Virginia Books

When our son and daughter were little, they absolutely adored both "The Perfect Pancake" and "The Duchess Bakes a Cake." When Purple Press reissued "The Duchess Bakes a Cake" a few years back, my wife and I immediately bought copies for our grandchildren, and an extra copy to keep here at our house. If they would only reprint "The Perfect Pancake," we would buy several copies of it too.
As for the stories themselves, they are charming, and Virginia Kahl's writing is fantastic. Her words take on a life of their own and make her stories sound almost musical. Both of these books leave you wanting more of Kahl's wonderful writing.

I love the premise of this book and the cleverness of the stranger in convincing the pancake-maker to cook him more pancakes!

Ms. Kahl wrote wonderful, memorable, creative stories for children. In response to one of the previous reviewers' questions: Ms. Kahl had lived in the Northern Virginia area at the time of your review, but she died in November of 2004. She was a friend of my mom's. We understand that she had been in the process of having her books republished, but passed away after only one book made it back into print. Be sure to look at "The Duchess Bakes A Cake" for this charming kids' book, now published by Purple House Press. Here's hoping that Ms. Kahl's estate makes the others (including the Perfect Pancake) available to the publisher for reprinting!

The Perfect Pancake was one of my favorite books as a child. To tell the truth I would love to have copies of all her books in my home right now. She was one of the reasons that I learned to read, and one of the reasons that I love to discover new authors. This book's title says it all, it's a simple story, told with humor, and as usual, delightful old fashioned illustrations. Along with The Dutchess Bakes a Cake, the Perfect Pancake is Kahl's joyous tribute to food, and the joys of the kitchen. Hey all you Virginia Kahl fans, let's demand that her books be made readily available again ! Is Ms. Kahl still alive? Love to hear from her, or those who knew her in this forum...

My six children all loved this story of how a village woman would make one pancake for anyone but when they praised it and asked for another, she refused. Then a stranger came to the village, asked for a pancake and said it was very good, but... Perplexed she made another and got a similar response. Then another and another until the man had had his fill and finally said that that last one was a perfect pancake. So she could finally stop. Our youngest daughter claims that when we made her we could finally stop because she was the 'perfect pancake.' She's now 35 and teaches school. She has many children's books but not this one. Tell the publisher there's a good market for this book. Tell them to stop being like the women in the story and republish the book so we can all enjoy more Perfect Pancakes.

Persian cuisine is among the oldest in recorded human history and principally based on subtle and varied combinations of lamb, fruits, vegetables, and grains. Nesta Ramazani's Persian Cooking: A Table Of Exotic Delights offers nutritious, economical, and delicious recipes for appetizers, soups, stuffed vegetables, Persian souffles, yogurt dishes, salads, stewed meats, game birds, brad, pastries, puddings, sherbets, pickles, and more. From Mint and Parsley Soup with Green Plums, Stuffed Grape Leaves, Tomato Rice with Lamb, and Duckling in Pomegranate-Walnut Sauce, to Yogurt with Eggplant and Meatballs, Liver and Kidney Casserole, Pheasant with Cream, Chick-Pea Flower Cookies, and Pickled Cherry Tomatoes, Persian Cooking is a welcome and enthusiastically recommended addition to any ethnic and multicultural cookbook collection.

I have a large selection of Persian cookbooks but this book is my favorite. Nesta is an excellant cook and the final results of her recipes are very delicious. I am American, but married to a Persian man, so when I cook Persian food I want to please his taste buds. I have cooked many of the recipes in this book and he has enjoyed every one of them. I would recommend this book to any one that is looking for authentic Persian cooking. Many Middle Eastern cookbooks include recipes other than what the people of Iran enjoy. When you cook from this book you can be sure that the recipe is from Iran. You won't be able to stop eating! Enjoy

I found the book complet and comprehensive and recommend it without reservation.Bon apetit

I'm from Iran and have used various Persian cookbooks. This is the only one in English where the recipes turned out as they should have.

Arizona native and prize-winning author Virginia Nosky presents Pima Road, a romance novel about the challenges of an interracial relationship. WASP-y Yale lawyer Sarah Livingstone and American Indian sculptor Jimmy Zah are both training to run in the New York Marathon; a chance encounter later resurfaces as a daring rescue, when Sarah nearly drowns in a fast-moving canal, and gradually the two of the build a relationship together as they train. When their feelings draw close to love, Sarah's mother becomes appalled to learn that her daughter is involved with an American Indian. Cultural differences, family pressures, and a stark divergence in traditions threaten to end the close ties between the two of them, in this turbulent story about the realities of making a relationship work - or watching it die - the face of mounting outside pressure.

Falling in love when you're struggling to discover who you truly are can be a not-so-glorious thing. It should be a time of mental abandon and pure bliss, but there are times when this isn't possible, or rather, there are some people who just can't let go of that control. In Virginia Nosky's novel "Pima Rd," readers will enjoy the romance as much as they possibly can but will also struggle along with the characters as they make discoveries and face the world from two different perspectives.

Sarah Livingstone was raised in New England, graduated from Yale and became a lawyer. Jameson Zah grew up on the Pima Reservation, became a talented artist, and calls Phoenix home. The two meet during Sarah's training for the New York marathon, a common goal, and through a common interest in dogs. Sarah's little Shih Tzu, having a small dog complex, attacks Zah's much larger dog, Joe. A bit panicked, Sarah says some things she shouldn't have, and a bit put off, Jameson goes on the defensive, informing her that she is running on reservation land. Their next run in is slightly more friendly, if not more hectic when Jameson rescues both Sarah and her dog from a flooded canal. Both are drawn to each other and decide to train together for the race. The romantic tension builds but so does Jameson's wariness that Sarah is just seeking the thrill of having an Indian lover. While he is afraid of being heartbroken, Sarah is fending off the unwanted romantic overtures of her supervisor at the law firm. Tensions grow as swiftly as their love affair and only get worse when Sarah's mother shares her feelings over their interracial relationship, and when someone threatens Jameson's mother, steals a large sculpture he'd done, and intimidates the possibility of the reservation making plans with a developer.

The book is not your typical romance, but a story that delves into the connotations of racial differences, as well as the human heart connection. The added conflicts of work related sexual harassment, and the theft of the sculpture mystery, bring a feeling of suspense to the tale. The characters are likeable, in relatable situations, making the book a laid back and interesting read. Examining the differing cultures through the eyes of Sarah and Jameson was a delight. I enjoyed it very much and hope to see more from Virginia Nosky in the future.

Pima Road is author Virginia Noskey's latest and best book. She has presented a love story that is full of intrigue and conflict. Two independent, intelligent and very likable people try to bridge their cultural differences while sharing a goal of running in the NYC marathon. The love scenes are passionate and the disagreements believable. They are characters that you don't want to say goodbye to.

Virginia Nosky's PIMA RD is an intense Romance/Mystery refreshingly well written and filled with nail biting suspense. On occasion, the reader is stopped in mid-story to reread a particularly visual metaphor; "The gossamer ball of water whispered and glistened in the mild night air like a giant fuzzy dandelion gone to seed." Or a delightfully descriptive phrase; "There was a brushwork of tiny, very high cirrus clouds, but mostly there was blue."
But PIMA ROAD is so much more than a good read. It clearly symbolizes the line drawn in the sand between cultures. Pima Road itself is exactly that and with it the double yellow line of prejudice. Nosky's novel gives us the archetypical beautiful blond, blue eyed Anglo woman, Sarah Livingstone, and the tall, dark, handsome American Indian man, Jimmy Zah, in a struggle, sometimes bold sometimes hesitant, crossing over and retreating back from that line and its accompanying dangerous canal. "Love thy neighbor as thyself" has the answer, both literally and figuratively. Is the physical and spiritual love between Fingers With Eyes and Living Stone strong enough to erase that line in the sand; to be swept along the relentless current to an acceptance that no 'us' and 'them' exists in reality; that there is only 'One' and that is 'us'? Perhaps this novel should be read twice. First for the thrill of the story, then again for the magic of its message. After all, Pima Road is a two way street.

Plantation Feasts and Festivals is a celebration, published on the occasion of the 250th birthday of President James Madison. Worthy of coffee table prominence, Plantation Feasts and Festivals is filled with beautiful photographs of Montpelier and neighboring estates of family and friends. A treasure trove of cultural and historical traditions, this volume's greatest value is in the kitchen. With recipes organized by seasonal occasions and celebrations, the sumptuous menus are connected with the land and its seasonal bounty, Southern tradition and hospitality. Edna Lewis, a native of Orange County and known throughout the country for her primers on Southern cuisine, shares her reminiscence of each season and many of the occasions. She says, "All recipes have been developed for special occasions, for those times when you want to indulge. Therefore we took no shortcut in preparation of ingredients."

Angela Mulloy's thirst for perfection must surely be quenched with the selections she included in this book celebrating Virginia heritage. Each menu is a beautiful balance of seasonal taste and tradition filled with ingredients that embrace the locale: shad roe, potted trout, quail, Chesapeake crab, country ham, fried chicken and venison; profoundly delicious uses of corn meal, greens, and fruits; and desserts made elegant in their simplicity and exquisite presentation.

Each occasion depicts a certain mood and a traditional style. The Hunt Breakfast, Afternoon Tea, Lawn Party, Wedding Dinner, Holiday Feast, and Twelfth Night Ball all bespeak the gentility of the time and place, and yet each recipe is on the leading edge of today's most sought after techniques and tastes.

Plantation Feasts and Festivities would make a grand addition to anyone's library and a wonderful gift for any celebration.

Plantation Feasts And Festivities: A Celebration Of The Grandes Dames Of Virginia Food And Hospitality combines a regional culinary and cultural history with delicious recipes carefully modified for today's kitchens and adjusted to serve from six to eight adults. Superbly enhanced with spectacular color photography, Plantation Feasts And Festivities is organized around the four seasons of Spring, Summer Autumn, and Winter. From Hand-Churned Honey Vanilla Ice Cream, Streusel Peach Pie, Savory Bread Pudding, and Bourbon-Grained Mustard, to Cornbread and Country Sausage Dressing, Caramel-Pumpkin Custard, Sweet Potato Gratin, and Scalloped Tomatoes, This inspired and inspiring collection is highly recommended for fine gourmet dining and a true reflection of Virginia's impressive culinary history.

This book has given me the opportunity to try many new recipes as well as enjoy the historical tidbits depicting the life of James Madison and his entertaining wife, Dolley.

Unlike most restaurant-related cookbooks, the recipes in this book, although very gourmet in their presentation, can be easily followed by any home cook. Coupled with the beautiful table settings featuring rare antique china--beautiful portrayed in the magnificent color photos throughout the book--the writing brings forth many unique ideas for entertaining on any usual or special celebration.

A wonderful blend of the history of some of Virginia's finest plantations and a delicious sampling of the famous and not-so-famous recipes of Southern Cooking! An excellent presentation divided by seasons of the year and further divided into menus celebrating the elegance of southern hospitality.

Become aware of life in the New World between invading Eurpeans and Native Americans in this beautifully and powerfully written book. It will inform and shock you with it insights into the two vastly different cultures and shed light on modern day American values that have often go astray. Another book of insight, passion and info on Native Americans is Walking the Trail, One Man's Journey Along the Cherokee Trail of Tears by Cherokee author Jerry Ellis. He was the first person in modern history to walk the 900 mile route and the book was nominated for a Pulitzer and National Book Award.

Gleach does a wonderful job of presenting both worlds while maintaining an objective outlook. I have truely enjoyed reading this selection based on that alone. Gleach manages to keep you informed of the details yet helps you to gain new prospective on the view of both cultures. He not only tries to make sense of what happened in the contact period but does a good job of making you understand why it happened the way it did. Not your average Native American/ Colonial Conflict documentary. A wonderful job of teaching the Native side that you never learned in school. Blaming neither side for the outcome Gleach will make hard work of any other writer pulling off one as good.

Fred Gleach's piece is both acute and aggresive. Fered Gleach writes this book like only Fred Gleach can. This means a lot. Not everyone can live up to their potential. Fred Gleach lives up to his potential here. I tell you- this is Fred Gleach writing from Fred Gleach's heart. This means a lot. Some of us write, and it is not from the heart, or it is to get tenure. But Fred Gleach here writes this book like only Fred Gleach can. Some things, like the truth, is important. This Fred Gleach's message. This book is very Gleachian. This means a lot.

Buy it.

In this book, Gleach (Cornell University), who was a consultant on Terrence Malick's new movie "The New World," provides a wise, interesting, and readable analysis of the much-fabled Native American-English encounter in what became Virginia. AMong other things, his analysis makes sense of an incident that most everyone has heard of and many (not least the Disney studio) have sentimentalized: Pocahontas's intervention to save Captain John Smith in 1608.

What Gleach does convincingly in this book is to draw on his extensive knowledge of Algonquian(-language-speaking) peoples to interpret the scant records of Powhatan culture and cultural assumptions. To understand Powhatan reactions to the English immigrants, we need to put aside our knowledge of who won in the long run. It was far from obvious to the Powhatan that they were going to be subordinated by aliens who were barely surviving. An earlier attempt to establish a Spanish colony had failed. The Powhatan sought to incorporate the English within their society (the one to which the English had immigrated), though none of the English ever seemed to conceive that "heathen inferiors" believed that they could and should make the rules for uninvited and unruly immigrants to the Powhatan homeland.

The English view prevailed, and colonial history has been written from the viewpoint of the winners. As Marshall Sahlins has done for the native Hawaiians' understanding of Captain Cook's incursions, Gleach has recovered a plausible picture of "how natives think" (the title of Sahlins's second book about initial English-Hawaiian contacts). In addition to showing the rationality within their own understandings of the world and proper human interaction of how the Powhatan tried to educate (literally reform) those who thrust into the Powhatan world by drawing on studies of other Algonquian cultures, Gleach also draws on extensive knowledge of English culture ca. 1600 when the Church of England was relatively new and in the English view recently legitimated by the defeat of the Catholic would-be invaders.

This is perhaps the most pleasurable "academic" history I have come across. Although it provides an extensive account of life in the Chesapeake through the lives and business dealings - and there are plenty of those enumerated - of the tenacious Carroll family, I was also struck by Ronald Hoffman's major theme of family continuity, of purpose driven by recollection and ambition that the Carrolls had in spades. The very tightly researched accounts of the family history in Ireland, and of all the other families like them in the chaos of the 17th century, is little short of astonishing. I'll admit to an enduring interest in Irish history, but this one illustrates why Carrolls and others left their broken aristocracy. That continuity touches on my own forebearers, one of whom was a first cousin of Charles Carroll of Carrollton's. She married another Irish immigrant Marylander and set out in 1796 to populate the then frontier in Kentucky with other Catholics, I am sure at direction of one of their neighbors in Upper Marlborough, MD, Fr. John Carroll, first Catholic bishop in America and also Charles' first cousin. A great read on many levels.

Ronald Hoffman is an excellent historian who has brought great knowledge of Chesapeake social and cultural history to this biographical work that places three generations of the Carroll family within their colonial context. It is a wonderful biography that gets the reader into the minds and lives of these three Charles Carroll's. But for me the best thing was the number of times it made me think, "Oh, that's how it was." I have read enough colonial history to know that there were lots of tenant laborers and not just slaves in the region, to know that Catholic Maryland quickly became Anglican Maryland, and to know that the Revolution was not just about ideas but also about social change. Ronald Hoffman's narrative, however, really brings these facts home. His book is not about any one of these issues in particular, but in telling the story of three generations of Carroll's in Maryland he brings home the greater circumstances of the colony better than many historians who have set out to make a case for one of the above arguments, or many of the other fascinating takes on early Chesapeake society contained in this highly readable book. I have not read any book lately that I enjoyed more.

Traditional patriotism demands that we believe that the founding fathers of America were all great democratic idealist. Although this may have been true for some, many others had no problem with the idea of an elite ruling class, so long as they were considered the elite. Thus the victory over England can be viewed as less of an American Democratic Revolution and more of a power transition from the English crown to the new American aristocracy.

A primary example of this American elite class was Maryland representative Charles Carroll of Carrollton. A signer of the American Declaration of Independence, Charles of Carrollton was a wealthy planter and businessman who became such not by his own doings but primarily through the inheritance and molding of his father, Charles Carroll of Annapolis. Ever mindful of his Irish and Catholic roots and the persecution therein by English aristocrats, the elder Charles did everything in his power to equip his son to fend off those who would attempt to cripple him politically and economically. In so doing, the elder Charles created a mindset of elitism within his son.

This irony is highlighted by Ronald Hoffman in his book, "Princes of Ireland, Planters of Europe," in which he examines the Carroll family and traces how a persecuted family from Ireland in 1500 came to be one of the prominent families in America by the time of the American Revolution

I was originally attracted to this book out of a simple curiosity about the last surviving signer of the Declaration of Independence (Charles Carroll outlived Adams and Jefferson by about six years, or about 56 years after 1776!). On a deeper level, I hoped to learn more about the kind of early capitalist that would be attracted to signing on to the American Revolution in general. What this book helped me discover was a family that had over time become focused, almost obsessed, with making a buck under fairly adverse circumstances (namely, continuing in their Roman Catholic faith that made it difficult for them to thrive, even in an enclave as seemingly sympathetic as colonial Maryland, with its relatively large Catholic population). But when the time came for this family to rise above its simple wealth building and to champion the cause of the Revolution, it did indeed rise to the occasion, however brief and painful the process might be. (Hoffman attends to both the private and public lives of the Carrolls.) The history of the Carrolls is a part of the history of the magic that was the American Revolution. It is not surprising that the book ends abruptly with the death of Charles Carroll's father and his wife, about 10 days apart from one another in 1782 (though there is a brief summing up of Carroll's remaining 50 years and the attention attracted by his death in 1832). The story is told, the dynasty pretty much complete.

What's the book like? At times it seems downright willfully prosaic, and the story proceeds much like a carefully written doctoral dissertation - all conclusions fully supported and made in as logical a context as possible, all contentions politically correct for our time. Hoffman's goal is of course to be scholarly and thorough, not to be entertaining or controversial. Thus the sweep of this history must emerge and coalesce in the mind of the reader. Leave being beaten over the head with the broader conclusions inherent in the narrative to more popularly written histories.

Suffice it to say, if you're a municipal library and you need to beef up your Revolutionary War material, this is a prime buy. If you're a true history buff, this would be an excellent choice to work into your reading list. It has the effect of immersing you into the spirit of the times and providing you with detail you could not have imagined you would find interesting (but you do). If you're a casual reader, just be advised - this is heavy stuff. It's not an easy read, but it is ultimately a rewarding one.

Fantasic book! And not just the author's opinions but full of scripture references and explaination of the greek translations.

God has used this book to help me see how many ways I have been allowing impurity and worldly thinking. As I pursue purity in my own life, I am helping my daughter to pursue (and desire) purity in her life, as well. Thanks, Virginia for a great wake-up call!

This book covered so much more than the obvious topic of sexuality: it went much deeper to what we as women really can let into our hearts. I had never stopped and asked myself how much time I spent during a day thinking about things that were not "good." Personally, it helped me make a decision to stop watching so much TV, especially shows that focus on graphic violence, and sexual assualt against women. The book showed me how important it was for me to protect my heart, told me where to find the power to change, and has helped me find more peace in my walk with God.

I love this book. I want to study it with the women in my church. I love the order it is written in. I found with every chapter another layer of the heart is exposed right to the very center of the heart. I think the world, entertainment, fashion industry, etc., have really lulled us into compromising a lot. I know of times where I would really be bothered by things on T.V., and have even compromised my convictions thinking that maybe I'm just too old school. Thank you for waking me up!!!!

The timing of this book is perfect!!!! The morality of our world is declining so quickly, and I see how easy it is to get deceived by it. We need to be called back to God's standard and this book does that so well and makes it so desirable. GREAT BOOK!!!!

I have taken this book and studied some of it's chapters with a small group of teenage girls. It has opened up great discussions on how the world wants to pull us away from God's plan for us. I love how Virginia takes us back to the Greek translations and I have surely grabbed many deep spiritual nuggets from this book. I would highly recommednd this to every Chrisitan woman.

I have listened to JC since 1986. He and the Breakfast Club were always my favorite morning show. Everytime he would get fired from one station or another I would get ticked off and swear never to listen again....but I always returned when he would magically reappear. The books explains the firings and confirms some of the stories I had heard of the firings. I now have a strong dislike by those mentioned in the book that transgressed against JC. Go beyond the arrogance and read it, then try to listen to those two rednecks (with out a strong dislike) that were a source of a lot of JC's outbursts.

As always, J.C. tells it like it is!

J.C. Corcoran first went on St. Louis radio in 1984 at a well-known St. Louis rock station. He immediately took over the town with his prank phone calls and other radio high-jinks. Most damaging to him was his insistence on calling a spade a spade, even if the spade was radio titan Bob Hyland. Through the years, his detractors took aim at him by way of lawsuits, name-calling and complete lies. This book is J.C.'s attempt to set the record straight, and the result is riveting.

J.C. never ducks the questions raised by his controversial actions and even apologizes for his behavior when necessary. However, most of the goofiness that made J.C. a St. Louis household name can be summed up by the words a judge used to dismiss a lawsuit filed against him - "broadcast journalism at its best." He may have offended, but he also made us laugh.

The most disturbing section of the book discusses a physical assault against J.C. by the intern of J.C.'s most aggressive competitors. (These competitors had previously stooped so low as to spread vicious rumours that J.C.'s child was a mongoloid.) What a relief to learn that J.C.'s ensuing lawsuit ended with a large jury award and the offending intern being reduced to tears on the witness stand.

J.C. gives us a honest account of his headline-filled days in St. Louis that are still going strong. After reading, one feels compelled to shout at the competition the question asked by J.C. himself - "Instead of taking cheap shots, why don't you give it your best shot and I'll give it my best shot and we'll see what happens? Or is that what you're afraid of?" It's because they know they'd lose.

I could not put down this book. JC really captured what has happened in his radio career in St. Louis. From his early days at KSHE to KLOU, you feel like you are at those meetings or you followed along to surprise Mike Bush by reporting from his basement. A must read for anyone interested in St. Louis radio. Believe me, JC leaves no stone unturned. Great, fun book.

I can't wait to pick up my very own copy of this GREAT book by Virginia Kantra, so I can re-read whenever I want. THe characters are intriguing and sometimes it just AMAZES me the way an author can describe things!VK shows such a gift with words, and I don't want to give much away, but on pp. 14-15, part of her description had me LOL: "...his masculine charge lit her screens up like incoming missiles over the desert."

I just LOVED this book! What's next from this talented new author? I can hardly wait!

Virginia Kantra has created one terrific romance, and an equally terrific hero. Ms. Kantra creates characters that linger in your mind long after you finish the book. Don't miss this one!

that pulls at your heart. Virginia Kantra weaves a magic with her pen, creating characters that truly come to life. Clare Harmon is a woman who's known loss, but is strong enough to risk her heart again when she meets Matthew Dunn. Matt is a man who's seen society at its worst, but in Clare he sees only the best. Asking her to take a chance on him seems too much, but he doesn't take into account that Clare's not the type to wait to be asked - she just gives her all. This book isn't just something you should read - it's something you must read.

Clare moved into the "bad side of town" when her prosecutor husband was killed in the area while interviewing a witness. She's fighting to save the neighborhood children from gangs and crime by hiring them to work at her neighborhood vegetable gardens. Matt moves in because the police department is starting a neighborhood policing program and since he's a still-recovering wounded hero, his high visibility and limited duty make him perfect for the job.

He's not looking for romance. Neither is Clare, especially not with someone who gets shot at for a living. But Kantra makes the whole thing smooth as silk. It's believable, involving, emotional, action-packed, and just generally all-round wonderful. No wonder this book won Romance Writers of America's 1998 Golden Heart Award for Romantic Suspense before it was published.

A very cool appraisal convincingly indicating that Freemasonry provided a social cement for the post-revolutionary era.

Steven Bullock has added a great deal to the study of Masonry with this book. If nothing else were accomplished he makes clear to the Freemason the true difference between ancient and modern Masonry. This book is also a fine study of the social history of the United States in its early years. Often overlooked by historians, the importance of the Freemasons in the early republic is finally looked at in depth.

Freemasonry often claims a large role in the advent of the Revolution which according to Bullock does not seem to be the case. On the other hand its importance to the American cause during the Revolution can hardly be overstated. Southern planters like Washington and Lee had little in common New Englanders such as General Greene, a Quaker from Connecticut. They had even less in common with the likes of Lafayette and von Steuben. Their one common link was Freemasonry. It seems that the officer corps of the American army forged its strong bonds around the fraternity. Not just the generals but many officers of all ranks seem to have bonded through Masonry. Military lodges spread the fraternity through out the army and soon some regiments actually marched with the officers wearing their Masonic badges of office.

Freemasonry as the title of this book suggests seems to have been important in the transformation of the American social order after the war. Masonry acted somewhat as a school for democrats but the fraternity itself began to grow into an elite order of "nobility" that almost became a new aristocracy. This status would help bring on the antimasons as the brotherhood which had helped mold early America's social order failed to change with changing times. The more open democracy brought on by the age of Jackson made a seeming aristocracy like the Masons seem out of place. In an odd twist, the father of this age was himself an active Mason. Jackson in fact served two terms as Grand Master of Tennessee.

There are only two small things about this book that I can fault. The writing style as is often the case with history professors is just a tad dull. The wealth of information to be found tends to make up for the style though. The more serious problem is the manner in which Bullock decides the Masons grew out of the stone masons guilds. There are many ideas about the origins of Masonry that deserve more attention. Bullock may well have taken the true path but he fails to document his conclusion in the way he documents his other insights.

Finally, this book which was written as a history offers important warnings for today's fraternity. As the brotherhood failed to change with the times during the antimasonry frenzy and almost died the changes in society today are also slowly killing Masonry. The fraternity must take the warnings given us in this book and learn from our past mistakes. Change is hard but sometimes necessary.

As the first third party in an American presidential election (1832) the Anti-Masonic Party has usually appeared suddenly in the story of the Jacksonian Era with little explanation except that the Masons were suspected in the murder of one William Morgan, who threatened to reveal their innermost rituals and secrets. The prosecution of the case was hampered by the fact that Masons dominated local and state government, which came to be seen an secret, elitist plot against democratic institutions. Steven C. Bullock traces the history of the Masonic movement from England to America and demonstrates how Masons were critical to the success of the American Revolution and the creation of a new nation under the Constitution of 1789. As such the Masons were not a sudden a aberration in American history but a group central to the early history of the nation. Masonic meetings gave members a place to learn how democratic government worked, how to socialize, how to argue without resorting to force, and how to participate in establishing a concept of national interest, or virtue, in the language of the times. Bullock's volume is one of the most critical interpretations of this period in American History. Do not be put off by its academic style or philosophical tone, especially in the first chapter. It really moves along afterward and demonstrates how an organization that boasted such diverse members as Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, Joseph Smith (the founder of Mormonism), and Andrew Jackson came to be seen as a conspiratorial institution that needed to be curbed for the betterment of an egalitarian American democracy. It also illustrates how the Masons sprang back from near destruction to be the charitable organization better recognized by Americans living today. It's well worth while!

This is a "must have" book for the person wanting to add a solid, well researched, and reliable study of the history and role of Freemasonry in these United States.