Eras Books

The author has successfully discussed the various theoretical works done on "inflation". It had been enlightening to know that many of the great, simple theories in economics simply did not say anything useful. The balanced approach in discussing each issue had been a key feature throughout the book. I would recommend that final year economic students and MBA students should read this excellently written book.

Few books match what is depicted in "the death of inflation" The importance of this work is even more obvious as we are now several years after the book was originally published. The historical perspective presented is quite interesting, and with the advent of the internet, labor is the true source of the "zero inflation" idea. Price competition is inherently deflationary. This long term study "of studies" will show the average reader that capital, like any other commodity, is just another "fixed asset" in the universe. There is neither more or less of it in the universe, which means that inflation, as we have come to know it, is nothing more than an illusion in the short term, and a fallacy in the long term.

Superbly detailed history of America's relationships during the Civil War, the definitive historical guide.

Jay Sexton, in his work Debtor Diplomacy, has examined business history from an interesting perspective - one of foreign relations intermixed with finance. This work is primarily about several large European banks (Barings Bank, the Rothschilds) and a few large American financial titans, such as J.S. Morgan and Jay Cooke.

Starting with the panic of 1837, Sexton boldly develops the concept that foreign relations were largely dictated (if not controlled) by financial policies set by the banks of Europe as America became a true debtor nation. With great skill, he evaluates the 1840's and the period of Manifest Destiny (this was my favorite section of the book), the Mexican-American War, and the sectional dispute of the 1850's. He then proceeds on to examine both the Union and Confederate attempts at obtaining European financing during the Civil War. These chapters were fascinating, and greatly help the reader to understand the rationale behind the lack of Europeans' desire to finance wartime activities in America. The one thing that I wish had been developed in greater detail was his frequent reference to the 1840's repudiation of state debts held in Europe by the governments of Florida, Arkansas, and Mississippi - I think this could be another study in itself, since it is a fascinating (and obviously understudied) topic. The book wraps up with the panic of 1873 (including the failure of Jay Cooke's company). Sexton's conclusion that the foreign policy of the United States was largely driven by the financial interests is well supported and reasoned.

Sexton has mined many primary documents from the archives of these financial instutions and combined them with contemporary newspaper reports (largely from London) to support his argument. Numerous graphs and tables that coincide with the argument are presented and are quite helpful in understand the text.

This book is a business/finance history - not for the faint of heart or the casual reader, but completely engrossing and well worth reading for anyone that has an interest in such a topic.

This is absolutely a "must-have" for any Detroit Tigers fan! Not just a book of statistics, "Detroit Tigers Lists and More" is about every fascinating and obscure trivia you ever wanted to know about the Tigers. Everything from Tigers in other Halls of Fame to player nicknames to fantasy teams to miscellaneous info too good to pass up (like notable fights, forfeits and family relations) - it's here, all neatly cataloged and indexed for easy reference. Pick one up for your favorite sports fan!

This is absolutely a "must-have" for any Detroit Tigers fan! Not just a book of statistics, "Detroit Tigers Lists and More" is about every fascinating and obscure trivia you ever wanted to know about the Tigers. Everything from Tigers in other Halls of Fame to player nicknames to fantasy teams to miscellaneous info too good to pass up (like notable fights, forfeits and family relations) - it's here, all neatly cataloged and indexed for easy reference. Pick one up for your favorite sports fan!

This book was written by the one of two men to meet and write about Chief Tenaya and the Native Americans of Yosemite. The other man was a reporter embeded with the Mariposa Battalion who wrote for the Stockton Republic. Both men document that Chief Tenaya was the founder of the Paiute Colony of Yosemite. That Chief Tenaya spoke Paiute. The reporter writes that Chief Bautista called the Ahwahneechees the "Monahs". Which would concluded that the original Native Americans of Yosemite were Mono Paiutes and not Miwoks. In fact in Bunnell's book after Chief Tenayas death the remaining Ahwahneechees/Paiutes were taken back to Mono Lake in 1854. The next year the only Indians in Yosemite were Paiutes from Mono Lake. THAT IS IN THE BOOK. There are many mentions of Monos and Paiutes being Chief Tenaya's band, BUT NOT ONE MENTION OF MIWOKS. We Paiutes don't understand why no one at Yosemite National Park has read this book. This is THE Original book about the Indian people of Yosemite. The Native American people of Yosemite and Hetch Hetchy. A MUST READ FOR ALL OF YOU TO WANT TO KNOW THE TRUE HISTORY OF THE INDIANS OF YOSEMITE.
IF YOU CAN GET THE ORIGINAL, AND NOT THE REVISED VERSION.

Hi,

I would say that this book is a must for anyone who wants to envision the early entry by non-Native Americans into the "Yo-Semite". One definitely gets a "You Are There" experience by reading this book and gains an understanding of the conflicts that brought Bunnell and his group to the area. ....

Dizzy and the Gas House Gang was one of the best books I have read in years. I am an avid fan of baseball, but not quite enough of a fan to wade through some of the typical baseball books on the market--mired with statistics and uninteresting details about flavor-of-the-month players. "Dizzy," however, is a rich account of one of the most interesting and arguably the best pitcher in baseball. A true gem for history buffs, sports fans, and romatics alike.

The best St Louis Cardinal book I've ever read. It is so detailed and fun. The writer - Doug Feldmann - does an outstanding job of covering all the bases in this wonderful release!

Written with grace and clarity.

Ariela Gross's book, "Double Character", is an excellent examination of the role of the courtroom in antebellum slavery. Gross attempts to show that the courts are an important arena where discourses about slave "character" and "nature" crystallized, where certain types of explanations, (like medical ones) grew in favor while other explanatory modes were discouraged. The title refers to the fact that slaves were simultaenously regarded as people and as property (capital). At the center of all this were slave bodies, whose humanitty was clear, and whose legal status as chattel was also clear. The tortured legal reasoning that attempted to negotiate these contradictions provides a fascinating portrait of antebellum race.

Gross's sources are excellent--she focuses on cases heard on appeal to state Supreme Courts in the deep South (Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, South Carolina). At that time Supreme Courts had to hear all cases appealed (not the case today) so they become an invaluable source for collecting trial records. She also examines one court in depth (Adams County, Mississippi) and two smaller courts in South Carolina to deepen and contextualize her scope.

She conclusively demonstrates that the Southern "honor culture" that dominated mainstream white life was dependent on the dishonoring of black bodies, managed to a great deal through the court system, where slaves were not allowed to speak. The issue of slave character and by extension, the character of the master, were always in contention in these trials over transactions gone bad.
However, she also argues that even though slaves could not speak in court, nonetheless courts were forced to deal with the humanness of slaves. In cases regarding breach of warranty, slaves were relied on to give information about their medical condition, as well as information about buyer's treatment of them. Even though they themselves could not speak, their words were often repeated in court by others.

Gross also deals with the issue of paternalism of slave masters better than other scholars. She contextualizes paternalism as a narrow discourse alongside strict disciplinary codes and "shrewd business practices". Rather than draw a distinction between paternalism and violence, like Walter Johnson, or subsume all of slavery as a paternalist enterprise (like Eugene Genovese) we see the complex and mulitfaceted nature of master/slave dynamics.

If there are problems here, it is that her study sometimes attempts to beyond itself too far, and in doing so draws on secondary literature a bit much, especially towards the end. Her connection of the courtroom to medical discourse and the slave marketplace seem a bit stretched, but she does draw on the best of the secondary literature in these areas--its just that these connections seem tenous sometimes.

Nonetheless, this is a solid study and deserves to be regarded as such in the interdisciplinary field of American Studies. As a study in methodology, Gross is also quite interesting--she combines statsitical analysis and regression with critical race theory and cultural anthropology. Each of these modes of analysis complements and strengthens the other. Within the field of African- American historiography, this is also a major effort.

--Christopher Chase, PhD Fellow, American Studies

I featured this book in my 4th grade class's unit on "How We Came to California." It was the best book that told about the journey of many families to the Golden State during the Dust Bowl Days because it included why they left, how they came and the struggle once they got here. To make it even more special, my grandmother came to read it to the students because she lived in CA during this time and helped the people who came to her town from Oaklahoma and Kansas. Having an elder read it to the kids was the most memorable thing to many of the kids who simply did not know about this period of their family's history.

Gradeschool children who read this story identified with the story characters. Students went away with appreciation for this time in American History. It was easy to read and informative. It made many students realize how fortunate they are.

Jeb Nubey is the pastor of the Church in the Dell, in Nazareth, Arkansas, raising the 3 Welby children Angel, Willie and Ida May abandoned by their parents. Fern Coulter is Jeb's fiancée. Our story opens with Fern, Jeb and the Welby children are in Ardmore, Oklahoma for Jeb to meet Fern's family and to announce their engagement. While there Philemon Gracie who is the former pastor of Church in the Dell has arranged for Jeb to meet Jonathan Flauvent, the dean of the Bible College in Oklahoma City. He offers Jeb a pastorate at the First Community Church in Oklahoma City. Jeb is taken by surprise as he really hadn't taken Garcie's letter, setting up the meeting, seriously and hadn't even mentioned it to Fern. Jeb looks at this as an opportunity of a lifetime. Fern sees it as going back to the high society life she left behind when she moved to Nazareth.

In Ardmore the Welby children are reunited with their sister Claudia, who lives in Norman, Oklahoma. She has 2 small children and has been abandoned by her husband. Feeling pushed to leave the only family she has known, seventeen year old Angel goes with Claudia to take care of the children and to begin a life that is not of her choosing.

Jeb decides for Fern's sake not to take the position in Oklahoma but finds out Gracie worked this out so he could return to Church in the Dell. Realizing God's hand is involved Jeb and the Welby children move to Oklahoma City and Fern moves to her mother's in Ardmore till the wedding in December.

Back in Ardmore Fern must face the past she left behind. While with Claudia circumstances force Angel to run off with an older man with a questionable job. Frantically Jeb and Fern search for Angel as they realize the police and the FBI are searching for the man Angel has ran off with.

Can Jeb find Angel and bring her home? What of this man she has run off with? What has happened in Fern's past to cause her to have to face? Will the First Community Church and Oklahoma City be the life they are dreaming of?

This is truly an awesome book. With all the twists and turns this book is really a page turner. From beginning to end this novel keeps you on your toes waiting to see what happens next. This is truly a book of fiction and romance and history as it takes place during the Depression. Women of all ages from teen up will thoroughly enjoy the story as it unfolds. As you read "Earthly Vows" don't worry if you have not read the rest of the series as each book stands alone. But very seldom does a series of books come along that is written so well and keeps you wanting more but the author Patricia Hickman has done just that. Not only does each book stand alone as a story unto its self, but as a series is phenomenal. The author has really done an awesome job with The Millwood Hollow Series but especially "Earthly Vows" which is the icing on the cake. Sadly this is the 4th and final book in the series. Sadly that we must leave the Nubeys and the Welbys behind but what is read and learned within its pages will stay with you for a long time.

Reviewed by Regan Windsor for Reader Views (1/07)

"Earthly Vows" is the fourth and final book of The Millwood Hollow Series. As with the other three books in the series ("Fallen Angels," "Nazareth's Song," and "Whisper Town") this is a novel you won't want to put down! Patricia Hickman has a wonderful way of capturing the reader, transforming you into the world of the Depression, and subtly showing you how worlds collide and lessons are learned.

"Earthly Vows" takes Jeb Nubey, the local con man turned preacher, to Oklahoma where an opportunity exists at a large wealthy community church. For Jeb the church represents a fresh start; a break from his rocky history and the struggles he has encountered at Church of the Dell. For Fern, his fiancé, it reawakens ghosts of the past and her discomfort begins to strain their relationship. Jeb is torn between a dream of wealth and new beginnings and the possibility of risking a relationship he has spent years nourishing.

Meanwhile, during their stay, Fern's mother has managed to locate Angel's sister in a town nearby. She is down on her luck, as was the way of the Depression, with two small kids to feed and a husband who abandoned all responsibility. It is determined that Angel will go and stay with her, help her get back on her feet, and then send for Willie and Ida May. While Jeb feels this may set things right by Fern, whom he doesn't want to burden with the responsibility of the three children he inherited in his days on the run, he can't help but feel this may not have been the best decision.

As Fern begins to face her past and Jeb is forced to take a hard look at the implications of his decisions, Angel too faces a situation she is struggling to deal with. Unable to locate Jeb, feeling abandoned and desperate when her situation turns bad, she runs away what seems her only option - a sweet talking young man who offers her freedom, pretty clothes, and a life on the run.

"Earthly Vows" does a fabulous job of bringing closure to the Millwood Hollow Series. It brings the story full circle, closing the loop on the understanding of family, the meaning of love, and the desperation we feel when we may have lost either one. Patricia Hickman has once again developed a novel full of suspense and intrigue that will have the reader racing to devour the pages, while at the same time feeling the hesitation to reach the end.

EBONY RISING is a preeminent collection of short fiction written during the Harlem Renaissance Era. What makes this book stand out from other anthologies with similar subject matter is that the book features a well-planned organizational structure and includes many lesser known writers and works. Beginning with the preface, editor Craig Gable showcases his breadth of knowledge of the era and it is clear that this book will not only be good reading, but also educational.

The selections are organized by the year of publication, with each year (or group of years) serving as its own section. At the beginning of each section a timeline of significant historical events and African-American literary accomplishments is included to help readers get a sense of the times in which the writings were published. In addition to including writers often omitted from anthologies, such as Eloise Bibb Thompson, and J. Saunders Redding, the collection has a good balance between male and female featured authors. At the end of the book there is a detailed listing of sources for further reading, brief biographic sketches of the featured authors, and a handy chart that highlights many of the major themes in the included works.

EBONY RISING is one of the best anthologies I have read. With clear organization, a unique selection of authors, and the inclusion of historical information, this book is a must-have for anyone interested in literature, particularly those with an interest in African-American literature or the Harlem Renaissance. This book is a refreshing yet educational treat.

Reviewed by Stacey Seay
of The RAWSISTAZ™ Reviewers

I like everything about this collection: the fact that it encompasses 52 stories covering over 27 years and a wide variety of content and styles; is gender balanced; presents works by both the famous and the lesser knowns beyond the actual boundaries of New York (plus lesser-known stories by the famous); and its chronological arrangement that allows the era to "grow." With the help of the author's preface, I dove right into the stories not previously anthologized, like Mercedes Gilbert's hilarious "Why Adam Ate the Apple" (with the memorable line "He started to rave, and jes' raised Cain.") I was not disappointed. Additional useful resources include a history of the era and a checklist of common issues, topics and plot components. This indispensable resource for the study of American literature belongs on every library shelf.

I have just started reading Rabbi Wein's book. And I am enjoying it tremendously. There is a huge need for such a book. A book on Jewish history written by someone with Yirat Shamayim (Fear Of Heaven, loosely translated).
The book is a sophisticated one. Well researched. But especially, the sensitive reader will be able to tell that it is a book written by a Yire Shamayim. Great work Rabbi Wein. May you keep writing much needed books like this one.

It's about time that a traditional approach to a special people has been written. No one other than Rabbi Beryl Wein (now living in Israel) is as qualified to write such a majestic piece about the history of the Jews. As Mark Twain pointed out about 100 years ago, the ongoing existence of Jewish people provide proof positive of an Almighty Being who chose this people to represent Him in this world. Wouldn't it be interesting top read about his most fascinating of people from a perspective which matches the thoughts of the ancients. The book is readable, insightful, and wonderful. I most highly recommend it.