Cultural Books

Kate Sedley's books about Roger Chapman, the pedlar come murder mystery sleuth are becoming more and more popular and rightly so. They are good entertaining reading with plots and backgrounds that have been well thought out and well researched. They are what I would call light reading (very much like the writing style of Paul Doherty or Bernard Knight, two other well known authors of medieval mysteries).

Roger the Chapman has been at home in Bristol too long. His fourth child has died shortly after being born and his wife Adela believes that Roger has not been particularly upset by this sad event. If truth be told he is in fact somewhat relieved at having one less mouth to feed, but this does not make him feel any less guilty for having those thoughts. Because of the friction between them, Roger thinks a few weeks on the road selling his wares will help to heal the rift.

No sooner has he made his mind up to go on the road he receives a message from Richard, Duke of Gloucester, a man he has worked for before, asking him to travel to London to solve the mystery of a murdered foreigner, a Burgundian. The murdered young man is the son of one of the ladies-in-waiting to Margaret, Duchess of Burgundy. A request from the Duke of Gloucester is tantamount to an order from anyone else and Roger has no option but to go to the crowded streets of London, where a surprising number of the people he questions appear to have a motive for doing away with the murdered man, Fulk Quantrell

As the capricious English spring vacillates between cold dreary rains and idyllic sunshine, Bristol peddler Roger the Chapman decides to make a quick trip to London to sell his wares and escape from his perceived domestic troubles. The trials of feeding three children and the recent death of his new baby daughter drives ROger to seek the peace of the road for a short while. Not long after his arrival in London, though, the Duke of Gloucester again commands Roger to investigate a London murder that touches a member of the royal household.

The victim, Fulk Quantrell, is the handsome nephew of London matron Judith St. Clair. Fulk had recently returned to London after living in the court of Burgundy, where his mother, Judith St. Clair's twin sister, was a favorite servant to Duchess Margaret of Burgundy. The mystery is set amid the excitement of Duchess Margaret's ceremonial return visit to London. The mystery unfolds quickly, and auther Sedley does a superb job of combining every day life in 1480 London with the development of the mystery. One of the charming aspects of the mystery series is the relationship between the common peddler Roger Chapman and his royal friend the Duke of Gloucester. Also, author Sedley skilfully weaves in events from English history right into the story.

Whether this is your first meeting with Roger the Chapman or you an old friend of the series, I highly recommend this entertaining historical mystery.

Another can't put it down, fast paced mystery that should win Sedley new fans. If you are not already a Roger fan, I suggest you stop reading this and read "Tregatt"s review. (The series is best read in order, however, start with DEATH AND THE CHAPMAN) If you are a fan I suggest you stop reading until you've read the book. I'm not going to give away the plot, but you may want to enoy the book first before you read further. The problem is: Is this the same, the real, our old Kate Sedley? Suddenly, instead of long, ponderous (but beautifully descriptive) sentences we have short, more precise ones (if a little minimalistic). We are reading much better plotted and organized mysteries. Not that I miss the old "Come on, hurry up and figure it out, and lets get on with it, we readers have figured it out ages ago," Roger. But I do miss some of the flavor of those earlier books. I don't know if the changes are due to: a much more demanding editor, a ghost co-writer, or what. I do realize that there are a few books which, if I had started the series with them, would have been the last I read. Yet in these new, better mystery Roger books some of the what Martin Heiddegger called "the world worlding" that brought the 15th Century to life in a closeup, touchable form, is gone. Also gone is that magical sense of the religious that was so carefully cultivated in the earlier books. There was a little bit of that magic in this one, in that he did dream about the answer to the mystery, but I used to like the way Roger brought God, and his past into the meld. There is also a sort of class conflict in this book that I think the old Kate would have handled better. The Duke treats him like a friend, the suspects like a lower class nusiance--I just think this could have been handled better. And lastly, and this is a spoiler, so you might not what to read on until you've read the book. Roger again does not get rewarded. In fact, he doesn't even work on getting new material for his pack except at the very beginning. In the past economics were always a conern. Why suddenly can Roger go home after a long trip not only penniless, but having to have paid for his apprentice's ale, and whatever. Now again, I like this book, I like Roger as a character, and if the books have to be better told mysteries to attact more readers, then so be it, but I would like more 15th Century meat on my bones, please.

Kate Sedley has penned yet another wonderfully page-turnning and riveting read with this latest Roger the chapman installment. One of my favourite mystery series, it's always a treat for me discover that there is a new Roger the chapman mystery for me to sit down and loose myself in, and "The Burgundian's Tale" lived up to my every expectation of an engaging and suspenseful read.

Margaret, the Dowager Duchess of Burgundy and King Edward IV of England's younger sister, is in England for a visit. And London is bustling with excitement as the merchants and townspeople vigorously prepare for the influx of royalty, aristocrats, visiting Burgundians and their assorted retinues. In the midst of all this the murder of young man, Fulk Quantrell, would probably have gone unremarked by many, except that Fulk also happens to be the Dowager Duchess' favourite male attendant. And so Richard, the Duke of Gloucester, asks his trusted servant, Roger the chapman, to investigate Fulk's murder. Fulk, it turns out was the only son of Duchess Margaret's childhood companion and favourite seamtress-in-chief, Veronica Quantrell. Recently, however, Veronica had passed away, and Fulk had asked permission to come to England in order to acquaint his aunt, Judith, with her twin's death. Judith had married well and advantageously, and although she has several dependents that she had promised to make her heirs, all this goes out the window when she meets Fulk and falls for his charms. Could one of the displaced heirs have murdered Fulk out of anger and greed? Seemingly, this should be a rather simple case for Roger to sort out. Except that the more inquiries that Roger makes, the more opaque things become -- Fulk was not the sunny, charming youth his aunt or the Duchess claim him to be, and at the back of everything, is an impression that Roger is getting of something truly evil and sinister lurking, something that Roger senses he has to unveil.

For Roger, the request to investigate Fulk's murder couldn't have come at a better time. Just recently, he and his wife, Adela, had suffered the loss of their newborn child. Roger's grief, however, was also tinged with relief because now there would be one less mouth to feed. And this feeling, which he was unsuccessful at hiding from Adela, has led to an estrangement between the couple. So that Roger was almost ready to go on one of his selling trips in order to put some distance between him and Adela when the Duke's summons came. But this new case, Roger senses, is not only perplexing, but also quite dangerous, and he will have to keep his wits about him if he is to come home to Adela whole of body and mind when it is all finished...

I couldn't resist finishing "The Burgundian's Tale" in one sitting. It was swiftly paced, totally engaging and wholly suspenseful, and was written with such skill and command that time flew, pages turned and I had finished the book before I even knew it. And I had meant to savour this treat over a few days!! For readers not yet in the know, Kate Sedley's Roger the chapman series is not to be missed. It's vivid and colourful and the author does an excellent job of portraying life in late 15th century England, from both the point-of-view of the humbler folk as well as the aristocrats. She has been successfully able to do this by making her protagonist, a humble chapman, who also happens to mix, now and then with the more powerful men of the realm (like the Duke of Gloucester). Add to all this authentic historical detail some really nifty and suspenseful mysteries, and you have a series that can rely on to deliver some truly excellent reads. And "The Burgundian's Tale" makes a fine addition to this wonderful series.

Butabu is a beautifully designed book. It mainly consists of wonderful photographs of delicate buildings and their details. This book is not only a very attractive picture art book but also a study book on West African culture. The clear text in the second part of the book is followed by an extended list of references. Ineke Freudenthal, The Netherlands.

The architecture of West Africa is beautifully pictured and knowledgeably described in this unusual book. Although the majority of the pictures are in black and white, the essence of this harsh landscape and the buildings constructed to cope with this reality`are beautifully shown. Most of the prominent building types are shown with an emphasis on various mosques.

Stunning. After picture book after picture book on 20th century architecture, this book rocketed me out of the modern Western world and deposited me gently within the expressive caress of this timeless adobe architecture of africa. This is a sort of architecture I have NEVER seen in books before. A genuine addition to the vernacular of modern architecture and possibly, a firefly of inspiration for those of us living in empty hard, static and meaningless shells. How to bring the heart and handiwork back into the technological universe?

The soft folds and highly textured surfaces of Mali mosques, Niger chiefs' houses and other examples of the African adobe vernacular have lured a succession of hippies with a wobbly sense of focus. So it's a delight to see a photographer who has chronicled the sharp-edged structures of Norman Foster and Richard Rogers bring clarity to such a picturesque subject, and to read such an illuminating essay on its cultural roots. (Michael Webb is the book reviewer for LA Architect magazine.)

I learned more from reading this book, over a recent visit, than from living in Cairo for five years and then visiting over a period of twenty. While Max Rodenbeck and others have written decent histories of the city, this is a truly amazing work -- both history and remarkably detailed and with rich philosophical insights not only about the thinking of latter day Cairenes but even about the motivations of the Western tourists who visit Egypt. Golia's writing is funny, her style sweeping, and her conclusions inevitably sensible. Even the photos are good. Buy this book!

You don't have to love Cairo like I do to love Maria Golia's writing. She writes with engaging warmth, humor, and irony about the city and its remarkable, warm, funny, and ironic inhabitants. I was fortunate to spend an hour chatting with Maria about her book and her life in Egypt on a recent Cairo visit. She's as attractive and engaging in person as her writing is on the page.

Own this book and you'll read it once for its insights into Cairene life and you'll read it again for the lovely writing.

If you know Cairo at all, whether glancingly or in depth, you will be grateful for the richness and detail of Maria Golia's book. No other work on the city captures so much of its unimaginably crowded present. Its past is skillfully woven in, but as Golia notes in her introduction, others have written about Cairo's past. Few outsiders can report so well on the day to day life of this incomprehensibly vast city. True, it's not a tourist's guide, but anyone who loves cities and their history will find this a rewarding text.

I grow up in Cairo. I was suprised how the author learned all of that information that she put in the book. The book provides information that one cannot know unless he/she lives long enough with the Cairenes. The book is very interesting. It descibes many aspects of social life in Cairo. The book discusses details about events, such as marriage, Islam, dating, etc. An early, interesting chapter discusses a brief introduction to the history of Cairo.
I think that this book is for a reader who wanna know some information about the behavior and beliefs of Cairnes. The book is easy-to-read and non-academic.
This book may not be very informative for someone who just get information about traveling in Cairo.

This book is a page turner and brings back lots of memories. I spent six years on a Chinese state farm during the Cultural Revolution myself and can relate to some of what he described and went through as far as hard labor, but I can never describe with such vividness and power the heart-wrenching experiences of the disprivileged, deprived, discriminated, and victimized members of the Chinese society under Mao, indeed a virtual prison in every sense of the world. Professor Yang's book is a voice for the voiceless. Captive Spirits not only serves to preserve the history of the brutal laogai system that still exists in China today, but it is also a scathing indictment of a brutal regime under Mao that destroyed the lives of tens of millions of the best that China has to offer to herself and the rest of the humanity. This book alone is enough to put Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai and their cronies to the hall of shame once and for all. Professor Yang is no longer with us. He has joined his prison mates Li Jiulong and Liu Fengxian as well as his dear mother to whom he dedicated this book, but his legacy and spirit will stay with us.

I simply can't put it down once I start reading it. It is a great account of the author's growth, from a naive ultra-leftist to someone with a sophisticated mind, who eventually embraced Milton Friedman. And it is a great history of post-liberation China in the eyes of different individuals from all social spectra. After reading it, I realize how naive my understanding of the "cultural revolution" was.

I also read its Chinese version, but I feel that the English version is much better written. Stongly recommended!

If you're into movies like Good Will Hunting, you'll like this book. The author walks us through the lives of his fellow prisoners while he relats his time spent in the prison. It was Cultural Revolution, many of the prisoners he came across were highly intelligent and well educated. Yang therefore made the best out of the time he had to spend there by learning English, Algebra, and Calculus from his fellow inmates. It's a tragic tale that so many people were jailed because their political views sway a fraction away from that mandated by the government, yet they were exactly the ones who have the knowledge and know-hows to improve the country's economy and living standards. It's also a uplifting tale because you see Yang dug himself out of the troubles he encountered, made it out of the prison, and now became an established economist. He has not let his past kept him hostage like many dissidents Chinese who migrated to the West. A fine tale about humanity and the will to survive that's inside us all. The chinese version of this book is also published by OUP.

One of the most famous Chinese novelist BA Jing was also a "captive spirit" during the "Great Cultural Revolution". He kept reciting Divine Comedy in order to help himself endure the adversity. He always believes, there must be a new Dante some day to write a new Divine Comedy. Now I finally find this new Divine Comedy. Please have a read and get to know what is the Inferno in the communist China. You'll find the reason why the communism has to die.

My long-time readers are aware that I am drawn to essayists as unswervingly as I am drawn to essaying. In my online journal (The Soupletter, 1993-2003) I reviewed collections by Diane Ackerman, Annie Dillard, Stephen Jay Gould, Barbara Kingsolver, Ann Lamott, Kurt Vonnegut, E.B. White, Terry Tempest Williams and many others. Each and all are wonderful wordsmiths, and Crowther belongs right up there with the best of them. CATHEDRALS OF KUDZU is largely drawn from the author's regular contributions to The Oxford American a lofty journal, with a regretably small readership. Though Crowther's newspaper column runs regularly in the Independent of Raleigh, and irregularly elsewhere in the alernative press, he deserves a much wider audience. On the other hand, one cannot ignore the fact that writing at his level is aimed a little high for a general readership. Crowther draws on wide knowledge of literature and history, a marvelous vocabulary, a well-honed scepticism, and his enormous good nature, in delineating, skewering, praising and confessing to the sins and glories of his South. His discussion of race relations is the sanest I have seen in print, period. His consideration of the meaning of the Confederacy and its lingering traces is thought provoking and deep, as his consideration of bourbon and hurricanes, evangelists and trees. Well done, I say, well done. A book of southern grace and southern cussedness, showcasing a writer fully deserving of the H.L. Mencken Award he received in 1992, who is still at the top of his form.

A WONDERFUL read! Great for any Southern culture enthusiast! Good source for other Southern books as many refernces are made in the text. Excellent!!!

This book is really worth your time. Hal Crowther is funny and serious and highly original, even with the South's easy targets, like Elvis or the Southern Belle. Even when Hal Crowther is highly critical, he really gets at the essence of why regionalism is relevant, especially when he's writing about about literature and religion.

I was born, raised and educated through college in Alabama, and I was riveted by Hal Crowther's account of life and culture in the South. I couldn't put it down; my husband kept asking why I was laughing out loud. It covers the gamut of everything Southern--from race relations to dogs to barbeque to Elvis. Crowther is a sympathetic writer, but pulls no punches and is not (in my view) the least bit revisionist about the South's mottled history. You'll enjoy the book more if you've paid homage at the altar of Southern literature--Eudora Welty, William Faulkner, Walker Percy. I would recommend it especially to any Southern ex-pats. Fire up your grill, make some iced tea (or pour yourself a bourbon if you're so inclined), put an Elvis CD on the stereo, and kick back.

Ceremonial Uses of the drugs is maybe what the addict is doing; instead of analysing the pharmacological effects of the drugs, the author describes in the pages of this book how were labeled certain kind of drugs as "dangerous" by politicians and physicians around the times, and how they use these labels for discourage the use of "certain ones" and encourage the use of "another ones" under medical treatment.



As water that can " healing " powers and water that does not have " healing " powers, Psychiatric drugs and alcohol can be quit off by the user according with the relationship he or she has with these drugs.



Drugs can be addictive or non addictive as water is, as the user believes how difficult or easy is to break with the habit in regard of his-her ritual use rather than in the chemical properties of drugs.



Dr. Szasz writes about the ways physicians and politicians use to threat the persons around the times for to promote, encourage the use of, and forbidden drugs in order to maintain the concept of addiction and psychiatric (drug ) slavery.

Explains what the war on drugs is really about - and it's not drugs. Highly educational, trancends our brainwashing.

great oppinions. easy to read. very inciteful. must have!...

An excellent analysis of the institutionalized and state-sponsored persecution of certain rule-breaking behaviour (illicit drug use)and the similarities between cultural and religious demands for specific mood-altering ceremonies and substances. This was the first book by Szasz that I read and I was impressed by depth of his philosophical and medical understanding of human behaviour. After reading this book I purchased, read and re-read the Myth of Mental Illness within 24 hours. Although Cermonial Chemistry was a delight to read, I think the Myth of Mental Illness is a timeless read and a comprehensive, logical and linguistic torpedo aimed squarley at an institutionalized war against human responsibility and the deep suspicion of the state against those who question through behaviour or language the role of the state in prescribing the rules of human conduct. Ceremonial Chemistry is an important book and a cornerstone in the debate on the inevitable de-criminalization of illicit drugs or the continued illegalization of certain foods and plants.

Next to the Bible I recommend this book, especially for African Americans.
If you want insight into the psychosis that many black people are suffering from you have to read this book. The old saying that "what you don't know can't hurt" is a lie. Truly people are dying for a lack of knowledge. I can't recommend this book more!

When you are recognizing you are the beginning of the path to consciousness as a person of African descent, and it's time for your journey to begin, THIS book is where you start.

This book should be required reading for all young men and women. Na'Im Akbar lays out an understanding easy for all to pick up. My mind was opened to ideas of racial situations and reasons that I had no clue existed. Truely a paradigm shifting book!

A must read for those looking for understanding the decendents of African slaves in the United States. A thoughtful and articulate thesis by Dr. Akbar, a current tenured Prof. at F.S.U., that provides insight into the dynamics of America's Black community.

The Chalupa Rules took me back to the days of growing up in San Antonio, TX. The book is amusing and adds a lot of situational relevance.

I use the captivating "dichos" of Mario's life as a teaching tool for young Latinos and as a guide for my own decisions. The author is one of the most astounding people I have come across in my life. I believe anybody can appreciate the lessons within The Chalupa Rules.

This is a little gem of a book that's jam-packed with wisdom and masterfully written. Easy to pick up and read but hard to put down.
The author provides over 40 carefully chosen rules for life that reflect his experiences in life. Moreover they represent timeless wisdom that all could profit from. He adds interest by showing how his own experience in life reflect the wisdom of the cahalupa rules. These vignettes are masterully written and captivating.
Ben Franklin would be jealous of the wit and wisdom this author has gathered together. If only all books on wisdom were so interesting and well written

Growing up "Chicano" in the west side of San Antonio in the 1960s and 70s, my whole life seemed to be shaped by dichos, curanderas, and public assistance.
In my barrio, inundated with brothers and sisters, friends and primos, tios y tias, and of course, Uncle Sam--representing governmental authority at the city, state and national level--I was never alone, yet I always managed to get into trouble to the delight of everyone around me.
At night, if I didn't fall asleep quickly enough, my mom would remind me that "el cucuy se lleva a los que no duermen (the bogeyman takes away those who don't sleep)" foolishly expecting me to fall asleep after filling my head with visions of a terrifying end to my life. If I had a fever or a pain I couldn't explain, the curandera (who I'm sure didn't have a license-medical, drivers, ministry, or otherwise) would be summoned. Upon arrival, she would rub a whole raw egg all over my body, crack it open, pour it in a bowl, and place it under my bed. If I felt better in the morning, it meant the magic worked; if I didn't, it was because I was a bad boy who was suffering for his sins.
Speaking of eggs, I remember that the 3rd of the month was always a holiday at my house since that was the day the mailman would bring our authorization letter for food stamps! The visit to "la oficina de estampillas" was always followed by a trip to the grocery store, where mom would give me my monthly allowance of $5 in the form of a purple food stamp note. I would buy all the junk food I could with the government-issued currency and would not eat anything else until the last crumb was gone.
All these images have flooded back into my consciousness after reading Mario Bosquez's (no relation-honest!) "The Chalupa Rules: A Latino Guide to Gringolandia." Even Mario has a place in my memories as I remember watching him live a life I longed for as he co-hosted a popular local television show with an attractive female co-star. Lucky devil! Little did I know then that he and I were living a life more similar than not.
While the TV screen always projected an image of a suave and debonair gentleman explaining the wonders of the Alamo City, the cruel reality was that he was struggling to support his family-mother and siblings--while living in a government sponsored FHA 235 home. Bosquez has taken his life experiences and has crafted what he calls "The Chalupa Rules," using dichos (proverbs) as inspiration to overcome poverty and a childhood surrounded by domestic violence and alcoholism.
For those of you unfamiliar with a "chalupa" (and no, I don't mean the tasty food concoction made with a fried corn tortilla coated on one side with refried beans and topped with grated cheese and chopped lettuce and tomatoes), it's a Mexican version of bingo, more commonly known as loteria. A caller pulls a card from a deck which contains a colorful imagery-a rooster, a hand or a man holding the world, among others-and calls the names of these items in Spanish--el gallo, la mano, el mundo. Players use pinto beans to mark the squares on their playing card and the first one to cover all the images on their card wins.
The book contains 30 homespun rules for success that still ring true in today's world of the all-knowing internet. Among other things, Bosquez will gently remind you that the devil never sleeps, that it's okay to sleep on important decisions, and that there's no harm in proudly waving the banner of your identity.
"The Chalupa Rules" is witty, entertaining and prevalent in today's world, regardless of race, creed or religion. It's written as if your favorite uncle has decided to devote a whole afternoon to you and only you, in order to tell you about the mistakes he's made so that they won't happen to you.
Bosquez is now an anchor in the number one television market in the world, no doubt by following his collection of dichos. Pick up a copy of the book and try on some dichos for size-see how they transcend cultures, and have helped others to survive and thrive in a society where everything old is new again.

This is an extremely valuable book which provides something not many other sources can: an unbiased, scientifically grounded analysis of psychoactives which also includes realistic cultural context, fascinating history, a sense of whimsy, and subjective descriptions of effects. This makes it of use to all kinds of people: those interested in psychopharmacology, drug therapy for mental illness, ritualistic and spiritual drug use, the mechanisms of the brain, safe and informed recreational drug use, and simply being informed about a broad and complicated social reality.

The book spends about equal time on the mechanism of action and chemical structure of the substances described, and the various uses to which they have been put throughout global human history. In these descriptions, it thoroughly cites studies and explains why said studies are the most useful, making it rather unbiased. That said, it is occasionally critical of drug laws, though any objective analysis is likely to come to the same conclusion, and included are very subjective quotations, though these are never stated as fact and give the book a page-turning, fascinating sense of narrative unexpected from a textbook. Overall, the work's scientific rigor is unquestionable and unlikely to meet critique but from opponents of drug use so strong in their fervor that they would deny objective truth.

Having been last updated in 1996, there are a few missing pieces of information regarding current drugs of abuse. For example, dextromethorphan is mentioned, but in very little detail compared to it's fairly widespread use in the current underground drug culture (and it is categorized mysteriously in the opioid section, despite being fairly well-recognized as a ketamine-like dissociative at higher doses). Another curious omission is Salvia divinorum, not recreationally popular until about the time of publication, but having been in shamanic use in Mexico for a very long time, and written about in scholarly literature as early as the 1960s. One other drawback for certain uses is that this is not a practical handbook: there is not much in the way of dosage information, and durations when present are a bit buried in the text rather than presented up-front. Luckily, the book, as stated earlier, is very well-referenced, and exploration of the works of cited authors/researchers (Huxley, Hoffman, Shulgin, et al) will provide far more depth into many of these areas. Hopefully future editions will be updated to include these and any other important omissions.

Hello, I just unpacked my copy today and I'm already hooked, ironically enough.

Great book. I'd highly recommend it!

This book has it all, chemistry, cultural context, use, abuse, past, present and future. Is geared toward someone who has at least taken some o-chem, although non-science types could still get something out of it. The synthesis explanations can be a bit in depth, I have a degree in chemistry and a bit of that was way over my head. Book is also well refrenced, so should you ever get the urge to make some of these drugs you know where to go.

While I would not say that the merit of the book lies in its non-committal stance, I was certainly convinced that the author knew his chemistry. My reading was facilitated by the poetic interludes and anecdotes, which seem to have become a genre within science writing. Mr. Perrine should write another book, non-technical, and I am sure he will be as entertaining and informative. Inspired by his book I have released my newsletter with this theme this time.

Not to put too fine a point on it, the book is mind-altering itself. It changed the way I looked at my erstwhile indulgences.

Even if readers are not affectionados of baseball, Chief Bender's Burden offers the bonus of a sensitive glimpse into some of the realities that can be masked by America's favorite pastime. Tom Swift has a distinctive gift for weaving play by play details into a larger tapestry of human brokenness and accomplishment. His honesty and integrity are refreshingly manifested in background and research notations.

Speaking as a former archivist, "Chief Bender's Burden" is an archivist's dream: well researched with an exquisitely detailed bibliographic essay, and an index! But more than that, it is a book lover's dream. It is the brilliantly written story of a unique American, "the pitcher who looked in the face of pressure and winked." Author Swift replays the Deadball Era games with the enthusiasm of a modern day radio announcer. The inclusion of Bender's quotes on page 128 and 211, and paragraph one on page 275 alone make this book a gem. More than baseball history, it is pathos and glory and inspiration.
Beverly Hermes

Tom Swift has written an outstanding book that shows how Bender's life story is about more than just baseball...It's about the experience of Native Americans during Bender's era. His book is an exciting and informative read that should be of great interest to both baseball fans and students of American history. As one who uses baseball history in education, I warmly recommend it.

Rabbi Shmuel Jablon, www.rabbijablon.com

Chief Bender's Burden reads like a novel. Swift's style is fluid and never dull. He has managed to reconstruct Bender's life through impeccable research. The book's most exciting parts are the play-by-play of games Bender pitched. Details, including which pitches Bender threw, make this book an excellent read. What is most impressive is the daunting task of research included in telling Bender's story. Yet, Swift does not get bogged down in details and allows the story to unfold in a natural manner.