The Empire Books

I admit that I am a pretty biased reviwer because the author is my late grandfather, and the book is a biography of my great-great-great uncle. However, it is not just a book for us relatives! The Aspinwall Empire is a biography of William Henry Aspinwall, a highly successful 19th century American businessman and philanthropist. Aspinwall has been all but forgotten today, but he made many important contributions to the United States. Among other things, he was a pioneer in the clipper ship area, built the railroad that traversed the Panama isthmus, was a founder of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the ASPCA, and a benefactor to many causes and institutes, including the Virginia Theological Seminary (where Aspinwall Hall still stands as a tribute to him and his brother, John Lloyd Aspinwall). There are many more noteworthy contributions that Aspinwall made, and my Granddaddy spent over five years putting together an extremely thorough, but still interesting, biography that chronicles them. It is a very interesting read, especially for history buffs (and of course Aspinwall relatives!) . My grandfather was very proud of his book, and I encourage everyone to check it out and see why.

Frontier historians have long been appreciative of the path-breaking establishment of Astoria as a fur-trading post on the Columbia River in 1811 and its short history as a pawn in international rivalries. James P. Ronda, well respected for his work on the Lewis and Clark Expedition, presents in this book the first full-length study of Astoria to appear since Washington Irving's "Astoria" in 1836. The result is a fine work that is more significant than just a story of adventure in the Pacific Northwest or just one more account of a single aspect of the fur trade. It moves with a sweep and a dimension that places the little post on the banks of the Columbia River in the vortex of world events, a pawn in games of international rivalry and chance.

Ronda describes carefully the efforts of John Jacob Astor, head of the Pacific Fur Company and several other business enterprises, to establish Astoria as the capital of his far western trading empire during the first decade of the nineteenth century. That effort moved from New York to Washington to St. Petersburg to Montreal to Canton as he manipulated international politics and appealed to personal desires. Astor, motivated by a quest for wealth but fortified by a sense of national prominence, appealed to the expansionist-minded politicians of the United States to gain support for Astoria's creation. He was finally successful and in 1811 the site was settled by representatives of the Pacific Fur Company traveling in two contingents, one overland and the other by sea. For the next three years Astor and his lieutenants battled bureaucracy in several nations, international ambitions on the part of several countries, rival fur trading companies, and the economics of the business to keep Astoria in operation. They failed, and it succumbed during the War of 1812 only to become one of the British North West Company's posts for the next twenty years.

But "Astoria & Emoire" is more than a recitation of the life and death of the American settlement. Although it is little more than a footnote in most history texts, if Ronda had limited his book to the Astoria's history irrespective of other events that affected it I would have questioned the necessity of its publication. Instead, Ronda provides an excellent study in the history of international relations at several levels of governments and between private citizens. Astoria is, essentially, a case study in business and politics in an international setting. Ronda's work, moreover, is a social history. He uses some untapped historical materials to reconstruct life on the trips to and from Astoria as well as activities at the post. In so doing, he presents a very useful portrait of activities in an early fur trading establishment. He describes something of the interrelationships of cultures and allegiances between the Americans, the Indians, the French and British Canadians, the Russians, and the Hawaiians. This social portrait is especially welcome also as a glimpse of the diversity present on the early fur trading frontier.

"Astoria & Emoire" is one of several refreshing books to appear on the development of the American West. It is a commendable work, and because of the skill of its author its 344 pages of narrative make interesting reading. One word of caution, however, this is not just western or frontier history, it is sophisticated analysis of several historical trends focused through the lens of Astoria; present in it also is social history and business history and diplomatic history and probably some other types of history yet unnamed. Those seeking staid fur trade literature with the emphasis on minutiae will be disappointed. Those readers pondering broader vistas, however, will be rewarded by considering Ronda's work.

My son (10) isn't very good at reading, so I read these Astrosaurs books to him at bedtime. He really enjoyed them and so we have bought all of the series (8 books at present) to encourage him to like books as much as his Playstation 2, TV and DVD's. Most books we have are shared with his 12 year old sister, so he appreciated a good book aimed at young boys. The sci-fi stories are quite good (we are Dr Who, StarWars, and New Captain Scarlet fans) and you get the boys top favourite (dinosaurs) thrown in as well. The only problem with them is that Steve Cole can't write them quick enough - and the SciFi content of the stories is improving with each new book.

The series follows the space adventures of a troupe of vegetarian dinosaurs (they escaped the meteor hit 50 million years ago by leaving Earth in spaceships). Captain Teggs and his crew, Gypsy, Arx and Iggy are no ordinary dinosaurs - they are Astrosaurs! They fly through space in the Dinosaur Space Service starship, the DSS Sauropod, keeping the peace in the vegetarian sector of the Jurassic Quadrant. They also patrol the neutral VegMeat zone to defend against the inhabitants of the notorious Carnivore Sector. Plus they are explorers, who boldly go where no fern chewing reptile has boldly gone before.

This is the first book of the excellent series. In order the books are Riddle of the raptors, The hatching horror, The seas of doom, The mind swap menace, The skies of fear, The space ghosts, Day of the dino-driods, and The terror bird trap.

In this book newly promoted Teggs and his crew are transporting the sector's top vegetarian athletes to the Great Dinosaur Games at Planet Olympus. Suddenly a Raptor Deathship appears and attacks the DSS Sauropod, and a Raptor boarding party kidnapps two of the best athletes. But there's more to the Raptors' plot than meets the eye, so can Captain Teggs solve their rascally riddle in time? Like the rest of the series, the book it is suitably tense in places for little ones.

They are best read in order. My son says 'Like the other books it was cool, I liked the characters and the pictures (the reading books are filled many good line drawing illustrations). I also liked the cut-out cards at the front' (in our UK version, probably not present in the US book)". I would think the books would suit any pre-teen boy older than four, who appreciates space travel (probably up to age 12). I also enjoyed reading them out loud. There are surprisingly few good books aimed squarely at young boys about, so highly recommended. Also try 'The tentacled terror', 'Horrid Henry', 'Seriously silly stories', `The demon headmaster', 'Dinotopia - a land apart' and the 'Captain Underpants' series of books.

Playwright teacher and artistic director of the Edmonton Theatre Company Stewart Lemoine has crafted a brilliant play, At the Zenith of the Empire. Set in 1913, when well-known tragedienne Sarah Bernhardt traveled to Edmonton, Alberta to perform in the final act of Alexandre Dumas' "The Lady of the Camellias", At the Zenith of the Empire is a saga inspired by "Fallen Empires", John Orrell's famous history of Edmonton's early theatre scene. Narrated by "The Divine Sarah" herself, At the Zenith of Empire imagines theatre in a time of yore with flair and color, steeped in emotion and heavy with the history of timeless landmarks such as Ada Boulevard and the Groat Ravine. A play by a theatre lover and artist, for fellow theatre lovers.

Stacy-Judd's 1939 classic is the best book ever on the subject of Atlantis. Stacy-Judd was a Los Angeles architect who was fascinated by the Maya and their connections to Atlantis. This is the book that has the original photo of the famous Mayan frieze of a pyramid being destroyed in a volcanic explosion and people escaping in a boat. Packed with Stacy-Judd's photos and illustrations, this book belongs in every Atlantis library!

What a book! It was SUCH a good idea to write a book about a fake tour to a place that you can't go to! This book gives a very good detailed history of Atlantis, its culture, how they eat, what they eat, where to dine, where to rest, good "sights" to see, and more! Keeps you very entertained. I wanted to laugh a couple times 'cause I had to remind myself that I couldn't go to this place!!! It's SO ironic!

This "Account on the Collapse of the Soviet Union" may be the best book I have read about the demise of the Soviet Union - I personally prefer it over David Remnick's "Lenin's Tomb," which won the Pulitzer Price. For one thing I think Mr. Matlock is among the men best suited to write about the Soviet Union, since he has experienced it first-hand for over 30 years. Moreover, although he never denies that the book constitutes his personal account, he still manages to seperate the issues discussed from his own person, something that I found Remnick to have trouble with at times. His theories, although not necessarily earth-shattering, are backed up by oodles of evidence, be it data or just anecdotes. The summary and the description of the CIS states and the future of the Commonwealth also provide a glimpse into the future. All you ever wanted to know about the epochal events and influences shaping the former Soviet block today.

This is one of the best books about the Aztecs I have seen. Despite its price it offers great and beautiful color photographs as well as very interesting and well written essays. You will not regret it!!!

This is a great children's introduction to the Aztecs. The book describes basic history (where they were originally from, when they arrived in Mexico City, how they built their empire, and how they were defeated by the Spanish Conquistadors). Much emphasis is put on their religion (which involved lots of human sacrifice) and war culture, as well as the interaction between Aztecs and the Spanish Conquistadors. There are a lot of beautiful color photos of Aztec art and other artifacts. The book is easy to read and excellent for kids ages 8-11.

The Aztecs by Smalley is an easy and informative read that captures the readers mind with it's easy to use format and use of many photographs of ancient artwork to help bring the information to life. This volume, from High Five publishing has five chapters (covering the Aztecs search for an new home, the birth of a great city, a slice of life look at Tenochititlan, the arrival of the Spaniards, and the end of the empire) in 48 pages, the information is useful, informative and condensed, which is great for younger readers with shorter attention spans. The Aztecs also includes an epilogue, glossary (though words are defined on each page, at the bottom, making it doubly easy for young readers to learn new words or check the meaning on the bolded words without breaking away from the reading...a BIG plus in my book), bibliography, useful websites and addresses, and even an index!

We found The Aztecs by Roger Smalley to be a great introduction for young readers, bonuses for this text include pronunciation guide (when the word appears, so no flipping back and forth which can be frustrating for young readers), glossary (but also definitions ON page, near the bottom for quick reference, but not intrusive), descriptions on all the artwork photographed (excellent for young readers), and a bibliography and internet information for further reading/learning.

Overall I give The Aztecs: Rise and Fall of a Great Empire five stars, it's an excellent beginner resource that pulls no punches with regards to the more brutal aspects of Aztec life (human sacrifice), but presents it in a way that is minimally frightening (presented as a fact of their life and how they worshipped their gods at the time) yet is highly informative. I think this book is an excellent start to a lesson set on Central/South America or for young readers curious about the Aztec civilization! The recommended age range on this book is 4-8, but I don't know that ages 4-5 would really find this book interesting or that the material on blood sacrifice is appropriate (though parents are really the best judge of what their children are ready to learn about). My recommendation is for ages 6-10.