Buffalo Books

This is a great introductory book for those of us who are unfamiliar with the great sport to be had by these "trash fish". The authors did a wonderful job in creating an entertaining and informative book on fish not many consider to be worthy adversaries. This is a great book for those interested in learning more about tapping into underutilized fish.

In Fishing For Buffalo, Rob Buffler and Tom Dickson guide the reader to an understanding of how entertaining, absurd, and precious species like gar, buffalo, and suckers can be. With this book, they intelligently and humorously open up a new world of fishing that previously was closed off by ignorance. They include natural history, recipes, fishing techniques, and even poetry to make their work thoroughly satisfying. Fishing For Buffalo has changed my fishing life.

We had an assignment for our history class and i was really regreting this because i usually do not like reading. The book had to be a bout a certain time period. The book that i chose was set primarily in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

It usually takes me a long time to read a book, but this book was fairly simple and very enjoyable. If you are into suspense and mystery there is plenty of it lurking in the plot. This book takes place in 1967. This shows how these girls lived during this time and it kind of showed the things that went on back in the day. This book has a lot of very strange occurences that keep happening that Renee can not explain. After growing up with a mother that was not mentally stable she had a lot of support and help from her older brother. She no longer has that "safe place" to go when she is scared. She has to learn how to fend for herself and how to get through these issues with out the help of her brother. This book is a book that can get confusing after a while becaue the author uses a series of flashbacks to help set the atmosphere of the story. Although the characters in this book are fictional he way that they are portrayed is real and you sort of feel like you are back there living the life. If you like mystery and suspense this is the book for you.

....which is saying a lot since I have read many books. This book brought back crystal clear memories of my college days in upstate New York. Ms. Laiken clearly captures the Buffalo experience of the 1970s including the split Victorians divided up into cheap housing for college students that were so plentiful back then. Also she captures some of the stupid antics of college students gone awry as well as what it is like to adjust to a normal adult life after years of living with a clandestined highly dysfunctional family.

Too bad she is no longer writing fiction, additional contributions would be quite welcome.

This is part 2 of Arthur Kopecky's published journals written while a member of the New Buffalo commune in the highlands of New Mexico some 35-40 years ago. It is an incredibly enlightening story that holds many a lesson for us today. The question is: will we be able to ultimately live together on this planet? At New Buffalo, the world seemed to be represented in microcosm. All the joy, sadness, achievement, failure, agreement, conflict... everything that life holds, was experienced by a group of courageous, hard working, loving (and sometimes embattled) participants in a daring social experiment. The narrative is incredibly real and filled with the kind of human detail that makes for the most compelling reading. I couldn't put it down and was profoundly impressed. Arthur's introduction and epilogue provide a point of relevance to today's world. Many of the same issues that confronted these young people are hanging over the heads of today's youth. It's just possible that we may be able to make a change by applying again some of the ideas represented in these writings... By all means, read both books, New Buffalo and Leaving New Buffalo!

At the Bolinas commune, I couldn't figure out why Arthur Kopecky was under the covers with a flashlight every night writing in his diary when everyone else was sound asleep. A couple years later when I caught up with him at New Buffalo, he was still at it. As the decades passed, I wondered if anything ever came of it. In 2004, I googled the recently published *New Buffalo, Journals of a Taos Commune,* which was published to great critical acclaim. This second book is a real cliffhanger: How will the visionary leader end up leaving New Buffalo? Arty was always criticizing everyone else for lack of commitment. He must get kicked out, but how could the world's most committed communard be forced off the farm he had coaxed up from a patch of Taos desert? Who will the bad guys turn out to be? Yes, a nail-biter, but more important, a vindication of the 60s. It is disheartening that nearing the end of oil, the media continues to denigrate the important accomplishments of the back-to-the-land movement. Arthur Kopecky's journals are living proof that the "hippie trip" had a point, and in fact was often very focused. They show that city folk, with a lot of hard work, can survive on a self-sustainable farm without food stamps (if the government will leave them alone; with the wars on drugs, terrorism, and immigrants and possibly a new draft, the government will be even more an issue in the future). As we approach the end of oil as cities become increasingly unlivable, many will by design or destiny find themselves in a country way. The successes and failures at New Buffalo are instructive, and they are entertainingly and heartbreakingly described in these journals. Most important in the demise of New Buffalo was the lack of initial structure. But this book is not a primer on how to structure a commune. For that, google the 40-year-old Twin Oaks and hundreds more at the Foundation for Intentional Communities site. Read these journals for the joy of the ride: for the beautiful descriptive passages of the land and its inhabitants and the hilarious anecdotes, for the exhausting and elating interpersonal relationships, for the late night runs across the moonlit mesa, for a high-fashion Halloween party in the kiva after the day in the dairy, for the almost-forgotten appointment at the clinic kept covered with goat cum. Read it to your children to laugh together and give them hope for the future. Who knows what the future of Arthur Kopecky, a.k.a. Answei Livingproof, will bring? I can't wait to find out, and I hope there will be more journals to read. (You don't have to read the first book to "get" this one; it briefly recaps the first.)

Our young students at the Early Childhood Education Center are thoroughly enjoying Logan and the Duck Patrol. This delightful story about a little boy who does a BIG job is a story time favorite. Children choose this book because of the adorable illustrations and interesting story line. Teachers and parents often select Logan when they want to teach a lesson on compassion, or problem solving, or the power of working together. As the principal of an early childhood center where 800+ three, four, and five year olds go to school, I can tell you we have done a rigorous "field test" on Logan and the Duck Patrol. I can highly recommend it as an outstanding book for children. Susan Townsend, Principal Early Childhood Education Center 1801 West Lea Carlsbad, NM 88220

Logan and the Duck Patrol is a beautifully illustrated and wonderfully told tale about a boy who learns about helping others in need. Logan and Gramma discover that Mr. Johnson's illness has kept him from feeding the ducks, so they round up their friends and come to the rescue. With outstanding watercolor technique, Anton Uhl brings uncommon beauty to this inspiring story. Micki Nellis has somehow captured that special relationship between grandmother and young boy and has woven it into the thread tied onto the happy ending.

Awesome book! If you ever have wondered about Buffalo City as you have traveled past the sign on 64 in NC check this out. Lots of Pictures & accounts from people who lived there. Very interesting look into the past of this area.

Logs & Moonshine is the only one of Tate's four oral histories (see also Bring Me Duck, Memories of Manteo, and Whalehead) to be set on the North Carolina mainland. Over a third of the booklet's forty-eight pages are taken up with pictures showing Buffalo City in its heyday (at pp. 10, 14, 22, 26, and 32-45), as well as what now remains (at pp. 46-48). A map (at pp. 24-25) sketching one resident's memory of the city, circa 1929, is also of use.

Tate has interviewed six of Buffalo City's former residents to obtain a picture of community life in the first half of the 20th century. The ghost town, formerly christened "Moonshine Capitol of the World" (at p. 5) was located west of Manns Harbor, North Carolina (at p. 3). Not surprisingly, many of the reminiscences deal with the production and sale of illicit spirits (see pp. 8-9, 12, 15-16, 20, and 27). Some of the earliest inhabitants of the town were Russian lumber-workers, who were brought over on contract (at p. 6). The town was segregated, with blacks living in white houses and whites in red dwellings (at pp. 6, 31). Workers were paid in company coins, redeemable at the company store (at pp. 6, 31, 33). The reminiscences describe the removal of the town's only telephone line (at pp. 6-7), use of sugar sacks to make dresses and sheets (at p. 12), burning tires to discourage bugs (at p. 18), and the old pole road (at p. 19). Particularly interesting is the account of William Basnight's prediction of television and atomic power (at p. 31).

This is a useful account of a community that no longer exists, and Tate should be commended for her collection and preservation of this social history.

Samuel Pyeatt Menefee

"In the winding streets of Naples, mozzarella cheese is made daily from buffalo milk." Buffalo mozzarella is part of the everyday diet of Neapolitans and others who live in the southern Italian countryside of the Campania region. Buffalos made their way to southern Italy from India sometime in the sixteenth century. "Mozzarella di bufala" is almost synonomous with Naples, a city where Pizza Napoli was created about three hundred years ago.

When the royal couple of Italy visited Naples in 1899, they ordered pizza to show their solidarity with the people. Legend has it that a Neapolitan baker topped this famous pizza with the colors of the Italian flag by using thick, white slabs of mozzarella di bufala, sliced red tomatoes, and green basil leaves. The baker named his creation after the Italian queen, Margherita, and, to this day, we still order Pizza Margherita in restaurants and bake it at home. The word "mozzarella" derives from the Italian verb "mozzare," that! is, "to cut off, the action of breaking the cheese curd into smaller, more manageable pieces."

The process of making mozzarella di bufala is fascinating. I have seen American food television cooking shows that show it, beginning when the buffalo milk is poured into large metal vats; heated to 95 degrees for several hours; and then a "caglio" (coagulant) is added, which causes a curd to be formed. Next this curd is broken into smaller pieces, the liquid is drained off, and buffalo ricotta is formed, which is then heated for several hours. Finally, the cheesemaker scoops it up with a wooden palette to test it for readiness. When ready, the cheese is rolled into balls by hand, an art learned over years of apprenticeship, and then soaked in brine for several hours. The fresh cheese is best eaten within a day or two, but will keep up to five days. This art of cheesemaking is usually passed down through generations in southern Italian families. However, there are some large !manufacturers who treat the fresh milk with chemicals in order to give the resulting cheese a longer shelf live, but the fresh taste, aroma, and texture are then sacrificed.

After I saw this entire process, I came to appreciate why the cost of mozzarella di bufala is higher than that of regular mozzarella. Also, as long as it is authentic mozzarella di bufala, someone who has lactose intolerance should be able to enjoy it without the uncomfortable side effects that would result from eating mozzarella made from cow's milk. To me, summer means eating an insalata of thick-sliced fresh mozzarella di bufala, sliced vine-ripened tomatoes, with basil leaves and a splash of balsamico fino.

Besides a history of mozzarella di bufala, this beautiful book offers 61 excellent recipes, with a color photo accompanying each one. Top chefs from 21 British restaurants have contributed these recipes, which are grouped in chapters: Insalata; Pane; Pasta; Legumi; Riso e Risotto; Pesc!e e Crostace; and Carne. There is a glossary of terms, with some recipes (Brioche, Mayonnaise, Pesto, Tomato Sauce), followed by an index.

At first, I thought, "Why would I want an Italian cookbook with recipes from British chefs?" After I tested some of the recipes, I have come to love this book. Now I have so many more ways to use my favorite mozzarella di bufala other than in the classic insalata. I enjoy making Eggplant Salad & Carta Musica; Fresh Linguine with Sun-Dried Tomatoes & Smoked Mozzarella; Spaghetti alla Sorrento; Gâteau of Grilled Vegetables & Mozzarella; Buffalo Mozzarella, Tomato & Pesto Tart; and San Daniele Prosciutto with Mozzarella, Figs & Balsamic Dressing.

If you love mozzarella di bufala or have been eager to try it, you will like these recipes. Some of the ones with pane do take a while when made from scratch, but there are many other whimsical, easy, and creative recipes here, too.

If you love buffalo mozzarella (and who on God's green earth does NOT?) you HAVE to buy this book (and you HAVE to buy it from amazon.com!!!). Particularly scrumptious is the braised eel stuffed with buffalo mozzarella and squid!

This book is a fascinating and skillfully written story set in the American Southwest from the 1860's to the 1890's. It is told from a variety of viewpoints--native American tribes, settlers, and cattle trail hands--that bring to life their triumphs and tragedies while fighting for survival on the frontier. The author vividly portrays an array of historical and fictional characters in a unique geographical and historical setting and manages to weave into the story a mystery that is only revealed as forces converge through the characters over thirty years.

The North Fork is an example of great historical fiction. Lively characters and unpredictable plot twists make this book a real page turner. All southwestern history buffs should enjoy this book immensely.

For Angelo Daluisio, buildings are more than wood and nails. A craftsman by talent and a teacher by profession, he knows instinctively that the soul of an edifice is invested by the people who built it and lived in it and made memories that gave it value. You will think, at first, that this book is about work that the author has done to fabricate and restore, but you will find very quickly that it is also an uncommon, unexplainable and profound juxtaposition of visible art and the invisible but equally compelling value of relationships. And Angelo has them all: father and mother, in-laws, children, uncles and aunts, neighborhood folks and story upon story about what happened on porches and in other places from the past that provide the locales and the life forces that our best literature and psychology call "passages." Your own memories will be stirred, and you will be moved by the insights that seem to flow so easily and effortlessly out of this sharing. Most of all, you will get to know the author in all of his strengths and weaknesses, and you will wish to look him up and thank him for providing you with this wonderful read and this imaginative and emotional journey. My distinct advantage is that when this same urge came so powerfully over me as soon as I finished reading his book, I had only to walk across the hall and tell him so. This is a book for your heart and your soul, and you will never again look at your own porch quite the same. Every passage is an opportunity to grasp some of that wisdom that makes life endurable and informs it with meaning. Porch Passages is one of these.

I really enjoyed this book... Being an avid "porch percher" I found it to be insightful, funny, and very touching. This book made me eager for spring, so I can jump into my favorite rocking chair and just listen and relax. This author captures the joys and sometimes strife of America's porches perfectly.

Albert Marrin's SAVING THE BUFFALO charts the buffalo's near extinction and decline, from its initial position as the most common large land animal in North America to its decline to less than 1,000 creatures. Chapters provide many different explanations to this decline - all of which are based on human activities, both Native and white, and show efforts of early conservationists have saved it for future generations. In a world laden with negatives it's refreshing to find a natural history which shows positive changes CAN be made.

You are an author. You have decided to write two non-fiction children's books on two entirely different animals: rats and buffalos. As such, you will need to devote just as much energy to one as to the other. The rat book, one might assume, is relatively easy. Rats (as found in the book, "Oh Rats: The Story of Rats and People") are disgusting/fascinating creatures that lend themselves to interesting writing. And then there are the buffalo to consider. Unlike rats, buffalo might seem a much more difficult subject. A lesser author might quail at the thought of producing a 128 page lushly illustrated, meticulously cited, and FUN book recounting the history of this King of the Plains. You, however, are Albert Marrin and you've got skills (as they say in the biz). So lo and behold this is the result: "Saving the Buffalo", by Albert Marrin. More interesting than it has any right to be, Marrin skillfully tells not only the tale of what a buffalo was and how it was saved, but also how they fit into the plain's ecological balance alongside the larger implications of their near disappearance.

Things you might not have known about the buffalo prior to reading this book:

1. The removal of the buffalo from the plains contributed significantly to the Dust Bowl of the 30s.

2. Wild buffalo have terrible eyesight, a great sense of smell, and won't mind if a human comes up to them on all fours wearing a wolf's skin.

3. Teddy Roosevelt and the ASPCA played a large part in the return of the buffalo to the wild.

And on and on it goes. Marrin pulls fact after fact about the buffalo out of his hat, all the while doing so within the structure of the story. Basically, the book begins by giving you a little background on buffalo basics. What they look like, how much they eat, their mating habits, size, etc. Two separate chapters then discuss how different tribes of Native Americans hunted buffalo, and this part is truly engrossing. The section on Native Americans before the introduction of horses to America and how they hunted buffalo is meticulous. We learn about trading routes between the agricultural Hopi and other Pueblo people and how they contributed to the nomadic plains Indians diet. We see elaborate and incredibly well thought out buffalo jumps, such as the Head-Smashed-In World Heritage Site. And THEN we find out what it was like when horses came to America and everything changed. After that it's two chapters, one called "The War On the Buffalo" and "Saving the Buffalo", which are fairly self-explanatory. There's a distinct structure to the book, but it allows for all kinds of tidbits and remarkable illustrations to dot the text the whole way through.

Actually, as much as I would like to credit Marrin only with superb writing, his illustration choices are just as impressive. In full-color prints we see great paintings of the buffalo in their prime by people like John Mix Stanley, Meyer Straus, and of course George Catlin. Photographs of buffalo today illustrate their bone structure, the difference between female buffalo and male, and the look of a herd as it moves. Then we have photos from the height of the war against the buffalo. Shocking photographs like that of three "sportsmen" standing in front of at least twenty-two taxidermied buffalo heads, to say nothing of the mountain of buffalo skulls later in the book, drill home the wastefulness that came with the destruction of the "Lord of the Plains".

Just the level of detail Marrin has taken with his book elicits respect. He spots his children's non-fiction book with endnotes, something more authors should consider taking the time to do. In addition to this, there is also a Glossary, a list of books containing further information (both for "young people" AND "adults") as well as a much needed list of reliable Web Sites, and an Index. When Marrin shows an image of native hunters impounding buffalo, he notes that the engraving "combines fact and fiction". The picture displays the "pound" close to a native village. Says the caption, "With their keen sense of smell, the buffalo would have easily detected the village and run away." Well noted, sir.

There is an odd moment at the beginning of the book where Marrin seems to feel obligated to note every single way a buffalo could have died, aside from at the hands of man. As such, Marrin recounts seasonal changes, thin ice, quicksand, mud, lightning, fire, wolves, and stampedes with perhaps an unhealthy interest. All that aside, this is one of the foremost non-fiction titles of 2006 and a heckuva good read to boot. Kids will find it interesting, adults will find it informative, and people who are entirely picture oriented will be able to take something from it as well. Great great stuff.

What can you say about Matt Briggs? This book is fantastic. It reminds one of Edgar Allen Poe, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Hansel and Gretyl. What happens in the woods? Does the little girl meet a wolf or an uncle? She doesn't meet a mother. Read this book to find out more.

Early in "Shoot the Buffalo," a little girl dies due to parental neglect, but her brother blames himself. As a result, his childhood is also stolen from him. Without trustworthy parents to shelter him, Aldous searches for meaning in highly structured groups like the Boy Scouts and eventually, the Army. His story reminded me of the autobiographical struggles of author Tobias Woolf as told in "This Boy's Life" and "The Barracks Thief." In both cases the highly regimented, uniform-wearing organizations are just as stressful for the narrator as the bad parenting of earlier years. The spirit struggles to survive in unfriendly conditions. "Shoot the Buffalo" also made me think of another novel set in Washington state, Marilynne Robinson's "Housekeeping." That novel is also narrated by a child who has unconventional parenting and is haunted by the memory of a beloved sibling. Both Briggs and Robinson evoke the green, damp, forested Washington landscape and see it as a place of dread as well as a place of beauty. Briggs' writing explores physical and psychological landscapes with equal intensity.