Dean Smith – författare

It was a cold, gray morning in northeast France when Pfc. Silvestre Herrera's unit came under heavy fire from a Nazi artillery barrage. Armed with only a hand grenade and his M1 rifle, Herrera fixed his bayonet and mounted a one-man charge, single-handedly capturing eight German soldiers, then killing two more and pinning down the enemy despite having had both feet blown off by a mine. A few months later he was back home in Phoenix when the telegram arrived notifying him that he was to be awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. Herrera was just one of Arizona's sons and daughters who answered their country's call in World War II. Their exploits and the adventures of those on the home front are now celebrated in a book that brings that era engagingly to life. Arizona Goes to War takes readers back to a time when military installations sprang up all over the state as thousands of airmen arrived to train in Arizona's clear desert skies, and when soldiers destined for North Africa came to get their first taste of desert sands.In its pages, readers will learn not only of the green recruits who passed through Arizona, but also of the state's Native Americans who registered for the draft in record numbers, of Japanese Americans unjustly incarcerated in desert detention centers, and of ordinary citizens who did their bit for the war effort. Included in the book are some of World War II's most incredible stories, such as the testing of tank engines in Arizona dust storms for the North Africa campaign, the interrogation of Japanese consular diplomats from Honolulu at the Triangle T Guest Ranch near Dragoon, and the escape of 25 German POWs from a detention camp outside of Phoenix called the greatest escape by Axis prisoners from a U.S. compound during the war. A separate chapter pays tribute to Arizona's war heroes: not only Silvestre Herrera, but also fighter ace Grant Turley, Midway hero John C. Butler, and Pima Indian Ira Hayes, who helped raise the flag on Iwo Jima. A host of profiles and sidebars bring people and events of the wartime era to life, and a useful appendix provides a traveler's guide to Arizona's World War II sites.World War II may have transformed Arizona more than it did any other state; not only did Arizona's industry blossom, its population did as well when servicemen who had been stationed there returned to put down stakes. Arizona Goes to War recaptures the glory and spirit of that era and reminds us that the people who lived through those years are well worth commemorating.

The second edition of Ted Patterson's illustrated history of football in Baltimore continues the story of the Ravens' success-from their first Super Bowl victory in 2001 to the emotional parade through downtown Baltimore after winning Super Bowl XLVII. Patterson is joined by Baltimore poet and sports aficionado Dean Smith, whose new chapters capture the energy of Purple Fridays, the larger-than-life personalities of Ray Lewis, Hall of Famer Jonathan Ogden, Jamal Lewis, Matt Stover, Ed Reed, and Joe Flacco, and the city's embrace of the Ravens as a reflection of Baltimore itself. Football in Baltimore is a tour of one of the world's premier collections of Baltimore sports memorabilia-highlighting memorable games and players and exploring a pop culture that surrounded and has survived them. Patterson moved to Baltimore in what turned out to be the final decade of the Baltimore Colts and has amassed a remarkable collection of items that both collectors and sports fans will enjoy.Patterson introduces us to the teams and early stars of Johns Hopkins and Morgan State; Army-Navy games in old Municipal Stadium; high-school rivalries like City-Poly, Loyola-Calvert Hall, Gilman-McDonogh, and the great years of Patterson High; the original Colts (colors silver and green); and, at considerable length, the legendary Baltimore Colts of Johnny Unitas, Lenny Moore, Raymond Berry, Alan "the Horse" Ameche, Artie Donovan, Bert Jones, and Lydell Mitchell. He includes the next chapters in this eventful story: the fight to bring pro football back to the city, the dawn of the Ravens era, and the building of a new football stadium in downtown Baltimore.