Allan W. Eckert Standalone Novels
The protagonist of this novel is heroic, majestic, a born leader, a devoted husband and father. He is destined to be long remembered by whoever reads about his life. He is a great Auk. The great auks were the only flightless species of North Atlantic bird. Their tiny wings were not capable of raising their large bodies into the air. Yet these ridiculous flipper-like appendages----pumping in perfect harmony with the vast splayed feet with their tough rubbery webbing---could propel the birds on or beneath the billowing ocean surface faster than six strong men could row a boat. When standing upright, the great auks resemble penguins. These noble birds have been extinct for more than one hundred years, but they live again in this amazing novel that allows them and their last leader from their North Atlantic summer mating grounds on Eldey Island south to the Carolinas. On the island and along the three-thousand-mile migration route lurk many perils---storms, killer whales, fishhooks, scientists, and the terrible tune of swishthump that marks the onslaught of profiteering hunters with their murderous clubs. Before the story is finished, we witness the growth of the young great auk from the dramatic moment of hatching, into his adventures as a timorous fledgling, until the time when he himself becomes the monarach of his dwindling flock. As the seven remaining birds begin their return to Eldey Island, the reader fears what he knows is inevitable, that these great auks are the last, that there will be no more. Such is the power of Allan Eckert's novel and its remarkable characters.
Winter ended in late March. April was a transitional month, with freezing rains and raw winds. In May, spring truly arrives. As day after day the sun continues to shine, to warm the cold waters of Oak Lake near the Illinois-Wisconsin border, the lives of the animal who live in and around the lake begin to change, for May is the Wild Season. The feeding, the fighting, the mating, the bearing of young and the dying of nature's wild creatures take on intensity and excitement. There is a renewed vigor in the processes of life.
Accounts of typical experiences and activities of animals native to Louisiana's bayou country. . . . . . TABLE OF CONTENTS: 1.) Louisiana Heron -- 2.) The Armadillo -- 3.) The Raccoon -- 4.) The Water Moccasin -- 5.) The Snakebird -- 6.) The Spadefoot Toad and the Hognose Snake -- 7.) The Alligator Snapping Turtle -- 8.) The Dragonfly -- 9.) The Spotted Skink -- 10.) The Alligator -- * Epilogue -- * Index
His mother was a housecat gone wild-a huge, tiger-striped cat who survived almost certain death at the hands of a man intent upon destroying her and her family. His father was a bobcat-a proud, cunning creature of the Wisconsin countryside, whose tumultuous courtship with her resulted ultimately in his own violent death. The Crossbreed himself was their largest offspring-the only one that strange litter the feral housecat bore to resemble his sire, even though his markings were those of his mother. His intelligence and ability and the combination of the better attributes of both breeds enabled him to survive in a world of enemies and t undergo an incredible odyssey of over two thousand miles in four years. The Crossbreed is a swiftly paced, sometimes brutal sometimes sad, always compelling novel of an indomitable spirit; of the perfection that is nature and of the cruel and sometimes wonderfully tender moments between men and animals.
The "coming of age" story of a very lonely and misunderstood boy who is sent to a boarding school and finds solace in the woods, with nature. He becomes especially enraptured of a giant old oak tree, on the massive branches of which he indulges his fantasies and dreams of what he may someday become.
A very special young adult nature novel about the life and adventures in survival of a North Carolina king snake, from the time of his hatching until he becomes adult. The story shows the way he lives, how he catches and eats his prey (including other snakes, even poisonous ones), his value in the balance of nature and the fascinating events of his life, shedding new light and understanding about the lives of snakes, which, despite their value to man, are so often misunderstood and deliberately killed just because of what they are or what they are perceived to be.
Describes the difficulties and animals encountered by the crew of the Geronimo on their voyage to capture a whale, the most difficult animal to bring back alive.
Based on a little-known incident in the life of Boone when, after being captured by Shawnees and subsequently escaping, he was charged with treason and court-martialed. In a brilliant display of ability, Boone defends himself at the trial and gradually the truth about what really happened emerges until he is at last exonorated.
"Eckert's plotline is terrifying and provides the reader with intense action, character developments that reek with reality, and some of the finest mind-bending writing in a long, long time." — Cincinnati Enquirer "Intrigue, love, high imagination, politics, White House and residential drama, cunning skill, technique and an overpowering sense of disaster. A great experience, it all adds up to a sizzling novel." — Edinborough Evening News "Eckert thrusts us without warning into a breathtaking adventure. A gripping tale, monumental, captivating and enthralling, the story is a masterpiece!" — Chicago Sun Times
"Eckert's skills as a naturalist, previously displayed in his Newbery Award-winning Incident at Hawk's Hill, are here given full expression and armchair adventurers will soon be caught in its spell. The pristine and often savage beauty of the killer rainforest is described in lush detail; the reader is right there, watching. Once the reader has been snagged, he'll be as much a captive of the magnificent forest as is Sarah Francis and just as intent as she to survive in a paradoxically terrifying and beautiful environment. The reader cannot help by hold his breath!"-Cincinnati Enquirer
The dramatic story of a lonely and misunderstood boy who has an exhilarating relationship with animals and nature, Song of the Wild is a book for all ages. Twelve-year-old Caleb Erikson, who was born with a strange and wonderful talent that lets him take his mind inside any living creature he sees, sharing everything it experiences. With his special gift he can soar into the sky within a red-winged blackbird, run freely inside the horses he loves, or share the experiences of a great old tree as it undergoes the violence of a storm. One remarkable summer, into Caleb's life comes Dr. Colin Patrick, a warmhearted veterinarian with a rare sensitivity for animals and those who understands them; a man not so skeptical as others of Caleb's amazing ability.
Johnny Logan was born Spemica Lawba, a Shawnee. Taken prisoner as a boy when his village was destroyed by an army under General Benjamin Logan, he is adopted by Logan. Later returned to his people, Johnny Logan becomes a spy for the Americans in the War of 1812 and gives up his life to prove his loyalty to the Americans.
Draws a portrait of mass murderer Hermann Mudgett, better known as H.H. Holmes, who, in addition to killing more than one hundred victims, leads a colorful life as a pharmacist, teacher, inventor, landscape architect, and storekeeper
An award-winning author chronicles the settling of the Ohio River Valley, home to the defiant Shawnee Indians, who vow to defend their land against the seemingly unstoppable. They came on foot and by horseback, in wagons and on rafts, singly and by the score, restless, adventurous, enterprising, relentless, seeking a foothold on the future. European immigrants and American colonists, settlers and speculators, soldiers and missionaries, fugitives from justice and from despair—pioneers all, in the great and inexorable westward expansion defined at its heart by the majestic flow of the Ohio River. This is their story, a chronicle of monumental dimension, of resounding drama and impact set during a pivotal era in our history: the birth and growth of a nation. Drawing on a wealth of research, both scholarly and anecdotal—including letters, diaries, and journals of the era—Allan W. Eckert has delivered a landmark of historical authenticity, unprecedented in scope and detail.