Western Books

Michael Casey has writeen several books on the practice of spiritual disciplines and spirituality. All are worthwhaile, but this is perhaps his best. It is certainly the starting place for beginning to read his work. As a protestant / neo-pentecostal / evangelical, I found that I was drawn to his way of emphasizing that prayer is a relationship, not an activity or duty per se. This perspective helps me understand the fundamnetals of prayer, and this is what this book is about. Although I have read many books on prayer, from Catherine Marshall to Jack Hayford, from Pope John Paul to the classics, few are more helpful than this book. I find myself rereading certain passages over and over. The only book I have read recently that has had the same impact might be Nouwen's "The Only Necessary Thing." These two books are made out of the same cloth.

Michael Casey, an Australian Trappist monk, has written a wonderful primer on prayer in clear language. TOWARD GOD is an enlightening reflection based on personal experience, touching all the major aspects of the subject of prayer from the Western Christian tradition. I have read many books on prayer, including the great classics, but this is the one I have read over and over.

For anyone who wants to pray but does not know how to pray! Casey helps with a variety of methods and shows that there is not just one way to move toward God. I like the idea that one should use all these ways of praying rather than just one. Casey writes for everyone, not just Catholics. I am a Protestant who found the insights into prayer universal. Casey writes in a way that invites all to pray; gay, straight, feminist, believer or skeptic.

Fantastic book! Many wonderful thoughts/ideas in pursuing life growing closer to God. Plan to re-read many times. It is required reading for my son who has joined seminary and is now in Rome for 1st year training. Just got his list of books they wanted him to bring. He hasn't read it yet, but I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Sometimes when I purchase a book on methods of prayer, I wonder if I should be reading about prayer or should I just get down to the act of praying itself. I can say to myself "well, I need to read these books for professional reasons" but more often than not, I read them for myself, and when I read books such as Michael Casey's TOWARD GOD, I find new insights about prayer that help me in the discipline of prayer and hopefully, draw me closer to God.

For Casey, prayer is both communication with God and being in the presence of God, the latter being the more important. This is in keeping with the traditions of the Trappist order to which he belongs, traditions which stem from a literal interpretation of the Rule of St. Benedict. For Casey, prayer is not so much something we do as much as a response to the deepest desires of our hearts to be in communion with God. He introduces readers to some of the great spiritual writers on prayer. He also introduces readers to Christian meditation and contemplation as well as Lectio Divina, a topic he further develops in his book SACRED READING. TOWARD GOD is not so much a how to or a dictionary of prayer, but a description of the way a spiritual life can be ordered and an invitation to use the methods that Casey himself has found helpful, as have so many over the centuries. He also writes his book in a way that makes readers realize that Benedictine methods of prayer are not reserved for monks in monasteries alone and just about anyone who wishes can us these methods daily and not just on rare retreat moments.

The book will be helpful for anyone interested in prayer and hoping to develop a deeper relationship with God. Casey also has unique insights so it will also be interesting for people who may already have a regular routine of prayer and wish to enrich it or revitalize it. For me, I have found the book most helpful at times when my prayer is a bit dry. The book has a way of reminding the reader what prayer is all about and at times this is what we need to continue to grow in our relationship with God.

These vibrant stories of such phenomenal women who Dared to be Different and accomplished such awesome feats against so much adversity will inspire you to reach higher goals, regardless of any obstacles of the times! These outstanding women are incredible to study and this book is an excellent volume of heroism and unique personalities! Kudos!

A great book for learning more about women who made a difference in the frontier and later days of the West. Some subjects were familiar to me while others were completely new.
The author organizes her information in a easily read, informative manner. Each subject was well researched.
A good read!!

Trailblazers-Twenty Amazing Western Women was a fantastic book which I have already given to several friends, who are or have gone through some "rough times" in their own lives, and have thanked me for this book as it is inspirational and a comfort.
I hope it will be used in schools for teen-age girls, and in classes all over for women who seem to need stories of other women and what all they have been through and gotten through.

I would highly recommend this book and plan to give it to others for Christmas presents too. It is nice to have a story to read every night before going to bed, or if you just have a few minutes to devote to a story.

Highly enlightening. I loved it!

This is a terrific look at women who have shaped our country's growth and direction but are always left out of those mythical History classes we have in school. There are some familiar names as well as the names of aviation pioneers and other modern unsung heroines. Each chapter is a delightful short story that has obviously been well researched. Worth the read for women and men, a must for every young girl.

This is a great read about 20 remarkable western women of whom some you will know and others you will meet for the first time. From Sacagawea who accompanied Lewis & Clark, Georgia O'Keefe, a revolutionary in the art world to Sandra Day O'Conner, the first woman on the Supreme Court Justice, these snapshots demonstrate the tenacity and inspiration that guided these women to design their own lives. An excellent read that will inspire you to look deeper into the lives of these amazing women who helped shape the American West.

This book exudes a zest for living I've seldom come across. Written by an outdoorsman/professional guide/hunter/trapper/rancher, the quality of writing is surprisingly good, in fact,superb. I don't recall any dull pages in this book. It is brim-full of tales of the wilderness and all the denizens thereof; ranchers, trappers ,Indians ,horses ,grizzlies and more. There are lavish descriptions of the wilderness itself. The depiction of growing up in this unspoiled(at that time) wilderness was very refreshing. Five stars because it is the best of its kind I have read.

Trails Of A Wilderness Wanderer are true stories from the West blending the autobiography of an outdoorsman with accounts of living in the wild places of the Rockies, following old trails and meeting hunters and explorers. An absorbing outdoorsman's diary filled with nature and observations of the wild.

Good book. Would like to see a complete set of his works as well as a biography written by one of his cronies, or an outdoor-life chronicler.

Mr. Russell takes you back to the early days when only Indians and bears roamed the land, through his youth and adulthood as an outdoorsman in the wilds of early Canada. He tells of living a life we can only dream of now. The people he writes of were real and made Canada what it is today. I have reread this book almost yearly since it came out in 1971. You will feel as if you have walked his trails with him and love the life he led. An excellent gift for the city-bound outdoorsman!!!

I don't usually write book reviews, but as I came across this book for sale on Amazon, it brought back wonderful memories. I purchased this book back in 1973. I loved it then and I love it now. I re-read it for maybe the fifth time. I decided to write this reveiw.
I am not well educated or well traveled, but I know adventure when I read it and this book is of a great adventure. It is a group of short stories written by Andy Russell, who was born in 1915, more importantly at the foot of the Great Rockies mountains in southwestern Alberta Canada.
He describes his childhood growing up on a farm there, where he learned very young how to take care of himself. Fishing, hunting and trapping in a country of great beauty, that he describes as no one else could. Some stories are of breaking, riding and training horses. This is a book for someone who loves animals and the great outdoors, and especially for someone who loves adventure. His travels take him from the farms of the great plains to the beautiful mountains of the west and north to the cold of the frozen tunda. It is also about animals small and large, from weasels and minks to bears and elk, as well as fishing, the kind of which is very hard to find these days. There are stories told around camp fires, of cowboys and of the English Remittance men. Thrills vary from forest fires to the stalking of a trophy elk.
He went on to become a great guide of the Rockies, both for hunting and for those who hunt with a camera. This is a great adventure and a must read. If you read this book you should also read another book by him called "Grizzly Country". It is said by many to be one of the best books ever written about bears, both from the scientific point of view and by someone who was a conservationalist and a naturalist. I love bears and I loved that book also. I loved them both. I hope to read other by him. Enjoy and thank you Andy Russell.

Charles Russell left us a wonderful gift in these stories. He managed to capture a first-person account of the Old West. I read this book many years ago, and recently re-read portions. Highly recommended to anyone who enjoys good American western writing.
Highly recommended.

This book is one of my top ten favorites. I bought my first copy in 1972 for my father who passed away a year later. I have re-read this book many times with increased pleasure each time. It not only has Charles Russell's drawings and paintings, it has some of the best short stories I have ever read. I've lived in the West pretty much all my life and the characters he portrays ring so true that you know he knew them. He not only knew them, he was able to capture their essence in a few words. I usually don't laugh out loud at what I'm reading, but many of these stories are just plain "laugh out loud" funny. Anyone who enjoys Cowboy Poetry needs to have this in their library. It's not poetry per se, but gives you the same Western flavor in its writing. Most of the stories can be read in 5 minutes or less. I give it a solid 10 out of 5 stars.

Nothing compares to the facts, and no one who has not lived this could write it as C.M. Russell did. This old cowpuncher commands the written word and infuses the reader with his perfection -- the imagery of clear storytelling and spirit of those long-gone times. This he does quite as well as he wields the brush to canvas. I read it at a sitting, and will do it again as there are some facts in here about horses, people and buffalo that I did not know before. Another way of thinking and presenting a story about the actual facts is handed down in Trails Plowed Uder (1927) from former times . . . by this gifted sentimentalist.

Will Rogers said Charlie Russell wasn't "just another" cowboy artist, he wasn't "just another" anything. Though remembered mostly for his paintings, this book proves that Charlie Russell was a keen observer of human nature. This is a sentimental look back at a world that disappeared in Russell's lifetime. The stories will leave you nostalgic for a time you never knew.

This is a classic work of Western nonfiction by a Montana artist whose drawings and paintings helped create the iconography of the early cowboy of the open range. Also a storyteller, Russell wrote this collection of yarns and memories before his death, commemorating frontier life in the closing decades of the nineteenth century. It was published in 1927, with an introduction by Will Rogers in the form of a cowboy eulogy. The original edition featured more than 50 of Russell's illustrations, some of them in color.

Unlike the fairly rollicking account of Teddy Blue Abbott, his cowboy contemporary, Russell's book is a more melancholy view of what he remembers as the good old days. His stories are told in an ironic vernacular by an old-timer cowboy named Rawhide Rawlins. Many concern the adventures of cowboys; many also feature Native Americans, in the early years of the agencies (reservations), portrayed with some complexity of feelings, ranging from fear and distrust to respect. Some are outrageously tall tales. Some are spirited character sketches, capturing something of life on the rough, raw land before settlement and homesteading, the motorcar, and civilization - before the plow broke the prairie sod where buffalo and then cattle and cowboys ranged freely.

One of the finest pieces of Western writing occurs in the last chapter, "Longrope's Last Guard," which describes in vivid detail the experience of riding herd on a pitch dark night as the stillness is shattered by an electrical storm that stampedes the cattle and takes the life of one of the men. The burial of the dead cowboy on the open prairie and the subsequent disappearance of his grave is symbolic of the passing of the brief frontier era Russell's words and pictures embrace.

I recommend this book for its capturing of the historical cowboy as remembered by a man who was there and lived among them. As a companion volume, I also recommend Teddy Blue Abbott's "We Pointed Them North," a well-detailed and more light-hearted recollection of the same time and place.

A Sea disaster is turned into a refreshingly entertaining and uplifting story. A good book will touch you and make you see bits of your self. It did it for me. I enjoyed this book and I feel certain you will too.

I read the book in bed before I went to sleep over several nights. I was so engrossed in the story that I found myself staying up much later than usual. I also found myself looking forward to crawling into bed each evening so that I could pick up where I had left off. I felt like I got to know the characters. The story lingered after I had finished reading and put it down. My hat's off to the author.

Charles Clark knows how to spin a fascinating yarn. He is a disciplined writer which makes his book easy to read. The story reaches a logical conclusion.

A fascinating story that was hard to put down. Shows a remarkable knowledge on the authors part of the Hebrew religion,and a sensitivity for understanding the difference from other religions. Also an excellent knowledge of ranching practices in South Texas. The suspense that is created throughout this novel is wonderful. Will be looking for his next book.

One of the best westerns I have read in a long time. Wish it wouldn't end!

Its simply very juicy and non-trivial. It captures you and challenges innermost concepts, ideas and habits. A must read for someone who is baffled by happenings in life and is bored with the emotional cycles of life and looking for a breakthrough. Its not a novel so go over it slowly and you will enrich yourself with the greatest knowledge.

What a priceless treasure. My own sadhana has become much deep and vast. Such a relatable, lucid, interesting and enlightening compendium of vedantic knoledge.

I would not urge to limit this timeless knowledge to a particular religion even though one may indulge in intellectual studies of comparative religion.

The knowledge enunciated in this ancient treasure is not limited to any particular modern religion. Just as the laws of physics have been always true, so are the truth about existence in this book.

Let us not jacket them into a particular "belief" system!

Ably translated into English by Swami Sri Ramananda Saraswathi, Tripura Rahasya: The Secret Of The Supreme Goddess is essentially a dialogue of instruction given by the guru Dattatreya to his the truth seeker Parasurama. Through a series of stories that can be read with amusement and the greatest of imaginative pleasures, the tales also provide a series of wisdoms and insights that illustrate and represent theological implications within Hindu theology and Goddess traditions. Tripura Rahasya is a confidently recommended addition to Comparative Religion collections in general, and Hindu Studies reading lists in particular.

Tripura Rahasya translates as: The Mystery Beyond the Trinity (the trinity referring to the three states of consciousness: waking, dreaming and deep sleep).

This book is so profound and so moving that it almost has a sense of being alive. It resonates so deeply within, that it feels like an ancient friend guiding you. It is that profound. In the introduction, it is confidently stated that by merely reading this book even just once, enlightenment/self-realization is guaranteed (although not necessarily right away).

This is truly one of the greatest and most marvelous spiritual books around. It is a classic in India, and was regarded by Ramana Maharshi as being a primary spiritual textbook. The book is wonderful in that it is both theoretical (philosophy) and practical. It is well structured and strictly logical in its form, and therefore well suited to the modern rational mind.

The book starts off with the basics (who am I, what is the nature of the world, etc.) and systematically builds to a deeper and more clear understanding of reality, magnificently elucidating the highest and purest knowledge of non-duality (advaita, oneness). It is not an easy book though, and every page needs to be pondered over and meditated upon; and then...applied.

The book Asserts that one's true nature is pure intelligence, which is unlimited, undivided, self-luminous and blissful. This definition of the Self corresponds with the definition given by the philosophy of Vedanta; which is: existence, intelligence and bliss (Sat, Chit, Ananda).

The following quote from the introduction characterizes the non-dual message of the book: "There cannot be manifestation beyond the Supreme Intelligence; therefore Cosmos and the Self are only the same, but different modes of reality. Realisation of the Truth is thus quite simple, requiring only constant remembrance on these lines.... that Reality is not incompatible with the world and its phenomena, and that the apparent ignorance of this Truth is itself the outcome of Reality so that there is nothing but Reality."

Tripura Rahasya has a timeless quality to it. It is at least a thousand years old, but is probably much older. The Indian sage Sankara quotes from it, and he was around in the 9th century. The language is ancient and magical, and has the power to transform consciousness.

Consider yourself fortunate to have come in contact with this amazing book.

After reading and understanding this scripture, one becomes a Jnani, a knower of the ultimate truth. Then for that person it is just a matter of depleting his/her karma and being alert not to cause more Karma. Karma can be depleted fastest by the practice of Mahavtar Babaji Kriya Yoga for householders who cannot practice fulltime the contemplation/concenteration method prescribed in the Tripura Rahasaya.
If one reads the Tripura Rahasaya and at the same time realizes/comprehends the truth, then there is no need for anything else other than holding their attention/awareness in the spiritual heart(located at space below the sternum) or awaring awareness itself.
Then one feels supreme peace and is liberated. Then it is upto oneself to do what one pleases, either remain in samadhi or perform natural actions forever in eternity. Either way the person becomes a yogi in sahaj samadhi, which is the ultimate samadhi in which one neither accepts or rejects and just becomes part of the ultimate stream of ...

(3 other great liberating scriptures are "Yoga Vasistha" , "Amrithanubhava" and "Ashtavakara Gita"(actually should be Janak Gita)

Oh Yes, now this is the kind of western I remember reading in the 50's and 60's when the bookstores all carried many westerns. If you remember Walt Slade or Jim Hatfield and enjoyed them then this is for you. Even if you don't remember them I really suggest you try this book. This was the first book by James Griffin I've read but I'm definitely going to buy all of his books and add them to my collection. This is just a great all out exciting western with lots of action and adventure and no sex or swearing. There are only a couple authors writing westerns today that I enjoy and Jim Griffin has now been added to that list.

Wonderfully paced novel. Griffin uses good characterization and a deft use of dialogue to capture a style of western storytelling gone by. The mood and style of this book is very reminiscent of the Pulp Era Western tales of the 20's through the 40's and after. An intersting turn is having the hero attractive to women, but very devoted to his wife, child and his God. He also has an intelligent horse (SAM) who is more than just a prop to talk to, or a plot device to save his bacon. Sam is an equal partner and is treated with love and respect by Our Hero. This is surely a departure from Western Fiction and a good one at that.

Worth every nickel, this book packs a good story and lots of action between its covers. Enjoy this one and look for upcoming books from Griffin.

The author,James Griffin, has captured in this book the true feeling of the West of years gone by. From the first page to the last I was not able to put this book down for fear that I would miss the next adventure with Texas Ranger Jim. There was just the right amount of intrigue, gun fights, and romance without the use of foul language or explicit sexual encounters. I thoroughly enjoyed this well written western novel and recommend it to all who enjoy a good, clean read with lots of action and a little romance to spice things up. Looking forward to another Texas Ranger Jim Blawcyzk novel to come along.

Anyone who remembers any of the Jim Hatfield, Texas Ranger stories from vintage magazines and paperbacks will enjoy this actionful novel with its band of ranger heroes. Unlike the traditional loner of the older tales, though, the hero of this one is happily married with a family back home while he risks his neck tracking down railroad saboteurs. A bonus is that the author knows his horseflesh, and treats the horses as characters in themselves. All in all, a fun read for old-fashioned (and some new-fashioned) western fans.

Trouble Rides the Texas Pacific is a good old-fashioned shoot 'em up in the best style of the Western writers of years past. Ranger Jim Blawcyzk is a straight-shootin' lawman, tough on outlaws, but devoted to his wife and son. The action in this book comes fast and furious, as Blawcyzk fights an outlaw gang that will stop at nothing to destroy the railroad. If you like lots of gunplay, and a very rugged hero, this is the book for you. I highly recommend it.

I will try to avoid getting involved in the heated debate that the two previous reviewers wrapped themselves in. Instead I will focus my attention on giving my opinion pertaining to the quality of Ian Shapiro's work. The book itself is laid out beautifully. As a poli-sci student it is a blessing to have such a well laid out book to use in my studies. The choice of font only serves to amplify the intensity of Locke's ideas. Ideas that inevitably shaped the society we live in today. If you are studying the works of this man, or just reading for leisure don't hesitate to read this version, you will not be disappointed.

John Locke (1632-1704) wrote "Second Treatise of Government" in 1690, it was the main political philosophical source that our "Founding Fathers" went to in writing the "Declaration of Independence" and in forming our government. I think you should know something of Locke to understand what influenced his thinking. His father was a small landowner, attorney, Puritan and his political sympathies were with the Cromwell Parliament. Like Hobbes, Locke attended Oxford Univ. and did not think much about the curriculum or his professors. Most of his education came from reading books in the Univ. library. Renee Descartes and Sir Isaac Newton's writings greatly influenced Locke. Like Hobbes, he took a tutoring job teaching the son of the 1st Earl of Shaftesbury, and traveled Europe. His friendship with the Earl was beneficial in obtaining government appointments. During the political unrest in England, (1679-83) he fled to Holland because his liberal notions put him at odds with the government.

Locke writes the "Second Treatise of Government" to justify the Revolt of 1688 and the ascension of William of Orange to the English throne. The book argues against two lines of absolutist ideas. The first is Sir Robert Filmer's "patriarchal theory of divine right of kings; secondly, Hobbes argument for the sovereign's absolute power in his book "Leviathan." Locke argues that government emanates from the people. Locke's treatise rests like other political writings on its interpretation of human nature. He sees our nature opposite the way Hobbes did, decent and not as selfish or competitive. Man is more inclined to join society through reason and not fear. Man prefers stability to change.

His very important contribution to "law of nature" theory was his bias toward individualism. In state of nature, before government, men were free independent, equal enjoying inalienable rights "chief among them being life, liberty, and property." Where have you read that before? Property rights receive much attention in this treatise. Locke argues that government based on consent of man can still preserve freedom independence and equality.

His political writing had immediate influence in the world and influenced our founding fathers in their struggle against tyranny. He is an excellent writer and his theories are easy to understand by the laymen. As a graduate student of political philosophy, I recommend if you have an interest in politics, philosophy, or government then you must read Locke's "Second Treatise of Government"

I'm no genius. A pedant, perhaps, and an arrogant jerk, but not a guy with the kind of education it seems other reviewers have. I can't tell you who Locke's friends were or what his political connections were, either. I have some vague notion that Locke's and Mill's ideas influenced the philisophical basis of the American founding documents, but I'm just a soldier who sometimes likes to bite off more than he can chew--I wan't to know the stuff them smart people do, and don't see any reason I shouldn't!

So if you're like me, let me encourage you to get this book. Your friends will almost certainly call you a nerd (after all, who reads 17th century political philosophy for FUN?), and it'll take a few pages to cut your teeth on the language, but after you get going, this book is a breeze. I can't tell you the philisophical doctrines nor their framework in several distinct points, but I can tell you this: the language, to one of average education, was a little hard to wrap my brain around, but what worked for me was just to set a pace and trudge through it without getting hung up on the one sentence that twisted my mind into a pretzel. After a few pages (maybe 10 or 15) I found that my brain was correcting for the nature of the wording, and for the rest of the book, I swear, I understood what was going on through the second treatise and the Letter, too.

After I got going, I was all highlighters and folded corners, but it had too many profound and simple statements to save them all in my head. If you're even vaguely political, this book will make points as absolutely applicable to today's world politics as it did to those of the bygone time. It applies from everything from the crazy long haired hippie communist democrats to the crazy power-mad Neocons, but it'll make you wish with all your heart that both ruling parties of American Government would give it a quick read over the recess.

Anyhow, I rate this work as 4 stars out of 5. Mostly that's because I have absolutely nothing to compare it against, and am therefore hesitant to give it 5 stars, because it's the first political philosophy I've ever read. But dammit, it seems like a pretty good one to me. Just don't let it scare you off, you don't need to be a genious to understand this. Let's even the playing field between us regular people and the academic jerks (love you guys, really, just making a point) that like to write reviews even Locke wouldn't understand :) This stuff is great, and it's great for even those who, like me, are only moderately intelligent readers.

John Locke died nearly ninety years before the constitution was written. The likes of Jefferson and Hamilton referenced this book in their respective endeavors to frame our constitution and sunbsequent government.

John Locke did not "steal" his ideas from the constitution; his writings were the basis for many of Thomas Jefferson's ideas in the Declaration and subsequently influenced the American constitution. His treatise is a defining moment in political writings and a must read for anyone who is interested in history, politics or philosophy. This is a good book that covers his key writings.

Valley of the Shadow, the first book in the Dakota Moons series, is set in a sad time of Indian history, and is an exciting, emotional and mysterious story of missionaries to the Dakota Indians.

Simon and Ellen Dane and their two children are serving as early missionaries. The historical focuses on the good and the bad Indians, Dakota and Sioux and the white man's attempt to reach them with the Gospel.

The central character is a half- breed Dakota girl, Genevieve LaCroix. She is pulled between her loyalties to the whites, the Indians and the missionaries. Whitson very thoroughly depicts the complicated relationship between the white missionaries and the Indians. Land, heritage, religion and culture enters into the clash which results in horrible bloodshed on all sides.

A haunting love story unfolds between Gen (Blue Eyes) and a young, energetic activist Dakota, Two Stars. Fighting to remain a brave and strong warrier, Two Stars becomes a changed man due to the influence of the Christian missionaries. His best friend, Otter, now becomes his arch enemy and is central in the attempt to destroy his future with Blue Eyes.

Central to the books' violence and heartbreak is the great Minnesota Sioux Uprising.Turncoats are common among both Indian and white and survival depends on not only age and phyical strength, location and weapons, but whom you trust and who trusts you.

A beaded necklace with a cross in the middle keeps reminding Gen of her Indian heritage and binds her to the handsome Dakota warrior, Two Stars. However, Gen and her 2 charges are captured by unfriendly Indians. Two Stars risks his life repeatedly for the whites, the good Indians and for his love, Blue Eyes (Gen).

A fast moving love story that survives the impossible suddenly has the bottom drop out and leaves the reader in tears - hoping....and waiting for Book 2 in this series, "Edge of the Wilderness."

Starts with a bang. Can't put it down. Edge of your seat drama featuring missionaries confronting Dakota culture and God's grace working in and through and in spite of them all. Agonize with Simon Dane's years of frustration with a fruitless ministry and his fall from a pedestal to become a mere mortal. Struggle with Genevieve LaCroix as she comes to terms with her French father's thinking, her Indian mother's looks, a white man's God who does not fight back, and the making of a man for Daniel Two Stars. Stephanie Whitson makes you care about the people caught in a gruesome slice of history. Janet Chester Bly, [...]

Valley of the Shadow is the story of the Dane family, Simon, a man of God who feels led to work with the Dakota Indians, his wife Ellen and two chilren. In a related storyline, Genvieve is the daughter of a French trapper and Dakota Indian who meets the Danes and becomes their friend and later companion after she arrives at their mission. Two Stars is a Dakota Indian who also finds himself with the Danes, but for an entirely different reason than wanting education and spiritual instruction. Central to the story is the Dakota uprising, with Gen and Two Stars especially proving their bravery. As Gen and Two Stars begin to fall in love, events in the story constantly interfere to keep them apart. The conclusion of Valley of the Shadow will make you anxiously await the sequel.

An engaging tale of Romans 8:28. Stephanie Grace Whitson creates a haunting story of hope in the midst of death, peace in the midst of war, comfort in the midst of loneliness. An encouragement to anyone walking in their own valley of shadows. --Lisa Samson, author of The Church Ladies.

Beautiful Genevieve LaCroix is eighteen years old when her father brings her to Renville mission in Minnesota to receive an education from Rev. Samuel and Ellen Dane, the white missionaries struggling in their ministry to the Dakota in that area. Daughter of a French nobleman and granddaughter of a valiant Dakota warrior, Gen is frustrated by Rev. Dane's unspoken inferences that all things Dakota are "bad." Mrs. Whitson weaves together the strands of Gen's discovery of faith, her love for Two Stars, a Dakota warrior (and his separate journey to faith), and Rev. Dane's spitiual odyssey as he learns to reach out to the Dakota with love rather than pride against the backdrop of the Minnesota Sioux Uprising of 1862 and the year or so preceeding it. Gen, Ellen, Rev. Dane, and Two Stars each have their own path through the Valley of the Shadow; and this tale takes the reader along with each of them as they suffer and triumph. This story is told with great sensitivity and respect for the Native Americans who were defrauded of their lands to allow the great rush for cheap land. Valley of the Shadow is a gripping tale on its own; but reading Mrs. Whitson's excerpt from the sequel at the end of the book makes me more than anxious to read Book 2 of the Dakota Moons Series!

I have been extremely pleased with the content of this book and the way the information is presented. Little attention has been given to North American historians to the "plains wagon", the mode of transport for thousands and thousands of pioneers, as well as hundreds of tons of goods, across the wide, forboding western frontier of north American in from the 1820s thru the 1880s. The fact that not a single Murphy wagon is still in existance anywhere, when so many were made and it is such a famed wagon, points to the disregard the public and historians have shown for this important implement of the American west. The author does a great job, given the sparce available resources, of reconstructing both the history and the virtual views of these varied wagons. Many companies made the wagons, from different towns across the east, from Missouri to Illinois and beyond, and it was a monumental task to assemble information on such a little known subject, but the author excelled in his history, and presentation. His writing is clear and precise, and a pleasure to read. This volume will stay in my reference library for the remainder of my life, as it is priceless, and enjoyable. I am sure I will go back to it and refer to it many times in years to come.

This is an excellent, well researched work, a great companion to Dary's The Santa Fe Trail. It provides detailed drawings of the wagons, their construction and how they were used. There is even a chapter on Wind Wagon Thomas.

"Mark Gardner, who is one of the foremost trail historians of our day, an eminent researcher, and an excellent writer, has now entered the ranks of vehicle historians trying to make some sense out of transport history and the vehicles involved therein. This contribution to both historical trail documentation and the vehicle bibliography as well is superb. No serious scholar involved in either discipline can ignore this book." -- from The Carriage Journal

Among the abundance of literature on various aspects of Santa Fe Trail history, Mark Gardner's _Wagons for the Santa Fe Trade_ begins a new dialog about the development and variance of Trade-related wagon technology. The book documents advances in wagon building techniques as the Trade became more complex and sophisticated. The story of Santa Fe Trail wagon making is the story of the growth and changes in the development of wheeled vehicles designed for heavy-duty long range freighting. The Santa Fe Trade was a primary proving ground for freight wagon building and adaptability. This book grew out of a National Park Service report Gardner prepared on Santa Fe Trail wagons intended for use as a resource for the Santa Fe National Historic Trail project. This version is greatly expanded from the original. From the outset it will become obvious to readers how much painstaking work and time went into its production. During the course of his research he discovered a personal side to the story. His chapter "From Shop to Factory" allowed him to connect with the wagon building business through four generations of his own ancestors, some of whom had worked in the Missouri sawmill industry, and had probably cut lumber intended for the construction of the very freight wagons he now writes about. Gardner has a reputation in the profession for sifting through mounds of paper and microfilm, uncovering lost treasures of material. This reviewer has respectfully nicknamed him "The Mole" because of his research skills. His ability to dig and root through archive and manuscript collections and find the most obscure and previously unknown, yet meaningful bits of information has earned him a place among the great names in today's western historiography. With many books and articles to his credit, Mark Gardner is arguably one of the foremost authorities on the Santa Fe Trade. This latest effort guarantees Gardner's place as heir apparent to the title of Dean of Santa Fe Trail historians. _Wagons for the Santa Fe Trade_ is a detailed, yet coherent guide to nineteenth century freight vehicles. It is a highly beneficial research tool, as well as a pleasant recreational read.

Henry B. Crawford, Museum of Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX

Perhaps the trade in wagons on the Santa Fe Trail is best summarized in one breathtaking quote from a newspaper in 1841:

"Six horse wagons are constructed in Pittsburg, loaded with assorted goods from New York and Philadelphia, transported to Independence in Missouri, and there driven across the country to Mexico . . ."

The great wagons of trade were the means by which the Far West was opened. Mark L. Gardner's "Wagons for the Santa Fe Trade," tells who built these wagons, how they were built and the changes in design as the years passed. Perhaps what comes through most clearly is that the great freight wagons were complex pieces of technology, best constructed by a factory system, not unlike how automobiles are assembled today. By means of these wagons, the South West was brought into contact with the United States, and, eventually, absorbed into the Union. An important and vital chapter of American history well told and well documented.

The final chapter deals with the adventure of the Wind Wagon. In these days of high gas prices it is charming to consider that an attempt was made to avoid high mule prices. A sailed wagon was actually patented (the patent drawings are in the book) and launched. Sometimes the stuff of legend is the truth.