Buccaneer Books

This work contains a mixture of autobiography and philosophical and social reflection. Hoffer wrote ," My writing grows out of my life, just like a branch out of a tree" And his lifelong journey in learning was really integral to his own life. He began reading Montaigne and spent a lifetime reading more and learning all the time. He makes it clear here that he like most human beings fears change, but understands that to truly thrive from change one must learn, understood that those who rely on what they have learned long ago will have the world pass them. In other words he recommended that Societies like individuals be engaged in a continual process of learning and developing.
Hoffer was a one- of - a kind original. A truly decent person, who walked to the sound of his own drummer. Admirable in his anti- totalitarian stance and his refusal to be cowed by intellectual trend or fashion. He was a believer in American freedom , and an example of what a free - society can produce- at its best.

Eric Hoffers book, The True Believer is probolly the best book I have ever read. It gives insight into human nature that helped me understand the behavior of other people and even myself. It changed my view of the world I live in. Obviously it made a huge impact on me.

Because I was so impressed I quickly bought Hoffers other book The Ordeal of Change. I felt somewhat disapointd with this. I found it to lack the insight into human nature that his earlier work did. The Ordeal of Change seems to discuss how change occurs among a group of people rather than individuals. The True Believer discussed why individuals join groups, there was more emphasis on the individual than the group.

The book is still good. Perhaps I feel dispointed only because I cannot help but compare it to The True Believer which was a masterpiece. I still recomend this book but suggest that you read The True Believer as well.

I read this book (and most of his others) when originally published. No question but THIS IS HIS GREAT WORK. As his work went on, his lack of understanding of institutions (public and private) began to show his failure to fully grasp the implications. When he left what he knew so well, the relations of the workers, he moved so far that his later writing suffers from asute commentary based on incorrect facts and understanding, which require careful reading. But THIS BOOK should be REQUIRED READING -- PERHAPS MOST FOR DUBYA AND HIS CREW, WHO TOTALLY LACK UNDERSTANDING OF THE CONCEPT.

Hoffer's essays are the best I have ever read on sociology. They are short, well organized and provide the deepest understanding of human nature. I hardly remember a thinker which could compete with Hoffer in this field.

Every line in this book has the capacity to change your life. It doesn't even have to be an ordeal.

A sequel to Command a King's Ship, Bolitho sails his Tempest farther east into the contested fringes of the British, Spanish and French empires. Capt. Bolitho is among the the islands in the Great South Sea, which is not so Pacific as it echoes to thunderous broadsides and murderous intrigue. Mutiny is in the air again. The state-sponsored (merchantile) economy of peacetime England is rotten, royalist France is in turmoil before its revolution, and the amazing Bligh has survived the mutiny on the Bounty. We see Polynesia in a more exciting time, when traders and free booters were only just entering islands of lovely but deadly natives amid the clash of unsettled national interests and claims. Bolitho has finally met his match in the form of an utterly ruthless and clever pirate who outwits Bolitho time and again, despite the desperate courage of his lieutenants. Kent has again come up with a wonderfully evil pirate to fight, even though we hardly meet him. Is Bolitho too besotted with his love for Viola, who has returned with her husband to develop an island colony? Unfortunately Kent makes Viola's husband so wholly irredeemable there's no tension there. Into this comes a French frigate under a tyrannical captain just as news of the outbreak of the French Revolution roils the tense waters and dubious loyalties further. The effects of tropical heat are graphically displayed, and the implacable scourge of fever finally makes its appearance in the series.

Mr Kent proves once more that he is a master story teller. This book is alive with characters who face a series of dangerous adventures in the service of their king. The story has everything: brigands, upturned cannon, splintered decks, heroic struggle against the odds, friendship, romance, some terrific dialog and character developement, hostile islanders, Royal Marines, some rather bloody battles and above it, Richard Bolitho stands true to his calling. The plot and sub plots are splendidly told and fill the pages with attention to detail, a rich feel for the time period and Allday backing his captain with his broad back and gleaming cutlass.
Great stuff to read on a rainy afternoon by a crackling fire.
What is great about the Kent books is the fact that as in real life, people arrive, influence, some move on and others die. Told with flair and a bold descriptive style makes Kent's books some of my very favorite.
Enjoy

Passage to Mutiny was my first Bolitho adventure. I have read them all, but nothing captured my imagination quite as much as this one. Bolitho and his crew set out to find Eurotas, which was captured by pirates. The relationships between Bolitho and Herrick; and Bolitho and Viola; are vivid and bring out Bolitho's character to enhance the suspensful plot. The fight on the beach ending with Herrick having his back to the sea as a final desperate measure while Tempest's launch arrives just in time to save them kept me on the edge of my seat. I don't think I breathed for at least two chapters. It was one of the most satisfying reads I have ever had.

Richard Bolitho's new command is the Tempest, a 36-gun frigate, built in India of teak. a fifth class like his last command. But teak is a very heavy, dense wood; much heavier than the English oak usually used in the construction of ships of the Royal Navy, and therefor less maneuverable--but exceptionally strong.

The Tempest is picked up in the story entering the harbor at Sydney, the main port of the prison colony of Botany Bay (now known as Australia.)

The Commodore to whom he reports is an old friend with whom he served when they were both lieutenants. But another old acquaintance was also arriving soon from England: the government advisor, James Raymond and his wife Viola, with whom Bolitho had fallen in love on the last occasion of their company, five years previously.

The story continues through attacks by the pirate Mathias Tuke, broadsides, shore parties, a long sea episode in an open boat, hostile savages, and the loss of many good friends and crew members in battler and from fever, and the near loss of Bolito's own life.

This is a fine novel, as is typical of Alexander Kent, and the seventh in the Bolitho series. I have ordered the next three in the series, so taken by the stories am I.

Joseph (Joe) Pierre, USN(Ret)

author of Handguns and Freedom...their care and maintenance
and other books

Passage to Mutiny is the fourth Kent novel set outside of an actual war and the fourth that deals with pirates. In the past Richard Bolitho has ultimately enjoyed great success against pirates while Kent has had mixed success writing about it. This time Kent gets it right in a nail biting, blood and thunder epic. Perhaps Kent's Bolitho adventures reached their peak in the mid-70s and Passage to Mutiny is an example of the writer in top form.

Five years after Command a King's Ship Bolitho is off to Botany Bay. The spectre of two famous captains, Cook and Bligh, hangs over the voyage. Cook explored much of the region and was ultimately killed in the Pacific and Bligh has just lost his ship to mutiny. While he may have fears of mutiny, Kent's Bolitho has both the leadership abilities and humanity of Cook and the seafaring ability of Bligh. His crews will stand with him to the death.

Bolitho's paramour and nemesis from Command a King's Ship are both back to complete the story that Kent started in the earlier novel. While reading Command a King's Ship I was thinking that Bolitho should back off from having a relationship with a married woman no matter what her husband is like, Kent had me thinking that Bolitho should go for it and squeeze whatever happiness he could out of the opportunity that he had.

However, Passage to Mutiny is really about broadsides, thwarting pirates and a great sailing epic. The romance is just a little fluff along the way while manly men do manly things. The story is exciting and succeeds on that level. I did have a few problems with it though. Kent is not always clear on details such as how the wind is blowing, what direction the shore is and the way ports face. He really should include maps or provide additional details so that the reader can visualize what's happening accurately. One can't always figure out why Bolitho is so brilliant if one doesn't know which way the wind is blowing and which direction the ship is sailing.

Still and all I was wrapped up in this one and I look forward to the next Bolitho adventure.

This book is one of the best for enlightening those of the the 1970's forwrd of the preferred interests of their mothers and fathers. Ex- President Bush is heavily documented in his actions with those of the Middle Est in his attempts at acquiring a chunk of the oil industry. It highlights South America's Venezuela and its failing oil fields. It shows the world's efforts at unity for one major purpose. It defines OPEC and ARAMCO as they need to be understood. For anyone not current on world issue, this is the book to read.

This piece of non-fiction is more exciting than FICTION novels

Yergin's grasp of the broad view of the history of oil and its context in world history is amazing. Scholarly and yet as compelling as the best fiction, this book is a masterful work

This book is one of the best for enlightening those of the the 1970's forwrd of the preferred interests of their mothers and fathers. Ex- President Bush is heavily documented in his actions with those of the Middle Est in his attempts at acquiring a chunk of the oil industry. It highlights South America's Venezuela and its failing oil fields. It shows the world's efforts at unity for one major purpose. It defines OPEC and ARAMCO as they need to be understood. For anyone not current on world issue, this is the book to read.

This book explains how oil affects our lives, our nation, the world's economy and political situations. Yergin's writing style is superb, and although the material is somewhat dry, he really brings events to life. This work is rare for non-fiction - it is easy reading and informative. I have just finished the book a few minutes ago, and I really feel that I have learned a great deal. My favorite section was on World War II. I have read hundreds of books on the subject, but the section in "The Prize" dedicated to the War from a petroleum standpoint is superb

this book was made into a movie by stanley kubrick that won 4 academy awards. it relates the amazing adventures of the most dishonest man in history, redmond barry. it chronicles his unlikely rise to the top and subsequent comeuppance. he is fond of fighting, lying and ripping people off. despite his love of dishonesty and treachery, and his total lack of compassion for other people, he sees himself as a good person because he only hit his wife when he was drunk, at least for the first three years of their marriage.

Having seen the movie "Barry Lyndon" by Stanley Kubrick years ago, I was taken aback by this book which is so markedly different than the 1975 film. In the book, Lord Bullingdon is actually the hero, where Kubrick presented him merely as a cowardly cad. Redmond Barry (later as Barry Lyndon)deserves all the evils that befall him and his first person narrative is quite humorous especially when blaming everyone for his own shortcomings. Unfortunately, the ending leaves one a bit unsatisfied, quite like the dismal end of Mr. Lyndon himself. This novel is not on the level of Thackeray's "Vanity Fair", but fun to read nonetheless.

When one is about to take the big plunge and give oneself the trouble of making what is always -in our age of lighter reading, of course - the strenuous effort of reading a XIXth. Century novelist, one - at least me - must make the following question: What was this author's particular attitude, as a man (or woman) of the most bourgeois of all centuries, towards his/her preceding century, the most aristocratic and un-bourgeois XVIIIth. Century? If s/he scorns the XVIIIth. Century, or is indifferent to it, it's quite likely that the author in question is a bourgeois philistine regarding Victorian times as the undisputed acme of human civilization. If s/he is an admirer, than s/he is obviously starting out of a clear sense of alienation from his/her own society, and one should expect at least for this XIXth. Century _avis rara_, genuine sense of humor. Thackeray was one of such Victorians who realized the philisteism of his own society;Eça de Queiroz, his Portuguese disciple (who seems to have learned a lot from reading him) was another. Therefore: Read this book, QED.

Having seen the movie "Barry Lyndon" by Stanley Kubrick years ago, I was taken aback by this book which is so markedly different than the 1975 film. In the book, Lord Bullingdon is actually the hero, where Kubrick presented him merely as a cowardly cad. Redmond Barry (later as Barry Lyndon)deserves all the evils that befall him and his first person narrative is quite humorous especially when blaming everyone for his own shortcomings. Unfortunately, the ending leaves one a bit unsatisfied, quite like the dismal end of Mr. Lyndon himself. This novel is not on the level of Thackeray's "Vanity Fair", but fun to read nonetheless.

Here, in this relatively obscure work, Thackeray is at his ironic and satiric best. Modern critics lightly dismiss the book as a piece of journalistic hack work, but it is much more than that. Redmond Barry, later Barry Lyndon, chronicles in a fairly sophistocated and always lighthearted manner his rise from a poor Irish country boy to the astral heights of polite English society from 1750-1820. Mr. Barry is always Machievellian in his way, and is quick and efficient with his sword. He is Odysseus, Holden Caulfield, Don Juan, and Nabokov's Humbert Humbert merged. In a word, he is very, very entertaining and very, very good. The book's only glaring flaw is it's belabored and uninspired ending. But it is much worth reading to watch Redmond Barry when young

I have yet to read a Raphael Sabatini novel I didn't enjoy. I would rank this book among my favorites (the others being The Sea Hawk, Love-at-Arms and The Sword of Islam). Set when Henry Morgan, governor of Jamaica, is charged with clearing the Caribbean of the pirates that used to be his brethren, The Black Swan is the story of Henry's trusted lieutenant who, supposedly en route to his retirement, runs into the last pirate at large, and finds himself and the beautiful governor's daughter traveling on board at his mercy. To save his life (and hers) he convinces the pirate that he's turned against Morgan and that the lady is under his protection. What follows is an adventure fraught with peril and suspense as our hero tries to balance his story and actions against a pirate determined to double-cross him at the first chance he gets, for the treasure and the girl.

It's a great story. The Maureen O'Hara - Tyrone Power movie is a toothless, fluffy version of the story. A better movie to compare the feel of this story to would be "The Glass Key" with Alan Ladd. Our hero is as cool-headed and calculating, and never loses sight of his ultimate goal.

I collect Sabatini novels, and when I occasionally re-read a few, The Black Swan is one of the first I'll revisit. It bears almost no resemblance to the Tyrone Power/Maureen O'Hara film; in fact, it's much better. While traveling from a British Caribbean colony to England, Priscilla Harradine and family friend Major Sands encounter Sir Henry Morgan's lieutenant (and former buccaneer) Charles de Bernis just before they are all captured by the notorious pirate Tom Leach. While de Bernis sets about convincing Leach he's on his side, Priscilla quietly falls for the Frenchman and Sands reveals himself to be a pompous old fool. In the end, of course, the hero de Bernis has something up his sleeve and things work out in typical Sabatini fashion.

The plot isn't as complex as most of Sabatini's other works, and it is one of his later books. But while it's a bit lighter, it's still an entertaining read. One interesting difference from the author's other works is the near absence of the misunderstanding between the male and female lead characters that keeps them apart for a while.

This is definitely one I'd recommend.

Rafael Sabatini's The Black Swan takes you through the jadegreen waters and tropical islands of the Caribbean into the violent,adventurous world of pirates and buccaneers. Priscilla Harradine is on her way to England after her father's recent death, accompanied by Major Sands, a devoted but pompous and dull-witted friend of her late father. Just before the Centaur, the ship on which they are traveling casts off, a tall dark stranger bound for Guadeloupe boards. Major Sands resents the presence of the dashing Frenchman, especially after learning that he is a former buccaneer. Priscilla however, much to the indignation of the Major who hopes to marry her, is fascinated by Charles de Bernis. She and the mysterious adventurer enjoy each other's company in the short time before he is to be put ashore at Sainte Croix. But the tranquility of the voyage is soon shattered when Monsieur de Bernis sights a dark image from his past on the morning horizon... The Black Swan is an intriguing, well written book that will keep your attention riveted to its pages. Readers who enjoy it will also like The Sea Hawk and Captain Blood by the same author.

Perhaps the best pirate novel ever written, Sabatini takes you right there, to feel the salt and sun, the fear and the joy, the fearsome loyalty. A classic adventure, magnificent wordcrafting and verbal choreography. When Sabatini describes a swordfight, you hear and see every clash, grunt and splash. They don't write like this anymore. Only George McDonald Fraser comes close these days.

Rafael Sabatini was scoffed at by many critics of his day who did not enjoy his melodramatic historical novels but remained popular with the public. (Just goes to show that sometimes the public is right. His best working period were the teens and early twenties of the twentieth century during this time he wrote the Sea Hawk, Captain Blood, Bellarion and Scaramouche. His later books have not quite the ramantic charm but they are still quite a lot better than your average modern historic novel.

The plot is basically a contest of wills on a south sea island between a French corsair who is defending a lady passenger and a rather nasty English pirate. The suspense is well portrayed and there is a rather good suprise ending. (It's not giving anything away to say that no one could forget the severed head scene) I found the heroine to be somewhat dim-witted at times but I really liked the hero, Charlie.

The movie version of this book does not follow it at all (it only borrows a few characters names) so viewing is no substitute for reading the real thing.

She was a mystery dame if ever there was one. Julie Butler was what she called herself, or sometimes Josephine Bailey, or Mrs. Baker. But to the men she met her real name spelt D-e-a-t-h. The author introduces the heroine of this quintessential noir novel, looking out of her hotel window one night: "She seemed to lean toward the city visible outside, like something imminent, about to happen to it." Although Woolrich was one of the founders of the noir genre, his name is not so famous as that of Chandler or Hammett. This is to be the first reprint in a laudable series, repositioning Woolrich as "America's Master of Suspense", with "Phantom Lady" coming out in august. The cover is magnificent, even better than it looks on this page. The only thing the editors have forgotten is to put in the original year of publication, but then again, this femme fatale in black ("Where have I seen her before", one of the characters wonders, "those ice-cold eyes, that kissable mouth?") is of course timeless.

Raymond Chandler (The Big Sleep), James M. Cain (The Postman Always Rings Twice), and Cornell Woolrich were among the creators of the noir genre of crime fiction in the 1930s and 1940s. This uniquely American literary genre had its roots in the terse, violent, and often poorly written pulp fiction. More talented, innovative writers evolved a dark, modern mythology that exploited themes of crime, guilt, deception, obsession, and murder.

I am familiar with other classics of noir genre, but The Bride Wore Black was my first introduction to Woolrich. The innocuous beginning, a young woman leaving home with no particular destination in mind, transitioned rapidly into an audacious, calculated, carefully planned murder without any apparent motive. Woolrich shifts the perspective back and forth from character to character, adeptly disguising the inner thoughts of the killer. Unlike the police who are uncertain whether the deaths are accidental or deliberate, we readers know it is murder, but not how the victims are chosen. I was unprepared for the ending.

The Bride Wore Black has been often republished and you should not have difficulty finding a copy.

Many novels and short stories by Cornell Woolrich have been adapted to the screen (the most notable was Rear Window), radio, and TV. I Married a Dead Man, Phantom Lady, and his `Black' series of suspense novels were among his best works.

If anyone ever wanted to cite a story that would best illustrate the observation that revenge is a dish best served cold, then I think this one would fill the bill. As a story of revenge, it's a classic with the big mystery being, what on earth could have happened to prompt such violence.

The person who is seeking revenge is Julie Killeen. She is a beautiful woman, but she's also a careful, cold-blooded killer. She is on an unstoppable mission of painstakingly tracking down, stalking and then murdering men before casually walking away, unconcerned about whether or not she leaves any witnesses. She gives little away as she carries out the murders, although she does feed us with snippets of information which merely serves to add to the mystery surrounding her actions and drives us on to find out more. None of her victims seem to recognise her, nor do they seem to have anything in common with one another, which also adds greater interest to the event that started her off.

Attempting to track Julie down is Lew Wanger, the detective who, while not exactly hot on her trail, is the only one who believes the murders are related. It's through him that the pieces are put together forming a coherent chain of events helping us understand what went on in the past to cause the events of the present.

This is a captivating story told in the typically brutal fashion of the hardboiled genre. The unexpected ending caps off this highly entertaining book very nicely indeed and I found myself well and truly put in my place, just as I was congratulating myself for having figured everything out.

you may not have heard of woolrich, but he travelled the same dark streets as noir's best.

Cornell Woolrich is one of those 1940s writers who pumped out loads of pulp fiction that have by now largely gone out of print. He was a very good storyteller but only an average writer - that is, his prose and characterizations are not particularly good. 'The Bride Wore Black' fits this rule completely.

In 'The Bride Wore Black' we have essentially five different murder stories with one seemingly common element: the same murderess. In the end we understand a bit more about her motive and why these victims were chosen. Woolrich also delivers a delicious surprise ending. Don't expect any subplots or side romances. This is pure, simple reading enjoyment that doesn't tax the brain but keeps your eyes glued to the pages.

Bottom line: certainly among Woolrich's better books. Highly recommended.

A friend let me borrow this book to read. Great book! I will be purchasing it to add to my collection. It's Very well written and a true life story. If you enjoy history (how people lived before this day & age) or outdoors you'll enjoy this book! Would recommend for anyone around age 10 & up. Tells how they lived in a very rural area of Southeast Alaska where boat was your main way of transportation. They hunted, trapped & fished to provide food for themselves & to sell to make living. Their experiences through all this give you a very real idea of what it would have been like. I think this took place in the 1940's-1950's, but I don't remember for sure. Some of the expiences have some humor in them too. This book talks about a mailboat coming with mail & goods...there is also a book out about that specific mailboat called "In the Wake of an Alaskan Mailboat" by Dennis Sperl, also a very good book.

I have lived in Southeast Alaska for the past eight years and am still learning a great deal about this magnificient part of the world. One of the ways that I learn is by reading books about the area and particularly those of local writers who have experienced the lifestyle. The Cheechakoes and Wayne's second book, This Raw Land, are two of the best I have read. They truly give one a feeling of what it must have been like in those early years. Having grown up in rural East Texas during the same time period as the books, I found that the part I enjoyed most was comparing the experiences of Wayne and his family with those of myself and my family. While many things were similar, the books truly give one the feeling of the vastness of the area and of the frontier spirit of the people who settled it.

These are great reads. I highly recommend them for all ages.

This one is hard to put down! END

I LIVED IN ALASKA FOR FORTY YEARS, AND THIS A VERY TRUE STORY OF THE FAMILY, I WAS AQUAINTED WITH THE SON MARK SHORT AND HIS WIFE LORENE, MOUSE TO HER FRIENDS, ALSO MET BARBRA AND WAYNE, LIVED IN PETERSBURG, WHERE WAYNE WAS MAYOR AT ONE TIME, I THINK BARBARA STILL WORKS THERE AT THE TIDES IN IN THE SUMMER. GREAT READ, DON'T MISS IT, ALSO THE SECOND BOOK, THIS RAW LAND, THERE IS NOTHING LIKE IT. THE FIRST BOOK IS WHEN WAYNE'S DAD TOOK THEM TO ALASKA AS CHEECHAKOE'S, GREEN HORNS, AND THE SECOND BOOK IS WHEN WAYNE WENT SOUTH AND MARRIED BARB AND TOOK HER BACK TO ALASKA, TO BUILD HIS OWN FAMILY AND HOLDINGS. DON'T MISS THIS.

Paints a very realistic picture of what it was like to be a fisherman in Alaska. Plenty of interesting stories about the people, and the adventures the Shorts had when they first arrived and started fishing for a living.
I bought it at a garage sale when I was 12, and I still enjoy re-reading it. I thought it had gone out of print, and wouldn't loan it to anyone for years for fear of losing it.
The only disturbing part is that wildlife (fish, mink, bears and seals) are something to be harvested and/or cleared away for the people. Loads of animals meet their maker in this book.

The 'Daum / Schenck' covers 20,000 russian verbs with conjugations, following pronouns, aspect and definitions. A serious help if you are on the learning curve.

My favorite part of the book for a long time was the essay in the appendix - 'On the syntax and semantics of the verb in present-day Russian' by Rudolf Ruzicka. It essentially provides all the rules necessary for a transformative and generative grammar - if you enjoyed 'Politeness' by Brown and Levinson, or have to write an AI for parsing Russian - the appendix is for you...

I have just started using this book in earnest and I have to say it is an invaluable resource. Russian verbs can be very confusing due to shifting stress and unexpected conjugation patterns but this book has so far proved very helpful in clearing up those difficulties. All the necessary information is given briefly to show the important verb forms without filling entire pages with repetitive conjugation tables. I'm sure there are more exhaustive works showing every nuance of verb meaning and usage, but as a desktop reference book this should be in the library of every serious student of Russian.

This work was produced some years ago in the old East Germany. Any serious student of the Russian language needs to have this book. All aspects of the Russian verb are covered in extensive detail. It's a true masterpiece and well worth the money.

A dictionary of Russian verbs is a easy to use book about Russian verbs. There are not many verbs in the Russian language missing in this book. If you wonder how to conjungate a verb, just look up the verb in this book and you will easely find you how to do it, or if it has any kind of exeption, it will be there. It also tells you all the meanings of the verb, which cases to use with it and all you need. A must for all students of the Russian language.

With some 20,000 verb entries, this dictionary is an excellent source of reference. It contains the conjugation of the verb as well as any other forms it might have including long and short form verbal adjectives ("participles"). In addition it has the syntactic regimen of each verb as well as it's stress. A section is also included which discusses the "syntax and semantics of the verb in present-day Russian". It is very informative. My compliments and thanks to the authors E. Daum and W. Schenk for their extensive research which was based upon various up-to-date sources such as the great 17 volume dictionary of modern literary Russian.

referring to a review I just read -- Silent Tom was the fifth man -- I read the books in 1944.

My father introduced me to Henry Ware and his mates when I was 7 or 8 years old. I have treasured every adventure with the "Five". My two sons have carried on my love for stories of the American frontier in the early late 1700's. Mr Altsheler has a unique way of explaining the flavor of the times.

Almost 40 years ago, as a young girl, I read and treasured all eight of the Henry Ware stories. As an adult I have re-read and treasured them again. Joseph Altsheler's descriptions of the great American wilderness will be with me always. Who recommended them to me? My mother. This is great writing - for boys and girls!

I read "eyes of the woods" as a lad in high school(behind a literature book in studyhall) as well as 7 other titles by Altscheler. Thqt was in 1936 and 1937. There were five young woodsmen..four I still remember ...Paul Cotter, Henry Ware, Shiftless Sol, Long Jim Hart and???. Any red blooded American boy, that can read, will find it difficult to put this book down as well as any others in the series

As a young girl in the early sixties, I read every Altsheler book the library had. The writing of these novels is so colorful and detailed, the reader easily feels a part of the story. The characters in the Young Trailers and their descendants carry on through the historical periods covered in Altsheler's other books. Must reading for anyone enjoying accurate historical novels. Note: First reviewer missed Tom Ross as the fifth Trailer.

I first found these books in the school library in the 1950's & I enjoy them more with each year. They give a true and accurate description of family life in the South through the years. I had thought about them for years and every once in a while would run into a copy at a book sale. A couple of years ago when I was out of work, I used some of my dwindling funds to buy copies of the last 2 books...and I have never regretted it.

I read this book in the 60's, and loved it deeply then. It has held up well. I'd be hard pressed to say whether I like this book or _Dawn's Early Light_ (the first story in the series) best. It is probably best appreciated after reading the first book in the series. They form the bookends of a wonderful series about several intertwined families on both sides of the Atlantic from the American Revolution through World War II. The editions I read as a kid had family trees on the endpapers, and they were a great help.
_Homing_ recounts the story of Mab, a young girl, and her extended family, through the beginning of WW II. Although I am not a historian, I have not ever encountered a historical event in one of Ms. Thane's books that was contradicted by any history I have read. She makes history immediate and real by showing how characters you care about are affected by historical events. The history is background to the story; although it contributes significantly to the plot, I never felt I was being lectured. Characterizations ring true; I came to care deeply about the people in the story. There are ways in which this book, and the whole series, remind me of the books of Rosamunde Pilcher - the are populated by people I'd like to meet, coping with their lives.

This is the last book in a series of books called the Williamsburg novels. I have been reading and re-reading this series of 7 books for over 50 years. They are my all time favorite books. Each book deals with a war or pre-war action (except the war of 1812) in which the US has taken part from the Revolutionary War (Dawn's Early Light) to the Civil War (Yankee Stranger) to the Homing with is the last of the series and the 4th book which deals with WWI and WWII and the years in between. They are a great source of history. Ms Thane (widow of the explorer Dr. William Beebe) has done an excellent job of research for each of the books. I hope others find them as wonderful, and as entertaining as I do. I have read my old copies until they are falling apart. I was very excited to find they had been reprinted and purchased them immediately.

The last of the Williamsburg Series, Homing brings you full circle back to the past. The best way to read this book is after you have read the others, beginning with "Dawn's Early Light". I first read them when I was a teenager and I still read them every couple of years. The characters are like family or maybe the way we would like family to be.

This is the conclusion to the Williamsburg Novels that begins with Dawn's Early Light. The characters continue to ring true and the historical view of both England and the US during the early days of WWII is great. The story truly comes full circle and makes you want to read them all again.