Born into slavery in free territory, Joseph Godfrey died widely reviled for his controversial role in the U.S.-Dakota War of 1862. In this riveting biography, Walt Bachman untangles the thorny questions that haunt Godfrey’s story: How was he enslaved in a free state? Did he murder the frontier settlers for which the Dakota dubbed him Otakle (“Many Kills”)? Did he turn traitor to save his own life? Did Godfrey’s testimony send thirty-eight Dakota men, including his father-in-law, to the gallows? 

This revisionist biography, with many untold stories of mid-twentieth-century baseball, casts new light on Frick’s sizable contributions to the game and his lasting legacy.

The Land of Sand and Cotton uncovers key elements in the come-up of baseball in the state, such as important games in the newly formed Texas League, racial tensions and the semipro Colored League, the pivotal Major League barnstorming tour, financial struggles during the season, and outside political influences.

In a world where athletes have become multi-million-dollar legends, We Sacrifice Everything to Baseball reveals how teamwork, sacrifice, and self-belief can still make a difference. Michael Clair, who spent time with the Czech team throughout the 2023 World Baseball Classic, has unparalleled insight on the team and their unlikely success.

In Around the Bend Dill teases out the cultural and environmental history of the Missouri and urges readers to change the way they think about America’s rivers and the landscapes through which they flow.

Fish Cars and Fish Culture explores the intersection between the development of railroads and fish culture during the last half of the 1800s. 

In Royal Treatment Sean J. McLaughlin explores Jackie Robinson’s experience in Canada as a Minor Leaguer and the warm embrace he received from Montrealers well before he became one of baseball’s household names.

In A Poisoned Chalice, former U.S. Navy Commander Stephen P. Phillips discusses the Iran-Iraq War’s strategic implications, what happened at operational and tactical levels of warfare, and what the war teaches us about the United States’ relationship with the Middle East today.

In his final days in office in 1909, Theodore Roosevelt invited dozens of friends to the White House for lunch. They had never met as a group, but they had one thing in common: Each played tennis with the president and advised on policy matters. Turning away from Roosevelt as the singular force behind his administration, it is possible to see how the contributions of his Tennis Cabinet quietly sowed the seeds of the American Century.

Through the lens of one person’s experience, More than Flower Power offers an intimate portrait of a West Coast generation’s optimism, idealism, and transformative influence on American culture and society.