Nicholson Books

Something Wicked Came Undone

While this book borders on horror, it is a truly psychological thriller from the word go. Our main character is most definitely put through his paces, almost to the brink of insanity. This emerging new author definitely has a flair for the creepy and has taken the time to make sure that there are just enough twists and turns to keep you guessing almost to the last page. Excellent work J.C.!

Also recommended: I just can't wait for this author's next book due at the end of this month. "The Bastard's Mother". Looking forward to a new read by this Nicholson.

_Sons of the Moon_ by Henry Shukman is an account of the author's several months of travel in the region of South America known as the Altiplano, an at times nearly barren plateau that is more than 13,000 feet high, located on the western side of South America, embraced by two arms of the Andes, the Eastern and Western Cordilleras. Roughly three hundred miles across east to west and a thousand miles north to south, this region, though seemingly barren and desolate, has been fertile in other ways; two of the greatest American empires - the Tiahuanaco and the Inca - arose in the region, and for two centuries after the Spanish Conquest it boasted the richest city in the Americas, Potosi, a city founded beside one of the largest silver mines ever recorded. After the wealth of Potosi was exhausted, the region fell into oblivion, an impoverished, backwater plateau home to pure-blooded Indians surviving on potatoes and herds of llamas and alpacas. The book describes the four months the author spent crossing the Altiplano, starting in northern Argentina and heading north to Peru (though he spent the bulk of his journey in Bolivia, as Bolivia owns the largest part of the Altiplano).

Shukman's main objective in his travels was to seek out traditional Indians. Largely by hitching rides on trucks (the main form of transport for many in the region), as well as by bus, bicycle, and doing a good deal of walking, Shukman visited some extremely remote villages on the plateau, where he spoke with a wide variety of people, witnessed religious ceremonies, participated in fiestas, viewed native dances, sampled regional cuisine, and examined ancient ruins.

The reader learns that most of the Indians of the Bolivian Altiplano are Aymaras. For most of the first millennium AD they held an empire centered on the temples of Tiahuanaco, their empire stretching into northern Peru and into Chile. By 1000 AD their empire had disintegrated into twelve small, squabbling kingdoms and by 1500 had been incorporated into the Inca Empire.

However, the Incas might not have recognized the Aymaras of today, as only the most remote Aymaras continue their traditional lives. Most became what are known as Cholos, which is a class, not a tribe. These are Aymaras who have largely abandoned agricultural life and taken to the towns, towns the Spanish began in the late sixteenth century. Viceroy Toldeo of Upper Peru and his successors instituted policies to create towns for Indian villagers to move into, towns with a plaza, a seven day week, and the perfect conditions for the growth of markets. With both a regular day and a regular place, the weekly markets grew in popularity and importance to such a degree that a class of Indians, the Cholos, arose who made marketing their main economic activity.

Cholos are predominant in this book, as indeed they are the most conspicuous Altiplano Indians. They wear a distinctive dress; the women wear bowlers or derby hats and very colorful sweaters or cardigans and skirts with many layers of petticoats (Shukman described it as "an extraordinary miscarriage of western dress"), while the men wear suits (which are often old and dirty). Most can speak Spanish though many also still speak their native Aymara dialects. Interestingly, the Cholo women are the ones who are the breadwinners in the family, as the men "hover in the dimness;" at best they might cultivate fields or help their wives carry their goods to market.

The only time Cholo men seem prominent is in the planning and running of fiestas, which is male-dominated. Men are part of the cargo system, as it is impossible to rise in the community without sponsoring fiestas, as it is honor to bear the cargo of a fiesta and the goal is to sponsor increasingly bigger, better, and more important fiestas. Men can do this either by saving money or by getting help from friends, friends who lend him money with the understanding that when they have a cargo he will return the favor (forming an aini bond). Once a man climbs the social hierarchy he becomes the jilakata of the village, its headman, and for a year is more or less in charge but for that entire year has to spend it playing host, something that generally bankrupts most men.

The women though are quite the opposite, as they rise in their own social hierarchy, never becoming bankrupt in the end like the men. Rather than a series of bonds to sponsor bigger and better fiestas, theirs are ones of marketing and business contacts to make more money.

Shukman did encounter Indians other than Cholos. He met the Chipayas, the last of the Urus, a "decaying tribe," the oldest Indians of the Altiplano, a group that was an "untouchable caste" in the Aymara kingdoms, regarded as "ugly, dirty, thick," a group that lived along the rivers and lakes of the Altiplano, looked down upon for turning their back on agriculture and fishing instead. The Quechuas by way of contrast form the majority of Peru's Andean Indians, one of the legacies of the Incas. The Quechuas, once a small people from a southern Peruvian valley, became the most widespread group because the Incas adopted the Quechua language and customs as those of the Empire and enforced them on their subjects and sent the loyal Quechuas to the far corners of the Empire as laborers and spies.

The book was well-written and engaging if a bit brief at a 184 pages. His descriptions of the environment of the Altiplano were vivid. He wrote how each day in the Andes was said to contain all four season of the year, as he described freezing at night and getting baked and sunburned during the day. Much of the Altiplano was very arid, some incredibly so (his descriptions of the great salt flats and lakes were quite good). A number of black and white photographs were included as well as a map though no bibliography.

American, British, German, and Russian experts pool their respective knowledge to provide the first comprehensive, authoritative evaluation of Russian strength in the air at the time of printing. Every aspect of Russian thought and experience regarding the Soviet Air and Rocket Forces is examined in this book, ranging from the daily life and training of a Soviet airman to the political control of the Soviet Air Force; from the past history of Soviet air arms to a projection of their future.

Here George Schatunowski, himself a former Soviet officer, describes the development of the Soviet Air Force from the Russian Revolution to 1941. Hanson Baldwin, military editor New York Times, and General Walter Schwabedissen, a Luftwaffe commander who fought against Russia, discuss the Soviet air performance in WW2.

Asher Lee, an internationally recognized British expert on military aviation, served in the Air Intelligence Staff of the R.A.F. during WWII and as chief intelligence officer to the First Allied Airborne Army. His previous books include Air Power, The German Air Force, and The Soviet Air Force.

Other contributors include: Air Chief Marshal Sir Philip Joubert; Dr. Raymond L. Garthoff, J. M. Mackintosh, Richard E. Stockwell, Dr. Kenneth Whiting.

......This text applies to the 1st edition published by Praeger in 1959.

This book chronicles the life of a truely remarkable Yorkshire Lass, who from an early age had it tough. Life was never easy for Viv and she grew up the hard way, which was the only way that she knew. Born in the gritty minning town of Castleford Viv learned to support her family through one reason or another and hit the big time when she won the Football Pools.

Did the money make her happy - you bet your bloody life it did. If Viv had cash everybody did! Her misfortunes in love are equally as well documented as her upbringing. Tragedy appears to have followed Viv just as fortune has.

I grew up in a very similar environment to Viv and not a million miles away from Cas - in Wombwell, an equally gritty pit town. Where life without a penny in your pocket was warm and rich beyond your wildest dreams, because when you've got nowt a cup o tea tastes like the finest wine and bread and dripping is far better than caviar.

Viv this book is absolutely great, I would love to have a cup o tea and a cal with you ( Yorkshire for Chat). I hope life for you now brings all the happiness that you deserve.

Compiled, arranged and edited by Sara St. Antoine, Stories From Where We Live: The Great Lakes is a delightful and enthusiastically recommended anthology of stories, essays, and poems drawn from a diversity of talented authors, all of whom are celebrating the richness of daily life and the wilds of the Great Lakes region of North America. Suitable for young readers of all ages, these memorable tales and stories are enhanced with simple black-and-white illustrations to make the land, its creatures, and the people who saw and settled upon it come alive!

I was loaned this book by a friend who is a direct descendent of the author.
The book is full of details about life in the ante bellum South; the family is not a wealthy but they are survivors in a very rural area. The author tells of his early life, as he becomes an adolescent, the War between the States begins.He enlisted in the Cofederate Army and was in active duty until the end. A fantastic story developes after Gen. Robert E. Lee surrenders, and the author and his fellow soldiers from La. make their way back home from N.C.
With minimal formal education he becomes an advanced mathematician winning many awards and involved in the formation of L.S.U. The book is easy to read and contains many historical aspects that are not readliy avaible. It would make a great movie. I highly recommend the story. Lowell Kepp

Sweeter Than sweet is a sexy, exciting page turner from beginning to end. The characters are realistic and interesting and the story is enjoyable. I couldn't put the book down. I am looking forward to reading more about these characters in the next book as the story continues. For people who enjoy Black romance, you will love this.

A very nice piece of work and a well written story. This is Nicholson's doctoral dissertation at the University of Chicago, reprinted, which covers the life of Tancred, nephew of Bohemond (who was a leader of the First Crusade).

Nicholson does a careful job with his subject, as befits a top Medievalist. Beginning with Tancred's origins and relation to Bohemond, he takes us through the First Crusade and the intrigues of the Holy Land and Antioch to Tancred's death.

A great addition to any library on the Crusades and/or the Normans in Italy.

This graphic novel is worth reading. The highlight is "The Inquisitor" a story about a man all of the workers in the art production house suspect is a spy of the company. When he dies they go through his room and discover his survellance was centered around only the most banal facts. "Jar Head" is an interesting look into addiction and/versus creativity. Excellent.

I have known Eleanor Nicholson since the late 1970's and purchased her first book "In the Footsteps of the Camel" directly from the publisher when I was in London. Her late daughter Linda (whose life was tragically cut short by a drunken driver) and I had worked together for several years and, through Linda, I met Eleanor and her late husband Russell, who died not long ago. Eleanor and Russ taught their daughters the life of the real people of Saudi Arabia by traveling with them through the desert when on holiday from school, sometims staying with the Bedouins in their tents. They did not want their girls to grow up knowing an elitist lifestyle by staying within the confines of the oil company residential compound.

Eleanor is a phenomenal woman with a depth of love and understanding for the people of a country she called home through her daughters' births there, and throughout their school years. She even taught herself how to develop film to avoid sending her film for processing thus subjecting her photography to Government censorship.

I am proud to know the Nicholson family as friends these many years, and still miss Linda very deeply.