Jack Kelly

When Chinese alchemists fashioned the first manmade explosion sometime during the tenth century, no one could have foreseen its full revolutionary potential. Invented to frighten evil spirits rather than fuel guns or bombs—neither of which had been thought of yet—their simple mixture of saltpeter, sulfur, and charcoal went on to make the modern world possible. As word of its explosive properties spread from Asia to Europe, from pyrotechnics to battleships, it paved the way for Western exploration, hastened the end of feudalism and the rise of the nation state, and greased the wheels of the Industrial Revolution.With dramatic immediacy, novelist and journalist Jack Kelly conveys both the distant time in which the “devil's distillate” rose to conquer the world, and brings to rousing life the eclectic cast of characters who played a role in its epic story, including Michelangelo, Edward III, Vasco da Gama, Cortés, Guy Fawkes, Alfred Nobel, and E. I. DuPont. A must-read for history fans and military buffs alike, Gunpowder brings together a rich terrain of cultures and technological innovations with authoritative research and swashbuckling style.

Alchemy, Bombards, and Pyrotechnics: The History of the Explosive that Changed the World

Gunpowder

The True Story of America's Most Hated Man

God Save Benedict Arnold

The wild and suspenseful story of one of the most crucial and least known campaigns of the Revolutionary War when America’s scrappy navy took on the full might of Britain’s sea power. During the summer of 1776, a British incursion from Canada loomed. In response, citizen soldiers of the newly independent nation mounted a heroic defense. Patriots constructed a small fleet of gunboats on Lake Champlain in northern New York and confronted the Royal Navy in a desperate three-day battle near Valcour Island. Their effort surprised the arrogant British and forced the enemy to call off their invasion. Valcour is a story of people. The northern campaign of 1776 was led by the underrated general Philip Schuyler (Hamilton's father-in-law), the ambitious former British officer Horatio Gates, and the notorious Benedict Arnold. An experienced sea captain, Arnold devised a brilliant strategy that confounded his slow-witted opponents. America’s independence hung in the balance during 1776. Patriots endured one defeat after another. But two events turned the tide: Washington’s bold attack on Trenton and the equally audacious fight at Valcour Island. Together, they stunned the enemy and helped preserve the cause of liberty.

The 1776 Campaign That Saved the Cause of Liberty

Valcour

The technological marvel of its age, the Erie Canal grew out of a sudden fit of inspiration. Proponents didn't just dream; they built a 360-mile waterway entirely by hand and largely through wilderness. As excitement crackled down its length, the canal became the scene of the most striking outburst of imagination in American history. Zealots invented new religions and new modes of living. The Erie Canal made New York the financial capital of America and brought the modern world crashing into the frontier. Men and women saw God face to face, gained and lost fortunes, and reveled in a period of intense spiritual creativity. Heaven's Ditch by Jack Kelly illuminates the spiritual and political upheavals along this "psychic highway" from its opening in 1825 through 1844. "Wage slave" Sam Patch became America's first celebrity daredevil. William Miller envisioned the apocalypse. Farm boy Joseph Smith gave birth to Mormonism, a new and distinctly American religion. Along the way, the reader encounters America's very first "crime of the century," a treasure hunt, searing acts of violence, a visionary cross-dresser, and a panoply of fanatics, mystics, and hoaxers. A page-turning narrative, Heaven's Ditch offers an excitingly fresh look at a heady, foundational moment in American history.

God, Gold, and Murder on the Erie Canal

Heaven's Ditch

Joe Simon

Michael Jones

David Green

Sylvester Barzey

Ryan Colley

Thomas Russell

Eleanor Merry

T. D. Ricketts

Stefan Lear

Jessica Gomez

Michelle Scissom

Taylor Barnes

Greg Bennett

Ashton Etheredge

Miguel Rueda

(The Reanimated Writers Reanimated Rumble Series Book 2)

The Reanimated Rumble

Bram Stoker

In this retelling of the Bram Stocker classic, young Jonathan Harker first meets and then must destroy Count Dracula in order to save those closest to him.

Dracula

A Great American Love Story tells the tale of how the young enterprising poor American Boy became a man through hard work, ingenuity, perseverance and luck. His path led him to the military, Cornell, Wall Street, the love of his life and his beautiful family. There is something to learn for everyone, as you follow Jack Kelly on his life journey.

A Great American Love Story

Band of Giants brings to life the founders who fought for our independence in the Revolutionary War. Jefferson, Adams, and Franklin are known to all; men like Morgan, Greene, and Wayne are less familiar. Yet the dreams of the politicians and theorists only became real because fighting men were willing to take on the grim, risky, brutal work of war. We know Fort Knox, but what about Henry Knox, the burly Boston bookseller who took over the American artillery at the age of 25? Eighteen counties in the United States commemorate Richard Montgomery, but do we know that this revered martyr launched a full-scale invasion of Canada? The soldiers of the American Revolution were a diverse lot: merchants and mechanics, farmers and fishermen, paragons and drunkards. Most were ardent amateurs. Even George Washington, assigned to take over the army around Boston in 1775, consulted books on military tactics. Here, Jack Kelly vividly captures the fraught condition of the war—the bitterly divided populace, the lack of supplies, the repeated setbacks on the battlefield, and the appalling physical hardships. That these inexperienced warriors could take on and defeat the superpower of the day was one of the remarkable feats in world history.

The Amateur Soldiers Who Won America's Independence

Band of Giants

Myron Gittell

tells the story of the frantic, often chaotic, sometimes comical medical drama of the health care at the 1969 Woodstock Festival. Everyone from 'hip' doctors, to Army helicpter pilots to vacationing nuns pitched in to make the hippie festival a happy rather than horrific occasion. Gives the inside story of everyting from the tragic deaths of 2 fair-goers to the mysterious birth of the 'Woodstock Baby', to the Hog Farmers using talk-therapy on the most spaced-out of trippers.

Three Days of Peace, Music and Medical Care

Woodstock '69

"Pay attention, because The Edge of Anarchy not only captures the flickering Kinetoscopic spirit of one of the great Labor-Capital showdowns in American history, it helps focus today’s great debates over the power of economic concentration and the rights and futures of American workers." —Brian Alexander, author of Glass House "In gripping detail, The Edge of Anarchy reminds us of what a pivotal figure Eugene V. Debs was in the history of American labor... a tale of courage and the steadfast pursuit of principles at great personal risk." —Tom Clavin, New York Times bestselling author of Dodge City The dramatic story of the explosive 1894 clash of industry, labor, and government that shook the nation and marked a turning point for America. The Edge of Anarchy by Jack Kelly offers a vivid account of the greatest uprising of working people in American history. At the pinnacle of the Gilded Age, a boycott of Pullman sleeping cars by hundreds of thousands of railroad employees brought commerce to a standstill across much of the country. Famine threatened, riots broke out along the rail lines. Soon the U.S. Army was on the march and gunfire rang from the streets of major cities. This epochal tale offers fascinating portraits of two iconic characters of the age. George Pullman, who amassed a fortune by making train travel a pleasure, thought the model town that he built for his workers would erase urban squalor. Eugene Debs, founder of the nation’s first industrial union, was determined to wrench power away from the reigning plutocrats. The clash between the two men’s conflicting ideals pushed the country to what the U.S. Attorney General called “the ragged edge of anarchy.” Many of the themes of The Edge of Anarchy could be taken from today’s headlines—upheaval in America’s industrial heartland, wage stagnation, breakneck technological change, and festering conflict over race, immigration, and inequality. With the country now in a New Gilded Age, this look back at the violent conflict of an earlier era offers illuminating perspectives along with a breathtaking story of a nation on the edge.

The Railroad Barons, the Gilded Age, and the Greatest Labor Uprising in America

The Edge of Anarchy

The relationship between King Kamehameha I and British Captain George Vancouver set the course of history for the Hawaiian people after European contact. The alliance had enormous benefit to them both. In February 1794 they met at Kealakekua Bay. Author Jack Kelly employs extensive research, oral history and local lore to weave a fresh and enlightening perspective on Hawaiian history.

Kamehameha and Vancouver, Rendezvous in Paradise

An old man looks back on his youth, describing the night he was mistaken for Public Enemy Number One John Dillinger, saved from lynching, and inspired to begin a carnival show based on Dillinger's exploits.

Mad Dog

When Chinese alchemists fashioned the first manmade explosion sometime during the tenth century, no one could have foreseen its full revolutionary potential. Invented to frighten evil spirits rather than fuel guns or bombs-neither of which had been thought of yet-their simple mixture of saltpeter, sulfur, and charcoal went on to make the modern world possible. As word of its explosive properties spread from Asia to Europe, from pyrotechnics to battleships, it paved the way for Western exploration, hastened the end of feudalism and the rise of the nation state, and greased the wheels of the Industrial Revolution. With dramatic immediacy, novelist and journalist Jack Kelly conveys both the distant time in which the "devil's distillate" rose to conquer the world, and brings to rousing life the eclectic cast of characters who played a role in its epic story, including Michelangelo, Edward III, Vasco da Gama, Cortez, Guy Fawkes, Alfred Nobel, and E.I. DuPont. A must-read for history fans and military buffs alike, Gunpowder brings together a rich terrain of cultures and technological innovations with authoritative research and swashbuckling style.

Jack Kelly is one of the most successful coaches in trampoline gymnastics and has, with his innovative thinking, led his athletes to European and World Championship success. He has pioneered many of the techniques that are used at world level today. In this comprehensive book, he outlines a process for developing world class skill in trampoline gymnastics. The methods described have been successful developing ’rising stars‘ as well as helping to re-model the technique of numerous advanced performers, enabling them to break through to the next level. The book culminates in a compendium of theoretical and practical guidance based on Kelly‘s years of striving for, and achieving, world class results. Along the way, Jack Kelly highlights the significant influences on his life that have made him into the coach he has become. Thus, the reader has the opportunity to benefit from the author‘s extensive knowledge and experience.

Jack Kelly

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