Anthony J. Barak Knihy

In the early 1800s, the outpost of Bellevue, Nebraska Territory was the home of the Omaha Indians as well as that of Logan Fontenelle, the half-breed son of the famous fur-trader Lucien Fontenelle. A famous writer visiting Bellevue in those days once referred to half-breed children like Logan as mongrels. It soon became evident that Logan was anything but a mongrel and he rose to hero and leader status among both Indians and whites. Constantly harassed and attacked by their enemies within the Sioux Nation, the Omaha found a golden period of tribal esteem under Logan's guidance. At age 22, he accomplished what other tribes and leaders could not. Using his two-culture background, Logan forged a fierce fighting force among the Omaha and other plains Indians and confronted the common Sioux enemy. In doing so, he brought peace to the peoples of the Missouri River valley. The Mongrel as a dramatized account of Logan Fontenelle's life, is told against a historical backdrop of when Indian buffalo hunts, the Morman migration and the fur trade were all part of the Nebraska experience.Dr. Barak was a World War II navy officer serving in the Pacific Theater. He received a Ph.D. in biochemistry at Missouri University. As a professor, he has taught biochemistry and internal medicine and conducted liver research at the University of Nebraska and Omaha VA Medical Centers for 40 years.

Shortly after the sacking of Mexico by the Spaniards, the leaders of New Spain heard many rumors of the riches existing in the vast area north of Mexico. In both 1540 and 1599, the viceroy of Mexico formed very large armies to march to the north and find and loot the wealth from areas reputed to being very rich. Francisco Coronado headed the first expedition, but in Cibola and Quivira found the Indians to be very poor and living in skin lodges. Coronado returned to Mexico in great disgrace.Despite the Coronado failures, the Spanish leaders still believed that Quivira possessed rich gold mines. They commissioned Juan de Onaté to lead another expensive expedition to investigate the area. Upon reaching Quivira, Onaté met the same fate as Coronado. He found no gold and had to retreat in ignominious defeat. In spite of the failings of Onaté, the men of his expedition had a great interplay with the Indians of Quivira. On one occasion, they helped defend the Pawnee Indians from the Comanche tribe.So great was the Spaniard quest for gold, that 180 years after Coronado, the Spaniards under Don Pedro de Villasur again invaded Quivira. At this late date under the influence of the French, the Oto and Pawnee attacked the Spaniards along the Platte River and decimated their army. This defeat then spelled the end of the Spanish power on the Great Plains.

This work is a novel based partially on the experience of the author who served as a Naval officer in the Pacific during World War II. The narrative portrays the typical experience endured by officer candidates in the USNR Midshipmen Schools of the U.S. Navy during the war. The story not only demonstrates the academic and physical training to which the midshipmen were subjected to obtain their Navy commissions, but also the training stress endured by them to learn their respective jobs. In the case of the principal in this story, he assumes the very dangerous task of an assault boat officer who works in the various phases of amphibious warfare, i.e. reconnaissance raids, elimination of underwater obstructions and beach assault. The tale outlines the details and interesting aspects of some of the noteworthy operations in the Pacific campaigns and this includes not only some horrific incidents along with some very humorous occurrences as well. The novel also portrays the low morale experienced by Ensign Baron who hears little word from the home front during the time that he is exposed to deadly events in the war-zone and how he tries to deal with this scenario while conducting his perilous duties.