New Book Release: In Balanchine's Steps

In Balanchine's Steps: How the George Balanchine Foundation Preserves His Genius by Costas et al.

Learning to dance the steps of choreographer George Balanchine requires both a measure of magic and hard work. Saving those steps for a new generation of dancers is the work of the George Balanchine Foundation. This new book tells the story of the Foundation's effort to preserve the remarkable dances created by Balanchine so that they can be shared and enjoyed into the future.

New Book Release: Latino Firsts

Latino Firsts: Trailblazers and Milestones in United States History by Nicolas Kanellos

Salute the Latino legends, pioneers, and trailblazers! Celebrate the Hispanic milestones, accomplishments, and victories!

An inspiring exploration of 1,250 groundbreaking individuals and pioneering events, Latino Firsts: Trailblazers and Milestones in United States History honors the an indelible mark Hispanics have made on American history and society. Featured are brigadier general Richard E. Cavazos, Nobel laureate Gabriela Mistral, actress America Ferrera, playwright Lin-Manuel Miranda, civil rights activist Dolores Huerta, Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science Francisco Ayala, artist Jen-Michel Basquiat, weightlifter Sarah Elizabeth Robles, and many, many more notable people and accomplishments, such as …

• The first Latinos—three Mexican American lawyers—to argue a case before the U.S. Supreme Court: Gustavo C. García, Carlos Cadena, and John J. Herrera prevailed in Hernandez v. Texas to have juries in the state of Texas desegregated in 1954
  
• The first Latina to represent the United States in the Olympics in archery: Jennifer Muciño-Fernández in 2020
  
• The first Hispanic American to be awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom for his years of work on behalf of civil rights for Latinos: President Ronald Reagan honored Hector Pérez García in 1984
  
• The first Latino to be named executive director and president of the Academy of American Poets: Puerto Rican Ricardo Alberto Maldonado in 2023
  
• The United States’ first recorded Latino labor organizing activity: Juan Gómez organized cowboys in the panhandle of Texas in 1883, leading several hundred cowboys on strike against ranch owners
  
• The first Latino to hold the rank of brigadier general of the U.S. Marine Corps: Angela Salinas in 2006
  
• The first Hispanic to be inducted into the American Classical Music Hall of Fame: Opera soprano Martina Arroyo in 2020
  
• The first Puerto Rican and first U.S. Latino to win the Academy Award for Best Actor: José Ferrer in 1950 for Cyrano de Bergerac
  
• The first Latina to serve as a CEO of a Fortune 500 company: Cuban American Geisha Williams became the CEO the Pacific Gas and Electric Company in 2017
  
• The first Latina to serve as a bishop of the United Methodist Church: Minerva G. Carcaño in 2004
  
• The first Latino known to have graduated from an Ivy League school: David Camden DeLeón graduated in 1836 from the University of Pennsylvania
  
• The first Latina dancer to star on Broadway: Puerto Rican Chita Rivera was the principal dancer in 1952’s Guys and Dolls
  
• The first Hispanic spy for the United States: Captain Román Antonio Baca in 1862
  
• The first Latino to be named chief scientist for NASA: France Anne-Dominic Córdova in 1993
  
• The first Latino to receive the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism: Peruvian American journalist Carlos Lozada in 2019
  
• And thousands of other milestones and firsts!
  
  
  Milestones, victories and success are not always noticed when they happen. Sometimes an achievement is only recognized years later. Revel and rejoice in the renowned and lesser-known, barrier-breaking trailblazers in all fields—arts, entertainment, business, civil rights, education, government, invention, journalism, religion, science, sports, music, and more. Latino Firsts illuminates the rich and important history of Hispanic Americans!

New Book Release: Dark Spirits

Dark Spirits: Monsters, Demons and Devils by Richard Estep

Take a dark descent into a world of supernatural evil! Explore true horrors of sinister spirits, ominous ghosts, angry souls, menacing monsters, malicious demons, and cursed creatures in this collection of the malevolent paranormal!

Sometimes the monsters are monsters — swimming the murky waters of Loch Ness, stalking their victims the streets of small town America, or hunting innocents across the desolate British moors. At other times, the darkness lies within the human soul itself — the falsely accused who were executed for witchcraft in Salem, those hounded to their graves (and beyond) by cruel pursuers, or those cursed by all forms of vile spirits. Then there are the devils and demons lurking in the darkness, capable of possessing and tormenting the living.

Master storyteller and seasoned paranormal investigator Richard Estep presents sinister hordes of evil in Dark Spirits: Monsters, Demons, and Devils. This fright-filled read spans the darkest realms of the paranormal, including …

• Shapeshifters such as the menacing Skinwalkers of native mythology and ravenous, slavering werewolves
• Dreaded ghosts and ominous hauntings, including John Wayne Gacy’s ghost, the Amityville haunting, and the Villisca Axe Murder House
• Dark and evil curses, from the curse of Superman and Steven Spielberg’s Poltergeist to the tomb of Egypt’s pharaoh Tutankhamun
• Deadly demons and devils, like Dozmary Pool’s deal with the devil; Ronald Hunkeler, the Exorcist Boy; and the inhabitants of the Ammons demon house
• Vampires and vampirism from Vlad the Impaler to Elizabeth Bathory, killer of hundreds, to the Highgate Vampire
• Horrific accusations and deadly consequences that ripped through society from the Salem witch trials to the supernatural hysteria caused by the rapid spread of tuberculosis to the 1980s Satanic panic
• Otherworldly encounters like the Black Eyed Children that appear out of nowhere, the Roswell Crash, unexplained animal mutilations, and abducted human beings
• Cursed places, including the Bermuda Triangle, London’s haunted Underground, and Los Angeles’ notorious Hotel Cecil
• And dozens more stories of dark and depraved paranormal beings and encounters.
  
  
  Walk into the abyss of the whispered and veiled legends, the myths and first-person encounters in Dark Spirits. Learn about these frightening experiences and how they scarred lives forever. Explore the dark supernatural world around you—if you dare!