S Books

So pleased with the product, the company I purchased it from,the prompt delivery everything was first rate.

My husband is one of Betty's nephews.All of the sisters had an incredible wit about them - probably because of their mother Sidney Bard. She did a wonderful job raising her children with out her beloved husband Darcy. It's too bad the children and grandchildren didn't learn lessons from Betty's books. She would be sad to see the way the family turned out.

It's just so heartening to know that others love Betty MacDonald's books as much as I do. I've been giving Anybody Can Do Anything as my female gift book of this year.

we get the story of what she and the children did with themselves.

Her father had been a mining engineer, and although he died fairly young he had been able to save quite a bit; her mother had come from a 'good' East Coast family--not REALLY rich, but apparently quite well off. Betty and her siblings had grown up in large houses with music and dance lessons. However, the Great Depression reduced the family's portfolio to wastepaper. The children had never been taught to actually *do* anything, and actually going out to work for a living was something that they (especially the daughters) had never thought that they would have to do.

The story of how they scrambled to make ends meet during the 1930s would have been grim, but the Bard family despises self-pity above all other faults, and Betty is able to find humor in any situation.

After women having to work to survive during the 1930s, and having to work in the 1940s when all the men were off to war, is it any wonder that the women of this generation and their daughters wanted to retreat into domesticity during the 1950s?

This book is hard to find, so if you get the chance, snap it up!
This is a hilarious account of the author's life post-"Egg & I."
Betty moves from the chicken ranch back to her family's home in Seattle.
Sister Mary, undaunted by the fact that Betty has no experience, eagerly launches Betty's business career and social life.
The mishaps that ensue are absolutely hilarious.
Skillfully written, this book makes the Depression a laugh riot.
BUY IT!
I only wish that Betty had written more books.

Anybody who ascribes to the idiotic notion that Southern secession was all about states' rights and really had nothing to do with slavery needs to be reminded of two antebellum events: the Fugitive Slave Act, which was legislation that solely benefitted slaveowners while being a complete affront to the notion of states' rights; and the gag rule in Congress from 1836-1844, which essentially stripped citizens & Congressmen of their 1st amendment rights.

The gag rule was focused on the 1st Amendment right of petition, which was frequently utilized by US citizens in the early 19th century. The cause of the furor was a dramatic increase of abolitionist petitions that proposed the abolition of the slave trade within the District of Columbia, which was under the direct jurisdiction of the US Congress (DC was chosen because most people believed that the Constitution did not give the Congress jurisdiction in the individual states --- DC was another matter).

The Congress of that period was dominated by pro-slavery Southerners and sympathetic Northerners who would rather not stir up too much trouble. However, a small group of Congressmen, led by John Quincy Adams, waged an 8-year against the gag rule. Along the way, Adams & his cohorts, along with an increasingly organized & vocal abolitionist movement, undermined the neutral attitude most Americans had towards the issue of slavery.

Former president John Quincy Adams is clearly the central figure of the story, and it is pretty obvious that Miller likes the crochety old statesman. One cannot read this book and not come away with an increased respect for Adams, who has unfairly been relegated to historical obscurity. It is remarkable to think that through most of the gag rule battle, Adams was in his mid to late 70's, and almost never missed a day in Congress. The story also displays abundantly Adams' formidable intellect and parliamentary skills.

On the other side of the aisle were the Southern fire-eaters, who were capable of great oratorical flourishes but who possessed precious little strategic skill. Miller recounts how, time again, the pro-slavery forces miscalculated with their tactics. Instead of squelching debate about slavery, hotheads like Henry Wise & Waddy Thompson Jr succeeded only in inflaming the controversy. After 8 years, the leaders of the pro-gag forces were realizing that they might have unleashed forces beyond their control, and abandoned the fight to maintain the gag.

The story is presented in an entertainingly narrative style which I found to be quite enjoyable. Some reviewers have found the author's asides to be a distraction, but I found that they contributed well to the story for the most part. Indeed, some sections of the book (such as when Adams is facing down his opponents who are attempting to censure him) are real page-turners.

While the book was very entertaining, it is also quite sobering. One becomes aware of the appalling nature of the slave-owning bloc. So dedicated were they to preserving their own interests that they repeatedly violated the 1st Amendment & trampled on civil rights of WHITE citizens in general, through the censoring of private mail, violating the writ of habeas corpus (South Carolina had a law on the books for almost 40 years, allowing free black sailors to arrested & imprisoned for duration of their ship's stay in port, simply because they were free blacks and MIGHT incite the local slave population to rebel) and (ironically) violating the doctrine of states' rights --- as the right to due process was systematically denied to the citizens of other states (a free enfranchised citizen of Massachusetts, for example, was not due any rights at all under the constitution of Missouri if he happened not to be white). Eventually, the encroachment by the South on the civil rights of the rest of the nation's citizens became ominous enough for the average citizen in the North to become aware of the genuine threat that the expansion of slavery posed. Almost all of this starts with the fight over the gag rule in Congress.

Miller also examines how Southern politicians tried, with increasing difficulty, to reconcile their claims to being good republicans with their obvious anti-republican actions. Miller argues that the politicians of the South fought to prevent the mere discussion of slavery because they knew better than anyone that the institution & way of life they were defending could not be defended in the playing field was level. If violating the principles of the Constitution & the Declaration of Independence is what it took to defend the peculiar institution, then they would do it, but not without a great deal of moral & intellectual discomfort. It is amazing to read some of the tortured rationalizations of Southern statesmen during this period.

This should be required reading for the student of this period. It is not a dry subject, and fortunately the author writes with plenty of flair. If some devotee of the Lost Cause mythos starts blathering on about how the Confederacy was only about the defense of states' rights & tries to use the Constitution as a rationalization for secession, this book should provide you with plenty of ammunition for your debate.

An absolutely brilliant book. Incredibly moving: the only book I've ever read that literally brought me to tears while reading it. But at the same time, wonderfully informative and evocative of the amazing historical events of the day. If you liked the movie "Amistad," you will love this second look at John Quincy Adams' incredibly brave stand during what William Freehling has called the "Pearl Harbor of the Civil War." I cannot recommend this book highly enough.

Long before Sen. Charles Sumner spoke about Bleeding Kansas and was soon thereafter caned on the floor of the Senate by Congressman Preston Brooks, the Congressional waters had ben moving to an ever-higher boil on the slavery issue.

One of the leaders in the battle against slavery was Massachusetts Congressman and former President John Quincy Adams. Earning the sobriquet "Old Man Eloquent" on this issue, in this ever-heating contest, Adams finally got a House gag rule overturned that had prohibited antislavery petitions from the general public from even being discussed.

Adams had been a free-soiler, opposed to the expansion of slavery for many years. But his well-known legal defense of the Amistad defendants moved him beyond free-soiler to abolitionist.

Miller makes Adams fire on the floor Congress come alive, and puts into context.

Much of that context carries through to the 1860s and beyond.

For example, Miller points out that two decades before Lincoln thought of it, Adams opined that Presidentail war powers might be used to abolish slavery during a civil war.

At the same time, Miller reaches further back into history, to point out the early history of slavery in the North. (In the middle 1700s, New York's population may have been as high as 14 percent slave.) That's important to show how Southern arguments and fears that they A. could not do without slavery and B. would not know how to let such a large population go free, were groundless.

Here's a few more fascinating and important historical tidbits from the book.

Page 17 - Jefferson, while a member of the Confederation Congress in 1784, authored a provision to exclude slavery not just from the Old Northwest, but ALL Western territory on the far side of the Appalachians. It failed by one state's vote, which he claimed in turn was lost due to the illness of one delegate.

Page 349 - Showing a fine-tuned sense of satire, even sarcasm, during gag rule debate in the 25th Congress, Adams proposed Congress form a "Committee of Color," specifically designed to investigate Congressional bloodlines, with the "impure" to be summarily expelled.

Page 478 - A fine illustration of the morals of the white knights of the patrician South: Henry Hammond, southern ultra already at this time, in the House, and as Senator, deliverer of the "Cotton is King" speech, was a rou? first class. He took an 18-year-old slave with 1-year-old child as a mistress, then when the child turned 12 took her as mistress too. He also had some degree of attachment to the four teenage daughters of Wade Hampton II, father of the Civil War general.

Read this book, and find out just how entrenched Southern recalcitrance was 20, 30, 40 years before the shots at Fort Sumter.

The other reviewers have it right. I first read this superb book when it was first published in 1995. I picked it up thinking the subject seemed a little dry, but found I couldn't put it down. Now, eight years later, I have reread it. Again I couldn't put it down.

John Quincy Adams is not on Mount Rushmore; he is not trumpeted in high school history textbooks as a messianic figure, a beacon of freedom and liberty.

Quite rightly so; he would probably have found that amusing.

Adams is subject to an almost criminal lack of coverage in history courses--he does not fit the traditional model of the good American politician, and teachers often don't like to introduce amniguity into their courses by suggesting that an 'elitist' can be a great public figure, and that greatness is distinct from political success. Washington was great because he "created the country." Lincoln was great because he "ended slavery." Adams was simply an extremely good Secretary of State, brilliant Represenative in the House, and--god forbid--knew what he was doing while he was President.

The problem really is that Adams, with all his abilities, was not a politician in the American sense: he was educated, cultured, and actually knew what he was doing. His successor, Andrew Jackson--a boorish man who disobeyed the law, helped wipe out a race of people, and pandered to the whims of "the masses"--is often hailed as a great figure in American politics, apparently because of said boorishness, refusal to obey the Constitution, and genocidal tendencies.

In Adams is a figure that really ought to be respected and aimed for in American politics: a man with a strongly defined sense of morality, well-developed mind and good education, vast experience, and ability to govern. The traits that made Adams such a great man--his refusal to do anything simply because "the people" wanted it, coupled with his disturbing tendency to pursue policies that were intelligent, necessary, beneficial, and incredibly foresighted--seem to doom him to obscurity.

Miller takes on the unenviable task of arguing in favor of Adams as a great man, although he limits himself to his time in the House; in doing so, he provides an accesible and much-needed glimpse into the life of a man by far one of the greatest public figures America has seen.

I own and use this book frequently but was dismayed when it was re-released without updating it(language and gender roles, more up to date celebrity references) or fixing it's lack of reference to semi-square or other modern aspects to say nothing of it's inconsistencies in dealing with aspects to the angles or nodes, some planets have them, others don't. It's a good book, it just wants a thorough revision!

Whether you're an astrologer or just an astrology buff, your library is just not complete unless this classic book is a part of it. Sakoian's Astrologer's Handbook is not just one of my favorite "go to" astrological sources, it's every astrologer's "timeless" professional "bible".

This was the book which actually introduced me to astrology, and it remains by far the best I have seen after all these years, both in that category, as well as a general book on the topic for the whole spectrum of those acquainted with the field from beginners to scholars. It is a serious, easy to read, no-nonsense primer, which at the same time acquaints the novice with the actual philiosophy behind the subject in the form of concise delineations, and that is what is really important. More than that, it is also devoid of the mumbo-jumbo which many use to try and "spice up" and mystify an otherwise very real art, and which has ended up in discrediting it and making it a laughing stock. I will say no further, suggesting to the reader that it should be read directly instead to form an opinion about it, rather than reading its reviews.

ive used this book for over 10 years, well written
and fundamentally sound methodology, some sections
are not fullfilled, since it was written in 70s
planets in later signs such as neptune in scorpio,
to aqquarius , pluto in libra to capricorn are thin
still one of the best, buy this instead of online
horoscopes, because its got the basics, however, does
not do interpretations of transits to natal , or
progressions still i like it

I like this book quite a bit. It has the standard introductory to casting a chart, but it has two particular things in it that I have not found in any other book I have ever read.

First, it describes each house cusp in each sign. Normally books just describe Ascendant and Midhaven, but this includes the other 10 houses.

Second, when describing the aspects, it doesn't do the standard Good Aspect - Bad Aspect - Conjunction. It does all five major aspects: Conjunction, Sextile, Square, Trine, and Opposed. Separate interpreations for each aspect for each planetary combination.

Those are two excellent things that no other book I've ever ran across has.

The only down side is that the interpretations are a bit new-agey, so you have to sort the wheat from the chaff while using it.

Stephen Arroyo has a beautiful and gentle way of connecting the study of astrology and life. This is a MUST have for all students of astrology to see and understand the unavoidable knocks on the door to transform our lives!

i am a novice at astrology. This book is not for the novice.It is too complicated for me. I wanted something simple and fun to read.

Loved this book. Well written and comprehensive. Understandable and useful even for the non- astrolger. Tremendous insight.

This book is an absolute must even for beginner astrologers as it covers the slow planets and their effects. The absolute best book I've ever read on the "heavies".

I have studied Astrology for almost 20 years. For a brief period at the peak of my studies I did practice Astrology and was working toward NCGR certification. I chose to put my energies into having a family, however, and put Astrology aside for awhile. I still use it as a tool and have come back to it in the last year. I thought I'd write some reviews on the many books i do own. As I clicked on this book (my favorite) I actually did a double take at Ms Gallanti's review written in 2003, thinking i ALREADY wrote it. Here's why: I too, have said many times over the years that "if I were asked to take only ONE Astrology book to a deserted island for the rest of my life, it would be Mr Arroyo's Astrology Karma & Transformation"!

Do not pass go, do not collect $200, just buy it, and I'll see y'all on that island someday!

The Backbone of the World is a collection of random vignettes recording the author's experiences along America's continental divide. From the boot heel of New Mexico to Canada's Alberta province, Frank Clifford finds no shortage of eccentric, hardscrabble westerners with which to commune. Although ostensibly exploring the newly commissioned (and largely conterminous) Continental Divide Trail, the author actually spends little time on it. He prefers to alight sporadically in places collateral to the divide - the story becoming less reminiscent of a "backbone" and more of a vertebra here and a vertebra there.

And there's a larger problem with this appellation, as well. One assumes that Clifford derives "The Backbone of the World" from the Blackfeet name for an area in Glacier National Park, yet, in socio-geologic terms, it seems overly hopeful to apply it to the continental divide as a whole. The world is a big place and Clifford singularly fails to defend the distinction. Indeed, he completely ignores it. Why such a lofty claim when the author's protagonists are so quintessentially local (so local, in fact, that they inhabit only the eastern front)? In the absense of an answer, the reader is forced to conclude that Clifford has bestowed the honorific merely because it sounds good.

Lest I criticize too harshly however, the book's subtitle is right on the money. Frank Clifford meaningfully portrays a vanishing way of life. He has filled his book with people of extraordinary character from which he extracts stories disarmingly genuine. In fact, it is this talent that saves the effort from becoming a run-of-the-mill travel book and compels me to award it 4 stars. The Backbone of the World is recommendable, if somewhat arbitrarily constructed. For a more immersive experience regarding life along the divide, I recommend Leaning on the Wind by Sid Marty.

Anyone interested in reading about the glamorized West - artist retreats in Santa Fe, Denver socialites, ski resorts in million-dollar-home settings - will probably be disappointed in this book. Frank Clifford instead takes the reader to isolated outposts where people are just barely surviving: a sheep rancher north of Vail who lives in a ramshackle trailer; one of the last residents of Jeffrey City, WY, who is sick from years of working in the now-closed uranium mines and is too poor to see a doctor; a park ranger in Yellowstone hellbent on stopping illegal hunting practices along the park's isolated boundary; a trapper in New Mexico who sometimes goes six months without human contact; a Canadian environmentalist fighting a losing battle against gas and timber companies; a group of Blackfeet Indians trying to maintain ties to their ancient culture on their reservation near Glacier NP; a ranch family in southern New Mexico frightened of the drugs and violence along the border.

A few things unite most of Clifford's subjects: a fierce independence; a hatred for governmental interference, especially when it interferes with their livelihoods; and a similar disdain for "outsiders" who they feel look down upon them as inferior people, hicks, and want to impose restrictions on how they can and should use the land (i.e. environmentalists). Clifford, who is a journalist from California, must be commended for not taking a position for or against his subjects (he realizes both sides have valid arguments) and for becoming one of them, even if it's only for a short time (he rides horses with his subjects, helps them with their cattle and sheep, etc.). The book will definitely take the wind out of the sails of anyone who pictures the West as merely a drop-dead beautiful mountain backdrop to be enjoyed while sipping red wine on a dude ranch porch. This is the real deal, the other-side-of-the-tracks picture where people count pennies to survive the year and every cow or sheep lost to a grizzly bear or coyote means they go a little bit deeper into debt. It's an eye-opening book - one of the best on the West of today that I've come across. Highly recommended.

Never seen a hawk on the wing... for the many Americans that the lyrics of this old Jerry Jeff Walker song apply, Clifford's book is a marvelous remedy. As he explains in the prologue, he undertook the book in conjunction with the development and opening of the Continental Divide Hiking Trail. But his book is less about the physical panorama of the scenery along the Divide, as it is of the hard-scrabble existence and diversity of people who hold on to the "old-ways" of life along the Divide. Some of Richard Ford's books like "Rock Springs" serve as a wonderful fictional compliment to Clifford's work.

Clifford has a journalist background; he is able to find very real people truly "hanging on," even if it means going around the sign in Catron Co. NM that says: "Visitors not Welcome. Trespassers will be shot."

In the "boot heel" of New Mexico he interviews a descendant of a polygamist Mormon sect that fled the United States in the late 1800's so they could continue to practice their beliefs which had recently been outlawed. These "higra" Mormons were, if anything, too successful in Mexico, and were eventually driven out by Pancho Villa, with some settling along the border line, back in the States. Clifford has done his background work on this area, quoting Cormac McCarthy's "Blood Meridian."

At the other end of the trail he rides horses with the Blackfeet Indians along the Canadian border, conveying insights into the reservation life, and he rides with a radical environmentalist, of the "Monkey Wrench" variety. In between, there is a National Park Ranger who fights the poachers at Yellowstone; the miners dying from the effects of their work in the uranium mines of Wyoming; documenting the extent of work that cattlemen must do to make a ranch viable in these arid lands; the Hispanics of Northern NM who have their own laws, and strongly resist outside intrusions; and a hippie-like shepherd struggling in Colorado, whose method of castrating his sheep you will never forget.

I felt myself savoring each vignette, and wished the author could have spent an entire month with each of his subjects. He has the knowledge to cite various literary, historical, and political antecedents to each situation. As others have noted, the book's title is a bit of an overreach, but if America is your whole world, so be it.

And excellent summation of one of the book's central themes is: "This strange legacy of socialism is one of the abiding ironies of the West. No region of the country is more devoted to the myth of rugged self-sufficiency, none more dependent on federal largesse, and none more contemptuous of the hand that feeds it." (p 159)

An excellent read for those who live along the Divide, and for those who don't.

Clifford writes with too much evenhandedness and too little anger to suit me about what's happening to The West. Even so, there's no doubt that he cares deeply about what's being lost. This book ought to be required reading for anyone who crosses the state lines of NM, CO, WY, ID or MT.

I don't give 5 stars and it's not about me so I seldom toss my twopence in but, this is well-written and easily worth the used price listed. You can get the drift from the other reviews. Fine book, Mr. Clifford! thank you.

This book offers a rare glimpse into the lives of combat unit as told by one of their own. It is moving to read about those who died and to see their pictures in that very same context. This is undoubtedly one of the more unique approaches taken in writing a memoir about combat.

Hobert Winebrenner has a way of telling about his WW2 service. Although many suffered the same hardships as Winebrenner, only few are able to put it in words as he does. We should be grateful he wrote it down for all of us to read and remember.

Without reservation, "Bootprints: An Infantryman's Walk Through World War II" is one of the best memoirs out there by a front-line soldier! Co-authored by Hobert Winebrenner [former Staff Sgt. in the 3rd Bat., 358th Inf., 90th Div.] and Michael McCoy [a much younger freelance writer and publisher], "Bootprints" takes the reader on a journey from the entrance of Winebrenner into the US Army as a 'citizen soldier' in 1942 to post-V-day occupation duty, and beyond (ca. 2005 when the book was published). In short, "Bootprints" is a gripping story of humanity and sacrifice during a time when civilization seemed doomed by the forces of tyranny and fascism.

The military history literature is crowded with memoirs of WWII veterans from all echelons of service, but very few are truly worthy of the highest praise. Still fewer memoirs present war from the perspective of the frontline soldier and are capable of emoting considerable shock, empathy, anger and awe from a 21st Century reader. "My Brother, Hail and Farewell!" by Edward J. Zebrowski (another former US Army footslogger) and "Black Edelweiss: A Memoir of Combat and Conscience by a Soldier of the Waffen-SS" by Johann Voss (obviously a story told from 'the other side of the hill') represent two examples of books that fit this latter category of WWII memoirs. Add to these two books "Bootprints" and one has a trilogy of outstanding memoirs from the foxholes, fields and rumble of the Second World War. It is unfortunate but true that none of these books is a bestseller in the traditional sense. Each of these three books is fast-paced and full of emotion; each tells a unique story worth reading; and none glorifies war or is self-aggrandizing. So why aren't they bestsellers? Simply put each is published by a small publishing house and their importance as historical literature is spread not by big money marketing as much as by grass-roots word of mouth. So from this reviewer to each of you who reads this, pick up a copy of each of these books!

Clocking in at 283 pages (seventeen chapters and an Afterward), "Bootprints" exudes character and emotion that engages the visceral senses of the reader start to finish. In fact, the reader feels as if they are alongside Winebrenner as the 358th lands on the Normandy beaches as part of second wave of grunts of the First US Army; then participates in the breakout from the bocage and subsequent headlong rush across France to the German border as part of Patton's Third US Army; to breach of the West Wall and retrograde movement back to the Bulge; and the bounce of the Rhine and final drive to V-E Day and beyond. Needless to say "Bootprints" is highly readable prose and at no point should a reader feel 'tired' with the book. This is a 'sit down and read it cover-to-cover' book. Do yourself a favor, find a copy of "Bootprints" and enrich your life with a story from a man who paints a self-effacing picture and gives all of his buddies from the war full credit for successes. While everything written in "Bootprints" suggests Mr. Winebrenner would humbly and firmly disagree, this reviewer feels that, based in what is written in "Bootprints", Winebrenner could have been a prototype man on which the ideal of "The Greatest Generation" was based.

"Bootprints" is a 5 star book that should be read by adults who wish to gain perspective on life, freedom, happiness and humility!!

At least that's what my father (Co. K, 359th Infantry, 90th ID) called it. He even went over on the Queen Mary.

I rated this book 4 stars for a good reason, so let me explain myself. If you sat down at Hobert Winebrenner's kitchen table (like Michael McCoy did) and listened to him tell his story, what you would hear is what you will read in this book. Is it great literature or great history (history in the sense of what we read in books, rather than the actual events)? No. Is it a great story, well-told? Absolutely. Is it important? You're damn right it is. Hobert Winebrenner is no Stephen Ambrose (Band of Brothers : E Company, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne from Normandy to Hitler's Eagle's Nest, Citizen Soldiers) and he would never claim to be. His introduction to this book could have easily been one sentence: "This is what happened to me."

Although I am an avid reader of military history, I have never been a fan of memoirs. Too many are self-aggrandizing. Even Omar Bradley's A Soldier's Story (Modern Library War) has occasional touches of "If they'd listened to me, the war would have ended sooner." However, this latest (and perhaps last) generation of WWII memoirs has been written by (mostly) men who went on to be plumbers and postal workers, contractors and car salesmen. United States Senators and corporation presidents were more the exception that the rule (though there were a few of those). These are not the men who strategized great plans or organized great armies to save the world. These are the men who did the actual saving, who did the fighting and the killing and the dying. And there is a common theme that runs through these memoirs that can be summed up as: "look at the incredibly stupid, lunk-headed things I did in the war and look at the unbelieveably courageous things done by men that I knew."

Do NOT be put off by this book's sparse, straight forward narrative style. What Winebrenner says is more important than how he says it and both he and McCoy seem to know that. This is testimony. Winebrenner wants us to know these men he served with, their names and their deeds. He wants us to remember them, not merely because they saved the world, but because of what they endured and sacrificed to save it. And we must remember them, not merely for their own sakes, but for the sakes of our children who we may well call on for similar sacrifices. The game had better be worth the candle.

Read this book, remember these men. You won't be sorry.

Bootprints by Hobert Winebrenner and Michael McCoy

Bootprints is Hobert Winebrenner's story (Michael McCoy wrote for him) of his experience in WWII. In telling his tale, Mr. Winebrenner opens before the war and tells about being drafted into the army. Interestingly, once he'd completed training he was asked to train the next batch with the promise that he'd go to officer training school. Fortunately (or not), Mr. Winebrenner was given the option to become a sergeant at Ft. Sill working with forward observers and training them on basic infantry weapons. After doing this for awhile, Mr. Winebrenner was assigned to the M Company (the heavy weapons company), 358th Infantry Regiment, 90th Infantry Division and sent to Europe.

After spending short period of time training in England, the 90th ID was to fight in the hedgerows of Normandy. It is in this time period that Mr. Winebrenner's tale picks the pace that he follows throughout the book, chapters about a series of battles, with sub-chapter that tell of particular parts of the battle (interestingly, more often than not Mr.Winebrenner tells the exploits of others). Chapters include the battles thru the hedgerows of Normandy, recovering from wounds, Operation Cobra and the race across France, breaking into Germany, the Battle of the Bulge, and the battle for Germany. To close things out, Mr. Winebrenner closed out by telling us about the men he served with and what happened to them after the war.

Reading this book I was torn many times between four and five stars. By the end of the book it had become a strong 4.5 star book. If there are weakness's in it, they're very few and far between. The strengths are many; Mr. Winebrenner paying tribute to his mates, many of the stories are exciting, and the details are exact. Because the strength's, I have to give this book the nod to 5 stars! Mr. Winebrenner, thank you for your service!

I have read both of Ms. Blacks books. WoW! I can't wait to read her next book! They were worth every penny!! A nice unexpected extra...she autographs every book!! Thanks Ms. Black and keep'um coming! :)

Read this book in a day. Couldn't put it down it was so hot! When I started reading it and it started out being in a swamp, I was like what is this? Then OMG!!!!!! My heart was racing and I was quite aroused (not sure if that is the proper word to use or not?). Incredible story, well written with imaginative erotica events that would just.......

Make sure to read this book when you are in bed next to your lover. Enjoy, deserves more then five stars for sure!

You won't want to put this book down once you start. This is a great read!! It's very stimulating, there are parts in this book that you'll want to read over and over agin.

CAJUN HOT is a tremendously entertaining comedy of a romance. I was enthralled from page one right on through to the end. The story is hot and sexy as well and I was either fanning myself from the heat or chuckling over the antics of the characters. The general plot is pretty straightforward, but the route to get to the happy ending has some outrageous moments. The story keeps your interest and I was very disgruntled anytime I had to put the book away and do something else. Ms. Black's characters are rich and well-rounded. Sahara has some serious career goals and is not in the mood to take a detour for love; she is fun, likeable and amusing. Jacque presents himself as a laid-back, sexy Cajun, which he certainly is, but there is a lot more to him as well. The secondary characters really add to this story, both in humor and outrageousness. The sex scenes are explicit, extremely hot and contain elements of ménage, bondage and exhibitionism. I truly enjoyed CAJUN HOT and highly recommend it if you are looking for a fun, amusing and extremely sexy read!

This book left me breathing hot and feeling an insatiable wetness. I WOULD NOT recommend reading this in public... and make sure you have easy access to your lover!!! Cajun is HOT HOT HOT

We beg that you disregard ALL the other reviews on this book. CLEARLY these 'people' are dillusional, as they cannot see past Gwen Bistrow's pathetic attempt at a novel.
By definition CELIA GARTH = selfish, vain, overly confident, flirty, horrible morals (a bad example for any wholesome girl).
If you want to keep your daughter safe, we highly recommend that you stay AWAY from CELIA GARTH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Like some of the other reviewers, I read this when I was 12..actually re-read my mama's copies to pieces! It was out of print for the longest time, and you couldn't find it in libraries that much. It was so wonderful to see it in a Charleston bookstore (at about $50), and then to see it re-issued and available on Amazon. It's a great mixture of history, romance, great characters (did anyone else want to marry Luke?),and it's still one of my annual summer reads. The history is well-researched, and Bristow captures Charleston so well. Read this, and then go to Charleston. Immediately!

Gwen Bristow's Celia Garth may have been published in 1959, but it is truly a classic that is just as timely today. Charleston is always associated with the Civil War, but most Americans do not realize how much fighting went on in and around Charleston during the Revolution. In fact, there were more Revolutionary War battles in South Carolina than in any southern state.

In Celia Garth, we follow the life of a 20 year old seamstress. Celia goes back and forth between a Charleston townhouse and a plantation on the outskirts of town, and we receive a look at what it was like to live during the Revolution. The book ties in many historically documented facts including Francis Marion and his men, the British bombardment of Charleston, the siege of Charleston, British atrocities to plantations, the rebel spy network, actual battles and many famous military leaders. It is fascinating to read how Charlestonians were forced by Patriot troops to give up all their food supplies (except for rice), causing townsfolk to starve. Life was definitely not easy.

It is also fun to read about sites that are still in Charleston, and how they figured in the struggle. St. Michael's Church steeple was painted black to make it harder for British warships to see. Also, Patriots stored over 10,000 pounds of gunpowder in the basement of the Old Exchange building so that it would not fall into Loyalists hands. The British never did find it-even after they took control of the city and the Exchange Building.

The story itself is riveting, and I found myself staying up extra late to keep on reading. I couldn't wait to see what happened next. Although this was written with teenage girls in mind, don't let this be a deterrent. The 300 plus pages and the heavy dose of history make for extremely interesting reading. So, if you can get your hands on this classic, you've discovered a true treasure.

This is the tale of Celia Garth, a 20 year old woman trying to make a living as a seamstress in Charleston, South Carolina during the Revolutionary war. The author does a great job of setting up the scenes of the town and plantations, and the history of the time. We follow Celia and her friends through the seige of Charleston by the British, living through the constant shelling and lack of food until the final surrender.

At first, things seem normal after the surrender and Celia begins to build a new life, but tragedy strikes after the British go back on their promises and Celia must start life afresh. This time, while working as a seamstress she is also a bit of a "spy" for the colonials.

This was a wonderful story of love and courage, with a great dose of history thrown in. I don't know enough about the period to say how accurate it is, but I thoroughly enjoyed immersing myself in another century for a day or two. This is also a good choice for a younger reader, as the "love scenes", if you can call them that, are extremely chaste.

The book is out of print and readily available used, but I had no problem finding it at my local libary.

O.K., I've never before felt compelled to write a review in defense of a book, but I'm doing it now. Larry Brown's brief but nasty review of Gwen Bristow's "Celia Garth" as an immoral character is the most ridiculous thing I've ever read. Celia is as moral as they come! As a mother and as a Christian, I wouldn't hesitate to reccommend this book, or any of Gwen Bristow's books to my own daughters. In fact, I have. My older daughter has read them all, and my 16-year-old is reading them now. Celia Garth is probably the most moral of them all. I suspect that Mr. Brown never finished the book. A flirtatious smile at a good-looking soldier in the first few pages, and an incident a few pages later where mischievous Celia tries to imagine her battle-ax of an emloyer with no clothes on, are the only things in the whole book that I can imagine, (by a very great stretch of the imagination indeed) to be called immoral. And, yes, Celia, an intelligent young woman, realizes that she is pretty and that she is good at sewing, but I would not call her vain. She wants to be more than a mere apprentice, and struggles to get someone to notice her sewing talents. Perhaps Mr. Brown is one of those antiquated gentlemen who feel that Celia should have married rather than try to have a career. Give me a break. Celia does eventually manage to get a good job sewing for a wealthy but hard-to please woman, but the war is coming to Charleston, and she is in love with a soldier, so the career is on hold. Her romance with Captain Jimmy Rand of the militia is passionate enough to keep any woman reader happy yet chaste enough to suit any mom. They wait chastely to be married, even though she is alone in Charleston with only a maid for chaperone and he may die in the war. Now that's love! When their romance ends in tragedy at the hands of "Butcher" Tarleton and his Tory troops, Celia not has the courage to start over, but to use her resumed sewing job to help spy on the British and aid the American rebels in their struggle for freedom. At last she falls in love again, with Luke, a continental soldier serving under Francis Marion, "The Swamp Fox" . After being, yes, chastely married, she helps him send messages to Marion's men, even when she's pregnant and living with Tory relatives where the danger is very great. Cele Garth is an exciting and excellently written piece of historical fiction. I highly recommend recommend it. Ignore Mr. Brown and read it today!!!!!

For anyone, like I once was, who needs an education on the causes of the Civil War, this book is indespensable. Growing up in the South, I was taught in public schools that slavery had very little to do with the Civil War. Catton not only obliterates this theory, he goes in to much detail about the various conflicts and rivalries (including slavery) which caused an unbridgeable chasm between North and South in the decade leading up to the firing upon Fort Sumter in April, 1861. He clearly demonstrates why these differences in philosophy would erupt into war, which in retrospect was probably the only way America could ever be united in our collective belief system, which we now take for granted. I would recommend this book (and Catton's entire Civil War Trilogy series for that matter) to both casual reader and Civil War buff alike. In fact, it should be required reading for ALL americans.

This first volume is written in a compeling style and is well researched. Catton makes the political manuevering come alive and deftly explains key facets of the war's basis and beginning. I am just beginning volume two, and based on how good the first is, I am looking forward to it.
Another reviewer labeled Catton as the poet of history, and I could not agree more. Highly recommended.

"The Coming Fury" is the first volume of Bruce Catton's centennial history of the Civil War. First published in 1961, some of its details are inevitably dated. Later historians have advanced different interpretations of some events. However, Catton's trilogy on the Civil War endures as a classic on the basis of his superb narrative, history as dramatic literature. Catton's gift is to capture the individuals at the center of events both in their essential, even prosaic humanity and as part of the seemingly relentless and tragic march of larger events.

"The Coming Fury" documents the onset of the Civil War, beginning with the Democratic Convention in Charlestown, South Carolina in April 1860 and ending with the First Battle of Bull Run in July 1861. In that relatively short span of time, the ability of the United States to maintain the unhappy national political compromise over the divisive issue of slavery rapidly eroded into open warfare. Catton adroitly captures the stumbling efforts of different leaders to defer or avoid the horror of civil war while attempting to resolve what had become an unresolvable political issue. His account of the dilemma of Major Robert Anderson, trapped at Fort Sumpter in Charlestown by men who had lately been his fellow citizens, is especially poignant. Anderson is trapped also between the Union and Confederate Governments, each pursuing its own political goals through the fate of Anderson's small garrison, now the last symbol of Federal authority in South Carolina. The shelling of Fort Sumpter will trigger open warfare, culminating in this volume with First Bull Run, where a Union loss will put paid to the notion of a quick end to the war.

This book is highly recommended to students of the Civil War and to the interested reader seeking an enthralling account of the beginning of that war.

When my husband wanted a good book on the Civil War, a friend recommended Bruce Catton's American Civil War Trilogy. My husband thought it was a fabulous series, so I was determined to read it as well. After finishing the first book, The Coming Fury, I have to agree. Even though The Coming Fury was first published in 1961, it remains one of the definitive books written about the Civil War.

The Coming Fury actually starts before the Civil War with the Democratic Convention of April 1860 in Charleston, South Carolina. Here, the Democratic Party will splinter over choosing a presidential candidate because of the slavery issue. Catton painstakingly provides us with this political background leading up to the war, but in a very readable manner. "The story of 1860 is the story of a great nation, marching to the wild music of bands, with flaring torches and with banners and with enthusiastic shouts, moving down a steep place into the sea." The election of Abraham Lincoln will set the southern states on the path to secession.

Catton details the setting up of the Confederate government, the scramble for bases and forts, and the creation of the CSA military machine. He also spends much time on the opening shots on Fort Sumter in Charleston harbor. At first, it was like a war between friends. "The Federal soldiers in the fort and the South Carolina soldiers who encircled it maintained polite relations while they got ready to kill each other." If guns "were fired in the wrong direction, letters of apology were quickly sent and gracefully acknowledged."

The end of The Coming Fury takes us to the first major battle of the war--Bull Run. Considered a "battle of amateurs," it made both sides realize that this war wasn't going to be over anytime soon.

Catton seamlessly weaves the political and military aspects of the Civil War in a way that keeps this series extremely popular almost 50 years after it was first published. Having just read The Civil War by Geoffrey Ward, Ric Burns and Ken Burns, I was surprised to see how much of Catton's work found its way into their book. I have already started Volume Two, Terrible Swift Sword and it promises to be just as good as The Coming Fury.

The first of this three volume series takes us from the 1860 Democratic National Convention to Bull Run and is an absolute treasure. It is simply the most precise and informative narrative of this period I've read. After reading this you will understand how we got from a bunch of swelled-up aristocrats to a shooting war and you'll see how sad and pathetic the whole affair really was. You'll ask yourself a dozen times while reading why didn't somebody stop this madness?

The other two volumes provide a readable but brief history of the war. But as historical literature often does the story bogs down in dates and names and places and provides an accurate but rather generic list of events for the remainder of the war. For those wanting a get in and get out quickly version of the Civil War this is it.

For those wanting more detail and have the time I recommend Shelby Foote's trilogy. For those wanting a primer of the events leading up to the Democratic National Convention I recommend "Jefferson Davis, The Man and His Hour" by William C. Davis. Not in itself a great book but it does provide interesting insight into the politics, pride and stupidity in the years leading up to our country's darkest hour.

This is an EXCELLENT book about the inner workings and decision makeing process of the Bush Administration during Panama and Desert Shield/Storm.

It is easy to become jaded today about what our government is doing and why, but The Commanders, is one of the most engaging looks at your government coming together. For better or for worse, it is even more engaging since so many of the "players" in this book are in the forefront of our news today. One of Woodwards' best.

I bought this book on a Friday night and compulsively read the book until Sunday morning. The read is quick, and the parts about Panama are very fascinating. It's nice to read about something that doesn't involve the Middle East....oh wait a minute, the middle east is covered as is the military history of this period. Colin Powell is a hero and a great pragmatic man, which mkes me long for the pre-Clinton days. History would be much different if Goerge the 1st stayed in power just 4 more years. The bravery and pragmatism of the 1st Bush administration makes you wonder about this Bush administration.

Bob Woodword seems to have become the reporter of authority when it comes to writing what I have heard called "instant histories", that is, histories that will surely be expanded as perspective is gained on a given event, but ones that accurately record how people saw things at the time. In "The Commanders" Woodword gives blow by blow accounts of two major foreign policy crisis' which ultimately led to military action: the removal of Manuel Noriega from Panama and Operation Desert Storm. The book is a quick and absorbing read, focusing almost entirely on the relationhip between the military (Pentagon) and civilian (White House) leaderships, and how that relationship operates during a crisis.

I assume that many who read this book now look to widen their view of some of the key players in the current administration, namely Cheney, Powell, and Wolfowitz (though in much lesser role here) and now is as good a time as any to do so. My impression of Powell, while widened, remains consistent. He comes off as more hesitant to use force than others, very conscious of organization, very thorough, and very aware that words have power. Cheney, however, doesn't at all resemble his sinister caricature. He, too, is careful and analytical, often concerned with Bush "ratcheting up the rhetoric way too much," and, at one point, even recomending that Bush slow down and "wait for the UN." Whereas these two figures are painted as rivals within the "W" administration, they pictured as allies in the first Bush Administration.

Our problems with diplomacy are also present, though they are not the focus of the book. The presumed reaction from Latin America contrained our ability to craft a war plan in Panama, even though it was "anticipated that privately most of these governments would send back-channel word that they were nuetral or even pleased" that Noriega was removed, and it was certain that the Panamanian people hated their leadership (92% were ultimately in favor of Noriega's removal, according to Woodword). Also, many instances show Arab regimes begging for protection, though not wanting their populations to know about the American presence. At one point, the exiled Emir of Kuwait even refuses to meet with members of the US Senate. And of course, "The French were a problem and required a major effort". We will continue to have problems if governments, particualrly democratic ones, refuse to reveal to their publics what they see as in their own national interest. Ahh, the trials of a superpower!

If you are looking for an account of the diplomatic manuevering, the assembling of the coalition, or the national political debate preceeding either conflict; or you want an account of Gulf I itself, this is not your book. Taken for what it is, however, "The Commanders" is an excellent. There are a number of times where statements from this book could fit perfectly into the latest foray in Iraq, but I'll let you hunt for those.

Lastly, funniest line in the book: "the secure internal electronic-mail system, called E-mail, provided a means of quick nearly instantaneous communications by computer with the boss." Who knew only a decade ago that you needed someone to explain what an E-mail is?

This book starts at the beginning of the GHW Bush Administration and goes through to the very beginning of the Gulf War.
It's always a little difficult to know how accurate Woodward's recountings are of conversations and inner-thoughts of the most important people, but there are rarely serious complaints about the accuracy of his books - at least as far as I am aware. For the most part, the book comes from the perspective of Powell and Cheney, with important additions from other key folks at the Pentagon and White House.
The beauty of reading about the GHW Bush Administration is that one also learns about the GW Bush Administration, for many of the key players came back for an encore.

Woodward did a top notch job of discussing important issues in a way that appeals to the general reader. I hope he continues to do so with the GW Bush Administration; both "Bush at War" and "Plan of Attack" are fine books, but "The Commanders" is much better.