The Maple Staple Showcases Five Titles Exploring Science, History, and Adventure in Frankfurt

From October 7–11, Messe Frankfurt will welcome publishers, authors, literary professionals, and readers from around the world for the 78th Frankfurt Book Fair. Among the exhibitors, The Maple Staple will present distinctive titles at Hall 5.1, Stand D86, bringing together works that differ in genre, subject, setting, and storytelling approach.

The showcase brings together works with vastly different subjects, genres, and storylines. Some examine humanity’s place within the natural continuum through literary and scientific perspectives, while others transport readers into historical worlds shaped by war, survival, romance, political intrigue, and justice. Together, the books demonstrate the breadth of stories and ideas that can emerge from very different approaches to understanding the world.

Beginning with an interdisciplinary examination of literature and the natural world, three featured works by Harold Toliver explore how human understanding changes when viewed against the immense scale of the universe. A retired professor of English, American, and comparative literature at the University of California, Toliver has held academic positions at Johns Hopkins University, the University of Washington, Ohio State University, and UCLA. Following his retirement, his work has increasingly focused on connections between the humanities and sciences, particularly the perspective that the natural continuum can provide on cultural myths and literary traditions.

In “Black Holes and Other Powers of Attraction,” Toliver brings contemporary knowledge of natural history into conversation with selected literary works, examining how earlier human-centered traditions compare with today’s understanding of the nearly fourteen-billion-year-old universe. By placing literary ideas against the vast scale of the cosmos, the essays encourage readers to reconsider humanity’s place in existence and the assumptions that have shaped literary traditions, including those associated with Milton and the metaphysical poets.

Continuing Toliver’s exploration of scale, “Scanning and Sizing the Universe and Everything in It: Playing Scales” examines how people measure and understand the world around them. The book considers how philosophy, including the philosophy of science, can place human experience at the center while overlooking the vast range of the natural continuum. By comparing everyday measurements with distances measured in light years, Toliver places familiar places, situations, and environments within the larger context of atomic matter and its history, encouraging readers to reconsider humanity’s place within the physical universe.

From the immense scale of the cosmos, Toliver shifts into historical adventure with “Thorne’s Journey Home.” The novel follows Thorne as he travels home from the California gold fields, crossing a dozen Native American territories where some communities welcome his caravan while others pose serious dangers. After rescuing two survivors of a massacre, his journey takes on a deeper purpose as the growing group begins to resemble a household. As Thorne faces the challenges of the road and confronts what he left behind, his return becomes more than a journey home, becoming an experience that reshapes his understanding of belonging, family, and the meaning of homecoming.

Together, Toliver’s three featured works move between literary analysis, scientific perspective, and historical fiction, demonstrating the author’s interest in placing human experience within larger contexts.

While Toliver’s works move between literary thought, science, and historical adventure, Robert Earl Winter brings the collection into the world of nineteenth-century America through stories rooted in the Civil War and the American West. A former law enforcement officer who eventually became sheriff of one of California’s larger counties, Winter draws from his professional experiences, family legends, and longstanding interest in American history.

The first of Winter’s featured works, “A Hill Toward Home: The White Angel’s Personal Civil War,” follows Jesse Logan from his early life as a cowboy and deer hunter in Nevada to his service as a private and sharpshooter during the Civil War. His impulsive nature often brings him into conflict with his superiors, yet his actions also earn him recognition and promotions. His wartime experience takes a dangerous turn when he becomes romantically involved with a woman who is secretly a Union agent and married to a Confederate officer, placing him in mortal danger while forcing him to navigate questions of loyalty, duty, and survival. After rising to the rank of lieutenant colonel, Jesse returns to his Nevada roots carrying the lasting impact of a war that transformed his life.

Continuing Jesse Logan’s story after the Civil War, “Cutthroat Canyon: The White Angel Survives in Virginia City, Nevada” follows him into law enforcement as the newly appointed sheriff of Storey County. After returning to Genoa, Nevada, Jesse becomes involved in a dangerous investigation when two federal agents are found dead under mysterious circumstances, uncovering a conspiracy tied to the local silver mines and corrupt dealings involving Wells Fargo. With the help of his deputies and the support of his wife, Olivia, Jesse ventures into the shadowy world of Virginia City, where murder, political intrigue, and hidden alliances test his ability to uncover the truth and uphold justice.

Together, the two novels trace Jesse Logan’s journey from soldier to lawman, moving from the battlefields of the Civil War to the volatile frontier of postwar Nevada. Through Jesse’s experiences, Winter explores how ambition, conflict, justice, and loyalty continue to shape a man navigating a rapidly changing American West.

Across these five featured titles, The Maple Staple’s Frankfurt Book Fair collection moves through remarkably different literary worlds. Toliver’s works examine the relationship between human thought, literature, science, and the vast natural continuum, while Winter’s novels place readers inside the personal and historical conflicts of nineteenth-century America.

To learn more about The Maple Staple and its participation in the 78th Frankfurt Book Fair, visit https://themaplestaple.com/fbf2026/.

Contact Information

Emmanuel Laguardia

Director

Bookside Press

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