Wallace Books

Gracie Lang starts to her parents house for the holidays only to watch her husband and two children run off the road in front of her and killed. A drunk driver in a van speeds away. This and other problems that come into her life - like being shot, kidnaped and the killer of her family trying to kill her keep her entrapped until she can finally find forgiveness to move on.
Steven Kessler is an FBI Agent who is going through struggles of his own as his wife left him for someone else the day his son was born. He is a single Dad trying to raise his son alone while being an Agent and it is hard.
His son ends up in Gracie's class and their lives become entwined with each other.
A British Ambassador's daughter is kidnapped and killed and the search for her killer ties all the other events together.
This book will grip you from the first page and you will keep turning to find out what will happen next. You will wonder how each person's life is going to come together with the other person. I like the way Amy has entwined all these people's lives together but it makes you realize that what you do does affect other people.
This book will open your eyes to the fact you are not the only person to have ever questioned God and He is big enough to handle it. He will lead and guide you to the point you can embrace him with open arms.
Forgiveness is a hard thing to do and not as easy as people would spout at you. It lets you know you are human and all of us are walking a road that even if circumstances are different, we ask some of the same questions.
You can see how an FBI Agent is a real person just like you doing his job with problems to face also.
This is a must read in my book for everyone.

Gracie is haunted by that horrible new Year's Eve two years ago, when the husband she adored and her two little children were killed by a hit-and-run drunk driver. Since then she has limped along emotionally, but the only way she can truly go on with her life is if she can find the man who did this. The trail has gone cold, but she can't give up searching just yet. What she doesn't know is that she's being watched by him, and that she's stirring up a hornet's nest.

Steven Kessler is a disillusioned single dad who absorbs himself in his job as head of the Crimes Against Children Department of the FBI. Gracie and Steven's paths collide when he brings his little boy to her first grade class at the private and prestigious Hope Ridge Academy just outside of DC. But these two lonely hearts have baggage that gets in the way of the instant chemistry they feel for each other. Steve is guilt ridden about the children he hasn't been able to save. All the senseless violence he's seen against the innocents of the world has started to turn him from God. That and his bitterness towards his ex-wife.

There is a kidnapping involving the British ambassador's daughter which ends badly. Steven is determined to find the perp, and he becomes intertwined in the political rivalry between the British and the American secret service. And then Gracie's stalker colludes with the kidnapper, and suddenly both she and Steve are in danger.

Interestingly, Wallace suggests to us early on who the killer of Gracie's family is by using his name, and yet he's still an enigma. He is right under Gracie's nose as she searches far and wide. You don't usually expect to know who the killer is so early in a mystery, and yet there is still plenty for us to figure out, since he's not the only villain. The mystery here is how will she find out, and will she find out before he kills her?

The physical charge she and Steven feel for each other is palpable from the first time they meet. But there are so many obstacles in their way, so many misunderstandings between them. Both are struggling with their faith and how the tragedies in their lives could have happened. Thankfully, Wallace doesn't give us the pat answer that God allowed Gracie's family to die or Steven's wife to leave him---rather, she bravely leaves it at there are things we just don't get to have answers for. It takes a long, painful journey for each of them to learn the spiritual lesson of the book: "Peace comes from knowing God, not from having answers to every question. The answer is faith. Trusting Him."

Ransomed has a more realistic ending than a full blown riding-off-into-the-sunset one, yet it's full of the toe-curling smiles and face flushing glances romance lovers expect. Amy Wallace weaves the notion of forgiveness into a warm and passionate romance. Couple that with a suspenseful mystery and you've got a winner.

--Reviewed by Carol Kurtz for TitleTrakk

It was an accident. Gracie Lang didn't lose her life, but she might as well have. The drunk driver of the truck that hit her family never stopped. How many others were in danger of losing their lives with him still on the road?

Although she finds nothing but dead-ends, Gracie's driven to find the one responsible and can't seem to give up on her search. But it was time to rejoin the human race and begin to live again. Date again.

Steven Kessler is raising his son without the help of his ex-wife who abandoned him. His parents help out when Steven's job as an FBI agent in the Crimes Against Children Unit pulls him out of dad-duty. Steven's partner keeps planting verbal seeds and waits for him to return to God, but Steven doesn't see the point.

Steven's job and his son brought him and Gracie together since she'll be his son's teacher when school starts. He'll be seeing a lot of her in the coming months. Something he wouldn't mind. But it can't get serious. Not with his ex back in the picture.

The villains are wretched and scary. And real enough that I wanted to get to the end of the book where they wouldn't be running around loose anymore.

Amy Wallace weaves superbly, showing the many hold-my-breath conflicts at the right time and allowing me to catch my breath before I fall over from lack of oxygen.

I finished reading this book a few months ago and set it aside. The story was still on my mind when I started writing this review, but I skimmed through the prologue anyway. Having already read the entire book, you'd think I could get through a few of the beginning pages without tears coming to my eyes. No chance. Wallace's writing makes Gracie's story real enough that Gracie's emotions became mine.

I have to start this review with my disclaimer as I do for many.. I just do not really like the "real" contemporary fiction books, they are not my "escape". With that said, when I started this book it was just so real and heart wrenching that I was going to put it back and not even try to read it. But, I couldn't. No matter how bad I was feeling and the facts of the storyline depressing, I just had to know what happened. I couldn't put it down and had to find out what would happen to Gracie and her life. So, obviously, Amy's writing hooked me.



I'd say that the type of story is much like that Justice series of Karen Ball. They are similar in that they touch many aspects of life and a very true to reality. I did enjoy the overall story, with getting to the end. The message of Christ's love and forgiveness throughout is very refreshing and great to see in a "real" environment, since so often in life it appears to be only quietly present.



Now for my rant. Parts that I did not like was that it seemed nobody was in their original marriage. Maybe it's just because of the way that I am, but that bothered me. I'm a marriage is for life person, there is no second, but I know many people disagree with that. In this story there was a widower remarried, a wife who abandoned her husband and remarried her adultreous partner, a woman living out of wed-lock with her children's father, and then hints at other remarriages. I do not know why it bothered me so, but it did that just one couple it seemed was married to their original spouse.



Overall, the message is great, and I do think this book would appeal to the reader who enjoys the edgy storyline. There are cops and criminals, death and life, some romance and Christ's love and a great message. This is a book that would probably appeal also to those outside of the normal "Christian Fiction" genre, because it is not the flowery and overly preachy sort, but it is still present.

Gracie Lang lives every mother's nightmare, and Steven Kessler learns how to find his way back to God after walking away. Gracie shows us how important forgiveness is, if we ever plan to move forward after a painful past. God commands us to forgive, but some things in life are just unforgivable, or are they? Through Gracie and Steven we learn it is only by the power of Christ that we can forgive ANYTHING.

What I like about this book was they are imperfect people, who lived imperfect lives, and God never let them go. Also, Gracie and Steve displayed real feelings, not the platitude feelings. These characters show us it is ok to be angry with God, for God can take anything we dish out and turn it around to be used for His glory.

Absolutely fabulous, a must for any Star Wars fan. The information is totally accurate, well-written and well-organized. The only thing is, I was tempted to give it four stars rather than five, because the pictures are horrendous. The picture of Yoda on the cover makes him look evil, and the depictions of Leia barely look like her at all. But, if you ignore the pictures, this book is great!

not a bad book gave alot of information and on some exploits from some of main characters but i would had hoped for a little more detail of some of the stories like they didnt give much information about clones wars or how did palpatine was able to make his new roder with the rising form of the empire or how did skywalker learn about darkside and become his transformation to darth vador. I figure most is based on from the movies but even the authors with the excess to what they have and what they can learn from lucas himself i am sure they could had put a little information on some of these events.

I was always curious about how had everything started and how did it continue. Well, I had two options:
1) browse through the entire comments written about SW books
or
2) get a chronology

This chronology is well written and updated (2001) and leaves the necessary gap for the upcoming next two movies (Episodes 2 & 3).

After reading it I've decided to buy 4 books related to some parts of the history I was interested (what happened between the first 3 movies)

I strongly reccommend it

this book needs a hardback counterpart, it seems like a coloring book...with it's b&w pages and pictures...the info is great but keep an eye out for the enclyclopedia update

I am a die hard Star Wars fan, my room is like a shrine to it. I got the Chronology for Christmas a few years ago, and it's my favorite out of all of the essential guides. It goes into detail about the pre-Republic days, Xim the Despot, and The Hyperspace and Sith Wars. It also goes beyond the fall of the Empire, and the beginning of the Yuuzhan Vong invasion. I really loved the early Republic days and how it nearly fell to the collaboration of Exar Kun and the fallen Jedi, Ulic-Qel Droma. My favorite section of the whole guide is the Rise of Grand Admiral Thrawn. Thrawn was the only alien Grand Admiral, (Chiss was his species) and the last to nearly topple the New Republic.

There is a lot more in the Guide, but you will just have to read it.

Elizabeth Orton Jones and Rachel Field have created a masterpiece. This book, published in 1941, has stood the test of time, and will continue as long as there are children in the world. Rachel Field's poem captures the sweetness of childhood in a home with loving parents. She wrote this prayer for her own daughter with the hope of preserving, for all time, the faith and hopes of little children. Elizabeth Orton Jones' illustrations are beautiful and well done. These are not "slap-dash" illustrations. The artist took her time with these illustrations, and it shows. She won the Caldecott medal for her artwork, and deserved it. It is one of the best illustrated children's books ever published. This quote by Elizabeth Orton Jones illustrates her concept of her art: "Drawing is very like a prayer. Drawing is a reaching for something away beyond you. As you sit down to work in the morning, you feel as if you were on top of a hill. And it is as if you were seeing for the first time. You take your pencil in hand. You'd like to draw what you see. And so you begin. You try. Every child in the world has a hill, with a top to it. Every child-black, white, rich, poor, handicapped, unhandicapped. And singing is what the top of each hill is for. Singing-drawing-thinking-dreaming-sitting in silence -saying a prayer. I should like every child in the world to know that he has a hill, that that hill is his no matter what happens, his and his only, forever."

I am 61 now, but this was my favorite book as a child. I looked exactly like the little girl and our tiny house looked exactly like the house in the book. Even when terrible things happened in my life when I was a child (I lost my parents), I always held this book up as something to try to attain. The security, thankfulness, faith, love, warmth, peace and happiness that flow from this book have always stayed with me. When I became an adult, the most important thing in my life was to have a happy home like the one illustrated in this book, and I succeeded. I highly recommend this book.

I

My Grandmother purchased this book for me when I was very young because she said the little girl in the pictures reminded her of me. I was instanly smitten as a child by the pictures and rhythmic verse.
I now read this book to my own children. It is part of the bedtime ritual for my 1-year-old son who loves to point to the baby in the pictures and "pat the kitty cat". There are special pages that he likes to look at for an extended time and smiles consistantly at certain pictures, especially the page representing children from around the world.
It is a lovely story with topics that children will readily associate with, and I hope that my children will enjoy its elegant simplicity with their own families one day.

We love this book and we always read it at bedtime. It is perfect for children because it is written in a way that they think. Like asking God to bless a chair and such. Too sweet!!!

In this story, the little girl blesses her food, and then she says some more prayers. She asks Jesus to let no danger frighten her until the morning comes, and then she blesses her toys and shoes and furniture.
The little girl blesses her mom and dad and thanks God for their wonderful care of her. She asks Jesus to keep all the other children safe and free from fear.

I recommend this book to other children because I think it is a good book, and I think they will like it too. It's a whole prayer that I think is nice to say before bed.

Amy- age 6

THis was one of my most favorites books as a child. The illustrations are simply beautifu as is the text. My own children loved it and I am now buying it for my grandchildren. It is a simple but heartfelt prayer that is very appropriate for a very young child (and older one as well) and one that the child can understand what is being said. It just simply is a book to keep and pass down. I have to admit I bought this for myself as it brought back such memories.

I think I first tried to read BRCM more than 20 years ago, but set it aside for something shorter and more immediate. Maybe I just needed the extra years under my belt to fully appreciate Stegner's accomplishment with this book. Four major characters, all members of the same family, are fully fleshed out and just as human as fictional characters get. Bo and Elsa Mason and their two sons, Chet and Bruce, form a kind of microcosm of American society during the hard times that stretched from the turn of the century into the Depression. And there are no real "bad guys" in this story; only people who are victims of their own appetites and dreams, and of their own heritage and hardscrabble surroundings. This is still a powerful story, even after 65 years. I recommend it highly. - Tim Bazzett, author of Reed City Boy

There is no denying Stegner's iconic status as the dean of "western writers." While Big Rock Candy Mountain isn't actually his first novel- it feels like a first novel, and a startling, impressive effort to boot. Big Rock is supposed to be an autobiograhical tale that charts the travails of Stegner's own nuclear family- Dad Bo- a rough and ready frontiersman who is always a day late and a dollar short, his mom Elsa- a near runaway from the Scandanavian settlements of Minnesota- who married the first man she fell in love with, brother Chet and little Bruce- who, as it turns out, is the Stegner character.

Despite some peculiar narrative technique (including a tedious lapse into second person narration "You take the hose to the cellar, you wash the potatoes by hand" etc during a few chapters of the book, the pacing and observation is first rate, as you would expect from a master of american literature. Three or four times during the course of reading Big Rock, I found myself looking at the copyright to verify that this book had indeed been published in 1943.

Stegner's style is certainly "naturalism" and it's hard not to hear the echoes of Theodore Dreiser's "Sister Carrie" in the character of the Elsa. However, the beautiful, evocative descriptions of little towns in North Dakota, wheat farms in Saskatschewan, Montana roads during the prohbition era, and depression era Salt Lake City are what kept me reading to the very one.

Although big rock is 500+ pages, it's a pretty quick read- I managed to read all but the last hundred pages over the course of a hot, lazy labor day weekend sunday.

I enjoyed the book. Stegner does a good job evoking life around this period (1900-1930s), and describing realistic characters. However, the mother - she was portrayed as a saint - was exasperating with her infinite patience and understanding of her husband's inexcusable behavior.

I'm sure there were and are women like Elsa, but I would characterize them as co-dependent and lacking an iota of self-respect/esteem, rather than as extraordinarily kind and wise. For example, it's truly pathetic how she apologizes to one and all for being so much trouble when she's deathly ill.

This is probably one of the darkest, most merciless books I've ever read -- exceeded only in bleakness by Sigrid Undset's "Master of Hestviken." I picked it up expecting a book about pioneers, but "Little House on the Prairie" this is not, though it was written around the same time (early 1940's). Imagine pioneering not with the gentle, kind, intelligent, and progressive Charles Ingalls as your father -- but with his unstable, bipolar, obsessive-compulsive, violent, abusive and sadistic twin. This book could serve as a nifty handbook for women on the perils of marrying a sexy baseball-playing "bad boy." The mother suffers, and suffers, and suffers some more -- the father acts horrible, and more horrible, then redeems himself somewhat, but eventually devolves into one of the most truly despicable characters in modern fiction, whilst mom is martyred by her own bad choice in a man. Seriously, there were moments in this book when I was shocked -- SHOCKED! -- and I don't consider myself a lightweight. All the same, I just couldn't put this book down! It's an incredibly interesting portrayal of the tragectory of a f***ed-up American family 1880-1920, including the infamous 1918 flu epidemic. And the father really is a fascinating character; if you are an amateur psychologist it's fun to identify his various pathologies.

Wallace Stegner wrote "The Big Rock Candy Mountain" relatively early in his career (1943, at age 34), and the book reflects the author's enormous talents, which were still developing at that time. Stegner tells the tale of Bo Mason, who leads a rootless life on the fringes of the law. Mason is a bootlegger, gambler and precious metals speculator. Each peak he achieves is higher than his last, and each valley is deeper. This is true both financially and in his relationship with his wife, Elsa, and two sons, Chet and Bruce. Some reviewers point out that the story is somewhat autobiographical. That's probably a safe assumption. But it's also the story of the American West a century ago, where raw optimism, the struggle for acceptance, and harsh realities shaped people's existence.

The harsh reality of "The Big Rock Candy Mountain" is that it isn't one of Stegner's best works. Of course, that's a very high standard. Readers will understandably have great expectations when diving into this book, and some may be disappointed. For example, the younger son's seething hatred towards his father is introduced early in the book and is central to the conclusion, but is poorly developed in the interim chapters. Likewise, the voice of the book drifts between the 3rd person and the 2nd person. This gives the reader a voyeuristic glimpse into each character's personal thoughts. It's a nice gimmick, but awkwardly executed.

On an absolute scale, this book is a no-brainer 5 stars. But relative to other Stegner novels, "The Big Rock Candy Mountain" has some minor flaws. Read it and you'll certainly enjoy it. But you'll appreciate even more the experience of reading the early efforts of one of America's greatest 20th century writers.

Stepping Off the Edge: Learning & Living Spiritual Practice
Buy this for Wallace Black Elk's picture on the cover--and for everything inside. Black Elk's state is written all over his face. The man's soul comes right through this book. My spiritual teacher, who was from India, told us to study masters who could impart the experience of God, not people who wrote about people who had experience. Black Elk fits the category of those who know.

This book has a great volume of imformation in to the heart of the Lakota. Read twice, you get more out of it.

Well, it took quite a bit of courage to write this book at a time when there was so very much opposition to sharing the knowledge of Creator with us Waisichus (white eyed folks). In the way that only Wallace could speak...here in these pages he comes back to life as the Genius he truly was. He loved to tell people; "I am only a dumb Indian"...and then he'd laugh that laugh "Hee hee hee hee", knowing that he really had one up on all of us. If you read behind the lines, you'll learn something, really learn about Creator and the way things work on this Canka Luta Waste and behind that Canunpa. Enjoy this book....as this is one elder who has passed on and can never be replaced.

This book is a masterpiece of wisdom. It is a pattern for a way a life that can serve every human being upon their journey on this earth.

Being interested in the wonderful subject of Native American thought and "religion" (spirituality), and having enjoyed other books of this genre, I was a "shoo in" to purchase this book. The personal quality and warmth of Wallace Black Elk pervades each page. He writes in the same vein as "Black Elk Speaks" and "Fools Crow, Medicine Man" but with a more modern, present day approach and color. This book should awake understanding of both past and present conditions of life for Native Americans. It is written in a simple and sincere manner and I recommend it to anyone who would like to know more about Indian thought and spiritual practices.

Thought the book was an excellent follow-up to the original movie, and answered questions such as what happened to Denham? What happened to the skeleton after the Empire State fall? Are there any more like him? Very quick read, enjoyed it completely. Fans of the original movie will like this very much

It answers a lot of questions about how everything is the way it is. Like: Why are the doors in the wall the size of Kong? Where did Kong come from? Who build the wall. What will happen to the island? It also gives a nice account after the fall of Kong.

Reading "Kong: King of Skull Island" was a real treat! I found the book to be well written and beautifully illustrated. This book makes Skull Island come alive with very realistic settings and credible native peoples. We learn how the wall that isolates the native population from the islands creatures came to be. And of course we learn of Kong. What his early life and death struggles were like. How he came to be the last of his kind and why he chose skull mountain as his stronghold.

I felt the writing perfectly captured Kong's nature showing us a complex creature of almost human longings yet still a very frightening beast. Hats off to Joe DeVito and Brad Strickland for crafting an engaging and thoroughly enjoyable book.

Fianally a book that does justice to the long running King Kong. People complain that it does not connect with the movie "Son of kong". Well guess what, that movie sucks. That's why they made a new book to make a new, bettter ending to King Kong's saga. The artwork is stunning, and Skull Island's origins are also revealed, which I liked. If you loved the old, classic King Kong, BUY THIS BOOK!

Kong returns once again through the artwork of Joe De Vito. His genius in creating this book shows on every page. Through "Storyteller" the secrets of King Kong and Skull Island are revealed. Is it fantasy or did Kong really live? The secrets are revealed in this spectacular book!

I have never read any Wallace books before and expected much more from him. The characters were indeed interesting, and the plot moved along at a good clip. I usually don't like novels where the story is told from the point of view of many different characters. In this novel, however, that narrative structure worked well. What I didn't like was the way Mr. Wallace abandoned the reader at the end of the story, without bothering to tie up even a few of the many threads he had woven. Like the magician who never does "bring back" the assistant, this book left me confused and depressed.

I've given this book four stars because it is beautifully written and creatively told through a series of narrators who each bring his/her own perspective on the truths about the life of the main character, Henry Wallace, the "negro" magician. The reader is drawn in from the get go and follows a path of anticipation that the next page will lead to something even more astounding than the one before. The author delivers.

I did genuinely enjoy the experience of reading this book in part because
the reader is advised early on not to believe everything that the narrators relate. Until the end though one is not sure where the truth lies. In that sense this period piece about a man's mostly tragic journey through life becomes a mystery story within itself. The theme of reality vs. illusion plays out with the main character's magical skills of illusion paralleling the manner in which the story is told. Kind of clever, really.

I did have two frustrations upon completing the book. One is that since our protagonist is such a long suffering victim of one loss after another, I found myself wondering at the end what the point of it all was. He wasn't a bad person that somehow deserved to suffer these losses. So what's the lesson here? Sure, bad things happen to good people and there is usually no good explanation for that; but every opportunity for something meaningfully good or redemptive that could happen to our lead character is snatched away like an unassuming butterfly caught in a net.

My ultimate frustration, however, occurs when the truth is revealed late in the book but not to the two characters who could benefit most from it. They live and die with their memories both real and illusory as the truth never arrives at their doors in time to save or heal them. To me that was the tragedy of the story and the disappointment as to how it ends. I guess I like my endings a bit more tidily wrapped than this one is. Nonetheless, a compellingly strong read.

Daniel Wallace has struck gold again with "Mr. Sebastian and the Negro Musician." The story of Henry Walker, once one of the world's greatest musicians through a deal with the devil--or so we are told--is a magical tale that shifts in time, place and storyteller. Whose truth should we believe? Wallace draws vivid characters and places that linger in the mind's eye of the reader. It is no accident that Big Fish made a wonderful film and this one has the same cinematic scope of the imagination. This is not the book for those who need a direct, linear narrative, but for those with imagination willing to go with the flow, this is a magical story that questions the nature of family, of love, of friendship, of truth. Enjoy!

Whoever stated that this should be a movie gets my vote. This is an entirely entertaining story with those twists that keep the reader guessing. The fantasy and magic and possibilities of fate meet in an intersection of the real and the surreal. Magic offers people possibilities - possibilities that are not available in the darkness and inhumanity of the lives of many. I found this to be a page turner with some passages that were absolutely riviting. Not only entertaining, but the underlying messages of love, devotion, and the treatment of people all swirl together in a dark mist that is more than meets the eye.

How much of your inner torment is due to your imagination? How much have your pleasant memories been revised to make them even better? Have you ever done anything in your life that later made you cringe when you thought about it from the other person's perspective? But do you really know how it affected them? What has disappeared from your life: things, people, trust, emotion, truth? How much have you gained from your losses? Daniel Wallace knows. Henry Walker told him. Read this book.

Poor Minik, captured by white traders and brought to Manhattan to be a freak! It was the age of freaks, when everyone who was different was first taken away from their home, and then put on display. Minik found out that his beloved father had been stuffed and mounted for all to jeer at the New York Museum of Natural History.

Author Harper has been through the files of the Museum and what he has come up with will convince even people who love the Museum, that reparations are in order. Eskimo people are not the only ones outraged at the long ago disposition of native relics. It is still worthy of outrage. What puzzles me is actor Kevin Spacey's interest in this affair. His preface to the book is well-written, not that I believe he actually put pen to paper to write it up, but clearly he has an emotional investment in this material and, from what I understand, he is planning to play Minik himself once his duties as Lex Luthor are finished in the new Superman movie. But why not let a native actor play the part? My in-laws who know Kenn Harper by reputation, and who have seen him speak in public, say that Spacey is part Inuit and hgas had a long interest in Peary's expeditions.

Peary himself emerges from Harper's well-researched book as a bit of a mixed bag. On the one hand he showed true courage in surmounting obstacles and sub zero temperatures. On the other hand he was not particular gifted in solving human personnel difficulties, and seems to have grown impatient if his will was crossed by others (or by the hand of God). We have all known men like Peary--impetuous, self-assured, and gifted. But few of us have known the crushing tragedy of Minik of Qaanaaq, of Greenland's icy shores.

Kenn Harper's Give Me My Father's Body is undeniably and superbly researched; easily the book's crowning achievement. Occasionally though, I was annoyed with the "what if" scenarios. At least twice in the book Harper says what would have happened if things had gone another way. In one instance, the book describes Minik's plan to return to the Greenland and to lead a group of Inuit to the North Pole. He hoped to attain international honour for his people. Harper made the declaration that even had Minik tried, there was no way that he would have been successful. He further added that Minik's desire to prove the superiority of his race was an ethnocentric idea no doubt learned from the white people of New York, that the Greenland Inuit would balk at such ideas and that, with nothing to gain but glory for their people, they would surely refuse to help Minik. Even if Harper's learned ethnocentrism theory is correct, Harper has no way of ever knowing what Minik could have accomplished had he tried. If Minik had learned such ideas from white people, who's to say the Greenland Inuit wouldn't in turn learn such ideas from Minik? The point is, no one knows what would have happened and it is futile to guess (even for the well-informed). Also, the edition of the book that I have, has included discussion questions at the end for readers groups. These are very laughable. To paraphrase a typical question, "Kenn Harper lives among the people that he writes about and is therefore the greatest historian and writer to ever write about Northern peoples. Discuss how his portrayal of Eskimos is the most accurate description ever to be put on paper." But despite the embarrassing readers club guide at the end and the occasional subjective statement from Harper, the book is eye-opening about the victims of science and was a pleasurable read.

This book is a must-read. The reader must come into it ready to make his or her own conclusions about the material, though, as it is written to persuade a certain viewpoint. With no other viewpoints offered to compare this one to, it is difficult to say for certain if this one is correct. The story is one that anyone interested in humanity, globalization, anthropology or just an interesting story should read.

Storyline is very intriguing, but the writing is a bit droll. It is also longer than necessary.

Kenn Harper has managed to bring together an amazing story through detailed research. Minik, the Polar Eskimo child, was brought to the US by Robert Peary and essentially placed on display. The story of his disconnected life is full of pathos and sorrow. Yet Harper weaves the story with life.

Peary's behaviors were simply egotistic and reprehensible. He treated the Eskimos as his property. He placed their lives in harms' way by bringing them to a culture and location that assaulted their senses and immune systems. Minik was the price paid for that deed.

I did get bogged down in names from time to time, especially as Harper recounted the financial misdealings of Wallace, who had taken responsibility for Minik. But overall, the story is entertaining and enlightening. It speaks to the ethnocentrism of Peary's generation and to the isolation of the Polar Eskimos. It took me a long time to read and absorb this book but it was rewarding in the end... to see and feel a culture so far away.

Textbook as described, good shape, no marks or highlights. Quick delivery and good price, thanks! Purchased for class, but really enjoy some of the readings, great collection of authors.

I don't have any complaints. The book was brand new, so of course there were no problems with it. The book was delivered in a timely manner.

I purchased these volumes of the anthology for school and, while I am not generally a fan of reading out of anthologies, this whole set has been very beneficial. I plan on keeping them after I finish the class in order to use them when I become an English teacher. The author introductions are helpful and insightful, providing sufficient background on the writer so that the reader may better understand each story by having a basic knowledge of what the author was experiencing in his or her life. The footnotes areexcellent, giving definitions of archaic words and phrases that might not otherwise be found without extensive search into the customs of the English language. Overall, this was a good purchase, and I will use it often in the future.

Another too thick, too heavy, too expensive textbook anthology of American literature. There're FAR too many selections to cover in a university survey course (which is all these books are good for--no one would read them for pleasure!) and a lot of them are pretty mediocre. When will these dinosaurs collapse under their own weight and some enlightened editors come up with something truly useful, meaningful, and inspiring? No wonder the reading public is is shrinking--these obese anthologies destroy any desire to read and study literature.

The college bookstore was TOO busy this semester. I took a couple of minutes and LOTS OF FAITH in ordering the volumes on-line. This order was shipped and at my home before I could blink!

Miss Jane Porter wrote this book in 1809 but it is still an exciting and heroic story of The Scottish Chiefs, men and women, who attempted to drive the English occupying soldiers and their warrior king, Edward I of England, hero of the Crusades, out of Scotland. William Wallace, the valiant Murray, and many others and their deeds fill the pages. Wallace, who wants to free his country and wreak revenge on the English for the murder of his wife. OK, you've seen Braveheart and despite it's inaccuracies, it brought the story of Wallace, The Hero of Scotland, back into the public eye of the world. Now, read this book. No, it is not absolutely accurate either, but it's a wonderful read. Another OK, the cover is abysmal, a droopy male and female. Look for the Scribner's with the N.C. Wyeth illustrations. Dynamite, and in the right spirit!

This tale of Scots resistance against English King Edward is essential to those who grew up with "Scots wha hae wi' Wallace bled" in their ears. Others may enjoy it more for its romance. What pleased me most was seeing the medieval (turn of 13th-14th century) history through the focus of the English author Jane Porter, whose text was published in 1809, and the 1921 edition's illustrations by N.C. Wyeth. Atheneum's reissue is well bound and printed; the book feels pleasant to the hand. Most of all, Porter's latinate sentences beg to be read aloud. Although sold for ages 9-12, the text would be difficult for many of my college freshmen. Lucky the child with a parent to read it aloud! Lucky the adult with a child to read it to, or, failing that, to have these 500+ pages on the bedside table to peruse at day's end.

This classic should be read by all. It is a story of great courage and conviction, a story in which good brave men fight the scoundrels, and sweet strong ladies stand by their men. There is so much to be drawn from a book like this. I intend to read it several more times before my life is over and make it required reading for my children one day. We need more men as William Wallace and Robert the Bruce, boys such as the faithful Edwin, wives and daughters such as Isabelle and Helen. If Scottish Patriots filled the pews of our churches, the Church would rise up in a great way.

I so enjoyed reading this book. It was beautifully written, although it took a little while to get used to the way they spoke then. It can not really be compared to the movie Braveheart, because although both the book and the movie are about William Wallace, the story line is different. This book is not just a quick way to learn the story line. You have to appreciate the old dialect, and the talent with which Jane Porter incorporated so much detail. This is truly a classic story and has become one of my favorite books.

I enjoyed Scottish Chiefs. The plot was interesting, and it certainly helped me really get to know William Wallace, the main character. The book was exciting and well-written. I would certainly recommend it to anyone who wants to know more about William Wallace, the Bruces, and Edward I of England. But Jane Porter, the author, was not perfectly historically accurate. She added in some new characters that probably never existed--like Helen Mar, for example. This turned out okay, but readers should not assume that this is a perfect biography of Wallace. One thing I really did not like was the way all the women in the book were constantly fainting for no reason. I'm not sure if this was really the way people were than, but it annoys me. also, Porter portrayed Wallace as an extremely perfect person, more like an angel that a human, which was certainly wrong. The book is also very long, and sometimes hard to follw. But it was good overall. Also, my mother, who read it to me, my brother, and my sister as a part of our home education this past year, said thast it was a difficult book to read out loud, aned that it was not as accurate historically as it could have been.