Bøger udgivet af Sherman Smith

GOLDEN CITY on FIRE, authored by Sherman Smith is a historical bone-chilling recount of San Francisco's most traumatic even, the 1906 devastating earthquake. Brilliantly written, Smith generates his research into riveting sentences sweeping the reader into the midst of hysteria and chaos as a small band of strong minds manage to keep their wits while all others are losing their sanity."...sorry I didn't bring a cake" is uttered as a simple calming honest birthday wish between two souls while all around them the trembling city explodes unto cinder and shatter, mangle and char falling to heaps of debris in the streets cutting off avenues and boulevards to floating in the bay clogging waterway escape. "It's hard to compartmentalize death and move on as if nothing had happened..."Sentence after sentence, page after page the reader is swept into the scene caught up as a victim, a survivor, a policeman, fireman, giggling children playing a simple kick-the-can game while a hungry man grilles fish on flame as parents "stare with frightened little animal eyes..."Maybe you are Lavinia, hurt and seemingly alone... "the heat and the smoke caused her vision to waver- a black and white dream with yellowish-orange undertones. All she knew was that she did not want to be where she was and that she really didn't know where that was."Sherman Smith vividly paints a portrait of mass humanity overcome to madness yet for a few giant professionals who manage to cling and build on their inner strength as they rise to grasp control in the face of overwhelming disarray. At the heart of this book glows love and compassion as in this scene of a China woman kneeling serenely at Lavinia's feet applying ancient comfort easing injury. "She closed her eyes not seeing or feeling the tiny needles the old woman inserted into her leg and foot."A monumental tome of historical value, GOLDEN CITY on FIRE should be in every library.

Sadly, San Francisco, California, has the history and reputation of being a racist city. The year is 1948 and people of color are not allowed to live or work east of Van Ness Avenue. It isn't a law, it's just the way it is. Earl and Stella Crier do not see it that way. They had been happy with their little piano bar out on the avenues until they found themselves in need of more space, so they bought an old hotel in the Tenderloin and turned it into a Private Residency for Musicians. Earl was color blind long before he lost his sight. His love of people and the music of the era attracts an odd lot to The Honeysuckle Rose Hotel including a black trombonist, a light brown gifted songbird, a Nisei Clarinetist, another playing the bass, and a tenor saxophone player who might be the ugliest man in the world. The hotel is not registered with the corrupt San Francisco Musician's Union which has a closed shop policy on people of color. This soon draws the wrath of the union president. Earl, Stella, and the Honeysuckle Rose Quintet will not allow the union to destroy what they love and so begins the battle to save the Honeysuckle Rose Hotel. It is a remarkable story of courage, compassion, character, and a deep determination of a blind pianist to do what is right because it is the right thing to do.

The world was different when The Greatest Generation was young. Many had never ventured more than a few miles from their home towns. What they knew about the outside world came from newsreels, for those who could afford to go to the movies. By 1939 much of the rest of the world was at war. On December 7th, 1941, we were slapped out of our depression era isolation to face the hard truth. While there was a draft, many signed up because there was a job to do - the world was on fire and some one had to put it out. This is the story of seven imperfect members of that generation, their lives from 1932 through the war years ending in 1946 at a Veteran's Hospital in San Francisco. Their story is global, of romance, and tragedy, the music of their generation echoing beyond their years. No one wanted to be a hero. In the end all they wanted was to come home. No one wanted war and few wanted to be heroes. Duty called in many guises but whether it was on a convoy ship in the frigid Artic, a cruiser in the Dutch East Indies, or a nurse in San Francisco , they did their duty, and when it was over all they wanted was to go home. The depression honed the character of the 317 men who lost their lives at the battle of Midway, and the many battles before and after. The story begins in 1932, concluding in 1946 at the Veteran's Hospital as strangers coming to terms with their common experience. The author uses the news reels of the times as the transitional voice.

Poets Can't Sing is about courage and the ability to overcome the worst that life can throw at you an comeong straight from the heart. The end of WWII brought the victors home to a world changed forever; not all came back whole. Some, who will never heal, are admitted to the Veteran's Hospital in San Francisco, where they are tucked away, out of sight and mind, from a nation that does not want to be reminded of the worst that men can do to each other in the dark of war. Stella Tate, a senior nurse, has almost run out of compassion, when she is pushed to her limit by two blind men who can not stand the sight of each other, and a Japanese-American (Nisei) medic who must confront a China Marine who has been beaten down by five brutal years of capitivity as a POW. Each on their own terms, dtruggle to break through potent barriers of prejudice, fear, and greed. When medical care falls short, Stella discovers that there are miracles to be found within the musical genious of Earl Crier, a blind crooner with a special gift for singing the blues. Stella's job is on the line when the challenges the corrupt hospital administrator. Her life is in jeapardy when she is forced to protect the two blind men from Elroy Hawks, who will stop at nothing to line his pocket. Elroy loses the first round driving the nightingale, the two blind men, a crippled marine, and a Nisei war hero out onto the more hostile streets of San Francisco where Elroy follows seeking revenge. Stella leaves San Frnancisco because she is afraid to admit that she has fallen in love with Earl only to return facing a desperate search to find her love. She buys a vacant piano bar for Him while fearing that they will never be united. Chance and luck bring them together, unfortunely leaving a trail for Elroy to follow,

The sound of Michael O'Dea's tenor saxophone echoed across the night skies and hills above Sausalito, California.For those who heard, it was haunting, mysterious, and heart-rendering, his soul seemingly speaking to the world. From his solitary perch on the roof of the Bayview Boarding House Michael's eyes were set on San Francisco where he had once been part of the music scene. Micheal knew how people saw him because he was remarkably ugly - his appearance enough to cause the Devil to scurry home for more appealing company. Michael never thought that he would be kissed by a woman; let alone, marry a woman as beautiful as Mollie. That she loves him challenged his manhood, making his loneliness even harder to bare. There are those in the boarding house who do not welcome him because he is ugly; a freak. It is the ugly side of their discontent that helps Michael overcome his own anguish, finding the courage to stand up for what is right, for Mollie, and to help new friends rise above their own. A Catholic priest who has lost his faith. The boarding house manager, who had been pushed down the stairs, now trapped in a wheelchair. A fisherman and refugee from Equator wanted for a crime he did not commit. A grizzly bear sized thug who struggles to keep his boss, an addict who suffers from PTSD, from his murderous rages. A middle aged woman who takes pride in making everyone her enemy. A superstitious elderly woman who fights against the ravages of age with unwavering spirit. A musically gifted transgender savant. A timid salesman, who partners with a charismatic conman, who rob the thieves, as they rob the luxurious Del Monte Lodge at Pebble Beach. The Bayview House sold, eviction notices given, the conman uses the ill-gotten money to buy a larger hotel and nightclub where Michael's music is no longer a lonely serenade.

On April 18th, 1906, a titanic earthquake jarred the citizens of San Francisco awake, not long after dozens of small fires burned. Three of those fires grew, eventually destroying over five hundred square blocks of the fabled city by the Golden Gate.Many of the survivors, rendered homeless, were forced to live in ill-prepared tent camps where shortages, government ineptitude, and corruption ruled the day. 'Never Stop Looking Down the Road' is a work of historical fiction telling the story of eight of the survivors, the hardships they endured during the three days and nights in which the city burned. Strangers, starting over, in a barren polo field in Golden Gate Park, the economic and social structure of the city forever changed. An old buffalo soldier brings hope by simply looking down that road for opportunity.