Joe Wilson – författare

When twelve-year-old Rixon's great-uncle leaves him an island in his will, Rixon can't quite believe it. Things get even more confusing when the mysterious island can only be located on a very ancient map, and only then by using a big magnifying glass. Does the island actually exist? And if so, does it really belong to him? There's only one thing for it. Rixon is going to have to go there and find it for himself.And what he finds when he gets there might just hold the key to the future of the planet: four children hidden away from society with an altogether different set of values. But soon Rixon is fighting for his own life, left in a cave with a rising tide, floating out to sea on a leaky inflatable and fending off the attacks of a multimillionaire tech giant and his super yacht. Can Rixon keep the island's secrets? And will he even want to. . .?

This is a comprehensive record of the 761st Tank Battalion, the first African American armored unit to enter combat. Assigned at various times to the Third, Seventh and Ninth armies, the "Black Panthers" fought major engagements in six European countries and participated in four major Allied campaigns, inflicting heavy casualties on the German army and capturing or destroying thousands of weapons, despite severe weather, difficult terrain, heavily fortified enemy positions, extreme shortages of replacement personnel and equipment, and an overall casualty rate approaching 50 percent.Richly illustrated and containing many interviews with surviving members of the 761st, this work gives long overdue recognition to the unit whose motto was "Come Out Fighting." It recounts the events that in 1978--33 years after the end of World War II--led to the 761st Tank Battalion's receiving a Presidential Unit Citation, the highest honor a unit can receive. Also described are the efforts that resulted, in 1997--53 years after giving his life on the battlefield--in the Medal of Honor being posthumously awarded to Sergeant Ruben Rivers.

With the onset of World War II, African Americans found themselves in a struggle just to be allowed to fight for their country. Individuals like Lt. General Leslie McNair and First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt fought against the military's discrimination, arguing that the nation could little afford to overlook such an important source of strength. Their eventual success took the form of a military experiment designed to determine whether African Americans were as capable as white soldiers. The 784th was one tank battalion formed as a result.Part of an effort to chronicle the history of the first African Americans to serve in armored units, this history recounts the service of the 784th Tank Battalion. Replete with observations and comments from veterans of the battalion, it paints a vivid picture of World War II as seen through the eyes of soldiers who had to confront second-class treatment by their army and fellow soldiers while enduring the horrors of war. It details the day-to-day activities of the 784th Tank Battalion, describing basic training, actual combat, occupation and, finally, the deactivation of the unit. Special emphasis is placed on the ways in which these war experiences contributed to the American civil rights movements of the 1960s.

In 1941, the U.S. Army activated the 758th Tank Battalion, the first all-black armored unit. By December 1944 they were fighting the Axis in Northern Italy, from the Ligurian Sea through the Po Valley and into the Apennine Mountains, where they helped breach the Gothic Line--the Germans' last major defensive line of the Italian Campaign.After the war the 758th was deactivated but was reformed as the 64th Tank Battalion, keeping their distinguished insignia, a tusked elephant head over the motto "We Pierce." They entered the Korean War still segregated but returned fully integrated (though discrimination continued internally). Through the years, they fought with almost every American tank--the Stuart, the Sherman, the Pershing, the Patton and today's Abrams.Victorious over two fascist (and racist) regimes, many black servicemen returned home to what they hoped would be a more tolerant nation. Most were bitterly disappointed--segregation was still the law of the land. For many, disappointment became a determination to fight discrimination with the same resolve that had defeated the Axis.

Rixon Webster Hereda una isla que no existía. Sin embargo, su curiosidad y sagacidad lo impulsan a emprender un viaje lleno de misterios para encontrarla. ¿Qué esconderá esta isla? ¿Arriesgarías tu vida por descubrir un gran secreto?

The Crooked Road is a 253-mile stretch of highway in southwestern Virginia. This remote area, which is one of the places that gave birth to American music, has been a musical hotbed for generations. The route includes the Ralph Stanley Museum, the Carter Family Fold, the Birthplace of Country Music Alliance Museum, the Blue Ridge Music Center, the Rex Theater, the Floyd Country Store, and the Blue Ridge Institute and Museum. Covering the 10 counties through which the road passes, this guide provides information about the area’s musical attractions as well as opportunities to enjoy local crafts, outdoor recreation, lodging, and dining. Music lovers will also have the chance to take a piece of the Crooked Road home with them, thanks to the pair of CDs containing 53 examples of the old-time, bluegrass, Piedmont blues, Anglo-American ballads, and Appalachian gospel music that made the area famous.Joe Wilson was a music historian, folklorist, and chairman of the National Council for the Traditional Arts. Raised in the Blue Ridge Mountains, he learned ballads from his mother, guitar from his uncle, and “Jack” tales from a neighbor. He also heard his great-aunt, known to early radio audiences as “Carolina Sally,” play banjo on his back porch. He has produced 41 large-scale music festivals in 11 states, and was one of the driving forces behind the creation of the Crooked Road. In 2001 he was awarded a National Heritage Fellowship by the National Endowment for the Arts.