Kentucky Books

I think this book was excellent. I have seen other comments about how the writer should have turned the characters lives around. But this book was more nonfiction than fiction if you think about it.

I would recommend this book to anyone who loves to read novels with some truth in the words written.

This has been my favorite movie of all time since it first aired on television. My children found a copy of the movie for me long ago and I share it whenever I can because of the message of hope. Of all the reviews I've read on this movie, not one speaks of the message of God's provision when we've taken a wrong turn. She's continually looking at the 'face' of Jesus and can't quite see what that might look like. It is the theme throughout and yet the reviews I read are focused on what I believe are extra great messages...but not the underlying message. At the lowest point of her life the very cherry wood that she's been carving throughout the story takes on a new meaning as 'Christ was broken' for her. It's there that she finally gets the message of his face. He saved her from the life she was living and ultimately brought her home.

I read Dollmaker over twenty years ago and have never forgotten its message. I feel all women should be required to read this important story. It shows that the strength, courage and faith that women use daily in everyday life is taken for granted by some but cherished and passed on by others. This book makes you grow in ways that are not easy to describe.

This is my third reading of The Dollmaker over a 15 year span of time. Parts of this novel always stay with me, even as I forget the particulars: the tracheotomy on her youngest child when it was do it or die; the yearning for and eventual purchase of land of her own; the tragedies that await her family in Detroit. It is even more poignant now - I grew up in Appalachia, and now live in the metro Detroit suburbs, where "Ypsituckian" is a derogatory word. This book chronicles a people and a time gone by, as the mountain region gets more and more homogenized. It makes me fiercely proud of home.

If you want to walk away from a book feeling hopeless and sad, by all means, read this book! You just keep waiting for the book to make a turn around, but the character's life just becomes worse and worse! And the book is so long and terribly detailed! The only reason I gave it 2 stars instead of 1 is because I do believe the author accurately portrayed the harshness of life for a family in innercity Detroit during World War II. However, I would not recommend this book to anyone!

Morgan has writen an excellent book on Daniel Boone. The myth is thrown out the door and the facts are presented in a prose that is both enlightening and poetic. Boone influenced many writers and poets including Walt Whitman and HDT. Boone is the original woodsman. He lived in a time when America truly was wild. It is amazing that he lived to be 86, when one false step caused one to loose their hair. He was held in great respect by the Shawnees and held many of their beliefs in regards to nature. I would have loved to have ridden with him and Simon Kenton.

In 1729 there were paid scouts in Kentucky over fifty years before Boone. Even earlier there were a few hunters and trappers. That is not soon after the first to arrive. Morgan does a good job with his character of Boone. The people liked and trusted Boone. They knew he did know where there was good land for hunting. The long-hunters killed game for their skins and not caring that they weren't eaten. By Ruth Thompson author of "The Bluegrass Dream" and "Natchez Above The River"

An over long development of the life of a very significant figure in American (Kentucky) history. Speculation as to Boone's thoughts and feelings while traveling the wilderness alone are pure nonsense. Division of labor, Boone was the hunter, hence the other members of the community depended upon his skills for meat. It doesn't take but a few months for wildlife to flee from an area when humans invade their territory.
One of the funniest bits for me was when Morgan discussed the pollution of the Ohio river. In the 1750s? Bambi should not have pissed in the river.
Extract historical fact from a modern tendency to humanize personages in terms of current concepts and this could be a valuable book. For Boone and his contemporaries the essence of their lives was survival.
Writing as a Small BusinessSins of the Fathers: A Brewster County NovelGuns Across the Rio: A Texas Ranger in Old MexicoNatchez Above The River: A Family's Survival In The Civil WarUnder the Liberty Oak

You could make a pretty good argument that Daniel Boone is the most noted American historical figure at this time, and probably throughout our history. There have been hundreds upon hundreds of books, articles, poems, songs, movies, plays and stories featuring him as the central subject since even before his death in 1820. It is possible that more people have heard of George Washington, but I doubt it. Few men or women have captured the imagination of an entire people as this one individual. In many ways, he has become, and been used as a symbol of the young American Republic, and indeed rightfully so, both the good, and to a lesser extent the bad. Quite a lot of information that most of know of Boone is pure legend, or at worse, pure myth. With all the material out there, why on earth did Robert Morgan choose to write another biography? The reasons here may be multiple, and actually have little to do with this review, but lets all be grateful that this author did choose this particular man as the subject of his first biography.

Boone: A Biography, by Robert Morgan is a well crafted and certainly, as far as I can tell, well researched bit of work. The author has gone to great lengths to clear up and separate myth from reality. This was no easy task. There are great gaps in Boone's life, where so much is actually unknown or has been clouded by well meaning biographers, movie makers and the public in general. Morgan has been very quick to point this out, and when he does delve into the area of speculation, something all or most biographers must do from time to time, he lets us know. What is so absolutely fascinating, for me, is the fact that the truth, in this case, is so very much better than fiction when it comes to Daniel Boone. What the man actually accomplished in his life is so much more impressive than all the "tall tales" we have all heard since childhood. The "real" Boone is much more exciting and much more dynamic than the "fairy tale" Boone.

With this book, we not only get the benefit of a well written biography, we also get another chance to savor the prose of the author of Gap Creek and eight other wonderful novels, as well as twelve volumes of poetry. Folks, this man can write! His description of the country which Boone explored is absolutely worth the read alone. Another aspect that separates Morgan's work from many other biographers is his attention to the women of that era, not only Boone's immediate family, but many of those women around him. This is an aspect of frontier life often overlooked. The author has also given quite a bit of attention, and given a good account, of his subject's relationship with the Native Americans, who played a major role in his life. I also appreciated the way the author has included the names of many of the common people he dealt with on a daily bases. He has not only included the famous of the time, but the not so famous. This, to me, is quite refreshing. If I want to read a book on the life of say, George Washington, then I will pick up a biography on him. Truthfully, I am much more interested in Joe Nobody, who happened to live up the hollow, and helped Daniel skin a deer once, on such and such a day.

What I did not realize, was the tremendous influence that Boone had upon our literature of the time, and consequently the literature of our time. Thoreau, Cooper, Whitmen, Emerson, Lord Byron, Faulkner, Guthrie, and many, many others were influenced by Boone the man and his deeds. His life also had a major impact over one of our first major schools of art, the Hudson River School. (Being a bit on the romantic side, this is one of my personal favorites).

I have read quite a number of biographies and stories about Boone over the years, and will quite likely read more, given the time. This work though, stands at the top of my list of informative and enjoyable reads on the life of a very unique American and indeed, is one of the better biographies I have read over the past couple of years.

What strikes me as the greatest accomplishment of Robert Morgan in this biography of Daniel Boone is stripping away the myth and describing the person. I read a recent biography of Kit Carson that did the same thing. As such, both authors have done readers a great service.

Boone himself was a complex figure. He was a great success as a trapper and explorer. He routinely failed as a businessman and land speculator. He was lucky and he made his own luck. Despite being so well known to Americans, he died in Missouri at 86 and pretty much broke. His story was such that he was mentioned in the works of poets and writers. James Fennimore Cooper based a number of novels on his life and exploits, Natty Bumppo, "la longue carabine," the Pathfinder, Hawkeye [in Last of the Mohicans], and so on.

The book does a nice job of relating his family background, his childhood, and his increasing interest in trapping, hunting, and exploring. He fought in the French and Indian War (serving with Braddock on this ill-starred campaign) and the Revolutionary War. He was instrumental in helping the process of development of American interests in Kentucky. His relationship with Native Americans was complex. He respected them and developed some friendships and was even adopted after his capture at one point. But he also fought against them.

His business efforts, designed to provide security for his family, routinely ended in failure. Land that he thought had been given him in Kentucky was lost through court action; he once lost $20,000 as he was going back to Virginia to deposit this and finalize land claims; and so on.

And, a stunning realization. . . . He went with a group of explorers and visited the Yellowstone area while he was in his mid 70s! How many 70 year olds would be able to cross half a continent in 1809 and return?

This book is a wonderfully balanced view of the life of Boone. For those who want to know the man more than the myth, this is most rewarding. Some nice features: a genealogy at the outset, a brief chronology of Boone's life. More maps would have been useful, to place his travels and life in a broader geographic perspective. Nonetheless, a fine work.

I could hardly put this book down!! In fact, after I finished it in two days, I read parts of it again!! The author gives factual details about a terrible tragedy, and the loss of a wonderful horse. With the recent interest in horseracing, after the tragic loss of Eight Belles, people should be aware that horseracing is not all mint juleps and fancy hats.
Wild Ride is a gripping tale of what happened to Alydar, the horse that propelled the last Triple Crown Winner, Affirmed, to his status in history.
Even if you are not a horseracing fan (which I was not, until I read this book!), you will learn so much about the behind-the-scenes events of an American tragedy. Somewhere else I read these quotes: "Dogs and cats have become our pets, but horses, we have deemed, should be our slaves"...........and "Every person who has ever owned a pet will stand before God to testify as to his master's stewardship". Keeping those thoughts in mind, the book will justify the author's purpose for getting this TRUE story out in the open. EXCELLENT READ!!!!

At last a detailed explanation as to what caused the implosion of the seemingly solid Calumet Farms throughbred racing dynasty. How could things go so wrong, so fast? An interesting mix of human pettiness, ignorance and weakness, greed, and then the Farm was lost to greater and greater accelerating debt. Detailed portraits of many of the Calumet favorites, especially Alydar, who's accidental death stopped the cash machine that was keeping the farm afloat in a sea of debt. Interesting crosscurrents of bad feduciary management by the trust's bank managers, criminal activity, gangland ties, possible drug peddling for cash, contracts that were fast and loose and pledged the same assets over and over again. If you like racing and remember the Calumet lock on winning and its great horses, this is a fascinating book. If you are looking for just a "horse" book you should look elsewhere, but this is a great story from the get-go.

By far and away, this is the best book I have ever read. It is enthralling, astounding in its detail, it is meticulously researched, beautifully and stylishly written. Auerbach's book is the classiest piece of reading I have completed. I couldn't put it down, and it will lead you along the road from awe to woe. I could read anything about the Bluegrass and the thoroughbred industry, but this book will cross genres from horse fans to general public.

But be advised, it is an involving read and you need to concentrate. But I found my emotions building with every chapter and a sure void when I discovered that the book ends before the completion of the Calumet story which, by my own research, continues long after the close of pages in 1995...

This is the story of the downfall of the premier horse racing & breeding farm as well as the death of the legendary racehorse stallion Alydar, due to, of course, greed. Rest in peace Alydar.

The author follows the money trail expertly, & as a horse person, I have seen this scenario in a smaller scale before (downfall of a stable etc) due to greed.
It is a shame that real horsepeople do not own these farms/stables. Money is still directing what is happening to all horse breeds to this day. Witness the "Dubai" (Doobie) Brothers are still buying up the best bloodstock of the USA, & they are not just limiting themselves to Thoroughbreds (also Arabians, Saddlebreds).
I gave the book only 4 stars as it is depressing. However, it is very well written.

I vividly remember the reports in the sports section concerning the death of Alydar and then the financial collapse of Calumet Farm. Little did I know then that it was as criminal as anything found on the front page of a major daily.

Ann Hagedorn Auerbach does an outstanding job of piecing together the jagged financial picture of the crumbled puzzle pieces left by J.T. Lundy. The book also poses poignant questions - many remaining unanswered today - concerning the death of a great champion who seemingly was worth more in death because of the huge insurance windfall gained by Lundy.

And please don't be fooled by the pomp on major race days covered on national TV/cable; the Thoroughbred industry is driven by racers graduating to the stud farm and commanding oftentimes six figures per mating.

Though the book is about 10 years old, you will wonder if there are more Lundy's cooking up schemes to defraud others while striding nonchalantly under the backdrop of beautiful turf, colorful silks and million-dollar runners.

I don't have much to add to the foregoing reviews except to toss my own opinion in the ring. This book was well-written and great fun to read. I found it hard to put the book down at times. I can't say this is the definitive biography of Mary Pickford -- that's beyond my realm of expertise -- but it sure as heck was an enjoyable one. I popped back in on Amazon to see if the author has published any other biographies. She hasn't. Drats.

Whitfield's book on Pickford is the definitive biography of this Hollywood legend. Her research is extensive and storytelling touching. It's fascinating to read about the rise and fall of such an intelligent and artistic actress who was one of the first to create the art of film acting. I've also read Scott Eyman's book ("Mary Pickford"), which is also good, but doesn't offer the same depth of research that Whitfield does. A must have for any film buff's library.

I think I can say that this book changed my life. I love movies and the people who make them, and for some reason I was not at all familar with the great Mary Pickford. Reading Ms. Whitfield's PICKFORD: THE WOMAN WHO MADE HOLLYWOOD, I laughed, I cried and I was amazed with what this actress accomplished in her life. This is the sort of book for me that as I approached its last pages, I had to put it down because I did not want it to end. Maybe I didn't want Pickford's life to end. Her life, and particulary her relationship with her mother, has all the workings of a great motion picture. I am now searching for all films that feature Mary Pickford. I have seen many recently and through her and her movies the world of Silent Film has come alive for me. This book fills in the blanks I had about the earliest days of U. S. films and has given me a glimpse into the working life of Pickford. For any students of film, this is a book that must be read. I will never forget the beautiful moment in this book when Mary Pickford is sitting next to Douglas Fairbanks, some time after they had divorced. Their brief converstion, as told by Whitfield, still gets me all misty eyed when I think about it. For me, without a doubt, this is the best book I have read all year!

I'm not rating the book, but rather some misinformation: in the book's description it says that she did not make the transition to talking pictures. I watched a talking picture this morning on Turner Classic Movies, Coquette(spelling?), released in 1929, which she was nominated for Best Actress. So yes, she DID make the transition to talking pictures; it just may not have been for long.

I am looking for a Mary Pickford bio that has lots of information on her personal life. This book is not the one. I found it dull, boring and uninformative in regards to Mary's personal life. I stopped reading it!! I want to know more about Lottie and Jack and their deaths, and this book tells very little, and one paragraph when each of them die. No details, no places, addresses-all the things that make for really interesting and well researched books. Anyone can get information on their movies, filmographies and details of the studios. You could almost just repeat many books like this and just change the person who you're writing about. Everytime I found a tidbit of interest, it referred to Mary's own book "Sunshine and Sadness". Maybe I should read THAT book instead!

I enjoyed this little brisk bit of reading. It gets in and gets out. You'll have to suspend some disbelief to swallow the premise, but I think it's worth it for the sharp and biting dialog. This may be attributable to the author's youth. He's alot more in touch with alternative culture (these people hate Raymond) than most of his writing contemporaries.

Joey Goebel's first novel, "The Anomalies", has an energy and intelligence that is rarely seen in debut fiction. Each unique character created by Goebel has their own interesting traits and are just plain fun to read about, while a social critique also winds its way through the pages. It is no easy task to create memorable and fun characters while tackling social issues, but Goebel pulls it off almost seamlessly.
I am looking forward to his next novel, "Torture the Artist", where I am certain he has honed his craft even more.

The Anomalies, Goebel's debut novel, is one of the most creative, constantly inventive novels to grace the bookshelves in years. As a debut novel, it is equivalent only to Jonathan Lethem's Gun, With Occasional Music. Though there are no surrealistic boundaries broken in Goebel's work, the high level of inventiveness is comparable.

The characters are vivid and uniquely oddball. And they are drawn so beautifully and convincingly that they read less like fiction characters and more like people plucked from the pages of a memoir by a computer-nerd-cum-sideshow-geek.

The story, about a ragtag group of outcasts looking to make sweet music, borders on the absurd without feeling contrived or unrealistic. The true absurdity is the world's response to these characters, who, it seems, cherish Cocteau's observation, "That with which the public reproaches you, cultivate it, it is you."

The Anomalies is so well paced, so beautifully well written, that it flies by in one sitting. But, and not to give away the ending here, the characters' fates will haunt you and sit with you and, eventually, inspire you to re-read this book. If not for the characters, then the circumstances, if not the circumstances, then the wonderful, wonderful prose and dialogue.

This is not only one of the best debut novels I've ever read, but one of the best, funniest, cleverest novels I've had the pleasure of reading. If your perception of reality tends to be skewed, I highly recommend The Anomalies. And if your perception tends to lean to the mainstream, I recommend it even more. Heck, you might even learn something about the way you perceive people.

i couldn't even get 1/2 through this novel. documenting the rock 'n roll industry and band dynamics is undoubtedly a difficult task. some have done it successfully, others have not. unfortunately, 'the anomalies' falls in the latter category.

goebel's novel, told from multiple point-of-view's (a al faulkner's 'as i lay dying,' could have been intersting, but let's be honest here and cut right to the novel's central problem: how many bands have an 80 year-old, sex-starved granny, an 8-year old girl, an effeminate iraqi soldier, and a satan-worshipping teenager? the novel loses any credibility because its initial premise completely unbelievable and head-scratching. there's simply no way these people would ever get together, much less form a band. i'm growing tired of writers who assume they have to have 'quirky' and 'off-beat' characters to make novels interesting. 'quirky' characters more often than not make for obnoxious and annoying characters--and does little more than display an author's inability at novelizing complex human emotions and relaitionships. unfortunately, the united nations-esque, freak-show band is little more than a gimmick, and a tired one at that.

the writing itself is mediocre at best. goebel's still a young man and it shows. most of the prose comes across as juvenile and simplistic, probably because it is. it never really sparkles, never really reveals anything substantial about the plot or characters. the dialogue is ordinary and by-the-book. the 'quirky' characters are, by and large, one-dimensional stereotypes, and the shifting p.o.v could have been interesting had the band member's observations about each other amounted to anything insightful or interesting.

it takes a lot for me to give up on a book 1/2 way through it, but 1/2 of 'the anomolies' was an uninspired, tedious exercise in band dynamics. a major disappointment.

This novel is an interesting exercise on two levels: first, because the author, himself quite a young man, has tackled a topic that requires extraordinary skill, observing the antics of a multi-generational group of characters; the second, the very diverse personalities themselves, who make up the meat of the novel.

Goebel introduces an unusual gathering of friends who have come together as a rock band, determined that their music be heard and appreciated. They figure such a strange configuration of band mates should at least get them in the door. The group consists of an eight-year old girl and her babysitter, who happens to be a sprightly octogenarian, a young black musician with an explosive imagination and a vocabulary to match, a beautiful, wheel chair-bound Satanist and an Iraqi immigrant recently arrived in this country to enjoy the wonders of American life and to find an American soldier he wounded in the Gulf War. The burgeoning rock band is their blunt statement to the world.

The world may not be ready for their message, but the musicians do have a small following as their sound improves with practice. Most important is their message: diversity is the future of America. Certainly the very identity of the group is an advertisement that cultural and racial differences can successfully coexist, even flourish. Like most ideas before their time, this band becomes a target for some misanthropic diversions, reminding us that the fickle finger of fate scribbles randomly, and then moves on, indifferent to the chaos left in its wake. Whether Goebel's characters can recover from their debut is the question. Luan Gaines/2004.

The style of this work reminded somewhat of McCullough's (writer of a biography of John Adams)in that the writer seeks to understand Boone's motivations within the context of the times he lived in. Unlike Adams however much less in definitely known about Boone and the writer is forced to include many stories and legends that are needed to embelish the biography but also pose the risk of pulling Boone's image and reputation in undesirable or unfair directions. The problem of course is that there are hundreds of legends and hundreds of variations on those legends and the writer must pick and chose how much weight to give the views of his different sources. Overall he has done a good job and the reader is treated to a realistic view of life in Kentucky when buffaloes roamed, the plight of the Indians etc... Recommended

Daniel Boone was a long hunter and it brought him to the hunting ground of Kentucky. He hunted the land several times before he brought his family to Boonesborough a fort on the Kentucky River. Faragher shows that Boone was a man of character. He loved the frontier and wanted to be a part of it. Boone wanted to live in peace with the Indians but at times he found them to be his enemy. The people he encouraged to come west began to crowd him and he began to look for a new frontier farther west. The Author was very factual about the man, Daniel Boone. By Ruth Thompson author of "The Bluegrass Dream" and "Natchez Above The River"

This book provided very detailed information regarding Daniel Boone and his relatives. He's a legend worth learning about. You'll be able to separate the myths about him from the truth, according to the best available data.
Be ready for a long read.

Well written and detailed book on America's back woodsman who seemed a precursor to the Mountain Man. Hailing from Pennsylvania, the author tracks Boone's introduction and love of hunting from his early years through his family's move to North carolina to Kentucky finishing his mature years in Missouri due to his constant thirst for better hunting and less people. Fascinating account of Boone's unique relationship with the Indians and cool head. His ability to sustain himself like a native and stay in the wilds alone or with small bands. The author not only does well detailing how Boone led parties into Kentucky and creating settlements but also verifies several exploits such as his saving the lives of his daughter and her friend who were kidnapped by Indians by using his knowledge of the geography of the land and the trails that the Indians used.

The author also details well Boone's controversial surrendering of his men to the Indians in exchange for sparing families at Boonesboro that is still somewhat puzzling as many thought him a traitor. Also a bit of a paradox is Boone's love of the hunt, staying away from home sometimes for a year or more while fathering 8 to 10 kids with Rebecca. Also interesting is his relationship with Rebecca who endured his long hunts and disappearances and may have had a child not Boone's that he accepted as the the consequences of his absence. Well worth reading, even covers Boone's warts particularly as a land surveyor, that obviously was not his skill. And unlike Fess Parker and the legend, he never wore a cookskin cap. But the author makes the facts as fascinating as the legend as Boone was in fact a fearless and independent man of the wilderness.

This is a terrific book on Boone, someone who was almost more of a legend and a myth to me than a real man. This book gives an absorbing and detailed account of his life. I didn't even know so much was actually known about Boone, but Boone was a man of great personal character and courage whose exploits were documented in many letters about him and in his diary. Also, the women get detailed treatment too, so you learn about their contributions on the frontier, too.

The American Revolution to the east mostly passed Boone by, but he was fighting another revolution and battle on the frontiers against the Indians. Some of the tribes I hadn't even heard of, such as the Westo, and I've read at least a little of Amerindian ethnology and history so I know the basics. Many of the battles and fights against the Indians are discussed in detail, which makes for fascinating reading as you see how tough and tactically sophisticated the Indians were in forest fighting engagements, which the settlers realized they had to adopt too or be wiped out.

Oddly enough, Boone was not always lionized as a frontier hero, there are cartoons of him lampooning his sometimes reclusive, loner ways, and his insatiable need for "elbow room," for which he sometimes left his family for weeks on end to go on long hunts and to explore the vast interior frontier. Sometimes the book goes fast, sometimes a little slow, as a read, but overall a very interesting book on this early American great and his adventures and trials and tribulations.

A thoroughly enjoyable and motivating read. This is a remarkable collection of exclusive interviews with the best American sports coaches of the last 40 years. The author has packed a voluminous amount of wisdom, inspiration and facts into what amounts to a road map to a good life. "How to Succeed in the Game of Life" is a brilliant compilation of advice that offers inspiration at every turn.

Game of Life is an insightful book on the thoughts of many of the world's best known coaches. It provides a biography on each of the 34 coaches (which I recommend reading first to gain a better appreciation of the field and achievements of each coach) and asks them a number of questions that can relate to both on the field and life in general. I have gathered a number of relavant quotes that I will use both personally and professionally. A highly recommended read for sporting buffs and managers.

After buying a copy of this book for both myself and my father I was thoroughly impressed. The book was both an easy read yet very informative. I gave a copy of the book to my father, who is not one to read a book, and he was so taken back by how interesting he felt the content was. He picked up the book in the morning and had it finished by mid afternoon. He must have called me 15 times to tell me how inspiring he felt it was and how he was amazed at "all the tricks it taught an old dog"...He thought he had heard all there was to hear about inspirational quotes. We were both pleasantly surprised with how well written the book was. Both my dad and I would highly recommend this book with two thumbs up.

Having read only excerpts, I was shocked to read that Tony Dungy was hired as head coach by the Indianapolis Colts in 2002 by owner Robert Irsay. Irsay had been dead for five years (longer than that mentally). Hopefully the rest of the book does not contain such shoddy information.

This book went through various questions about succeeding in life and listed all the responses from each coach. It was interesting but somewhat repetitive in that many said basically the same thing. I enjoyed reading this book because it had a lot of good advice from a lot of successful coaches. The advice I remember most is to work harder than anyone else, never quit, always be honest, do your best, failure is opportunity for a comeback, and be passionate about what you do. All of them agreed that making a lot of money does not mean you are successful, but money can be a by-product of being successful. The last chapter included short summaries about each coach. My favorite chapter was the one of their favorite quotes.

I recommend this book to anyone interested in philosophy, or who is looking for some advice or inspiration about success.

Karen Arelttaz Zemek, author of "My Funny Dad, Harry"

I loved this book, I've been writing a historical based fictional noval about people in the Civil War, who fight against Morgan's raid, although the noval's foccus isn't primarily on General Morgan, nonetheless I bought this book a few months back to learn more of him and his famous army. I have to say it fasinated me, all these amazing and sad stories that most of us will never know unless you're writing a noval about it. I thank God that I'm a book worm. ^_^ And hey, it have cost me a little but it was sure worth it.

Horwitz brings the civil war to life in this book. The Author captivates the reader by putting this "insignificant raid",(when compared to major battles at Gettysburg and Vicksburg) on the front porch and in the kitchens of those hoosiers and buckeyes who had thought the war was very far away. Excellently covers the civilians through letters and diarys, as well as the military actions of the two sides. A must read for any student of csa cavalry, or anyone with a taste for an exciting account of a part of our history.

I love this book because it is so easy to read and one of those books you can't put down until completed because it captivates your interest. I was doing my family history concerning the TAYLOR family and was so intriqued by the book that I bought it and invited the author to our family reunion to share Morgan and his adventures. This is a must have book that inspires the basic Civil War buff and the knowledgeable historian also. The style of the writer makes it enjoyable for the reader. It is like reading a great novel, but accurately depicting the events.

During the early months of 1861, southern states seceded from the union. After Fort Sumter surrendered to Confederate General Beauregard on April 14, Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Arkansas joined in secession from the northern states. The resulting fighting between the states became known as the Civil War. Kentucky, a slave state, did not secede. Many were pro-Confederate however. Jefferson Davis was from Kentucky, but Lincoln too was born there.

The battles between the North and South for the hearts of Ken-tuck-ee (Dark and Dangerous Ground) heated up in 1862. Initially, Confederate General Johnston controlled Kentucky with forces at Bowling Green and at Columbus. But Union General Thomas took eastern Kentucky in January 1862 where the south had less sympathy among the locals. Then by February 1862, Johnston had lost most of Kentucky and western Tennessee to Buell's Army of the Ohio. Johnston countered at Shiloh and died fighting Grant, who was reinforced by Buell. So many men died on both sides (25,000) that Grant and Buell were in shock. Grant got drunk and Buell withdrew to Nashville to ready an attack on Chattanooga. With Johnston dead, the Confederates were led by Braxton Bragg.

Bragg laid a campaign to take back Kentucky and made his way toward Louisville, but Buell stopped him at Perryville on October 8th. Buell was replaced with General Rosecrans and took the Union troops out of Nashville to fight Bragg at Stone's River (or Murfreesboro) from Dec 31 of 1982 until Jan 3, 1983. Bragg retreated to Chattanooga.

On January 1st, 1863 Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation that said all slave owners could keep their slaves if they stayed with the union. Hardly emancipating! But most people never read past the title and most people thought that Lincoln had freed the slaves, so slaves took off and non-slaves helped them to freedom. Then draft slavery was implemented by the south - all white males aged 18 to 35 were declared temporary slaves of the Confederate army for three years. A curse if there ever was one!

Taking Kentucky was still the aim of Chattanooga-based Bragg, but first he needed to get out of Chattanooga and move to a more easily defended position with room to maneuver. To this end he appointed Alabama-born and Kentucky-raised General John Hunt Morgan to head a 2,000-man raid into Ohio to disrupt supply lines and communications to Union soldiers, while leading them to believe that they were under attack so that Rosecran's forces would be distracted down in Chattanooga. Morgan and his men managed to do over $500,000 worth of damage before getting captured and sent to prison. Morgan escaped from prison and was killed a year later.

Bragg fell back from Chattanooga and Rosecrans moved in. Now it was Rosecrans rather than Bragg who was bogged down in Chattanooga with no room to maneuver. Bragg held Chattanooga under seige until Grant replaced Rosecrans in October with Thomas. The result was the Battle of Chattanooga, after which Jefferson Davis retired Bragg and replaced him with Johnston.

But Morgan's raid was successful in its aim to allow Bragg to move out of Chattanooga and later pin down Rosecrans there. [...]

Quibbles about English usage aside, Mr. Horwitz has done a wonderful job in gathering obscurities concerning Morgan's Raid and organizing them into an entertaining account of the Civil War military action. I found it particularly interesting because it happened in many areas that I'm personally familiar with, living in the Cincinnati area and being familiar with the southeastern Ohio area. This is the kind of book that makes learning your history, (local or national,) a painless process.

I absoultely loved this book...This book will keep you awake for sure wondering what will happen next...I highly recommend and don't want to give you too many details to spoil it...Excellent author!

For those who are intriqued by this tangled tale and wish to keep up with the central characters, here is an update on John Bizzack, former Lexington Police Officer.

In 1996, Dr. Bizzack was appointed Distinguished Professor of Criminal Justice in the Department of Political Science at the Citadel, in Charleston, South Carolina. In addition to graduate course instruction, he served as consultant on the development of criminal justice programs and the South Carolina Law Enforcement Command College.

On a more personal note, recently Bizzack's wife, Carol Bizzack, was one of the victims of the Comair Crash of flight #5191 in Lexington.

About the book itself; it is an interesting tale of cover-up, murder, and dedicated police work that could have been stronger if written by an author with a less muddled writing style; it remains interesting none the less because of the scope of the story and the level of deception. A former next-door neighbor of Ralph Ross' a sister of a Lexington Police officer during the time of these events, and a former employee of the Lexington-Fayette Urban Country Government, this book was of great interest to me. It should be interesting as well to any fan of the true-crime genre.

Though some people might find this book to be exciting and sexy and intriguing, please don't consider it as truth. This book should have been labelled as Fictional, which is what it is. Sally should have interviewed people who really knew the details- maybe spoken to members of the families involved, instead of spouting lies and touting them as truths. As a member of one of the families in the book, I know what I am talking about, and it hurts me deeply the lies that were told, which I can verify, matter of factly, were false.

For those needing a bit more closure than listed previously, after the events listed in this book, Ralph Ross moved to Lawrenceburg, KY and settled into a job as a PI. I had many chances to meet him in my teenage years after reading about him at his favorite location, the now closed Anderson Grill. He truly was a great man and seemed to enjoy helping people. I recall when I learned of his passing, I was inquiring as to his room at Heritage Hall (a local retirement home) when I was given the sad news.

His associate through the latter part of the Conspiracy ordeal, Don Powers is however still living in Anderson County as well, though is much more of a reclusive person.

A Kentucky blue blood, ex-military, ex-cop with a partner manages an organized crime ring called "The Company." After a successfully drug smuggling operation for approximately 20 years a Lexingtonian turns up dead, in his possession a large sum of cocaine and several thousand dollars in cash. Also in his possession a black book with several names of prominent Kentucky figures abroad, and CIA telephone numbers most citizens are ordinarily unable to obtain. A very well connected individual throughout the eastern United States, Las Vegas, and South America. Murder is not out of the question for these folks to commit, in order to proceed in their corrupt business endeavors. All the above information told in page one.

A very good read, the story will have you turning the pages quickly as possible. Sally Denton does a wonderful job conveying this shocking report. Various high rollers and Kentuckians apparently thought themselves to be above the law. This book is nicely written and is a very easy read. Not to say it's lacking in detail but just the opposite, Denton has immensely researched the backgrounds of each subject portrayed. However the end just doesn't wrap up all your questions about a few individuals. A very good book if the ending gave more detail to particular entities would definitely be a five star, but for that reason give a strong four stars...no make it five stars it's really good.

As author Adams states in his preface, when he took a sabbatical from co-hosting "All Things Considered" on NPR in 1997 to spend time exploring the New River that cuts from its source in North Carolina to where it empties with the Gauley River into the Kanawha in West Virginia, he wasn't on a quest. He was satisfying curiosity, a more modest goal, which does not make this a major book. That's okay. Its quiet power grows quickly into a terrific read. I could not put it down and I have a much better understanding and appreciation of a part of America I haven't seen.

It is natural to think of a river's downstream orientation in the northern hemisphere as being southward. The New begins at the two top points of a Y at the tops of tall mountains and courses downward and north-northwestward along the more western slope of the Appalachian chain into Virginia and into West Virginia. In a progressive series of sketches, Adams weaves the contemporary experience of walking, driving, biking, canoeing and rafting the river with the history that hangs over the valleys and gorges and the contemporary culture of the region. It is a river where old-time religion baptisms still take place and high tech outfitters lead white-rafting expeditions. The railroads, mills and mines that once usurped the river and the land are mostly gone after filling the cemeteries on the edge.

To say more would spoil it. Go for it.

I thought this book was a great adventure down the New River. I enjoyed the descriptions of appalachia people he encountered along the way, and had a great time as he meandered through the valleys of the New.

But I did. It is not at all the typical stuff I usually read. It was such an entertaining and gentle read. Adams is such a wonderful story teller. I felt as if I took that journey right beside him. As far as I am concerned, I have floated down "The New" myself now. I borrowed the book I read from my library but I am purchasing two for my Mom and my sister.

This book wonderfully caputres what the New River is today. Part rural, part tourist, and part developers dream. The book lacks some historical perspective on the river, but still offers a great journy in the tradition of "On the Road" and "Blue Highways".

The review on the back of this book describes it as powerful and passionate. Hardly. It is a pleasant, easy book. If you've got a weekend coming up with not much to do, get yourself a copy of this book to read. The book is not very in-depth or thought-provoking but is an enjoyable way to pass the time. Adams has taken a series of snapshots of life along the New River, featuring historical characters, old-time musicians and young kayakers. What he has achieved is a portrayal of a region that has suffered much from the negative stigma of poverty and backwards hillbillies and made it seem like a very appealing place to live. For that I applaud Mr. Adams. But he does not get into the history, culture and society of a place that many other travel writers are so good at. For that I'm a little disappointed. It is a very nice read though.