Michigan Books

This seems to be the only guide for IRNP. It will be great for my trip next summer.

This was a very useful guidebook to read before arriving on Isle Royale. It helped me decide what parts of the island I wanted to visit in my limited time there, and it gave me a good sense of what to expect at campgrounds, etc. I strongly recommend also purchasing the National Geographic map of the park, available from the ferry companies and at the camp store at Rock Harbor. The maps in the book tend to be a little small and not very detailed.

A must have for everyone going to Isle Royale. Of course, it is the best book until I write one.

I am planning a trip to Isle Royale and couldn't find much information searching the web. My friend and I are debating whether to make the trip a hiking trip, a canoe trip, or a packraft trip. Whatever we choose, this book provides enough information to make any of these trips will be successful. One thing is for sure, the book inspires you to plan multiple trips.

This book helped me prepare for my first backpacking experience at Isle Royale. I was able to plan my routes and camping areas and knew what to expect as far as climate conditions, wildlife, and overall options of the park. It gave me realistic expectations and advice that definitely helped me to enjoy my Isle Royale experience.

As a mother who practiced extended nursing, I remember oftentimes seeking the support of others. No matter how many people support breastfeeding, there always seems to be those who look down on it. It's unfortunate that breastfeeding is still not thought of in a positive light by many, and surprisingly, including those in the medical fields. I once had to shed some light on a dentist, when he insisted that nursing had no value after 6 months. After providing him with the correct information, I quickly changed dentists. Many times breastfeeding goes as planned, and many times it doesn't. But in order to get through the difficult times, women seek support from various sources, including books.

The book, "The Breastfeeding Café," is one wonderful source of support for breastfeeding women. Instead of being a "how-to-/do-it-this-way" generalized book of breastfeeding jargon, this book brings women together by sharing their true-life breastfeeding stories. Breastfeeding moms - you'll feel relieved that you aren't alone in your experiences...and that those beautiful, scary, difficult, funny and crazy breastfeeding moments have probably been experienced by other women. The women who share their stories know how you are feeling, because they've been there. They talk about breastfeeding, children, husbands, friends, and more. You'll find this book full of information, inspiration, support, and you may even chuckle or shed a tear after reading some of the stories. You might even be surprised at how similar their stories are to yours.

MyParenTime.com highly recommends this book -- besides being informative, this book provides breastfeeding women with comfort, and justifies their decision to breastfeed their children. It's not just a book about breastfeeding...it's a book filled with true stories, true experiences, and true emotions. The breastfeeding experience is different for everyone, yet the experiences are all relatable. You're sure to find this book very enjoyable to read :).

This book is amazing! Lots of mothers with many different breastfeeding experiences share their stories...and I cried through many of them because they were so touching. When you feel like no one understands why you are so glad to be breastfeeding your baby, this is the book to have. It's very inspiring to hear what some mothers go through to establish and maintain a breastfeeding relationship and it's encouraging that even after difficulties, they're glad they stuck with it. Wonderful book!!

I happened apon this book while reading flyers at the Library. Some ladies were getting together once a month at a local coffee shop and creating a support group "based on The Breastfeeding Cafe Book" I found the book to check out and was pleastly surprised!!
This book is filled with wonderful, inspiring, thoughtful stories that women from ALL walks of life have contributed to.
I was dealing with a second round of mastitis while I had this book and it became a comfort to me when my baby and I would be waking from a nap to nurse and read a few stories and fall back to sleep. It felt as though my mid wife or girl friends were hanging out with me.
I truely recommend this to every mom first time breastfeeing or nursing your fourth child. It makes a wonderful gift for a new mother or someone that you think may not have a whole lot of support to continue if they ever feel discouraged.

The Breastfeeding Cafe is perfect -- just like breastmilk! It contains all the essentials, including an intangible nurturing essence. This hearty smorgasbord of women's stories will nourish breastfeeding mothers just like breastmilk nourishes their babies. It will also fulfill lactation and childbirth professionals, as well as feminists.

Some people would call The Breastfeeding Cafe a scholarly work; others would call it a collection of intimate personal stories. Both descriptions would be accurate. Behrmann combines extensive research in the fields of medicine, sociology, history, and anthropology with anecdotal evidence cultivated from interviews with an amazingly diverse group of women. The result is a fascinating survey of breastfeeding in America today, and an in-depth examination of the ways in which breastfeeding is valued -- and devalued -- in our culture.

Mothers from all walks of life very openly share their experiences as breastfeeding women. Behrmann interviews mothers who planned their pregnancies and mothers who did not, mothers who gave birth in a hospital and mothers who gave birth at home, mothers of twins, mothers who are lesbians, mothers who are teenagers, mothers who have had breast implants, mothers who are employed in the corporate world, mothers who serve in the army, mothers who are college students, mothers who work minimum wage jobs, mothers who are immigrants, mothers who are highly educated, mothers who are former gang members, mothers of premature infants, mothers of babies who did not survive, mothers who have given their babies up for adoption.... Breastfeeding mothers are sure to see their own experiences reflected somewhere in these pages. Other women will get an accurate picture of the range of challenges and rewards involved in breastfeeding.

The focus is on exploring the physical, emotional, and cultural challenges and hardships that women have encountered as breastfeeding mothers; however, the overall message of The Breastfeeding Cafe is uplifting and encouraging. Behrmann's insights inspire hope for the future of women and babies, and for a cultural that is more supportive of breastfeeding and mothering.

If The Breastfeeding Cafe were a restaurant, its master chef Barbara Behrmann would receive rave reviews for her varied menu, her socially conscious approach, her tantalizingly original recipes, and her fulfilling portions.

I am a doula, chilbirth educator and mom of four. I absolutely loved the book. I thought that Ms. Behrmann covered so many great issues involved with breastfeeding. What was very refreshing to me was that she not only covered the "typical" topics, but also covered some of the issues that most people don't discuss. The book was highly motivating to me for continuing to breastfeed through challenges and to seek help when problems are encountered. As a doula, I give all of my clients and pregnant friends a copy of this book as their pre or postpartum gift. It very well may be the best book on breastfeeding they receive.

This book of domestic essays by Michigan journalist Cindy LaFerle is a major delight. The rich topic of LaFerle's family life, from delivering newspapers on dark Sunday mornings with her son to remodeling her historic home and baking bread for peace, is comfort food without the calories. The essays pair especially well with a warm cup of tea on a cold afternoon. LaFerle's calm and compassionate humor will remind readers to be grateful for the many blessings of home.

From the preface: "At a writers' retreat I attended several years ago, author Madeleine L'Engle posed a question, "Why do all of us want to share our stories?" Her answer affirmed what each of us knew but couldn't express as elegantly: "We share our stories because we have faith--faith the universe has meaning and that our little lives are not irrelevant." I found this profound and wanted to read deeper.

Cindy has put together some wonderfully arranged thematic essays. The essays are funny, poignant and show a slice of life. The essays are fun reading them in book sequence or skipping around (Sorry Cindy. You probably wanted them read in the sequence published.). I enjoyed reading them.

Cindy's writing style in this book is like a conversation between friends. There is a sense of humor mixed with plain down to earth speech and common everyday situations that anyone can relate to. Most essays are short, easy and fun to read.

The Christian Science Monitor, Reader's Digest, Country Gardens, Writer's Digest, The Oakland Press and The Royal Oak Daily Tribune have all published Cindy's essays and columns. Cindy lives in her home town, Royal Oak, Michigan, with her family.

I found this book easy and fun to read. I don't know when these essays were first published, but they just a relevant. I would definitely recommend this book for anyone wanting something entertaining to read. Since there a re a series of essays, there is no real need to rush, reading from cover to cover. You can pick up this book at anytime and read one or more of the essays when you have a few minutes to spare while relaxing. I would rate this book as a great read and worthy of consideration by readers.

Bob Medak, Allbooks Reviews

Cracking open Cindy LaFerle's debut collection of columns and essays is the equivalent of chatting with your best friend at a coffeehouse. She talks about everything under the sun -- from the love of her deceased tabby cat to the ubiquitous mean mommy syndrome we all face at the PTA. Her steady, flowing writing lulls you into the comforts of her world. It's not all rosy, however. Her discussion of the Iraqi War or Martha Stewart's decline are timely issues to be taken seriously. Nonetheless, you feel you are in trusted hands with Ms. LaFerle. She won't let you down. In every one of her 294 pages, she never does.



The book is a compilation of over a decade of newspaper columns in The Daily Tribune (Royal Oak, Michigan) and essays which have appeared in notable magazines such as Readers' Digest and Better Homes and Gardens. Since her background mirriors that of many work from home mothers, she is a highly relatable writer both in intention and in content. Her tone is never preachy. It is truthful and without pretense.



This nurturing scribe has stopped her column. Her local readers in Michigan must mourn the loss of their regular commentator. As she recently sent her only child off to college, she may have been concerned that her home life would not yield a full column's worth. She quotes Aldous Huxley at one point (page 64):



"Everyone who knows how to read has it in their power to magnify themselves, to multiply the ways in which they exist, to make their life full, significant, and interesting."



Cindy LaFerle does that with her writing. She magnifies her own world to make it our own. We can only hope she will be inspired to continue the quest with her pen. Her obvious talent to weave honest, yet striking tales is definitely something to write home about.

Rebeccasreads highly recommends WRITING HOME as a lovely bouquet of womanly thoughts about things little & big, sad & funny, & topical to today's modern life.

Cindy La Ferle's essays are grouped together by subject rather than eras: first she welcomes us into her House and Garden, & then introduces us to the muggy swamp of Child Care; to her Social Life (such as it is being a work-at-home-parent & spouse); to the philosophies of Kitchen Duty, & to her Creature Comforts.

Then she gets as serious as she can about Work Ethics before opening the Family Album. She also shows us how she's Keeping Up Appearance & Keeping the Seasons, & as with all things, she gets Older and Wiser & into Soul Caring.

Oh, & she's into organic produce, herbs, overnight retreats at a Jesuit monastery, walking with her women friends, & a life of prayer & peace. & she likes to laugh!

WRITING HOME is for everywoman who thinks about her world, & would make a perfect reading group selection, & gift, no matter the season!

"The sacred is in the ordinary. It is found in one's daily life - in friends, family, and neighbors; in one's own backyard."

The above quote comes from a thank-you note Cindy La Ferle keeps in an "altar" above her kitchen sink. Its simple observation pretty much sums up the philosophy expounded in her book, Writing Home. A columnist for a Detroit area paper and freelance article writer, La Ferle writes about what she knows best - home - and how our home life shapes and colors who we are.

My personal favorite essay is "Quit Picking on Barbie." The big-breasted fashion doll has been getting a bum rap for years... Most little girls just enjoy dressing her up and designing homes and careers for her. She doesn't scar our sense of femininity at all. Another column, "Recovering Perfectionist," stirs up many familiar emotions as well. Women do seem especially susceptible to perfectionistic behavior, La Ferle observes. Our "people-pleasing" impulses prevent us from attempting many worthwhile endeavors because we're afraid we won't be able to do them perfectly. We need to let go of this need to "be right or look good" all the time. In the humorous "Seeing Red" we learn about the pros and cons of being a redhead - or at least the Miss Clairol version of it.

From "Baghdad and Banana Bread"- finding security from the horrors of the world in simple baking - to "The Lost Art of Loafing"- an art I really need to take advantage of this summer- Writing Home wisely reminds us that truly there is no place like home. -- Cindy Appel for the FEARLESS REVIEWS

Enjoyed reading this book. I had family who survived Camille in Nelson County, spent several weeks there during the summers visiting during my youth and remember vividly going there as soon as we were allowed in to see the damage. This book did an excellent job describing the storm, the aftermath and how it changed the lives of so many people who lived in that area.

Once you pick this book up, you won't want to put it down until you've read the very last page and the dust cover notes as well. As a reader all too familiar with the wrath and destruction of hurricanes, I found the historical facts eerily accurate and the human drama so tense that the reader is drawn into the story as if sucked into the vortex of the storm itself. Category 5 is gripping and powerful like a well-written novel and not the true account of devastation and suffering that it is -- without the dry, clinical approach of a mere assessment of storm damage. The human element is often invisible when looking at the overall picture. Howard and Zebrowski take us to ground zero to examine the personal lives of those affected and no reader can ever put those images out of his or her mind. Excellent read!

Tom Aswell
Baton Rouge, LA.

"Category 5" is excellent reading. The plot, with many interesting facts, keeps the reader spellbound. It is difficult to stop reading once you start! Many long hours of research had to be done for this fact filled book. The racial feelings in Louisanna, corupt polititions, and the "state of the art" science of 1969, all combine to make this book all come together for one of the best books I have ever read!

The authors of this book were putting the finishing touches on it when Katrina made landfall in generally the same area as Camille. They went back and added a chapter but for the most part the book was left to stand on its own in light of the more recent disaster and it stood up quite well. All through the book there are obvious parallels between the two storms and especially the response that came in their aftermath. It is to be hoped that government officials took the lessons of Katrina to heart in a much more effective way than they did the lessons of Camille and that when the next major hurricane devastates a costal area the outside response will be far more effective.

One of the few things that did improve in the years between the hurricanes was the ability of forecasters to predict the track of the storm and to get the word out. In 1969 radar tracking and computer models were in their infancy and up until shortly before landfall forecasters were sure that Camille would strike Florida. Once they did realize that it was headed for Mississippi they had trouble getting the word out and had it not been for the foresight of local officials the death toll would have been much higher. These authors take the meteorological aspects of this story and present them in a remarkably easy to understand way and do so to the extent that the reader will almost be able to feel the angst of forecasters as they try to figure out just what Camille is up to. These Hurricane Center people are remarkable.

These authors do an excellent job of relating how local authorities had taken to heart the lessons learned from hurricane Audrey in 1957 and the precautions that they had taken because of those lessons. It is not hard to see in this narrative that state and federal authorities were far behind the local authorities in preparedness for Camille and that the same was true all those years later when Katrina came ashore. This is not however just a story about the failure of government though, it is also very much a story of the people who were the victims of this great storm. This is a story of the heroism of and resilience of people who were hit with the worst that nature has to offer.

These authors do a marvelous job of relating the stories of individuals and families who were in the path of the monster Camille. Through the reminiscences of those who survived the authors tell the stories of families ripped apart and of whole families who just vanished. They tell the true story of the much publicized collapse of the Richelieu apartments in Pass Christian, they tell the story of a group of men out for a sail who end up weathering the storm near the mouth of the Mississippi as their boat breaks up around them, they tell the story of people who sought refuge in local churches only to find the large old building disintegrating around them and they tell the story of quiet communities in Virginia where the people went to bed with no warning at all that many of them would be washed away before dawn. Through it all the survivors immediately turned their attention toward helping each other once the storm had passed and these survivors, many of them wounded or in mourning themselves immediately began rescue efforts that saved untold numbers of people. It is the heart and soul of these people that is the true story to be found in this book and these authors have truly done these people justice in this highly readable account of one of the great disasters in American history.

This book, the story of 1969's Hurricane Camille, is a breezy (yes, that word APPLIES) read which interweaves several plotlines -- the powerful force of a Cat 5 hurricane, the lives it touched and the tragedies which occurred, the will to survive, the peculiar and corrupt qualities of Louisiana politics, the ongoing civil rights movement of the time, and the surprisingly primitive nature of weather forecasting in the late 1960's.
As a person who once moved out of a city in part due to the fact that the local cable company DIDN'T carry The Weather Channel, I expected to enjoy the stormy aspects of the book. I did not expect the history and politics of the time to carry this story down unexpected avenues. It was a pleasant surprise.
I recommend it without hesitation.

If you're looking for a light read, Trotsky's History of Russian Revolution is not the way to go by any means. But, despite its length, and despite the enormity of its topic, this is an amazingly accessible and engrossing account of one of the modern world's most important political and historical events, written by one of its main players. There are certainly some parts that are more difficult than others, and some where clearly Trotsky assumes an understanding of what happened in Russia during 1917 - an expectation of his readers that would have been utterly reasonable for the audience he was writing for, at the time he was writing, but which at times can be a bit confusing for a Westerner reading it almost 100 years later. But this is only occasionally frustrating and there is, in any event, a very helpful set of appendices and glossaris at the back that help you know who's who and what's what. It is, undoubtedly in my view, well worth the effort that it will take you to get through it. I don't think any other history of the revolution is as detailed, as comprehensive, and as engaging as this. There are times when it really has you on the edge of your seat - and that, no doubt, is largely because it is written by someone who was actually there.

Max Eastman, who was a friend of Trotsky, gives us a translation that feels tremendously fresh and was enthusiastically endorsed by Trotsky himself.

Leon Trotsky's History of the Russian Revolution is partisan history at its best. One does not and should not, at least in this day in age, ask historians to be `objective'. One simply asks that the historian present his or her narrative and analysis and get out of the way. Trotsky meets that criterion. Furthermore, in Trotsky's case there is nothing like having a central actor in that drama, who can also write brilliantly and wittily, give his interpretation of the important events and undercurrents swirling around Russia in 1917. If you are looking for a general history of the revolution or want an analysis of what the revolution meant for the fate of various nations after World War I or its affect on world geopolitics look elsewhere. E.H. Carr's History of the Russian Revolution offers an excellent multi-volume set that tells that story through the 1920's. Or if you want to know what the various parliamentary leaders, both bourgeois and Soviet, were thinking and doing from a moderately leftist viewpoint read Sukhanov's Notes on the Russian Revolution. For a more journalistic account John Reed's classic Ten Days That Shook the World is invaluable. Trotsky covers some of this material as well. However, if additionally, you want to get a feel for the molecular process of the Russian Revolution in its ebbs and flows down at the base in the masses where the revolution was made Trotsky's is the book for you.

The life of Leon Trotsky is intimately intertwined with the rise and decline of the Russian Revolution in the first part of the 20th century. As a young man, like an extraordinary number of talented Russian youth, he entered the revolutionary struggle against Czarism in the late 1890's. Shortly thereafter he embraced what became a lifelong devotion to a Marxist political perspective. However, except for the period of the 1905 Revolution when Trotsky was chairman of the Petrograd Soviet and later in 1912 when he tried to unite all the Russian Social Democratic forces in an ill-fated unity conference, which goes down in history as the `August Bloc', he was essentially a free lancer in the international socialist movement. At that time Trotsky saw the Bolsheviks as "sectarians" as it was not clear to him at that time that for socialist revolution to be successful the reformist and revolutionary wings of the movement had to be organizationally split. With the coming of World War I Trotsky drew closer to Bolshevik positions but did not actually join the party until the summer of 1917 when he entered the Central Committee after the fusion of his organization, the Inter-District Organization, and the Bolsheviks. This act represented an important and decisive switch in his understanding of the necessity of a revolutionary workers party to lead the revolution.

As Trotsky himself noted, although he was a late comer to the concept of a Bolshevik Party that delay only instilled in him a greater understanding of the need for a vanguard revolutionary workers party to lead the revolutionary struggles. This understanding underscored his political analysis throughout the rest of his career as a Soviet official and as the leader of the struggle of the Left Opposition against the Stalinist degeneration of the Russian Revolution. After his defeat at the hands of Stalin and his henchmen Trotsky wrote these three volumes in exile in Turkey from 1930 to 1932. At that time Trotsky was not only trying to draw the lessons of the Revolution from an historian's perspective but to teach new cadre the necessary lessons of that struggle as he tried first reform the Bolshevik Party and the Communist International and then later, after that position became politically untenable , to form a new, revolutionary Fourth International. Trotsky was still fighting from this perspective in defense of the gains of the Russian Revolution when a Stalinist agent cut him down. Thus, without doubt, beyond a keen historian's eye for detail and antidote, Trotsky's political insights developed over long experience give his volumes an invaluable added dimension not found in other sources on the Russian Revolution.

As a result of the Bolshevik seizure of power the so-called Russian Question was the central question for world politics throughout most of the 20th century. That central question ended practically with the demise of the Soviet Union in the early 1990's. However, there are still lessons, not all negative, to be learned from the experience of the Russian Revolution. Today, an understanding of this experience is the task for the natural audience for this book, the young alienated radicals of Western society.

The central preoccupation of Trotsky's volumes reviewed here and of his later political career concerns the problem of the crisis of revolutionary leadership of the international labor movement and its national components. That problem can be stated as the gap between the already existing objective conditions necessary for beginning socialist construction based on the current level of capitalist development and the immaturity or lack of revolutionary leadership to overthrow the old order. From the European Revolutions of 1848 on, not excepting the heroic Paris Commune, until his time the only successful working class revolution had been in led by the Bolsheviks in Russia in 1917. Why? Anarchists may look back to the Paris Commune or forward to the Spanish Civil War in 1936 for solace but the plain fact is that absent a revolutionary party those struggles were defeated without establishing the prerequisites for socialism. History has indicated that a revolutionary party that has assimilated the lessons of the past and is rooted in the working class allied with and leading the plebian masses in its wake is the only way to bring the socialist program to fruition. That hard truth shines through Trotsky's three volumes. Unfortunately, this is still the central problem confronting the international labor movement today. Read this book many times.

This is one of the most exciting books I've ever read. It tells the amazing story of the Russian revolution of 1917, from the overthrow of the Czar to the Bolshevik Revolution of October. What makes it an incredible read is that the author, Leon Trotsky, was at the middle of it all, as one of the central planners of the insurrection that took power. Trotsky was a great revolutionary and great writer. But one thing I especially like about the book is that Trotsky uses excerpts from many other accounts, including those who hated him with a passion, to tell the story accurately. It is an inspiring story, especially for new generations of young people, workers and farmers who need to learn about an example showing that the dog-eat-dog system of capitalism we live in can be overthrown. For the definitive account of how this great revolution was later derailed, see Trotsky's Revolution Betrayed.

In spite of its length, I've read this book several times. It isn't just a widely acclaimed historic and literary masterpiece, written by a leading participant in the events he describes. It isn't just vividly written and thoroughly researched.

More importantly, it's one of the best books ever written about revolution, as relevant today as ever.

The most important conclusion that emerges is the crucial role of a revolutionary party with an overwhelmingly working class membership, leadership and political orientation: a party that has trained itself in the many years of partial struggles that precede a revolutionary crisis; studied together the lessons of past revolutionary struggles throughout the world; and done everything possible to educate broader layers of workers in those lessons.

(The point is illustrated both positively and negatively. More than once, Lenin had to turn to the Bolshevik's working class rank and file against wavering intellectuals in the party leadership.)

Please don't be put off by the first chapter, the driest and most difficult in the book. The basic idea is that capitalism arrived late in Russia, imported from abroad in the form of huge factories, which laid the basis for the rapid development of a strong, militant labor movement. As a result, the emerging capitalist class was reluctant to mobilize the masses against the feudal nobles and landlords that stood in their way, for fear that the aroused workers might turn on the capitalists themselves.

Under the impact of war and economic crisis, the resulting mixture of different forms of class oppression exploded in a combined revolt of workers, farmers, and oppressed nationalities, destroying both feudalism and capitalism by the time it was through.

Several postcripts:

(1) If you're wondering what went wrong in the Soviet Union after such a promising start, I recommend "The Revolution Betrayed" by Trotsky; also "Lenin's Final Fight" by Lenin.

(2) I disagree with Trotsky's assessment of the pre-1917 differences between himself and Lenin concerning the role of working farmers, the relationship between democratic (anti-feudal) revolution and socialist revolution, and Lenin's formula, "the democratic dictatorship of the proletariat and the peasantry". I think Trotsky's discussion of this is confusing. I recommend "Their Trotsky and Ours" by Jack Barnes. There is also a good debate in "Bolshevism and the Russian Revolution" by Doug Jenness, Ernest Mandel, and V.I. Lenin.

(3) Another reviewer pointed out that this book is available online. However, the printed version has glossaries of people, places, organizations and unfamiliar terms; a more complete chronology; and a thorough index. I relied very heavily on all of these, so much so that I used color-coded post-its to turn to them easily. Also, parts of the online version are full of obvious typos; books from Pathfinder Press are proofread very thoroughly.

(4) Finally, I recommend the ads in the back of the book. Pathfinder Press is defined by a political goal, not commercial success. It aims to provide a platform for revolutionary leaders speaking in their own words. If you like one book, you will probably like others.

This is a huge and wonderful book-- three volumes in one book, some 1200 pages in all. The story Trotsky lays out is most inspiring and encouraging: how revolutionary-minded workers and peasants in Russia, led by the Bolshevik party, overthrew the centuries-old Czarist monarchy, defeated the attempts to impose a capitalist dictatorship and went on to establish a worker and peasant revolutionary government, opening the road to the possibility of building a socialist society. It's a book you can read repeatedly, getting more out of it each time.

Trotsky explains with rich detail the growing social crisis that wracked Russia, the devastating impact of World War I, the economic collapse, and the incapacity of the old regime to offer any way out. He takes up political developments amongst workers and peasants and the oppressed nationalities of the Russian Empire, including the many millions forced into the Russian army. You understand their growing conviction that the old society had to be and could be overturned and a new order established. And Trotsky gives real insight into the leadership that made possible an actual revolution under these conditions-- the development of the Bolshevik party led by V.I. Lenin and it's successful fight to win the allegiance of the struggling millions.

Trotsky was, along with Lenin, a central leader of the 1917 revolution and of the government it established. After Lenin's death in 1924, he led the international fight to defend the Bolshevik's revolutionary course against the conservative and reactionary bureaucracy headed by Joseph Stalin that came to power later in the Soviet Union. This work was a key part of Trotsky's efforts to make the real facts and lessons 1917 available to future generations of workers, farmers and radicalizing young people. Read it along with some of his many other important works, including The Transitional Program for Socialist Revolution, In Defense of Marxism, The Revolution Betrayed, and The Struggle Against Fascism in Germany.

If you go hunting or wild camping it is important to know what land is for public or private property. Also very useful by driving with car (any car). Easy to know which street/road are ok for different kind of vehicle, truck or motorcycle.
The size of the map could be better it is not very handy, but so you don't need to have magnifying glass to use this guide.

We bought this book with the idea of just wandering Michigan for our week of vacation. We wanted to avoid the Interstate as much as possible. This book was great for our plan! There are many roads and towns on these pages that aren't on a regular map! We really enjoyed traveling back roads, while never feeling lost.

This book is incredibly detailed and easy to use. Along with a GPS, there is nothing you cannot find. Whether an occasional traveler or a resident, this is a must to have for God's Country, Michigan's U.P.

I spend a lot of time off the beaten path. This map is great for getting there and back. Very useful. This is my third one, as I keep wearing them out.

I have been using DeLorme Atlas and Gazetteers for many states for many years. I have always found them very useful for travelling over the back roads and secondary highways as they give one detail not found on the usual road maps. They also list parks, historic sites, recreaton areas, etc. which are also very valuable when travelling in unfamiliar areas.

While I also own a GPS system for my automobile, it doesn't give you topographic detail or large area views due to the limitatons of the small GPS screen. However, I find using both the DeLorme Maps and the GPS system to make for very efficient trip planning.

This book was a nice combination of serious and fun. My favorite line was "'Plan your lunch snacks accordingly,' she concluded, giving the cinnamon roll ladies a sharp look."

Imagine my surprise, too, when Maddie and her friends joined the Iron Mountain Mine Tour. My grandmother was born in Iron Mountain in 1891. It's a small world and this book captures many of life's common joys and challenges.

The Dream Catcher Tour is a novel following a group of forty-seven women on an economical, no-frills tour bus excursion around the Great Lakes. As they take in the sights and sounds, they also trade favorite memories with one another. A leisurely delight brimming with female camaraderie, The Dream Catcher Tour glides gently along as it presents moments of interrelated insight, and makes for gentle, fun-loving leisure reading, bit by bit or cover to cover. Highly recommended.

Reviewed by Lori Plach for Reader Views (11/07)

Buckle your seatbelts; you are in for an adventure you won't soon forget! Welcome aboard the Northern Experience Tours! You will be traveling with 46 other women on a trip around the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. You are certain to meet some of the most interesting people you have ever met and perhaps you will make some new friends along the way. Emily is our tour guide and she wants to spend some time with each individual tour group member and be certain that they have a good time.

Of course, when you have this many different people from so many different walks of life, you are sure of having many life stories. As the group travels from one location to another, another person is spending time with Emily and sharing their life stories. From one city to another, you are able to enjoy the sites and unique characteristics of each locale. Some of the tourists' attractions are as follows: Mackinac Island, the Soo Locks bordering Canada, Munising, Houghton and Crystal Falls.

Paula Buermele has done an excellent job in providing a great storyline and travel book all in one. Through the pages of the book, you will feel like you are right there on the bus and getting to know these people that you are traveling with. Through descriptive paragraphs you will feel like you are seeing these places with your own eyes. I certainly hope that Paula Buermele writes more books. I loved "The Dream Catcher Tour" and would definitely like to read more of her work.

Paula Buermele's The Dream Catcher Tours provides her readers with a peek into the lives of forty-seven women who together embark on a bus tour of the Great Lakes with Northern Experience Tours.

What ensues is a potent collection of stories reflecting Buermele's affirmation that she is an attentive student in the classroom of life. Buermele moves effortlessly from one voice to another as her characters relate a variety of tidbits about their lives, some painful while others humorous. However, as one of the women remarks, "during the early days of the trip her companions had all seemed much the same, but with each passing day she had come to see the uniqueness of each woman."

These accounts also reaffirm an old adage, that no matter where people find themselves, they can't help reminiscing and revealing some of their family and psychological baggage that echo the past and at times consume the present. The stories range freely, some sounding familiar while others stirring up sad emotions, as is the case with Leslie who is traveling with her late husband's Aunt Helen. Leslie recounts how she lost her college sweetheart and young husband Steve who had suffered a brain aneurysm shortly after they were married. We also learn that she had lost her parents at a very young age and it was her adopted Aunt Helen who took her under her wing and has been her mentor

Then there is the familiar tale of Marianne, a wife and mother, who subjugated her own choices for those of her family and as she states, perhaps this trip will bring out the hidden Marianne. And Donna, the future mother-in-law, who is not exactly overjoyed with her son's choice of a wife. Barb, a divorcee, who after thirty-two years of marriage believed that the trip would mean a step into the world of self-determination and an escape from a controlling ex-husband who had left her for a trophy wife. Ruthie, who had visited her father in the hospital on her eighth birthday, recounts how she was pleasantly surprised when the Catholic nuns wheeled him in into the waiting room to wish her a happy birthday and thus shattering her stereotype of the "mean" nuns.

Buermele can clearly write and her storytelling is extremely perceptive, demanding quick concentration into the lives of her characters. However, at times in truth I did feel cheated, as some of the stories were underdeveloped and I would have liked to be better acquainted with the raconteurs. In the end though, these stories leave us with something to ponder; the uncertainty of life, the meaning of home and family, and what makes us all tick, for in all of us there is a story to be told.

Norm Goldman, Publisher & Editor Bookpleasures

I really enjoyed reading The Dream Catcher Tour. While it is a work of fiction, I appreciate the fact that the characters are based on real stories and accounts. The author does a fantastic job of telling this story in a way that makes the reader identify with the women and their personal journeys. The conversations are so real and honest.

I went on many trips to the U.P. when I was young and while some of the sites are familiar to me, there are many I haven't seen. This book has inspired me to one day go back and visit the places mentioned. I would love to visit Pictured Rocks and photograph as Leslie does in the 'Peace' chapter.

Miss Johnson shows the humility, the kindness, and insight: All three traits imbibing her as the Professional photographer of The Traverse City State Hospital. She has done justice for those gone; future generations shall grasp a better understanding of the hollow halls of antiquity.

I was excited to receive this book as a present as I lived in Traverse City for several years and visited the grounds of the state hospital where the photographs from this book were taken quite often and have a great interest in the architecture of Thomas Kirkbride. I was especially hoping to be able to finally see the inside of Kirkbride's Building 50 (one of the most complete Kirkbride main buildings still standing), the gothic building that graces the cover (the building was closed and inaccessable while I lived in Traverse City). While there are photographs of the buildings on the ground prior to their recent conversion as multi use/mixed housing, most of the photographs were reprints of historic photographs, not the lovely work of Heidi Johnson and the pre-renovated buildings. There also were many pages of just words without any photographs (while the detail of the first 20 deaths of patients is "interesting" I would have enjoyed Ms Johnson's work a bit more). I was also a bit dissapointed by the size of the book. It appears to be a coffee table book but is quite a bit smaller. All in all, the book is quite lovely but for someone interested in the Kirkbride asylum architecture this book was disappointing.

The somewhat haunting photographs of the interior of the asylum makes one try to imagine how life was for those souls who lived there. The beautiful architecture of those majestic buildings and well-manicured grounds is a testament to an era of compassion. There is one photograph in particular that caught my attention, on page 185 that has what appears to be a ghostly image of a man standing in the doorway of room 50. A book you can look at over and over again and see new things in the detailed photographs.

This book should be required reading in Psych 101 classes. Photography classes as well.

The author gently uses her camera and prolific writing style to tell a story that both inspires and shocks you at the same time. There are incredible amounts of patient and staff histories both touching and surprising. The book inspires one to ponder the life of each person profiled.

One can only hope that Johnson continues along the same lines and creates another masterpiece like Angels in the Architecture.

"Angels in the Architecture" is a first-rate homage to a former asylum, the Traverse City State Hospital of Michigan. Heidi Johnson has masterfully combined her hauntingly beautiful photographs with both archival material and first-hand reports from the trenches. The result is a powerfully compelling journey into the soul of a once vibrant institution that provided care to thousands of its wards.

All the information you need to explore new rivers. Giving it as a gift to all our paddling freinds and family.

What a great book! I am a beginner kayaker having never kayaked a river before - and was nervous even thinking about it. This book was very descriptive and informative. We did the Platte River from Loon Lake to Lake Michigan and it was a blast. Very relaxing. The maps of the rivers were great as was the description of the landings and portages. Looking forward to my next river, and this book will help decide which one!

This book is really good to have in the car or for planning a trip. It is really handy having the maps next to the description. Good accurate maps and great insight.

It would be nice if it were easy to scout out a river before driving to an access point and paddling it. This book does it for you. The directions to access points and places to park are very detailed and good. The maps are excellent and very clear. There are written notes on the problems or special circumstances you will encounter, which are very intelligent and accurate. I checked the rivers I have paddled and read the remarks, and they are just what you need to know, and they are true. The author really knows what he is writing about, this is not a book thrown together by someone who hasn't actually been on the river. If you want to know which Michigan rivers are in this book, here is a list:

Lower Peninsula:
Au Sable
Au Sable South Branch
Betsie
Black
Boardman
Cass
Chippewa
Dowagiac
Flat
Huron
Jordan
Kalamazoo
Little Manistee
Little Muskegon
Mansitee
Muskegon
Ocqueoc
Pere Marquette
Pigeon
Pine
Platte
Rifle
Shiawassee
Sturgeon
Thornapple
Thunder Bay
White

Upper Peninsula:
Black
Brule
Escanaba
Ford
Fox
Indian
Manisique
Michigamme
Montreal
Ontonagon (East Branch, Mainstream, Middle Branch, South Branch)
Paint
Presque Isle
Sturgeon
Two Hearted
Whitefish

The people who wrote this book definately did their homework. I've gone down a few of the rivers in the lower peninsula and this book was an impeccable guide. Now, Lower Peninsula rivers aren't exactly the meanest or fastest, but there are enough twists and turns to keep your attention and to want a book like this aroud, if only to know what's all out there. There was also good attention paid to campsites and drop off points gone through in great detail. I once tried a dropoff point agains the recommendation of this book and paid for it dearly.

The problem about getting hardcovers of natural wonders like rivers is that all too often the data becomes obsolete after a couple years. For this case is seems that it's still pretty to date, but check on the web anyways just in case conditions change.

You don't need to be of Italian descent or from Michigan to enjoy this delightful collection of short stories from new author Joe Borri. While Joe's a very talented graphic designer, he's even more adept with the written word, bringing to life a variety of entertaining characters and situations we all can identify with. Joe's easy, humorous style and straight-forward storytelling skill makes this book a very enjoyable read. If you like the crazy South Florida stories of Carl Hiaasen or the Margaritaville-inspired stories of Jimmy Buffett, as I do, give Joe's book a shot. You'll be glad you did!

I thought this book might be interesting because it was written by a Detroit Native and is about this city we live in and around. Little did I know that I would pick it up one night figuring I'd thumb through it and read the entire thing in one sitting!!
Eight Dogs Named Jack and 14 Other Stories from the Detroit Streets and Michigan Wilderness marks the writing debut of Michigan artist Joe Borri, who is employed at Skidmore Inc., a studio in Royal Oak, Mich. This collection of short stories is inspired by the East Side Detroit neighborhood where he grew up and its predominantly Italian denizens. It's very easy to read, and keeps you flipping the pages till you're done.
Some books I pick up, read a few chapters and put down, only to never finish them again. The coolest thing about this book is each chapter is its own story. Some of the chapters I really wanted to hear more about, maybe delve into them a little deeper, so I would keep reading the next chapter thinking it would lead into the story deeper, but it would just start another one and get me hooked into that new character.
Joe Borri has a great way of describing the scene. You can picture the street, you can feel the warm breeze blowing on your face, you neck tightens up when he talks about a certain fight, and you need to make another drink when he describes the beautiful ladies the Wiseguys try to work over.
Many of the stories are set in the gritty streets of Detroit, where wiseguys and wannabes walk a thin line between good and evil. Some of these characters work their way "up north," where their street smarts are tested against the immutable forces of nature and the country folk who try and do things a little differently.
The stories are blended together perfectly and this book would be great to bring along on that next flight. You can pick it up anywhere and start fresh. Or you can read it from cover to cover like I did, and finish off a bottle of Scotch while enjoying some of the best writing I've read in years!!

Pat Bonish
www.everymilesamemory.com

Expect the wonderfully unexpected when Goodfellas wannabes meet the Michigan Great Outdoors. With Eight Dogs Named Jack Borri demonstrates that he is a writer who possesses a rare combination of original vision, keen insight and an ability to combine humor and tragedy in striking ways. Many of the stories feature tough characters engaged in battles, physical and psychological, but Borri is not a one-trick pony. Several of my favorite stories in the collection feature characters who are wholly vulnerable and wholly real, and I found myself so engrossed in their struggles that I yearned for their salvation. Borri does not disappoint. Keep your eye on this writer.

This is a collection of short stories written by a native of East Detroit. The stories all take place in Michigan and are outstanding.

I loved this book! The short story format was perfect for this collection of stories from Detroit's east side and "Up North" Michigan. The hunting stories reminded me of tales my dad would tell from his hunting cabin, "The Hot Dog Lodge", and the stories of growing up on Detroit's east side took me back to a time when you could pick up a Vernors at the corner party store and walk into the hardware store and get any tool you needed to finish a job--on credit, no less.
Joe Borri paints a vivid picture with his words and I don't believe I have read a better debut. I cannot wait for more stories from this fresh, new writer.