North America Books

The Library of America has done it again - directing me toward this priceless book by Francis Parkman, whom I had heard of but never read. It is perhaps the best accounting I have read thus far about the era and aura surrounding historical depictions of the Oregon Trail. It began in diary form, fleshed out later into a splendid historical novel. He is a marvelous writer, a factual storyteller; equal to if not surpassing Mark Twain's captivating talent, in my own opinion; but more importantly, he was a remarkable man of solid character and it is readily apparent, thus adding credibility to his every word. His wit and prose are truly out of the ordinary and he uses both to great effect to capture the imagination of the reader which he accomplishes virtually from the first sentence. A remarkable work and one that will last through ages more, unchallenged as not only the last of it's kind, but as the best benchmark for any historical endeavor that may yet be written about the Oregon Trail.

He was a young adventurer, who set out on the Oregon Trail mostly because he could. His was a journey destined to explore the Indian Nations if he could - in all their original state of gore and glory. This became an obsession; something he required of himself while he was on the prairie - and he shrugged off life-threatening illness, hardship and peril to write it down as he saw it roll before his eyes. They accepted him into their lives and their village, not without some trepidation, but with hospitality as they knew it nonetheless. As he moves within their culture through this short time, he notices everything down to the slightest detail, providing excellent insight into the daily rituals of plains Indian life. His descriptive passages of the moving of the villages, complete with dogs, children, warriors and old mothers, fathers and, of course, the Chief are remarkable in that it required not only tactful diplomacy, but astonishing bravery as well. He remarked, but did not dwell on it, nonetheless, the reader senses the acute danger present with every step along a path such as this.

There was also much humor through everyday occurrences that he never failed to note. One passage comes to mind from pages 206/207 and it's regarding, of all things, a dog being admonished for bad behavior by one of the native women: "....scolding an old yellow dog, who lay on the ground with his nose resting between his paws, and his eyes turned sleepily upward to her face, as if he were pretending to give full respectful attention, but resolved to fall asleep as soon as it was all over.."

His eyes beheld Fort Laramie in it's hey day, the mountain men of self-exile and boundless energy when in pursuit of the beaver, the lazy and the disagreeable, the "complexions" that had little to do with who you were in such a primitive yet natural scenario. But it is not primarily the culture differences or the human aspect - wild and therefore superstitious vs. civilized and educated - of his accounting but of his open mindedness, his willing to look beyond surfaces of people unlike himself and search for the soul within; the search for fact and truth what ever it was, where ever it was, and whomever it belonged to. He held a genuine interest in his undertaking and his virtual pen was faithful in that regard. His eye for beauty and appreciation of the boundless and magnificent wilderness excursion fills the reader with longing to have experienced such as this themselves, even though most of us know it takes a separate breed of individual to breach the hardship inherent in such a journey. And, as one who has grown up in the West, it is easy to spot a counterfeit.

Truly a masterpiece of Western Americana, taking it's rightful place alongside Mari Sandoz/s "Old Jules".

I highly recommend this two-volume historical book to anyone who is interested in factual narrative adventure, Indian Nations as they were or first-person American History, especially during the Westward movement.

David McCullough and Theodore Roosevelt both say that they consider Francis Parkman to be their favorite historian and the author who had the greatest impact on their own writing. If you read the Oregon Trail you will understand why.

Parkman made his journey in 1846. It was before the Civil War, and 15 or more years before the West portrayed in most westerns. The outposts of the American Fur Company were 700 miles west of the farthest reaches of the U.S. Cavalry, and Parkman was truly on the cutting edge of frontier. This is a very different view of the West than we get from the movies.

What is most interesting here is the portrayal of the American Indian. Traders, merchants, immigrants, trappers, and frontiersmen live side by side with the Sioux Indians. The Sioux are are war with the Crows, and the six nations are gathering to finally wipe the Crows from the face of the earth.

The West resembles a multi-racial society, where the settlers and traders try to get along with everyone, but where the Indians seem to have a little more trouble than the settlers living in peace. The Sioux look upon the trading posts as a source of protection and manufactured goods. They leave the bodies of their dead chiefs on scaffolds nearby Fort Laramie for protection, to keep the Crow from desecrating the bodies of the dead.

There is a great deal of mixture between whites and Indians. Traders and merchants have squaws as mistresses or even wives, and the families, the in-laws, live inside the fort with them. During one pare of the journey, Parkman leaves the Oregon trail to go with a friend and find his dying wife, a Sioux squaw who is with the tribe.

This book is a classic. It is the type that should be read by every educated American. On top of that, it's well written, and as timeless as any modern American history.

This volume is a reader's delight, for it presents not one but two of Francis Parkman's classic works: The Oregon Trail and The Conspiracy of Pontiac. Rightly hailed as America's greatest historian, in The Oregon Trail Francis Parkman relates a journey to the 1840's American West - undertaken for the express purpose of living among "real" American Indian tribes of the Great Plains before their way of life passed forever. By this experience Parkman hoped to better understand and relate what eastern tribes had so tragically fought for and lost in the preceding century's struggle for the continent. The Oregon Trail is a great book in its own right, and has been reviewed by this reader previously (see more in "About Me/Other Reviews"), but the primary focus of this review is Parkman's study of a crucial chapter in the development of North America as we know it today: the disastrous consequences France's defeat in Canada would bring to the remaining eastern tribes. For this event would inexorably lead to the explosion of the English colonies across lands heretofore held by them under French "dominion".

While the Iroquois Nations had long maintained an uneasy alliance with the English as they pushed their way into the western reaches of New York, Pennsylvania and Virginia, those further west knew what the defeat of the French would bring: utter destruction. The Ottawa, Ojibwa, Pottawattami, Delaware, Shawnee, Illinois, Sauk and Foxes had long fought the intrusion of the arrogant and land-grabbing English from Quebec to the Mississippi. Pontiac himself had fought beside the Marquis de Montcalm as he tried in vain to save New France from ruin during the French & Indian War. But at last, in the mid-1700s France finally capitulated to her English rivals, her hold on the North American continent broken forever. The only task left to the conquerors was to make their way across the Great Lakes, into the valleys of the Ohio, and down the Mississippi into the Illinois country to make their claim upon the former French forts and trading houses. For a brief time a singular leader and a dozen nations blocked their way: Pontiac and his assembled allies.

Parkman sets the stage by briefly relating the history of France and England in America from the early 1600s-1760s, then meticulously details the source of the tribes' many grievances - grievances which would directly lead to Pontiac's bold attempt to decisively halt the English advance.

Though doomed to ultimate defeat against the onslaught of English guns and armies, traders and pioneers, for a short time Pontiac's initiative was remarkably successful. He brought war to nearly all of western America at the same time - from the siege at Detroit to the forests outside the gates of Niagara, from upper Michigan and Wisconsin to the Ohio valley, into western Pennsylvania, Virginia and New York, down the many rivers and tributaries leading into the Mississipi. A dozen forts fell before him and hundreds of miles of frontier settlements emptied in terror.

Parkman's work is perhaps the best chronicle of many of these tribes' last desperate fight for their lives and land. Those interested in the history of the struggles destined to come shortly to the tribes west of the Mississippi will derive much insight from Parkman's treatment of Pontiac's war. For his "conspiracy" was the original "last great battle" for the "American West" - 100 years before the battle for the further western Plains would come to an ignominious close. To understand Pontiac's war, the motives of both his people and the English and French, as well as the burgeoning force who would soon thereafter cast off their identity as "colonists" is to understand much of what would follow as American history.

Syracuse New York

My brother happens to be gay and I got him this book for christmas. He LOOOOOOOVES it. He says it's one of the best books he's read in years.

Just my two cents.

Forty-seven black gay male writers speak boldly about who they are and the world they live in in this outstanding collection of poetry, prose, essays, and fiction. Edited, compiled, and thoughtfully prefaced by best-selling novelist E. Lynn Harris, Freedom In This Village is both vital and entertaining as it dazzles with a myriad of rich literary styles and re-challenges with thought-provoking, soul-stirring discourse.

How wonderful it is to revisit Exxex Hemphill, regarded the premiere black gay poet in America at the time of his death from AIDS related complications in 1995. His bitter/beautiful five-part poem about love and lust in the ghetto, "Tomb of Sorrow" (1989), represents him here: "Gunshots ring out above our heads,/ a few of us are seeking romance,/ others a piece of ass,/ some--a stroke of dick./ The rest of us are killing./ The rest of us get killed."

From James Baldwin's excerpted swan song "Just Above My Head" (1979) to Randy Boyd's infuriating interracial fiction excerpt "Walt Loves The Bearcat" (2004), we are treated to, shocked by, and enthralled with the literary profound and profane.

Marlon Riggs' 1991 essay "Black Macho Revisited: Reflections of a SNAP! Queen" is a powerfully on-target indictment of black America's distorted view of Black Macho and it's relegation of black male homosexuals to Negro faggotry and minstrelsy, while editor Harris closes this volume with trademark pop lit (What I Did for Love") that dangles enough to hold promise of a new series wide open.

Marvin K. White's "FOR COLORED BOYS WHO HAVE CONSIDERED S-CURLS WHEN THE HOT COMB WAS ENUF" (1990) still retains its sass and sting. Don Belton's 1994 interview "Where We Live: A Conversation with Essex Hemphill and Isaac Julien," conducted on the heels of Marlon Riggs' AIDS related death, is a conversation around Riggs' film "Black Is...Black Ain't" which exploresd the nexes of black identity and masculinity and features appearances by Hemphill, bell hooks, Michelle Wallace, Cornel West, and Angela Davis.

Novelist/journalist James Earl Hardy, founder of the Afrocentric gay hip-hop romance genre, is representred by an excerpt from his classic "B-Boy Blues" follow-up, the satisfying but lesser "2nd Time Around" (1996), Vega by his gentle 1989 poem "Brothers Loving Brothers," while Carl Alan Johnson's 1993 "Post-Nulcear Slut" still reads as fab-nasty as ever.

This collection is too rich to ignore, too diverse to fully assess in this small space. Suffice it to say that this is a keeper to be visited often.

Finally, I must echo the sentiments of a previous reviewer. Reading these wonderful pieces, knowing that so many of the authors have been taken away from us by AIDS--Hemphill, Riggs, Joseph Beam, Steven Corbin, Melvin Dixon, Gary Fisher, David Frechette, Craig G. Harris, and Assoto Saint--is a sad reminder that we have been given limited access to these brilliant minds. So let us cherish this book for its rarity as much as for its insights, illuminations, and artistry.

E. Lynn Harris should be commended for this tremendous undertaking and achievement.

I just started reading it (smile) but am compelled to write the following...If you are a lover of Black Gay Male Literature then this is the book to purchase.

Freedom In This Village: Twenty-Five Years of Black Gay Men's Writing edited and and with an introudction by E. Lynn Harris.

I happened (smile) to be coming from The Abbey during my time home in Los Angeles last week when I passed A Different Light Bookstore. I went in and displayed prominently was this book and of course, I had to have it, and so I bought it, and anticipated reading it once I completed "The Last Dream Before Dawn."

I started reading this book last night on the 2 train (New York City) and while I was reading "About The Contributors" a combination of anger and sadness came over me and one that at this time I cannot capture but it was more to the fact that we need books that celebrate us...Black Gay Men

I was saddened by the number of men who died of AIDS related illnesses and was like what are we doing, what am I doing, to honor these men who made it possible for me to be one that to some degree has a bit more "freedom in the village" than they did.

As I was looking through the "Table of Contents" I saw some familiar names and new names that I look forward to reading.

We need or rather I feel we need books like this on the regular as there are so many voices as one is not merely enough and also cannot tell all our stories.

I implore you, each of you, to rise and have your voices heard and if you are a lover of Black Gay Male Literature then by all means purchase this book if not for you then for someone else.

With that said, I have some reading to do (smile)...

This book should be mandatory reading for any course about the civil rights or black arts movement of the 60s. Freedomways magazine, edited by Esther Cooper Jackson, chronicled the entire civil rights and black arts movement with insightful analysis, critique and articles. Includes work by W.E.B. DuBois, James Baldwin, Alice Walker, Angela Davis, and other legendary Black poets and writers who first started out by publishing in the magazine. Also, it provides interesting research on the struggle for social, civil, and political rights here in this country and abroad. A must read as many of the articles within the "Reader" have never been published elsewhere.

this is a Great book that covers so much Historical important information.a wide view of knowledge of the struggle all here.a must have.books like this cover so much.

From 1961 to 1986, Freedomways published the words and thoughts of the leaders of the freedom movement; yet few modern Americans have heard of the publication. Esther Cooper Jackson and Constance Pohl's Freedomways Reader gathers key writings from the pages of the various Freedomways booklets, charting the struggles for racial equality and providing an oral history of black freedom struggles, from reports of the Freedom Riders to short stories.

I love the Great Lakes. My great-great-grandparents were pioneers in Manistee. I live close to the lake in Chicago. Our family is tied to water from the 1600s of the West coast of France. Fresh Water was on my wish list for a long time. I asked for it for Christmas. Now I can't give it away. The Notes on the Contributors has too many references to other literature the authors have written and ecological societies around the Great Lakes. The stories vary from personal to purposeful.

Having grown up on Lake Ontario, living now in high desert country, I was longing for the big vista of "my lake". Fresh Water is full of well written strong experiences and images that vividly recalled my years on the lake. I could almost smell and feel that big body of fresh water, remember the intensity of storms and forgotten mystery, as well as the joy of quiet early morning swims. Gifts from Alison Swan and all the contributors!

Edited by award-winning environmentalist Alison Swan, Fresh Water: Women Writing on the Great Lakes is an anthology of brief yet contemplative reflections upon the Great Lakes, all written by women. The essays are contemplative rather than scholarly in nature, dwelling upon emotion, history, the beauty of the Lakes and the need to preserve them. A deeply moving compilation filled with passion and respect for the spiritual bounty of nature.

A very informative and very beautiful listing of all the many different species of gamefish. This is one of several fishing books in The Hunting and Fishing Library, which is an excellent series with several books offering more in-depth fishing knowledge on a variety of species. The photography in this series is especially good.

If you are beggining fishing, or someone that wants information about freshwater gamefish of north america, this book is for you.

This book has great information about some of North America's most popular fish, and even some unpopular fish. The information is good, and the pictures are excellent.

I bought this beautifully illustrated book for my grandson, who is growing up in the Pacific Northwest surrounded by the art of the region's native people. I've colleced a lot of Haida and Tlingit art over the years and was so pleased to find the book's illustrations were both historically and aesthetically accurate. Between this book and the author's Storm Boy, kids can see Haida button blankets, Chilkat blankets, coppers, wooden chief's masks, the carved and painted interiors of long houses, the woven reed clothing worn in past eras, and of course totem poles. I loved the scale of the illustations in scents in the Frog longhouse, with the little girl so dwarfed by all the big carvings and sculptures. I have to say that these two books are among the best-illustrated kids' books I've seen in years. If I were on the prize committee, I'd award the author/illustrator a Caldecott Medal for sure.

This is a title that will entertain both the adult reader and the child. An adventure regarding stewardship of the earth. The dream-like images and intriguing story draw one right in. Would make a nice gift.

The story is easy to read aloud and the illustrations are rivetting. I bought this for my three-year-old son, but find myself using it as a teaching tool in my second grade classroom, as well. It is very similar to a story my grandparents (Quinault-Cowlitz/Coast Salish) used to tell me when I was growing up. The message about taking care of all our relations is an important one. The story ignited a new interest in volcanoes and pond-life in my son's imagination. His interest in volcanoes and caves became so keen because of this book that we spent hours in the volcano exhibits at the Natural History Museum and made a special trip to Carlsbad Caverns! Bravo Paul Owen Lewis.

I need ilustrations and photos about the world of mimes

I need ilustrations and photographies about mimes in the theatre, information of marcel marceau and the art of pantomime. The body was a language of comunication.

This is the best book in mime history I have ever seen since Allardyce Nicoll's "Masks, Mimes and Miracles" and there's no other as contemporary as this.

Goodbye Buffalo Sky deserves to become a classic in the tradition of 'To Kill a Mockingbird'. Although written for young adults, it is a powerful story beautifully told that could be enjoyed by any reader. Set in North America during the white settlement of the American West, this is a rich and complex story told with eloquent simplicity. Cappy and Alice, two teenagers who live in the small frontier town of Buffalo Sky take turns in telling the story of Two Songs, a beautiful young Mandan Indian who marries a local artist, Buckhart, and the effect their friendship with her has on their lives.

This is one of those books that stays with you for years after you've read it.

Ignore "Kirkus Reviews" and note instead the "Booklist" review, and the quotes provided by the author from the English reviews. "Goodbye, Buffalo Sky" is an immediately captivating tale [young Cappy is caught peeping as an artist paints a nude of his wife], told alternately by Cappy and friend Alice. Humor, page-turning narrative drive, and insightful characterizations make this tale of the great American prairie, a bit over one hundred years ago, a first-rate Western for readers ages 10-14.

It is 1870 on the northern plains in a small pioneer settlement called Buffalo Sky; orphaned twelve year old Cappy Carrew lives in a boarding house. When his painting teacher and friend is murdered by a Sioux Indian, and his Indian wife driven out of town, Cappy sets off across the plains in pursuit of the killer, accompanied by Alice, a girl eager for adventure. Alice and the Indian woman, Two Songs, are captured by the Sioux; Cappy sets off in pursuit. He and Alice return to Buffalo Sky only to find the town in ruins and the survivors having fled. Although it ultimitley leaves you hanging, this book is an exciting, action packed western, and sure to be a page turner!

Mark Thompson is a scholar and a sailor. He has also been, in his lifetime, a soldier and a legislator. He is an honest, articulate man with a probing mind. He is also a raconteur with a fine sense of humor. Mark brings all this, and more, to his writing.

The shipwrecks described in GRAVEYARD OF THE LAKES are, in a sense, the exceptions that prove the rule. That is, for every shipwreck or foundering, there are hundreds if not thousands of successfully completed commercial voyages on the Great Lakes. By describing the wrecks and the tragedies and looking to discern overall patterns, we learn what keeps voyages from becoming wrecks and tragedies -- even if it is only not to let hubris reach critical mass.

Mark is no armchair historian. He knows firsthand whereof he writes. In this, of course, there is risk of not having adequate perspective. But in Mark's case, in my opinion, his nearness to his subject, particularly when writing of events which yet are in living memory, is what makes his writing incisive.

I have been, even recently, a shipmate of Mark Thompson. He and I, always in good humor, never lose an opportunity to point out each other's flaws. But I have no flaw to mention in regard to this book. Mark provides both an overall understanding of Great Lakes shipping and a specific understanding of day-to-day details. I highly recommend GRAVEYARD OF THE LAKES to anyone interested in Great Lakes shipping and its history.

If you are a maritime enthusiast, Great Lakes visitor, or a history buff then this book is a must own. The pictorials are excellent and each are followed by outstanding descriptions. This book outlines the Great Lakes shipwrecks and how unforgiving these lakes can be.

Although many books have been written about Great Lakes shipwrecks, Thompson's book offers a new perspective by analyzing the causes of wrecks on a large scale. One can see the various factors that made the Lakes particularly dangerous to navigators throughout their history. Thompson's research is equally impressive. Unlike many other books of the genre, Thompson has actually consulted, in most cases, primary archival sources, in developing his wreck accounts, rather than simply rehashing the work of other authors. Thompson's presentation avoids dry regurgitation of statistics and details through an accessible and entertaining writing style that makes the book a better read than similar books on the subject. Although the book is not comprehensive and contains a few forgiveable historical errors, it remains one of the best books on Great Lakes shipwrecks to come out in recent years.

I enjoyed reading this book and I found the artwork to be most interesting. This book explains two of our strangest creatures, the flying squirrel and the bat, who can fly although they are not birds. The excitement builds up as the birds find a way to make wings for the little animals, no bigger than mice, to prepare for the ball game. The action of the game itself is quick and intense, as the animals and birds battle it out. Can you guess who wins? You'll find yourself cheering for Bat as he dips and dives for the ball, but watch out! Bluejay drops the ball just at the crucial moment. I give this one an A+ for enjoyment.

I am happy to find a book that describes the game of stickball the way it was originally played here in the southeast. We Cherokees called the game "the little brother of war" in the old days. Even now our villages near the Cherokee Reservation in North Carolina play against each other in the traditional was, by setting up goal posts at both ends of the ball field. You will hear the teams taunting each other just as described in this book. Thanks to the writer and the artist for helping to keep our culture alive.

What more could you ask from a picture book? The Great Ball Game of the Birds and Animals is a wonderful tale that explains how the bat and the flying squirrel came to be. Duvall's version of this story sticks closely to the original Cherokee legend with expanded imagery and character development. Like all great stories, this one teaches a lesson for human beings. Jacob's beautifully detailed drawings will hold the imagination spellbound as the story unfolds in crisp black and white. This book won the 2003 Oklahoma Book Award for Design and Illustration. I am proud to own a signed first edition that I obtained while visiting Tahlequah, Oklahoma during the Cherokee National Holiday. I highly recommend this book to art collectors and readers alike.