Virginia Books

For those interested in life in early Virginia, especially those that had ancestors there, this is a "must read" book. It offers a fascinating and highly detailed picture of life in those times, and offers some comparison to how it differed from life in New England at that time.

Genealogists studying ancestors mentioned in the book will be disappointed in the lack of genealogical source notes; it is, after all, a social history and not a work on genealogy. However, most of the genealogical information is sourced in the authors' notes which are archived at the Virginia Historical Society in Richmond.

Everyone who is interested in what life was like for residents of Colonial Virginia will gain a lot of insight on their homes, economics, social strata, and relationship with their servants. For those of us who actually descended from the people who are cited in the book, this is a revelation of how our ancestors fit into the community.

We have three rabits and I gain a lot of knowledge regarding rabbits with this book. It is easy to read and has many information.

A lot of good information and some good photos. I have yet to find one definitive house rabbit guide, but this covers a lot of the basics: history, deciding if rabbit is right pet, adopting a rabbit, setting up living space and health. There is also a great section on rabbit behavior and behavior problems.

Worth buying before or after bringing a rabbit into your home!

As a marriage & family therapist and school counselor, I highly recommend this book to clients and parents of students. The book describes a step-by-step process that gives struggling parents the practical skills they need to stop the confusion and chaos and move towards creating a happy, loving family. The techniques, while direct and simple, prove powerful and effective. I believe parents who begin using the principles and strategies described in this book will see immediate results.

As a parent of three children (5 -7 -9)and a former teacher, I found this book to be very helpful and comprehensive. One basic premise of the book is that the marriage relationship is critical to a happy family. The authors also realize that most people have some of their own problems or isues to deal with and/or do not have extensive parenting education. Many chapters come with easy-to-do exercises that allow parents to do their homework, so to speak, on some of their own values and how they want to handle things in their own home. You will get more out of the book if you read it simultaneously with your partner, do the exercises, and discuss each chapter. The layout of each chapter has a nice consistent format: Summary of the key points, the actual information, with expansion through anecdoes, tips, and traps. I especially liked the traps: all of the things that could cause you to fail. Attention is also given to single parenting, divorce, special problems, and relationships with adult children. My favorite chapter: 'Parents are in charge' *Stick togethr *Make rules *Define consequences *Stay in charge If you like the no-nonsense format of the above ideas, you will love this book!

It is very useful book for any collectors, carvers and other people who love netsuke! There are a lot of images, the perfect quality!

Raymond Bushell was part of the occupying US military after World War Two, and he found two loves of his life, netsuke, where he became a leading collector and writer on the art form, and his wife, who helped organize this exhibit and wonderful book. The color photography is superb and the text contains important scholarly insights.

The book features more than 820 netsuke, with accompanying text that gives a complete overview of changing tastes in netsuke collecting and carving throughout its history and into the present day. Each netsuke has a detailed description that places the subject in the context of Japanese life and history, and gives important information about the carver or technique. An enormous variety of netsuke subjects are described: famous battles and samurai, kabuki and noh actors and plays, scandalous stories, animals and imaginary creatures, Buddhist sages, and Shinto rituals.

This is a wonderful resource for anyone interested in the art form, or in the culture and history of Japan.

Return to a time when life was simpler. Discover classic river towns, mountain retreats and coastal fishing villages, small towns where you can still shop on Main Street, where the hardware store and the bookstore are not part of a national chain, old buildings are restored and historic places are preserved. The Burnhams, also co-authors of The Virginia Handbook, have discovered and explored scores of these delightful towns. Destinations include Onancock, on Virginia's Eastern Shore; Irvington, a hip town built around The Tides resort; Strasburg and Front Royal, towns rich in Shenandoah Valley history; as well as coastal towns such as St. Michael's, Crisfield and St. Mary's. The places featured in this book have charming inns and B&Bs, in addition to good, locally owned restaurants. There are enough attractions to satisfy any traveler, but there is also space and time to tarry, to sit in a park or on a shaded bench and watch life pass by.

Return to a time when life was simpler. Discover classic river towns, mountain retreats and coastal fishing villages, small towns where you can still shop on Main Street, where the hardware store and the bookstore are not part of a national chain, old buildings are restored and historic places are preserved. The Burnhams, also co-authors of The Virginia Handbook, have discovered and explored scores of these delightful towns. Destinations include Onancock, on Virginia's Eastern Shore; Irvington, a hip town built around The Tides resort; Strasburg and Front Royal, towns rich in Shenandoah Valley history; as well as coastal towns such as St. Michael's, Crisfield and St. Mary's. The places featured in this book have charming inns and B&Bs, in addition to good, locally owned restaurants. There are enough attractions to satisfy any traveler, but there is also space and time to tarry, to sit in a park or on a shaded bench and watch life pass by.

I wish I would have read this book before I became a single mother of three. This is a wonderful book. After reading, I can finally hear my Father saying trust in me and everything is going to be okay. I've learned how to build a better relationship with my Father. I'm not alone and I still have a chance to make it right. I love my Father and I know the author who wrote this book loves Him too.

J.S.

This book really puts it all in perspective. I could hardly put it down. I just wanted to keep reading it and soaking in the information. Well written!

Combines thorough analysis with a stylistic flair and self-deprecating humour

Reshaping the World for the 21st Century evaluates post-World War II economic development efforts in the United States, in Canada, and, in Brazil, and in Mexico. It argues that the proposal that the more fortunate countries should bring prosperity to the less developed ones failed: it did not stop the growth of poverty, did not protect the environment sufficiently, and did not promote human rights energetically.

Smith begins with a presentation of the two chief development theories pursued after World War II, that is, the growth oriented, market driven model, and the communist ideology. She then chronicles the rise of dependency theory, a newer, 1960s based development perspective that was focused on the needs of less developed third world countries. Based on personal accounts of daily life in the megacities Sao Paulo and Mexico City, and on a review of other development analysts' conclusions, Smith evaluates the failures in Brazil and Mexico--the transportation fiascos spawned, the housing situation--and wonders how it could be that the most advanced industrial powers just didn't see that the poverty suffered by most people in Latin American countries was worsening even during the 1960s and 1970s, an era of relative prosperity.

lots of old pictures of Monument Ave. If you have ever visiting this area, you need this book.

An incredible documentation of the only street in America to have its own National Landmark status. The authors did their research on this fascinating piece of Americana, and the street comes alive in beautiful photographs and fascinating description.

A MUST for anyone's coffee table!!

I had the honor of meeting Mrs. Calcutt at the Museum of the Confederacy a couple of years ago. She is a fine author , and a nice lady, as well. Like her, I have a professional background in both Medicine and History. Further, one of my great grandfathers was a Confederate Surgeon, though he served to the west of Richmond.

This is a superbly researched, and presented, volume. The whole country was unprepared for the Civil War, and had to adapt in a BIG HURRY. Richmond was the center of the Confederate government, and was forced to become a center for providing medical care, as well. This is one area where the South actually had advantages; there was greater administrative stability [provided by Surgeon General Samuel Moore], and the Confederacy was willing to make societal innovations, such as placing women and Blacks in positions of high responsibility. The Hospitals were run by both the government and by private individuals, and ranged in size from tiny to gigantic.

Reading this book, you will get to meet two of the South's greatest heroines. Mrs. Phoebe Pember was a Matron at Chimborazo, the largest Civil War hospital, and Captain Sally Tompkins ran Robertson's Hospital as a project of the ladies at St. James Episcopal Church. Capt. Sally refused to play the "state's rights" game, and probably had the best hospital in town. [Her memorial window at St. James is sublimely beautiful].

Mrs. Calcutt takes us on a thoroughly inspiring, and educational, tour. Those familiar with Richmond will appreciate the updates, describing the current uses of the buildings and sites. Some of the buildings are still in use. [at least one restaurant in Shockhoe Bottom is well and truly haunted, with a Confederate Officer making daily inspections] Robertson's, at Third and Main, was torn down in 1875; the site holds an all night diner. Chimborazo, on East Broad Street, is long gone, but the site holds a fine Confederate Medical Museum.

Civil War medicine was a lot better than most people realize; the mortality rate was around 11% on both sides, and the "bite the bullet" story is pure myth. The disease:wound death rate rate ratio was much smaller than in some of our other wars. Jeff Davis once commented that the Medical Department was the only part of the Confederacy not demoralized by the end; this wonderful book goes a long way to explain why.

This book is very well researched and developed. For the reader interested in Civil War Hospitals, particularly in Richmond, VA., the book provides an impressive summary of the details of the hospitals in the 1860's and in many cases there current use. The detail is fascinating and reveals how giant strides were made in medical care in a difficult environment.

First check out the editorial reviews here to understand what this book is about. This is a fascinating and beautiful collection of material reflective of Mexican art through the ages. There are ancient manuscripts, drawings rendered from old books, photgraphs of pre-Columbian pottery and art, ancient petroglyphs from the southwest, maps and recent art pieces by Chicano/a artists all recreated tastefully and rendered in an eye appealing manner. The concept of the exhibition and art book created from the exhibition is spectacular and unique. The idea is to tie the evolutionary art process from pre-Columbian times to the contemporary art produced in the southwest. The concept suggests that art is migratory, influenced by culture both past and present, linked to both but unique in it's modern evolutionary vision by contemporary artists. The lands from which this art has evolved is based in Aztlan, a mythical land dating back to pre-Columbian cultures by remains in the hearts and minds of people on both sides of the border. The link between Mexico and the United States and it's people is explored and highlighted by the art of the southwest. This migration, in search of a new land, that continues today, began with the Mexica(Aztecs)pilgrimage and establshment of Tenochitlan in what is now modern Mexico City; this is where the Mexica were said to seen the eagle on the nopal cactus and then build their city of Tenochitlan. The mythical land of Aztlan lives on and is reflective in the art of the southwest. This book explores the relationship, in both essay and photograph, between the citizens of Mexico and the United States and even those who live in the neither land in the fields and dark shadows of Aztlan. This is an oversized book with a wealth of information to help you develop your own understanding of the relationships between past and present in the art of the southwest. Recommended for high schools , community libraries and the southwest art book lovers homes.

After seeing the exhibit at LACMA, this book was a great compliment to the art that was shown. It ranged from pre columbian to modern and was very intersting and informative. The photgraphs in the book are complimented by the narration and anaylsis by the author.