Montana Books

Counting Coup is an interesting book, and an important one I think. Joseph Medicine Crow is the "last traditional Crow chief" and this is his story. Dr. Medicine Crow discusses his family, his schooling, his days as a soldier, he also tells us a little about Crow mythology which is really interesting, and for what it's worth, I believe him. I particularly like the story called "Stealing a Beef," and his description of his warrior training which includes running barefoot in the snow.

Although the book is short and there is a whole lot more that could be said, it's worth reading. This book is great for a younger audience or adults looking to get acquainted with Crow culture.

Mr. Medicine Crow is an impressive man, about 90 years old now. The book is written in the brief and blunt sentences as he would speak English. He lived up to the old ways of the Crow when he stole fifty German horses from under their noses in World War II. A landmark in Indian literature.

This book is made up of several short story snippets from the life of Joseph Medicine Crow. The intended audience was young adult, though certainly an adult like myself can enjoy it, too. Of course, because the stories are very short and to the point, one can't help but feel that there is so much more that could have been included here. The author tells brief stories about his formative years and his time in WWII. Good, easy reading for an overnight trip, but it might leave you wanting more.

Joe Medicine Crow is a national treasure. Born on the Crow Reservation in the early years of the twentieth century, he was raised among Indians who lived during the buffalo hunting days. Grandparents Medicine Crow and Yellowtail were important Crow leaders whose homes were the place of many gatherings. Joe soaked up the stories like a sponge, and he has been an invaluable source of tribal stories. In this book, in particular, he talks about his own upbringing, as his people's traditions adapted to life in America in the new century. He writes of his life using compassion and humor, but the difficulties he faced are clear. That he has led such a strong life is testimony to the fine man that he is. I found this book tremendously enjoyable, and the glimpse it gave me into this forgotten era is priceless.

This book was assigned reading for a college class on Sustainable Development. I'd already had some exposure to the philosophies & theories presented. It seems to be a good collection representing a wide range of ideas; a great piece for my reference shelf. In other words: a keeper!

....ably assembled and edited by Michael E. Zimmerman. This anthology spans the spectrum from animal rights to environmental protection to deep ecology, and by doing so provides a superb introduction to environmental studies as well as important supplementary reading reaching forward into the present.

I'm convinced this is the best way to learn about Environmental Philosophy! While some sections are difficult and can bog you down, most are clear and well-written.

I'd recommend this book as both a teaching tool and as something you can pick up to learn on your own. It's more difficult than most pleasure reading but the subject is particurarily heavy.

This kind of education is essential to the environmentalist or someone trying to understand the movement.

Regardless of whether you are interested in deep ecology, animal rights, envirnmental ethics,eco-feminism or political ecology, this excellently edited edition will have something of interest for you. Those who are looking for a more scientific approach to examing our relationship with nature, as oppossed to the more philosophical writings of Muir, Thoreau and Abbey, this book will be especially appreciated.
Published primarily for use in environmetal philosophy/science courses at the university level, this book is very useful in providing a well researched, diversen sampling from some of the most important theorists in the field. Essays by J. Baird Calicott, Tom Regan, author of the revolutionary work "The Case Animal Rights", Holmes Rolston III, author of the seminal text "Environmetal Ethics", the Norweigan philosopher Arne Naess and , the so-called founder of the deep Ecology movement, Aldo Leopold, author of the famous "Sand County Almanac", as well as works by other important scholars such as George Sessions, Warick Fox, the famous eco-feminist historian Carolyn Merchant, John Clark and Gary Snyder along with many others.
Although the essays contianed in this text can be challenging at times, in the end the payoff definitely makes it worth the effort. This difficulty is, at least, in part due to the fact that what this book requires is a new way of examining our relationship with nature and a willingness to examine problems from a more holistic perspective, which can sometimes be a hard thing for those taught that the world is here simply for man's exploitation (gender specificity intended). This volume is particularly effective in giving students a well-rounded introduction to many of the most important issues in environmental writing today. As the seriousness of our ecological problems persist and even worsen, this book will continue to be a highly informative source of information for students and instructors for years to come.

Story 1:

Miley and Lilly want to spend more quality time together, so they enter the cheerleading squad. Lilly becomes a cheerleader, while Miley becomes a mascot.

Story 2:

Hannah is invited to a party but she isn't allowed to bring Lola along. What will Hannah do?

The stories in this one:

You're So Vain, You Probably Think this zit is about You
OOh OOh Itchy Woman

Book 3:

She's A Supersneak
Good Golly Miss Dolly

Book 4:

The Idol Side of Me
Oops! I Meddled Again

Book 5:

Smells Like Teen Sellout
More Than A Zombie To Me

Book 6:

Bionic Boy
Schooly Bully

Book 7:

On The Road Again
We Are Family

Book 8:

Torn Between Two Hannahs
It's A Mannequinn's World

My tweener daughter loves tghis c.d. (and Hannah Montana)and she seems to be a really good kid too, so my daughter could do far worse.

First of All, Bionic Boy is bot a real episode. It was a working title for the episode "New Kid In School".

Secondly, the winner of the new years eve episode poll is:

My Boyfriend's Jakcson and there's gonna be trouble

The episode New Kid In School will be featured in one of ethe next books.

Treasure hunting and mysteries in U-Bet, Montana, of all places. And can a sophisticated NY City editor and a rustic rodeo cowboy find happiness together? If so, where? A great sequel to The Lost Manuscript of Martin Taylor Harrison. Hope there's more in this series.

This book combined unique characters with a great story line to create a 5 star book. I'm an avid reader of christian fiction and few books have kept me as entertained as this one. I couldn't wait to find out what happened between Lynda and Brady after I read "The Lost Manuscript of Martin Taylor Harrison" and "The Final Chapter" didn't let me down. The characters are so hilarious and the banter between Brady and Lynda had me anxious to see if they would eventually end up together. I definitely recommend this to anyone who needs a laugh.

Putting together a cowboy and a NYC Editor is so funny! I love the characters and the action keeps you on the edge of your seat! I think the dog is a plus too!!! Read all of them!

I think Stephen Bly is a great author. Unfortunately these books aren't available in my language yet, so I have to keep reading him in English. Comparing to anyone else? Zane Grey - but from another viewpoint. Being the second book in the "Austin-Stoner FILES" this book doesn't let you down, even though sequels tend to do just that. Both plot and story is good, and the conclusion is spiritually edifying. My advice to those that bought it: Keep on reading it: You'll enjoy it. And to those who hasn't: Buy it! You won't be disappointed!

Category: Books
Genre: Mystery & Thrillers
Author: Janie Pendleton

I really didn't know what to expect. I thought it was well organized in a he said/she said format. This worked well for me to follow. Characters were rich and I enjoyed the sections on their respective experiences in Iraq. Gave me a whole new respect for what the troops are trying to do over there. The author paints a great visual picture with her words and I can picture the vast Montana landscape. I loved the twist at the end. (won't spoil it for the reader)

Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/RKUFUWJUSC9FG Video(Book Trailer)compliments of LinkedIN.com

Janie Pendleton's Novel, 'The Gates to Love and War' is a must read, as it took me on an action-packed adventure that carried a rare taste of real-life human perspective, in which I saw my own war-torn thoughts reappear. I cried and laughed with each character throughout their trecherous journey. This novel is filled with surprises and intrigue. This author knows how to put pen to paper! You will not want to put this book down! I will read again and again!

My overview of 'The Gates to Love and War':

After serving her country for twenty years, Lt. Col. Jade Pickard finds herself alone in the world after learning the last of her family has passed. Burying both her parents on their beautiful Montana ranch, Jade is forced to change positions in her military career in order to save the sprawling family farm. When a stranger hikes up her mountainous road and stops at her garden gate for directions, the two find an odd connection. But with the onset of a fast approaching storm, Jade invites the war-torn traveler to stay in her bunkhouse to help him find peace again. When the local sheriff comes knocking on her remote door in the middle of the night, she is forced to choose between believing in the soldier and turning him in as a murderer. The next morning, Jade finds she is right in her notion to trust him and packs her horse and mule to set out on an adventure to save the real culprit, a childhood friend. Soon these three soldiers' worlds collide, as their haunting secrets take them deep into the heart of the Black Bear Wilderness where an emotionally charged romance suspense novel begins its great journey. But don't trip over your own mind while traveling deeper in the beautiful Montana wilderness, as things are never as they seem in the Special Forces!

When I cracked this novel I didn't know what to expect. Really. First off, romance novels are not my cup of tea. Even with three spoonfuls of sugar. Not even Mary Poppins could make THAT medicine go down. Still I dove in undaunted fully armored in case anything romancey gushy gushy tried to gun me down. It's a war novel I thought, it can't be all bad. How pleased I was to find out I was wrong. Inside the covers of this book I found not the cheap cookie cutter category romance I half expected, but an intelligent, expertly woven and detailed story.

For fans of romance novels, I believe a different sort of conceit is in play: war stories for guys romance stories for girls, never the twain shall meet. Should this line of thinking find resonance with you, then you owe it to yourself to read this book. If for nothing else to challenge your deeply held conviction that war novels, are not for women, no no, but for men who seem to thrive on the stuff. Would it surprise you to find that this novel uses the concept of war only as a neatly encompassing framework within which to cast the main characters as they step, and struggle, and yes "grope" for subsistence in this strangely alien world called "my homeland?" If you answered yes then your surprise will be adequately rewarded as Janie Pendleton undertakes to show you that romance and war are not mutually exclusive concepts. In fact, one amazingly highlights the other. Like a hand in a glove or wrapped around a grenade.

Neatly fusing topical events with a timeless romance, Pendleton conjures a tale that is equal parts cozy seduction and psychological thriller. Beginning with a brief scene setting we are soon allowed to sit in on the inner thoughts of the tale's heroine, Jade Pickard. Equating this character with an alter ego for the author is easy to do as the author is a ranking officer in the U.S. Marines who has not too long ago shipped home from the Iraqi battlefront. How much in this tale is derived from her recent experiences we can only guess with a shudder as the unconscionable and brutal scenes depicted in flashback would test the moral fortitude of most. Yet this is not after all a gruesome slash 'em smash 'em melee of blood and gore. No, it is a love story told against a backdrop of disturbing horrors endured, sanctuary embraced, redemption sought. The story's mysteriously haunted and appropriately flawed hero, John Lewis, fills out the ensemble nicely as the charming, attractive, perhaps roguish complement to the gorgeous, self-reliant, suitably dangerous Ms. Pickard. In counterpoint is a multi-skilled and extremely capable heroine, someone who needs no one hence appears entirely unapproachable, with an adventurous and willing companion. Thus far her self reliant posture has keep her safely ensconced within a self imposed cocoon of rustic comfort with only her rural lifestyle, majestic mountain views, and simmering Irish temper for company. Until John ambles along that is, at which point her every word and action make it clear that her blissfully complete life is at best cold comfort. Joined by a similarity of military background and purpose they are quickly on the trail of a former comrade who has seemingly run amok and gone on a killing spree. At the disclosure of this fact the story quickly steers as promised to the suspense portion of the tale.

Overall the author elicits a satisfying mixture of intrigue, suspense, danger, and naked flesh. If one had cracked the covers of this novel hoping to drop in on a soft-core porn rendering of tumbling bodies, bare-chested hunks and ripped bodices, one should stand down and visit more beastly quarters. Pendleton avoids the lure of cheap salacious production and delivers an intelligent blend of romance and suspense worthy of ascension into the ranks of the reigning industry masters. Sharing glancing similarity with Nora Robert's 2006 novel, First Impressions, does nothing to detract from Pendleton's esteem as a romance novelist but rather bestow upon her work the mark of one whose methodology is established and whose attention to genre precepts will earn her the well deserved praise of the steady legion of romance fans who know what they like and where to get it. It will not be long before the praise and attention of these selfsame fans will be lavished upon this author as they quickly absorb her initial offering then await her next with breathless anticipation. This novel is highly recommended for those bored with the grind of daily responsibilities who hunger for romance and intrigue and something more stimulating than cubicle camaraderie and microwave cuisine.

If it mentions "Montana", it's going to be AWESOME! or if it mentions anything about our military heroes, it will be AWESOME!

I've been waiting for this book to be released! The author is a close, personal friend.. so I knew it was coming soon!! I can't wait to get my copy!!

After reading the story, it is even better than I imagined. It is about love lost.. and found. It's about two soldiers on two very different missions, and how they can find strength in each other to help each other through the most trying times. It shows how they lost all faith and hope in a previous love, but they found new love and strength in each other. Although it is fiction, you can put yourself in the story and examine your own life and where it is headed. It is a book of inspiration and hope... and love.

At first, or even a second glance this historical novel might appear to be a simple Western, an action-packed account of good guys versus bad guys and wild adventure on an even wilder frontier, as uncomplicated as old B-western movie. But it is a more subtle and complicated narrative, part court-room drama and police procedural, and a closely observed portrait of an isolated community, a community nearly as alien to Americans of the 21st century as something from another planet - Virginia City, Montana, during the last years of the Civil War. Virginia City is a mining camp, a temporary place of shacks and tents, tenuously connected to the greater world by a stage line and by men on horseback carrying messages. It is a dirty, brawling place, of mostly men, searching for gold in the rocky creek-beds, or prying it out of holes painstakingly grubbed in the ground, and taking their comforts where they can. But it is a community. Some of its residents are former soldiers, of the Union or the Confederacy, some have brought families; all have set aside their previous lives or professions in the quest for gold. They get along as best they can, each with their own memories and secrets to hide ... until the discovery of a dead body. The body is that of a young man, well-liked and popular in Virginia City - and it becomes clear that he was murdered. His shocked and grieving friends and kin begin looking into the circumstances of his death, thereby pulling the loose end of a string of coincidence that begins to unravel everything they thought they knew about each other.

That growing sense of horror is particularly well done, as men like Daniel Stark, a well-born young lawyer come to the mines to get enough gold to get his disgraced family out of debt, begin to realize that many of the robberies and murders that have occurred in and around Virginia City have been committed by an organized gang. The horror is compounded when Dan and his friends and colleagues pursuing justice realize that those perpetrating such depredations are well-liked, even trusted members of the community. It is a gripping and detailed read, the story of well-meaning men who respect the law, having to take their courage and their future in their own hands, at a time and in a place where there was no law, no means at all to protect life and property, other than what men and women of honor could do for themselves. The characters are efficiently drawn, but the sense of place is even more convincing. There is no way to mistake God's Thunderbolt for a B-western movie adventure - this vivid and carefully researched account made for someone who really wants to know what the Old West really looked like.

I was hooked from page one! Everything I want in a book, and more, unfolded as I continued. While not belaboring the hardships of a gold camp in the winter, Mrs Buchanan left me with clear pictures of the hard work of everyday life. Not a life for the faint of heart! The characters became real people, good and bad. The research into historical fact was well worked into a character study, a mystery, a love story and enough action to satisfy any reader.

I read. I real alot and all genres. My favorite books are about people and events. This book by Mrs. Buchanan tells a historically acurate accounting of a time and place that is no more. And yet...the same issuses of yesterday are present today via this book. Some may label it a western. It is that too. But, in reality it is a politcally charged exploration of people, politics, crime and punishment.

Newspapers and tv editorials make hay out of the prison population in the USA today. What to do with the criminal eleminate? This book deals with today by looking at yesterday. The answers of yesterday are not for today.

But, if one goes beyond the story (which by the way is worth reading this book) it lets the reader explore todays issues with yesterdays examples.

Anyone who reads this book, will be looking for someone else who read it to discuss politics of that day as well as this day.

The best historical fiction is a labor of love and here author Carol Buchanan details a hidden history of her native Montana at a time when civil authority was noticeable only by its absence and decent people were struggling to survive. Set during the Civil War, the tensions between Confederate and Union veterans seeking gold complicate the basic problem of justice when a young man is murdered. Daniel Stark, a complicated man with problems of his own, finds himself drawn back into a discarded law career to act as a prosecutor in a murder trial while resisting a thunderbolt that strikes his own soul when he falls deeply in love with the wife of a friend. Stark's personal mission is to earn enough wealth to overcome the disgrace of his father's embezzlement and suicide and redeem his family's honor back in New York state.
To do that he has to not just find gold but survive the harsh conditions he faces. Those include not just Montana's winters, but the criminal element. joining with like-minded men, he turns Vigilante to re-establish the rule of law. This is, by turns, a Western, a legal thriller, a mystery and a love story all of which are anchored in the tale of a man's coming to terms with his own morality and character. It's a lot to get into one book, but it works.

This is one of the most interesting novels I have read lately. Buchanan has avoided the rookie trap of becoming hostage to her own research and the details
set the scene while not bogging the reader down in needless detail. The moral dilemmas drive the story as Stark and his love interest struggle against their own desires to do what is right and proper. She provides vivid characterization and dialog that makes this novel a real page-turner. The story line is rendered economically and logically. We hope to see more from this author in the future. Highly recommended

As a volunteer fire fighter/EMT here in southwest Montana, and a wildland firefighter during the summer months, when things heat up in our fire district, I purchased the book for some wintertime reading to start thinking about the upcoming wildland fire season. As I said in my title "A book with an ending you already know.." it is both an interesting and hard book to read, from the standpoint of knowing/wondering what was going through the minds of those smokejumpers as they were trying to outrun an upsloping fire racing towards them. You already know how the book ends, and there is a sadness in reading the book- as a firefighter, we go out enthusiastically to fight these fires, like soldiers going off to fight a war, but in our case, nobody is supposed to get hurt or killed. Every paging tone and deployment is the start of another great adventure, and we never think of what could happen when things go terribly bad. I now understand why that when I go out on out of district deployments(under someone elses control), my local fire chief has us check in as often as we can, to let him know we are safe and sound, and that we not putting ourselves in any unneccesary danger.
When I finished the book, I promised myself to start packing a bottle of "hurricane matches" in the pants pocket of my wildland pants, just like Wag Dodge did, which saved his life that fateful day in August 1949.

All in all, a great book for those trying to understand the human side of the Mann Gulch Fire of 1949.

Dayle Flynn
Firefighter/EMT
Columbus, MT Fire-Rescue Department

As the son of the Range, Bob Jansson, this book had special meaning to me. Although there have been other books written about this fire, this is the only one that I know of that gives the reader a view from the men and families involved. I commend the author for his work and highly recommend this book.

Mark Matthews has written about the Mann Gulch fire before, and avid readers of firefighting literature may readily recognize both his style and the events. But what makes A GREAT DAY TO FIGHT FIRE memorable is its different focus on the people who fought the fire, rather than just strategies and events. Chapters in A GREAT DAY TO FIGHT FIRE focuses on the victim's families and the personal impact of the fire upon firefighters, family members, survivors, and community members: as such it's an essential piece of information key to any collection strong in firefighting literature - and any general-interest library interested in true-life heroism.

The Mann Gulch,MT. fire of 1949 was a seminal point in modern wildfires firefighting for the U.S. Forest Service. The deaths of 13 firefighters caused the Forest Service to implement training programs and develop safety equipment and protocols still being refined today.
Not since Norman MacLean's award winning book Young Men and Fire, published in 1992,has there been a real effort to revisit the fire and never has there been such an authoritative treatment of the personal dimensions of the tragedy as provided by the victim's families, close friends, and coworkers.
This is a heart stopping, minute-by-minute personal account of the men who fought, and died, in a wildfire that has forever remained in the nation's consciousness. The reader that has read both Young Men and Fire and this book will have as complete account of the tragedy as we are ever likely to get.

This is a fun book that provides some great Montana travel tips. Stevens primarily focuses on haunted locations you can visit, but in many of the comments at the end of each section she also provides information about other unique places in the area to visit. Stevens' tips will provide travelers with an intimate experience of Montana.

I also really enjoyed how the sections were divided up so the reader knows how likely it is to encounter something at each location. The stories and personal experiences provided for each location give the reader a bit of history, insight into the ghostly activity and a desire to visit each place in person.

Haunted Montana is an entertaining book in and of itself, but it is also a useful tool for those looking to visit Montana.

Want to hang around a haunted hotel, have lunch at a haunted restaurant or listen to other-worldly voices at a haunted batttlefield? Find out where and how to find ghosts all over Montana. Grab your camera -- no matter where you go under the Big Sky, the author knows a haunted site not too far away. This travel guide to the supernatural will appeal to the curious, the just-for-fun, and the serious ghost hunters who want to know where to find their next chilling tale.

Karen Stevens' book "Haunted Montana: A Ghost Hunter's Guide to Haunted Places You Can Visit -If You Dare!" focuses on haunted places in Montana that are accessible to the public, so that you too can go and try to experience the spooky goings-on yourself! This is a guidebook for ghost hunters in Montana, as Stevens is an avid ghost hunter herself.

While this book does cover some of the most famous sites in Montana mentioned in previous Montana ghost books by Munn and Baumler, such as the Grandstreet Theater in Helena, and Virginia City, it is different in several ways:

1. Stevens covers only publicly accessible sites, no private homes, so that you can go and do a little investigating yourself.

2. Stevens adds some new sites, especially in eastern Montana, not covered
before.

3. One of the best features is a ranking of the frequency of ghostly activity at the site, whether low, moderate, or high; very useful to the novice ghost hunter

Following is a listing of the sites this book covers, first the town (or closest town) and then the sites themselves:

Anaconda: Copper Village Museum and Art Center (originally Anaconda City Hall); Anaconda Copper Company Smelter site with stack

Bannack State Park: Meade Hotel; Bessette House; Grasshopper Creek; Old Jail

Big Hole Valley: Big Hole National Battlefield; Chief Joseph Pass

Billings: Western Heritage Center (originally Parmly Billings Memorial Library); Union Depot/"The Beanery"restaurant; Juliano's Restaurant; Parmly Billings Library

Bozeman: Casa Sanchez restaurant; MSU Strand Union Theater

Browning: Highway 464/Duck Lake Road, between Browning and Babb

Butte: Arts Chateau Museum (originally Charles Walker Clark Mansion); Rookwood Speakeasy (originally Rookwood Hotel); old Hirbour barbershop; old City Hall Jail

Deer Lodge: Old Montana Territorial Prison; Grant-Kohrs Ranch

Fort Peck: Fort Peck Summer Theater; Fort Peck Hotel

Fromberg: Little Cowboy Bar

Gallatin Gateway: Gallatin Gateway Inn

Garnet (ghost town): Kelly's Saloon; J. K. Wells Hotel

Great Falls: Tracy's 24-Hour Family Restaurant (originally Stanton Bank & Trust foundations and Hank's Hamburger Haven); Paris Gibson Square Museum of Art(originally Central High School); Black Horse Lake (near Great Falls, north on Highway 87, near mile marker 9)

Hamilton: Marcus Daly National Historic Site ("Riverside" mansion)

Hardin (Crow Agency): Little Bighorn Battlefield

Havre: Park Hotel; Havre Railroad Museum and Havre Beneath the Streets (underground display of exhibits); Oxford Bar

Helena: Grandstreet Theater

Highway 382 (Perma to Hot Springs): Markle Hill

Hobson: Meadow Brook Farm (Bed and Breakfast)

Hysham: South of Interstate 94: the old Bridger Trail (?)

Kalispell: Conrad Mansion

Lincoln: Hotel Lincoln

Miles City: Club 519 (originally First National Bank); Olive Hotel (originally Leighton Hotel)

Missoula: Fort Missoula

Nevada City: Nevada City Hotel

Red Lodge: Pollard Hotel

Reed Point: Hotel Montana and Wild Horse Saloon

Virginia City: Many of the buildings have ghost incidents, including Bennett House (now aB&B), Wells Fargo Coffee House (originally Buford Store); Bonanza Inn(originally a Catholic hospital), Bonanza House (originally nun's rectory), Opera House and rehearsal hall behind.

West Glacier: Belton Chalet and railroad station

All in all, "Haunted Montana" is a splendid addition to Montana's ghost lore,and especially valuable for tourists and ghost hunters of all ages!

Haunted Montana is a must read for paranormal enthusiasts everywhere. Karen Stevens writes with an expert pen and is a ghost hunter and paranormal researcher of highest integrity, skill, and experience. I know, having had the privilege of joining her on many ghost hunting forays to England and Wales as well as a few stateside. As a research librarian, she also knows books - understands what makes a book a good and entertaining read. In Haunted Montana, she combines this knowledge with her extensive paranormal experience to give readers an incredibly appealing ghost book.

All sites listed are open to the public which is a tremendous bonus sure to please those wishing to explore the hauntings on their own. Even site telephone numbers are given, along with the addresses. But armchair ghost lovers won't be disappointed. Stevens' well-written essays transport, taking the reader right to the scene as if you were there with her.

Another very helpful feature is the rating scale of 'Ghostly Activity Level.' Noted at the top of each new listing, the scale immediately shows whether a site's paranormal goings-on are Low, Moderate, or High.

In addition, as noted in the book's introduction, another perk is that Stevens chose only sites with recently recorded paranormal activities. This makes the book an invaluable ghosting guide, increasing the chances of catching a glimpse of the activity for those wishing to explore on their own.

The essays themselves are varied and fascinating. Stevens gives a brief summary of the site's 'History' and then delves into the actual 'Phenomena,' detailing the haunting in a refreshing combination of Stevens' interviews with eyewitnesses and then describing her own experiences and impressions upon visiting the site.

Another feature I really enjoyed are the little personal commentaries at the end of each essay. Sometimes amusing, sometimes poignant, each one is the perfect wrap-up to the listing. The observation to the account of the Nez Perce haunting at Big Hole National Battlefield (The Spirits of Big Hole National Battlefield) was particularly touching - and revealing of Stevens' integrity as a paranormal researcher: she reminds possible visitors that the site is 'a place of tragedy and should be approached with respect.'

Lastly, the book closes with Stevens' own 'Tips For Ghost Hunters.' Concise, insightful, and definitely helpful, this feature alone is well worth the price of the book. Karen Stevens is indeed an authority in her field and has amassed her knowledge through decades of hands-on experience. No one does it better.

Don't miss Haunted Montana. It's a guaranteed ghosting good read!

Truvy, an old-maid school teacher who secretly yearns to discover for herself "The Science of Life," meets bodybuilder, Jake, a man with secrets of his own, in Ms. Holm's fabulous finale to her Brides for All Season's series. Hearts is funny and tender. When it comes to Americana, no one does it better than Stef Ann Holm.

Early in the Teddy Roosevelt administration, Truvy Valentine teaches economics and coaches athletics at the all girls St. Francis Academy. Although a renegade in many ways, her energy makes Truvy a popular teacher among the administration, staff, and students. However, she totally crosses the line when she reads extracts from a nonregulated book, "The Science of Life," that provides insight on human sexuality to her students. Truvy is given a leave of absence to decide whether she can return under the condition that she teach inside the school's rules.

Truvy travels to Harmony, Montana, home of her friend Edwinna Wolcott. There she meets Jake "Bruiser" Brewster, who runs a local gym and was once considered the world's strongest man. Truvy replaces the pregnant Edwinna teaching dance, with most of her students coming from Jake's gym. However, not only can't she dance in spite of being a talented athlete, she only wants to dance with Jake, not the men competing in a local physique contest.

HEARTS is a superb historical romance that provides the audience with a feel for western America circa 1901. The story line is enjoyable as the tidbits of history are cleverly woven into the plot. Truvy and Jake are a dynamic duo and the support cast adds to the authenticity of the fabulous fourth and final book of Stef Ann Holm's wonderful "Brides for all Seasons" series.

Harriet Klausner

HEARTS is funny, touching, and very romantic! You won't be able to put this one down!

Stef Ann Holm has proven once again that she is the queen of the Americana romance. Reading HEARTS is like revisting old friends, as the book is set in Harmony, where the wonderful Brides for All Seasons series first started. I love reading books that give me warm fuzzies, and this book does all that and more. Jake and Truvy are a match made in heaven, and the chemistry between them is hot, yet sweet as Valentine's Day itself. As always, Stef Ann Holm's research and attention to detail is impeccable, and the characters really come alive. This is one of the best books of 2001 that I have read.

I took my family on a driving trip through Montana, and this book proved to be an excellent resource for discovering the somewhat undiscovered, as well as guiding us through the more mainstream sights, attractions, restaurants, and accommodations throughout the state. A must have if you are traveling through the great state of Montana.

Braeking the state up into sections, the author does an excellent job of describing and presenting the various highlights of each. Equal treatment is given to popular and off-the-beaten-path areas, with sufficient detail for each. It made my recent visit more enjoyable!

Hidden Montana appears in its third edition to cover inns, tours, drives, and outdoors explorations throughout the state. From Glacier Park to Yellowstone, this is packed with lesser-known byways. Recommended.

This book was a wonderful guide to the areas of Montana we traveled through. There were several things we would not have seen if it hadn't been for the suggestions in the book and some excellent restaurants we wouldn't have stopped at if they had not been recommended by the book. We plan to get another "hidden" book for our next trip.