Pennsylvania Books

An excellent book! I use the hilarious comic drawings (OK, and a few of the jokes which I shamelessly don't reference!) in human evolution courses I teach for CSU. I have also fed a few of the recipes to my family and think I want to go on a dig with these guys. They have to be the best fed crew in the world. I recommend this book to anyone either casually or seriously interested in human evolution, as well as anyone who just likes to eat good food. Buy it!!!

Great work by two cutting edge experts in their respective fields - archaeology and culinary arts. Just looking at the cover makes me salivate and crave for great food... Definitely for those not wanting to lose weight, though. If you want to lose weight, do the tropics thing.

The concept of the book is great and the combination of serious science, humor and clever drawings makes for excellent reading. I will be recommending this to friends.

Wow! This book is a double-whammy success! Not only is the running dialogue on our current knowledge of human evolution and prehistoric material culture right on spot and highly entertaining (it could easily serve as an outline for a university course on the subject), this book is also chalk-a-block full of yummy recipes! I hope there is a sequel in the works!

J'en ai lu des livres sur les hommes prehistoriques, croyez-moi, des gros avec beaucoup de mots ou encore des petits avec des titres qui font peur, mais rien de tel que celui-ci...
D'abord, on se laisse surprendre par l'humour delicieux et instruit du texte qui accompagne les recettes pour se laisser delicieusement entrainer dans un voyage chrono-gastronomique a travers les ages. Une feerie pour les papilles, un regal pour l'intellect! Une combinaison parfaite de savoureuses lecons de prehistoire a la creme de plaisir!
En un mot, achetez ce livre et laissez vous prendre par le charme sulfureux et delicat de ce petit chef-d'oeuvre d'humour savant...

Laying Foundations: A Memoir by Lucy Wilson Sherman is the autobiographical story of an enterprising, diversely matched couple who spend a fulfilling year of restoring and bringing life back to an abandoned farmhouse. Without electricity or running water (and just as winter struck) Lucy and her husband Henderson worked together on this seemingly insurmountable project through trial and daily struggle. A warm, enlightening, uplifting story of rebuilding, Laying Foundations is very highly recommended as a true and rewarding account of personal growth and unconditional love.

Sherman's memoir is love-story, spiritual odyssey, character study and a how-to manual. That's a lot and it reads like a mystery. She is a wonderful word crafter. Many times her turn of phrase engaged me so thoroughly that I had to stop and savor her arrangement.

In the character study, Sherman never shies away from critiquing herself or Henderson. She is relentless in her analysis of herself, Henderson and the dynamics of their relationship. The reader gets drawn into her quest for understanding and growth. She plows, or more accurately, crafts right ahead whether she comes out looking worse for the scrutiny or not.
A warning is in order here.You will learn a lot about construction. If you have no knowledge in that arena, you will not be lost, as Sherman defines most of the terms in useable language. Still I had to stop and think hard about the technical parts of this book. I wanted to understand exactly what they were doing physically, as it was such an integral part of the dynamic and narrative. Taking time to understand each step in their physical construction enriched the read for me. However, the reader can speed read through placement of footings, digging wells or securing scaffolding and still enjoy the other three aspects of this piece.

Sherman uses straight-on prose with no hysterics although parts are hysterically funny, as when she is describing her attempts to connect the contents of a sawed-off shotgun with the target, an old wash tub. She even has the decency to feel bad about killing squirrels.

I read many books every week with no 'fluff' included and I consider this one not to be missed. I will re-read it again in about six months.

Laying Foundations is an honest, funny memoir. It is not only entertaining, but Sherman is so straight forward and open about her own humanity that as a reader I felt a kind of personal absolution for my own sins! She and her husband take on an enormous renovation project with little expertise. As a reader I couldn't help but be inspired and moved at their ability to get up, go on and continue to tackle the job when it seemed hopeless and foreboding. Anyone who reads this will eat it up like some delicious candy. It's a soul-searching, meaningful memoir rich with lasting insight yet funny as hell!

authentic and deeply moving. the house as a symbol of growth, solidity and
love works on every level, and the spirt of place and person inhabits the
entire memoir.

Although I know it's a trite thing to say, I'll say it anyway---I could not put this book down until I finished it! This is an extraordinary work of non-fiction that holds the reader's attention by incorporating all the elements of a really good novel---terrific character development, vivid descriptions of the people in the story as well as the area in which they live, even suspense (will these two "unmatched" souls manage to stay together and will they be able to complete their dream and finish the restoration of the house?) The reader really does share their frustrations and mentally cheers them on when they have set-backs in the reconstruction of the house as well as in their lives. The only question the reader is left with is---when do we get a sequel and see these two wonderful people again?

If your teacher wanted you to find reseach about business biography. This is the book for you. Because Wall street is part of trade center today. And finding about who's invented the system, and how life is hard back than. This book tell one of the most important History.

I am glad to see that such a good book was written on such an important figure in American Finance. The book kept me wanting to read more and more. From beginning to end. Read it, for it's a must have for any one interested in Finance and it's worth every penny.

As a great-great-great grandson of A.J. Drexel, it was a pleasure to read this book and to learn about my famous ancestors. It is crazy to think that many of his progeny have a difficult time balancing their checkbooks today. Before this book, my knowlege of the Drexels had been limited to family lore.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading Dan Rottenberg's informative book The Man Who Made Wall Street. The book contains all there is to know about the wise and amazingly successful nineteenth century financier Anthony Drexel and the profound role he played as a mentor to the young J. Pierpont Morgan. I especially enjoyed reading about financial systems and processes in nineteenth century America that author Rottenberg describes so well in his new book.

"The Man Who Made Wall Street" is exceptionally written. Not an esoteric financial biography, yet deep enough for an intellectual discussion. Within the folds of 200 pages, you get a sense of the real person behind the financial machine. It is a brilliant biographical account of the leading figure in the financial world of the nineteenth century. There are many things you can take from this book. For me, it revealed that even 'starving' artists can find creative ways to make it and that there is often more to the person who chooses to remain behind the scenes.

And for that matter, how can you not love Lloyd Alexander? I have yet to read a book of his I didn't like.

In the Vesper Holly books, Alexander has created a fun, spunky heroine who's as smart and resourceful as she is beautiful. In contrast is her ever-patient, loveable but not-as-sharp guardian, Brinnie, who finds himself in impossible life-or-death situations - thanks to Vesper.

The whole series is a great, fast-paced, fun adventure in the style of Indiana Jones. But I have to say, of all the books, the Philadelphia Adventure is my favorite.

For one thing, while all the other books in the series are set in far-off, imaginary, exotic locales, the Philadelphia Adventure is set in - well, Philadelphia, PA, in the good ol' USA. The characters Vesper and her friends encounter are true historical figures, as is the Exposition that supplies the backdrop for the book.

The plot in this book is also tighter and more realistic than previous Vesper Holly titles. While I do love the other books, you have to wonder how Vesper just happens to come to the right conclusion every time (when there aren't many clues given to the reader or narrator). And, it's just a startling coincidence that in several of the other books, Vesper's nemesis Dr. Helvitius just "happens" to be in the area, versus in this book, where he actually launches a scheme against Vesper while trying to take over the world.

Vesper shows a more realistic, human side in the Philadelphia Adventure, often second-guessing her actions, wondering what the best course of action is. While she comes out on top every time, it's nice to see that, in this book, she's still an imperfect person - it makes her choices and the final outcome that much better.

Overall, a great series for kids with a literary character they can truly look up to.

I'm 21, and I must say I love the Vesper Holly books as much as I did when I first discovered them at age 10. I read them over and over again through my teen years. They're like a cross between Indiana Jones and the Adventures of Tintin, with an added bonus--an original female heroine! As a little girl I admired Vesper and all her intelligence and pluck; she's a great role model for smart, ambitious girls who want to make discoveries. The Philadelphia Adventure was always my favorite of the series; the humor and action that are the hallmark of the series are at their peak here. I sniffled when I got to the end, because until last year, this was the final installment. I was delighted to discover that Lloyd Alexander has recently written a series finale (Xanadu Adventure).

Vesper, with a heart as big as her brain and her endearing knacks for mathematics, historical puzzles, and banjo music is a truly trailbrazing heroine in young adult literature. Thank you, thank you, Lloyd Alexander!

The ever delightful Vesper Holly is back in this fifth chronicle by one of my favorite master storytellers. Vesper's resourcefulness, bravery and wit are ever-present while she falls in love (innocently) yet again. Her red hair, fiery personality, orphaned status and love for a certain fat cat conjure up another favorite heroine of the historical fiction world, exotic Nefret Emerson from the Amelia Peabody series by Elizabeth Peters. Each of these books packs a lot of punch considering how short they are, making them perfect for any young reader.

This was a wonderful book, with characteristic Lloyd Alexander wit and humor, along with his deft story-telling. People of all ages will enjoy this latest escapade of Vesper Holly!

Unlike the other books in the Vesper Holly series, this book takes places in an actual place, Philadelphia (as you might have gathered from the title). The World Exposition is going to be held there, but the opening keeps on being delayed, problems of plagued it from the start. President Grant goes to Vesper Holly's home and pleads for Vesper to rescue the kidnapped children in the care of the Brazilian King. The stage is set for some grand Vesper Holly action with her guardian Brinnie, Smiler and Slider (from the previous books), and a new character, Weed in toll! This is a fabulous book!

I really enjoyed this book. It is by Lloyd Alexander, author of The High King winner of the Newbery Medal. One reason I enjoyed was that it kept on surprising me until the end.
It is not based on things that really happened, although it has people who really existed, such as President Ulysses S. Grant.
The adventure begins when Ulysses Grant comes to Vesper Holly's door asking for her help with a kidnaping of two children. The kidnaper is using the children to ransom the emperor of Brazil.
The kidnapper hates Vesper Holly, so he made it clear that bad things would happen to the children if she did not deliver the ransom. That way he can put her in danger to get revenge on her.

The book is the account of the anarchist Alexander's Berkman's experiences in prison after his botched attempt to assassinate the industrialist Henry Clay Frick, the monster who "legally" slaughtered workers during the Homestead strike of 1892. Although Berkman never abandons his anarchist principles, he does soften his moral repugnance for criminals whose crimes were not motivated by political or humanitarian aims. If anything his friendships with prisoners deepen his anarchist insights about how exploitation and poverty are the principal causes of criminal behavior. Like his lover Emma Goldman, he spends his prison years advocating for the needs of his fellow inmates, often being punished for his advocacy. Berkman details the brutality, graft and corruption of the prison establishment.

Anticipating Victor Frankl's Man's Search for Meaning, Berkman shows that those who view their punishment as a part of a larger purpose are best equipped to survive the inhuman treatment and conditions of prison life. The book is not all seriousness, however. It often has lighter moments, as when Berkman describes the quixotic attempt by his friends to tunnel into the prison to free him. Berkman's sub rosa argument, made to Goldman, that Leon Czologosz's assassination of President McKinley lacked redeeming social value, unlike his (Berkman's) attempt to assassinate Frick, while though interesting fails to be convincing. Those interested in the relationship of these remarkable people (Goldman and Berkman) will especially want to read that section.

The book is worth reading not merely for its historical value but for its literary qualities as well. It is intelligently written and difficult to put down. Although it is 518 pages, I read it all in three days. It is just that riveting.

In 1892, Alexander Berkman burst into the office of Henry Frick, an overseer at Carnegie's steelworks, and attempted to gun him down to foment a revolutionary uprising. Frick survived. Berkman went to jail. Prison Memoirs of an Anarchist is Berkman's account, not only of the revolutionary ardor which drove him to assault Frick, but also of the horrors of incarceration and the transformation of his own thinking while behind bars.

We get plenty of revolutionary and anarchist theory from Berkman. He opens a door into the thoughts and feelings of people struggling for economic and social justice 100 years ago. More than that, he opens a door into the mindset of a fanatic, one which may help us understand the motivations of those who flew their planes into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on 9/11/2001:

"Could anything be nobler than to die for a grand, a sublime Cause? Why, the very life of a true revolutionist has no other purpose, no significance whatever, save to sacrifice it on the altar of the beloved People." (p. 12)

"My own individuality is entirely in the background; aye, I am not conscious of any personality in matters pertaining to the Cause. I am simply a revolutionist; a terrorist by conviction, an instrument for furthering the cause of humanity." (p. 13)

"True, the Cause often calls upon the revolutionist to commit an unpleasant act; but it is the test of a true revolutionist-nay, more, his pride-to sacrifice all merely human feeling at the call of the People's Cause." (p. 12)

Berkman, the purist, disdains his fellow prisoners. He sees himself as better than they are, a Servant of Humanity, not a petty criminal, a predator on the poor. But, life in prison, although it does not shake his revolutionary and anarchist convictions, does bring him down from his ivory tower. Berkman begins to see that:

"The individual, in certain cases, is of more direct and immediate consequence than humanity. What is the latter but the aggregate of individual existences-and shall these, the best of them, forever be sacrificed for the metaphysical collectivity?" (p. 403)

His revolutionary understanding also shifts. He begins to differentiate between the autocratic despotism of Europe and the despotism of republican institutions:

"The despotism of republican institutions is far deeper, more insidious, because it rests on the popular delusion of self-government and independence. That is the subtle source of democratic tyranny, and, as such, it cannot be reached with a bullet. In modern capitalism, exploitation rather than oppression is the real enemy of the people ... the battle is to be waged in the economic rather than the political field." (p. 424)

This is not, however, a political manifesto (for that, one can read Berkman's ABCs of Anarchism). Berkman reveals his inner processes during fourteen years of incarceration. We discover, not only the horrors and corruption of the prison system, but also wander intimately through Berkman's mind. We visit his childhood, soften at unexpected gentlenesses behind bars, and begin to appreciate something as simple as the sunrise.

Although Berkman did not write the memoir until after he left prison, it has a sense of surreal immediacy. He wrote in the present tense, but that alone does not account for the way his text grips, and drags the reader into the maelstrom of his experience. We run with him through childhood memories, daily brutality, fantasies of escape and suicide, and the ideals that keep him sane. His longing for Emma Goldman shines through the text. He enthrones her almost as the guardian of his sanity through the years. Little can compare with the poignancy of his fantasy of mailing himself to his beloved Emma, escaping prison and finding himself with her again. (p. 135-137)

Five stars. Absolutely brilliant work, as relevant today as it was nearly 100 years ago. In her autobiography, Living my Life, Emma Goldman recounted how Berkman saved his sanity and his life by writing this memoir. The deep introspection, the flights of fancy, the accounting of prison life-all deeply illumine the best and the worst of human nature. This book is required reading for anybody who wishes to understand the fanatical, terrorist mindset, for Berkman describes that aptly. Far more importantly, he shares the experience of survival and transformation. He, who entered prison a fanatic, left those iron gates more committed than ever to his cause, but no longer a fanatic. His story tells of graduating from terrorist to humanist, from monomaniacal fanatic to a deeply committed human being. If you read nothing else this year, read this book.

(If you'd like to dialogue with me about this book or review, please click the "about me" link above and drop me an email. Thanks!)

Everyone should read this book. It was written at the begining of the 19th century, but everything is still important today. I ordered this book for a friend in prison and he loved it, and passed it around to other prisoners. If you know anyone in jail or prison, please send them this book. It was my husband's favorite book before he was killed on a freight train. It's very well written and comes highly recommended.

This is one of the best memoirs I have ever read. Berkman, as you probably know, tried to kill Henry Frick in an ill fated (and stupid) solidarity action with a group of strikers. He went to jail for it, and his immature poltics underwent an amazing transistion.

But instead of coming out of jail reformed, he came out with a more complex sense of who he was and what he had to do and returned immediately to his poltical work. Berkman's writing style changes as he changes as a person, starting out ultra doctrinare and ending up a more well rounded and likeable human being. Highly recommened, even if you aren't interested in the politics.

"Is there anything higher in life than to be a true revolutionist...?" - From Prison Memoirs of an Anarchist

This is an incredibly moving and detailed account of an activist's experiences in early industrial America. As an Anarchist, Alexander Berkman recounts his observations of the era's struggle for decent living standards and fair treatment from fat cat industrialists. In prison for attempted assasination of a steel magnate who was responsible for firing and killing striking steel workers, Berkman eloquently describes his reasons for acting on behalf of the working poor and exploited. His experiences in prison are gut wrenching and very human. Not much fluffy language - very straighforward observations, which are emotionally piercing in their social significance and human truth. An exceptional read for anyone interested in the American history that is usually left out of school text books. Berkman's experiences are painful but very motivating and inspiring as they illustrate human love, the will to survive and continue to work for an ideal under the most horrendous conditions. This book is an extraordinary powerful testament to human goodness and strength.

I read this book as a young person, loved it, but had a bit of a hard time relating to the generations coming and going. I don't now! I was so pleased to find it for my older sister,and she was thrilled. I also got it for my daughter. Margaret Sandell

Please, can this book be made available by someone who has it. I first read it over 30 years ago but I do need to recapture that divine feeling. I have searched many bookstores just to get another copy. It has rich memories for me.

This is my grandmother's favorite book. She wanted to share it with me, but since she loves this book so and can't part with her copy, she found me a paperback copy at a rummage sale. I admit, I looked at the cover and thought, "well, I'll read it if I have some extra time on my hands." Over New Years, I was quite bored and so I picked the book up. I couldn't put it down! Ms. Turnbull's writing, though the book was written in the 1920's, was captivating. The story of Jeannie could give any current historical fiction writer a run for their money. Absoulutely fascinating and endearing. I will be holding on to my copy for sure!

I first read this book in the 1950's, as a young girl in Western Pennsylvania, and I have read it over again many times since. As I write this, my husband is reading the final pages...and he loves it just as much as I always have. Ms Turnbull's ability to eloquently and palpably convey the sense of place and time just leaves the reader breathless as he or she is transported there.

Further, the author has an intelligent objectivity about the issues addressed, making no value judgments of her own and not leaving the reader with the sense that the author is leading to any ineluctable conclusion.

This is a wonderful story! Read it! (If you can't locate a copy, try the Westmoreland County Historical Society in Greensburg, PA. That's where I purchased the two copies I have.)

This was my mother's favorite book when she was a teenager; she couldn't wait to have children and share the book with them. My sister and I have read this book three or more times apiece, it is that good, that heartfelt. It is timeless in its story of families, family ties, families coping with adversity. What a wonderful book!

I remember checking this book out at the local library and reading it cover-to-cover at least 4 times when I was between the ages of thirteen and sixteen. That was around 10 years ago, and I still remember bits and pieces of it. It was that good. Now, I suggest you pick up a copy of this before more people discover how good it is and it becomes a rare/collecible item. Highly recommended if you like reading non-fiction about tornadoes.

I own this book in its original printing. This book is so good I will not loan it out in fear of losing it. I am an avid storm watcher via Internet, etc. This book is like being there! I'm glad to see they have broght it back into print. A must read for anyone interested in severe weather and survivor stories.

I have read this book several times over the years, and it holds my interest all the way to the end each time. It reads easily and quickly, and yet gives great detail to the horrific events of Friday, May 31st, 1985. This book is even more important to me because I live about 43 miles away from where the nearest tornado hit- Newton Falls, Ohio. If you are a severe storm and/or tornado buff, or just want to learn more about this particular tornado outbreak, this book is for you.

This is the best tornado book that I have ever read. This incident happened about 50 miles from my hometown which makes it more exiting yet.The author's chronological story from the start to end keeps the reader's interest through out the whole book. I am currently looking fo a copy of this book

This is truely the best tornado book I ever read. I lived not far from several of where these tornadoes struck. An F4 tornado just passed south of my hometown, Warren PA, and struck Tionesta and Northern Forest County, killing 7. I found out about this rare, yet fascinating outbreak in PA. I recommend this book to be read by any tornado enthusiast.

The winds of change. But for all of the change that we have experienced in America, nothing much has truly changed at all. When W.E.B. Du Bois wrote The Souls of Black Folk in 1903, he spoke eloquently of the "color line" in America. It was his answer to the question, "How does it feel [add "black man"] to be a problem?" To that, his answer was, in so many words and paraphrased by me, "I'm not the problem, America has a problem--and that is the problem of the color line."

With amazing detail and a highly introspective look into this religious aspect of Du Bois' life, Edward J. Blum, a history teacher at San Diego State University, delves into the one aspect of Du Bois' life that remains open for debate to this day. The question of who or what did he believe in that inspired him to touch the minds, hearts, and the souls of folk in the way that he did. Some thought him a man of faith, but many men of faith begged to differ--questioning his beliefs and his faith, and he often left them wondering if he had any faith at all.

For a man whose writings and work often paralleled Bible stories, he appeared disconnected from church traditions and religiosity, but still connected to his faith in God. Today's community of Bible thumpers would have called him a "spiritualist," rather than a Christian.

Hallie Queen, says Blum, likened the chapter called 'Of our Spiritual Strivings' to the 137th Psalm in character and significance, and indeed, the struggle of the black man in America very much paralleled the struggle of the ancient Hebrews in Egypt. Had it not been for the lost sense of community and individual connectivity, the spiritual strivings of the American black man were exactly as those of the Hebrews, except that there were many "pharoahs" called 'the written law' rather than one ruler who could change his mind on a whim.

Blum re-examines Du Bois' life and his historical record from a different and refreshing perspective. It would appear to some that the black nationalism and black liberation theology of Du Bois' writings were diametrically opposed to religion, but Du Bois appears instead to be walking a tightrope between the two.

It has been rumored in the black community that whatever hurts whites devastates blacks. If, as Karl Marx said, religion is the 'opiate of the masses,' then for blacks, religion may be the cluster bomb that wiped out the effectiveness of the black church in handling the ongoing pressures of blackness in society. As tax laws changed and churches were cornered into losing their exemption status for protesting too loudly on the political scene, what amounted to a matter of exemptions for white churches became a matter of ending centuries of rhetoric against racial injustice in America for black churches. What was fought in court originated in church for most blacks, and if one were to say the church "weakened" the black man's political stance before, it was easier to say this move "watered it down."

The "weak" black church was the only podium from which a black man could take a calculated stand in the fight for equality and still be heard; but that church has traded out the speeches of justice in exchange for the speeches of prosperity. If Du Bois was both sinner and saint, it was not because he hated religion, but because he hated the use of religious entities to defraud, bully, and control the masses. He did not shun religion, but often used it to counter some of the traditions that men embraced.

In summary, the author comes close to the edge of defending the 'religion' of W.E.B. Du Bois, who died as misunderstood as he was when he lived, and yet he made a deep impact on all who have seen, heard, or read of him. He was labeled a radical, and was largely ignored by those who had hoped that his massive contributions would be buried along side of him, But, as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote, "history cannot ignore W.E.B. DuBois because history has to reflect truth, and Dr. DuBois was a tireless explorer and a gifted discoverer of social truths...his singular greatness lay in his quest for truth about his own people..."

In the final chapter, entitled The Passing of the Prophet, Blum repeats Du Bois' words of courage. "Beyond The Veil," he (Du Bois) wrote in 1897, ["the veil" being the insidious Color Line of our yesterdays and todays] lies an undiscovered country, a land of new things, of change, of experiment, of wild hope, and somber realization, of superlatives and italics - of wondrously blended poetry and prose." Blum states, "Du Bois inhabited that realm for much of his lifetime, let us strive to join him there."

Reviewed by Marjani
for The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers

WEB DuBois:American Prophet is an absolute gem for in the ever expanding field of religious history. Blum's ability to analyze his sources and to use them to discover the spiritual side of DuBois allows the reader to understand the real DuBois. Blum is able to dismiss the idea that DuBois was secular in nature. A must have for all religious historians!!!!

This is a beautiful book, lucid, passionate, rigorous, and engaged. Blum's pathbreaking consideration of DuBois as a key religious figure in America transforms the "black church" model that has needlessly constrained the story of African American spiritual striving, and powerfully dislodges the religious/secular dividing line that has likewise constrained scholarship on DuBois in all of the disciplines that claim him. This is the beginning of a new and needed conversation on prophetic faith in America, one to which historians and scholars who might otherwise have little truck with religion may join their voices without apology.

This is without question the definitive study of Du Bois and his relationship to religion, faith, and the church. Not only is the scholarship top notch, but the prose are thoughtful, rich, and compelling. It is so well written, so well-researched, and so engaging for anyone interested in religion in American history, race and religion, and the genius of WEB Du Bois.

Blum delves in to so much with respectable sensitivity, and his analysis and insights go much deeper than all other biographers concerning Du Bois's relationship to religion.

Brilliant. Highly recommended for students, professors, people interested in religious studies, history, identity, etc.

Like many others I had long ago gained enormous respect for W.E.B. Du Bois, one of the outstanding leaders in race relations in the hundred years immediately after the American Civil War. As a writer, lecturer, scholar, and teacher he was a persistent voice for equality of opportunity, integration of society, and the civil rights of African Americans. I had never thought of him, however, as a religious thinker. That is, until now.

In this marvelous new book by Edward J. Blum, an historian at San Diego State University, Du Bois emerges as a major thinker in Christianity and the social gospel. As Blum demonstrates, Du Bois was in no small measure motivated by the life and ministry of Jesus Christ, by the moral teachings of scripture, and by the thinking of theologians throughout the ages. And in this aspect of his life, like all others, Du Bois found ample scriptural and moral teaching advancing equality of all people. It is an eye-opening and unexplored aspect of Du Bois's character and one that all future investigators of his life and career will have to bring into the discussion of his other activities. As Blum shows, Du Bois's work cannot be understood absent his spiritual life.

This work is a fine analysis that progresses through a series of Du Bois's writings to probe the depths of his moral and spiritual beliefs. A major chapter on "The Souls of Black Folk," as only one example, demonstrates the significance of his seeking universal truth in religion. Part sociological analysis, literary criticism, and theological exploration, Blum's work on Du Bois offers a new avenue for understanding one of the towering figures in American race relations. It is a brilliant, authoritative, and seminal study that all scholars of U.S. religion, race relations, and the early twentieth century will find invaluable.

We have two young children (3 and 1), live in Philadelphia, and I like to think we take fairly frequent advantage of all the city has to offer. This book is a terrific way to help our son learn his letters (our daughter is a bit young yet), while at the same time reminding him through pictures of the various city adventures he has been on. He gets very excited to recognize pictures of places he has been, and has pointed out more places he would like to go. It has become a staple in our regular rotation of bedtime books. We are looking forward to using the Boston and Baltimore books soon, as we have plans for trips to both cities. I think it is particularly clever how the maps are setup. Really a fun and educational book.

We live in the Suburbs of Philadelphia and we bought this book to make sure that we did not miss out on any of the amazing treasure in our own backyard... We have started with A and plan to go through the entire alphabet... I am hoping the next book in this series is ABC Softball. A must buy for any Philadelphia area resident or visitor... BTBJ.

This is another winner with our family (but more so with my 3 year old). During our visit with relatives in Conshohocken, PA (suburb outside of Philadelphia)we used this book and all we've heard for the past couple of days is L is for LOVE mommy, L is for LOVE, mommy, (I keep saying, it's also for the LIBERTY BELL!).

It's clear that this author has spent considerable time out-and-about with children. His choices are excellent kid-friendly destinations, including some hidden gems that aren't necessarily obvious in your typical Frommers or Fodors guides. My youngster (4 year old boy) especially loves the spaces left for drawing and writing notes. The first page allows you to record the date of your journey, which turns the book into a bit of a journal. I also appreciated the address/phone/website info index in the back. On a recent trip to Disney World, the boy wanted to know if we could play "ABC Disney"... maybe that will be a future edition!?

I picked up a copy of ABC Travel Guides for Kids-Philadelphia to help plan our family trip to Philadelphia. The book was perfect. The photographs were of great interest to my children and all the phone numbers, addresses and websites were in the book which was great for planning our itineries.

Alone Yet Not Alone is an inspiring story of faith in early America. What is more is that it was written by a young author who is a descendant of those in the story. Tracy Leninger did an excellent job at capturing the emotion of two young girls living away from their family for many long years as Indian captives and then being united again with their loved ones. You will not soon forget thier story.

My mom read this book to us and I LOVED IT.
It's exciting and full of adventure.
Barbara and Regina are captured by indians.
After they are seperated Barbara knows she has
to escape. THIS IS A GREAT STORY!!!

I loved this book! My friend told me to read it, and I did. It was so exciting that I couldn't put it down! This book is highly engrafted in spiritual truth, and the plot is wonderful. The way that the leininger family depends on God and trusts Him always and the way that they care for eachother and their friends is very heart warming. This is a definate must read for all ages. If you have read and liked "Standing in the Light" a Dear America diary, then you will love this.

This book is one of the best books that I have ever read...I've read and re-read and re-re-read it many times. I am amazed at how neat this book is - especially since it's a true story. This is a definite book to read!

"Alone yet not alone," is one of the most readable books I have read. After chapter three it is impossible to lay it down. It assumes Christian virtuues, values, and actions, and presents them in such a way that it makes you want to assimulate them into your own life. It is a definite must read for all early to late teens and will be enjoyed by adults as well. The book will probably become a staple in Christian family libraries.