Social Studies Books

Loved it - especially the photo's and of course the 'story' - makes it easier to understand what the people went thru just to have a home.
have always been interested in this period. Hubby and I are members of a western club - main period is 1875-1890, but knowing more about the whole period 1800 onwards helps to get the clothing and the attitude right.
looking for more books ...
bye for now
Jacqueline (alias Ruby)

Pioneer Women-The Lives of Women on the Frontier is a must for collectors of western lore-whether as used for reference or just for reading pleasure this book delves into little covered issues and answers the questions previously unmentioned regarding women on the frontier. From traveling west to every day life, from cooking to birth control, women domestic pioneers to women entrepreneurs; if you have a question about the lives of women in the 1800's this book probably has the answer in its pages.

This book will open your eyes up to the way things were a century and a half ago. Back to the basics is an understatement. Imagine raising 8 children on a farm that you had to establish yourself because your husband and other family members perished on the trip west to get to an unknown territory far far away from immediate family? These women did it. They survived and thier children either a: lived and learned the life or b: died from illness or accidents. This is very graphic and very personable to the very core of many women's souls. Women who kept diaries on the Oregon Trail in 1850 and onwards. Women who were always "in the background" keeping the family fed, clothed, silent and schooled. Women are most definitly the most gentle and most strong of the sexes.. Why? Because they have a continuous human spirit and one that gets them through the toughest of times of all.
Please read this book and with that said.. the pictures in this book are a historian's dream!

This book is nicely divided into different phases of western life, like traveling the trail, family, homelife, etc. The pictures are fantastic. It's a fast read and perfect for anyone interested in this time period. Higly recommended.

This book is very informative on the pioneer womens' behalf. It shows their hardships and their strengths. The fortitude and endurance these women had is amazing. The photos are excellent too.

For Novices, all they need to know to be respectful, comfortable and a vital part of the experience. Good job!

This book provides an excellent overview of native ceremonies. You feel that Julia lives what she is writing about. An excellent book for those who want to get involved in native philosophy seriously.

Julia provides her reader with a straight forward and easy to understand guide to Pow Wows. She provides all the information they need to get the most out of their Pow Wow experience.

Julia White has captured the essence of the pow wow. The information provides the proper protocol for being part of a pow wow to prepare the viewer as a courteous participant. I particularly enjoyed Julia's descriptions of the various dances. I have been to several pow wows and have seen "guests" do all the wrong things and act in a way that would be considered offensive to Native Americans who are sharing their culture with us. These events are "gifts" to those of other nationalities and it is important to show respect when attending a pow wow. These ceremonies have sacred meaning and it is incumbent upon us to to know what is expected of guests. Julia presents the information in an interesting manner - straightforward yet very easy reading. The supplemental information about Native American background leaves me wanting to know more. Her knowledge is exemplary and she herself is a very special person. I highly recommend this book to any who attends pow wows or just wants to gain additional insight into the Native American culture. I personally appreciate that I can go to a pow wow and act in an appropriate manner. I hope Julia White is planning on writing additional books. I will be first in line for anything else she comes out with.

This excellent book tells in great detail and wondeful illustration, the history and tradition of the modern Native American Pow Wow. Readers will find great information on where to find Pow Wow's as well as how to act when they attend one. A must read for all those interested in Native culture.

Tony Salin's collection of stories in "Baseball's Forgotten Heroes" is a reminder that baseball's charm is created by more than the superstars that the media cling to when trying to get the average fan's attention. As much as I enjoy reading about Williams or DiMaggio, Baseball's Forgotten Heroes is a fresh approach that I hope will set a standard for future volumes. Throughout history, baseball has presented many men with fascinating stories that have been otherwise overlooked. Fortunately, there is at least one author with the desire and perseverance to publish some of these unsung-heroes' stories. The style of this book would appeal to anyone regardless of his or her degree of passion for baseball or knowledge of the sport, but it is a "must-have" for any baseball enthusiast's library. I hope Salin is able to produce many sequels to this wonderful model of baseball literature. HOF!

Baseball is a game rich in history and stories abound about those who have played the game. Author Tony Salin has provided us with stories of players who are known to true fans such as Chuck Connors, Billy Jurges, Frenchy Bordagaray, and Larry Jansen. A number of stories of very obscure players who have interesting tales to tell as well is also in the book. I especially enjoyed the pronounciation of names in the back of the book. I had hoped to see the name Chris Van Cuyk listed, but, alas, that one will continue to mystify me. The book is a quick read and is worth your time.

This is a book written by someone with a lot of love for the game of baseball. It will mostly benefit others with the same love: Salin has found sufficiently obscure figures that I had only heard of half of them. Where feasible, he lets them tell their own stories, thus preserving their style of speech and bringing them to life (very important as most are very elderly or since deceased).

Salin must be a persuasive fellow and is certainly a persistent one; he wangled an interview with the very reclusive Pete Gray, who played major league baseball with only one arm (true story). He has gathered a collection of amusing and interesting stories that tell a lot about the times in which his subjects played.

And as if all that weren't enough, there's a great bonus at the end: a pronunciation guide to baseball people's names. How is someone like myself, born in the early 1960s, supposed to know how to pronounce a lot of the names of the past? What a superb inclusion, and the list is both long and phonetically clear. I couldn't believe my good fortune when I got to that part, having thought that the book was over, and was so pleasantly surprised. It was like a performer coming out for a superb encore.

Well worth the money and time for enthusiasts of baseball history. I'm going to keep my eye on this author, and I hope we get more.

Are you tired of reading the same stories about the same baseball players? Pick up this great little book for a different look at the game. Instead of rehashing old stories the author delves into the careers of some little known but colorful characters. The interviews, though somewhat rough around the edges, allow the author to give you the conversational type of history, as if you were sitting across the kitchen table from these baseball nomads. It's the kind of book you find yourself saying, "I could have written this book". But hey, the author followed through on his idea, and I look forward to seeing more of the same type material from him.

This book, like Andrew Torrez's critically acclaimed _Off Base_, appears to be part of a growing trend among baseball authors to encourage their readers to think "outside the box." Salin's ideas, like Torrez's, are provocative and entertaining.

More than just a casual pass through Bangladesh to investigate Grameen Bank, the micro-credit phenomenon started a quarter century ago by Muhammad Yunus, The Price of a Dream fills in gaps left by other writings. It puts a human face on the poor of this impoverished Asian country, formerly known as East Pakistan. It brings poverty-stricken Bangladeshis into your livingroom as factual, not fictional, folks.

"Aren't all Bangladeshis poor?" you ask. No. There is wealth. But there are also tens of millions of families so impoverished that one cannot begin to understand the depth and breadth of their deprivation without actually visiting this tropical nation or coming to know some of these people through a book such as this.

Bornstein writes in a painterly way. His stories, both sad and glad, weave a mesmerizing pattern of the richness of Bangladeshi life amid trying circumstances. How people cope, how they react to successes and disasters, how they work to pull themselves up economically and socially: every thread is pulled through the loom in due course to render a true and clear representation of lives on the ragged edge. Thanks to loans from Grameen, millions of families have been able to hem that edge, one stitch at a time, to finish off their piece of cloth.

For his part, Yunus, speaking as the economics professor he once was, declares, "Credit is a powerful weapon, and anyone possessing this weapon is certainly better equipped to maneuver the forces around him to his advantage." (p. 228)

Micro-credit empowers the unempowered. No one describes that process better than David Bornstein. The Price of a Dream will open your eyes to the possibility of minimizing the indignity of poverty in our lifetime, if not eliminate it altogether. Every beautiful tapestry starts with a single thread. Even if that first thread is mere hope, it's a worthy place to begin.

This is a great book & I recommend it to anyone interested in development in third world countries. Ought to find its way onto a few economics course booklists I hope. It does not offer a step by step guide on how to set up a system in your own country, just a generalised working. Not a big criticism, as that would be a subject for a less accessible, more technical book. For starters, this is it!

This is the best book Ive ever read. I'm an international banker of Banladeshi origin working for one of the worlds biggest bank. After reading this book I feel I want to quit my day job and work for Grameen and actually make a difference to the world by helping to eradicate world poverty.

David Bornstein has written the book beautifully.

Dr Yunus is a legend.... Respect to you sir

omar_rahim@hotmail.com

Intended for an audience unfamiliar with micro-finance, this book offers an easily readable history of the Grameen Bank and the potential for loaning to poor women. Even though I have some background in the field, I still found it an interesting story. However, the author relied heavily on Grameen staff and translators and I felt that the level of analysis and criticism that would have been useful was lacking. It is more a journalistic story than an academic analysis of this institution.

I've been reading a lot of books on microcredit/microfinance and this is very thorough; I would reccommend it for anyone interested in the industry and to those trying to duplicate Grameen's efforts in other areas. It gives you an indepth look at the Grameen Bank(it's successes, failures). It also gives you an opportunity to look at the bank from the perspective of the borrowers and the staff. All the stories aren't rosy and glamorous which makes this book a lot more balanced than what I've read in the past. The author gives you the room to create your own views on Grameen and microcredit(as a sustainable means to fight poverty). This was a great read!!

During my years as a competitive debater, I found Pros and Cons to be a very useful resource. The book clearly and effectively lays out the main arguments for and against a variety of debate resolutions, making the task of building a solid case much easier. I would recommend it as a handy resource for any student who seeks to excel at debate.

-Alim Merali, author of Talk the Talk: Speech and Debate Made Easy

Possibly the best available guide when you start getting acquainted with debating societies.

Time is a precious commodity. Sadly, I wasted a lot of time getting together resources for my debate team. Our High School was not new to debate, but I was. Eventually, I stumbled across this work, and I must rank this as the number one resource any debate couch must have for the practice of debate.

This resource has allowed me to have many debate practices. The resource while not written for Canadians, is very, very easily adapted to our concerns.

The pre-research that has been done for typical debate topics saves any debate coach an incredible amount of time. It can make you the expert on a tremendous number of varied debate topics. It also has several extensions or ancillary debates too.

As well, using the information from this book, I have tried giving the information beforehand to my debaters on a particular debate topic, and with this common background information, have run practices which focus on the rhetoric alone. My students have experienced very good development in this way.

The book is fantastic, and after such a short period of time, well thumbed. I may need to search out a hardcover version.

This book surely deserves 5 stars and it's just as wonderful as I heard. I read it on a daily basis to prepare for writing tests.

Perfect for high school or University debaters for quick arguments!

The questions in this book allow the reader to muse on their own relationships with their parents and others close to them, and hopefully to realise how important it is to make time to communicate within families. Buy it to read, think and keep it visible on your bookshelf as a reminder of what is important and that there is always time to talk to those close to you, however busy you think you are.

A wonderful book to learn more about your father and yourself.
It's also a fantastic conversation maker. Don't miss out on
this jewel of a book.

This book asks both hard and easy questions. It gives the reader a chance to get to know the man with the utmost depth. Some of the questions are a little deep, but I encourage the reader to ask them all. Some of the questions may be superficial, but you might get some surprising answers. Good book. Great starting point for getting to know the man behind your dad.

Great book for learning about yourself and passing along your feelings, foibles and future wishes to your children. Works well for those that had a great relationship with their own father and want to continue the tradition; works even better for those who weren't close to their own father and want to make the most out of that special relationship with their own children.

At first glance I thought this was just another "quick-fix" book offering [bad] platitudes about the quest to reveal the mythical father-figure.

I started to leaf through it and three days later I'm still excited and troubled by what "Questions" has revealed to me.

The questions are, quite simply, stunning in their originality and form. There's stuff here I wouldn't have thought of asking in a million years.

And then there's the narrative that is sprinkled throughout the text; a dark and troubled trans-America motorcycle trip during which the author has an eerie insight into the importance that his father has played in his life. Too late, of course. Staniforth returns to England just in time to watch his Dad die, and so begins the internal intellectual voyage of discovery about his father.

Read it, use it, buy it for a father or a child. This book can save families.

This book offers many wonderful tools to help children relax, reinforce their value, and visualize a fantastic episode of imagination. It is organized and cross referenced which makes it easy to quickly find just the right message of the day. I teach yoga to 5th graders who now beg for "relaxation at the end of class". Some of the kids have ADHD, autism, and other learning differences. This has been one tool that will never get old or redundant. It spans a broad age range. I have coordinated some of the stories a week before big achievement tests which seems to help the kids with a bit of empowerment. Nothing speaks to the success of my class like having children ask to borrow my books, DVDs, or my music. I would like to know of a better book or another book like this one since it has been such a huge hit with everyone.

We ran through the "Ready, Set, RELAX program when our child had a serious illness. It helped him overcome his fear of treatment and helped reduce the anxiety level of our whole family. I am hoping for a sequel.

Ready, Set, Relax provides teachers and parents with an important resource for helping young children learn valuable self-regulation skills. Jeff Allen and Roger Klein make us aware that learning requires both physical and mental preparation. By introducing physical relaxation and positive mental imaging skills into the classroom environment, children develop essential learning prerequisites, increase self-confidence, and enrich creative interactions between teacher and child. The lessons of Ready, Set, Relax should be eagerly integrated into every elementary school curricula.

Great book for short relaxation scripts, with lots of em. I have used them with several kids so far (I am a child therapist) and they seem to like them. However, you can also find lots of relaxation scripts on the web and elsewhere...so if you want them all handy and in one place, buy the book. If you can be patient and scrounge together your own, go for that.

Lots of "I am calm" and "I am relaxed" affirmations. Very good selection of "scripts" which are short visualizations meant to relax children. This is very mainstream and a great way to introduce children to relaxation. Great emphasis on breathing however, to teach the mechanics of proper breathing, I have coupled this with Indigo Dreams and The Children's Awareness Curriculum. The kids really enjoy relaxing and love talking about the visualizations in Ready Set Relax. Great way to teach children, especially if you are short on time.

Many books and/or their reviews glibly claim to "change your life". This one doesn't explicitly make any such promises, but change my life it has. More specifically, it has changed the way I look at life and the world. Postmodernism has brought about radical and sweeping changes, whether we realise it or not. This is a book that blows the lid on reality in terms of the paradigms that most of us have grown up with, and within which humanity has come to understand religion, politics, history and culture. Indeed, it is a timely and sobering deconstruction of many of the illusions (or Socially Constructed Realities) that people across time and cultures have come to regard as sacred and infallible. Its purpose is not to deconstruct for the promotion of its own paradigm or belief system (though I suppose an element of that is inseparable from any such undertaking). One of the most enduring images from the book is the description of a postmodern art piece which shows a hand drawing a hand that is drawing a hand. What a striking metaphor for the postmodern world, and indeed for epochs that have gone before us. Where indeed is the line between objective, absolute 'reality' and that which is subjectively constructed? Does it and can it exist for human beings at all? Whatever else may be said, this is a book that challenged me and stimulated me to think about all aspects of modern life in new and profound ways. If you are anything like me and read books which do that very thing, then believe me - this one is for you.

I am an anthropologist who teaches courses on popular culture as well as culture theory and postmodernism. This is one of the smartest and most entertaining books on the subject of modern and postmodern life. If I had found it in time, I would have used it as a required book in my course.
A lot of postmodern writing is full of puffery, but Anderson not only grounds it but makes it very engaging and immediate. He makes many insightful observations and phrases things in quotable ways. Anyone who is new to, or even fairly familiar with, postmodern and popular culture would benefit from this book. The range of topics and the smoothness of style are among the best out there.

This book was published almost twenty years ago and I only wish I had found it sooner. Written in an easy-to-read and understandable style, it covers the influence of post-modern thinking on politics, pop culture, religion, art and philosophy, among other areas. Powerfully, Anderson makes the argument that everyone has their own version of reality, carefully providing examples from everyday life. For example, he contrasts the objectivist (there are a few perfect rules that everyone must obey) and the constructivist (aware that many rules are part of a socially constructed reality), the exoteric religions (Christianity and Islam - God said so, it must be true) and esoteric religions (Zen Buddhism - a personal journey without judgement).

Why is this important? Because of most of the tension in the world comes from the differences of opinion between six main groups he has outlined: Christianity, Islam, capitalism, communism/socialism, environmentalism and new age. All of these groups passionately believe in the truth of their message and would like the entire world to conform to their thinking. In the end, the book makes you wonder where all this will lead to -- complete freedom is a beautiful thing that makes many people uncomfortable.

Get this book, take it to a quiet beach and you won't see the world the same way again.

I first stumbled upon this book by accident, read a few pages, and was amazed, amused, aghast and (forgive me) agog! Written in 1993, the author's observations and predictions (although he wasnt trying to be prophetic) were accurate and correct -- especially the section about whatit would "take" to get Americans to support a war - and how long (or short) the govt. could keep the people from getting fed up. He said it would take something like Pearl Harbor -- of that magnitude in order for teh govt to whip up enough support for a vindictive invasion/assault etc. He was right about that! That's just one small section -- the entire book is fascinating, easy to read, and explains the fracas over Globalization better than any other book I've read.
Buy it.

Anderson's reevaluation of the past few decades puts a clarifying and relieving spin on everything from global memes to the Ayatollah Khomeini. He sees the postmodern era as superficially confusing but surprisingly comprehensible on a deeper level. By reconsidering the growing pains of our complex and creative species in light of the theory that we humans construct our own realities, he shows the reader pattern and order and even hope amidst the fascinating chaos of our times.

WHile this is a good book , "Goddesses DOn't Buy Green Bananas" does it better.

sometimes, the reconstruction goes well, the surgeon was kindly and skilled, and the women go on "to live fully"....what is missing everywhere i search, are the stories, the pictures, and the advice for women whose after-reconstruction stories aren't as graceful as what we find inside the covers of this book.....i wanted to write this review, as i am one of the unlucky women...one who suffers, and is fighting the medical and insurance establishments while in pain 24/7, and still waiting for my own healing after the nightmare of a drive-through bilateral mastectomy....i feel like any woman who sees this book should know there is another, darker side to this process....and very little assistance if things go wrong.

kathie larsyn M.Ed., M.C.

I was diagnosed this past May, at age 41, with breast cancer. I had a mastectomy and immediately began the reconstruction process of tissue expander and silicone implant. I saw this book in my reconstructive surgeon's office and it just floored me. The women presented are simply beautiful, and their joy leaps out of each photograph. I'm hoping someone gives me this book for Christmas (hint, hint).

As the interviewer and compiler of the text profiles in Reconstructing Aphrodite, I think often about the work I do and what kind of a difference it makes in the lives of others.
Last night, I attended a spiritual healing ceremony for a friend who was just diagnosed with breast cancer. A small group of us recited and sang prayers for healing, held hands in a circle, and watched our stricken friend gather hope, strength, optimism and faith from our shared energy and love.
The cancer is small, self contained and the prognosis for recovery good. But it's comforting to know that if my friend needs more inspiration and information, this book is available for her and the millions of other women who may need it in the future.

As a woman who has had breast cancer and is looking at bilateral reconstruction, I found "Reconstructing Aphrodite" to be a book of hope, life, and beauty. The beauty is not in reconstruction without scars but is in the very scars themselves, scars that speak of courage, determination and, above all else, the choice to live life to the fullest. The reflections accompanying each photo communicate the pain of living with cancer. But the stories do not stop with pain; they continue with love, laughter, celebration, joy and delight in bodies that have more to say now than when they were flawless. A truly exquisite book in all ways, one that I will share with many other women because it is so real. The scars are not airbrushed; the pain is not denied. I came away from this book uplifted and encouraged by the lived experience of my sisters on the journey with breast cancer. Forget "Playboy"; the women who have lasting beauty are the ones in this book.

Keith Thomas's Religion and the Decline of Magic was the first of my books for summer reading, and I doubt that any novel that I choose will be half as entertaining or any text as informative. By the conclusion I felt that I was completing an odessey throughout the early modern era with a sympathy and understanding of a world far different then ours in some respects, yet, as Thomas succinctly points out in the conclusion, profoundly similar. No other history book has granted me a deeper sense of understanding about human drives for stability and for explaination in all things. This is a book that grants insight and understanding far beyond its proclaimed subject matter, with positive and sweeping consequences for the objective thinker.

I first read this book as a history graduate student many years ago, and it still remains one of my favorite books of all time. Thomas set himself a daunting task--ascertaining the effect the change in religion from Catholicism with its beliefs in miracles, saints, transubstantiation to Protestantism with its adversion to miraculous beliefs had on the popular imagination.

Thomas tapped little used sources, the Church court records which included trials for witchcraft or magic to see if he could trace a decline in belief in magic. Thomas concluded that magical belief did decline from the 15th-17th centuries. In my opinion, he proved his case.

Anyone who has done historical research will stand in awe of Thomas' command of sources and his ability to synthesize. Anyone who is more than a little fed up with ahistorical screeds on witchcraft prosecutions a la Margaret Murray, will applaud Thomas's reasoned and credible explaination of the reasons behind witchcraft prosecutions. Basically, witchcraft prosecution in 16th century England filled the same function as it does in contemporary Africa--an attempt to control the uncontrollable.

Originally published in 1971, Keith Thomas's landmark book has lost none of its impact over the last 30 years. This book almost singlehadedly founded an entirely new school of historiography in the fields of astrology, magic, religion, and witchcraft. Before 1970, these subjects were largely the domain of storytellers and "new age" authors, who, making little claim to objectivity, would embellish their "histories" with fanciful and/or romantic myths. With this book, Keith Thomas rescued astrology and witchcraft from their terrible predicaments and elevated them into serious issues capable of being studied as history. It is no exaggeration to say that almost every major text published in this field after 1971 was profoundly influenced by Thomas's work. If you are planning to seriously investigate the topics of religion and magic, then this book is indispensable. Even if your investigative scope does not include England, this book is still required background reading.

The first chapter (The Environment) alone is worth the price of admission. In this astonishing piece, Thomas highlights the miserable condition of early modern life. After setting this background, Thomas goes on to discuss the "magic" of the Medieval Church, the various belief systems surrounding it, and the impact that the Reformation had upon the long standing "rituals" of the Catholic church. Becuase the Calvinists placed little trust in the Catholic rituals, many people "felt disarmed in the face of the devil." As a result, much of England and Europe began to fear the impact of astrology and witchcraft on everyday life. But as the quality of early-modern life was so bleak, many English men and women resorted to magical healing and astrology in order to seek refuge from their plight. So, on one hand, many feared astrology and magic, but those same people often sought solace in it as well.

After discussing in detail the significance and practice of astrology in early-modern England, Thomas then goes on to outline the history of the crime of witchcraft. The discussion of witchcraft is probably the highlight of the book. Never had any previous historian (and few since) so clearly outlined the form and function of witchcraft in English society. After a brief chapter on Ghosts and Fairies, Thomas finishes up by drawing connections between the various issues he discusses.

The book includes a comprehensive index as well as excellent bibliographical essays at the beginning of each chapter should anyone want to pursue any topic further. Simply put, this book is a masterpiece that has received few (if any) notable detractors. This book is required reading for anyone interested in this field, and highly recommended to everyone else.

Other people have praised the contents of this book, as well they should. So allow me to add something that might sway prospective readers.

I read this book at the conclusion of a year-long tutorial on this period of English history. Having focused on economic, social, military, diplomatic and religious histories of the time, I could not have been better prepared to read this book. It was, hands, down, the most perfect book I could have picked up after all that.

However, I realize that my circumstances will likely differ from others. Some people won't dive into this book after having waded through multiple texts on the centuries in question. This book shouldn't be appealing to academics or (in my case) failed academics alone. So, to those curious who haven't specialized in this field or even had the happy luck to muck about in it, like I did, I will say two things.

One, I enthusiastically recommended this book to several college buddies, none of whom were history students. While they had some questions that needed a glance at an encyclopedia, all thoroughly enjoyed it. Based on their responses, I'd say anyone with any background or interest in/familiarity with anthropology, religion or early English literature will enjoy this book.

Two, I read this book right before meeting my stepfather-in-law, a Presbyterian minister, for the first time. And just based on asking him questions and bringing up the subject matter provided us with hours of fascinating conversation. If you know anyone well-schooled in religion who enjoys talking about its history (and is not offended by the suggestion that sometimes religion can err), this book will be great conversation fodder and a delightful present.

That being said, reading this book was a wonderful experience. It combined the rigors of excellent scholarship with the pleasures of dryly witty writing and engrossing primary-source material. (I cannot say enough about this. It's a misfortune of the rigors of historical research that many of the people with the stamina to endure it don't seem to possess a similar aptitude for writing. Thomas may not be as pithy and light as A.J.P. Taylor, but his prose is far above historical-text average, and what he lacks as a stylist is more than made up for by the funny, bizarre and vivid primary-source passages he quotes.)

Ten years ago, this book might have been more difficult for non-historians, non-theologians and non-anthropologists to pick up and just read for fun. Now, with Wikipedia and countless other online tools, references to English history that might otherwise have seemed cryptic or arcane are easily searched and can only add to the full experience of enjoying Mr. Thomas' work. It might feel like work for a little while, to constantly refer to an online encyclopedia to clarify points about Charles I or Oliver Cromwell, but that will pass. Don't be afraid to jump in! It's a challenging text at times, but it is well worth the effort.

This book covered most every aspect of religion and the Reformation. Beginning with the wonderful opening chapter that explains the environment of the current era and ending with the equally as powerful conclusion that ties the whole book together. You are exposed to astrologists, witches, cunning men, sorcerers and realize how they each worked against, and with, the Church. We see how the rising of Church of England ebolished the idea of "magic" and miricals, an important factor in the decline of Catholocism. I highly reccomend this as an advanced reader to anyone interested in how the "pagen" influence and Church power intermingaled in an age when community was giving way to individulism. Brilliant.