Books with author Richard Branson

In the entire Rocky Mountain intermountain region there is no place that was more traveled in the nineteenth century than the famed 'South Pass', a fortuitous spot along the American continental divide in west-central Wyoming. There people and animals could scurry like ants across the crest of the foreboding Rocky Mountains, and live to tell about it. It was as if the Creator, having surveyed His work in this part of the world, pressed a thumb into the landscape to provide a place for simple farmers, immigrants, and some ne'er-do-wells to pass through on their way to the promised land in the far west. It was on the west side of the South Pass that the Oregon Trail and the Mormon Trail, having existed side-by-side for over 1100 miles, now diverged. The Mormons and the California Forty-niners headed southwest as soon as they cleared the pass; the people bound for Oregon and Washington headed northwest at the same juncture.It was at this pass that a rockhound named Charley Grissom met the Cecil McGowan family, and all of their lives were changed forever.

"As far back as stories go, pioneers have reached for the skies. In the last two hundred years, they have mastered the air and made the modern world possible. Reach for the Skies is my look at the history of flight through the stories and people who have inspired me throughout my life. It is a story of pioneers, and of course it includes the world famous Montgolfiers and the Wright brothers, but I also want to describe some of the lesser-known trailblazers. People like Tony Jannus, who in 1914 created the first scheduled commercial flight, flying his passengers over the waters of Tampa Bay at an altitude of just fifty feet; the ‘bird man’ Leo Valentin, who in the 1950s jumped from 9,000 feet with wooden wings attached to his shoulders; and my friend Steve Fossett, who dedicated his life to breaking records and having adventures. This is their story. It is also, in a small way, my own." - Richard Branson

Dan Hawkes and the Eagle's Cipher is a traditional adventure story set during World War Ii. It is ideal for 9-12-year old boys and girls. In the summer of 1940 Dan Hawkes struggles to come to terms with his father's death. His only companion is Kitty Finch, an inquisitive evacuee with a nose for trouble. Frustrated and angry, Dan is eager to make his own contribution to the war effort. Thanks to Kitty, he gets a bigger opportunity than he bargained for. . .