North America Books

This is a great book that takes you on a real live journey deep into the daily live of Lakota people (and a stray Mohawk) on the Pine Ridge reservation. Vic Glover opens a window and allows us to peak inside his world and the world of his people, unknown to the majority living outside the boundaries of the reservation. Vic writes with a great sense of humour.
Although he appearently has the skills, he doesn't cut into 'the bigger political or environmental issues'. In his book Vic makes it clear that the issue of surviving under harsh conditions and to maintain the social values and traditional structure is big enough to handle. All of this with a wit. That makes that the book stays close to the heart, his home and the land and makes it very recognizable, even for readers unfamiliar with Rez live. Highly recommended!
Since I read Vic Glover the novel Skins by Adrian C. Louis became my second best book on Pine Ridge.

A group from our church has gone to Pine Ridge on Mission trips for the past three years and we have gotten to know quite a few people there. We always seem to have gained more than we have given during our week stay. This book tells it how it is for much of the population on the Pine Ridge Reservation. It is a very helpful book for the leaders of our Mission to share with others that are joining us. We love the people there. They focus on what really matters in life and brings us back to where we all need to live. Most of us are so far removed from nature, family, giving our all to each other. This book shows us how and points out how far removed we are. It really brings questions to the way that I am living my life. It points out just how differently I need to live to become apart of life as Jesus would want me to live it.
Thank you, Vic Glover. And thank you to our Native brothers and sisters.

A moving glimpse into the everyday lives of the people that live on Pine Ridge. The blending of Lakota spirituality into the challenges of life in an impoverished society is outstanding!

This is a beautiful collection of short stories and is a real life account of living on in Indian reservation in todays modern times.
Vic Glover has an amazing talent and style of writing that 'just takes you right there'.
With much humour and sadness, Vic takes you on a journey, that whets the appetite, always leaving you wanting to read more.
This is a great read, I highly recommend it.

A must read for anyone interested in what life on a western Rez is really about. BroVic captures the humor and pathos of daily life in a marvelously clear, straightforward way that simutaneously makes you wish you were there to share in it and glad that you're not.

Well written, full of passion and honesty. Cowan takes a leap of faith with courage in hopes that others will learn the connectedness of all, and the simplicity it takes to honor our most prescious resources, "OUR FAMILY". Well worth the read, and please; share it with others!

This book is an accessible, sincere and inspired guide for anyone who is curious about how to recover the human's innate ability to be in communication with the non-human world - which apparently just awaits our intention to do so. Eliot Cowan shares his own fascinating journey of discovery in a way that also offers to the reader ideas for how to do the same. His message is not, "look at me, I have special abilities," but "look into yourself and see what is there just waiting to be revived." The disastrous psychological, ecological and spiritual situation humans find themselves in as a result of having stopped engaging in "the great conversation" with nature, as author Thomas Berry puts it, can begin to heal if we try hard, now, to apply ourselves to the wisdom available in such books as Plant Spirit Medicine. We have a responsibility to read and utilize such information as Eliot Cowan makes available here. --Tayria Ward, Ph.D.

I have been reading and practicing these medicines for some time. I am also studying ethnobotany and plant medicine in relation to psychopathology. I picked up this book as a supplement to my work, and I did not expect that it would be so good. I would recommend this book to ANY person interested in this subject- whether they are totally new to it, or have been doing it for decades.
Cowan clearly and eloquently provides his take on this subject, and does a very good job explaining the basics. But he writes with a gentle tone, and makes plant spirit medicine something that everyone can do. This book isn't trying to sell anything or promote a workshop or healing modality. This really does provide some genuine insights on how to communicate with plants and use them for healing.
Eliot Cowan is right on with this book. You won't be disappointed.

Plant Spirit Medicine speaks of the elements of nature, the plants, shamanism, and healing. Cowan's integrity, wisdom and humor is apparent throughout. I first read this book 7 years ago. It changed my life, opening me up to a world where healing, love and compassion are always flowing from the plants and other aspects of nature. This book speaks of one man's journey and opens the doors to allow you to make your own journey and find your own path.

I've read this book 3 times and plan to read it again. It is clear that Cowan has a love for and a thorough grasp of his subject matter. A must read for anyone intersted in shamanism, herbalism or healing.

I am behind the curve ball here as I write this review after so many good ones have already been written. Like most of the other reviewers, I enjoyed reading this book and learned quite a good deal about this aspect of the Gettysburg campaign that haven't been touched previously. I thought the author wrote well, did his research and gave the Civil War historians all over a great service. The way many of us looked at Lee's retreat and Meade's pursuit have changed forever after we read this book.

But I cannot help but to believed that the author have drawn a wrong conclusion about the campaign. Call me a traditionalist but outside of saving his supply trains and the fruits of his forging, Lee left Pennsylvania with very little else. His army was in tattered, he have forever lost any sort of strategic initiative and he will be on the defensive until the war's end. His successful retreat enabled him to fight on but not to victory. Only because Meade's army was equally damaged as Lee's did he escaped. But Meade's army was rebuilt, reinforced, resupplied and regroup. Lee's army after Gettysburg was the shadow of its former greatness and that too was grinded down. Brown is wronged and rest of us who happened to be "traditionalist" in nature is right, Gettysburg was the last major hurrah of Lee's Army of Northern Virginia. Never again will Lee threaten the Army of Potomac with devastating defeat of any kind...tactical ones yes but nothing that will change the course of war. Best way to look at this would be this: if in late July of 1863, God came to Lee and gave him a choice between having his army back before Gettysburg in exchange for all the supplies he has taken from Pennsylvania, he would take that exchange in a heartbeat!!! Nothing could replaced what was lost at Gettysburg, not all the cows, horses, wagons and other material that the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania have to offer could do that.

This book is great piece of work on the subject but the author drew a wrong conclusion. Retreat is an army in defeat, not of victory and no matter how rosy it turned out well for General Lee, he lost something far more important at Gettysburg then anything he could have saved in this retreat. I am bit surprised the many of the reviews written on this book haven't caught on to this yet.

Most accounts on the Battle of Gettysburg give limited coverage to R.E. Lee's retreat from Gettysburg.. The text notes "The idea for the Pennsylvania campaign arose many months before. It was born in a desperation caused by the looming collapse of the Army of Northern Virginia if it remained in war-ravages central Virginia without adequate food and supplies for its men and fodder for its horses and mules." Consequently, from the moment that Lee reached the Maryland side of the Potomac River the countryside was scoured by Confederate quartermasters and commissaries of subsistence for food, fodder and supply. Interestingly, "The effort to obtain food, fodder, and equipment would never stop; even the three days of battle at Gettysburg did not interfere with it." The author, Kent Masterson Brown, addresses in detail the acute logistical problems attendant to Lee's army's retreat from Gettysburg with the critical supplies that had been foraged.

The text is broadly arranged into three sections: 1st disengagement at Gettysburg and crossing the South Mountain range; 2nd travel to Harrisburg and Williamsport; 3rd defense of Williamsport and Falling Waters, Virginia then travel to Staunton Virginia. "A slow, fighting retreat sounds simple in theory, but it is extraordinarily difficult in practice, particularly with a large army burdened by enormous trains." The trains were more than fifty-seven miles of wagon and ambulance trains plus ten of thousands of livestock. The text gives excellent, brief narratives of Lee's army's travels to the Potomac River, the cavalry attacks on the trains plus the engagements of the rear guard troops as Meade attacked.

Most interesting is Brown's accounts of attending to the sick and wounded. Those that could walk accompanied the trains while other wounded rode in ambulance wagons if available. However, for those seriously ill or wounded or who lacked transportation, surgical teams were ordered to stay with them. For example, of the 1,300 wounded in Johnson's Division, 446 were left behind. Ever effort was made to care for the sick and wounded whether they could travel or had to be left behind. Protecting the trains was exceedingly difficult; the escorts suffered along with the helpless wounded.

The entire army was in Hagerstown by the morning of 7 July. The author notes that"The movement of Lee's army from the morning of 5 July until the afternoon of 6 July was one of the most critical episodes of the retreat from Gettysburg, although it was far from being filled with battle action." "Lee's slow march and bold rear guard on 5 July had a profound effect on Meade and his lieutenants." Next Lee had to set up strong defenses until he could make arrangements for crossing the Potomac River. Using the ferries at Williamsport was exceptionally slow so that Lee's defenses must hold until he could build a pontoon bridge at Falling Waters. By 10 July the Williamsport defense line was almost ready, but Lee had limited time to cross the Potomac. The last person crossed the pontoon bridge on 14 July. The text narrates Meade's attempts to engage Lee and prevent his army from crossing the Potomac. However, the text concludes that "....there was nothing Meade could have done to prevent Lee from winning the race to the Williamsburg defense line or holding it."

Once across the Potomac River, The Shenandoah Valley served as the corridor for Lee's army's evacuation. The problem now was to take care of the sick and wounded and get them to the General and Receiving Hospital at Staunton, Virginia. Staunton was soon overrun with sick and wounded soldiers. The text provides a brief but excellent account of this phase of the retreat.

President Lincoln blamed Lee's escape on Meade's slow response. While Meade undoubtedly could have done better, Brown notes Meade's army "was in a desperate condition, many artillery batteries could not accompany their corps while his horses and mules pulling many of the guns and caissons were so exhausted and weakened by excessive campaigning and lack of forage that they collapsed...." Throughout Lee's retreat, Meade had critical supply problems that limited his response.

The author concludes "Although the battle of Gettysburg was indeed a Confederate loss, the invasion of Pennsylvania may not have been. In fact, Lee successfully brought his army and all its trains across the Potomac River. In the process, he managed to get out of Pennsylvania and Maryland more than forty-five miles of quartermaster and substance trains filled with impressed stores." One can only speculate on how, or if, the Army of Northern Virginia would have survived without these supplies. Lee's very successful retreat maintained the balance of power in his theatre of operations.

This is an excellently researched work; Kent Brown uses much previously untapped source material. This book is the major source of information on the retreat from Gettysburg and will be of interest to all serious students of Civil War History.

Retreat from Gettysburg provides the missing dimension to the campaign. Popular histories of the battle climax with the repulse of Pickett's Charge. The drama of how the Army of Northern Virginia extracted themselves from Pennsylvania intact to fight another day is equally as gripping.

Confederate survivors faced monumental challenges in their return to Virginia. Not only did the able bodied soldiers face enemy pursuit, but the retreating columns did so with the added burdens of their baggage, their wounded, captured Union men and wagon trains of captured materials.

Brown presents his detailed narrative in such a way as to keep readers in suspense until the last man safely crosses the Potomac. The heroic action rivals any that took place at Gettysburg and is supported by thorough research.

The scores of popular histories I have read about the battle usually end with "Lee did his best, got beat and went home" type epilogues. There was so much more to the story. Readers will marvel why the subject has not received such scholarly treatment until now. Retreat from Gettysburg will stand as a landmark work.

This book has far more detail on the events of Lee's retreat and Meade's pursuit after the Gettysburg battle than any other book I have read. It gives a lot of reasons why Meade was not able to quickly pursue and re-engage Lee before Lee crossed the Potomac. There is also a lot of insight into what Lee hoped to accomplish with his invasion of the North, and why Lee considered it worthwhile, even with his defeat at Gettysburg.

Like many of the other reviewers here, I am in awe of the detail here regarding Lee's retreat from Gettysburg. More than any other campaign of Lee's, this movement revealed his true abilities. The most difficult operation for any military organization is retreat. Lee conducted a masterful retreat. Mr. Brown illuminates this in painful detail, right down to the placing of skirmish lines and Lee's minute orders to his commanders.

Unlike some of the other reviewers, I do take exception to the idea of the entire ANV operation in Pennsylvania being a great raid as novel. This has been advanced by several other historians for some time. What is done here in this book, however is to detail just how much it was a foraging raid done on an army scale. He actually lists the CS regimental seizures down to individual horses and curry combs. He then notes Federal messages regarding the clothing, toys, etc found in captured or broken down CS wagons. All of this provides plentiful evidence that the ANV's primary mission was foraging with a major battle being secondary at best.

The maps and illustrations are good, the prose is readable, and though the detail at times can be mind numbing, the book remains a fast read. Mr. Brown has taken a subject covered almost to overkill and written something fresh and thought provoking. As noted above, anyone (like myself) who had been a critic of Meade's for failure to bring Lee to battle on advantage will likely change their mind after reading this evidence. Meade's people were in worse straits than the retreating CS forces due to logistical failures. His cavalry was worn and poorly supplied, it actually can be considered a minor miracle they were as successful as they were in their pursuit. The pursuing Federals had to follow through areas repeatedly stripped of food and supplies by the retreating CS forces. Conversely, the CS forces as they contracted became stronger (relatively) while the Federals became more strung out. Mr. Brown's illustrations of the strength of CS defenses at Falling Waters and Williamsport highlight the correctness of Meade's decision not to attack with his strung out forces before it was too late.

This book does a great service to a largely ignored aspect of the Gettysburg campaign. I do agree that Gettysburg was not the decisive point in the East and also that in a logistical/strategic sense Gettysburg was a victory for the CS. The ANV survived and despite the irreplaceable manpower loss, gained enough materially wise to last until homegrown resources could sustain it further.

This book is well worth the price. It is an eye opener and knocks some traditional historical concepts on their butts. Mr. Brown has done history a great service with this book.

I bought this book for my nephew and it met all my expectations and I am sure he will be quite pleased with it.

Excellent reading. Michael Garrett has become a fine teacher like his father before him. A true student of life Michael takes the Cherokee ancestral stories, mixes in some modern day experiences and relays a wonderful message. If harmony and balance are traits you would like to have within your own life I highly recommend this selection.

If you want to find balance in your life, this book is an excellent way to start on that pathway.

Michael continues his journey of a Helper in the truest form of "being Cherokee". I am amazed at how simple God our Creator is revealed in our self induced complexity of life. Thank you Michael for helping to remove the scales of our heart and spirit. For those of you who are Christians, I would encourage you to use Michael's book as a help in your journey through the Bible.

Blessings

I came across this book while exploring my recently discovered Native heritage. It fit the bill perfectly, helping me learn about universal Native traditions, practices, and thinking. I could go on and on, but it's enough to say that this book is well written, informative, and enjoyable. Michael Garrett has a lot to offer.

I really enjoyed this book. You meet famous and not so famous people in this book. Some you will never forget like Hystercine Rankin, who made a quilt of her fathers killing in Mississippi, when she was only ten.She eventually won a $5000 prize for it. Or how the author talks about his family and the "healing quilt" and his lifelong affinity of quilts. The stories in here are good, and the quilts are out of this world. One of the best oral African American history books out there.

Influenced by his love of quilts, photographer Roland Freeman acts as anthrolopologist and quilting historian in this beautiful, comprehensive book. Featuring full color photos of African-American quilts and quilters and well-researched text, this book is a must-read even for non-quilting enthusiasts. The history and cultural heritage of a people have been preserved in this beautiful artform. I found myself moved after reading this book. You will be too.

This book is truly awesome. Although I have almost every quiltmaking book in print, the photos here are of the most unique and breathtakingly beautiful I've ever seen. And the accompanying stories about the quiltmakers are at once inspirational and humbling ... e.g., a quilt depicting the lynching of a woman's father, and explanation of how neighbors were afraid to attend the funeral. (Don't let that discourage you; most of the quilts are uplifting and gorgeous by any standards -- and the few sad ones are incredibly moving and meaningful.)

I can't imagine anyone not loving this book. Frankly, I was so awed by the gifted artists whose work is contained therein that my first thought was that African Americans have all the talent and creativity (and, no, I'm not an African American). Even if you're not moved by the stories/bios (although I can't imagine not being), you've *GOT* to be awed and inspired by the extraordinarily beautiful and truly unique quilting, which cannot help but enable you to improve your own designs.

I wish that there were more stars than 5 ... This book deserves the highest rating imaginable.

African-American Quilters, Preservers and Their Stories represents the first national survey & a personal record of how this photographer & folkorist's life has intertwined with the world of quiltmaking.

The communion refers to the power of quilts to create a virtual web of connections-individual, generational, professional, physical, spiritual, cultural & historical. Some of the names of those glorious quilts are: Rainbow Block; Slave Chain; Log Cabin; Three Pigs in a Pen; Double Wedding Ring; Black Jack Scarecrow; Monsters, Dragons and Flies; African Diaspora; African-American Women; African-American Men; Memories of My Father's Death; Memories; Scripture; Martin Luther King Jr.; Hand Me Down My Mother's Work; Mother Africa's Children; The Underground Railroad; Baltimore Arabber Selling Watermelons; Harriet Tubman Quilt & Tableau.

For all those who consider quilt making one of America's finest crafts, this will be a lifetime companion & will rekindle that dramatic & endearing form of art. Very well done!

You have got to read this book! It is filled with women & men & the love of fabric & colors; of the love of design & community coming together to stitch lives together. Do visit my site for my full review & more books on quilting.

This book thoroughly documents quilting and quilt makers from across the USA. Roland Freeman tells the story of the quilt makers largely through his spectacular photographs. He includes unknown but highly talented artists as well as celebrities who also quilt. The photographs are accompanied with stories from the artists, and these narratives provide a terrific base for understanding why this folk art retains its vibrancy in the 21st century. In many ways, Freeman's photography and writing can also be understood as part of the artistic fabric that he stitches together.

Coyote has always been a special animal to me, so the title jumped out at me. The two feathers and physician's symbol on the cover present a beautiful balance. The physician's symbol has the twin serpents and the two wings of the one. In the background is the four, the Mystery.

Lewis' experiences are related in an interwoven manner. He rushes through life in the quest for medical expertise and validation. In doing so, he trips himself into bouts with infinity as his beautiful plans fall through, day-by-day, year-by-year. However, his rapidly depleted physical/mental being is slowly but surely filling from the inside out. The book is a wonderful, candid sharing of one human's journey to clarify his purpose, his vocation, and to realize such.

He seems like a powerless pawn at times. Have you felt that way? I have. It takes courage to choose the walk toward balance with a fellow being. Lewis had to learn the way of the warrior to survive his path as a healer.

The sweat lodge accounts are beautifully done. I felt it better than any other accounts I have read. Although I have not participated in a lodge, I have experienced years of "spirit stuff". He is talking from experience. Lewis tells us without violating the trust of his friends, manifested or otherwise.

The visions he describes are direct accounts, rather than attempts to relay deep knowings into a form the reader may understand. Visions come in dreams, in rituals, in waking, everyday consciousness, you name it. If we need it and are open to input, we will receive guidance. A vision is experiential, so there is no way to relay the richness and life of such an experience.

Ya gotta walk the walk--it's the only way.

I laughed pretty good at his experience learning to talk with the desert. I too learned this while out alone walking in the desert. At first I thought my spirit friends were nuts--and said so--but I did it and learned a lot. You'll have to read the book to find out.

There were tears of joy and tears of sorrow while reading this book, and a lot of laughter. Thank-you for making the great leap and taking the risk of sharing, Lewis!

This book is a well written merging of two subjects. The first is a personal sharing of Lewis Mehl-Madrona's upbringing and life experience as a half N.A. Native, his pursuit of a medical degree and specialty and his increasing disillusionment with the "science" of medicine as it is now widely practiced. The second is about Lewis' discovery of N.A. Native spirituality and shamani sm. He leads us on a winding path of discovery that introduces us to the intriguing characters who use shamanism to heal others, often while their own lives are in disarray, to those who sought healing and perhaps most importantly, to the spirits who assisted in the ceremonies. While pursuing this path of curing the individual, rather than the symptom, it seems that Lewis will lose site of his original goal to obtain his medical speciality. But, as so often occurs, as he helps others to heal, the path circles around to encompass his own needs and he completes his original path, a more well-rounded and enlightened human. More capable of understanding. More capable of giving what is really required. I found the writing to be powerful, the personal drama riveting and the glimpse into the ceremonies, symbolism and spiritualism of the N.A. shaman both moving and educational. After all these years of hearing the stories shared by N.A. natives, but not really understanding, I finally "got it". This book slaked a thirst I didn't know I had. Lewis not only shared his story but acted as a teacher and I know that I've grown as a result. I highly recommend it and hope that we'll hear more from this writer.

This book blew me away. I have reread much of it so many times and bought multiple copies for friends. I have filled the margins of my copy with notes and filled notebooks with essays and thoughts inspired by Dr. Mehl-Madrona's book. It is nothing short of miraculous itself, in addition to describing medical miracles and how they are brought about by spiritual intervention and Native American healing.

A child prodigy, Lewis Mehl-Madrona hitchhiked to a local college while still in high school, read philosophy science voraciously and was the youngest peacetime graduate of Stanford Medical School. The more impressive since his childhood was at times difficult.

At medical school, Dr. Mehl-Madrona became interested in shamanic traditions and attended some sweat lodge and tipi ceremonies. Here he encountered otherwordly phenomena such as blue light, sparks, sensorial stimulation and miracle cures in cases that were deemed too far gone by western doctors. Most importantly, Dr. Mehl-Madrona learned how shamans talked to patients, asked questions about their families and lives and spent long periods of time with them. The author learned that shamans tap into the inner healer of the patient, and consider themselves only partially responsible for any cure.

At the same time, Dr. Mehl-Madrona was encountering negligent and dehumanizing healing practices in his western medical pursuits. A few spine-chilling tales display the callousness and arrogance that exists in some hospitals and clinics. One example: two obstetricians made a bet concerning the fastest C-Section birth and the winner, very triumphant at seventeen minutes, accidentally tied something shut in the woman's internal organs. It was fixed and the woman even wrote a letter of thanks to the hospital! Such is the blind and sometimes unjustified trust the public has in the medical establishment.

The book is wonderfully woven with many colorful strands of storytelling. On one level, it is a memoir of Dr. Mehl-Madrona's journey to reconcile his western medical training with holistic and in particular Native American healing. He is part Native American, so this pursuit poignantly reflects his mixed heritage. Poignant because Dr. Mehl-Madrona often felt like an outsider in all areas of his life, as a Native American man, as an American man, as a western doctor and as an aspiring and ultimately successful shaman.

Another strand of his story is the Native American tradition of healing itself, which we discover in almost the same timeframe that he does. We are introduced to the traditional practice of storytelling as a healing technique at the same time that he is. Early in the book, when the doctor is a resident, he is tending a man whose medical condition is exacerbated (and perhaps caused) by his intensely critical nature. A wonderful passage in recounts Dr. Mehl-Madrona's tentative attempt at telling a story to the cynical patient, himself a psychologist, who groans with sarcasm as the story begins. As it continued, he was intrigued, however, and even hazards a guess at the meaning, to which guess the doctor gives an ambiguous confirmation. The great part of this passage is how Dr. Mehl-Madrona successfully enacts the role of enigmatic shaman even though he himself is still unsure of the story's meaning.

Coyote Medicine also discusses the role of the supernatural in shamanic healing, and the perception of magic and nature. For anyone who ever sat in the woods or even on his aparment steps late at night and felt a mystical connection to something unseen and bigger than himself, Coyote Medicine is a kindred spirit.

At one point the author goes on his vision quest and meets his power animals and is given shamanic healing tools. We as readers are present at many important moments in his life, including personal and family struggles (his first wife, according to the book, seemed to wrestle his children away from him and resented his shamanic efforts), professional travails (Dr. Mehl-Madrona's questioning intelligence, sense of dignity for the patient and also his holistic beliefs created friction with several different western medical institutions). When, at the end of the book, the author finds an accepting partner and on a professional level, a venue where he could combine holistic healing with Western, we feel as thought a close friend has triumphed in the face of great odds.

I would recommend this book to anyone interested in healing, either for herself or others, and also about finding one's own individual path, as difficult as and untraveled as it might be, but that is true to the traveler.

Many blessings on this book and thank you Dr. Lewis Mehl-Madrona.

Robert Murray Diefendorf, Author of Release the Butterfly

"Coyote Medicine" is a tremendous source of insight and experience within the path of shamanism and health. Dr. Mehl-Madrona's story-telling is magnificent and at times very suspenseful hitting directly on our sensitive health and spiritual issues we face culturally. But, he doesn't give you easy answers, because his path to becoming a healer was very complex. For me, this book opened up parts of my consciousness and answered questions I was asking and some of those I hadn't yet asked. This book was truly a God-send and I am savoring every word I read.

I enjoyed this book very much! It is full of truths ! I believe as does this man. I look forward to reading any book he writes.It was a easy read and on a level that I understood completely.I laughed and cried with his stories.I just loved it!

I've had these cards for several years now. Throughout that time I've used these for self-discovery as well as to enhance my study of nature and the world around me.

The artwork is welldone and there is always more in each card than what originally meets the eye.

The descriptions and guides and useful, but not in great depth. To me that's part of the joy of this deck...the necessity to put yourself INTO the process and really learn.

I recommend these if you are looking to find a focus point for your daily meditation and you are working to find your place among nature.

I tried for years to work with tarot decks and just found them to be cold and impersonal. A friend reccomended these and they've been not only easy to work with but very relevant to my life. I would highly reccomend these to anyone.

I love this set, I kept my cards a secret to myself for the first few weeks I had them, but the identification of the reading and the situtaion I was questioning was eerie - so I asked various people who visited if they would not mind having a "Go" with the cards, well now my friends, family and acquaintences beleive I am a Shaman Sacred Card reader, this may be so but I believe it is the book and card set that are the true hero, as long as the person giving the reading has respect for the essense of the set the truth will Out. A teriffic gift to give someone interested in the subject of Native American Wisdom, it is so much fun to see a friends face change into the "Oh my god how did you know that" look. All readings are positive (I don't mean polite I mean give positive guidance for good news or bad) but one would have to be dim not to understand the significance of every card reading. If I can make sense of the set anybody can - The cards are Beautiful and the book print size is big enough for my bad eyesight, for late night reading with a bedside lamp.

beautiful cards. Interesting book. had many dream of spirit animals after reading book.

I love Jamie's cards and I use them daily.

Speaking as a Shaman with over 30 years experience, I highly recommend this wonderful deck of cards to anyone interested in improving their lives, in getting in touch with animal mentors, in learning to communicate with animals, and mostly, in learning how to help others.

We got this book for our 22 month old daughter for Christmas. It is now one of her favorites. I find it quite beautiful as Michael has to learn how to share his mother with his baby sister. It shows how he reacts emotionally and the difficulties involved around sharing, something all children can relate to.

This is a very touching book to reassure moms and children that life with a new baby means more love to go around. I have bought it for many friends. Those first months with a new baby are definitely a time of adjustment as the new baby needs so much attention and the older child has to wait (or the older child needs a lot of attention and the baby has to wait!) so this book is a nice, subtle reminder that there is always room on mother's lap. The last page definitely brings tears to the eyes!

This is a great book if you have a new baby come into the house. My son and I read this book every night and then he reads it back to me. I would recomment this book highly.

This is a very sweet and wonderful story about a boy who is rocking on his mother's lap. He gathers all sorts of things from around the room and they continue to rock. When his mom suggests his baby sister join them he isn't thrilled but they all fit and he is happy. I read this story to my group of two year olds and they absolutely love it. We rock back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. And we discuss how there really is always room on mom's lap. This story is timeless and enjoyed by Toddlers to Kindergarteners

I received this book as a baby shower gift for my twins and felt it was a very fitting book for our situation. What I didn't expect was how much my babies would love it. They immediately identified with the boy, Dollie, Boat and LOVE Puppy. I think the pictures really attract them and I love the message. Now at 2 1/2, it is still on their favorite bedtime story list and they can now understand the message - they say, "On Mommy's Lap" as we all sit together and read.

This is the first book in Terry Pratchett's Bromeliad Trilogy, and it gets the series started well. It is about a group of nomes who live in a department store--but they have lived there so long that they have forgotten there is a world outside. The only problem is that the store will be demolished in 21 days. It's up to a group of just 8 outside nomes to convince thousands of stubborn people to leave a place they think is the entire universe, then hijack a truck and leave. This book has a perfect blend of humor, mystery, and plot, but the in my opinion the greatest element is the characters. The seemingly emotionless yet somehow smug spaceship computer known only as the Thing provides a touch of science in a world whose inhabitants don't even know what the word "thousand" means. Dorcas del Icatessen, the mad scientist of the nomes, who has complete control over the store elevator system. Angalo de Haberdasheri, who is fanatic about the possibility of life outside the store and has a pet rat named Bobo, and finally Grannie Morkie, the annoyingly apocalyptic nome elder. The final scene, in which hundreds of nomes wielding levers, pullies, and wires manages to hijack a truck and drive it on a chaotic romp through the city, might be one of the cleverest and funniest scenes in the history of fiction. One of the greatest quotes: "Give me a big enough lever, and a firm enough place to stand, and I could move the Store." The next two books in the trilogy are even greater, and do a good job of developing the already marvelous characters.

Pratchett is best known for his off-the-world Discworld yarns, but he also has produced a number of highly engaging, wryly funny, and thoroughly humane novels for younger readers. This one, the first of the "Bromeliad" trilogy, introduces the "nomes," four-inch-high people (well, humanoids) who live on highway medians and under the floors of buildings. They live fast (ten years is a very advanced age for a nome) and humans strike them as slow and stupid. Masklin, in escaping danger in the back of a truck with the last remnants of his tribe, finds himself in the Store -- "Arnold Bros. (est. 1905)" -- where there are thousands of nomes. These are divided into contending tribes by store departments, live a good life in the Food Hall, and worship Arnold Bros. And then he becomes aware that the store is about to be demolished. The strength of the story is Masklin's struggle to convince everyone else of the danger when most of them don't even believe in the existence of Outside, and then to organize an exodus by stealing a truck and learning to operate it. (Think lots of long levers, pulleys, and bits of string.) But the nomes turn out not to be "little people" at all. The nomes' interpretation of the signs they see will give you thoughtful pause, as will their unthinking belief in a nome-centered God in the sky. Or on the top floor. Pratchett fans will enjoy this, regardless of their age.

These books (Truckers, Diggers, and Wings) are a fun romp! Well thought out, well told, with a liberal dose of humor. If you have read any of Terry Pratchett's "Disc World" books, you'll love this light hearted series....

Truckers is the first book of the Bromeliad trilogy (followed by Diggers and Wings).

Masklin and his family are the last ten nomes of their warren, devastated by cold, predators and hunger. Desperately, they set out on a last chance journey and climb up on one of the lorries of the humans.

What they'll soon discover is that this lorry has lead them to the Store of Arnold Bros (est. 1905), the home of thousands of other little nomes who, having never left the Store, think of the Outside as of nothing more than just another fairy tale. The coming of Masklin will be a great upheaval in their quiet lives. And as they learn that the Store is to be demolished, they make plans for their escape.

Although Truckers was originally written for a young audience, it's an enthralling adventure but also a story about understanding other people's ways and helping each other, and no doubt grown-ups will love it too. Because Terry Pratchett's unique sense of humour is lurking round every corner, especially when nomes try to interpret our human world... and what's more to make sense of it!

Terry Pratchett's Bromeliad trilogy is a mix of childlike fantasy and offbeat SF. While the opening book, "Truckers" lags in places and takes quite some time to really get moving, it's imaginative and very funny. Certainly it's a good place to start off with Pratchett's fiction.

Masklin and the other nomes are tiny people who scavenge on the streets, and now there are only a handful of them left. In an act of desperation, they climb into a lorry and ride to... The Store. Also known as Arnold Bros (est. 1905), where a complex civilization of nomes (about two thousand) live in semi-peace and prosperity. They either are dazzled by the idea of "Outside," or insist that the whole world is in Arnold Bros (est. 1905).

Seemingly, everything is fine for Masklin and his friends, especially when the mysterious Thing (a black box that is a spaceship's flight computer) comes to life and tells them more about their history. But suddenly their world is disrupted by the news of "All Things Must Go -- Final Sales." Now the nomes must escape the Store and find yet another place to live.

Tiny people living in a department store? Who are from another planet? That is something that could have bombed easily and hideously. But it doesn't, at least not in "Truckers." Clever plot elements like the sign-based religion (they take "everything under one roof" seriously!) and the department-based clans (Stationari, Corsetri) keep this unlikely plot afloat.

While "Truckers" is a self-contained story in itself, it has plenty of loose threads (mostly involving the Thing and the origins of the nomes) at the end, for the second and third books of the trilogy. The writing has Pratchett's usual sparseness and wit; the only problem is that it takes forever for the nomes to do anything. At least it's a fun slow ride. The wacky truck drive near the end is one of the best parts of the book.

Masklin and his nome band (especially the indefatigable, vaguely frightening Granny) serve as a good window into the nome civilization, since they're learning about it too. The better-off nomes are a bit snottier but eager to explore the Outside. But the Thing steals the show; despite being just a computer, it has a better idea than the nomes what is going on.

"Truckers" will delight fans of Pratchett, but you don't need to be a fan already to enjoy this story. While the plot takes awhile to go anywhere, the quirky characters and wonderful worldbuilding make it worthwhile.

Bought this for my 4 year old granddaughter. I'd made a dreamcatcher for her when she was a baby and when she was 2 I explained what it was for. She loved it; and she loves this book.
It briefly talks about moving, bad dreams and family relationships.

A delight and easy reading for young children which will encourage them to read more of indian culture and stories. A beautiful "tuck-me-in" story!

This is a beautiful story especially for bedtime reading! Recommended for all ages.

This story flows with ease and delight for childrens' bedtime reading. It brings in love of family and a lasting focus on indian heritage. Highly recommended for all ages.

This is a lovely story filled with security of home and family. It also offers a study of Indian Culture to children, as well as adults. A book for any country and is a book for all ages. It is also timeless and will go on as long as it is offered for the public to see.