Stanton Arthur Coblentz

In the year 2020 A.D., not only the peace, but the continued existence of Earth as a habitable planet lay in the hands of two men: Carl C. Armitage, President of the United States, and Yu Lu-wai, Chairman of Red China. Neither were fools; both knew that the employment of the dreadful weapons that had been perfected in recent decades would result not in victory, but universal ruin. Yet both were being pushed toward the moment when they would strike — preventive war — which they would persuade themselves would annihilate only the other, before the enemy could strike back. But it was not only the peoples of Earth who trembled under the weight of impending doom. For the planet Jupiter was the home of a great race, humanoid in form — enough so that its inhabitants could disguise themselves as Earthmen — and the people of Omegricon had frequently sent intelligence expeditions to Earth, which they called Mugud or the Errant Planet. They knew how close to doom Earth was; and not only did they seek to avert events that would destroy a beautiful planet, but they hoped to cure the peoples of Earth of whatever madness it was that drove them toward war. For it was clear that not only one planet in the Solar System would be affected; the radiations of human nuclear weapons would reach far out into space and wreak havoc on Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn as well. The latest expedition, under the leadership of Zerdyl, had just returned from Mugud, and the news Zerdyl brought was grave indeed. War that would bring Earth's history to an end was very close. The Chinese Black Dragon satellites could annihilate the cities of the United States at any moment and an ultimatum had been sent to Chairman Yu. But the radioactive dust that the United States had perfected, very short-lived, could wipe out all life in vast areas within a brief period, and then be harmless but a few days later. And this was but one of the weapons the Pentagon had. There was but one course to take. Zerdyl and two companions must return to Earth to see if their superior talents could be effective in bringing about conciliation and disarmament before it was too late. If not, the war must not be permitted to start; the Ultimate Recourse must be employed in order to protect all life in the Solar System. The Ultimate Recourse! All the members of the High Council of Omegricon shuddered at that phrase, fervently hoping it would not have to be used. Here is a gripping novel of tomorrow by the author of “The Crimson Capsule” and “Lord of Tranerica.”

A collection of 59 poems about California trees.

389 p. 24 cm

Uncle Charlie Wheeler stamped on the steps before Nance McGregor's bake-shop on the Main Street of the town of Coal Creek Pennsylvania and then went quickly inside. Something pleased him and as he stood before the counter in the shop he laughed and whistled softly. With a wink at the Reverend Minot Weeks who stood by the door leading to the street, he tapped with his knuckles on the showcase.

In 1824 James Ohio Pattie and his father Sylvester set out from St. Louis on what was to be one of the most adventurous expeditions in pioneering annals. Six years later he returned to his old home in Kentucky, after wanderings that had taken him across prairies and deserts, up the gorges of untraveled streams, and over the ice and snow of unknown mountain passes. James Pattie was one of the earliest explorers of the Southwest and one of the first pioneers to thread the Grand Canyon. Ranging much of the territory of present-day California in the days of the missions and roaming a great many other states and territories, he saw the country and its fauna and people in their pristine state. During the strange and often harrowing interval between 1824 and 1830, he had frequent battles and as frequent friendly encounters with the Indians. He faced death from wild beasts. from thirst, from famine, from the craftiness of savages, the treachery of nature.^ He traversed the Grand Canyon of the Colorado when its fame was still unsung. He saved himself from perishing in the desert to be thrown into prison in California, and helped to suppress a revolution against the man who had persecuted him. He journeyed up and down the coast on horseback and by sailing vessel. He suffered enormous losses and refused princely offers. He engaged in one or two romances or near-romances with black-eyed senoritas and ended by going to the city of Mexico to seek redress for his inquires. Fascinating as this story is, and abounding in rapid action, thrill, and historical interest, it is generally unknown, since the facts lie buried in books long out of print. The basis for this volume is James Pattie's own journal, The Personal Narrative of James O. Pattie, which is the only other book about the Patties and which is privately printed before Mr. Coblentz wrote the present study.^ The Swallowing Wilderness is a remarkable work by a distinguished commentator who can look back with perspective, make criticisms and comparisons, and appraise the value and accuracy of the material. Mr. Coblentz' enlivening version of the story recreates and reinterprets for this age a tale that is woven into the American past and that is, in the words of the celebrated historian Robert Glass Cleland, "a classic adventure story of the West" -- Book jacket.