Richards Books

I heard about Kate Cumming at a Celtic festival in Virginia where Irish singer and songwriter Jed Marum (SOUL OF A WANDERER) told her story, talked about her diary and sang two beautiful songs that her life inspired him to write. I knew I had to read the book, and I was NOT disappointed!

Kate's devotion to her adopted homeland and her deep faith are inspiring. Her thoughts and feelings about the war and her battle front experience evolve over the 3 years of the diary - and they are eloquently expressed in its pages. This book is a treasure!

Kate's is a remarkable story, and this journal in her own words unfolds over the difficult days of the US Civil War. Kate Cumming is a fine, educated, intelligent and articulate woman. She is a woman of deep faith and lasting patience. Her journal passes on to us the daily routine, the sufferings of war and the deepest reflections of this noteworthy woman. The text is riveting, moving, thought provoking. The book is history from a very personal perspective - one well worth reading.

This book is the masterfully written journal of Kate Cumming. Miss Cumming was a confederate
nurse during the Civil War. Like Clara Barton in the north, Kate cares for hundreds of the suffering soldiers. Miss Cumming works at Corinth, Mississippi toward the start of the book. Here at Corinth men are brought in every day from the bloody battlefield of Shiloh. She works in Chattanooga for a few months. Also she did her duty as a nurse in Mobile, Alabama(her hometown) Kate relates in her flowing writing the many thoughts that ran through her mind during those long, hard, years. She tells of how much faith in God these men had. This really touched me. Kate said, while speaking of the men's faith, that she had not met one man in her hospital that did not know the Lord. This is quite a statement! To think of all that these men went through at Shiloh, Stone's River, and so many others! I would highly recommend this book because it reveals the true history from a woman who lived at the time and was a witness to these events in our country's history.

Excellant Book covers areas of the war not gone over by others, I do Confederate Cemetery Research and she has in her Journal name of men who did and some unit information, that has help to lead to I.D.ing 5 Soldiers not listed in to N.Ga. cemeteries before

Kate's journal is amazingly well-written, and, as I said in my title, it is obvious from reading it that she is a true Southern lady.

When I consider how I write any old thing, any old way, in my own journals, I am impressed by the way Kate kept all the wartime news- both on the battlefield and in her private life- so nicely organized. Don't let the word "organized" fool you, though, into thinking it is boring. This journal is anything but dull. Kate's writing style is intelligent, personal, detailed, and extremely interesting; the amazing part is that most of it is written whenever she can snatch a moment to herself from her nursing duties.

From reading Kate's journal one quickly sees her devotion to the South and its "cause" for freedom. She was not a nurse before the war, but when the war began she volunteered to become one. As a nurse, she showed great compassion for the soldiers, doing everything in her power to alleviate their suffering and to make their stay in the hospital as pleasant as possible, under the terrible circumstances in which she worked. Sometimes her burden would seem too heavy, and she would almost make up her mind to quit, but her determination to be patriotic and her compassion for her patients would change her mind.

Kate Cumming was a true lady, and this fact also made her journal enjoyable. She is well-mannered; for instance, when she does dislike someone she exercises reserve in writing about them, even though she is writing in her private journal. She does greatly dislike "Yankees", but instead of simply raving bitterly about them, she relates the incidents that cause her to dislike them. Overall, Kate is quiet and observant, and likes to write about the better things that occur in her life (something as simple as meeting a friend on the train, or having something extra nice for dinner) rather than dwell negatively on the hardships that she was experiencing.

I highly recommend this wartime journal for anyone interested in a truly personal account of a nurse during the Civil War. The fact that Kate was a Southerner makes it even more interesting, because on the whole she went through more than her Northern counterparts did. She was a patriotic lady, and her attitude throughout the war makes her journal a pleasure to read.

This book is a labor of love and committment, the author rocks and provides insights into what it takes to assure that today's actions ensure one's goals/ideals, i.e. wolf recovery, survive into the next generation. The illustrations are sweet and the book is very easy to read and enjoyable.

I grew up in Wisconsin and can relate to Richard P Thiel's accurate and colorful descriptions of northern and central Wisconsin landscape. However, his experiences go far beyond those of most others, helped by being able to track wolves by light aircraft and radio telemetry thus getting a bird's eye view of the scene. A good example of the Scientific Method on the hoof, so to speak. The book does not glamorize the profession of wildlife biology; it tells it like it is, including the governmental bureaucracy, physical hardships, bad weather, and long hours, occasionally punctuated with incredible encounters with the wolves that refused to be excluded from Wisconsin. The book teaches people what to expect when wolves share your living space. And what a great ending ... it brings the reader right up to date and sets the stage for proper management decisions in the future. A great humorous book which will entertain you as well as educate. I couldn't put it down.

Good friends presented us this book as a Christmas gift, knowing that we are very interested in all forms of appearance of the nature, inanimate and alive.
It is of great interest for us since just in this years the wolves also return to the forests of our Eastgerman country.
It is wonderful written, understandable also for the laymen and rich in nice figures.
Most important for us is however, that this book is written by a man who obviously feels responsible for the life on our so endangered earth, who understand that human life is tightly connected with all the other appearances of life and that the good evolution of one kind of life is the necessary precondition for the healthy existence of all another creatures.
Men like Richard Thiel give us the hope that life has a chance to survive at our planet.

'Keepers of the wolves' is Richard P Thiel's follow up to his
wonderful 1993 publication 'The Timber Wolf in Wisconsin.'
Once again the author's informative and personal writing style
makes this very fine book an essential work for any Wolf supporter interested in the more complex aspects of the Wolf recovery effort in the United states today.

Keepers Of The Wolves: The Early Years Of Wolf Recovery In Wisconsin by Richard Thiel (coordinator of the Wisconsin Department of natural Resources Sandhill Outdoor Skills Center, Babcock, Wisconsin) is the true and fascinating story of the restoration of wild wolves to Wisconsin Forest, from 1978 when they had been gone for twenty years to the present day with an estimated 200 timber wolves in 54 packs. Black-and-white line drawings illustrate a story of political controversies, environmental struggles, and the enduring strength of the wolf itself. A conservationist success story, Keepers Of The Wolves is especially recommended for Wisconsin environmental issues reading lists and wildlife restoration studies reference collections.

As a product of the baby boom generation, I grew up taking for granted the post-war, "Leave It To Beaver" cozy atmosphere of the '50's and early '60's. Despite the Cold War, I was rather unconcerned about war and its effects on real people. Then Viet Nam came along and many of us developed a distain for any kind of military engagement. The Viet Nam war did not evoke any spirit of patriotism as WWII had done. After reading this book, I realized how much WWII and those who fought in it affected the lives of those they left behind, and the generations to come. These were ordinary men, some recently out of high school or college who rose to the challenge of defending freedom for us and our allies. They willingly left behind comfortable, safe lives to answer the call of duty. The passages in this book describing the plane being hit, the author and his fellow crew members bailing out, facing more enemy gunfire and possible death were gripping. The account of prison camp life was interesing and entertaining. I was impressed with the ingenuity of the prisoners. This book and others like it should be mandatory for high school history classes. We should all be grateful to this "Greatest Generation."

A few years ago I went to visit my uncle Joe in Florida for his 80th birthday. He was shot down by the Germans on Nov. 30, 1944 and spent the rest of the war in a POW camp. For the first time he told me the whole story of his capture, internment and repatriation. By chance I purchased Kriegie a few months later and it was as if my uncle were telling the whole story over word-for-word. It turns out it was the same camp. I sent him the book and he verifies every interesting detail. This is a wonderful book and entirely accurate. A must read!

As a product of the baby boom generation, I grew up taking for granted the post-war, "Leave It To Beaver" cozy atmosphere of the '50's and early '60's. Despite the Cold War, I was rather unconcerned about war and its effects on real people. Then Viet Nam came along and many of us developed a distain for any kind of military engagement. The Viet Nam war did not evoke any spirit of patriotism as WWII had done. After reading this book, I realized how much WWII and those who fought in it affected the lives of those they left behind, and the generations to come. These were ordinary men, some recently out of high school or college who rose to the challenge of defending freedom for us and our allies. They willingly left behind comfortable, safe lives to answer the call of duty. The passages in this book describing the plane being hit, the author and his fellow crew members bailing out, facing more enemy gunfire and possible death were gripping. The account of prison camp life was interesing and entertaining. I was impressed with the ingenuity of the prisoners. This book and others like it should be mandatory for high school history classes. We should all be grateful to this "Greatest Generation."

As a product of the baby boom generation, I grew up taking for granted the post-war, "Leave It To Beaver" cozy atmosphere of the '50's and early '60's. Despite the Cold War, I was rather unconcerned about war and its effects on real people. Then Viet Nam came along and many of us developed a distain for any kind of military engagement. The Viet Nam war did not evoke any spirit of patriotism as WWII had done. After reading this book, I realized how much WWII and those who fought in it affected the lives of those they left behind, and the generations to come. These were ordinary men, some recently out of high school or college who rose to the challenge of defending freedom for us and our allies. They willingly left behind comfortable, safe lives to answer the call of duty. The passages in this book describing the plane being hit, the author and his fellow crew members bailing out, facing more enemy gunfire and possible death were gripping. The account of prison camp life was interesing and entertaining. I was impressed with the ingenuity of the prisoners. This book and others like it should be mandatory for high school history classes. We should all be grateful to this "Greatest Generation."

A wonderful "slice-of-POW-life"story! This is a must-read for everyone, but especially for those of my "baby-boom" generation who have enjoyed the fruits of the "Greatest Generation's" sacrifices. This is a very well-written and concise account of this author's training, his ill-fated bombing mission over France, and his imprisonment by the Germans. While the details of combat and solitary confinement are compelling, the stories of the POW's spirit and ingenuity are heartwarming. The author emphasizes that he was one of the lucky ones -- a very humble remark from someone who endured such hardships. I thank Oscar Richard for his hardships and sacrifices during the war, and I also thank him for telling his great story.

This book provides a well-written, easy to understand description of L2TP.

Although the book seems to be small in size, it covers L2TP protocol very well. This book gives a good discussion of L2TP protocol and deployment in different scenarios and good refernce for developers.

Clearly explains the tunnel and session negotiations with state machines and examples.
The implementation tips provides guidelines for implementing L2TP stack. Also explains the interaction of L2TP with PPP and IPSec and covers the security aspects of L2TP.

This book is more focussed on the L2TP client running in the ISP side(Compulsory L2TP tunneling).May be author can provide more details on the deployment where L2TP client running at the Remote User PC.

This book is clear, concise and helps the reader understand the details of implementation, and issues surrounding L2TP. Areas that were rough spots (including authentication, hiding and unhiding AVPs, and sequencing) during the bakeoffs are described clearly, which goes a long way to help reduce the development cycle of anyone implementing L2TP. If someone is developing, deploying, supporting, or marketing L2TP, they should read this book. The book is small enough that it is not overwhelming, and even managers could find the time to read it.

This book is very well written, the text flows well, making it easy to glance over a topic and still understand it. It is not only a good book for a L2TP beginner, but also a good reference guide for people who are interested in topics that are L2TP-related (VJ compression, Radius, etc.). Another plus, the size and soft binding of the book make it easy to handle.

This is the definitive book on L2TP, and probably one of the most useful VPN books overall.

The book provides a detailed discussion of the L2TP protocol which will be useful to implementors as well as customers. It includes a discussion of how L2TP can be secured using IPSEC, as well as chapters on management issues, including SNMP MIBs, and interactions with RADIUS authentication, authorization and accounting.

Throughout the book, Rick Shea demonstrates his mastery of the subject as well as authority as a writer. Unlike many other VPN books, Rick Shea has been there and knows what he is talking about.

I first purchased "Patent it yourself" by David Pressman and distributed by Nolo. This book is on the same level. Very clear and concise. It is not an attorney, but boy does it give you the necessary terminology and concepts that will dramatically increase your understanding of the licensing process. If you have any doubts, go to the Nolo website and listen to a podcast about the subject matter that will be covered and then make your decision. In my opinion...Great buy!!

First of all I think the book (the most recent edition as well as earlier versions) is first rate and I highly recommend it. Although the book is geared for do-it-yourself licensors, it is also terrific to help people who are looking for an attorney or who have one they are already working with. Having been a attorney focusing on intellectual property licensing for more than 30 years and teaching licensing to non-lawyer grad students, I know first hand that this book is a comprehensive albeit superficial overview of the licensing process. Despite how good the book is, it will not transform the reader into intellectual property licensing expert.

In the real world, licensing situations often become far more complicated than the impression the book provides. That is especially true when you are trying to negotiate with a large company with experienced IP lawyers. Its like trying to out negotiate a car salesman when buying a car. What the book does impart is a much greater knowledge of the overall landscape. The more you know, the better it is to work with your own lawyer to help you through the complications. People license to make money so the better the license, the more money that can be made.

Also beware that the book seems to focus mostly on patent licensing as opposed to other forms of intellectual property where the strategies and nuances are different. Again, this is only slight criticism as I did very much like the book. It is definitely a useful read for neophytes to licensing.

Joe Hustein

If you've invented a commercially viable product or service - especially if it's patentable - this reference book will help you with the next steps. It's much more about the legal aspects and other issues that go on AFTER you've got your golden egg and start soliciting companies, partners for licensing agreements....Definitely for serious inventors willing to persevere. I would have liked more case studies from Stim's past, but realize that confidentiality may not have allowed it.

This book is very educational about how to go about the licensing process. It's very easy reading, not the technical boring style. The included software is a major plus! You can customize the included licensing contracts.

Michael Waller
Iconium Clothing...

If you have a patented or a patentable invention and have decided not to manufacture or market it yourself, but wish to license a company to do so, this book is for you. In fact, it is a must read. The book covers not only the licensing of inventions but the licensing of trade secrets and copyrights.

As the author points out, manufacturing your invention yourself (venturing) is often not the wisest course. Few inventors have the funds or the experience to run a successful business venture. Also the cost of fighting infringers can be financially devastating for a new enterprise.

Perhaps the greatest strength of this book is its ability to explain legal terms and legal fine points in down to earth, everyday, language. An example of the practical approach this book takes is when the author comments: "Sad as it may seem, you may be better off with no license at all than a licensee that has a reputation for acting unethically".

He further notes that finding the right partner for a license can be harder than inventing and patenting. The author points out how some common agreements you as an inventor may make may have an impact your ability to license. He cites ten examples. One is a representation (rep) agreement that may require paying the rep a percentage of your license even though the rep was not involved in negotiating it!

How commercial is your invention? A list of 33 areas and factors to check is given. When you consider that only two or three out of a 100 new inventions succeed, it is well worth your time to go over this list early on. The book notes even brilliant inventions may be ignored by the public if the price is too high.

While many inventors worry about infringers, you should also be aware of the fact that "Many patent owners use their patents to earn more money stopping infringers than from selling the invention". An area that inventors seldom worry about is how their spouse may affect their license. Under various state laws, not only can spouses share ordinary property, but they can share intellectual property as well. Their signature on an assignment may be required.

Similar to this is the vital importance of spelling out the rights involved in a joint ownership agreement. A three page form for doing this is given in the book. A convenient feature of this book is that copies of forms appear alongside the subject under discussion. The forms also appear in the appendix and on a floppy disk located on the inside back cover of the book. (17 forms are provided.)

Several pages are devoted to the subject of invention marketing scams and on how to recognize a phony marketing company. Despite the best efforts of state and federal law agencies, scams take American inventors for hundreds of millions of dollars every year. If you do nothing else, read these pages.

For various reasons, companies fear and resist ideas from an outside source. The author offers suggestions for overcoming the "kooky loner" image that Hollywood has foisted on the public with regard to inventors. On the other hand, there are some companies that steal ideas and it behooves the inventor to check out their reputations before disclosing anything without an agreement.

The author discusses the very important topics of GMAR (guaranteed minimum annual royalty), how "net sales" figures can be modified by nine types of deductions, and he examines twelve factors affecting royalties.

A twelve page license agreement is presented and a thorough point by point discussion is made. Here and elsewhere in the book "legalese" is avoided and when it cannot be avoided a plain and simple explanation is given. For example, attorneys use a method called "redline/strikeout" to revise agreements. The author reduces this to plain English.

An eight page checklist for reviewing your license agreement is provided. It tells you what keywords, what phrases, and what terms need to be analyzed. It also refers you to the proper chapter for more information. Regarding "legalese", the author gives a fundamental bit of advice: "If a lawyer can't explain your situation clearly to you, he probably won't be able to explain it clearly to a judge or jury".

This is the first edition of this book. This reviewer suspects it will join David Pressman's Patent It Yourself (now in its seventh edition) as an absolute must read for inventors.

This book will make you think

An excellent resource for reflection on the meaning of life as we confront it in the decisions of everyday life. A resource for preachers and for the "person in the pew," especially good for hospital and health care situations. Warning: it may bring tears to the eyes, both for humor, and for touching the heartstrings in the difficult moments of life. --Rev. Allen Bryan, Hospice Chaplain

A little spark can light a mighty flame. There is not a sermon here of Father Zajac's that does not abound in sparks that will turn his readers to caring afresh for our muddled, hope-filled family, and connecting Scripture to our human experience. Rev. Ross Mackenzie, Director of Department of Religion, Chautauqua Institution

George Burns once said "a sermon should have a good beginning , a good ending - and hopefully they are close together." We can be grateful Fr. Zajac does not subscribe to this philosophy! Not only do his beginnings and endings claim our attention - so, too, is most of what is in between truly food for the journey. The sermons he has shared with us reveal the soul of a man who is not only well read but also well lived in the joys, sorrows and foibles of the human predicament. There is not a sermon in this collection where he does not tie his thoughts together with actual experience. To use one of his own illustrations: Fr. Zajac has closed the gap between his head and his heart and given us a group of sermons that ring true. In reading many of them I felt he was holding a mirror up to my face; I strongly suspect this is one of the greatest gifts he has to share. The Rev. Cynthia Brownson Sweigert, Rector, The Church of the Redeemer, Pittsburgh, Pa.

Reading "Life Injections" is like reading a book of short stories each with its small cast of characters facing life's dilemmas which somehow don't seem as complicated under the glow of Fr. Zajac's insight. "Life Injections" is a collage of fables a modern Aesop might write revealing that though life is indeed difficult, it is not necessarily complicated. If Paul were writing his epistles in 1996 instead of 0056 he would be hard pressed to convey more insight than flows from Fr Zajac's entrancing "stories" of gentle truths that bring simple answers to our human condition. -- Thomas T. Frantz, Chair, Department of Counseling and Educational Psychology, SUNY at Buffalo

David Richards truly expresses the beauty and subtlety of fly fishing magnificenly. Whether a fly fisherman or not, this book truly is an enjoyable read. Through detailed and off-beat decriptions of his life and his love of the river, he reminds me why I love to read!

I read this book and every fishing trip I have ever been on came rushing back. As I read I could feel the weight of the fly vest on my shoulders and smell the campfire. No one other than a down home salmon fisherman could have written this book. While he fished the Mirimichi I fished the Restigouche and once had the privilidge of meeting his Uncle, Richard Adams, on the Matepedia.
I know the beauty of the land and the feeling of a line tighten under a heavy fish, Everything is so real, from the sound of the water and the singing of a reel being stripped of its line down to the irritating buzzing of the bugs. He speaks of the friendships on the river so accurately one knows it is not fiction.
A wonderful read that I tore through and will sit down again to read it again to savour anything I may have missed.
My only regret is there were only 5 stars to give it.

This is a beautifully illustrated book about a baby who does want to go to bed and so with a "vrruum-chugga-chug" zooms off in his little car awy from "the Mother" - he meets a sleepy tiger, dreaming soldiers, a resting train, and drowsy musicians until his little car itself falls asleep, not even the Moon will play - then he's rescued by the Mother and goes to bed - my little ones love it (and are usually asleep before the end!!)

This book is a joy to read. Richards tells his stories of the Miramichi as if you're around the campfire with him, and spins fish tales, one after another, not really connected but somehow all connected, till when you finish you feel you've somehow received wisdom. David Adams Richards is a master ---- I believe he's one of this era's great writers. Summary: The book is like Walden, but more interesting.

My neighbor lent this book to me when I was having trouble getting my 2 year old to go to bed and go to sleep with it being light out at bedtime during the summer. She loved the book and would ask for me to read it again every night. It is one of her favorite books. The action words really invite her to get involved in the story. Words like "vrrruuum-chugga-chug", roaring tigers, parading soldiers,resting not racing trains, musicians playing a lullaby, a sighing drowsy moon, and a yawning baby who doesn't want to stay up all night after his adventures. This could be a classic book.

I attended two of the author's presentations at the EARCOS conference in Bangkok recently and found them both thought-provoking and practical. The same is true of this book, which I purchased at the book fair. It's a treasure trove of learning activities that teachers can use to teach students about more than just "how" to use technology. As an IB history teacher I was especially impressed with "The Why List" activity that helps students think critically about what they encounter online and off. I highly recommend this book, especially for fellow teachers of the IB programme.

I'm a librarian and middle school language arts teacher in San Francisco. I came across this book last spring and fell in love with it. I'm now using activities from it with my students and recommending it to all of my colleagues. I was especially excited to hear Dr. Burniske speak at the IRA conference in San Francisco! He's great on paper and in person! I can't say enough good things about this book or its author.

I just bought a copy of this book after attending a workshop that the author gave at the Texas PTA summer seminar. It was the best workshop that I attended and this book is undoubtedly the best thing that I am taking back to my school district from this year's conference. I'm going to encourage fellow PTA members to buy copies of this book and make it recommended reading for every parent and teacher in their school district. And if they don't like that idea then I'll go one better -- make it REQUIRED reading.

I discovered this book through my membership in the International Reading Association, which has listed it among their recommended readings. Although I'm a middle school reading teacher -- and a bit apprehensive about computer technology's impact upon student reading -- I found Burniske's ideas extremely valuable and practical. If nothing else, it was refreshing to hear someone discuss computer literacy as a form of critical literacy that requires higher order thinking skills -- rather than approach it like a functional literacy that requires only technical skills.

I'm not a big fan of "how-to" books, nor am I enthralled with instructional technology, but this is a very smart book that describes interesting classroom activities in response to legitimate classroom concerns. The author is obviously well-versed in the use of networked technology for pedagogical purposes, but he's not infatuated with it, nor does he turn a blind eye to the new problems that it presents. If nothing else, teachers need to read Chapter #2, "Civil Literacy," which suggests that we consider the moral and ethical responsibilities that accompany the acquisition of technical skills when we define "computer literacy." Many school districts are putting a lot of pressure on teachers to find ways to make use of the technology that policymakers have spent a lot of money on in recent years. Anyone who wants to see what a creative teacher can do when experimenting with information and communication technology should read this book. The author doesn't pretend to have all the answers or the "best practices" that will help others solve every problem. What he does have to offer, though, is a fundamental concern for teaching students how to read, write and think critically -- and some excellent ideas for making that happen with the aid of new technologies.

Received the book in the time limit specified. It arrived packaged well and in excellent condition as stated by the seller. I am very pleased with the book and wouldn't hesitate to recommend this seller to my friends, or to do business with them again in the future.

Radek Kurzaj's lovely color photos compliments the first chronological survey of log houses designed in Europe and the U.S. from 1890 to modern times, and covers a vast range of architectural designs and builder innovations in the process. Libraries strong in woodworking or homeowner's titles, especially general-interest public library collections, will find LOG HOUSES OF THE WORLD an eye-catching display title that fulfills its cover attraction and promise with equally compelling interior photos. But don't think it's just a picturebook coffee table addition: it's packed by Architectural Digest magazine editor Richard Olsen's commentary and history as well. The depth and coverage can't be beat.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

What a wonderful and beautiful treatment of the subject! I will never think of log houses in the same way again. The writing is engaging as well as educational. I love design as well as travel and this book took me around the globe. Bravo!

Great insight into the world of the log house. This will shatter your preconceived concept of what a log cabin is, and show you what it can be. Very educational and beautifully photographed. A great addition to anyone's book collection who is interested in log cabins, architecture, or history.

I'm one of the architects whose work is published in this collection. At the risk of sounding preposterously self-serving, I wanted to chime in that I just received my copy of the book and I was very taken with it. It's a diverse collection of projects, nicely photographed, and in particular I found the writing to be refreshingly well done. The author captured the distinct elements of the built works and the narrative behind them very skillfully, and in my case, quite accurately. It's a great volume and I'm honored to be included in it.

The Longest Cave is a book which will hold you spellbound and wishing it would never end! Roger Brucker and "Red" Watson were young men 50 years ago when they first toured what was then known as Floyd Collin's Crystal Cave. This book is the story of how they and so many others dedicated days, months and years to seek out new passageways deep underground. In the case of Roger and Red, they dedicated decades and continue to work to preserve the very fragile cave environment.

This book has everything that you would want not only in a book but in a feature blockbuster movie! Adventure, Suspense, Humor, Friendship, Excitement, Discovery, Danger, and around every corner lurks the Unknown which would leave any movie-goer on the edge of their seat! All this without the gore and crime which seems to be the standard in so many books and movies today.

I HIGHLY recommend this book for anyone of any age!!! What makes this even more amazing is that this is a true story.

What these men and women accomplished is the equivalent of climbing Mount Everest in the DARK and without ever having seen a map of it! This is the American Dream of hard work, dedication, comraderie, and perseverance.

We have movies of Everest and Space Exploration and I look forward to the movie based on this book!
Without a doubt "The Longest Cave" will far surpass any movie on the above-mentioned topics.

Thanks Roger and Red for an AWESOME book!

This book is the best book I've ever came across! Outstanding adventure of how the World's Largest Cave System ever came about. The discoveries in this book are amazing! Suspence to the fullest! The people in this book who made this discovery should be noted as the best exploration team of all time! I can only amagine the feeling they got knowing they had made the biggest connection in cave history to this day. It would be almost impossible for anyone else to top the discovery in this book. An amazing adventure!! I couldn't stop reading this book over and over. The authors of this book should give the story to Hollywood to make into a motion picture. I could imagine this story making the best adventure movie of all time. Ron Howard or Steven Speilburg should be given a copy of this book! It would be a hit! I wish I had the full video tape of this expidition. National Geographic's short segment in "Mysteries Underground" was a tease. If anyone knows where or if there is such a tape, please post it! This is a must read if you like adventure to the fullest!

If you like adventure, if you like caves, if you like drama and suspense, or if you breath in and out regularly and have a pulse, you really ought to read this book. The story of the years it took to connect the Flint Ridge/Mammoth cave systems, it sweeps the reader into the wonderfully obsessive world of the Flint Ridge Cavers. A great book. Strongly reccomended.

I bought this book about 15 years ago while visiting Mammoth Cave National Park. I still enjoy rereading it from time to time. It is the sort of book one hates to see end.

The book narrates the history of the discovery that Kentucky's Flint Ridge-Mammoth Cave system of caves is by far the world's longest known series of continuously-connected caverns. The writers and their many cohorts are not only daring adventurers, but a collection of cavers who deeply appreciate the mystery, beauty and science of caves.

A very interesting part of the book is the well-developed character sketches of the many explorers, a good number of whom participated in parts of the long, arduous struggle to discover the connections between five different large caves so as to make them one.

The overriding star of the show is the cave system itself, and the book contains many facinating portions about the beauty, danger, wonder, and history of the things found there by explorers dating back to prehistoric Native Americans, forward.

After a frustrating series of events, including an initial startling lack of interest/resistance by National Park personnel, progress begins to be made in leaps and bounds. When the Ohio cavers find that the Flint Ridge system is the longest then know, an effort is taken up to connect it with Mammoth Cave.

In a spine-tingling narrative about going past the "Tight Spot", a very small passage, the cavers eventually make the connection by going down in Flint Ridge and emerging in a well-known Mammoth Cave tourist gallery. The sense of truiumph and relief is overwhelming and excellently captured.

My size and age prohibit me from doing the things described in this book, and I have never done them. But I was captivated from start to finish by the story of these brave, resourceful people and the cave system they explored and charted. It is as if I am there myself.

My only quibble is that the photographs are limited and in black and white, but the excellent descriptive writing overcomes this factor. I love the book. Very, very highly recommended.

Caves have been intertwined with Kentucky history since a man named Houchins chased a bear into Mammoth cave in the late 1700s. Later on, the valley north of Mammoth Cave was named after this early settler, and the ridge north of Houchins' Valley was called Flint Ridge. Starting in the early 1950s a group of cavers began a lifelong ambition of connecting the caves on the northern ridge (Flint Ridge) to the caves on the southern ridge (Mammoth Cave Ridge). Their goal was simple: To map the Longest Cave. This book covers that time. Along with 'The Caves Beyond' and 'Trapped', this book constitutes an informal trilogy about Mammoth Cave. It is a story of determination over hardship, of perseverence over fatigue, of triumph over nature. Roger Brucker and Red Watson write this book with the confidence of people that were there. From the very beginning, their influence on the project helped mold it into what it was to become. We see them age, from young men in their ealry twenties, to grizzled Flint Ridge veterans to seeing their children caving alongside them. There is a real sense of the passage of time here; people come, people go, the cave is eternal. Fiction should hope to be so true. Dominating all this is the cave. It is all pervading. Over three hundred miles of passage lies under their feet, and the reader fells as if he is crawling, climbing and squirming along with them. We feel the explorer's chill they wade through Hanson's Lost River, we feel their pain as they crawl through Agony Avenue. We satand alongside them as they are awed by the vastness and remoteness of Unknown Cave. Above all else, it is the story of the people who explore the cave. For fourty years, cavers have been gathering in Central Kentucky to explore this cave. To mankind, the cave is eternal. We may choos to protect it, we may, in our ignorance deface it. Either way, we live our lives by interacting with it. Or to put it in the books words: "That is where life is, that is where your friends are".

Read this b! ook.