Buffalo Books

Growing up, I was absolutely obsessed with all things western. I loved cowboy stories, and practically devoured Louis L'Amour novels (long live the Sacketts!). When I started reading Christian fiction, I soon found that most books with a western setting fell squarely into the "prairie romance" category (which is all well and good, but they just aren't my cup of tea). I prefer a western-set tale that's a little grittier or more adventurous. Unbridled Dreams fits the bill perfectly, delivering an adventurous, romantic, whirlwind coming-of-age tale set against the colorful backdrop of Buffalo Bill's Wild West.

By the late 19th century, the west was settled, but the "wild" west lived on in Cody's renowned traveling show. Seventeen-year-old Irma Friedrich has one burning desire - to realize her dream of becoming Liberty Belle, a trick riding Wild West star. However, her unorthodox dream is in direct opposition to her mother's desire for a ladylike daughter who could make an advantageous marriage. When Irma and her overly-indulgent father Otto go to extreme lengths to make Irma's dream come true, Irma must prove herself to the Wild West troupe and somehow repair her tense relationship with her mother without sacrificing her dreams. But when the star cowboy, Shep, begins to pay her extra special attention, to Irma's shock she begins to question her single-minded pursuit of stardom.

Irma is a wonderful, richly drawn character. She's a teenager with a lot to learn about life, and her journey from a passionate, spoiled girl to a hard-working troupe member is richly detailed and her maturation is believable. Willa and Otto's marriage is beautifully portrayed with a sometimes painful realism. Whitson's portrait of marriage shows it to be hard, sacrificial work, but when God's at the center of the relationship, the rewards are breathtakingly worthwhile. The heart of the story is Irma's growth as an individual and in coming to terms with her mother. I suspect that a lot of mothers and daughters will be able to relate to Willa and Irma's relationship. Through her characters, Whitson confronts the reader with what happens when secrets are laid bare, communication is fractured, and pride brings painful but much needed lessons. Unbridled Dreams is a fast-paced, absorbing read that takes its wonderfully real characters on a journey of forgiveness, healing, and restoration. Highly recommended.

All seventeen year old Irmagard Friedrich dreams of is riding a horse as Liberty Belle at the Buffalo Bill Cody's Wild West show. However, her mother insists Irmagard behave like a lady and attend Brownell finishing school.

On her journey east to attend school, her father arranges for Irmagard to slip away to audition for the Buffalo Bill gala. She obtains the position of Liberty Belle, horse-rider, but touring the country proves difficult as she expected accolades not mud. Meanwhile the troupe's superstar Shep Sterling tries to court Irmagard, but she ignores his attention as she focuses on being the best trick rider the Buffalo Bill Cody's Wild West show has ever had, while knowing the estrangement of following her dream is causing with her mom.

UNBRIDLED DREAMS is a wonderful late nineteenth century Americana romance starring two likable lead characters and a strong support cast including the horses. The story line is filled with subtle messages interwoven into the exciting often amusing plot. Besides the obvious believing in oneself to chase your dreams, parents should encourage their children to pursue their dreams (sort of Crosby Stills, Nash and Young's Teach Your Children blended with Kahlil Gibran's The Prophet in a western setting). Stephanie Grace Whitson provides her fans with a wonderful historical.

Harriet Klausner

Whitson's Unbridled Dreams is a decent book and well worth reading for many. For those hoping for a little more substance, this book may not be the answer. Seventeen year old Irma, or Liberty Belle as she prefers to be called, feels driven to be a trick rider for Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show. Against the stringent wishes of her mother, Willa, Irma (with the help if her father) gets an audition and makes it into the show. The book is split into two primary perspectives: Irma's and Willa's.

Obviously, Irma's tale takes us along with the Wild West Show as she trains to publicly perform in New York City and truly become her show persona: Liberty Belle. Encouraging her is Shep Sterling, a well-known, handsome performer. While it was interesting to read about Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show, I thought that it was a fairly generic view of the show and its performers. While a few secondary characters seemed interesting, none had any real depth to them - which, in my opinion, included Irma and Shep. Irma, in particular, I felt was one-dimensional. Slightly endearing, she wants to become a star and marry Shep. I simply felt that her part of the novel was formulaic and overwhelmingly predictable. One particular thing that I simply could not forget was Irma's age. At 17, even during the late 1800's, she's very young. It was hard for me to imagine her father letting her go off on her own at 17. I just kept wishing that Whitson had made her main character just slightly older and more mature - it would have made me think the relationship between Irma and Shep was serious, rather than appearing more like a teenage crush.

Willa's perspective, however, I found to be far more interesting. She returns home from Chicago to find that her only daughter has joined the Wild West Show without her permission or knowledge. Her anger is generally directed towards her husband, who basically tricked Willa into leaving town so he could help Irma join the show. That, coupled with the fact that she believes he's having an affair, causes her to move out of their home. Her part of the story, which concerns Willa and her husband along with her strained relationship with Irma, was heartfelt and well-written. Surprisingly, it was Willa's perspective on the novel that kept me reading.

When a book comes along that speaks with a voice that gives the reader an emotional understanding of the west, it quickly moves to the top of our "must read" list. "Windmill. Essays from Four Mile Ranch" by David Romtvedt is such a book. It is a book that makes the reader feel that you are there...experiencing a real understanding of what it means to live and work in the west.

Calling Romtvedt's experiences "essays" is appropriate. They are separate stories...but more than merely stories. They appear to be unrealated chapters, but the thread that weaves throughout is an understanding and appreciation of living in the west. Those who live, or have lived in Wyoming and the west (and we mean LIVED in the west, not just had a residence there), will share the kindred spirit of which Romtvedt writes.

Often, when reading these essays, we had to put the book down momentarily to absorb the words, and the experiences behind the words. The words paint pictures of the landscape, the heritage, and contemporary life near Buffalo, Wyoming. Romtvedt allows us to peer into his very personal thoughts and experiences. He lets us know that there is beauty in the "mundane", for what we may first perceive as mundane can been experienced on so many levels. The only limitations to our experiences are those we impose upon ourselves. In Windmill, Romtvedt shows us that it is possible to experience the beauty of the west through something as common as a windmill, as distant as the thunder rolling across the plains and as close as ourselves.

Through this book, we are able to experience the beauty of simple words and the complexity of the west. Romtvedt draws us into his world and shows us how easy it is to open ourselves to an awareness of life around us. Whether intended or not, he almost seems to defy us NOT to increase our awareness as we share his awareness of his world.

Occasionally, the pictures painted by the words are enhanced with charcoal drawing (or pencil drawings) by Gregory Truett Smith. Those pages don't detract from the word pictures, but rather make us wish there were more of them.

The following passage from the book shows the beauty and meaning of simple things:

"One June night as I was coming down out of the Bighorns with my friend John Lane, we saw a light we didn't recognize off to the northeast. UFOs maybe, or a giant city that had been built in our two-week absence from civilization. We stopped our truck and got out. In the stillness, we saw the Northern Lights - long shimmering bands of yellow and white pouring down from the top of the world, then racing back up.

We stared. After a few minutes, we heard the rumbling of thunder from the southeast, and, turning, we saw lightning - jagged fierce bolts, some running up and down, some back and forth across the sky. We turned from one light to the other.

Next came singing. It wasn't the long howling singing of wolves - the last Bighorn wolf was shot in 1939. Rather, it was the singing of coyotes - short bright yips very close to laughter. There were so many singers that the song took on a quality that seemed familiar, human.

Sheep need to be protected from coyotes but I can't help but feel sympathy for the clever dog. Coyote will find a way around every impediment - traps, poisons, guns, trucks, snowmobiles, airplanes. When night falls, no matter how hard the day, Coyote begins to sing. Coyote's song is 'We are here; it is now'."

Romtvedt's words are simple. They invite us to share personal experiences. They invite us to be open to personal experiences of our own. The book quotes poet Lew Welch when he made an observation to a friend:

"...to the mountains the trees are just passing through".

This not only shows us OUR place; but shows how important it is for we mere mortals to appreciate our place in the world around us. Romtvedt expresses that appreciation. He shows us how simple that complex appreciation can be...and, in many ways...how vital it is for us to cultivate that appreciation.

If the contemporary west has a voice, it may be the voice of David Romtvedt. If it is not HIS voice, "Windmill. Essays from Four Mile Ranch" shows us that, without a doubt, he HEARS that voice.

The Wyoming Companion

I read a library copy of this book several months ago and now I am thinking about buying a copy for my own library. I thought it was a bit uneven but parts of it have stuck with me. I want to go back and reread it. I found similarities between this book and the nature writings of Amish author David Kline.

In his essays on his small town, the local economy, the local culture, being a nonhunter, death, sheep, and weather, Romtvedt indeed conveys a sense of place and simple wisdom. Recommended for regional, large public, and academic libraries. LIBRARY JOURNA

Wyoming Whorehouses is a small paperback, but intriguing and interesting, concerning the many whorehouses in the State of Wyoming in the mid-1800's to the mid-1900's. Pictures of some of the prostitutes are shown and pictures of several of the brothels. Stories relating to each brothel is given and some jokes, as well as "whorehouse trivia." It is a delightful book to read for someone who enjoys knowing reality and what went on back in those years.

This is an interesting short book for several reasons. It appears to be a perfect example of how many senior citizens and retired folks are digging up or gathering together lots of local history and preserving it for posterity. In this case, the author relates how he first started hearing some of these stories 50 years ago. Now, half a century later he has taken those stories and interviewed many 60-90 year-old friends and acquaintances and boiled down their oral history into this 121 page historical tome. Combined with interviews and library research the author presents a fascinating, enlightening, humorous and entertaining book of historical facts and local myths about the underbelly of Wyoming's wild nightlife. As the author jokes, this is not a politically correct book and most of it is probably true. Lots of pictures of the most famous "sporting houses" in Wyoming are included in the book. There are also very rare photographs of the "sporting girls" that were taken to be used for advertising their services. The reader may be surprised to learn that this kind of prostitution still openly existed into the late 1970's. The Wild West was still alive and well in Wyoming.
The most famous "Soiled Dove" or "Fallen Angel" in the book is Martha Jane Canary, "Calamity Jane" of Wild Bill Hickok and Buffalo Bill Cody fame. She was only one of the many "ladies of the night" discussed within the book. One particularly interesting chapter is entitled "A Day in the Life of a `Working Girl.'" It provides the answer to many people's questions about what it was like to visit one of these places. It also provides interesting insights into what the girls really thought about their customers.
In several instances described, "housewives also went to these places. Not for sex, but to find out why their husbands went there. This took a lot of courage. Some of the questions the girls would answer were; 'Why would he prefer this place rather than our home?' `What do you do for him that I don't?' The working girls were always happy to answer questions like these. Prostitutes never thought themselves to be in competition with housewives. Their only job was to make a man relax and be happy enough to spend his money...Prostitutes seemed to know more about this than some housewives."
A few housewives also worked part-time at brothels, usually in places where no one knew them, like on the other side of town in larger cities. There are also a couple of examples of the "dens of sin" in various communities and settlements being burned to the ground in suspicious fires. Housewives were the suspected arsonists, but none of them were ever charged.
The book is full of trivia facts such as "The FBI was first activated into Federal Service as prostitute busters." Another fact was "that almost every town in Wyoming had Whorehouses." This book is also full of jokes and satire that often ring all too true.
"Badland Charlies" most famous patrons were Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and their gang "The Wild Bunch." The book is peppered with such characters with equally colorful names. One of the book's indexes is for 124 euphemisms for prostitutes, their customers, the sexual act and the brothels that the author had not printed in this volume. The author mentioned that he'd used 250 other euphemisms ( who would have thought there were so many) in the book so as not to offend too many readers many of who objected to the term "Whorehouses" or "Whores." Included in the book are many definitions and sources for terms like `Two-bit Ho." This is a very folksy, sometimes corny reportage of local history, but it is certain to provide the readers many chuckles and help them separate fact from myth. The authors humor is typified by a a sign covering the breasts of a nude prostitute's full-length portrait on the back cover of the book. The sign says, "Not Politically Correct."

This book is not a dirty book. It is simply full of facts gathered by a lot of research. It's not a dirty book or anything like that. Basically if you like obscene trivia, this is the book for you! (Especially if you like cheesy jokes... Lol.)

Mailer always manages to twist in a corkscrew of unexpected words and pop the BS cork off of a rich wine of pungent insight. Lots of fun.

Growing up in the sixties, I guess I took Norman Mailer for granted.
Boy, I'll never do that, again.
After all, there was a time when people like Mailer, Joan Didion and her husband, John Gregory Dunne, actually had a regular column, each month, in places like Esquire magazine. And, people such as myself could count on brilliant, independent minds, capable of executing a great novel, providing periodic commentary on the times we were living in (through?). And, the books they wrote were still events: much read, much discussed, and looking back, they were actually what kept us, sane- at least those of us for whom sanity was a virtue.
But, tragically, those days are officially gone.
We now have any number of empty, babbling, pundits; essentially employees of General Electric, Westinghouse, Disney, News Corp and/or TimeWarner, whom we allow to define the day's agenda. What's left of the "culture", is divided up among television, movies, the Internet, and radio... probably in that order.
We actually have nothing left that can be referred to, with any seriousness, as a "culture". We just have different corporate entities using different means of entertainment with which they focus our attention on anything other than what it mean to be "alive" or truly "human". It's a very extraordinary, and extraordinarly dangerous period of history to be living in.
I remember someone on some talk show way back in the early 70's saying that "we're the last ones [that generation, not this] who will remember what it was "like".
Well, here is someone who not only remembers what it was like, but can still, at the age of 83, compare "it" to how it is now, and leave one grateful, shell-shocked, aching for a change of guard, and thanking one's lucky stars for the privilege.
Plus, apart from the conversation bewteen Mailer and his son, there is also an essay inserted right in the middle of the book which alone is worth the price. It is called "Myth Versus Hypothesis", and despite the pretentious title, it is one of the best pieces of political writing I've ever seen in my life. It was apparently delivered as the Keynote Address during Harvard's Commencement Ceremony in 2004. I have not been able to find it anywhere on the Internet, so I do not believe it was ever published elsewhere. I challenge anyone to produce anything comparable, which has appeared in recent years in any magazine, newspaper, etc.
Mailer has lived and learned quite a bit in his time. And I can not exaggerate the value of this gem for those of us who can still appreciate the "Real McCoy", or for those who who would genuinely like to briefly step out of their "Orgasmatron" and actually visit what was once the late, great planet Earth.
I once read that the great French novelist and mystic Romain Rolland carried a copy of Goethe's "Faust" with him at all times ("my constant companion") for his entire adult life. I'm not comparing this book to "Faust", or Mailer to Goethe, or suggesting to anyone that they do the same with it. But, I did recall that statement of Rolland's while reading "The Big Empty". Because it reminded me of how there a just a few rare indivifuals in any epoch that can really help make their age TRULY intelligible to their fellow travellors.
Norman Mailer proves that here... in spades.

Charles B. Dew describes the relationship between master and slave in a manufacturing setting. His 1994 book Bond of Iron, Master and Slave at Buffalo Forge, as the title suggests, is the story of industrial slavery but in a plantation setting. Under a pragmatic master, slave ironworkers, because of their special skills, were able to exert a degree control over their lives. Specialized knowledge, so essential for the operation, effectively gave them a measure of power over their master. Dew's thesis is that coercion had its limits in the setting of industrial slavery at Buffalo Forge and that slave laborers were able to use the system to affect a degree of control over their own lives.

Dividing his book into three parts, Dew writes first about the master William Weaver, a Pennsylvanian investor. Contrary to his antislavery Dunker and northern origins, Weaver embraced slavery in his adopted home in western Virginia to become an enduring and wealthy iron master. Even though he came from an antislavery family and was a realistic self-seeking master, his real feelings about slavery are known by what he in fact did: he owned, used, and profited from slaves. Without resorting to physical violence, Weaver nonetheless maintained control by selling slaves who proved recalcitrant. Daniel Brady, his nephew, succeeded William Weaver when he died in 1863.

Dew next describes the lives of six of Weaver's more skilled slaves and how they were able to use the task and overwork system to improve their lot in life. The task and overwork system was an incentive and reward system for certain skilled slaves. Weaver credited them for work completed over and above a certain minimum. One of these slaves, Sam Williams, even had his own savings account. Sam, one of Weaver's master refiners, was able to earn extra money for production above his weekly task and had it deposited in a local bank. Another was Henry Towles a skilled forge man. Another, Tooler, used the system to his advantage and, once his quota was met, would do over-work only as he saw fit. His skill as the "best chaffery forgeman William Weaver had" (197) gave him a degree of control over his life. Harry Hunt, Jr. was one of the most versatile slaves filling in for other slaves as necessary. Henry Mathews, another capable slave, could do work at the forge or on the plantation with equal aplomb. He was "the ultimate jack-of-all-trades." (204) Dew reconstructs the Garland Thomson family history through forge records and present-day descendants. It is a story of "pride and the image of strength." (211)

In the third part Dew discusses the effects of the Civil War on Buffalo Forge and how the bond between master and slave evolved after emancipation. The forge was uncompetitive in the new economic order and soon was forced to close down. Former slaves, unable to afford land of their own, turned to sharecropping to eke out a living on the plantation or dispersed.

Dew uses a large body of records fortuitously discovered by dogged research to describe as completely as possible slave life in one location leading up to the Civil War, during the war and the early antebellum years. Important evidence in Dew's analysis is the information about slave payments and purchases gleaned from the "Negro Books" dating from 1830-1861. These were the overwork ledgers at Buffalo Forge. Dew uses them to show how much extra work was done and how earnings were spent. Slaves were allowed to take payment in cash or kind in the company store. The accounts show when purchases were made and what items were bought. Individual slave ledgers demonstrate personal priorities and values. Between master and slave this was an important benefit for slaves. By their own choice they took advantage of the task and overwork system to earn money.

Other than in agriculture, who were the workers in the slave South and were they able to improve their conditions within the slave system? One fundamental precept evident at Buffalo Forge and continuing into reconstruction is the plantation mentality of Southern industrialists. Dew shows that at Buffalo Forge at least slave labor was extremely valuable in Virginia iron making. Weaver rewarded skilled slaves who were able to thus improve their lives. The master, William Weaver, actually preferred slaves to white workers. White workers, transient in nature and prone to drunkenness, were in his opinion unsatisfactory. Cheap labor was seen as a Southern advantage in competition with Northern industry. However because of the ready availability of poorly motivated, cheap, and unskilled labor, contemporary industrialists, unlike Weaver, neglected incentives to improve social conditions.

What was the effect of Weaver's system? Weaver's operation was set up on a plantation to take advantage of local resources, i.e. water, iron, and charcoal. Sloss Furnace, in Birmingham, AL, was similarly located on the site of available resources. Weaver was willing to invest in order to set up his operation and keep it running, but once it was established, he was content. If the market was not quite right for iron, he had his agricultural plantation to hold him over. He would hold back sales of bar iron until the price rose. His slaves were multi-tasked and able to work at the forge or in agriculture. His emphasis was on stability and not innovation. Weaver was unwilling to shift from the tilt-hammer method rather than investing in a modern rolling mill such as at the Tredegar Iron Works in Richmond. Similarly at Sloss, innovation was selectively applied to husband capital where cheap labor could be used, even if it was less efficient.

Dew describes an industrial operation in the predominantly agricultural antebellum South. The relationship between the forge master and his slave is most striking. The records Dew researched are unique and valuable and they permit a greater understanding of slavery as a whole. Dew's effort has resulted in a remarkable and valuable treatise on slavery in an industrial setting.

This is a new, different telling of an old story. It really challenges what many have come to believe about slavery and the relationship between master and servant. Highlights the distinction between skilled and unskilled labor that is at the core of so many social problems (race, sex, class), yet is so often overlooked.

Beverly Brodsky's new children's book, Buffalo, is a beautiful work of art. Unique and expressive paintings and prints colorfully illustrate the Native American buffalo with strong poetry weave together a 'big hit' for children and as a collectible for adults alike. I've never seen anything like it. My copies of Buffalo signed by the author/illustrator will be cherished for years to come.

I really enjoyed reading the Native American song-poems. The book is beautifully illustrated.

Before he became famous as a performer in his Wild West Show, Buffalo Bill was a household name just from leading a troupe of traveling actors across the country performing frontier melodramas. Biographies of Cody and his career often gloss over the fourteen years he spent producing his Combination Show melodramas, so it's refreshing to see an in-depth coverage suitable for any college-level library strong in American history and biography, or even stage history. Chapters survey his early years with a newfound attention to the rise of melodrama in general, following his trail across the country. College-level collections will find it an excellent survey.

Sagala is the author of previous books on Buffalo Bill and popular-culture subjects of his era in which he figures strongly. In this book, she fills in the period between his last years as a scout and Indian fighter in the early 1870s and when he became a world-famous star of his own traveling show named Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show.

By the 1870s, William Cody had already gained famed as a cavalry scout and Indian fighter helping to tame the "wild west." Yet he had no thoughts of performing on stage or of forming a Wild West Show to capitalize on his fame. Eventually though the combination of personality, circumstances, and opportunities were like a siren call for him to take up public performances.

In the latter 1800s, dime novels about the West and the cavalry and adventurous frontiersmen were a leading area of popular culture. Cody's exploits and traits were often the basis for the heroes of such novels. There were even a few performers who portrayed Buffalo Bill in vaudeville-like skits before large, enthusiastic crowds. The first time Cody appeared on stage was in 1872 when the actor J. B. Studley, who was portraying him, called him up at the urging of the audience after it learned that the real Buffalo Bill was sitting among them. It was not long after this when the dime novelist Ned Buntline persuaded Buffalo Bill to take up acting.

Buffalo Bill threw himself into acting with as much intelligence, energy, and commitment as he did with his work as a cavalry scout. Though his early efforts in shows put on by "theatrical association[s] of roving troupers who supported a star for the run of a single performance" were amateurish to the point of often being comically inept and usually panned by the critics, audiences nevertheless responded to Cody's authenticity and the true-life dramas he and his changing troupes performed. "The fact that Cody was [in italics in original] a brave Indian fighter, scout, and estimable man and that he could project his personality to the audience solidified his heroic status. Buffalo Bill of the dime novels and stage gelled with Buffalo Bill of the real West...He spent the theater's off-season actually doing the brave deeds, the shooting, and the scouting he was famous for, then returned to portray them on the stage."

Sagala does a good job of following how Buffalo Bill's true self and stage character and image recurrently blended and separated as he became the consummate showman. She sees Cody as the original star of the embryonic star system which would be implemented throughout Hollywood starting just about the time Buffalo Bill died in 1917.

The map is beautiful and (reasonably) accurate, but its small scale limits its use for hiking. Many of the contours are so closely spaced, faint, or interrupted by text that they are nearly useless. The publishers tried to squeeze the entire national monument onto one map sheet, which makes for a good overview and planning map, but a poor hiking map.
Unfortunately, you have rather limited options, at least when it comes to paper maps: The USGS 7.5 minute topo sheets are great, but they don't show the trails, local hiking maps are hit and miss (some can be great). State-wide mapping software that lets you print customized hiking maps might be the way to go, but I haven't tried them yet.

This map is part of the Trails Illustrated series covering many national parks. These are all sturdy and convenient.

Your map choices are essentially this one, the National Park Service map, and USGS topos. The NPS map is fine if you're staying at Rock Harbor Lodge and doing light day activities from that base.

If you're backpacking, or doing long day hikes, the Trails Illustrated map is absolutely essential because the USGS topographic maps are outdated. For example, the topo shows a no-longer-existent East Feldtmann trail on the southwest part of the island.

The topo also shows inaccurately the trail that goes over White Oak Ridge in the same area. The Trails Illustrated map shows the trails correctly.

This map also shows (1) group and individual campsites and (2) distances between trail junctions that accord with the NPS signage. Both features make it useful for planning your trip.

If you are interested in learning about the trails, river, people, geology and biology of the Buffalo River . . . this is the place to start. No one knows the Buffalo River country better than Ken Smith. It has been his passion for more than 40 years. An earlier book he wrote, Buffalo River Country, played a key role in the creation of America's first national river. He knows the Buffalo River trail as no one else can. He laid it out and supervised its construction. He is actively involved today in the extention of it from Hwy 65 to Hwy 14. This trail will ultimately make it possible for a hiker to travel by trail from St Louis, Missouri to near Ft. Smith Arkansas.

Buffalo River Handbook easily rates five stars for anyone going to the Buffalo. I would also buy the Trails Illustrated maps of the Buffalo which he also edited and which go hand in hand with the Buffalo River Handbook.

Admittedly, it is difficult to be comprehensive and remain a "handbook," meaning something that you could take with you and refer to while on the trail or the river. If you are looking for specific maps for trails, I would recommend books by Tim Ernst, or if you are looking for details on running the river, A Canoeing & Kayaking Guide to the Ozarks are both superior for their individual information. This said, if you want something to refer to in general with historical as well as geological information along with talk of the flora and fauna with generalized information on trails and the river this book is outstanding. Excellent color and black and white pictures, and a searchable index.

marks another key chapter in bills history, from the depths of the awful mid-80's teams to the emergence of a powerhouse in the late-80's and early 90's. candid and humorous at the same time, another must-read for bills fans.

This book brings out the humor and reality of a career as a Pro Bowl Nose Takle in the NFL. Vic Carrucci has captured the essence of what it's like to be a pro football player that really enjoys the game.

You see all sides of Smerlas; Boston College prospect, Training camp rookie, seasoned veteran, and aging player.

It is surprisingly touching and personal in places and grabs your attention throughout the book. A "must have" for any Bills fan from the 80's.