Nonfiction True

These are a collection of short true stories from my childhood and early teens. Maybe you can relate.

A Memoir of UFOs, Tricksters, and the Edges of Reality by William F. Blume Where Communion meets The Cosmic Serpent — a true story from the liminal edge. This isn’t just a memoir. It’s two lives… unfolded. The first — Billy’s world. Circa 1950s. A childhood steeped in small-town wonder and the strange. The Airship. The light in the trees. The basement. The silence. Charming, unnerving, oddly intimate — these early Occurrences arrive like half-remembered dreams. Vivid, cinematic, sometimes terrifying. But always real. Then something shifts. The boy becomes — the seeker. The ...

How did Jon Scieszka get so funny, anyway? Growing up as one of six brothers was a good start, but that was just the beginning. Throw in Catholic school, lots of comic books, lazy summers at the lake with time to kill, babysitting misadventures, TV shows, jokes told at family dinner, and the result is Knucklehead. Part memoir, part scrapbook, this hilarious trip down memory lane provides a unique glimpse into the formation of a creative mind and a free spirit.

In 1991, Ioan Culianu was on the precipice of a brilliant academic career. Culianu had fled his native Romania and established himself as a widely admired scholar at just forty-one years old. He was teaching at the University of Chicago Divinity School where he was seen as the heir apparent to his mentor, Mircea Eliade, a fellow Romanian expatriate and the founding father of the field of religious studies, who had died a few years earlier.

Tom Hallman Jr. has won every national feature writing award in the business, including the Pulitzer Prize for Feature Writing. A master storyteller, he is an elegant writer with a deeply perceptive heart. Tom has the uncanny ability to see the profound in the everyday. He will make you see it, too, in ways that will remind you of what’s really important in life. This is the second collection of Hallman’s stories from The Oregonian. The first, Dispatches From 1320, was published in 2015

Celebrated for her nonfiction books aimed at young readers and listeners, award-winning author Suzanne Tripp Jurmain illuminates historical figures in fun and engaging ways. Worst of Friends draws listeners into the earliest days of America's history to profile the friendship and rivalry that grew between Founding Fathers Thomas Jefferson and John Adams, both of whom would go on to become president of the United States.

Born in Ghana, West Africa, with one deformed leg, he was dismissed by most people - but not by his mother, who taught him to reach for his dreams. As a boy, Emmanuel hopped to school more than two miles each way, learned to play soccer, left home at age 13 to provide for his family, and, eventually, became a cyclist. He rode an astonishing 400 miles across Ghana in 2001, spreading his powerful message: Disability is not inability. Today, Emmanuel continues to work on behalf of the disabled.

This book uses a selection of fun true or false questions to get listeners thinking all about cows, pigs, horses, sheep, and more.

When Darkness Falls: Terrifying True Stories: Volume 5 plunges readers into the eerie and inexplicable realms of the paranormal, mysterious, and horrifying. This collection of short stories, each based on real events, unveils chilling encounters with the supernatural, unearthly phenomena, and unsolved mysteries that defy rational explanation. From haunted houses and ghostly apparitions to bizarre disappearances and sinister legends, each tale is meticulously crafted to haunt your dreams and stir your deepest fears. Perfect for fans of the macabre, this volume continues the tradition of ...

As compelling as fiction, The Mystery of Beautiful Nell Cropsey tells the dramatic story of the disappearance of nineteen-year-old Nell Cropsey from her riverside home in Elizabeth City, North Carolina, in November 1901. Bloodhounds, detectives, divers, and even a psychic were brought in to search for her, and the case immediately became a national sensation. Bland Simpson, who first heard the tale as an Elizabeth City schoolboy, weaves this true story into a colorful nonfiction account, told in three first-person voices.

Journey into the heart of post-war New York, where the union of Robert and Vera Lotito turns from wedded bliss to a haunting crime scene in "The Murder of Vera Lotito." In this spellbinding true crime narrative, author Rod Kackley guides readers through a labyrinth of love gone awry, betrayal, and a brutality that echoes through the city's darkest corners. March 1948, a time of renewal and promise, takes a sinister turn for Robert Lotito. What should have been a routine afternoon unravels into a nightmare when he discovers his wife, Vera, lying lifeless in their apartment. The crime scene ...

Black activist Opal Lee had a vision of Juneteenth as a holiday for everyone. This true story celebrates Black joy and inspires children to see their dreams blossom. Growing up in Texas, Opal knew the history of Juneteenth, but she soon discovered that many Americans had never heard of the holiday. Join Opal on her historic journey to recognize and celebrate "freedom for all."

Dive into the mysterious world of 'Deceit in Denver,' where Tim's journey is more than just a struggle for financial stability. In this enthralling tale, After losing his cleaning business Tim and his family move to Denver, seeking a new beginning. Tim starts a new job but finds himself tangled in a web of lies and deceit. But Tim's reality is turned upside down when he encounters supernatural elements. Guided by Sheena, a ghostly presence, Tim navigates through unethical business practices and personal dilemmas. As he grapples with the challenges of his new job and the complex dynamics of ...

David Parrish was in disbelief when he learned that 19-year-old Jon Bowie's body had been found hanged from a backstop at the local high school's baseball field and the death declared a suicide. David had known Jon and his twin brother since they were boys. He had coached them on the baseball field and welcomed them into his home for sleepovers with his own sons. However, when David learned how Jon's body was found, he felt compelled to find the facts behind this incomprehensible tragedy.

Who needs horror stories when real life has serial killers, cults, and human soup? 20 of the world’s most disturbing real-life crimes - this isn’t fiction. It’s worse! Walk the haunted alleys of Cape Town, navigate Russia’s frozen wastelands, and venture down the shadowed river Thames - each tale expertly written for fans of true crime, murder mystery non-fiction, and gripping criminal investigations. The Iron Box Killer In 1910s Siam, the first documented serial killer in Thai history shocked a nation with his terrifying crimes. The Gatton Murders A peaceful Christmas night ...

Adapted from the number-one New York Times best-selling adult novel, this inspiring true story of a man and horse duo who rose to the top of the competitive equestrian world is one of unstoppable hope, inconceivable dreams, and the chance to have it all, perfect for animal lovers and history buffs alike.

An Italian memoir. Laine gave up her job as a nurse, sold her home and gave away most of her belongings. She has three desires bubbling at the heart of her choice: to write a book, paint a picture and climb a mountain before she died. A man with a van took most of her remaining belongings, along with her basset hound Basil, down to the heel of Italy over 1,500 miles away, where she would spend the next four years. If it all seemed like a folly, then she was willing to take the risk. She moved to a house that she had only spent a week in the year before. She knew no one and yet she had ...

In 2002, a young orca was discovered near Seattle - lost, alone, and 300 miles away from home. Six months later she was rescued, rehabilitated and reunited with her family on the north end of Vancouver Island. Today Springer is thriving, with two calves of her own. It's the only successful orca reunion in history!

The remarkable lengths Ruderman and Laker go to for the story - chasing down witnesses on the city's grimmest streets, sifting through archive boxes and hours of surveillance tape for crucial clues, and coaxing reluctant victims to come forward - put their determination to balance motherhood with the career they love to the ultimate test.

I had been in prison a few years, long enough to be transferred to a medium security prison. Two inmates had been at each other most of the day, back and forth, the larger woman taunting the smaller woman. I was housed in a dormitory setting, 40 women housed in one area watched over by one guard. No doors, no cells, those were in the past when I was in a Maximum security prison. The last count of the day was taken and the C.O. stepped out to wait for the sergeant to pick up the count slip. I caught a movement out of the corner of my eye as I began to lie down, a shadow raced silently past ...