Scott Books

Crying while smiling, I have laid the book down in an effort to delay turning the last page. Whenever that happens (and I'm pretty sure I won't be able to hold off more than a few minutes), the end of _Birdbaths and Paper Cranes_ will come too soon. I'll spend the meantime finding a newspaper to subscribe to that carries Sharon Randall's column. Having found her, I can't imagine doing without her.

This is an outstanding collection of newspaper columns. Homespun and heartfelt, these stories touched me on many levels. Sharon Randall is a gifted writer and a fine storyteller. She has a magical sense of putting it all together, bringing each topic full circle. No matter the subject-something as light as her daughter's tea parties, as funny as her blind brother's adventure in driving, and as sad and poignant as her husband's battle with cancer, she left me with a feeling of warmth-and more often than not, a smile.

I read the beautiful piece, "The Paper Cranes," to my young daughters and their friends and they listened very intently. It led to a question and answer session about the Atomic Bomb and the end of World War II, and then a fascination with origami and the symbolism of 1,000 paper cranes. It was a lot to take away from one small story.

This is a book I'll keep on my shelf and I know I'll refer to it from time to time when I'm looking for a friend with whom I wish to share a thought or feeling. Meanwhile, as a former newspaper columnist (in the San Francisco Bay area) I'll recommend it to everyone as classic material of the genre. Looking forward to the next book.

Submitted by the author of "I'm Living Your Dream Life," Mc Kenna Publishing Group

I could not put this book down until I had devoured every word! My only regret is that this is her one and only book! How I hope to see another soon! "Birdbaths and Paper Cranes" is not only humorous, poignant, thought-provoking and, at times, heartbreakingly sad, but it is a quick easy read, with lessons from her life that will enrich yours!

This book is a guarantee to make you reminisce and cry and laugh along with Sharon Randall as she writes of her life. It is beautifully written, short and direct ~~ always having her short stories end with a rememberable last line that leaves you thinking more.

I found this languishing on my bookshelf after borrowing it from my mom last year. I needed something "lighter" to read after my spree of historical fiction. I thought this one was rather a slim volume and I can surprise my mom by returning it this weekend. But it was a surprise to me! For such a small volume, this woman writes with a punch ~~ a punch to the soul. She shouts, cajoles and whispers to your memories and soul with grace and humor. Just like a mom and wife, daughter and sister and granddaughter. I only wish I had a bigger box of kleenexes nearby. I also couldn't put the book down after reading the foreword by her son.

Now that I know why my local newspaper carry her column, I will be reading her work again and again. She speaks to the mother and wife inside of me. She makes me sit and remember who I was long before I have gotten to this part of my journey. She talks as if you're sitting next to her with a cup of tea and you both are just gabbing away ~~ only her stories serve to remind you that life is short and it is even more precious than we all realize. This is a book that should be shared, not hoarded in dusty libraries or in the back of the bookcase. This is a book that everyone should give to their loved ones ~~ male or female. It speaks to all of us.

I just love writers like Sharon Randall ~~ they really speak and it is up to us to really listen ~~ with our ears and our hearts.

1-28-04

Each individual passes through his single experience of being human, encountering his existential moments one by one, and studying with fascination, appreciation, and wonder those with whom he is meant to involve himself as mate, parent, friend, or any of those other myriad encounters that are often altered by events(birth, marriage, suicide, divorce, career, and death), and by myriad emotions (jealousy, resentment, love, sorrow, hurt, commitment, and grief). So it is with Sharon Randall who has described all those existential moments, those events, and the emotions accompanying the days of her life in BIRDBATHS AND PAPER CRANES. This book is a boon to any parent who is not paying enough attention, not creating a record of each child's life, any spouse who is taking a marriage for granted, any individual who assumes that life will proceed unaltered and unchanged, not through stupidity, but just because that is the "way we are." This book is a wake up call for each of us to pay attention, live it well and fully, and above all, create a record for our genealogy, more precious than gold. Sharon Randall shows us how. She demonstrates through a series of her columns "Bay Window" collated from "The Monterrey Herald" that her life is a special experience, lived sensuously and lovingly, and, somehow, gives the reader pause to ponder the special moments of his life and ask himself: AM I REALLY PAYING ATTENTION?

I think every parent should own this book! Very well written for the lay person. Medical aspect is about as clear as it can get!

I call this book WONDERFUL = MY OWNER'S MANUAL = FINALLY
My CAH (salt wasting) son is now 25 y.o., married and on his own. I have wished for this book since his diagnosis at 6 wks of age. I learned how to care for him the hard way, trial and error. I have purchased this book to help his wife, learn about his condition. The problems and medical requirements needed to live a normal life.
I had to explain his signs of crisis and treatment needs. Every trip to the E.R., a new physician, many a night I sat next to his bed in the hospital, explaining to the nurses his condition.

Very good book written in layman's terms. We have a child with this in our family and this book made me much more comfortable with her condition. I am confident now that she will be fine.

As the mother of a 15 y/o with CAH, I have found it difficult to get information or answers to my questions about CAH. This book, by being cowritten by an endocrinologist and a mother of a child with CAH, is very easy to understand. It gives guidelines parents can use when they have a sick child or even guidelines an ER or family doctor can use. I would even recommend buying this book for your family doctor.

This book is not only a parents' guide, it is a MUST HAVE for all patients. Thorough and clear, it is an essential guide to understanding CAH.

If you have a huge collection of unlabeled tapes, this book will help you ID the tape by listing every song played with every song played BEFORE and AFTER it. It's a blast to just leaf through. There isn't another book like it anywhere. You really have to get a copy of this book. It's not like it's an optional purchase. The information in this book is not found anywhere else.

You HAVE GOT TO HAVE this book if you're into live Dead. It is ESSENTIAL. There is no substitute, only knockoffs. Superlatives fail, this book is the be-all and end-all of Dead volumes. GREAT fun to browse through, and CRUCIAL for identifying live Dead shows on tape!!! BUY IT!!! USE IT UNTIL THE PAGES DISINTEGRATE FROM USE!!! IT'S THE BEST!!!

If you are a taper, collector, trader, or just forgot what opened the second set in the last Philly JFK show, then this book is a must. Finally make a setlist for all those unidentified MP3s. Check off what you have to make trading easier. Get goosebumps over one of the transitions you forgot about. Kick yourself for working and not seeing the second night. If you collect you gotta have this or wait for the next one coming soon.

Have you ever looked for that perfect show? Ever wondered how many times "Me & My Uncle" was played? Ever was curious about who all were guests at Dead shows? Do you ever trade Grateful Dead music? If you answered "yes" to any of the questions above, this book is a MUST HAVE! It contains setlist from almost every Dead show played from 1965-1995 including helpful timings, "every time played", and "feedback" columns. If you are a Dead trader & you do not own a copy of Deadbase shame on you. It is the bible of Grateful Dead music. Peace.

Have fun, & if you get confused...LET THE MUSIC PLAY!

This is the Baseball Encyclopedia for Grateful Dead tape collectors. No serious collector should be without this wonderful and informative book.

This book is awesome eye candy, with plenty of amazing drawings and fascinating photos (including a few of mine, so I'm biased, but trust me, this is a book like none you've seen before), but the reason you shouldn't deny yourself this particular treat is that it backs it all up with advice on how to be a DIY mogul. Molly's career has been amazing and she reveals every bit of how she's built the Dr. Sketchy's empire. There are tips for anybody with a project or event they want to promote--all charmingly surrounded by brilliant drawings of saucy burlesque performers, daring roller derby gals, and even a some sweet hunky boys! This is a truly unique and beautiful book, and makes a great gift for ooglers, artists AND entrepreneurs.

With Dr. Sketchy's Official Rainy Day Colouring Book, Molly Crabapple has shown that her talents do not lie only with a sketchpad, flaming stick, or pair of pasties (though she rocks all of those incredibly). In typically whimsical, entertaining, and saucy fashion, she gives a guide not only to running an anti-art school, but to living out your dreams, however fantastical they may be. This book is a swirling, sexy delight, and I say that as someone who will most likely never draw anything more than a stick figure. I found Molly's history of her art modeling days fascinating yet disturbing, and was thrilled to read about the flourishing Dr. Sketchy's subcultures all around the world. The fact that this is an equal opportunity enterprise, with hot beefcake and half-naked burlesque babes, of all shapes and sizes, is also remarkable. Plus, the book has a word scramble! And cut-out pasties. Seriously, folks, what's not to love? It's a yummy little package of art monkey naughtiness right in your dirty little hands. Color me impressed.

Chock full of gorgeous photos, Dr. Sketchy's Official Rainy Day Colouring Book is addictive!! It made me WISH I could draw! Along with the photos, there is lots of witty commentary and description of this event that is only a year old, but is already taking the world by storm. This book makes a great gift for anyone, but any artist or hell, lay person, who is intrigued by an event where artists gather to draw pictures of elegant nekkid ladies in a velvet-y bar whilst drinking cocktails and coffee will keep this book available to look at time and time again.

As a womyn, I am offended by all of the chestal regions in this book. Some of them are quite buxom, and covered in sparkles. I think sparkles are what are keeping womyn down. Also if you want to learn to draw, you will only learn to draw chestal regions. Why not learn to draw womyn's BRAINS? Are we nothing but happy jiggle-bags? Womyn of the art world, unite against this book.

Five stars!

This is a charming confection of a book, something you'd want to put in a bowl and eat. The writing is funny and cheeky, the illustrations gorgeous, and it's just chock full of delights: coloring book pages, paper dolls, cut-out pasties, burlesque girl photos, puzzles, cartoons... and this in addition to a history of Dr. Sketchy's Anti-Art School and a step-by-step manual on how to start your own. This book is obviously essential for artists who want to start their own fabulous old-style burlesque life drawing events, but it's just as great for non-artists who only want to bask in its charm.

We all have a story--usually a bittersweet blend of angst and elation. When loss comes, whether through death or separation from someone we love, our hearts must wade through the complexity of emotion remaining.

There are many ways we can tell our stories...flanked with humor and shrowded by denial...cloaked with bitterness and oppressed by hatred...or creatively open and inspired by redemption.

This is the brilliant balance Scott Sawyer achieved in his own story. In choosing to share this story, he could have opted for denial or for bitterness. Instead, he chose a delicate blend of humor, creativity and redemption. He allows us a unique glimpse into his contemplation, his desire and his pursuit to comprehend what bearing loss has had on his life.

The focus encompasses much more than loss, however, and delightfully depicts sibling rivalry, a boy's adoration for his mother and his family, wonder at not one but two fathers, the pursuit of passion and dreams, as well as life-altering spiritual discoveries. And revelations about a Heavenly Father.

I was rapt with the flowing rhythmn of humor, contemplation, angst, passion, peace and JOY (you'll see the significance of this adjective when you read the book).

Scott was brave to bear his heart, was artful in how he did so, and gracious not to air unnecessary dirty laundry.

This is a story that will make you laugh out loud and bring tears to your eyes. And it will cause you to contemplate your own soul...journeys left midway...pain left untended...discovery still to be made.

This is a warm, and honest portrayal of a man living through time by capturing and re-evaluating his past. When the famous psychologist Alfred Adler was exploring how our identity is formed he made the following interesting and counter-intuitive claim: Our present effects our past to a greater degree than our past effects our present. This book, a journey through a lifetime of memories experienced again and bonds established for the first time, demonstrates that Alder's claim is often true. The perspective we have today influences how we view the events and feelings of the past. The author, Scott Sawyer, uses his present perspective to unearth a beautiful retrospective of his family and his fathers.

This book contains a wonderful journey, and those reading it will be blessed by the opportunity to experience it with him. I was moved and touched, and the depictions and images involved me as a member of this family for a fleeting few moments. I cried, I laughed, and I was humbled by the love that radiates off the pages.

The style of the book is more poetic than narrative. I would normally have given 4 stars on this review, because I am usually more drawn to a narrative style, in this case however, the events, images and emotions of this family and his life captured me so completely that I quickly adapted to the many transitions and sound bites of thought.

Please read this book. I found that once I settled into the story, my efforts were rewarded, and the images and emotions came to life. I had the pleasure of attending a reading of the book by the author at a local bookstore and can tell you first-hand that the emotion that went into this project is real. The scene was similar to the experience of reading the book. We all laughed out loud at the comic depictions of his childhood, and cried at the emotion of meeting and losing his father again. Highly recommended to everyone.

This is a haunting and touching memoir unlike any others I've read. It brought tears to my eyes but reminded me of the love our Heavenly Father has for us even as we struggle to make a life here on earth. Beautifully written and inspiring!

This is the true story of one young man's search for identity as he grew up in a small Texas town in the shadow of an older brother, both having lost their real father as very young children. Their stepfather was the only father figure Scott knew, yet he was acutely aware that they were not the same flesh and blood. It is also the story of his family coping with the death of Scott's older brother from cancer when he was only sixteen. His ongoing relationship with two fathers-the one he never knew and the only one he did know-ultimately helped him find his identity in the heavenly Father as well.

After reading the story of Scott Sawyer and his journey with his family of origin I am struck with the honesty, the fairness, the love that would move a man to write such a book. Obviously the events in his life have molded a grateful,tender, forgiving heart and a man who has passion for his walk with his heavenly Father. I suspect most mothers would give anything to have such a man marry their own daughters. He is truly a brilliant writer and more importantly for me, a real 'Keeper'. He is my son-in-law.

This incredible book for me is a totally new
way of illustrating a fairy tale.
The description of this fantasy world using
postcards is innovative and very interesting.
I strongly suggest this book to all the
art lovers.

As an artist of middle age, I sometimes think of my art as good and my growth as complete... that is, until I look at work like this.

Suddenly I feel like a beginner again, with nothing to do but learn and get better at my art. Mr. Scheurer teaches this teacher how to teach better, just by the inspirational settings he creates and the drawings he does from deep in his imagination. There is a whole world residing in him that is too fanciful to describe. He is my new favorite artist.

Even though this book, at first glance, appears to be an art book, there is a very charming story woven into the "stamp" descriptions, as well. Each page features an illustration of a stamp from the imaginary realm of "Entropia" and a description of the event or history the stamp is commemorating. I read this book in two sittings, only because I had an appointment to keep that tore me away from such a beautiful book. Once finished, this book left me with a strong desire to read and see more of Christian Lorenz Scheurer's "Entropia".

Christian is one of my favorite artist. This new book is full of great stories and wonderful pictures! It's great for all ages.

Bought this book as a gift for a friend but then ended up keeping it for myself.
The fantastic story and beautiful illustrations felt like a mix between Nick Bartock's Griffin and Sabine and Miyazaki's Spirited Away.
This is most inspiring fantasy book I read this year!:)

Great book for any cat lover

author of "Hobo Finds A Home"

I did like so many of the other reviewers really like the story about a farmer & his wife and their very happy farm animals who live happily on their farm until one dark night when a shooting star falls from the sky onto this farmers fields that should have been sprouting baby cabbage plants.... and the rest is explained quiet well by the other reviewers.

What I want to tell you that the others did not mention is the the bright beautiful colors that decorate the pages of this book. The colors are brilliant and the illustrations are just too cute! It's nice when the story is well written and is enjoyed by both parent and child, but when the book also illustrated and the colors choosen grab you, then you know what you are holding in your hand is special! Well worth the space in your personal home library!

I checked out this book at the local library for my daughter. We kept it for 2 weeks and my husband couldn't get enough of it. I was shocked the first time I heard him read it for bedtime because it was so strange and so true. This story could have only been written by a DAD who was frustrated with too many breeding cats. It helped my husband bring into perspective the positive aspects of our 14 cats. The farmers wife claims they're no more trouble than house plants. I had to laugh at the echo! My daughter had fun picking out all of the soon-to-be cats and all the other details in the bright pictures. I'm on my way to buy it right now.

Scott Santoro's FARM-FRESH CATS tells of an ordinary farm day - or so farmer Ray thinks. But instead of nice cabbage heads poking up from the ground, there are nice cat heads... and instead of picking cabbages weeks later, cats are picked. A comet causes chaos - and what will Farmer Ray do with all these cats? It's refreshing to see an unpredictable fantasy for picture book readers.

This a fun reworking on a typical 1950s sci-fi tale, but with lots of cats! The drawings and use of color are fun just as the plot is! Young kids will enjoy the story over & over again...

I liked reading this book. It was obviously written from the heart. A good read with lots of one liners to think about.

Reviewed by Cherie Burbach for Reader Views (3/06)

Jonathan Scott grew up with a father who was a success in business and yet failed miserably when it came to parenting. He took that upbringing to heart and vowed not to duplicate this cycle with his own children. As a result of taking years of notes and recording his thoughts, he has written "Fathering From Love," a must read for parents - fathers especially - of any age.

The chapters in "Fathering From Love" begin with the a lesson stemming from personal observations from Scott - including items from his childhood, the state of society today, and his own experience in parenting - and end with "afterthoughts," a bulleted list of items Scott wished he could have heard from his own father. In recording these afterthoughts Scott has given the reader countless conversation starters and ways to remind your child how much you care. Perhaps the most poignant of these thoughts is on page 98:

"I never knew how quickly kids are willing to forgive a fallible father who's willing to do better."

Scott is living testament that no matter your upbringing, if you had a father that did not love you as he should, you need to become aware of this situation and take steps to change that with your own children. The author gives the reader plenty of chances to reflect on personal behavior with each lesson and "afterthought" he writes. He rounds out the book with "40 Ways to Improve Your Relationship Today" as well as a host of websites to view for more ideas and help.

This book is a pleasant read and most importantly, a great resource for parents. No matter what your age, it is never too late to make steps to repair the relationship with your child. "Fathering From Love" will show you how to take those steps starting today.

A few lessons this book has to offer everyone (not just fathers): 1) If you have ever chased after things you thought you would excel in instead of doing what you loved ~ stop and do what you love and let success chase you; 2) if you ever say "I have to" when you really mean "I choose to" ~ begin saying what you truly mean; 3) if you're not your child's (or your spouse's) number ONE cheerleader ~ you have some catching up to do.

"Fathering From Love" shares with the reader tidbits of the personal story of the author, Jonathan T. Scott, while also offering "afterthoughts". These are words that the author wished he had heard from his father and gives to his children. These small bits of information offer valuable things for you to share with your child..."Looking back, I can now clearly see how my expectations for you were much greater than my commitment to helping you achieve them"..."I always believed a bigger house was better, overlooking the intimacy that a smaller, cozier home could bring"...and much more!

Having worked for children for years and listened to many of them talk about what they wanted from their parents, I'd like to add a couple "afterthoughts" for you to consider. 1) Don't let your kids see "the back of your head" as you sit at the computer and play games or surf the internet. Stop and communicate with them and let them see the pride on your face as you talk to them; 2) If you have a choice to work overtime when your child only sees you four days a month, skip it. Your kid is more important than any money you can earn during that time; 3) If you're divorced or separated, don't involve your kids in your new relationship unless you are willing to put the effort into making it work. It's not fair to take away a second family from them.

This is a book for every father and mother who wants a better relationship with their kids (and who doesn't?). The best bit of advice I got from the book is something every parent who is divorced or separated from the other parent of their kids..."A Chinese proverb says, "When you start down the road to revenge, remember to dig two graves."" With that said, if you haven't read this book yet, click "Add to Shopping Cart" right now.

Jonathan Scott shares personal glimpses into a failed father-son relationship with his own father. His aim is to learn from the mistakes of this relationship to put an end to the cycle of dysfunctional fathering going back several generation in his family. He presents the many positive principals he is modeling as he "fathers" his two young children. Chapter titles address topics from expectations to coaching, from intimidation to connecting and from values to love.

Each chapter ends with "Afterthoughts." These unique afterthoughts (words the author wished he had heard his father say) are an invaluable tool for priming the pump for conversation starters with your children. These contemporary proverbs" are thought provoking, often profound, and make it imperative that time be spent assimilating them. You will want to begin formulating your own original afterthoughts.

For young fathers this is a proactive tool. For fathers of adult children it can be a reflective instrument. It is not too late to communicate these afterthoughts orally or in written form to your own sons or daughters.

The author ends the book with forty positive, practical, suggested ways to improve your relationship with your children. He then goes on to provide an extensive list of excellent website resources with helpful information for parents, for fathers, on children's health, and on considerations for the children in a divorce situation.

This is a book every father should read. The book offers strong motivation to incorporate these principals into the heritage you are building for your children. I plan to get a copy into the hands of each of my four adult sons. This is a book you will want to read and reread again and again.

This book made me feel uncomfortable but in such a good and positive way. In my mind that is the ultimate compliment for a book like this. A self-help book that fails to make you think, compare, panic, learn and change fails to hit the mark. Fathering from Love did all that. The author used "afterthoughts" as his unique method for delivering tough lessons to the reader. Rather than preaching, he put words in the mouth of his estranged father, who delivered hundreds of powerful, emotionally charged apologies that help readers understand exactly how to enrich, support, guide, validate, teach, encourage, and listen to their children. I believe every parent who has ever questioned their parenting skills or their results should read this book today.

I especially like this book as it can be read on at least two levels. The initial story is catchy with the rhyming words and plot. The older child can also enjoy learning about the various types of birds depicted in the story. It gives a mother or a teacher much to discuss with the child.

This book, along with TOP CAT by the same author, are my kids' favorite books (ages 6,4 and 2). And I love them, too! I never tire of reading them out loud, although both of my older children can recite the book and "read" it themselves now. We checked it out from the library and kept renewing it over and over because the kids loved it so much. We finally bought our own copy and I know the kids are going to fight over who gets to take it with them when they move out 15 or so years from now. :) It is a delightful story and I love how Ms. Ehlert labels everything. I especially like the details provided at the end regarding the birds shown throughout the book.

Entertaining, colorful, informative --- what's not to like? I have to admit, however, that I feel sorry for the cat.

Another favorite of my 3 1/2 year-old daughter, along with "Top Cat" by the same author. Hmmm...is it possible that Top Cat or his little brother is the cat in "Feathers for Lunch"?

That aside, the pictures in this wonderful book allow a child a good first look at several North American birds, and the text introduces your child to their birdsong. All the birds are "drawn" (I believe they are actually designed by paper cut), to actual life-size.

This is a wonderful little book for children to learn some common American birds and their calls. The story is about a cat trying to catch a bird for lunch but the bell on the collar keeps giving him away, hence "feathers for lunch" but the illustrations are almost all birds such as the Northern Cardinal, Blue Jay, Morning Dove, House Wren, Northern Flicker, etc... My little boy actually likes Ehlert's "Top Cat" better, but this story has seen many readings. My boy can tell the difference between several birds that he sees in his backyard. Recommended for the little birders.

You can't judge a book by its cover or, in the case "Following the Wrong God Home", by the advertising blurb on the dust jacket. An acquaintance who works at a local bookstore fairly frothed at the mouth while singing the praises of this book, and she had only finished half of it (the first half). As her tastes agree with my own generally and as Mormon history happens to be my bag, I bought it and started to read.

After the first chapter, I put it down and scratched my head. Somehow the reading wasn't going as planned. I've read hundreds of volumes on as many aspects of Mormonism as I can think of, but something wasn't clicking with me. I didn't want to admit to my bookstore acquaintance that I didn't "get it". So in an act of preemptive bravado, I plunged back into its pages, determined not to be outunderstood by the bookstore lady. As chapters rolled by, I grew more accustomed to Scott Chisholm's meter. Although I'm sure his method may be shoehorned into "the seven holy principles of good prose" and thereby explained, this book does not have the feel of such an effort. Rather, the structure and tenor of the tale mirror the rhythms of the difficulty of those first Mormon pioneers. Instead of simply describing the experience, he paints it as a work or art. Like the Russian masters, the most poignant observations of life are made by those who have experienced the worst of it. Suffering has no value without the introspection that follows and Scott Chisholm guides us through that experience.

Spoiler: the Mormons do make it to Utah.

Clive Scott Chisholm recounts his walking retracement of the Morman trail across Nebraska and Wyoming to Brigham Young's"Zion",Utah.This book is about people,places,perceptions,and the nebulous envisagement of the American Dream.
To Chisholm,born into a Morman Family and faith,the walk it vividly personal.He weaves parenthetical"Acccording to Hoyle" chronicles of Morman history in each chapter.
The author crosses the bounds of genre with timely placed sidebars.He touches geography,natural history,hydraulics,soil management,native indian movements,railway and highway beginnings,politics and a host of others.
He describes eating,sleeping and entertainment establishments past and present;"watering-holes",museums and libraries with a generous portion of humor.There are no sacred cows,be it presidents or prophets.
This book just gets better as it goes.Clive Scott Chisholm doesn't disappoint his readers by slipping off the rails in the final chapter.He runs strong to the end.
The last entry adds a homey"Where are they now"(fifteen years later) about many of the people and personalities we meet in the book.
End

scott MacDonald wrote a book called "The Garden in the Machine" and this book reminds me of "Following the Wrong god home" because they both discuss the meaning of landscape. But if you read both books together you can see how Chisolm's book on the mormons is much more personal mostly because he actually is doing the traveling himself and having the experiences he is talking about. I think that a lot of people who don't know anything about Mormon history could love this book because he is using the mormon history as a way of writing about the western dream. The writing of this book is superb and it is one of those rare books that I never wanted to finish.

I was enthralled by Clive Scott Chisholm's brilliant meld of personal experience, social criticism, and history. On his 1100 mile trek from Omaha to Salt Lake City, he encounters a rich variety of experiences involving the weather,the landscape, historical markers, towns, and human personalities which he describes in vivid detail. Independence Rock in Wyoming, for instance, evokes a discussion of the natural forces which created it and its role as "a geological semaphore of good-bye" for travelers venturing into the unknown West.
Threaded through this account are Chisholm's thoughts about his life, his friends, western history, and particularly about "the American Dream" and the Mormons. He is often brutally frank in his judgments, especially of the Mormon leader, Brigham Young, for whom he can say nothing good. All-in-all, this is a brilliantly written, deeply personal account of one man's adventure in space and time.

Is the American Dream an empty hole(or whole)? Clive Chisholm takes a hard look at that in his trek across the American West, following the trail the Mormons blazed in 1847. Those Mormons were seeking their dream, their promised land. Chisholm, looking deeply at their experience through their journals, overlaps them with his modern day rediscovery of what is left of their trail. In the process, he digs deeply at the Mormon faith, at himself and at all of us, trying to find what gives us the courage and the passion to get up each morning and try it all again. The stories of the young brides who, far from home, died the horrible death of cholera, and his battles with dysentery and toothache; how they drug all their worldly belongings in handcarts, and he a dilapidated hand-golfcart, soon discarded in a highway culvert. Their is no shortage of dispair and heartache for either story, yet there is hope. Chisholm fills the pages with his gift of humor, and the quirky characters that he collects like mile markers on his road. He masterfully weaves both stories together. In the end, he questions what it all meant. Americans, he determines, believe everything works out simply because they are Americans. It's not the same experience for the rest of the world but we, as americans, are comprised of the peoples of all the world. We inherit a legacy of ancestral dreams. The dream is a lie, but it's the dreaming that counts. That's what fills our "common well of human hope." Buy it.