Rhode Island Books

I came to the US in 1967 a generation later than the Graysons. I grew up in Lancashire where Mrs Grayson[the author's mother] was from. The author and I had very similar upbringings on opposite sides of The Pond although my stories would feature events such as our first TV etc.I met the Author and her Mother and Sister Ruth in Foxboro Ma in 1968 and have stayed in touch with her over the years. I was thrilled to read her book and very impressed with the quality of her writing.A Delightful memoir for us transplanted Brits.

In Providence, Carl Bartelli has one goal in life and no one including his wife or his business partner Evan Graham will stand in the way of his achieving his objective of becoming a millionaire before he turns fifty. Though his company Barham Armored Car Company has done well in New England and now in Sao Paulo, he sees the opportunity to attain his dream. He offers a deal with The Brave Wolf Reservation tribe to provide the capital to expand the successful slot machines emporium into a casino hotel complex in exchange for a piece of the action.

Using the same illegal "borrowing" of client money that capitalized the Brazilian venture at no cost, Carl, Evan and junior partner Judy Meade cut a deal with the tribe. A setback occurs when an abandoned gas station that Carl planned to buy to build the casino on is no longer for sale. The station's co-owner Claude Samuels plans to reopen up the gas station. Refusing to allow anyone to get in his way, Carl, over the protest of his partners, burns down the property of the Samuel siblings. If Judy or Evan become obstacles Carl will kill them.

INDIAN GIVER contains a terrific story line, but the key to the tale is the strong cast. One track minded Carl is an intriguing villain while his partners and to a lesser degree his wife are willing to break the law just not as violently as he does. The council members are also interesting as they soon conclude that they negotiated with evil. J.A. Russo writes a tense tale that grips the audience from the moment the audience comprehends how cleverly calculatingly cunning a killer the lead protagonist is. This is an exciting reading experience

Harriet Klausner

As the grandchild of the author I'm a little biased, but this is an excellent book. It is extremely well researched, with both theology and history woven together into a well-crafted tapestry.

I've bought several copies of this beautiful women's scripture journal for gifts for friends and family. I'm very impressed with the cover and quality of this book, especially for such a low price! I highly recommend this book!

This is a fabulous book, a true treasure, an amazing and revelatory book to read.

...This is simply a reprint of a book that was first published in the 1640s by Roger Williams, who was the founder of Rhode Island and a respected friend ("netop") of the Narragansett tribe.

That said -- this book is not simply a vocabulary, or a grammatical treatise. It also includes dozens of insights into the daily life of the Narragansett tribe, at a time when most of them lived as they had from time immemorial. Every chapter includes not only the actual vocabulary appropriate to the topic under discussion, but also several paragraphs talking about the lives of the Narragansett. Sometimes Roger Williams ends a chapter with a little pedantic poem, but hey, cut him some slack -- he was a creature of his times, as are we all.

Here are a couple of things that I wish someone had told ME about, before I discovered this amazing little volume. First and formost -- the table of contents is at the END of the book, not the beginning. It does exist, you didn't get a defective copy. Second -- for a funny, fascinating set of examples of early native american onomatopeia, look in the sections on "Fowles" and "Beastes." Evidently, the Narragansetts told Roger Williams that they called a duck a "quequecum," a wild goose was called a "honck-honck," and a horse (which they learned about from the English) was called a "nay-nay-oumewot." Maybe this is just my own sense of humor, but I enjoyed envisioning a stern, austere, Godly Puritan, wearing heavy black clothes in summertime (and the hat with the little buckle on front), sitting down with a solemn circle of sunburned sachems, and doing bird calls. I can just picture the Cambridge-educated Roger Williams earnestly scribbling notes in his notebook, while the sachems sat there, pointed at birds outside the wigwam, and went "quack quack" and "honk honk" for his edification. I thought the duck was especially funny -- "Ah yes.... we callum that birdum a quequecum, Good Reverend Williams."

That is a minor point, but it does make the book a little more fun. Basically, however, let me hasten to add that this book is far more than fun. It is ultimately VERY serious. It's one of the few remaining sources of information into the tongues spoken by the early natives of southern New England. If you are capable of appreciating this, I recommend you look for anything by Kathleen Bragdon, or Ives Goddard, who have done a lot of work trying to keep the memories of these lost languages alive. If you prefer libraries to the internet, try to find articles by the 19th century Connecticut state librarian J. Hammond Trumbull, who wrote many articles on native New England place names, and Eastern Algonquin languages in general. You may also wish to seek out John Eliot's "Indian Bible," which is incredibly hard to find in print, but was put on microfilm by University Microfilms in Michigan. The "Indian Bible" was composed, with the able assistance of native speakers, in the Massachusett dialect of Algonquin, which is very closely related to Narragansett. Another little gem is William Woods' "New England Prospect," which includes a handy little SHORT vocabulary. Also, if you're internet-savvy enough, you might enjoy seeking out the work of Jessie "Little Doe" Fermino, a native Wampanoag in Mashpee, Massachusetts, who has recently been developing language classes in the tongue of the Wampanoag tribe.

But back to this book -- it is highly informative, and a tremendous boon to students of early native Americans in New England. Two thumbs up.

I recently reviewed the 2000 edition for the Law Library Journal. It's a great publication full of useful information for law librarians and lawyers, at a reasonable price.

My favorite feature is the brief reviews of various titles, organized by subject matter or jurisdiction. The cost-saving tips are also handy, as is the information about update costs for each title reviewed.

This book is great if you require accurate and interesting infomation about this specific region. Well worth the money.

nahla hussein ali,woman,28 years old finished my study in applaid art college, textil branch, study for master dgree , working in fabric desing for furnture

Ideal for planing your trip to New England area. You will have several routs to explore this part of the country. Tips, Maps and Photographs that give you a very good picture of your trip. This will help you to don't miss any of the important places of the road.