Michigan Books

This book is excellent to get a real feel of what being a World War II Nurse was like. The book shares the best and worse times experienced by Nurses from around the world during very difficult days of War. I have attended signing parties and the experience and warmth is outstanding. A must read book for all World War II history readers who want to understand the real heros just doing their jobs of saving lives.

This is a wonderful look at the dedication, work and hardships of the nurses of World War II. Some of their stories have never been told and it was hard for me to put the book down. Their work was demanding, difficult and exausting but the book also tells about the fun and even some romance. Many were killed and captured. Women in combat is not a 21st century idea!

The voice of women veterans is one too seldom heard. Now, with WWII veterans dying at a rate of over 1,000 per day, those voices will all too soon become silent. WWII was the first time women joined the military, and they encountered prejudice and hardships every step of the way. The nurses who served in the military witnessed horrors that many of the men encountered, but with much less preparation and little resource for healing after the war. All but forgotten for the roles they performed, this book brings to light their stories as they can only be told- by the women veterans themselves. Much of the information is rarely found in available books, and "No Time for Fear" is an excellent resource for that information- particularly on the women who served aboard hospital ships and those who were taken as prisoners of war. The personal accounts tell stories of war as well as stories of the lighter side of day-to-day living that was the human side of life as a nurse in the military.
An excellent overall account of WWII military nursing, and one that will likely encourage the reader to delve deeper into our nation's history of female veterans.

This new Homer's Odyssey translation by Rodney Merrill strives to be very literal to the Greek and to also match the line and meter of the Greek, to the extent that can be done in English. That said, the translation reads very well on the page, and in skimming through any particular book of the great epic poem one can see that Merrill has classic aesthetic taste regarding some of his choice of epithets and turns of phrases (as well as his overall approach). 'Great-hearted Odysseus', for instance, is a far better translation than 'Kind Odysseus' or 'Valiant Odysseus' or any of the numerous other choices one can find in all the many 20th century English translations. I point out that one little epithet just to give a sense of Merrill's approach. 'Great-hearted' suggests a level of being higher than the average human being, and that is what Odysseus possesses. Sticking to the literal meaning of the Greek like that (and I assume this is what Merrill has done in that epithet since he announces that this is his overall intention in translating the poem) is what is needed in a translation of the Odyssey (or Iliad). Just in the way that you can get a good feel for a translation this one has that good feel about it. It looks similar to Lattimore on the page, yet it reads much better. Maybe not poetically (go to Chapman or Pope for that), but for what Merrill seems to be attempting it comes across as successful.

Rodney Merrill's poetic rendering of the Odyssey is superlative. It's greatest value over against all other translations lies in its dedication to the *ancient meter* (replacing Greek length with English stress). Read this easily understood, clear, illuminating version out loud and you will feel the entrancing poetry produced by careful attention given by Merrill to the rhythmic, metric elements of Greek epic and to historical accuracy. I had studied the Odyssey and read it in ancient Greek over the period of a semester's study and a year's reading. After sludging through Lattimore and Fagles, I turned to Humphries, who was much better than the other two, with a true sense of rhythm and no *embarassingly anachronistic* words or turns of phrase. But at a special reading at CSU San Francisco, I was able to hear Merrill speak, read some passages and compare texts. I immediately noted a much higher passion for and knowledge of the work itself in his translation, the choices that he made in words and paraphrases. Note: all translations paraphrase drastically because English is so different from Homeric Greek. Rodney, however, does it *well*. See if you can find the paperback version from Michigan University press. The hardcover is nice, but out of most students' and poetry-lovers' price-range. The paperback is available and affordable.

Rodney Merrill's rendering of the Odyssey represents translation at its best ; it serves Homer beautifully in that it is written to be read aloud, and to arouse the emotional solidarity between the performer and its audience that will be understood at once by people who go to listen to music played in public today. You will enjoy the rich materiality of the text (the rythm of the drumming consonants and the melody of the short and long vowels) in its accurate relationship to the characters of the heroes and to the development of story. This new translation will contribute to the enduring popularity of the Odyssey.

There is almost something like a signature or a finger print that lets you know that you are reading one of David Walks-As-Bear's novels. His worlds are inter-dimensionally spiritual, mystical and emotionally engrossing. He always takes his readers someplace where the ordinary does not exist. In his world, he lives with one foot in the material world while the other is immersed dreams, visions and his inner senses. He plays with the readers own sense of reality at times. His latest book in a continuing series of classic Ely Stone novels, "Old Money" takes us to even deeper inner depths of this American Indian tribal cop as he explores the Hawaiian Islands were he has been sent by his tribe to investigate land acquired by his tribe.

The story is a strange and interesting blending of that mystical magic of the author's own Indian cultural along with the mysticism of the old ancient Hawaiian beliefs and religion. Added to that mix are some actual historical events which make this book explode with adventure. This gives his storyline a very unique foundation. There is nothing simple or normal in the plot as we dig up and discover connections with Mark Twain, the Civil War, an old Confederate warship ship named the C.S.S. Shenandoah and our hero's many visions and dreams. There is absolutely no way that you have ever read anything like this before, let alone even dreamt about it. This is so fresh and new and full of energy and mystery.

The author's main character in this series is Ely Stone. He has created this man of mystery with some human flaws and inner demons and conflicts. The character is tormented by his visions and dreams but also by his checkered past. His girl friend Nettie Cole back in Michigan, thinks he can kill much too easily for her likes, even though he was in a situation of defending himself. As with all of the author's previous books he is a master of fleshing out the people he writes about. None of them are cardboard characters; he has rogue Muslins, an antiques dealer, major villains and Secret Service agents among others. He also becomes a suspect in several murders.

He uses dialog as a strong bridge that fully supports and gives the reader an understanding and connection to all the action. It is skillfully written and shows the all around writing skills that Walks-As-Bear has. The phrasing is a joy to read as it allows your mind to absorb what is happening or what the setting may be.

This book is like a good jigsaw puzzle and the more you get into it the more you become obsessed on finding those missing pieces to complete the picture. You will want to know what the ship was carrying. There is also a discovery a journal written by Sam Clemens (Mark Twain) which gives details of the location of an unimaginable treasure in Hawaii if true.

It is not a book that you can just sit and read for a few minutes and then pick up days later on. It is best enjoyed in several longer readings where you can become, in an almost Zen like way, one with the book's storyline. This would be a wonderful vacation book to read on a beach in Hawaii, or some other island paradise, or on a cruise, or just in your backyard on a weekend. It is that kind of book.

One interesting side note about this book is that most all of the facts like the ship and Mark Twain are all based on the author's research and are fact based events. It is once again, the twisting together of fact and fiction that makes Walks-As-Bear novels feel so mysterious.

This book receives the MWSA's highest book rating of FIVE STARS! It also gets my personal endorsement.

When I first heard about "Old Money", I was intrigued. Let's see, A retired Coast Guardsman, American Indians, Native Hawaiians, the Civil War Vietnam, and Civil War Warship, Mysticism, Spiritualism and of course Money.

I will admit that I wondered with all of this going on would I get lost in it all and lose interest and put it on a shelf or get caught up in it and not be able to put it down.

It takes a special kind of author to be able to blend several intertwined stories in to one complete package that you keep thinking just a couple more pages then I will go to sleep. David Walks As Bear does this masterfully!
I was going on a week of vacation, hoping to enjoy a couple of good reads. I finished up the first one quickly, So I picked up "Old Money", I bought so I might as well see how David Walks As Bear writes.

After the first 2 or 3 chapters, I found myself wondering where is this all going and simultaneously finding I can't wait to see what happens next.

I wanted it to rain so I could stay in the cabin and continue on my journey with Ely Stone. Alas, no rain so I stayed up way to late turning page after page.

David develops the characters so you could recognize them if you saw them on the street, and some of them if you did recognize them you would probably go in the opposite direction quickly.

Characters; good guys, bad guys, good girls, college professors, secret service agents, Bull Anuenur and of course Amos plus more that you get to know.

Ely Stone himself does not fit well in to a box, parts of Rambo, James Bond, Dirk Pitt and Indiana Jones, but he has a deep soul and you get glimpses in to the inter soul of Ely as the story move along.


I thoroughly enjoyed reading the story and the author in now on my must read list!

I wonder how I can begin to describe this outstanding novel by David-Walks-As-Bear. Inside the covers of this book you will find Tribal Officer Ely Stone, a man with a heart of gold and a life of mystery and adventure, one that is about to embark on another spiritual journey to right the wrongs of the past.
Ely is on another case and you can be sure despite his regrets his ancestors are making known to him by dreams and visions that something must be corrected. We find Ely's true love Nettie still at arms length and are introduced to some new found women friends who add just the right amount of spice to this work.
What does old money have to do with anything? Mark Twain seems to have left a famous writing which may well hold the secret to a fortune and lives will be lost and changed forever as the race is on to make sense of the mystery. Traveling with Ely in his mind we are privy to information that is revealed to him in dreams and vision as Ely struggles to make sense of the picture show that plays within him. We are taken from the past to the present, introduced to men of old who played a pivoted part in the present day affairs and we are favored to meet new characters with interesting personalities and see again those from previous works whom we have come to enjoy.
Let me say this, as with all of David's books this one is no slacker.
It is full of history, mystery, mysticism, adventure, romance and has a just plain down-right great storyline that keeps you glued to the pages from chapter to chapter.
This book is well worth your time, a top-of-the-notch read that will entertain you in every area a good book should. Highly recommended.

Catherine Carey captures everything that is beautiful about Petoskey in this watercolor journal while giving practical, clever painting tips for her readers. A wonderful keepsake for Northern Michigan visitors, but artists and tourists from all over can appreciate this colorful, well-written treasure. This book will definitely inspire you to capture your memories in a unique watercolor journal of your own.

This book is a treasure! A must for any fan of this darling Northern Michigan town, this journal combines helpful painting tips with Petoskey sights and scenes - a wonderful souvenir and an excellent tool for artists at any level.

No matter where you live this book is one everyone who loves travel, beauty and art, will love. Packed full of paintings and painting tips this book is a delight and an insight into the authors town and talent.

Dora Stockman lived her incredible life in Michigan to the fullest. She was a devoted wife, mother, farmer, business woman, politician, actress, author and more. She cared deeply about her community and it showed in the work she did both for the Grange and for education. This account of her life as a model Politician and much more is a tribute to the many women who have shaped our lives. Women like Dora Stockman paved the way for the women of the 21st century and it is important to remember how far women have progressed. This well written history about her life and accomplishments in Michigan would be a true asset to anyones library.

A great read about a woman who worked her way to prominence via good works and a sincere love for education. Well written and suitably phrased for an enjoyable read.

The book also includes useful historical references to reinforce the time in which this woman made such amazing in roads into a male dominated world.

Women's-studies courses would be well served by the content and careful vetting of research that is the basis for this book.

A meaningful addition to any library regarding the Grange, Farm culture in the 19th and 20th century, Mighigan history, Michigan politics, Michigan women, and Michigan authors.

David Deupree (included in book credits)

In a time in Michigan's History when women were in the Kitchen or at best a teacher. Dora Stockman blazed a trial of what I call the perfect Proverbs 31 Women. She was the first woman to run and win a major politcal office in Michigan. She was a poet, songtress and agriculturist all to the amazement of the culture at that time. She was not only a trail blazer of her time she is a fine example to young women and old alike that nothing is to hard if you believe and act in faith. Truly Dora Stockman was a Phenomenal Woman.

The Off-Off-Broadway theatre scene in New York City is one of the strong reasons for living in New York City, and perhaps their best times were when they were getting started in the 1960's. This was a time when social changes were afoot in our country. The pill had freed up female sexuality, for most of the decade the Vietnam war was underway, and everything came together in New York. No one knows when it really began, but it came alive at the Cafe Cino. And while the story of Joe Cino and his cafe is told in a chapter, you may be interested in the bigger treatment given in 'Return to the Cafe Cino.'

This book then goes on to describe the growth of the Off-Off-Broadway scene after Cino, new theaters, stronger and breaking into categories, but retaining still the idea of non-commercial, far out theater, in small venues.

In Cino days, actors who were members of the union frequently performed using another name. Now there is a special category of contract and there are more actors working OOB than on the Bib B itself.

Bottoms gives shape to the marginal field of "basement theaters, cafe theaters, hole-in-the-wall theaters, and theaters thriving on rough edges, raw passion, and a fierce sense of immediacy and 'liveness' of the stage event itself and of the audience" which sprang up in the 1960s along with the experimentation in other parts of the culture as well. A Professor in the Department of Theatre, Film, and Television Studies at the U. of Glascow, Bottoms sees the connection between this "off-off-Broadway" theater of the tumultuous and quixotic 1960s and today's popular entertainment. The raucousness of rock concerts, the brazenness of Janet Jackson's "wardrobe malfunction," the provocative live performances, and rap lyrics all had precursors in the "illegitimate" theater of the 60s. Bottom's engaging work is both historical and critical. He cites the artistic and cultural sources while also bringing in the wider social milieu of the time. General themes and developments share space with activities and individuals connected with particular theaters and troupes. "Playing Underground" is a benchmark work of thorough research which goes into the social and political agendas of this theater scene while at the same time imparting its unconventional, often deliberately provocative and obscene, and in the long run, influential performance style.

This book is an epic movie about an epic movement. "Playing Underground" is a book the world has waited for without knowing it. New York's off-Off Broadway theatres in the 1960's created the styles that mark Post-Modern art--not only stage plays but films and music as well. I know. I was there. How precisely this book captures the evolution of our revolution! I am amazed by its scope and scale, and I bless its author especially for giving two greats, playwrights Paul Foster and H.M. Koutoukas,their proper, polar places, and for memorializing such unjustly forgotten masterpieces as Irene Fornes' "Molly's Dream" and Jeff Weiss' "A Funny Walk Home." Stephen Bottoms' vivid evocation of the grand adventure of Off-Off Broadway has woken and broken my heart. It is difficult to believe that he was not there alongside me to breathe the caffeine-nicotine-alkaloid-steeped air. The photographs show how we flaunted our youth and imagination in the dark, dusty, often dirty coffeehouses, churches, galleries, basements, and "black boxes" where modern theatre--and so much more--began.
Robert Patrick, author of "Kennedy's Children," "Temple Slave," and "Film Moi: Narcissus in the Dark"

This is the best kind of academic writing: direct, technically accurate and concise, yet intriguing, lively and infomative. Segal clearly has affection for his subject, yet does not hedge on Ford's notoriously disagreeable qualities. A clear-eyed look at a complex man and his ideals.

This book is fabulous! It captures this topic better than any I've ever read. It's very interesting to me, and I'm not in the least way associated with Ford. Great book and enjoyable read!!

Henry Ford is famous for setting up the basic concepts of mass production. And some of his factories Highland Park, River Rouge and Willow Run to name three were truly huge facilities producing huge numbers of vehicles, even aircraft. Yet at the same time he was concerned about the social aspects of the businesses.

In the early 1920's he was instrumental in Ford setting up nineteen smaller 'village industries.' Each of these industries were set up to provide some kind of easily specified component that would be used in Ford vehicles or manufacturing. These included things like voltage regulators, twist drills, manufacturing test equipment, etc.

After his death, in the late 1940's and early 1950's these nineteen was shut down, usually merged into a large factory in the newly formed parts division. This effort cannot be considered a failure. All in all, the nineteen plants were too small, too hard to manage.

Now similar outside suppliers provide such sub component manufacturing, but they are larger, and independently owned. This same concept is also followed closely in Japan where smaller independent suppliers make components for automobiles and other products.

Many books and articles have been written about the poetry of Robert Frost, but this book, astonishingly, makes almost all of them obsolete. Frost's critics have found him haunted by a dark vision but they have been hard pressed to say exactly what it was. They have struggled to find the real context of his thinking, but the poems, in spite of many melancholy readings, have remained elusive. What are these elegant meditations really about? Where does the impetus for these disturbing dramatic monologues and stark dialogues come from? Faggen's brilliantly researched and forcefully written book finally tells us the answer: Frost was obsessed with Darwin and his vision of the natural world. He said so many times (though none of his critics was willing to listen). And once you have recognized this fact, the grave, witty, tender, and frightful poems acquire a new clarity and force. Frost was no "spiritual drifter," no vague perveyor of "metaphysical terror," as earlier writers have thought, but the most sophisticated and tough-minded poet of science that modern culture has produced--the nearest thing we have to a Lucretius. This book takes a figure who has seemed conservative or even backward to his readers and shows him to be the most forward-looking artist of his generation. And it accomplishes this task with an easy mastery of detail that removes all doubt. "Never again would bird's song be the same," Frost wrote--never the same after reading Darwin, that is, nor will this poem be the same after reading Faggen. The romantic Frost is dead, and a new Frost is afoot. Some will mourn, some will rejoice at the news, but scholarship is seldom as conclusive as this and hardly ever as exciting.

This book helped me see Frost in a new light, as a thinker grappling with the problems science poses to religion and to poetry. There is an enormous amount of scholarship brought to many poems, and we see the ways Frost thought not only about Darwin but about Lucretius, Milton, James, Bergson, Emerson, and Thoreau. The Frost that emerges is both dark and complex--a subversive and subtle pastoralist. Though the book is written in clear prose with very little jargon, it is a heavy read. But well worth it.

Professor Faggen has written a remarkable book. We might have considered Frost a sentimental, a provincial poet, but in this volume we discover that Frost (far from the potato-hoeing grandpa of our collective memories) is a poet of the first order and among the most challenging of the moderns. Frost's revaluations of the Romantic and the Miltonic myths in Darwinian terms place him as our chief poet of the scientific, the skeptical turn of mind. The evidence amassed for his argument is daunting and Faggen has contributed to our understanding of the place of Darwin--biological and social--in modern poetry. Faggen's individual readings are acute and original. We will from now on see "The Road Not Taken," "The Oven Bird," and "The Need of Being Versed in Country Things," in a different way. We will see them not as melancholy mood poems, but as tough and riddling explorations of human and animal existence. We may now begin to see Frost's place in American literature, and that a high position indeed! We may thank Robert Faggen for deepening our understanding and broadening our view.

"Roses for Michigan" has everything in it that you need to know, to grow fantastic roses in colder climates. I can't say enough about this great book...other than if you don't have it....you better get it!!

Thanks for the great book!!

If you live in any zone 5 or colder state and you're interested in growing roses this should be on your book shelf. Toss most guides which concentrate on tender Hybrid Teas and floribundas. This book will give you good information for growing roses in our weather, from selecting varieties to planting, to care.

The book includes a huge section of rose variety information including a photograph of each rose, hardiness information, disease resistance, etc.

The title says Michigan but really anyone living in zone 5 or colder will get great advice from this book.

"Roses for Michigan" was a real eye-opener for me. The only kinds of roses I'd previously had any luck with were war horses like Bonica and Blaze. Now I'm emboldened by this book to try some of my catalogue favorites: the lilac floribunda "Blueberry Hill," the beautiful red climber "Dublin Bay," and the hybrid tea rose "Dainty Bess" with her strong scent of cloves and unusual burgundy stamens.

I live out in the boonies, so I order my roses through catalogues and the web. The authors of "Roses for Michigan" admonish me to be cautious when ordering from southern and western rose growers, as their roses "may be grafted onto Dr. Huey rootstock, which is not well-suited, in the long term, to Michigan."

Maybe that's been my problem all along with grafted roses, because "Bonica" and "Blaze" are own-root.

I checked out my favorite California catalogue, and they do not specify their root stock. I also wonder whether local nurseries get their roses from California.

At any rate, the authors recommend buying grafted roses on "Rosa Multiflora" rootstock for Michigan gardens, or better yet, buy own-root plants.

As with all of the Lone Pine garden books for Michigan, all aspects of buying and caring for roses are discussed, including a very useful chapter on planting roses. As I read through this chapter I began to realize why most of my attempts at introducing new roses were failures. Did you know that the recommended depth for the bud graft to be buried in colder areas (such as our state) is three to four inches?

At the back of this book is a list of resources for Michigan rosarians: gardens to visit; rose societies and clubs; garden centers and suppliers; websites; and books.

I just wish there could have been more advice in "Roses for Michigan" on how to prevent critters like deer, ground hogs, and rabbits from nibbling on my roses.

For those serious about growing in the spiritual life, Walter Hilton is a must. Not everything will speak to every person but there is much to be gained from a slow, careful, and prayerful reading.

Author Peter Ackroyd (The Life of Thomas More) says that Hitlton's "Scale of Perfection" and Kempas'"Imitation of Christ" are part of the broad tradition of late medieval Christian piety. Both books played a central part of Thomas More's life. Scale of Perfection is concerend with the active Chrictian life in the world. Hilton also wrote a volume entitled "The Mixed Life."

Walter Hilton's massive undertaking (the first thorough treatment of ascetic theology in the English language) is as rewarding for those today as in his own era - and a careful reading makes one realise that he was treating many of the same difficulties we would find in our own time. This is by no means light reading, but the lawyer's mind, theologian's precision, and pastoral father's homely charm are a winning combination. (How can anyone resist one who, after giving an explanation of sin so with the lawyer's accuracy that one nearly searches for the section on plea bargaining, then tenderly reassures his reader that God is most generous with forgiveness or "heaven would be much too empty?)I would recommend it (if not require it) of anyone with an interest either in ascetic theology or fourteenth century England.