Canada Books

I came across this book at a consignment store and bought it for $1 without even reading it as my hands were full. One of my best friends is named "Jennifer Jones" so I couldn't walk past without picking it up. Originally I planned to send it to her, but it's just such a cute little rhyming story with a nice rhythm to it that I don't want to give it up! My 6 month old seems to enjoy the illustrations as much as I do. Instead of passing on my $1 copy I came here to order my bestie a brand new one! I think it'll make her day. :)

My children love this book and so do I. The little boy's reactions to Jennifer's amorous advances and then to her absence seem realistic and are very endearing. Another cute "kissing" book to check out is "The Good-night Kiss" by Astrid Mola.

I came across this book while volunteering at a childrens book fair. I just fell in LOVE with it and had to buy it for myself! I have no children, but have read it to my nieces and they loved it too! I am proud to have this 'childrens book' on my bookshelf!

This book is perfect for young children and the young at heart. Adults will love it as much as their children. I read it with first and second graders. They sympathized with the narrator's "Ewww, a girl LIKES me" feelings, and they giggled when he changed his mind. Boys and girls had different reactions over whether or not the narrator should tell his friends of his change of heart.

In a time when children would rather turn on the TV than listen to a good story, this one won over the crowd. They even asked me to "Read it again!"

After reading "The Diviners" by Margaret Laurence, I found "A Jest of God" more entertaining and true-to-life. The female protagonist Rachel was more believable and down to earth. The plot of homosexuality was realistic and daring.

Although I find Margaret Lawrence to be an incredible author, all her books tend to be the same. Different people but always the same place, type of character, style. . . this is at least the case with all her books in the Manawaka Series. Stone Angel was my favorite, A jest of God was pretty good though.

At first I thought of Rachel as paranoid and on the edge of sanity; however, by the end of the novel she has found her self and her voice. Her thoughts and feelings towards her mother and sister are so realistic, even if they seem unsettling at times. It was enlightening to be a part of her journey towards self-discovery and strength.

A Jest of God epitomises Margaret Laurence's focus on characters whose stories are usually never told. The protagonist, Rachel, is a spinster school-teacher in small town Manitoba. She is stifled both by her closed community and by internalising their pettiness. Rachel's inner-dialogue sets the claustophobic atmosphere, while also being funny, frustrating and moving. Laurence's portrait of an ordinairy woman coming to terms with herself and with surroundings is flawless and highly readable.

The devotionals in this book cover almost every topic you could think of concerning your Christian walk, which others have detailed. This book, split into one to two page devotionals--a hundred of them, has somewhere within its pages, a specific message to speak to almost any issue you are struggling with. I found all the stories and conclusions to be Biblically based with references to scripture. The power of the author's faith is evident, and when you realize that Mr. Mitchener is severely disabled, his faith is all the more powerful and encouraging. A number of churches have had him as a speaker, no doubt to the great edification of the people there.

If you want a powerful, Bible-based, devotional book that tackles many issues, then this is the one. For more information, the author's website is his name as one word, then the dot com. I highly recommend this book.

In Just Passing Through, Jason Mitchener offers one hundred well-written devotionals on selected Bible verses to uplift and encourage his fellow travelers on the road of life. Although Jason is confined to a wheelchair, his spirit soars free and his view of the world is sharp and God-centered.

These devotionals include subjects such as love, contentment, anger, and knowing God. Mitchener's comments on Scripture come from his experience and observation, and are both refreshing and challenging.

Although I've been a Christian for many years, Mitchener's devotionals have inspired me to seek a closer walk with Jesus and reach out to others on my journey with Him.

This is a book I will read again and again for comfort, encouragement, and inspiration. I highly recommend it to Christians and to anyone seeking a better understanding of God and life. This book would make an excellent gift and would be a welcome addition to any church library.

The title is deceptively simple, and so is the cover illustration. These aren't leisurely, isn't-the-world-great devotionals, the kind that make no more impression than a passing traveler might. These are devotionals straight from the heart of a sufferer, not someone who looks back from a safe distance on a time of anguish, but one who wakes each day to face his trials anew. They reflect sadness that yet sparkles with joy, realism into which has dawned optimism, pain in a wash of sunlight. Here the reader can glimpse a soul struggling against the odds--and winning with God. This book would have special meaning to anyone, like the author and unlike the man on the cover, who can explore the world only from his own small room.

Jason Mitchener's honesty and poignant viewpoint come wrapped in the solid good writing of a storyteller. I received a double blessing, as well as a triple whammy, when I realized Jason writes from the perspective of a man with more than the usual challenges of life. You can't read this book and not be changed!

This summer 2005 I used this book to kayak the inside passage from Anacordis WA to Glacier Bay, AK. I left Anacordis on 18 June 05 and reached Glacier Bay on 25 Sept O5. This book was my guide the entire way. I tried every recommended campsite, and paddled the recommended route almost entirely, without stopping, for 1400 miles, and 3 1/2 months. So ... perhaps, in a small way, I am qualified to review this book.

The book's recommended route is impecable - perfect all the way from Anacordis to Glacier Bay, with one exception, as follows: Between Petersburg and Juneau AK, the author routes the kayaker along admiralty island to see a bear sanctuary, and then into a blind lagoon where the kayaker is forced to use a land trolley to transport his kayak across a peninsula. This route is a poor selection because 1)The bear sanctuary is impossible for kayakers to see because of beligerant forest service policies requiring advance reservations. No exceptions; 2)The blind lagoon's trolley has the rails disconnected at the north end, requiring the kayaker to CARRY his kayak on his back down a steep, high hill to finish the portage. Instead, kayakers buying this book would do best in ignoring the author's Petersburg to Juneau route, and instead paddle along the mainland shore, where multitudes of iceburgs float, where the second best whale-watching area in north america is, and best of the best, where the Tracy Arm Glacier is, arguable the finest, most impressive and actively calving glacier in all of Alaska. Why the author bypassed the miraculous Tracy Arm to NOT see a bear sanctuary that doesn't permit impromptu kayakers ... we can only guess.

Campsites: The author openly admits that he lost his notes on what his campsites were for much of the trip. Thus, the campsites recommended on the book's maps are anotated in the book with painful phrases paraphrased like "... the topo map shows this to be flat ground, so there maybe SHOULD be a campsite there...." OUCH. Speaking as a traveller who has visited all the author's recommended campsites, the author is right only better than half the time, and when the campsite he recommends turns out to be a swamp ... or indeed IS flat ground but is fronted by jagged rocks impossible to haul a kayak up the beach on ... that means the tired kayaker must continue paddling blindly and exhaustedly, perhaps with light failing and conditions deteriorating, looking for a campsite on his own. Now this wouldn't be so bad, except that for the vast majority of the inside passage, the mountains fall directly into the sea, leaving jagged cliffy coastlines where campsites appear only once every ten miles or so. Campsites are as scarce as hens teeth. So ... a tired kayaker having timed his paddling day to end at the author's recommended campsite ... has only a 50-50 chance of indeed finding shelter there, and will perhaps be forced to continuing paddling on ... and on ... and on.

Author's commentary and background research is superb. Many times I found myself teaching the locals about their own area by reading them this guidebook's commentary. The book is very readable and fun, yet is highly educational. The author's anecdotes had me rolling on my tent floor in laughter many times. Exceptions: The author comments that one can expect to see one to five bears a day along the inside passage. This is not so. I paddled 3 1/2 months, and only saw 6 bears, all of them black, none of them browns. Bears, and signs of bears, were few. Land wildlife is actually very rare along the entire inside passage ... but marine wildlife abounds. Only three places in 1400 miles did I see a deer, for example.

Overall, this book earns its 5 stars. But note the exceptions above to correct the book's few quirks. Hats off to the author on doing such a good job guiding us through such a demanding, lengthy, and thrilling journey.

Mr. Miller has a wealth of knowledge in kayaking, the passage, and the environment. He shares this with humor and historic accuracy. I particularly enjoyed his observations of human interaction. However, it would be a much more digestable read if I didn't have to use the dictionary every ten minutes to discover the meaning of the obscure language he uses throughout the book. Although I clearly understand the gist, the audience (me)... would be more interested in a text that had a manageable rhythm. Perhaps he is trying to prove he is a literate, intellectual outdoor person. I will use this book to help plan my own month long trip in the inside passage.

Miller's book is filled with delights on every page. I picked it up because I'm heading up The Passage by ferry for the first time and I thought a kayaker's perspective could be interesting. I was not disappointed! Every page is an entertainment. From the trials of flood and ebb tides to the ever-present danger from bears to the capsulated history about almost every one of the 3,000 islands along the way. I felt I was present.

This is not just about paddling, which is detailed to the max, but about economics; and the climate; and the sheer brutality as well as the compassion of the men and women who braved it;

As I go on my comfortable armchair cruise, I will now know not only what is in front of me but what transpired at this spot 100 years ago, 500 years ago and even how the surface of the earth came to this spectacular visage.

How the eminent naturalist, John Muir got his come-up-ence from an elderly chief; how the first settlers crossed the land bridge into the new continent; how the more recent "discoverers" overcame hardship and missed opportunities to enter into a struggle between nations that, although currently without bloodshed, is still continuing.

I received much more than I was expecting from "Kayaking...". I received a wealth of background which will make my coming trip a true "delight".

Full of history, regional politics, and local knowledge, this book is not just for kayakers. Anyone planning or dreaming of an Inside Passage voyage will enjoy this read. And yes, it has the maps,references, and all the hard-to-find details for actually doing this trip.

that I am looking for her next book :)....what a great (yet) readable book !

When I opened 'Kiss the Sunset Pig' I was expecting a travel book, which it is ... and a great one at that. What I wasn't expecting was how much it would touch my soul. I sat, riveted, as I took a journey not only around the world, but across thoughts, hopes, dreams. Anyone who's ever questioned whether, with the whole world to choose from, they're living their lives in the best place or whether they've filled their lives to the very best of their ability, will find a resonating spirit in this book.
As Laurie Gough makes her way from Canada and across America she hopes not only to settle happily in California, but to find the coastal cave that she lived in for six nights, years ago. But the search is not so much for the cave itself, as for the more free-spirited (she believes) girl that lived there. As she drives, she recalls previous travels in the Greek islands, the Yukon, Jamaica, Sumatra, and Seoul, to name a few. These tales can't fail to inspire. Her bravery alone, traveling solo through often uncomfortable, and sometimes dangerous, situations is humbling to say the least. But it's this bravery she feels has been lost and she hopes to rekindle by finding her cave.
Several times the author seemed to wander into places I thought only existed in my daydreams. Some were so uncanny they made me gasp. Since childhood I have wanted a glass-walled bedroom perched on the top of a house, entirely surrounded by trees. I clapped my hands in delighted envy when the author set up home in just such a room ... and in a Californian Redwood forest at that. These instances were some of the most poignant for me - the fact that daydreams can so easily be reality if you go out and make them so ... that really hit home.
The travel stories are touching, humourous, enchanting, and filled with travel's usual mix of discomfort, frustration, alarm, and achingly beautiful encounters. All are told with the author's clear natural gift for portraying the lightness and the depth in every situation.
So if the idea of sleeping in a coastal cave, inside a Californian Redwood, on a Mediterranean beach, or on the banks of the remote Yukon river lights something intangible inside, I wholeheartedly recommend you read 'Kiss the Sunset Pig' and let inspiration rain over you.

If you enjoyed Kite Strings of the Southern Cross, or even if you were not lucky enough to read it, Laurie Gough's second book offers the same magical combination of beautiful, descriptive travel writing and soul-searching that never comes across as self-involved or forced. Starting in Canada, Gough takes the reader along on her road trip to rediscover a special cave she once stayed in along the California coast - and how she has evolved since that memorable sojourn. Interspersed throughout the narrative are chapters on some of Gough's other international adventures to such exotic locales as Sumatra and Seoul, South Korea (a place that comes across as utterly unappealing).

Much of the beauty in Gough's writing comes not just from her memorable descriptions of the people, places, and things she encounters and learns from (especially those harrowing Indonesian bus and ferry rides and Marcia, her struggling car), but also from her brutal honesty about some of the low points she struggled through along the way. By the end of the book, the reader truly roots for Gough to find her cave so the journey can go full-circle.

Despite an unexpected outcome, Gough manages to discover the meaning and convey the depth of her experience in a way that never seems heavy-handed or cliched. This is a beautiful and inspiring piece of travel writing that offers many riches for fellow travelers, those who enjoy strong writing, and anyone who has ever considered his or her place and purpose in the universe.

Laurie Gough is an intrepid traveller with a youthful exuberance for adventure. I realize, though, that no matter what one's age, some people are born with wanderlust and have a need to travel the world. The interesting thing is, travellers always return home. That's what Gough does. She's been to thirty countries, hitchhiking thousands of miles by herself though fourteen of them. But she always returns to her hometown of Guelph, Ontario in Canada.

At the beginning of Kiss the Sunset Pig, Gough sets off for California from Guelph in a "blue, beat-up mini Ford Bronco" she calls Marcia. To help with driving and expenses, she picks up a travelling companion named Debbie, whom she has met through an ad and, before the trip begins, has only spoken to on the phone. Debbie gets dropped off in St. Louis, Missouri, at the home of a boyfriend she has never met face to face.

"Sometimes I think I'm still looking for an axis," Gough writes early on in her journey. After reading her book, I think the axis may be the wanderlust. It's who she is. For a person with wanderlust, there is no perfect place to live. A place may seem ideal, for a time, but really it's just a base at which to prepare oneself for the next adventure.

Reading about her encounters with strange and wonderful people is frightening at times (for the reader and for her), but I realize travelling with a companion or in a group, as I usually do, one is not open to the same exciting possibilities. Travelling solo, Gough finds herself talking to strangers more readily as she's more open and more herself. "That's the thing about travelling: it's like peeling away a layer of yourself, exposing yourself to the world so it can expose itself to you".

The structure of the book is an interesting one that works extremely well. (She did the same in her first book, Kite Strings of the Southern Cross, which I highly recommend.) Rather than write a book of travel stories in chronological order, Gough reflects on previous journeys as she drives across the United States in a car that needs lots of garage visits along the way.

One of those reflections is the Greek island of Naxos. There Gough created a temporary home under a small bamboo wind shelter on the beach. Her backpack went missing for a time and to ease her panic, she looked at the "dependable milky rock" of the moon. Gough realized things like that didn't matter "in the great scheme of the universe" (she had her passport and money), and I realize too, as a traveller, one needs to practice non-attachment. Gough describes Greece beautifully as a "land where myth and reality swirl around each other in a luminous haze." Yet she needed to move on, "to see the rest of the world."

One summer, Gough hitchhiked to the Yukon, 3,000 miles from Guelph. She says hitchhiking is "always a surprise study of human beings." Her travelling companion Kevin told her of his own world adventures. His advice was "You have no idea what's in store for you, but if you let yourself go along with the flow of the unknown and accept whatever happens, things seem to work out".

The "exotic detours" of which Gough writes don't all have happy endings. Her teaching job in Kashechewan in Canada's sub-Arctic ended after only three months with Gough defeated and exhausted by the chaos of a third-grade class. A trip to Jamaica with her sister ended quickly, as Gough likes to stay with locals while her sister prefers fancy hotels.

Gough is full of questions about where she belongs. Those questions don't at all detract from the book; they help us relate. After all, travel is about looking for oneself, and as travel-book readers, we get to reflect on similar questions.

On her trip to California, Gough plays Joni Mitchell's "California" that includes the phrase "kiss the sunset pig." She carries a tattered notebook called "Cave Journal" and would like to find that cave on the Pacific again, where she spent some time thirteen years previously. Along with her questions and her longing, Gough has a healthy sense of humour about her encounters along the way. She describes a town on the Great Plains called Grainfield as the "size of a bath mat."

At an earlier age, Gough described herself as "still on my way to everywhere." She has learned that travel can mean "hours, even days of despair, rain, heatwaves, snow, mosquitoes, late trains, no trains, followed by a single moment of dazzling elation. It was those single moments one tended to recall." Gough makes some realizations at the end of her California trip that I don't want to reveal here. But I would say, even though she is older and perhaps wiser, I still see her as on her way to everywhere.

Gough has married since the stories written about in her book and has a baby son. They divide their time between a farmhouse outside of Guelph, Ontario, and a Quebec village. Seventeen of her stories have been anthologised in various literary travel books, including Salon.com's Wanderlust: Real-Life Tales of Adventure and Romance and Sand in My Bra: Funny Women Write from the Road. She has written for the Los Angeles Times, the Globe and Mail, the National Post, Outpost, Canadian Geographic and numerous literary journals.

by Mary Ann Moore
for Story Circle Book Reviews
www.storycirclebookreviewsorg
reviewing books by, for, and about women

Faye and Louise Parker's father abandoned the family when the girls were babies - an event that fuels their mother Maggie in all that she does. She sleeps with her boss Jerry, taunting and believing her power over him is part of her revenge at her husband. She ostracizes her widowed mother Ellen, and worst of all, Maggie lashes out at her girls, both physically and emotionally. In her mind, they can do nothing right, simply because they are John Parker's daughters.

But in reality, Faye and Louise are beautiful people, inside and out. Sixteen months apart, the sisters are smart and good-natured. Shy, introspective Faye and outspoken Louise are long accustomed to supporting and protecting one another, both against their mother and the world as a whole. Thankfully, they also have their grandmother Ellen - as befuddled by Maggie as they - to turn to.

This quietly moving story follows the Parker family over several decades, taking readers through Faye and Louise's childhood, adolescence and young adulthood; Maggie's self-inflicted, oblivious downward spiral; and Ellen's attempts at happiness with her new husband Bob. The sisters' childhood friend Raffie DiStasio quickly becomes close to Faye as the two mature, and although still young, the two dream of the life they will one day have together.

As Maggie's behavior grows more horrific, Faye and Louise plan their escape. But their triumph is short-lived as tragedy strikes, and nothing is again the same.

This novel - much in the style of Anne Tyler - is at once quiet and slow-moving as well as powerful and meaningful. Allen's skill at fleshing out her characters makes readers care and want the best for them. Also, her talent for introducing minor characters, then having them resurface in a main character's life in a big way makes for a more interesting and tightly-woven story.

This is a long book,but well worth the length in enjoyment. Louise and Faye are sisters ,long mistreated by their bitter,abusive mother,Maggie. After Maggie finally goes too far, they are rescued by their warm,loving grandmother,Ellen.The two of them embark upon a life of much deserved happiness until Faye meets with an unfortunate, tragic accident. Louise descends into a deep depression, that is only overcome by her relocating to England. There she successfully starts anew,away from her haunting memories.She becomes acquainted with Rachael,a wealthy girl with bipolar disorder, which is almost causing her to lose her life. Louise takes charge of her friend's life, encouraging her to make changes. The two of them turn out to be mutually beneficial to each other.Together they bring about positive events that change both of their lives. There are the male characters: Raffie,Faye's only true love; Nick,the lower-class englishman who helps save Rachael;Tim,the doctor who was able to bring Louise the love she was afraid to face. There are many other delightful people who add so much to the plot of this remarkable book. Even the peripheral ones have life and are real. Charlotte Vale Allen has a great talent to make all of her characters live. You know all of them personally and almost become a part of the story yourself.This is another unforgettable book by Charlotte Vale Allen. If you have never read any of her books this is a wonderful introduction,which will start an addiction to all of her books.

Maggie (the mother from hell) vents her anger, bitterness and rage at life on her two daughters, Faye and Louise. This is a great story on the power of sisterly love and overcoming an abusive childhood. I found the characters to be true to life and well rounded. This was a good read that I highly recommend. (Illusions is still my all time favorite of Vale Allen's books!) If you're new to her, be sure to read it.

It's always amazing how nasty the reviewers from Kirkus and Publishers Weekly can be. This book's characters are anything but bland. There's a remarkable cast of truly well-rounded characters, with the lives of each investigated thoroughly. At the heart of the story, Louise Parker is clever and determined, funny and lovable; shattered by the inexplicable death of her sister, she leaves her birthplace, Toronto, to start her life again in London. As always, Allen offers great insights into the whys of her characters, particularly the hateful Maggie, mother of Louise and the ill-fated Faye. Despite its length, this is a book that keeps the reader enthralled from start to finish, as we follow Maggie, her daughters, and her mother for a decade or so--their highs and lows, their joys and sorrows. Particularly wonderful is Allen's use of films as a consolation and soporfic for the tragically vulnerable Faye. There is always something cinematic (visual) about Allen's writing; she manages to create very vivid images for the reader--memorable scenes that stay with one long after the book is done. This is a must-read novel.

This is the best travel book about the London that I found. It has all necessary information that I was looking for without the tones of text and pictures. It gives you so good ideas about what you can or should see in one day that I decided just to follow the book. :)

Took 3 guides to London for our 2005 trip. This guide has the best pictures of the 3. Most of the information is very good. The walking tours are the best! It even tells you when to stop and eat.hmmmmm

The guide doesn't really cover all aspects if you are new to the culture and city. No real tips on staying out of trouble and the detailed city map is combersome. That aside, the book is well put together with wire spirals, the cover is a hard paper for good construction.

Before traveling to London, we purchased many travel books, but AAA's London guide was the only one we took with us. The book is filled with beautiful color photos, great descriptions, planned itineraries, and a fantastic detailed map. We are planning on traveling to Rome this summer and AAA's Rome guide is the only travel book we will be purchasing before we go.

My wife and I used this travel guide extensively while in London. It served as our bible, tour guide, and street map. It is laid out in a very clearly and the sprial binder makes it very easy to flip to any page. It is filled with clear, color pictures and maps. The guide is broken down into various regions throughout London, with each section highlighting Must See Attractions, and then At Your Leisure sites that are also in the area. It also has a very nice reference on how to see a region in one day. An Underground map is on the inside back cover, and a regional map of London on the front inside cover. Other nice features are sections called 'Finding Your Feet' - which provides great information for when you first arrive in London (either by plane, train, boat, etc..) and a 'Practicalities' seciton that talks about currency, clothes sizes,etc.

What really made this book stand out compared to other London travel guides was it included detailed street maps of these regions. Those proved invaluable for us once we started walking around the area. The book is compact, and fit inside my coat pocket comfortably.

Florin Diacu's The Lost Millenium approaches the issues of revising chronology from an astronomy perspective. He shows how our present understanding of chronology doesn't line up with our knowledge of astronomy. He quite rightly shows that there are issues with Fomenko's reconstruction of Chronology. However what is perhaps most valuable about Fomenko is the mass of evidence showing that our existing chronology is unscientific. It would be good to see Florin Diacu concentrate more on that. If we examine the history of different texts we see that until the 'Revival of Letters' and the printing press, works like the Bible appear to have been practically non-existent as far as the historical record shows. People were not really familiar with the classics, bible, and church fathers till the era of printing. In English one can also refer to Edwin Johnson for more information. Wikipedia has links to his works, including The Pauline Epistles. In many ways the classics reflect the concerns of the renaissance, while the bible reflects the religious arguments of the different sides in the reformation era. (Just as the Book of Mormon shows a current understanding of 19th Century theological arguments in New York State.) The further one examines the subject the less clear it is what on really knows about the past prior to the age of publication. This book is important because it shows that there is solid evidence that our knowledge of the past is dubious.

A must read for anyone who wants an objective account on Fomenko's views. there are also brief accounts on Peter James and David Rohl. maybe in a second edition professor Diacu will venture into the minds of the German revisionists Uwe Topper, and Herbert Illig. so far they sound more convincing to me than Fomenko, although Fomenko's results for the almagest do destroy the main pillar of traditional chronology. Diacu speaks of the dark ages in the middle ages but never really gets into it. Herbert Illig for example proposed that 300 years should be taken out of the chronology, according to him the years between 600 AD and 900 AD. if anyone was convinces by Peter James Centuries of Darkness, he should be convinced by Illig. the proofs are very similar, and they were very convincing to me. in conclusion, Diacu has managed to summarize Fomenko in mere 200 pages and he did it in a fun way. there is still space for lets say 100 pages exploring the views of the German revisionists, this would give the reader more places were to choose from.

This book filled my winter holidays with joy! I always thought mathematicians cannot write, but Diacu proved me wrong. He succeeded to grip my attention from the beginning and kept me focused until I read the very last line. Now I am reading this book for the second time because I want to fix the ideas, and I find it as fresh and engaging as the first time. Diacu's quest to learn the truth, his enthusiasm and care for detail are worth noting. A read that made me think more intensly than I did in years.

Being an avid reader of history books, especially ancient history, I have always taken for granted that when a historian stated that an event occurred in a certain year in the distant past, that that year was correct - especially if conventionally accepted among historians - within, perhaps, a small margin of error. Before reading this book, I was not aware of the challenges that have been made in the past, and that are still being made today, to conventional historical chronology - challenges that propose to shorten recorded history by as much as one thousand years! The main reformist in this field these days is Anatoli Fomenko, a well-respected Russian mathematician on whose work most of this book is based. The author, also a mathematician, uses an unbiased and objective approach in analyzing Fomenko's theories and methods. He also discusses the traditionalists' reactions to Fomenko's results. Although it is easy to sense that history's timetables are not about to be overturned any time soon based solely on Fomenko's work, the author does suggest ways in which some traditional dates can be confirmed. Observing the scientific method at work is always interesting for me. This is a fascinating book. It is very well written in a clear and engaging style; and, for me, it was quite a page-turner.

"Tories" and "loyalists" have always been in the background of our independence story but largely nameless, faceless and forgotten. Flesh them out and "The Revolution" is a layered conflict where "Civil War" is difficult to square with the mythology it has become. Not all Americans were enamored with the break and many took up arms against their neighbors to prevent it. Why they did it, where they came from, how their story unfolded and the diaspora that followed are all facinating aspects of a journey most Americans simply know nothing about. This is well written, both statistical without being dry and anecdotal without a loss of perspective. This should be required reading for anyone with more than a passing interest of the Revolutionary era.

When I was a school boy on summer vacation I casually chatted with my stepgrandfather about the things I had learned over the year about the American revolution. And then I said I wondered if I had any ancestors who had participated in the conflict.

He looked me right in the eye and told me his family secret. His ancestors had participated. They had been Loyalists. Their home had been New York but like the overwhelming majority of Loyalists, they chose to Stay in the US after the war.

They may have been loyal to Britain simply because they had always seen themselves as part of Britain, but after the war they were hardly a King and Country lot. Most simply wanted to be left alone and live out their lives in peace.

This book, which I acquired soon after it was published is the story of this peticular group, seen through the eyes of select individuals, who were between fifteen and twenty percenty of the American population in the thirteen colonies. It tries to give insight into what was their mindset as well as give the reader their history. It certainly gives that for all their loyalty, Britain was hardly a caring or sharing host.

I cetainly disagree with the author's attempted portrayal of Thomas Hutchinson as an Imperial Statesman who was a participatting member of the British Empire. Thomas Hutchinson was a local politician who saw himself in Massachusetts in positions of authority in Massachussetts. He looked to Parliment for patronage to gain local power. In many ways he and men like him are no different from the Nabobs of India who went to men like Clive and made the deal that for British backing they would go forth to tax the locals dry and share the loot. Men like Ben Franklin, the 'Rebels', also looked to Parliment but for seats. Beyond this little disagreement I have with the author, this is a great book to read.

As a proud UEL member and student of the American Revolution, especially loyalists, this is my my favorite book to date.

I strongly recommend anyone that is not familiar with loyalists to read this book. It gives rich and detailed specific accounts of real people that are documented.

This book will go a long way in helping you understand Loyalists, what they were and what happened to them. It may even open your eyes to the plight of these heroic people who have been so lost to propoganda that it is sad.

We the People*

*the rights we want are only for those that think exactly like we do or you are exempt.

Moore's work does something extremely important for the student of early American history. He de-mythologizes the beginnings of the American Revolution, and sheds new light on the people that most Americans were taught to view as villains, those who remained loyal to King George III.

Moore not only describes the revolution from the perspective of those those that remained loyal to their King and country, he also details some of the less than democratic ways our forebears treated them.

I highly recommend this book to all who are interested in a more even handed study of the period than the highly propagandized version we usually get here.

For a good summertime read, books don't get much better than this. The plot keeps you guessing how things will turn out and the ending is truly a surprise. Particularly well-drawn are the wartime descriptions, especially the fire-bombing of Dresden.

Read Sole Survivor which we enjoyed immensely, trying to find other books by this author; none are available in the US library system as far as we can tell.

If you are tired of the mundane and looking for fresh and stimulating reading, then this is the one! From past and present day Australia to a European mystery set against WW2, the story within a story will keep you entertained and spell bound.

This would have to be one of the best books I've ever read. Gut-wretching, compelling and impossible to put down. I paticularly liked the characters of Cecilia Ortelli and Friedrich Eigenwill. It was to good to see the Second World War through a German pair of eyes and realise that the Oberstleutnant was not a bad man but, in fact, a very decent man caught up in an impossible situation. I found the detailed description of the bombing of Dresden extremely distressing and it showed that, truly, there are no 'winners' in any war. This book is a must read - Derek Hansen is brilliant!!