North America Books

The previous reviewers said it all; this book is great! I used it with my Honors Social Studies and Language Arts class, and you could have heard a pin drop! Well done, Sally Crum!

Race To The Moonrise is a carefully researched adventure tale of two young Mogollon trader children who run an exciting race against the full moonrise in prehistoric (1200 A.D.) northern Mexico and southwestern U.S. Little Basket, the young girl prophetess and her brother Long Legs make the arduous journey from their village in northern Mexico to the area of Chimney Rock and Finger Rocks, near the Four Corners area of today, before the 19th full moonrise to participate in a religious ceremony. All details are carefully researched and help authenticate this exciting children's educational action adventure book. Note: Race To The Moonrise was approved for use with Native American children by the Intertribal Cultural Committee of the Council for Indian Education. It is fascinating to follow the ebb and flow of this exciting tale. So much of early Native American prehistory is not known, yet what can be surmised of these ancient MesoAmericans is both intriguing and of enduring value to the young people of today. Race To The Moonrise is a fine work to honor one's ancestors with.

Race to the Moonrise, by archaeologist Sally Crum, is a wonderful resource for teachers teaching the history and cultures of the Southwest and Colorado. It is a fictional story which contains a vivid picture of the cultures of the Southwest from Casa Grande to Chimney Rock in Colorado. I used it with my fourth grade students to enable them to visualize the people and their lifestyle, compare the environments, weapons, religions, clothing, tools, foods, building styles, use of natural resources, trade, household objects, and travel of the Pre-Puebloan people. The story is appropriate for fourth grade and above and through a fictional narrative with carefully researched background, keeps students interested and learning throughout. The author has also published a teacher's guide with questions and activities to use with the book. I would recommend Race to the Moonrise to other teachers. It has been a great addition to my unit on Colorado History.

I have a really difficult time reviewing children's books. Until now. I have just finished "Race to the Moonrise: An Ancient Journey" by Ouray, CO author Sally Crum. It is a wonderful book. It was written for the fourth grade level, but let me tell you, I think readers of any age will not only enjoy the book but will finish it with a greater understanding of native American culture and feel good about having read it. The setting of the book is around 1200 AD and centers around Little Basket, a young girl with some very special powers, and her brother, Long Legs. These two, with their uncle, embark on a journey from their home in Mexico to what is now southwestern Colorado. The purpose of the journey, which takes them through the country of the Mogollon of New Mexico, the Hohokam of the Gila and Salt River Basins, the Sinagua of Wupatki Pueblo, the Hopi, and the Chaco Canyon, Aztec, Mesa Verde and Chimney Rock Pueblo peoples, is to save their village. Besides being a great read, the book is impressively accurate in its description of the native American cultures, and geographic and archaeological places which exist today. On a recent trip which included many of those places I was amazed at the author's accuracy. Do Little Basket and Long Legs save the village? To be sure, it's not here today. But then, when a little girl has special powers and a strong, brave, and protective brother...who knows? Sally Crum is a working archaeologist and has worked for numerous national parks and monuments over the past 16 years. The book has been approved for use with Native American children by the Intertribal Cultural Committee of the Council for Indian Education and published by Western Reflections Inc., so you know the quality is second to none. This is a wonderful, enchanting book. It is truly for children of all ages...right up into geezerhood!

Whether an a railfan for decades or just getting into the hobby, this is a great book. Copy is informative and not overdone. Photos and graphics are outstanding. Although my interest in railroading in the Northeast, I found the collection of schedule graphics, promotional pieces, etc. very interesting and, simply, just fun to look at. I lent my copy to a few of my buddies and was happy to see they didn't glance over the pages, but were caught by photos and info. (Hats off to the graphics people). And these are former railroaders and modelers who are "rivet counters," so for the book to get their attention says something about it. A few commented on the price, and thought the book was a real bargain.

As a general book on railroading, this is an excellent book. The photos are excellent, and it covers all the major railroads (and most minor ones) across the USA. There are many chapters on various aspects of railroading, and it is very informative for those who are learning or new to the hobby.

Train travel enthusiast and photographer Claude Wiatrowski is a member of the Colorado Midland Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society; the Railway & Locomotive Historical Society; The Colorado Railroad Museum; The Friends of the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad; Friends of the East Broad Top; the Nevada Northern Railway Museum; the Pikes Peak Historical Street Railway Foundation; and the Lexington Group in Transportation History. He is therefore in a particularly knowledgeable position to create a profusely illustrated history of American railroads, and has done so with "Railroads Across North America: An Illustrated History", an amazingly informed and informative 256-page compendium of information and images ranges from the first steam-powered locomotives of the 1800s down to the high-speed commuter trains of today. Enhanced with a descriptive listing of historical societies and other railroad organizations, as well as a section devoted to preserved railways, museums and historic sites, ""Railroads Across North America" also includes a bibliography and a comprehensive index, making it an ideal and enthusiastically recommended addition to personal, academic, and community library Railroading reference collections and supplemental reading lists.

Railroads Across North America is a unique book in this field. it illustrates in great color the historic rail lines that made America great. It also shows the breadth of railroad activites that were a part of operations. This book is just plain fun!

Bill Lock,
Founder Friends
of the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad

Love the animated street map. Will not cover all of San Diego, but will hightlight the popular sights.

I don't think I'd go to a new vacation city without the MapEasy Guidemap. I've used them in Seattle, San Fran and now San Diego. They've helped me find interesting places to visit, tasty food and even parking!

This easy to read and informative map shows all the cool spots in San Diego. Great for first time vistors or locals who want to know more about what America's Finest City has to offer. Makes a great gift! Illustrations make this a unique map.

This Mapeasy shows the tourist where things are in the tourist-visited areas. It is not intended to help you find your way if you are lost, though the major routes are there. It has a detail of Downtown La Jolla, downtown San Diego, and Balboa park, with a blow-by-blow of all the shops and restaurants on Prospect and some the streets that head inland. This is the clearest rendering of Balboa Park I have seen yet and I have several other current San Diego travel helps.

It is made of a plastic material that is more durable than paper.
It is worth the current $6.95 amazon price.

...and I've got shelves of 'em. This is an exhaustively researched, splendidly written guide for visitors and native New Orleanians alike. Fantastically detailed walking tours cover New Orleans' celebrated five-star attractions...then take you off the beaten trail to explore parts of the city not covered in other guidebooks.

This is the book to pack on your first, third, or even sixth visit to one of our most exotic and fascinating cities. I can't recommend it highly enough.

this book allowed for one of the nicest vacations i have ever taken. more than bourbon street indeed; if you're into historical along with fun, good food, and the infamous celebratory attitude then this is the book you're looking for! it covers everything you can imagine plus the historical information with the descriptions that follow the maps for the various tours is priceless. we didn't take one tour save the plantation *oak alley* tour; didn't need to! the maps along with the additional information is all you need to create your own walking tours, driving excursions and much much more. i would also allow that personally i did read another book: Fabulous New Orleans by Lyle Saxon. the combination of the two really compliment one another. just my opinion. again, great book; i sincerely can't say enough.

Having visited NO before and having read three other "Guides" I was suprised by how different this book was from the others and how everything I personally wanted to know about was adressed in detail. Walking the Faubourgs is the best way to appreciate the very unique city behind the tourist hype and Mr. Delahanty tells you how. Other guide books are collections of data gathered from many sources, but this is a story told by someone who knows and loves his subject. Our morning walks through the Bayou St. John neighborhood for coffee on Esplanade Ave. were greatly enhanced by the information in the "Esplanade Ridge" section. The history is so much more amazing than the garishness of Bourbon St. My daughter, a six year resident of NO, is planning her wedding there and has found this an invaluable resource. There is an address and telephone number for everything. I am recommending this book to all of her wedding guests and buying a second copy for myself, having given mine to her. If you plan a trip to New Orleans, read this book before you go and carry it with you while you are there.

New Orleans' unique food, music, architecture, and people have been justly celebrated and explained to out of towners and locals alike in many, many books. Why one more?

Randolph Delehanty's answer to that question would be, I suppose (I have never spoken with him), that most guidebooks miss the essence of our city: the varied streets - from the carriage-wide alleyways of the Vieux Carre to the grand boulevards of St. Charles and Esplanade Avenues - which tie together our rich architectural heritage and cultural history.

At once public and private, street walking is an old tradion in New Orleans and this book introduces novice and old pro alike to the tricks of the trade.

Delehanty, director of the University of New Orleans' Ogden Museum of Southern Art and author of nine books, including the definitive coffee table book of New Orleans'interiors and patios, New Orleans: Elegance and Decadence, takes readers inside New Orleans buildings and gardens on over a dozen walking, transit, and (when necessary) car tours of the city and its River Road environs. Neighborhood by fauborg, he explains the special points of history that make this a city of towns, unlike most Southern cities. While your eyes are drawn to the architecture, he points out the lives of the inhabitants of these old homes, shops, and mansions - often writers and musicians. A few pages on "New Orleans House Design and Sociability: Stoops, Balconies, Galleries, and Porches" explain how climate, architecture, and sociability were intimately intertwined before the age of air-conditioning, cars, and television reduced urban life to a fraction of its potential for gracious living.

This walker's "ultimate guide" to New Orlean's architecture and culture is a must for locals who hope to become "New Orleans know it alls" and an inspired choice for those out of towners who hope to live like a native, if only for a few days.

Excellent and detailed maps, extensive cross-references, and select listings of all the basic tourist needs (restaurants, music clubs, bars, etc.) round out an excellent guide: the best of its kind (in the opinion of this City of New Orleans' licensed walking tour guide and life long resident of the Big Easy).

Mr. Kingstone writes a brutal book about his personal experience with international thievery, lawyers (also thieving) and our own judicial system. His positive attitude is inspiring and well worth the effort to learn of his plight. My hat is off to such an honest man who tells it like it is. Hope you get these bums Brett!

Anyone that has the "IT" should read this book.

"The story that my friend Brett Kingstone tells in The Real War Against America is as good as any spy novel you can pick up....Today, intellectual property theft costs American industry an estimated $250 billion a year. And the price tag is rising...
The dreams and imaginations of Americans is something worth fighting for. Let's hope we win this battle."
Congressman Ric Keller (R, 8th District Florida), Co-Author of the Intellectual Property Protection Act of 2002.


"At first, I thought this book was another Tom Clancy techno-thriller, then I realized it was non-fiction -- the true story of a dynamic American entrepreneur whose company was under attack by one of China's largest gang of counterfeiters. If any book about global business today should be made into a movie, The Real War Against America is it."
Professor Pat Choate, Author: Agents of Influence, Hot Properties, The High Flex Society, America in Ruins and Being Number One: Rebuilding the U.S. Economy. Director, Manufacturing Policy Project and former Vice Presidential running mate of H.Ross Perot.


"The story of Brett Kingstone and his company is far more than a high-tech Horatio Alger tale. It is an adventure which should become a case study for every business school candidate to memorize, for here lies a glimpse of the real war and its battles which can be our nation's demise."
Dwight Carey, President, APG. U.S. Congress Business of the Year Award Winner.


"Kingstone's Saga is the untold tale of intellectual property scandal in America. Piracy and counterfeiting are costing businesses billions of dollars annually in the U.S....I am mesmerized by Kingstone's spirit...he truly represents the lifeblood of American Manufacturing."
Peggy Smedley, Publisher Start Magazine, Author of Mending Manufacturing

This is a must read for anyone that manufactures or creates for a living.
When you read this book, pinch yourself and remember that this is a true story even though it could have been taken from the pages of an Ian Fleming novel. America faces a very real threat today - one far more insidious and underhand than anything we see in today's headlines, yet equally as sinister and threatening to our economy and standard of living.
Small business is the engine that drives the American economy and this is one mans story of his fight to protect his business, his family and the families of those who work for him.
Far from a dull account of industrial piracy and lawsuits, the author fully involves the reader in his fight and throughout the book I was struck by his humanity and love of family and friends around him.
Whatever the color of your collar this is your fight, and it could be happening to your business or your employer right now... It probably is.

This book caused me to feel the whole gammot of emotions--from excitement to disappointment to fear. It drew me in and captured my attention with its unexpected twists and turns. Unlike other books, taboo topics are essential to character development. This is an insightful look into the delicate balance of maintaining multiple relationships throughout the course of life. I couldn't ask for anything more from a book.

Without question, the very best book I ever read. You can not but it down nor can you stop thinking about it. This is a POWERFUL book. You will be moved and your foundation shaken but your life will be richer. This is a must read.

I am a voracious reader and in my late 20's. I have just finished Red Earth White Earth for the second time. The richness and poignancy with which the characters are developed is perfectly juxtaposed with that of Weaver's descriptions of the harsh but deeply beautiful Minnesota farmland. A magnificent story of what is natural in and around all of us.

For many reasons, this is the best book I've ever read. Not only does the story take me through a gamut of emotions, but I love Will Weaver's writing and descriptions. He describes everyday things in ways that sound unique and lyrical. I have read this book several times and enjoy it more each time. Don't miss out on this one!

Here is how the dispossession of the Utes really happened. Should be required reading in history classes. Fascinating account. Highly recommend!!

"Red Twilight: The Last Free Days Of The Ute Indians" is a remarkable eye-witness testament to the plight of the Ute Indians. Val FitzPatrick was born January 4, 1886 and lived to the age of 102. All his life was spent in northwestern Colorado and gave him an intimate knowledge of the Northern Utes (especially the Whiteriver band) after their encounter with the white man's culture. FitzPatrick provides the modern reader with a window into a yesteryear of the western frontier during the time of white settlers displacing the Utes from the homelands. This is an account more accurate and compelling than those of the newspaper journalists of the day were able to print. Very highly recommended for personal and academic Native American studies collections, Red Twilight is enhanced with a rare oral history by one of the Ute warriors who fought in the Battle of Milk Creek; excerpts from the diary of early cowboy Wils Rankin (nephew of Joe Rankin, scout of the ill-fated Major Thornburg); and a special section describing life on the Uintah-Ouray Reservation in the 1950s and 60s.

Red Twilight: The Last Free Days Of The Ute Indians is a remarkable eye-witness testament to the plight of the Ute Indians. Val FitzPatrick was born January 4, 1886 and lived to the age of 102. All his life was spent in northwestern Colorado and gave him an intimate knowledge of the Northern Utes (especially the Whiteriver band) after their encounter with the white man's culture. FitzPatrick provides the modern reader with a window into a yesteryear of the western frontier during the time of white settlers displacing the Utes from the homelands. This is an account more accurate and compelling that those of the newspaper journalists of the day were able to print. Very highly recommended for personal and academic Native American studies collections, Red Twilight is enhanced with a rare oral history by one of the Ute warriors who fought in the Battle of Milk Creek; excerpts from the diary of early cowboy Wils Rankin (nephew of Joe Rankin, scout of the ill-fated Major Thornburg); and a special section describing life on the Uintah-Ouray Reservation in the 1950s and 60s.

This book is unique - it tells the story of the removal of the Ute Indians from a sympathetic viewpoint, and by one who was there. Val FitzPatrick was a settler in northwest Colorado when the Utes were displaced into Utah and forced from their ancestral homelands. The real story is different from what white history records.

Well written, great reading, and fascinating first-hand stories. If you like reading about the West and its history or American Indians, you can't go wrong here. The author was there and is a great writer. He personally knew the Utes. Winner of an award from the Utah Humanities Council and used in their diversity program. I also highly recommend FitzPatrick's other book, "The Arbuckle Cafe: Classic Cowboy Stories."

I worked in the Lower Pecos region with a group of students last summer, and had the honor of meeting Carolyn Boyd. She took time to give our students personal guided tours of the cave paintings, and they were enthralled. She is a gifted communicator, and passionate about her work. These same qualities come through in her book.

The first time she saw these paintings, she was an artist with no experience in archaeology. Her art background allowed her to see what others had missed; the myriad elements were part of a single canvas, composed by a single artist, invested with purpose and meaning. At that moment she held insights the 'experts' lacked, but she did not have the credibility or credentials to convince anyone. Rather than giving up, she went back to school and got her PhD in Anthropology, writing her Doctoral Dissertation on this cave art. She is now recognized as the world's formost expert on these paintings.

Rock Art Of The Lower Pecos by Carolyn E. Boyd (Executive Director of the archaeological research and educational nonprofit Shumla School) offers an expert and in-depth analysis of the rock art created four thousand years ago in what is now southwest Texas and northern Mexico. New interpretations and hypothesis concerning these mysterious yet evocative images left behind by hunter-gatherers of millennia ago fill the pages of this fascinating guide, which packed from cover to cover with the latest up-to-date findings, as well as an anthropological wealth of insightful ideas from a wide variety of experts and schools of thought concerning the uses of the art and the intentions of the ancient artists. Black-and-white as well as full color illustrations embellish this thoughtful and strongly recommended study.

Carolyn Boyd has done an outstanding job with Rock Art of the Lower Pecos! This excellent literary work clearly explains the rock art through extensive ethnographic research and analysis. Her contribution of this book is a landmark acheivment in the field of anthropology. I highly recommend this work to anyone with an interest in historic art or culture.

This author takes research on rock art and makes it concise and understandable for all of us who are interested in rock art in the Americas. But more than that, she takes us to the next level and gives us a basis for understanding WHY the images were produced in the first place and what function they served for the culture. This is must reading for anyone who wants to understand these images and who wants to go to the next level in understanding rock art world wide.

I am very pleased with my order. The book was in excellent condition and was swiftly delivered.

Thanks!

As a young American Indian woman, reading PGA's book was like finding my own personal bible. Finally, someone who was telling me the same things about myself that my mother had taught me. Excellent chapters like "The Red Roots of White Feminism" and "When Strong Women Throw Down Bundles" are not to be missed. PGA your my shimasaani!

Being a white male (although one who's interested in Native American literature) certainly influenced my reaction to this book. That said, I think it's invaluable reading--probably a "must read" for those really interested in the field of Native American studies. I found it extremely interesting and useful. I also found it unsettling and even offensive in places. In spite of attacking white culture for reducing everything to ethnocentric formulas (a point she illustrates very persuasively), Allen seems to me to do the same thing throughout the book. While criticizing white academics for robbing Native Americans of thier complexity as individuals, she tends to see every possible issue through a polarized perspective--Native American=Good, White culture=bad. Doesn't this, in fact, rob Native Americans of their complexity as individuals and lead to the very romanticizing that Allen objects to?

Still, as irritating as I find this reductive way of arguing, I have to admit that this is a very valuable book.

This white feminist found The Sacred Hoop eye-opening and mind-expanding. While I cannot presume to be able to truly understand tribal thinking, I nonetheless found the concepts and philosophies described here to be completely pertinent to my place in existence. I am struggling to realize my place in a multifaced, complex web-world and have never felt comfortable with the typical feminist need to stand out in the foreground. It is also very empowering to see that there have been many versions of woman-based cultures. Unlike those in Crete, for example, tribal cultures were fully functioning in North America less than 500 years ago! It is unfortunate (though not at all surprising, given the difficulty of writing about concepts in the language of the patriarchy) that this gospel of hope and renewal is not reaching many, many people--especially our young people in colleges and universities. Don't take this wrong, Paula Gunn Allen, but you go, girl!

Edward Sheriff Curtis dedicated his life's work to documenting the customs and lifeways of the Native American peoples of North America. This extraordinary book includes some of the best photographic examples from Curtis' twenty volume masterpiece, "The North American Indian," one of the most significant representations of traditional indigenous culture ever produced.

Curtis was one of two official photographers for the 1899 Harriman expedition to Alaska. On his return, he stopped in northern Montana, accompanied by George Bird Grinell, editor of Forest and Stream. There he witnesses the deeply sacred Sundance of the Piegan and Blackfoot tribes, a sight which transformed his life. Grinell said to him at that time, "Take a good look. We're not going to see this kind of thing much longer. It already belongs to the past". It became clear to him then, that he was to record, with pen and camera, the life of the North American Indian. By the time the last volume appeared in 1930, little remained of the ancient traditions of the peoples he photographed.

Beginning in 1900 and continuing over the next thirty years, Edward S. Curtis, sometimes called the "Shadow Catcher" by tribes' people, took over 40,000 photographs and recorded ethnographic information from over eighty American Indian tribal groups, ranging from the Eskimo or Inuit people in the North to the Hopi people of the Southwest. In the end, the work comprised twenty textual volumes and twenty portfolios with over 2,000 illustrations.

"Sacred Legacy: Edward S Curtis And The North American Indian" was compiled and published to honor the 100th anniversary of Curtis's project to photograph the North America's indigenous peoples, and is a sacred legacy. This impressive volume beautifully reproduces in luminous images 200 of Curtis's greatest photographs from the finest source materials available - a significant number from platinum, gold and silver prints. Christopher Cardozo, an authority on Curtis, carefully selected the photographs for publication and for the accompanying exhibition. Writers who contribute their work here include: Joseph D. Horse Capture, N. Scott Momaday, and Anne Makepeace.

The photographs are organized by tribes and culture areas, encompassing the Great Plains, California, the Southwest, Plateau Region and Woodlands, Pacific Northwest, and Alaska. These reproductions represent an artistic masterpiece worthy of any collection. This volume is a fitting tribute to Curtis's genius.

"The passing of every man and woman means the passing of some tradition, some knowledge of sacred rights possessed by no other." Edward S. Curtis (1868-1952)
JANA

I absolutely love this book, the photagraphs are stunning. As a Native American of the Plateau Tribes, I love to browse through the photographs and see the images of my ancestors. My family consists of many different tribal Nations, from Coastal to Plateau and Plains, so it is nice to see the faces and the land as well as the clothing during the time these images were taken.

The many photographs have a hazy sepia tinge that somehow adds to the distancing from us, the present day readers. Curtis did an amazing and sympathetic photographic survey of native Americans in the early 20th century. His collection epitomises the changing view of natives, to the broader American society. No longer were they portrayed as bloodthirsty savages. Instead, Curtis took care to show many natives in peaceful surroundings. Often, getting on with everyday chores. A distinguishing aspect is that few of the photos show them brandishing weapons.

Keep in mind that even by the earliest photos, there were very few "wild" natives left in the US. Years earlier, they had been defeated by the US army, and the survivors often relegated to reservations. So what the photos show are domesticated peoples. Nomadic no longer, even if their forebears had been so just a generation ago.

In this sense, Curtis was a generation too late. Had he been a contemporary of Matthew Brady, he might have given us a visual legacy of peoples that were more unassimilated. Though of course he would have risked real injury to himself, in doing so. Still, we should not complain. Curtis did well with what he had, in the era he inhabited.

The works of Edward S. Curtis are monumental and beautiful. This book reproduces them with stunning clarity capturing the luminescence of his orotones remarkably well. The text serves to convey the rich meaning behind the photographs. For anyone interested in photography, art, or the story of the Native Americans, this is a treasure not to be missed.