Book Description

Journey back to the days when neighborhood taverns were the social hubs of all small towns. Relive the days when wild revelry was the norm. Old newspaper articles and photos are highlighted throughout the book. Interviews with "old-timers" give a personal glimpse into the days when Wisconsin was wild. Taverns and towns throughout the state are featured. ... Read more

Book Description

A powerful personal account of outer exploration and inner discovery. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Would love to see more from Terry Osborne!
Terry Osborne's coming-of-self narrative is brave, honest, and poignant. I have recently left New England after seven years, and Osborne's careful and tactile descriptions truly stirred me. But even for anyone who's unattached to a Vermont landscape, there's an important lesson here. Osborne shares with us his very personal journey to the discovery of how deeply our environment can inform our sense of self - in Osborne's case, how the complex "mosaic" of land, water, and air reflects the contours of his struggle with depression. Even now, living so far from all the swamp-and-peaks nature of Osborne's journeys (I'm a Paris resident), Sightlines has inspired me to explore my surroundings with a renewed energy and curiosity - to understand how much self-discovery can unfold through such an investigation. For that - and for his pure, graceful prose - I thank him!

Good account of chronic mood disorder
This book is multifaceted and some facets are better than others. I found the author's descriptions of his experiences with chronic mood disturbance enlightening and interesting. His attention to the interpersonal impact of dysphoria was especially good. As a book about the natural world, I was less satisfied. Moreover, I didn't find myself drawn to the connections he was making between processes in the natural world and the internal processes of a mood disorder. His accounts of his homelands lack the vividness found in works by Rick Bass or Richard Nelson. I don't want to overstate these criticisms; the book is well written and this is exactly the "type" of book I like: it's about a person who loves the land that surrounds him. However, better reading of this sort is found with the above-mentioned authors, or I especially want to recommend a couple of works by lesser known authors, "Purple Flat Top" by Jack Nisbet, and "Teewinot" by Turner.

Lyrical & Hypnotic: a Beautiful & Stirring Tribute to Nature
Every so often a book reminds us of why we seek out the woods for solitude and comfort. "Sightlines" accomplishes that considerable feat with resounding success.

But it doesn't stop there. This elegant and deeply human narrative about the contours of landscapes (both inner and outer) lets us walk several paces behind the author and view his journey through years of depression even as we pause to lean against a nearby birch tree and admire the surrounding beauty of his rugged New England. The book is a remarkable achievement for combining these two storylines--and very often it is downright mesmerizing.

Osborne's writing--understated and controlled, what you'd expect from a Vermonter--soars to its greatest heights when framing the smallest things: a seemingly uprooted tree, a dark swamp, a river sand bar. Those images, and many others, stay vibrant long after the book is done.

An Magnificent Debut
Terry Osborne writes a fascinating, powerful and touching account of his travels through the Upper River Valley and the travails of his own battle with depression. Candid, personal and touching, we join the author as he explores the natural phenomena of the Vermont landscape, while at the same time he struggles courageously against his inner demons.

If you have suffered from depression, if someone dear to you suffers from depression, or if you merely wish to be inspired by the battle of one person to overcome depression, Terry Osborne's perceptive and insightful book will give you strength and solace. ... Read more

Book Description

Georgie White Clark became one of the best-known river guides on the Colorado River. By pioneering the use of large rubber rafts, she helped turn an elite adventure sport into a widely enjoyed outdoor activity. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Trips, travails, and triumphs¿
You may be as surprised by this book as I was - I bought it thinking that I OUGHT to read it to learn more about a river-running legend, but I didn't expect to enjoy it all that much. I was wrong. Author Richard Westwood engagingly tells the story of Georgie White Clark and how she came to be one of the most celebrated pioneers of Western United State river-running, especially on the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon. In surprising detail (including the names of many of her passengers and boatmen) this book describes the trips, travails, and triumphs of Georgie's long career here in the United State and elsewhere. The book gives brief details of Georgie's early years, but focuses on her river-running years starting in 1945 when she and Harry Aleson swam from Diamond Creek to Lake Mead, through 1992 when she died.

To the author's credit he does not dodge the controversies that have marred Georgie's legend. Westwood frankly acknowledges and, in some instances, documents the validity of some of the criticisms leveled at Georgie over the years. He states what he knows or what his considerable research revealed, and leaves the conclusions up to the reader.

Through this book you will get an unvarnished portrait of a unique individual, someone who left her imprint on a sport that largely didn't exist when she started and was a multi-million dollar industry when she died. You'll learn about an incredibly complex person: alternately engaging or aloof, compassionate or driven -- but always a pioneer. This very readable book includes over 50 photographs and maps that bring to life much of what is written, and give the reader a glimpse of Georgie's world. ... Read more

Book Description

Reared on her father’s 13,000-acre spread, Ann Daum is now a rancher herself, raising sport horses and hoping to sustain a relationship to place in which self-reliance is not intertwined with cruelty, and closeness to the land does not imply hatred of the wild. Daum’s essays rise and fall with the undulations of the prairie and can be as forceful as the South Dakota weather. Her warm memories of being a little girl on the ranch and listening to her father tell stories contrast sharply with her recollections of the captive coyote she set free one night and the ranch hand whose casual brutality extended from the killing of wild creatures to sexual predation. Daum writes not only about the artifacts buried in the prairie soil but also about what lies hidden in the lives of the prairie’s residents. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

Proud to be a Dakotan
From her descriptions of the wind, to the grasses, to the hardships, Ann Daum captured South Dakota's reality on paper. Every chapter lends truths to the prairie and our lives here. Thanks, Ann.

This could have been my life
My life has many parallels to Ann Daum's; my life could have been hers. I grew up on a farm/ranch in central North Dakota, went out of state for college, came home to try to make a living, enjoy traveling and the wonders of the rest of the world, but am always drawn back to the northern Great Plains. Nowhere is the phrase "Hope springs eternal" better personified than in the lives of farmers and ranchers on the northern Great Plains. Daum captures this. Despite devastating losses of livestock, hail storms, floods and grasshopper plagues, farmers and ranchers believe next spring will be better, there might be a bumper crop and the next winter can't be so harsh. This hope strains marriages, finances and families. Daum also wonderfully and painfully captures the contradictions between the love of pets and baby calves and the war against predators and ultimate demise of all farm animals. I, fortunately, did not have some of the negative experiences that Daum did, but I saw them in others, heard of them and empathize. Walt Whitman wrote, "The Plains, while less stunning at first sight, last longer, fill the esthetic sense fuller, precede all the rest and make North America's characteristic landscape." Daum supports this statement. Anybody who enjoyed this book might want to read "Dakota: A Spiritual Geography," by Kathleen Norris. Also, for a different, more fact based, perspective of the Great Plains, "Where The Buffalo Roam: The Storm Over the Revolutionary Plan to Restore America's Great Plains," by Anne Matthews.

Praise for Prairie in Her Eyes
Minneapolis Star-Tribune Regional Round-up, June 24, 2001: "Daum's writing is lyrical, haunted by mortality, and so detailed you can almost feel the dust and heat. With great feeling, she captures a place where 'loneliness is just another disease.'"

Forward Magazine, July Issue: "This land, the prairie is not just in her eyes-it's in her soul in this slender but weighty first book."

The Genuine Article
Every now and then, an authentic voice sings a song about life, the world we live in, and the human condition. In Ann Daum's book "Prairie in Her Eyes," we hear all this, plus a symphony about the animal condition as well. I grew up in New York City. When I read Ann Daum's work, I am transported to a different world, made up of enormous skies, animal bodies and breath, and the rhythm of the seasons in big sky country. I am close to her and her world. I cry about a fox I never met. I breathe deeply about the fate of cows, prairie dogs and horses. Life takes on a new perspective and a depth that flows from the earth, the weather, the ranch, and Ann's generous and sensitive heart. Fine writing should reach out to whatever is univeral, but also speak to one human being's particular experience. "The Prairie In Her Eyes" has achieved this essential interweave, and I recommend it to anyone with heart or soul or mind.

SOUL-FULL
If you want to taste earth and the vast, wind-carried longings,this book will be a soulful treat, page after page. Ann weaves image and story together with our almost forgotten human need for something more primal, more true, than our bleak and urban skies. ... Read more

Book Description

First published in 1992 and now available only from the University of New Mexico Press, this is a firsthand account of life at a famous archaeological ruin. Married to Richard Wetherill, the rancher and amateur archaeologist who ran a trading post in Chaco Canyon from 1896 until he was murdered by a Navajo in 1910, Marietta Wetherill got to know her Navajo neighbors as intimately as an Anglo could. While Richard was excavating at Pueblo Bonito, Marietta managed the trading post. She befriended a singer who adopted her into his clan and gave her a close-up view of Navajo medicine and religion. ... Read more

Amazon.com

The first of several Y2K biographies on Texas governor George W. Bush offers an in-depth look at both the Republican presidential candidate and his political family: Bill Minutaglio interviewed more than 300 people for First Son, including Bush and many members of his inner circle. The book focuses on the life of "Dubya"(the nickname used by the press and others to distinguish him from his father) and includes a combination of original material and information that has been reported elsewhere. It is neither pro- nor anti-Bush, simply reportorial and largely nonjudgmental. Readers won't find an answer to one of the season's most burning questions: Has Bush ever used illegal drugs? In a preface, Minutaglio piously says he won't stoop to such low levels. Yet one gets the sense that he won't go there because he doesn't have any hard evidence, as stories of Bush's heavy drinking are related without apparent reservation. Minutaglio, a writer for The Dallas Morning News, spends most of his time describing Bush's amazing and unexpected rise to fame. Dubya's own family, for instance, thought that younger brother Jeb would be the first to win an important public office. Yet Dubya exploited his family ties and personal charisma to have a successful business career in the 1980s and then beat a popular incumbent in 1994 to become Texas governor. (Jeb became governor of Florida in 1998, while his brother won a second term in Austin.) Minutaglio's narrative goes light on Bush's gubernatorial record and ends before his formal entry into the presidential race in 1999. Readers hungry for an overview of the man who would be president, however, could do much worse than start by looking here. --John J. Miller ... Read more

Reviews (25)

Best of the numerous Bush books
This book is the best of the countless George W. Bush biographies that are appearing all over the place. Minutaglio does a great job providing a well-balanced book about the ups and downs of our President's life and how his family has played apart. It clearly shows Dubya's attempts to move away from his father's shadow in order for him to make a name for himself. It is a great book, full of interesting stories and minimal political jargon that you will find in so many of the other books being written about Bush. If you want to read about our President, I suggest this book.

well balanced, well written, well thought out
If you are looking for tabloid like Bush Bashing, don't look here (you might try The Father's Son, that one is quite good at trying to instill some what outdated class war fare dribble). This particular book is extremely well balanced. If you love the Bush clan, or hate them, you will find something within. Personally, I found it an insightful and interesting tale of one of our nations most powerful pollitical families. Is George W qualified to be President? Well that is a question that only time will answer. My thoughts are he is as qualified as the guy we have recently given the nod to twice, except, maybe George will actually care more for the country than himself. He does seem to learn and grow. Now that would be a pleasant change. However one thing is for certain, the Bush family is a political dynasty (now more impressive than the Kennedys) and the people of Texas sincerely love both of their Georges.

Entertaining but BIASED!
I bought this book on a lark thinking it might actually be what the cover notes said is was "unbiased", but as soon as I saw Dan Rather's opinion on the book (printed on the back of the paperback I purchased), I should've known this book was not necessarily "the truth" on George W. Bush. Don't believe everything you read or hear from anyone in print or media. I encourage you to be selective and present things in context. . .

Speaking of things in context, I really can't trust this book as gospel because Minutaglio quotes sources in such a sporadic way, footnoting the quotes only to look more credible. The quotes are sometimes ridiculous and misplaced, it seems, but albeit, very entertaining.

That's just it, this book is entertaining and nothing more except to provide a biased peek at what Minutaglio believes is the driving force and reasons for our President's personality, politics, career choices, and other personal decisions.

Juicy. As in gossipy.

COME OUT OF THE CLOSET, Mr. Minutglio!
Maybe I'm slow...or too trusting. Previous reviewers kept insisting again and again that this book was "unbiased". WRONG. From the first page, the author had an attitude about Bush - and the GOP. It gradually became clear that the author is a passionate Democrat, as he approvingly whitewashed all personal Clinton and Democrat party issues and glorified people like Al Gore. The bias abounds throughout the book... RNC party strategists are called "political terrorists", while their DNC equals are portrayed as sincere victims at each turn of the two year campaign. And you Mom's and Dad's out there, tell me: what parent (such as George, Sr) would hug the son he loves (George W.) on the happiest day of his life, but instead of thinking of the incredibly close relationship of family love, pride, and respect that the father and son have always shared, the father is now thinking only of the three times in a lifetime that father/son had been briefly angry with each other. And why remind the reader again and again, as much as four times over hundreds of pages, of each small tidbit of negative information? Was he afraid we would forget? Why did it take me hundreds of pages of wasted time to finally realize that no matter what the Bushes say or do, this author is biased to hate Bush and the Bush family, and to love Gore - and the Democrats - and the RNC. Period. Every possible issue and personal examination is slanted toward contempt for the one, and pride in the other. BOTTOM LINE: This book was promoted DECEPTIVELY. If Mr. Minitaglio wanted to write a hate-piece, fine - but why not be up front about it? My recommendation for busy people who love to read is simply that you beware. Know before you go. I'm rating the book a 3, because my friends who are Democrats may enjoy this book. (but why waste time, since he is already president and there's nothing you can do about it?) BUT... my Republican friends, STAY AWAY from this book, because it is unfair, duplicitous, full of seething, underhanded bias that Bernard Goldberg courageously exposed in his excellent book "BIAS". The bias peeks out from - and underneath - every sentence. Hope this helps reverent readers like me who just want to read, and who just want the TRUTH.

Enlightening
It was fascinating to read the true story of the Bush family, not the assumptions often reported. Who knew that he came from such a downtrodden background, worked so hard to rise from the ashes and achieve greatness at Yale? It's no small wonder that we have this great man leading our country through the holy wrath of war!

Like his father, George W. is a stern and honorable, if not particularly well-spoken, fella'. He reads a teleprompter with unequalled ease and skill, a testament to his ability to comfortably rely on others. AS this book shows, these are all traits he learned while growing up with the help of many other wealthy and able men who were able to take the burden off of poor George W.'s shoulders. He truly is great, not to mention lucky, and he has strutted his lightened shoulders into the White House with only the slightest help from his father's friends in the Supreme Court.

Were it not for men like Bill Minutaglio, the world would be in horrible danger of being exposed to the false and misleading face of the truth. Buy this book!!! ... Read more

Book Description

On a muggy, late August afternoon in 1936, somewhere along the banks of Greasy Creek, Life found Grace—walking the dusty mile between work and home in a brand new pair of leather kitten-heeled pumps, blond curls bouncing in the sun. Two weeks later, Lifie Jay Preston and Grace Mollette married, a union that lasted until their deaths fifty-eight years later. There was something about them, their daughter Linda would discover, a kind of radiance and love of living that would mark them in the memories of every person they encountered—a song that resonates years after their passing.

Songs of Life and Grace is their story, told by the daughter whose own life grew out of their loving ministries and Appalachian sensibilities. Linda Scott DeRosier, the celebrated author of Creeker: A Woman’s Journey, draws on family letters and lore, interviews, and her own recollections to reach a better understanding of her parents and the families that formed them both. Along the way, she introduces an unforgettable cast of characters: the formidable Grandma Emmy; Uncle Burns, an infamous ladies’ man; helpless and simple Aunt Jo; and gentle Pop Pop, who could peel an apple in one long, unbroken spiral.

A stirring, honest look at Appalachia and a tribute to the unbreakable bonds of family, Songs of Life and Grace establishes DeRosier as one of the most vital and exciting new voices of the American South. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Awesome book
There seems to be a lot of talk about Tom Brokaw's latest: A Long Way from Home: Growing Up in the American Heartland. What he has done for South Dakota and the generations that came before him, Linda Scott DeRosier has done for Appalachia and her people. This is a beautiful memoir: honest, intelligent, loving, and most of all human. I definitely recommend this book.

On the shoulders of ordinary giants; must read!!
Quite simply, Songs of Life and Grace is proof that each person makes all the difference in his or her own life. But they don't do it alone. As a native Kentuckian I am proud of where I come from. It's rare though to find a book that addresses the good things about Appalachian families. But this book isn't just for Appalachian families. It's for anybody who loves to read a good memoir. She's telling stories about her family that take place over the past century or more. But it's more than that. She's talking about the coal mines, the changes in women's lives in the past few decades, the value of remembering with pride where you come from.

DeRosier could have lingered on what was missing, on weaknesses, but she didn't. She zoomed in on the strengths that were present; saw in them her family's gifts to her. She succeeds, in part, because she knows where to focus. She knows finding the good always beats finding the bad. She understands each of us builds a life on the shoulders of those who came before.

I read DeRosier's first book, Creeker [it was good too!] and am glad she has another one out. This book is nothing short of a glorious tribute to the power of family and place in our lives. If you enjoyed Creeker, you'll love this. If you haven't read Creeker... save yourself the extra shipping costs...buy both NOW!

Good enough for Lee Smith; good enough for me
This book reminds me of my own family. I'm not from KY, but our lives our similar, but I never could have told the story as well as DeRosier. This is really a great book - she revisits her raising, as well as that of her parents, grandparents, and as far back as she could find genealogical information. It's been a long time since I read a book from cover to cover and enjoyed every chapter. She tells honest, charming, and heartbreaking stories with sensitivity, humor, and the kind of wisdom families used to pass on. Songs of Life and Grace is one I'll be reading again. This is a great author; highly recommend this book.

A worthwhile read
"Songs of Life and Grace" addresses, among other things, the primacy of the married state [for better and worse as they say]-not only its impact on every aspect of the couple's life but even their offspring. Strongly recommend this memoir for the following disciplines: women's studies, cultural/regional studies, family, and oral history. I recommend this as strongly as C. Bateson's autobiographical material. DeRosier writes well and the text is strong from beginning to end, enjoyable and thoughtful. ... Read more

Book Description

Back when people spent their whole lives in one place, life was all about family and family rituals.It was about the whole clan gathering at dinnertime over meals to be remembered forever. Luann Landon's cookbook/memoir transports us to that world of formal midday dinners, closely guarded recipes, and competitive cooks.

Dinner at Miss Lady's takes us back there through the memories, meals, and recipes of one Southern family.Landon recreates the old Southern way of life in comic and tender anecdotes - from the near disaster of losing the tiny dinner bell to revenge exacted by giving the wrong recipe for a cake.This is the world of Landon's extended family: the glamorous and indolent Aunt Clare; the industrious, proud grandmother Murlo; the other grandmother, spoiled, indulgent Miss Lady and her good-humored husband, Judge; and most important, Henretta, the protective cook, able to mend family battles with a perfect blackberry-rhubarb cobbler.

Adding to the vividness of this memoir are menus from those memorable meals, including birthday dinners, homecoming feasts, graduation celebrations, and sumptuous spring and fall parties.Landon shares detailed recipes for over sixty heirloom dishes: Cousin Catherine's Chicken Vermouth with Walnuts and Green Grapes, Beets in Orange and Ginger Sauce, Tennessee Jam Cake, Caramel Ice Cream.

A rich portrait of a life almost lost to us, Dinner at Miss Lady's is a memoir cooked to perfection, one to savor both for its stories and for its food. ... Read more

Reviews (9)

Who was really in the kitchen?
Did any other readers of this poetically written daydream notice that while the white people in it sometimes pushed the borders of eccentricity, the black people were straight out of Margaret Mitchell fantasy land? They don't quite chuckle and shuffle, but darned near. The climax is reached in that never-never train ride. Which is more unbelievable--that although the train was segregated, this brave young woman was allowed to escort her quivering protege unchallenged into the dining car, or that the daughter of a doctor was as fawningly grateful as Ms. Landon recalls? Ms. Landon writes a well-turned sentence. And I suppose one must envy her her memory, for its golden, if bogus, glow.

A Nice Stroll Down Memory Lane
This is a lovely little book that makes you long for days gone by. I am an avid cookbook collector and currently intrigued with evertything Southern from the food to the mannerisms to the hospitality, so naturally this book appealed to me. After reading a breif excerpt about Miss Lady in "Southern Living" magazine, I ordered the book immedeately. The only dissapointment was the breifness of the book, I finished it in one afternoon. That could be because Ms. Landon had wonderful characters to write about and she is an enchanting storyteller. Her recollections of her upscale Southern upbringing are as priceless as the recipies that Henretta passed on. I have tried several of them; the Grapefruit Salad with Roquefort Dressing and the Creamed Spinach and Artichoke Hearts are both especially good. The recipies are fine, however, Ms. Landon's graceful prose is what makes this book a worthwhile read.

I Didn't Want it to End!
Ms. Landon's book is wonderful. I am a Georgian who likesto write, read and cook. This book inspired me and brought back memories and stories from my now-deceased granny! I read it in one day and I hated to see it end. I hope Ms. Landon writes another, and another. It's a keepsake and i can't wait to recreate these recipes. I plan to give it to some of my friends for Christmas,

The deep South is a foreign country steeped in butterfat.
I loved this book because it brought the more recent past into focus. Ms. Evan's characters aren't drawn from the era of Gone With The Wind, but are tempered by the echoes of similar cultural standards. There is virtue in propriety, and she manages to evoke a nostalgia for the same. The recipes are wonderful, but will give the Yankees cardiac arrest!

I want to read more about Ms. Landon's life & her family
This was a book that placed you in that time & space of the old South. The Tennessee jam cake is a recipe that my family has been looking for, for over 40 years since my grandmother passed away without leaving the recipe. I want to read more books by Ms. Landon, and hopefully, she has written more about her family's experiences. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Humorous adventurous.
I found myself being able to visualize the desert, fell the heat of the region and Florida mountains that Skelton speaks of. His writing is extrememly visual and you can almost feel the breath of the bad guys on the back of your neck.

Skelton finds the humor and idiosyncrisies in human nature as we try to finagle our way through life. The characters that he has come in contact with through his law enforcement career, has got to make you think that humor is the best medicine. The one thing that will carry you through the day.

I would highly recommend Down on the Border to get a taste of life in the deserts of the South west. You will find that every chapter will make you laugh and wanting to read more.

The illustrations were fantastic and comical and added to the humurous nature of adventures. The introduction with J. Jackson was truely rewarding seeing, as it demostrates Cops helping cops. Their lives and tales parrallel no matter where they are.

They should be rewarded highly for their service. Thank you for making an insane world seem humorous. I enjoyed the laughs. ... Read more

Book Description

In 1970 Margaret Hollenbach, an idealistic twenty-five-year-old graduate school dropout, changed her name and gave up her possessions to join a commune known as The Family, located in Taos, New Mexico. The Family believed in "group marriage" and practiced its own version of Gestalt therapy, sometimes coercively. Hollenbach spent only a few months in this intense environment, but the lessons she learned have shaped her life. She tells the story of the young woman she was then in an unsparingly honest memoir. ... Read more

Book Description

In Feels Like Far, award-winning author Linda Hasselstrom paints an intimate portrait of family, love, work, nature, and survival against the backdrop of the far-flung South Dakota prairie. Sixteen linked stories tell of the joy of training a first horse, the heartbreak of finding a fatally injured cow, the beauty of cavorting nighthawks, the stubbornness of her father, a rigid old rancher who bucks at old age, the deep, almost spiritual bond she shares with a friend who is diagnosed with AIDS. "In deliciously direct and unsentimental style" (Kathleen Norris), Hasselstrom maps the landscape of her life, demarcating the same beauties and brutalities that intermingle on the Great Plains she calls home. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

I couldn't put this book down
I unboxed this book, flipped open some pages to preview and before I knew it, I had read 60 pages standing in my kitchen. Legs buckling, I sat and finshed the book in one sitting. The book is compelling because Hasselstrom's storytelling makes you want to read further, but also because her writing mesmerizes the soul. I found myself rereading sentences and hanging on the beauty of her unique prose. "How does she write like this?" I kept asking myself. Her ability to take you within the moment is unsurpassed. You don't need to be a cowgirl to enjoy this book, but if you are, you'll finish it in one sitting--or standing--like I did.

Touching...
Reading this book was a wonderful experience. What a touching story of a family that develops as all families do; realizing we love our family members even more when we accept them loving us the only way they know how. All this against the backdrop of a still unspoiled area of America. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in this region, history or living.
Allen

A Beautiful Book
People from the prairies of South Dakota and North Dakota aren't pretentious. Well, some might be, but they tend to stand out in miserable ways. Linda Hasselstrom's writing is like the people of her home: careful, persistent, simple, surprisingly complex, fascinating. Your own family and home may be very different from Hasselstrom's, but through her writing you'll gain a better understanding of your own people and place of origin. Hasselstrom is a master; she shows us how to cherish the tribes we were born into, despite the inevitable losses and disappointments of life. She ranks right up there with Kathleen Norris and Patricia Hampl. ... Read more

Book Description

Thaddeus Stevens is best known for his leadership of the radical Republicans in Congress during Reconstruction, and throughout the years historians have either glorified him or vilified him. Trefousse's balanced biography traces Stevens's career from his early days as a Pennsylvania lawyer and state legislator, when he became an outspoken advocate for black freedom and equality, to his long tenure in the House of Representatives, which culminated in his involvement in the passage of the Fourteenth Amendment and the impeachment of President Andrew Johnson. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Thaddeus Stevens: Nineteenth-Century Egalitarian
Hans Trefousse has done a magnificent job in portraying the "Great Commoner" and his effect on the United States. In fact, the book inspired myself and some other people in Gettysburg to start the Thaddeus Stevens Society to promote his memory. For information about the society, write The Thaddeus Stevens Society, 65 W. Middle Street, Gettysburg, PA 17325 or email me at rhetrick@gettysburg.edu.

Thaddeus Stevens: Complex Man for Comples Times
I want to thank Hans L Tredousse for a remarkable job on the unfolding of the character of one of the most complex individuals I have ever studied. Trefousse does a great job of showing us as much of what is humanly possible to know about Thaddeus Stevens.

By far, Stevens comes alive in the preface of Trefousse'account. The reader is pulled gently into the life of this individal because of the hardships he experienced as a child and because of his determination to see justice prevailed.

As I progressed into the book, I marvelled at both the strengths and weaknesses of this complex man called Thaddeus Stevens. Personally, I think he was a man before his times. It is unfortunate that he considered himself a failure. We have had many presidents in recent years who could not or would not acknowledge that they had achieved anything of "real tangible worth". Stevens comes to the end of life feeling that he had achieved very little of lasting value. It is truly worth lamenting! If Stevens could come back to this century, I think he would be astonished to see what legacy he left the United States and particular minorities who have benefitted much from his efforts to support emancipation and a true Reconstruction for those who had suffered because of slavery.

I was first introduced to Thaddeus Stevens in Lerone Bennett's BEFORE THE MAYFLOWER. I found Stevens to be the underdog, but an all powerful hero for the rights of equality. I think the second best thing to having enjoyed Trefousse' outling the work of Stevens would be to see the book made into historical fiction. Somewhere out there in "fantasy land" is an actor who could bring more to "life" this complex man called Thaddeus Stevens

About Time! A Solid Biography of Thaddeus Stevens
Thaddeus Stevens casts a long shadow in American History; a shadow that continues to bedevil the likes of Robert Bork, Anton Scalia and the so-called "original intent" crowd.

Stevens, the tactical leader of the "radical Republicans" through the Civil War and Reconstruction era stands probably second to only James Madison in Constitutional history.

Considering his historical role a thorough biography has been long overdue. Trefousse has gone a long way toward supplying a fresh biography of the man. In its pages he has applied the extensive depth of modern scholarship now available on the reconstruction era.

Only Fawne Brodie has attempted a biography in recent times and that book, Thaddeus Stevens: Scourge of the South has slid thankfully out of print.

The Trefousse biography will likely be the standard source on the life of "the old Commoner" for some decades to come. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Biased opinion
I have been enjoying this book mostly because it is the story of my great great grandfather's sister, Mother Marianne. The personal history about the life of one of my ancesters and the times she lived in is facinating. I am also interested in the history of the island of Hawaii, which I had only thought of as a vacation spot before this book. The conflicts and politics of the early colonial powers is something I had never even heard about. I am only halfway through, but its a good book to show what immigrant life in the US was like in the late 1800's, as well as the life and choices of women in that time. What is shows of the treatment of the Hawaiians is sad. ... Read more

Book Description

In The Body of Brooklyn David Lazar, an acclaimed essayist and prose stylist, offers a vividly detailed, hilarious, and touching recollection of his Brooklyn upbringing in the 1960s and 70s. His immigrant Jewish heritage and his bodily history—from the travails of childhood obesity to the sexual triumphs of post-adolescent leanness—form the core of this series of essays, all of which will win the interest and admiration of readers. More-over, this film-flavored confection is so infused with Lazar's fascinating turn of mind and memory, forever digressing and reflecting upon his digressions, without ever losing the thread of his story, that his essays will give the reader the distinctive pleasure of witnessing an extraordinary mental performance.

Lazar's essays vary in their focus as much as each meanders within itself: he recalls, for example, the “melon man” of his childhood, grottoes in Brooklyn, his extensive wardrobe, and his father's “pragmatically crafty alter ego.” Constantly expanding the boundaries of his writing style, Lazar also includes a unique photo-essay that provides a series of brilliant verbal riffs on old family photographs.

The voice found within The Body of Brooklyn—unrepentantly literary, funny, digressive, and centered on Brooklyn—is quite unlike any other in contemporary literature. It will fascinate and intrigue all who listen. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Thinking as fast as you laugh
This is a truly wonderful and unique book. Lazar's voice--conversational but concentrated, self-aware but entirely un-coy, and often just plain out funny-is unlike the voice of any other nonfiction writer I know, and his approach to his subjects is never hackneyed. He can write about such familiar topics as family, sexuality, culture and how they inform his sense of his own identity and identity in general and line by line, paragraph by paragraph, you never get that sense of "oh, he's taking X familiar line" that almost every writer gives. That's what I think the one of the blurbs means by describing Lazar as a writer's writer's writer: people who have read deeply and widely will perhaps appreciate this collection most, since they are most likely to understand the subtle brilliance that illuminates every page. ... Read more

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Great inside look at the "Wiescamp horses".
Hank Wiescamp ultimately breed some of the greatest horses from four registeries - Quarter, Appalossa, Palomino, and Paint. "The Hank Wiescamp Story" allows the reader to understand how and why Hank made many breeding decisions to create the great "Wiescamp horse". After this book, you too will appreciate what Hank Wiescamp has done to create many of the modern breeds.

Hats off to Hank...... Highly recommend this book for all. Pictures, pedigrees and stories. However, 207 pages could not begin to touch the surface of the 70 years it took to create the "Wiescamp horse". ... Read more

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Fantastic journals of a tough breed,lifestyle and adventure
I own originals of Hobson's three books and re-read them every few years. His ability to vividly portray the life that he and The Top Hand and later Mrs. Hobson had in the interior of British Columbia is to have been there. It is hard in today's comfortable way of life to envision the situations and dangers that were simply a part of how it was back then. Having grown up in the mountains of the U.S. West, I can only marvel at the abilities of these adventuresome pioneers in the cattle country of B.C. To have met Rich Hobson was of great interest to me... I simply waited too long and he had passed away. The travels and travails through Hobson's life would make an awsome story for a movie. Note: Make sure you read the three books in sequence... and enjoy! ... Read more

Book Description

From the late 1870's until 1930, Juan Lorenzo Hubbell traded at Ganado, Arizona, in Navajo country.While Euro-Americans viewed him as the dean of Indian traders in the Southwest, Navajo sentiment varied.

J.L. Hubbell's life story tells the larger tale of the settlement of the West, the reservation trader, and the Indian economy.Marths Blue's ethnobiography weaves the conflicts and complexities of the Southwest into Hubbell's life: the Navajos' repatriation and economic recovery, the sera of the reservation trader in frontier history, the tourist explosion wrought by the Santa Fe Railway and the Fred Harvey Company.It also explores Arizona's quest for statehood, water development in its desert plateau country, the transition of the Navajo blanket to rug, and the image-makers' (artists, writers and photographers) portrayals of the Southwest.

Drawing on historical documents, oral histories, and archival materials, Blue presents a fascinating tapestry of character and place richly illustrated by over 100 photographs and maps.Her portrait of Juan Lorenzo Hubbell positions him squarely in the gallery of the West's prominent men. ... Read more

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Indian Trader: the Life and Times of J. L. Hubbell
This new book by Ms Blue is a fascinating read for anyone interested in the Indian trader of the Southwest or indeed of the Southwest itself or of the Navajo people. For anyone who has visited the Hubbell Trading Post National Historic Site, at Ganado, you will feel as if you can indentify with the places mentioned. Ms Blue's long connection with the Navajo people gives her a great viewpoint from which to approach this subject. ... Read more

Book Description

Down the Hill is Roy Stier's personal account of the evolution of early logging in the misty-green mountains of Washington.

It is a work that gives detail, character, and historical substance to the logging industry. The St. Paul & Tacoma Lumber Company is a true microcosm for a brash, new Western adventure which became the sprawling 20th century timber industry.

Filled with incredible historical photos, charming anecdotes, and absorbing narratives of the Pacific Northwest, Down the Hill is a unique, insider's perspective of this adventurous industry. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Logging From the Ground Up
Here's an excellent book about logging and lumbering in the greater Tacoma, WA area.It traces the arrival of those hardy men and women that carved a living out of this wild and untamed area.The author waspersonally involved as a child and spent a number of his early years in avariety of jobs from the ground up.It is also an excellent testament tothe vision of some of those early lumbering businesses that started treefarms and re-forested large tracks of land long before it was a governmentrequirement.If you're interested in the techniques of logging with thevarious apparatus or riggings and what each is called in the woods, this isthe books for you.One thing you'll learn for sure is that noself-respecting logger would ever call himself a "lumberjack" andthe only place you'd hear someone call "timber" as a tree fallsis in the movies. ... Read more