A Pair of Shootists

A Pair of Shootists PDF

Author: Jerry Kuntz

Publisher: University of Oklahoma Press

Published: 2012-10-11

Total Pages: 226

ISBN-13: 0806185864

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In 1888, Samuel F. Cody, a twenty-one-year-old horse wrangler, met Maud Lee, a sixteen-year-old aspiring circus performer, while touring with the Wild West show cast of Adam Forepaugh's Circus. A quick rapport developed between the girl from Norristown, Pennsylvania, and the cowboy who dazzled audiences with his good looks and fancy pistol shooting. A Pair of Shootists is the exuberant and sometimes heartbreaking story of the elusive S. F. Cody and his first wife, Maud Lee. Recounting their many dramatic exploits, this biography also overturns the frequently romanticized view of Wild West shows. Living the erratic lives of touring performers, S. F. Cody — who changed his name to capitalize on his resemblance to William F. "Buffalo Bill" Cody — and Maud Lee first appeared together in vaudeville halls and dime museums. Setbacks in the United States made Cody and Lee eager to try their luck abroad, so they traveled to Great Britain, where they played music halls and acted in burlesques on roller-skates and in extravagant arena exhibitions. When the two performers eventually parted ways, author Jerry Kuntz masterfully splits their stories into two. From there, he follows their individual ups and downs, including Cody's soaring career in pioneer aeronautics and Lee's decline into mental illness and addiction. In an ironic twist, Maud's professional life ended amidst a vast misunderstanding that brought her into conflict with the woman she had been emulating her entire career: Annie Oakley. While other biographies focus mainly on Cody's contribution to aviation, Kuntz uses sources previously unavailable to scholars to paint a more complete picture of Cody's early years and to recover the forgotten — and ultimately tragic — story of Maud Lee.

A Leap from the Clouds

A Leap from the Clouds PDF

Author: Jerry Kuntz

Publisher: McFarland

Published: 2022-07-26

Total Pages: 241

ISBN-13: 1476647429

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In the late nineteenth century, circus aerialists collaborated with show balloonists to perform death-defying stunts, initially by suspending themselves from trapeze bars beneath a balloon, later by jumping from the balloons using fabric parachutes. By the 1890s, these performances became a worldwide craze, remaining in rural fairs and fetes for decades. Many of the original balloon-parachute pioneers went on to play key roles in the creation of airships, test flying the first gliders and airplanes. Based on extensive historical research, this unusual account explores how a nineteenth-century daredevil act united with the desire to achieve human flight. These performers' contributions did not come without a price: dozens, if not hundreds, of people died in horrifying events witnessed by thousands of spectators. This book chronicles the act that had no practical purpose other than entertainment, which eventually evolved into the development of the free-fall parachute pack--a key aviation need--and the foundation of a new activity known as skydiving.

Colonel Cody and the Flying Cathedral

Colonel Cody and the Flying Cathedral PDF

Author: Garry Jenkins

Publisher: Picador

Published: 2015-03-10

Total Pages: 289

ISBN-13: 1466892064

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Colonel Cody and the Flying Cathedral is the fascinating and bizarre history of Samuel Franklin Cody, who in his early years worked the same cattle trails as Buffalo Bill and played the same Dodge City roulette tables as Wyatt Earp. But later his life took a startling turn. While performing in England, Cody became a passionate kite-builder and flyer, and at the apex of his career, fashioned a vast airplane dubbed "The Flying Cathedral," and with it went on to become the first man to fly in England.

Wicked Western Kentucky

Wicked Western Kentucky PDF

Author: Richard Parker

Publisher: Arcadia Publishing

Published: 2022

Total Pages: 144

ISBN-13: 1467150525

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Western Kentucky has always had a dark side, despite being the "Birthplace of Bluegrass Music." Mary James Trotter, an arrested moonshine-selling grandma, remarked to a judge that she "simply had to sell a little liquor now and then to take care of my four grandchildren." Rod Ferrell led a bloodsucking vampire cult in Murray, Kentucky, and traumatized parents of the 1990s. In the early morning of July 13, 1928, at the "Castle on the Cumberland," seven men were put to death in Kentucky's deadliest night of state-sponsored executions. Join award-winning author Richard Parker as he takes you on a journey through fifteen of Western Kentucky's most nefarious people, places and events.

Full Blast

Full Blast PDF

Author: Don Pendleton

Publisher: Gold Eagle

Published: 2014-01-15

Total Pages: 192

ISBN-13: 1460372999

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STONY MAN The President's fail-safe option when America is threatened is an elite group of cybernetics specialists and battle-hardened commandos who operate off the books and under governmental radar. This ultraclandestine force called Stony Man has defeated terror on many fronts. Now, they're dealing with an escalating crisis from outside the country— and a far bigger one from within…. FULL BLAST The instability of the new government in post-war Iraq is a target for those with visions of power and glory— corrupted by madness and twisted ideology. As one of Iraq's former military elite launches a make-or-break bid to regain control of his country by nuclear force, a devastating new threat comes from across the Atlantic. From within the ranks of America's protectors and defenders, a conspiracy to overthrow the U.S. government appears unstoppable.

Senseless Violence and Its Ramifications

Senseless Violence and Its Ramifications PDF

Author: Ami Rokach

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2018-10-22

Total Pages: 116

ISBN-13: 1351609483

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The baby boomer generation grew up in the 1950s when there existed the general belief that the Cold War was the greatest threat to the world order, and a frightening possibility. It was difficult to believe, then, that it could get worse, but the same threat of violence is now a daily occurrence around the globe. People are being shot, slaughtered, maimed, and disappear for a multitude of reasons, none having any connection, most of the time, with the victims. The scale of loss when these tragedies occur is devastating, leaving the public as well as policy makers and legislators scrambling for solutions, clarification, and understanding of how we have become a society where violence is so rampant, so frequent, and so senseless. This book includes contributions by leading experts on violence and its ramifications, who review the devastation, reasons, and consequences of violence which is senseless, cruel, and aims to hurt and destroy anyone in its path. This book was originally published as a special issue of The Journal of Psychology.

School Shootings

School Shootings PDF

Author: Nils Böckler

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2012-12-13

Total Pages: 545

ISBN-13: 146145526X

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School shootings are a topic of research in a variety of different disciplines—from psychology, to sociology to criminology, pedagogy, and public health—each with their own set of theories. Many of these theories are logically interconnected, while some differ widely and seem incompatible with each other, leading to divergent results about potential means of prevention. In this innovative work, leading researchers on the topic of school shootings introduce their findings and theoretical concepts in one combined systematic volume. The contributions to this work highlight both the complementary findings from different fields, as well as cases where they diverge or contradict each other. The work is divided into four main sections: an overview of current theoretical approaches and empirical models; application of these theories to international cases, including Columbine (USA), Emsdetten (Germany), and Tuusula (Finland); a critique of the influence of the media, both in the portrayals of past events and its effect on future events; and finally an overview of existing models for prevention and intervention, and measures of their success. The result is a comprehensive source for current research on school shootings, and will provide a direction for future research.

Suicide Shot

Suicide Shot PDF

Author: Doug Giacobbe

Publisher: Doug Giacobbe

Published: 2023-08-21

Total Pages: 122

ISBN-13: 0985885483

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For one man, the Cold War never ended Michael Callaway is a lot like the battered-looking old shrimp boat he’s purchased. But looks can be deceiving. Both used to be something else. Callaway a customs agent, the boat a World War II Patrol-Torpedo boat. Both have hidden strengths and secrets. A long trip on his slow, old boat will help Callaway escape the horrors of the last year. Too many murders. Too many memories. He heads from his home in Florida to visit his last and only friend, exiled to an aging former Navy Seals training outpost a hundred miles south of Anchorage, Alaska. Callaway’s battle to the death in the harsh environment will pale in comparison to the battle he’s about to face from a determined madman. Arkadi Frankovich, Russian freighter captain and former KGB killer, never accepted the end of communism in Russia. The U.S. Army base in Fairbanks has a nuclear armed missile. Stealing it and launching it into Siberia would start World War III and a return to Russia’s glory days. With newfound love and the fate of the world on the line, every bit of Callaway’s strength, skill and investigative talents will be tested in a race to unravel the dangerous game playing out in some of the most beautiful and treacherous country on earth. Can he stop this man from taking his shot—a suicide shot—that could destroy them all?

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