Irons Books

This is one of my favorite books to read to my daughter. The story, (although changed a bit from the original), has a depth to it that can only be felt first hand. The illustrations wonderfully set an enchanted mysterious world, and speak to a part of the soul rarely touched by the average children's fairy tale.

This book is full of heart-pounding moments, from the beginning to the end. I know this is a new author, and I would like to say he is off to a great start. If you love great thrillers, this one tops them off.

My sis has a ragged original copy from our high school days, terrific compilation of photos and the story of the band up to the mid or (maybe) late 80's. Great stuff on the early days, wish it were back in print!

Sometime in the decades following the Civil War, Tom Shanaghy makes his way from the Five Points district of New York City all the way to a po-dunk town at the far end of Kansas. Shanaghy goes from one side of the law to the other, a line that always seems to be moving, especially in 19th century America.

L'Amour does as good a job as he's ever done at weaving a tale of Western high stakes drama. The story moves fast and fine pulling in many good characters along the way. I won't spoil the ending for you, but it's a good one. It's high-plains justice at the end of a six-shooter!

If you like Westerns, I recommend the read. You'll like Tom Shanaghy, and you like him as The Iron Marshall.

I read about this book and the fact that it includes information about 1880's events in Clarksville, Arkansas, the place we "went to town" almost every Saturday back in the '40's & early '50's when I was a kid, in the Oregonian in mid March. I went to Amazon.com and ordered "Iron Men" from Experienced Books, LLC in Colton, Ca. I took delivery via U.S Mail on 3/22/08. The book is in excellent condition, with a clear plastic dust jacket protecting the like-new printed dust jacket. It still has a library card from the Palos Verdes Library District in it. Delivery was timely. I'm delighted with the experience of finding and obtaining such an obscure book so quickly and easily.

Leonard Turner

Ed Lenik's book is a classic description of iron mining history in Northern NJ and Southern NY. Hundreds of hikers use this book to explore the archaeological remains of what once was a thriving industry. Ed's writing is lean, clear and accurate. It has not only my highest recommendation, but is a standard item in most local backpacks.

This book does a wonderful job of illustrating the Minnesota iron mining scene of 1910 or so. It focuses primarily on the mines of the Mesabi Range, but also touches on the Vermilion and Cuyuna. I have found it an invaluable resource in getting a better idea of old mining practices. One word of caution: this book is devoted entirely to the technical engineering aspects, and has nothing to offer as far as the social aspect of the mines. But if you are researching this rich period of Minnesota's mining history, or have more than a slight interest in it, I would highly recommend this book. The price tends to be a little high, but in my opinion it's well worth it.

"It seems to me," Paul went on, "that it's time for this family to do something together."

"All five of us?" asked Ann with a smile. "I guess you're right."

"Yeah, we can do more damage that way!" Aaron piped in.

OK, I made up that last part, but regular readers know what to expect when the Barclay family is on the scene!

Ed Hanson and Saddleback Educational Publishing have come up with a brilliant concept for solving a very serious problem: the great decline in reading among today's students. Their solution? Put out readers that are essentially suspense-filled or mystery-filled juvenile series books like the famous Tom Swift, Nancy Drew, and Hardy Boys series of old.

This confronts both of the major problems with more traditional readers: if they are not mind-numbingly dull, they are excruciatingly didactic, cramming some important "teachings" whether moral, religious, or (these days) politically correct down the throats of children so hard as to turn them off of reading for good.

This volume ends a three book respite from vacation disasters as Paul talks his family into a little backpacking trip that naturally results in enough near deaths and injuries to cancel every insurance policy this family still possesses! And that's BEFORE they run into the escaped fugitive! A plus is the emergence of baby sister Pam into a forceful character in her own right (though a minus is how much the other characters comment upon it in case we somehow missed it).

Plus, for what they are intended to be, reading textbooks, they are wonderful. The fact that children who learn to read better and to love reading from these books may still find them skimpy fare for pleasure reading is not entirely bad, assuming their teachers quickly move them on to bigger and better things in the school library or the bookstore if necessary.

The previous book in the series is Free Fall (Barclay Family Adventure Ser. 2, Bk. 6), and the next book in the series is Mystery at Bear Lake (Barclay Family Adventure Ser. 2, Bk. 8).

Something interesting happens to me when I read a really good, thought-provoking book: the book stays with me. That has definitely happened with "Iron Mountain 5635", by Robert Michaels. The author managed to weave an exciting tale that is full of action, yet thoughtfully infused with unique philosophical ideas (and ideals), scientific information and enough emotion to draw the reader in personally. I found myself thinking about the book's protagonist, Eric Larsen, during the course of my day. Now, although I have finished reading the book, I am not through applying some of the science and philosophy to my own life. Don't miss this captivating novel!

The Laurentian divide is Northern Minnesota's invisible hill - a long hump of land that stretches a hundred miles through the Northeastern corner of the state. On the eastern slope is a large uplift. The Ojibwe Indians called it Mesabi, meaning sleeping Giant. The discovery in the 1890's of mammoth deposits of iron ore in the Mesabi range brought untold numbers of immigrants seeking the "red gold": Croatians, Serbians, Slovenians, Italians, Scandinavians, and Finns. "Da Range" was born. Fueled by cheap labor and an abundance of iron ore, towns sprang up like beads on a string: Coleraine, Nashwauk, Chisholm, Mountain Iron, Eveleth, Virginia, Biwabik, and Hibbing. The ore for the iron that built the nation during the first part of the century came from the sweat of the free-spirited Minnesota prospectors. A proud, hard-working bunch, none worked harder than Anton Debevec, a laborer who immigrated from Slovenia in 1903 with his wife Agnes to work in the mines and raise a family. The Iron Ore Minor's Son is the memior of Joseph J. DeBevec, one of seven lanky Debevec kids who grew up in the shadow of the Mesabi. Energetic and enterprising, Joe worked his way to the top of his form in the retail business managing stores for the J. C. Penney Company in rural Midwest towns, his success driven by the idea that: "there must be a better way!" He married into the Macks of Virginia, Minnesota and later the Gills of Toronto, Canada. He is father to two families, and has gained enough blessings in life to be a great grandfather. --- from book's dustjacket