie Turner and Maisie Williams, beside the show’s sword-covered seat of power, the Iron Throne. No word on how it compared to the one at her house.

A new exposé book reveals the great hatred that exists between US President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle on one side, and former President Bill Clinton and his wife, former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, on the other. […] According to the book, Michelle would often sit with her adviser Valerie Jarrett while drinking Chardonnay during Hillary’s stint as secretary of state, and referred to Hillary as “Hildebeest”. Clinton for his part had harsh words for Obama, responding after Hillary’s loss to Obama in the 2008 Democratic nomination to allegations made by Obama that Bill was racist. “I...

Feeling down? Cheer yourself instantly by heading to www.amazon.com and looking at the reviews of Hillary's book. Not only will it lift your mood to read the reviews, you will be filled with hope for the future of the USA.