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Books published by publisher BibleByte Books

  • By Ox Team to California: Crossing the Plains in 1860

    Lavinia Honeyman Porter

    eBook (BIG BYTE BOOKS, March 23, 2014)
    "...we had youth in our favor, and an indomitable will to succeed, and I have since learned by experience that a kind providence watches over fools and children."So begins Lavinia Honeyman Porter in her true tale about emigrating to the American west in 1860, a woman barely twenty, from a privileged background, with a husband hardly older and who was no more suited for wilderness adventures.It is to our great fortune that Porter's sister much later convinced her to write down her memories of that time. Only fifty copies were printed and bound in 1910 but some have survived.Every record like Porter's adds to our understanding of one of the greatest migrations in American history but this one in particular was written by a woman who could write. Her musical prose makes an already wonderful true story a joy to read.As she tells us, "Whoever had the temerity to propose turning their backs on civilized life and their faces toward the far-off Rocky mountains were supposed to be daring with a boldness bordering on recklessness."This was not a journey to be taken lightly. Many did not complete the journey. Many graves and abandoned goods were passed along the way. Family members left behind were filled with anxious wondering for months. Fifty years later, Lavinia stilled wept when thinking about the parting meeting with her beloved sister.As young as Lavinia was, she already had one son and discovered shortly before heading out across the prarie that she was again pregnant. Loneliness, objective danger, harsh weather, and more awaited them. This is the story of that journey.For the first time, this long out-of-print book is available in an affordable, well-formatted edition for e-readers and smartphones.Be sure to LOOK INSIDE or download a sample.
  • My Army Life and the Fort Phil Kearny Massacre

    Frances Courtney Carrington

    eBook (BIG BYTE BOOKS, Sept. 16, 2015)
    One of the two most important books about life at the frontier post of Fort Phil Kearny. At 21 in 1866, Fannie Grummond was the witness to and victim of the famous Fetterman Fight. Forces commanded by Red Cloud and Crazy Horse took the offensive against the encroachment on their lands of the Bozeman Trail. On December 21, 1866, 81 soldiers from Fort Phil Kearny were killed in a short battle, including Fannie's husband.This is a very personal and poignant account of life on the frontier for a woman from the east. She was tenderly cared for by Margaret Carrington, wife of the post commander, who wrote "AB-SA-RA-KA: Home of the Crows" about her life at Kearny. When Margaret Carrington died in 1870, correspondence began between Fannie and the widowed husband, Henry B. Carrington. They later married.Every memoir of the American West provides us with another view of the movement that changed the country forever.For the first time, this long out-of-print volume is available as an affordable, well-formatted book for e-readers and smartphones. Be sure to LOOK INSIDE by clicking the cover above or download a sample.
  • Meade's Headquarters 1863~1865

    Colonel Theodore Lyman, George R. Agassiz

    eBook (BIG BYTE BOOKS, April 23, 2014)
    You will be hard-pressed to find a memoir of the American Civil War that is richer in wonderful anecdotes about Grant, Meade, Sheridan, Sherman, and a host of other prominent leaders of the war.Harvard graduate Theodore Lyman was a wealthy man from birth but in 1863, he joined the staff of General Gordon Meade in the service of the Union. It is incredibly fortunate for history that he did because he became the chronicler of the Army of the Potomac.Few men could have brought the intelligence, keen observation, wit, and engaging narrative to the task of recording what he saw around him. This collection of letters were written to his wife, Mimi and so provides a very personal, unique look at the war.You'll see a side of Meade, Grant, Sheridan, Sherman, and others that you've never seen before."General Meade is in excellent spirits and cracks a great many jokes and tells stories."Ted Lyman was in the thick of every important action from the time he joined Meade. Lyman was a friend and cousin (by marriage) of Colonel Robert Gould Shaw, portrayed in the film, "Glory."In one letter he writes, "I saw Sherman, Grant, Meade, and Sheridan, all together. A thing to speak of in after years!"He also met and describes General George Custer among others.Lyman shook hands with Lee at his surrender and inquired after Lee's son, with whom Lyman had attended Harvard. After the war, Lyman continued his education, worked with famed scientist, Louis Agassiz, and became a member of the U.S. House of Representatives.For the first time, this long-out-of-print book is available as an affordable, well-formatted book for e-readers and smartphones.Be sure to LOOK INSIDE or download a sample.
  • Talks with T. R.:

    John Leary Jr

    eBook (BIG BYTE BOOKS, Jan. 11, 2014)
    Whatever you think of Teddy Roosevelt, he was one of America's most dynamic presidents. In this series of conversations recorded by Jack Leary, you'll see a side of Roosevelt you may not have seen before.Thoughtful, analytic, and outrageous, T.R. seldom fails to entertain and to hold his audience enthralled.On the topic of women in high office, T.R. simply said, "Why not?"John Joseph Leary, Jr. (1874 – 1944) was a 1920 Pulitzer Prize winning journalist who was fortunate to spend time with T.R. before his death.Politics, family, and war are featured among the rich collection of conversations here. T.R. even discusses his own psychology:“I suppose it is another manifestation of my general bloodthirsty, swashbuckling frame of mind, my fondness for the big stick and violence of all kinds. I want my country to be right; I hope she always will be right; but right or wrong, whatever she gets into I am going to be with her until she gets out. Then if there is any correcting to do, I’ll try and do my share. And I am not prepared to concede the possibility of error in that doctrine by agreeing to debate it with anybody."This intimate view of President Roosevelt will keep you engaged from cover to cover. Buy it today.
  • On the Trail of Crazy Horse

    John Frederick Finerty

    eBook (BIG BYTE BOOKS, March 27, 2015)
    One of the premier classics on the American Indian Wars, originally published in 1890 as "War Path and Bivouac."John Frederick Finerty was a famous journalist for the Chicago "Times" who went into the field to report on the U.S. government's efforts to force Native Americans onto reservations.In 1876, Finerty was with General George Crook's forces at the Battle of the Rosebud. Part of Crook's aim was to connect with George Armstrong Custer's 7th Cavalry at the Little Bighorn. It never happened and Custer was killed along with five companies of his regiment by Crazy Horse, Gall, Sitting Bull, Rain-in-the-Face and other leaders.A teenage refugee from the Irish revolutionary movement, Finerty immigrated to the U.S. in 1864 and signed up to fight in the Civil War. By 1870 he was writing for newspapers, eventually making a national name for himself. He repeatedly went to the West to cover the Indian Wars and wrote with great intelligence, humor, and compassion about what he saw.Always self-deprecating and sardonic, he nevertheless had this to say to would-be Western journalists:“Let no easy-going journalist suppose that an Indian campaign is a picnic. If he goes out on such business he must go prepared to ride his forty or fifty miles a day, go sometimes on half rations, sleep on the ground with small covering, roast, sweat, freeze, and make the acquaintance of such vermin or reptiles as may flourish in the vicinity of his couch; and, finally, be ready to fight Sitting Bull or Satan when the trouble begins, for God and the United States hate non-combatants.”His conclusions about the Indian War included this:"White greed is not by any means satisfied, even though the fairest portion of the Sioux reservations have been given up to settlement...we of the Caucasian race must confess, however reluctantly, that even the red Indian has some rights on the soil which bore him that the whites are bound to respect."You'll have a hard time putting this one down. Expanded and heavily annotated with information about events and people.Every memoir of the Old West provides us with another view of an era that changed America forever.For the first time, this long out-of-print volume is available as an affordable, well-formatted book for e-readers and smartphones. Be sure to LOOK INSIDE by clicking the cover above or download a sample.
  • My Baseball Diary

    James T. Farrell

    eBook (BIG BYTE BOOKS, March 12, 2014)
    If you love the game of baseball, this book is a must read. If you're trying to understand the game, no more eloquent writer will take you by the hand. James Thomas Farrell’s "Studs Lonigan" books are considered among the best of the 20th century. Like ESPN’s 30 for 30 documentary series, Farrell’s essays on baseball make great reading for anyone who loves great writing.Farrell steps away from fiction in this out-of-print gem. Babe Ruth, Gehrig, Cobb and other baseball greats are here. Farrell saw them all and met many of them as a writer .Baseball is a game of statistics and poetry. Farrell purely and eloquently wrote about his love of the game.This book is an important piece of baseball history and an American sports writing classic. It's available for the first time as an affordable, well-formatted book for e-readers and smart phones.Be sure to LOOK INSIDE or download a sample.
  • The Diary of Grace Barclay: 1776-1783:

    Grace Barclay, Sidney Barclay

    eBook (BIG BYTE BOOKS, March 17, 2014)
    "PLUNDER, rapine, and violence still go on...It has indeed been at times almost beyond endurance."With her husband away at war, Grace Barclay strives to carry on day-to-day, raising children, caring for a household, and keeping a journal for her husband to read when he gets home. Neighbors are robbed and depredations committed on citizens by British soldiers.One of the most enthralling diaries from America's War of Independence is now available as an affordable, well-formatted book for e-readers and smartphones.From 1875-1883, American colonists fought for independence from their mother country. This is the true story of ordinary citizens during the occupation of Long Island by the British.A wounded British officer is housed in Grace's care against her will. Yet she comes to admire and like the man, and he eventually renounced the war his country has brought to the colonies.She writes of the terrible void and anxiety caused by her husband's absence, and the family members who feel he is fighting for the wrong side. Even her own father cannot forsake his feelings for his homeland of England. All the while, Grace records news of victories and defeats, her admiration for George Washington, and so much more.The death of Nathan Hale, the betrayal of Benedict Arnold, and the execution of Major Andre are all among her jottings.You'll never think about the colonial period in quite the same way after reading GRACE BARCLAY'S DIARY.Be sure to LOOK INSIDE or download a sample.
  • The Story of the Outlaw: A Study of the Western Desperado

    Emerson Hough

    eBook (BIG BYTE BOOKS, July 30, 2016)
    In more than 110 years, Emerson Hough's classic work on the desperadoes of the Wild West has never lost its power to excite the reader. Superbly written and researched, this work set the bar for true stories of the west.A friend of Pat Garrett, the sheriff who killed Billy the Kid, Hough spent years in the west and wrote extensively about the frontier. He was also an editor for George Bird Grinnell's "Field and Stream" magazine.From the famous to the not-so-famous, this book is filled with gritty, graphic, and outrageous true tales of a world long gone.This long out-of-print volume is available as an affordable, well-formatted book for e-readers and smartphones. Be sure to LOOK INSIDE by clicking the cover above or download a sample.
  • AB-SA-RA-KA: Home of the Crows

    Margaret Irvin Carrington

    eBook (BIG BYTE BOOKS, March 18, 2014)
    Called "a highly readable memoir" by a major western historian and cited by historians for over a century.When General Henry B. Carrington was sent west to build and staff Fort Phil Kearney, his wife Margaret and their sons were along. Under the command of Civil War hero, General William T. Sherman, Margaret followed Sherman's encouragement to wives to document their experiences of territory and Native American life.During their journey and their stay in Indian territory, Margaret writes of events big and small, including the Fetterman Massacre. Her husband was nearly brought up on charges but Sherman intervened and called for an investigation, which cleared Carrington.These accounts by officer's wives, while taking a point of view that today we understand as outdated, nevertheless contribute a valuable resource to the history of westward expansion and pioneer women of the United States.For the first time, this long out-of-print volume is available as an affordable, well-formatted book for e-readers and smartphones. Be sure to LOOK INSIDE by clicking the cover above or download a sample.This edition is annotated with updated information.
  • Recollections of Full Years

    Helen Herron Taft

    eBook (BIG BYTE BOOKS, Feb. 19, 2014)
    As ambitious as her husband, William Howard Taft, Helen Herron may be the most underrated of all our First Ladies. She encouraged Taft in all his political accomplishments and he may not have become president without her. He preferred the judiciary and eventually became Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.Helen (Nellie) Taft was the first wife of a president to ride down Pennsylvania Avenue with her husband on inauguration day and the only woman who was wife of both a president and a chief justice. She is best known for working with the wife of the Japanese Ambassador to import and plant more than 3,000 cherry trees around the Washington Tidal Basin.Witty, intelligent, open-minded, and curious about the world, she is even today beloved in the Philippines, where her husband served as head of the civil government in 1900. She and her husband courted criticism for including Filipinos in social affairs.In this volume, available for the first time for e-readers, she recounts her full life as partner to U.S. President William Howard Taft.Be sure to LOOK INSIDE or download a sample.
  • Life in Alaska: 1879-1883

    Caroline Willard

    eBook (BIG BYTE BOOKS, June 10, 2015)
    In 1879, newly-married Carrie Willard and her husband set off for tiny Haines, Alaska. They went as missionaries but the tale Carrie tells through letters to home are a fascinating look into early Alaska. Even today, Haines is a small place. In the four years the Willards spent there, it was not an easy place to survive.For the first time, this long out-of-print volume is available as an affordable, well-formatted book for e-readers and smartphones. Be sure to LOOK INSIDE by clicking the cover above or download a sample.
  • A Psychic Autobiography

    Amanda T. Jones

    eBook (BIG BYTE BOOKS, June 22, 2015)
    In the years during and after the American Civil War, millions of people flocked to the lure of spiritualism. Mystics, psychics, astrologers,and others were in vogue in the best circles. Even Mary Lincoln held seances seeking contact with her dead son.Among those at the forefront of this movement was Amanda Jones. But this was not just anyone with a casual curiosity. She was an inventor with patents to her name and a successful businesswoman.She dedicated this book to William James, who had encouraged her to write it. James is known today as the Father of Modern Pschology, and was the brother of famous writer Henry James.In this volume she explains the reasoning behind her belief in spiritualism, her own psychic abilities, and discusses her invention of a better method of canning. Overall she wrote a valuable record of a movement that for a time possessed the imaginations of millions.For the first time, this long out-of-print volume is available as an affordable, well-formatted book for e-readers and smartphones. Be sure to LOOK INSIDE by clicking the cover above or download a sample.