Books with author Donald E. Scott

Can you make sense out of press releases and TV programs that attempt to explain the newest astronomical ‘discoveries’ – things like invisible dark energy, warped 11-dimensional spaces, and black holes that spit out matter? If not, you have lots of company. The time to search for some realistic, intelligent, scientific answers has arrived. And those sensible answers are out there for those who are ready to listen - explanations of those answers are in this book. Astronomers have been ignoring electrical activity in space for years. Their inability to generate sensible explanations for many observations made by state-of-the-art astronomical instruments demonstrates they need to study the properties of electrical plasma in the cosmos. If, as we will claim, the causes of most of the observed phenomena of modern astronomy are electrical in nature, do you need a degree in electrical engineering before you can understand them? Indeed not. The average informed person can understand and make rational judgments about these ideas. All it requires is the time and patience to read and to think logically and critically about the issues. Some basic facts and a few new concepts will suffice. The main goal of this book is to convince you, the reader, that you really do have both the capability and responsibility to make informed, critical judgments about the pronouncements of establishment science. A careful reading of these pages will enable you to make an informed assessment of this new, simpler, plasma-based alternative cosmology.

In The Impossible Craft, Scott Donaldson explores the rocky territory of literary biography, the most difficult that biographers try to navigate. Writers are accustomed to controlling the narrative, and notoriously opposed to allowing intruders on their turf. They make bonfires of their papers, encourage others to destroy correspondence, write their own autobiographies, and appoint family or friends to protect their reputations as official biographers. Thomas Hardy went so far as to compose his own life story to be published after his death, while falsely assigning authorship to his widow. After a brief background sketch of the history of biography from Greco-Roman times to the present, Donaldson recounts his experiences in writing biographies of a broad range of twentieth-century American writers: Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, John Cheever, Archibald MacLeish, Edwin Arlington Robinson, Winfield Townley Scott, and Charlie Fenton. Donaldson provides readers with a highly readable insiders’ introduction to literary biography. He suggests how to conduct interviews, and what not to do during the process. He offers sound advice about how closely biographers should identify with their subjects. He examines the ethical obligations of the biographer, who must aim for the truth without unduly or unnecessarily causing discomfort or worse to survivors. He shows us why and how misinformation comes into existence and tends to persist over time. He describes “the mythical ideal biographer,” an imaginary creature of universal intelligence and myriad talents beyond the reach of any single human being. And he suggests how its very impossibility makes the goal of writing a biography that captures the personality of an author a challenge well worth pursuing.

***Revised and edited 5/24/19***Closing his eyes and drifting to sleep, Thomas was surprised at having been awoken by a small and mischievous creature. This creature’s mind fixed on stealing a precious gift from his grandmother. Attempting to stop the thief, Thomas would soon find himself in a land beyond his imagination. Trapped and hunted, Thomas must rely on the very creatures that drew him into this magical and dangerous place as his presence turns the world around him to chaos. Embark on a classic hero’s adventure through the Otherworld, as one boy’s journey home alters the course of this mystical realm forever.

"The best athletes in the world train to make the Olympics every four years, and it is almost inevitable that some type of record will either be tied or broken during the games. As athletes from around the world hone their skills for the ultimate competition, records are bound to fall. The record might be an Olympic standard that falls in one event, or it may be a number of records that get broken at any given Summer Games. American swimmer Mark Spitz won seven gold medals at the 1972 Munich Games, and American swimmer Michael Phelps won eight at the 2008 Beijing Games. Spitz retired at just twenty-two after Munich, while Phelps went to four Olympics and won twenty-eight medals, with twenty-three of them gold - both records. Sometimes an athlete can achieve something that has never been done before, or they might match one record and go on to further Olympic achievements like Carl Lewis did in four Olympic appearances. The Olympics often see world records set that stand several years, or even decades. Some marks that are solely Olympic records have stood more than thirty years. There are teams that have broken records like USA women's beach volleyball and China table tennis, or individual athletes who, like Americans Wilma Rudolph in 1960 or Bob Beamon in 1968, gave memorable performances. Some athletes, like Romanian gymnast Nadia Comaneci, achieved perfection, and others, like American Greg Louganis, got redemption after what appeared to be a crushing setback. Usain Bolt, the Flying Finn, Jesse Owens and Flo-Jo are all names that are also etched in Olympic history because they did things that no human had ever done before - they were record breakers"--

***Revised and edited 5/24/19***Closing his eyes and drifting to sleep, Thomas was surprised at having been awoken by a small and mischievous creature. This creature’s mind fixed on stealing a precious gift from his grandmother. Attempting to stop the thief, Thomas would soon find himself in a land beyond his imagination. Trapped and hunted, Thomas must rely on the very creatures that drew him into this magical and dangerous place as his presence turns the world around him to chaos. Embark on a classic hero’s adventure through the Otherworld, as one boy’s journey home alters the course of this mystical realm forever.

THE GRANDFATHER STORIES Adventures of Don, Dick, Jack, and Bill by Don Scott Introduction In the late 1940's after World War II, Oklahoma was experiencing a prosperous time with the oil boom in the central section of the state. Oil wells were being drilled in Seminole County on a regular basis, and the county seat, Wewoka, was especially booming. Land owners were receiving monthly royalty checks, and local businesses were reaping increased profits. Although whites and coloreds lived in harmony, segregation was still an accepted way of life. Gypsy caravans of cars, pulling house trailers, were traveling through and spending nights camped beside highways where space permitted. Into this potpourri of humanity, homeless men, given the name hobos, walked the highways, and rode in box cars of freight trains when possible. This is the true story of two sets of brothers who lived in the rural area around Wewoka, and how they were swept up into this chaotic period of Oklahoma history. While wandering around the Oklahoma hills, they unexpectedly confront many of the afore mentioned people. The adventures of the brothers take on a Tom Sawyer-Huck Finn look as they also experience rural and small town Oklahoma.Dedication Lindsey, my oldest granddaughter, when she was young wanted bedtime stories. I started reading books that were appropriate for her age, but this became boring after some time. So, I decided to tell stories from my younger days. She enjoyed them and soon the stories were a regular part of her bedtime preparation. Occasionally, she would ask me to repeat a story, which I was happy to do. “Papa, tell me about the time ole Blackie got snakebitten,” she would sometimes say. Ashley, my youngest granddaughter, when she was old enough to understand the stories, was also a part of the bedtime routine.Table of Contents The Boys................................................1 Blackie is Snakebit.....................................5 Blackie Scares the Boys.................................7 Watermelons............................................11 Peaches and Apples.....................................14 Sipe's Pond............................................18 Fishing, Frog Gigging, and Camping.....................19 Cottonmouth Water Moccasins............................28 Swimming with Snakes...................................32 Campsites..............................................35 Weeping Willow Campground..............................39 Sipe's Property Sells..................................46 Extra Money............................................50 Possum Hunting.........................................55 Crows..................................................57 Lead Treasure..........................................60 Blueberries............................................62 Soda Truck Overturns...................................64 Skunk Mountain.........................................66 Planting Strawberries..................................69 Catching Chickens for Mr. Austin.......................71 Swimming...............................................75 Spring Swimming........................................83 Rubber Gun Battles.....................................87 Halloween..............................................91 Hobos and Hobo Jungle.................................102 New Kid in Town.......................................113 Snow Sledding.........................................124 Owls..................................................131 Gypsies...............................................135 Epilogue..............................................139 Glossary..............................................141 Teacher's Guide: Preschool-Third Grade.................................149 Fourth Grade-Eighth Grade.............................150