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The poignant story of how, together two Americans faced and conquered red tape, engineering obstacles, corruption and personal trials to train and equip the US Marines for their greatest challenges.

The story of the LVT, an amphibious vehicle the Marines used to win the war in the Pacific. Two historical figures fight technical and bureaucratic party, and a magazine article can alter history and save 100,000 lives. 

FWA Royal Palm Literary Award winner – Runner-up Best Historical Novel.

When Edison looked for a place to spend his winters in 1885, he chose Ft. Myers on the lower Southwest coast. His selection wasn't based on the weather or ease of access. It was based on practical reasons. Reasons tied directly to his research projects. His selection had a major impact on those projects and an impact on the future of the area. Learn how SWF became a magnet for famous industrialists, financiers, and other famous individuals. Edison's unique personality and mind are important to understand what sparked his genius.

In June of 2013, Edward Snowden, an employee of the National Security Agency, released to the media many thousands of documents that showed the extent that our government was spying on not only national security targets, but ordinary American citizens. Some claimed he committed treason and others called him a great patriot. We will investigate both sides of the issue and attempt to determine where the truth lies.

This PowerPoint presentation goes into great detail on the steps that a CIA Case Officer employs in acquiring someone in a foreign country with access to valuable information unavailable in any other way, to spy for the USA. It reveals the meticulous planning and clever techniques used to communicate that intelligence safely and securely without compromising it, or jeopardizing both parties over long periods of time.

In 1932, America was in the midst of the greatest economic calamity in its history. Massive unemployment, businesses failing, banks closing which resulted in many losing all they had accumulated, and utter despair across the land. Into the dark times stepped a new president, Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Never in our history had things looked so bleak for so many. We will explore this new president, his vision for the recovery of our economy and how he went about putting this plan into effect.

Join this class and hear about the lives, crimes, and the deaths of some of the most notorious gangsters of the 1800s through 20th century.

Discover the history, legends and cultures of the Emerald Isle from when the first settlers rowed their tiny, skin boats across wild seas from England. Centuries of Druid, Celt, and Viking settlements have left Ireland with a rich and permanent collection of myths and legends. Learn the true stories behind the legends of leprechauns, fairies, changelings, pookas, banshees, and the Blarney Stone.

This course will include more Hollywood secrets, scandals, suicides and murders. Topics include items like what happened to Errol Flynn? Who was Clark Gable?

Nothing's quite as "hot" as a steamy romance, unless it's a story of a notorious gangster. When they're combined, the term "hot" doesn't begin to cover it! Dee Collier is returning to MTP with a fun character, Irene Mabee of Monteagle, TN, half-way between Chicago and Miami. How very convenient for running bootleg during Prohibition! Join us for the fascinating story of two lives intertwined in deception, lawlessness and romance...er...uh...business.

A hundred years after the first Civil Rights laws were instituted, it was obvious that new efforts were needed to resurrect laws that would protect the rights of the American Negro. There is no doubt that by the nineteen-sixties American blacks had felt the time had come for equality and justice. Martin Luther King Jr. emerges as the main leader of this movement. This talk will force you over a spectrum of emotions. At times, you will be shaking your head in disbelief, sad, angry, proud, disheartened, and maybe brought to tears. Learn about this courageous man.

Before George Floyd, the death of Emmett Till (1955) energized the Civil Rights movement. His mother's courageous decision to have an open casket for the world to view how savagely he had been brutalized was a significant catalyst for the Civil Rights movement. Today, there is a debate about publishing images of the victims of gun violence in America. This action of Mamie Till has been noted as significant in the debate. "A picture is worth 1,000 words," at least.

This presentation covers the life and times of the “King of the Crackers” Jake Summerlin. He was the most influential man in the state for the period that bridged from its last Spanish colonial days until the twilight of the 20^th century. Summerlin pioneered and was the most prominent force in the cattle business which provided early Florida with the first plank in its economy. From fighting and negotiating with the Seminoles to settling family feuds to being a political “king maker,” Jake was a man of many talents. He donated the state’s first free public school, Orlando’s first Court House and established the first international telegraph service. Summerlin was Florida’s eighteen hundred’s giant.

This panhandle born girl rose from obscurity to be a giant in aviation and in business. Though not receiving the publicity that Amelia Earhart is accorded, she accomplished much, much more in a life filled with triumphs and heart break. At one point she held every woman's aviation record, was instrumental in forming the WAAC (Woman's Auxiliary Army Corps), the WASP (Woman's Airforce Service Pilots), was an acclaimed test pilot, was the first woman pilot to break the sound barrier, and was the driving force in forming the first woman's astronaut group.

Ulysses Grant and the Winning of the War. President Abraham Lincoln needed help. He had appointed a series of generals to command his armies and yet, as the War continued dreary year after dreary year, the War was not ending. To not win, meant to lose.

Then, in the Western theater of the War, a rumpled-looking major general of volunteers began winning battles. Lincoln liked what he saw. This rumpled general just might be the answer to winning the War. Civil War history buff, Jerry Colen will be here on June 20, to speak with us about the rise and success of Ulysses Grant and how he brought the Civil War to Union victory.

The only tribe that has never signed a so-called peace treaty with the United States, the Seminole Tribe of Florida has perhaps the most unique history of any tribe in North America. Their fight to hold on to their culture, land and freedom, even as other tribes fell to Euro-American violence, is part of a larger story of an amazing people. This talk tells only part of their story, but what a story it is.

This is a full-color PowerPoint presentation of America’s Aerial Sweetheart. She was a record breaker, trend setter, trailblazer and a huge supporter of safe air travel for business and tourism. The first woman to cross the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans by air, and to cross America in both directions non-stop. What really happened before, during and after her fateful round-the-world flight will be revealed.

These artists have become so well known in the US. However, one will appreciate them more after visiting their homes in Mexico. In a suburb of Mexico City is Casa Azul, the home of Frida Kahlo. Dr. Kelly will tell the story of her troubled life as participants scout her home and gardens via presentation. Likewise, participants will go to the home of Diego Rivera in Guanajuato and study the paintings of these two as they fall in and out of love.

Peek into the lives of several exceptional women who became famous because of an overwhelming passion for whom or what they loved. The names Annie Oakley, Madam Curie may be familiar, but come and discover how their 'love story' changed history.