Washington Books

This book is indeed a true friend to the intellectual who knows the Socratean dialauges by heart. Some may take this book as a literal text but there is a vast philosophy to it. It's about human nature and pure emotion. It defines the the line between "love" and "in love". How is it that the story of but a few people can relate to everybody. It is but a grain of sand in the ocean that is the mind of God. A house without love can not be a home. This book had me hooked from the begining with a story of love. Though the times were changing the charactors stayed the same throughout and overcame the obstacles as one. Love is when two bodies share but a single soul. In the end they are freed from deception and lead to the truth. I sent a copy to my friend who teaches anthropology at Columbia. He wants to have his students read it as a testimony of humanity.

I will never forget this book. The realness of it all, the charactors and the love they shared through the natural hardships of life and love for life itself. This book is a classic for the present and should be a required book for students of humanities. I feel as though the book is now a part of my soul as are the charactors that I've come to know and love.

A really fine read. Sheila Horder is an absolute sorceress of text. The begining hit me in the hart and the lives of these people made me feel great to be alive. This book is FANTASTIC! I recomend it to anyone.

This book is one of the finest masterpieces I've ever come across, it's a story about love happyness and arcitecture.This book made me laugh yet in also left me in tears.I reccomend this book to anyone who enjoys a all around good read.

I ordered "Any Day". You sent me "One Man's Garden" which I already own. So, I sent it back and you charged me for the shipping as you claimed I had ordered it. "One Man's Garden" is a wonderful book and would really have liked to have added "Any Day" by Henry Mitchell to my Collection.

This collection of Henry Mitchell's essays, mostly from his Washington Post gardening column, should stand as an example of how to write. Mr. Mitchell wrote as he spoke; simply, but eloquently and with a wink. His wry sense of humor and disdain for posturing are evident throughout his work. I believe his essay on sunflowers to be the most enjoyable piece of garden writing in existence.

Okay, it's the middle of winter, Christmas is past, and now is the time to break out the gardening catalogs and begin plotting the new growing year. According to Henry Mitchell, we can enjoy the garden year-round if we plan strategically and the middle of winter is a good time to begin.

Mr. Mitchell wrote two weekly columns for the Washington Post for a number of years--one of them a garden column I never missed reading. His garden columns have been preserved in several books. ONE MAN'S GARDEN follows his first book THE ESSENTIAL EARTHMAN which spread his well-earned reputation as a garden guru far beyond the Post market area. These two books were published while he was alive so one must assume they were collections of his favorite essays. The essays are arranged by season and correspond to the months he wrote them.

Mitchell can be read by gardeners living anywhere. Although his essays contain information helpful to those working in Zone 7, the reader can glean sage advice applicable anywhere. He shares anecdotes about his experiences in his own backyard, and while that might seem far from novel as every other Tom, Dick, and Henrietta is writing a garden book these days, his essays are the best. His writing is funny, philosophical, useful, and a joy to read, especially on a cold winter day when you need to be reminded of irridescent dragonflies hovering over lily ponds (former horse troughs).

In his essay on dragonfiles (July) he informs us they require lily pads for landing, they can't just plop on the water like a pelican. This little item helped me understand I needed to do more to make my back yard friendly to butterflies, dragon flies, and their insect kin. I now have shallow spots in my birdbaths where they can dip their tiny feet.

Mr. Mitchell shares all sorts of interesting insights from his adventures with clinging vines--planting them where they will not grow, growing native variants such as the American Wisteria. The American Wisteria is often overlooked by those who grow the "Oriental" kind from China which Mitchell says if left untended can form a 20-foot clump in the middle of your yard. The Chinese Wisteria is very ornate, and the U.S. Park Service has planted it all over the National Gallery of Art on the Mall, but the American Wisteria is a pretty little thing better suited for the back yard. Mitchell says you can see this Wisteria in bloom at the Henry Botanical Foundation in Philadelphia.

Mitchell's essays range far and near, from Jefferson at Monticello to flower shows in faraway places. He writes in December of bananas, not a local plant in Zone 7 by any means, but one Mitchell considered a "great good plant" nevertheless and he grows one in his back yard in a pot. Although MItchell died several years ago, his essays are every bit as timely useful and funny as ever, and not to be missed.

This book is a delight and a pleasure to read aloud. The author has helped us focus on spring planting even though the wind chill factor has been -35 degrees most of the weekend. One Man's Garden helps "cure" the cabin fever that rages at this time of year in the northeast. Well worth the money it's a refreshing window into the love of gardening.

First off, the more I use this book the more I like it. Despite a few "flaws" it is a book full of useful and subtle knowledge on Classical Chinese grammar and anyone serious about Classical Chinese would do well to own a copy. Despite a few short comings (discussed below) it is the most complete Classical Chinese grammar book available in English. Its emphasis is on the high classical period from Confucius (551 - 479 BCE) to the founding of the Qin dynasty (221 BCE).

This book assumes the reader already knows some Classical Chinese and has a very good grasp of grammatical and linguistic terminology. Examples: 1)...this is done by inserting a resumptive pronoun shi2... 2) Both the subject and a postverbal element may be topicalized in a locative phrase with yu4 nominalized by zhi1. 3) Other modal notions are expressed by adverbial or adnominal particles.

(Those new to Classical Chinese should consider: Classical Chinese : A Basic Reader in Three Volumes, ISBN: 0691118310, which compliments Michael Fuller's: An Introduction to Literary Chinese, ISBN: 0674017269, as these two books have some readings in common. In appendix A of Fuller's book there is a very nice grammar summary and it discusses some of Pulleyblank's perspectives. The grammar summary in Fuller's book is much simplier than in Pulleyblank's, but is a bit more abstract in its approach compared to what is covered in the above three volume reader. Also, Fuller's appendix D contains a very useful glossary of the most important function words. Ideally one would eventually want all these books. Note, Fuller's book doesn't give the pinyin for the actual text being analyzed, he only supplies the pinyin in his vocabulary lists, which for some reason are not always complete. Also, unlike the above three volume reader, Fuller does not provide the reader with a complete translation of the text being analyzed. Fuller's book covers texts from beginning level to advanced level and is definitely recommended. [If one is going to invest the hundreds, if not thousands of hours, required to learn Classical Chinese then one should get all the books that can help.])

Since this book is an outline organized by grammatical and linguistic concepts and written more for the scholar, it is not, in my opinion, organized in a way that is optimal for translating. Since almost everybody learns Classical Chinese by reading sections from the classics, it would be helpful, but likely contrary to the philosophy and aim of the book, if the most common grammatical patterns were summarized into one or two chapters and the full and varied usage of each individual grammatical particle were listed in one place. Sometimes when translating a difficult passage I have to look in three or four places to make sure I have covered all possible uses of one given grammatical particle. In time one remembers all the possible patterns, but it would be easier if the book was organized differently or at least had additional material, even at the expense of redundancy.

The index is very complete, useful and well done. Almost all the characters discussed have both their grammatical usage and meaning given in the index.

There are close to six hundred short examples eloquently translated. The examples are given in both modern pinyin (always with tone marks) and in Traditional (Complex) Characters in a very readable font. It is clear that Edward Pulleyblank is a gifted writer and translator with a fine aesthetic sense. Though the reader should be aware that on occasion his translations for reasons of context (usually not given) or for better idiomatic English slightly deviate from the original Chinese. (On occasion in his examples he adds in words that are not in the original Chinese and are not required for good English, but that none the less improve the translation; in these cases he really should put his additions in square brackets.) In my humble opinion he strikes a consummate balance between the need for literal faithfulness and the need to achieve good sounding and readable English. Most translators have difficulty achieving this balance; they either are too literal and thus sound horrid or are so idiomatic or loose as to be unfaithful to the individual characters and grammatical structure.

Unfortunately, the meaning of most characters in the translated examples are not given, typically only the meaning of the grammatical character being discussed is given, which makes reconstructing the translation more time consuming. A glossary at the end would enhance this book even more: both a glossary of all the characters used in all the examples and a glossary of grammar terminology.

Most of the examples are from Mencius (Mengzi) and some from other classics such as the Shiji. There are a few Daoist quotes from Zhuanzi. There are no examples from ancient medical texts such as the Nei jing, Mai jing, Shang han lun or Nan jing. Only a few minor examples of poetry usage (such as from the Shijing or Book of Odes). Neither are there any examples from the Dao de jing. This I think creates a bias, the statements of fact in this book don't always fully apply to the Dao de jing (too poetic), nor do they always fully apply to medical texts such as the Nei jing, Mai jing, Shang han lun or Nan jing as these books are too specialized.

There are the occasional confusing usage rules and "omissions." Example omissions: the conjunction yin1=because; the locatives nei4=in[side] and wai4=out[side] and their usage with verbs. Though these omissions are likely due to the book's focus on philosophical and historical texts. Despite a few minor short comings it is a very useful book and is highly recommended. It is definitely far more a scholarly study than a grammar textbook, yet for tricky grammar questions it is the book I often consult first.

Both the vocabulary and the grammar of Classical Chinese can differ in the ancient medical classics as compared to the more commonly studied historical texts---even if they were authored in the same historical time period. For understanding ancient medical texts see Appendix II in Shang Han Lun: On Cold Damage by Mitchell, Feng Ye and Wiseman. In addition, see Chinese Medical Characters by Wiseman, Yeuhauan, Zhang and Helme (editor), and Chinese Medical Chinese: Grammar and Vocabulary by Wiseman and Feng Ye. In addition, books by the German scholar Paul Unschuld should be considered. However, his native language is German, not English, and thus he has some unusual word choices, which, in my opinion, detract from his books. Also, his knowledge of Chinese Medicine is theoretical and academic, which limits his understanding.

I don't have much to add to what other reviewers have written. But I want to give the thumbs-up for this book. It should be on the shelf of everyone who wants to read/translate/understand Classical Chinese literature.

In the _Outline of Classical Chinese Grammar_, Pulleyblank provides a much-needed, well, "outline" of the grammar of the Chinese classics. My favorite aspect of this book is its extensive examples, which help the reader of classic texts bridge the gap between the orderly world of grammar books and the always-disorderly world of actual texts.

Of course, one can always wish for more, e.g., I might hope for more on the usages of the various "prepositional" particles. Nevertheless, this is by far the best book of this sort I have seen (in a number of years of working with classical Chinese), and a vital aid to the student of classical Chinese.

I have been studying the Classical Chinese language for one year now and have been suffering through several inadequate grammar references. This wonderful book is the first comprehensive treatment of the grammar of the ancient form of Chinese used by the great philosophers like Confucius and Mencius. It uses modern grammar terminology and examples from the Classics to systematize this very complex language. Bravo.. Mr. Pulleyblank. You have strided through a field in which many have feared to tred! Anthony Barbieri-Low Harvard University Regional Studies:East Asia Program

A delightful book that turned out to be much more than I expected. My thought when I started reading it was that it was going to just be a guide book for the Vashon area. Although it includes all the useful information one would find in a guide book it mixes it in with stories and experiences that express the personality of the area. It was fun reading and learning through the experiences and adventures of Biffle. This is much better than most guide books where the author lists the launch points, directions etc in a monotone dry robotic fashion. A very easy read that has made me want to meet up with Biffle and experience the waters of Vashon Island. This book takes you along as Biffle paddles around Vashon Island in a series of day trips. The wildlife provide as much of the stories as do some of the characters he meets along the way. This book is entertaining even if you will never get the opportunity to paddle around Vashon.

Biffle French, former US Air Force supersonic jet pilot turned retired IBM Director lives up to his unusual name writing a Kayaking book that offers something for everyone. Hidden in the shallows of French's daily Kayaking forays lie a hidden introduction to the charting of Puget Sound by Captain Vancouver, Mr. Puget and Mr. Whitney and the history of Western expansion. He offers insight into the clear cutting of the Great Northwest Woods, of which Vashon was a part, to build cities in California in the late 1800's. Swimming between modern day paddle trips and historical narratives, French offers a smörgåsbord of information about navigation, aerodynamics, physics, topography, bird migration, tidal changes and the gravitational relationship of the Sun, Earth, and Moon. All this makes for an interesting read, however, the most entertaining aspect of the book lies in the humorous stories about the odd characters French meets along his journeys and his personal insights revealing his own eccentricities. It is a delightful book whether or not you are a kayaking enthusiast and if you are planning any Kayaking around Vashon Island, this is the book to read.

biffle has written a wonderfully entertaining kayaking guide that covers historical and personal experiences of paddling in and around the picturesque vashon island. written in a first person's pov, one has the feeling of being in the cockpit of a sea kayak on a glassy bucolic august Northwest afternoon. a must read.

Rob Casey
Photographer & Kayak Guide
Ballard, Wa

"Paddling the Waters" takes you on several life enriching journeys within its pages. The best part is that the reader need have no knowledge of kayaking in order to partake. Mr. French has integrated science, folklore, humor and love of life into this charming narrative about life in the Pacific Northwest in the 21st century. There are wonderful adventures complete with dangerous encounters as well as beautiful descriptions of wildlife and natural phenomena. There is abundant humor and humility in Mr. French's weaving together the many elements of his life that have landed him on the water in his lime green NC17. The book offers a great depth of scientific knowledge and explanation including numerous maps, charts and graphs - enough to provide any navigator with all the tools one could need to set out successfully on the waters of Puget Sound or anywhere else for that matter. This book offers a complete package, a rich addition to anyone's library.

After having read the big lie I still was dubious as for knowing if the Boeing 757-200 from American Airlines Flight 77 crashed on the Pentagon or not. Even Though I fully agreed with Thierry Meyssan about the FBI lies and contradictions, the Meyssan's thesis was not supported enough and all he had done was asking questions without really answering them. Further to all these accusations here is a book which explains the thesis in minute detail - lots of pictures, testimonies and experts to back this up and this is very convincing. The demonstration lacks nothing and Thierry Meyssan easily quashes all his detractors' arguments to finally put forward a sturdy hypothesis. The Author and his team show a great analytic sense, without setting aside any fact or testimony in their disfavor.

When this book was published, the term `Conspiracy theorists' became more propagated.

You may not be persuaded much by what's described in your book `9/11 The Big Lie', but the fact remains that in history, and through some quirk in the fortunes of contemporary events, the truth never came out and a lot will remain mysteries that may not be discovered for many generations to come, like for instance `Who killed John F Kennedy and why??'.... "The Secrets behind Pearl Harbour!!' ... `Was Arafat given a lethal injection??' ... Angered at having to waste time and manpower `fighting' to prove to the world- using ordinary common sense - many will identify the open questions now raised in this book with possible obsessions by the 'Holocaust against six million Jews....'.....'Was 9/11 addressed against America or to address American public opinion...'How could a man on a mule shake America, and the world...'?

It is indeed admirable how much a `Camera' can do to the human brain.
The impact of the 'picture' is magnificent; it has eclipsed the impact of the written and even the spoken `Word'. And Thierry Meyssan used many pictures to substantiate his viewpoints.

Nevertheless, in this book the questions rose about `the Boeing should have dived on the roof'....... `video surveillance in the Pentagon parking lot, they did not see the Boeing either.' are fruitful and make one scratch one's head.

The Basic Question:

- How can a B757 that was said by officials to have
totally disintegrated and vaporized as it impacted
(accounting for lack of substantial aircraft wreckage
on site), have nevertheless penetrated through the 3rd
ring's inner wall with its nosecone (the punched-out
hole on the cover of this book), given that the nose
cone is the most fragile part of the aircraft?

There seem to be zillions of other subsidiary
questions, such as:

- Why the FBI confiscated and has
never shown the adjacent hotel and gas station
security cam videos that must have caught the B757's
impact;

- Why the officially blessed few frames of
Pentagon cam video do not show anything remotely
resembling a B757 and appear to have been doctored
anyway;

- How the "hijacker" pilot (incompetent by
instructors' reports) accomplished an extremely
precise approach and targeting (they say these guys
never learned to land, but the "B757" was just meters
above the ground when it hit, (in effect he "landed the plane"
very precisely);

- Why the little scrap of liveried supposed "wreckage" on the lawn shows lettering only one-half or less the size scale it should be for an AA liveried B757;

- Why the "plane" coincidentally hit the
least populated side of the Pentagon, after apparently
taking extra effort and time to target that position;

- Why after saying the plane was totally vaporized and
disintegrated officials now claim to have an almost
complete reconstruction of the "B757"; why the initial
entrance hole was so small;

- Why after a fire that totally melted and vaporized the plane computer manuals and other papers visible in offices at the
sheared cutoff are totally undamaged;

- Why initial eye witnesses reported a small plane or missile-like object; and on and on and on.

Meyssan deals with most of these questions and I got news for you - as a mainstream mind-controlled American (like me) you aren't going to like his answers!

Anyway let's face it - probably no Boeing 757 ever hit the
Pentagon.

The only evidence supporting the Boeing hypothesis
seems to be the following:

- About half the eye witnesses state they saw either a
B757, a plane with AA livery, or both (i.e. a B757 in
AA livery)

- AA Flt 77 is unaccounted for

- The government has officially stated that AA 77 hit
the Pentagon

- bits of possible 757 wreckage were photographed in
ambiguous settings

I really hate to conclude this, but to me it seems
probable that some form of cruise missile, dressed in
AA livery, was used and all the rest is a USA Mil-Gov
coverup. A horrible conclusion, I know it!

Please read this book and if you can convincingly
refute it, dealing adequately with all the anomalies I've
listed above and settling each concern, please write
your own counter-book immediately, and we'll put this horrible
hypothesis to bed once and for all.

Note that Purdue (Indiana) academics have completed a
government-funded graphical simulation of the crash
that on my reading, unfortunately again, does not come
close to answering all the questions raised above.

I don't know why the mainstream media doesn't at least
look into this? All I've seen are one or two jokey
reviews of Meyssan's first (much less detailed)
general book about 9-11. In one case, the "reviewer"
hadn't even read the book!

Why isn't the public more interested in this? Are we
just so satisified with our Hollywood FX story of
"Fires, Explosions, Arab Villians, American Heroes"
that we can't even be bothered to read and respond
rationally to an important analysis like this one?

"Nothing was wrong far as we could tell,
that's what we liked to tell ourselves,
but no it wasn't that way"

- Stevie Wonder "How Come, How Long"

Pentagate is a very important book about the 9/11 attack on the Pentagon because it points out the problems with the evidence that U.S. journalists won't even touch.

Meyssan has built much of his case on the problems in the official version of what happened at the Pentagon. His first chapter, "One Piece of Debris Too Many", points out that the large piece of debris that appeared to be from an American Airlines jet has not even been inventoried by the Dept. of Defense.

As a journalist for American Free Press in Washington, I have tried repeatedly to get the Pentagon to clarify the status of this important piece of debris that was seen by millions. As of this date there has been NO response to numerous requests. What's wrong with this picture?

Meyssan points to the evidence seen in the video from the Pentagon security camera and the round holes that were pierced in three layers of the Pentagon and builds his case that this was not a Boeing passenger jet that struck the building.

The explosion seen in the video and the nearly perfectly round holes that were bored in the Pentagon are evidence that a cruise missile, painted to look like an American Airlines jet, crashed into the Pentagon, according to Meyssan.

The book has an important chapter by a French military expert on explosives who describes "The Effects of a Hollow Charge". This technical information bolsters the case made by Meyssan.

Meyssan raises a lot of good questions. Now if we could only get some answers from the Pentagon.

Pentagate is highly recommended for those interested in the Pentagon attack by Christopher Bollyn of American Free Press.

I ordered Phlip Vera Cruz: A Personal History of Filipino Immigrants and the Farmworkers Movement to gain insight into Filipino farm worker culture in America. What I got was more than I ever expected. I learned about the differences between generations, of the vast sea of Central Valley and Delano culture, and the history of Filipinos in America, whose hardships were endured by transplanted and misunderstood culture.

I've since learned that generational gaps in understanding Filipino culture exist that tear the rooted fabric of Filipino culture, making its historic transformation to Americanism nearly forgotten by many of the younger generation. Craig Scharlin's book of Cruz's memoirs provided a means through which I could research and begin to understand what many Filipino youth have never gained.

I picked up this book because I am a Filipino-American and knew little of the contributions of Filipino-Americans to American society and even had non-Filipino friends tell me of this man and the contributions to the UFW and labor laws in America. It's a sincere story of an honest man who bridged people and cultures and stood up for what was right and worth fighting for. I read it over one weekend and had a hard time putting it down. It's a great read for anyone interested in the UFW, Cesar Chavez, Filipino-American contributions, labor laws, and/or inter-racial relations.

I am often dismayed when college aged Filipina/o Americans, many of whom are the children and grandchildren of post-1965 immigrants, cannot appreciate the lives of the Manongs, early Filipino immigrants from the the 1920's & 30's. I realize that it was a long time ago and there are many other Fil-Ams to recognize and honor, but I believe that this first large wave of immigrants to the U.S. is a part of Fil-Am history that should not be ignored. The life of Philip Vera Cruz epitomizes the lives of many of these immigrants who came to the U.S. as migratory and service sector laborers but became activists by protesting labor exploitation. Further, Vera Cruz and other Filipinos played an integral part in the formation of the United Farm Workers. Young Filipinos often complain about not knowing their history or the role Filipinos have played in U.S. society. This biography is a good place to start learning about where we've been and what we've done.

An very intimate portrait of his struggle as a new immigrant, farm worker and then later activist, Philip Vera Cruz honors us with his reflections in `Philip Vera Cruz: A Personal History of Filipino Immigrants and the Farmworkers Movement.' Authored by Scharlin and Villanueva, Cruz gives us a personal account of his encounters with Cesar Chavez and the rest of the ilk of the United Farm Workers.

In an effort to handle the situation that the Filipino migrant workers found themselves in, they cherished the set of connections between friends and family and established cultural, religious, and community organizations, not to mention fraternal organizations. According to Vera Cruz, Filipino migrant workers subsequently organized labor unions and established charters in the AFL. It is established in common sense understanding that the farm workers movement was a Mexican American movement that was set in motion by the 1965 Delano grape strike in the San Joaquin valley (3, 8-21). In reality, the farm workers movement was actually initiated in the 1930s with the Filipino Workers Association, the Filipino Labor Union, and the Filipino Agricultural Laborers Association. In this account we read that the 1965 grape strike was instigated by the Filipino Labor Union, headed by Larry Itlong, and was joined a week later by Cesar Chavez and his National Farm Workers Organization (31-51). The two unions were merged into the United Farm Workers with the support of Philip Vera Cruz, who became a vice president of the UFW (xiii). Philip Vera Cruz provides us with poignant insight regarding the Filipino immigrant experience at the turn of the century and beyond:

"New immigrants, who will compete with the workers already here, are arriving everyday from the Philippines, Puerto Rico, the Arab countries, from Jamaica, and especially Mexico. Third World countries have been exploited so much by the multinational corporations that their people, moved by extreme poverty, leave their home countries to seek work in an industrialized country like the United States. The multinationals suck the wealth out of their homeland like a vampire sucks blood. And these same big businesses here greet these new immigrants with open arms. These poor foreigners bring their cheap labor which means increasing profits for the big corporations. When the present group of workers here start to get organized and win some of their struggles for better wages and benefits, then the big agribusinesses here in California, with the help of the government, try to bring in new groups of workers" (145).

Immigration was cut short in 1932, when the Great Depression severely curtailed recruitment of Filipino workers abroad. In 1934 the passage of the Tydings-McDuffie Act by the U.S. congress re-categorized Filipinos as aliens and limited their entrance to the U.S. to 50 per annum with a specific but contradictory agenda. According to Vera Cruz it was caused by the fear and insecurities of workers here over their job situation. Although it is not reflective of the conditions of ALL immigrant groups (particularly Asian) Vera Cruz's experience does echo that of Carlos Bulosan and forms part of the discourse and narrative of the manong experience. As mentioned previously, Philip Vera Cruz honors us with his reflections in Philip Vera Cruz: A Personal History of Filipino Immigrants and the Farmworkers Movement.

Miguel Llora

What a fantastic view into what it was like to be a poineer and what it was like during the formation of western Washington State. I'm from the east side of the state and enjoy our state history but to see an overall picture of what it was like by someone living through it was just a fantastic experience. Much more interesting that just learning "facts" about the history of Washington and the early settlers.

Great book - even if you're not interested in the state itself!

An excerpt from this amazing book:
"While adoring the various brilliant tints of (October foilage)we are reminded "that we all do fade like the leaf." A more perfect simile could hardly be given. For a time "we flourish like the green bay tree," and then comes adversity, trials and griefs that sear and beautify the soul, as the strong blasts and chilly frosts bring out the beautiful tints of the leaves, making "old age" as glorious as the autumn season of the year." p 81

scence Phoebe is my Great grandmother it gave me a background on my history alone! this is a great book!

"A Pioneer's Search for an Ideal Home" provides an outstanding window into the life and times of the American migration westward. Through the eyes of Phoebe Goodell Judson, one lives the trials of the Oregon trail, the challenges of pioneering, and a powerful perspective on the American mind during the last half of the 19th Century. 20 years old and 7 months pregnant, Phoebe begins the 7 month treck from Ohio to Vancouver, Washington. Through her diaries, she chronicles the life changing experiences of exploration and community building that did so much to shape the American culture. One only wishes that she had kept additional records and thoughts as the reader is left wishing that there was more. First person story-telling at it's best, be prepared to go looking for maps of Washington and the Oregon Trail.

En menos de 72 horas en abril de 1961, Cuba repulsó una invasión de 1,500 mercenarios organizados por el imperio estadounidense. El pueblo cubano hicieron el ejemplo para los trabajadores, campesinos y jóvenes de todo el mundo por su consciencia política, solidaridad de clase, valor y liderazgo revolucionario en defensa de la reforma agraia y la alfabetización. Nos demostraron que sí se puede enfrentar el gigante y vencerle.

This is a timely book published just before the 40th anniversary of the Bay of Pigs. It's a great way to learn about what really
happened from the first-hand accounts of the Cuban revolutionaries who defeated the US-backed invasion. If you've never read a speech by Fidel Castro, there are a couple of very good ones in this book. You'll not only learn about what happened at the Bay of Pigs, but you'll also learn why the Cuban people smashed this invasion so swiftly and decisively. Another great part of the book is the testimony of Jose Ramon Fernandez who commanded troops in the thick of the fighting. There are maps, charts, all the details
of the battle. But it's not a dry or boring account. He tells what happened from a very human and personal point of view, revealing his own mistakes and weaknesses, and recounting some humorous episodes as well. Finally, the foreword of the book tells a fascinating story of how a group of young people at Carleton College organized support for
the Cuban revolution and against the US invasion and what they learned about politics. I think you'll be surprised as you read the
book about how relevant this forty-year-old event is today.

first read this book the first day of beach season. Instead of
spending time in the water, I just sat there and read this book until it was too dark to read. This account is an activist account ofthe fight from Cuban and US fighters who see and saw the US invasion and resistance in Cuba and the United States not as history to be deciphered but part of an ongoing struggle against imperialism, against war, and for the power of working people. I never stopped caring; I never stopped seeing what was hidden from me in 1961, I never stopped seeing lessons for the future. A good read. -

Aqui se ve la gente que hicieron la revolucio`n cubana , y defendieron y defenden hasta hoy di`a. Obreros, campesinos, vendedores de la calle, estudiantes, y trabajdores intelectuales - todos ellos combatieron y murieron en defensa de SUYA revolucio`n, nuevamente declarada socialista. Niguno otro libro publicado aqui` tiene la historia de los combatientes revolucionarios de Giro`n desde los comandantes hasta los soldaldos de infantri`a. Tambie`n se cuenta la historia de las actividades - contado de unos participantes - de unos revolucionarios jovenes EU aqui` en defensa de la revolucio`n cubano antes, durante, y despues de la batalla de Giro`n. Finalmente aqui` se puede ver el papel de la revolucio`n cubana en la politica obrera norteamericana de hoy y del futuro en el contexto del crisis actual mundial del capitalismo.Los autores y editores, Jack Brnes y Mary-Alice Waters, partcipantes mencionados, dirigentes socialistas EU, plantean que sin estudiar el ejemplo de la experiencia revolucio`naria cubana, no podimos constriur el liderazgo obrero necesitamos por las luchas de man~na y por la lucha tomar el poder aqui en el estomago de La Bestia Imperial.Incluye tambie`n discursos de Fidel Castro y Che Guevara en el tiempo de la batalla y un informe horario del comandante tactical de los tropas cubanas en Giro`n, Jose` Ramon Fernandez.

Like a good naturalist or interpreter, this guide provides not only a concise way to identify the most common flora and fauna, but adds interesting facts and folklore. It will surely make the living things in and around Rainier very accessible, and provide even the most knowledgeable biologist/naturalist with enjoyable new information. Illustrations are detailed and beautiful, and the general information and references are an added bonus. And it all fits into your pocket! Great!

An excellent guidebook to the Mount Rainier area. As a former Mount Rainier Ranger, I would recommend this book to anyone considering a visit to Mount Rainier National Park. The illustrations are beautifully rendered and the accompanying text is accurate and insightful. The book is small enough to fit in a daypack or take it along for a backpack along the Wonderland Trail.

Excellent field guide with great illustrations

The problem with most field guides is that they've forgotten they are field guides and not coffee-table art books.

Not so with Joe Dreimiller's POCKET GUIDE TO THE PLANTS AND ANIMALS OF MOUNT RAINIER!

Sure, this book has plenty of pretty color pictures made by its three illustrators, but they are diagnostic illustrations, just like Roger Tory Peterson emphasized in his bird books. So, you have something pretty to look at but you also have something that will help you identify the common plants and animals to be seen in Mt Rainier National Park.

Pictures are nice, but after you've used the illustrations to identify an Elephant-head pedicularis, Golden-mantled ground squirrel, a Varied thrush, or a Mountain hemlock, Dreimiller tells you the field marks so you'll know what makes these things different from their closest relitives. That way, if you don't have his book next time, you've learned what distingushes each plant or animal from every other plant or animal.

And the help you get from this little gem doesn't stop there. Let's say you've used this pocket guide to identify a False hellebore [Veratrum viride]. Next time you're in the Park, hiking with a friend, and you spot it, you can say, "Oh! Look at that False hellebore! Did you know its botanic name means 'green plant with the black roots?'" And so you look at the roots and, "Wow! They're black."

For all the organisms in this book, there are not only field marks but an extensive list of notes to help you remember why each is so important to know.

Not only that, but there are descriptions of all the groups so you'll learn why mammals are different from birds which are different from amphibians. There is an extensive bird list for the Park including accidentals. And, unsual for this kind of book, there is a mammal list too. And to top off the list catagory, each habitat has a list of common plants as well as suggestions for places to walk.

Did I mention that Dreimiller's book is also pocket sized? How many field guides have you bought in recent years that don't even fit in the pocket of your daypack?

I also liked the short reference list at the end of the book, referring me to other helpful resources. The index is short, but complete.

Evidently Dreimiller worked as a ranger at Mount Rainier for a number of years and it shows. He knows his plants and his animals. All in all, I would reccomend this little gem to anybody who wants to know more about what they see while in the Park. And the best thing about this field guide is that it teaches you things that can be used elsewhere in the Cascades.

I write for a number of newspapers in the Seattle area and I'm pretty sensitive to writers who wastes my time trying to copy the prose of Muir, Leopold, Pyle, and all the other good nature writers. I liked this book because it tells me what I need to know without the usual cumbersome "awesome beauty of nature" rhetoric that encumbers so many field guides. Leave the literature for the coffee table. Take Dreimiller's book into the field.

This is a great book of emotions and feelings this author really knows how to put her feelings into words and touch your heart. Eventhough though some of the emotions are sad its the feelings that everyone experiences and would like to express. I especially love the poems about hear love and friendship the tell you the real meaning of love. I recommmend everyone to read this book and get in touch with their own feelings.

SOME POEMS MADE ME SAD AND WANT TO CRY, BUT ONLY BECAUSE IT WAS LIKE READING MY OWN WORDS, IM A OLDER MAN AND ITS NOT MUCH THAT I GET CHOCKED UP OVER, BUT THIS BOOK HAD ME CHOCKED UP. I REALLY LIKE THE POETRY IN THIS BOOK, IT IS STRAIGHT FORWARD AND IS EXPRESSED PERFECTLY, THE POEMS ARE DEEP, VERY DEEP, BUT HEY I CAN RELATE TO THOSE DEEP FEELINGS MYSELF, I THINK THIS BOOK DESERVES FIVE STARS BECAUSE THOSE POEMS HAVE MANY QUALITIES TO THEM, POEMS IN THIS BOOK MAY VERY WELL HELP SOMEONE IN DEEP SADNESS ONE DAY, JUST BY LETTING THEM KNOW THAT THEY ARE NOT ALONE.

I THINK THE AUTHOR POURS HER HEART OUT IN THIS BOOK AND BRINGS TRUE MEANING TO THE TITLE "POETRY FROM THE HEART". I RATED THIS BOOK FIVE STARS BECAUSE A BOOK SHOULD MAKE YOU FEEL THIS WAY. IT SHOULD LEAVE YOU CHOKED UP MAKE YOU FEEL LIKE YOU KNOW THE AUTHOR AND RELATE WITH THE STORY THERE TELLING AND FEEL THE HURT & PAIN THERE FEELING OR THE JOY & HAPPINESS. I THINK "POETRY FROM THE HEART" HAS IT ALL AND EVERYONE SHOULD OWN A COPY. THANKYOU MS BODDIE FOR YOUR CONTRIBUTION TO GREAT POETRY AND I CAN'T WAIT FOR YOUR NEXT BOOK

Reading these poems leaves a tender spot in MY heart. "Living Without You", although I know that it wasn't, I still feel as though this was written w/myself in mind. I hope that she plans to do a book-signing because I would love to tell her in person how her book has affected me. I have yet to finish the book because I want to savor [if you will] these life poems. Although these poems are written about others, I feel like I could have written some of them myself. I guess that many people feel the same as I do, but I like to think that this book was more personal...that this was for Kokoa. All in all, I must say that "Poetry From The Heart" is definitely a work of art for any person to feel. Whether you're depressed and need to know that someone feels the same as you, or if you just broke up w/someone, or even if you've lost a loved one...now you know that Miss Davita Boddie "feels you."