Thane Baker grew up in the Kansas Dust Bowl. An Olympic medal winner from his small town gave seven-year-old Thane hopes for his own Olympic glory. Yet a work injury at age fourteen shoved steel behind his kneecap and ended his dreams. When new on his college campus, a coach allowed Thane to walk onto the track team. Three years later, Thane earned an unexpected berth on the 1952 United States Olympic Track and Field Team and traveled to New York City, Helsinki, Finland, and other European cities for competitions. Friendships grew between the American athletes in their six weeks together. Together, they faced hurdles of financial insecurity, racial inequality, chilly winds, and inadequate diets as they confronted the Soviet Union for the first time. Despite the obstacles, Thane, wearing borrowed socks and borrowed shoes, returned to his small town with an Olympic medal, forever changed by his experiences.
Volume one of Eva Jean Wrather’s biography of Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) founder Alexander Campbell deals with the leader’s early manhood, from his schooling to his turning from the Calvin
Many people in northern Texas and southwestern Oklahoma still believe that the Marlow brothers—George, Charles, Alf, and Epp—were thieves and killers. In 1888 they were charged with rustling and murde
Memoirs are tricky, especially when the author isn’t widely known. But Janis Stout tackles the memoir with a new and inventive approach—she organizes her memories around the houses she’s lived in. “So
A dazzling pageant that brings to life stories and traditions originating in medieval times, the Boar’s Head and Yule Log Festival is a Christmas celebration that weaves both religious and secular nar
It was a time before Terlingua Ranch and chili cook-offs, when you could drive a hundred miles without seeing another vehicle or another person. The year was 1961, and the tides of humanity that ebbed
One of the key premises for creating a separate criminal justice system for juveniles was that juveniles were not the same as adults, and could therefore be rehabilitated. Despite this premise, still
