Books published by publisher Merriam Press

IT WAS THE EARLY 1960s. The place, a far-off corner of the Himalayas long fabled in Tibetan tradition to be hiding a valley of immortality among its peaks and glaciers—a real-life Shangri-La. They waited generations for the prophesied lama to come, the one with the secret knowledge of how to ‘open’ the Hidden Land. Then, one day, he came. His name was Tulshuk Lingpa. THIS BOOK TELLS THE TRUE STORY of this charismatic visionary lama and his remarkable expedition. Against the wishes of the kings of both Sikkim and Nepal, he and over three hundred followers ventured up the snowy slopes of the third highest mountain of the planet. Their aim: to open a crack in the very fabric of reality and go to a land we would all wish to inhabit if it were only there—a land of peace and concord. FORTY YEARS LATER, the author spends over five years tracking down the surviving members of this extraordinary expedition. He deftly weaves their stories together with humor, wisdom, and scholarly research into Tibetan traditions of Hidden Lands, all the while reflecting on what this means for the rest of us.“Like no other book I have ever read…a riveting tale of adventure…honest to the real spirit of Tibet…both unique and intriguing…an engrossing read. Highly recommended.”Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo, from the ForewordFrom Tulshuk Lingpa’s Guidebook to the Hidden Land:“Don’t listen to anybody. Decide by yourself and practice madness. Develop courage for the benefit of all sentient beings. Then you will automatically be free from the knot of attachment. Then you will continually have the confidence of fearlessness and you can then try to open the Great Door of the Hidden Place.”WHAT WOULD HAVE HAPPENED...If Lewis Carroll had proclaimed the Reality of Alice’s Wonderland?What if he had gathered a Following & launched an Expedition?

Merriam Press World War 2 History Series. First eBook Edition 2017. Halsey’s Fast Carrier Task Force was the ultimate naval armada during WWII. To protect the carriers squadrons of destroyers were placed in harm’s way on the outer flanks of the formation. USS Haynsworth DD700 was one of 9 sister destroyers that formed Squadron 62. They fought in engagements in the South China Sea, Iwo Jima, Tokyo, and Okinawa. They battled Japanese warships, submarines, torpedoes, mines, and planes. On Apr 6, 1945, Kikusui No.1 was initiated, the largest kamikaze attack of WWII. The Haynsworth was the first warship struck. For the Fifth Fleet, it was a fight for survival against nearly 700 enemy planes in an epic battle that spanned 30 hours. Phalanx Against the Divine Wind contains possibly the last first-hand accounts of kamikaze attacks against destroyers. It is a riveting account of young sailors and their warships’ struggle for survival during their intense battles against the Japanese in WWII. 292 photos/illus, 7 maps.

Merriam Press World War 2 History SeriesIt was the only barrage balloon training facility in the U.S. in World War II, so the soldiers who were there had an experience unlike any other soldiers anywhere. The Camp also became engrained in the lives of Henry Countians — most every home in Paris, Tennessee, had a soldier and his family living with them (including the author’s) and the camp is credited with modernizing Paris and the county. Most importantly, however, Camp Tyson was the home of the all-black 320th Barrage Balloon Battalion, which was the first battalion to rush onto the beaches on D-Day. They were trained for that battle at Camp Tyson and their accomplishments have been largely unheralded. Additionally, both Italian and German prisoners of war were held there during and after the war. The author was able to track down several of the black soldiers who were trained there and were at D-Day, and also has first-person accounts from white soldiers who were at the camp, as well as former soldiers who remember the German and Italian prisoners. Much of the book is first-person interviews, as well as documents from the Library of Congress and other government sources that have never been published before. The author, Shannon McFarlin, now lives in the family homeplace in Paris, Tennessee. She grew up listening to stories told about Camp Tyson from her mother, grandmother and great-grandmother and was inspired to write about the Camp from an early age. She has worked as a news reporter for most of her working life, for newspapers in Ohio and Tennessee, and is currently the News Director for a large West Tennessee radio station, WENK/WTPR, and its website and writes for Paris! magazine. She has a master’s degree in public history and a bachelor’s degree in history from Murray State University in Murray, Kentucky, and also studied history at Bowling Green State University. She was awarded first place in Investigative Journalism in 1981 by the Ohio Associated Press and was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize that same year. Contents Chapter 1: Eddie Finds A New Home Chapter 2: Motors Roared, Hammers Thudded And Saws Swished Chapter 3: They Just Came Out And Destroyed Our Farms, Our Barns, Our House" Chapter 4: "They Didn’t Feel Like Strangers" Chapter 5: Flying Elephants In The Sky Chapter 6: "It Just Exploded" Chapter 7: Shot Down Over Lake Erie Chapter 8: Good Times For Entrepreneurs Chapter 9: "They Would Throw Hands of Candy And Gum At Us As They Marched By" Chapter 10: "We Reached Out To Those Boys As If They Were Ours" Chapter 11: "War Is Hell, But Pretty Entertaining, Too" Chapter 12: "The Day Jeanette MacDonald Came To Town" Chapter 13: Death In An Army Camp Chapter 14: "The Deuces": The African-American Experience Chapter 15: "We Were There. We Did Our Part" Chapter 16: Working There Was An Education In Itself Chapter 17: A Close Encounter Of A General Kind Chapter 18: "This Is Your Life, Pearl Routon" Chapter 19: 4,000 Hamburgers To Go Chapter 20: "Paris Has Nowhere To Go But Up, So I'm Staying Right Here" Chapter 21: Hospitality, Southern Style Chapter 22: Haul 'Er Down Chapter 23: From Surplus To POW Camp Chapter 24: Didn't You Hear? The War Is Over! Chapter 25: "It Was Considered Sinful" Chapter 26: "Don't Come Back From Washington Without A Signed Deed" Chapter 27: Soldiers Tell Their Stories Chapter 28: "Hi There, Soldier!" Chapter 29: Keepers Of The Flame 40 photos footnotes

Merriam Press Children No. 1 First Edition, 2015 A children's counting book based on the "Twelve Days of Christmas" song, "On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, a Pug snoring by a Pear Tree..." A variety of dogs are amusingly illustrated - Pug, Basset Hound, French Bulldog, Cocker Spaniel, Golden Retriever, Scottie, Setter, Lab, Dalmation, Dachshund, Boxer, and puppies. The colorful illustrations were especially commissioned for this work. Your child, and the child in you, will thoroughly enjoy this wonderful variation on a Christmas classic. Part of the proceeds from this book go to Tony LaRussa's Animal Rescue Foundation, ARF!

"This book is a tour de force . a chronicle of the triumph of the human spirit over extreme adversity. It is a story of hope. It is the story of a man I loved and would have taken a bullet for." --Johnny Depp ***An electrified young man, with eyes wild and a clenched fist, bursts out of the Old Bailey and declares his innocence to the world. Gerry Conlon has just won his appeal for the 1974 Guildford pub bombing. After fifteen years in prison, freedom beckons. Or does it? Following his release, Conlon received close to one million pounds from government compensation, movie and book deals; he ran in the same circles as Johnny Depp, Daniel Day-Lewis, and Shane MacGowan. Conlon seemed to have it all. Yet within five years he was hooked on crack cocaine and eating out of bins in the backstreets of London. Beyond the elation of his release was the awful descent into addiction, isolation and self-loathing. But this is a book about the resilience of the human spirit. What emerges from the darkness and the addiction is Gerry Conlon the pacifist; the man who came to be recognised around the world as a campaigner against miscarriages of justice. In the Name of the Son also reveals damning new evidence of statement tampering by the authorities which would've cleared Conlon at the initial trial. Life-long friend, Richard O'Rawe, has written a powerful and candid story of Gerry Conlon's extraordinary life following his years of brutal incarceration at the hands of the British justice system. [Subject: Irish Studies, British Studies, Biography, History, Criminal Justice]

Merriam Press World War 2 History Series First Edition 2017 Admiral William Halsey’s Fast Carrier Task Force was the ultimate naval armada during World War II. To protect the carriers from kamikazes, squadrons of destroyers were placed in harm’s way on the outer flanks of the formation. The USS Haynsworth DD 700 was one of the nine sister destroyers that formed Squadron 62 in 1944. Her warrior-captain and his twenty-five year old executive officer led a mostly teenage crew through bold engagements in the South China Sea, Iwo Jima, Tokyo, and Okinawa. The destroyers battled Japanese warships, submarines, torpedoes, mines, and planes. On the road to victory in the Pacific, the young crew matured from boys to men as they endured typhoons, took prisoners on the high seas, and rescued pilots. But, on April 6, 1945, Kikusui No.1 was initiated, the largest kamikaze attack of World War II. After months of protecting the aircraft carriers from danger, the USS Haynsworth found itself in the crosshairs when it was the first warship struck. For the Haynsworth and the Fifth Fleet, it was a fight for survival against nearly seven hundred enemy planes in an epic battle that spanned thirty hours. The crew of the USS Haynsworth carried the weight of the attack through their lifetimes. For one young radioman, Jack McAllister, the attack defined his life in unexpected ways. Phalanx Against the Divine Wind contains possibly the last first-hand accounts of kamikaze attacks against destroyers. It is a riveting account of young sailors and their warships’ struggle for survival during their intense battles against the Japanese in World War II. Contents Foreword: Robert G. Walker, Cdr., USN Part I: THE WAR 1941-1944: The Boy; Battleship; Sunday, December 7th; Attack!; Pacific Island Hopping Campaign; Shangri-La: The Doolittle Raid; Halt: The Battle of the Coral Sea; Midway; Guadalcanal Part II: A CREW IS FORMED: Boot; Destroyer Training: Norfolk, Virginia; Battle of the Philippine Sea: Turkey Shoot; USS Haynsworth DD-700; Sea Trials; Destroyers and Goliath: Battle off Samar Island; Plankowners: First Mission; Storm Winds Gather; Pacific Bound; Kamikaze: Divine Wind; Destination Pearl Harbor; Warrior Seaman; Departure; Ulithi Bound Part III: FAST CARRIER TASK FORCE 38: Joining the Pacific Fleet; Task Force 38: Halsey’s Hammer; 1945; Rescue at Sea; “You will not get our alive”: The South China Sea; Replenishment at Sea; Storm: Nature’s Hammer Part IV: FAST CARRIER TASK FORCE 58: Prepare for Battle; Operation JAMBOREE: Attacks Against Japan; Target: Tokyo; Marine Rescue; Iwo Jima; “The Destroyers Were Lifesavers”; Emergency at Sea; Reprieve Part V: OKINAWA: Operation ICEBERG; 18 March 1945: Day 1 Against the Home Islands; “Six planes are down”; 19 March: Day 2 Against the Home Islands; Target: Kure; 20 March: Task Force 58; 21 March: A New Threat Emerges; Okinawa Gunto; Raid!; Easter Week; Leaving Pearl; Lucky Day: Invasion of Okinawa; Operation TEN-GO: Kikusui No.1 Part VI: DIVINE WIND STORM: 6 April 1945; 7 April 1945: The Storm Continues; 8 April 1945: Task Group 58.3; En route to Ulithi Aftermath Epilogue APPENDICES The Crew The Saved Post Script Chapter Notes Glossary Task Group 38.2 Organization December 1944 Task Group 58.3 Organization February 1945 Task Group 58.3 Organization March 1945 Ships Sunk or Damaged by Kamikazes 6-7 April 1945 Casualties Pilot and Crew Rescues Crew Letter: Clifford Heob Muster Roll 1944-45 Destroyer Squadron 62 Commanders Destroyer Squadron 62 World War II Battle Stars Bibliography: Interviews and Correspondence; Personal Journals, Letters and Published Accounts; Published Histories and Other References; Official War Diaries, Muster Rolls, and Action Reports Index 292 photos and illustrations 7 maps

Merriam Press World War 2 History No. 5 First Edition 2016 Most scholarship on the American role in the European Theater of Operations (ETO) during World War II has addressed the “large” issues of strategy, campaign outcomes, command leadership, and logistical support. Other, generally more recent research efforts have provided insights into the experiences of the individual combatants. In this publication Karsten offers a better grasp of these latter efforts, utilizing evidence that has been underutilized. What he asks in this unique work is whether the media (journalists, broadcasters, combat photographers, cartoonists and artists) in the ETO during World War II significantly improved our understanding of the world of the American infantryman there. “Thoughtful, comprehensive, and provocative. Peter Karsten's research ranges from the world of the combat infantryman to the world of the war correspondent. He is particularly illuminating where those worlds collide.” –Rick Atkinson, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of the trilogy: The Army at Dawn: The War in North Africa, 1942-43; The Day of Battle: The War in Sicily and Italy, and The Guns at Last Light: The War in Western Europe, 1943-45 “Peter Karsten has written a long overdue study of GI infantrymen's attitudes in the war against Germany, matching frontline reporting with the U.S. Army's survey research. Bill Mauldin and Ernie Pyle were the most reliable observers of GI hardships and complaints about the Army. Karsten matches Mauldin's cartoons with the Research Bureau polling with convincing effect.” –Allan R. Millett, co-author, A War to Be Won: Fighting the Second World War “As Normandy veteran Paul Fussell once lamented, World War II has been Disneyfied and sanitized beyond recognition. Peter Karsten brings all his analytic skills to this analysis of the American GI. By getting as close to the soldiers themselves, Karsten gives us new insights into what they thought and how they reacted to the monumental events happening around them. This book will help us to better understand the real men rather than the Disney version. Karsten’s work will be of interest to scholars of the war as well as those interested in the biggest questions of war, soldiers, and the societies they serve." –Michael S. Neiberg, author of The Blood of Free Men: The Liberation of Paris, 1944