F Books

I was surprise that a non-black person could actually have the courage and the sensibility to write an unbiased history of folks of African descent. My spirit was touched by the plight of my ancestors and their ordeal after slavery. The government promised them their 40 acres and a mule. However, very few of them receive anything to start their free life.

Without land and the tools to work it, they would be at the mercy of the former ruling elite, slave owners, and other whites that had the inkling to exploit them.

Image being freed from centuries of brutal toil, physical, emotional, and sexual exploitation with no resources to start your life in a society that despised you and those in your image? The author does an excellent job. I must commend him.

What made me laugh is the response of the whites to the changes in the blacks when they learned they were free and the union army was in the neighborhood. They dropped their masks and showed them their true face. Don't they know their survival was dependent of keeping their mask in place? I am reminded of one of favorite poems.

We Wear the Mask by Laurence Dunbar

We wear the mask that grins and lies,
It hides our cheeks and shades our eyes,--
This debt we pay to human guile;
With torn and bleeding hearts we smile,
And mouth with myriad subtleties.

Why should the world be overwise,
In counting all our tears and sighs?
Nay, let them only see us, while
We wear the mask.

We smile, but, O great Christ, our cries
To thee from tortured souls arise.
We sing, but oh the clay is vile
Beneath our feet, and long the mile;
But let the world dream otherwise,
We wear the mask!

Preach brotha preach? This poem always tries to bring down the spirits on me. I have to fight it. If I am in a public place, I don't want the Holy Ghost get on me. Smiling. This is one of those books that touched my spirit. It stayed with me for a long time. This is the mark of good writer. Though it is a history book, it is not a bore, with dry facts. It is written like a novel.

I give this book a five star, and highly recommend it.

This book is gives an excellent synthesis as to how freedom was experienced in various regions of the South after 1863. One of the finest books within the historiography of American slavery and freedom. Litwack goes to great lengths explaining the freedom experience, the failures of the Freedmen's Bureau and the hesitations ex-slaves felt after 1863. A must read and must have for anyone interested in slavery, its aftermath and Reconstruction.

Few populations in history have gone through the dramatic changes that African Americans underwent at the end of the Civil War. People who had suffered slavery for generations suddenly found themselves free, a welcome yet uncertain status that required considerable exploration and adjustment. Leon Litwack's book examines this transition, concentrating on how freed African Americans perceived freedom and how they shaped the conditions of their freedom in the aftermath of the Civil War.

For many African Americans, change began with the Civil War. Slaves in areas occupied by Union soldiers would be liberated from bondage, while many African Americans took up arms as the war went on. The end of the war and the ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment meant freedom for African Americans, freedom to live their lives as they wanted. For most, the first step was finding their scattered families and coming to terms with their time as slaves. Freedom also meant discovering a new identity, especially with regards to their former masters, as African Americans now had to deal with whites in new ways both socially and in the workplace. Finally, African Americans faced the challenge of creating a new society free of the restrictions of slave life, which led to the establishment of modes of religion, politics, and the press to serve their particular interests.

Litwack's book is an indispensable study of African Americans in the aftermath of emancipation. Based on a wealth of primary sources (including the invaluable collection of oral interviews conducted by the Federal Writers' Project during the 1930s), he argues that no set experience defined how African Americans dealt with freedom. What emancipation demonstrated was the interdependence that existed between African Americans and whites, an interdependence that did not end with freedom but was shaped by attitudes and tensions that remained from the experience of slavery. The result is a book that is essential reading for any student of the era, as well as for those seeking insight into race relations in America today.

During the Civil War and the years of reconstruction which immediately followed, blacks experienced an interlude of optimism and hope from the harshness and repression of slavery. It was a time of great social upheaval and former masters and slaves were forced to adjust to a new order. In, "Been in the Storm So Long: The Aftermath of Slavery, "Litwack writes of slavery's aftermath with a slave's point of view from contemporary accounts, diaries, and interviews conducted under the Federal Writer's Project. We learn how blacks perceived and experienced freedom.

Freedmen articulated their independence in many and varied ways, but fundamental to being free, was having one's own land. Former slaves soon found that land was not easily acquired despite their newfound freedom. Powerful forces conspired against them. Their fate became tied to plantations, working in the fields, just as before but now as contract laborers.

The new relationship as planters and laborers kept blacks from exercising the full range of privileges which should have belonged to them as citizens. Land ownership should have meant independence and self-sufficiency to former slaves. In slavery, they had worked the land and harvested its bounty but they were not the beneficiaries of their labor. With emancipation the idea of owning land "remained the most exciting prospect of all." (399) It epitomized the meaning of freedom.

The expectation of land redistribution, "forty acres and a mule," was ill founded and unrealized. The success of "such experiments [that] took place at Davis Bend, Mississippi, where blacks secured leases on six extensive plantations...[and] repaid the government for the initial costs, managed their own affairs, raised and sold their own crops, and realized impressive profits"(376)was an aberation. Any lingering hope that the government would redistribute land were dashed when on May 29, 1865, President Andrew Johnson pardoned former Confederates and permitted them to reclaim confiscated or occupied lands. Thereafter the Freedman's Bureau and Federal troops enforced the restoration of lands to their former owners. Not only was redistribution denied to freedmen, but fundamental legal rights were limited as well.

What did freedom mean to an emancipated slave who had never experienced it? According to Litwack, "newly liberated slaves adopted different priorities and chose different ways in which to express themselves, ranging from dramatic breaks with the past, to subtle and barely perceptible changes in demeanor and behavior." (292) Initial uncertainty about what to do gave way to "the urge toward personal autonomy"(293), which meant leaving the plantation or farm. To move about is so fundamental to our society today that we take it for granted, but to an emancipated slave it must have been nirvana. In contrast, former slave owners emmitted "cries of ingratitude and betrayal [that] were repeated with even greater vigor and frequency than during the war, compounded this time by the feeling of helplessness." (301)

Movement was an act of freedom, but one which swelled the black populations of nearby towns and cities. Shifting racial etiquette and ostentatious behavior served to harden racial sentiment. Disputes over public space occurred on the sidewalks, streets, and on public transportation. "Almost every white man remained convinced that only rigid controls and compulsion would curtail the natural propensity of blacks toward idleness and vagrancy, induce them to labor for others, and correct their mistaken notions about freedom and working for themselves." (305)

The planter class wanted freed slaves to understand that they must either work for whites or starve. Crops had to be planted and harvested and they had to know there would be labor to do the work. Black Codes were written so whites could control freedmen for their economic need. Fortunately for freedmen, Black Codes were short lived. But never-the-less the sentiment which created them continued and enforcement persisted where the Freedmen's Bureau did not put a stop to them, or where blacks had no recourse for appeal.

Legal rights were further restricted when " Union commanders moved quickly to expel former plantation hands from the towns and cities, to comply with the request of planters to force their blacks to work" (375) and by passage of vagrancy laws which applied only to blacks. Once under control and returned to the plantations, restrictive "voluntary" contracts served to keep them there. Even where labor was scarce, the former slave could not effectively exercise his rights. What bargaining power he had to reject a contract was limited. If he held out too long, he could be evicted, and he still had to support himself
somehow. "Although the freedmen's Bureau recognized his right to contract elsewhere, it insisted that he contract with some employer; if not he could be arrested for vagrancy." (443) His options were very limited.

Having no land and without full legal rights, freedmen could not pull themselves up from the aftermath of slavery and achieve the promise of freedom. That freedmen in the South slipped back into a condition of semi-slavery after the civil war has effected race relations and politics ever since. The following paragraphs focus on other issues which returned freedmen to the land under conditions almost as bad as they had experienced before the Civil War.

One would think that with the establishment of the Freedman's Bureau, passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1866 and the13th, 14th and 15th Amendments to the Constitutional, black's independence would be assured. But these actions represented problems of reconstruction on a national level. The Freedman's Bureau was the first large scale Federal relief agency with a broad mandate to assist blacks in the aftermath of the Civil War.

The 13th Amendment abolished slavery but in response to the Black Codes, Congress passed the Civil Rights Act over a presidential veto. The 13th Amendment granted citizenship to persons born in the United States and was a result a long battle between President Johnson and Radical Republicans in Congress on the roll and the scope of federal power. The 14th Amendment affirmed the constitutionality of the Civil Rights Act and went further to protect the rights of citizens. The 15th Amendment forbade the states from denying voting rights to former slaves on the grounds of race and color."With some justification, white Southerners accused the north of hypocrisy in seeking to impose upon them the racial equality which most Northerners would have abhorred." (260)

From the freedman's perspective, emancipation was a time to be jubilant in spirit, with a hopeful outlook and upbeat mood. But if self-ownership meant freedom to a former slave, it represented an economic loss to their former masters. While there was no recompense given for the loss of value to white owners, there was no payment given to freedmen either for their work as slaves. If what it meant to be free had to be experienced to be learned by former slaves, being without slaves had to be experienced to be learned by whites. "What most whites found difficult to accept was not so much the freedom of the slaves as the determination of ex-slaves to act as though they were free." (338) In the end old compulsions led to a new dependency to get back the agricultural labor system they were used to.

It would seem self evident that to survive people would have to work together in the south. The planters owned the land and needed laborers to work it. Freedmen had no land and needed work to survive. How the problem resolved itself was not very satisfactory. Without any political power, blacks were at a disadvantage. Not owning land and with curtailed legal rights, blacks were vulnerable to exploitation. The old model of plantation operation was there to mimic under new circumstances. "To listen to the former slaveholder, emancipation had changed only the method of compensation, not the basic arrangement, not the mutual understanding that had underlain the old system." (337)

The problem was how to get the people back on the land? The movement of blacks on the road was unsettling to whites. All these people were moving about and not in the fields where they belonged! From a government standpoint the Union Army and the Freedman's Bureau had a stake in keeping order. If there was not enough work for everyone outside of farming and people were not on the farms, that meant a huge welfare problem. Thus to the controlling agencies maintaining order under reconstruction meant getting blacks back where they belonged, on the fields. The old dependency of the plantation system returned with blacks depending on whites and whites depending on blacks. The old system wasn't fair and the new system didn't turn out to be too much better. As one old former slave put it when speaking on Lincoln (and freedom) "'Lincoln done but little for the Negro race and from living standpoint nothing."' (449)

The only hope blacks had for effective emancipation was with the North through reconstruction. But, there were no clear cut ideas that emanated from Washington: no prescient leadership and no determination to see the issue through to its end. The two federal entities that were most evident throughout the south were the Union Army occupation forces and the Freedman's Bureau. Blacks looked to them for help, but, in general, the only conclusion that can be reached is that what help was received was inadequate.

The Freedman's Bureau objective of returning former slaves to the land, facilitated the move back to a plantation system. Blacks had little hope for justice. "The ways in which a local Bureau agent or provost marshal considered the grievance of a freedman differed markedly from the deference paid to a prominent planter." (384) While supposedly free, now the black remained a second class citizen.

As reconstruction came to an end, the New Orleans Tribune used an appropriate term to refer to blacks under restrictive regulations as "mock freedmen" (377) effectively summarizing reconstruction's lasting effect. What came next was a system of debt peonage which kept blacks tied to the land with little chance of improving their condition. Sharecropping satisfied black laborer's desire for at least the feeling of having his own land. The planter provided the land and implements in exchange for half of the crops. But somehow the books didn't balance at the end of the season and the sharecropper or tenant remained in perpetual debt to the landowner.

Reconstruction came to an end because it was contrary to too many people's interests and blacks did not have enough political power to keep it going, at least to insure the achievement of true freedom. Without land and full legal rights, black political struggle was postponed for generations.

Anyone with a serious interest in the Civil War should read Been in the Storm So Long. Litwacks's work is more than just black history; it explores the principle cause and consequence of the war. Unlike many general histories that preceded it, "Been in the Storm" relies heavily on primary sources. War-era diaries and letters of whites, Union Army records, Freedman's bureau reports, and Depression-era interviews of former slaves and their children, provide most of the material. The outrage of southern whites who watched trusted slaves pick up and leave when freedom came, echoes throughout the book. So too does the uncertainty of the era. Some blacks may have dreamed big, but most just wanted freedom, security, and opportunity. Though some lasting gains were made, the struggle for full freedom would be much longer.
Certainly, "Been in the Storm" is the place to start for Emancipation reading. Though the coverage of early black politics was not as strong as in Eric Foner' Reconstruction, I know of no equal for the early social consequences of Emancipation.

As a war veteran myself, I have never found a more absorbing, accurate and sincere attempt to capture the true emotions of combatants, their loved ones, and all others involved in the major conflichts of the ninteenth, twentieth and twenty-first centuries. A must read for anyone interested in getting an unbiased glimpse into the thoughts of those who were affected by war.

I purchased this book recently and could not put it down.Who better to tell a story than the ones who lived it?The letters are not only from the soldiers who fought on either side of a conflict,but from the very people who lived through them.The accounts are graphic in many cases and I now have a better understanding of the horrible reality of it all.The historical quips help with the insight as to what was going on at the time of the letter.Its a great read by an outstanding author who has done so much for our troops.

BEHIND THE LINES is a powerful collection of fragments of thoughts that were initiated over the past two hundred plus years of war scars. Andrew Carroll continues his commitment to bring the reality of war to the forefront of our attention and I know no better manner for anti-war statements than the words found in this illuminating and horrifying book.

Carroll approaches war as a panacea - an evil that has been with us around the globe for centuries and just continues unabated. Many poets and writers are struggling to make the public cognizant of the horrors of war, but Carroll scans American involvement in wars from the Revolutionary War to the present and in doing so he demonstrates the madness that we must learn to stop.

Letters, documents, memos, soldiers' notes as well as civilians' responses fill these pages, some eloquent, some simply pitiful, and some stoic as well as some encouraging. The messages are not skewed in a way that makes Carroll seem like he is ranting. Rather he lets the words of the living and the dead speak truths far larger than fiction.

This is a beautifully conceived volume that for the sake of the survival of civilization belongs on the reading desks of everyone. Tough reading, this, but enormously informative and important. Highly recommended. Grady Harp, August 05

Andy Carroll's last book - War Letters - showed what war is like by reprinting letters of American combatants who had ac-tually fought those wars. (I should confess that one of my letters about Vietnam was reprinted in that book.)

Andy's new book - Behind The Lines - shows what war is like with reprints of letters from both combatants and non-combatants - civilian women and children. This book also in-cludes letters written by non-Americans as well as Americans.

Andy limited the letters to those from the wars in which America was involved. Thsee wars range from the Revolutionary War (there's a great letter from a Hessian soldier [Hessians were German soldiers "leased" to Great Britain to fight as mer-cenaries] giving his impressions of America and the poor fighting ability of the rebels), the Civil War, World Wars I and II, Korea, Vietnam (there's a good letter from a soldier asking his parents to forgive him for having killed a man in combat), Kosovo and Gulf Wars I and II.

While many letters deal with combat, other letters show the many faces of war. At times, war can be terrifying, funny, ab-surd, touching and hilarious. (You know you've been fighting too long when the same incident strikes you as both terrifying and hilarious.)

One letter was a love letter written by a California woman to a Swiss national. In fact, the letter was complete fabrication. The Swiss national actually was a German spy traveling in Great Britain during WWII. The letter was created to make his cover seem more believable.

One letter was from a brother who had enlisted in the Union army in the U.S. Civil War. He wrote to berate his brother for having enlisted in the Confederate army.

One letter was from a German wife to her husband's company commander. She requested that her husband be given a leave "because of our sexual relationship." She wanted her husband to come home so they can have sex. The commander's sym-pathetic reply is included in the book.

One letter writer came up with a list of "The Army's Ten Commandments," which should bring a smile to anyone who served in the Army. Commandment number four is, "Thou shall not laugh at second lieutenants."

One writer came up with a letter filled with multiple choice op-tions. By checking various options, he could either proclaim his undying love or write about an upcom-ing/imminent/current/recent military offensive.

Several letter writers tried to warn their families that they should prepare for a slight adjustment period when the men come home. One Vietnam writer warned, "If it should start raining, pay no attention to his joyous scream as he strips naked, grabs a bar of soap, and runs outdoors for a shower." (As a Vietnam veteran, I found that letter puzzling. Doesn't everybody shower that way?)

The book is divided into several themes that illustrate the dif-ferent faces of war: friendship; combat; laughing though the tears; civilians caught in the crossfire; and the aftermath of war.

As a Vietnam Infantry pointman and squad leader, I view a book about war differently from most people. Andy's book showed me a side of war I had never considered - its impact on non-combatants - who could neither run away (what any sane person does when people are trying to kill him) nor fight (if you're going to die anyway, why not die fighting?).

The book also showed me what I already knew from my own experience: that war changes forever those touched by it.

One Vietnam veteran was haunted by the fact that several of his comrades had died rescuing him after he was seriously wounded. So decades after the end of the Vietnam war, he left a letter at the Vietnam Memorial thanking those men for their sacrifice. That letter is included in the book.

Don't buy this book if you are looking for stories about triumphant soldiers marching in victory parades in front of cheering, grateful crowds. That's not the side of war that Andy wanted to show. Instead, the book shows the side of war that doesn't make the 5:00 TV news.

You will need to read this book in small doses because the emotional impact of the letters can be overwhelming. In Los Angeles I attended a reading of selected letters from the book. One of the speakers read a letter he had written as a Jewish teenager while riding in a sealed railway car on his way to a German concentration camp. The letter told his sister how much he loved her. He pushed the finished letter through a hole in the side of the railway car and hoped that a kind peasant would find and mail it to his sister. One did.

This is a great book!! I really enjoyed reading it, and found myself unable to put it down. The book gives readers a better understanding of what soldiers and their families go through. After reading this book, I believe I have a better appreciation for our Veterans and our troops serving our country. Definately a recommended book in my opinion.

This book, as it was written, is a masterpiece of natural history. It is a contribution to humanistic biology that has style and description that is uncrippled by the invidious academic flatulence of the professional "scientist". It makes no pretensions. It was written by a man fascinated by the tidal seashore and the animals found therein. Read it and read it well.
Then read "Beyond the Outer Shores" by Eric Enno Tamm an unconventional biography of Ricketts that does full justice to the man and the myths.
Having gone through these impressive volumes I hope you will join me in despising Stanford University Press for what they did to Ricketts before his death and for allowing David Phillips to desecrate his memory in Edition Five.

This is probably THE serious book to have if one is going to immerse oneself in the California intertidal. Originally produced by Ed Ricketts (of Steinbeck/Cannery Row/Log From The Sea Of Cortez fame) the book has been upgraded, revised, re-edited by a plethora of "co-authors" since Ricketts' untimely death. It still retains much of Ricketts' then-revolutionary Habitat focus, which will either work for you (it does for me) or annoy the hard-core systematists out there. This ISN'T a light book to lug into the field or a light book to read -if you are just day-tripping The UC Press has a number of smaller & more accessibly illustrated field guides that I would reccomend, But if you are seriously into mmarine Bio and have some time on your hands along the California Coastline, you owe it to yourself to get this book. Even here on the Coast of Maine and twenty years removed from the West I still fid myself referring to it...

This is a timeless classic, very readable as the author puts you in a place (rocky intertidal or a mudflat) and then describes the animals you will see. It is written with a wise eye and wry humor. The long lived sea anemone in Scotland that was done in after 80 some years by the "ineptitude of (we suspect) a botanist".
It is more specific to central California, but still useful in Southern Calif and the northern coast as well.

This is an amazing book. It was a landmark in its time, and is still useful today.

I can't believe that someone else has not reviewed this excellent guide to the intertidal biota of the Pacific Coast. This book has set the standard for reference guides to marine life along the Pacific Coast, as well as other locations. It is much more than a field guide -- though it also serves that role. This book describes the intertidal zonation patterns of the Pacific Coast as well as the ecology and aspects of the natural history of the organisms that live there. The book contains good taxonomic references as well. This is the book that many of the country's marine scientists cut their professional teeth on. If you are interested in marine biology, the diversity of life, or the ecology of nearshore habitats, this book is definitely for you. The main strength of the book is the logical organization by type of habitat and vertical elevation on the intertidal zone. The main challenge of a book like this is to remain up to date, which the publisher has managed by producing revised editions on regular basis. This book is a must for any field or arm chair marine naturalist!

Billy Running Dog is an authentic and corrosive vision of hell. Alternately funny and tragic, it speaks to and for the forgotten and ignored; the humans that society feels most compfortable consigning to the trash heap. PETER COYOTE, Actor/Author

A powerful portrait of aspects of life that need examining. Highly recommended. VVA Veteran..Marc Leepson.

Wholly original and provocative. The characters are stikingly vivid and their images stay with the reader long after the book has ended. The Associated Press.

...a fascinating and intriguing story. Baffling and enlightening. It combines humor and insight, brilliant writing and a series of mysteries that absorbed me until the last page. I couldn't put it down and am glad I didn't. David Dellinger, member of "Chicago Seven"

I would ask that all my supporters make an effort to read my brother James Rayle's book Billy Running Dog.

In this well written, fast paced and content rich book, Shultz points out the importance of a good board. She makes anyone involved in corporate life aware that a board is a powerful capital asset. Proper selection is the key to success. The book describes in detail how to avoid the major pitfalls in the process. The work is based on in-depth interviews with many CEOs of Fortune 500 companies, Startups and Pre-IPOs, from whom she gleans fascinating information. The Board Book will reward those looking to maximize opportunities

The first, last, and only book you will ever need about boards. It's full of anecdotes, basic information and a variety of check lists to help any chairperson or board member function expertly.

Shultz's work has been a great help to me as a new board chair.
The many examples with analysis are an effective method for helping me understand the whats and the whys of board selection and roles.
She does not seem to be afraid to refere to actual examples of poor practices.
This book is not for you if you are not open to the notion of a truly independent board.
The checklists and appendecies are also very useful for reviewing board performance and/or setting-up a board.
I highly recommend this work if you are a board member, contemplating being a board member, or are creating a board.
My interests are primarily in the privatly held company boards. The majority of examples are for publicly traded companies, however the principles seem to transend the "type of organization " issue.

Joe McMullen

In this well written, fast paced and content rich book, Shultz points out the importance of a good board. She makes anyone involved in corporate life aware that a board is a powerful capital asset. Proper selection is the key to success. The book describes in detail how to avoid the major pitfalls in the process. The work is based on in-depth interviews with many CEOs from Fortune 500s, to Startups and Pre-IPOs, from whom she gleans fascinating information. The Board Book will reward those looking to maximize opportunities

As one who serves on several Boards of Directors and also one who reads a fair amount of corporate governance material, I found Susan Shultz's THE BOARD BOOK strongly on point. Sitting and "considering" directors as well as new and experienced CEO's will all benefit from reading the book.

Besides being based on lots of her own personal experience and research, Shultz's approach to making the book highly anecdotal lends a real-world tone to what is sometimes a legalistic approach to writing about the duties and practices of both CEO's and Boards.

I suggest that time would be well spent reading this book.

I never thought that I would try using something like this workbook, but I'm glad that I purchased it. It's an easy book to read and understand and the exercises have been very helpful so far. It isn't for JUST people with weight issues, but people who are dissatisfied with their facial features, thinning hair, height, etc. Highly recommended for anyone with problems with any physical features.

This is really a great book. If you don't like the way you look,have self-esteem issues, fears, or depression (all these may be caused by a poor body image), read this book.

Thomas Cash teaches you step by step how to overcome this crippling illusion and discover the beautiful person you are meant to be.

I would highly recommend this book.

I have found this workbook to be very thorough in professionally addressing the issues of body image for a variety of people. It provides a positive reference tool to those who seek greater self-confidence, self-awareness, and self-esteem.

I found this book to be one of the most helpful books I've read on overcoming body image issues. Everyone has body image issues to some extent. Others, like me, could have received many advanced degrees and done great things in the world had they successfully channeled bad body thoughts into something productive; like accepting oneself and learning to honor the body (and genetics) given to you. This book walks readers through a number of exercises designed to help first return to the core reasons (and identify humiliating public experiences) leading to a negative body image. The book then goes on to help the reader come to grips with their own expectations and realities surrounding their body image. My nutritionist is now "prescribing" this book to all of her patients. I highly recommend this book to anyone who struggles with never feeling fully comfortable in the skin you're in.

I never thought workbooks really work. I am on Step 6 in this book, and I am really beginning to notice a difference. I still have a negative body image, but I'm beginning to realize how much of my problem is related to my thoughts as opposed to my actual body. This book speaks to me on a very personal level, and has helped me realize that several people struggle with the same problem I do. I don't think I'll be totally cured by the time I finish the book, but I do think I'll improve my body image each day by practicing the steps in the book. It's a long process, but I truly believe this book will help me learn to love my looks!

I have very close ties and fond memories of rural California during the 1940's. Mr. Jeter was able to capture those memories and put them on paper - a rare gift. As well as enjoying the stories, I found his artwork delightful. I have recommended it to all my friends as: one of those books that makes you very sad when you are finished and realize that you have to leave this young man's adventures behind.

I read a chapter of this book every night before I go to sleep. It relaxes me and makes me smile. Author Bill Jeter's account of a happy boyhood takes me back to the summers that I spent in his neighborhood -- the California Sierra Mountains -- with my parents and relatives. Jeter writes from the viewpoint of a boy, in rich, descriptive language, and illustrates his adventures with delightful, pen-and-ink drawings. He has captured the high whistle of the winds, the pungent pine smell of forest air, the music of running brooks, and the unspoiled sweep of high meadow. His accounts of hiking, camping out, cleaning a rifle, hanging out at the general store, rafting on the nearby creek, and making his own rafts, backpacks, boomerangs, and kites, restore my faith in children's creativity and craftsmanship. I plan to read this book again and again. It makes me want all children to experience the beauty of growing up in nature, with parents who encourage them to do things for themselves.

Bill Jeter and I are old college friends and we shared may adventures as young adults.
The sincerity and truthfullness with which Bill recalls his boyhood was indeed refreshing and took me back to my youth many times. In talking with Bill he never refers to himself as a great writer, only a "creative rememberer." I believe that he only has the thought half right, he is a great writer

What a great glimpse into simpler times, before a TV in every house, before Game Boy, Nintendo and computers! A time when a kid used his imagination for entertainment. My 8 year old son had a great time reading this with me. We strongly recommend it for summertime reading!

Amazingly enjoyable book! I laughed and I cried as I followed Billy Jeter around in these true reminiscences of a young boys life in small town America. This author captures the essence of being a boy: making discoveries, a boy's imagination, creating adventure, innocent and hilarious mischief.

This was like reading about my own childhood. I could smell the smells, laugh at the laugh's, feel the "scardiness" of getting into trouble. The railroad adventure is a dream I always had, but never had the guts to do as a kid. I lived it finally, vicariously through Jeter's real life description.

His drawings give life to each story, and amazingly some of them look just like the stuff I was trying to create or play with as a kid. Except he did it a lot better.

Read this book if you want to re-live your life as a kid, or perhaps want to see what it should have been like. It has everything: nostalgia,memories, and a glimpse of a simpler and less ccyical time in life.

Brother Frank is the most caring, giving, loving, most wonderful person in the world. He is a perfect example of what the Lord can do in a life that most folks would say there is no hope for. I did not know Frank back in the day, but I know the man who the Lord shines through today. It is an honor and joy to call him friend.
The book is captivating and is one you will want to pass along to others to read.

I was 14 when I met brother Frank. He came to visit my congregation in 2000, and I remember sitting their in my seat crying as I listend to his testimony. Normally I would be bored out of my mind, but it was differnt, I cried...because I saw the love of God in this man. A man who has been through hell and back, and is living proof that a higher being does exist and that nothing is impossible. You can change your life around, if you just have faith. Later on that afternoon I got to go shake his hand, and he gave me hug and told me that he loved me and that God loved me to. He signed my book, his book actually, and gave it to me. I felt very honored! It is now three years later, I am seventeen...and unfortunatley I never got around to reading that book, until the other day. I had nothing else to read, so I was rummaging in boxes under my bed to find something good. It must have been the grace of God, because I suddenly pick up a dust covered book to find "Brother Frank". As I read the inscription something in me just tugged, I felt compelled to read it. In record time I finished the book in 2 days front to back, that's how much this book astounded me! It was wonderful! No book has made me ever feel so good about life, and shown even more signs that God is love. If you want to read a book that will touch your heart with both joy and sorrow than this is the book for you. I will never regret reading it, and will never regret believing in the power of my faith!

My daughter received an autographed copy of this book from Brother Frank, as she served him often in a popular diner she is a waitress at. She knew I was an avid reader of fact - not fiction - and said "You won't be able to put this down...". How right! This book is impossible to put down. Brother Frank writes explicitly, graphically, tenderly and most important from the heart. I would consider it a privilege to meet the author one day and shake the man of this hand whose life has been turned around by the touch of our Creator. Inspiration and encouraging. Nothing is impossible! This book, Brother Frank's life, proves this fact beyond a shadow of a doubt.

This is a True Compelling account of One persons Triumph from the streets of Newark New Jersey with its drugs, thugs and Generational Curses that plauge every major city in this world today.And How his rise to the top took him to the bottom.And as you take this Journey You see that this in many ways could be you,For Today More then ever before we need Jesus!-God Bless You Brother Frank!

Brother Frank is a true account of the life of a very remarkable man. I had no idea who he was or where he came from when we met. He gave me a copy of the book and I read it cover to cover in short order. In this day and age, skepticism comes easily to most, myself included. But let no one doubt the truth, sincerity and faith found in the pages of Frank Minucci's book. What an inspiration! Be forwarned, however, the content is very graphic, violent at times, but the outcome is the most uplifting and faith-inspiring imaginable. I highly recommend Frank's story to all floundering mortals, like me, who need a kick-in-the-butt wake-up call from time to time

I can do no better than the hydrogeologist Syndnor in summarizing the utility of this introductory work. My only critique is that Mount needs to revise the chapter on climate and consider projected impacts on CA's surface water based on what we now know after 13 years of data collection.
Just as Knox needs to revise his primer Global Climate Change and California (1992).

California Rivers and Streams: the conflict between fluvial processes and land use, Dr. Jeffrey F. Mount, 1995, University of California Press, 359 pages

California geologists, engineers, environmental planners, and the general public will enjoy reading this comprehensive book on California rivers. The author is Dr. Jeffrey Mount, who holds the Roy J. Shlemon Chair of Geology at the University of California, Davis. Dr. Mount is the Director of the Center for Watershed Sciences at UC Davis. He has formerly served on the Reclamation Board within the California Resources Agency.

With a heightened sense of public concern about flooding, water supply, levee repair, fish habitat, and river restoration, this book on California rivers is the best general primer that is currently available. Although not designed as a textbook, California teachers may find it suitable for introductory courses because of its comprehensive scope and highly readable narrative.

The book is divided into two parts. Part 1, How Rivers Work, includes: Chapter 1, Introduction to the rivers of California; Chapter 2, Water in motion, Chapter 3, A river at work ¯ sediment entrainment, transport, and deposition; Chapter 4, The shape of a river; Chapter 5, Origins of river discharge; Chapter 6, Sediment supply; Chapter 7, River network and profile; Chapter 8, Climate and the rivers of California; Chapter 9, Tectonics and geology of California's rivers.

Part 2, Learning the Lessons: Land Use and the Rivers of California, includes: Chapter 10, Rivers of California ¯ the last 200 years; Chapter 11, Mining and the rivers of California; Chapter 12, Logging California's watersheds; Chapter 13, Food production and the rivers of California; Chapter 14, A primer on flood frequency ¯ how much and how often? Chapter 15, The urbanization of California's rivers; Chapter 16, The damming of California's rivers; and Chapter 17, The future ¯ changing climate, changing rivers.

Review by Robert H. Sydnor
California Certified Hydrogeologist #6
LM-AEG, LM-AAAS, LM-AGU, M-GSA, M-AGWA

This book will answer any questions you have and then answer all the questions you are too dense to think of. Anyone living in California should be forced to read this. River runners also benefit from this book that shows the correct fleuvial processes, unlike many kayaking/rafting books. Read it, get on the water and then fight for the rivers!

This is a subperb review of how rivers systems work and how man-made changes effect these systems. Perfect for the interested layperson interested in earth science. The second half of this book covers the major watersheds of California.

I am a hydrologist and a water lawyer practicing in Washington DC -- this is the book I give to clients and friends to explain how rivers work and what people do to them. It assumes an intelligent reader but no background is required to get the main points. While its title and focus is California, the lessons are applicable throughout the country. Great book.

You have to love Cam Jansen. When you're a kid, you read all of these stories about magic powers, mystery, and adventure. But everyone tells you magic can't exist. Cam Jansen manages to solve every case without the use of magic... she's a real girl. That's what makes her special and what makes you want to read more and more. She lives her life and has friends just like everyone else. Cam Jansen is a real kid superhero, and the thought that a person like her could actually exist... makes her the best kid detective ever! Kids can really associate themselves with Cam and her friends. Our family loves Cam Jansen!

You have to love Cam Jansen. When you're a kid, you read all of these stories about magic powers, mystery, and adventure. But everyone tells you magic can't exist. Cam Jansen manages to solve every case without the use of magic... she's a real girl. That's what makes her special and what makes you want to read more and more. She lives her life and has friends just like everyone else. Cam Jansen is a real kid superhero, and the thought that a person like her could actually exist... makes her the best kid detective ever! Kids can really associate themselves with Cam and her friends. Our family loves Cam Jansen!

You have to love Cam Jansen. When you're a kid, you read all of these stories about magic powers, mystery, and adventure. But everyone tells you magic can't exist. Cam Jansen manages to solve every case without the use of magic... she's a real girl. That's what makes her special and what makes you want to read more and more. Cam Jansen is a real kid superhero, and the thought that a person like her could actually exist... makes her the best kid detective ever! Our family loves Cam Jansen!

Here is what my 7-years old has to say about the book.
Cam Jansen and the Mystery of the U.F.O. by David A. Adler is a story about how Cam Jansen and her friend Eric Shelton solved mystery of U.F.O. In a cold afternoon before a junior photography contest Cam Jansen helped Eric to shoot photographs, which must be from real life, according to the contest rule. They came across Neptune, a missing kitten and saved her from the tree. Eric shot a picture of Neptune eating somebody's groceries. When they went to investigate a mysterious U.F.O. spotted by others, they discovered the U.F.O. was actually balloons hooked up to flashlights and creatures from outer space were staged by Bobby, Cindy and Steven to win a prize. But, in a rush, Bobby's car crashed his own camera and film (too bad!) while chasing Neptune. Finally, Neptune's photo won an honorable mention on TV!

If you are interested in mysteries, this book makes you feel you are in it. An excellent book for readers in second grade or older.

Cam Jansen has a incredible memory. One day Cam and her friend Eric Shelten thought they saw a U.F.O. Cam's real name is Jennifer. But when people discovered her memory, they started to call her Camera. But soon they shortened Camera and started to call her Cam. Whenever Cam tries to remember something, she always says click. I like the Cam Jansen books a lot.