North America Books


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North America Books sorted by Average customer review: high to low .

North America
Virginia Bound
Published in Hardcover by Clarion Books (2003-04-21)
Author: Amy Butler
List price: $15.00
New price: $0.56
Used price: $0.56

Average review score:

Great book to read aloud
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-11-26
The fifth grade teachers at my school have used this book for a "read aloud" for several years. It has adventure, sympathetic characters, and action. The kids love it and the historical context helps them understand the challenges the Jamestown settlers faced as well as the havoc that they wrecked on the Native American population. It has been a great way to launch our unit on colonial America.

Thrilling historical fiction
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2003-05-13
This hard-to-put down book tells the story of Rob, an English orphan, who is kidnapped and sold as an indentured servant to a cruel Tobacco farmer in colonial Virginia. The story is so well-paced and action-packed you don't even realize you're learning quite a bit about American history as you tear through the pages. An excellent choice for summer reading!

Thrilling historical fiction
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2003-05-13
This hard-to-put down book tells the story of Rob, an English orphan, who is kidnapped and sold as an indentured servant to a cruel Tobacco farmer in colonial Virginia. The story is so well-paced and action-packed you don't even realize you're learning quite a bit about American history as you tear through the pages. An excellent choice for summer reading!

best kid's historical fiction I've read!
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2003-05-10
Virginia Bound is a great story! It grabs you quickly and makes you care about the characters. It's got suspense and adventure and hard hard decisions for the main character to make. Rob's choice ends up making this a book with an important moral, but rather than the book lecturing or seeming saccharine, it shows Rob's dilemma and his decision as part of his growing up-- just the kind of thing that makes kids feel grown up themselves.

This book is also amazing in the way it depicts the history-- not one bit boring, the author brings the time and place alive with amazing details she's gleaned from the best research on Virginia. Who knew that to grow tobacco people had to hoe dirt up over their leg until it reached their knee, jerk their foot out of the pile, and put the plant in that hole? Any kid who reads this book will know a whole lot more about hard labor, hard times, and the complicated history of the beginnings of our country than most adults do...and they won't even realize they're being taught.

One last note...don't think this is just for boys-- there's a strong female character to match Rob, and girls will enjoy her skill, courage, and intelligence.

North America
The Walking People: A Native American Oral History
Published in Hardcover by Tribe of Two Press (1994-06)
Author: Paula Underwood
List price: $48.00
Used price: $81.89

Average review score:

compelling narrative Iroquois history=textbook on learning
Helpful Votes: 17 out of 18 total.
Review Date: 1999-07-02
This is a great story, compellingly told with simplicity and beauty. It also happens to be the best single book I've ever read on "organizational learning."

The "Walking People" left central Asia and walked across an ocean, over to another ocean and back to the great lakes. On their way, they had to learn to deal with an ever changing circumstance, both physical and social. In order to survive, they learned how to learn as a people more and more effectively.

This story deals with issues such as the balance between diversity and unity, how to honor individual styles of learning and use these to help the community, ageism, sexism, racism, cooperation and competition, the balance of long term goals and short term necessities, planning and improvisation, war and peace.

Are you beginning to get the picture? This should be read by everyone, but at least by anyone who teaches or manages people. If a CEO or Senator reads one book in this millennium to prepare for the next, this should be it.

Real stories about real people from long ago-A MUST READ
Helpful Votes: 33 out of 34 total.
Review Date: 1999-01-29
Most of our historical evidence about the lives of our ancestors is in the form of tools, bones, fragments of pottery and cloth, and rock paintings. What was daily life really like before even these artifacts were tools? Perhaps something else did survive . . . In "The Walking People", Paula Underwood presents stories of real events lived by real people from the oral tradition of her people. Not a collection of mythological tales, they cover a span of history, geographical locations and events that is intellectuallly staggering and nearly impossible to put down. These are the stories of the Oneida people "from the beginning" which trace their intentional wanderings over three continents including how they crossed what is probably the Bering Strait, explore the events and decisions that made them who they are, and record some of their tantalizing encounters with other people. These are also teaching stories and can be understood on many levels intellectually and emotionally, individually and collectively. They can be seen as a straighforward historical account; an absolute literary delight; the unfolding of a people's culture and society; a presentation of the development of individuality (ego); a process of learning how to learn; an anthropological exlposion of possibilities; the evolution of scientific experimentation and evaluation; a description of ordinary living in various times; stories of individual lives and commitments - and so much more. I have read "The Walking People" cover to cover at least a dozen times, each immersion bringing fresh and expanding comprehension. The language used and the physical presentation on the page combine to make reading this book a nearly "auditory" experience. It invites the reader to walk with these people through time, participating in their experiences, sharing the tears of their misjudgments, the joy in their masterful accomplishments, and the relief that the laughter at their predicaments brings. It is a most extraordinary glimpse into the perceptions and thinking of real people in ancient and historical times. It is very difficult to describe the deep psychological effect of perceiving the actual voices and syntax of people who lived thousands and thousands of years ago - suddenly, "history" becomes an intimate, personal reality. Almost understated in terms of today's world of extremism, rampant emotionalism and dramatic egotistical conflicts, these stories carry a haunting impact quietly hidden in the simple, direct telling that spares nothing. I have no doubt that these stories have been kept accurately for millenia. This is the first presentation I have found that is a sharing of one Native American people's heritage; it has been my experience that such depth has either been lost altogether or is usually carefully preserved as part of the private, heartfelt identity of the Original People of America. Paula Underwood's generous recounting of the Oneida oral tradition is a stunning and manumental achievement in language and scope of material, a very special and unique gift to whoever cares to explore its pages. "The Walking People" blows the western world's catalog of knowledge to the winds, tatters our self-imposed limits regarding what is possible and how the possible may be accomplished, and rebuilds hope in a positive way - provided we can perceive the possibilities contained inthis true epic saga. It is a sharing of the soul for the soul, touching the essence of us all.

Wow
Helpful Votes: 6 out of 13 total.
Review Date: 1999-12-11
Sad, beautiful, wonderful, wise, haunting, and totally relevant to our global issues of change. Destructive paths happen easily. Creative paths are contingent.

What I am reading, by Alice Walker
Helpful Votes: 8 out of 12 total.
Review Date: 2001-06-02
This is the book that has been on my nightstand for the past several months. I read several pages each night. It is a big book, over 800 pages, written like a poem, and almost impossibly precious. The wisdom between its covers is astounding. For what this book teaches is something we, at this time in history, desperately need to know: how to start anew after devastation. How to be a whole people after we've been reduced to fragments. It teaches that the wisdom is within us, to survive, to begin again, to thrive. Hallelujah.

North America
Waterfalls and Gorges of the Finger Lakes
Published in Paperback by McBooks Press (2002-11-01)
Author: Derek Doeffinger
List price: $29.95
New price: $18.79
Used price: $16.99

Average review score:

Excellent waterfall photos!!
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-12-15
Excellent assortment of waterfall and gorge photos! Great photo composition and seasonal color were well planned into all of these shots. These photos are also great for painting or sewing landscape references which is why I purchased it, besides just loving waterfalls!

Locations of the pictured waterfalls are certainly a bonus, but the pictures themselves are enough reason to own this book - very enjoyable!

Poetic Beauty
Helpful Votes: 3 out of 3 total.
Review Date: 2001-06-02
Splendid. The best of its kind. An exquisite ode to the subtle beauty of this region. This is a photographic essay of extraordinary depth, which whispers the gentle magic of upstate NY. Read it for the sheer love of nature and life, even if you are unfamiliar with this corner of the world.

Excellant
Helpful Votes: 4 out of 4 total.
Review Date: 2001-11-20
While this is a book of wonderful travel photos that reveals the treasures in Upstaters' own backyards, it's more than that.
Doeffinger also provides an 8-page introduction to the geology that created these beauties and the history of their discovery and preservation, plus 4 pages of detailed photographic information--he works at Kodak, for whom he writes photography books. And there's a detailed map section showing all the locations and information on 10 publicly-accessible sites. These include hiking difficulty and time, directions (many of these falls are within State Parks and none say just "at the back of the parking lot"), with special highlights to look for.
I don't think it was meant to be anything beyond what it is: a handsome compilation of the somewhat homey pleasures that Upstate affords to day-trippers, family outings, and homesick ex-pats. It may be too poetic to be the scientific treatise Mordant1 was expecting, and apparantly not up to his photographic standards either, but he does offer some equally deep insights on modern music in his review of the latest Brittney Spears opus.

Stunning Beauty in Upstate New York
Helpful Votes: 7 out of 7 total.
Review Date: 1999-04-15
I live within a hour or two of all these beautiful spots and am ashamed to have only visited a couple. We will use these gorgeous photos as a guidebook for the Spring, Summer and Fall to make certain we don't miss a one.

Why did I think I have to travel far for scenery of this caliber.?

North America
Waterfalls of Minnesota's North Shore: A Guide for Sightseers, Hikers & Romantics
Published in Paperback by North Shore Press (2006-10-06)
Authors: Eve Wallinga and Gary Wallinga
List price: $19.95
New price: $15.16
Used price: $36.99

Average review score:

Outstanding Guide to the Northshore of Lake Superior
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-05-04
If you plan to visit the Northshore of Lake Superior, take this excellent book with you. It describes and rates on a five-star scale all the many waterfalls of the Northshore, helping you to plan your trip.

Cascade River State Park, Gooseberry Falls State Park, and Tettegouche State Park are must-see destinations, but there are more.

Thorough but ...
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2007-08-27
As someone who once lived about half a block from one of these waterfalls and visited about a dozen of the others, I must say that the descriptions are accurate, detailed, and helpful. I believe, however, that the Wallingas' estimations (on a one-star to five-star scale) of each waterfall's beauty are slightly inflated. I never saw a five-star waterfall on Minnesota's North Shore. That designation should be reserved for Gullfoss, Niagara, or the like. The falls that the Wallingas rank three or four, I would rank two or three -- and some things that they call waterfalls are just one-star rapids. But this is not a criticism, just an expression of difference of opinion.

My only real criticism is that the photos should be in color, not black-and-white, with many more full-page bleeds.

A very enjoyable book
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2007-05-27
I recently spent 3-4 days on the North Shore hiking to some of the waterfalls that Eve and Gary had listed as their favorites in this book.

Their descriptions of each waterfall seemed right on. Directions were easy to follow, their rating of the hike difficulty seemed accurate, and they certainly had a good sense of what made a 5 star vs. a 2 star waterfall.

I am a photographer, and so the only thing I would have liked to see added was a little more commentary on how 'accessable' a particular falls was - i.e. if I could only see it from a pre-built deck, or if with waders I could get in the river and approach it from other angles.

However, without this book I certainly would not have had the time to find many of the falls that I did. It is a wonderful resource - I'd call it essential for anyone planning a sightseeing / hiking trip along the North Shore and will recommend it to my friends and fellow photographers.

Excellent book that fills a niche
Helpful Votes: 2 out of 3 total.
Review Date: 2007-09-24
There are numerous books about Minnesota's North Shore, but this new book manages to offer something not previously available. It concentrates exclusively on the waterfalls along the Minnesota North Shore, and I don't think there has been such a book before with this kind of information all in one place. Most importantly it includes literally every falls there is including many you won't read about elsewhere. Good directions and trail comments are included - I know we would have had found more difficulty finding some falls without it. The Wallingas are also good writers: the book is very well written and entertaining and avoids the usual dry commentary of many guide books. Of course, my list of favorite falls might be slightly different, and there are a few places where the authors said it was too difficult to go where we found that to be not the case. (e.g., it was not hard at all to get to the edge of the Devil's Kettle!) And we managed to access all but one of the Split Rock falls. All in all highly recommended. Even if you have a lot of North Shore guides, if you love waterfalls this book is a must.

The only thing the book is missing are color pictures, but I guess that would have greatly increased the cost of the book.

North America
What Bird Did That?: A Driver's Guide to Some Common Birds of North America
Published in Paperback by Ten Speed Press (1991-09)
Authors: Peter Hansard and Burton Silver
List price: $9.95
New price: $9.18
Used price: $0.01
Collectible price: $10.00

Average review score:

Now let's get down to some serious bird identification!
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2005-10-19

With all the great Field Guides around it is becoming quite simple to identify a new bird.You are out birding and see a bird sitting atop a tree.You line it up in your bins,take note of the field marks,check your trusty guide,and Presto!You have just found a Painted Bunting.Now,let's crank it up a notch.You're driving along a back road,and SPLAT!!What was that?Now you're in the big league of bird identification.Here's where this book comes to the rescue.Yep! now you can stop the car and check out the characteristics of the splat and determine what bird paid you a visit.This book describes what matches your splat."Small,sometimes only the size of a grain of rice.The coiled,rather gaudy and squishy nucleus is delightfully encapsulated in a semi-opaque,frothy envelope."What you got here,my friend, is also a Painted Bunting;but indentified in a whole new way!However if this is what you got,"Messy and generous,with a definite tendency to splood.The thick,creamy envelope sometimes contains solids of bilious yellow (partly digested gristle and fat) that add a sprightly dash of color to the splay."Check the book,what you got this time is our old friend,the Turkey Vulture.
So,if you want to improve your image with your birding friends get hold of this book and amaze them at the next SPLAT.
Oh yeah;another thing,just in case that splat was with the compliments of a bat instead of a bird;this book will also help you make the differentiation.
A great gift for you or your birdwatching friend.

one-trick pony, but a very amusing trick
Helpful Votes: 4 out of 6 total.
Review Date: 2002-11-23
This is a short guidebook to birds with its smart tongue planted deep in its cheek. It's copiously illustrated with photographs of bird droppings (splays) on car windshields and instructions on how to tell what
species of bird they came from. As the authors say: "A knowledge of each splay is essential to fully describe and understand the variations in ornithological dejecta." It's largely by taking the subject exactly
that faux seriously, but then subverting it with the choice of topic and some very funny invented vocabulary, that they elicit laughs. Here, for instance, is one of their terms of art and its definition:

audibon: Soft sound made by avian dejecta as it strikes a windshield and forms a splay. Audi (l) sound, bon (fr) good, literally, good sound.

The book's kind of a one-trick pony, but a very amusing trick.

GRADE: B+

VERY FUNNY - TERRIFIC GIFT BOOK
Helpful Votes: 5 out of 6 total.
Review Date: 2001-07-30
I'd never heard of this book (1991) til 2001. It's incredibly funny. Written in a pseudo-audobon style, each page has a perky 1x1" picture of the species of interest, and a sharp, color 4x4" photo of its supposed bird splat. (whether globby, loose, white, gray, yellow, small, large, starburst-like, etc). Very very funny.

Great book
Helpful Votes: 7 out of 10 total.
Review Date: 1997-03-23
This is a great book and has a great web site too, at, http://easyweb.easynet.co.uk./~design.machine-tanya/ Good book! Great site!

North America
While the Locust Slept (Native Voices)
Published in Paperback by Minnesota Historical Society Press (2002-09)
Author: Peter Razor
List price: $14.95
New price: $8.87
Used price: $6.94

Average review score:

A Stirring Memoir of a Native American Child Raised by the State
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-09-20
This is a chilling, true-life account of a childhood that should have never been, and 17 years of life that would forever haunt the author, Peter Razor. Peter, an intelligent boy that was raised in an orphanage as a ward of the state, then placed in an abusive indentured farm home had a childhood that is reprehensible, and sadly true. Supposedly protected by the state, Peter became a boy who flinched from physical contact, and had no understanding of what a normal happy home should be like. Unlike Peter Razor, not all children were lucky enough to survive the abuse that could be found in state orphanages when Peter was growing up. Corporal punishment went unchecked, and Peter, an American Indian, also had the added disadvantage of prejudice thrown in. Eventually placed on a farm, his placement was not carefully monitored, and the abusive treatment with this family was never noted by the social worker who was suppose to be monitoring Peter's placement. While the Locust Slept, a Minnesota Book Award Winner, is a compelling, well written tale that reads like a novel, yet is sadly a true tale of a horrific childhood that was unchecked by the state that was suppose to be protecting him

Wonderful book by a wonderful man
Helpful Votes: 3 out of 3 total.
Review Date: 2004-09-05
I had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Razor while on a trip to Cochiti Lake, New Mexico. After talking for a while he passed me a copy of his book and asked me to read it and then share it with others. I read the book cover-to-cover on the trip home and was amazed that the man I had talked to had once been the little boy in the book. Mr. Razor was a kind and gentle man that never revealed the scars from his childhood in any part of our conversations. America's inhumane treatment of the Indian people is well documented. This book offers graphic descriptions of individual cruelty that was fueled by ignorance and prejudice. I don't know if many human beings could have endured this sort of trauma and survived to be so kind. Peter is a truly incredible person and I would recommend his book to anyone.

Tragedy and horific treatment of innocent babies & children!
Helpful Votes: 4 out of 4 total.
Review Date: 2001-10-09
My father as well was in the Owatonna "orphanage" which he termed as an "intournment camp/prison"! Babies and children were treated more tragically at this place than you could even imagine. Babies died for lack of "touch" and nurturing! Children were beaten, mauled, and oftentimes died as a result of such treatment. Peter Razor cites an insightfully true story of just SOME of the horific experiences of babies and children in this most insightful book on our country's past (AND EVEN PRESENT) ways of "Social Services" treating our "lost" children!! A MUST TO READ!

while the locust slept
Helpful Votes: 5 out of 5 total.
Review Date: 2001-11-04
Like Peter I lived and went through total hell from a matron while I was in the same orphanage. After reading Peters book while the locust slept,I relived the same anger, as Peter indured.This book should be a must read by anyone,who plans on going into the socialwork field and know that this is truly a non fiction tragedy which happened.This is a story that took place a long time ago,but could still and does happen today.

North America
The Wild Silk Moths of North America: A Natural History of the Saturniidae of the United States and Canada (The Cornell Series in Arthropod Biology)
Published in Hardcover by Cornell University Press (1996-06)
Authors: Paul M. Tuskes, James P Tuttle, and Michael M. Collins
List price: $95.00

Average review score:

The most comprehensive book to date on N.A Saturniidae!
Helpful Votes: 12 out of 12 total.
Review Date: 1999-03-25
Very impressive coverage on the Wilk Silk Moths of Noth America. Most known species are shown in exellent photographs,some in the larval stages also. Good range maps and detailed text make this the laymans best friend when exploring and learning about the habitats and life histories of some of our most magnificent moth species. The best book I've seen on the subject period!

Hooray for Saturniidae !
Helpful Votes: 6 out of 6 total.
Review Date: 2005-05-16
At last a book I can put on my bookshelf next to Holland's Moth Book.

Excellent book that not only deals in the taxonomy of Saturniidae moths but of collecting and rearing as well. Great illustrations and maps.

Previously much of this information was only available in bits and pieces on the Internet and in obscure publications and has never been previously compiled in one volume.

For those of you not familiar with Saturniidae they are the family of giant silk moths. Some species are the size of a small bird. Just about every location in America is home to at least one species of giant silk moth and they even live in our big cities.Why do most people not see them? Well one reason is they are nocturnal and high flying. If you look in wooded areas however you will often see their cocoons. One can purchase live silk moth cocoons and the females readily attract males by a phermone that can be detected by the male of the species for miles.



As a moth breeder I welcome this book.

Impressive details of each moth's life cycle. Easy to read.
Helpful Votes: 7 out of 7 total.
Review Date: 1996-11-14
For each moth there is a color picture of last instar caterpillar and one or more pictures of the moth. There is also a range map and detailed descriptions of each stage of the life cycle with notes on rearing.
This is a well-written, well-researched, easy to read book. I would recommend it to anyone interested in these largest and showiest of the U.S. moths.

Excellent Moth Guide
Helpful Votes: 8 out of 8 total.
Review Date: 2001-04-14
I have been looking for a guide like this for years. This book shows great pictures of all the bigger moths of North America including their caterpillars. Loaded with maps and drawings of the cocoons this book is a must have. Don't let the price scare you away.

North America
William Bartram: Travels and Other Writings
Published in Hardcover by Library of America (1996-03-01)
Author: William Bartram
List price: $40.00
New price: $21.15
Used price: $18.00
Collectible price: $40.00

Average review score:

Misc. Writings a plus
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-03-04
The miscellaneous writings include (among other writings) Bartram's responses to carefully worded questions about Creek and Cherokee Indians. This edition has numerous glossy color and black and white prints. There is a picture on Amazon that shows the book in a slipcover--it doesn't come in a slipcover. Otherwise, a high quality edition.

Best collection of Bartram's writings.
Helpful Votes: 13 out of 14 total.
Review Date: 2006-04-24
This is the best edition of Bartram that is available today.
Like all Library of America volumes, it is an attractively designed book with a ribbon marker.

Gift
Helpful Votes: 26 out of 30 total.
Review Date: 2006-03-09
I didn't read it , but my son, the Forester has worn out his older copy.

Botanist, Explorer, "Philosophical Pilgrim"
Helpful Votes: 4 out of 4 total.
Review Date: 2007-09-03
Imbued by his father, John Bartram, with a love of nature and a passion for learning, William Bartram set forth in 1773 to explore the flora and fauna of the wild frontier country of the American Southeast.
The elder Bartram had established a Botanical Garden on the outskirts of Philadelphia, where he cultivated trees, shrubs, and herbaceous plants indigenous to America. He sent seeds, animal and plant specimens to horticulturists and naturalists in England, sometimes including drawings by his son. William had accompanied his father on botanical expeditions to Connecticut, New York, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida.

The Travels reported in this volume were sponsored by Dr. John Fothergill of England, to whom William sent drawings, specimens, and a 2-part written account of his discoveries.
Publication of his pioneering work was delayed by the intervening Revolutionary War. The American edition, containing numerous errors, was printed in Philadelphia in 1791; a British edition followed in 1792. Irish and German editions appeared in 1793, and a French translation in 1799. The "Travels" had a significant influence on European Romanticism. Coleridge, Wordsworth, Chateaubriand among others drew on their imagery.

William Bartram's travels took him, between 1773 and1776, from Charleston and Savannah to the coastal region and the interior of Georgia, then to Florida as far south as Cape Canaveral and as far west as Pensacola. He ventured into Alabama, visiting Mobile, and journeyed on to Baton Rouge. Sometimes he joined survey crews or traders, but mostly he traveled alone - on horseback, by boat, or on foot. He kept extensive lists of the plants he found, some of them heretofore unknown or unreported. Franklinia alatamaha and Magnolia auriculata are famous examples.

But he also gives vivid descriptions of the wildlife he encounters: alligators, wolves, bears, panthers, turtles, snakes, fishes, birds and insects in great profusion. He examines the soil and the quality of the water, comments on meteorological phenomena - in short, nothing escapes his observant eye. His Quaker spirit fills him with admiration and gratitude for the magnificent design of nature; it might be called Edenic except for the mosquitoes - and he doesn't appear to be too fond of alligators, either. Curiosity wins out over fear, however, when he pokes into alligator nests to see how they are constructed and how the eggs are arranged.
Forty-eight splendid plates and a number of drawings accompany the text and give a lively impression of what he saw and how he saw it.

His gentle disposition renders his encounters with Indian "savages" peaceful and friendly, marked by mutual respect. The Seminoles call him Puc Puggy, the Flower Hunter, and offer him hospitality, protection, and assistance in his quest for medicinal herbs. He gives a highly sympathetic account of the daily lives, customs, social organization and religious beliefs of various Indian tribes. An expanded version of these observations is part of the Miscellaneous Writings included in this volume.
In a philosophical vein, he muses about the "innate moral principles" that guide unlettered and untutored men, and deplores the detrimental effect civilization has on them: commerce with white traders who provide them with luxury goods in great profusion causes the Indians to kill more animals than they would normally need, because the traders take the hides and pelts in exchange for their wares; and the women are beginning to forget the ancient skills of weaving and pottery-making since everything can be obtained ready-made from the white men.
He does not fail to mention the existence of slavery among the Indians as well as among the white planters, but he takes no definite stand on this issue.

After his return to Philadelphia, William devotes his time to reading, writing, teaching, and cultivating his father's garden which is visited by many famous men, including George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and the leading horticulturists and naturalists of the time. It is still there today, "worthy of the attention of lovers of Science and admirers of Nature", as envisioned by its creator.

North America
Witch of the Palo Duro: A Tay-Bodal Mystery
Published in Hardcover by St. Martin's Press (1997-11)
Author: Mardi Oakley Medawar
List price: $21.95
New price: $4.93
Used price: $2.26

Average review score:

Where are you, Ms. Medawar?
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2005-06-18
I discovered Tay-Bodal quite by accident and I just loved the book I read, which sent me out in search of other Tay-Bodal books. Alas, there are only four, and none currently in print. The stories are well-plotted, the style engrossing and humorous and the characters endearing (except for the villains, naturally). In addition to getting a great mystery, I also got a history lesson in each book and learned a great deal about the Kiowas and their tragic fate over 100 years ago. I also learned about Native American culture, their religion and medical practices. Why aren't there MORE of these books? That's what I want to know. They are just wonderful.

The characters come alive in this mystery.
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 1998-07-21
I love reading mysteries...and I read Death at Rainy Mountain by this same author. The authors style really captures the richness of each character and made me feel a part of the story. I couldn't put the book down until I finished it. Keep creating the Tay-bodal books there excellent.

A good read - and culturally leavel-handed
Helpful Votes: 2 out of 3 total.
Review Date: 2001-08-27
In short, I am impressed with Ms. Medawar's novel. It is a pleasant read, with reasonably interesting plot twists and a good backdrop. I must admit that when I first began the book, I got the erroneous first impression that it would be another "new age" apology for the long-lost and noble Amerind culture of the Kiowa-Comanche; a point of view that I confess I do not share. I put the book down. I returned to it months later (this weekend) with a mind to read it no matter what, and was most pleased. It provides a fairly accurate (though perhaps a wee-bit sugar coated) depiction of Kiowa-Comanche camp life prior to the Red River War. Also, Ms. Medawar provides what I beleive to be an even-handed portrayal of the Kiowa-Comance ethos and ethic, warts-and-all. Perhaps most importantly, however, is the fact that she spins an enjoyable mystery with a most enjoyable setting and all-too-human characters. I strongly recommend this book.

Sheer brilliance
Helpful Votes: 4 out of 6 total.
Review Date: 1997-11-27
Late in 1866, the Kiowas are starting to prepare their winter camp at Palo Duro Canyon, Texas when trouble besets the tribe. A renowned healer and seer, Skywalker, mysteriously disappears. Several horses are killed and just about everyone claims to have seen a shape-changing witch. However, all hell occurs when the wife of one of the chiefs suddenly, for no apparent reason, dies. Everyone believes the witch killed her. So when Tay-bodal's spouse, Crying Wind, accidentally gives too much medicine to an ailing infant, Red Bird convinces his tribesmen that she is the evil witch.

Tay begins to investigate what is causing the mishaps that are happening to his fellow tribesmen in order to not only save the life of his spouse but to save the tribe from falling apart. Instead of relying on special powers, Tay uses scientific investigative techniques to learn the truth behind the problems that have led to the tribe being on the brink of mass hysteria. However, by his inquiries, Tay has placed himself in danger with the conflicting political sides of the tribe and a dangerous individual who desires the truth to remain hidden. Still, the mischief maker does not understand that Tay loves his wife and nothing will stop him from insuring that the charge of witchcraft is proven false.

WITCH OF THE PALO DURO, the second novel in the historical fiction Tay-bodal series, is a well written book that complements the original novel, DEATH AT RAINY MOUNTAIN. Tay is a unique character, who approaches his investigations using deductive and inductive reasoning while being surrounded by superstitious individuals who seek mystical solutions to problems. The story line is interesting and the secondary characters add to the genuine feeling of a post Civil War nineteenth century tribe. However, this series is all about contrasting Tay with his peers and Mardi Oakley Medawar succeeds in her endeavor.

Harriet Klausner

North America
Worshipping the Myths of World War II: Reflections on America's Dedication to War
Published in Paperback by Potomac Books Inc. (2008-01-09)
Author: Edward W. Wood, Jr
List price: $16.95
New price: $10.34
Used price: $17.67

Average review score:

Thought Provoking
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-04-26
This book should be required reading for every student in high school. It challenges the paradigm of thinking underlying not just WWII, but the entire concept of war and militarism. This is a book that triggers "out of the box" thinking and compels readers to reassess their assumptions about the success and morality of American foreign policy.

Everyone should read this book
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2008-04-19
Like nearly everyone in America, I grew up worshipping the myths of World War II that Wood discusses: 1) The Good War 2) The Greatest Generation 3) We Won World War II Largely on Our Own 4) Where Evil Lies in Others, War is the Means to Justice. Over the years I have come to learn how harmful such myths are to not only the peace of the United States but also to the whole world. Wood brillantly expresses the horrors of war as a wounded combat veteran, along with the ways in which those horrors have been systematically veiled by politics and pop culture. Young and old alike should read this timely, eloquently written and ultimately hopeful book.

Wide-ranging insights on war
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2007-12-13
Anyone wanting to understand the experience of war should read this book. Mr. Wood offers a valuable take on the ways in which the individual soldier is changed by war, not only as it relates to WWII but in terms of how those currently fighting in Iraq may be affected. His discussion of the devastations wrought by PTSD will change the view of many who sneer at those who suffer from "combat fatigue". He is also very good on the manner in which the societal view of war shapes society's willingness to go to war, much as Paul Fussell explored in "The Great War and Modern Memory". Finally, Mr. Wood offers an excellent bibliography for those wanting to read more on the subject.

In a day when armchair warriors reign supreme, from TV to the White House, Mr Wood gives us the true warrior's view. This is an excellent book.

Towards a World of Peace
Helpful Votes: 14 out of 16 total.
Review Date: 2007-02-27
This book is a well written testament to the author's thinking about war. He says that there are four myths about World War II that we need to abolish as a prelude to stopping our passion for war.

He makes some very good arguments, but I'm not so sure that I agree with him.

Myth #1: The Good War -- His argument is that this was not a 'Good War.' That this was a war about killing. Yes, he is right. On the other hand, would he have allowed the Holocaust to continue, to be a matter of policy for all of Europe under Nazi domination, should we have done nothing about Japan's Unit 731 which researched biological weapons by releasing them on Chinese towns? And if not by war, how would we have stopped them?

Myth #2: The Greatest Generation -- He is right again, each generation that fought a successful victorious war has been called something similar. This began with the Revolutionary War and continues.

Myth #3 -- We Won World War II Largely on Our Own. He is correct again. World War II was indeed a world war. Decisions were made early in the war that the US would be the 'Arsenal of Democracy.' We produced a significant percentage of the airplanes, tanks, ships, trucks, etc. used by the Allies. Our combat losses were small when compared with other countries.

Myth #4: When Evil Lies in Others, War is the Means to Justice. I haven't made the transition he has in thinking that the Holocaust, Unit 751 and the other evils could have been stopped in any other way. Should we do nothing in Darfur, Bosnia, and all the other places? I don't have the answer.


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