North America Books

This is simply a beautiful book. Much good work has been done to help connect people and plants and we delight in that. Eliot looks beyond the physical plant you see and gifts you with the feeling of connection with Plant Spirits. Thank you Eliot. Many who read this book with an open heart will come through the door you have opened. We are ready to help - ready to heal.

Well written, full of passion and honesty. Cowan takes a leap of faith with courage in hopes that others will learn the connectedness of all, and the simplicity it takes to honor our most prescious resources, "OUR FAMILY". Well worth the read, and please; share it with others!

This book is an accessible, sincere and inspired guide for anyone who is curious about how to recover the human's innate ability to be in communication with the non-human world - which apparently just awaits our intention to do so. Eliot Cowan shares his own fascinating journey of discovery in a way that also offers to the reader ideas for how to do the same. His message is not, "look at me, I have special abilities," but "look into yourself and see what is there just waiting to be revived." The disastrous psychological, ecological and spiritual situation humans find themselves in as a result of having stopped engaging in "the great conversation" with nature, as author Thomas Berry puts it, can begin to heal if we try hard, now, to apply ourselves to the wisdom available in such books as Plant Spirit Medicine. We have a responsibility to read and utilize such information as Eliot Cowan makes available here. --Tayria Ward, Ph.D.

Plant Spirit Medicine speaks of the elements of nature, the plants, shamanism, and healing. Cowan's integrity, wisdom and humor is apparent throughout. I first read this book 7 years ago. It changed my life, opening me up to a world where healing, love and compassion are always flowing from the plants and other aspects of nature. This book speaks of one man's journey and opens the doors to allow you to make your own journey and find your own path.

I have been reading and practicing these medicines for some time. I am also studying ethnobotany and plant medicine in relation to psychopathology. I picked up this book as a supplement to my work, and I did not expect that it would be so good. I would recommend this book to ANY person interested in this subject- whether they are totally new to it, or have been doing it for decades.
Cowan clearly and eloquently provides his take on this subject, and does a very good job explaining the basics. But he writes with a gentle tone, and makes plant spirit medicine something that everyone can do. This book isn't trying to sell anything or promote a workshop or healing modality. This really does provide some genuine insights on how to communicate with plants and use them for healing.
Eliot Cowan is right on with this book. You won't be disappointed.

Very well researched and written book! If you are interested in Native American past and cultures, this is a great resource.

I am using this as part of my research to aid me with the series of paintings I am doing of North American Indians from the period 1850 through 1910. I found it interesting that of the paintings I have completed thus far, I often get asked by Native Americans if I have yet done any paintings of members of their tribes. This book helps with the geographical aspects of where my subjects may have been located at the time they lived.

Great maps explained by easy to understand text passages are the hallmarks of this user friendly and highly informative, not to mention interesting, book. I'm very impressed by Carl Waldman's work, which is characterised not by fawning apologias but by respectful insightful investigatory analysis.

While I enjoy this book and its wealth of info and maps, it is a shame that the only map in color is on the cover. 4.5 stars.

A good resource for any student entering the field of North American Indian studies, this book is carefully organised and rendered. Waldman traces the many facets that have been used to explain who the North American Indians were, how they lived and where. The text is clear and direct, well-suited to the novice in this area of study. The wealth of maps and other illustrative material well supports the narrative, although space restrictions force a certain level of clutter at times.

Waldman opens the book with a description of how humans arrived in the Western Hemisphere. The "Ancient Civilizations" of Mesoamerica, such as the Olmec and Maya are well summarised, before the author turns to the Southwest peoples - the Anasazi, Hohokan and Salado communities. He explains the often overlooked or poorly considered Moundbuilders of the Lower Midwest. The section on "Indian Lifeways" turns to areas like California, the Pacific Coast, and Subarcic regions. While these peoples didn't achieve the strongly hierarchical civilisations of Mesoamerica, their various social structures were complex and dynamic. Their economic systems allowed them to endure and they adapted well to change, something too often lacking in Mesoamerica. To a limited extent, the geography and environment hosting these people granted them the flexibility to maintain a dynamic society, even in precarious conditions.

One aspect of life they were poorly prepared for was the European intrusion. Waldman sets aside a section to introduce the problems introduced by European colonisation. The litany of wars and rebellions take up a hundred pages of the text. The accompanying maps showing battle sites sparkle with stars indicating clash sites. Some of these wars have almost disappeared from historical accounts of North American settlement. It's a good reminder of how the whites took over the hemisphere and what cost that hegemony extracted from the native population.

In time, war was replaced by "Land Cessions" and resettlement. The reservation system, never a fixed idea, is carefully explained by Waldman. The modern result of reservation communities and the ambivalent policies surrounding both the settlements and their populations gave rise to a new awareness among Indian people. The poor acknowledgement of Indian contributions in two world wars was but one of many irritants leading to "uprisings" at Wounded Knee and elsewhere. The author goes on to list major Indian government agencies and Indian organisations and facilities. Indian place names, often overlooked, are listed, with the modern "nation" structures for the US and Canada provided. In all, this book will be a firm base from which to expand a study of Indian circumstances for the future. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]

This is a great anthology on Asian American history that's well worth your time to read!

I am a proud owner of the Big Aiiiieee. It is absolutely refreshing to hear from other voices than the popular writers such as Tan, Kingston, and Hwang. Chin certainly has made many great and valid points. Tan, Kingston, and Hwang, together, represent a body of cultural sensationalism against especially 'Asian American' men. I agree with Chin on many points; however, Tan, Kingston, and Hwang are wholly to be blamed.
First of all, the term "Asian American" should be eradicated. I am not an Asian American. I am a Chinese-Vietnamese American, as specific as that. With that in mind, this anthology is mainly composed of Chinese and Japanese-American perspectives. Where are representational voices of Vietnamese, Cambodian, Laotian, and South Asian people (India, Parkistan, Burma).
Secondly, I agree with Mr. Chin that Tan's and Kingston's portrayal of Chinese culture is primitive and backward. Tan's Joy Luck Club contains lot of images that promote cultural sensationalism and exoticism. For example, An Mei's mother cuts her flesh from her arm and dumps them into her grandmother's soup. The non-asian readers will subsequently thrive on this stereotype and apply it for all "Asians." This is like another form of canibalism. Another example of cultural sensationalism is the uncle eating live, jumping shrimps with his chopsticks (or Did I miss something?). As for Kingston, the Woman Warrior clearly was written with an intention as a feminist piece. Because there is no greatly equal novel to dispute its exaggerated feminism, mainstream readers take this as a true portrayal of Chinese/Asian men -- brutal rapists.
Furthermore and on a positive note, what makes this anthology fresh is the fact that it includes other fresh(not new)but neglected voices such as Louis Chu, John Okana, Monica Sone, Gish Jen, and so on, writers that are not given a fair chance in mainstream publishing.
Finally, I think this is a great anthology. Unfortunately, it does not truly represent me and my Vietnamese American community. What I got from reading this anthology is a sense of freshness as far as perspective is concerned; however, emotionally, I am more identified with Flannery O'connor, Toni Morrison, and Duong Thu Huong.
For those dire fans of Mr. Chin and harsh critics of interracial relationship: He married a caucasian woman, so are some of his colleagues.
Beware of whom you worship!

What gives people like Amy Tan, Maxine Hong Kingston, and David Henry Hwang the right to take my cultural distinctions and cater it to a white audience who want the stereotypical Chinese?! I'm glad Frank Chin exposed these sell-outs in this important book. There are Asians who are far from being these sorts of stereotypes described in the literatures of Tan, Kingston, and Hwang, and these editors prove it. Read this book and you'll find that out yourself.

and I know how much these editors helped my ethnicity in the first Aiiieeeee! These people (Chan, Chin, Inada, and Wong) know their stuff, and they're not ashamed of their cutlure. They are unassimilated, brave, talented, and strong. You would be more proud of your Asian race after reading this book.

Since the publication of this book, it has been criticized for it's "machismo, misogynist" morale. Guess who these criticisms are coming from? White feminists (or those who support them). They cannot look beyond history and textual matter, instead they force and assume their principles and try (and unforunately, they succeeded) to make this a battle of Women's rights. I have read Chin's "Come All Ye Asian American Writers of the Real and of the Fake" and in nowhere is there any misogynistic dictum. Why? Because this isn't a matter of Women's views or MEN'S! It's about history and how it should be interpreted. People like Kingston, Hwang, and Tan want to deconstruct Asian American history. Feminists want to help Kingston's and Tan's deconstructive views by arbitrarily labeling Chin as a misogynist. If Chin or the editors of The Big Aiiieeeee! were misogynist why would they have women writers in this anthology? Just because there aren't that many women writers doesn't mean it's totally and utterly sexist. Could it be because there aren't that many authentic Asian American women writers?! If there are no authentic texts to Asia America, would it hurt to say that stereotypes (or whatever) are actually right?

This is a great author and great book. I experienced many personal connections regarding my Native American ancestors and healing practices within the pages of this book. Very easy read. This book lead me to many other books written by the same author.

Robert Moss's deep experience in the dreamscape is unlike any other shaman-writer in the West. As in all his books, this one shows the mark of a real shaman. In Dreamways of the Iroquois, Moss is more revealing about himself even than in his previous books. In spite of this personal tone, the book is scholarly at times. Interspersed with a retelling of the ancient myths of the Iroquois and Huron people, the children of Aataensic, is Moss'initiation by Island Woman, an Iroquois guide who leads him into the wisdom of her ancient people. One of the book's most potent message is that dreams reveal the real desires of the soul and should be honoured. There's little instruction here on how to work with dreams (one chapter does it) as the book is more of an exposé and a manifesto for the rebuilding of a dreaming society. I recommend all Moss's books to people interested in dreamwork as they are all very deep and rewarding.

A great book that explains the doorway to our dreams and how our dreams may help us face up to lifes challanges. A wonderful read and the author has clearly spent time in other realitys that are just as real as our own. There are many guides and messengers that can help us through our dreams if we are open to them and can remember how to communicate in this fascinating world.

As life if filled with messages, both in dreamtime, and time awake Moss guides us to listen to the spirit of your destiny. Moss was called to his dream writing and workshops and this book continues his teachings in understanding your dreams and and nurturing your intuition. Recently picked up a book by Wanda Easter Burch called She Who Dreams. Come to learn Burch and Moss met in New York many years after Burch dreamt of a young boy drowning, which happened to be Moss. Do not believe in coincidence and if you are looking for a path to understand your truths in life, this book will help your realization.

Dreaming is good for writing the next day. Dreams know a lot; what is dreamed must come to pass. If not, one's nature is not followed which, is the way of sickness instead of joy and good luck. I hope this book will help me along in this writing about the ancient goings-on. If you study Iroquois, you will dream vividly and feel special when looking at stars.

This is a great book that takes you on a real live journey deep into the daily live of Lakota people (and a stray Mohawk) on the Pine Ridge reservation. Vic Glover opens a window and allows us to peak inside his world and the world of his people, unknown to the majority living outside the boundaries of the reservation. Vic writes with a great sense of humour.
Although he appearently has the skills, he doesn't cut into 'the bigger political or environmental issues'. In his book Vic makes it clear that the issue of surviving under harsh conditions and to maintain the social values and traditional structure is big enough to handle. All of this with a wit. That makes that the book stays close to the heart, his home and the land and makes it very recognizable, even for readers unfamiliar with Rez live. Highly recommended!
Since I read Vic Glover the novel Skins by Adrian C. Louis became my second best book on Pine Ridge.

A group from our church has gone to Pine Ridge on Mission trips for the past three years and we have gotten to know quite a few people there. We always seem to have gained more than we have given during our week stay. This book tells it how it is for much of the population on the Pine Ridge Reservation. It is a very helpful book for the leaders of our Mission to share with others that are joining us. We love the people there. They focus on what really matters in life and brings us back to where we all need to live. Most of us are so far removed from nature, family, giving our all to each other. This book shows us how and points out how far removed we are. It really brings questions to the way that I am living my life. It points out just how differently I need to live to become apart of life as Jesus would want me to live it.
Thank you, Vic Glover. And thank you to our Native brothers and sisters.

A moving glimpse into the everyday lives of the people that live on Pine Ridge. The blending of Lakota spirituality into the challenges of life in an impoverished society is outstanding!

This is a beautiful collection of short stories and is a real life account of living on in Indian reservation in todays modern times.
Vic Glover has an amazing talent and style of writing that 'just takes you right there'.
With much humour and sadness, Vic takes you on a journey, that whets the appetite, always leaving you wanting to read more.
This is a great read, I highly recommend it.

A must read for anyone interested in what life on a western Rez is really about. BroVic captures the humor and pathos of daily life in a marvelously clear, straightforward way that simutaneously makes you wish you were there to share in it and glad that you're not.

these are indispensible to the person seeking out this particular path. I have learned so much and continue to share with friends and family. a must have in your personal library

I've had these cards for several years now. Throughout that time I've used these for self-discovery as well as to enhance my study of nature and the world around me.

The artwork is welldone and there is always more in each card than what originally meets the eye.

The descriptions and guides and useful, but not in great depth. To me that's part of the joy of this deck...the necessity to put yourself INTO the process and really learn.

I recommend these if you are looking to find a focus point for your daily meditation and you are working to find your place among nature.

I tried for years to work with tarot decks and just found them to be cold and impersonal. A friend reccomended these and they've been not only easy to work with but very relevant to my life. I would highly reccomend these to anyone.

I love this set, I kept my cards a secret to myself for the first few weeks I had them, but the identification of the reading and the situtaion I was questioning was eerie - so I asked various people who visited if they would not mind having a "Go" with the cards, well now my friends, family and acquaintences beleive I am a Shaman Sacred Card reader, this may be so but I believe it is the book and card set that are the true hero, as long as the person giving the reading has respect for the essense of the set the truth will Out. A teriffic gift to give someone interested in the subject of Native American Wisdom, it is so much fun to see a friends face change into the "Oh my god how did you know that" look. All readings are positive (I don't mean polite I mean give positive guidance for good news or bad) but one would have to be dim not to understand the significance of every card reading. If I can make sense of the set anybody can - The cards are Beautiful and the book print size is big enough for my bad eyesight, for late night reading with a bedside lamp.

beautiful cards. Interesting book. had many dream of spirit animals after reading book.

First, let me note for those interested in the subject that this book shows babywearing on the cover.

But that's really just a lagniappe in a good book.

Michael is, as you can guess, sitting on his mother's lap, and he keeps getting down and fetching more and more of his special things to be with him. Eventually all this wakes his sister, and his mother goes to sit her on her lap as well, and he makes room and they snuggle together.

The author doesn't patronize kids by carefully spelling out "Michael is jealous of his sister" or anything of that nature. It's too easy to do that. Instead, Michael's feelings are clearly shown by his words ("There isn't room") and the illustrations (him hiding under his blanket is priceless).

I wouldn't suggest giving this to a mother of five who has already started yelling "I WANT MY LAP BACK", after all, the moral is that there's *always* room on mother's lap. But most everybody else is going to love it.

Nice book, not sure if it engages my 2-yr old. Great sentiment though.
...Looking for 'new baby' books geared to very young crowd. Haven't found anything super yet.

We got this book for our 22 month old daughter for Christmas. It is now one of her favorites. I find it quite beautiful as Michael has to learn how to share his mother with his baby sister. It shows how he reacts emotionally and the difficulties involved around sharing, something all children can relate to.

This is a very touching book to reassure moms and children that life with a new baby means more love to go around. I have bought it for many friends. Those first months with a new baby are definitely a time of adjustment as the new baby needs so much attention and the older child has to wait (or the older child needs a lot of attention and the baby has to wait!) so this book is a nice, subtle reminder that there is always room on mother's lap. The last page definitely brings tears to the eyes!

This is a great book if you have a new baby come into the house. My son and I read this book every night and then he reads it back to me. I would recomment this book highly.

I met the Zapps at Craters of the Moon National Park last month and bought 3 of their books from them right there. Knowing that it could only be bought directly from them I was a little saddened I couldnt buy more copies (due to my finances) because I have reccomended it to all my friends and literally have a waiting list growing but now that I have found it on Amazon I can buy more copies! These are truly incredible people and have given me so much inspiration to follow my own dreams. Nearly every page of my book has highlighter markings of the truly wonderful and inspirational things in this book that I look back on occasionally to remind myself of things to be thankful for, dreams to follow, how to love others, take risks, and live for your heart! If you read this Candelaria and Herman, please know how much you have truly inspired me and made a difference in my life. It was a pleasure to meet you and your beautiful family!
Erfellie

I've never written a review here before but I feel compelled to do so for this book! I am only a little over halfway through and I am already buying more copies to give as gifts to friends, and to my mom for her retirement/career change gift. I want everyone I know to read it! It is such an enjoyable read that one could read it for enjoyment alone. But the big thing I am getting out of this is exactly the inspiration that Herman and Candelaria meant when they started writing it: to figure out what I want most out of life and to just go for it and make it happen! My husband and I NEVER read the same books but we both read this one after he bought it from them at a festival last fall. He loves it so much that he gets upset if I leave it somewhere that our 2 year old can get it and bend the pages!

Never before have I read such an inspirational tale. Many others have spoken of the wonderful people these two are ... I could not agree more .. The story inspires me daily .. I thought I would offer another insight in how this book can be used to motivate others

Some nights my near six year old son likes to sleep in my bed with me .. before he falls asleep he asks me to read to him from Candy and Herman's book .. he wants me to read until he is fast asleep .. already he has learned the power of dreams and his own ability to bring his to life ...

I can not say enough about the beauty that lies with in these pages!

Shannon

This book is so inspiring. Anybody who has a dream, which is everybody, will absolutely love this book. It will encourage you to go out and chase your dreams. You won't be able to put it down as you feel you are truly taking part in this wonderful journey.

This story of a couple in love following their dream is an inspiration to everyone. Not only is it a great lesson in how to treat the man or woman you love, it's also a lesson in the ways of the world. When everything you see and read these days is about destruction and chaos this story shows that so many people are truly good and believe in dreams.

I am looking forward to a possible meeting with this fantastic couple. Read this book, it's inspiring, emotional, and well written.

This is the first book in Terry Pratchett's Bromeliad Trilogy, and it gets the series started well. It is about a group of nomes who live in a department store--but they have lived there so long that they have forgotten there is a world outside. The only problem is that the store will be demolished in 21 days. It's up to a group of just 8 outside nomes to convince thousands of stubborn people to leave a place they think is the entire universe, then hijack a truck and leave. This book has a perfect blend of humor, mystery, and plot, but the in my opinion the greatest element is the characters. The seemingly emotionless yet somehow smug spaceship computer known only as the Thing provides a touch of science in a world whose inhabitants don't even know what the word "thousand" means. Dorcas del Icatessen, the mad scientist of the nomes, who has complete control over the store elevator system. Angalo de Haberdasheri, who is fanatic about the possibility of life outside the store and has a pet rat named Bobo, and finally Grannie Morkie, the annoyingly apocalyptic nome elder. The final scene, in which hundreds of nomes wielding levers, pullies, and wires manages to hijack a truck and drive it on a chaotic romp through the city, might be one of the cleverest and funniest scenes in the history of fiction. One of the greatest quotes: "Give me a big enough lever, and a firm enough place to stand, and I could move the Store." The next two books in the trilogy are even greater, and do a good job of developing the already marvelous characters.

Pratchett is best known for his off-the-world Discworld yarns, but he also has produced a number of highly engaging, wryly funny, and thoroughly humane novels for younger readers. This one, the first of the "Bromeliad" trilogy, introduces the "nomes," four-inch-high people (well, humanoids) who live on highway medians and under the floors of buildings. They live fast (ten years is a very advanced age for a nome) and humans strike them as slow and stupid. Masklin, in escaping danger in the back of a truck with the last remnants of his tribe, finds himself in the Store -- "Arnold Bros. (est. 1905)" -- where there are thousands of nomes. These are divided into contending tribes by store departments, live a good life in the Food Hall, and worship Arnold Bros. And then he becomes aware that the store is about to be demolished. The strength of the story is Masklin's struggle to convince everyone else of the danger when most of them don't even believe in the existence of Outside, and then to organize an exodus by stealing a truck and learning to operate it. (Think lots of long levers, pulleys, and bits of string.) But the nomes turn out not to be "little people" at all. The nomes' interpretation of the signs they see will give you thoughtful pause, as will their unthinking belief in a nome-centered God in the sky. Or on the top floor. Pratchett fans will enjoy this, regardless of their age.

These books (Truckers, Diggers, and Wings) are a fun romp! Well thought out, well told, with a liberal dose of humor. If you have read any of Terry Pratchett's "Disc World" books, you'll love this light hearted series....

Truckers is the first book of the Bromeliad trilogy (followed by Diggers and Wings).

Masklin and his family are the last ten nomes of their warren, devastated by cold, predators and hunger. Desperately, they set out on a last chance journey and climb up on one of the lorries of the humans.

What they'll soon discover is that this lorry has lead them to the Store of Arnold Bros (est. 1905), the home of thousands of other little nomes who, having never left the Store, think of the Outside as of nothing more than just another fairy tale. The coming of Masklin will be a great upheaval in their quiet lives. And as they learn that the Store is to be demolished, they make plans for their escape.

Although Truckers was originally written for a young audience, it's an enthralling adventure but also a story about understanding other people's ways and helping each other, and no doubt grown-ups will love it too. Because Terry Pratchett's unique sense of humour is lurking round every corner, especially when nomes try to interpret our human world... and what's more to make sense of it!

Terry Pratchett's Bromeliad trilogy is a mix of childlike fantasy and offbeat SF. While the opening book, "Truckers" lags in places and takes quite some time to really get moving, it's imaginative and very funny. Certainly it's a good place to start off with Pratchett's fiction.

Masklin and the other nomes are tiny people who scavenge on the streets, and now there are only a handful of them left. In an act of desperation, they climb into a lorry and ride to... The Store. Also known as Arnold Bros (est. 1905), where a complex civilization of nomes (about two thousand) live in semi-peace and prosperity. They either are dazzled by the idea of "Outside," or insist that the whole world is in Arnold Bros (est. 1905).

Seemingly, everything is fine for Masklin and his friends, especially when the mysterious Thing (a black box that is a spaceship's flight computer) comes to life and tells them more about their history. But suddenly their world is disrupted by the news of "All Things Must Go -- Final Sales." Now the nomes must escape the Store and find yet another place to live.

Tiny people living in a department store? Who are from another planet? That is something that could have bombed easily and hideously. But it doesn't, at least not in "Truckers." Clever plot elements like the sign-based religion (they take "everything under one roof" seriously!) and the department-based clans (Stationari, Corsetri) keep this unlikely plot afloat.

While "Truckers" is a self-contained story in itself, it has plenty of loose threads (mostly involving the Thing and the origins of the nomes) at the end, for the second and third books of the trilogy. The writing has Pratchett's usual sparseness and wit; the only problem is that it takes forever for the nomes to do anything. At least it's a fun slow ride. The wacky truck drive near the end is one of the best parts of the book.

Masklin and his nome band (especially the indefatigable, vaguely frightening Granny) serve as a good window into the nome civilization, since they're learning about it too. The better-off nomes are a bit snottier but eager to explore the Outside. But the Thing steals the show; despite being just a computer, it has a better idea than the nomes what is going on.

"Truckers" will delight fans of Pratchett, but you don't need to be a fan already to enjoy this story. While the plot takes awhile to go anywhere, the quirky characters and wonderful worldbuilding make it worthwhile.

I bought this book for my nephew and it met all my expectations and I am sure he will be quite pleased with it.

Excellent reading. Michael Garrett has become a fine teacher like his father before him. A true student of life Michael takes the Cherokee ancestral stories, mixes in some modern day experiences and relays a wonderful message. If harmony and balance are traits you would like to have within your own life I highly recommend this selection.

If you want to find balance in your life, this book is an excellent way to start on that pathway.

Michael continues his journey of a Helper in the truest form of "being Cherokee". I am amazed at how simple God our Creator is revealed in our self induced complexity of life. Thank you Michael for helping to remove the scales of our heart and spirit. For those of you who are Christians, I would encourage you to use Michael's book as a help in your journey through the Bible.

Blessings

I came across this book while exploring my recently discovered Native heritage. It fit the bill perfectly, helping me learn about universal Native traditions, practices, and thinking. I could go on and on, but it's enough to say that this book is well written, informative, and enjoyable. Michael Garrett has a lot to offer.