James Jackson

Combining the moral indignation of Zola and the writing talent and historical perspective of Pierre Berton, this detailed inquiry claims that an 1832 Montreal riot - which allegedly caused British troops to open fire - simply never happened and that there was no mob when soldiers opened fire, leaving three innocent bystanders dead. The examination corroborates these assertions with affidavits presented to a packed grand jury that exonerated the soldiers, officers, and magistrates who called in the troops. Also noteworthy is that the grand jury comprised a majority of recently arrived English-speaking Protestant farmers, even though the three victims were French Canadian and Catholic. Most troubling, the author notes, is the fact that historians have not questioned the official story; but here he attempts to set the record straight.

1212. The forces of Christendom are on the march again. There is much to avenge. Twenty-five years ago, the Christian army lay slaughtered on the desolate plain of the Horns of Hattin. Mighty Saladin, ruler of the Moslem world, went on to capture Jerusalem, crush the Crusaders and push back the remnants of the Latin empire to a thin line of threatened coastal forts. The Holy Land seemed lost. But now the Pope has called for crusade. Many take the cross for pilgrimage and battle. Among them is Otto, a young noble heading for the Holy Land in search of his vanished Hospitaller Knight father, and Brother Luke, a mysterious Franciscan on a mission of his own. And then there are the children, tens of thousands of them, pledged to recapture Jerusalem and find the True Cross, the holiest of relics lost to the forces of Islam. But what begins as a religious quest will turn into a harrowing nightmare of hardship and danger. For dangers press in and the way ahead is perilous. Some will not survive. What they seek is Truth. What they find is Hell.

The legendary Hospitaller Knights of St John, the last of the great surviving Christian chivalric orders, have retreated to the small island of Malta, fighting the tide of Islam around the Mediterranean, and robbing from rich traders to survive. But Ottoman Emperor Suleiman the Magnificent now wants the Knights wiped off the map altogether, and dispatches one of the greatest armadas that ever set sail to annihilate them. The Order seems doomed until the extraordinary bravery of one Englishman, Christian Hardy, attracts the attention of the Grand Master himself. Accompanying Christian in this swashbuckling tale of love, revenge, and destiny is his band of close companions: the Moor, a genius inventor of demonic weapons, Luqa, a young orphan set on becoming Christian's protégé, Hubert, his longstanding friend and spiritual counsellor and Maria, a beautiful noblewoman who rejects the sanctuary of Sicily to be with him. With the help of these steadfast comrades, Christian must now summon all his courage to face an unbeatable enemy, and change the course of history . . . Set in a period of unparalleled brutality, and told with drama, sweep and passion, The Blood Rock is fiction on an epic scale.

NEWS HEADLINES: Earthquakes, Famines, Pestilences, Globalization, Nuclear Escalation, Terrorism, Religious Hatred, Immorality, Wars in the Middle East. Are these signs that the end-times are upon us? The Bible lays out God's plan for the human race and the planet we inhabit. With the Jews back in the land of Israel after an 1800 year absence, I believe that God's end-times timepiece has started ticking. Jesus said there was a time of trouble coming upon the earth "such as never was and never will be again." Are these troubles on the horizon? "Even at the Doors" will take you through the Biblical prophecies that have been fulfilled and will be fulfilled...in the near future?