North America Books

I've lived in Florida, and studied archeology, all my life. Mac Perry reported on many sites that I had never known about, plus added information on those that I'd already visited. An excellent book, with a clear, interesting style.

Indian Mounds You Can Visit is informative and very interesting. A must read for anyone interested in Florida's history.

The Author has a style of writing that bring the reader into the world of Florida's first people. He very eloquently puts forth his message of conservation and protection. This book is packed with information on the various cultural periods of Florida pre-history like the Weeden Island and Safety Harbor people.

Lerner Publishing Group's new release THE INDIAN WARS:Chronicle of America's Wars by Carol H. Behrman is a fast reading, comprehensive history of the plight of Native Americans in the United States from the Age of Exploration to the Battle of Wounded Knee in 1890. The author's accurate, well documented text is an easy read. Illustrations, page layouts, maps and sidebars inform and vividly bring to life those critical times, people, and events. Timelines, bibliography, source notes, and websites encourage further study.This is one of the best texts I've seen on this era - a must for elementary and junior high school libraries. You'll need duplicate copies of this fascinating book.

This book covers a great deal of material in a very engaging manner. It is written with a respect for the reader and makes this period come alive for any age.

I was totally absorbed as I read this beautifully written chronicle of the Indian Wars. As a teacher and author, I appreciate the talent of Carol Behrman who provides the reader with fascinating and comprehensive facts of history in a style that young people will find enjoyable as well as educational. The history is not slanted or distorted and the details of the destruction of the Native American nations are told objectively and honestly. Ms. Behrman's delightful writing, the many historical photographs and charts, and the superbly designed book is a "must have" for every library.

This mammoth volume (over 570 pages) truly is the Indians' own book. Natalie Curtis served as collector, editor, and arranger. The elegant and eloquent simplicity of the tales give testimony that these are the Native American's own words. Not only that, but since it was first published in 1905, these are the memories of chiefs, elders, and holy men that still remembered the old days and the old ways. Plus, the marvelous illustrations were all done by tribe members (except for the photographs) and really contribute to the overall magic of the whole. The songs are all authentic and are given in both English and the original tribal languages (with pronunciation guides.)

While not a comprehensive reference of all the tribes it does give a good range of peoples from the eastern coast, northern woodlands, plains, southwest, and pacific coast. The tribes included are: Wabanaki, Dakota, Pawnee, Cheyenne, Arapaho, Kiowa, Winnebago, Kwakiutl, Pima, Apache, Mohave-Apache, Yuma, Navaho, Zuni, San Juan, Acoma, Laguna, and Hopi.

This book is a great monument to all the peoples and their respective ways of life. It is proof that the social engineers and bureaucrats did not kill the spirit and culture of the rightful inhabitants of this land. As long as such a book exists the way back to the old, centered way of living can be tracked.

This is a moving book. Even Theodore Roosevelt was moved by the "depth and dignity" of Indian thought.

This is a monumental work of history. Thanks to the efforts of Natalie Curtis and other recorders in the early twentieth century, there are many songs and stories of American Indians which have not been lost. The 149 songs recorded (in their original language and in translation), the myths and legends, and the interviews are from tribes all over the United States. These groups include the Wabanaki, Dakota, Pawnee, Cheyenne, Arapaho, Kiowa, Winnebago, Kwakiutl, Pima, Apache, Mojave-Apache, Yuma, Navajo, Zuñi, San Juan, Acoma, Laguna, and Hopi. This is a reference book to be treasured.

Curtis begins this book with, "The Indians are the authors of this volume. ...... The work of the recorder (Curtis) has been but the collecting, edititng, and arranging of the Indians' contributions." The Indians' Book is a collection of "Authentic Native American Legends, Lore and Music".

At the turn of the century, this book was instrumental in a change of attitude towards Native Amaricans. Through it, we see the "depth and dignity or Indian thoughts" (Theodore Roosevelt) from a time when Indians were commonly viewed as little more than animals.

But I don't want to make this sound like a political statement. No, don't missunderstand, this book focuses on the legends and the music. Curtis has transcribed enough songs that you could almost call it a Fake Book of Indian Songs. I've already used many of the songs in this book as inspiration for some of my own compositions.

Breskin plainly admires the filmmakers at their best, at work and as people. He wins them into describing, with greater articulation than most, what they were thinking when they made their films and how they see art in general.

But what makes the book so worthwhile is that Breskin makes his subjects pay the piper, when they would almost certainly rather dismiss at least some of his questions with a one-liner. He is not inclined, as more "fannish" journalists would be and have been, to let them off the hook for mistakes or evasive answers.

(Revealing as well to note which of those interviewed arguably still had their best work ahead of them and which did not. The two Davids, Cronenberg and Lynch, are especially useful for this)

It's so very rare to be able to predict that a book, were it a publicly traded stock, is an investment certain to become more valuable over time, the antithesis of a kitten. Breskin has honed his ability to ingratiate ephemerally, and in this process, you will get a rare glimpse of these great directors actually moving outside of soundbite to let you in on some part of process. Very worth...worth.

Probably the best book of director interviews since HITCHCOCK/TRUFFAUT and Andrew Sarris' INTERVIEWS WITH FILM DIRECTORS. After reading it, you want David Breskin to go around interviewing every director, immersing himself in their work beforehand, leading them into intimate and challenging conversations in which they sometimes get mad at him (even the laid-back David Cronenberg gets a little prickly at one point) but develop a grudging respect for him at the same time. INNER VIEWS collects eight interviews Breskin conducted for ROLLING STONE -- yes, children, there was a time when that magazine was worth reading -- though the pieces were significantly shortened for publication in RS, and thankfully restored to full sprawl here. I have no idea why we haven't seen more from Breskin; is he dead or retired? An interviewer this penetrating and eloquent shouldn't be allowed to ride off into the sunset.

I would be duty-bound to cherish this book simply because Breskin sits down with two of my gods, David Cronenberg and David Lynch; between their interviews here and the respective books about them edited by Chris Rodley, you will discover all you could ever want to know about these fascinating directors. But Breskin also interviews six other greats: Robert Altman, Oliver Stone, Francis Ford Coppola, Spike Lee, Tim Burton, and (in the expanded 1997 edition) Clint Eastwood. He parries amusingly with a few of them, as when Oliver Stone -- intellectual macho man that he is -- smugly breaks out a quote from Aeschylus, only to be informed by the unimpressed Breskin that Coppola had already related that same quote to him. (Stone is described as "surprised, his thunder stolen.") Breskin also gets yelled at a few times by accomplished shouter Spike Lee (this was before he became a father and mellowed) but admirably, calmly stands his ground -- yet Lee comes off not as a hothead throwing a diva tantrum but as an impassioned man who isn't used to being challenged by an interviewer from ROLLING STONE. Lee, and everyone else in the hot seat here, would discover that Breskin was much more than that.

This book has a lot of useful information about insects. It describes basic characteristics, life cycle, and much more. It also includes info on other terrestrial arthropods, such as spiders and centipedes. As a field guide, it focuses on families of insects, not species, which makes more sense because there are so many species that are hard to identify. There are great photographs and descritions as well.

These books are so helpful to use as references for painting.

Very clear photograhy. I would have liked a few close-up shots for some of the images perhaps, but otherwise a great book.

(Although I'll admit some of the inclusions in this book made my skin crawl!! I really just wanted the insects and not the spiders, but that's not the author's problem!)

This is really a nicely done guide and almost fits in my coat pocket. The pictures are fabulous and the insects are divided up into their respective families with very clear identifying traits. I'm really impressed, so much easy-to-use information in such a small book. This would be a great precursor to an entomology class. Some of my favorite critters are in the Psuedoscorpion order and are the cheliferids and chernetids, both of which look like tiny ticks with claws. So very cool. I actually found one once in Washington state--in my kitchen! It was very, very tiny. I digress. A book like this is handy if you are always finding insects and wondering what the heck you are looking at. A good value!

My parents were WW2 era, my mom graduating high school in 1942 just in time to go off to war with my dad. Their journey is the story of another day (perhaps one I will write) but now that they are gone, we have the archaeological evidence of the world they lived in. Old shellac 78 rpm records, souvenirs bought dear by a soldier's wife, an E for excellence pin. My dad kept photos of warplanes by the dozens, in neatly arranged albums, old letters and postcards and sheet music and newspapers from VE and VJ day, now nearly dust after all these years.

But I can touch a match to a lamp that will illumine that all important era any time by opening and reading from this book. John Gunther writes with a prose style filled with some kind of inner courage that is rare in today's reportage. He goes for the throat and he finds it--traveling all forty eight states in the USA of 1947. Issues come up again and again, Home rule for DC, Interstate rail tariff, Lend Lease, racism, land reform, interstate highways, social security.

The USA that John Gunther describes is no more, but in many, possibly even most cases it is the seed and reason of the world we inhabit today. This is one of those books you read and reread and sit to wonder about the giants that built America. The Henry Kaisers and David Sarnoff, the Fiorello La Guardia and the Wendell Wilke, the shop steward and the NYC cab driver all have a place in his amalgam, and it all makes halcyon sense.

John Gunther does not fix the USA in amber like a dead insect, he opens a window into another era---once the reader has traveled in the other America found there, he will always find this one changed.

Pray for peace
Fight for freedom
persevere,

Merry Christmas, 2007

If you have not read John Gunther's "Inside U.S.A.", you are in for a real treat. It is like taking a journey across America where Gunther's sense of the present and knowledge of the local environments is hard to rival. Perhaps the most striking aspects of the 1947 tour is how much each State has changed.

Gunther's tour of post war America is a must read for anyone interested in US History or for that matter, their individual States. For me it was striking to see how much my native California has changed. In my case, it was a picture of what we have lost in the last 50 years.

I loved "Inside U.S.A" so much that I ended up getting "Inside Africa", "Inside Europe" and "Inside Asia". Gunther's work has no rivals.

John Gunther's INSIDE U.S.A. comes as close to time travel as we are likely to get, hurling us back to the America of 1947, as he explores, state by state, the people, politics, issues, passions and fads that make up our country. Written with great energy and insight, Gunther captures an America justly proud of its WWII success, still unsure of its role in the world, and populated by fascinating characters like Mayor LaGuardia of New York, Governor Saltonstall of Massachusetts and Boss Hague of Jersey City. Gunther describes regional characteristics that persist today. He captures aspects of America that are gone,l never to return (an "industrial" nation based on coal, iron ore and steel.) And he foresees issues that dog America to this day -- the "Negro problem" (actually, the "White problem.") He condemns the segregationist society he finds in America, so inconsistent with its lofty ideals. As you can tell, I loved this book. It's very hefty -- but every time you are about to put it down, Gunther comes up with another amazing fact or interesting sidelight that keeps you reading. All this said, Gunther does concentrate on the (a) historical, (b) political and (c) economic side of things. You won't find much here about the arts or science. But it is amazing a single individual could have compiled this much data and presented it so interestingly.

A great presentation of what I expected to be an unexciting topic. Examines the workings of the political system in a highly readable way. I was not only well-informed after I read the book, but entertained as well!

This is excellent material if you are conducting any kind of serious research on NAFTA and its negotiations' development and outcome. It provides with a huge theoretical framework, every step of the process. If your line of work is game theory, this book will really help you (or at least it worked wonders for me). This is mandatory reference material for anyone interested in studying NAFTA.

Mayer rivals Grisham. He enfolds the strategy of NAFTA like a good murder-mystery. More proof that reality is more entertaining than fiction. It's a thriller, a nail-biter. I couldn't put it down!

This book is a one of a kind resource on the Horned Lizards of North America. It covers every interesting aspect of these amazing creatures from almost every angle possible. I don't know why it took me so long to get a copy. It is well written and packaged in a nice size for taking to the field. Anyone interested in North American Horned Lizards cannot not afford to be without this handy resource.

The areas where we live and where we vacation abound in horny toads, and this is a fun and useful book to have along. It's field-guide size, and packs alot of information. Highly recommended.

This book is one of the finest guides to nature I have ever seen. The distribution and life cycles of all the species of Horned Lizards in North America, Mexico and Australia are simply, but amply explained along with oustanding photos. Origins, distribution maps, habits, habitats, ecology, etc. are thoroughly discussed in an easy to understand language suitable for all ages and education backgrounds- from hobbiest to scientist.

A short history of American Indian relations to Phrynosoma is discussed along with photos of their art work depicting horned lizards.

The book format is a sturdy pocket sized field guide and makes for a good example of how all field guides should be constructed- my hats off to Mr. Sherbrooke for this eloquent, informing book!

On the back cover is praise for this edition from Coevolution which pretty much sums it up: "[This is] the horned lizard bible deluxe". I agree!

The towering 'INUKSUK' (ee-nook-sook) pictured on the cover of Mary Wallace's book introduces readers to a world of earth-bound 'signposts' in the arctic - - and MUCH MORE! In their varied forms the inuksuk may be intended as markers for caches of food, to advise hunters of directions, or to symbolize persons being memorialized. The last is an idea that could be used by students who want to follow the author's instructions for building a personal inuksuk. Another structure is shown serving as a road map to a traveler's next destination. It is not only a potential life-saver but makes a beautiful statement in the barren landscape.

Living in the Arctic means acquiring techniques for survival. Outsiders must acclimate themselves in a short time and this can be unsettling! For many decades the U.S. War Dept. funded studies in climatology, resulting in proper clothing & more nutritious feeding of troops. One more way in which we have benefited from the insights of our neighbors to the north.

"The Inuksuk Book" has many striking silk paintings with a gorgeous rainbow of colors that reflect the beauty of the 'Northern Lights' (Aurora Boralis). These inspire an admiration for the mystery of the far north. Contemporary photographs and those from earlier years also enhance the text. Teachers often expand a study unit to include Eskimo/Inuit art. How fortunate the young people who become acquainted with the figures beautifully sculpted from walrus tusks and soapstone. Amazing artistry is evident in works created during the long winters north of Hudson's Bay.

REVIEWER mcHAIKU marvels at the skills & imagination of the Inuit people and cheers author Mary Wallace for sharing.

This gorgeously illustrated book is one of the most appealing books I have read about the Far North. It highlights the ingenuity of a people who live in a demanding environment.

One of the things about the book I really enjoyed was the use of the Inuit alphabet to caption the beautiful pictures. There is a dictionary of sounds and words in the back, which can be used for kids to write their own names in Inuit.

There is also a guide to making your own Inuksuk in the back.

While hiking in the Canadian Rockies, we saw inuksuk along the trails. Their beauty and the fact that people had expressed themselves by creating art out of rock, rather than defacing the area, added greatly to our enjoyment of the outings.

When I found the book "Inuksuk," I immediately purchased it. After reading it, I purchased four more copies. "Inuksuk" can be read and looked at from many angles. It will be a perfect gift for friends with "soul" and for children who I hope will grow up with an appreciation of nature and art.

This is an amazing book containing oral histories of African American US soldiers during World War II. While each story is different, common themes are that preserving white supremacy was a preeminent motivation of American life, and that such discrimination was usually enforced or condoned by the federal government through the military. If African American soldiers were allowed to succeed, that would bring the Jim Crow system into question.
The author skillfully orders these narratives, also noting the role played by each soldier and unit noted in a brief introduction before each narrative. These soldiers give the facts, their opinions, and some general observations. "At times it actually seemed that the white man would rather lose the war than give the black man the recognition he so clearly deserved."
The African American had two enemies -- the Germans, and the white soldiers and civilians. Southern law officers might force African American soldiers to march in the ditch, since the very highways were reserved for whites.
There were times that African American soldiers would fight white soldiers who provoked them. In the South, this might lead to a lynch mob. A number of accounts note that German POWs were granted privileges denied to active duty African American soldiers. One soldier notes that he had to walk down an alley to the back of an eatery in Texas to order food, while German POWs were allowed to eat inside; this was a common practice in the South. In the South, African American access to the base PX would be restricted.
Trained African American soldiers were assigned to stevedore duty. Trained African American pilots were assigned to guard airbases which were in no danger of enemy attack. White officers were promoted or transferred, to prevent them from having to follow the orders of an African American officer of higher rank in their unit. Officers' clubs were "separate but unequal." Only when mixed with African Americans in actual combat against the Germans, did whites treat African Americans equally. There were rare exceptions of white officers and units who stood up to this segregation.
This book is full of hundreds of such memories and incidents. Some incidents recount how African American soldiers interacted with other minorities in the army, and with the citizens of different countries. This book is slow reading, because each incident generates thought, but it is well worth reading.

This is an amazing book containing oral histories of African American US soldiers during World War II. While each story is different, common themes are that preserving white supremacy was a preeminent motivation of American life, and that such discrimination was usually enforced or condoned by the federal government through the military. If African American soldiers were allowed to succeed, that would bring the Jim Crow system into question.

This is one of the best two books I've read on the Black military experience in the twentieth century, the other book being Lee's "Employment of Negro Troops." The Invisible Soldier contains a series of interviews with black officers and enlisted men from World War One to Vietnam and from many different services. These men discuss things which are not written about in any other book, and that you wont find in the national archives, such as an on going battle between white and black officers for authority during segregation, or overt racial violence between soldiers once the Japanese had surrendered.

I read this book after Lee's book and Nalty's "Strength for the Fight" and it added clarity and depth to their more traditional format. The author, a woman, is aware that she is stepping into an arena that is traditionally all-male but provides a balanced view to the male voices she transcribes in the book.

Should be required reading in some military history classes.