Stackpole Classics

Marching armies, cavalry raids, guerilla warfare, massacres, towns and farms in flames-the American Civil War, 1861-1865? No-Kansas, 1854-1861. Before there was Bull Run or Gettysburg, there was Black Jack and Osawatomie. Long before events at Fort Sumter ignited the War Between the States, men fought and died on the Prairies of Kansas over the incendiary issue of slavery. "War to the knife and knife to the hilt," cried the Atchison Squatter Sovereign. "Let the watchword be 'Extermination, total and complete.'" In 1854 a shooting war developed between proslavery men in Missouri and free-staters in Kansas over control of the territory. The prize was whether it would be a slave or free state when admitted to the Union, a question that could decide the balance of power in Washington. Told in the unforgettable words of the men and women involved, War to the Knife is an absorbing account of a bloody episode soon spread east, events in "Bleeding Kansas" have largely been forgotten.

What Thoreau proved a century ago about returning to nature will still work today. There is an inexpressible thrill in the intimate study of primitive country, the workshop of nature, the appreciation of wilderness technique. Unspoiled regions possess a quiet beauty and peace-no artificiality, no crowds, all woods uncut. There is unbounded satisfaction and pleasure in successfully meeting the challenge of the wilderness. The two requirements for man in the North Country are knowledge and equipment. Colonel Townsend Whelen and Bradford Angier have combined their vast experiences camping and bivouacking to produce the perfect guide to peace and utter freedom. If the wilderness calls you, they invite you to join them and talk together about how to live in it. They explain what from their experience they found to be the best ways of entering wild and unspoiled country, of finding their way through it, and living there in comfort and safety.

Here is Dr. Wernher von Braun's incredible story – from his early years in Germany, where he gave birth to modern rocketry, to his arrival in the United States and his launching of the first American satellite, the first man on the moon and other stunning space exploration feats. "Every page of Wernher von Braun's life is a monument to the drama of adventure. Few people have been fighting so hard and, indeed, very few have been subject to so much criticism, so much jealousy, so much defeat-yet, very few have lived to be honored and to harvest the fruits of so many wonderful victories as has this man." Author Erik Bergaust has had the advantage of knowing von Braun as a friend, hunting and fishing companion, space business associate-and biographer-for more than twenty-five years. Thus, he has been able to present a dramatic portrait of an important personality and a 20th century hero.

Living off the Country changes the risk of moving around in the outdoors into trouble-free times... offering take-along tips for finding free appetite fillers, thirst quenchers, weapons and warmth in all kinds of situations. In a clear and understandable way, brad Angier provides a harvest of handy, helpful hints about the necessities of life... where to look for the natural-growing supply of edible, unusual, taste-tickling plants, bushes, and fruit; make-shift but sure-fire ways to catch fish; easy ways to utensil-less cooking; building and using first to the best advantages; constructing off-beat shelters handily; best ways to conserve and use available clothing; what to do about finding your way; backwoods medicine for emergencies...and much more to satisfy man's need to stay alive in the woods. For any kind of timber trek, pack Living Off the Country with other survival gear.