Books with author Ian Curtis

In the wake of the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the 1942 Rose Bowl was moved from Pasadena to Durham, North Carolina, out of fear of Japanese attacks on the West Coast. It remains the only Rose Bowl game to ever be played outside of Pasadena. Duke University, led by legendary coach Wallace Wade Sr., faced off against underdog Oregon State College, with both teams preparing for a grueling fight on the football field while their thoughts wandered to the battlefields they would soon be on. As the players and coaches prepared for the game, America was preparing for war. President Franklin D. Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill met to discuss the Allied strategy in Europe; a discussion that would change the lives of the boys and men on the field in Durham.Finally, on New Year’s Day 1942, under dark gray skies and occasional rain, the two teams clashed on the gridiron in front of a crowd of 56,000, playing one of the most unforgettable games in history. Shortly afterward, many of the players and coaches entered the military and would quickly become brothers on the battlefield. Scattered around the globe, the lives of Rose Bowl participants would intersect in surprising ways, as they served in Iwo Jima and Normandy, Guadalcanal and the Battle of the Bulge. Four players from that Rose Bowl game would lose their lives, while many more were severely wounded. In one powerful encounter on the battlefield, OSC’s Frank Parker saved the life of Duke’s Charles Haynes as he lay dying on a hill in Italy. And one OSC player, Jack Yoshihara, a Japanese-American, never had the chance to play in the game or serve his country, as he was sent to an internment camp in Idaho. In Fields of Battle, a riveting and emotional tale, author Brian Curtis sheds light on a little-known slice of American history and captures in gripping detail an intimate account of the teamwork, grit, and determination that took place on both the football fields and the battlefields of World War II. It was a game created by infamy and a war fought by ordinary boys who did the extraordinary.

In the wake of the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the 1942 Rose Bowl was moved from Pasadena to Durham, North Carolina, out of fear of Japanese attacks on the West Coast. It remains the only Rose Bowl game to ever be played outside of Pasadena. Duke University, led by legendary coach Wallace Wade Sr., faced off against underdog Oregon State College, with both teams preparing for a grueling fight on the football field while their thoughts wandered to the battlefields they would soon be on. As the players and coaches prepared for the game, America was preparing for war. President Franklin D. Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill met to discuss the Allied strategy in Europe; a discussion that would change the lives of the boys and men on the field in Durham.Finally, on New Year’s Day 1942, under dark gray skies and occasional rain, the two teams clashed on the gridiron in front of a crowd of 56,000, playing one of the most unforgettable games in history. Shortly afterward, many of the players and coaches entered the military and would quickly become brothers on the battlefield. Scattered around the globe, the lives of Rose Bowl participants would intersect in surprising ways, as they served in Iwo Jima and Normandy, Guadalcanal and the Battle of the Bulge. Four players from that Rose Bowl game would lose their lives, while many more were severely wounded. In one powerful encounter on the battlefield, OSC’s Frank Parker saved the life of Duke’s Charles Haynes as he lay dying on a hill in Italy. And one OSC player, Jack Yoshihara, a Japanese-American, never had the chance to play in the game or serve his country, as he was sent to an internment camp in Idaho. In this riveting an emotional tale, Brian Curtis sheds light on a little-known slice of American history and captures in gripping detail an intimate account of the teamwork, grit, and determination that took place on both the football fields and the battlefields of World War II. It was a game created by infamy and a war fought by ordinary boys who did the extraordinary.

In the wake of the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the 1942 Rose Bowl was moved from Pasadena to Durham, North Carolina, out of fear of Japanese attacks on the West Coast. It remains the only Rose Bowl game to ever be played outside of Pasadena. Duke University, led by legendary coach Wallace Wade Sr., faced off against underdog Oregon State College, with both teams preparing for a grueling fight on the football field while their thoughts wandered to the battlefields they would soon be on. As the players and coaches prepared for the game, America was preparing for war. President Franklin D. Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill met to discuss the Allied strategy in Europe; a discussion that would change the lives of the boys and men on the field in Durham.Finally, on New Year’s Day 1942, under dark gray skies and occasional rain, the two teams clashed on the gridiron in front of a crowd of 56,000, playing one of the most unforgettable games in history. Shortly afterward, many of the players and coaches entered the military and would quickly become brothers on the battlefield. Scattered around the globe, the lives of Rose Bowl participants would intersect in surprising ways, as they served in Iwo Jima and Normandy, Guadalcanal and the Battle of the Bulge. Four players from that Rose Bowl game would lose their lives, while many more were severely wounded. In one powerful encounter on the battlefield, OSC’s Frank Parker saved the life of Duke’s Charles Haynes as he lay dying on a hill in Italy. And one OSC player, Jack Yoshihara, a Japanese-American, never had the chance to play in the game or serve his country, as he was sent to an internment camp in Idaho. In this riveting an emotional tale, Brian Curtis sheds light on a little-known slice of American history and captures in gripping detail an intimate account of the teamwork, grit, and determination that took place on both the football fields and the battlefields of World War II. It was a game created by infamy and a war fought by ordinary boys who did the extraordinary.

MACHINE AGE: THE ROBOT GRAVEYARD is a futuristic thriller for middle-grade readers, set in a dark and dangerous Washington DC in the year 2028.Twelve-year-old Jane and her parents are just trying to get by in an age where robot workers have taken over so many jobs that normal people struggle every day just to survive… and where the rich and the poor alike live in constant fear of a vicious gang of subhumans known as insombians.Although insombians normally prey on kids Jane’s age, the Walsh family is torn apart when Jane’s mother disappears in an apparent insombian attack. Jane hates to let any puzzle go unsolved, especially one that’s so important, so her first instinct is to find out herself what happened to her mom. But Jane’s dad has other ideas. His only concern is to keep Jane safe. That’s why he comes home one day with a secondhand robotic nanny that he found on the black market. Jane’s nanny robot is called MARY, and when the nannybot starts acting suspiciously, Jane suddenly finds herself with a new puzzle to solve. MACHINE AGE: THE ROBOT GRAVEYARD is the first in a three-part series that follows the adventures of Jane and her best friend Robbie as they try to unravel the mystery of Jane’s enigmatic new nannybot. Along the way, they experience the trials and joys of their final year at Rice Underschool: giving bullies their comeuppance, competing on the varsity crossword team against their rich Overschool rivals, studying Early 21st Century History… even trying to figure out the difference between friendship and love. But these struggles and triumphs all happen under the shadow of a sinister conspiracy that is unfolding all around them.As Jane and Robbie discover more about MARY’s mysterious past, they are pulled deeper into a web of secrets involving insombians, the US president, and what really happened to Jane’s mom. And as they get closer to the truth, the puzzle becomes trickier, and the solution more dangerous.

MACHINE AGE: THE ROBOT GRAVEYARD is a futuristic thriller for middle-grade readers, set in a dark and dangerous Washington DC in the year 2028. Twelve-year-old Jane and her parents are just trying to get by in an age where robot workers have taken over so many jobs that normal people struggle every day just to survive… and where the rich and the poor alike live in constant fear of a vicious gang of subhumans known as insombians. Although insombians normally prey on kids Jane’s age, the Walsh family is torn apart when Jane’s mother disappears in an apparent insombian attack. Jane hates to let any puzzle go unsolved, especially one that’s so important, so her first instinct is to find out herself what happened to her mom. But Jane’s dad has other ideas. His only concern is to keep Jane safe. That’s why he comes home one day with a secondhand robotic nanny that he found on the black market. Jane’s nanny robot is called MARY, and when the nannybot starts acting suspiciously, Jane suddenly finds herself with a new puzzle to solve. MACHINE AGE: THE ROBOT GRAVEYARD is the first in a three-part series that follows the adventures of Jane and her best friend Robbie as they try to unravel the mystery of Jane’s enigmatic new nannybot. Along the way, they experience the trials and joys of their final year at Rice Underschool: giving bullies their comeuppance, competing on the varsity crossword team against their rich Overschool rivals, studying Early 21st Century History… even trying to figure out the difference between friendship and love. But these struggles and triumphs all happen under the shadow of a sinister conspiracy that is unfolding all around them. As Jane and Robbie discover more about MARY’s mysterious past, they are pulled deeper into a web of secrets involving insombians, the US president, and what really happened to Jane’s mom. And as they get closer to the truth, the puzzle becomes trickier, and the solution more dangerous.