When the Civil War ended, many disenchanted Southerners poured into Central Texas, toting guns and grudges. Shots of whiskey loosened tempers and soon bullets were flying. Within a few years, the Lone Star State had become the nation’s murder capitol. The small town of Stephenville, where 139 people were hauled to prison between crimes 1864 to 1891, dealt with Comanche warriors, restless outlaws, crime rings, and the ruthless vigilante group known as “The Mob.” Sins of the Pioneers: Crimes & Scandals of a Small Texas Town explores Stephenville’s emergence from wild frontier to bustling village. Studded with shocking tales—sometimes humorous, sometimes poignant—it tells of crooks, bigamists, prostitutes, saloon brawlers, and mysterious murderers. James Pylant chronicles John Gilbreath, the intimidating, determined sheriff who bent rules to jail criminals—including his own kinfolks; Julia Williamson, Stephenville's hell-raising madam; armless Jack Hollis and his jail escape; accused horse-thief Jennie Sadler; schemer Gordon Bradshaw’s “accidental” shooting of his wealthy bride; lovely teenaged axe murderess May Bruce; and Annie Cooper, who risked exposing her shady past to rescue a troubled girl. “Author Pylant creates an enlightening portrait of the routine and not-so-routine criminality and scandals, surgically exposing the underbelly of Stephenville's raunchy and racy and sometimes perilous past.” —Bob Alexander, author of Riding Lucifer’s Line "meticulously researched . . . riveting." —Bill Neal, author of Sex, Murder and the Unwritten Law "Sins of the Pioneers is every bit as salacious as its title suggests." —The Midwest Review

Here at last is the comprehensive collection you've been searching for to minister effectively to your children during worship. Drawn from every book of the New Testament, The Giant Book Of Children's Sermons -- Matthew To Revelation contains five full years worth of material you can share with your young disciples. Each of the 260 talks teach children God's Word through the use of common objects that illustrate an important concept in the scriptures. The messages come from Wesley Runk, a pastor and master communicator with kids who has written over 30 best-selling collections of children's sermons and object lessons. Runk uses a warm and often humorous approach to take on even the tough topics of the New Testament -- and the analogies he creates with the use of such simple objects as bananas, clocks, puzzles, and funnels add visual focus for the kids and help them grasp the point on a level suitable for their age. Now, whether you are preaching from the Gospels, Acts, the letters of Paul, the general Epistles, or even Revelation, you are sure to find an appropriate related talk for the children. And with convenient features like scripture and object indexes for quickly locating material as well as a CD with text files that lets you easily adapt the messages to your specific circumstances, The Giant Book Of Children's Sermons may be the last children's collection you ever need!

You could call them one-sentence sermons or one-sentence solutions. Use them to spice up your speeches, sermons, church bulletins--anywhere a quick word of wit or wisdom is needed.

In the postwar years, Italy underwent a far-reaching process of industrialization that transformed the country into a leading industrial power. Throughout most of this period, the Italian Communist Party (PCI) remained a powerful force in local government and civil society. However, as Stephen Gundle observes, the PCI was increasingly faced with challenges posed by modernization, particularly by mass communication, commercial cultural industries, and consumerism. Between Hollywood and Moscow is an analysis of the PCI’s attempts to cope with these problems in an effort to maintain its organization and subculture. Gundle focuses on the theme of cultural policy, examining how the PCI’s political strategies incorporated cultural policies and activities that were intended to respond to the Americanization of daily life in Italy. In formulating this policy, Gundle contends, the Italian Communists were torn between loyalty to the alternative values generated by the Communist tradition and adaptation to the dominant influences of Italian modernization. This equilibrium eventually faltered because the attractive aspects of Americanization and pop culture proved more influential than the PCI’s intellectual and political traditions. The first analysis in English of the cultural policies and activities of the PCI, this book will appeal to readers with an interest in modern Italy, the European left, political science, and media studies.

On the Move with Jesus is a book of epistle lessons come to life through the spoken word and the use of an easy-to-find object that means something to children. Wesley Runk, in the style that has made him famous and brought the gospel to many thousands of children, offers this volume of 52 object lessons from the Bible to help the pastor communicate with God's little ones. Wesley T. Runk, owner of the CSS Publishing Company, Inc., is a pastor of the Lutheran Church in America. He has a special ability to communicate the good news of God's love to children through his children's object lessons from the Bible. Wesley Runk is a graduate of Wittenberg University and the Hamma School of Theology, Springfield, Ohio. He has served parishes in Englewood and Lima, Ohio, and is active in community organizations.

Texas has one of the world’s largest prison systems, in operation for more than 170 years and currently employing more than 28,000 people. Hundreds of thousands of people have been involved in the prison business in Texas: inmates, correctional officers, public officials, private industry representatives, and volunteers have all entered the secure facilities and experienced a different world. Previous books on Texas prisons have focused either on records and data of the prisons, personal memoirs by both inmates and correctional officers, or accounts of prison breaks. Tall Walls and High Fences is the first comprehensive history of Texas prisons, written by a former law enforcement officer and an officer of the Texas prisons. Bob Alexander and Richard K. Alford chronicle the significant events and transformation of the Texas prison system from its earliest times to the present day, paying special attention to the human side of the story. Incarceration policy evolved from isolation to hard labor to rodeo and educational opportunities, with reform measures becoming an ever-evolving quest. The complex job of the correctional officer has evolved as well—they must ensure custody and control over the inmate population at all times, in order to provide a proper environment conducive to safety and positive change. Alexander and Alford focus especially on the men and women who work with diligence and dedication at their jobs “inside the walls,” risking their lives and—in too many instances—giving their lives in a peculiar line of duty most would find unpalatable. Within these pages are stories of prison breaks, bloodhounds chasing escapees, and gunfights. Inside the walls are deadly confrontations, human trafficking, rape, clandestine consensual trysts, and tricks turned against correctional officers. Famous people and episodes in Texas prison history receive their due, from Texas Rangers apprehending and placing outlaws in prison to the famed gunfighter John Wesley Hardin’s time in and out of prison. Tall Walls and High Fences covers numerous convict escape attempts and successes, including the 1974 prison siege at Huntsville and the 2007 prisoner gunfight and escape at the Wynne Unit. Throughout this long history Alexander and Alford pay special tribute to the more than 75 correctional officers, lawmen, and civilians who lost their lives in the line of duty.