United States Books

I really enjoyed this book and could hardly put it down. The reason I gave it three stars was that I found the written descriptions of the stunts, etc. REALLY hard to picture in my mind's eye, and it was frustrating. Obviously, I am NOT an ex-cheerleader!

So that's what drags my score down. Now, that "faux movie trailer" here on Amazon REALLY helped me envision the moves. It was cool to see the three teams "come to life." It is AMAZING what these true athletes can do.

I have been in the cheerleading world for 11+ years, competing at high school, collegic and All Star level. Reading this book was a great experience for me as I no longer get to cheer in the college environment, but do miss it. Reading this book was a walk down memory lane for me.

In some places throughout the book, I had trouble following the descriptions of the of the routines. I would have done better with the use of the technical terms of each move, rather than the verbose descriptions, as I didn't really have the patients to read the full descriptions. I'm not sure how they will translate to someone who is not familiar with the sport.

What is really exciting about this book is the accuracy. Many modern portrayals of cheerleading treat it as a joke. This book explains the sport, why it's difficult, how dangerous the sport really is and isn't. It is really refreshing in that aspect.

There is a word of caution: THIS BOOK COVERS MATURE CONTENT. There are references to the very ugly sides of college cheerleading like: drug use, and eating disorders. As a coach, I wish this book had taken a stronger stance against these practices. There are MANY college cheerleaders who do not take drugs, and who do not have eating restrictions. This is a very sensitive subject, and I would hate for young cheerleaders to aspire to this type of behavior because of heroes found in this book.

All in all, this was a good book, and I would recommend it.

What do you really know about cheerleading? Not the silly dance-stepping of Lakers girls, but competitive cheerleading, where extreme athletes fight to get into the colleges with the best teams, and train obsessively to compete in National Championships, where trained gymnasts are thrown thirty feet into the air with only the hope that their partner will catch them before they hit the ground. Kate Torgovnick has done a fascinating job of reporting, and this book will open your eyes to a whole new sport.

In the Authors Note to CHEER!, Kate Torgovnick writes that "I wanted to fell the story of competitive cheerleading." MS. Torgovnick thus informs the reader that hers is to be a non-fiction journalistic endeaver. Kate reinforces this understanding between writer and reader by thanking her high school teacher for making Kate the journalist that she is today.
"Journalism" is defined in the American Heritage Dictionary as "[t]he style of writing characteristic of material in newspapers and magazines, consisting of direct presentation of facts or occurrences with little attempt at analysis or interpretation." Think: Los Angeles Police Department Sgt. Joe "Nothing-But-The-Facts" Friday; "fly-on-the-wall" reporting.
When Ms. Torgovnick decides to be a journalist, her writing is nothing short of phenomenal. She has an uncanny ability to create images, most notably of people, by the use of unique vocabulary. Her blondes are not the trite and overused "platinum", her large men not "Hercules". The descriptions were all fresh. Kate also has a remarkable talent for conveying emotions simply and efficiently. For instance, when Southern University Coach James is pounding that floor a this teams' final performance, I'm right there with him, ecstatic for both him and his team. (To be honest, I found myself crying?!?) Ms. Torgovnick has a deft ear for conversations. I believe them to be accurate in their retelling. Finally, MS. Torgovnick is a very good interviewer. She asks short, simple, and intelligent questions that compel mor than a "yes" or "no", and then gets out of the way and lets the answers flow.
And for 95% of the book, Kate decides to be a journalist. The book only veers from perfection when Kate occasionally abandons journalist and either (1) becomes an opinionist, or, even worse, (2) becomes part of the story.
As an example of the first cited offense, I offer up the writing on page 64. On her first trip to Stephen F. Austin University, Kate met Coach Brad. On her second trip she learned that Coach Brad had quit to take another job out of state. When discussing the resignation of SFA Coach Brad, team member Kali Seitzer says that she is not good with change. Kate responded "Neither am I. What had seemed like a sure-win year just a few months ago now seems like a gamble." These sentences cause real problems for Kate. First, as a reader I've got to ask: Who cares what Kate thinks? Nobody ever cares what the fly thinks. Just report the facts, i.e. what the team members think! Second, as a reader I've got to be annoyed with Kate: It is awfully presumptuous of her to think that in a few short weeks of watching only three squads she feels capable of assessing a team's chances in nationals when she obviously has no real experience in the field and she has not seen the many other squads. Third, as a reader I've got to ask: On what basis are you making this proclamation? You are a journalist - present me the facts to support your conclusion. But of course, she didn't provide any factual support for her claim.
A fantastic journalistic opportunity on the issue of safety training is lost when Ms Torgovnick merely notes her distaste with the training (page 66), rather than delve into the issue and develop the problem and the proposed cure.
Kate asks what I consider to be a brilliant question regarding steroid, to wit - "I wonder if performance enhancer use could be a side effect of so many coaches right out of college rather than the absolute "adults" who coach other sports?", but then fails to put back on her journalistic cap and do some research and develop the argument. Especially in this testosterone-drenched era, when every participants in cycling to beach volleyball is suspect, Ms. Torgovnicj had, but dropped, the opportunity to blow this subject wide open in the world of cheerleading.
My advice is to either keep your opinions to yourself or make them, but then follow them up with journalistic investigation and reporting.
The other glaring error was in Kate's becoming a character in her story rather than an outside observer. She admits as much on page 85 when, reporting about Southern U's teak prayer for victory the following day, kate writes "...I am no longer just observing. I am a part of the circle holding hands with the team, my head bowed too....All I want in this moment is for them to win tomorrow."
In my humble opinion, Kate, as merely a chronicler of events, should have "no dog in this race."
There was one point in the book that absolutely enraged me; that caused me to want to hurl the book into the roaring fireplace. At pages 140-141, when writing about the feeling of a Southern U. cheerleader from New Orleans whose family was impacted by Hurricane Katrina, Kate wrote "...While the situation in New Orleans got worse, the government seemingly turning its back on rescue efforts because the grand majority of the people remaining in the city were black." This Liberal canard is demonstrably untrue, and the publication of it unfortunately establishes Ms. Torgovnick's ignorance and liberal bias.
I have a small quibble regarding the physical stunts. Although each stunt was adequately described in words, both in the text and in a Dictionary at the back of the book, I still wanted either a picture (or series of pictures" of each stunt, or at the minimum a drawing or graphic.
Finally, I found one spelling error and one grammatical error. This is surprising to see considering the publisher is the well respected Simon and Shuster. An editor is supposed to cover your back, not stab it.
While I seem to have spent the vast majority of this review picking apart this book, it is not really the case. I consider this book to be a major tour de force and the author to be an up and coming star in the field of Modern American Journalism.
So only two questions remain -
(1) What is next for Ms. Torgovnick? I can't believe that Kate wants at the end of her career to be known as the Queen of the cheerleading literature genre. Hopefully she has aspirations that far exceed in seriousness the world of cheerleading. The world of politics beckons Kate to next turn her guns.
(2) Can Ms. Torgovnick grow? Can she attain wisdom in correlation to her biological clock? One does not ordinarily expect such from an "Ivy League" alumna from New York City, but Kate is no ordinary liberal. Kate's May 2006 JANE article, "Welcome to Screw U." demonstrates that she DOES get it, that she is capable of mature (i.e. conservative) thought.
I'm a big fan and I'm look forward to future books!
***Full disclosure: I am Ms Torgovnick's oldest first cousin. Her father and my mother are brother and sister.***
BTW - LCLM - "Land clean, land mean"

Cheer Three Teams on a Quest for College Cheerleading's Ultimate Prize follows three college cheer squads as they work towards their ultimate goal....a national cheer championship. From tryouts to the final competition Kate Torgovnick accompanies the three teams, all girl team from Memphis State, the Stephen F. Austin coed team, and the team from historically black college Southern University. These squads mirror much of the realities on any college athletic program. The big programs, the proven winners, have school funding, scholarships and heavy expectations from alumni as well as themselves. The all girl squad has to scramble and compete with the coed squad to get scholarships, financial backing, their own coaching and respect, even though they are proven winners. Southern University has to raise the money to travel and to find a championship competition to enter, as the stages Black colleges evaporate, despite being a proven crowd draw. Cheerleaders have their own struggles....leaving school to care for an ailing parent, romances, "ringchasing" (transferring from one program to another in hopes of winning a championship ring), balancing work and school, injuries, pregnancies, eating disorders and coaching changes. No matter what, they are expected to bound onto the field with endless enthusiasm and cheer.


I have to admit a bias; I am a band geek, through and through. After growing up in Texas, I swore no child of mine would do either of these two things... cheerleading or football. I forgot to tell my children! During their high school years I developed a healthy respect for the amount of work and athleticism involved in cheer. I also developed a deep dread that still rises in my throat when watching a particularly dangerous stunt or a missed catch. Torgovnick follows each squad throughout their year and is able to show the inner workings of the sport, warts and all. The challenges each program faces seem insurmountable at times. Ultimately it is the individuals behind the smiles that carry the squad. She treats the participants with respect and steps back just enough to be honest. Cheer was an unexpected good read.

There are times that I read non-fiction just to learn. Some non-fiction writers can bore the pants off of you, but NOT these two authors who have me hooked with every page. (I am slightly over halfway through.) Their writing makes it seems like a well-written novel. For this, they certainly should be commended.

I made it through law school without knowing the depth and breadth of this story. How glad I am that these authors wrote a chilling, legal thriller from the awful facts of the lynching of Ed Johnson, a black man who even the U.S. Supreme Court thought was innocent. Those horrible days of lynching are thankfully behind this great nation.

This is a terrific and rarely-told story from our nation's legal history. This well-written book will be fascinating to anyone who has an interest in the law, civil rights, our nation's history, or just in captivating stories.

For one interested in the history of federalism in this country, the book is a must read. The book can be enjoyed by both lawyers and lawmen. If you want to understand how and why the United States Supreme Court became involved in declaring state laws unconstitutional and the need for the Federal Courts to apply the United States Constitution to actions of local officials, this book will enable you to understand those reasons. A true story of unhearald courage by a very determined and brave attorney.

I ended up reading this book in a little over two days. I was quickly hooked by the fascinating and horrifying story of Ed Johnson, an indigent black man, unjustly accused and convicted by an all-white judicial system that was very typical of the south at the turn of the century. Mr. Johnson's second set of lawyers, two courageous black lawyers, from Chattanooga appeal to the US Supreme Court and set the stage for the most intriguing case to ever be heard before the court. Read the book!

When Leroy Phillips, Jr. came to visit my school in Chattanooga, I was overwhelmed by the knowledge that something like this could have happened in my city. After his talk, I decided to read the book for myself. At first, I noticed that the authors took a lot of time to research the subject thoroughly, so much so that I think they know more about Chattanooga than I do, keeping in mind Leroy Phillips does live here. What also impressed me the most was the nonfiction story itself. The story is about a black man named Ed Johnson who was put on trial at first as a scapegoat. However, he eventually was a target for all anti-black aggressions. I mean, for me the 60's were scary, but the brutality and violence of the early 1900's, especially these incidents, are just terrifying. This book will show a detailed look at Chattanooga's past; it will show some historically fascinating law and court decisions, and it will just be an amazing read.

I loved Water for Elephants so much that I had to read about more elephants. This is a fast read but very worthwhile.

I loved being able to get the books so quickly and in topnotch condition especially since they were not available in local bookstores

The true story of Bob and his good natured Amy. It is a wonderful read for anyone who loves animals but Amy's story did not really end the way the book implies. Instead, Amy resides at Riddle's Elephant & Wildlife Sanctuary in Arkansas. I don't believe the author intentionally misleads the reader but I think the plans just fell through in the end and everyone decided it was best. I saw first-hand the excellent care and freedom she is given at Riddle's and approve whole-heartedly of the true ending.

This is the best pet story ever. It begins with a baby elephant whose life's destiny was altered several times, most noticeably when it crossed paths with Bob Norris. I rejoiced in the absolute miracles in this book, and really cried at the sad moments. But the ending was superb, and I was tempted to call Bob Norris and tell him myself how much I loved his story. I have never been more impressed by a relationship between a man and his pet than by this book. Bob Norris is a remarkable person. You will not regret buying this book!

I loved this book. My 7 year old loves elephants and although this is a bit over her reading level, I got it for her and ended up reading for myself. It is a wonderful story about a female elephant and her rescue from Africa, then her tales of growing up on a ranch out west in the U.S. It is a fascinating story about African elephant life, the rancher who adopted her, Texaco, Malboro, African politics, and circus life all rolled into the unusual story of an elephant named Amy. I had no idea elphants were socially such advanced creatures. Plus, I got so much information in such a quick and easy read. Thanks to Malcolm Macpherson for his well researched story.

I first recieved this book after Shelly Gill spoke at my elementary school when I was in 3rd grade. It was my favorite book! It is a fun-loving story, and it has very engaging pictures.I would reccomend this to children everywhere...
Side Note: I love this book so much that I am using it as part of one of my College reports!

Danger the Yard Dog Cat was Dangerously Extreme. It is about a cat named Danger & he lives with 57 Huskies! Thanks for the autograph, Shelley Gill.

I give this book four stars. It`s great and really funny! I don`t give it five stars because it is too easy for me. It should be for kids ages 4-6. I recommend this book for kids who like cats.

I like the book Danger the Dog Yard Cat. I recommend this book to you because it tells you about a cat that raced in the Iditarod. The pictures are funny. This book is half true and half make believe. This book is about a cat that gets saved by a dog sled racer that has a lot of dogs. The Cat has to race for the dog leader because he hurt his paw. Danger had one friend that was a dog, and his name was Mud shark.

Danger the Dog Yard Cat was one of the best books I've ever read because it's funny with a very catchy ending. Shelley Gill is funny and cool.

I bought this for my daughter who loves Dora books. This book has a bunch of great titles and was an awesome price ($5!). The only thing is that pages started to fall out within a week of getting it. I was able to tape them back in, but it was kind of disappointing.

My three years old daughter simply loves this book. I have been reading the book to her more than 20 times if it is not 30 times already. She has been bring the book almost every night for bedtime story since the book was came to my door (the binding of hardcover becomes wiggly already). I am enjoying her responses when I read questions in the middle of the stories, just like Dora asked questions in the animation series. The book is big and colorful and lines of story are just short enough to keep my girl's attention to the page. It is clearly my best book purchase I ever made for my girl.

These stories are VERY short, basic and not very interesting. BUT, it's Dora, so my daughters still ask to read them.

Bought this as a surprise gift for my 2.5yo dd for a long plane trip we were taking. She loved all the stories, and I felt there was a nice variety of stories included. Great for any Dora fan, as long as you don't already own many Dora stories (to keep from having duplicates).

My son likes Dora. He loves this book. I read it to him every night. Some stories are too short though.

I read Emily of Deep Valley before I knew it was a Besty-Tacy book. After reading the entire series I went back and read Emily again and found the references to Betsy and Tacy along with other friends in the series. I would suggest reading this book after the one where Betsy graduates from High School, just to put them in chronological order.

This book is great for children and teens. They will learn about life in the early 1900s in a very readable and enjoyable way.

While this book is not necessarily a "Betsy-Tacy" book, it does (IMHO) rank up there with the best of the Lovelace series, especially as it appeals to an adult looking for recreational reading. Not that younger readers (the vast majority of the "B-T Fan club") couldn't enjoy it, but Lovelace tackles some social as well as adult emotional issues in this book that are lacking in the "B-T" books, or are arrived at more blithely, precisely because the characters (Betsy vs Emily) are so vastly different, tempermentally. As a man, I'd say that this book has far less saccharine in it, than the B-T books.

Don't get me wrong! I 'found' these books when my children came of 'reading to' age, and, since we HS, we all enjoyed them immensely. Especially as we live near enough to "Deep Valley," to make a pilgrimage to see where "Betsy and Tacy really lived." That was a field trip I'll long remember, and so will the kids!

What appeals to me in this book, is the female protagonist, and her mix of compassion and strength. She is determined, strong of character, no-nonsense, and yet loving, needing to be loved, and eventually finding love. She (dare I say it?) embodied characteristics of a typical Minnesota woman, and reminded me of both my mother and my wife..which is high praise, in my book! 'Emily of Deep Valley' was one of those moments in life, when a work of literature actually embodies human emotion, causes you to identify, makes you remember your own life lived, and simply, truly moves one.

I am surprised that (as an actor/singer) no one has made a film or concocted a children's musical/opera of any of these books. They embody the best of American humanity [prior to a multicultural age] I have read in a long time. I can say honestly, I will return to visit Emily another spring, to enjoy her story all over again, and will encourage my daughter to do the same, when she becomes a teenager.

Okay, my secret is out--I'm an addict. These books have entranced me my whole life with their warmth and their wonderful characters. This is how I've learned much of my early-20th century history, as a matter of fact. Much as I adore all of the Betsy books, Emily is my favorite, I think. Her painful shyness and lack of self confidence are overcome by sheer determination and a focus on others rather than herself--a lesson of worth for young girls. However, the book is never preachy or dry; it is a rich, delightful story that engages the reader and delivers its messages gently.

I love the Betsy-Tacy books, and was extremely sad because of the ending of the series of the books. One day, my mother brought home 'Emily of Deep Valley', and I wasn't exactly excited. I refused to read it, and said I liked Betsy-Tacy better, although I hadn't seen a word of 'Emily of Deep Valley'. And though I said that I didn't want to read it, I couldn't resist looking at 'Emily of Deep Valley'. Soon I became enthralled with it, with everybody in the book. I've always loved the Betsy-Tacy books, but this book has something the Betsy books doesn't. Maud Hart made everything perfect, but it didn't seem like a corny fairytale. I recommend this book to those who are looking for more classics and Betsy-Tacy books.

Wonderful writing, did not want it to end. All of her books in this series were captivating. You could almost imagine yourself in the era in which it was set and be a part of it. Can't wait for the next book.

Sarah Donati does it again with the follow up to her previous novels. Her characters are outstanding, makes you feel like you are there with her descriptive narrative. An excellent read!

I do admit that if you haven't read the preceding three books in this fabulous series, this probably won't be as meaningful to you as it would be to a devotee, but, having siad that, perhaps I can convince some readers who wouldn't normally be fans of an historic epic, to start at the beginning..in fact I'm almost envious of what you have ahead! This story continues lives of the Bonner family, their neighbours and friends who live in a settlement high in the mountains of New York State. Elizabeth and her husband Nathaniel's younger son, Daniel, has been captured by the British forces and held prisoner on Ile de Noix, just over the Canadian border. Nathaniel's cousin, Lady Jennet, has arrived from Scotland to marry Luke, Nathanie's son by an early romance and, accompanied by Hannah, Nathaniel's half Indian daughter from his first wife,and Luke, travels incognito to the Island, in an attempt to rescue Daniel who has been badly injured in the fighting. If there seems to be too many half sisters and brothers to take in, it is all perfectly clear in the reading of the book which, while partly ends in happiness, also begins another episode which continues on to the next volume, Queen of Swords, which has just been released and which I'm happily devouring at a great rate!

For any readers who haven't indulged in Sara Donati's series of books about Elizabeth and Nathaniel Bonner, this is one of the later books in the series. It's a fine book to read without having read the others, but
it's much more informative to start with the introductory novel. Sara Donati is one of those writers who is gifted at writing historical fiction.

Do yourself a favor and read this series. It's great fun without the guilt because it's a love and adventure saga rolled inside a history lesson. I actually missed the characters when I finished the last book and I can only hope Sara Donati is hard at work on the next installment. Start at the beginning so you know who everyone is and how they influence the story as it progresses.
1. Into the Wilderness
2. Dawn on a Distant Shore
3. Lake in the Clouds
4. Fire Along the Sky
5. Queen of Swords
Enjoy.....

Without any knowledge; yet a curious fascination for a bygone era, I perused many of the illustrators famous for their cheesecake-girl-next-door pin ups of the fifties on the web. Gil Elvgren came up tops! As Rockwell held a mirror up to the American public, Elvgren manage to evoke Rockwellesque subtleties into his work too. Your eyes are attracted to the girls, however, other elements like a dog, a turtle, a prop like a diary, add to the charm of the work and to the total innocence of the girls. Living in the current "Raunch Culture" where female nudity is pervasive, this book transports you back to another time where the girls exude a level of desirability that Elvgren perfectly captured in his work. The luscious and lovingly delivered colour plates (some 500 of them) demonstrate Elvgren's evolution into the auteur of pin up illustrators, as he progressively developed real depth into to his work. With limited knowledge of the subject matter, this book is a perfect introduction to an incredible genius and an incredible artform

This book is absolutely beautiful. Lots and lots of color - designed and bound very well. Worth every penny and then some. Impressed with Amazon's service (my first order) and the whole shopping/purchase experience here.

I highly recommend this to anyone with an interest in Elvgren or pin-ups. Beautiful picture quality, comprehensive collection. For the money, you can't get much better than this!

Elvgren is a master of his art. This book truly is a gem at this price. If you love pinup art he is the master. Its a slice of days gone past and pretty girls to write home about. Elvgren will live on forever. Take a piece of history home.

I'm still studying and reading through it, but it has an interesting magic that's missing in many of today's similar subjects - innocence.

This is by far the most amazing book i have ever read. The way that she will risk anything for her loved one really touched my heart. I am still waiting for the other books to arrive. I hope that it will be just as good as this book. This book shows courage and shows that someone doesn't have to be another person to be accepted. There will always be someone that will accept you as who you are.

I fell in love with this book as soon as I read the excerpt on the back of it. I became so involved in the book that i read it just a few hours! Dokey's use of detail effectively brought the story to life.I fell in love with charactors and thier world as if i were tking part in the action. It had me cheering for Kit and Bold Will till the end. When i had finnished the book, I immediately had to get my hads on the sequel, "Charlotte:Heart of Hope". Once again Dokey delivers a heartwarming novel of adventure and love. This irresitable spirit is again successfully reflected in "Stephanie:Heart of Gold" and "Carrie:Heart of Courage", the final two books of the series. After finishing the entire series for the third time, I began to wonder. What would the next generations of Kelly women be like? What adventure will they embark on next? And ultimately, what keepsake would they tuck away into the fine hope chest, telling of thier legacy.

I thought this was a wonderful book, all four books to the Hearts and Dreams series are great!...

This is definately one of my most favorite books. I first read it when I was 12-years-old when my sister and I took turns reading aloud one quiet summer day. Kathrine is a spunky, intelligent and funny herorine who captures your heart from the very beginning. A young girl who longs for adventure and who has incredible courage. I fell in love with 'Bold Will' and the rest of the endearing charactures from the start. It's one of those books that sucks you in from the first page to the last and leaves you feeling happy, satified, a sad to see it end!

I have read this so many times and I am sure that I will continue to read it many more times. This book inspired me to try to write my own stories and helped kindle my dream to be an author someday. So thanks, Cameron Dokey, for giving us such a great book!

I love this book! Katherine and Charoltte are two of my all-time favorite books. I read both of these classics when I was much younger but I still love them! I recommend both these amazing stories to anyone. They are romantic, interesting, thrilling, and historical. These two books will forever be among my favorite books.

Dianne K. Salerni is a true genius. She knows how to capture her readers' attention and hold it . . . to the point of distraction! For me the best part of a story is characters so real I get to know and like, dislike or alternate between the two. High Spirits has this in spades - the Fox sisters are truly engaging as are the many supporting characters in the book. The twists and turns of this story are riveting. Just when you think oh, I know where this is going, she throws you a curve ball that has you on the edge of your seat unable to stop reading, despite any responsibilities that await. Please, please, please write your next book right now!!!

I found the Fox sisters to be a revelation not only to the reader but to the spirit world. The book is well written and entertaining as you follow the girls from something unplanned to profession. I was quite amazed at how their lives not only changed others, but put them in positions of control and in some cases danger. I would recommend this to anyone who loves history. Even though it could be described as a "teen book" it is for anyone of any age.

High Spirits is an excellent book, and Dianne Salerni has an incisive ability to get into the characters' minds. Her characters were actual people, true, but she has a way of taking them out of the past and sitting them right down next to us, making it feel as if we are seeing their story firsthand.

High Spirits actually seems to be two books in one. The first half is the history of the Fox sisters and how they became famous spiritualists, believed to be able to communicate with the dead. As their fame grows, so too does their infamy, and they must deal with nonbelievers and detractors, some of whom are willing to resort to violence. This lends itself to some harrowing, suspenseful moments.

The second part of the book is a romance, as Maggie Fox falls in love with a man who loves her in return, but is unable to find the courage to make his feelings public. Meanwhile, he demands that she give up her life of spirit rapping, which angers her family to no end as it is their sole means of support. Torn between betraying her family or losing the man she loves, a man who makes these demands yet is unwilling to commit, Maggie rides an emotional rollercoaster. We sit by her side at all times, through the constant ups and downs, not knowing how the ride will end.

It is an enjoyable ride, nonetheless, and one well worth taking.

Some movies bring tears to my eyes; books seldom do.

High Spirits starts with the haunting of Hydesville in 1848. It follows the real life adventures of two sisters, Maggie and Kate Fox. Maggie starts the story by telling us that she began the `deception' when she was too young to know right from wrong. Kate, the younger of the two, regrets her sister's use of that word. To Kate, the dead are real, and the spirits talk to her.

I have well over a hundred books sitting on bookshelves in my study. Some of them I've already started. Since I lost interest in most of them, the bookmarks are still waiting between early pages for me to return. Many of the books I buy end up neglected orphans in need of foster parents.

Books on the best seller lists seldom satisfy me, because they are shallow or seem like a story I've already read. It's almost as if most of them were chosen by those politically correct people we know are out there monitoring what we say and think and learn--people very much like a `few' of the characters in High Spirits.

However, when I find a novel worth reading, it's like walking into an undiscovered country. High Spirits was one of those.

High Spirits is about the lives of the Fox family and two sisters that are devoted to each other. Kate and Maggie are credited with starting the spiritualist movement as a prank. When I first picked up High Spirits, I thought I was going to be reading about ghosts and romance.

To my surprise and satisfaction, I soon discovered that High Spirits offers much more. High Spirits turned out to be a story told on many levels. At times I found myself chuckling. At other times I found myself sitting on the edge of my seat wondering if one of the characters I liked was about to suffer a horrible fate.

High Spirits is also about a dysfunctional but loving and loyal family surviving in a cruel world. On a more personal note, they are like us. It is easy to identify with them. When danger looms from skeptics that threaten Maggie's life, her older sister Leah Fox rescues her in a daring and risky escape that leaves Maggie in heart-pounding terror. Just thinking about myself in the same situation under the same circumstances had me breaking out in a cold sweat, and I'm a combat veteran that served in Vietnam. Maggie was a young girl.

The romance in High Spirits arrives later in the story. Dr. Elisha Kent Kane, the most widely celebrated American adventurer of the day, eventually walks on stage and fall "madly" in love with Maggie. What turns out to be a complex relationship stands equal to Romeo and Juliet; Tristan & Isolde, and Tony and Maria of West Side Story. That's as far as I'll go. My lips are now zipped shut. Hollywood, pay attention. Stories like this are rare, and Maggie and Elisha were real people.

In High Spirits, the harsh lines that separate the privileged and powerful from the working class show that dysfunctional people come from all levels of society. However, those at the top have the power to do more damage. What they are capable of doing to hurt others is more like a tidal wave washing over distant shores and leaving nothing but destruction and misery in its wake. When Elisha's mother interferes with his love for Maggie, horrible consequences are set in motion.

Although High Spirits reveals that most of us are human at heart, a few inhuman monsters populate our world and wreck havoc wherever they can for selfish, egotistical reasons.

If you are looking for adventure, romance, heartbreak, a bit of history, and a story that will touch you, I recommend this novel. Reading High Spirits will be a journey of discovery that might squeeze out a tear or two like it did for me.

High Spirits: A Tale of Ghostly Rapping and Romance is a novelistic treatment of a real incident from American history, the story of the Fox sisters, whose childish pranks of communicating with the departed were taken seriously first by family members, then neighbors, and then the community, ultimately growing into a genuine phenomenon. The resulting movement, known as spiritualism, became quite the rage from the 1840s until after the Civil War. Traces of it are not unknown today.

By the time they reached young womanhood Maggie and Kate Fox had achieved near-celebrity status. The proceeds from their appearances financed their blue collar family and allowed them access to the highest circles of society in New York City, Philadelphia, and so forth. Maggie, in particular, developed a relationship with Elisha Kane, an adventurer and explorer whose exploits earned him his own corner in history and fiction.

For this reader, however, the history is not ultimately the point of the book. The story is a rewarding and entertaining study of two sisters, their family, and their acquaintances, as they grow and develop and mature (or fail to). The author has done a splendid and totally convincing job of filling out their lives and personalities and putting real flesh on the bare bones of history. The romantic relationship between Maggie Fox and Elisha Kane is especially well depicted, for example. Good historical fiction is capable of putting us not only in other minds but in other eras, and High Spirits does this beautifully. One can read all the history one wants of the position of women in Victorian society but this book can show us what it actually felt like.

In addition the story is masterfully written and edited. All in all this is a first-class novel.