Central America Books

Waiting for Daylight is a wonderful coffee table book that highlights the joys of ranching which only someone with a broad background in the saddle could write. Janell Kleberg also has a great artistic touch seen in the many photographs that are sprinkled throughout the book.
Having been raised on the King Ranch do Brasil, Kleberg's book brought back many memories. She has done a wonderful job of capturing the many locales of King Ranch operations outside of the USA.

Waiting For Daylight: King Ranch: Images From The Past is a marvelous showcase of full-color photographs taken by Janell Kleberg from horseback while working cattle in South Texas, Brazil, Argentina, and Australia. Descriptive captions add insight to the moving images of ranch and animal herding life. Providing the reader with a unique suspension of the ever-present flow of time, the beautiful scenery, the hard-working horses, and superbly documented images of everyday life create and unforgettable window into the lives of dedicated men and women employed in the hard but rewarding work of ranching.

This is a great book documenting the life of people in a harsh environment. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in not only spectacular photos but unbelievable descriptions of the photos.

The authors name is Janell Kleberg, not Janell King.
Janell captures the people of ranching. The images are taken while she worked side by side with the men and women of King Ranch. Photos were taken as she worked horseback on the various operations including Brazil,Texas,Argentina,Australia and Venezuela.The images are of a time past 1970-1990. Tio Kleberg

If you plan to visit the Northshore of Lake Superior, take this excellent book with you. It describes and rates on a five-star scale all the many waterfalls of the Northshore, helping you to plan your trip.

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

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

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

I recently spent 3-4 days on the North Shore hiking to some of the waterfalls that Eve and Gary had listed as their favorites in this book.

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

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

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

There are numerous books about Minnesota's North Shore, but this new book manages to offer something not previously available. It concentrates exclusively on the waterfalls along the Minnesota North Shore, and I don't think there has been such a book before with this kind of information all in one place. Most importantly it includes literally every falls there is including many you won't read about elsewhere. Good directions and trail comments are included - I know we would have had found more difficulty finding some falls without it.

This book is very well written as well. Avoiding both dry commentary and flowery prose, the Wallingas write in an engaging conversational tone, that is nevertheless carefully constructed. It is a pleasure for me to pick up anytime and read at random.

If you love Lake Superior, I recommend this book very highly as one you should consider owning, rather than borrowing.

Essentially this book gives a chapter for each of the 22 cards of the major arcana of the tarot, similarities are then made with the 22 Lamatl's of `The Book of Days' or the `Tonalamatl' of the Aztecs; correspondence is further made with the deities of Mesoamerica and also with classical European Mythology.

"The tonalamatl is a divinatory almanac used in central Mexico in the decades, and perhaps centuries, leading up to the Spanish conquest. It is Nahuatl in origin, meaning "pages of days". The tonalamatl was structured around the sacred 260-day year, the tonalpohualli. This 260-day year consisted of 20 trecena of 13 days each. Each page of a tonalamatl represented one trecena, and was adorned with a painting of that trecena's reigning deity and decorated with the 13 day-signs and 13 other glyphs. These day-signs and glyphs were used to cast horoscopes and discern the future. The best surviving examples of tonalamatl are the Codex Borbonicus and the Codex Borgia." (From Wikipedia, the free online encyclopedia). It should be noted that there are apparently 2 additional trecena's reported by the author of this book; this then makes 22 trecena's, corresponding with the major arcana of the tarot.

I was glad for reading this book to further increase my knowledge of the tarot. My knowledge regarding Mesoamerican deities was fairly limited, so this information I also found very useful. On many occasions while reading this book, I wanted to put this book down and come up to speed via reading more about the Mesoamerican deities and the classical European Mythology (i.e. the Iliad and Odyssey etc); I would recommend doing this prior to reading this book, assuming you have the time. The connections that the author was trying to convey did not always match up for me; perhaps this was due to the gaps in knowledge on my part. Still I did learn a bunch of stuff even though I found this book a little hard going due to its dry nature. What made this book more difficult was trying to pronounce the Mesoamerican deity names and then trying to remember what these deities did in addition. I can't see why anyone would want to read a book like this but for a deep desire to know about spiritual matters. You've got to also wonder why this book is selling as low as it is on Amazon. Still I'm thankful to the author for all her hard work and for compiling all of this information; I have gained from reading this book.

I can't say that I'd use this book to say that all religions are essentially the same. I don't think that this was the intention of this book. I saw more that there is a deep esoteric undercurrent to be discovered.

The thread that binds cultures is stronger and more firm than most people think. Complicating beliefs in order to make them seem original has nothing to do with their essence. Underneath it all they spring from a common source, with an extraordinary parallelism. God is God, no matter by what name. All of that and more is embraced by this amazing book, beautifully written, thought-provoking, a reference source for a lifetime of consultation. Highly recommended.

This book is a fantastic read - it's passionate, poignant and well written. The research done to write it is obviously extensive and thorough - Carol Miller certainly did her homework! even though the subject is highly intellectual, it's an easy read - great for a flight or a trip to the beach.

This book is apparently complicated but in fact is quite simple: underneath the dogma and ceremony, all religions are the same. They have in common a need for answers but also a need for questions that lend themselves to lessons in morality, cautionary tales, structures of ethics that permit the fine fabric of law and society. And furthermore, the societies we think of as primitive are anything but that. Each culture devises a standard of values and behavior, that is essentially like every other culture. A valuable book, a fascinating and provocative one, as applicable as a textbook as a bedside reference source.

The Jesuit priest, scholar, social psychologist and philosopher Ignacio Martin Baro wrote in the text "Religion as an instrument of psychological warfare which is a part of this book, about how religion can damage an individuals autonomy and self esteem. He wrote about how the evangelical protestant church grew at a great rate in El Salvador during the civil war that raged there during the 1980s. Some people argued the evangelical churches could quench the thirst of the people in a way that the catholic church couldnt. Baro researched what the political consequences of this where. He meant that the shift in aliegence of peoples faith was a political instrument used by those in power and that is was in fact a kind of political /psychological warfare. With this he meant that the government sought to change the mental climate of the people(the enemy). The American sponsored army in El Salvador, on the side of their regular military operations also waged a so called LIC (low intensity conflict) which was aimed at winning the people over to their side. The people often took the guerillas side and therefore it wasnt enough with a pure military victory, they where also forced to win an ideological one as well. Therefore it developed into a sociopolitical war instead of merley a military one. Propaganda and the spreading of lies and rumors where common place in this type of warfare which main purpose was to make the population insecure. Therefore it was important to tap into the religion since many people in the country looked to it for guidance in the hard times.

The liberation theology that Ignacio Martin Baro represented , which was the theology that spoke for the poor and oppressed, gave the people a tool to use in the struggle against the army. It stated that it was not gods divine will that they should be oppressed but instead it prompted them to get organized both politically and religiously to fight back against the oppression.Therefore the more progressive catholic churches that taught liberation theology became a threat to those in power in El Salvador. Trying the tactics that the military usually used with a "dirty war" proved futile against these movements since it usually only ended up creating martys.Instead the military changed their strategy to psychological warfare that focused on trying to get as many people as possible to convert from these progressive churches and their theology of liberation to these evangelical churches. The government in El Salvador tried to channel the people into fundemental evangelical protestant churches that preached "the true faith", that was grounded in "the individuals salvation", and left it to god to transorm "the sinful world" not man. These evangelical churches had sermons that contained strong anti communist sentiments. These evangelical churches had a theology that left it up to the holy spirit to intervene in the world and make changes, not man himself. Many North American evangelical churches who had close ties to some of the most conservative american political movements where invited by the governmnet in El Salvador to conduct missionary activities within the country.So what it came down to was a war for the definiion of the god image. The government wanted to take away the immanent god image from the peasant. They wanted to take away the god who acted in the world and through people. This is usually described as a horisontal religiosity which leads to critical thinking and social liberation. Instead the government wanted to implement a god image that said that god was remote, far from earth and acted on the people. This can be described as a vertical religiosity which leads to alienation and social submissiveness. This was ultimatley done to marginalize people and drive them away from any type of social protest. In these fundamentalist evangelical protestant churches people where encouraged to cut the ties to their past political activities and instead engage in intense individualistic religioús activities. When the government in El Salvador was confronted by liberation theology and the horizontal religious perspective their response was to try to get the people to convert to a form of religion that made them more passive.



Tragically Ignacio Martin Baro, the Jesuit priest who made these findings public was assassinated by the El Salvadorian army. He was murdered together with five other Jesuit priests and their housekeeper and her 16 year old daughter in 1989. Living under a constant threat because of his subversive writing he foresaw his own death. He wrote about his possible assassination: "above all, the authorities try to create an official version of facts, an "official history", which ignores, distorts, falsifies and invents crucial aspects of reality. This official history is imposed to the public through an intense and aggressive propagandistic effort, which is supported through the weight of the highest official ranks... When facts that contradict the official history filter to public opinion, authorities raise a sanitary chord around them; these facts are then relegated to oblivion. The public expression of reality, and above all, the exposure of the official history... are considered subversive activities. But they are not. They only subvert the established order of falsehood. We come then to the paradox that those that dare to talk about reality or to denounce abuse, become at least culprits of justice". Noam Chomsky wrote of him the following: ...a mind that was probing and humane, wide-ranging in interests and passionate in concerns, and dedicated with a rare combination of intelligence and heroism to the challenge his work sets forth to construct a new person in a new society"

Ignacio Martin-Baro is probably better known in the U.S. as one of the slain Jesuit priests of El Salvador than as the ingenious psychologist that he was. Aron and Corne do U.S. psychologists, who are more often than not barred by their lack of facility with the Spanish language from a large body of important psychological literature, a huge favor by editing this carefully chosen and lovingly prepared volume of his translated works. Because the writings they have selected span the period from 1974, shortly before Martin-Baro initiated graduate work at the University of Chicago, to 1989, when he was murdered, we as readers are able to observe the maturation of his perspective as well as the many ways he applied his psychological knowledge and training in what can only be described as a "limit situation"-- namely, El Salvador in the late l970s through the mid 1980s. In these works, Martin-Baro addressed several themes of increasing global significance, including the effects political repression on the human psyche, the effects of war on children, the relation between religious ideology and political activity, and the nature of industrial psychology from the perspective of the under- and unemployed. Of greatest significance to psychologists, however, were his overarching themes, namely, the collusive role of mainstream psychology in human oppression and the necessary role of the psychologist in human liberation. Borrowing from Freire's famed concept of conscientizacao, Martin-Baro demonstrated how psychologists can act as agents of the development of critical consciousness, both through their nurturance of individuals in the process of psychological healing and development and through their interventions, as privileged and powerful members of society, upon the diseased socio-economic/political system itself. Through their insightful, passionate, and well-researched commentary, Aron and Corne demonstrate that Martin-Baro indeed lived and died by his praxis, proving that psychology's current state of critical inertia is not a necessary condition. In my opinion, Martin-Baro is destined to become the patron saint of psychology--and, boy, does it need one.

This unique work opened my eyes to a topic that most of us have no idea about. A must read for every politcal science major, and for everyone who cares about our world.

Yes. Canonize him. Martin-Baro gave his life to prove that psychology had more business than as an on-the-shelf academic discipline. Using its methods to highlight the misery of his El Salvadoran people, he demonstrated how powerful a psychology relevant to the needs of the oppressed can be. Very inspiring.

I was pretty familiar with the history of this subject, but was more interested in the archeological finds. For instance, in the world of shooting today the 50-70 is all but forgotten yet there were more 50-70 cases and cartridges found than any other caliber. The thing about some of the long shots the hunters made during the siege is that the authors point out that the hunters had no doubt tested their prowess at different targets at different distances, so had probably already "marked" many of the shots and distances. Good reference for anyone studying the battle, I am going to the site this summer, and read this as a preface...Ivery

Best book on the Adobe Walls battle available. Covers every aspect from the structures, to the archaeology, people (both anglos and native american), the battle, the occupations, etc. Great info on the archaeology, including ammunition, guns, dinnerware (plates etc), blacksmithing,etc. I learned much about the battle, the times, the people, the construction of the trading post, who, why, when, how.
Highest recommendation!

This is one of the best books on Adobe Walls, ( the other being the life of Billy Dixon). It takes you all the way through, from start to finish. The last half of the book is about the archeology that was done in the 70's. It gives a real insite into the hide hunters and store keepers lives during the six month's at the Walls.

This book is an excellent examination of perspectives of southern masculinity. Belongs with Cash's Mind of the South and Wyatt-Brown's Southern Honor as pivotal works on the mentality of the South. Takes a much more emotional glance at the southern male than the two other aforementioned works. Looks at the mentality of the southern male through the contexts of honor, religion and romance. Thoroughly researched and an enjoyable read. An essential addition to the library of anyone interested in the Civil War or southern masculinity.

"All that Makes a Man", By Stephen Berry is the first installment of what should be a notable career for the young historian. As far as first books go, this one delivers the goods and never allows the reader's interest to wane. This is the story of the average men and women caught up in the maelstrom that was the Civil War, as told from the Confederate perspective. Berry provides insight into the motivations and pressures of southern manhood. He crafts a story that begins with the linking of manhood and patriotism in the formulating period of the rebellion, the love for woman as being central to a soldier's will to continue the struggle, and finally the reclamation of manhood and love to disengage from the humiliation of a losing war effort. By using the letters of the soldiers, the author provides evidence to support his claim that men do everything for the love of a woman, especially during the hyper-masculine victorian era. "All that Makes A Man" is recommended for anyone willing to penetrate deeper than oft repeated Civil War battlefield history to learn more about the reasons so many were willing to sacrifice everything.

All That Makes a Man really humanizes the Civil War. Too many histories of the conflict lament only the mangling of so many bodies. There is no sense of the abrupt end to so many life stories. By going back into the antebellum period, the author makes sure the reader knows the generation who fought the war BEFORE they got killed. By the time they do start dying you have a much better sense not only of how it happened but of what was lost. It wasn't that bodies died or hearts stopped beating; it was that somebodies died and all their hearts contained -- emotions, memories, promise -- was poured out like water. If you want a different perspective on the war, I highly recommend this book.

This brief, colorful and inexpensive book permits students to achieve a sense of ownership and participation in their government. At a time when young people feel disconnected and overwhelmed by the complexity of government, The Annual Report summarizes just where the federal government's money comes from - percent by source and exactly where it goes cents per dollar. Major government programs like Medicaid and Medicare, Social Security and Welfare are described simply and succinctly. I have used this book for about three semesters and it is wildly popular among students at graduate and undergraduate levels. All aspects of government are made accessible from the deficit to the decisions of the Supreme Court. The demographics chapter is a masterful work of art simplifying who we are and how we are changing as an American family and a population. The lists of elected officials and administration representatives with how to contact each is a valuable reference. The current affairs commentary represents a seamless connection between daily news and history. The numerous charts and graphs communicate a vast web of statistical data in clear simple terms with a context and a trend apparent and memorable. This book has led more than one student to feel more ready to participate in government by voting, writing to elected officials and thinking about how government should respond to sometimes intractable problems. The changes in the military are reported unblinkingly and in detail. For teachers who like data, for students who like short, simple and interesting, this is an excellent companion book to the standard text in a wide variety of content areas from public administration to community organizing, from history to managing a non-profit. I look forward to the next edition and thank the author and publisher for great layout and design and pithy usable content.

This brief, colorful and inexpensive book permits students to achieve a sense of ownership and participation in their government. At a time when young people feel disconnected and overwhelmed by the complexity of government, The Annual Report summarizes just where the federal government's money comes from - percent by source and exactly where it goes cents per dollar. Major government programs like Medicaid and Medicare, Social Security and Welfare are described simply and succinctly. I have used this book for about three semesters and it is wildly popular among students at graduate and undergraduate levels. All aspects of government are made accessible from the deficit to the decisions of the Supreme Court. The demographics chapter is a masterful work of art simplifying who we are and how we are changing as an American family and a population. The lists of elected officials and administration representatives with how to contact each is a valuable reference. The current affairs commentary represents a seamless connection between daily news and history. The numerous charts and graphs communicate a vast web of statistical data in clear simple terms with a context and a trend apparent and memorable. This book has led more than one student to feel more ready to participate in government by voting, writing to elected officials and thinking about how government should respond to sometimes intractable problems. The changes in the military are reported unblinkingly and in detail. For teachers who like data, for students who like short, simple and interesting, this is an excellent companion book to the standard text in a wide variety of content areas from public administration to community organizing, from history to managing a non-profit. I look forward to the next edition and thank the author and publisher for great layout and design and pithy usable content.

Meredith Bagby, again, "boils it down" for us and "gives it to us quick", as she cuts through the bureaucratic techno-speak we call "government" and puts it into understandable English.

The discovery of the New World has always been a topic that both fascinated and horrified me. As an American, I recognized that it as the foundation for much of who I am. But as a sensative, caring person, I could not help feeling ashamed of the greed, racism, and cruelty exhibited first by the Spanish conquistadors towards the Aztecs, then by Europeans in general towards all the first nations that were here before us.

By providing a history written by the conquered as well as the conquerors, "Aztec, Death of a Nation" has helped me understand some of the complexity behind the history I learned in school. There are no "good guys" or "bad guys" in this story. Rather, this is really a history of individual human beings.

Some of the people I read about struck me as cruel and barabaric, but because the accounts also provided insight into the social, relgious, and politcial climates and into the personal struggles endured by these people, I came to realize that I couldn't lay blame on any of them. Some of the people I read about struck me as good and kind - more of what I think as as truly civilized - but because I could see that the goodness and kindness came out of individual strength and conviction, I also couldn't judge any of groups of people as being better or worse than any other.

"Aztec, Death of a Nation" is the first book I have found that has been able to help me come to terms with my heritage as a member of the conquering race. Rarely are we given an opportunity like this to see through the eyes of past civilization.

Kenneth Pearce's collection of eyewitness acounts of the rise and fall of the Aztec Empire is a book most fantasy fiction readers won't want to miss. This book weaves many short personal stories together to provide an epic tale of power, glory, and the ultimate clash between two races.

It paints a picture of a culture, religion, and history so different from our own that it feels more alien than many stories set on other planets or in other realities, and it is true.

Those of us who love roller coasters do so partly because they are more than just a thrill; They are real, with a hint of real danger. Reading this book provides that same added edge for the fantasy reader. As this book took me on journeys into the underworld, showed me prophecies from the past, ritual cannibalism and invasion from abroad, a spine tingling whisper in the back of mind kept reminding me that it was all true

I had the pleasure of reading an early draft of this book. The detailed and scholarly endnotes were the only reminder that I was not reading a work of pure fiction, but rather the actual words of soldiers, priests, chiefs, even pesants who were present at the downfall of the Aztec empire. "Aztec, Death of a Nation" is a fractured ancient vase carefully restored by a knowledgable archaeologist.

Steve Trimble's latest book is a compelling look at the tensions between private mega-enterprise and public interests. If you care about the future of open spaces (and not just in the American West), if you care about the future of community, if you care about how to tend to democracy in an age of fracture and fracas, this is a sobering look at a battle in Utah that can stand in for many such battles across the country. Refusing to give into cynical preaching, Trimble offers a nuanced look at his own complicity in questions of ownership and activism, which makes this book even more important. It ends with a hopeful, necessary "Credo," which also was recently published in High Country News. A fine naturalist, photographer and writer, Steve Trimble is a treasure. This book demands to be read, understood--and its lessons put into action by thoughtful citizens everywhere.

Stephen Trimble tackles the paradox of the modern west: how do people inhabit and develop a rapidly vanishing landscape? Trimble weaves the important tale of public land transformed into a commercial ski resort with his own construction of a second home near a national park. This juxtaposition elevates the book from polemic to a serious discussion of the many facets of land development. Trimble recognizes that there are no easy answers, but argues convincingly that wise land use policy requires the contribution of all of the stakeholders in the landscape: developers, environmentalists, long-time residents and the public in general.

What sets Trimble's book apart is his obvious affection not just for the land, but for the people who have lived on the land for many years. His interviews with men and women whose families have lived on the land for generations provides the reader with an often neglected perspective on the west. Trimble has an ear for the ironic poignancy of how development displaces those families who have lived and loved a particular place for generations, even as that landscape is changed by their own decisions regarding its value and use.

Highly readable, Trimble's natural storytelling ability comes through to illuminate a transformative moment in western history. As a native Montanan and long-time resident of Utah, I recommend it to all those who seek to understand a sense of place.

Trimble tells the story of reclusive oil executive Earl Holding and his struggle to develop a wild mountainside into a an elite ski resort, using the Olympics as a cudgel to overcome passionate local resistance. This is a compelling story that has not been covered outside of Utah. It is a shocking example of how the powers-that-be facilitate destructive and one-sided land use and how common citizens who personally know thew land and love it resist. The book then takes an unexpected twist: Trimble builds a second-home in a wild canyon in southern Utah and realizes he is becoming like his nemesis, Holding, just on a different scale. This confessional realization makes him dig deeper. Ultimately it is our own human nature he uncovers.

Why do we violate the integrity of ecosystems and habitat and how can we stop ourselves? these central questions are not resolved here. Trimble's book is both a heartfelt and intelligent invitation to public discourse on these critical questions. The reader could not get a more honest or wise guide than Trimble.

This is a great book showing the scout perspective. The other half is the Handbook For Scout Masters 1914 recently reprinted. The two show both sides of the picture and are both funny from their angle.

Lot of info is out of date here, such as their dietary and first aid, but that is what makes it fun.

Superb book. In the world we live in there is constant change, this book demonstrates that somethings are timeless.

I was a Cub Scout, Weblo, and Boy Scout for years. Some of my fondest memories are of times spent with my fellow scouts around the campfire, telling stories, jokes, and just being BOYS. This edition reminds me of the pre-PC and pre-secular Boy Scouts, when scouting was almost a calling for teenage boys, and certainly contributed to their moral and ethical upbringings. In this day of anti-God, anti-anything-as-long-as-it's-secular-humanism, it's refreshing to read a handbook with advice on serving one's God, and that it should be a regular part of one's life. Kudos to the publisher for re-introducing a classic.