"'Starlight Ranch and Other Stories of Army Life on the Frontier' collects five of Captain Charles King's frontline stories, and offers a glimpse of American army life in the mid- to late 19th century. It follows his campaigns in the American-Indian wars in a number of battles. It offers valuable insights into life in the military at this time as well as stunning first-hand accounts of combat in these theatres. It is a fascinating insight into the formative years of the American army as well as the formative years of American society as a whole. If you enjoyed ‘The Last of the Mohicans’ this stunning first-hand account is perfect for you. This collection contains: 'Starlight Ranch,' 'Well Won, or From the Plains to the Point’, 'From the point to the Plains', 'The Worst Man in the Troop,' and 'Van'.
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Charles King (1844-1933) was a graduate of the prestigious West Point academy, grandson of a signatory of the American Constitution as well as a decorated war veteran with over seventy years of service. Much of his work covers the Indian wars of the 1870s, the American wars in the Philippines as well as the First World War. Apart from his non-fiction he wrote dozens of novels and short stories earning him the name the ‘American Kipling’. His most famous works include 'Marion’s Faith,' 'The Colonel’s Daughter,' 'Campaigning with Crook,' 'Fort Frayne,' 'Under Fire' and 'Daughter of the Sioux.'"
"Charles King was a United States soldier and a distinguished writer. He was the son of Civil War general Rufus King and great grandson of Rufus King, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. He graduated from West point in 1866 and served in the Army during the Indian Wars under George Crook. He was wounded in the arm forcing his retirement from the regular army. During this time he became acquainted with Buffalo Bill Cody. King would later write scripts for several of Cody's silent films.
King's writings, relating to American Indians, cover a complex range of opinion within his novels. His sympathy for their cause of defending their homelands, and being forced to adopt a new lifestyle, did not stop him from graphically portraying them as savage and barbaric peoples. However, King also used his writings to harshly criticize U.S. government policies that resulted in Indian treaties not being honored and that permitted rampant corruption among government-appointed reservation agents. As a lieutenant in the 5th Cavalry, King was a participant on the American western frontier, who personally fought in battles with Southwestern and Plains Indians and observed government policies first hand. Charles King is credited today with helping to establish the "Western novel" as a romantic and dramatic genre of American literature, based upon a sturdy foundation of historical realism. (Summary compiled from Wikipedia and THE LIFE OF CHARLES KING by Nathan Bender, Housel Curator, McCracken Research Library within The Buffalo Bill Historical Center.)"
"At midnight, December 31, 1925, citizens of the newly proclaimed Turkish Republic celebrated the New Year. For the first time ever, they had agreed to use a nationally unified calendar and clock.
Yet in Istanbul—an ancient crossroads and Turkey's largest city—people were looking toward an uncertain future. Never purely Turkish, Istanbul was home to generations of Greeks, Armenians, and Jews, as well as Muslims. It welcomed White Russian nobles ousted by the Russian Revolution, Bolshevik assassins on the trail of the exiled Leon Trotsky, German professors, British diplomats, and American entrepreneurs—a multicultural panoply of performers and poets, do-gooders and ne'er-do-wells.
During the Second World War, thousands of Jews fleeing occupied Europe found passage through Istanbul, some with the help of the future Pope John XXIII. At the Pera Palace, Istanbul's most luxurious hotel, so many spies mingled in the lobby that the manager posted a sign asking them to relinquish their seats to paying guests.
With beguiling prose and rich character portraits, Charles King brings to life a remarkable era when a storied city stumbled into the modern world and reshaped the meaning of cosmopolitanism."
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