France Books

this is a beautiful book. I could sit for hours looking at the pictures and wishing I could be there. Not only are the photos lovely, but there are bibliographic notes so that you can read more about what you are seeing in the photos. That seemed the most valuable to me, giving one a chance to learn more about this fascinating ruins.

This is in every way a splendid book. The photographs are superb, and present a well-chosen selection of the world's great archeological sites. The one-column authoritative descriptions are a bonus. Don't ignore the historical introduction or the hilarious jottings from the photographer, Georg Gerster. It all brings back so many memories.

The pictures are spectacular, giving you another perspective on nearly every major monument throughout the world. Also is provided a brief history of the monument and what archaeologists believe was the main purpose of it. Great book - highly recommend it to anyone

If you want to review the wonder of human kind's imprint on the earth, enjoy this book. If you want to wonder at the uses of the earth's treasures to show creativity and genius spend time with this book. That these architectural remains can be seen from the air in entirety is made possible by Georg Gerster's incredible artistry.

Exceeded expectations. The views were unexpectedly revealing, and the written descriptions of each view were also unexpectedly revealing.

The art of Pierre et Gilles shows beauty, sensual, intimate, contemporary and quality works made for two individuals that becomes an author in a perfect union. They create fantastic worlds with photography and paint. Their works talks about their dreams, lifes, obsessions, pleasures, pains, loves, friends, interests. They shows a unncommon vision of the contemporary world through topics related to religion, sexuality, mithology, personalities, and their own lifes. This is one of the most beautiful art books ever made, every single detail have been realized carefully.

The art of Pierre et Gilles shows beauty, sensual, intimate, contemporary and quality works made by two individuals that becomes an author in a perfect union. They create fantastic worlds with photography and paint. Their works talks about their dreams, lifes, obsessions, pleasures, pains, loves, friends, interests. They shows a unncommon vision of the contemporary world through topics related to religion, sexuality, mithology, personalities, and their own lifes. Even like an object, this is one of the most beautiful art books ever made, every single detail have been realized carefully.

The art of Pierre et Gilles shows beauty, sensual, intimate, contemporary and quality works made for two individuals that becomes an author in a perfect union. They create fantastic worlds with photography and paint. Their works talks about their dreams, lifes, obsessions, pleasures, pains, loves, friends, interests. They shows a unncommon vision of the contemporary world through topics related to religion, sexuality, mithology, personalities, and their own lifes. This is one of the most beautiful art books ever made, every single detail have been realized carefully.

The photography of Pierre and Gilles is absolutly fantastic. This makes a stunning coffee table book.

Pierre et Gilles set a new standard when it comes to their combination of photograpy and painting. No wonder photographers like David La Chappelle try to knock off their style (imitation is the highest form of flattery). I found this massive coffee table book to be thorough, entertaining, titillating, and funny. I would recommend it to anyone interesting in modern "pop" art and portrait photography. The imagination of these two is priceless as is this collection of their work.

What a treat to find an interesting well written book that helps explain the Catholic outlook and its rituals to mistified Protestants. Father Frank is a very appealing young priest with his all too human failings, goals and yearnings. We see his family, parish and view of life through his eyes as he goes through a year in the church calendar in training for the NYC marathon. Along the way, we see his growth and that of his church, and we grow in our knowledge of the different celebrations of the church year and their meaning. Frances Bremer has given us a city Catholic priest, reminescent of the Episcopal Father Tim in Jan Karon's Mitford series. She leaves us wanting more.

This book is a fascinating story within a story. Frank, a runner in his 30s, is training for the New York Marathon.

Frank comes across as very human; he could be the boy-next-door with his interest in playing poker, football, drinking beer and hanging out with his friends. But what makes him interesting and complex and gives the story its resonance and depth, is that he is a Catholic Priest.

A very thought provoking book.

God isn't finished with Frank yet and He uses the New York City Marathon to teach him a thing or two. This true story chronicles a year in the life of a young priest in Boston as he struggles to answer Christ's call to follow Him as he attends to his parish and trains for the marathon. As a priest, following Christ means bringing the people of the parish along to learn the love of God for them and the demands of a loving response. And some people, vividly portrayed, don't make it easy.

The analogy of life as a race is at least as old as the Greeks. St. Paul used it to describe his life: I have run the race, I have kept the faith. The race demands training, self-discipline, suffering, and an iron determination to finish. It never goes according to plan and the reward at the finish might not be what was expected.

_Running for Paradise_ is an affecting account that recognizes the rituals and devotions of Catholicism as doors for the human heart to enter the Heart of Christ. Fr. Frank and his flock, in the sometimes gritty circumstances of life, are faced with the reality of the hardness and selfishness of their hearts and invited to open themselves to the life of God's Heart. It is a modern tale of the timeless truths.

This is not a book for cynics - or maybe it is. A sweet and simple story about ordinary people, it runs a bridge over the chasm between rationality, our need for hard proof, and the consoling power of prayer and simple faith. Those of us needing something more than the materiality of modern life may find comfort here. Others, too smart and too busy for religion in their lives, will not bother. They should.

What a treat to find an interesting well written book that helps explain the Catholic outlook and its rituals to mistified Protestants. Father Frank is a very appealing young priest with his all too human failings, goals and yearnings. We see his family, parish and view of life through his eyes as he goes through a year in the church calendar in training for the NYC marathon. Along the way, we see his growth and that of his church, and we grow in our knowledge of the different celebrations of the church year and their meaning. Frances Bremer has given us a city Catholic priest, reminescent of the Episcopal Father Tim in Jan Karon's Mitford series. She leaves us wanting more.

The book was just the up-lift I needed. Great humor!

Lisa Marie Kroeker of Memphis, the only girl out of a family of five children, honored her mother's ban on Barbie dolls and survived a father whose business sign sported his head atop the body of a frog. Amelie Jeanette DuPree, a refined and delicate creature called Amy, moved to Memphis with her mother and Grandmere when both girls were eight. These two young people of conflicting and diverse backgrounds formed an immediate bond of friendship
Lisa immersed herself in Amy's family and their refined family heritage. She loved the unhealthy snacks, bedrooms with flowers and frills, Mrs. DuPree's sophistication and Grandmere's floral French perfumes. Amy enjoyed the Kroeker's rowdy household even though Barbie dolls were disdained and sweets were nonexistent. This loving friendship lasted until their senior year of high school leaving Lisa to guess why Amy had pulled away.
As young women, the two are reunited at a hospital in Cincinnati. Their renewed relationship digs itself into a deeper more solid bond. When Amy's Grandmere dies, they find her white silk purse that holds enough money for both Lisa and Amy to visit Paris. The older lady's note asked them to meet and thank a special family in Paris who owned a world-famous, refined linens shop. This adopted family taught her to create exclusive, elegant needlework, which provided an excellent lifestyle for her family.
Touring Paris forces both girls to face personal fears from the time they arrive at the hotel in a stolen taxi and are entangled with the police department until their last fears are faced at the Eiffel Tower. Both women are Christians and their Paris experience helps strengthen their walk with the Lord. The famous Eiffel Tower parallels a step-by-step walk with God which helps overcome childhood fears.
Read Sisterchicks Say Ooh La La! as a travel guide to Paris: museums, churches, the Eiffel Tower, and a plethora of high and low-end shopping. The poignant and sentimental visit with Grandmere's Paris family is a beautiful story.
A Discussion Guide is included for bookclub members.

An encouraging "read" that pushed me to remember that we can always grow in the weak areas of our lives. I love Robin Jones Gunn's books and this book is a great success as she continues to highlight the blessing of having and being a good friend.

I can only say that Robin Jones Gunn has again spoken to my soul in this book. For everyone who has ever tried to be perfect so that God wouldn't be disappointed in you, it's a must read. The descriptions of sights and experiences in Paris are terrific. We see how God uses even the misguided, prejudiced, and legalistic tactics of one sisterchick's mother as a part of eventually lovingly drawing someone to Himself and how He orchestrates events to reconnect a lost friendship. I love everything about this book and the entire Sisterchicks series. The only drawback to these books is that since their effect is to make me crave visiting all the places Sisterchicks go, it could get to be a very expensive proposition. Can't wait for Sisterchicks in Gondolas. I've already pre-ordered it.

Sisterchicks Say Ooh La La! By Robin Jones Gunn is another entry in the fabulous Sisterchicks series. I've really loved every book in this series, but this one really plucked at my heartstrings. Maybe it was that Lisa is a little sarcastic and cynical like me. Lisa and Amy promised each other in grade school that when they grew up, they would go to Paris together. When Amy's grandmother passes away, they take the time for the trip and find that the road to the City of Lights is filled with bumps. There are a couple of laugh out loud moments in the book, but the strongest parts are about God and His love. Both Lisa and Amy need to face their fears to fully enjoy not only their trip but their lives as well.

Such a cute book!! Both informational and cute. Great for kids and the child within all of us.

Written and drawn in 1959 this children's book taught me a thing or two about a city I thought I already knew a lot about. The pictures and scenes are wonderful in bright colors and include most of the major sites in Paris from "le metro" to Montmartre and the Champs Elysees.

There have been a few of the drawings, or accompanying text, that have been asterisked to reflect the changes that have occurred in Paris since 1959 but if you are taking young ones over I highly recommend this book as a way to make some of what they will see a little more understandable for them.

This book has created a fabulous insight into the world of travel for my children. It has compelled us all to take a language course in French and to travel here and put our dreams into reality. It has planted the seed of intrigue and wonderment to which my children seek out this book to read at bedtime.

Once I have found this book at Amazon and I wondered about the Czech name of the author. I got to explore the book and realized that he was a Czech, what a mystery, we have never been taught about him at school (of no type). His books were written in English after he emigrated from the Czechoslovakia and were never published in Czech. I got too amazed and curious about this book, so I bought it, read it and love it! All the pictures and the style he wrote it in. I just feel cheated, that we Czechs do not know nothing about this wonderful books and about the author.

My granddaughter loves books about Paris; however, she is only 2 1/2 years old. While searching for other books about the city, Paris, we stumbled across this book on Amazon.com. She loves it. It is written in language she can understand and it has many drawings and illustrations to capture her attention. You won't be short changed with this book. We can't wait to order the rest of the books in this series.

David Douglas Duncan is one of the great photojournalists of the 20th Century. Beginning in 1950 he published twenty books over his lifetime. The first one, "This is War" was about the U.S. Marines in Korea and was recognized as a classic as soon as it reached the market. His book "The Private World of Pablo Picasso" introduced that enigmatic artist's personality to the world. People were able to see the private world that the artist both shaped and functioned within. When I was growing up I was so impressed with that book-length photographic essay that I wanted to follow in D.D.D.'s steps. It impressed me every bit as much as "The Family of Man," a Museum of Modern Art exhibit catalog of many photographers that changed the direction of my professional life. Alas, this book is not in the same league as Duncan's classic coffee table photography essays that have sold an almost unbelievable 2 million plus copies. Don't be too disappointed however, that this is not anything like his classics or his wonderful illustrated memoir "Yankee Nomad."
This is a dog lover's book. Anyone who is a German Shepherd owner will especially enjoy it. Overall, I rated it five stars for the dog memoir. I rated it only three stars for a photographic essay. That's how I arrived at an over-all rating of four stars. I was somewhat disappointed in it, but still love having it for my personal book collection.
The chief reasons for my disappointment with the book are my awareness of the volume's poor layout and design and so-so text. Many of the pictures are not up to the usual standard of the famous photojournalist author-photographer. Some of the layout looks exactly like a poorly done photo album. There is even one oval shaped photograph included to make it really resemble a family snapshot album. It's a lovely image and it suffers from the oval presentation. The biggest design problem is the choice of text fonts. I suspect the book was probably printed in several different languages and the French edition was just fed into a computer to translate the text. It was a perfect example of how not to translate a book. As a result, the font and layout reminded me of an elementary school textbook from 45 years ago when that style of type was the norm. At this time in history the poorly designed text blocks actually distracted the reader from some of the really beautiful photographs. I also had a problem with the free verse. The text is a bit confusing, disjointed, missing some basic information and seems too much like a cut-and-past edit, but that too may be the result of translating the text via a computer program?
For the loyal D.D.D. fans as well as all dog lovers, this is a must for your collection. Duncan was always a dog lover and this is only the latest acknowledgment of it. "Thor" really was well named. An unusual observation, feeling, I noticed while reading the book was how interesting the homes and countryside of Southern France appeared in many of the black and white photographs. In some cases I would have liked to be able to step into the pages of the book to better explore the locales shown in the pictures. Thor lived in quite a picturesque home and mountain village. Some of the interior pictures of Thor relaxing at home in front of the fireplace while guarding his owners have a distinct Georgia O'Keefe flavor to them. Some of the bronzes shown decorating the home's interiors have a distinct Picasso feel to them. Thor seemed quite happy living in this artist environment. Like most dogs, however, home to him was were his owners were and he would have been just as happy living in an igloo.

Simply the best book ever published, in my opinion. I wish I could have known Thor. It would have been an honor to share a piece of my life with such a noble being. I see so much of the dignity, the desire for solitude, the love for a family, and the good sense of Thor in my own beloved dogs, Pup and Skit. If you want to know the goodness that resides in the soul of dogs, then find a copy of this gentle book.

A few people reviewing this book have it confused with a novel titled Thor. This is by far my favorite book of all time, in fact, so much so, that I have 2 copies. The pictures are amazing and the love oozing from the words of the author are so touching. I could write a book just like this about my past and present "babies". God speed sweet Thor....snow dancing forever.

The book Thor is one of my favorites...assuming there are not two. The synopsis above does not seem to describe at all the book I and the reviewers have read. The book I so enjoyed described a loyal dog's silent, lonely, heroic struggle to protect his family from an enemy within which he had no chance of defeating. It's truly a wonderful book, in some ways in the spirit of Watership Down or Tailchaiser's Song. The book described in the synopsis, however, seems to be the story of a beloved pet in real life. Very confusing...if you find the suspense tale entitled Thor, on which I believe the movie "Bad Moon" (and equally bad movie, but not the author's fault) was based, pick it up. It's a wonderfully engaging one or two night read that will keep you up til dawn. I hope the author gives those of us who enjoyed the book so much another night or two of pleasure...it's a stretch, but if Bruice Willis continues to get into Die Hard situations, why not Thor? Thrilling, heartwrenching read. Poor kitty.

reviewer o.c., ca. certainly never saw or read the book. as a shepherd trainer and owner i would have to describe this a combinatin of poetry and fine art. genuinely touching. a remarkable epitaph to a dog that was loved and is missed.

It's entertaining and educational. I really enjoyed. Great gift idea.

This lovely book, a perfect blend of art and cuisine, will satisfy any reader, from the most casual van Gogh fan to the most discriminating foodie and/or art historical specialist. As the subtitle indicates ("Recipes from the Artist's Last Home and Paintings of Café Life"), it's is partly a cookbook, featuring recipes from the Auberge Ravoux, a 19th century inn in the town of Auvers-sur-Oise where van Gogh lived the last seventy days of his life, and where he died.

But don't be misled. This is not just another pretty coffee-table book with yet more pretty color reproductions of "The Café Terrace on the Place du Forum," etc. This is a work of substantive scholarship, but presented in such a way as to be accessible and enjoyable to anyone. The second half of the book, including the recipes, is authored by culinary historian Alexandra Leaf (in cooperation with chef Christophe Bony), who contexualizes the recipes in a larger discussion about van Gogh's time in Auvers and culinary customs of the time. The first half is authored by art historian Fred Leeman, former chief curator of the van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam. His essay, "A Private Life in Public Places," discusses van Gogh's biography, but primarily from the view of his time spent in restaurants and cafés, so it's not the usual story that's been recounted so many times. In addition to discussing more well-known van Gogh paintings like "The Café Terrace on the Place du Forum" or "The Night Café," Leeman also includes lesser-known paintings and drawings that specialists will be happy to see and non-specialists will enjoy learning about. His analyses of the works are clear and persuasive, sometimes offering alternative datings and interpretations. Julia Galosy, who worked with Dominique-Charles Janssens, the current owner of the Auberge Ravoux, in restoring the inn, also contributes a wonderful essay on that specific café and its history. All the authors rightfully avoid the tabloid sensationalism that unfortunately pervades many published treatments of the artist (including those written by evident non-specialists in a lame attempt to make a quick buck).

Handsome illustrations of nearly every van Gogh work mentioned (including some that are rarely illustrated), archival photographs, and lovely photographs of the contemporary incarnation of the Auberge Ravoux and its cuisine, add to the stand-alone value of this book. For those who are interested, there are endnotes in the back of the book, leading readers to specific citations in van Gogh's letters and elsewhere, and a brief but comprehensive bibliography.

On a side note: I purchased and read this book a few months ago in preparation for a visit to Auvers-sur-Oise. My plans included a luncheon at the Auberge Ravoux and a pilgrimage to Vincent's lonely attic room. Reading this book, including Mr. Janssens' forward, was the perfect preparation for my visit. Sitting in the cozy atmosphere of the Auberge and enjoying a three-course luncheon (including the Marinated Herring and Salmon from p. 110, a plat du jour of chicken fricassee [not in the book], and the positively sublime Chocolate Mousse Saboyan from p. 130) was a wonderful experience that I will always treasure. A different experience, more spiritual and moving in character and even more memorable, was the actual visit to Vincent's room upstairs. Mr. Janssens and his associates are to be commended for their dedication to Vincent's memory through their work at the Auberge Ravoux, and the authors and publisher of this book are to be commended for diffusing that work in book form.

While at the Auberge Ravoux, I purchased at the gift shop one of the "torchons" (table linens) embroidered with the name of the auberge (pictured on p. 109). Both it and this book share a place of honor in the van Gogh section of my personal library.

Bon appetit!

The Grandmother's Apple Cake recipe in this book is my favorite recipe on Epicurious so I bought the book hoping the other recipes would be as good. Wow! It was so beautiful and interesting and so much more than a cookbook that I gave it to a good friend as a Christmas gift and ordered another.

This is really half art book, half cookbook. The book is co-written by an art historian (mostly the first part, which recounts Van Gogh's last days, spent in the hotel, when he churned out 70 paintings in 70 days) and Alexandra Leaf, a food historian, who together with the chef at the hotel (which exists to this day) includes recipes for dishes Van Gogh ate. They're fantastic. Highly recommended.

I have enjoyed reading the historical and personalized view of Van Gogh's stay at the Auberge Ravoux. The recipes appear to be ones that can be enjoyed. My husband surprised me with the chocolate mousse the other night and it was the best I have ever eaten.
Compliments to Alexandra Leaf!

In Vincent Van Gogh's brief 37 years, he resided in at least 38 locations spread among four different countries. The Auberge Ravoux inn in northern France was to be the last of Van Gogh's residences, for it is where the artist died in 1890. The author purchased the Auberge Ravoux Inn and renovated it with the help of dedicated craftspersons and turned it into a memorial to the artist

Van Gogh's Table is a collaborative effort that combines an art book with recipes designed to evoke the flavors of Van Gogh's time, along with cultural and culinary history augmented by Van Gogh's illustrations and paintings. Fifty recipes for bistro classics such as Rosemary Roast Chicken with Pan-Fried Potatoes, and Garlic and Warm Tarte Tatin with Crème Fraiche,

A recipe for beef bourguignonne begins with; "In our time-pressed age, such a dish requires that we step back for a moment and remember that some things in life are worth waiting for -- especially stews."

Vincent van Gogh spent much of his life in cafes, hotels, and small inns. These establishments often became the subjects of his paintings, Van Gogh's Table is a unique presentation of culinary history, Van Gogh's artwork, and recipes that transport readers to the Auberge Ravoux in the year of 1890.

As a professional artist and dedicated cook, I found this a uniquely enjoyable book.

This book contains recipes that nutitionally conscious people will love -- while using commonly available ingredients. As exciting as the recipes are, the nutritional information makes this a MUST READ cookbook. LOVE IT !! By incorporating these recipes or ideas into my diet (we still eat meat) and beginning moderate exercise (1hour 3xweek) I have cut my diabetes oral medication by half in less than one month !! Doc says 6mo - 1 year to be medicine free !! (after 3 years of gradually worsening diabetes) This cookbook could save your life !

The recipes in this book are some of the best available if you are serious about eating a healthy diet. They are not only vegetarian but they eliminate the refined oils and sugars which are such a major factor in causing diseases like atherosclerosis, heart disease, adult onset diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol levels. They are the recipes used at the Newstart lifestyle program where they get excellent results with just diet and exercise. The recipes are delicious; we use them in our home all the time. I highly recommend this cookbook to my patients.

a solid good cookbook for those aspiring to the vegan diet. the only drawbacks being that some recipies require hard-to-locate ingredients such as vegan gelatin and smoked yeast. Other than that a very worthwhile purchase for those wishing to eat healthy, etc.

adhealthandwellness recommended this as one of the books that was essential for life. Piper de Vries is deep.

Wonderfully Healthy Recipes...... use it all the time!

Actually, it's probably vice-versa, I think my two sons came to bagels as a result of enjoying this book so much. It's a very charming story, and really wonderful illustrations (We have a few other Grace Lin titles as well). Some of the writing can be a little awkward for reading aloud (especially when you're exhaustedly trying to get your kids to go to sleep), but even still it has brought my family a lot of smiles (and a well-worn catch-phrase heard frequently around our house).

a delightfully simple book with a multi-cultural theme (korea and the usa)...about a little boy in korea wishing for a bagel (which he had never seen nor tasted) and how his community helped to create one and to share in its eating! very well-illustrated and written to be read over and over again.

Bagels. Yum. You know, for years I thought I disliked the tasty carbo-loaded concoctions simply because the only ones I'd ever eaten were of the gawdawful frozen variety. Maybe I would've come to bagels a little sooner in life had I had access to a book like "Where On Earth Is My Bagel?". Taking an essentially ridiculous idea (bagels are the stuff of visions and portent-laden dreams) the book is a nice little tale of a boy and his mini-quest for a good old-fashioned schmear.

Yum Yung, who has lived all his life in Korea, awakes from a mid-afternoon nap one day to declare with very little doubt in his mind, "I want a bagel!". This being rural Korea, New York bagels are (to say the least) a teensy bit scarce. This fact does not deter Yum Yung in the slightest, however. Without further ado he finds himself a pigeon and ties a note to its leg that amounts to a one-bagel order form. The pigeon takes off but no bagel returns to Yum Yung. He asks everyone he knows if they happened to get it by mistake. Sadly, the man working the wheat field hasn't. The fisherman working the salty sea hasn't. Even the woman tending the beehives hasn't. Yet to Yum Yung's delight, the pigeon returns with a bagel recipe (the note explains that bagels older than a day are not exactly edible) and the boy is able to get wheat, salt, and honey from the three people he bugged just the morning before. At the end of the story Yum Yung and his friends create an enormous bagel and sit down to a one-food-only feast of sorts.

The first two pages of the book show the Atlantic Ocean with New York and its tantalizing bagels on one page and Yum Yung, hands pressed dramatically to his chest, on the other. As another reviewer of this book pointed out, this shot is a bit askew, with Korea ending up where Spain could be. My only other grief with the book was that it did not include the recipe that Yum Yung received from New York. Books of this nature are especially good at getting you to crave the items they write of. How hard would it have been to include instructions for making your own? Not everyone lives in New York, after all.

Otherwise, the story's rather sweet. I give a lot of credit to the book for having such a bizarre premise. The pictures will not blow you away and the writing is somewhat pat, but this is a nice little tale that follows the rule of three and has a satisfying and delicious conclusion. A fine little tale for those kids already in love with bagels' chewy ways.

This is the story of Yum Yung in Korea. One day, for some unknown reason, he decides he would like a New York bagel. He send a pigeon with a message to New York to order one bagel to go. When the bagel does not show up right away, Yum Yung decides that he must search for it.

Yum Yung encounters a farmer, a fisherman, a beekeeper, and a baker while searching, but to no avail until suddenly everything comes together and the whole cast gets the chance to enjoy a fresh-baked bagel.

A truly fun story told in just the right way for young readers (repetitive language, etc.). After reading the book, go back to the start and you will notice that while Yum Tung is dreaming of his bagel, all the settings of the story are visible from his hilltop.

The only downside in the book is in the opening illustration that seems to place Korea in the vicinity of France or Spain (East and a little south of New York). Considering the obvious care in the rest of the illustrations I found this rather unusual. But this should not detract from this story of a young boy who has a dream and sets out to make it a reality.

This book contains all of the perfect elements that make a good children's book. It has imajination as the impossible happens. It has repition as the same conversation happens as the main character meets new people. Children just love this as they can predict what is going to happen and can follow along easier. It ends by using parts gleaned from the rest of the story binding it together beautifully. The wonderful solid structure of an absolutely perfect children's book. Beautiful

This very fine history of North America covers 10,000 or so years of exploration and settlement all in one volume. It is written in a clear, concise prose, and although it is loaded with facts and anecdotes it is never dry. Morgan starts out by describing the peopling of North America via the Bering land bridge. Then he moves into the stories of the European explorers and early settlers, and how they deal with the Native Americans. After many hardships and failures, the Spanish end up with permanent settlements in the south, the French in the north and the English on the Atlantic Coast. Morgan then describes the emergence of the Americans and how they eventually dominate the continent and displace Europeans and Native Americans alike.

I highly recommend this if you enjoy American history.

Beginning with the passage of people across the Bering Strait, Wilderness at Dawn : The Settling of the North American Continent takes us through the westward expansion of the United States. Carefull attention is given to the Spanish, French and British influences on the American way of life. An excellent and concise reference for anyone interested in North American History. Easy to read, and full of real life history

Breathtaking approach to a well known subject. History from the people's viewpoint. No dull dates, battles, generals, presidents; but living, breathing stories by and of the most unique and most common. Must also read Shovel of Stars, the sequel (also 10)

Ted Morgan's "Wilderness at Dawn" is one of the best of a crop of North American colonial histories published since 1990. Rather than a comprehensive history, it is a series of incidents that add up to a very readable whole. Morgan begins with pre-Columbian history and goes on to relate the experiences of the Spanish, French, Dutch, and various flavors of English colonies. One of my favorite stories is how the godly Pilgrims found themselves neighbors to a riotous colony led by one Thomas Morton. Before Miles Standish put their rivals out of business, Morton's drunken crew traded guns and booze to the Indians in exchange for beaver pelts and sexual favors. Anyone who believes history is boring has not read Ted Morgan's and other recent works about the American colonies. The last section of this book addresses the problems of post-Revolutionary War colonization, including chapters about the appalling dangers of trans-Appalachian settlement and about how the Old Northwest was surveyed.

Reading these first person accounts of day-to-day and moment-to-moment life in pre-Colonial America gave me such an appreciation for what our predecessors went through to make our country the great one it is today. This is the book our children should read in their American history classes. Exceptionally well-written, with a "you are there" feel to it. Makes me want to learn more about the young George Washington after reading about his escape from the center of the freezing river. Well-written, entertaining and informative. I'm lapsing into cliches, but this book is a MUST READ. Just brilliant. You'll admire the everyday people who built our country one day at a time, and never tire of reading about their adventures. I hated to see it end, so thank God there's a sequel!