Companies Books

Love love love this little book of end-less information. I have the HUGE regular DiPiro which isn't a joy to lug around. This handbook is the perfect reference for any pharmacy/med student. It covers the same topics as DiPiro 6th edition, but in a much more condensed, straight-forward way, including foundation & therapeutics. Very happy I purchased this book!

much more concise than Depiro; it's like ESPN for therapeutics, all the best highlights... but if you have a very picky professor they might bring up something specific enough that it isn't included in this book.

I bought this book hoping that it would serve as a shorter version of the larger and more detailed textbook. It turned out to do just that. I have used this book on many occasions to review the key things about certain conditions without having to read the lengthy chapters of the textbook.....this is a must have for anyone in the medical field....it provides a concise summary and key points from the bigger version.

Great therapy book to have in your pocket, but doesn't discuss much on etiology of diseases. Basically it's good as a review, but it's not helpful if you are trying to learn the disease for the first time.

gives a detail summary of the book... a must have for all pharmacy students.

This book gives a very good explanation of trauma and some excellent examples of how to work with it. The information may not be new to those working in the field, but it is the clearest description of brain functioning and trauma that I have read and the treatments she offers are very usable. I highly recommend this book especially for those just learning about trauma or new to working with the clients body.

I read this book cover to cover. I found it extremely easy to read. I have recommended this book to several of my colleagues that assist patients with trauma. I feel like this book could be also given to patients. I felt it contained enough biological data to assist persons to understand the basis for the trauma response.

Shipped quickly and in wonderful condition. A perfect book for anyone studying about trauma.

This book is wonderful. It is the best of many books I have read on trauma's effects and the treatment of trauma survivors. As a survivor myself, I found the book immensely calming. It illuminated many things I did not notice and explained so many parts of myself that I have lost touch with or no longer understand. Most importantly, it gave truly effective ways of communicating with myself and my body in order to calm myself and learn effective coping mechanisms.

Aside from all that, the book is just plain interesting. The mind-body connection is a fascinating thing. Wow!

After 26 years of thinking, "I should be over it", I now know its part of my body, not just my brain. I remember yelling out loud, THATS IT, and thinking I felt better immediately. I wasn't a loser, basket case mental job, but "my body remembers". I gave the book to my therapist, hoping she can help others. I actually contacted author to thank her, and she has a new book in the process. Thank you, Babette.........buy it, or I will let you borrow it:)

This book seems to cover many great hiking areas in Sedona. It is quite explicit re: directions and information about the hiking trails. Great book for a person new to the area or even people who have been around awhile. Very informative!

I used this book for planning a 2 day visit to Sedona. I was extremely happy with the format. It has 2 pages per hike, with a high quality photo of what to expect for views, driving/hiking distance/time, as well as selections of their favorites. We didn't visit long enough to do a lot of the hikes, but we truly felt that we were able to select 3 hikes that were perfectly suited to our tastes and with nice variety. Overall, I don't think you could go wrong in Sedona, but I felt like this guide was well worth the price and only wish I could find similar guides for other locations. The Magnum's have done a great job, deserving of 5 stars.

The only shortcoming you may find is that their maps are very general and mostly help you find the trailhead (which was flawless). But, I prefer to have a quality map as well and I purchased the Emmitt Barks Cartography - Sedona Trails Map (not sure if it was on Amazon), and was very happy with it. Personally, I don't think you can create a detailed map inside the book for each hike, so I don't consider this a flaw to the book - just a bit of advice if you are planning a trip.

This book was very helpful in deciding which hikes to do. We were not dissappointed by any of the hikes. It was good that we knew about the pink jeaps ahead of time.

I have read five books about the Sedona hikes, all written approximately across the same time period, and this is why Iknow what I am talking about.I have also been to Sedona twice and know about it in a general sence. Short and sweet...this is the best all around Sedona hiking book filled with lots of bits about popular and unheard of hikes. This book is good because it is created by a Husband and Wife writer and photographer team who have lived in the area for years. The book includes maps of how to get to the trail heads and where the trails go from there. Also, descriptions of weather related to time of year and level of exertion required to do the hikes. The hikes that include VORTEXES are clearly marked. The photography is great. The five other books are best described by one or several of the following phrases: sickening and homespun; the writer as spiritual guru who is grandiose; might as well not bother; information repeated elsewhere ad nauseum. GET THIS BOOK

This book is good you want to look up a specific trail by name. I am more interested in researching trails in a specific area and found the layout of this book VERY frustrating. This book NEEDS a trail map overview where one can see where a specific trail is in relationship to the other trails. If you purchase this book make sure to purchase a Sedona Trail Map as well.

Here we have a detailed explanation of the workings of the human digestive tract, how most of us can expect it to deteriorate with age, and what we can do as self help.

I can't comment on the "cures" in this book, but the whole thing about why one shouldn't live on the purple pill indefinitely was an eye opener. The authors present a compelling argument and supporting studies that leave you shocked that doctors are so quick to write those prescriptions.

I was lucky and found out about this book from doing research about acid reflux. I immediately ordered the book and read it in one night. I told my husband that this has been my problem all along. I have too little stomach acid! I have been plagued with acid reflux for the last 17 years(I am now 38 yrs old). When I would wake up in the morning, I would have a burning feeling in my esophagus even while taking the well known proton pump inhibitors. I had no energy and I really felt like I wasn't going to live much longer. I immediately flew to Dr. Wright's clinic and was tested there when they confirmed moderate hypochlorhydria. With everything they have recommended, I can't believe that I am no longer plagued with acid reflux. In addition to the low stomach acid, I was very ill with severe yeast overgrowth throughout my body and I wasn't assimilating any vitamins or nutrients. I thank God for Dr. Wright. I will be on his treatment plan for a year (currently it's been 6 months)and then will get re-tested to see if I am finally producing enough stomach acid on my own to help digest my food. Over the past 17 years, I have had many tests run on me by the Gastroenterologists. I never could get an answer as to why I had acid reflux. I was simply told to keep taking the proton pump inhibitors. If you are suffering from acid reflux,
do yourself a favor and get this book!

The theory in this book is that most people have too little stomach acid and that antacids not only do not help you but they make the problem much worse. So here is a simple test to try if you want to see if you have too little stomach acid. The next time you feel the need for an antacid mix 2 parts standard vinegar with 1 part honey. Then take two tablespoons. If you have too little acid the vinegar will help and you will feel better. If you get worse than you probably have too much acid and you can go ahead and take your antacids. I now keep a bottle of this vile mix in my fridge and I no longer take antacids. It is nasty to take but it works like a charm, every time! If you find out you have too little acid then you should buy this book immediately and read it cover to cover. They suggest using lemon juice at meal times to help replace the acid you need. Much better than taking vinegar too! There is so much good information in here that you do not want to miss it.

A new remedy came on the market promising 14 days of heartburn relief. I rushed to the drugstore the day it hit the shelves. As advertised, I had 14 days of blissful remission.

My suffering relieved, I relived the days when heartburn was impossible. There was a time I could gulp jalapeno peppers like candy. I could eat a double order of Nick's Famous Coney Island Dogs piled with onions, washed down with a (small) pitcher of beer. I laughed at heartburn.

When the 14 days ended, the heartburn returned with a vengeance, worse than ever. Warning labels proscribed continued use of the remedy. There has to be a better way, I concluded, and started researching heartburn online. This book turned up among the search results.

Following the book's advice, I swallowed a spoonful of fresh lemon juice to combat an attack of heartburn. The lemon juice caused some alarming turmoil in my stomach, but the heartburn subsided. I had some lemons on hand, so I squeezed them into glass bottles of drinking water. I put the juice of half a lemon in each quart bottle.

For the next few months, I drank lemon-spiked water. The heartburn abated from day one. I didn't need to take the acid tablets the book recommends.

I am a beer and coffee lover, so there were occasional flareups. I might forget to take the onions out of my gyro. I fought these flareups with chewable papaya enzyme tablets, which work better than any antacid.

My shopping habits changed. Instead of buying antacids in jumbo bottles, I bought lemons by the 5-pound bag. I squeezed one or two lemons a day into my drinking water.

Eventually, water didn't taste right without lemon. I ended my lemon water addiction. In 3 years, the heartburn has not returned. I've been working on the same bottle of papaya enzyme while eating and drinking practically anything I want (except onions).

I've had a puzzling response from fellow sufferers when I have suggested this book. People don't want to hear about it. They get the idea that it's some kooky, possibly dangerous, health fad. Strangely, they seem reluctant to give up their trusty antacids. They'd rather keep fighting a losing battle than take a chance on a simple cure that sounds counterintuitive. MORE stomach acid will cure heartburn?

I consider myself lucky to be open to alternatives. I turned to this book only because I was so fed up with years of riding the antacid merry-go-round. If you are serious about ending antacid dependence, this book has the answer.

You have to be patient while the authors lay out their theories and research findings. For the doubting medical community and readers leery of jarring unconventional ideas, the authors take several chapters to make their case.

Actual advice for heartburn sufferers can be summarized in a few pages. A few pages that can make your life a whole lot better.

No one has told his heart and the agony of Vietnam as has Charles Boyle in "Absolution". In telling of his time there, he lays bare his soul, what his effort was all about. He tells the how and why of his dedication to America and what Vietnam was all about to the US soldier. A great book -- one that should be required reading for all highschool students --- required reading in colleges.

This book accurately shows what goes on in the mind of an infantry lieutenant. It focused on the human aspects of leadership and command. It showed how to deal with the loss of soldiers and friends in combat. Every leader has been too close to soldiers and this book shows why it is dangerous to do so. Having said that, it also shows what a soldier in the right place at the right time can and will do for his leaders. SGT Jay Cee and his friends from Company C, 3/22 Infantry gave their lives for their commander and friend. Absolution tells why soldiers will give their lives and how leaders deal with it. I recommend it for cadets before commissioning, lieutenants in the basic course, and captains prior to command. It is an excellent resource for leaders.

No one has told his heart and the agony of Vietnam as has Charles Boyle in "Absolution". In telling of his time there, he lays bare his soul, what his effort was all about. He tells the how and why of his dedication to America and what Vietnam was all about to the US soldier. A great book -- one that should be required reading for all highschool students --- required reading in colleges.

I have finished reading Charles J. Boyle's, Absolution: Charlie Company, but I know this book will never be finished with me.

There is a great healing that needs yet to be done is this country; a great open wound that lies on the national soul and in the wounded bodies, minds, hearts and souls of those who we sent there. It does not matter where you stood, or stand, on the conflict called the Vietnam War; what matters now is resolution. That is what Charles Boyle has provided in Absolution. I have read hundreds of thousands of words penned on all sides of this so open wound, but none that I have read before have so touched heart and soul. There were times when I had to put the book down to process what these men, our sons, fathers, husbands endured in that time and place that is still so much with us; times when I felt weak with sharing their pain, awed by being witness to their courage. Boyle has taken us there, absolutely there; step by step, hour by hour, day by day as our young men grew, against all odds, despite betrayals from above, into men of courage, into comrades in arms, in a time and place, in a war often without explanation or understanding. Boyle graces us with witnessing the turbulence of mind and spirit when all that has been learned before is challenged in young lives, in blood, terror, conviction, fortitude, and courage. Be prepared for a great adventure into tears, into outrage, into anguish, into great pride. If you are prepared to face the beginnings of finding resolution, if you read only one book on the conflict called the Vietnam War, read Absolution: Charlie Company. "Falcon Six, this is Charlie Six. We're moving." Do move to read Absolution; it is time for the healing and it can begin here. Welcome home, Charlie Company.

Absolution, by Charles J. Boyle, is an outstanding book about a great lieutenant and his men. As an avid reader of the Vietnam War, I have never read a book about Vietnam that touched my heart as much as this one. Once I started reading the book, I could not put it down. A true and accurate portrayal of the Vietnam War and its brave American soldiers.

I have lived in Alaska for 10 years and can't believe I just heard about this book. I bought it yesterday and have not been able to put it down since I opened it.

Not only is it an excellent read but I am learning a lot of tips about wilderness survival. It is about the best adventure book I have ever read.

A phenomenal book for all outdoors people and Alaska fans. The text flows very naturally. There is a lot of information on Alaskan nature and history.

Frank Glaser's story is a real, first hand look at Alaska in the early days. If you love Alaska and the wilderness, this is the book for you. Frank goes into the back-country and his adventures never cease as he traps, hunts, builds, explores and generally just checks things out. It amazes me that he is always so at ease, even in the most difficult of situations. He is the kind of guy you would just love to tag along with (if you could keep up with him!) His stories and accounts bring Alaska to life at a time when few tourists ventured into the back country. Jim Rearden has done a great job in compiling Frank's stories and amazing life. This book has given me a much greater appreciation of a great state...Wonderful Alaska! I doubt if anyone has ever experienced it like Frank Glaser.

Excellent read ! I read mostly African based books, but put onto this from a friend now living in Juneau; thanks Scott! This is the "Capstick" adventures for Alaska !

I read these type books on a regular basis & this one is head & shoulders above the rest. Captivating, interesting, & very informative. Well written & a true treasure. This should be included in the required reading for wolf relocation advocates & "Naturalists". Glasser has no axe to grind, simply tells of his adventures & experiences. I assure you, it is time & money well spent !

thinking "from" the state of having it is faith's definition. When you try it, you will find you in a struggle with what you know as reality. "Reality" is the state you want to change.Probably, when you are trying to think from the state of having it, your reason will tell you that you are just imagining. To overcome that, you make an effort to believe that what you are imagining is reality itself. This is a very difficult task. Why this task? "The Father does the work". Not you.

If your interested in the Science of Mind philosophy and/or metaphysical healing then Neville Goddard should be a high prority on your list of authors. He explains techniques of mind science philosophy in clear understandable language and his insights are a delight! I am glad was was able to find him, you will be to!!

Good book which reinforces ideas about manifestation. Only problem is if you have read other books by Neville such as the Law and the Promise the same theme rides throughout each of his books. Would not recommend reading more the 1-2 of Neville's books. Having said that this was an excellent read and well worth it.

How does our dreams come true and what makes our dreams come true? We all have dreams and we often think that our dreams are held somewhere far away in the future, but in reality our dreams are held right now in our hearts.

The awakened imagination by Neville Goddard made me understand that, that our dreams are our thoughts and feelings. Reading the book which was passionately written, not only help me internalize this message, it also brought home the understanding that l have been longing for. It explained most verses in the bible and it also gave clear and sincere explanation of most biblica quotations that has been misinterpretated.

If am ever stock in a place or in an island without food or means of survival, l rather be stock with this very specail book, because this is a book that not only inspires, it also empowers one with the knowledge of ones own ever present divinity and potentials.

Well I've read a lot of Law of Attraction material, but this one put it all together for me as far as imagination and the mind goes.
Although if I would've read it first it may not have sunk in as much.
Lots of underlining in this book !
Really emphasises thinking "from" the state of having it, not just desiring it. DC

This is an excellent sequel to Jim the Boy. What a great character Jim is, although he sometimes says things the wrong things to the wrong people. In other words, he bluts out his feelings. All in all, he and his Uncle Zeno and the rest of his family are upstanding citizens always willing to help. To top off a very good book, the ending is most satisfying.

I would like to echo the opinions of all those who have voiced their praises of this deceptively simple book. It really is beautifully written. Like some other reviewers, I too had not read Jim the Boy, but it really didn't matter. My only slight disappointment with the book was the ending. I wouldn't call it abrupt exactly but it definitely had an incomplete feel, likely because the author was setting the stage for part 3 of the series (which I imagine will be called "Jim the Man"). I would imagine that, if the author had no intention of writing another novel about Jim Glass, the ending would have been fuller and a little more satisfying. Still, I give it 5 stars. It really did evoke the 1941-1942 era in a wonderful way.

Reviewed by Paige Lovitt for Reader Views (4/08)

"The Blue Star" follows "Jim the Boy." Jim is now a teenager growing up at the start of World War II. Jim has just broken up with his girlfriend, Norma. She was too boring for him. Both Norma and Jim's moms are not happy about the breakup because Jim had already told Norma that he loved her, so they assumed that there would be a marriage to follow. Jim's heart has already moved on to Chrissie Steppe. She is the daughter of Injun Joe. Chrissie is beautiful. Unfortunately, she has a boyfriend, Bucky Bucklaw. He is in the Navy.

Jim develops a friendship with Chrissie. He admits that he loves her. He discovers the complicated reasons of why she is not able to be with him. Still he does not give up hope. His affection for her is very apparent to everybody else in their school. As Jim gets to know Chrissie better, he learns about his uncle's former relationship with her mother. Jim and Chrissie's family history is extremely intertwined.

"The Blue Star" paints a vivid picture of life during the early years of World War II. In his descriptions of the times, Tony Earley creates a very real picture of how life was at that time. People were dealing with family members going away to war. There was also a great deal of poverty. Jim's relationship with his family is very special. He is very close to three uncles since his father died when he was young.

Jim's relationship with the women in his life was entertaining to read about. He is close to his mother; however, she still wants him to be with his ex-girlfriend. His ex-girlfriend is still in love with him and has to learn to move beyond that. Chrissie seems to be in love with him, but can't do anything about it. Jim's feelings for her are very sweet. He has the normal teenage boy hormonal issues, yet at his heart, he also truly cares for her.

I really enjoyed "The Blue Star." It is a classically, timeless story. People of all ages will enjoy this story.

"You have to choose to be a good man," Uncle Zeno said. "You have to choose every minute of every day. As soon as you don't, you're lost..."

That's what this book, followup to "Jim the Boy," is about, Jim's decisions about what kind of man he will be and the difficulty in making those decisions amid the rush of hormones, poverty, Depression, coming war, life and death, and socio-economic differences, the further opening of a cocoon in the boy Jim's route to the "real world."

It is a book about what matters, who matters, why they matter and how we show that matter, how we show our love and care. It is a book about old unfufilled love and new hopeful love, love in the autumn of life, love in the springtime of life.

The story is set in rural North Carolina, the fall of 1941 through the spring of 1942. A moving, gripping, coming-of-age story, a worthy sequal to "Jim the Boy."

A line on page 256 may sum up the book as nothing else could or should: "The attendant beauty and saddness of the world suddenly seemed to him available for pondering in a way they never had before..."

So it was for Jim. So it has been, or will be, for all of us.

Will Jim make it home from the war? Will Chrissie be waiting for him on his return? And what about Uncle Zeno and Mrs. Steppe? Do they, will they have a future?

We've already waited eight years for this book, Mr. Earley. Don't let it be eight years for the next one. Please.

I haven't read "Jim the Boy" (the forerunner to this book) but now I'm thinking that I'll have to go back and correct that situation. Although it's not absolutely necessary to read the first book before this one, the excellent writing encourages the reader to go seek out more of the same.

The first book was about Jim Glass, a ten year old boy growing up in North Carolina with his mother and uncles, his father having passed away while still a young man. The story continues here with Jim as a teenager, still in NC, still with his mother and uncles, but now it's the start of World War II.

Young love is in bloom for Jim, but unfortunately not with his girlfriend Norma. With hormones in full flow, Jim has fallen for Chrissie, a beautiful girl of mixed parentage who has the longest, most lustrous mane of hair he has ever seen.

Unfortunately for Jim, Chrissie's not available, having promised her wealthy boyfriend Bucky that she'll wait for him until he returns from Pearl Harbor. Bucky was an early enlistee in the Navy, and Chrissie and her family work for Bucky's father, and live on his estate high up in the mountains.

Understandably, patriotism frowns on people who try to play when the cat's away fighting for his country, so Jim is having a pretty miserable time at High School, even though he's on the brink of graduation.

The author successfully recreates the atmosphere of growing up during this era, with all its problems and tensions, and you'll feel like you actually know people who've been through the same experiences.

This is a young adult book that can be enjoyed by adult readers. The prose is deceptively simple, but cleverly nuanced and thoroughly entertaining. This has the makings of a future classic.



Amanda Richards, May 1, 2008

What can I say about Ernie Pyle? One of the most well-known correspondents in WWII, he wrote with an empathy for the common infantryman that transcended his simple, eloquent prose. "Brave Men" is a collection of the articles he wrote while covering the war in Sicily, Italy, England, and France. Exceedingly modest, Pyle always downplayed his role while extolling the infantry fighting on the front lines, his beloved "dogfaces." Pyle may not have thought that he was doing anything of importance, yet his articles served to bring the war home to an American public that was being fed a somewhat sugar coated version of the war by the government; in turn, the GI's loved Pyle as one of their own. He immortalized as many of them as he could in his articles, stating the names of the many men with whom he had contact, and often their full home address for good measure. He shared many of their hardships on the front lines, and now, more than 60 years later, his articles offer an insight into WWII for today's readers that is as poignant now as it was then. He makes the reader feel as if we know these men personally-they are our fathers, grandfathers, brothers, neighbors, friends. Impossible to put down, this book is the enduring legacy of a great man whose life ended much too soon (after surviving the European theater, he traveled to the Pacific at the request of the Navy, where a Japanese sniper took his life on the tiny island of Ie Shima, just off the coast of Okinawa); I would recommend this book to everyone I know with an interest in WWII.

I read many of these stories when I was an infantryman in the ETO during WWII. I just wanted to re-read them again to satisfy the feeling of respect I have always had for Ernie Pyle and what he did for the American soldier during that conflict. It was good to smell the smells and hear the sounds while in a safe environment.
It is an excellent 'Chronicle' that takes one back to a time of long ago.

I have read this book several years ago and was touched by his writing and empathy toward the GI's. I saw a biography about him on the tube and found out how the war torn the man apart inside. That and the burden of his wifes dive into madness and all I can say is there was a man! Rest easy Ernie you did good!

Ernie Pyle was truly the soldier's reporter. I have the original wartime copy of "Brave Men," and it's a work of genius. Pyle knows how soldiers feel, Army, Navy, Army Air Corps, from Privates to Sergeants to Lieutenants to Generals, Pyle brings their stories to life with a simple sort of clarity that nonetheless retains every ounce of power that original stories had. Many reporters told the stories of World War II, grand theaters, massive battles, staff meetings, generals, leaders, strategies. Ernie talks about privates, sergeants, lieutenants, the adrenaline highs and sheer terror of close combat or being surrounded by flak, the miseries of mud and rain and the joys of the girl at home and that package of fried chicken that some thoughtful mother sent. All the little things that make soldiers soldiers, and men as well.

Pyle was nothing less than a genius, and his death on Ie Shima resulting from a Japanese sniper's bullet was a loss to journalism. But then, I'm at Indiana University Bloomington, within spitting distance of the Ernie Pyle School of Journalism, so I guess I'm biased. =D

I'm a french reader and I discovered Ernie Pyle through an excerpt of Brave Men published in a french newspaper.
Obviously, this man was a great reporter! I was looking for Brave Men in a French edition but it seems to be impossible to find it, what a pity !.
I was very happy to find it on Amazon.com.
I think that this book is far above all the films or novels you could read on this subject. With Ernie Pyle style, you can catch the real feelings and the fears and the heroism of this men who were caught in this Maelstrom.

Tim Severin and his intrepid crew recreate Brendan and his fellow monks' voyage in the 6th century from Ireland to North America in a small ox-hide boat (curragh). The natural materials and traditional techniques that Brendan used are authentically utilized to make the Brendan voyage a successful historical re-creation and a thrilling sea adventure.

Tim Severin is a born storyteller. As far as a historical re-creation event, this voyage has some parallels to the Kon-Tiki expedition. The reason for making the Brendan voyage was to answer the question: Did Irish monks sail across the Atlantic centuries before the Vikings?

This book relates an amazing seafaring adventure. There is one scene where the sea is calm when a pod of orcas spot the Brendan (boat's name). The orca alpha bull comes full tilt at the boat, dorsal fin eight feet above the water line. The crew holds their breath as the bull whale swims under the boat, checking out this strange thing. After an eternal minute of silence, they watch the bull surface and swim back to the pod. High drama indeed.

Tim Severin and his crew are the very definition of intrepid. Severin's level of enthusiasm is amazing; it is never diminished by the cold, wet, and treacherous sailing conditions. His composure as the captain of this little boat is compelling and inspirational.

I would also suggest getting a copy of the hardbound edition, which unfortunately is out of print. The photos of this voyage tell every bit as much of this story as does the text.

Highly recommended.

Extracts: A Field Guide for Iconoclasts

I almost put the book down while reading the first half, but stuck with it, and was rewarded in the second half. I wasn't interested in hearing about the cultures of the places where the boat crew came ashore. Actually, I wasn't interested in reading about anything but the "voyage" proper. And, in this book, you'll get info about the history of some of the places they landed and other "side info". As a result, I found the first half of the book slow and boring.

Nonetheless, once they began the largest leg of the journey, and couldn't land anywhwere, the book picked up pace and held my interest. It turned out to be quite a voyage and a heck of a feat. In the end, I'm glad I read it. But, with that said, I'd have been disappointed had I paid full price for the book.

The Brendan Voyage is the true-life story of what has been called the greatest epic voyage in modern Irish history. Author Tim Severin and his friends built a boat using only techniques and materials available in the sixth-century A.D., when St. Brendan allegedly sailed to America. The vessel consisted of forty-nine ox hides stitched together and stretched over a wooden frame, yet it was a seaworthy creation capable of withstanding storms and a puncture from pack ice during its voyage from Brandon Creek in Dingle to Newfoundland. Now in a new edition, The Brendan Voyage has been translated into twenty-seven languages, and proves that St. Brendan could have indeed reached America - though whether he actually did is a conundrum left to historians. Written with narrative skill, and illustrated with a handful of black-and-white photographs The Brendan an exciting true nautical tale of courage, adventure, and accomplishment.

This is a book that unfortunately can be read very quickly.
The author sets out to prove that the journal of St.Brenden is not
as always susposed,alogorical, but a very real tale.With painstaking authenticity he seeks out old timers on the west coast of Ireland who still know how to make boats from bull hide,and sets them the task of building to spec the boat of St.Brenden.The rest is as you might imagine; a voyage to America in a 6th century leather boat.Magnificient story of courage and man against the sea.

Tim Severin has organised several voyages in part to prove that ancient peoples could travel far greater distances than previously thought. In this story he builds a traditional leather boat or 'curragh' to show that monks could have sailed from Ireland to Newfoundland around the seventh century. There is an ancient book called the 'Navagatio' (one old copy is in the British Library) which St Brendan wrote about his voyages around the Atlantic Ocean. It is thought from Brendan's descriptions that he island-hopped via the Faroe Islands, Iceland and Greenland to get to America, and Severin follows this route in a dangerous and interesting adventure taking many weeks. There is much detail on how he built the boat using only traditional methods and materials which was no mean feat in itself despite their still being used in the south-west of Ireland for fishing. The book contains colour photos of the boat's construction and of the diverse and colourful crew who sailed her. The book reminded me of the 'Kon-Tiki' book by Thor Hayerdahl. Also, the pictures are brilliant - and Tim's descriptions of the ports of call such as Iceland and the Faroes are very vivid and realistic. It's a well-written, interesting book and well worth a read.