Missouri Books

This book was very hard to follow and the story line was weak!

I'm not sure what the plot was supposed to be and couldn't keep up with the many characters in this book.

This book was like a soap opera on a college campus. It was hard to follow at some points because it jumped around alot. I ound myself flipping back and forth to keep the story line straight, but Ms. James was very descripitive and provided a great deal of detail in her writing.
I would recommend this book to other people as well as her follow up book "Beyond Our Mother's Footsteps".

I agree with the other reviewers that it would have been better to use real greek letter organizations. As a member of a Sorority, I too found it difficult to follow the different greek-letter organizations. I also didn't care for the jumping back and forth between the Betas and the Kappas activities. Subtitles should have been given. The author also could have done a better job of explaining the controversies that occurred. A lot of assumptions and inferences had to be made regarding the characters.

I think that this book was very hard to follow though it provided a lot of insight to the greek life on college campuses i think that it sometimes focused on the little things that did not matter or things that really did not tie into the story too well. Also the one major thing that drove me absolutely crazy about this book was how it went from one sorority to the next basically telling the same story over again which became really frustrating. Like the previous critic said I was just happy that I got through the whole book.

Right at first, I admit, I was a little disappointed with this book. When I first read the lead-ins on the back cover I thought, well, this lady is nutso! I wonder what caused her to be such a cold-blooded murderer? I mean, the only thing worse than a person who would cut open an innocent pregnant woman and steal her baby is someone who would kill babies. I really never found out what made her tick, short of a few vague allusions to her being abused as a child, and that kinda bothers me more than anything else.

I read a more recent version of the paperback, which included a "Special Update", which didn't include a verdict or more juicy research, as I'd hoped. Instead, the "update" consisted of a diatribe in which the author defended himself against bad reader reviews, most notably one by some girl from the area of Kansas where the murder took place, whom he honestly shouldn't have let bother him quite as much as he did. But I kind of did agree with some of the things she supposedly said about the book, as per him not knowing anything about life in rural Kansas. Now, I'm notoriously bad with Kansas geography even though I've lived here since I was fairly small, and admit I have no idea where Melvern is, but I did grow up for most of my childhood in a similar small Kansas town. I do have to agree that I've never seen women in aprons beating rugs. Small town Kansans tend to favor Roper jeans, mullets and snap caps that say "CAT" or "John Deere". They don't really worry about beating rugs, they mostly are either the goody-goody churchy type who take fried chicken to invalids or general skanks who have a couch on their front porch and watch a lot of wrestling and Nascar. Think "Joe Dirt", not "The Andy Griffith Show".

Also, I have driven through Manhattan KS, which is pretty progressive as far as Kansas towns, being the home of Kansas State University, which turns out doctors, scientists, and veterinarians by the score. Not exactly hicksville, and most definitely NOT flat farming terrain like described in the book. The area surrounding Manhattan and Topeka is some of the hilliest terrain in the state. The flat stuff, where you can easily see (and smell) for miles, is in western Kansas, (where I grew up) which, in the words of a comedian I saw on TV, "will suck the soul right outta you".

That said, I do think that Mr. Phelps, while transparent in his insufferable Republican conservative leanings, really is a pretty good writer. Writing nonfiction, especially while dealing with subject matter this fragile and still tender in the minds and hearts of those affected by the tragedy, has got to be the most catch-as-catch-can business there is. I was a little disappointed that I didn't get to see the bitch hang, but then again, was satisfied to see that her family wasn't giving her much support in the end. Why should they? She didn't support them much while she was walking around, more than a few fries short of a happy meal, making everyone, including her own children, miserable.

In the end I had to adjust my thinking a little and concede that Mr. Phelps did the best he could do with what he had, and, in order to strike while the iron was hot, he put the book out when he did, and that was probably a smart thing to do. Just the same, maybe he ought to add yet another addendum to future printings of the book, after the verdict is reached, just to make everyone who is mewling over the premature birth of this book happy.

What say, Mr. Phelps?

Skidmore, Missouri is a quiet midwestern town but it has more than their fair share of horror stories and crime like the vigilante murder of Ken McElroy in 1981 and of course, the brutal murder of very pregnant Bobbie Jo Stinnett in 2004. She was 8 months pregnant when her murderer, Lisa Montgomery posed as Darlene Fischer arrived to discuss puppies. All Lisa wanted was the baby girl that Bobbie Jo was expecting after Christmas in 2004. She strangled her enough to get her unconconsious and performed a c-section on Bobbie Jo who fought to get her baby from her murderer. Lisa kidnapped the baby girl and tried to convince everybody that she just had given birth to a newborn girl despite the fact that she was never pregnant at all but she tried to convince others that she would. Lisa Montgomery was just convicted and sentenced to death for this brutal crime yesterday. The book is well-written but prematurely published while my copy has no pictures. Regardless, the author does do extensive research on Skidmore, Missouri.

I was in a bookstore looking for some books to read in the true crime section. I was only going to pick a few but the hardcover of this book just kept calling to me so I decided to get it too.

I wasn't disappointed whatsoever! Who could imagine a woman cutting another woman open while she was alive and stealing the baby to pass off as her own? My lord!

I am glad Mr. Phelps decided to write this before the hearings have concluded on this case because there was enough prior to the hearings to make a book. Thank GOD Victoria Jo is back with her real father but it is sad she will never have her mother.

It is so strange what this world is coming to. This book really does the story justice and I couldn't put it down.

Very well written. Such a sad story! proof again that there are very evil people on this earth.

While the writing was much improved over the other Phelps book I read, Murder In The Heartland seemed like a disorganized rough draft that was rushed to the printer.

The book was less about the crime, the victim, Bobbie Jo Stinnett, and the offender, Lisa Montgomery, than it was about Lisa Montgomery's relatives and their opinions.

M. William Phelps, who calls himself "Matt," claims to have researched the case for over a year. It is certainly not reflected in his book.

I noticed several inaccuracies in the book and was quite disappointed in it.

This book was written by an investigative reporter, who gained access to the files and participants of the real-life 1947 exorcism on which the novel "The Exorcist" was based. Very well-written and researched. He discusses in the end the possibility of a mental illness, but allows the reader to draw his own conclusion. My conclusion - it was a genuine case of possession.

This pioneering book and the story that it is based upon helped William Peter Blatty write The Exorcist.We all know what that did for cinematic history,don't we.Here, the subject of possesion is a boy in 1940's middle America who via an aunt and a Ouija board embark on the downward spiral toward increasingly volatile,abberant behaviors.One would think possibly schizoaffective or perhaps schizophrenic behaviors with psychotic aggression but perhaps not.Untreatable by local medicine and repelling local clergy he is referred to a different priest who with the help of other accolytes and assistant priests of a Jesuit variety embark on the long journey that is the ancient rite of exorcism.The story is clearly defined with just a sense of some holding back with regard to the true nature of the reality of the situation.The normal waxing and waning inherent in the ritual,the problems that can crop up that only insiders could know, as well as the continued path toward final expulsion are readily apparent and one gets the maximum treatment with full Roman Ritual furor.It is a story that perplexes the imagination but holds one fast as if the book were glued to your fingers.There are periods of fearful wonder and tactile and olfactory components along with the violence which are clearly felt.All does work out in the end,a rarity in these cases, but the story remains and leaves perplexing questions and doubts.There is the recorded event closely guarded by the church.The priests involved maintained silence until late in the case history.Both Blatty and Friedkin's'hollywoodization' if you will, does make more of the scene than is reported.Nonetheless,this exists as it is.Take it for what it's worth.Skip the movie of the same name,it stinks.Read the book,make your own judgements. If this is your stuff your money won't be wasted.The final opinion lies with you.Otherwise, enjoy some intense stuff.

Whether or not Allen misses and distorts some of the historical information contained within his narrative, this work is still ultimately entertaining. It provides an extensive look at traditional demoniac psychology/experience, which is invaluable regardless of whether or not we believe in possession.

It also provides an interesting look at Christianity's handling of demons and exorcism over the centuries, and even if there are historical inaccuracies, this aspect of the book is undeniably valuable.

I am also impressed with Allen's style; he makes no attempt at sensational, horrific, "scary" language. It seems to me that Allen's goal is to provide an honest, impartial account. He leaves the reasoning to us.

Whether you're a skeptic or a believer, this book has something to offer.

For background, I'm a Catholic, 55 yrs old, and an attorney who has seen about everything one can see after 27 years of practice. I'm no one to believe what people tell me without some skepticism and research into whatever is brought before me. But I've also been exposed to some things I can't explain readily without admitting the possibility of the unseen world being present, good or evil. For example, I once spent an hour in a County Jail Interview Cell, interviewing a self-admitted murderer, accused of stabbing a person 47 times with an icepick. We'd had murder and other serious felony cases before. We were to see if we wanted to take his case. (We didn't.) When my partner and I went into this cell, I felt an unspoken, non-vocal, non-"voice in my head" warning inside me that I should get away from the prisoner. Now, mind you, that guy was just sitting in a chair, in lockup, shackled, was physically smaller and older than I, and indicated that he wanted me to represent him. Sheriff's Deputies were available, had I needed them. So, I felt no fear that he would or could hurt me, but by just coming into the cell, I felt a bit unnerved. During the interview, the prisoner proudly told me that after the stabbing, he stood over his victim, and said "that's number 23". That unspoken warning, and a perceptible chill inside that cell, (it was in July, and the temperature on the thermostat a few feet away from the cell read 72 fahrenheit), was the first time I felt I was exposed to something I could not explain by my senses. Before, I had simply believed that what my Church instructed me about the Occult was true; but after, I had evidence as to the practical possibility that the existence of demons and things we cannot perceive in the sensory world is true, after all. So, call me a believer, but don't call me a patsy either. I give all books I read the "smell test". This one passed the test, for reasons I give below.
I first picked this book up two years ago, after having read Malachi Martin's book Hostage to the Devil, and having seen many of Hollywood's movies, which never come close to the truth, except for the movie version of this book, and a recent movie The Exorcism of Emily Rose. This book was possible only because the author was able to obtain a transcript of the actual rite of exorcism performed by the priests upon a child in St. Louis. The Catholic Church, for understandable reasons, does not enter into this sacrament easily, and does its best to keep the proceedings secret, not for arcane purposes, but to protect the privacy of the possessed person. The book follows the steps of investigation which followed before the rite was approved. It then examines the three stages of diabolic possession of a person, and follows the attempts and finally the successful ritual which followed.
I found the author's writing and presentation not sensational(he has a sensational subject matter anyway) and well suited to the general public. I also feel that the subject matter is very appropriate in this day where the human race reaches technical innovation one after another, which gives some the impression that people "invented" God and the Devil to explain things they could not in their primitive state of life otherwise explain. The book also mentions that before any rite is performed, the victim is given psychiatric and medical tests to detect any underlying disease or mental problem, which may be the real cause of the person's behavior or at least a contributing factor to it. Today, more testing is performed than when the case in this book occurred, but at all times there are signs of demonic possession which are hard to explain if present, unless something or someone from the unseen world has become present. The tests the Church performs to determine whether such signs are present was treated in the book well. To those and to the general public, it makes a very timely read and, given its' adherence to an actual Catholic rite of exorcism, helps to de-mystify the sacrament, how the Church actually handles cases brought before it, and then gives reasons for what is done and why it is done.
Given the plethora of books about this topic, and the scarcity of access to Church records(there is always a tape recording, and perhaps a video one, too) of exorcisms, I think it is valuable to read an account of an actual exorcism rite, successfully performed, to compare with the ones done by non-Catholic exorcists(and I don't make judgment upon the sincerity or truth of the more public accounts of those doing it outside of the Church, or by defrocked Catholic bishops or priests) and the "Hollywood" versions we are bombarded with before Halloween. Just say a pray, if you believe in God, before reading this, as you will find yourself tested or intrigued by the subject matter, which can be dangerous when one considers that demons are described by most Christian churches as spiritual beings having great preternatural skills and which can sift a human mind like wheat, unless we invoke God's protection against them.

Perhaps the most important thing to know about this account of the "true" story that inspired The Exorcist is that the real boy in question did not live in Mt. Ranier. So all the facts presented here about that house, about those neighbors, or relating to that location - it's at best derived from erroneous sources, such as the early 1980's reports that first mentioned the abandoned Mt. Ranier lot, and at worst it's all fabricated. The real story can be easily found via Google searches. Knowing this, the rest of this account then falls into serious question, rendering the book virtually meaningless to anyone seeking the truth behind the Exorcist inspiration. It may make a good read, but it doesn't do much to present the true story. Try Google, and happy searching.

Unfortunately, this book's Title is a misnomer as it promises so much and goes backwards from there. It is as if the author were unsure - did he want to write about an historical period in time (1800 to say 1815), or about some very important events (the first steamboat down the Mississippi which just happened to coincide with one of the New Madrid Quakes), or about the not as important but certainly tawdry tale of a failed branch of the Jefferson family. It seems he chose to weave the tales together and, by doing so, did justice to none. He does explore some interesting historical events that coincided in time with the quakes, but fails to make any of the events real or meaningful, leaving the reader wondering why he bothered to write this ultimately superficial book.

I would have liked to have given this book more than a two star rating. However, for those who wish to discover more about the New Madrid earthquake, you probably won't find it here. Somewhere between steamboats on the Mississippi, relations with local Indian tribes, and the War of 1812 the story of the quake is minimally told.

A glaring error is found on page 227 where the author states that at the Battle of New Orleans the British troops fought with Wellington at Waterloo--a battle that occured six months later. This type of mistake is untenable in that it draws a conclusion within its assertion and suggests the possibility of other errors throughout the text.

Readers of history would be better served by David McCullough or Joseph E. Ellis.

Well, speaking of earthquakes...this is one book that I've meant to review for quite a while and now, with a typhoon set to arrive at any moment, we'll begin.

Jay Feldman has written a fascinating study of the New Madrid earthquakes of 1811--1812 which takes us through the politics of Native-American removal, the advance of the industrial revolution, internationsl politics, the horrors of slavery, the science of geology, the physics behind it, and all points in between. Not only does he give us a look at first-hand accounts of the tragedy itself--in which a series of quakes (some of which would have measured a mind-boggling 8 or higher on the Richter scale!) refashioned several hundred miles of the American frontier, and explains in a cogent fashion the arcana of seismology so that a layman can understand exactly what happened; but he gives us four focci through which we see how the quakes impinged on society, impelling savants, scoundrels and even seers to their peculiar destinies. He deftly interweaves the stories of Tecumsah, the gifted orator who attempted to set up a pan-tribal league to oust white domination of North America; the first riverboat, built and piloted by Theordore Roosevelt's great uncle; the grisly death of a slave at the hands of Thomas Jefferson's nephews and the consequent frontier justice; and the career of a scoundrel who plotted against American shipping interests, yet still managed to attain high distinction in the military, and was not found out until after his death. Each of these turbulent stories happened at the same time and reached their crises and denouements as Nature turned herself upside down and islands disappeared, new lakes fashioned themselves in front of disbelieving eyes, columns of water and sand blew into the air and wild birds were so frightened that they alighted on the arms of astonished on-lookers.

Feldman is in complete command of his sources, and recounts the various stories in a gripping manner. It's rare for a book of history to be a page-turner, but this one certainly is.

I guess the saga of Nicholas Roosevelt and his wife Lydia gripped my imagination the most. Nicholas designed and built the New Orleans, the first steam-boat to navigate the Mississippi. As fate would have it, Nicholas unwittingly chose the year of the quakes to test the New Orleans against the potentially murderous waters of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers. As anyone who's ever read Mark Twain's Life on the Mississippi knows, the river was filled with perils for those who were fortunate enough to captain river boats in more cultivated times; but can you imagine navigating the "American Nile" for the first time ever? In addition, Roosevelt's wife insisted on coming along, even though she was due to give birth during the trip. Roosevelt's little girl was also with them as well as the family dog. Moreover, the Mississippi was the haunt of river pirates, the war-gound of Native-Americans, and the catch-all for all manner of rough and tumble individuals who lived comfortably outside the reach of the law. But the crowning danger was the night that the Mississippi did indeed flow backwards! Did the Roosevelts and their ship survive?

Read the book.

This is an interesting book but somewhat disorganized. The best part was when the author was describing the earthquakes and all that occurred. The historical facts were well researched. This book would make a good source of material for any researcher.

I don't know what to say except that the book is good. It is well written and enjoyable.

Solid writing style, really great characters who you empathize with, well drawn plot. C.J. Box has a unique series going here and I hope he can maintain the quality over time.

"But this is how they do it. They go after the weakest first. When the mother stays back, the wolves open a hole in her belly and pull out the entrails. Then they wait until she doesn't have the strength to protect herself, then they'll move in and tear her throat out."

C.J. Box does not mince words. Nature can be brutal as well as stunningly beautiful.

Two years have passed since we last met up with Saddlestring, Wyoming Game Warden (and Wildlife Biologist), Joe Pickett and his family. In "Savage Run", famous environmental "terrorist" Stewie Woods and his wife are blown up by a cow. Joe is called to investigate and from that auspicious start "Savage Run" builds the brutality, tension, and mystery in a thoroughly enjoyable book filled with wilderness reality.

Joe Pickett is not perfect. He has a tendency to trust people more than he should, and to go places alone where backup help would be needed. He is honest to the point of detriment to his own career (hmmm, this is a good thing really). During the investigation, Joe meets with the owner of the cow (actually 10 cows were killed in the explosion) at this person's home. Oddly, the owner, Jim Finotta does not seem surprised nor does he ask the questions one would expect from someone who is concerned about the death of other human beings or animals. In addition, Jim, a lawyer, puts Joe on the defensive. Not a good thing to do, especially if you have the head of a large male elk mounted on your wall, that the Game Warden recognizes, and knows was killed off-season.

A mini-battle begins between dirt poor Joe and the all powerful Finotta.

Killers Charles Tibbs (the best tracker in Wyoming) and the" Old Man" leave Wyoming after ensuring that the exploding cow did what they intended (i.e. make for an embarrassing death for Stewie) for Washington State. There they murder famous environmental writer, Hayden Powell. These two are then responsible for a string of brutal environmentalist murders that follow. This has the makings of an old-fashioned range war. And the reader finds out that it is and that a group called the "Stockman's Trust" hired the old west throwback stock detective (Charles) to take care of business.

Circumstances bring the killers, Joe Pickett, and several others together as the book climaxes with a chase through the deepest wilderness to the impassable (except by, according to legend, Cheyenne's fleeing for their lives over 100 years ago) canyon known as Savage Run.

"Savage Run" is sometimes brutal, sometimes beautiful, sometimes controversial as it straddles the worlds of game wardens, ranchers, landowners, and environmentalists. C.J. Box is fast becoming one of my favorite authors and I am looking forward to the next Joe Pickett adventure. In the meantime, pick up "Savage Run" if for nothing else, to read the explosive ending.

by TracyReaderDad

I just finished reading Savage Run and was, on the whole, quite disappointed. First, it was even more violent than Open Season, a book that I DID like for the most part. Second, it had only one sympathetic character other than Joe Pickett. I really hated the ending and found it totally unnecessary after all the trials and tribulations the characters had gone through to get to that point.

I also felt the character of Pickett was overly thorny and obtuse. His aw shucks boyish charm didn't make up for it.

All in all, it had some good parts, but it wasn't worth the time.

If you like the outdoors and the West you'll love this one. A real page turner! Hated for it to end!

I *loved* Open Season, and I certainly like the way C.J.Box writes, and I also loved the first half of Savage Run. But, I'm sorry, the plot contained too many wildly unbelievable coincidences and dei ex machina for me. Amazon guidelines and common decency prevent me from listing them, but they caused my suspension of disbelief to disintegrate completely, and I was so disgusted that I could only skim the last bit of the book.
Having said all that, I'll still read his next book, because C.J. certainly has talent. But with this book I felt much the same frustration I feel after seeing a thriller movie that has so much promise and then tanks at the end: don't authors or screenwriters let someone read the book (or see the movie) before publication, so they can find out if the story seems to fall apart and become a comic book at some point? If you want us to suspend disbelief and be completely into the story, then the story must be believable on some level.
Box still gets three stars from me because I like his writing, but *please* work out the plots a little better!

This is by far the best biography on Laura Ingalls Wilder available. This is a scholarly, indepth look that goes beyond her books and looks into what made her a writer. Written for adults.

This is the real-life Laura and family. Biographer John Miller provides tremendous detail in a smooth, quick and fascinating read. Gives a lot of historic context from the time of Charles and Caroline's childhood through the 1950's, and many new tidbits about Laura's actual childhood. The most thought-provoking and disturbing section of the book is toward the end, covering the period between 1925 and Laura's death in 1957.

Rose, having worked and travelled all over the world as a successful author, came home to Rocky Ridge for some 9 years in the late 20's and early 30's. While there, she suffered frequent depression, writer's block, financial trouble, and a frustrating relationship with her mother, Laura. Yet it was at this time that she helped Laura begin the Little House books, the first of which was published in 1932. The collaboration between the two on the series has been a topic of contention among scholars, critics, and fans from the beginning. Here we learn the truth, book-by-book, on who wrote what, and how each felt about her role in the partnership.

This truth is enlightening and yet Rose's sad mental state and resentment toward Laura is a bit heartbreaking for fans who still believe in Pa's beloved, spunky, hard-working, Plum Creek-swimming, Nellie Oleson-hating, hay-making, bible verse-reciting, school-teaching, buggy-riding, half-pint who wanted nothing more than to send her blind sister to college.

This would be a very interesting book if I had not already read all the little house series plus the book where she went to Mansfield from DeSmet and the one where she went to visit Rose in San Francisco.

This is best read before reading the other books. The books by Laura Ingalls Wilder give more detail than any of the birographys by any other author.

I found this to be a good book, although I wish the author would have personalized Laura a little more. The ongoing battle between mother and daughter might have been overemphasized, but one comes to learn that this probably worked for both of them. I found a lot of good information, but the statistics were a little much. I found myself reading between the lines and wanted to get back to the meat of the story...Laura.

I recommend this book to any Wilder fan, for it does give us a glimpse into the woman she really was. Like anyone else, Laura was only human, faults and all.

Meloni Cassidy
Author of Everlasting Journey

I purchased this book to read about how Laura Ingalls Wilder became the celebrated author of the Little House series of books. I was very disappointed, therefore, that this uninsightful, dry, fragmented, and repetitious tome read more like a bad history book with too many statistics, facts and figures, rather than character analysis, leaving me with no more knowledge of Laura's character than before I read it. For example, after describing ad nauseum all the organizations and activities one could possibly participate in their town, the author states that we do not know if Laura and her family enjoyed any of them. It was frustrating to constantly read the words "probably, maybe, if, we can presume ....." The author makes too many assumptions and repeatedly expresses his inability to accurately understand and relay Laura's personal feelings due to the unfortunate lack of diaries, letters, and journals left behind by Mrs. Wilder. Relying too much on her daughter, Rose's writings, he portrays Laura as an overprotective, condescending, controlling mother and a domineering wife who refused to vow to obey her husband during their wedding. Miller is not quite sure he even believes Rose's unflattering portrayal of her mother, because she was mentally ill and emotionally unstable herself. This book contains so much one-sided information about Laura's daughter that it should instead be titled Becoming Rose Wilder Lane.

I was really disappointed by "Forgiving Solomon Long" by Chris Well. I found it to be far too violent. Shooting a priest in the confessional, stabbing a pastor in an alley, garroting a homeless man for his clothes, murdering a store keeper and impaling a note on his body with his own store's longest screwdriver, ect.... It was just too much gore. In places I found it disgusting.

I also did not like the writing style. There was flopping back and forth between present tense and past tense which made the reading clumsy. The dialogue was contrived, and inconsistent to the characters.

To me there seemed to be no main character. The scenes flip back and forth erratically. It found that confusing. There also were far too many character and none were very well developed. The assassin "Solo" had a horrific childhood which seemed to be revealed as the book progressed, but Solo's mother quoted Scripture and murdered his dad (said the dad was taken away like Enoch) yet she had buried him in the basement. She also abused her child severely, which the author seemed to relish dribbling out the details.

None of the characters were consist, nor believable. The crime boss's family was a stereotypical "Italian mob" family, but I found the descriptions bogus and superficial.

I am sure somewhere in the book is some message, but I found the book so poor that I could not finish it. After wading through the first 200 pages and finding nothing rewarding or even entertaining I gave up. It was all just too much of a jumble and way too dark for my tastes.

If you've read "Deliver Us From Evelyn" or "Tribulation House" from Chris Well and are expecting a book on the same par in "Forgiving Solomon Long", you will definitely be disappointed. Although Well's engaging style and humor do come through in this novel and at least keep one entertained through about half of the book, the high level of violence (nearly everyone gets killed or at least shot) and constant jumping from sub-plot to sub-plot make for a dissatisfying - if not disturbing - read. In some chapters, Well becomes almost incomprehensible. There is a dark, morbid atmosphere to this book that does not exist in Well's later fiction. I do highly recommend the sequel, "Deliver Us From Evelyn", as well as the most recent book in the series, "Tribulation House". But don't waste your money and your time on this particular volume.

"We distrust fiction that has a palpable design on us," as someone wrote. In my view, all fiction has a palpable design. That said, there are designs and there are designs. The designation "Christian Fiction" cannot help but suggest a design, but this isn't the place to wrangle over the merits of such a heading. I'm quite aware that some readers read just for such a design, although I read a work, if I do, apart from or in spite of it. A blurb on one of Well's later works reads "Even though it's an amusing romp, it's not light on spiritual truths." I would far rather reverse that and say, "Even though it's not light on spiritual truths, it's an amusing romp." Spiritual truths you can get anywhere, but only in fiction an amusing romp.

That said, this book appears to be, no matter how lightly handled, crime fiction, which is certainly not my cup of tea. I am perhaps the only one in America who would rather see Little Steven in the E Street Band than The Sopranos, but there it is. So I probably did read it for the amusing romp in spite and not because of its gangster setting. I also hasten to add that while Well has been criticized because his toughs don't cuss, I wouldn't read the book if they did. A great many believers have written without being saddled with the rubric of "Christian fiction", including Flannery O'Connor, Madeline L'Engle and C.S. Lewis. I venture to suggest that Well need not wear it either.

This book reads fast, and is laid out like a play, with three acts. I like short chapters and this 280 page novel has, believe it or not, 124 of them. It's a clever way to write. While there is an omniscient narrator, as it were, each chapter shifts characters and points of view, with new members of the dramatis personae being introduced in the early chapters, as in a play. It's a very visual book, almost written as a screenplay, with, curiously, the most visual part left out: descriptions of the characters. Because of this, it's slightly difficult to follow the story and keep track of all the players. If it were a screenplay, however, which is to say a movie or TV show, that wouldn't be a problem, since the viewer would see the actual characters.

Arguably, some of the gangsters are cardboard cut-outs, but others are quite astute. Well obviously enjoys dusting the crops with pop culture references, including a few covert ones as when someone echoes a Carole King song or a preacher is named for the rock band, Daniel Amos. This is a first novel, so far as I know, and if other reviewers are to be believed, they get better. But even here Well has tackled the all- important element of the novel, which is finding a consistent tone and voice, and solved the problem of how to sustain that voice for the length of the book. Needless to say, I can't wait to read the next Well- written novels.

I came across Forgiving Solomon Long while searching for interesting and edgy books that didn't leave me feeling like I needed a bath. I appreciate how Chris Well does not shy away from the darker sides of life yet does not dive into them himself. As a Christian artist I am often faced with the difficulty of remaining true to life without losing my principles. Chris Well's approach is a great study in how to accomplish that. I also liked all the theater and Shakespearean references.

This debut novel for Mr. Well I found was fresh and a very entertaining read. I thought the story moved along at the right pace and there was just enough action to make be turn page after page, but not too much that the action scenes were down right boring. The character were believable, which I always enjoy and in summary I hope that the author will release another sequel as soon as possible.

The book is a very good one. If you like the Little House series, you will like this too because it stars Rose (Laura Ingalls Wilder's daughter). I think this book is okay for anyone. I think it was very good. So I hope you can read it anytime!

Roger Lea MacBride rode the tails of the spoiled and ungrateful Rose Wilder. He fabricated characters and used someone else's material as his own just like Rose. Abe and his brother and sister in law never existed. Laura based her stories on truthful events maybe sometimes embellished or diminished but always truthful. Rose wrote, "Young Pioneers," and "Free Land," from Laura's accounts that were not recommended to young readers. Rose and Roger loudly complain about Laura and her harsh manner and that Rose was the writer behind Laura's books. Laura loved her mother and Rose resented her mother and everything she stood for. Rose was embarassed and only helped out finacially until many years later after she used Laura's material to gain monetary and in the publishing world. She never credits Laura for her material which, would've been non-existent if Laura was her mother. Laura helped at a very young age, and never complained or announced or flaunted her kindess. Rose Wilder was never an accomplished author that she thought she was but she was very manipulative and knew how to punish Laura. In the dual book, The Rose Wilder story both MacBride and Wilder make sure Laura is depicted with a temper and lack of character. The only person who lacked character and was selfish was Rose and MacBride.

The book is a very good one. It is also like a book to go in Rose's years. I think this book is okay for anyone. I think it was very good. So I hope you can read it anytime!

The kids I know seem to enjoy the continuation of this servies. This is good and I certainly would suggest they be encouraged to read this and the rest of the continuation series by MacBride. After all, reading is reading and if they enjoy them I am certainly not one to cast stones. On the other hand, for those that grew up on the originals, i.e. the Wilder books, will be very, very disappointed in this and other works by MacBride. The narrative is forced, the historical data is very, very faulty, and the overall dialogue has a sticky cloying quality about it. The stories simply are not of the same quality. But, as I said, these were written for young folks and if they enjoy them, more power to them. It is difficult enough to get kids to read anything. At least these books are familiar ground for them and certainly won't hurt them. I am giving this one the fours stars for that reason and no other.

I remember being about 8 years old when "The Rose Years" series of books originally debuted with "Little House on Rocky Ridge," an easily pleasing story for readers who enjoyed Laura Ingalls Wilder's original books. Now, with the entire "Little House" collection (including Laura's stories and the tales written about her mother Caroline, grandmother Charlotte, and great-grandmother Martha) getting a little makeover with these brand-new editions, there are a couple of things to keep in mind before buying.

If you remember when this book first came out in 1993, you may recall that it contained 368 pages. This condensed version--complete with the photographic cover of an adorable little rosy-cheeked child--is comprised of only 176 pages.

I was stunned when I discovered that the new editions of these books (except for the original 9 from Laura's collection) will all be made up of abridged text. The updated covers are one thing. Okay, they wanted to maintain the stories' "contemporary relevance" with these flashy new covers, also eliminating the Garth Williams illustrations that helped make the series so successful in the first place. This is at least understandable, but passing these stories off in condensed versions is both inappropriate and unacceptable for books that are so timeless and important for all generations.

I am not usually the type to get upset about things like this, but because I remember reading these Rose stories as a child, I feel compelled to at least let consumers here know exactly what they are purchasing. I just happened to get a close-up look of the back cover on the Internet, and if I hadn't seen the tiny word "abridged" on the bottom, then I would have been very quick to purchase this. The publishers' motives for doing this are not quite clear, but come on--omitting nearly 200 PAGES OF TEXT is completely ridiculous, and I can't honestly believe that most people would buy this if they were aware of that fact. They must have cut out entire chapters to accommodate this drastic size change, perhaps in an effort to make it easier for young children to read. Well, let me just say that I have read my share of children's literature, and part of the charm of these "Little House" books is the authors' simplistic writing style.

Are the publishers trying to convey the fact that they feel the original versions were too difficult for American children to read? If I remember correctly, this past summer, millions of children camped outside bookstores across America the day before "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" was released, and that book was crammed with 784 pages--and that wasn't even the longest one in the 7-book series! (That honor belongs to "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix," which contained a shocking 870 pages.) Despite this, however, several of the most hard-core Harry fans have pored through those books in less than 24 hours, and we're afraid that these softer, simpler, and far more timeless tales of a prairie girl's childhood require severe condensation for future printings? Please.

The new covers for these books are cute, for sure, but I won't be getting rid of my original versions for these. The interesting thing is that these makeovers have been applied to the first two books of Rose's, Caroline's, Charlotte's, and Martha's story collections. They have all been shortened and spruced up with a whole new look for today's kids. Perhaps the publishers are "testing the waters" to see if these books sell, and if that's the case, I hope they sell poorly so they can recognize what a mistake it was to tamper with the original text. If they want to modernize the outside of it to increase the appeal for the current "flashier is better" society, then that is perfectly fine, but sometimes you have to put a little more thought into it than this.

In the meantime, if you have any of the old editions, hang onto them. If you want to complete your collections before the old versions go out of print, act quickly and purchase them before Ebay starts selling them away for sky-high prices. Laura Ingalls Wilder's original books are obviously the best thing to get, though, for the sake of the Garth Williams illustrations that may very well become virtually extinct within the next few years. With a little luck, the remainder of Rose's, Caroline's, Charlotte's, and Martha's books won't get the condensed treatment, and like they did with Laura's stories, maybe they will just stick with the new covers and keep the content exactly as it always was--that is, the complete, endearing tales that the public has treasured the most.

This Laura Ingalls Wilder diary is somewhat dull in parts, but the introduction by her daugher, Rose Wilder Lane, is worth the price of the book. Lane gives a first-hand account of the days before and after the journey that puts Laura in a new light. There are also several good photographs unavailable in other LHOTP books.

It's often said in tones of this-is-true-but-it's-also-heresy that Rose Wilder Lane, daughter of Laura and Almanzo Wilder, is the real unsung heroine in the Little House books, because while she let her mother have credit for the famous series, it was Rose, via her careful, invisible editing and re-writes, that turned cheery memoirs into beloved classics. I suspect that's true, but in the case of this book, it is beyond all doubt what happened. Rose took her mother's raw diary and prepared it for publication, and the product is the book On The Way Home, which tells of the journey Rose and her parents made in 1894, from DeSmet, South Dakota, setting for the final half of the Little House books, to the Ozark country, where the family would spend the next sixty years. The description is unsentimental, not glamorized (as it tends to be--for the sake of betterment--in the other books) and it paints a portrait of the difficult traveler's life on the by-then crowded prairie overrun with east-central European immigrants, many of whom being exactly the type portrayed in novels such as My Antonia. The Wilder family completes its draining re-location by covered wagon and arrives in Missouri, a state so much a promised land to them that a reader cannot help but share their relief when they safely arrive.

The Book, On The Way Home, by Laura Ingalls Wilder, is basically what it says it is. It is a Diary of a Trip from South Dakota to Mansfield, Missouri, in 1894. This book was not that enjoyable just because it was just diary entries, like "today we ate meat." But other wise it was quite intriguing to discover the ways in which people traveled back in the day. In one part of the book it talks about how their covered wagon is not a covered wagon at all but that, "It had been a two-seated hack though now it only had the front seat." I also found it very enjoyable to read about the worth of money back then and compare it to now. It talks about how Laura had earned a whole one hundred dollars which today is like penny cash but back then was a fortune. In the beginning of the book there is a setting by Rose Wilder Lane, Laura's Daughter, which is a great piece of writing, it is like the rest of Laura's books in that it makes you want to read the rest of the book. I found this book interesting but a drag because of the slow pace in the book. If you would like to take a slow dip into history you should definitely read this book.

This book is written in a much different style than the other Little House books. Laura kept a journal of the trip and these are her day-to-day entries. It can sometimes be dry or confusing. I have been reading the series with my daughter and this one has been a little more difficult. We enjoyed it, but not as much as the others.

I can see why Laura Ingalls was able to write such good books about her early life on the Prairie. Her diaries were packed full of information and detail which she could later draw on. This is one of her diaries, with notes and a setting by her only child, daughter Rose Wilder Lane who was just a girl during this trip.

Laura Ingalls Wilder is, of course, famous for her little House books describing her childhood growing up at the edge of American settling in the mid Nineteenth century. Constantly pushing to new territories and places Ingalls father lead them west into Indian territory and later to Dakota where they settled. Laura met and Married Almanzo Wilder in de Smet, Dakota (Those happy Golden Years, and First Four Years) however those books left a me feeling a bit downhearted. Especially teh First Four Years, in which Almanzo 'Manly' and Laura seemed to be struck with tragedy (the house burning down) etc.

I found this diary to be hugely uplifting. It is not the detailed stories of her childhood, or living in a wagon as an adult settler, but it is a great tale detail of a family moving, of finding something which they could call their own, but far away in the Ozarks.

The most interesting thing to me about it, was that while they were on the road they were constantly being passed by other settlers, some going north and others going south, but the number of people on the move was amazing. At one point Rose adds a note that she looked back while they were about to cross the 'muddy' and there was a stream of covered wagons behind them.

Little details of what life was like really draw this out - tomatoes 10c a bushel and so they bought 2c worth. Huge watermelons for 5 c, Almanzo selling fire mats (ASBESTOS!) and all those little everyday details about life for Laura.

While she did not put her stories down until many decades later, clearly she was a writer in the making right from the beginning. Rose, her daughter has provided much of the detail necessary in here, but it would be really nice to see an illustrated edition of this showing the place as it was and as it is now. It was interesting to use Google Earth to view some of the trail which you can see right now. It gives it a sense of scale which I will not be able to do myself unless I acutally visit.

The only reason this has four stars is it is not as gripping as Ingalls novels - it is still a great read and highly recommended.

This books tells of a pioneer emmigrant that survives the panhandle Nebraska, as a farmer(more his 4th wife than him), when most people thought it couldn't be done. What a great story of a man, and what he puts his family through. This is no Little House on The Prairie.

I found this book to be very interesting. I have ready only one other book by Mari Sandoz - but recognized many of the titles listed inside. It's a tough thing to write about your father - and capture the uniqueness. She was able to describe him and keep herself as a "bystander" when much of his disciplinary methods were directed at herself and her siblings. She was also able to give the reader a preview of what the Nebraska panhandle was like as it opened up to settlement and beyond. I have lived in the Black Hills about 30 years ago - and I could picture her descriptions of the land very well. This is a book that supplements historical accounts - a "looking glass" view into the life of one man and how he viewed his corner of that world. I especially liked the end where she listed all the people who came to his sickbed. He was a force - and the reader should decide a "force for what?"

This is a book you can't put down once the first sentence leaps off the page at you. Vividly told, with accompanying pictures of the land and the people, it is one that was surely deserving of the literary honors it received upon it's first publishing. It is a story of a highly intelligent, manipulative, yet visionary man driven by many things; unrequited love which forever tormented him, an abusive inner nature that only needed the urging found on the untamed primitive Nebraska plains to emerge and effect the "control of others"; the obsession to "settle the country" and bring farms and families into a community that could survive all hardships toward a common goal. He was married six times; drove the weakest one of them into the insane asylum; and nearly drove his last and most tenacious wife to suicide during an incident where he struck her with a strand of barbed wire when she couldn't "hold a calf down firmly enough to keep it from kicking" while being worked.

It is also a history of the Valentine, Nebraska area, backed by historical facts "gleaned from the newspapers" of the times for a series of incredible events; including vigilante justice, a brush with a pleasant horse thief ("Gentleman Jim") in the hills where he was saved only by his ignorance of the circumstances; inhumane treatment of the plains indians (but amazingly, not by Jules) and persecution of his own kind by still others.

I found it amazing that Ms. Sandoz could write so objectively about her father in the effort to tell his story, but she considered it not only an honor, but a duty since he asked it of her on his deathbed; and I am sure the only reason that could be was perhaps at least partially due to the fact that Old Jules never established a bond with any of his children. They were a "product" to him; a means to accomplish a goal; a workforce. Therefore, it may have been easier for her to be brutally honest when writing of him.

Perhaps it was meant to be that way. Because the story is in a class apart and therefore, I highly recommend it to anyone seeking Western American History the "way it was" (although assuredly not all families were headed up by an Old Jules) rather than the "way it is sometimes told" in movies and other types of literature. I have a "First Edition" of this book - a priceless item, it holds a very special place in my home library since my own parents were early settlers of Wyoming.

It's a long, boring book about some old dirt farmer out in bumf&*k, Nebraska beating his wife and having kids he doesn't love. The end.

Old Jules is not a bad book, it's just too long for one thing. The characters and their lifestyle are quite unique but their lackluster day to day existence needn't have taken up so many pages. If you want gripping, white-knuckle excitement, look elsewhere. The book is interesting from a historical point of view maybe but it just wasn't my kind of read. (Ho-hum........)