North America Books

If there were such a thing as "coffee table books" for children, this book would be selected to be one of those. I found myself turning the pages with reverence and care, reading the material carefully but more so gazing at the beautiful pictures. The picture of the Chief seemed to almost jump off the page, and the other illustrations were as good as the photographs. A little-known tribe to those of us from the northeast, the Crow are a fascinating Native American group to study as they have maintained their heritage and customs despite a difficult life on the plains of Montana. As a retired teacher, I think fifth and sixth graders would benefit greatly from a study of comparative tribes and how they adapted their culture to the land, and how the land formed them. This book has a great deal of class. It is expensively produced with color and style, besides being well written and carefully researched. Any child would be proud to own it. Any teacher would be proud to have it in the classroom. Tarbescu has taken difficult material and presented it in such a way as to make it come alive for the reader. It is a gem.

The Crow is a splendidly illustrated introduction to the history of the Native American Crow Nation written specifically for young readers. Author Edith Tarbescu begins with the Battle of the Little Bighorn as her prologue introduction, then devotes separate chapters to the early history of the Crow, their lifestyle, beliefs, their history up to 1870, their history after 1870, and life on the Crow reservation today. Very highly recommended for school and community library collections, The Crow is additionally enhanced with a "Timeline of the Crow Nation"; a glossary; a listing of books, videos, organizations and online sites; a "Note On Sources"; and an Index.

If there were such a thing as "coffee table books" for children, this book would be selected to be one of those. I found myself turning the pages with reverence and care, reading the material carefully but more so gazing at the beautiful pictures. The picture of the Chief seemed to almost jump off the page, and the other illustrations were as good as the photographs. A little-known tribe to those of us from the northeast, the Crow are a fascinating Native American group to study as they have maintained their heritage and customs despite a difficult life on the plains of Montana. As a retired teacher, I think fifth and sixth graders would benefit greatly from a study of comparative tribes and how they adapted their culture to the land, and how the land formed them. This book has a great deal of class. It is expensively produced with color and style, besides being well written and carefully researched. Any child would be proud to own it. Any teacher would be proud to have it in the classroom. Tarbescu has taken difficult material and presented it in such a way as to make it come alive for the reader. It is a gem.

Wow, this gave so much information on the Crows, Ms. Tarbescu has a lot of talent! If you're a teacher or if you're simply interested in the Crow heritage then I highly suggest getting this book!

This is a good book that can be read to or by children ages 7-15. This book could be read in 2-3 hours and has natural breaks that allows you to return to the book a number of different times. The story is interesting and keeps the listeners or readers attention. I teach special education for behavior disorder students and this book is useful in teaching a variety of different social skills. I also have to sons that have enjoyed the story line and the messages that the story contains. The illustrations are colorful and add life to the books content. I highly recommend this book for any youth library.

I have given more copies of Crow and Weasel away than any other book in recent years. It is the most beautiful portrait of male friendship available in any genre for children or adults. I most often give copies to young men facing some important transition in their own lives...graduation from high school or college when they too will be asked to go beyond what is familiar, and in doing so, will learn more about themselves. This is a story to share with those you love again and again. As Lopez says, "If stories come to you, care for them. And learn to give them away where they are needed..." This is just such a story.

This is a good book that can be read to or by children ages 7-15. This book could be read in 2-3 hours and has natural breaks that allows you to return to the book a number of different times. The story is interesting and keeps the listeners or readers attention. I teach special education for behavior disorder students and this book is useful in teaching a variety of different social skills. I also have to sons that have enjoyed the story line and the messages that the story contains. The illustrations are colorful and add life to the books content. I highly recommend this book for any youth library.

...and a crow, and many other insightful characters within "Crow and Weasel" have stayed with me since I first read it almost 10 years ago. The story itself is vibrant, almost to the point of actual narrative. Beautiful landscapes and dialogue throughout lend themselves to the imagination; I feel very much a part of what I'm reading-a true escape. And I like that it teaches me by surprise. Everytime I finish this book, I find that my joy in diversity, my desire to be kind, and my reverence for the natural world have grown. Tom Pohrt's illustrations are each works of art, and complement the story perfectly. I wish they were available as prints. Share this book with the young, and then go share it with everybody else.

This is probably one of the most important books to read for any real searcher of truth. I feel that it gives a world view that is important to historical research of any kind, of any nation. It's implications for understanding world history are tremendous. It's implications to the worthiness of scientific method are accurate and important.

I am not Indian. I am not a descendant. I am forever grateful that I found and read this book.

This book should become curriculum for every school in the US, especially home schools. Every US citizen, especially Native Americans, should read this book. If I could afford to I would buy 50 copies and give them to friends, relatives, and teachers.

Skip all the heavy-sounding New Age fake Indian nonsense and go straight for this book--a humble, eloquent REAL book written with love by a woman who knows. Highly underrated.

I must admit that my views of this work are probably biased. The authors of this book, Grey Owl and Little Pigeon, are my parents. I recall my mother steal away from time to time to jot down notes after my father, the last chief of our band of Native Americans to have been raised in the old tradition, would recount some jewel of ageless wisdom or a bit of our heritage that had never before been documented. After my father passed on in 1959, my mother continued her work in researching and piecing together this work. Until the day she joined my father two years ago, we would sit and talk into the wee hours of the things that she has sought to share of this work.

Like the reader above, my views of this book are more than likely biased. Little Pigeon and Grey Owl were my grandparents, and I have read this book many times over. Definately one of the few books that tell the little known bits of history that everyone should hear about.

Mary Youmans has created a beautiful fantasy world with a distinct american voice. Not a thee or thou in the whole book! The fast moving plot, palpable excitement and frightening (but bravely meet) situations faced by our heroine Adanta all make for a fun, thrilling book that is written in a manner far better than is typical.

When one thinks of the fantasy genre one usually pictures the well worn paths of dragons, sword and sorcerer, medievil speak, etc. There is an overwhelming sense of Tolkien wannabe (See Eragon). As an American it is refreshing to read a fantasy not limited by that mind set. The story line is a classic child on a quest, but the language, imagination, landscape, imagery, and beauty of thought behind Raven Mocker makes it an outstanding read.

When one thinks of the fantasy genre one usually pictures the well worn paths of dragons, sword and sorcerer, medievil speak, etc. There is an overwhelming sense of Tolkien wannabe (See Eragon). As an American it is refreshing to read a fantasy not limited by that mind set. The story line is a classic child on a quest, but the language, imagination, landscape, imagery, and beauty of thought behind Raven Mocker makes it an outstanding read.

Marly Youman's latest book, The Curse of the Raven Mocker is a perfect introduction to literary writing for the younger reader, so finely worked and that adult readers can fall through the page, forget reading, and watch the story. As in her Catherwood, Ms Youman's descriptions of landscapes and local color is like a mother describing her child or Shackleton describing the cold.
The dearness of the values of family love, acceptance of grave personal purpose, and the courage to muster over again against what is terrible, shown especially in the young as she weaves her story, gives today's readers more than a book to bequeath to our children. This is a minor masterpiece of a handbook on how to live with open-eyed love in an often incomprehensibly dangerous world.
Even with all of that, much of value of The Curse of the Raven Mocker is a born teacher's easy stimulation of a reader's curiosity to need more of the rich background the author respectfully serves. There is plenty of convenient, graspable and interesting material related to Cherokee culture just waiting to be appreciated by Ms Youman's post-Mocker readers.

Whether you're planning on riding the whole thing at once or just just doing a section of it, I'd strongly recommend getting this book. My wife and I rode entire length in the summer of 2000, and we carried this book on the outside of our packs in a plastic bag at all times. We referred to it at least once every day. Like in any guide-book, there are a few confusing spots, but on the whole, the author (one of the original trail planners) has done a great job. He not only keeps you on the right path, he also points out various places you should visit, gives some historic perspective, and more. The book will surely make your experience more enjoyable.

I rode this trail in the summer of 2006, from Banff to Mexico. I found this book very helpful in planning my daily rides. It briefly described potential camping spots, designated and undesignated, water sources, and trail conditions. To conserve weight while on the trail, I tore out the pages as I completed them.

It is definitely well worth the money to buy for planning and for using on the trail.

This book does not include any info on the Canada portion.

With some help from this book I only needed 40 days to plan everything.

Note: This was my first bicycle tour and I did it solo, self supported.
Cheers!

Michael McCoy's Cycling the Great Divide: From Canada to Mexico on America's Premier Long Distance Mountain Bike Route is an essential item for those who are planning to bicycle or hike all of the Adventure Cycling route.

As McCoy notes in his well-written and informative introduction, this isn't an easy trek. Uneven terrain, adverse weather conditions, and a lack of water and essential services are often the norm.

As I found, having the book on hand better enabled me to plan ahead. For instance, my discovering that the climb over Indiana Pass would be long and difficult prompted me to begin my cycling day early, which in retrospect was fortuitious in that had I dilly-dallied, I would would have been caught in a late-afternoon snow-storm.

One the book's many strengths is that it includes a much-needed daily route synopsis. Though I am directionally challenged, I did not miss a single turn, not even in New Mexico, where many of the roads and trail heads are unmarked.

Sightseeing, points-of-interest, and photos have been included. I was often glad of this -- as I remarked to some onlookers, if McCoy hadn't pointed these things out to me, my trip would have been more of a slog than it was. For instance, if he hadn't mentioned that the Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad passes through southern New Mexico, I would have missed it.

The historical information is also a plus in that it will appeal to both tenters and armchair readers. There was many an evening when (because the sun set early) I was glad I had this book on hand.

The material in this book also complements the Adventure Cycling maps. In retrospect, my trip was without incident, in part because I had both on hand.

If you are riding the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route, you MUST have this book. This is an awesome route - Mike McCoy and the gang did a great job of researching it. One comment on the writing though -- when he uses the word 'steep', he means 'extremely steep', and when he says 'extremely steep', he means 'don't even try to ride your bike up this with a fully loaded bike'. A 'respectable climb' is really a lung-buster. Just expect everything to be a little harder than he makes it sound, and then you wont feel angry because it is not as easy as he makes it out to be. I think he must have either rode it without being fully loaded, or he is a very strong man! Anyhow, if you ride the Great Divide, you will have fun.. I guarantee it.

I suggest reading this book before reading "Ride the Wind". It serves as a chronicalled historical foundation before reading the novel "Ride the Wind" that will definitely prepare you for an unimaginable journey into the world of the American Indian of 150 years ago.

This is a compact history ... but it does just what you want - gives what history is known of Cynthia Ann Parker. This is an excellent resource if you are wanting to know about Cynthia Ann Parker from the settler's perspective - the people she left behind, the family she had come from, and the search for her that continued throughout her 'captivity'. The author seems to steer clear of any area of conjecture, such as why Cynthia Ann got shuttled between family members after her return or what may have happened to her pension, and sticks only to documentable history. She also avoided sidetracking into the history of Cynthia Ann's famous son or the other people in her life except for as far as they pertain to Cynthia Ann's life. Focus is very tight, very informative.

On May 19th, 1836 nine-year-old Cynthia Ann Parker, a member of a group of religious families occupying Fort Parker in Texas, witnessed the massacre of friends and relatives by combined bands of Caddos, Kiowas and Comanche warriors. Abducted by the Comanches, Cynthia was raised for the next 25 years as a tribal member and became "fully" Comanche, giving birth to Quanah Parker, the last Comanche Chief and one of the most influential intermediaries of his time, a representative of both the Native American and White cultures. Abducted a second time as an adult by a well-meaning Texas Ranger, Cynthia Ann was forced to return to White society, but mourned deeply for her Comanche family, ultimately starving herself to death out of grief.

Much lore and legend has grown around the story of Cynthia Ann Parker over the years, and it has often been difficult to separate the myth from the reality of her dramatic story. However, Margaret Schmidt Hacker has done just that. Over a period of five years, Ms. Hacker painstakingly researched the archives in Texas, Oklahoma, California and Washington, D.C. and objectively weighed all the accounts of Cynthia Ann's life. The result of her efforts is what is considered the most authoritative book on the subject. Although scholarly, it is at the same time, a gripping drama of the Texas prairies, and very readable by anyone with an interest in the Old West. Highly recommended reading.

Countless folk tales and sagas have focused on the story of Miss Parker, a captive of the Comanches for more than 15 years. Many of them deal only with her years as the mother of the famous Quanah Parker. Author Margaret Schmidt Hacker devoted five years to researching the life of the Cynthia Ann to reveal the history behind the myth. This is the tragic story of the abduction of a nine year old girl who returned reluctantly to white society when she was 24. A fascinating portrait of her life among the Comanches on the Texas frontier.

Even though this book is geared to the older elementary student, I used it to supplement my instruction for third graders. It has a wealth of strong information and contains clear and interesting illustrations.

At first glance this book looks like it is simply another children's book but once you open it the beautiful, full color photos speak for themselves! The book is 100% full color and shows a variety of men and women of different Plains tribal affiliations and their routines of daily life. Everything from styles of clothing to weapons, to men's and women's roles is covered in accurate, deatiled photography accompanied by brief commentary. Each subject is attired in meticulously replicated regalia done by the author who is a well known and respected Plains Indian authority. Another nice feature is the addition of a resource page listing historical sites of the Great Plains region. For such a small price tag this is one book that should be on every American history buff's bookshelf! You will not be disappointed!

A very well done, beautifully illustrated book for all ages, highly recommend it.

Michael Terry's "Daily Life in a Plains Indian Village, 1868" is a wonderful book that, although geared toward children and adolescents, provides a colorful overview of the ways of life of the Plains Indian peoples for all readers. The full color, large photograaphs on every page are incredible. Northern Palins replica makers and craftworkers will also find a wealth of close-up photos and descriptions of tools, weapons, and art to which they can refer in their work. If you wish you could see the Plains Indians in the full color splendor for which they are known then this is the book for you!

Very nice reading all stories very thought provoking and all have a good message. Something I will enjoy reading to my grandchildren.

READ ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING BY THIS MAN YOU CAN GET YOUR HANDS ON....HIS ESSAYS AND STORIES IN THIS COLLECTION ARE WELL WRITTEN AND EXCEPTIONALLY PROFOUND...THE ANSWERS TO A HARMONIOUS AND BALANCED LIFE LIE IN THESE PAGES....COME FIND THEM.

Joseph Marshall III's the Dance House: Stories from Rosebud relates knowledgeable insight from the Sicangu Lakota Sioux's point of view, using everyday incidents as well as historical events. A Lakota Sioux historian who was raised on the Rosebud reservation, the author's simple yet harmonious language creates a memorable collection of eight short stories and five essays that present a truthful representation of Native Americans. Using the underlying theme that heritage is important to one's identity. Marshall is adamant in erasing the white man's barbaric, ignorant image of the Indian.

In the title story, after the tribe's dance house was ordered burned by the United States Government which seized the Black Hills land where the house stood, Jacob Little Thunder and others, outwitting the white "boss farmer" and defying the Dawes Act, build a house of happiness where the people of Grass Valley could come together to remember "the old days and traditional way."

Gus Pretty Crow, through his unwavering honesty, brought the demise of the haughty sheriff in "1965 Continental." One rainy night a stranger appears at Gus' door requesting mechanical help. When Gus recommends that the man wait until the next morning and call the local wrecker "that runs, sometimes," the stranger propositions him: "Sell me your [1950] truck and I'll give you that 1965 Lincoln Continental." After Gus explains that an Indian owning a new luxury vehicle would create problems for him, the stranger promises that just a phone call to him would fix any problem that would occur. Reluctantly Gus agrees to the transaction and soon after the harassment by the local sheriff begins.

Jon Marichale educates his grandfather during a reminiscent outing about the petrifaction process of a stone turtle the grandfather had discovered years before.

The Dance House is necessary reading for anyone who is interested in the truth about Native American culture, or simply enjoys gifted storytelling.

Lakota Sioux historian and novelist Marshall proves himself a triple threat with these powerful essays and short stories. As the subtitle suggests, the nine pieces collected here all deal with life on the author's home reservation of Rosebud, SD, and it is a credit to Marshall's ability as a storyteller that the fictional stories are nearly indistinguishable from the factual essays. Subject to changes brought in by Euro-American culture that surrounds it, Marshall's Rosebud is nevertheless a timeless place where the Sioux insist on maintaining their identity. Readers will be grateful to Marshall for building a dance house of the mind, one that draws on autobiography, nature writing, legend and the day-to-day adventures and misadventures of his own family and neighbors.

Like all her books thought provoking. Her constant humility yet also a very strong sense of knowing what she knows and not apologizing for it is a wonderful mix. This book helped a lot, for her material raises a lot of questions and it is like sitting with her and being able to ask her these things. Some very interesting new ways to look at things. What I most appreciated in her book was her constant reminder of going within oneself and not to look at New Age teachers, or some other new way that is preached being "it". Not to put teachers and her on pedestals and make them into gods, but to go within and find the wisdom and truth that is already within. Her belief in God is so pure it is very very refreshing. A must read to understand more of her other books.

I was amazed at Mary Summer Rain's ability to be very honest and forthright in her answers to her readers questions. She maintained her ability to be herself and stand in her own truths. I was glad to see that she was not discriminating in those letters she included. Many were not written to her in her favor, but she handled her answers to these people with as much explanation as could be given to her understandings of how this world works.

True, a rare type of new age book. No lies in this, just truth. Also very informative, interesting and heartwarming. I reccomend it to anyone seeking truth.

Alot of staight-from-the-shoulder answers for the everyday person interested in the new millenium and also spiritual depth

This book is good, yet it is just like any other ordinary mystery book. It has a boring start, but as the story progresses it gets more intense. It starts off like a mystery book. The detective meets with a lady. They get to know each other and later on the lady is found dead in her home. Murder? or Suicide? --The detective is on the search for answers.

A chance, flirtatous encounter between Inspector Morse and a friend of a friend provides the context for Inspector Morse's interest in a tawdry suicide. The brooding Chief Inspector contemplates what might have been as suicide turns to murder, and murder again ! Sergant Lewis and Coroner Max Bell provide a delicious counterpoint to a puzzle with a light literary undercurrent. A good read !

In the beginning of the story, it was just like another typical mystery story. After a while, the story was getting really exciting. The ending was smashing and the characters was great.I highly recommend this to everyone.

Colin Dexter's Inspector Morse series is a must read for mystery fans. Notice that I say the series, not just a specific book. They are all equally good and each one is unique in it's mystery and puzzle. In this book a woman that Morse had met at a banquet is found hanging in her kitchen. Did she commit suicide or was she helped. Morse needs to find out because the woman had left an impression on him six months before at the banquet. By the time the reader gets to the end of the book there is another death that is most certainly a murder in the Jericho section of Oxford (in fact next door to where the woman was found). Morse knows that the two deaths are connected, but what a convoluted puzzle for him to figure out. Everyone involved is lying and that doesn't make it any easier for him, but the irascible Morse figures it out in the end. These books are extremely well-written, and a real joy to read since they are so well-written. The plots are always extremely clever, and they keep you guessing right until the end.