Virginia Books

It tastes good and is in good taste. This is a great source of fine cooking in the Virginia tradition. Lots of seafood and goodies.

The Junior League of Hampton Roads, Inc. is an organization of women committed to promoting voluntarism and to improving the community through the effective action and leadership of trained volunteers. Its purpose is exclusisvely educational and charitable. Recipes in Very Virginia were triple tested prior to publication. Profits from the sale of this cookbook are returned to the community through the projects of the Junior League.

She had every reason to be bitter towards life and angry at God. Yet, Virginia Cyr never was. She embraced the Lord through hundreds of letters to her "mother" -- Blessed Mother Mary, while plaqued with unbearable pain and confined to a wheelchair. As much as she wanted to be a nun, it wasn't meant to be. Instead, she took the vows privately, vowing to serve those who invite her into their homes. I was among the fortunate ones to have known Virginia. Even though I was just a child, she touched me deeply with her laughter and infectious smile. I adored being around her, and to this day, I marvel how as a 5-year-old she would giggle and wiggle out of her wheechair to obliged to my requests for wheelchair rides. I truly believe she is continuing her mission to serve those who invite her into their lives. Whether you knew Virginia or not, once reading God's Little Hobo, you're bound to come away admiring Virginia's incredible faith and marvel over the depth and beauty of her writings. Her words are her voice. This is a book one can read over and over again and you'll find another passage that touches the heart. It's a book that can change your life. Many of Virginia's friends now believe they were in the presence of a saint, and after reading this book, I feel the same. Maybe you will, too.

This is one of the most remarkable books I have ever read. Virginia Cyr was born with CP and lived a life where she was met with rejection at almost every turn but was not defeated by it! She became a living witness to the joy that the Faith can bring to a soul no matter what happens to a person and no matter what circumstances one finds themselves in.

Your life will be changed after your encounter with Virgina!

Edit of 13 Feb 08 to add "rush & crush" comment, and links including those recommended by Mr. D. in comment.

For those of us that believe in the Constitutional right of all citizens to own and bear arms (the National Guard is NOT a militia--individuals, not groups, have this inalienable Constitutional right), and who feel that the combination of random fatal violoence is accelerating, along with fatal crime, carrying a side arm makes sense. Carrying it concealed makes even more sense, to avoid attention or upsetting the soccer moms (plus weapons cannot be on school grounds except in the car).

I picked this book up today while on a trip, and finally sat down with it tonight. Here are highlights:

1) Opens with a tremendous single-page list of 13 kinds of pending laws intended to restrict citizen rights AND a great list of the harder to do more sensible things, 15 in all, that government *should* be doing. Being made aware of this pending legislation is important. The NRA does not do this good a job.

2) Landlords cannot limit rights.

3) Right to transport (unloaded in container, to include in locked baggage on airlines) is very broad, while right to carry, loaded, is very narrow.

4) Concealed or open carry cannot come within 100 fett of any site serving alcohol.

5) For natural reasons, 98% of those who own and carry a handgun are reluctant to register that fact with the government at any level.

6) Deadly Force section is the most important part of the book and essential reading for anyone unfamiliar with the term. I taught deadly force to Battlaion Landing Team 3/4 in the Fleet Marine Force, but learned even more from my Chief of Station in El Salvador. He handed me my Browning 9mm and said "Use this when you absolutely don't give a damn about being fired." Lovely. This book sets out the three principals: Retreat, Attempt Peace, draw and fire only if lethal force against you is imminent. It emphasizes that you can protect a third person but only if they face lethal force.

7) Excellent sections on related laws (e.g. do NOT "brandish" a weapon) and federal laws.

8) Covers gun safety and child safety.

9) Ends with a list and discussion of 19 noble uses of firearms.

Lots of appendices.

A righteous worthy book, very glad to have it.

TEACHING OUR CHILDREN

After the Virginia Tech mass murder, I realized we have become a nation of sheep. Not only do our children need to become fit, they need to learn the modern day equivalent of "duck & cover," which I call "rush & crush." From 6th grade on, children should have a bi-annual drill and be taught two things:

1) See a gun sound the alarm with "GUN GUN GUN"

2) Without further prompting, all those closest to the person with the "gun" should throw books chairs and then "rush and crush" while the teacher sounds the school alarm and other kids use their hidden cell phones to call 911. This will invariably limit the dead to 1 at most and wounded to 2-4 at most. This is a proven "swarm" defense across the animal kingdom, and now that we are back closer to animals than civilized human beings, our children need to learn this.

Two afterthoughts:

1) In this era of idiot lawyers where border patrolmen go to jail for shooting a drug dealer entering the country illegally, it makes sense to wipe down your rounds and police up your expended cartriges. I personally do not like the illegal "shock" rounds" because I worry about them jamming. I am very accurate and the limited edition Walther PPK is a glorious piece of engineering.

2) Situational awareness and avoidance combined with use of the cell phone to call police remains the single best defense for any citizen, armed or unarmed. If you get drunk (in which case you should not be in carrying) and get mugged, great, its Darwinian culling of the herd. Ninety nine out of one hundred times, the cell phone and retreat are the best answer.

Links:
Rage of the Random Actor: Disarming Catastrophic Acts And Restoring Lives
The Truth About Self Protection
On Combat: The Psychology and Physiology of Deadly Conflict in War and in Peace

I read this book in one sitting the day I received it. Absolutely everything in the book is vital to anyone owning a handgun in the state of Virginia.
The book deals primarily with the legal aspects and responsibilities of carrying a concealed weapon. It deals in depth with not only a gun owner's rights, but more importantly his or her responsibilities as an armed citizen.
The authors publish several different volumes on this subject, covering numerous states and the US as a whole. Each is an invaluable tool in understanding the complex arena of firearm ownership. This book navigates this arena brilliantly.
Anyone who owns a gun should purchase this book.

Also available in a hardcover edition (0865975205, $20.00) Virginia Political Economy is a collection of selected works by Gordon Tullock which have been compiled, edited, and provided with an informative introduction by Charles K. Rowley (Duncan Black Professor of Economics at George Mason University) and is the first of a proposed ten volume series showcasing Tullocks' published academic papers and essays as selected from twenty-three books and several hundred articles and papgers produced by Tullock between 1954 and 2002. Chapters offer an in-depth exploration of such issues as the problems of majority voting, issues associated with redistributive policies, the problem of social cost, bioeconomics, and much more. A scholarly, rational, and well-presented voice of insight into difficult quandaries of state government and fiscal policy.

Volume One of the selected works of Gordon Tullock contains many important essays. The most famous article here is "The Welfare Costs of Tariffs, Monopoly, and Theft". This article founded the modern rent seeking literature. The Transitional Gains Trap is another interesting article in the same section, but less well known. Tullock also wrote seminal articles on voting/demand revelation, bureaucracy, revolution, social costs, inheritance, and legal procedures. Tullock has few peers in terms of his creativity and insight. This volume is important because it reprints articles that for the most part get far too less attention. Given the technical nature of this book, it will not be a best seller, but it should be read by economists and political scientists.

This book is great because it gives the student perspective that you don't really get anywhere else. I'm glad I found something as unique as this. There is info about everything from Academics to Nightlife. If you're thinking about going to Virginia Tech, this is something you should really pick up.

This book on Virginia Tech is chock-full of information that potential students need (and want). It rates and describes everything on campus from facilities (gyms, bathrooms, dorms) to dining halls to all aspects of campus life. There are quotes from real Virginia Tech students who give their honest opinions on how hot the co-eds are, how interesting the teachers are, and how fun the town is. And these students aren't just rooting for their school they tell it all whether it's negative or positive. For high school students who are interested in Virginia Tech there isn't a better book than this one to give you an impression of what the university is like. And this book is even great for students who are new to Virginia Tech. This book contains info on where to get the best food, where to go for fun, how to succeed in class, and where to meet the cutest classmates. This book is even kind of good for parents because it has information on hotels (contact information and price ranges) and directions on how to get to Tech.
Reading this book is like sitting down and talking to a bunch of Tech students and hearing what their school is really like. This book tells you about the good and the bad, the boring and the fun, the weird and the interesting things at this school.
There is nothing in bookstores quite like this book. Most college guidebooks just give you facts and statistics, but this book really helps you visualize what life is like at Virginia Tech.

This reference has all the "A-to-Z" entries one would expect but the critical analyses of every one of Woolf's novels makes this a must-have book for the new Woolf fan.

This book supplemented a course I took on the works of Woolf. It is filled with interesting background material and helpful character biographies. Hussey skillfully condensed volumes of biographical and critical work on Woolf into one, user-friendly manual.

If you're a woolf student this book may be useful to have a complete panorama of the critical situation on two of her major books. I used it to have a deeper insight on the two novels, especially on "The Waves" - a book on which critical judgement is not easily found - and found it perfectly responding to the needs of a higher university student.

The book presents the major critical instances on the two works in chronological order, from woolf's contemporaries up to our days. Each chapter deals with a selection of significant reviews, all of which belonging to the same period if not to the same attitude to the works. Moreover each chapter is introduced by a brief text by the curator explaining the main contents of the reviews which are going to follow and the principal critical ideas referring to a period or critical school.

In a few words: this is what you need if you want to get a deeper critical knowledge of "To the Lighthouse" and "The Waves", and to gain it in a quite short time - the book in fact is not too long, can be read quite quickly and if you're interested in getting particular pieces of information can also easily be skimmed through.

If you're a woolf student this book may be useful to have a complete panorama of the critical situation on two of her major books. I used it to have a deeper insight on the two novels, especially on "The Waves" - a book on which critical judgement is not easily found - and found it perfectly responding to the needs of a higher university student.

The book presents the major critical instances on the two works in chronological order, from woolf's contemporaries up to our days. Each chapter deals with a selection of significant reviews, all of which belonging to the same period if not to the same attitude to the works. Moreover each chapter is introduced by a brief text by the curator explaining the main contents of the reviews which are going to follow and the principal critical ideas referring to a period or critical school.

In a few words: this is what you need if you want to get a deeper critical knowledge of "To the Lighthouse" and "The Waves", and to gain it in a quite short time - the book in fact is not too long, can be read quite quickly and if you're interested in getting particular pieces of information can also easily be skimmed through.

You don't have to don your perriwig and spectacles to feel right at home with THIS version of Virginia's history! Chiles Larson has vividly brought to life the EXISTING effects of "history" upon the current day Virginian and cleared away the museum effect of traditional glimpses into the past of this staid Old Dominion.

The photographs are dazzling to the eye and he has used everything from airplanes to the dangerous leap from the pilot boat to the freighter entering the rough waters of Hampton Roads harbor at Cape Henry to give reality to his book.

Truly an adventure for the photographer and the historian who may be interested in our nation's beginnings from the original footprints of the First Permanent English Colonists.

This book is indeed worth buying just for the pictures! Chiles Larson's love for his native state blends with his many years of photojournalism experience to create a historical portrait of great beauty. He has an ear for stories and an eye for detail, and both are reflected in the essays that accompany the photos. The book has three sections: The Roots, The Bounty, and The Vision -- sort of a past, present, and future look. If you live in or are from the central or Tidewater areas of Virginia, this book is a must-have, as that is where Larson has focused much of the book. A great gift for a Virginian!

Robert Rodes finally gets the biography he has deserved for years. In James Swisher's fine book the casual Civil War buff will be introduced to one of Robert E. Lee's best Division commanders. Historians have stayed away from a book on Rodes because of a perceived lack of information, but Swisher's passion for fellow Lynchburg, Virginia resident Rodes gave him the patience to unearth much undiscovered material on his subject. Like all Civil War Generals, Rodes had his good days (Chancellorsville, Wilderness, Spotsylvania) and his bad days (Gettysburg), but his superb leadership and bravery put him in high esteem with both his men and his superiors. Many felt there was no better commander in the Army of Northern Virginia. Because Rodes was killed at 3rd Winchester in September of 1864, and because many of his principle subordinates were killed during the war there was no one to write his book. James Swisher's biography of Rodes, besides being a great work of scholarship, is highly readable. Swisher has a great writers gift of taking cold facts and making his subject come to life...warts and all. This is a long overdue biography that every Civil War student will want to read. Many good maps and photographs. I recommend it highly!

This was a well written biography on a forgotten soldier who is just getting his due. Highly recommend this fine historical study of Confederate division commander in action!

This lovely book, full beatiful photographs is a must for any one interested in American history and garden history in general. In fact it gives us Americans a garden history (slavery excluded) to be as proud of as the British are of theirs.
Lots of well researched interesting facts, useful advice, historical insight and pretty pictures make this book thoroughly enjoyable and I recomend it highly.

This lovely book, full beatiful photographs is a must for any one interested in American history and garden history in general. In fact it gives us Americans a garden history (slavery excluded) to be as proud of as the British are of theirs.
Lots of well researched interesting facts, useful advice, historical insight and pretty pictures make this book thoroughly enjoyable and I recomend it highly.