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World Events Spark Patriotic Interest On Veterans Day
Questia Provides Resources Beyond Bookstore Shelves


HOUSTON (November 7, 2001) -- A renewed sense of patriotism has sparked international curiosity about world history and the soldiers who fought in past wars. Facing uncertain times, Americans are finding comfort in knowing that their country has persevered and overcome tragedy throughout its 225-year history. This year, Veterans Day on November 11 is more meaningful than in years past for Americans. In fact, people of all nationalities and ages are striving to better understand the events and history surrounding past wars. This resurgence of interest in history has led many people to the Internet searching for answers to questions that face the world today.

Questia, the world’s largest online library, makes available backlist, out of print and current titles seldom carried by bookstores, especially those printed in the first half of the 20th century written about the Civil War and World War I. While bookstores and online vendors frequently highlight more recently released titles, the demand now is for the hard to find titles.

Contained within the 66,000-title collection are works reflective of important historical events relevant to U.S. history, including more than 2,100 titles dedicated to domestic and foreign wars. Recent visitors to the site have searched for books on every U.S. conflict from the Civil War to the Gulf War, accounting for a 750% increase in site traffic devoted to learning more about U.S. military history.

Often, a book that is a challenge to get your hands on holds a unique perspective that will have a greater impact on a reader, especially one who is truly interested in immersing themselves in a particular subject,” said Nancy Buchanan, a collection development librarian for Questia Media, Inc. “This Veterans Day promises to be especially poignant, and Questia takes pride in featuring the stories of soldiers that are not available on the average bookstore shelf -- such as My Home in the Field of Mercy written about World War I in 1917.

For information about U.S. wars and soldiers’ personal memoirs, Questia recommends the following previously published, backlist and out of print titles for reference:

On the Civil War
Reminiscences of the Civil War by John B. Gordon (1903)

  • The Citizen-Soldier: The Memoirs of a Civil War Volunteer by John Beaty (1998)
  • Advance and Retreat: Personal Experiences in the United States and Confederate States Armies by J.B. Hood (1996)
  • Through Ordinary Eyes: The Civil War Correspondence of Rufus Robbins, Private, 7th Regiment, Massachusetts Volunteers by Jon Wakelyn, Ella Jane Bruen and Brian M. Fitzgibbons (2000)

On World War I

  • The Long Road of War: A Marine’s Story of Pacific Combat by James W. Johnston (1998)
  • Wounded and a Prisoner of War by John Dalberg Acton (1917)
  • My Home in the Field of Mercy by Frances Wilson Huard (1917)

On World War II

  • A-Train: Memoirs of a Tuskegee Airman by Charles W. Dryden (1997)
  • American POWs of World War II: Forgotten Men Tell Their Stories by Tom Bird (1992)
  • OSS Against the Reich: The World War II Diaries of Colonel David K.E. Bruce by Nelson Douglas Lankford (1991)

On Pearl Harbor

  • The Day the War Began by Archie Satterfield (1992)
  • The Decision to Drop the Atomic Bomb by Dennis D. Wainstock (1996)
  • The Defeat of Japan by David Rees (1997)
  • Hirohito: The Emperor and the Man by Edwin P. Hoyt (1992)
  • Pearl Harbor Reexamined: Prologue to the Pacific War by Hakira Iriye (1990)
  • Pearl Harbor: The Story of the Secret War by George Morgenstern (1947)
  • What Happened at Pearl Harbor? Documents Pertaining to the Japanese Attack of December 7, 1941, and Its Background by Hans Louis Trefousse (1958)

On the Holocaust

  • Courage to Remember: Interviews on the Holocaust by David A. Harris (1999)
  • Different Voices: Women and the Holocaust by Carol Rittner and John K. Roth (1993)
  • Hitler’s Mind: A Plunge into Madness by Edleff H. Schwabb (1992)
  • The Holocaust and Strategic Bombing: Genocide and Total War in the Twentieth Century by David Kopf and Eric Markusen (1995)

On the Vietnam War

  • A Patriot After All: The Story of a Chicano Vietnam Vet by Juan Ramirez (1999)
  • Suicide Charlie: A Vietnam War Story by Norman L. Russell (1993)

On the Gulf War

  • Falcon’s Cry: A Desert Storm Memoir by Michael William Donnelly (1998)

A source for insight and information for all generations, Questia just launched version 2.2, which enables any visitor to access the entire table of contents and the first two pages of every book for free. Visitors must become subscribers to view the full content of the Questia collection of more than 66,000 books and journal articles. In September, Questia upgraded to a new, advanced search technology helpful in locating specific works or those relating to other topics and cutting search times by 90%.

We are constantly working to be responsive to our customers’ needs and to instantly –within three seconds -- provide topical books and articles of interest to both curious learners and students,” said Troy Williams, CEO and founder of Questia Media. “Additionally, the service is an invaluable tool that saves students an incredible amount of time when writing a research paper. In fact, to further demonstrate the benefits of being able to access an entire book online, we provide all visitors with the table of contents and a few pages of each book for free. And in light of our world events today, access and speed are critical.

Questia is available at www.questia.com for a monthly subscription rate of $9.95 per month and $19.95 monthly thereafter, and for an annual rate of $149.95.

About Questia
Founded in 1998, Questia Media, Inc., launched its revolutionary online library with powerful search and writing tools created specifically to help students write better papers in January 2001. Questia provides unlimited access to the full-text of an extensive collection of books and journal articles, as well as a wide range of tools including highlighter, markup, automatic footnotes and bibliography builder. For millions of students and researchers, the QuestiaSM service will enable them to efficiently research and compose papers at any time, from virtually every connected corner of the world. Based in Houston with offices in New York and Los Angeles, Questia is delivering on the true promise of the Internet by providing access to a wealth of human knowledge. Visit www.questia.com for more information.

Contacts
Perseus Books Group contact
Lissa Warren
Director of Publicity
(617) 252-5212
lissa.warren@perseusbooks.com

Ann Brimberry
Public Relations Manager
(713) 358-2704 / (713) 562-8817 cell
ABrimberry@questia.com

Media:
Richards/Gravelle Public Relations
Stacie Barnett (214) 891-2910
stacie_barnett@richards.com

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