Michigan Books

This book chronicles the history of Dearborn from its earliest settlement to the present day. Each chapter begins with a brief essay followed by photographs that tell the story of this community. It is clear that the images were skillfully selected; for many of them, a picture is truly worth a thousand words. I think my personal favorite (though it is hard to choose) is a photograph of farmers washing their sheep in the river before shearing them, as opposed to washing the wool afterwards. That is just one of the many wonderful images presented in this book. Along with the pictures, the writing is very clear and provides the needed background to understand the story told by the photos. All in all, this is a wonderful publication, and even those (like me) who are not natives of Dearborn will find plenty of interest within this short book.

"The tenth century knew well in its course the evils of the world, the flesh, and the devil: battle, murder, and devastation; palgue, pestilence, and famine; rebellion and riot; fornication and lust in places high and low, secular and sacred, ignorance, bruatlity, silence, and despair.

But the tenth century also knew good. Religion, art, and literature all flourished in this dark period. If the defenders of empire and papacy were often weak or fractious, yet certain emperors and popes managed to re-create esteem for their respective institutions while staving off the attacks of barbarians, pretenders, independent nobles, and dissatisfied clergy. Culture and learning were just as much a part of the life of the Church and Court as were war and intrigue.

In Death and Life in the Tenth Century, this vital and unique period of the Middle Ages is depicted by Eleanor Duckett, one of the twentieth century's most respected medieval scholars. She presents the history of the tenth century as seasons of the year: the approach of winter, with impetuous Charles the Fat and Arnulf of Bavaria helpless to stop the breakup of what was left of Charlemagne's empire; winter, with Louis the Child, king at six and dead at eighteen, and Conrad of Franconia, courageous but ineffectual; spring, with Henry the Fowler, who reunited the duchies of Germany and subdued the barbarians; spring into summer, with Otto I, whose wise administration strengthened his empire and won him Italy, and Otto II, whose ambition almost lost him both; summer, with Otto III, whose death left unrealized the great dream of a Holy Roman Empire.

In the second half of her book, Dr. Duckett considers the cultural harvest of the tenth century and the men and women who sowed and reaped that harvest. She writes of chroniclers such as Widukind, author of Saxon History, and Liutprand of Cremona, witty scholar and vengeful historian; she writes of religious figures such as Odo of Cluny, who personally reformed monasteries all over Europe. She presents poets and poems, sacred and secular, in Latin and in her own sensitive English translations; she presents dramas and dramatists such as the nun Hrotsvitha, who strove to write Christian plays in the style of Terence's comedies. She discusses painting, sculpture, architecture, and manuscripts; and finally, she speaks of the scholars such as Bishop Notker, who took his pupils along on all his journeys, and Bishop Everacle, who knew about eclipses- men who did their best to spread knowledge in an age of superstition and nescience."

The title makes the tenth century sound so depressing and dull, but the text makes the tenth century come back to life. Great stories about great figures from the past. The author has a knack for pulling you in and making you want to know what happened next.

A great survey of the time period, it gives your that big picture of how different events relate to one another while making them intriguing at the same time. If you have any interest in this time period, or wonder if you should, find a copy of this book!

as the Massachusetts ratification of the Constitution was pivotal as went the subsequent states deciding the issue. As it was, the Constitution was only ratified by 19 votes; but were it not for John Hancock's extreme vanity, and greed, it most likely would not have been ratified.

_Caveat_: As this is a reprint of the 1856 volume, it is not possible that it cites to the books listed on this page as being cited to. Who puts this database together?

This is exactly as described and is invaluable for legal research for property law in the western states.Only regret being unable to find if there is a printing of the next volume

My grandfather wrote this book and I love him with all my heart..he is gone to heaven...but not gone from my heart and soul...and most importantly not gone from the decoy scene.

He was the most respected decoy collector I knew. I grew up with his basement filled with display shelves of priceless decoys.
I knew my grandfather as a hunter, fisherman, cook, and most importantly a loving father and grandfather. I call him Papa and the rest of you can call him the guru of decoys!

Kenneth Baxter Wolf has made Malaterra's Deeds of Count Roger of Calabria and Sicily and of His Brother the Duke Robert Guiscard (De rebus gestis roberti et rogerii) accessible to a wide audience. Students interested in this period, even as freshmen in college, will find Wolf's translation readable and useful. Other scholars, even those with the ability to consult the Latin source, will find Wolf's translation useful because of his wonderful introduction, translation and numerous annotations. Wolf has the skill to be faithful to the source while crafting something that isn't incredibly obscure (which certainly happens with translators of lesser ability). The text lends itself to an examination of the Normans, who brought Italy and Sicily under their rules and initiated campaigns against Byzantium. Malaterra's account is one of the principal sources for historians of Norman Italy; therefore, anyone with an interest in this fascinating period should consult it.

This book is awesome not just for its deer info and hunting tactics but the incredible breakdown of Michigan's whitetail habitat by county and township. This book has saved me alot of time when scouting new areas. I recommend this book to anyone who plans on hunting whitetails especially in Michigan.

Robert Lewis Dabney was many things: a theologian, a professor, chief of staff of Thomas Jonathan Jackson, and most important of all the Virginian. Dabney resisted the effort to turn Virginia into a part of the Southern Confederacy, but once that happened he, like his boss Stonewall, became a staunch supporter of the Virginia's right to secede. This highly esteemed clergyman is regarded by some as the greatest mind to come out of Confederacy and this puts him on the same footing with men like Judah Benjamin. Dabney's Defence was published in 1867 at the two years since the war had not robbed them of any of his vigor in defending his state. The layout of the work follows the usual pattern: American slave trade, the legality of slavery, the history of emancipation, the Old Testament argument, the New Testament argument, the ethical argument, the economic effect of slavery, and the conclusion. I don't see the need in this review the code cover all of these topics in any kind of depth, but the author will speak for himself.

His introduction addresses the future historians view of this horrible conflict.
"To the rational historian who, two hundred years hence, shall study the history of the nineteenth century, it will appear one of the most curious vagaries of human opinion, that the Christianity and philanthropy of our day should have given so disproportionate an attention to the evils of African slavery. Such a dispassionate observer will perceive that, while many other gigantic evils were rampant in this age, there prevailed a sort of epidemic fashion of selecting this one upon which to exhaust the virtuous indignation and sympathies of the professed friends of human amelioration. And he will probably see in this a proof that the Christianity and benevolence of the nineteenth century were not so superior, in wisdom and breadth, to those of the seventeenth and eighteenth, as the busy actors in them had persuaded themselves; but were, in fact, conceited, overweening, and fantastic."

Professor Dabney gives the usual Old Testament justification of slavery, the Mosaic law, the curse of Ham, etc., but it's more to the point to look at the New Testament arguments for and against slavery.

In this Dabney sites and criticizes the abolitionists theologians of his day particularly picking on Albert Barnes.
"Mr. Barnes alone says, it is not proved that Onesimus was a literal slave at all: he may have been a hired servant or apprentice. Here, as will appear more fully, he expressly contradicts himself. But as to the assumption, we reply, that Onesimus is called, v. 16, doulos, a name never given to the hired servant: that he is sent back to his rightful owner, a thing which necessarily implies his slavery: that St. Paul intercedes for him; and that he recognizes his master's property in his labour. The whole company of expositors, ancient and modern, until Mr. Barnes, have declared that Onesimus was Philemon's slave."
Like all proslavery proponents Dabney spends a great deal of effort proving his contention that the Greek doulos is only used for slaves as "domestic slavery" was practiced in the South.

He moves onto an interesting discussion of what the Golden Rule really means:
"But as leading Abolitionists continue to advance the oft-torn and tattered folly, the friends of truth must continue to tear it to shreds. The whole reasoning of the Abolitionists proceeds on the absurd idea, that any caprice or vain desire we might entertain towards our fellowman, if we were in his place, and he in ours, must be the rule of our conduct towards him, whether the desire would be in itself right or not. This absurdity has been illustrated by a thousand instances. On this rule, a parent who, were he a child again, would be wayward and self-indulgent, commits a clear sin in restraining or punishing the waywardness of his child, for this is doing the opposite of what he would wish were he again the child. Judge and sheriff commit a criminal murder in condemning and executing the most atrocious felon; for were they on the gallows themselves, the overmastering love of life would very surely prompt them to desire release. In a word, whatever ill-regulated desire we are conscious of having, or of being likely to have, in reversed circumstances, that desire we are bound to make the rule of our action in granting the parallel caprice of any other man, be he bore, beggar, highwayman, or what not. On this understanding, the Golden Rule would become any thing but golden; it would be a rule of iniquity. . ."
this is the typical absurdity to which such discussions are brought by the proslavery faction.


In his economic defense of slavery Dabney follows another Virginian, Edmund Ruffin, when he states:
"Taking mankind as they are, and not as we may desire them to be, domestic slavery offered the best relation which has yet been found, between labour and capital. It is not asserted that it would be best for a Utopia, where we night imagine the humblest citizen virtuous, intelligent, and provident. But there are no such societies on earth."


Dabney also echoes Ruffin in his conclusion to this work:
"A righteous God, for our sins towards Him, has permitted us to be overthrown by our enemies and His. It is vain to complain in the ear of a maddening tempest. Although our people are now oppressed with present sufferings and a prospective destiny more cruel and disastrous than has been visited on any civilized people of modern ages, they suffer silently, disdaining to complain, and only raising to the chastening heavens, the cry, "How long, 0 Lord?" Their appeal is to history, and to Him. They well know, that in due time, they, although powerless themselves, will be avenged through the same disorganizing heresies under which they now suffer, and through the anarchy and woes which they will bring upon the North. Meantime, let the arrogant and successful wrongdoers flout our defence with disdain: we will meet them with it again, when it will be heard; in the day of their calamity, in the pages of impartial history, and in the Day of Judgment."

The author is to be highly congratulated for putting together this excellent biography. Obviously, this was a labor of love. The author did far reaching original research thru personal interviews and other sources. The effort paid off. The book traces Lee from high school in Philadelphia where at about age 13 he started learning the vibes. Before long he moved to the trumpet. And he was a very quick learner. He played around locally and by age 17 or 18 was a soloist in Dizzy Gillespie's big band. He became a participant in Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers. Being featured in groups that had Hank Mobley and Bobby Timmons as well as Wayne Shorter and Walter Davis,Jr. The Jazz Messengers of the late 1950's and early 1960's were tremendously exciting. Lee led the way with his fiery,exuberant,unique style.He could be counted on to regularly play his best night after night until his drug use took over and his lip began to deteriorate due to lack of continued practice. There seems to be a consensus among some critics and musicians that Lee wanted to grow into something else musically. Perhaps. But, personally I will always cherish his days as a Jazz Messenger. His unique exciting, powerful, facility were virtually incomparable.The author discusses many of Lee's albums and his life right up till that terrible night at Slug's in February 1972 at 243 E. 3rd St. By the way, Tom Lord's authoritative discography lists 188 sessions that Lee participated in. Reading this book makes you feel almost as though you were there for key parts of Lee's life. Tremendous effort by the author