Civil Act

CIVIL: Life After the Foreign Legion is the author's follow-up to Appel: A Canadian in the French Foreign Legion. During his recent return to France, he shares with you his past in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Algeria as a security contractor and more.

As Sgt. James Hurley fought for his country in Iraq, one of the world’s largest lenders and their lawyers seized his home, and evicted his family. His home was to be protected by the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, from the principles established by Gen. George Washington and supported by every president since. However, it would take years of court action, and a trial that mirrored a John Grisham novel, to uncover a scheme that violated soldiers’ rights and federal law. A Soldier’s Home, by Attorney Matthew R. Cooper, follows Sgt. Hurley from his tranquil life at home, his tour in ...

21-year-old Lucy feels content with her life in Hertfordshire—not least because she lives next door to Tom and Jamie, two very different brothers for whom she has equally great affection. But her comfortable life is turned upside down when Tom decides he must travel to Spain to fight for the Democratic party in the bloody Spanish Civil War. He is quickly followed by Jamie, who, much to Lucy's despair, is supporting General Franco and his Fascist party.

Paralyzed from polio at 18 months, Judy Heumann began her struggle for equality early in life. From fighting to attend grade school after being described as a 'fire hazard' to later winning a lawsuit against the New York City school system for denying her a teacher's license, to leading the section 504 sit-in that led to the creation of the Americans with Disabilities Act, Judy's actions set a precedent that fundamentally improved rights for disabled people around the globe.