Most Popular Books by Jim Murphy

By the author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Inner Excellence, this book offers a transformational blueprint for building the life you long for. Each one of us has a deep need for meaningful relationships, where love is unconditional and fully reliable, and where we can rest secure, with the deepest contentment, no matter what the circumstances around us. In the chaos of everyday life, it''s easy to lose sight of what''s possible, of the life we were created for: a life lived with a love you can feel in your heart that enlivens every experience dash; everything you think, feel, and do. It’s a life marked by courage and meaning. Each of us has a deep need for something that this world cannot fulfill, and we spend most of our lives searching for it. Drawing on over 2,000 years of Christian wisdom along with hard-won lessons from his own journey, bestselling author and performance coach Jim Murphy shares with you the path to a life of genuine peace, joy, and confidence so that you can live each day of your life with absolute fullness, free from anxiety and doubt. You’ll learn how to become your true self, grounded and connected to purpose and meaning. You’ll experience the power of living in authentic relationship with God, with yourself and with others. A life beyond your wildest dreams is available to you, one far beyond anything you have ever imagined ... your best possible life.

This collection represents an engagement with American history, technology, and cultures. Murphy''s poetry ranges from fairly straightforward narrations of events to experimental pieces using a variety of American-speaking subjects and several angles of vision on cultural creations--Elvis Presley, Holly Golightly, and Elmore James, to name just a few. Formal choices include the interlocking movements of the sestina and the rondau, the ebb and flow of loose blank verse, and the syncopated variety of free verse.

The "biography" of the deadly germ tuberculosis, an account of the diagnosis, treatment, and "cure" of the disease over time, and the social history of an illness that could strike anywhere but was most prevalent among the poor.

A description of the Battle of Gettysburg as seen through the eyes of nineteen-year-old Confederate lieutenant John Dooley and seventeen-year-old Union soldier Thomas Galway.

"Drawing on Arnold''s surviving writings and on the letters, memoirs, and political documents of his contemporaries ... a fascinating portrait of a brilliant man, consistently undervalued by his peers, who made a choice that continues to reverberate through American history."--Jacket.

When a 10-foot tall purported "petrified man" is unearthed from a backyard in upstate New York in 1869, the discovery immediately turns into a spectacle of epic proportions. News of the giant spreads like wildfire, and well over a thousand people come to view him in the first five days alone!Everyone has their own idea of his true origin: Is he an ancient member of the local Onandaga Indian tribe? Is he a biblical giant like Goliath? Soon the interests of world-renowned scientists and people from around the globe are piqued as arguments flare over who he is, where he came from, and if he is real--or just a hoax. In a riveting account of how the Cardiff Giant mystery snowballed into one of America’s biggest money-making spectacles--and scams--Jim Murphy masterfully explores the power of 19th-century media and the unexpected ripple effect that a single corrupt mastermind can produce when given a stage.

The Great Fire of 1871 was one of most colossal disasters in American history. Overnight, the flourshing city of Chicago was transformed into a smoldering wasteland. The damage was so profound that few people believed the city could ever rise again.By weaving personal accounts of actual survivors together with the carefully researched history of Chicago and the disaster, Jim Murphy constructs a riveting narrative that recreates the event with drama and immediacy. And finally, he reveals how, even in a time of deepest dispair, the human spirit triumphed, as the people of Chicago found the courage and strength to build their city once again.

National Book Award Finalist: An account of the disease that ravaged eighteenth-century Philadelphia, written and illustrated for young readers. 1793, Philadelphia: The nation''s capital and the largest city in North America is devastated by an apparently incurable disease, cause unknown... This dramatic narrative describes the illness known as yellow fever and the toll it took on the city''s residents, relating the epidemic to the social and political events of the day and eighteenth-century medical beliefs and practices. Drawing on first-hand accounts, Jim Murphy spotlights the heroic role of Philadelphia''s free blacks in combating the disease, and the Constitutional crisis President Washington faced when he was forced to leave the city—and all his papers—to escape the deadly contagion. The search for the fever''s causes and cure provides a suspenseful counterpoint to this riveting true story of a city under siege. Winner of multiple awards, this thoroughly researched book offers a look at the conditions of cities at the time of our nation''s birth, and draws timely parallels to modern-day epidemics. "A lavishly illustrated book, containing maps, newspaper columns and period illustrations...unflinchingly presents the horrors of the event as well as its heroes."— The New York Times "Pair this work with Laurie Halse Anderson''s wonderful novel Fever 1793 and you''ll have students hooked on history."— School Library Journal "History, science, politics, and public health come together in this dramatic account of the disastrous yellow fever epidemic that hit the nation''s capital more than 200 years ago."— Booklist

An account of Robert Louis Stevenson''s twelve day journey from New York to California in 1879, interwoven with a history of the building of the transcontinental railroad and the settling of the West.

A hair-cutting machine, a used gum receptacle, jumping shoes, and more of the strangest inventions ever! A hat that can tip itself. A suitcase that turns into a bathtub. A pair of protective eyeglasses for chickens. These are just three of the hundreds of unusual inventions that people have dreamed up over the last two centuries. Some, such as the mustache guard, made perfect sense when they first appeared. Others were considered just plain silly. Jim Murphy has compiled a collection of the weirdest and wackiest inventions and presented them in a quiz style that is challenging and fun. Simple, clear explanations are provided on how the inventions worked or failed to work. Complete with over 100 colored illustrations of these crazy creations, this is the perfect gift for any child interested in science and inventions. Ages: 9–12.

The Civil War JOURNAL OF JAMES EDMOND PEASE is now in paperback with an exciting repackaging!Ignorant to the bitter realities of military life, 16-year-old James enlists in the Union Army at the dawn of the Civil War. When his lieutenant assigns him to be the company historian of the G Company of the 122nd Regiment, New York Volunteers, he is initially at a loss as to what exactly he is supposed to record. As the days pass, James settles into his role, but he cannot take comfort in it. His country is divided by a bloody war, and his unit struggles through the hardships and turmoil. Through his journal entries, James poignantly captures the terror of battle, the drudgery of day-to-day life in the infantry, the loss of comrades, and the disillusionment of a young soldier.

In the summer of 1776, Joseph Plumb Martin was a fifteen-year-old Connecticut farm boy who considered himself as warm a patriot as the best of them. He enlisted that July and stayed in the revolutionary army until hostilities ended in 1783. Martin fought under Washington, Lafayette, and Steuben. He took part in major battles in New York, Monmouth, and Yorktown. He wintered at Valley Forge and then at Morristown, considered even more severe. He wrote of his war years in a memoir that brings the American Revolution alive with telling details, drama, and a country boy''s humor. Jim Murphy lets Joseph Plumb Martin speak for himself throughout the text, weaving in historical backfround details wherever necessary, giving voice to a teenager who was an eyewitness to the fight that set America free from the British Empire.

In September 1862, two great armies faced each other across Antietam Creek. The outnumbered Confederate forces were led by General Robert E. Lee. The Union army was led by General George B. McClellan. Jim Murphy uses archival photographs, maps, and firsthand accounts to recreate one of America''s most important battles.

"Murphy’s dramatic nonfiction narrative recounting of one of the first open heart surgeries ever performed is not to be missed." —School Library Journal (starred review) In 1944, a groundbreaking operation repaired the congenital heart defect known as blue baby syndrome. The operation’s success brought the surgeon Alfred Blalock international fame and paved the way for open-heart surgery. But the technique had been painstakingly developed by Vivien Thomas, Blalock’s African American lab assistant, who stood behind Blalock in the operating room to give him step-by-step instructions. The stories of this medical and social breakthrough and the lives of Thomas, Blalock, and their colleague Dr. Helen Taussig are intertwined in this compelling nonfiction narrative. Winner, Notable Books for a Global Society * Horn Book Fanfare List * A Booklist Best Young Adult Book

A unique, fast, and quirky guide to Philadelphia''s heroes and historic sites

Gold...silver...precious gems...the stuff dreams are made of. This is the story of a hoard of just such valuable metals and stones, whose journey begins in the year 1311, when the Knights Templar were prosecuted. A small band of valiant knights escape with the hoard and the turbulent journey begins. It''s 2525, and enter Mary and James McGoldenck, a young couple from Laramie, Wyoming, who fall in love with metal detecting and rock hounding, and because of those activities, trek all over Wyoming seeking buried treasures. Enter a villain from Louisiana, Jean Pierre LaCroix - drug dealer, money launderer, human trafficker, murder - these are just a few of his methods of making money. Follow Mary and James as they deal with deadly encounters, ambushes, difficult terrains, a mysterious American Indian, Thomas Light Horse, who shows up out of nowhere, and an old rancher named Chester Wilcox, who owns the ranch that holds Crashed Wagon Canyon.

This book presents a history, based on personal accounts and newspaper articles, of the massive snow storm that hit the Northeast in 1888, focusing on the events in New York City.