What does it mean to be an American in the sense of the United States of America? Is there anything special or extraordinary about our nation and its people? There is perhaps an impetus to search the past for these things and contemplate the present in this age where grace and graciousness are nearly non-existent. Some of the answers are in this third edition now expanded to eighty seven essays and stories. There is a mix of contemporary and historical narratives. The essays are grouped in categories - society, bureaucracy, history, law, politics, economics and literature as art. For so many...

Slaves, Saints and Soldiers is the trilogy of three historic fictional novels previously published - After Bondage and War, Hanna's Promise: A Story of Grace and Hope and The American: A Man's Life. The stories overlap so that any one may be read on its own and the three in any order. But here they are together in one book - a trilogy. All three stories are different. All three are love stories. The cast of characters grows as their family members are born and pass on. The lives of the Wexleys, Taylors, Ashfords, Drishs, Blanchards and the McAuleys intersect and are intertwined through the...