Millions have sat under the “big top,” watching as trapeze artists glide and clowns entertain, but few know the captivating stories behind the men whose creativity, ingenuity and determination created one of our country’s most beloved pastimes. In BATTLE FOR THE BIG TOP, New York Times bestselling author Les Standiford brings to life a remarkable era when three circus kings --- James Bailey, P.T. Barnum and John Ringling --- all vied for control of the vastly profitable and influential American Circus. Ultimately, the rivalry of these three men resulted in the creation of an institution that would surpass all intentions and, for 147 years, hold a nation spellbound.

Looking at the island of Palm Beach today, with its unmatched mansions, tony shops and pristine beaches, one is hard pressed to visualize the dense tangle of Palmetto brush and mangroves that it was when visionary entrepreneur and railroad tycoon Henry Flagler first arrived there in April 1893. Within less than a year, he had built the Royal Poinciana Hotel, and two years later what was to become the legendary Breakers. Over the next 125 years, Palm Beach has become synonymous with exclusivity --- especially its most famous residence, “Mar-a-Lago.” PALM BEACH, MAR-A-LAGO, AND THE RISE OF AMERICA’S XANADU tells the history of this fabled landscape intertwined with the colorful lives of its famous protagonists.

Just before Christmas in 1843, a debt-ridden and dispirited Charles Dickens wrote a small book he hoped would keep his creditors at bay. His publisher turned it down, so Dickens used what little money he had to put out A CHRISTMAS CAROL himself. He worried it might be the end of his career as a novelist. The book immediately caused a sensation. And it breathed new life into a holiday that had fallen into disfavor, undermined by lingering Puritanism and the cold modernity of the Industrial Revolution. It was a harsh and dreary age, in desperate need of spiritual renewal, ready to embrace a book that ended with blessings for one and all.

In 1907, Irish immigrant William Mulholland conceived and built one of the greatest civil engineering feats in history: the aqueduct that carried water 223 miles from the Sierra Nevada mountains to Los Angeles --- allowing this small desert city to grow into a modern global metropolis. Les Standiford vividly captures the larger-then-life engineer and the breathtaking scope of his six-year, $23 million project that would transform a region, a state and a nation at the dawn of its greatest century.

More than 200 years ago, a group of British colonists in America decided that the conditions under which they were governed had become intolerable. Angry and frustrated that King George III and the British Parliament ignored their lawful complaints and petitions, they decided it was time to take action.

Before Adam Walsh there were no faces on milk cartons, no National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, no federal databases of crimes against children. His 1981 abduction and murder --- unsolved for over a quarter of a century --- forever changed America.