Bøger af Dennis Gaub

In 1968-69, the Laurel, Montana, high school boys basketball team achieved something remarkable. Those 15 purple-and-gold clad Locomotives and their coach, Don Peterson, went through an entire season, 26 games, without a loss and captured the first state basketball championship in school history. The team's final win for the trophy came in overtime on the biggest stage these teenagers had ever been on in their lives. The Locomotives were undersized all year and faced an even greater height disadvantage going for the trophy. It didn't matter. They were a relatively small school once again playing an opponent with many more students. It didn't matter. A magic season concluded with a magic night that lives on in the memory of players, fellow students, community members and sports fans, all middle-aged now and scattered across Montana, throughout the U.S. and around the world. This book tells the story of how a now-legendary team from Laurel beat the odds to win the state's biggest basketball trophy a half-century ago and became a permanent part of Treasure State sports history.

"Midway Bravery" chronicles the life of Army Air Force pilot Jim Muri, who flew his B-26 bomber on an attack against a massive Japanese fleet on June 4. 1942. It was a daring mission of survival that helped win the Battle of Midway early in World War II. Muri, 23 at the time, grew up in hardscrabble Eastern Montana. Hard work and solid values he learned as a boy made possible the bravery that made him a hero to his country. His story serves as an example of dream, purpose and passion fulfilled. Muri earned the Distinguished Service Cross for bravery, second in prestige only to the Medal of Honor, for his actions on a day that changed world history.

Modern young people may be comforted to know that their peers 100 years ago also tackled the doubts and uncertainty associated with coming of age. One such teenager, Arne Schmitt is a boy growing up early in the 20th century in Billings, Montana, a booming city on the edge of the Great Plains. He could follow in the footsteps of his German immigrant father and take over the family bakery, but he glances skyward and knows he wants the adventure of flying. He wants to become a pilot when aviation is young, airplanes are flimsy, and the dangers of crashing are all too real. His drive, his dream of soaring through the Treasure State's big sky helps him surmount challenges, including the anti-German bigotry that's rampant in his hometown during World War I. When peace comes and prejudice fades, he buys a plane, a war surplus Curtiss Jenny available at a bargain price, and learns to fly. More trials, however, lie ahead. First, his Jenny crashes and burns. Then, he must convince the father of his steady girlfriend that he can become a steady provider. Yet, it's Prohibition time, and Arne succumbs to the temptation of becoming an airborne rum runner. How will he fit into proper Billings society, win the hand of his girl in marriage, and still keep the excitement of flying stirring his heart? "Sky Dreamer" tells Arne's story in a timeless way that resonates with 21st century adolescents.