Native American Books

I bought this book for my wife and daughter's and they enjoyed it very much, the way it was written and layed out.

Fabulous book, I've bought it several times, makes a great gift for my horse loving friends and for myself.

This book is a great book! The best one I have ever read. It makes you laugh, cry, everything. It was just an all around great book! I am really happy that GaWaNi Pony Boy made this amazing book about the connection of women and horses. Its nice to finally find a book and be able to read it and see that finally their are other women out there that understand the same relationships and love for horses as I do, I couldnt put it down. I HIGHLY reccomend this book to an one who LOVES horses!!

I bought this book as a gift for my youngest daughter who shares the love of horses with me. The photos are gorgeous. The essays of these horse women are beautifully written, full of imagery and delve into the spirit of women's connection with these magnificent animals. I highly recommend this book to collect and cherish.

It's about time, GaWaNi has done it again. I laughed, I cried and felt deeply for many of the women in this incredible book. I first heard about it when I saw him on Larry King Live with Bo Derek, Terry Ventura and Chaia King (the latter two are actually in the book) and thought it might be an interesting read.....I have this on my coffee table and come back to it time and time again. What's nice about the format of this book is you can read one or two of the essays, and come back to it later - a very convenient read, and nice to go with whatever mood I happen to be in - (and ladies, we know we have many) you will find a story to go with every one!
I've had several friends try to make off with it - but told them to get their own! Beautiful artwork and a gorgeous layout make this pleasing to the eye, and the thoughts and words will move your heart.
I heard a rumor that he's put out another one, can't wait!

This is a deep, thought-provoking book that is without a doubt evolutionary. Exploring the Seven Sacred Paths of Human Spiritual Development, Jamie Sams has presented a pattern for spiritual progress that can not be absorbed in one sitting, or even in one reading. I know I am going to have to read it again. A lot of it was over my head, and yet, without being academic. I could easily identify where I am spiritually today, and have some idea where I need to go next...still I know it is a spiral, and anything is possible. This book is an essential guidebook along the way that I think I'll be hanging on to. If you are looking for spiritual nourishment that doesn't turn into fluff, this book is for you.

I believe this statement reflects Jamie's chief goal for this book: this statement is listed in the authors note, preceeding the text. I don't think it is possible to draw a universal map of consciousness applicable to all humans. The chief reason being is that some folks never get past the 1st commandment let alone rise to metaphysical heights described in the text. Further, unless the reader has more than a beginners background in the metaphysical - or enjoys flipping back and forth between the text and the glossary - the reading can be difficult.

I gave this book five stars for what it DOES do, and that is a whole lot more than 99% of the metaphysical works I have read:

It paints a picture of the onesness of all existence, even though most of existence sees itself as seperate from everything else;

It bashes the notion that only enlighted earthly masters can achieve spirituality;

It clearly describes the downfalls of anyone being overimpressed with their spiritual progress;

It provides healers with a strong dose of reality: not to forget that therapy patients come to you because they are sick...there is pressure in them staying sick so you can make money;

It confronts head on the notion that a healer can see oodles of people on end: a handful may be too many;

It rightfully makes warriors out of beings immersed in the waters of daily life and it's endless tortures and misfortunes;

It superbly raises these tribulations to the status of lessons, encouraging hope and joy in the struggle;

It clearly points out that transformation is not a linear process;

It describes this circular process as seven different paths: this description allows readers to compare, contrast, and analyze later;

It describes the first hand accounts of Jamie in her path of transformation;

Read the book for yourself: you can't put it down.

This book is easy to read, with sensible suggestions that can be incorporated into your life with relative ease.

Jamie Sams once again takes us on a journey through the layers of our spirit by bringing a complete understanding to the path we walk.

Sams book certainly provides the reader with much material to ponder. It's definitely not the type of book to be read in one sitting and it's not a real "page turner". Instead, the truths Ms. Sams explores are best digested slowly. Perhaps this is most appropriate since she is describing a spiritual journey that lasts a lifetime and more. The diagrams are helpful.

The book "Kiki's Journey" is a excellent story. It is about a little girl named Kristina (Kiki) who goes back to her Tiwa Tribe where her parents are from, to see her Grandma Santana and her uncle Tim.When she goes back to Taos Pueblo she forgets becuase she hasen't been there in a long time,ever since she was a baby. During her journey,Grandma Santana takes her for a walk after she comes out of the giftshop and tells her that she is still part of the Tiwa culture even though she lives in Los Angles. At night she thanks the Creator for making her an Native American and for her Pueblo. So,if you are going take a chance to read this wonderful book, your own journey will begin on the first page you read!!!!

The story of Kiki`s Journey was a marvelous story because she goes to see her grandmother and grandfather in her village. Kiki was from her grandmother's village, so she goes and visits. You should look at it. It`s for all ages.

KIKI'S JOURNEY WAS A TERRIFIC BOOK. KIKI'S JOURNEY WAS A SUPRISING BOOK. I FELT GOOD ABOUT IT.THE THEME WAS TO REMEMBER`YOUR PEOPLE. IT WAS A SAD AND HAPPY STORY AT THE SAME TIME.

A heart warming book for all ages, "Kiki's Journey" is delightful. It works as a story, a read aloud story, as a lesson in cultural differences, as well as a lesson of acceptance. The book would be great for kids of all ages, parents, and teachers. The illustrations are also a wonderful addition to the story.

Written by Kristy Orona-Ramirez and illustrated by Jonathan Warm Day, Kiki's Journey is a picturebook about modern Native American life. A young Tiki girl living in Los Angeles knows little about her traditional culture and heritage, as her parents brought her from the pueblo to the city when she was a baby. During spring break from school, she has the opportunity to experience the pueblo with her parents for the first time. At first she feels like a tourist in a place that should be home, but the more she learns and sees, the better she understands the proud cultural history and traditions that precede her, and above all, the importance of family ties. The boldly simple and colorful artwork is the perfect complement to this heartwarming story of discovery.

I gave this book 4 stars because it was'int one of thoese books that you couldn't put down to me. But I learned some stuf from it, like facts from the last american rainforest. Shelley Gill came to our school to talk about her books. She was cool. AND I MEAN IT.

I liked it because she took the story and made half a fact.She came to our school on Tuesday talking to us about herself.The book I wanted to talk is The Last American Rainforest is talking how the earth was before.

I like it.We learn things from it. I learned that Salmon come from trees.

I think when Mrs.Gill came she really inspired me in reading. Since Harry Potter #4 was the longest book I read.I tried to get all Shelley Gill books.But,I could only get one.So I got Tongass. I chose it because of its beautiful illustrations.

I liked when we read The Last american rainforest,because it was cool.I liked when she brougth the pictuers and the fallsools. The book was very, very, very, very good. I learend a lot of stuf.

Daughter of a full-blooded Navajo father and white mother, Lori Arviso Alvord grew up on a New Mexico reservation in a family that took pride in its native heritage, but followed few of the traditional ways. She attended Navajo schools but never learned the language; she knew her clan relationships and enjoyed the security of tribal connections but seldom attended ceremonies or understood the depth of meaning in the Navajo concept "Walk In Beauty."

Such a person might expect to shed the remnants of tribal culture on leaving the reservation to become a high-powered surgeon, a career that by its very nature flies in the face of Navajo precepts like privacy and self-effacement.

Indeed, throughout her memoir, co-authored by Elizabeth Cohen Van Pelt, Alvord seems to straddle two worlds separated by an uncomfortable gulf. She first looked upon the deepness of that gulf at Dartmouth.

"For a girl who had never been far from Crownpoint, New Mexico, the green felt incredibly juicy, lush, beautiful and threatening." Unable to see the horizon, she felt claustrophobic. But the culture shock was worse. "I thought people talked too much, laughed too loud, asked too many personal questions, and had no respect for privacy." Navajos do not put themselves forward and cooperation is valued over competition. Not a good prescription for success at an Ivy League school.

At Dartmouth she began to feel her tribal identity more strongly and wonder if a kinaalda ceremony (a celebration of womanhood) would have helped empower her in such alien surroundings. But not until after medical school at Stanford, where she was forced to break numerous taboos (Navajo never touch the dead, for instance) and joined a profession where it is essential to ask prying, intimate questions and invade another's personal space at will, did Alvord really begin to explore the philosophical grounding of Navajo culture.

Becoming a surgeon at the Gallup Indian Medical Center, close to the reservation, Alvord notices that her patients do better when they are calm and relaxed, that harmony - even in the operating room when the patient is unconscious - is important for recovery.

She grows more interested in the Navajo philosophy that "everything in life is connected and influences everything else." To "Walk in Beauty" a person strives to live in balance, symmetry and harmony with everything and everyone else.

While this is an ancient precept, held in common with many other cultures and enjoying something of a renaissance in American medicine today, Alvord comes up with a particularly striking example. One of her surgery patients, a young woman, was the first to die of a strange illness that swept through the Navajo nation, killing 11.

A doctor working for the Centers for Disease Control, Ben Muneta, visited a medicine man, a hataalii, who told him "the illness was caused by an excess of rainfall, which had caused the pinon trees to bear too much fruit." There was "a significant deviation from the natural harmony of the world."

The medicine man showed a sand painting of a mouse and said that twice before in years of excess rainfall a similar disease had struck. " `Look to the mouse,' " he said. Weeks later the CDC determined that the Hantavirus was contracted from the droppings of infected deer mice. The deer mouse population had surged due to an excess of pinon nuts. "It was the rain."

Alvord's tone is quiet, reserved. It does not seem easy for her to describe the alcoholism of her charming father or the difficulties and generosity of her (married at 16) mother. Though she takes us to a nightlong ceremony for the sick and celebrates the strength her patients draw from medicine-man visits, she never explains why it takes her so long to visit a hitaalii during her own pregnancy. Or why she never approaches a medicine man to discuss cross-cultural treatments despite her growing conviction of the efficacy of the "whole body" approach.

While most of the book concentrates on her work and her struggle to reconcile cultures, she provides a wide, sad look at reservation life, beset by poverty and "white mans'" diseases. The long grief of history resides in the alcoholism and the self-loathing of so many - a balance that can never be put right.

At last Alvord leaves. Seeing it as the next natural step in her own "life trail", she returns to Dartmouth as a surgeon and a dean of minority and student affairs. At Dartmouth, she hopes, she can teach the Navajo "Walk In Beauty" principles to new doctors as well as working within the established system to bring better care to her own people.

I am full-blooded Navajo, I was taught to believe in my traditonal ways and it disappoints me that she has talked about very scared ceremonies.

Lori Arviso Alvord walks in two worlds. Raised on the Navajo reservation in New Mexico -- "the rez" -- she is the daughter of a Navajo man and a white woman. Carrying this dichotomy into her education and career, she went from the reservation high school to Dartmouth College, then found her path to Stanford University School of Medicine and a surgical residency in New Mexico.

As the first Navajo woman surgeon, she learned to integrate the science-based world of medicine and the spirit-based Native American culture. The importance of the singing cures, native healing practices, and other spiritual traditions was brought home to her when she observed her patients' outcomes. Surgical skill was often not enough when delivered without respect for the language, culture and spirituality of the Navajo patients.

The main focus of this memoir is Dr. Alvord's path to acceptance of the first Navajo principles: balance, harmony and wholeness, known as "Walking in Beauty." Along the way we learn a great deal about Native American history and culture, sensitively presented.

Dr. Alvord speaks of the cultural bases for Native American alcoholism and the prevalence of gang culture, monumental threats to the health and well-being of her people. The healing of these ills will never be achieved in the operating room alone, and many patients' stories illustrate this lesson effectively.

The outcome of Dr. Alvord's journey is signaled from the beginning, as is often the case with a memoir. While this may dilute the dramatic tension of her story, we're rewarded with a thoughtful and inspiring look at one woman's life and work, in all its contexts. I recommend this book to readers young and old who have an interest in the cultural aspects of medical care.

Linda Bulger, 2008

I picked up this book and I could NOT put it down. What a wonderful journey described here....how she interlocks traditional medicine with Navajo, how harmony and positive spirit is such a process in the healing world. You will not be disappointed with this read. I have shared this with all those close to me. Make it part of your list

--Dr Alvord writes about her journeys as a Native American student and physician. The book seems clearly designed for non-technical readers rather than the professional medical community, and there's little medical jargon. She uses her own difficult pregnancy and the death of a beloved grandmother as case studies in integrating Western medicine and Navajo ideas.
--On the one hand, it's worth reading this book just to hear such an inspirational story from such a role model. Dr Alvord tells her story with dignity and courage and she has many good ideas about listening to patients and integrating Balance and Harmony in our profession (although these ideas don't seem as radical or as rare within the medical community as she seems to imply, and I don't think she does anyone a great service by implying they are).
--On the other hand, the authors remained disappointingly abstract, even given the limitations of confidentiality and space. The stories of Navajo healing barely scratched the surface and the book was pretty scanty with practical advice that would help non-Native healers understand Native American patients. I'd love to have heard her perspectives on the magnitude of Native American health problems, how she handled the constant pressures of time and funding, or how she successfully used traditional Native American methods to help manage serious medical-social problems (i.e. alcohol use, diabetogenic diets, family pressures, basic compliance and responsibility issues, etc). In short, I'd like to have heard more about her successes.
--The book's perspective gives a good counterpoint to those who criticize Western medicine as too impersonal/sterile/uncaring/whatever, while they fail to demonstrate how to predictably improve things and still efficiently deliver technically competent health care to people with different levels of motivation and understanding. Western medicine works beautifully in its own niche, but it will be made to work less efficiently if we mess around with the wrong things. Perhaps medicine will improve if we balance the responsibilities of patients to live a healthy lifestyle with the responsibilities of healers to carefully listen to patients and then help them heal.
--This book did not practically help me to do this, so I cannot give it five stars despite my respect for her credentials. I do look forward to a sequel.
--Other books which may be of interest include Blessings (by Dr. A. Organick), The Dancing Healers, and Primary Care of Native American Patients.

I think THE WILD COUNTRY OF MEXICO looks great. The author's style is filled with intimate details, and he's able to take me places I'll never get to go to.

Looking beyond tourist haunts, photojournalist explores inner beauties of Mexico's largely unexplored regions which contain some of the most dramatic landscapes in the world. Wonderful color photographs and Spanish/English essays. -Pioneer Press

Al abrir las paginas relucientes de "La tierra salvaje de Mexico," se vera vislumbrado por la riqueza del tejido historico que caracteriza a Mexico. El libro es un rico contenido de templos de la cultura Maya, cara indegenas, ritos antiguos, pueblos, bosques y montanas virgenes. -La Onda

En THE WILD COUNTRY OF MEXICO/La tierra salvaje de Mexico el fotoperiodista John Annerino captura a bellezo y el espiritu de la gente nativa y de la tierra salvaje que ellos habitan por medio de imagenes vivas e imponentes con texto en ingles y espanol. Viajamos a troves de seis regiones distintas de Mexico: las remotas selvas de Chiapas; las ruins maya de Quintana Roo; la Sierra Volcanica Transversal, una meseta hobitada que es la tercera mas alto del mundo; la Sierra Madre Occidental, el hogar legendario Canon de Cobre; la rica bioregion de Baja California, y el Desierto Sonorense, uno de los grandes desiertos del Nuevo Mundo. Aqui esta una evococion brillante de la gente y de los lugares en las areas de Mexico que son poco conocidos y rara vez visitodas. -La Casa del Libro

John Annerino's odyssey through Mexico is recounted in THE WILD COUNTRY OF MEXICO, a photo book with extensive text in English and Spanish. Annerino skips the cities and concentrates on lesser-known areas. The scenery, of course, is a knockout, but Annerino's photos of the people are the ones you will remember. -Union-Tribune

If you like to travel and love history then you will greatly appreciate this excellent resource. This book provides information on the best Living History destinations in the United States from prehistory to the early 1840s. Instead of organizing the locations by particular area of the United States the authors have chosen to organize them by significant historical groupings. Examples of these groupings include a section on America's native peoples, one on religious and secular groups, one on the road to independence, and one on opening the West.

Most destinations have between a half page and a full-page description of the location, its historical significance, and interesting facts about the location or a related history. The book is filled with excellent color photographs that give the reader a solid feel for what to expect. This is one of the most invaluable resources I have ever found for planning a trip focused on American history and the historical significance of various areas of the United States. Americans Living History is very highly recommended.

Say the words "road trip" and "history" and I get excited. Suzanne & Craig Sheumaker have written a wonderful guide book for people who love living history sites and museums. I've been to most of the places described in Virginia and I can say that they got their descriptions absolutely correct.

I especially liked the photos. Most guide books have no pictures or annoy me with dinky little artsy drawings. When I'm in a car looking for something I don't want a drawing.

The Sheumakers seem to really love what they do and their enthusiasm comes though in each chapter. I've always scorned the Jamestown Settlement and prefered to head to the real Jamestown down the road but after reading the Sheumakers section on it I think I'll give it a try.

I particularly enjoyed the way that they split the book up. If you are interested in sites from the Spanish colonization years or the French or of course the English you can find chapters that deal just with that particular period. If you want to understand more about Indian life they have an exceptionally good section of sites dedicated to America's earliest settlers. Be sure to check out the Cherokee villiage in North Carolina. The book also talks about the Catholics, the Jews, Amish, Moravian, Shakers, Quakers and Mormons who came to America and the living history sites they left behind.

If the Revolutionary period is what interests you most they have a chapter on sites to visit. If the sites of the new nation are your thing then they have a chapter for you. This is really a delightful book and is such a good travel companion I'd say that the best thing to do is to buy two copies. One for the coffee table and one to keep in the car. I hope this is the begining of a new series.

What can you expect from America's Living History-The Early Years? Definitely not just another "coffee table" book! The stunning photographs may catch your eye, but you'll want to pick up this book and use it.

Have you ever wanted to visit the historic Jamestown site in Virginia? You can view hundreds of artifacts discovered from the first permanent settlement there.

Do you remember the story about Washington crossing an icy river to attack British forces? Been to the place it happened? Did you know that every year on Christmas Day, hundreds of re-enactors cross the river to commemorate this Revolutionary War triumph?

Know where you can find incredible Native American petroglyphs? Sites in New Mexico and Nevada are mentioned in this book.

Readers will find the answers to innumerable questions about early American life in this book. Whether readers are interested in a day trip close to home or going cross-country, this is a great resource.

From the plains to the coast, Alaska to Hawaii, nearly every state is represented in this guide. With three hundred destinations featured, a history buff or interested traveler couldn't ask for more.

The authors have done a great job with tasteful and applicable photographs. They accent pages filled not just with contact information (although it's there for your reference) but with interesting facts, too. The book is separated into categories, including: America's Native Peoples, European Colonization, Road to Independence, and more. It also features destinations lists by region, to help you plan adventures if you are on a trip.

The authors have obviously done their homework and it shows in this wonderful resource.

Armchair Interviews says: Highly recommended.

We are history buffs at home--both of us grew up in historic areas. Trips to Gettysburg, Independence Hall, The Old North Church and Washington, DC were in our childhood experiences. You could hardly take a daytrip without seeing some of America's oldest treasures. So we as children enjoyed historical sites and we still stop for historical markers as a habit when we are out touring any area.


For people with similar tastes or who have children to educate, this is a wonderful resource. Some of the well-known and lesser known historical sites all over the US that date from the early years are laid out in a travel guide format.


The book is organized by popular sites, subjects like religious movements, colonization, the Western movement, and the Revolutionary War and the times leading up to this watershed event. Each historical site has photographs, address and phone number and a synopsis of what is available for touring. The geographical maps show towns or cities of interest. The only thing missing would be day trip routes in some of the more densely-historical areas (Boston, Philadelphia, Washington, New Jersey.)



But there are also timelines and write-ups of the history of the times (the Shakers, the Mormons, the battles of the Revolution and War of 1812, and the early contact with Native Americans.) So the book is not just a "what to see" but has important background and a good if brief overview of early American history.

After I read this book, I immediately wanted to go see at least a half a dozen sites I had not visited that are not really very far from my, and added a list of places I want to see next time I'm out West.


This is a very pretty book and one that home schoolers would find absolutely a treasure. My parents took us on endless daytrips on weekends and these are some of my fondest memories of childhood. If you have kids and an automobile, I'd put this book on the "must-have" list because you can build some excellent memories and give your kids a fine sense of where we came from as a nation. Big thumbs-up and I eagerly await more in this series.

Suzanne and Craig Sheumaker have created an incredible resource for people looking to vacation in the United States in places where history lives. They profile 300 living history sites in the United States that cover American history from the time when Native Americans had empires and confederations to the 1840's. The Sheumakers provide excellent cross-references to aid people planning a living history vacation. However, this book is more than just a guide for people looking for an excellent place to vacation; this book is also a wonderful history book with factual tidbits sprinkled throughout.

The beginning of this book provides maps of the profiled locations. These maps also divide the sites into categories described later in the book (more on that in a moment). Thus, if your focus is on European colonization and you are interested in traveling to the mid-Atlantic or the South, you will be able to quickly find the sites that are focused on this aspect of history.

The Sheumakers organized this book into six historical categories; America's Native Peoples, European Colonization, Religious & Secular Groups, Road to Independence, Our New Nation, and Opening the West. Each section is color coded to more easily locate them on the previously described maps. Even better, each section has dozens of photographs, typically one per site, along with location information, fee information, and, perhaps best of all, the best available web site for the location. In addition, the Sheumakers sometimes recommend the best time of year to see special events and they typically provide information regarding the historical significance of the site.

I have checked several of the sites recommended by the Sheumakers to see how accurate their information is. Consider Cahokia Mounds, in Illinois, described on page 38 of this book. There are two photographs. One photograph is of the largest mound on the site. The other is a photograph of a walk-through diorama available at the interpretive center. The Sheumakers include several pieces of information about the history of the site and its significance (a small portion of what you can learn at the site). Their information regarding the location of Cahokia Mounds matches the direction provided on the highways east of St. Louis, Missouri. The fee information is also correct (free), though the interpretive center suggests a $1 donation per person. The only flaw I found in the Sheumaker's description of this site is that they neglected to mention the miles of walking trails on the site.

Other sites contain similar accuracy. I looked at Spring Mill Pioneer Village in Indiana, which is a wonderful place to visit (though sometimes it gets very busy). Historic St. Charles, Missouri is yet another wonderful place to visit, if you can avoid the distraction of the gigantic casino that is nearby. Ft. Osage in Sibley, Missouri, has been a popular destination for the nearby residents of Kansas City, Missouri, for decades.

If there is a flaw in this book, it is that space limited the Sheumakers to only 300 destinations. There are many more living history places in the United States. However, the Sheumakers certainly picked many of the very best places from the era before the 1840's. Perhaps if this book is successful, they can write a follow-up book titled "More of America's Living History."

This book is a phenomenal resource for people planning a vacation or seeking a starting point for a history paper. Teachers and other educators may wish to explore one of the living history sites near your school. You may just want to take a day trip to one of these sites. All of them are worth at least a day trip and some of them require days to fully explore.

Traveler's guides seem to be a dime-a-dozen these days. Everyone is competing for shelf space and your attention. The Sheumakers have a unique approach, eschewing typical tourist attractions for those that focus on our (United States) history. It would be a mistake to call these sites tourist attractions, because many of them contain on-going historical research. For example, excavations continue at Cahokia Mounds. Regardless of your need, this beautiful, full-color book is a wonderful as a resource, a coffee-table book, or even just to read - I started it and could not put it down. Whatever your need or goal, if you appreciate the history of the United States and you are seeking an opportunity to immerse yourself further in that history, you need this book.

This review is based on a copy of the book provided to me by the authors.

Enjoy!

Ned Begay, a six year old kid, who had to leave his Navajo home, in America and join a boarding school, had to learn the English language and the American ways. In the boarding school, he was not allowed to speak his native language and if he did, there were consequences. Japan was one of the most powerful countries, at that time. Soon Japan started attacking America and World War 2 began. Marine recruiters started looking for Navajos to join the Marines. Ned Begay joined the Marines. He was a code talker, who was not allowed to tell anyone, not even his own family. He would send and receive messages in a secret code. The code was extremely difficult to learn and only a Navajo could learn it. For every letter in the English Alphabet, a Navajo word was assigned. After a lot of practice of the code, Ned was shipped to Hawaii, to battle the Japanese. They had to take an exercise on the big island of Hawaii to experience all kinds of terrains. They had to cross a desert, on foot, in two days and everyone had only one bottle of water. By second day, everybody had collapsed, and only the Navajos had water left. The Navajos were nothing but the best. They had to write a letter to the Colonel to get some drinking water in the desert. After a few days, Hawaii was filled with blood, and dead bodies. Read the book, to find out what happens next. I liked the book " Code Talker " because of the facts that are in the book. One fact I learned was Japan took food from the poor and gave them to their Army. The food was donated to Japan by America, before the war.

Ned Begay, a six year old kid, who had to leave his Navajo home, in America and join a boarding school, had to learn the English language and the American ways. In the boarding school, he was not allowed to speak his native language and if he did, there were consequences. Japan was one of the most powerful countries, at that time. Soon Japan started attacking America and World War 2 began. Marine recruiters started looking for Navajos to join the Marines. Ned Begay joined the Marines. He was a code talker, who was not allowed to tell anyone, not even his own family. He would send and receive messages in a secret code. The code was extremely difficult to learn and only a Navajo could learn it. For every letter in the English Alphabet, a Navajo word was assigned. After a lot of practice of the code, Ned was shipped to Hawaii, to battle the Japanese. They had to take an exercise on the big island of Hawaii to experience all kinds of terrains. They had to cross a desert, on foot, in two days and everyone had only one bottle of water. By second day, everybody had collapsed, and only the Navajos had water left. The Navajos were nothing but the best. They had to write a letter to the Colonel to get some drinking water in the desert. After a few days, Hawaii was filled with blood, and dead bodies. Read the book, to find out what happens next. I liked the book " Code Talker " because of the facts that are in the book. One fact I learned was Japan took food from the poor and gave them to their Army. The food was donated to Japan by America, before the war.

This is a great book. Not much else to say. 5 stars!! especially if you are into fictional stories based on real historical events!

We read this book aloud while on a driving vacation through Navajo country in New Mexico and Arizona. My children (girl 10, boy 8 and girl 5) were completely enthralled with both the story and the insight into the Navajo people. Although a work of fiction, the book reads very convincingly as a memoir. The author succeeds admirably in relating the cultural challenges faced by patriotic Native Americans serving in the military as well a giving a non-romanticized portrayal of the realities faced by the soldiers who waged battle in the Pacific. We particularly appreciated the lighter moments -- one tale of boot-camp swimming "lessons" had the kids screaming with laughter. A great read pure and simple, but also one with good lessons to be learned.

Bruchac has created a terrific historic novel that has enough action for young male adults and enough history and research to appeal to an adult audience. Bruchac does a wonderful job of giving a sense of the complexities of growing up on a Navajo reservation in the first half of the book. The irony of a nation trying to wipe out the Navajo language but using it as a crucial means of communication during 20th century wars should not be lost on the reader while reading the second half of the book. Bruchac's narrator tells this tale in an even-keeled, even-tempered manner. The reader is allowed to gain his own sense of injustice our nation has inflicted upon its Native American population. Bruchac's description of the progression of America's involvement in World War II's Pacific campaign is well laid-out and dramatically presented. Highly recommended.

I'm a criminal defense attorney who represents many Native Americans all around the country. I've purchased this book for years. It is a must read for any new employee in this firm. I have also given it to many of my clients while they are in jail awaiting trial. It's a magnificient book. Mary M. McMahon, criminal defense attorney and author of Once a Warrior.

This book is extremely accessible as if ingrained in human nature. I have no background in indigenous culture and spirituality. I wanted to capture this book and live there. I had to wonder if anything about me was uniquely tuned in to this book and I don't think there was. I had to wonder what kind of effect this book would have as a large scale required reading in families, schools, churches, prisons, cities, the White House, etc. The Lakota way creates a desire to become honor, dignity and peace by being unselfish.

Stories. Lakota stories that tell about morality and virtues---persistence, honor, love, respect, and so forth. We can all benefit from reading these stories. Interesting and enlightening. What more can you ask for? Recommended! boland7214@aol.

I bought this book at a store in Oklahoma City and it was wrapped in packaging. I had already read three of Marshall's books but when I unwrapped it after buying it, my first reaction was it was a mistake to buy it. It was not what I was expecting. Much to my pleasant surprise, I thoroughly enjoyed Marshall's story telling.

I highly recommend anything he writes. I am currently reading his book on Crazy Horse and it is excellent. His book, "Walking with Grandfather" is outstanding.

Marshall is certainly one of the Elders of his tradition and is an accomplished writer and historian. His works are a must read.

This book can change you if you are open to it. It made me rethink a few assumptions I had about myself. I think all of us know the dictionary definition of virtues such as generosity and wisdom, but Marshall shares stories and personal insights that teach how to weave those qualities into the fabric of your life. This book is warm-hearted and inspiring. Its organization is well suited for discussion groups. The Lakota Way should be the way of our leaders, neighbors, family members and our hearts.

Very well researched and written book! If you are interested in Native American past and cultures, this is a great resource.

I am using this as part of my research to aid me with the series of paintings I am doing of North American Indians from the period 1850 through 1910. I found it interesting that of the paintings I have completed thus far, I often get asked by Native Americans if I have yet done any paintings of members of their tribes. This book helps with the geographical aspects of where my subjects may have been located at the time they lived.

Great maps explained by easy to understand text passages are the hallmarks of this user friendly and highly informative, not to mention interesting, book. I'm very impressed by Carl Waldman's work, which is characterised not by fawning apologias but by respectful insightful investigatory analysis.

While I enjoy this book and its wealth of info and maps, it is a shame that the only map in color is on the cover. 4.5 stars.

A good resource for any student entering the field of North American Indian studies, this book is carefully organised and rendered. Waldman traces the many facets that have been used to explain who the North American Indians were, how they lived and where. The text is clear and direct, well-suited to the novice in this area of study. The wealth of maps and other illustrative material well supports the narrative, although space restrictions force a certain level of clutter at times.

Waldman opens the book with a description of how humans arrived in the Western Hemisphere. The "Ancient Civilizations" of Mesoamerica, such as the Olmec and Maya are well summarised, before the author turns to the Southwest peoples - the Anasazi, Hohokan and Salado communities. He explains the often overlooked or poorly considered Moundbuilders of the Lower Midwest. The section on "Indian Lifeways" turns to areas like California, the Pacific Coast, and Subarcic regions. While these peoples didn't achieve the strongly hierarchical civilisations of Mesoamerica, their various social structures were complex and dynamic. Their economic systems allowed them to endure and they adapted well to change, something too often lacking in Mesoamerica. To a limited extent, the geography and environment hosting these people granted them the flexibility to maintain a dynamic society, even in precarious conditions.

One aspect of life they were poorly prepared for was the European intrusion. Waldman sets aside a section to introduce the problems introduced by European colonisation. The litany of wars and rebellions take up a hundred pages of the text. The accompanying maps showing battle sites sparkle with stars indicating clash sites. Some of these wars have almost disappeared from historical accounts of North American settlement. It's a good reminder of how the whites took over the hemisphere and what cost that hegemony extracted from the native population.

In time, war was replaced by "Land Cessions" and resettlement. The reservation system, never a fixed idea, is carefully explained by Waldman. The modern result of reservation communities and the ambivalent policies surrounding both the settlements and their populations gave rise to a new awareness among Indian people. The poor acknowledgement of Indian contributions in two world wars was but one of many irritants leading to "uprisings" at Wounded Knee and elsewhere. The author goes on to list major Indian government agencies and Indian organisations and facilities. Indian place names, often overlooked, are listed, with the modern "nation" structures for the US and Canada provided. In all, this book will be a firm base from which to expand a study of Indian circumstances for the future. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]