Books with author David C Thomas

Salt Bear tells the story of a young salt bear (a mythical creature of the American West) who goes on an epic journey of self discovery with his best friends, Buddy, a jackalope (another mythical creature), and Old Rombo, a cactus buck. Salt Bear’s themes, like those of fantasies such as the Harry Potter series, Richard Adams’ Watership Down, Brian Jacque’s Redwall series, and Lemony Snicket’s unfortunate events, are powerful. Self discovery, the power of healing, the miracle of tolerance, the meaning of courage and fear, and love’s grace are interwoven into scenes of journeying, battle, death, justice, and nature’s cycles. The adventure plays out in the wilderness of pinion, juniper, ponderosa pine, and aspen forests that range from the Colorado National Monument in Western Colorado to the Gooseneck formations in Utah.Salt Bear is a fantasy novel belonging to the tradition of children and juvenile novels created by works like Kenneth Graham’s The Wind in The Willows, recent novels by David Clement-Davies (Fire Bringer and The Sight), or the Rescuer series by Margery Sharp.The story begins when Salt Bear is forced by Buddy to question what his real name is. “Salt Bear’s a kind of bear…not a name,” Buddy explains. Salt Bear has been raised near a salt lick above Glade Park below Mud Springs in Western Colorado without knowing his mother, father or other salt bears. Is he the first of his kind? Did he have a mother and father?After a conversation in which Old Rombo tells him that only the ravens can answer his questions, Salt Bear travels toward the Coke Ovens, sheer sandstone monoliths that rise above Monument Valley’s canyon floor. On this first journey Salt Bear is confronted by a snow owl from the Canadian tundra with the ability to predict the future. The frightening owl, from a ponderosa tree in moonlight, warns that if Salt Bear continues to the Coke Ovens, he will face catastrophe.From this point on the adventure begins to build. Danger, fields of death, sadness, and terror, and moments of discovery and exhilaration follow as Salt Bear, Buddy, and Old Rombo climb the high mountains, cross a raging river, leave Disappointment Valley behind, and finally find the magic of who and what Salt Bear is as a creature. This does not end the adventure, however. For even more danger looms as the creatures in the clearing in Gooseneck’s country band together to face the horror that has plagued the land for too long. In the great battle to come Salt Bear’s courage and sanity will be tested, and he will either come through or his world and the creatures he cares for will die.

The Alkali Cliffs is a novel about how a poor family, who lives by raising rabbits, chickens, a garden, and hay on the alkali flats of North Delta, Colorado, struggles against a rich banker determined to build a rendering plant next to their small farm. As the story unfolds in a world different from today’s world, Jimmy Smith slowly changes as he struggles with the challenges he and his family face. Decisions lead to consequences that lead to more decisions that lead to more consequences in a cycle of action and reaction. Uncle Solomon, who has always been Jimmy’s best friend, even though he has always acted like a simpleton, becomes a complex, troubled human being. Tom, the eldest son in the family, and Jimmy face dilemmas that threaten the families’ cherished way of life. The world of the Alkali Cliffs, wild in its beauty, filled with wildlife, seems about to be harmed in ways from which it cannot recover. Contemporary in many of its themes, including that of environmental responsibility and the struggle between the rich and the poor, the novel portrays a world that has disappeared. In this world families still believe men should be the head of the family even though the families' women are, in many ways, stronger, and poverty is accepted as the way some people have to live.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is a national agency dedicated to investigation federal crimes. Founded as a small team of special agents on July 26, 1908, the Bureau was first charged with enforcing the growing body of federal laws covering the United States as a whole. Almost from the beginning of its 100-year history, the Bureau has been the subject of legend and controversy. It has also evolved into a vast and sophisticated national law-enforcement agency. Whether as a federal crime-fighting force or a source of investigative support of local and state police forces, the modern FBI strives to embody its ideals of fidelity, bravery, and integrity. In these pages, you will follow the process-from application through graduation-of becoming an FBI special agent. Learn about the online application, the forms, and interviews. Try some sample questions from written exams. Then move on to the classrooms and firing ranges at the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia. Follow the training process through the streets, pool halls, and courtrooms of Hogan's Alley, the most crime-ridden town in America. Finally, learn about graduation, relocation, and beginning work as an FBI special agent.