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Blood at the Root (Blood at the Root #1)
by LaDarrion WilliamsINSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A COSMOPOLITAN BEST YOUNG ADULT BOOK OF THE YEARA teenager on the run from his past finds the family he never knew existed and the community he never knew he needed at an HBCU for the young, Black, and magical. Enroll in the debut of a fresh fantasy series unlike anything you've seen before. &“Brings magical living to an HBCU in an unforgettable young adult adventure.&”—PeopleTen years ago, Malik's life changed forever the night his mother mysteriously vanished and he discovered he had uncontrollable powers. Since then, he has kept his abilities hidden, looking out for himself and his younger foster brother, Taye. Now, at 17, Malik is finally ready to start a new life for both of them, far from the trauma of his past. However, a daring act to rescue Taye reveals an unexpected connection with his long-lost grandmother: a legendary conjurer with ties to a hidden magical university that Malik&’s mother attended.At Caiman University, Malik&’s eyes are opened to a future he never could have envisioned for himself—one that includes the reappearance of his first love, Alexis. His search for answers about his heritage, his powers, and what really happened to his mother exposes the cracks in their magical community as it faces a reawakened evil dating back to the Haitian Revolution. Together with Alexis, Malik discovers a lot beneath the surface at Caiman: feuding covens and magical politics, forbidden knowledge and buried mysteries. In a wholly unique saga of family, history and community, Malik must embrace his legacy to save what's left of his old family as well as his new one. Exploring the roots and secrets that connect us in an unforgettable contemporary setting, this heart-pounding fantasy series opener is a rich tapestry of atmosphere, intrigue, and emotion.
Blood for Blood (Wolf by Wolf #2)
by Ryan Graudin"Wild and gorgeous, vivid and consuming. I loved it! I can't wait for the sequel."--Laini Taylor, New York Times bestselling author of the Daughter of Smoke & Bone trilogy, on Wolf by WolfThe action-packed, thrilling sequel to Ryan Graudin's Wolf by Wolf.There would be blood.Blood for blood.Blood to pay.An entire world of it.For the resistance in 1950s Germany, the war may be over, but the fight has just begun.Death camp survivor Yael, who has the power to skinshift, is on the run: the world has just seen her shoot and kill Hitler. But the truth of what happened is far more complicated, and its consequences are deadly. Yael and her unlikely comrades dive into enemy territory to try to turn the tide against the New Order, and there is no alternative but to see their mission through to the end, whatever the cost.But dark secrets reveal dark truths, and one question hangs over them all: how far can you go for the ones you love?This gripping, thought-provoking sequel to Wolf by Wolf will grab readers by the throat with its cinematic writing, fast-paced action, and relentless twists.
Blood of Troy (Daughter of Sparta #2)
by Claire AndrewsThe sequel to Daughter of Sparta thrusts warrior Daphne and her love interest, the Olympian god Apollo, into the middle of the Trojan War in this epic YA fantasy reimagining of Greek mythology. A year after saving the powers of Olympus by defeating Nyx, the Goddess of Darkness, Daphne is haunted by still-looming threats, her complicated feelings for the god Apollo, and the promise she made to the Olympian gods that she would help them again when they called upon her. When their command finally comes, it is deceptively simple: secure herself a spot as one of Queen Helen&’s guards. A war is coming, and all of Sparta must be prepared. In the midst of a treaty summit among the monarchs of Greece, Daphne and Helen uncover a plot of betrayal—and soon, a battle begins that leads to all-out war. As the kingdoms of Greece clash on the shores of Troy and the gods choose sides, Daphne must use her wits, her training, and her precarious relationship with Apollo to find a way to keep her queen safe, stop the war, and uncover the true reason the gods led her to Troy. But the gods are keeping more than one secret, and Daphne will be forced to decide how far she is willing to go to save those she loves—and whose side she&’s on in a war that is prophesized to be the downfall of her people. Claire M. Andrews continues to turn Greek mythology on its head in this thrilling sequel that centers a female protagonist in a land ruled by powerful men and gods alike, filled with exhilarating action, unforgettable romance, and a destiny that could destroy the world. Preorder the jaw-dropping conclusion, Storm of Olympus, now!
Blood on Steel: Chicago Steelworkers and the Strike of 1937 (Witness to History)
by Michael DennisA pivotal moment in the history of the movement for working-class democracy, the "Memorial Day Massacre" vividly captured the conflicting ideals of workers’ rights and the sanctity of private property.On Memorial Day 1937, thousands of steelworkers, middle-class supporters, and working-class activists gathered at Sam's Place on the Southeast Side of Chicago to protest Republic Steel’s virulent opposition to union recognition and collective bargaining. By the end of the day, ten marchers had been mortally wounded and more than one hundred badly injured, victims of a terrifying police riot. Sam's Place, the headquarters for the steelworkers, was transformed into a bloody and frantic triage unit for treating heads split open by police batons, flesh torn by bullets, and limbs mangled badly enough to require amputation. While no one doubts the importance of the Memorial Day Massacre, Michael Dennis identifies it as a focal point in the larger effort to revitalize American equality during the New Deal. In Blood on Steel, Dennis shows how the incident—captured on film by Paramount newsreels—validated the claims of labor activists and catalyzed public opinion in their favor. In the aftermath of the massacre, Senate hearings laid bare patterns of anti-union aggression among management, ranging from blacklists to harassment and vigilante violence. Companies were determined to subvert the right to form a union, which Congress had finally recognized in 1935. Only in the following year would Congress pass the Fair Labor Standards Act, which established a minimum wage and a maximum work week, outlawed child labor, and regulated hazardous work. Like the Wagner Act that protected collective bargaining, this law aimed to protect workers who had suffered the worst of what the Great Depression had inflicted. Dennis‘s wide-angle perspective reveals the Memorial Day Massacre as not simply another bloody incident in the long story of labor-management tension in American history but as an illustration of the broad-based movement for social democracy which developed in the New Deal era.
Bloodmarked (The Legendborn Cycle #2)
by Tracy DeonnAn instant #1 New York Times bestseller! &“Deonn expertly weaves together a universe that both shines a light on the pervasive nature of racism and also harnesses the complexity of Black identity within this space. Deonn writes so much more than simple fantasies or Arthurian retellings.&” —Booklist (starred review) The &“worthy successor to an explosive debut&” (Kirkus Reviews)—the New York Times bestselling and award-winning Legendborn—perfect for fans of Cassandra Clare and Margaret Rogerson!The shadows have risen, and the line is law. All Bree wanted was to uncover the truth behind her mother&’s death. So she infiltrated the Legendborn Order, a secret society descended from King Arthur&’s knights—only to discover her own ancestral power. Now, Bree has become someone new: A Medium. A Bloodcrafter. A Scion. But the ancient war between demons and the Order is rising to a deadly peak. And Nick, the Legendborn boy Bree fell in love with, has been kidnapped. Bree wants to fight, but the Regents who rule the Order won&’t let her. To them, she is an unknown girl with unheard-of power, and as the living anchor for the spell that preserves the Legendborn cycle, she must be protected. When the Regents reveal they will do whatever it takes to hide the war, Bree and her friends must go on the run to rescue Nick themselves. But enemies are everywhere, Bree&’s powers are unpredictable and dangerous, and she can&’t escape her growing attraction to Selwyn, the mage sworn to protect Nick until death. If Bree has any hope of saving herself and the people she loves, she must learn to control her powers from the ancestors who wielded them first—without losing herself in the process.
Bloodshed at Little Bighorn: Sitting Bull, Custer, and the Destinies of Nations (Witness to History)
by Tim LehmanWinner, 2011 High Plains Book Award, NonfictionCommonly known as Custer's Last Stand, the Battle of Little Bighorn may be the best recognized violent conflict between the indigenous peoples of North America and the government of the United States. Incorporating the voices of Native Americans, soldiers, scouts, and women, Tim Lehman's concise, compelling narrative will forever change the way we think about this familiar event in American history.On June 25, 1876, General George Armstrong Custer led the United States Army's Seventh Cavalry in an attack on a massive encampment of Sioux and Cheyenne Indians on the bank of the Little Bighorn River. What was supposed to be a large-scale military operation to force U.S. sovereignty over the tribes instead turned into a quick, brutal rout of the attackers when Custer's troops fell upon the Indians ahead of the main infantry force. By the end of the fight, the Sioux and Cheyenne had killed Custer and 210 of his men. The victory fueled hopes of freedom and encouraged further resistance among the Native Americans. For the U.S. military, the lost battle prompted a series of vicious retaliatory strikes that ultimately forced the Sioux and Cheyenne into submission and the long nightmare of reservation life.This briskly paced, vivid account puts the battle's details and characters into a rich historical context. Grounded in the most recent research, attentive to Native American perspectives, and featuring a colorful cast of characters, Bloodshed at Little Bighorn elucidates the key lessons of the conflict and draws out the less visible ones. This may not be the last book you read on Little Bighorn, but it should be the first.
Blue Fin
by Robert Ingpen Colin ThieleAn Australian children's classic.Everyone in Port Lincoln thinks Snook Pascoe is a loser. People joke about his clumsiness; his teacher ridicules him and even his father, skipper of the tuna boat Blue Fin, is convinced that Snook will never amount to anything. After all, tuna fishing is a hard life for `real men?.When Snook is allowed, for once, to sail on Blue Fin he faces a terrifying disaster. A waterspout engulfs the ship, the deck is swept clean, the radio and rudder are wrecked, the engine is disabled, the crew is lost overboard and Snook?s father lies unconscious down below. Snook is on his own, far out to sea?COLIN THIELE, AC, was one of Australia?s most distinguished and popular writers for children. Colin's books have won numerous Australian and international awards and have been made into many classic films, TV series, plays and picture books. His bestsellers include the multi-award-winning STORM BOY.
Blue Lily, Lily Blue (The Raven Cycle #3)
by Maggie StiefvaterThe third installment in the mesmerizing series from the irrepressible, #1 NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author Maggie Stiefvater.Blue Sargent has found things. For the first time in her life, she has friends she can trust, a group to which she can belong. The Raven Boys have taken her in as one of their own. Their problems have become hers, and her problems have become theirs.The trick with found things, though, is how easily they can be lost.Friends can betray.Mothers can disappear.Visions can mislead.Certainties can unravel.In a starred review, THE BULLETIN called THE DREAM THIEVES, the previous book in The Raven Cycle, "a complex web of magical intrigue and heart-stopping action." Now, with BLUE LILY, LILY BLUE, the web becomes even more complex, snaring readers at every turn.
Blue Remembered Earth (Poseidon's Children Ser. #1)
by Alastair ReynoldsBLUE REMEMBERED EARTH is the first volume in a monumental trilogy tracing the Akinya family across more than ten thousand years of future history ... out beyond the solar system, into interstellar space and the dawn of galactic society.One hundred and fifty years from now, in a world where Africa is the dominant technological and economic power, and where crime, war, disease and poverty have been banished to history, Geoffrey Akinya wants only one thing: to be left in peace, so that he can continue his studies into the elephants of the Amboseli basin.But Geoffrey's family, the vast Akinya business empire, has other plans. After the death of Eunice, Geoffrey's grandmother, erstwhile space explorer and entrepreneur, something awkward has come to light on the Moon, and Geoffrey is tasked - well, blackmailed, really - to go up there and make sure the family's name stays suitably unblemished. But little does Geoffrey realise - or anyone else in the family, for that matter - what he's about to unravel.Eunice's ashes have already have been scattered in sight of Kilimanjaro. But the secrets she died with are about to come back out into the open, and they could change everything.Or shatter this near-utopia into shards ...
Boat of Dreams
by Rogério CoelhoSelected for the 2018 Bank Street College of Education Best Children’s Books of the Year 2017 NYPL Best Books for Kids List *2017 IPPY Independent Publishers Gold Medalist* *Starred Review School Library Journal* *Starred Review- Booklist**Brazil's 2015 Jabuti Award for best children's illustration* How does a fastidious old man with bowler, umbrella, suspenders, and a Salvador Dali mustache come to live on a deserted island? How does a boy come to live alone in an apparently deserted city? Are they separated by distance or by time? Does the man dream the boy? Does the boy dream the man? Is a blank paper in a floating bottle an invitation to imagine our futures? Is the man’s flying boat an encouragement to the boy to dream? Are the man and the boy the same person—the boy dwelling in the man’s memory? Is a message in a bottle the earthbound dreams of the elderly? Is a flying boat the unconstrained dreams of the young? This wordless, many-layered 80-page picture book invites all these interpretations and more. The intricately detailed illustrations reveal new wonders with each viewing. Neither children nor adults will ever tire of this wonderful testament to imagination, memory, and dreams.
Bob: No Ordinary Cat
by James BowenThe phenomenal bestseller A Street Cat Named Bob, featuring best friends James and street cat Bob, now available as a special edition for children aged 11 and above.'We are all given second chances every day of our lives, but we don't usually take them. Then I met Bob.'James Bowen was a homeless musician, busking on the streets of London to survive. But the moment he met an injured stray cat with ginger fur and big green eyes, his life began to change. Together James and Bob the cat faced the world - and won. A purrfectly true 'tail' of love and friendship to make you smile!Please note contains some drug references.
Body Structures and Functions (11th Edition)
by Ann Senisi Scott Elizabeth FongBody Structures and Functions, 11th Edition, introduces the basics required for the study of the human body and how it functions. Updated to remain relevant, the text takes the learner from a general introduction to life functions, the terminology used to describe body parts and their locations, to an overall review of human development and body processes. The text begins by reviewing relevant aspects of Chemistry, and discusses basic cell functions, as well as abnormal conditions. Body Structures and Functions, 11th Edition, then advances to discuss specific body structures and systems, highlighting disorders of the system, effects of aging and career profiles. Each chapter features Key Objectives, words, medical terminology, lab activities, and a section focused on Applying Theory to Practice and Case Studies. The text is accompanied by a student workbook and StudyWARETM CD-ROM that offer additional practice through interactive quizzes and fun activities that correlate with each chapter in the text.
Bombay Blues
by Tanuja Desai HidierThe long-anticipated sequel to Tanuja Desai Hidier's groundbreaking BORN CONFUSED!Dimple Lala thought that growing up would give her all the answers, but instead she has more questions than ever. Her boyfriend is distant, her classmates are predictable, and a blue mood has settled around the edges of everything she does.It's time for a change, and a change is just what Dimple is going to get - of scenery, of cultures, of mind. She thinks she's heading to Bombay for a family wedding - but really she is plunging into the unexpected, the unmapped, and the uncontrollable. The land of her parents and ancestors has a lot to reveal to her - for every choice we make can crescendo into a journey, every ending can turn into a beginning, and each person we meet can show us something new about ourselves. Tanuja Desai Hidier's BORN CONFUSED gave voice to a new multicultural generation. Now, Bombay Blues explores everything this generation faces today, with a heady mix of uncertainty and determination, despair and inspiration, haunting loss and revelatory love.
Bonesmith (House of the Dead Duology #1)
by Nicki Pau Preto&“A fascinating world, absolutely delightful characters, and enemies-to-loves romance—this book is one readers will devour before begging for more.&” —Tricia Levenseller, New York Times bestselling author of Blade of Secrets Gideon the Ninth meets the Game of Thrones White Walkers in this dark, &“swiftly paced&” (Publishers Weekly) young adult fantasy about a disgraced ghost-fighting warrior who must journey into a haunted wasteland to rescue a kidnapped prince.Ready your blade. Defeat the undead. In the Dominions, the dead linger, violent and unpredictable, unless a bonesmith severs the ghost from its earthly remains. For bonesmith Wren, becoming a valkyr—a ghost-fighting warrior—is a chance to solidify her place in the noble House of Bone and impress her frequently absent father. But when sabotage causes Wren to fail her qualifying trial, she is banished to the Border Wall, the last line of defense against a wasteland called the Breach where the vicious dead roam unchecked. Determined to reclaim her family&’s respect, Wren gets her chance when a House of Gold prince is kidnapped and taken beyond the Wall. To prove she has what it takes to be a valkyr, Wren vows to cross the Breach and rescue the prince. But to do so, she&’s forced into an uneasy alliance with one of the kidnappers—a fierce ironsmith called Julian from the exiled House of Iron, the very people who caused the Breach in the first place…and the House of Bone&’s sworn enemy. As they travel, Wren and Julian spend as much time fighting each other as they do the undead, but when they discover there&’s more behind the kidnapping than either of them knew, they&’ll need to work together to combat the real danger: a dark alliance that is brewing between the living and the undead.
Book, Beast, and Crow
by Elizabeth ByrnePart The Hazel Wood, part Stranger Things, this spine-tingling, genre-bending novel from Elizabeth Byrne will leave readers breathless as they follow a group of teens who face catastrophic consequences after their friend gets bitten by the town’s most feared creature.Anna Kellogg has always felt different. Growing up in Hartwood, New Jersey—where frequent disappearances are attributed to an urban-legend-like beast that dwells in the walled-in swamp at the center of town—can have that effect on people. But for Anna, it’s more than that. Since she was a child, she’s been plagued by episodes where she sees things others can’t see. Feeling different is one thing, but actually being different is another. If it weren’t for her best friend, Olivia, Anna’s not sure where she’d fit in.But any hopes of having a normal senior year come to a halt when Olivia is attacked in the woods, bitten, and left for dead by a whirling cyclone of claws, fur, and teeth. Though Olivia survives, a sinister entity makes it clear that the mark had been set on Anna…and the miss has set in motion a catastrophic shift that will change Anna and her friends’ lives forever.
Booker T. Washington Rediscovered
by Michael Scott Bieze and Marybeth GasmanBooker T. Washington, a founding father of African American education in the United States, has long been studied, revered, and reviled by scholars and students. Born into slavery, freed and raised in the Reconstruction South, and active in educational reform through the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Washington sought to use education to bridge the nation’s racial divide. This volume explores Washington’s life and work through his writings and speeches. Drawing on previously unpublished writings, hard-to-find speeches and essays, and other primary documents from public and private collections, Michael Scott Bieze and Marybeth Gasman provide a balanced and insightful look at this controversial and sometimes misunderstood leader. Their essays follow key themes in Washington’s life—politics, aesthetics, philanthropy, religion, celebrity, race, and education—that show both his range of thought and the evolution of his thinking on topics vital to African Americans at the time. Wherever possible, the book reproduces archival material in its original form, aiding the reader in delving more deeply into the primary sources, while the accompanying introductions and analyses by Bieze and Gasman provide rich context. A companion website contains additional primary source documents and suggested classroom exercises and teaching aids.Innovative and multifaceted, Booker T. Washington Rediscovered provides the opportunity to experience Washington’s work as he intended and examines this turn-of-the-century pioneer in his own right, not merely in juxtaposition with W. E. B. Du Bois and other black leaders.
Bookmarks: A Guide to Research and Writing (3rd edition)
by John Ruszkiewicz Janice R. Walker Michael A. PembertonPreparing students for the ever-changing demands of conducting research in today's world, Bookmarks: A Guide to Research and Writing establishes a new benchmark for college research guides, serving as a bridge between old and new traditions for researchers who expect to work regularly in both print and electronic environments. Written in a lively, conversational tone, Bookmarks: A Guide to Writing and Research, offers concrete strategies and models to help students select a topic, refine it, and develop it into a full-fledged research hypothesis; find and position sources; use sources in appropriate and responsible ways to further their projects; and document and complete their final projects for print or electronic publication. In addition to offering such practical advice, the text also asks students to consider important rhetorical issues, such as how to most effectively address an audience and how to craft a considered, balanced argument. Bookmarks encourages students to use new technologies to find reliable information and to use the technologies to locate sources that are most appropriate for their topics and purposes.
Boone & Kurtz's Contemporary Business Sixteenth Edition
by David L. KurtzBoone and Kurtz, Contemporary Business 16th Edition, delivers solutions at the speed of business to stimulate curiosity, show relevance, promote creativity and prepare students for what’s ahead, in their academic and business careers. With thoroughly revised cases, fresh, current examples, and an updated video series, the 16th Edition provides insights into the many facets of business that contribute to the dynamic, ever changing world of work.
Boone & Kurtz: Contemporary Marketing (2015 Updated Edition)
by Dave KurtzThis book offers a trusted, thorough guide to fundamental marketing principles, now extensively updated with the newest trends and research in this dynamic discipline.
Boot Camp
by Todd StrasserIn the middle of the night Garrett is taken from his home to Harmony Lake, a boot camp for troubled teens. Maybe some kids deserve to be sent there, but Garrett knows he doesn't. Subjected to brutal physical and psychological abuse, he tries to fight back, but the battle is futile. He won't be allowed to leave until he's admitted his "mistakes" and conformed to Harmony Lake's standards of behavior. And there's no way to fake it. Beaten, humiliated, and stripped of his pride, Garrett's spirit is slowly ebbing away. Then he hears whispers of an escape plot. It's incredibly risky -- if he's caught, the consequences will be unthinkable -- but it may be his only way out. In this tense, riveting novel, award-winning YA author Todd Strasser reveals what really goes on in highly secretive -- and notoriously dangerous -- boot camps, a stealth prison system where any teenager under the age of eighteen can be imprisoned at his parents' whim.
Borderlands and the Mexican American Story (Race to the Truth)
by David Dorado RomoUntil now, you've only heard one side of the story, about migrants crossing borders, drawn to the promise of a better life. In reality, Mexicans were on this land long before any borders existed. Here's the true story of America, from the Mexican American perspective.The Mexican American story is usually carefully presented as a story of immigrants: migrants crossing borders, drawn to the promise of a better life. In reality, Mexicans were on this land long before any borders existed. Their culture and practices shaped the Southwestern part of this country, in spite of relentless attempts by white colonizers and settlers to erase them.From missions and the Alamo to muralists, revolutionaries, and teen activists, this is the true story of the Mexican American experience.The Race to the Truth series tells the true history of America from the perspective of different communities. These books correct common falsehoods and celebrate underrepresented heroes and achievements. They encourage readers to ask questions and to approach new information thoughtfully. Check out the other books in the series: Colonization and the Wampanoag Story, Slavery and the African American Story, and Exclusion and the Chinese American Story.
Born Confused (Push)
by Tanuja Desai HidierTanuja Desai Hidier's fantastically acclaimed cross-cultural debut comes to PUSH!Dimple Lala doesn't know what to think. Her parents are from India, and she's spent her whole life resisting their traditions. Then suddenly she gets to high school and everything Indian is trendy. To make matters worse, her parents arrange for her to meet a "suitable boy." Of course it doesn't go well -- until Dimple goes to a club and finds him spinning a magical web. Suddenly the suitable boy is suitable because of his sheer unsuitability. Complications ensue. This is a funny, thoughtful story about finding your heart, finding your culture, and finding your place in America.
Born Digital: How Children Grow Up in a Digital Age
by John Palfrey Urs GasserThe first generation of "Digital Natives”-children who were born into and raised in the digital world-are coming of age, and soon our world will be reshaped in their image. Our economy, our politics, our culture, and even the shape of our family life will be forever transformed. But who are these Digital Natives? And what is the world they're creating going to look like? In Born Digital, leading Internet and technology experts John Palfrey and Urs Gasser offer a sociological portrait of these young people, who can seem, even to those merely a generation older, both extraordinarily sophisticated and strangely narrow. Exploring a broad range of issues, from the highly philosophical to the purely practical, Born Digital will be essential reading for parents, teachers, and the myriad of confused adults who want to understand the digital present-and shape the digital future.
Born in the Country: A History of Rural America (Revisiting Rural America)
by David B. DanbomThe definitive history of life in rural America.Throughout most of its history, America has been a rural nation, largely made up of farmers. David B. Danbom's Born in the Country was the first—and still is the only—general history of rural America. Ranging from pre-Columbian times to the enormous changes of the twentieth century, the book masterfully integrates agricultural, technological, and economic themes with new questions about the American experience.Danbom employs the stories of particular farm families to illustrate the experiences of rural people. This substantially revised and updated third edition • expands and deepens its coverage of the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries• focuses on the changes in agriculture and rural life in the progressive and New Deal eras as well as the massive shifts that have taken place since 1945• adds new information about African American and Native American agricultural experiences• discusses the decline of agriculture as a productive enterprise and its impact on farm families and communities• explores rural culture, gender issues, agriculture, and the environment• traces the relationship among farmers, agribusiness, and consumersIn a new and provocative concluding chapter, Danbom reflects on increasing consumer disenchantment with and resistance to modern agriculture as well as the transformation of rural America into a place where farmers are a shrinking minority. Ultimately, he asks whether a distinctive style of rural life exists any longer.
Born to Battle: Grant and Forrest--Shiloh, Vicksburg, and Chattanooga
by Jack HurstBorn to Battleexamines the Civil War’s complex and decisive western theater through the exploits of its greatest figures, Ulysses S. Grant and Nathan Bedford Forrest. These two opposing giants squared off in some of the most epic campaigns of the war, starting at Shiloh and continuing through Perryville, Vicksburg, Chickamauga, and Chattanooga-battles in which the Union would slowly but surely divide the western Confederacy, setting the stage for the final showdowns of the bloody, protracted conflict. Grant is widely regarded as the man most responsible for winning the war for the Union, Forrest as the Confederacy’s most fearsome defender in the West. Both men had risen through their respective hierarchies thanks to their cunning and military brilliance, and despite their checkered pasts. Grant and Forrest were both "lower”-born officers who struggled to overcome particular, dubious reputations (Forrest’s as a semi-literate rustic and Grant’s as a doltish drunkard). In time, however each became renowned for his intelligence, resourcefulness, and grit. Indeed, as Hurst shows, their familiarity with hardship gave both men a back-against-the-wall mindset that would ultimately determine their success-both on the battlefield, and off it. Beginning with the Union victory at Tennessee’s Fort Donelson in February 1862 (when Grant handed the Union the largest force ever captured on American soil, refurbishing his reputation and earning himself the nickname "Unconditional Surrender Grant”), Hurst follows both men through the campaigns of the next twenty months, showing how this critical period-and these two unequaled leaders-would change the course of the war. Again and again, Grant’s hardscrabble tactics saved Federal forces from the disastrous decisions of his fellow commanders, who seemed unable to think outside of the West Point playbook. Just as often, Forrest’s hot temper and wily, frontier know-how would surprise his Federal adversaries and allow him to claim astonishing victories on behalf of the Confederacy. But as Grant pressed south and east over the course of these twenty months, routing Confederate forces at such critical strongholds as Corinth, Vicksburg ("Gibraltar of the Mississippi”), and Chattanooga, the systemic differences between the North and South began to tell. The more inclusive, meritocratic Union allowed Grant to enter into the military’s halls of decision, whereas the proudly aristocratic Confederate high command barred Forrest from contributing his input. As Hurst vividly demonstrates, that disparity affected, and possibly dictated, the war’s outcome. Thoroughly disgusted with his disdainful superiors and their failure to save his home state of Tennessee from the clutches of the Union, Forrest eventually requested a transfer to a backwater theater of the war. Grant, by contrast, won command of the entire Union army following his troops’ stunning performance at Chattanooga, and would go on to lead the North to victory over the forces of another exceptional Southern general: Robert E. Lee. An utterly American tale about class, merit, and their role in one of the most formative wars in the nation’s history,Born to Battleoffers an impassioned account of two visionary Civil War leaders and the clashing cultures they fought-in some cases, quite ironically-to protect. Hurst shows how Grant and Forrest brought to the battlefield the fabled virtues of the American working-class: hard work, ingenuity, and intense determination. Each man’s background contributed to his triumphs on the battlefield, but the open-mindedness of his fellow commanders proved just as important. When the North embraced Grant, it won a stalwart defender. When the South rejected Forrest, by contrast, it sealed its fate.