Virginia Books

This is a wonderful, almost true, story about a baby whale that got separated from his pod in Puget Sound waters. It has an appealing story line and illustrations that will delight children. I bought this book for two of my grandchildren.

This is really a wonderful children's book for kids from a year old on up. My two kids regularly pick this up off the shelf, my youngest loves the beautiful watercolor artwork, my oldest loves the silly sea otters.

It's really got a great story to it as well, and although it is slightly longer than most, my kids always want me to read it the whole way through. Thank you Naomi, for writing such a wonderful story.

Seeing an old building torn down is like losing a friend to me. This books is like a family photo album of the dead and gone that you never knew but with lots of great historical information. If it's obscure St. Louise history your looking for, look no further. I am a trasplant to St. Louis and reading this book is like hooking up with a local whose in the know. Not only do you get the history and a photo of each building but you also get St. Louis' own history as well. I highly recommend it to anyone regardless of whether you have a connection to St. Louis or not. I will read and re-read this one again and again.

For native St. Louisans with a taste for history, this is a pictorial marvel. The photographs and accompanying stories of early St. Louis landmarks are fascinating. The book clearly takes the reader from the earliest days of the city, thru its glory days, and finally, to the remaining examples of those days.

For decades Diane Rademacher has diligently sought remnants from the Louisiana Purchase Exposition. She has traveled thousands of miles and interviewed hundreds of people. Rademacher sought not the collectible souvenirs from the Fair but rather relics from the Fair itself -- the buildings (or parts of buildings), the sculpture, the exhibits.

Now she shares her findings in _Still Shining: Discovering Lost Treasures from the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair_. This volume is much more than a where-they-are-now report, however. Rademacher's introduction provides excellent background information on the Fair. In addition, she tells not only where remnants are today but also how they got there. In some cases this history even precedes an item's exhibition at the Fair.

The Louisiana Purchase Exposition generated a lot of salvage. The Chicago House Wrecking Company, which was awarded the contract for the Fair's demolition, published a catalog in which a number of items were offered for sale: "one hundred million linear feet of lumber, 'enough to build outright over ten (10) cities with a population each of 5,000 inhabitants,' new steel roofing, doors, windows, sills, pipe with fittings, stoves, office equipment, and construction materials of all types. . . . Three hundred and fifty thousand incandescent lamps were offered at 16 cents if new and 6 cents if used."

Rademacher's focus, however, is on unique items: the 56-foot statue of Vulcan that stands atop Red Mountain overlooking Birmingham, Alabama; the world's largest pipe organ (now several times larger than it was at the Fair) in the Lord & Taylor department store in downtown Philadelphia; the Connecticut pavilion that is now a stately residence in Lafayette, Indiana. In all, Rademacher cites about sixty treasures in fifteen states plus the District of Columbia.

_Still Shining_ is enhanced by nearly 250 photos -- past and present, interior and exterior, panoramic and detailed. These bring the treasures to life for the reader. In addition to listing the discussed items by state, Rademacher includes an index and an extensive bibliography. Thus it is easy to find desired information.

_Still Shining_ is an excellent volume to help you celebrate the centennial of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition. It is likely to inspire you to look for connections to the Fair in your own community.

If you have any interest in the St. Louis World's Fair, I highly recommend this book. The author has clearly done a tremendous amount of research. It is absolutely amazing the one-of-a-kind items she has tracked down from this amazing Fair.

As a child, any little girl who has loved her dolls has wondered what would happen if they were alive. Ms. Gates lets you know. The Live Dolls at Christmas espeacially magnifies what has been in most of our hearts when Santa left the precious baby doll we yearned for. More than any of her other accounts, I would like to find this particular one. It was in the omnibus of stories called "Live Dolls in Wonderland."

This is a magical story that is vividly written in intricate detail. My daughter is the fourth generation to listen to tales of the dolls in Cloverdale coming to life. The beautiful Doll Queen comes in a carriage pulled by kittens to let the neighborhood girls know of the wondrous news. When the dolls come to life, they are treated to a sumptious picnic, a day at the beach, and are allowed to "pick" new bonnets, parasols, and dresses from trees of doll clothing. The Doll Hospital is also visited, where broken and mistreated dolls are mended. There's an enchanting passage about life in one backyard dollhouse that will have you yearning to be a child once again. This is truly a not to be missed favorite!

In a personal, painstaking and fascinating look back at the music and those who played it, the author has captured the essence, spirit and love for music of a time gone by but whose impact is still being felt today. With the care of someone fulled with the admiration and respect of those who have gone before, Kevin Donleavy's decades-long project identifies over 1,300 players of traditional music from southern Virginia and northern North Carolina, dating from pre-1870 into the 20th century. The text is accompanied by a wealth of rare photographs which add much to the rich narrative. As stated in the introduction: "The collection of anecdotes, stories and utterances came from the musicians as they talked about themselves or about other players with whom they are or were familiar." Besides being a valuable resource for any musicologist, the book chronicles the lives and a musical tradition in danger of being lost were it not for this authoritative and heartfelt tome.

Amazon's Reading Level rating of "Young Adult" for this unusual volume is inaccurate and misleading. While "Strings" will be enjoyed by readers of all ages, it is written for an adult audience. The book explores in elaborate detail a little-known segment of American society: the unsophisticated, gentle and talented musicians of the mountain South. This unique book chronicles and helps to preserve one of the few genuine types of traditional American music through its recording of intimate conversations with these aging musicians, whose way of life and mores are rapidly disappearing under the onslaught of modern American life.

An interesting book of letters written by Lieutenant Theodore Laidley during the historic Mexican War.

"'Surrounded by Dangers of All Kinds': The Mexican War Letters of Lieutenant Theodore Laidley" is edited, with extensive commentary, by James M. McCaffrey. The book is Number 6 in the War and the Southwest Series. Spanning the years 1845 to 1848, these letters tell of Laidley's journey through Mexico as an ordnance officer in the U.S. Army. These letters combine with McCaffrey's illuminating commentary to tell a fascinating story.

Laidley and McCaffrey cover many topics: concern about disease, battlefield medicine, the impact of guerilla activity on the U.S. campaign, the importance of mail to the troops, the challenge in getting volunteer troops to reenlist, cultural sensitivity issues involving U.S. troop contact with Mexican civilians, and conflict among senior U.S. military officers. Laidley describes the reality of 19th century combat; he notes that "the horrors of war one can not understand until you have seen it." Particularly interesting are Laidley's observations on the Mexican land and people; he writes about climate, religion, architecture, agriculture, food, and language.

One thing I found quite striking about the book was how relevant many of McCaffrey's and Laidley's topics are to the U.S. operations that are going on in Iraq and Afghanistan at the time I write this review. Laidley's observations are full of interesting details. His voice is at times quite feisty, and his style is consistently very readable. Overall, this book offers a remarkable look at the U.S.-Mexican War.

Albert Jay Nock was a profound champion of the classical Liberal Arts education which served Western Christendom for centuries. Such "education," as distinct from "training," is for a very small select elite, and runs counter to conventional educational dogma, from John Dewey to No Child Left Behind, where egalitarian ideology masks as pedagogy.

Highly recommended!

In this book, Nock discusses in full length his theory of education in general, and the state of education in the United States in particular. Nock's main objectives are to delineate the differences between education and training and to describe what constitutes true education in his view.

The best review of the book can be found in the introduction, written by his son Francis.
To summarize, Nock's main flaws are his lack of scientific education (he would refer to it as scientific training), and more important, his lack of understanding of the importance of science in societal evolution and progress. It is sad to read a true man of letters like Nock regarding science and technology as unrelated to education.

Nonetheless, Nock's main observation is correct: being a great scientist, physician, or inventor does not preclude one from being an uneducated brute when it comes to the philosophical aspects of life. If you are a member of academia, just look around you and see the veracity of Nock's claims: how many ingenious professors, scientists, researchers, doctors and engineers do you know who are ignoramus nincompoops when it comes to history, philosophy, economics, and political theory?

Despite its flaws, this book is a must read for every person wishing to become truly educated.
As a companion to this book, I recommend Nock's great essays "The disadvantages of being educated" and "The value of useless knowledge".

This book is excellent for anyone who wants to learn about the history of Virginia. It has a clear way of explaining history through pictures. The pictures are fantastic!

this book is really good it has great information. These pictures are very good and there a lot of them. You should buy this book.

I bought this for my mother-in-law who enjoys history and visiting old cemeteries. Kept her entertained and interested till the end!

This well researched and skillfully crafted story is based upon historical fact--the mysterious night time burial of the crew of a German U-boat in Hampton, Virginia's National Cemetery in the early days of World War II. The book paints an accurate picture of the mood and lives of the people in small town America during the war and includes numerous vintage photographs that help to recreate the era. An interesting feature of the narrative is the use of italic print to indicate the thoughts of the book's main character, Julia Keegan. Although presented from a woman's point of view, the story contains enough swash-buckling aspects to keep it exciting for male readers as well. I highly recommend this book for a fascinating read.

I really enjoyed this book. It was informative and innovative. I easily looked up problems and found the tools necessary to handle them. It was also easy reading in between the many other jobs one does as a parent!

I have read this book and found it to be a wonderful tool to help me raise my daughter Emma. The tools provided by Virginia have helped me be a better parent to my daughter and has helped our relationship be more loving in every way. I feel much more in control of every situation and I DON'T HAVE TO YELL EVERY TIME!!!!

Try it... you'll like it.