Books published by publisher The Vanguard Press

This is the first biography for young people of the Swedish-American genius who invented the Monitor- the revolutionary ironclad warship that, at the very moment Lincoln was considering evacuating Washington during the civil War, turned the tide of battle for the North in the historic duel with the "Merrimac." But the "Monitor" was the only one of the spectacular achievements of John Ericsson's genius. From childhood, when he built a working model of his father's iron foundry, until very old age, when he was experimenting with a the harnessing of solar energy. Ericsson's life was a dramatic unfolding of extraordinary talent and indomitable zeal in the fields of mechanics, draftsmanship, map making, and every phase of engineering. His was the path of the dedicated scientist: the intense yearning to analyze and understand, to see problems in a new light, to attack them with infinite patience and immeasurable daring. Every young person interested in the sea and naval warfare, in the Civil War, in America's contribution to engineering and science, and in the struggle of a man to achieve the best that is in him will find Captain John Ericson as fascinating as the "Monitor's" inventor was a man.

When a little girl is found screaming in a town square no one knows who she is or where she comes from. Shortly afterwards when she comes to her senses, she only knows her name, Mimey but nothing else about what she is doing there or who she is. She is taken to hospital after she bites a teenaged girl, and there she is taken under the wing of a kind nurse, Lena. But Lena can't look after Mimey forever, so soon she is sent to a refugee centre by the county. It is there that Mimey starts to see and hear strange occurrences. Children who lived there have disappeared in the night. She also meets and starts to take care of a little two-year-old boy Miljan, who doesn't have any parents. While there, an older girl also gives Mimey a warning, about children vanishing in the night. And Mimey decides the only thing to do would be to escape, with Miljan. The evil supervisor, the yellow woman, makes sure that Mimey does not leave and in the struggle Miljan is taken away and Mimey sent to an orphanage. There she meets Storm, a troubled boy with his own dark and terrible secret. Together they plan to escape the orphanage and get away from the cruel and sadistic owner Liz.

Silver is a beautiful, large Maine Coon cat who remembers that in a previous life he was a white lion cub. He lives with several other cats who encourage him to tell them the story of his past life. He begins with memories from his childhood as a cub, when his dad, King, told him how all the lions had arrived at King Rock. King had been born with a mission in life, which was to travel to a place where he would find a very special white lioness with blue eyes. She was destined to become his mate and together they would fulfil an ancient African prophecy.

A young deep-sea diver ending his first Nigerian tour is kidnapped at gunpoint by militants at war with the oil multinationals. Held hostage in a remote swamp and in squalid conditions, he is tormented with death threats, mock executions, savage mosquitoes, the erratic gunfire of his drunken, drug-fuelled captors and the unpredictable conduct of their senior officers. Here, Philip Durdey gives a blistering day-by-day account of his incarceration at 'Camp Horrid'. To make the long, painful nights more bearable, he would close his eyes and recall events from his past, so the story is punctuated with these reflections. With brutal frankness, rich humour and an engaging self-deprecation, he describes an accident-prone boyhood, his recovery from heroin addiction and his adventurous introduction to life at sea. Unmistakably authentic and vastly entertaining, this book is an unconventional autobiography which is truly a delight to read.