Books in Mini Tales Series series

Stephen E. Ambrose’s iconic New York Times bestseller about the ordinary men who became the World War II’s most extraordinary soldiers: Easy Company, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division, US Army.They came together, citizen soldiers, in the summer of 1942, drawn to Airborne by the $50 monthly bonus and a desire to be better than the other guy. And at its peak—in Holland and the Ardennes—Easy Company was as good a rifle company as any in the world.From the rigorous training in Georgia in 1942 to the disbanding in 1945, Stephen E. Ambrose tells the story of this remarkable company. In combat, the reward for a job well done is the next tough assignment, and as they advanced through Europe, the men of Easy kept getting the tough assignments.They parachuted into France early D-Day morning and knocked out a battery of four 105 mm cannon looking down Utah Beach; they parachuted into Holland during the Arnhem campaign; they were the Battered Bastards of the Bastion of Bastogne, brought in to hold the line, although surrounded, in the Battle of the Bulge; and then they spearheaded the counteroffensive. Finally, they captured Hitler's Bavarian outpost, his Eagle's Nest at Berchtesgaden.They were rough-and-ready guys, battered by the Depression, mistrustful and suspicious. They drank too much French wine, looted too many German cameras and watches, and fought too often with other GIs. But in training and combat they learned selflessness and found the closest brotherhood they ever knew. They discovered that in war, men who loved life would give their lives for them. This is the story of the men who fought, of the martinet they hated who trained them well, and of the captain they loved who led them. E Company was a company of men who went hungry, froze, and died for each other, a company that took 150 percent casualties, a company where the Purple Heart was not a medal—it was a badge of office.

From Publishers Weekly McCaffrey continues to develop her future world in which psionic Talents, once feared and despised, are by now necessary to the comfort and conduct of society. Following the events in To Ride, Pegasus and set a generation or so before The Rowan , this era finds mankind not yet having settled planets outside the solar system. Even with officially mandated birth control, the world teems with too many people. Essential to the construction of a space station being built to serve as springboard to the stars are the services of the Talents--particularly the telekinetics, who can move objects by mental power. Telepath Rhyssa Owen, a top official of the Center for Parapsychic Talents, must contend with the station's construction manager, who treats Talents brutally and otherwise discourages them from working for her. Meanwhile two youngsters are found to be unusually Talented: Peter Reidinger overcomes paralysis to develop the first gestalt with electrical generators (this becomes the basis for future space travel), while Tirlap, an illegal child from the vertical slums, facilitates communication among a wide variety of cultures. Meanwhile, kidnappers prey on children for pederastic pursuits and for spare parts. McCaffrey's world of the Talented is as vivid as that of Pern and its dragons.

NOW AN ASTOUNDING MINISERIES FROM HBO. Easy Company, 506th Airborne Division, U.S. Army, was as good a rifle company as any in the world. From their rigorous training in Georgia in 1942 to D-Day and victory. Ambrose tells the story of this remarkable company, which kept getting the tough assignment. Easy Company was responsible for everything from parachuting into France early D-Day morning to the capture of Hitler's Eagle's Nest at Berchtesgaden. Band of Brothers is the account of the men of this remarkable unit who fought, went hungry, froze, and died, a company that took 150 percent casualties and considered the Purple Heart a badge of office. Drawing on hours of interviews with survivors as well as the soldiers' journals and letters. Stephen Ambrose tells the stories -- often in the men's own words -- of these American heroes.

When kids open the heavy board covers of this miniature portfolio they'll find a small, information-packed, spiral-bound instruction book attached to its inside front cover and a pad of watercolor paper fastened to the back cover. The instruction book demonstrates the basics of watercolor painting. Attached to the portfolio's inner spine is a box of supplies for making watercolor pictures: watercolor cakes, brushes, and a receptacle for holding water. Here's a great take-along activity kit to keep children creatively occupied on car trips or for quiet-time fun.