Kansas Books

Dr. Jessica Langford is the psychiatrist on a radio call-in show where listeners describe their fears. Jessie knows all about fears as she was kidnapped, raped, tortured, and buried alive at age 16 by the T&B serial killer; she was his sole surviving victim. One night on her call-in show, "Cameron" calls in and describes Jessie's fear of cemetaries ("Cameron" was the name on the gravesite she was buried) and it begins to appear that the T&B serial killer wants to finish the job he started many years ago. Jessie attempts to report this and several other harassing calls to the local police department and meets Detective Jake Merridan, the lead cop for the lily serial killer case. Neither guesses that there could be a connection between the current case and the cold case (the T&B serial killer was never caught), particularly since Jessie doesn't initially reveal her past to Jake. Meanwhile, Jessie has a mysterious new patient, Mark Smith, who ties into the entire scenario. I won't spoil things by revealing the identity of the killer but will say I was able to guess his identity prior to the ending. This was a pretty good book and worth reading if only for Carla Cassidy's style of drawing the reader into the story.

When Jessica was 16, she was abducted by the T&B (torture and burial) serial killer, but managed to escape death when some teenagers out for a party in the cemetery scared her assailant away. Now 18 years later, Jessica is a therapist and radio psychologist who specializes in helping patients deal with fears, while nursing her own fear of the dark. When her last caller of the night asks if she is afraid of the dark, she gets the eerie feeling that it is not just a prank.

Detective Jake Merridan has been assigned a new case, and all clues indicate it is related to another homicide and they just might have a serial killer on their hands. After Jessica starts getting freaky phone calls at home, she goes to the police and starts to tell her story to Jake, but chickens out on providing background. Both find themselves attracted to each other - having a lot in common - being divorced single parents - and start to see each other.

As their romance blossoms, neither realizes that the sadistic killer that Jake is trying to capture is the same one that abducted and altered Jessica's life. His MO might be different, but eventually his goal to get the one that got away will not be squelched. Will Jake identify the madman before his second chance for love is stolen from him? Will Jessica be able to share her physical and mental scars with Jake?

Cassidy is a master at creating diabolical killers and heart tugging romance. This one is not to be missed and will capture the reader's attention until the last paragraph.

Eighteen years ago, Jessica Langford was the sole survivor of the infamous T and B killer. In the intervening years, she has married, had a son, divorced, and built a successful counseling practice and radio show. Now, she has begun receiving eerily strange phone calls asking about her own fears. Yet, this crime seems fairly small to the police who are wrestling with another serial killer. However, one cop, Jake Merridan, takes notice of Jessica and when things get more serious, he is there for her. The T & B killer is back, and he wants to finish the job on Jessica.

*** The suspense builds slowly; you are almost unprepared for the fast paced ending. Jessica and Jake's romance is an extremely sweet one, of two needy souls finding each other. It's almost as if two books have melded into one; a tender love story and a murder mystery. ***


Amanda Killgore

In Kansas City, therapist Jessica Langford runs a two hour evening radio show, Are You Afraid of the Dark? That provides advice to those with phobias. However, a caller states that Jessica fears cemeteries. Her producer Chris Mathison asks if she is okay as Jessica goes pale. She thinks back to eighteen years ago as a teenager when the T&B serial killer buried her alive at Hillside Cemetery at Camerson Jackson' gravesite, but she was rescued; the perp was never caught.

Detective Jake Merridan investigates several recent homicides of young females. His failure to make progress, as a serial killer surfaces, frustrates him. Jessica knows who stalked her on the air as he is back but plans this time she plans to confront her fear and the T&B killer. Her efforts take her into the midst of Jake's inquiries and he soon sees a tie with the physical looks of the victims and the radio therapist. As they fall in love, he vows to keep her safe from a serial killer who is either a copy cat or the return of the T&B.

ARE YOU AFRAID? is an intriguing serial killer police procedural romance. Jake is a fascinating lead as he struggles with a case going nowhere until he meets Jessica and his frustration changes as he needs to keep his beloved safe. Jessica has come a long way from the frightened sixteen years old near victim, but answers affirmative to the title question. Though how T&B kept his obsession in check for so long yet now is obsessed to finish the job seems odd, fans of suspense thrillers will want to read Carla Cassidy's captivating novel.

Harriet Klausner

I really enjoyed this story of suspense and romance. I love the way Carla Cassidy writes. Dr. Jessica Langford was the only survivor of the T & B serial killer, a killer which has never been caught. Now 18 yrs. later Jessie is a phychiatrist helping others overcome fear and also has a radio show where callers can call to talk about their fears. All is well until the calls start coming again and she knows in her heart the killer is back and he's coming for her! Det. Jake Meridan is someone who worked the case all those years ago and is now a single parent working on another case when two women turn up dead and they realize another killer is on the loose. Jessica goes to the police about her calls and winds up talking to Jake who seems the only one to take an interest in her problem...and her. While trying to work on his own case he is concerned about Jessica and works on her strange calls etc. Romance and suspense and keeps you guessing. Carla Cassidy has a gift and her storys are always edge of the seat and never dissapoint.
If you like a good mystery mixed with romance this is the book for you! Enjoy.

"Civil War in the Ozarks" by Phillip W. Steele is an excellent read, and is written for the average reader who wants to gain a comprehensive knowledge of the Civil War. I enjoyed this book!

Treats some of the stories of the Civil War in the west without explaining the larger issues. This is an inexpensive book, but not necessarily a good value.

A "must read" for anyone interested in the Civil War in general, and the Civil War in the Ozarks region in particular. I especially liked Steele's writing style. Steele has a talent for delivering a lot of historical information while keeping the reader turning the pages wanting to know more. A very good book!

This book is designed for the average guy or gal off the street (from high school age to adult)to learn the bare basics about Ozarks Civil War heritage. Elite scholars may find it too simple, but hey... history belongs to all our citizens, not just professors and other professionals.

Recommend your read this one and recommend you add it to your collection. This work covers aspects of the Civil War often times overlooked. I is a wonderful starting place for a study of the War in this part of the country. Needless to say, it does need to be supplemented with further reading, but it is certainly a good start. Highly recommend

This is the definative biography of Nathan Bedford Forrest. Although it is clear that the author admires his subject, he provides a fair and balanced account of Forrest's life. The book is well written and thoroughly researched. If you are going to read one book on Forrest, this should be it.

Any time a writer fails to use all available sources the end result is always worthless.

The 1871 Congressional hearings of Forrest chaired by William Tecumseh Sherman regarding both Ft. Pillow and the KKK failed to support the author's tired repetition of the 1864 "investigation." Why stick with the wartime 1864 propaganda hearing when the later hearing disputed virtually everything previously assumed?

At Ft. Pillow Forrest took 39 USCT prisoner and turned them over to his commanders. He turned over 14 of the most grievously wounded surviving USCT to the Acting Master of the U.S. Steamer Silver Cloud (Federal Official Records).

Hardly the acts of a "massacre."

Same old tiring retelling of second-hand propaganda when first-hand contemporaneous sources are actually available.

Your Obedient Servant,

Colonel Michael Kelley, (...)
"I came here as a friend...let us stand together. Although we differ in color, we should not differ in sentiment." - LT Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest, CSA, Memphis, Tennessee - July, 1875

The Confederacy's Greatest Cavalryman : Nathan Bedford Forrest (Modern War Studies) by Brian Steel Wills is a fine biography of perhaps the most complicated and interesting leader of the Civil War. In describing Forrest it is difficult, if not impossible, to remain neutral. For those that love or hate him there is plenty of ammunition. However, Wills does a better than anticipated job taking the neutral course.

For those that view Forrest as the reincarnation of the Devil, there is plenty of evidence, and Wills covers most of it. Forrest was a crude, ruffian slave trader who would not think twice of killing a man who he believed showed him disrespect. As Willis writes, he was responsible for the massacre of Union troops at Fort Pillow. As a General he was brilliant when in independent command, but did not do well when working under someone elses command or part of a larger team. This failure limited his ability to have a greater impact on the course of the War. His failure to work with other Generals who he believed were inferior was part of the reason that the Union Army was able to escape destruction at Spring Hill.

On the other hand, Forrest was a brilliant tactician and a real leader of men. From leading his troops out of the encirclement at Fort Donaldson to his brilliant victory at Bryce Creek, Forrest was a fighter and a leader. Furthermore, if Hood had listened to Forrest after Spring Hill, and allowed Forrest to out flank the Union troops at Franklin, the battle of Franklin may have been a Confederate victory rather than a disaster.

Willis deftly moves between the several General Forrests. He seems not to have an agenda, giving the good with the bad. At least until the Civil War ends. While Wills does describe Forrest's contribution to the founding and growth of the Ku Klux Klan, he seems to hold his punches. However, that is a slight criticism. Al in all, this is a good book about one of the most interesting personalities in the Civil War.

I have read several biographies on Lee, Jackson, and Grant, but this is the first that I have read on N.B. Forrest. I thought the battle details were about right so as to instruct on what went on and to give insight to Forrest's great ability, but not so much as to bog down a reader who has not read much about warfare. I thought Wills was fair concerning the incident at Ft Pillow--he did not place the blame at Forrest's feet, but was sure that Forrest was not in total control of his men. I, personally, would liked to have had more detail about Forrest's deeds after the War Between the States. Some of Wills' comments seem to be a little vague, and at times he seemed to be jumping sides as to Forrest's involvement with the KKK. Overall, I did learn about this interesting man and am glad that I read this book. It was a good starting place for continued reading on General N.B. Forrest.

What I like about Wills book, besides the bio, is that it addresses why Forrest was often not in the main theater of operations during the crucial times of 1864. Forrest is well defined as a frontier planter whose strong belief in honor combined with an explosive action oriented temperament made him a ferocious opponent yet he was difficult as a subordinate except under the right conditions. In the case of the latter, Forrest literally offers to slap Braxton Bragg for his lack of action after Chickamauga and only fails to do so because in his estimation, Bragg was not a man thus not worthy of the challenge. Wills does an excellent compact bio of Forrest capturing the early life and his rise to success as a slave trader and planter to a private in the Confederate service to the immediate promotion of Colonel and on. All the daring raids are captured, aided by maps but aside from Shiloh and Chickamauga, the only truly large operation Forrest was involved with was Hood's march to Nashville where the inexplicable Spring Hill disaster is laid at Forrest's feet unfairly when Hood had responsibility of creating a sufficient force to stop Schofield's escape. The tremendous work ethic combined with his fearlessness and temper is described throughout the book including Forrest's post war life and business. Forrest does amazingly well defending his Mississippi, Tennessee and Alabama sector with a relative small force culminating in his great victory at Brices Crossroads. Wills includes Forrest's post war career with an example of Forrest's feared temper by describing a railroad meeting where one of Forrest's engineers starts the discussion with a loaded pistol on the table in case the company President, Forrest, intended a violent interruption. Although not captured in gross detail, Forrest's role at the infamous Fort Pillow is described in sufficient detail along with Forrest's post war role in the Ku Klux Klan. The role of the Klan is described as an attempt to maintain a retaliatory police force against over stepping radicals and to force former slaves into roles as cheap labor and as a channeled political force obviously through violence if deemed necessary. The association with Forrest seems quite clear but murky before congress. One thing is very clear in this bio, if Forrest was involved, he had to lead the action, or he otherwise was not interested. A most feared adversary, inventive, unpredictable and incredibly daring leading his men wherever he wanted them to go. As Wills points out, how unfortunate he rarely had a suitable commander to follow in larger campaigns and he was not used effectively during Sherman's initial march to Atlanta. If he was, Sherman would not have got there until at last 1865. The book is approximately 381 pages, maps and pictures and another 100 pages of notes and index. The book is endorsed by the late Emory M. Thomas (The Last cavalier), Dr. James I. Robertson, Jr. (Stonewall Jackson: The Man, the Soldier, the Legend) and William C. Davis (The Lost Cause).

I found this book to be extremely information about life in the 1860s as I am into Civil War Re-enacting. There were so many interesting facts of everyday life, etc. that it was as if I had been transported back nearly 150 years.

A great book for students studying the Civil War (like myself). Gives amazing insight to the lives of people during the Reconstrucion era after the war. Pages of great information about soldiers' lives, homes, churches, schools, rites of passage, working life, daily woes, and enjoying life in the late 19th century. However, the info somewhat dry, and gets a little tedious at times, but the amount of details and great facts evens it out a bit.

This broad-ranging text covers daily life, customs, and technology in a variety of American settings during the Civil War and post-war periods. Inevitably, it doesn't give a whole lot of detail on each topic, but this is a very good place for general readers to start. The descriptions of farm life are particularly detailed and helpful. One complaint I do have is that the author does not footnote his quotes from primary sources, making it impossible to follow a reference up. Like most histories of daily life, this volume is short on information about mentalities and beliefs. Also, probably deliberately, it contains little information on political events and almost none on events in the South during Reconstruction. The effects of the Civil War on daily life and thought get rather short shrift. Nevertheless, this book does cover a lot of information and does so in a clear, useful fashion.

I bought this book because I had read "The Reshaping of Everyday Life : 1790-1840" by Jack Larkin. Both books were originally published in the 'Everyday Life in America' series. I really enjoyed "Reshaping" and hoped that "Expansion" would be of similar caliber.

Given the page constraints (170 pages of text) this book does a good job. However, given the vast increase in the size of the USA between 1840 and 1876, the coverage is necessarily thinner. Everything from the frontier to the South, to New York tenements to established rural districts is covered, the only exception being the extremely rich (who are well covered in other books).

The main problem is that so much is covered that a reader might feel that he knows all about living in the US during this time period, and that would not be accurate. Some areas are left out almost entirely. For example, the West Coast is almost completely ignored except for Virginia City. Unfortunately, the only solution I see is either a much bigger book, or several books covering each of the subtopics.

That is the reason this book only gets three stars: the coverage is broad but shallow. It is a good introduction to the time period, but that is all.

I think this is, perhaps, the finest book I have ever read on social history. I'm not kidding. After reading this "encyclopedia" (for that is what it truly is) on every aspect of life as it was during and just after the Civil War era, I actually feel as if I went back in time and visited the past first hand. Forget about "Everyday Life During the Civil War" and the other writer's guide books out there. "Expansion of Everyday Life 1860 - 1876" leaves no stone unturned, covering topics extensively such as the role of religion in the daily lives of the people, courtship, death, birth, clothing, prescription drugs of the era, what was eaten for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, bathing, and schooling. Life in the city, in a town, and on the farm is covered pretty equally where the differences occur. The lives of the (freed) blacks is also mentioned throughout the text. Other topics covered include such taboo subjects as sex and abortion, homosexuality, as well as women's rights. But it is done not in the typical 21st century liberal PC style so prominent in current history books. One gets the impression that author, Daniel Sutherland, has a true passion for truth in social history and is not out to promote a political agenda. He does get a bit tedious at times (which I absolutely love - every detail of life is here!) but never dry, as another reviewer wrote. If you are a student of history, which I am, then I am sure you will feel the same as I.
There is not another history book of this era that I would recommend higher than this.

KCBS has put together a great book here. Mostly for the beginning smoker however. It has wonderful recipes from the top bbq cookers around the circuit. These are proven award winning recipes and will help any wanna be bbq chef turn out a great product. If you follow the tips and tricks in this book it will help you avoid a lot of mistakes and headaches.

While this book may come from a barbecue society it mostly deals with grilling instead of smoking. In addition, quite a few of the recipes lacked critical details. The "Champion's" recipes were laughable. I was hoping for more than: Blue Ribbon Brisket: Ingredient list: 7-10 pound brisket trimmed, barbecue rub. Instructions: Season meat with rub, cook at 225 degrees until done. The side and dessert recipes were interesting, but that's not what I buy a barbecue book for

If you buy this book, you wont learn how to BBQ. It doesnt cover enough (or any) on selecting meat, selecting the BBQ smoker, proper cooking technique, etc. But what you do get, that makes this a worthwhile purchase, is a huge amount of great recipies. Where else can you be be looking for BBQ sidedishes like potato salad and coleslaw, and find multiple recipies of each?

This is a FANTASTIC BOOK. It has a great deal of useable recipes in it. Unlike alot of cookbooks that just have a few. I highly recomend this cookbook. Would give it 10 stars if i could.Happy Barbecueing. It's time to fire up the Weber Smokey Mountain Smoker.

An absolutely wonderful kitchen tool for anyone who likes rubs, sauces and BBQ. My husband and I use this book religiously at least once a week and everything is great! The sauces and seasonings work well with all types of meat! BBQ certainly isn't just for breakfast anymore!

I grew up in the Niagara Frontier but I only knew of these battles by the plaques on the side of the road or rare weekend visits to the old forts. This is a professional and thorough treatment of a history that was all around me, hidden no longer. Thanks for this book and the excellent work Dr. Barbuto.

I found Mr Barbuto's book well written and very easy reading.
He not only covers the personalities and strategies of the 1814 campaign but also reviews each engagement from both British and American points of very, opportunities lost, blunders as well as succesful strategies and places all in the context of the personalities involved.
The only shortfall may be alittle slowness to the beginning of the book as Mr Barbuto sets the stage and puts the action in context.

This is a reasonably well researched book on the 1814 Niagara campaign. It's good to see that the War of 1812 is finanlly beginning to receive some of the attention that the Revolution and the Civil War has always received in US History. Despite the reviews that state this is an unbiased account of the pivital campaign fought on the Niagara Peninsular in 1814, I found Mr. Barbuto's account suffered from pro-American sentiments, even if they are were more subtle than Elting's earlier work on the war.

Barbuto's main thesis seems to be that the American militia gave a better account of itself in the war than most historians give them credit for. Is this a valid point? He cites the battle of Chippewa as one example where Porter's militia roughly handled the British-lead Indians and Canadian Militia, but even still the US Militia broke when confronted by Pearson's Light companies. Scott had to use Jesup's 25th Infantry to cover his left flank during the battle after Porter's militia were streaming to the rear. Granted, the militia did better here, but they still could not stand up to regulars.

At Lundy's Lane Porter's 300 odd men from his brigade gave a pretty good account of themselves, but the were defending, always easier for militia to do, and in the end along with the rest of the US army they retired from the field giving Drummund's battered British regulars a hard fought victory.

Under Gaines at the sortie of Fort Erie the Militia did manage to overrun some British gun emplacements, but the battle becomes a confused affair in the rain, and the British reserves from the 6th & 82nd foot shatter the American militia with heavy vollies as they mill around in the captured British works. The fighting also took place in broken ground and was not a stand up fight, also more favorable circumstances for US militia. These facts are
not mentioned in Barbuto's work. The American militia can do adequately when properly lead, but even on these occasions they really can't stand up to British regulars, as much as Mr. Barbuto would like to make us think they could.

The book spends a lot of time going over the first two years of the war. I thought a bit too much time was used covering this background information which can be found in many of the other general histories on this conflict. Also, the author repeated information in this background study.

The main strength of this work is the operational perspective it provides on the Niagara campaign. Barbuto's work is basically a study of the campaign's background, preparation and exicution. As such it succeeds adequately. But those seeking a more detailed description on the major battles of Chippewa, Lundy's Lane and Fort Erie should read Donald Grave's work on these subjects. Where Mr. Barbuto excels is in his analysis of the battles and how they shaped the 1814 campaign. He provides cogent reasons for why certian decisions were made, and how they influenced events. This to me is the main strength of this book, which sets it apart from the geneal histories of the conflict.

Barbuto gives too much attention trying to prove that the American army was the equal to the British after Scott's intensive training. Again, the only clear-cut victory of the campaign in the open is at Chippewa, where Scott's spendid brigade bests the British in a fair firefight. At Fort Erie they do heavily repulse the British assult, but this is not a fair fight in the open. Fortunately Barbuto does not make the twin mistakes of claiming the British attacked in colume or that they
were routed at Chippewa. At Lundy's Lane the Americans fought hard, but in the end they retreated and give up the guns they captured from the British. Even at Fort Erie where Gaine's sortie makes initial progress, the attack bogs down and the British repulse the attack.

Given these circumstances it is difficult to support Mr. Barbuto's claim that after Chippewa American regulars and militia never gave ground again. In this regard the author allows his nationalism to unbalance his perspective somewhat.

Despite these drawbacks, this is still a worthwhile overview of the 1814 campaign. There is a lot of information about US regiments and leaders, while somewhat less on British units and their commanders. The perspective is mostly seen from the American side, with some attempts to describe what the British were doing. Probably for the most detailed and non-biased accounts of the battles of 1814 Donald Graves remains the best, but Barbuto has made a worthwhile effort. It would be nice if he or another author might do the same analysis on the 1812 or 1813 campagns, but few American historians want to study this embarrassing aspect of the war in any depth! Can we blame them!Deffinitely a good buy for War of 1812 fans if the slight pro-American bias is taken into account.

I can't rate this book because I haven't read it. However, in your introduction you state that Richard Barbuto is the first to write a comprehensive history of the War of 1812, which -- unless you really mean the first American writer to do so -- is not true. Pierre Berton, Canada's best-known writer of history, wrote a two-volume, comprehensive history of the war some 15-20 years ago. And he was resolutely neutral in his approach to the subject -- Mr. Barbuto would certainly have read that work in the course of his research and would probably agree with me.

I know that Pierre Berton approached a number of U.S. publishers after his work became a best seller in Canada. All turned him down because, they said, it did not take an American point of view; it was too neutral.

I'm not in any way trying to demean Mr. Barbuto or his work, just remind my American neighbors once again that we're part of this continent, too. We share with you both its history and the experience of living here. When we write about that experience, as we frequently do (and do so capably and conscienciously) we deserve to have our efforts recognized, even if your own book publishers don't think you'll appreciate our point of view.

Sincerely,

Jerry Lawton

RICH BARBUTO IS MY DAD. HE GAVE ME A COPY OF HIS BOOK FOR ONE OF MY SCHOOL BOOK REPORTS. THE FIRST SEVEN CHAPTERS PUT ME TO SLEEP. BUT AFTER THAT I COOULDNT PUT IT DOWN. AS ONE OF THE PUBLISHER'S REVIEWERS SAID " ANY PERSON INTERESTED IN THE WAR OF 1812 OR ANY MILITARY HISTORY REALLY SHOULD READ IT. IT WAS RATHER LONG FOR AGE, BUT I REALLY LOVED IT.

A.F. BARBUTO

I'm 12 years old and and I thoroughly enjoyed this action packed story. I watched the Disney video,and it was very fun. Travis and old Yeller worked hard to take care of the family farm. They have several hair-raising experiences. My favorite part was when Old yeller has a do-or-die fight with a mad wolf.
Through it all Travis shows his good character qualities. He is a great role model for young boys. I highly recommend the book.

Old Yeller is a great book for younder kids. However, for an eighth grader, the book sucks. The best part is the bull fighting part. The worst part is when the dog dies.

Man i have not have had so much fun reading a book. The stary about a boy and his dog, but not a ordinary dog. The best book i have read

This story about a family surviving after the Civil War. It is also about a boy and his dog Old Yeller.Travis, the boy, becomes the man of the house when his father leaves for Kansas.

Travis is faced with some hard times. He does his best to protect his family and keep the promise he made to his
father.Old Yeller proves to be a great friend and helps Travis.

My favorite part of the story was when Travis watched two bulls fighting. As he sat on the fence the bulls pushed through the fence and got caught in an iron tire the bulls ran away.Travis laughed and laughed to see such tough bulls get scared and run.

I would recommend this story to anyone that likes dogs. Old Yeller was a very smart dog. It is a story about how a family sticks together. The story would be of interest to most people of any age.

The three of us, fifth graders from Vernon Hill School in Worcester, read the book Old Yeller. We thought the book was interesting but it could have been better because the beginning was slow. It got better towards the end. Our favorite part was when Travis got his leg sliced open by the hog. We liked this part because it had alot of action in it. We didn't like the part when he died.

An insightful tale of two young women--Lydia Fulgate, the widowed American, and her friend, Charlotte Duret, a charming French woman who has lost her inheritance--who team up to start a new life in the wastelands of post-Civil War Kansas. Far more than a feminist statement, the novel uses subtle humor, nicely-handled romance, and historic details to address the price of questioning the status-quo. In my book, a winner!

This is a haunting book, beautifully written and fully realized. Reminiscent of Willa Cather in the fineness of the detail. I love the way Ms. Lehrer writes.

I love this novel-it was very real and so sad! While easy to read and engrossing, the story moved quickly and the author never let on about the deep study of human character she was presenting-friendships, despair, love and hate are all explored so easily.

I am a Kansan, and interested in Kansas women of the late 1800's. This novel intrigued me, but I am not sure how historical it is. I found the story riveting and facinating, but I did not care for Mrs. Lehrers style of writing, it was confusing and I often had to stop to figure out who was thinking/talking, and re read sections that I felt were unclear. However, it is an interesting study in friendships, human relationships, and womans rights. I stayed up late two nights in a row to finish this book, despite the fact that some of it was hard for me to follow--that is how compelling the story is. Two women, one French, one American, disheartened by romance and their way of life in Paris, make their way to Kansas to establish a new society and search for their inner selves. They fight Kansas weather, and local establishment, which while not the same as the establishment they left behind in social Paris, still formidable in its own right. At times I felt they had started a commune. If you are interested in novels about relationships between women and humans in general, then this may be a good read for you.

I could never believe that these two ladies made it to Kansas. I had a hard time believing that they were in Paris also and I don't know anything about Paris in the 1800's. The real tale that this story was based on would have been more interesting. I live in Kansas. You have to be tough to live here even today. In our state the population of farm animals is much higher than the human population. I would bet that Kate Lehrer has never worked as a farm laborer to understand what is

involved. She had the facts, but not the heart. No one here in the sunflower state doubts for a moment that strong independent minded women lead the way in the pioneer movement and in the right to vote. A true glimpse of this person is depicted in the statue on the state capital grounds. It shows you a woman boldly going forward with baby at her breast, a gun and a Bible in hand, and a plow beside her. Charlotte and Lydia only gave me the idea that they knew how to talk. Save your money and buy something else worth reading.

Throughout history, no presidential administration needed to be given more benefit of the doubt than that of Gerald Ford. While other administrations had to come into existence as a consequence of death by natural causes or assassination, only Ford had to follow a person who resigned in disgrace. The political atmosphere was forever changed by the actions of Richard Nixon, as the American public no longer took the word of the president on faith. Jimmy Carter, who defeated Ford in the next election, made a simple, effective campaign pledge, "I will never lie to the American people."
However despite all of those problems, the sheer resilience and strength of the American political system was demonstrated, and that is the main theme of the book. Yes, Ford had his faults and probably could not have otherwise gained the presidency, but he is a good man and was the right person for the times. As someone addicted to the political theater, I was mesmerized by Watergate, disgusted with Nixon and sometimes laughed at Ford. And yet, I still liked him, and do so even more now that I have read this book. Given all the political problems, Ford did many things about as well as could be done. His downfall was the one really big mistake that he made, namely the premature pardon of Nixon.
Had he waited longer to issue the pardon, more could have come out, tensions would have been eased and the act would not have been quite so controversial. While I know why he did it, I will never understand why he felt he had to do it so soon. The behaviors of Nixon even as the pardon was being discussed and described in the book are amazing, showing a man who was still contemptuous of the political system. A delayed pardon may have altered that.
Gerald Ford was not a great president in terms of great accomplishments, initiatives or rhetoric. However, he was and is a decent man who was forced to pick up after an indecent one. For that reason he needs to be respected for what he did, helped make the political system work. This description of his presidency is a tribute to that decency and I encourage you to read it and pay a little more attention to him the next time you see him speak. I know I will.

Greene adroitly recognizes that Ford's domestic legislative proposals faced staunch opposition from a Democratically controlled Congress. In foreign affairs, Ford failed to get SALT II ratified and an Egyptian-Israeli accord never materialized during his term. In addition, the author acknowledges that Ford used assertiveness in the Mayaguez incident. Furthermore, Greene avers that Ford received bad publicity from the press. Finally, Greene argues that Ford did not make a secret bargain with Nixon for a Presidential pardon. This book gives a balanced account about a much maligned President.

This book is a well-researched and thought provoking book. It is the best book on a bad subject. The author obviously knows what he is talking about, sometimes to the detriment of the reader. Very in-depth. This is NOT the place to start for a study of Gerald Ford. It may be the place to end.

Gerald Ford is not the most popular of presidents to write about. He's almost forgotten in studies of America after 1945. This book gives him his due. Profesor Greene does a fine job of examing the important issues that faced Ford, like "stagflation," the Mayaguez incident, and dealing with the Cold War. It's a balanced account and written for scholars and the general reader.

Gerald Ford is our most underrated modern president. Many books have, and continue to be, written on Nixon, Carter and Reagan, but few on Ford. This work helps one to both grasp and understand the pros and cons of Ford's tenure, as well as the turbulent, uncertain mid 70s. I came away seeing Gerald Ford as a competent man, and a solid president. I believe this very good book could have been better in one area. Greene, like Kissinger, Leslie Stahl, Tip Oneil, et. al., focuses on Ford the healer. To me this limits the work, as Ford's policies have grown in stature after two decades of review. His focus on a balanced budget , and his veto activity to that end, stand in sharp contrast to words and non-deeds ofhis successors. His handling of the Mayaguez incident helped re-establish presidential power over the lopsided war powers act. As well, Ford's signing the Helsinki agreements over opposition helped bring an end to the Soviet Union--a human rights stand that gave Carter a foundation for his work. I believe the nation would have been better off with a Ford victory in 1976. Overall, Greenes work should be read by anyone wanting to study Ford's presidency. It is a valuable resource on an era few have studied.

No study of Reconstruction has ever offered such a perceptive comparative analysis. The sole critic among these reviews appears to have something of an obsession with the author, as evidenced on the Yahoo Discussion Group "civilwarhistory2." That's unfortunate. Read and decide for yourself.

Anyone who knows anything about Reconstruction would agree that it began during the Civil War: Lincoln himself spoke of his Reconstruction proposals. Setting aside tripe from neo-Confederate propaganists and KKK defenders, I'd read the book and judge for yourself.

Reconstruction was AFTER Lincoln. Someone needs to point this out to Mr. Simpson. Andrew Johnson attempted to do the same type of Reconstruction Lincoln wanted, "let'em up easy". The Radicals hated Johnson, as Johnson turned out NOT to be their puppet, and he REALLY was a Democrat. Simpson feels the need to bash Johnson, as HIS HERO, GENERAL Grant,[look at his books] was the NEXT President. According to Simpson Grant was in fact one of the BEST Presidents!! (Right!!!LOL) Finally, Simpson pushes all the blame on those Southern people. Get real Mr. Simpson, contrary to your writing, (just because YOU write something, does NOT mean it is fact), the South was not wearing black hats, and the North was not wearing white hats. This book is full of anti-southern propaganda, hoping gullible readers will take it as fact. It's a waste of money. I give it only one star, as I can't give it a zero, which it deserves.

Simpson makes us wonder what Lincoln's post-war policies would have been, had a carriage accident kept him from his appointment at Ford's Theatre on April 14, 1865. How would he have resolved the conflict between two of his goals, reconciling the (white) elites of North and South on the one hand, protecting the newly freed men and women on the other? What would "reconstruction" have meant to him? In his second inaugural address, Lincoln spoke of "malice toward none" and "charity for all." But that is an aspiration, not a program. Would it have been possible to act in a way that both the old plantation aristocracy and their former chattels would have regarded as charitable?! Simpson reminds us that by the end of 1865, President Johnson and the Republican Party had gone their separate ways. The leaders of the party, firmly in control of Congress, theorized that the states that had seceded had committed a sort of juridical 'suicide' and could only be restored to life when it, the Congress, thought they had proven their fitness. In the meantime, military occupation and control would continue. That was a difficult policy to pursue, though, if the commander in chief of that military thought reconstruction ought to end, the freedmen left to their fate in the face of the Klan. Congress tried to address this situation by ensuring that it had in the President's cabinet a friendly secretary of war, thus short-circuiting the chain of command. Johnson is in many ways the "heavy" of Simpson's reading of the period. Simpson is, accordingly, sympathetic to the difficulties faced by the leaders of that Congress and to their eventual decision to end those difficulties through the extraordinary process of impeachment and trial. All in all, this is not a perfect, but it is a fascinating, book.

One of the most intriguing possibilities one can surrender to is the notion of how history may have differed if consequences were altered. The Reconstruction Presidents examines the lives of the 4 men faced with the challenge of tightening the newly formed knot of the once more Unified States. Beginning with Lincoln, who may have had the vision of the plan before a precise bullet wound dimmed it, Simpson ponders how reconstruction may have begun under Lincoln's reign. With the abrupt arrival of Andrew Johnson and his blatently racist views, reconstruction was lost during these formidable years. The torch passed to Ulysses Grant, who lives in infamy as one of the nation's least effective presidents. He was forced to clean up the damage and mistrust done by Johnson and unify not only blacks and whites, but political and demographic groups alike avoiding the chance of offending any particular group. Simpson poses the question, if Grant had not been in office, who would have and where would the country have gone? I enjoyed the notion of perhaps reanalyzing Grant's presidency. The least known, Rutherford B. Hayes, some would say was the benefactor of a nation willing to surrender and come together. Simpson presents a man who may not be remembered in history by the common citizen, but makes him no less important. An interesting viewpoint on a debated subject.