Stevens Books

This book was ok. I would not read it again, but I did enjoy it. There is very little detail and description about the times, the clothing, the way of living. The reader must fill in the blanks with knowledge gained from other books. The story and the history and the people involved are obviously well researched though. Some of the characters were very annoying and I wanted to jump into the book and slap them silly, especially Hildreth and Tostig. I will not spoil the story by going into much detail, but they grate on ones nerves. The chapter with the Norwegians had me laughing out loud. The author certainly has a sense of humor much to my delight. So suffice to say, what the author lacks in mundane details, he makes up for with humor and intriguing plots. The Lady Godiva is portrayed as a rather spunky, independent woman for the times. All in all, this was not too shabby.

I really enjoyed this retelling of the infamous Lady Godiva tale. In this version, she is somehow at the crux of all major 1066 events. She comes across as a really likeable heroine, and you almost want her to end up with Harold Godwinson (of course you know how it ends). A fun read.

This is such a terrific book! I loved finally reading about the infamous Lady Godiva. I also liked how Stephen James intertwined her story with that of Harold Godwinson. This was just a wonderful novel!

Lady Godiva was a freedom rider,
she didn't care if the whole world looked
-Theme from Maude

With the notable exception of the above lyric, Lady Godiva has in recent times become one of the
unsung heroes of Western democracy. People may still recall the sensational form that her protest
took, her naked ride through Coventry, but few recall that she was protesting high rates of taxation
(imposed by her own husband : Leofric, the Earl of Mercia).

Leofric was one of the most powerful nobles of 11th Century Britain, and he and Godiva were major
patrons of the arts and religious institutions, Godiva apparently believing that such works would benefit
the peasantry. But when she realized that what would actually be most beneficial to the poor would be
a reduction in their high tax burden she interceded with the Earl and asked him to lighten their load.
The Earl, one assumes jokingly, suggested that since Godiva was such a believer in the arts and since
the Greeks and Romans considered the human form itself to be great art, he would remove the local
taxes on everything but horses if she would ride through town in all her naked glory on horseback,
which she promptly did. Later embellishments to what appears to have been an actual incident include
the addition of a voyeur who gazed upon her, despite admonishments that the townsfolk should avert
their eyes : we recall him as the original "Peeping Tom".

This very fine historical novel by Steven James would be cause for celebration if all he did was restore
our memory of the Lady. But there's more. Several years ago I lamented the fact that Hope Muntz's
classic, The Golden Warrior, with its thrilling tale of the conflict between Harold Godwinson and
William the Bastard (eventually, unfortunately, the Conqueror) had fallen out of print. Many consider
The Golden Warrior to be the greatest historical novel ever written, and it certainly ranks with the
best. I'd still urge folks to try to track down a copy, but, in the meantime, Steven James has cleverly
tied the legend of Lady Godiva into the story of Harold and produced a thoroughly engaging historical
fiction of his own.

James uses a few fictional characters and a healthy dollop of imagination to bind these storylines
together, perhaps more tightly than they need to be (the Epilogue is particularly unnecessary). But as
the drama builds towards the Battle of Hastings (in 1066) the reader gets so swept up in the course of
events that all license taken with the story is forgiven. One warning though, I loaned my copy of
Golden Warrior to a friend and he refused to finish the book because he couldn't stand to read of
Harold's eventual defeat. I excoriated him at the time, but found myself reacting similarly towards the
end of Godiva and the Golden Dragon. Harold's attempt to defend his kingdom--from a hostile and
corrupt papacy; from the treacheries of his own brothers; from a Northern invasion by King Haraald of
Norway; and from conquest by William and the Normans--is too heroic and too nearly succeeds for the
tender hearted reader to easily accept his ultimate failure. It is all just ineffably sad, though it goes a
long way to explaining the rise of centralized nation-states, with a single political authority capable of
reigning in rebellious rival claimants to power.

This then is one of the more enjoyable historical novels I've read in recent years. For all of us who
await with great impatience the next offering from Sharon Kay Penman, here's a book to tide us over.
And for anyone who's forgotten, or never knew, why Lady Godiva was a "freedom rider", this book
restores a real heroine to her rightful place in the pantheon.

GRADE : A-

Steven James' Godiva And The Golden Dragon is a superbly written historical and romantic novel set in the last years of Anglo-Saxon rule in England. Starting with the famous ride of Lady Godiva. Spanning A.D. 1057 to A.D. 1066, Godiva And The Golden Dragon wonderfully mixes history with unforgettable characterization, seizing the reader's consciousness and refusing to let go until the very end. A richly involving novel and highly recommended for historical fiction enthusiasts.

I've never read another book like "Good Books Lately: The One-Stop Resource for Book Groups and Other Greedy Readers." It's clever and smart without being condescending. Completely accessible! The book is a blend of history, anecdote and How-To. Whether you're in a book club, or just an avid reader on your own, this book is helpful. It gives great tips on being a more active reader and participant in discussion of books.
I had the good fortune of attending a reading of this book by the authors, Kira Stevens and Ellen Moore, and they are even more charming and clever in person! I was in tears with laughter listening to their encounter with Oprah - very funny stuff! Don't worry, the Oprah story is in the book, so you can get a good laugh too!

At last there is a lively resource book for book group discussions! With easy to follow chapters, this book gives the reader the tools to deepen any book group discussion. Whatever book type your group prefers, Kira Stevens and Ellen Moore have created a one-stop easy reference guide. I find that I often return to the book before book dicussions, making Good Books Lately an invaluable investment. The authors have made the analytical art of book discussions accessible, and fun. For all of us "greedy readers" - this is the ultimate reference for book lovers everywhere.

Everything one could want to know about starting a book group in a helpful, informative, and entertaining format. A great read from authors who are not just PhDs in English but clearly women who love reading and writing. In addition to detailed descriptions of just about everything one would need to know to get started and keep going, the authors provide lists of books that have proved to be most popular with reading groups. Loved the part about their meeting with Oprah. This is the sort of book just to keep handy to refer back to when you need inspiration or validation in what you're doing whether it's preparing for a group meeting or analyzing a book on your own.

What a great book! Most how-to books can be dull or hokey, but the advice in this book is interesting, creative, fun and often hilariously funny. The authors take an important topic and make it very accessible. I was pretty nervous about starting a book group before I encountered "Good Books Lately," but now I'm encouraged and excited! After just starting this book, I felt like Ellen Moore and Kira Stevens were good friends of mine! This book's a great reference that I'll use and recommend often.

I absolutely loved this book on book groups. A friend of mine recommended it because I was complaining that our book group had gotten a little dull after 7 years. Now, we have reinvigorated our group with the help of this book. Every book group needs to read this book. Ellen Moore and Kira Stevens are absolutely brilliant and incredibly funny.

Gothica. Cyber or reality? Maybe both. Gothica, a place where dreams were borned.. And some destroyed. A game or the written reality of people? Who knows, but for Vampyra and Timetravellar, two tormented souls, they were once again face to face or should I say, screen to screen?

Gothica. A dark tale about love and hope. Follow Calvin McLeish as he tell a tale that's not his own but a tale he remember living in a distant past. Come meet Vampyra who after centuries of loneliness still seek the only one who have conquered her heart and soul.

Gothica. A different vampire story for those who enjoy a dark tale. A story that is not afraid of words, be warned that the "cyber-sex" is explicit.

Internet vampires toying with life, love, and death. I was captured on the first page and willingly held prisoner the entire novel. Truly an original.

Calvin McLeish's life was spiraling down hill at an alarming rate. His wife had left him, he was jobless, and had only a new computer to keep him company. He soon learned all about chat rooms. His favorite was known as Gothica. Calvin called himself Timetravellar. Whenever he got online with Vampyra he could not seem to control himself. It was not long before Calvin realized that Timetravellar was as real as himself. In fact, Travellar was himself. An alter.

Vampyra was one of the few real vamps still left in the world. She had her own tormenters though, other than the normal cops who constantly searched for the street killer. The Dark Huntress needed her own champion and she hoped it was the one called Timetravellar.

Here, in cyber space, reality and fantasy collide. A final fight between the noble house of MacTavish and a cruel Marquis, will begin...and end!

*** Excellent dark fantasy that will be read and reread often by its readers. Be forewarned of a lot of cyber-sex that goes into detail though. Full of nosy neighbors, lusty online friends, and an interesting new look at the undead! Very good story here! ***

I am not usually a fan of books about vampires. I have seen recent movies with vampires as their subject matter, and was not impressed. This book, however, took me by surprise.

Mr. Cowan has captured the sadness that must exist for the mythical vampire. The loneliness of eternal life, and a life without permanent love. The sadness of taking a life to feed their blood thirst, and the sexual satisfaction of creating a lover.

He also brings to light some brilliant images of fairies and sprites. Those mythical creatures that we would all like to believe in, but few do.

The plot seems predictable at first, but there are several twists that get your attention, and make this book worth reading and re-reading. He also leaves this book open for a sequel. I would be first in line to buy a sequel when and if he writes it.

I would recommend this book for anyone above the age of 12. I have a nine year old son, and I read some passages of the book to him, and he seemed entertained by it. I even recommend this to people who are afraid of, or have nightmares about vampires, because this book does much to show the inner workings of a vampires mind. It is not all death and destruction.

Keep Gothica - Romance of the Immortals in your mind when you are looking for great entertaining reading.

After the first chapter, I was interested. After the third chapter, I could not put the book down.

Excerpt:

"Was it possible the only reward for a lifetime of work and risk was deterioration and disease? The naked eye of death seemed to fix him, the terror that none of his fellows seemed to fear, because unlike him, they believed. And if that was true, then who was really more alive in the mind? He who saw through the tricks and lived in constant fear? Or one who succumbed to the mirage and lived his life in joy? And if there was nothing but the struggle of life, then what good was it all?"

These words slapped me across the face harshly. I can relate to the turmoil of Frog Hopping. When you see things as they really are, rather than living in a world of belief and fantasy, life can be quite interesting. You don't have too many illusions, and facts, not belief, generally rule your existence. However, at the same time, you may feel envious of people who live in a world of illusions and fantasies and myths, because they seem to have joy from believing, than knowing. As they say, "ignorance is bliss", and when you are no longer ignorant, the world can be quite painful. Is having knowledge freeing or imprisoning? I think it is both - painful and freeing.

I feel that the story of T'Cori and Frog Hopping nem was a very interesting read, exciting, and fascinating. The author has done some serious research to write such a book. The book is well written and takes one's mind to another place and time, which is the mark of an excellent writer.

The Ibandi are fictionalized and are the first humans to stand erect(conjecture). They are most likely the ancestors of us all. The Msk may be the Neanderthals, being partial ape and human, not having evolved to full human status. These half humans posed an enormous threat to the Ibandi. They were bigger and stronger and vicious. We all known what actually happened to them. They died out. .

Places that I never gave a second thought, now they are firmly etched in my memory. Mt. Kilimanjaro now has a permanent place in my head. Mt. Kilimanjaro is situated in Tanzania. It is the highest mountain in Africa and the tallest freestanding mountain on earth. Mr. Barnes story has encouraged me to know more about the mountain and the people and/or original inhabitants that live in its shadows.

If you want a great story that challenges you, I would highly recommend Great Sky Woman by Steven Barnes.

Steven Barnes in GREAT SKY WOMAN tells the story of two youngsters of the Ibandi people living below Mt. Kilimanjaro, which is known to the Ibandi as Great Sky. T'Cori, abandoned to wild animals by a father who thinks she is blind, is rescued by a mystic, Stillshadow, who teaches her to be a dream dancer. Frog Hopping, an undersized teenager who is being raised by his Uncle Snake, is attempting to prove his worth as a great hunter. Frog Hopping realizes he also has premonitions that let him know what is about to happen. After a brutal and hairy group attack the Ibandi people, the hunt chiefs who are left and the dream dancers must climb Mt. Kilimanjaro to set things right.

Steven Barnes has spun a wonderful tale of life during prehistoric times in Africa. He delves deeply into the religious beliefs, the customs and cultures of the Ibandi people and what they must do to survive in the harsh region on the slopes of Mt. Kilimanjaro. The suspense keeps you tense and wondering what is going to happen next. How can even extraordinary teenagers survive the many tribulations that beset them and their people? The story has many twists and turns that confound you before a possible solution is discovered. Barnes is a wonderful writer well worth reading again and again.

Reviewed by Alice Holman
of The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers

I have been a fan of Steven Barnes work for the past 4 years. This newest novel of his is wonderful. It reads like a history novel, you can imagine these very events happening so clearly. Yet you can almost forget you are reading a novel set 30,000 years in the past as it contains elements true to this day. T'cori and Frog dared to question the unquestionable. Its what youth has always done and always will. It always frightens the elders who don't take change in their beliefs too lightly. If you decide to pick this up be prepared to expand your mind and think. Think about what might have been and what might actually be.

I am ashamed that this is my first Steven Barnes novel, as I have been meaning to "get into" his work just as I have with that of his wife (T. Due). With that said, this is an excellent novel and I agree with the editorial review. His attention to detail and sense of place and time are outstanding, as is his pacing: the novel covers a good near-20 years yet progresses seamlessly. For those who are interested in both good writing and humanity's ancient history, this is a must for you. I hesitate to compare it to anything, but I'll go ahead anyway and say that it more than on par with "Clan of the Cave Bear," and even more relevant for those of us with African Ancestry (which ultimately is actually everyone).

As always, Barnes has written another phenomenal, detailed piece of fiction that allows African American's to feel like we are truly a part of mainstream literature. When I read Barnes, I feel as if I have a story too--one that is rich with details, hope and beauty. Something that is fiercely lacking in most other literature. The new craze among writers to depict us as one demensional sex-craved vixens and thugs is neither uplifting or representative of what I believe most African Americans want when they go to a book store. We fought too hard for the voices of Langston, Zora, Alice and Toni to be heard to now have them silenced by this new generation of writers that have started "selling themselves" to the highest bidder.

T'Cori (the nameless one) is an orphaned girl raised to be a Dancer. Frog is a young man raised to be a warrior. The two, whose path cross in a way that is unimaginable, allows both T'Cori and Frog to become greater than the selves they started out to be. Both rely on the other's strengths and change their history and the history of their people. We need literature like this. One that allows us to see ourselves as the beginning not the end of what makes this civilization of ours great.

I appreciate writers like Barnes, his wife Ms. Due and the late great Octavia Butler. They allowed us to be a part of the science fiction genre in a way that challenges the status quo and gives credibility to the fact that African American readers want to be challenged and put in the forefront of the literature that is written about us in a way that is classy and multi-layered. Thank you again, Mr. Barnes for another wonderful work of literature. I look forward to the sequel to this book(if rumor proves correct).

I love the entire hairy Maclary series. Very entertaining! My kids love it when I read it with a Scottish accent.

From the minute my 2 year old little boy saw the cover he fell in love with the book! He immediately learned the cute names of all of the dogs and the book is very exciting to him. We highly recommend this for a fun book.

another great kids book for kids, beautifully illustrated, great fun with hilarious rhymes which kids remember easily.

In this adventure Hairy McClary is given a bone by the butcher, but if followed home by his friends, Hercules Morse, Muffin Mclay, Bitzer Maloney, Bottomley Potts and Schnitzel von Krum - Hairy has to walk home in such a way to prevent his friends from getting the bone

Good way of describing big, small, and other concepts to kids. They can see why the dogs gradually get filtered out as Hairy takes the long way home.

Good fun for under 5 years - start reading young and they love them - learning to read them themselves. These also come in toddler style books which is good if you are intending these for an under 2 year old.

Here is another enjoyable episode from the life of the perky little dog called Hairy Maclary.
He has a friend, the butcher, who gives him a bone.
The rhyming text takes over the story of the envy of his friends whose names are listed. Children with other books in this series will recognize them immediately both from their descriptive names and the artwork which brings out the individual breed characteristics. This list decreases as the group moves around the town and encounters different obstacles.
All of this reflects observed doggy behaviour and hazards. It will be with great satisfaction that all small readers see Hairy Maclary get home able to keep and enjoy his bone.

This is a wonderful sequel to HAIRY MACLARY FROM DONALDSON'S DAIRY. In the first book we had Hairy going out for a walk and being joined by five other dogs one by one. This book starts with Hairy at the butcher shop where he receives a great big bone. As he sets out to return to Donaldson's Dairy we see five familiar noses poking out from behind a shop. Soon the five dogs are following Hairy hoping for a chance at the bone. But when ducking through an old billboard Hercules Morse (as big as a horse) gets stuck. You can see where this is going as Hairy continues his journey home.

A wonderful book told with a lilting rhyme and meter that makes it perfect for reading out loud. Hairy and his friends are the stars of a vast array of books that have long been almost unheard of here in the States. Well Hairy and friends are making inroads here and I for one welcome the canine (and feline) invasion. If you have not had a chance to read Lynley Dodd you have been missing something.

As a person surving MS, times of pain,frustration and stress can really be a hinderance to you and the disease. Just taking a few needed precious moments to listen to this guided imagery tape will help you "let go." I listen to it every night and never get tired of it. There have been many times during the day when I have made time to listen to it also. The tape has gotten me through some tough days. You will be pleased to have this as part of YOUR MS survival armory.

This is an incredible little tape. Side 1 is the guided imagery which is I guess about 20 minutes and side 2 has some reinforcement phrases to say to yourself. The guided imagery is terrific. She takes you to a s pecial place, you address your immune system directly, telling it you're ok and they can stand down, and she helps you surround yourself with support. The first time I listened I cried like I hadn't cried in a long time. I didn't know how much I had kept inside. It is such a good tape I can't say enough.

I found this tape one of the most healing avenues that I have tried. It helps me to let go of the tense, and feelings whether they are mental or physical. It is a gift to yourself to try this tape. I love it.

I think is great to have an imagery tape to relax or heal. Please don't try the tape while driving.

With a soothing voice Belleruth Naperstek leads the listener to a sense of peace through calming meditative words. It would seem to be helpful to anyone contending with cancer. It is not, however, as helpful to those experiencing other cancer related disease, especially blood related. Leukemia, for example, would require very different images. Still, it would be somewhat helpful to someone with leukemia or lymphoma if they are not terrible distracted by the brief imagery specifically related to tumor cancers.

Great game, easy to play after you learn how it works, but can be difficult if you havn't got someone to help. But that's ok, there is a large online community happily willing to help. On the other hand not having the name recoginition and market saturation of dungeons and dragons, finding players can be a problem.
The math can be a little scary, but most of it is in the character creation, so get a calculator and have some fun.

I got into Hero with the release of D&D4. I didn't feel like spending another $4000+ on new D&D books, so I switched and I've never looked back. The Hero System, and its supplements, supply you with all the tools to run a game in any genre: fantasy, superhero, pulp, and sci-fi, just to name a few. Another advantage is that each new edition tells you how to convert previous editions to the new rules, so no planned obsolescence.
The books are thoroughly researched and perfectly-balanced, reducing any conceivable power or character ability to a detailed and comprehensive numerical formula. Though a bit math-intensive, the system eliminates min-maxing and power gaming, and the Hero Designer software does all the math for you.
Oh, and the main thing that this system has that other systems don't: a comprehensive table of contents and index in every book.

I only recently had heard of the HERO System. So I did not know what to expect or even how this book improves on previous editions. However the book gives lots of information on making a 3D character. Not just a bunch of numbers on paper. The book is very large and may intimidate someone brand new to RPGs.

Do not be discouraged by the size of the book or how complex the system appears at first. The system is very fluid and offers a huge range of options for new and old gamers to try.

If I had to compare the system to another that was published. I would say the Hero System is an expanded set of rules to what Big Eyes Small Mouth 2nd edition had introduced.

So if you are looking for a system that explains things in generic terms, to let you be creative, this is a purchase you should consider.

Having been a gamemaster using the Champions rules for the past 20+ years, I am greatly pleased with the new rules. Hero System has undergone some much needed refining and makes using the system that much better.

The Fifth Edition Revised has so many improvements for both the creative gamer and for someone looking for more "ready to use" information. This edition is substantially compatible with the Fourth Edition. Compared to the original Fifth Edition, there is little difference except where errors were corrected and examples added. HERO System is one of the definitively good games.

I have personally run fantasy, superhero, and science-fiction games with HERO system. HERO is a good first choice for any action-oriented game. Setup and character creation can involve a fair amount of arithmetic, but play is fast and intuitive.

i got this book when i was learning to cook in grad school (and cooked vegetarian). my carnivore foodie husband and i still use it frequently, and think almost every recipe is great. the tofu dishes are excellent, the bean dishes great and the white bean pizza is my favorite comfort food. it is the best staple cookbook i have ever had.

Some of these recipes have become family favorites. With only a few unusual ingredients, this cookbook is more about preparation, using heat in creative ways to bring out the flavor. The best greens recipe I have ever used.

This is one of my favorite vegetarian cookbooks, mainly because it is creative. I get tired of the same-old standard cook-the-tofu recipes, but this one has some unique combinations and great tastes. Some of the recipes are too time-consuming for me which is why I gave it 4 stars instead of 5.

I have been a vegetarian for more than 25 years, and this is my favorite cookbook of the dozens I have acquired. The recipes are varied and come out very well -- the Veggie Paella (pictured on the cover), made with the Mediterranean stock (recipe is also in the book), is out of this world! There are also wonderful recipes with quinoa and other grains and beans that aren't found in most cookbooks (try the quinoa tabouli or quinoa caviar for a treat!). I recommend this book for anyone who enjoys good meatless meals!

It's true. The recipes are good and only unnecessary fat is cut out. The recipes aren't too complicated or time-consuming and I haven't had a failure yet. If you like Alice Water's Vegetables, Deborah Madison and the like, you should enjoy this cookbook. Happy Cooking!

I initially purchased this book because the subject matter interested me, but lo and behold,subsequently it was the required text for a college history course I was enrolled in. It is a unique and fascinating look at 400 years of childhood in America. Mintz does a great job of explicating the changes that childhood underwent over the years and centuries. For instance: adolescence is a 20th century creation! Also, the Puritans viewed children as little adults and made no exceptions for their age. In the colonial period American Indian children(especially boys) lived such a carefree existence that frequently abducted colonist children refused to be reunited with their white biological parents mainly due to the life of ardous drudgery which constituted childhood in 18th century New England.

This fine work is filled with fascinating bits of information as the aforementioned. It spans the period between the 17th century up to the period of the Columbine massacre, showing the myriad changes which accompanied childhood in America. Great reading and great history, highly recommended. If you have an interest in this subject matter you will not be disappointed. READ IT!!!

THIS BOOK CAME IN PERFECT CONDITION! NOT A MARK ON IT! I LOVED THE CONTENT TOO... THIS BOOK OPENED MY EYES TO THE UNIQUENESS OF AMERICAN CHILDHOOD, AND ITS HISTORY! I HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT!

I overheard an interview with the author of this book on NPR, and I sensed he attributed much of the malaise of modern youth to this same thing that bothers me -- basically a lack of space and flexibility. He ends his book with these sentences. "Who would envy Huck's battered childhood? Yet he enjoyed something too many children are denied and which adults can provide: opportunities to undertake odysseys of self-discovery outside the goal-driven, overstructured realities of contemporary childhood." Hence the title of the book, Huck's Raft, what Mintz regards as the solution to Columbine -- a space where children can drift down a river without being cordoned off into an artifical universe, a place where they can interact meaningfully and creatively in the great, wide world.

However, lest I mislead, the book is first and foremost an excellent history. The discussion of Columbine and the hysteria of modern overprotectionism does feel like the culmination of the book, but it occupies only a few pages in the final chapters. The bulk of the book provides a perspective on the modern situation, by relating how it has been, how exactly we have evolved to where we are now. This is an incredibly valuable service. Sometimes I felt he made childhood in America sound overly negative, but on the whole, the book provided a very well researched and balanced account of how life for children has evolved.

Especially various facts that he cites stick with me. In the 17th Century in the Chesapeake, over 2/3 of children lost a parent before the age of 21. And as late as the early 20th Century, most parents experienced the death of a child. In the 1600s 2/3 of all immigrants of all races arrived in some form of unfreedom, though black slaves certainly had the worst of it, and the longest and saddest chapter in the book is devoted to children of African descent in bondage. I was surprised to learn that only 4% of slaves brought to the New World were brought to the United States. He traces our gradual attempts to right the wrongs, to introduce children's rights and end their exploitation. But in the process we have lost something as well. Huck in his artificially safe, commercialized, hypersexualized universe has lost touch with his raft.

Delving into the complete history of childhood in America is a huge undertaking, and for the most part Mintz handles the difficulties with detailed aplomb. Surveying the culture of childhood as lived by children and as represented and mythologized by current or later society, Mintz moves from pre-colonial times to the very-near present.
With so much to cover, not just chronologically but socially as well (after all, "childhood" isn't the same for all at any given time--race, class, ethnicity, etc. all create separate spheres of childhood rather than an all-conclusive web), one might expect some problems. Luckily, the strongest parts of the book are also those which will probably be most insightful and new to readers.
The sections that deal with pre-colonial and colonial times are especially detailed. Richly vivid, they open up a world most people are unfamiliar with or, if they are familiar with it, are so through less-than-accurate myth or romanticism, the kind of "history" we all "know" to be true.
As the book progresses, it becomes more and more difficult to keep that level of detail and richness as the topic literally grows larger and larger. Slavery, war, immigration, race, class, economics all force Mintz to deal with different subsets of childhood as well as with the relatively simple chronological changes and so some detail is shed, some richness lost, and the book begins to feel a bit scattershot, a bit unwieldy. By the time we get to the last 20-30 years, one feels Mintz is running to keep in place. The sections are more generalized, the conclusions not so deeply explored. But as nothing really new comes up in these sections in comparison to what one has read in recent articles or books dealing with just this time period, it isn't really much of a loss.
It's hard to imagine a longer work, or one more fully documented. And while I personally would have wished the same length but with a narrower focus on the pre-1900's, I can't really fault Mintz for not deciding to write several volumes, say one for each century. So the negatives aren't really much to complain about and are more than overshadowed by the scope of the book as a whole and the depth of the first half. Stylistically, the book is clearly written, if at times dense, and the more personal, anecdotal stories focusing on a single historical individual do a nice job not only of conveying the more academic arguments, but of breaking up some of the factual density. Strongly recommended, especially for its early history sections.

I used "Huck's Raft" in a senior seminar I taught in the fall 2005 semester on Children's Health, Education & Welfare, and it was one of my students' favorites. It works especially well as a first book in a course, because it is so comprehensive and engrossing. Seldom do academic books read as well as this one. It is literally hard to put it down and, at the same time, one learns so from it much chapter after chapter. For a history of childhood in the U.S., this is probably the best book available. I cannot recommend it more highly.

There is a lot to learn about how to follow Jesus while working in health care. This book is great for anyone in a health-related field (and even if you're not, but it's kind of fun to have the systemic health background)... I got a lot out of it without being an M.D.!

David Stevens did an excellent job describing his experiences in Africa, medicine, and life that were very vivid to me now being home from teaching orphans in Africa. I was looking for a medical school graduation gift for my brother-in-law, and a surgeon friend recommended this book. It's good - will definitely touch your heart and make you want to impact lives the way Dr. Stevens has, following the example of Jesus.

I have given this book as a gift several times now, and everyone who reads it loves it. I had it sent directly to the other person's house for a Christmas gift and it arrived quickly and in perfect condition. They are now going to use this book in a Bible study because it is so inspiring!

This book well worth it for any Christian, but a must for any Christian looking to go into the medical field.

Dr. Stevens tells stories from the mission field of Tenwik Hospital in Africa. His stories are riveting, but they are used as illustrations of spiritual truths. I read the book aloud to my family, and we were all fascinated. The book is true to the Bible and vivid because of the life stories from Dr. Stevens' medical experience.