Ohio Books

Great reading, it is a look into life from the past that gives
hope for the future.

This inspiring and fun-to-read book profiles 23 Ohioans who have exhibited outstanding character and courage. Some are quite famous, others not at all. Among the famous are the Wright Brothers, Tecumseh, Harriett Beecher Stowe, Toni Morrison, and Jesse Owens. Among the not-so-famous, but should be, are Jacob Parrott, Mary Ann Bickerdyke and Janarius MacGahan.

I put this book at the top of my Christmas giving list for these reasons: 1. All the stories make you appreciate the sacrifices and character of the individuals profiled ("Could I ever be that brave?"). 2. All the stories are well-researched. I thought I knew about all there was interesting to know about some of these Ohioans, but the book taught me otherwise. 3. It's written in story-telling fashion, making for a good read-aloud book for the family and an interesting read for the junior and senior high school set. 4. It well represents the diverse interests and ethnic backgrounds of Ohioans.

David Bergman's "Heroic Measures" contains beautiful poems about the nature of life and living, that are universal between straight and gay audiences alike. It is poetry without pretension, that accepts itself easily and flows when read aloud. It does not try to outdo itself with meaningless metaphor and aggravating allusion, and instead honestly tells stories. This collection has such a varied repertoire of topics, too, from the much-praised AIDS poetry, to the nature of travel and family, with some especially meaningful poetry about fathers. With their unexpected rhyme, range of subjects, and sheer honesty, I found these poems to be some of the most enjoyable modern poetry I've read in a great while.

Hiking Ohio is a comprehensive guidebook that covers all regions, lengths, and types of hikes in Ohio. The photos are especially nice for a guidebook and the maps are excellent. Sidebars are really fun! This would be a good book for the avid hiker.

Excellent source of information, very helpful in Genealogy research.

This most wonderful book should be read by anyone and everyone who has ever been in contact with autism. Whether it's family or acquaintances, you will get so much out of this book.

The effect that an eight-year old boy has on his family during his summer vacation is heart-breaking, joyous, sometimes funny, and eye-opening.

Excellently written, reads very easily. Makes you want to rush out, buy more copies and distribute them to all of your friends (because one coopy is just not enough).

An amazing book. Read it.

This book is amazing! The history is unbelievable. All you Crooksville folk have no idea what you are missing!!!!!

The history of the Islamic faith on the continent of Africa spans fourteen centuries. For the first time in a single volume, The History of Islam in Africa presents a detailed historic mapping of the cultural, political, geographic, and religious past of this significant presence on a continent-wide scale. Bringing together two dozen scholars, this comprehensive work treats the historical development of the religion in each major region and examines its effects." "Designed as both a reference and a text, The History of Islam in Africa will be an essential tool for libraries, scholars, and students of this growing field.
Synopsis
Islam has enlivened life in African communities and has also been molded by its African settings. In this first comprehensive history, scholars identify the role that Islam and Muslims have played in the story of African development. Introductory chapters examine gateways from abroad through which Islam has traditionally influenced Africans. Following sections present overviews of Islamic history in various regions, and discuss important themes that have made an impact on Muslim communities in Africa. Levtzion directs the Council for Higher Education in Israel and teaches history at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. Pouwels teaches African history at the University of Central Arkansas. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

This is the story of Jonathan Alder, who was captured by Indians at the age of nine from his home in western Virginia in 1782. He was adopted and lived among the Mingos for 13 years along the Mad River in Ohio. Alder became a respected hunter and warrior and gives a vivid and detailed account of his life among them. He gives a fascinating retelling of his life in a late 18th century Indian village, in an age when white settlers were beginning to push north of the Ohio River from Kentucky and West Virginia in the years after the Revolutionary War and how that increased conflict between the two groups for possession of the Ohio Country led, eventually, to the loss of Indian lands. After the Treaty of Greenville in 1795, Alder leaves the Indians to live in Pleasant Valley, near what is today Columbus, OH, though continuing to live as an Indian. Around 1805, he is persuaded by a friend to travel to Virginia and is reunited with his white family.

Alder's narrative is truly fascinating in all respects. He gives fully detailed accounts of his life among the Indians, from hunting and cooking, to relations with his Indian family which include a genuinely loving and kind mother and father, as well as an abusive sister who is resentful of the white boy and beats him for any infraction. Alder tells of his participation in several horse-stealing raids in Kentucky as well as his part in the Battle of Fort Recovery in 1794, . After Alder leaves the company of the Indians in 1795, he goes on to tell about his relations with the early white settlers in central Ohio and their often strained relations with the remaining Indian population. Although he is reunited with his white family in 1805, and subsequently drops his Indian dress and lives as a white settler, Alder, it seems, is never fully one of them. He views his neighbors through the eyes of one who lived a life far removed from their daily drudgery and often seems to reflect with nostalgia on his Indian days. One gets a sense of forelorn sadness and loneliness in his later years, as though he is the product of a lost time and place. His relationships with both his white and Indian family are intriguing, especially a poigniant encounter many years later with his Indian sister who abused him as a child.

This is a very intereing book and I recommend it highly.

I bought this book because it was something new on the 90th Ohio Infantry and I already owned a facsimile reprint from Higginson Books. There is nothing in the publishing information to indicate this is a reprint. However, Scott Cameron is not the author, but just penned a short (and irrelevant) introduction to the original book written by his great great grandfather. Cameron is also called the editor, but has done precious little in the way of editing. So, if you want a new issue of a decent regimental history, this is for you. If you already own a copy of the original book, keep away from this one.