North Carolina Books

Jan Karon's charming North Carolina small town belongs with the great places of fiction: Macondo, Faulkner's unspellable county, the Louisiana of James Lee Burke, Egypt, Maine, and Hillerman's New West. The sense of place is such a hallmark of this series. And she populates it with such knowable and knowing characters who linger long after the last page of each new book unwillingly, but inevitably ends. There were events here that made me weep and lots that made me laugh. The simple, homespun, yet more theology of Father Tim resonates and redacts with power and sheer gorgeousness. I particularly enjoy, employ, and cherish his prayer than never fails: "Thy will be done." Potent powerful lessons of the human spirit and how it meshes with the divine unfold in pleasant, totally unpedagodical or pedantic reading. Unfortunately marketing this as Christian fiction limits its audience. This is great and mighty stuff for all readers, students of the way of the heart and spirit. Blessings in a book.

Item sold - exactly as stated online - item was delivered very fast and in perfect condition.

Out to Canaan (The Mitford Years, Book 4)

Most wonderful fiction series I've read in many years! I love Jan Karon's Mitford Season, and can't wait until the next ones come out. The characters have become so real to me, I feel like I've known them all my life. It's hard to find good Christian fiction, which are loved even by those who do not usually read Christian literature, but these fit the bill! I give them for gifts to many.

I just loved this book. I am reading the Mitford series and getting to know the characters. It's great to have a respite from our busy world. This book had me laughing out loud in a few places.

My 97 year old grandmother is in love with Mitford. She has macular degeneration and can no longer read with her eyes so she "reads" with her ears. Whenever she is feeling blue or is sick in bed, she just puts Mitford in and says she feels comforted. This was the missing book of her series on CD and we sent it for her 97th birthday. A highly recommended series - the first book may seem a bit slow, but once you finish, you'll want to read the rest of the series.

During a move from Florida to Tennessee a box containing my "out of print" RObert Ruark books went missing. I had searched estate sales,book stores, you name it I had searched for Robert Ruark books. None were to be found.. I was advised by someone to try Amazon.Com.. Sure enough, I was able to replace three of my favorie Robert Ruark books..They arrived promptly and all in good condition. I was delighted with the excellent service.

Ruark's 'The Old Man and the Boy' is the touching tale of a boy's memory of experiences with his beloved grandfather. It is also a story of a South which is, so very unfortunately, very nearly gone. It's a story not just of jasmine, polite living and fireflies, but of guns and men and the explosion of a covery of quail, glittering in the early morning sun.

It's the story of the training of a boy to be a man in the finest Southern tradition. It's a tale of dogs, shotgun shells and men. It's not, Thank God, politically correct. It's a story of a deep love of nature and a deep love of the people who respect it.

Ron Braithwaite, author of novels, "Skull Rack" and "Hummingbird God"--on the Spanish Conquest of Mexico

The Norman Rockwell paintings of the freckle-faced boy with a fishin' pole on his shoulder or otherwise engaged in play in a rural setting is an American idyllic childhood. Robert Ruark was able to live this life and he sums it up best in the author's note: "Anybody who reads this book is bound to realize that I had a fine time as a kid." No one who reads this book could dispute that claim.
He grew up in North Carolina with his grandfather as a mentor. From him he learned how to hunt and fish, manage the land and resources and even how to treat people. His grandfather's respect for black people and his willingness to stand up for them was a rare thing in North Carolina at the time. Ruark always refers to his grandfather as "the Old Man", but it is clear that it is rendered with deep affection. In fact, the amount of attention he received and the wisdom he learned from the Old Man is something to be envied. Few boys are taught as much valuable knowledge as Ruark was when he was a child.
The story is captivating and comes to a fitting end. When it is clear that the Old Man is wearing down and will die soon, he tells his grandson, "I promise you on my word of honor that I won't die on the opening day of bird season." The last line of the book is, "He kept his promise." This is one of the best descriptions of childhood ever written, it is Tom Sawyer with a message and an elder mentor.

I've meant to review this classic for years: Today's the day. My first copy of this book was a well-worn recycled paperback version, from my mother having purchased it as a gift for my granddad to her getting it back after his death in 1968, to her giving it to me sometime in the 1990s. It's the kind of read that makes you long for the hardcover edition, for all the times you'll reread it in the future.

Buy the paperback versions for gifts (buy several; those you gift with this book will thank you for it vociferously!), but latch onto a hardcover for yourself.

A treasure, I note that several reviews lean toward recommending it for men & boys, but girls, don't let that fool you! There's so much to be learned from this gem -- plus you can share it with others!

Many folks today haven't yet had the fire lit under them to read -- more's the pity. Read this book to those you love that don't read and I'm certain they'll come out the other side understanding why you love to read!

I've meant to review this classic for years: Today's the day. My first copy of this book was a well-worn recycled paperback version, from my mother having purchased it as a gift for my granddad to her getting it back after his death in 1968, to her giving it to me sometime in the 1990s. It's the kind of read that makes you long for the hardcover edition, for all the times you'll reread it in the future.

Buy the paperback versions for gifts (buy several; those you gift with this book will thank you for it vociferously!), but latch onto a hardcover for yourself.

A treasure, I note that several reviews lean toward recommending it for men & boys, but girls, don't let that fool you! There's so much to be learned from this gem -- plus you can share it with others!

Many folks today haven't yet had the fire lit under them to read -- more's the pity. Read this book to those you love that don't read and I'm certain they'll come out the other side understanding why you love to read!

Mama Dip's cookbook offers the best collection of recipes since _Spoonbread and Strawberry Wine_. The country-style scrambled eggs are more than authentic and delicious, as are the breakfast chicken biscuits. One doesn't have to be toothless to enjoy Grandpa's chicken and people of all ages will make the cream cheese pound cake disappear. Try the roast turkey for a moist, tender, flavorful bird that won't last much past the meal - if that far! The rib roast is practically unspeakable - offer this succulent delight to guests and watch their reactions. While dishes prepared in a "traditional" soul food style are front and center, there are some tasty surprises, such as the stuffed mushrooms. It takes a long time to try every targeted recipe because there are so many, with nine of ten recipes bona fide hits. You won't be disappointed!

The best pecan pie recipe in this book that I have ever found, and I have looked for one for years! It can be doubled to fit my Watkin's 10" deep dish pie pan without burning the pecans or the filling! I love it!

I love to cook and as a cook, I love people who enjoy cooking as well. I feel like I know Mama Dip. I love this cookbook!!

If you like down home southern cookin this is the book for you!! I bought this and her other cookbook. Love Them!

The recipes in this cookbook are fantastic. They are simple to make and absolutely delicious. Mama Dips has changed our long standing Thanksgiving tradition...her roated turkey recipe is so delectable we use this recipe now instead of the one that's been in use for the last 50 years. You won't go wrong with this cookbook. Highly recommended!!!

I am very happy I could locate this book. It is one of my favorite books, and one I insist being on my shelf. Thus, my copy was missing and I was pleased I could replace my copy. I am happy with the condition of the copy I just recently received; it arrived quickly, and I'm glad to have it in my personal library.

A fascinating and horrifying account of a slave woman's experience. While fiction, the story appears to be based on the life of an actual Hannah. Don't be put off by the long introduction. It becomes more significant after reading the narrative itself.

This book gives a great emotional account of the horrors of slavery. It is amazing the vocabulary the author had without being formally educated.

This book will stay with me for a while.

In her novel, Crafts illustrates her life as a slave over the course of many years. Starting at a place cursed by a linden tree, things only seem to get worse. Though she is taught to read, her teachers are punished and banished from her life. Her early years are filled with much more than learning, however. She witnesses many horrific aspects of slave life, which are depicted vividly by use of imagery and her colorful similes. In her story she attempts to obtain freedom with her new mistress, but the success is cut short.
By the middle of the story, the reader can easily assess that slave life is neither desirable nor easy. Crafts and her mistress are captured with only more hardships following. Crafts depicts for the reader her passing from one master to the next after her mistress's death. Things only continue to get worse until she brings the reader along with her on her flight to freedom.
Though met by a series of mishaps throughout the novel, Crafts finally obtains freedom to live life with her husband and her recently found mother. No doubt, the reader is happy to see something pleasant finally happen for Crafts. The reader is left with not only a sense of happiness for the author, but with a vibrant image of what it took to get there. The Bondswoman's Narrative is most certainly a good choice for anyone wanting a harsh, yet inspiring, account of what slave life was truly like.

As background for this slave's narrative, we are introduced to John Hill Wheeler, writer, who had published HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF NORTH CAROLINA, 1584-1851), who served as assistant secretary to the U. S. President Franklin Pierce (always one of my favorites) in 1854. There is a good photograph of Wheeler and a painting of his wife, Ellen, with her two sons by Thomas Sully who made the youngest look like a sleeping angel.

There is also a photo depiction of the abduction of his slave, Jane Johnson with her family, off the Steamer Washington on July 18, 1855, in Philadelphia "by force" by a gang of Negroes led by an abolotionist. Since he was unable to locate and reclaim his servants, Jane was subsequently replaced by Hannah -- who escaped in the Spring of 1857. He must have been a hard taskmaster.

One interesting thing (for me) was a mention of John Brown's (of Harper's Ferry, West VA fame) hanging in Charleston, VA. It was observed that he died as he lived, "game." He certainly was no coward.

I found too much redundancy in the introduction by Henry L. Gates, Jr., and the narrative itself. Absorbed in finding and preserving black culture in written form, he spends a lot of effort propounding on his conclusions, instead of the facts. Like a local writer involved in uncovering ancient history, he uses too many "that's" proving he is not scholary. To me, it shows a definite lack of education and too much emphasis on self promotion, so that whatever is printed will be thought or taken as the truth, the whole truth and nothing else.

As with all autobiographical material it is hard to tell what is fact and where the fiction begins. An old acquaintance now deceased who had been in the Merchant Marines in his younger years and received much enjoyment in bewildering strangers with his detailed stories, told me how he manufactured "truth." Add a few relevant facts which can be substantiated and names of real people and presto! it's history -- not fiction.

As with science, the individual authors are expounding on their own theories, not facts per se. It's the same in any field and any "case" history. Mr. Gates wanted to prove this narrative was authentic; therefore, he spent more effort with his "proof" than the slave's account itself.

Something that old can never be proven beyond a doubt. Now Clifford Irving's bogus biography of Howard Hughes was ill-timed. Had he waited until after the person's demise, there would always be doubt and nothing to prove he was a liar.

I don't believe a slave would know some of the words used by this writer. By including family background and descriptions of events, it is taken as the authentic tale of a real Hannah Crafts. He did too much surmising "what if's" to have run down the actual writer to New Jersey -- to have been the runaway slave from North Carolina.

I found the marked out words and phrases to be distracting (also detracting). It would have helped to have the edited parts left out; the 21 chapters would have sufficed without so much explanation and additions (in brackets). Instead of making this clearer, it befuddles the story itself.

I'm not a user of the word "that" which is grossly overused in newspapers today. About ten years ago, I typed the lengthy "memoir" of my ex-husband, a college English professor, and edited at intervals throughout. Of course, he proof-read every page before having the entirety copied and bound to distribute to members of his family. Sometimes, he agreed to my "clarifications"; at others, he'd say, "but we didn't talk that way." Growing up in a tiny hamlet between Shelbyville and Chapel Hill (where he'd been born) in Middle TN, and being about fifteen years my senior, he'd experienced things and feelings totally opposite to what I had in Knox County (East TN). My reasons to "edit" were for the benefit of those who'd be reading his memories, not to change events -- and he finally agreed with me.

Perhaps I should have left things exactly the way he expressed them, no matter how grammatically incorrect they were, as now that is what I am wishing Mr. Gates had done with this manuscript. The things he marked through seemed inconsistent vocabulary for such a young, uneducated woman confined in "the peculiar institution", and I'd have preferred not to have to think about them.

The textual annotations did not add to the story and were a bit too detailed. You can analyze a situation "to death." Some things are better left to the reader's imagaination.

This story is as old as the hills. Didn't he see the similarities between characters of this narrative and those in SHOW BOAT? Sad but true. Life is not always easy for those without power or money.

This book may have great value as a historical document, however, I evaluate it from the 'fun to read' point of view. I did not find it a greatly enjoyable read. It is written in the old novel style- "Perils of Pauline" comes to mind. Neither did I find that I learned much about it was like to live like a slave during that time. I am now reading a historical novel in which there are a few pages describing a slave market in the USA during the Revolution; which gave me a much clearer picture than Bondwoman's Narrative did. The description of how the field hands lived left me wishing to read more about that, and in fact, I felt I did not even get a good picture of how the house servants lived. There was quite a bit of philosophizing during the entire book so the author came across as an intellectual. In this respect, her comments about the death of a fellow runaway slave towards the end of the novel were very interesting to me.

I absolutely loved this book when I was a child. I must have checked it out from the Bookmobile over a dozen times, and always wished I had my own copy. In fact, almost fifty years later, I still wanted one. I am so glad to see that it is back.

After reading all the positive reviews on this book I was looking forward to getting it, but didn't care for the style, the characters, or the go-nowhere plot and abandoned it about halfway through.

I love this book!
I first read it when I was about 12 years of age. Now I have a daughter that age & was so delighted to find this book online!Hopefully she'll enjoy it a much as I did.

They Loved to Laugh is my favorite book! I think the title is one of the best things about it. It really got me excited. Why do they love to laugh? Who loves to laugh? It aroused my curiosity and made me want to read it. I began it and couldn't put it down. I finished it that very day.
Martitia is an orphan girl who is taken to live with a Quaker family when her parents die of typhoid fever. She plans to go live with her aunt and uncle in the city, but her heart is drawn to this Quaker family with their six children and their unique family bond. Throughout the story she learns to laugh and also learns a lesson of love.

Like so many others who've commented, this book was one of my all-time favorite books when I was a teenager in the 60's. The other was another book by Worth, "Sea Change." It was an entirely different setting, but equally charming and moving. The gentle, inspiring depth of both books helped shape my life. I am thrilled that "They Loved to Laugh" has been reprinted and I hope "Sea Change" will be also. (I'd love to know more about the author and whether or not writing these books changed her life as they changed so many of ours.)

This a great collection of poems from the past! If you enjoy whimsy, this is for you!

with eliot, a maximum of content is achieved through a FORM worked with a
care and conciousness not seen perhaps since the greeks. he understood,
as he once wrote, that the novel form ended with flaubert. in the centuries after picasso and stravinsky there is no place for anything in
literature which makes people remain sitting, whithout standing and perhaps dancing. the same thing could be said about pound, very different though very twin.

The Eliot of despair, the Eliot of 'Prufrock' and 'Wasteland' is contended with and overcome by the Eliot of the 'Quartets'. The message of modern mankind's meaninglessness, the broken fragments ( of Tradition) shored against his ruin is replaced by the vision of sacred turning, a Christian vision of redemption. Eliot is a writer whose work and life break down into these two distinct periods each of which has its champions in defining what is best in him.
As one raised on 'April is the cruelest month, breeding lilacs out of the dead land' and 'Let us go then you and I when the evening is spread out against the sky, like a patient etherized upon a table' the most memorable lines are certainly of the first phase where it ends not with a bang but with a whimper.
Yet my admiration for the hypnotic power of Eliot's memorable lines is strongly qualified by my knowledge of his 'Burbank with a Baedaker, and Bluestein with a Cigar' with his all too fashionable literary anti- Semitism. Of course Eliot was not preaching death camps and extermination but he did connect his work to the tradition of Christian Anti- Semitism.
Thus I have always had difficulty being comfortable with my 'enjoying of Eliot's poetry. And I have never been able to sympathetically read 'The Quartets.' They have always seemed to me to be too impersonal characterless and abstract.
Eliot who for most of the century strode the English Departments as if he were a colossus did noble work in reviving interest in 'The Metaphysicals' but somehow failed in my mind to write a poetry humanly rich in the deepest sense.

When you think of the best poets ever, T.S. Eliot is one of those that comes to mind. His work is well crafted, intelligent, beautifully written, and has a flow to it that few poets can match. And this is a fine collection for the Eliot lover or for the reader unfamiliar with Eliot. It's divided into several sections. The first section is his Prufrock section, poems from 1917, which contains probably his finest poems: "Prufrock", "Preludes" "Rhapsody on a Windy Night", "Hysteria", among others. Then there is the Poems 1920 section which also contains many fine poems ("Sweeney Erect" and "The Hippopotamus" being my favorites). Then follows his masterpiece The Wasteland. Then The Hollow Men which is followed by the wonderful Ash Wednesday. Then the Ariel Poems (which contains "Journey of the Magi"). Then there are two unfinished poems, "Sweeney Agonistes" and "Coriolan" which I thought were weak. Maybe they would have been great had he ever finished them. Then there is a section called minor poems followed by the mediocre "Choruses from 'The Rock.' And then there is what I consider to be his true masterpiece, "Four Quartets." And the book finishes with some occasional verses, one of which is a sweet and touching poem to his wife. This is a great collection of poems.

Yep, this is a great collection of Eliot's works. I initially found out about Eliot throught the Movie 'Apocalypse Now' in which Brando is heard reciting the poem 'The Hollow Men'. The poem sounded so good I hunted it down and came across this little book.

My favourite poems would have to be 'The Hollow Men', 'Love song of Prufrock', 'Ash Wednesday' and 'Rannoch, by Glencoe (perfectly captured, drive through Rannoch and you'll see ;-)

Yep, definetly worth a read.

have a problem with using words like "brilliant", "masterful" and "intelligent." But willing apply all words to this brilliant book, masterfully research and intelligently told.

The author gives a very full and complete treatise on Brown versus the Board of Education, but of greater interest, he writes of all the history that lead up to the ruling.

An exceptional book chronicling an extremely important issue in our country's history.

This is certainly the best book ever written -- the best book that ever will be written -- about race, law and American society. It is a remarkably insightful history and one of the most stunning existing examples of narrative journalism. It is a masterpiece.

I'm a fan of nonfiction works and this easily moved to my top 5 favorite books. When I was growing up there were no courses on the contributions blacks made to America. There was no black history month. And I was cheated. I'm a 50+ white woman who lived through desegregation and had no clue that it was a struggle. I honestly don't remember a time when my elementary classes were all white but they must have been. I do remember clearly when my elementary class stopped being all white. That was when Richard Harris became my Batman buddy. On the aftenoons following the show we would go to the neighborhood soda shop and have a coke and discuss all the action of the previous evening's show and check for new Batman bubble gum cards with the intensity that only 5th graders can bring to such an important endeavor. It felt normal to chat Batman with Richard; and I'm so sorry for all the children that had such a dumb practice as segregation rob them of those moments.

This book read like a thiriller for me. Couldn't put it down. Underlined and highlighted parts. Read other sections out loud to my husband and to some friends at work. This is American history. Everyone should have the opportunity to learn about the value of education, the value of varied experiences and the perseverance to acquire the rights that should never have been denied to the black people. It's made me hungry to know more and I'll be keeping my eye out for other works by Kluger. Excellent author.

I just finished this book, A Simple Justice, and it is fantastic. It's the story of Brown vs. The Board of Education of Topeka, which is the landmark Supreme Court case that desegregated compulsory public schools in America. But it's so much more than that. After reading this book, I felt almost ashamed of my previous ignorance to the struggles and condition of black america at the hands of almost everyone else in the country. It is comprehensive in its scope and perspicacious in its analysis, sparing no feelings on either (or rather, any) side. I believe myself to be, for the most part, a judicious man when it comes to philosophical or sociological observations, but Kluger was able to open my eyes to angles I had previously missed on issues I thought I had resolved long ago. So if you're not too scared of big books, this one's worth the time.

Long a mainstay of every 1L's pre-law school summer reading list, SIMPLE JUSTICE is more than a retelling of the tortured history of the landmark cases now known collectively as Brown v. Board of Ed. It is more than a retelling of the agonizing struggles of both gifted and ordinary people---black and white and every other---to reverse the four centuries of racial disparagement that make up the ugliest of all underpinnings of the American Experiment. What SIMPLE JUSTICE is, is an exhaustive sociological history of race relations in the United States to the 1950s.

It is a book every American should read. The endemic quality of racism in the American psyche is so overwhelming that it is easy to lose the human element. SIMPLE JUSTICE restores that element with sensitive, intelligent writing, exhaustive and documented research, and a tone which is pitch perfect, strident when need be, reasoned and thoughtful throughout. Ultimately optimistic, SIMPLE JUSTICE will renew your belief in the American system even while tempering it.

In it's retelling of nightmarish incident after nightmarish incident (the explosive and hideous lynchings are often easier to understand than the equally hideous and more subtle segregation and caricaturing that endured for, it seems, ever), SIMPLE JUSTICE shows us an America riven by its view of itself as a noble nation being eaten by the canker in its soul.

Although many Americans now consider race discrimination passe, it is not so hard to see the continuation of a pattern of violence toward blacks and the denigration of the black experience, even today. And yet, there is more, for not only are Black Americans denigrated, but White Americans as well, both suffering because this nation is only a fraction of what it might othewise be.

SIMPLE JUSTICE is a crucial Civics lesson. Read it to learn. Read it to know. Read it. Read it again.

Narrated in first-person by 12-year-old Livy Two Weems, Gentle's Holler tells the story of the Weems family living in the Maggie Valley area of the Smoky Mountains in the 1960s. With money hard to come by and 11 mouths to feed, the Weems don't have much. Daddy is a musician and has been trying to sell a banjo hit for years, and with nine children, Mamma is worn out. And what's more, there's something terribly wrong with three-year-old Gentle's vision. Livy Two comes up with a plan to train their dachshund Uncle Hazard to be a seeing eye dog and to teach Gentle how to read braille. But when tragedy strikes, the family struggles to survive and stay together.

From the very beginning of the book, you can hear Livy Two's voice and know instantly that she's spunky, smart, kind, and a bit loquacious. This voice carries through the book, and there were moments throughout when I laughed out loud, as I did here:

"I may come from a big family, but I already know I don't want children. I want my own house all to myself in the holler, and I swear I won't fill it with nothing but banjo music and vases of mountain laurel and plenty of food. My nieces and nephews will be allowed to visit on Saturday from one to two. I want a homemade rocking chair and a granny quilt on the bed and a rug from Persia on the floor. I wouldn't mind a fancy refrigerator or, even better, a record player like other regular folks have, and I would play me all kinds of music from Patsy Cline to Mozart." (pp. 54-55)

I found myself liking Livy Two and caring about what happened to this family, and Kerry Madden never lets the readers forget the poverty that surrounds the family. They're hungry. Livy Two often feels guilty and ashamed for sneaking an extra bite of cornbread, and her older brother Emmett, is angry at their father for letting them starve. They are unable to take Gentle to the doctor to get her eyes examined. When Daddy brings the dog, Uncle Hazard, home, Mama is furious because they now have another mouth to feed.

But despite this, it's evident that the family loves each other, and I was impressed with the way Kerry Madden was able to depict the love and tenderness that existed among this family. On one occasion, the tapping of a woodpecker inspires Daddy to pick up his banjo and start playing. Soon all of the children are singing and dancing, and Livy Two proclaims, "Sometimes our house is filled with so much love and happiness that a body can't hardly stand it." (p. 59)

On another occasion, Livy Two, overhears her sister Louise, trying to teach Gentle the colors through her senses,

"Pretty soon, I hear Louise carrying Gentle through the edge of the woods, telling her all about color. 'Now Gentle, eat this blueberry and you'll understand the color blue. Azure, sapphire, navy, and indigo. That's other names for blue.'" (88)


Gentle's Holler is a book about love, hardship, and hope. Livy Two teaches us to dream big and to never give up when faced with bad news. But she also teaches us to enjoy life regardless of how much or how little you have.

Gentle's Holler was my introduction to the Weems family. Totally enjoyable! Although the book is listed under youth fiction, I (well past youth) found the book absolutely delightful.

Kerry Madden tells a beautiful story in "Gentle's Holler." While on the surface it seems a simple story, it unfolds with a quiet power that resonates with the reader. Although it is written for young people, it held this older reader from first word to the last. And I will pass it on to my young friends and family, recommended highly.

In Gentle's Holler Kerry Madden deftly portrays the difficult lives of this family of ten without losing the musical voice of the 12-year-old heroine. As readers see "Livy Two" grow through her new perceptions of her parents, her older siblings and her blind baby sister, they can experience many wondrous complexities of family dynamics. It's a great read in the tradition of Betsy Byars. Readers who enjoy Gentle's Holler might also enjoy Danger, Long Division, in which a modern Maryland latch-key kid discovers that she has what it takes to help her baby brother who has special needs.

In GENTLE'S HOLLER, Kerry Madden introduced young readers to Olivia (better known as Livy Two) Weems, a twelve-year-old with a passion for books and music. Livy has eight siblings of various ages and tempermants, a sweet mama, and a starry-eyed daddy. Money's tight - Daddy's music fills the heart and ears more than it fills the pocketbook - but the Weems make do, and their household is always bursting with family, love, and music. Livy Two also sings and plays music, often writing songs about the struggles her family has faced and the hardships they've overcome. The story is set in 1960s North Carolina, a beautiful backdrop for this artistic and energetic family.

As the tale progresses, Livy Two watches carefully over Gentle, the next-to-youngest one in the family, who has always had difficulty with her eyes. Meanwhile, the eldest son, Emmett, looks beyond the holler and fixes his eyes on Ghost Town in the Sky, a new place on the top of a mountain where he might be able to get a job. Livy Two's trips to the lending library truck connect her with another kind soul, Miss Attickson, who encourages Livy's voracious appetite for novels and poetry.

GENTLE'S HOLLER is the first in The Maggie Valley Trilogy. The second book, LOUISIANA'S SONG, is just as precious as the first book. I can't wait to read JESSIE'S MOUNTAIN, the final book in the trilogy. This series will be loved by kids and families who enjoyed the All-of-a-Kind Family books by Sidney Taylor, The Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall, and Cheaper by the Dozen and Belles on Their Toes by Frank B. Gilbreth and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey.

It is a very good book, the reading is really good!!! I loved reading the letters between Jefferson and Adams!!!! The letters are very good!!!!

Have you ever wanted to be a fly on the wall and to be able to share in the thoughts and happenings of important places and people? Well, if your desires in that regard include the office of the Presidency of the United States and the early days following the American Revolution, that is exactly what this book provides.

As was typical of statesmen of that day, Thomas Jefferson and John Adams maintained a lengthy personal and professional correspondance the subjects of which were both mundane and highly intellectual. This book takes that correspondance, chronologically arranges it and then groups it according the characteristics of the time and the themes of their correspondance. As an additional bonus, John's wife Abigail Adams is included as well.

My attraction to this volume was to seek clarity and focus on several questions that are quite relevant to today. What was meant and intended by the concept of Separation of Church and State and what was the philisophic and religious thinking of there two important figures? There's no shortage of resources out there to tell you what these men thought, the context of their society and usually as an added bonus how these matters in one way or another support the agenda or perspective of the one putting the source together.

At some point however, if you really want to grapple with these issues or just understand the times and importance of these two men, there is no substitute for simply reading and allowing them to speak for themselves.

The added benefit of reading it through in its entirity is that you are not subjected to the judgement of another as to what is significant, what isn't and you aren't relying upon snippets and quotes that may or may not be in context and may or may not be representative of all that either man had to say upon a certain matter.

Certainly, this is just a small cross-section of all that these two men wrote and by itself there is much more that should be added. However, more than any other correspondance preserved from that day that these men engaged in, this was an exchange between men who considered the other his equal and for whom, with exceptions in time periods that are noted, mutual respect and a desire to explain themselves to one another motivated a candor and depth of intimacy that is difficult to find in other sectors.

Certainly, any student of American History needs this resource as a reference and as such it affords a ready means to add information and topically flip through the pages to see what each man had to say on a particular subject.

Every such student though, in my opinion, owes it to themselves, at least once, to just sit down and read the entire volume. Do this, and you'll have a handle upon the style of communication of the day, a feeling for many of the issues of the day and how they were viewed by the participants who did not have the advantage of knowing at the time how something would resolve. Idiosyncrasies in language and social custom will become more self-evident and the chances of being mislead by a quote isolated from its context will diminish considerably.

In short, for anyone who loves History, this is an experience not to be missed.

The footnotes and introductory passages to the different sections in my opinion do a remarkably good job of providing the reader with just enough context and outside information so that the letters themselves make sense and are not misunderstood. The reader is not told what to think about the letters per se, but rather equipped to make a better informed evaluation and come to their own conclusions. Those elements make the book valuable as well.

5 stars if ever there was a book worthy of 5 stars; again, this IS history.

Bart Breen

What an incredible feeling reading the words of two of our country's founding fathers. To feel the respect and affection , as well as irritation, of these men is astounding. I am grateful that they have been made available to us to have and hold in our own hands and libraries and to pass on to our children.

This is a very intersting book. The letters are all preceeded by an introduction that gives the reader historical context as well as a description of the relationship at the time between the writers of the letter.

Out second and third presidents began their political career as friends, fell out, and then fortunately became friends again. In this wonderful collection of personal letters we see not only the men but the times until their deaths July 4, 1826. One of our most beloved presidents and most mis-understood are brought into reality by this collection. They were after all both remarkable men and human beings.

I read this book as part of a book club and i was suprised to see how much I liked it. This book brings religion and romance together in a cute story. I found it hard to get into the book at first but its well worth sticking with it.

Although the heroine of this story was distinctly unlikable in the beginning of the book and made some choices I felt were not actually true to the character as written, Liz did a fairly good job at showing "the new man" God can create when our lives are turned over to him. This love story is multi-layered and heartening and definitely worth the read.

This book was so much fun! It's not very often I sit and literally laugh out loud, but this book had me giggling! It's funny, inspirational and charming.

I just finished reading Bookends and was very impressed. It's the first Higgs book I have read (although I read and love her column in TCW). I will definitely be reading more of her literature. This was a warm, funny book with a bit of mystery in it. It wasn't predictable in my opinion, which was a nice change from most romantic fiction. I loved the quirky characters(including the golden retriever) and loved how realisitc it was. I had never heard of the Moravian denomination and am now more curious about it. This is defintely a cozy read and would make a good gift for a close friend.

"Bookends" reveals a talent of the author, Liz Curtiz Higgs, that is nice to find in Christian Romance Novels. The characters are engaging and entertaning. Best of all, you do not have to wait till the end of the story for the main characters to have fun together! In this book the stroyline is creatively weaved with humor, seriousness, and romance, from begining to end. I highly recomend it to those who enjoy quality, intelligent, romance/comedy novels.