Virginia Books

Fron the 1600's to the Present, this is the "go to" book for Hurricane history affecting the eastern coastline. But more than just weather and geographical facts, Rick "The Hurricane Man" Schwartz has conducted many personal interviews to put a human interest face in this well-read timeline of the Hurricanes' impact, and stories of miraculous survival and devastatingly tragic loss. As Mr. Schwartz reminds, "Hurricane history repeats" and "The Year of the Hurricane is coming"! Are we prepared?

Over the years any number of books have been written about the devastating hurricanes that have struck coastal New England. Likewise, there are a whole host of books available about the history of hurricanes in the great state of Florida. Yet, when he sought to do some research on the history of hurricanes in the Middle Atlantic states Rick Schwartz discovered to his great consternation that very little had been written about the subject and that no really comprehensive book on this topic had ever been written. So Rick Schwartz decided to correct this glaring oversight himself. After more than six years of painstaking research "Hurricanes And The Middle Atlantic States" was released in 2007. This is a book that proves to be well worth your time and attention.
As the complete title would indicate "Hurricanes And The Middle Atlantic States: A Surprising History...From Jamestown To The Present" traces the history of hurricanes in this region from colonial times until the present day. It is a fascinating study. Rick Schwartz conducted more than 100 interviews in putting together this superb book. He also unearthed old newspaper articles, personal letters and state and local government documents in attempting to cobble together the real story. Consequently, there is an interesting narrative on almost all of the storms Rick decided to cover in his book. Schwartz also made a very wise decision by choosing to include track maps on a good many of these hurricanes. This feature greatly enhances the readers understanding of the storms and underscores just how unpredictable they can be. In addition, the inclusion of more than 200 black and white photographs helps readers to gage the full impact of these powerful cyclones and serves to emphasize the need for coastal communities to carefully reconsider public policies that have allowed for reckless overdevelopment on the waterfront. The question is not "if" these areas will be struck by a major hurricane in the future but only "when". Then there is the enormous toll these storms exact on everyday people. For all too many, life will never be the same again. Schwartz devotes considerable time to those who are victimized by hurricanes as well as those public officials who must find new and creative ways to deal with the devastation. High winds, heavy rain, tornadoes and flooding can all combine to wreak havoc for residents in the affected areas. Finally, I would be remiss if I failed to make mention of some of the fascinating local folklore that Rick Schwartz managed to sprinkle in throughout this book. Outstanding stuff!
Every now and then I come across a book like "Hurricanes And The Middle Atlantic States" that really seems to be much more appropriate as a reference volume. This is no knock on Rick Schwartz. This book is extremely well written, meticulously researched and thoughtfully laid out. Yet the stories inevitably do tend to become a bit repetitive and I found myself losing just a bit of interest from time to time. This is hardly surprising when one realizes that this book covers more than 300 years of hurricane history! Having said that, "Hurricanes And The Middle Atlantic States" remains an extremely important addition to the literature on hurricanes in this nation and deserves a spot not only on the shelves of libraries in the Middle Atlantic region but in other parts of the country as well. It is a book that students, researchers and general interest readers will turn to time and again in the decades to come. Highly recommended!

Researched, compiled and written by hurricane historian Rick Schwartz, "Hurricanes And The Middle Atlantic States: A Surprising History, Jamestown To The Present" chronicles four hundred years of the Middle Atlantic region's significant tropical cyclones beginning with the experiences of the Jamestown settlers and continuing down to the present day. A unique and exhaustively researched study, "Hurricanes And The Middle Atlantic States" features a substantial chronology profiling all of the Mid-Atlantic hurricanes and major storms, examines the patterns and characteristics of the region's tropical cyclones, and provides a sound basis for comparison, planning and preparation with respect to Mid-Atlantic hurricanes. Of special note is a forecasting history chapter offering insights into past progress and current knowledge about predicting hurricanes. Ideal for weather and meteorology students, "Hurricanes And The Middle Atlantic States" is especially recommended for non-specialist general readers with an interest in hurricanes and climate-changed influences on storm behavior, frequency, and intensity. Enhanced with an extensive glossary, a bibliography, and a geographically oriented index, as well as track maps and some 200 black-and-white photographs, "Hurricanes And The Middle Atlantic States" is confidently recommended for personal, professional, academic, and community library Weather & Meteorology reference collections.

Fascinating Book!!! Very informative, interesting facts and interviews. A must read for anyone with any interest at all on this topic.

BOOK REVIEW - "HURRICANES AND THE MIDDLE ATLANTIC STATES"
Author: Richard Schwartz (Hardcover - 400 pages)

This incredible book is a first of its kind - dedicated to the storms that have affected the Mid-Atlantic States through the past 300+ years, from the "Year of the Hurricane in 1667" up through Hurricane Jeanne in September 2004. A great reference for all hurricane enthusiasts the book includes explanations of all commonly used technical terms, references, and internet sources for everyone to use. But mostly it covers all the storms that through this extensive historical period had an affect on the mid-Atlantic States region. And Rick has done this with a definite personal touch, going to great lengths to get a "people- perspective" on what actually happened, what people went through during these storms. And he does his best to educate all of us that we are never "out of the woods" as to the future. We may be in a lull for action right now, but that is definitely temporary, and more storms that form in the future will definitely have more profound affects on the Mid-Atlantic region. Anyone and everyone in the mid-Atlantic area should reach out and get this book to have as a reference and to learn about the great effects these powerful storms have on their local areas. As Rick put it, "An understanding of storms past is vital to preparing for those ahead..."

This is a really good story about a brave girl. I love this book and I read it more than once and I never get tired of it!

This book is the best book i have ever read.it makes me want to read it over and over again

After reading this book I can honestly say that I learned something about history as well as getting the enjoyment of a good adventure by a Canadian author. Although some parts could be offensive the truth sometimes can be that way. It is shocking that someone could be treated like less than an animal over a piece of fluff. I will read more books by Virginia Schwartz now because she writes in a way that people from 10 to 90 can enjoy her books.

This is an amazing book. I would recommend this book for all ages, it can touch hearts of young and old. Basically, its about 5 friends trying to get to the free country of Canada, away from slavery in Alabama. They go through rough times, happy times and hard times, but I will let you see what happens in the end by yourselves. It has everything - sad moments, intensifying moments, happy moments and heart warming moments.

This well-researched book is the story of Phoebe, a teenaged woman born in slavery on an Alabama plantation. A map in the front allows readers to follow the route taken by Phoebe, her friends, Liney & Jake, and Liney's 2 little girls as they use the clues in lyrics of the old slave spirituals to guide them on their way along the Underground Railroad. These characters are wonderful role models for our kids--strong, empowered young women & a young man who protects and sacrifices himself for the safety of the group.

The groundwork of this book does flow a little slow. Keep on reading because it is well worth it. Morris gives you a very good account of the life before and during the Civil War. There is a nice romance of the characters that tell the story. The author also gives you some of the history of the Winslow family. I think you will be looking for some of his other books. By Ruth Thompson author of the "Bluegrass Dream" and "Natchez Above The River"

Writing as a Small BusinessQualifying Laps: A Brewster County NovelSins of the Fathers: A Brewster County NovelTravelersThe Bluegrass Dream: A Wilderness Adventure of Early SettlersNatchez Above The River: A Family's Survival In The Civil War

I love books during the Civil War period. But this one is my favorite. At first I didn't know if I would like it but I kept on reading and I loved it. If you like books during the Civil War period and romance I would suggest strongly that you read this book

i have read up to book 15 in this series and i love them, but this one is my favorite for many reasons. One it take place before and during the civil war. It talks about all the struggle people had to face during that war. You also get caught up in the family history of th Winslows. I can't wait to read the next one.

Ok, I started reading the Winslow series, and I'd have to say that this one was one of my favorites because it had action! If you like action, the Civil War, and romance; read this book!

Because I am so interested in the Civil War, and the years and events before and after it, I really loved this book. Gilbert Morris became one of my favorite authors when I first read the book Drummer Boy At Bull Run, and it intrigued me to read the rest of his books. I am just starting out on the House Of Winslow books, and I like them already.

THE MORE I READ OF THIS BOOK, THE HARDER IT BECAME TO PUT IT DOWN. I FELT A PART OF THE WRITER'S EXPERIENCES, FRUSTRATIONS AND LONGINGS. READING A BOOK LIKE THIS PUTS ME INTO THE LIVES BEING DESCRIBED AND EXPOSES ME TO THE HEARTBREAK THEREIN. VERY TOUCHING AND ONE THAT I WILL READ AGAIN. MY HEART GOES OUT TO THE SUFFERINGS OF MARION AND AMANDA AND THEIR FAMILIES.

If you want to know what it was like to be a soldier in the Civil War, read this book. It gives incredible insight into the day to day hardships that a soldier faced. It is an emotional journey that presents the pride of fighting for a cause and the heartaches of leaving ones family.

This book captures the feel of a soldier's life during the Civil War. The hardships and the heartaches of the war are made all too clear through the letters of this simple Georgia farmer to his beloved wife Amanda. A must read for any Civil War buff and an excellent slice of real history for anyone.

This simple farmer who went to war wrote letters home to his wife and child describing what his daily routines were in the army, including the homesickness and heartaches. The daily truths he describes make it hard to idealize and glorify any war.

My great-grandfather fought along-side Marion Hill Fitzpatrick as a member of the 49th Georgia, a sister regiment of Thomas' Brigade. This book gave me a very personal, heart-wrenching insight into not only what these men went through, but also the daily ordeals of surviving of their families back home. My thanks to the the folks who produced this wonderful work.

C. Bryan Smith

This is a heart-wrenching account of the lives lost on April 16, 2007. This tragedy will never leave me, but neither will Lauren McCain's words. Her faith, evident through her journal entries, her words of praise and her love for God have touched me so strongly that I think of her and her words of praise daily. She lived her life so deeply for someone so young and she will continue to witness to others through this book and inspire others as she has truly inspired me. She is a true child of God.

Some stories stay with you. This is one. You'll find yourself thinking of it long after you put it down, and you'll be happy you spent the time doing it!

I started reading this book last night and just could not put it down.

What an amazing story and what a special young lady Lauren McCain must have been. His story is an absolute inspiration and her parents ae very special as well.

Using the story and journals of VT freshman Lauren McCain, whose love for Christ emanates from her like a sweet fragrance, combined with other witness testimony and police accounts, Lueders explores the events of the Virginia Tech tragedy and tackles tough issues like God's presence in tragedy and whether forgiveness is necessary and possible.

This is not the first tragedy where someone was asked "Where was God?" or suggested vengeance and blame were more probable reactions than forgiveness. The book covers well the accuracy of understanding God is with us even in the midst of the fallout from the evil humans choose to enact. As for forgiveness, it examples and guides a truth I have learned to live long ago and wish more people knew - with Jesus Christ in your life, true forgiveness is possible and life can go forward.

The best parts of the book are taken from Lauren's journals, her myspace page, and statements from friends and family which show Lauren not as a victim of violence, but a victorious inheritor of Heaven. The book gives you permission to grieve, and power to know what a difference God really does make when the relationship is real.

While interviewing the author Pat Robertson said, "People asked, 'Where was God when this happened?' He was right there." And that point is made throughout this book. Award-winning journalist and author Beth Lueders brings her years of experience to bear in crafting a book that not only tells about a tragedy and its aftermath, but challenges us all to "lift our eyes" and see the good that can come from even the worst mass-murder in U.S. history.

Besides the well-written story, the book includes a comprehensive appendix with tips on how to help or receive help--both from a biblical and psychological point of view--when trauma invades our comfortable world.

I bought this because my future sister-in-law has PKU. Her mother recommended it, and the book does a good job of explaning questions I wouldn't even think to ask. It is full of information, recipes, and other resources. Some of the contact information for the specialty food distributors is out of date, but easily updated by doing an internet search of the companies and penciling in the new information. I'm not the best qualified reviewer for this book, but as far as I am concerned, it is an excellent resource.

These women are saints!! There is not enough room on this forum to describe how amazingly awesome this book is. My 1 year old Niece has PKU, and luckily enough my nephew-in-law absolutely LOVES to cook. I got this for him (along with the PKU bread maker recipes) as a Christmas gift and he flipped! He said everything in the book looks fantastic, and there is literally everything from apples to zucchini. If you're needing a low protein diet book, or even just wanting to eat healthier, this is by far the best one out there. Thanks again to Virginia Schuett and Dorothy Corry for taking the time to make low-protein foods not so boring! Generations of PKU/Kidney patients and their families will be thanking you for years to come! I know this grateful Great-Aunt does.

The food in here is really good stuff! I especially love all the cookie recipies, I haven't made one I don't like! All the special food is expensive, but it's worth it. I really don't know how people managed a PKU diet before the book came out. If you can find the second edition, though, it's almost exactly the same page for page, and I like the spiral binding better, so the book lays flat when you're cooking.

This book is one of the best helps in the world for those who are going to follow the "very low protein diet" for kidney disease to delay dialysis. The renal dietitians at JHU use this as their Bible in developing diet plans for Dr. Walser's patients. There are a number of helpful suggestions at the start of the book to teach you how to read labels and weigh foods. There are also lists that help you find low protein foods which are updated on the PKU web site. The restrictions on protein for the "very low protein" diet for kidney disease are not as severe as those for PKU, but this book teaches you how to meet those limitations.

Just keep in mind that it is not a great place to find vegetarian recipes. People with PKU cannot tolerate protein and take a special supplement to provide it. Therefore these recipes will not provide the protein that your average vegetarian will be looking for.

If, however, you or a member of your family has PKU, you should definitely get this book and read the whole thing. TWICE!

What a wonderful trip down Memory Lane! I had a couple of uncles that worked for Marx when I was a little kid and had many of the toys featured in Michelle's book. I can only wonder what happened to my Mark toys. I guess they found their way to cousins or younger friends, but I sure would like to have them back now! Good job Michelle - I truly enjoyed paging through your book - it appears to have been a labor of love as opposed to a for profit project. Thanks for the memories!

This book would be a great companion book. Most Marx toys collectors would benefit from information on part numbers, years of production and viewing the wonderful selection of photographs featured in the book. The book covers about 30 years worth of knowledge on toys produced at the Glen Dale plant site. There is even a partial price listing on items that Ms. Smith and Mr. Whipkey were familiar with. All in all. A good book.

I enjoyed this book because of it's detailed accounts of Marx toys that I grew up with. The price guide is also handy when I'm out looking for Marx items for my sisters' collections. History of a manufacturer is always interesting and the photographs help define the pieces I'm searching for. I appreciate a good book that shows great effort extended in presenting the information. I would recommend this book to the serious toy buyer and to new seekers of antique Marx toys. Kudos to the author!

I found this to be an ideal route to fond memories of my childhood. Many of the toys in this book were basis of several Christmas dreams. As a baby boomer, I have been collecting the dollhouses and furniture with the hope that my granddaughter will appreciate them, too! This is a good reference guide to have!

This brand new (year 2000)192 page book gives you an inside look at one of America's favorite toy makers. It takes you behind the scenes at Marx to help you see and understand the company and its people. There is a beautiful 32 page full color section, in addition to more than 150 black and white photos. Many of the photos have not before been published. More than 1,200 individual items are listed, including many values. Major topics range from Play Sets, Doll Houses, Lithographed Items, to Johnny West, and Sandy Dolls. A Marx time line from 1896 to 1999 is provided along with a handy index. Toy collectors will be delighted with this new reference.

WHAT A CHARMING PIECE ON THE ANTEBELLUM SOUTH. CRAFTED WITH PURE GENIOUS AND A PEN FOR DETAIL, "THE MODERATES' DILEMMA" BRINGS TO LIGHT THE UNDENIABLE OBSTINANCE OF THE SOUTH'S PREMIERE SCHOOL DISTRICTS.THIS WORK IS A MUST READ FOR HISTORY GRADS OF ANY BACKGROUND.

I read the book, it is brilliant collection of writings. The editors offer an interesting, sophisticated analysis of the white response to busing. Being a former student of his, I can attest that Matthew D. Lassiter is an incredibly intelligent, dynamic individual. I highly recommend this book, and anxiously await his upcoming works.

Matthew Lassiter, editor-in-chief of this seminal collection, sets forth, once again, a fresh standard of scholarly excellence and eloquence. His essay, "A 'Fighting Moderate,'" illustrates one of his innumerable intellectual virtues, the ability to electrify his arduously acquired historian's sobriety with an innate psychological acuity.

Matthew D. Lassiter, perhaps the world's pre-eminent scholar of the American South, co-edited this penetrating and resonant collection of essays, to which he has contributed a characteristically elegant and astute study of Benjamin Muse, who figured prominently in the turbulent early years of desegregation in Virginia.

For my senior seminar, I wrote a paper on desegregation/busing in the South. While I was doing research, a librarian found this book for me. I had to wait 2 weeks to get it through interlibrary loan, but it was worth it!! The essays really bring home the complexity of Southern desegregation when viewed through the lens of class issues. I can only aspire to produce such insightful scholarship!

This biographical work is essential in understanding the author's greatest works. She discusses "scene making" and how it relates to memory. After reading this I plan to reread "To the Lighthouse" and "Mrs. Dalloway."

Virginia Woolf's Moments of Being is one of the great artifacts of literary modernism -- and it also possesses the virtue of being superbly written; few writers are of the caliber of Woolf when it comes to documenting the subtle nuances of human emotion and thought. Her voice is unwavering and clear; it is analytic and critical without every sacrificing its self-effacing quality and humility - and the clarity of its emotional tone. She handles the pain and loss in her life with a kind of imaginative double barreled shotgun: she destroys those that have inflicted pain on her, while exalting those that loved her. But as she hacks away at one and beatifies the other she always places both in very real, very human terms. There are also sparks of real humor here that cannot be overlooked, like the moment in the essay "Old Bloomsbury" when Lytton Strachey walks into the room and seeing a stain on Vanessa's white dressed pronounces "Semen?" and with one word ushers in the 20th centuries fixation with discussing sexual matters. We are to believe that one word carelessly said becomes the hallmark of an entire century.

This collection of autobiographical essays was not published until 1976. They do not supplement the Diaries, but stand on their own as indispensable to an understanding of the novels and thinking of this revolutionary writer. They articulate - as the Diaries do not in an explicit way - her philosophy, and this alone makes the book essentail reading for anyone interested in Woolf or, indeed, modern fiction. But these essays offer more than that. They detail sensitive and at times painful background memories of her death-ridden childhood and adolescence, of the physical abuse by her half-brother, Gerald Duckworth.
To read 'Moments of Being' is not an exercise in the prurient, but to gain an understanding of the inner life of an extraoprdinary artist and human being.

Virginia's genius is all over this volume, esp in A Sketch of the Past. From the first sensations of childhood (waves splashing against the shore) to the tragedy of the death of her mother and sister, it is the most revealing work of creativity ever written. You'll learn about her life, her work, and even how you might become a great writer. Examine the parallels with To the Lighthouse and you'll be amazed. Yes, this is how she come to be what she is; and her life and what she writes.

People who have enjoyed Woolf's novels or diaries will surely find her essay "A Sketch of the Past" deeply moving and helpful in illuminating her other works. In "Sketch," the longest essay in this volume, Woolf recounts her earliest childhood memories--both beautiful (hearing the waves break on the shore at her family's summer home) and sinister (her stepbrother's unwelcome sexual advances when she was a small child). She develops a theory about memory and about transcendent experience in this essay. She discusses her powerful drive to reshape and write about the past: "I feel that strong emotion must leave its trace; and it is only a question of discovering how we can get ourselves attached to it, so that we shall be able to live our lives through from the start." In this essay Woolf proposes that in moments of ecstasy we have a meaningful vision of the world itself: "it is a constant idea of mine; that behind the cotton wool is hidden a pattern; that we--I mean all human beings--are connected with this; that the whole world is a work of art; that we are parts of the work of art. Hamlet or a Beethoven quartet is the truth about this vast mass that we call the world. But there is no Shakespeare, there is no Beethoven; certainly and emphatically there is no God; we are the words, we are the music; we are the thing itself. And I see this when I have a shock."

Knowing a bona fide eccentric, especially a benevolent one, is simultaneously an entertaining and exasperating experience. Sharing that experience with others is usually daunting. Either the essence of the person being described becomes lost in a jumble of amusing but disjointed anecdotes or eccentricity overwhelms the eccentric, rendering a flat, one-dimensional cartoon in place of a complex, multi-faceted portrait.

In Never Ask Permission, Mary Buford Hitz tackles this daunting task head on, the subject of this memoir being her mother, Elizabeth Scott Bocock or, as she often signed herself, ESB. Rather than take a sequential, "I-am-born" approach, the author chooses to devote separate chapters to different aspects of her mother's personality, each chapter a self-contained essay, overflowing with anecdotes, quotes, and, perhaps most illuminating of all, snippets of ESB's autobiographical sketches. (Most of these autobiographical excerpts, by the way, come from essays ESB wrote during her college years, which began after her sixty-seventh birthday.) Just as a puzzle becomes a picture as each piece falls into place, so does ESB's complex character come into focus, chapter by chapter, with a poignant, but essential clue to this charming, but undeniably complex Virginian saved until the very end.

Many CEO's could learn from ESB's capacity to set goals and achieve them. As ESB emerges from the pages of this lovingly crafted book, the reader meets a determined and creative thinker who probably would not have been impressed with "left-brain/right-brain, lateral thinking, creative problem-solving, if you aren't part of the solution, you're part of the problem" lingo, but who embodied the positive persona such jargon seeks to describe. With one foot firmly planted in late Victorian America and the other constantly, restlessly forcing her into the future, she was a visionary with an astonishing ability to get things done.

If you enjoy biography, if you are fascinated by Virginia, if you want some side-splitting laughs, or if you are just interested in a good read, this is the book for you.

I bought and read this book in preparation for moving from San Diego to Norfolk...I wanted to get a flavor of the area. What a pleasant surprise! A fascinating read and one that will make you want to visit the area to see where ESB lived, and where she had such influence in preserving historical Richmond.

Mary Buford Hitz has done a remarkable job of portraying a very special person in a very special place during a very special time - the middle to late years of the twentieth century. Elisabeth Scott Bocock was a mover and shaker in Richmond, Virginia, the person who did more than anyone else to see that the city became aware of the importance of preserving its antiquities. She was one of a kind. Her daughter has written a family memoir that touches all the joys and sorrows that all families know and many delightful eccentric experiences that only her family knew. As a sensitive but un-self-conscious exploration of the mother-daughter relationship, this book cannot be beat. Mary Buford Hitz is perceptive about herself, her family, life and the world. In describing her remarkable mother, she also describes herself. Beyond that, she puts her finger on the changing mores of the twentieth century and paints a marvellous picture of her mother, a whirlwind catalyst who left no one she touched unchanged. Auntie Mame pales beside Elisabeth Bocock. This is a well-written, absorbing, wonderful chronicle - ostensibly of one woman's odyssey, but at the same time it touches on every one's odyssey.

If the moral of Never ask permission lies in the title, I will jump to the front of the line to praise it. The narrative careens around corners and bounces over bumps so merrily that the reader has only fleeting moments to enjoy the insiights and hoot at the comedy while holding on tightly to that pale yellow tailgate.

Mary Buford Hitz has done a remarkable job of portraying a very special person in a very special place during a very special time - the middle to late years of the twentieth century. Elisabeth Scott Bocock was a mover and shaker in Richmond, Virginia, the person who did more than anyone else to see that the city became aware of the importance of preserving its antiquities. She was one of a kind. Her daughter has written a family memoir that touches all the joys and sorrows that all families know and many delightful eccentric experiences that only her family knew. As a sensitive but un-self-conscious exploration of the mother-daughter relationship, this book cannot be beat. Mary Buford Hitz is perceptive about herself, her family, life and the world. In describing her remarkable mother, she also describes herself. Beyond that, she puts her finger on the changing mores of the twentieth century and paints a marvellous picture of her mother, a whirlwind catalyst who left no one she touched unchanged. Auntie Mame pales beside Elisabeth Bocock. This is a well-written, absorbing, wonderful chronicle - ostensibly of one woman's odyssey, but at the same time it touches on every one's odyssey.