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Hester Pennix, the legendary schoolmarm; Devon Finley, the improvident med student; Ludmilla Dandridge, the doubting professor; Jasmine French, the outspoken organizer; Henry Fleming, the Civil War soldier; Jim-Ray Cass, the soft-hearted tough; Megan O'Banion, the breathtaking prom date; Susan Collins, the puckish waitress; Brad Taylor, the ruddy-faced hulk; and Michael Moran, the discouraged writer are just some of the characters who populate John Hagan's second collection of short stories, Ties That Inspire. The scope of the stories provides a cross-section of twentieth century American life, ranging from the rural poverty of Great Depression Kentucky, to the magnificent venues of Yankee Stadium and Boardwalk Hall, to the rolling farmland of Southern Ohio, to the spacious terrain near the Organ Mountains, and to the long winters and beautiful springs of Northern Maine. Themes and tones vary from the bittersweet dynamics of "Significant Moments," to the gothic setting of "The Bottle Farm," to the courage-testing horseback ride in "A Risk Well Taken." Enter the world of Ties That Inspire and participate vicariously in the lives of its people.