By Region Books

Archaeology and the Battle of the Little Big Horn, what's there not to like! Nicely written with fascinating photographs. Starting at $8, what a bargain!

Custer's Fall: The Native American Side of the Story

I found 'Archaeological Perspectives on the Battle of Little Bighorn' to be a very interesting read indeed, it served to answer many questions that, up to the time of the archaeological investigations, were not known.

An interesting comment in the book referred to the fact that the investigations backed-up the indian's side of events & refuted that of the army's.
Many comments made by various authors over the years have also been negated by the evidence unearthed.

I recommend the book mentioned above, ('Custer's Fall'), which is the indian account of the battle; many people I am sure will be dismayed to discover that; Custer was shot down within a few moments of the first charge across the Little Bighorn to attack the indian camp, that the charge immediately halted mid stream & that shortly afterwards the army, faced with overwhelming numbers of indians, commenced it's futile race to try & find a defensive place on high ground.

Unfortunately Custer's luck on that day was not as good as Reno's.

In my opinion, Custer was an egotistical murdering glory hound, he had the opportunity to save his men's lives & failed to heed the word of his scouts.
He went in with guns blazing & met the fate he truly deserved, there was no last stand, at least not for Custer, that ultimate terror was left for his unfortunate men to face.

My only (minor) criticism of 'Archaeological Perspectives' is that a detailed map of the arenas of battle was not included in the book.

Well done the indians; if only they had overrun Reno & captured his ammunition packs, it could have led to the destruction of the other army detachments closing in upon them, alas... it was not meant to be.

I was lucky enough to visit the Battlefield in 1984 shortly after the fire and the first field season. I have visited it twice more since. The last time I was armed with not only Richard Allen Fox's book but this one as well.

Having an abiding interest in the battle for over 30 years it is amazing how the application of good sound science has unraveled many of the "mysteries" and myths associated with what happened on those dusty slopes the day of the battle.

This book delves more into the personal fate of numerous combatants as evidenced by their remains found on the battlefield.

The mere fact that so numerous remains were there to be found after reported exhumation and reburial under the monument, shows that then as now "good enough for government work" still has the same meaning.

If you are interested in the fate of individuals, the nuts and bolts of the recovery of remains, this book is for you. If you are more interested in the unraveling of the mystery of the battle itself. Richard Alan Fox's book Archaeology, History and Custer's Last Battle will appeal to you more. It details the unraveling of the stages of the battle using firearm forensic techniques and puts to bed the notion that Custer died in a glorious last stand.

Rather the famed 7th Cavalry disintegrated into a panic stricken mob, and at the last it was every man for himself, as the last 28 lone survivors on foot and horseback fled Last Stand Hill for the illusion of saftey of the Deep Ravine.

Both books are excellent and both will help final dispel the myths surrounding the battle.

This book goes into great detail about the archeology performed on the battlefield site. It has the feel of being written for an audience of archeologists rather than just a casual reader. If you are an archeologist, the book probably rates a five. If you are really interested in the battle, I also recommend it. If you just want to learn the basics of the battle, howver, other titles are probably more appropriate.

Even though I know all the writers of this book, I'm still NOT biased when I say that Scotts, et al book has changed interpretation dramatically on the Little Bighorn fight. Having worked at the Little Bighorn Battlefield as an interpreter in 1985, I personally know how this interpretation changed, i.e. before the archaeological digs of 1984-85, most of us believed that Custer's men fell mostly to arrows. We now know that the U.S. soldier's were outgunned, thanks to this field work and as reported in the book.

Since Scott's final report, headstones on the battlefield marking where "unknown soldier's" fell have been replaced by actual names, e.g. Mitch Bouyer. This reality came to place thanks to the forensic work of Dr. Clyde Snow (his complete report is included in this book).

Finally, Scott and his team create a vivid picture of where the soldiers and the Indian warriors moved over the battlefield fighting for what they believed was right.

Got this for my 4 year old for our upcoming trip to WDW. She loves to look through it & see all the "rides" she wants to go on. Very colorful with tons of pictures of the rides & attractions. Probably better for older kids, though.

I brought this book for my son to help him prepare for our trip in May 2001. He absolutely loved it! He made a list of all the rides and attractions that he thought he might want to experience himself. It was helpful to him to read the different reviews that came from each of the kids. As we walked around WDW he would say "I read about this ride in the book." This book also helped to enhance his reading skills, which is always a plus. I am anxiously waiting for the 2002 edition to come out since we have another trip planned for May 2002.

Kids visiting WDW should get this book!! It tells you which rides are too scary, rough, or intense. It also contains "Hidden Mickeys", a restaurant guide, & an autograph section!! No Disney kid should be without this book!!

A friend showed me this book after returning from Disney. I found it to be very helpful and am ordering one for our family. The book tells what you need to know about the ride before you put them on it. That allows me to know whether or not a ride is too scary, rough or dark. That information is very helpful. My daughter is only 5, and she enjoyed looking at it with us. I think it is a must before you go to Disney World. It also has a section in the back for autographs and lots of helpful hints.

Gave lots of insights and tips. Our kids loved the "hidden Mickey" alerts and other interesting tidbits to pass the time. It helped our kids get a lot more out of the experience and really notice the detail that goes into each of the park's design and upkeep.

I now buy it for every kid I know going to WDW.

I seems that most authors of Roman history are pushing a point of view, so it is refreshing to read a book that just tries to make sense out of the few facts that are known. Until this book I didn't realize that the Germanic tribes had such a long history, and although not as advanced as the Romans, were far from being savages. One gets a different perspective of the Roman Empire as it existed within the contex of other groups of people. The book is a good overview. I look foward to more detailed studies.

I have read many books re: this subject, but they have treated the subject in a picemeal manner. This book combines many aspects of those other works into one general history. I liked it very much and have read it three times already!
I would recommend this book to anyone with an interest in early Europe and/or an interest in things relating to German history.

Todd's book is the single best introduction to the subject of Germanic peoples I have found. It contains an accurate summery of the current state of scholarship and is an easy read.

If you can have only one book on the subject, this should be it.
The latest edition of this book is ISBN 1405117141.

i was hoping to find a newer book that would finally give some kind of a border between the celts and the germanic peoples,but as i've found with too many books on this subject,the line is hazy to non-existent.I realize now since it is so well explained in this book,Germanic and Celtic tribes had no specific celtic or germanic identity.most of these bands were family units or smaller tribes in search of opportunity and one germanic or celtic tribe as different from each other as night or day including the languages and the dialects.When Romeo says in the play,"there is no life outside verona walls"I always thought-spoken like a good Italian.since I've read this book,now I wonder if the Montagu's were not descendents of Germanic lombards,since this tribe ruled over Verona for a long period of the middle ages as well as alot of other germanic peoples.There are alot of thorough but brief descriptions of the numerous germanic tribes and subtribes and good maps of their movements through Europe,Africa and the eastern steppes.One thing consistent in this book though is the gravitation of the germanic peoples to the political center of Europe at the time-ROME!!You would have to say the Germans had excellent taste often battling each other for status and recognition over the guardianship of Rome.I had once read in a book that Arminius defeat of the Roman army under Varus in 9 AD set the germanic peoples back on the evolutionary scale.I always thought that was a "different" interpretation of facts,since I had always perceived the Germanic victory as a turning point for the Roman empire.after reading this book,i see the Tuetoberg victory as somewhat"watered down".I would almost bet the result of this battle was a mass betrayal,complete with super-payoffs,rather than a massacre of some lazily marching Roman soldiers bewildered by the crafty.lurking,savage Germanics.At least it's more believable.In the 1970's I remember reading where 85% of Americans have Germanic roots.After this book I could see how easily that could be.

Todd's work is an absolute must for German scholors and enthusiasts. It makes an excellent companion to Tacitus and many of the book's sitations are in German. I did not find the language to be at all cumbersome, finishing in only a few days. Excellent begining to any serious study of Germany and its people.

Marcus Tanner offers an extended eulogy, stripped of sentimentality, for the languages of those peoples predating the Anglo-Saxons in Britain. The sheer timespan of that last clause, from our 21st century perspective, shows how durable has been the legacy of a language-group that we don't even know the true name for-only that many of us descend from varied ethnicities who shared related systems of communication, dating back thousands of years. Even the name Celt is a Greek invention. Defining the Celtic, then, depends upon its clash with the foreigner; so much that Cornwall and Wales owe their names to what the Saxons called the `Other', those outside the common-wealth, those un-familiar, those pushed back to, as a Cornish author lamented over two hundred years ago, `about the cliff and the sea'.

Notice that Tanner, in looking for the remnants of those who speak or revive Celtic languages, differentiates speech from the material culture of the six nations he explores. He visits the Scots Isles, Conamara, West Belfast, the Isle of Man, North and South Wales, Brittany, and finally the outlying colonies in Canada's Maritimes and Argentina's Patagonia. While he finds music, say in Cape Breton, vibrant, there Scots Gaelic, despite the murmur of tourist brochures, will be far less heard-spoken by at most 500 people. Brittany and Galway certainly cater to cultural tourism, and hawk their Keltic Krafts diligently, but in these more ancient redoubts, too, Tanner finds growing indifference to the language's perpetuation. Over and over, he notes, outsiders-those who have taken as adults to learning Celtic languages-find themselves resented, marginalised, or dismissed by natives embarrassed to speak to strangers, ashamed of their own lack of fluency, or determined to let their language die a quiet death in their homes rather than in public.

The conclusions he raises will depress those for whom cultural revivals portend linguistic renaissance. The strongest part of the book, in fact, is its introduction. Tanner notes how, since the entry of clerical control from Rome in early mediaeval times, revivals have occurred! Monks eager to draw a lineage rooted in native genealogies manufactured branches for those grafting papal foliage onto arguably indigenous Catholic varietals.

Anglo-Saxon and Norman invaders invented Celtic origins for their dynasties and legends; Reformers and Romanticists followed after Catholicism had succumbed to first Protestants and then the cult of nature-these in turn sought antiquarian justification for their authority. Finally, the New Age/Wicca/ecological movements have manufactured a spuriously feminist, magickal, and pacifist kingdom in which an alienated urban, affluent, Western European consumer can recapture a realm of vegan, polysexual, pagan lifestyles.

But we already know what to expect. His preface concludes rueing the label given the Celts by so many for so long: dreamers denied political victory, quaint and charming, content to live as Tolkienesque `eternal elves of the West'. He does not mention that even the elves left at the end of the 3rd age.

And it seems that the Celts too are departing, and their ancient tongues, upon which the linguist JRR Tolkien in part had invented his own array of fictional but linguistically correct tongues, will be as removed from our future reality as those of Middle-Earth's. People may learn Breton as they do Elvish or Esperanto, but as a community language, Tanner predicts, it will be as dead as Manx or the three debated re-versions of Cornish.
He ends his forward with a poignant panorama. The Celtic sea ebbs, first into pools, now into puddles. Where can we immerse when these last splashes dessicate and evaporate?

For, as Tanner's scholarship (if too often rather undigested; names-dates-clerical minutiae diminishes the pace of much of this book--down one star) demonstrates, no continuous territory remains over which a Celtic language is spoken. We see this in the broken Gaeltachtaí, the loss of Welsh and Scots regional cohesion, the disappearance of any Breton-speaking heartland, and the nearly extinct numbers of speakers of Welsh in Patagonia and Gaelic in Canada. On the other hand, many whom Tanner interviews simply shrug that this demonstrates a Darwinian natural selection. The fittest languages remain, English, French, or Spanish in these cases. Why, after all, keep a minority language as a curiousity when no monoglots still exist in any Celtic tongue? What's the value, economically, educationally, emotionally, of holding on to an unwieldy, unremunerative, and unattractive heirloom?

(P.S. For guardedly more optimistic views on the future of Irish, see James McCloskey's Voices Silenced and Ciaran MacMurcaidh's Who Needs Irish? An earlier, more optimistic survey joining the Celtic fringe language revivals to 60s/70s activism was taken by Peter Berresford Ellis, The Celtic Revolution, from the Welsh publishers Y Lolfa. See also their The Welsh Extremist, by Ned Thomas.)

(Excerpted from "Eternal elves of the West" via the on-line journal from Belfast, The Blanket.)

The author writes eloquently about the decline of a culture that by and large was a 16th-18th century creation by the likes of George Buchanan. He correctly points out that the decline came just as much from within as from without.

Nontheless, I highly enjoyed the detailed analysis. "However, I still recommend Malcolm Chapman's Celts: The Construction Of A Myth" & John Collis' "The Celts: Origins, Myths, & Reinventions" as a balance to Mr. Tanner's fine book."

Although I argue with the title of the book the author makes a strong case concerning the encroachments on that which makes Celtic culture unique. Although I could make alternative arguements that Celtic culture has morphed into what is now modern Europe, the author is concerned with such things as the dying Celtic languages and customs. The case he makes is quite a strong and convincing one. Pan-Celticists hang on to you hats but don't huff and puff just yet. The author is concerned with the destruction of what we have come to know as Celtic culture but to my mind this in no way runs contrary to the evidence that much of Europe actually sprung from Celtic culture and a fair-minded person should not see this book as an attack on those theories.
This is more of a call to arms and a much needed one.

Tanner has written a remarkable survey of the present-day Celtic nations and their generally dying languages. His description of survivals of pre-Christian rites and religion among the Celts might have benefited from reference to James Frazer's 1922 work The Golden Bough; these survivals among Celts were and are paralleled by survivals elsewhere in Europe and beyond. A non-English writer might have said a little more about the effect on the Irish nation of the Great Famine (and London officials' inattention to it), as well as government's repression of the Scottish Highlanders after 1745. His pessimism about chances for future survival of Celtic languages is well founded. As he says, however, Cornish is making something of a comeback, and last year, when Mr. Tanner's book was published, a Member of Parliament swore allegance to the Queen in Cornish for the first time. (Tanner notes that the Liberals are strong in Cornwall; he might have noted that all four Members of Parliament from Cornwall are Liberal Democrats.)

The above are only minor comments on a fine, well written book.

This is a fantastic book which stands out among so many other romanticized works on the Celtic world. Occasionally, it seems as if the author's desire to discredit romantic views of Celtic culture move past healthy cynicism to outright negativism. I am thinking specifically of his chapter on western Ireland. Frankly, however, "the Irish mystique" is well due for some deflating. This willingness to criticize well-loved myths is generally very refreshing, and it does not diminish his obvious love of these country's cultures and history.

"Last of the Celts" should also be admired for the author's focus on ALL of the Celtic world (aside, arguably, from Galacia). How often does one have occasion to read about the Isle of Man and Cornwall alongside "giants" of the Celtic world like Ireland and Scotland? For me, the chapters on these overlooked places were the highlight of the book, as the Celtic identities of these places are real, but not as well defined or as obvious as those in Wales, Ireland, and Scotland.

As a final comment: Ive only briefly been to Ireland, and never to any other part of the British Isles. Therefore, I cannot offer an alternate view of Celtic culture in these places. I have, however, lived in Brittany for two years. Marcus Tanner's long chapter on Brittany is far and away the best writing that Ive ever seen about the Bretons. The chapter is poetic and sad, particularly when he writes about the dwindling population of native speakers and their ambivalent feelings towards the death of their language. The author discusses weaknesses of the Breton cultural revival that are almost always downplayed or ignored. This is a fabulous book, and while it is full of criticisms, it is also full of love for the Celts and their customs, and their histories.

I moved to KY a few years ago and wanted to garden for the first time in years. This book (and the companion one about what plants grow here) really helped. I am constantly flipping through it's mud-stained pages for reminders. I agree with another reviewer, though, that I wish it were organized by month instead of category (bulbs, annuals, etc.). However, if you only grow roses, say, the organization makes sense. I would recommend this book to any new gardener in KY or TN.

I bought this book when we moved to TN 4 years ago. I think I've used every single section except for the vegetable section, which I plan to use for next summer when I finally set up a gardening area. The climate and soil in TN are unlike any other place that I've lived at in the US and this book is worth it's weight in gold for all the wonderful advice! We now have one of the nicest yards in our neighborhood thanks to this book and our hard work!

Excellent advice for all times of the year, even in the winter months, when you might be wondering how to make yourself useful. There are chapters in all the areas involved: trees, shrubs, lawns, bulbs, etc. And of course it is specific to our area.

Honestly, I'd love to give this book more than 2 stars, because it so clearly covers material needed by gardeners in our area (especially beginning to intermediate gardeners like me). Having lived on the West Coast, where the Sunset Western Garden Book is the definitive gardener's bible, I looked high and low for an analog here in the South.

This is not it.

Don't get me wrong: this book has some good information and what's there is written in a highly readable, friendly voice.

But it is not a reference book, and it will not answer every gardening question you may have. And it may even leave you with some new questions after you try to make sense of some of the overly simple descriptions. And maybe that's OK, because it's not billed as that kind of a reference guide.

What is IS billed as, though, is a month-by-month guide to working in the garden. And it's here that it actually fails the most.

Organized into sections by different types of plants (bulbs, shrubs, trees, etc), this book is then further organized within each of those sections by month... ALPHABETICALLY! If that's not the craziest thing you've ever heard, just try to imagine actually using this book to try to understand what you need to do this weekend. You would need to flip through each section for each type of plant in your garden, and then flip around the counterintuitive listing (since when does April come before February, which comes before January?) to find the appropriate month. Lather, rinse, and repeat for each type of plant in your garden.

Why the author and publisher of this book didn't realize it would have made immeasurably more sense to group all the information together for each month and sort those months in CALENDAR order, I have no idea. But I'm here to tell you, it ain't worth it. Stick with the Southern Living Garden Book and you'll be a lot less frustrated.

This book lives up to its title. I have been gardening for years and learned quite a few new tricks. The book has editions for all parts of the country so buy the right book.
TennesseeGardener.....

A Profane Wit : The Life of John Wilmot, Earl of RochesterA fascinating and fairly complete biography of a brilliant yet doomed Restoration gentleman. Only recently have his poetry, letters and life been studied after an extremely long hiatus...partially because some of his poems were considered obscene, as was his life; in spite of a deathbed confession. I would suggest obtaining at least a complete copy of his poems to go along with this book. They are surprisingly readable even to one who has done little study of poetry in general. The biography does contain parts of his letters. A copy of "The Man of Mode" by George Etheredge (1676) would also be entertaining as Dorimant was based on the 2nd Earl of Rochester by the author, who was also close friend. Two recent plays have been written based on his life: "The Ministry of Pleasure" by Craig Baxter (1965)and "The Libertine" which recently was made into a movie.

This is an extremely detailed account. It in fact reads much like a text book...dates included.

I really couldn't better some of the excellent reviews already made about this book, so I'll keep mine short. I've spent many years enthralled with the Earl of Rochester's work and life. I have read almost all of the biographies ever written about him, which are numerous, and in my opinion this is the crown jewel of Wilmot biographies. It is steeped in depth of detail, but the most important fact about it is that the author manages to keep personal opinion out of the bio the whole way through. He states the facts and leaves it up to the reader's discretion to form their own opinions, unlike some of the other Rochester biographers.
For those of you wanting the most up-to-date, detailed account of this wonderful poet's life, this is it. From birth to death and it's aftermath, this biography is the fullest and most accurate account of John Wilmot's life available. Poet, Libertine, Husband, Father, Lover, Cynic; every possible aspect of Wilmot's life and career are laid out for the reader here. While at times, the author possibly gives a little too much detail on persons not so important to the Wilmot story, the reader is richer for the knowledge in any case. Not only an excellent bio, but a great insight into the life and times of the court of Charles II.
Wilmot fans should not pass up the chance to read this. :)

With the release of THE LIBERTINE there is a renewed interest in the life and poetry of John Wilmot, Earl of Rochester. My own interest began when I was taking a class in Restoration Literature. While I was taking this class it was rumored that there was a movie version of the mad Earl's life out there somewhere (rumor was that it had been finished for some time but that studios were reluctant to release it) but then just a few weeks after the class was over a holiday release date was announced and I saw the film on opening night. I enjoyed it thoroughly as a person with a slightly more than casual interest in this character and time period. And left the film wanting to know more.

I think there are probably several groups of fans for the film. There are the fans who like Johnny Depp and will see anything he is in (I'm not one of those although I will admit to liking DONNIE BRASCO & Jim Jarmusch's DEAD MAN). But then there are those who come to the film because they are interested in Rochester himself. These fans can probably further be divided up into those who are amused by Rochester the legend ( the mad, bad, and dangerous to know libertine) and then there are those who are curious about Rochester the actual historical figure and author of many fine lyrics. James William Johnson's biography will appeal to those who have an interest in not only Rochester but the entire social, political, military, economic, and literary milieu of 1660's and 1670's London. I think the reader with only a casual interest in the subject might find this treatment to be too complete. I for one found this biography to be almost too exaustive; that might sound odd but Johnson spends so much time on Rochester's mother and her family politicking, for instance, that I found myself nodding off during these parts. The family tree at the end of the book is helpful if you are a completist and want to know every detail of John Wilmot AND his extended families lives (before his birth and after his death) but for me this was more than I really wanted or needed. In short Johnson is a Restoration scholar and Johnson's biography is really written for other Restoration scholars.

The Rochester that makes it onto film is, as one might suspect, a sensationalized version of the real thing. Thats not to say that the things in the film did not happen (most of them did) but the film makes it look like the life was all salacious scandal and street theatre. It wasn't. The film also seems to take great pains to show you the great pains that John Wilmot went through in the last three years of his life as his body and face suffered the effects of a syphilis that was greatly aggravated by alcoholism. The film, intentionally or no, creates a martyr. To the filmmakers Rochester's atrophy is presented as a kind of heroic metaphor for unwillingness to compromise (even if that unwillingness to compromise meant that he lived only for the moment and only for himself). This probably tells us more about ourselves and our times and values than about the social times and values of 1660's and 1670's London--we seem to be socially programmed to equate a short life with a beautiful life. This is probably due to the allure of an early death promulgated by rock star's and actor's and artsits's of various stripes dying young; but then maybe this has always been true. I suppose the short beautiful life myth always assumes that its better to burn out than to fade away. That would be the myth on the mind of the filmmakers (or the myth that the filmakers rely on to bring audiences to the film). This mythos implies that some people are just not meant to or able to live a normal life, or at least not able to accept the limits and boundaries that most accept. These types are Depps's specialty. Johnson's book is, however, to its credit, not about perpetuating a legend or a mythos. In fact Johnson's book goes a long way in exploring the life or inhabiting the life in order to show us what Rochester did within the confines of a very limited set of social and intellectual possibilities. Rochester's drink-driven poetry and riotous actions were attempts at a kind of semblance of freedom that he actually did not have. When sober the reality was that he was confined to a very specific social station and almost all of the major decisions of his life were decided by his superiors (his mother, teachers, king). His life was virtually dictated to him every step of the way. It is not surprising that he struck out against authority (including his own). But he also (in verse and in life) struck out against women, and (as his critics were quick to point out) he often caused trouble that others had to pay for (sometimes with their lives).

In his own day Rochester was Restoration England's most celebrated bad boy, but that fame or infamy only lasted about five years ( a time in which he claims he was perpetually drunk). By the time he was 30 he was already a has-been on the London social scene. The public lost interest in him partly because he could no longer do what had made him so famous (the syphilis caused sexual malfunction) and also because the climate of the country had changed and grown more morose due to war, plague, and fire. But also the public lost interest in him because bad boys become tiresome after awhile; they wear out their welcome. In the last years of his life he was someone the public loved to hate.

There are several biographies of Rochester out there. I think each biography has something to offer. If you are interested in this whole time period then Johnson's biography is the best because it situates Rochester's life among the other lives and the major trends and happenings of the time. If Johnson's biography has a weakness it might just be that he does so much contextualizing that you feel like the focus is on the time period as much as it is on Rochester himself. Another option is to track down a copy of the out of print biography of Rochester by the novelist Graham Greene. This biography called LORD ROCHESTER'S MONKEY was written in the 1930's but not published until the 1970's (for censorship reasons). It's concise and lavishly illustrated and I found a nice used first edition here on Amazon for pennies. The advantage of the Greene biography is that he concentrates on the major events of Rochester's life with an especially keen focus on the Elizabeth Barry relationship and an equally keen focus on Rochester's intellectual-emotional world view and temperament. (Many in Rochester's day read Hobbes and were influenced by Hobbes materialism and it was Hobbes' philosophy, some argue, that led to the rampant selfism that Rochester was so famous for but Greene argues that Rochester never totally followed this program of thought and even struggled against it as he attempted to evolve some kind of classically inspired social ethic that is, sometimes, evidenced in his poetry). Perhaps one problem with Rochester the poet is that he almost always writes through some masque or persona and he seems never to have written except when incensed at someone and so the poetry tends to be polemical or invective or scathing satire but rarely, if ever, do you get a measured estimation of his real values and beliefs. Greene, as you would expect, is especially good at analyzing Rochester's lyrics and what makes them so interesting. Johnson's reading of individul poems is informed by current gender theory and since Rochester often wrote in the guise of a woman this works. Greene's book is a nice option for those who are literary but do not require (or desire) the academic armature and trendy theorizing as well as the leave-no-stoned-unturned thoroughness that you get with scholarly biographies. If you have the time read both the Johnson and the Greene.

If you are interested in this period I would also recommend an excellent PBS miniseries called THE LAST KING (available on DVD). Rochester himself makes only a couple of brief appearances but this is an excellent and entertaining way to familiarize yourself with the England of Charles II and the surronding cast of characters (Lady Castlemaine, Duke of Buckingham, Nell Gwynn, etc...) that will be mentioned in any Rochester biography.

I must confess that I had never heard of John Wilmot, second Earl of Rochester, until I saw the Johnny Depp movie "The Libertine". After that, I just had to read a biography of a person who appeared to be extremely interesting. This work was not a disappointment, for it detailed Wilmot's life and times, and also went deeply into both his prose and his poetry. He certainly was a mirror to the Restoration Age, and is unfairly forgotten now, but I hope that the movie, and this well-written book, bring him back to the recognition that he so justly deserves.

This is an excellent long overdue guide to sacred sites in Ireland. Background information is very accurate and coherent.It's much more than a guide book, as it includes history , myth and some archaeological information, as well as personal reflections on the "vibes" from different spots. Fascinating reading for anyone who has even a remote interest in Irish culture.Well worth the money. Look forward to more books by the same author.

This book is humongous and very heavy (even in its paperback format). The photos are in black and white, which was disappointing, and there's no mention of the sites in the biggest cities because that stuff is apparently common knowledge (not). Overall, it's a pretty good book to help you research a trip in advance, but you will definitely need to leave it at home.

I'm planning my third trip to Ireland this October. In the past I have bought two other guide books to help me see the sights. They were okay but missed many of the old "pagan" prechristian sights of intrest. This book takes you the the Hill of Tara and Hill of Uisneach for the druidic fires of Beltane and Samhain. It tells you about the history of Ireland and her people from the stone age till the last century. And takes you to many,many, standing stones and sared sites allover Ireland. If you follow the druid path or have a deep intrest in ancient Ireland this is your tour book.

Meehan does a wonderful job of documenting and suggesting sites to visit. The ones we visited (that we could find) were great! However, the sites which aren't 'signed' (ie. listed as having signs pointing to it from the main road) are diffcult to find. Even some of the sites that are 'signed' aren't signed well, or consistently. Sometimes you'll have to guess at a cross roads, and if you don't get to the site, you'll have to backtrack and take the other. The problem we had most often is that the directions say to take a dirt road for about 1/2 mile (bring your metric conversion charts since they use kilometers in Ireland) and walk across a pasture at a cow gate. Sounds like an easy thing, until you get to Ireland and realize there are 25 cow gates on that particular road. We also found an error on a road number, which would have put us at least 30 miles in the wrong direction.
My suggestion--get this book! It really is a great one to have to plan your visit. But also get an Ordinance map, and plan on asking directions once you get to the nearest village. In addition to getting correct and more detailed directions, you may also be told about other sites not mentioned in the book! Some of the coolest places we went were suggested to us by locals!

I was driving in rural Ireland in late September 2003 and was very interested in locating sites sacred to pre-Christian people. The Insight Guide to Ireland had a few mentions of sites of interest. However, to my luck that I discovered this book (the last copy) in a small bookstore in Westport, County Mayo.

What a find! The book was *exactly* what I was looking for, and was most fortunate that I discovered it early on, as I was going to spend at least one more week in the country.

The author's attention to historical detail as well as her fine directions to finding the sites are most noteworthy. What I also liked was her bias-free and academic approach to the subject. Christians, as well as Pagans like myself, will find the book a treasure trove of information. Other reviewers have extolled the book's other virtues, so I will go no further, except to say--if you're interested in Ireland's prehistory, folklore and legends, this book is a must have. [I paid thirty Euros (approximately $35) and Amazon sells it for half that price! But I would pay 35 Euros again if I had to--it's THAT good.]

I hope you will be as fortunate as I was to be actually in a car with this excellent reference in your lap, deciding which of the many holy wells, towers, stone circles, castles, cairns, fairy trees, fairy mounds, and other places that you'll visit next!

For all who love Egyptology, this little book is great. Very helpful, with lots of clear pictures. A delight!

The benefits of this series is that they provide a good amount of info for the casual reader, along with great illustrations and useful texts. I got this particular book on Ramesses for my mom who is reading the bestselling historical fiction about him. The illustrations alone are worth the price of the book -- often of the same caliber as those hideously expensive coffee table books. The text is fine, albeit brief... but again these books are primarily for general readers and great in that regard. This book would also be great for younger readers who have been struck by the "Indiana Jones" bug. Interested readers may also wish to check out the Cleopatra book from this same series, which deals with the last gasp of Egypt as an independent power.

I bought this book after my trip to Egypt. What the other reviewers say is absolutely true- this is a thoroughly enjoyable, well-documented book about Ramses II, his accomplishments (real and self-aggrandized) and greater Egypt at the time, with historic detail that further illustrates the WHYs and HOWs of the Ramses phenomenon, and not pedantic at all. It is also copiously and beautifully illustrated. - So, how come the very low price and my four star rating (instead of five)? This book is about thin pocketbook or field-guide size, one of publisher Harry Abrams' "Discoveries" series, so the sumptious illustrations are quite small, and some eye strain may be necessary to grasp the detail. This book is light enough you can take it on your trip to Egypt. Buy it with the knowledge that this is not your coffee table souvenir book of your once-in-a-lifetime Egypt trip; full size would have earned it five stars plus in my book.

Finally, a book which without being overbearing gives the reader a great overview of the amazing man known as Ramesses II! Well written and enjoyable to read, "Ramesses II, Greatest of the Pharaohs" is a beautifully illustrated guide to the life of one of history's most interesting men. I was very impressed with the attention paid to the gods and the impact they had on the kings of the 19th dynasty, as well as the listing of Ramesses known advisors, sons and wives. All in all, a very enjoyable book for those with an interest in Ramesses and Ancient Egypt.

This is one in a series of books which overviews significant people and events in history. In this book the life and accomplishments of Ramesses II is chronicled and given in good detail. Not only is the book about Ramesses but attention is also give to what an average Egyptian's world was like during the reign of Ramesses II.

The pictures in here are outstanding from Abu Simbel to Piramesse and ultimately Ramesseum, his mortuary temple, the pictures are clear and the colors are excellent. Ramesses life is shown on temple walls, statues and other records. This was truely a great and powerful king. His empire was vast, yet he could govern it with an iron fist if need be. Ramesses's mummy is one of the most photographed mummy's of today, yet I wonder if given life, what he would say and it would be fascinating to listen to his life and accomplishments.

The Egyptian gods are also detailed here, as they were most important in an Egyptian's daily life, from Pharaoh to slave. Also given in the book, is the possible relationship between Moses (Egyptian word for Moses is "Mes") and Ramesses.

Overall, this is a fascinating read and highly recommended to all amatuer and professional Egyptologists.

A very interesting book that gets right down to the details about Africa's greatest civilization. It nice to finally read more and more books these days that teaches the history that indigenous Africans created. No more fantasy about some outside imaginary human beings.

But it would have been nice if they told the truth about their indigenous name that they called themselves. They never called themselves Egyptians, but called themselves Kamites. The Greeks called them Egyptians thousands of years later. Maybe that will be in the next book.

Seriously solid information on the early Egyptian dynasties is almost impossible to find. The era gets short shrift in the popular literature owing to the paucity of remains from it. This is at least partly, we learn, because archaeologists seemed more attracted to the dynasties that would yield booty than those that would surface trinkets. Additionally, the lack of a cogent narrative for the first three dynasties gives little for non-accademic writers to work with.

Wilkinson makes up for this by organizing the book more by topic than by chronology. It makes for an interesting read, even if the picture that emerges is just a fragmentary as the evidence. A perusal of the table of contents will give you an idea of how this is done.

Wilkinson spares no detail. Looking for attested instances of Semerkhet's nswt-bty? They're all dutifully cataloged in well-written prose in the chapter covering kings by chronology and likely referenced in the chapter on population centers if they were found within one.

Aside from the actual archaeological evidence, there's a fair bit of informed speculation. The actual names of the kings isn't altogether clear and there are a few ephemerally attested kings that may be alternate names of known kings, usurpers, or something else entirely. It's these musings that make this such a great read and highlight where encyclopedias of kings' names or overviews of Egyptian history fall well short. Early Dynastic Egypt is invaluable.

The reviews prior to mine sum up the strong points of the text quite well, it is an excellent resource for up-to-date (as of its publication) information and current models about the rise of the Egyptian state. The only criticisms I have are minor and some what nitpicky, but I'll include them anyway:
1) the paper the books is printed on is slightly glossy which I find extremely irritating as it catched light and returns a glare when you're reading (I told you this would be nitpicky).
2) not many illustrations - publishing costs being what they are, etc. I can understand the lack of illustrations and the choices made as to what to include, but clear understanding of some points, especially when discussing layout of sites, etc. is greatly facilitated by the inclusion of good maps, plans, etc.

"Early Dynastic Egypt" is an excellent - indeed, probably indispensible - professional reference. However, it isn't necessarily suitable for most "general readers," even those who already know something about ancient Egypt.

The amount of factual detail in this book is overwhelming, as befits a scholarly work, but there is not enough interpretation or explanation to make the archaeology come alive for a non-professional reader. The book's lack of illustration (other than confusing line drawings of early dynastic seals) is another minus, both for scholars and general readers alike.

I was also surprised at Wilkinson's non-quantitative treatment of the archaeological record. Important numbers like population estimates and enclosure dimensions seem largely absent from this book.

In this stunning book, the author chronicles the cultural, religious, economic and political developments which led to the construction of the pyramids. Divided in three parts, the author provides convincing evidence in relation to the five topics discussed herein, i.e. administration, contacts with foreign lands, establishment of divine kingship, royal tombs, and early Egyptian religion. A remarkable publication with great photography. Highly recommended for the interested student or scholar.

This is really wonderful book! I recommend it to everybody interested in fossils although the book is more about people than about old bones. Tons of fascinating facts and legends. The book is also quite serious study of native american folklore as well.

Following her innovative and informative study of fossils as roots for myths in the Mediterranean, Mayor brings her investigative talents to the Western Hemisphere. Here, she follows the pattern set in her earlier book, "Ancient Paleontologists" by examining the myths and legends of Native Americans. Did they, like their Eurasian counterparts in Greece, find ancient bones protruding from creek beds and bluffs? Did they also weave legends of fabulous creatures, human giants or spiritual entites from these unusual artefacts? In this account of tales and myths, Mayor's fluid style enlivens the legends, their tellers and the artefacts that inspired them.

Dividing her quest into regional investigations, she surveys the East Coast of North America, skips South to the realm of the Incas, then returns to Great Plains and Pacific Slope. Mayor finds links from recorded stories to the bones of dinosaurs, pterosaurs and mammoths. She is hampered, of course, by the minimal direct information available. She must rely on those who recorded and interpreted the information often gathered from conquered peoples. And many of the earliest records were destroyed by the Christian conquerors. What remains of those records has been the subject of much dispute. In early New England, Puritan Cotton Mather rejected stories and fossils alike as the invalid heritage of the heathen "salvages". In modern times, renowned paleontologist George Gaylord Simpson rejected the notion of Native American fossil finds and the legends surrounding them as lacking scientific value.

Mayor, however, shows how narrow Simpson's view has proven. Taking the legends more seriously, she notes that even President Thomas Jefferson had enough faith in fossil finds to charge the Lewis and Clark expedition with searching for living specimens. It took one of the geniuses of the times, Georges Cuvier, to bestow validity on fossil bones by declaring them the remnants of actual ancient creatures. With so many of the artefacts representing large species, the underlying logic of Native American legends depicting giant people and creatures makes sense.

The tales Mayor recounts are those of huge, terrifying animals or human-like creatures. Some raid the human settlements, only defeated by divine beings or the occasional heroic figure. Many of the stories have these beings eliminated by lightning or "fire from the sky". The powers of the giants were immense, but some felt the strength and size might be imparted to people. It remains unclear how many peoples used the bones for medicinal purposes - reminiscent of the "dragon bones" of apothecary shops in China. From Atlantic to Pacific, on the Plains or in the Andes, the bones emerged, launching fireside stories. The tales show how innovative individuals acquired special powers in the community through knowledge of fossils. These people could give the artefacts meaning or make them useful in various ways. There is a great similarity among the many peoples of the Western Hemisphere on what the strange objects appearing from the ground meant. The theme of giants, great battles and contests with fiery ends recurs often. When recorded in images, whether on tipis or stelae, they are readily identifiable.

Fossils in "enterprising" North America became the subject of frauds and deceptions. To the credulous, artefacts take on a special role and there's money to be made in them. Mayor concludes her book with an account of many of these. Fossils have been used to support "Scripture", such as accounting for the Noachean Flood. A regular business arose in Mexico through a trove of clay figurines purporting to represent ancient Sumer or even Atlantis. Red-haired giants were "found" in Nevada and ceremonies are performed in northern Mexico by people claiming to have recent contact with dinosaurs.
Mayor's books on ancient paleontology are a call for further investigation of a new field of interest. She is a herald for a new, emerging science. Simply finding bones and other fossils is no longer sufficient evidence for assessing the past. Long-term historical and legendary records have much to contribute. Mayor's plea for more studies should be taken up by young [and not so young!] scholars who are open-minded enough to apply new ideas and approaches. Her clear prose style eases the way for anybody interested in these topics to delve into them and perceive the possibilities. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]

I bought this book because I enjoyed Mayor's previous book and I have become interested in American prehistory. This book is more readable than the First Fossil Hunters (which I also enjoyed and learned from), and makes me aware how very large this continent is and how little I know about it. The author's sympathy with the pre-literate peoples does not diminish her appreciation of modern science. It's an enjoyable read and makes me want to visit regions more fossiliferous than New England.
If you happen to be reading it at the same time as When They Separated Earth From Sky (Barber and Barber) it's like being in the middle of an enthusiastic conversation between friends and colleagues.

Nobody knows for sure when dinosaurs lived. Science has refused to use carbon 14 to date any dinosaur bones because they are afraid of what they might learn. Tbey'll date Neanderthals and other animals with carbon 14 --but curiously not dinosaurs.

Of course dinosaurs being many millions of years old has been the story science has told us for the past 100 years. But are they really? This book tells us how American Indians described in glorious detail their encounters with such animals. The author wants us to believe that all these "encounters" were not really encounters at all, but nothing but dreamed-up stories hinging on fossil discoveries. Never mind the fact that American Indians have drawn pictures of dinosaurs on cave walls and that dinosaur bones have been dug up with soft tissue embedded in their bones. Never mind that hundreds of dinosaur eggs have been dug up with fully-formed embryos inside. Never mind that dinosaurs have been depicted all throughout the ancient world in artwork, pottery, stonework and all kinds of literature.

And of course the other thing the author doesn't mention is if all these stories were dreamed up by Indians from mere fossil finds, that would imply that the fossils were probably near or on the surface of the ground. Of course science tells us that dinosaurs are old because of the "strata" they are found. Well what "strata" is on top of the ground? Surely the author doesn't want us to believe that the indians went digging around in the ground, pulled the fossils out, and then re-hingged them all together only to make up stories! If this is the case, why haven't we found fully re-constructed fossils laying on top of the ground?

All in all this book is entertaining but this lady is blinded by Darwin's theory of evolution. She has all this evidence right under her nose, yet she can't see it. In this respect it's rather frustrating.

I always wondered how Native Americans interpreted the huge fossil skeletons of extinct animals like giant sloths and mastodons, dinosaurs and Pterodactyls. Natural History Museums in the US never address this question, even though they often display dinosaur skeletons that were dug up on American Indian Reservations.

Mayors book is based on an obvious fact: centuries before Europeans arrived, way before scientists started studying fossils, people in the Americas created stories to try to explain the weird remains of creatures that died out millions of years ago. I was amazed that she found the oldest recorded fossil legends from the Inkas and Aztecs; the book is well-researched and I liked her writing style, as she presents fossil legends told by the Iroquois, Cheyenne, Sioux, Crow, Navaho,Apache, and many other tribes to account for the various kinds of fossils they found.

My favorite were the exciting Lakota Sioux stories about the fossils of giant marine reptiles (Mosasaurs) and huge pterasaurs in the badlands and chalk hills of the west: they attributed the bones to wars between giant water serpents and thunderbirds.

What really impressed me was the way Mayor shows how the Native American ideas about fossils were accurate about a lot of things that scientists would discover later. This is the idea behind geomythology, which has been in the news lately as scientists are beginning to see that the myths about fossils and volcanoes, earthquakes, etc, were based on real evidence and sometimes actually got some things right without modern scientific methods. The Native American tales of fossils talk about earth's first lifeforms in primeval times, changes of species, and extinctions.

In a section at the end of the book, Mayor chronicles some entertaining misinformed accounts and deliberate hoaxes, such as claims that dinos and human beings existed at the same time.