Missouri Books

I truly loved this little book about a person I've never heard of and really have no desire to ever meet (although I've met hundreds exactly like him). I could definitely relate to his struggles with his weight, family and lifestyle. I appreciated how he handled the whole thing with such good humor. Granted he hasn't had the worst life in the world; he has a loving family, lots of friends, a quality education, etc. He is kind of a whiner, but there is something about this book that kept me thoroughly rapt and engrossed into the wee hours of the morning. Perhaps I could see a bit of myself in him (yikes!). Overall, this book isn't exactly earth-shattering or revelatory, but it is a funny, endearing, well-written depiction of a gay boy's fight to fit in a straight world. Highly recommended reading.

I just stumbled upon this book and it looked like something I would enjoy. What an understatement, I LOVE this book. It made me laugh out loud as well as squirm in discomfort. I read a lot, and Wade's book captivated me more than anything else I've read recently. For the reviewer here who says "he doesn't get all the facts right" - well, who cares. Write your own memoir. Same to the guy who says "my family is funnier." The important thing is Wade wrote it down and published it, and it's awesome. America's Boy made me start asking my husband questions about his own brother who died (who was also gay), and really led to some deep conversations that we have never had before. That's what a great book does.

This book captured my heart on the first page. Wade Rouse took me on a emotional journey and left me feeling honored to have gotten a glimpse into his life. I will read everything this author writes. "America's Boy" is filled with laugh out loud moments and passages that left me in tears. This is one of those books that you want to share with all of your family and friends.

All I can say is WOW. I had just finished Rouse's other book Confessions Of A Prep School Mommy Handler and I loved it so much I picked up America's Boy his first book. I think anyone Gay or Straight could understand and empathize with Wade and his family. My mother has also read this book and loved it. It is for any and everyone of all ages.
My Mom gave it to her brother my Uncle who happens to be a Trans Sexual. After he read the book and realized the importance of being true to oneself he has decided to go ahead and make the change.
I am not saying that this book encourages this. However it does make you look at life and how sweet and short it can be. It took me away from the everyday and made me relive my childhood and to cherish my family and friends.

Enjoy , I believe Rouse to be the next Sedaris or Bryson,

Grant

This is a wonderful book. I laughed and cried at the same time. It is the best book I have read in a long time.

Looking at the cover, this book seems as if it's going to be something really academic--and it is scholarly and knowledgeable--but it's never academic in the bad sense, in the boring sense.

I read this right after reading Timothy Egan's "The Worst Hard Time," and found this book's descriptions of the devastation caused by the 1930s Dust Bowl to be much more vivid and gripping, this book's facts to be much quirkier and more interesting, and this book's scope to feel much broader and more widely felt. With "The Worst Hard Time," I got the idea that the whole thing really only affected a handful of counties, which I knew was wrong, but with this book there was no denying just how epic the whole ordeal was.

I loved this book (despite its author's amusing tendency to quote Marx) and consider it to be perhaps the very best book I've read about the Dust Bowl--and I've read a few of them. You should read it, for sure.

In the midst of the Great Depression in the 1930's, the Great Plains states faced the additional hardship of one of the worst environmental disasters commonly known as the Dust Bowl. Traditionally grassland, the area was not well-suited to the kind of extensive farming that preceeded those years. And once the natural grass which held the soil together was gone and the regular cycle of drought hit, there was nothing to stop the wind from blowing it across the land or into huge dust storms that raged for weeks on end. History usually focuses only on the social and economic effects of the Dust Bowl, but Worster adds the environment into the mix and seeks to find the root cause of this man-made disaster. He opens with a quote from Karl Marx, and although he dismisses that in his newly added Afterword as mere bravado, it seems apparent throughout his writting that he's a Marxist in his beliefs. He places the blame on American culture and Capitalism - not on the people, but the culture that encourages and drives them to create bigger farms and use machinery that more effectively tills the land. He argues that inherent to American culture is this behavior of exploiting the land for profit and only through government intervention and control can we avoid this kind of disaster in the future.

I can agree that the greed of Capitalism is laid bare in this disaster and that the land is probably not suitable to the kind of exessive use that happens there. But I'm not convinced that his Socialist suggestions (which unfortunately are not offered in a very concise or summarized way) are the answer. He seems to dismiss and ignore the inherent problems in Socialism and it's failure to provide for the people under it's rule. Capitalism may not be perfect, but it taps into mankind's natural desire to better one's position through individual efforts, while Socialism in theory recognizes the brotherhood of mankind but fails to provide for even the basic needs of the people (even the author recognizes it is this Capitalist economy that provides food for most of the world). And his suggestions for population control or that the people in that area should go back to bare subsistence farming seems far-fetched. But at least the author is exploring new ideas (or probably just regurgitating old ones from the 60's and 70's), and for that I give him credit.

But while I found many aspects of the book interesting and insightful, overall it's pretty dry reading (pun intended). The statistics become a bit boring and make the book feel excessively academic. The lectures against the evils of American culture were tiresome, and I felt he had a very condescending attitude when discussing the people affected. And I would have enjoyed a better discussion on the natural ecology of the land and it's native plants and animals, which I think would have been more inspiring. But on a personal aside, the one thing that made me realize how boring the book was becoming for me was when I kept losing my place (I'd forget to put the bookmark back where I left off). But when I picked it up again I would read for several pages before I realized that wasn't actually where I left off before. It was like it didn't matter where I read - it all kinda flowed together.

In the mid thirties, drought and land mismanagement created huge dust storms over the plains known as 'black blizzards'. Worster tells us something about them in the first chapter, but reserves most of his ink describing the economic and social conditions that allowed the disaster to happen. I disagree fully with his arguments, and also think he spent too much time on Oklahoma and Kansas. The storms affected a much wider area than just Cimmaron county.

Worster is a Marxist who is upset that we have used our land in this country to produce so much. He sees the creation of wealth as an evil to be controlled, if not eliminated. Our disregard for ecology created the dust bowl, he says, and will likely bring another in the future. Certainly he is right that some destructive farming practices made the drought situation worse. But are we not the most productive agricultural nation on earth? Clearly our capitalist system has proved its worth, on the farm as elsewhere. In the 70's, another drought period, we even fed the Russians, who were operating under a socialist, marxist inspired economy. Worster seems to yearn for a simpler time, a time when all was not caught up in the rat race. I believe we can all understand and even sympathize with this. But it is no excuse for lousy economics.

Donald Worster contends that the destruction of the southern plains was one of the most terrible ecological disasters in human history. Human beings, not nature, heaven, or hell, created this ecological tragedy. It was the result of unbridled greed and arrogance on the part of expansion driven Americans and their erroneous assumptions about soil, plants, and rain. According to Worster, the dust bowl happened because the system worked, not because it failed. Farmers of the Great Plains were a varied group, they were not merely families that worked the land and grew crops. They were individuals and corporations who, because of greed and an unyielding attitude, set out to break the land and force it to provide the lifestyle they chose. They were successful in their first goal; they did indeed break the land. The overwhelming failure and huge cost of the second goal are the main topics of the book, Dust Bowl.
The dust bowl was one of the three worst ecological blunders in history . The other two were the deforestation of China 's uplands circa 3000 BC, and the destruction of Mediterranean vegetation by livestock. China 's deforestation produced centuries of silting and flooding. The ruin of Mediterranean flora left once fertile lands eroded and impoverished. However, the big difference between the dust bowl and the other disasters is that the dust bowl took only fifty years to achieve. The irony of the label `dust bowl' is that while some thought the term was a satire on college football (orange bowl, rose bowl.
Drought was a major contributing factor to the dust bowl. Worster defines drought as a relative term dependent on one's concept of normal. Climatologists of the dust bowl era defined drought as precipitation deficiencies of at least 15 percent of the historical mean . The difference between earth and dust is that dirt is considered earth when it is in place growing food and offering humans a place on which to stand or build . Dust is when that same dirt is loose and becomes airborne (12-13). In the 1930s, once that dirt hit the air people in the dust bowl were on the look out for black blizzards and sand blows. Black blizzards were dust storms, or dusters, that rose off of the plains like a long wall of muddy water as high as 7000 or 8000 feet . These dusters were caused by a polar continental air mass that lifted the dirt high off the ground. Sometimes the black blizzards were attended by thunder and lightening storms, or worse an eerie silence (14). Sand blows were dust storms that were created by low sirocco-like winds that came from the southwest and caused sandy soils to form sand dunes.
In the novel The Grapes of Wrath, John Steinbeck situated the Joad family in Sallisaw Oklahoma , on the Arkansas border about 400 miles east of Guymon and the panhandle dust center. The Joads had been evicted from their farm in what Steinbeck presumed to be the Oklahoma dust bowl. (In reality, that region of Oklahoma was not part of the actual dust bowl). It was greedy wheat farmers and suitcase farmers with combines and tractors that drove out people like the Joads. The homeless Joads migrated down Route 66 to California where they were abused and misused by a brutal agricultural system that exploited migrant workers. Migrants were fleeing not only drought, but the machine as well. Ultimately, the Joads were displaced by avarice as much as they were by dirt and machines.

I had to read this book for my American history class. It is a very comprehensive and insightful book about the Dust Bowl, but in not the usual historical way. It looks deeply into the environmental roots of the Dust Bowl and has some great photographs, both ecological and social. I would highly recommend this book for anyone who i s into environmental history. (But I'm not really, so it might be a bit dry and boring for those who aren't.)

How do you get started on the subject of the birds and bees? It seems all you need is for someone to shove you through the door (with your fingernails leaving ruts in the door way!). The book opens the door gently for you and your kid. The 3rd chapter covers all the physiology and does it so easily. The rest of the book surprised me with the emotional and mental changes. My daughter has requested I read the rest of the book aloud to her. I read it first and wished I had had this book as a kid. Dobson says that about 85% of pre-adolescent kids willing and desiring to talk to the parents close down communication after the onset of puberty. Do the right thing for your kids before it's too late.

This product was bought for our oldest, the first to reach this age. It was all we hoped it would be and was a great jumping off point for a conversation that we were a bit unsure of how to start. It was very well received and we intend to use it with the next four or more if God continues to bless us. This was a very tastefully done approach to a very tender subject. And it leaves just the right amount of room open to add or not add more if the child is ready. This was just what we were looking for.

We used the Preparing for Adolescence book for our Disciple Now with 5th and 6th graders. We went through this book over the weekend. The social issues that we discussed are appropriate for students. The author writes at a level that students can understand.

We will use this again for sure.

What parent is prepared for the roller coaster ride of adolescence when their first child starts "growing up"? I thought I wouldn't have to think about it until my child was 13! Ha! The moodiness has already started -- at 10!

I enjoyed this book by Dr. Dobson, a well known & trusted author. The book helps the parent see this phase from the child's perspective and is written in a style the child can relate to. It assists them in trying to make sense of it all. It offers the child a preview of what to expect as radical physical and emotional changes begin and suggestions of how to handle them with practical common sense and their faith. The section addressing the "facts of life" is respectful, frank and thorough, but only offers age appropriate "details". It is appropriate enough for a 10 year old.

The book cover-to-cover may not keep the attention of a 10-12 year old who is accustomed to reading "action" type books, but if they are searching for answers, it's all there. Whether you buy the book for guidance as a parent, for your child to read, or as a tool to open up discussion on these topics, it is a worthwhile purchase.

I listened to this entire CD series with my son on a road trip to the Michigan Dunes. All I can say is that I wish that I heard this material when I was 13. Growing up is tough and Dobson handles sensitive topics like, deep insecurities, lack of identity, sexuality, emotions and conformance with the wisdom and experience of a clinical child psychologist who could also be your father sitting down with you at the kitchen table. Thanks Dr. Dobson!! My son loved it!!

I am a Kindergarten teacher, and I use this book each year to teach my students about the history of September 11th. It is a way for them to be aware of the events, without it being scary to them. Since first graders are the authors, the text is suitable for children. My students love the fact that first graders drew the pictures and wrote the story. It sends the message that no matter how bad things get, everything will be all right in the end.

This book does two things...it allows the young child to know what happened on September 11, 2001 and it gives that child comfort in knowing that everything will be all right. This book, is a book worthy of reading aloud to children who question what September 11 is aboutor asks the question of why is there so much news coverage on this particular day...if you are a parent or teacher looking for the right words, then let this book speak for you...it was written by a group of first graders and I appauld them for doing a great job. Although I don't like to bring up the day to young children and wouldn't but when they turn 10 and start asking questions about this day and the events surrounding it then; I think this book is great to answer those questions without too many gory details.

I am currently in the process of becoming a teacher... I will be student teaching in the Spring. The week of September 11th this year, one of my teachers read this book to all of us in one of my education classes. All 26 people in my class fell in love with this book, and we were all greatly disappointed to find out that the book is no longer being published. And I was horrified at the prices that the used books are being sold at. This is a wonderful book with a great message, and it too bad that you cannot get it at a reasonable price anymore.

It is my sincere hope that no one will read this book to their child or to their class since it is such an affront to the idea of America as one country. I am glad that those children were safe on September 12, but in reality, in New York, people were still looking for their loved ones, rubble was still smoldering and many families had not even begun to know how to continue. The lesson of "because it didn't happen to me the world is okay" is not the lesson I want my child to learn. Would the publisher even dream of selling a post-Katrina book called "August 31 - Our House Didn't Get Flooded So We Knew We Would Be All Right"? Of course not.

I have to offer a rebuttal for the last review I saw entitled "Teaching Self-centeredness". Obviously, our lives did not magically become ok on September 12, 2001. I don't believe that it was this book's intention to imply that. This book provided a much needed message of hope and healing for both children and adults. The book can be used to guide a discussion about the events of September 11th, the loss that was felt, and how our country pulled together for healing and recovery. All Americans were affected in some way that day. This is a wonderful book to use with children. My first graders had very thoughtful, heartfelt responses to this book.

This book was as truthful as one could get without all parties together in one room being interviewed. It shows that a crime of passion does not always go the way the villians wants it to. I wonder if JoAnn Williams, even though shes not in jail anymore, has a good life knowing she was involved in the murder.
I read this book when it first came out in the mid 1990s. Since it happened in my own neighborhood, while I was living there in the subdivision, I have read it again in 2007.

I liked this book for the fact that the author didn't try to portray the victim as perfect, as so many true crime authors tend to do.

I can't understand why a prior poster called the book "one sided." Just the opposite!

Even Walter Scott's parents didn't come off as completely blameless. His mother, after all, did spoil her son shamelessly. No wonder he thought he could do anything he wanted to any woman he wanted whenever he wanted.

JoAnn Williams helped to break up a marriage. She got a man who cheated on his first wife. Did she expect him to magically change? And why didn't she just go ahead and get a divorce from Walter? This is still America - a wife doesn't need permission from her husband to divorce him, particularly if he is committing adultery. Jim Williams should have done the same: gone the divorce route instead of murdering his wife, Sharon.

All in all, Scottie Priesmeyer does a good job of story-telling.

I enjoyed this book very much. It combines celebrity biography with murder mystery. It was very well written and captured the characters well. Walter Scott as lead singer with the band Bob Kuban and the In Men had a big hit in the 1960's with a song called "The Cheater". It is ironic that his hit was about a no good cheating man who ends up alone and broken hearted, because in real life Walter Scott had affairs that not only ruined his marriages but cost him his life. Its a good read for most baby boomers.

This was my first true crime book and it took place in my own backyard. This book was well researched and the photos helped to connect to the story line. From cover to cover, Priesmeyer unfolds the story with gripping after gripping chapter. This book was hard to put down. A definite must read for any true crime aficionado.

Priesmeyer's careful rendering of the tale that ultimately ended Scott's life and career is an engaging read, even for those of us who do not regularly choose true-crime books. If it is true that there are really only ten stories and that we tell them over and over again--then this is the story of crime not paying, and it is told well.
Reading Priesmeyer's detailed depictions of those she interviewed, one has the suspicion that she'd rather be writing poems, but that this story came her way and she was compelled to tell it. And tell it she does.
Dick Clark has said that music is the soundtrack of our lives, and for those of us who came of age during Scott's heyday, it is impossible to read this book without the song playing, haunting the pages.

While there are some interesting elements in the book and it is a unique lookat the supposed childhood of Jesse James, I do not recommend it for children. There is a lot of swearing in it. I know most folks are exposed to swearing all the time, but I do not want that for my children. It is possible to write wonderful fiction and get the point across without having to resort to using swearing. As I read old time fiction I notice this!

Secondly I do not like Matt's attitude toward his mother. He is not respectful, he hides things from her. I do not like my chidren being exposed to things like that.

In Guerilla Season, written by Pat Hughes, I saw that family was an important part of the novel. He chose to stay with his family instead of in Missouri, the place his father died and where he felt he belonged. He had to choose between his friend and his family, and through his decisions he managed to sustain good relationships with both despite his encounters and decisions. He tried to remain neutral, but the more they pressured him, the more he became a staunch secessionist. He didn't quite realize how much he depended on his family until he was sent off to the federal work camp. He soon became aggravated and heartbroken over not seeing his family for a whole week. It was then that he decided to stay intact with the family instead of staying in Missouri to see his crop grow into a harvest. It is in this decision that Hughes us that our personal goals are not more important than family. He is conveying to us that when we look back upon our lives, family is the closest form of friendship we have. They will be the ones that listen to us, that understand us for who we are, not who we should be. Jesse tried to make Matt into a guerrilla, but Ma was persistent on Matt choosing to be neutral, which basically meant to stay alive. Matt also thought that leaving his homeland meant he would leave it forever and betray his father, who spent his whole life tilling the land. Towards the end of the book he realized that he would be betraying his father more if he stayed behind without his family. His family needs him to continue the family tradition. Family is the last institution and the only institution that has held up since the creation of man, and Hughes proves why.

Guerilla Warfare, by Pat Hughes, is about the choices an adolescent, Matt, has to make during the Civil War. After his father died he became the man of the house and feels responsibility for his father's possession such as farming the land. Matt lives in Missouri with his 'Ma' and five other brothers and sisters. Throughout the novel he struggles in deciding whether he should engage in Guerilla Warfare with his best friend Jesse or if he should try to remain neutral for the safety of his family. Another decision he struggles to make is whether he should move north with his family or he should stay with the land that has belonged to his father. Nearing the end of the novel Matt moves up north with his family deserting pretty much everything he knew.
Historically, this novel seems pretty accurate. This story really could have happened given the time and the setting. It showed me a part of Kansas/Missouri History that I never knew. Living in Kansas, I have learned the history of 'Bleeding Kansas' and the fighting that went on in the area. However, I never knew that Jayhawkers terrorized Missouri in order to try to scare people into making it a free state. This book is fictional, so that part might not be true, but the way Hughes writes the novel makes it seem completely logical and accurate. This is a great book I encourage you to read, especially if you enjoy action-packed novels.

If your son or daughter ever asks, how can neighbors and friends start fearing, hating and even killing each other over politics, hand them a copy of Guerrilla Season. Not only will they find themselves totally immersed in the story of 15-year-old Matt and his friend Jesse, who are struggling in their own ways to cope with the war that is infiltrating and ripping apart their patch of "neutral" Missouri in 1863, but they will find themselves understanding just what guerrilla warfare does to a community. It *can* happen here, and already has. For a teenage boy, the idea of staying neutral in the midst of civil war is an illusion. Hughes does an amazing job of bringing her characters (and their families) to life, as well as the forces and events that compel them to take sides. This middle-aged man found Guerrilla Season thoroughly compelling, and appreciated the rich attention to detail, the careful interweaving of character and historical plot, and the absence of 21st-century value judgments.

I have to wonder what sort of books "Book Worm Mama" (below) reads beyond the Bible and fairy tales. Where is the swearing she refers to? I noticed about three very tame cuss words, hardly out of line for a book set in the middle of a war. And I had to laugh at her description of Matt as "disrespectful." She clearly just doesn't get it. This is a book about real, flesh-and-blood people in a terribly difficult situation, and the choices they have to make. The triumph of Guerrilla Season is that perceptive readers still care about them.

My 14 year-old son came home from school with this book, because of our family interest in the WBTS when our ancestors fought for the South. The book is nominated for the Children's Book Award in Georgia. When I saw on the back that it was written by a northerner I got suspicious. But I assure you the book is not just one more Yankeefied version of the war. If you have kids in school you know that most books about the war put Southerners in a bad light but this one is different. For one thing it shows Southerners who didn't own slaves. (Like my ancestors didn't.) Also the people in the book who do have slaves, don't beat or mistreat them.

Guerrilla Season is about a boy named Matt who lives in Missouri, where they had heavy guerrilla activity through out the war. Matt is 15 and he to decide, will he go to fight for the South with Quantrill, or will he leave his home and stay safe with his family? (Fighting for the Union, NOT an option for this proud Southron boy!) The story is about everything that happens to Matt and his family, his neighbors and his friend Jesse through that summer, 1863. North and south, both do terrible things and the author is very fair in showing it. I won't say how it ends because until the last minute you can't be sure if Matt will change his mind.

I can't say enough good things about this book. All the characters are so real, and for boys, there is alot of action. This is a great story for parents to read, along with their kids.

If you want to take a trip down animated cartoon memory lane as well as look behind the scenes to find out how they were created, Watts' mistitled "The Magic Kingdom" is definitely NOT the book for you. For that trip I highly recommend Leonard Maltin's delightful and highly informative "Of Mice and Magic" (Revised and Updated edition). "The Magic Kingdom" is about Walt Disney the man and is of real interest only to those who are researching his life -- which I am not. So, I'll leave the critiquing of this book as a biography per se to those reviewers who have read similar books about him.

However, when I was a child, I lived through many of the events that are mentioned in this book and watched many of the cartoons and the animated feature-length movies discussed by Watts, including those that were made before my time as reruns on television cartoon shows or in the movie theaters. Based solely on the material Watts presents in this book, you would think that Walt Disney Productions (Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, et al) was the only company making animated cartoons during its Golden age of the late 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s. The only other animated cartoon studio that Watts mentions anywhere is Terrytoons -- and even then merely as a company that some of his employees came from or went to and nothing about the creations that came from it. And what about the equally creative Loney Tunes (Bugs Bunny, Porky Pig, et al)? Not a word. Not a single word!

As to what Disney did, I find Watts' presentation quite frustrating. As a small child, I remember the craze for Davy Crocket paraphernalia. But that was AFTER I saw the premiere of the revolutionary weekly television program "Disneyland" that changed the eating habits of so many families back then. Watts presents the section about Fess Parker as Davy Crocket and all the sales of coonskin caps, etc. it led to BEFORE he discusses the original broadcast of the "Disneyland" that launched it.

But Watts' greatest failure is his total lack of illustrations. Cartoons are VISUAL! How can you explain the birth and evolution of Mickey Mouse or the creation of the feature-length "Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs" WITHOUT illustrations? And not merely those of the finished product, but also the many sketches, etc. that led to its creation. Animated cartoon are essentially a series of (until very recently) mostly hand-drawn illustrations. What makes Maltin's "Of Mice and Magic" so delightfully informative is he does not merely give a dry, textual, explanation of the storyboard for a particular cartoon, but also shows the actual illustrations on that storyboard with the written comments of the directors, writers, etc. about certain characters.

This book does give much information about Walt Disney that books such as "Of Mice and Magic" do not; for example, his development of Disneyland in Anaheim, and the already mentioned "Disneyland" television program which was not an animated cartoon. But with the very confusing presentation of his facts and total lack of illustrations, this book is a long, tiring, and frustrating read for the amount of information in it. Alas, Watts might give us some of Disney's kingdom, but absolutely none of his magic. .

As I am doing research into the American Dream and the lifestyle in the mid century, I found this book usefull for citations in my thesis. It is also an enjoyable read for fans of Walt Disney and the effect that he and his products have had on our cultural society.

I've read the Gabler, Thomas, and Manheim (Quest for Community) books, and about 3 other books on Walt, and this was the best. Fantastic!

I have read 4 biographies about this man ("An American Original," "The Disney Version," Mosley's "Disney's World: A biography," Eliot's "Hollywood's Dark Prince") and now I realize that I should have acquired this book before, so I wouldn't need to read all of the above stated books.
This book provides Walt's personal story, studio development, good and bad critics, Disney's place in history and his shaping of American culture. It is not biased, but gives a balanced view on a man and his company. It made me believe in this book, since I was very sceptical towards "truths" written in other Walt Disney biographies. In those, Walt was portrayed as either a perfect person, or a villain of the 20th century.
The Magic Kingdom is the balanced truth and the best biography of a man that shaped American culture without a doubt.

Easily the best biography out there on Walt Disney hands down. It will never be topped. It neither kisses his hiney as Bob Thomas' studio sanctioned biography does, nor does it discount him as merely a low brow populist (as Richard Schickel did), nor lies about him as some sort of communist spy in order to sell books. Not only is this biography even handed, but Mr. Watts makes brilliant connections between Walt and his time that no other biographer had the insight to do. This is a fair, balanced, well organized, incredibly entertaining biography that really brings the real Walt Disney to life. Steven Watts is a genius biographer.

Great biography of a Western Civil War barbarian. When it came to being ruthless during The American Civil War, Bloody Bill broke all bounderies. Not for the weak of heart!!

This book reads like a romantic western novel. A description of Anderson: "Dressed entirely in black- hat, velvet shirt, pants, boots- he was lean and sinewy and looked taller sitting in the saddle of his large black horse than his actual height of five ten." (p. 11, hardback edition) It continues like that for another 150 pages or so. The only thing missing is voluptuous maidens.
Castel's biography of Quantrill doesn't read like this, and Goodrich's "Black Flag" doesn't really have much style at all, as it is mostly quotes from primary sources. I don't know why they felt the need to write this the way they did, but it ruins the story. Both authors have done their work in researching, but the writing leaves much to be desired. A definitive account of Anderson still needs to be written.

The authors appear to have done their research, and present the story in mixed third person objectivity and first person period prose. For the casual reader who has an interest in Civil Warfare, or more specifically, the Kansas-Missouri Border War, this is an entertaining book. For the scholar, it must be taken with a grain of salt. The authors have taken literary license to the extreme in their description of scenery, battlefield and camp site conditions, personal conversations, et cetera. Although the essence of news-worthy situations are, more often than not, accurately portrayed in historic newspapers, the use of quotes and eye-witness accounts are often biased and stretch the truth. The authors appear to continue in this vein of sensationalistic reporting. There is no way the authors could know of the detailed conversations that took place between officers, combatants, and/or farmers, and thus, their factual portrayal of these more intimate situations must be questioned. If they had told the story entirely in the third person, this book would be good and much needed reference. As presented, with interjections in the first person literary style, the book lacks a degree of credibility. This is unfortunate, as it is a great story of guerrilla warfare and otherwise well-written. 170 pp., Stackpole Books (1998).

Thomas Goodrich did an outstanding job of researching his subject. I've read many other accounts of Anderson, but this is the most complete and revealing. It's unfortunate that Stackpole insisted on bringing Castel into the mix, as the two men's writing styles are so different. The end product, though the best work so far on a fascinating man, doesn't equal Goodrich's original work.

Bloody Bill Anderson was a product of savagery in the early days of the Civil War's influence on Kansas and Missouri. The border war there was bloody and brutal. An eye for an eye conflict that escalated beyond anyone's imagination. The region was devastated. The atrocities that men were willing to commit against each other on both sides of the fratricide in that area are horrendous. Rocketing out of that soup came Bloody Bill. He is the prototype of a deadly psychopath. He was sadistic, ruthless and devoid of conscience.

Castel and Goodrich have outdone themselves in taking what little historical data is available to present as thorough an accounting of Bill Anderson's life as you're likely to find. They hone in on two of his most infamous rampages around Centralia, Missouri. You'll believe you were an eyewitness. However, they don't fabricate the stories or engage in fiction. The book is thoroughly researched and very credible in every detail. They could only have exceeded in this endeavor if there were more firsthand historical data to draw from.

Fact is Bloody Bill was a real individual and these events really did transpire. You will be transfixed even as you are horrified.

Grooming to win is for any discipline, and any breed. I used it as a reference for getting back into the show ring. It's like having your own trainer with you all the time. I show Morgan and Quarterhorses and it covers everything from conditioning to getting those braids in right!
DONT SHOW WITHOUT IT!

This is one of the best books that I've found that explains grooming your horse step by step - not only for the show ring, but for everyday maintenance. Ms. Harris details breed protocols for the show ring (good news for the novice showman!). Did you know that it is considered bad form to braid the hunter on the left side of the neck, and vice versa for western pleasure horses? From achieving that showring bloom to step by step braiding guides, this book is a must for any competetive horseman's book collection!

From body clipping to everyday grooming, Ms. Harris has provided an excellent reference for everyone from the first-time exhibitor to seasoned professionals. She covers nearly every riding discipline imaginable, going over grooming procedures for each in a thorough yet consice manner. Her explanations are easy to translate into technique and the book offers many illustrations. This book makes for excellent reading for the novice and a wonderful referrence for the more experienced horse groom.

A great book that I often reccommend for anyone who asks a lot of questions about grooming, at shows or at home. I Love grooming my horses, and this book gives you many new ideas and 'tricks' to try to make your horse have good and healty coat. I doesn't matter what breed or disciplne you show, this book has it all. I show hunter-jumpers and eventing, but I also have two miniature horses that I show and this book helped me with all of them!

This is one of those books you don't use every day, but when you're thoroughly confused or completely forgetting something it comes in handy. It has alot of great pictures and illustrations that make it great for kids as well as adults. I learned alot about alternative grooming methods that I had never even heard of before!

I feel in love with this seris when I was about 7 years old. My Aunt gave me the first book in this seris and I was hooked. Thias book is one of my favorites. It has some sad parts, but it talks about a young girls journey into womanhood. I think that every young girl should read this book.

Rose and her family are still living in the little town of Mansfield. There, they are doing the best they can to get back on their feet and return to Rocky Ridge Farm. It's a big year for Rose and filled with many changes. For example, she witnesses the dawn of a new era as she celebrates the turn of the new century. Besides all the hard work, there's still love in the air for Rose! "New Dawn on Rocky Ridge continues the story that Laura Ingalls Wilder told of her own childhood, a story that has charmed generations of readers, including me."

Continues the story of Rose Wilder Lane, Laura Ingalls' daughter, at the turn of the century. Interestingto hear what all the 'new' inventions were at the time and to see what Laura was like as an adult. Rose, however, sounded as if she could be quite a brat!

This book is tied with On the Banks of the Bayou for worst in a series.
As for New Dawn, far too much was devoted to the saga of Miss Sarah; Elsa Beaumount/traveling man; and Paul stringing Rose along.
On the Banks of the Bayou, Rose doesn't even appear to be the same person. Which I can understand someone maturing but Rose was always wishing for a large beautiful house to live in(like her friend Blanche Coday) and complaining about being poor. She travels to Louisiana to live with Eliza Jane who has a huge house with an electric light in the kitchen, beautiful, expensive furniture and a hired girl, but suddenly Rose is ashamed of wealth.
Which is confusing because three months earlier she is grumbling because her parents are too poor to send her to Mountain Grove Academy where her rich friend Blanche is attending school.
In Louisiana she has nothing for her classmates, her uncle Perley and his family or her Grandmother Wilder. Rose seems to be even more self-centered while in Louisiana than she was in Missouri.

Special thanks to Roger Lea McBride and family for the "trip" to DeSmet and giving us Laura's voice once more, even though it was heartbreaking for all involved. Equally impressive was Rose's saga while living in town. The girl was quite a firecracker. Again, just as charming as Little House, but the storytelling is a bit more complex and more reflective of who Rose was. This series truly equals the charm and storytelling of Laura's story. Kudos to those who thought to bring this series to print.