Books with author T.S. Benjamin

A story of hope, love, and unspeakable death in a disappearing Brazilian rainforest. A team of dogged conservationists tries to save a beautiful monkey species, the golden lion tamarin, from certain extinction by reinforcing their numbers with tamarins born in zoos. Will these immigrants learn to find enough to eat, find secure places to sleep, avoid predators, and survive attacks by wild tamarins? Will they find mates and make babies? The technique, known as reintroduction, is new, and the conservationists struggle to find the best method. Can they train the tamarins in zoos to meet the challenges of the wild? Once the monkeys are released in the forest, should the people give them food, shoo away predators, rescue them if they get lost, and treat them if they are injured? Or should they be hands-off, letting the monkeys fend for themselves and become wild as quickly as possible? Beck describes the reintroduction of the first 13 tamarins, capturing their fierce determination to survive, their loves and conflicts, their nurturant families, adorable babies, hidden language, sometimes hilarious attempts to solve the problems of adapting, and the agonizing deaths of those who don't make it. He describes the power and beauty of the rainforest, and the loves, loyalties, conflicts, and sometimes hilarious bumbling by their human caretakers. Challenging their better-known bosses, two women, a zookeeper and a Brazilian field assistant, discover the right way to reintroduce the monkeys. But a well-known Rio citizen almost destroys the program in a callous act of vanity. The story is vivid and authentic; Beck was there and has studied animal thinking and monkey and ape conservation for more than 40 years.

Struggle is a constant theme of Jacob's life, but he survives and learns to live according to the promises God has given to him. As Jacob learns to channel his energies toward what God wants for him rather than what he wants for himself, God blesses him in an earthly manner. Jacob becomes wealthy beyond the dreams of most people, with flocks and herds beyond measure. But Jacob's story is not just about one man; it is also about his children and their descendants, who produce a great nation called Israel.

The account of Joseph, son of the Old Testament patriarch Jacob, is compelling because of the enduring themes of integrity, forgiveness, and faith that echo through the dramatic highs and lows of Joseph's life. Betrayed by his brothers, sold into slavery, falsely imprisoned, and then miraculously elevated to a position of wealth and power over all the land of Egypt-Joseph knew what it was to look deep into the darkest hour of the soul and still have hope. In doing so, he preserved the life of the infant nation of Israel and left a legacy of righteousness that resounds through three major world religions.

Pirate Flotilla One is doing well in the Badlands. A fourth squadron is about to be formed under the command of Llewellyn Terrant. Four new freighters will improve the flotilla’s logistics capabilities. In concert with the Royal Navy Badlands Squadron, they continue to enforce Measure 200, the anti-slavery law, throughout the region. The pirate settlement on Agra 5 will be used by all squadrons and, for the first time, a permanent home is envisioned for all the pirate families. However, events in the war between the Aurora Empire and the Orion Confederation will impact Raferty Hawkins and his flotilla yet again. Hawkins learns of the death of a close friend in a costly defeat for the Royal Navy at Excandor. This defeat changes the immediate future for Raferty and his flotilla. Queen Alexis, monarch of the Aurora Empire, is tired of the incompetence and the losses. She issues a Call to Service that a peer is required to obey. That peer is Raferty Hawkins. His given mission is easy… and hard. All he has to do is win a victory over Orion forces. The Royal Navy has suffered many defeats but the most recent one at Excandor is the costliest on both a personal and a professional basis for Alexis. The Queen is tired of it and tasks her favorite pirate with reversing the trend. As a peer of the realm, Hawkins will command Royal Navy ships and personnel for the first time. He must produce and execute a plan that achieves the elusive win Queen Alexis wants. The two earlier forays into this war by Flot 1 had been for revenge against the OrCons for their destruction of the pirate settlement on Ulatar. It will be different this time. Raferty Hawkins, the Duke of Black Hallow, must answer a summons, but this is not flotilla business. He will let the ships in Flot 1 decide whether to support his mission. With or without them, he must go to the Aurora Empire. With help from his trusted friends and companions, Hawkins takes on his biggest task yet. After the battles are over, he will get an even greater mission, one that will last for a long, long time.