Warner Books

I have recently read all of the books in the series of four and must say they are some of the best books I have ever read. If you are an American, from any heritage, these stories give a clear and honestly presented view of what our ancesters gave up and endured in order to give us a better life as Americans. I highly recommend this collection!

Life goes on for the emigrants turned immigrants turned settlers. Midway through the third book, we find out about Robert and Arvid. They never reached California. Arvid died from drinking poisoned water after getting lost on the trail. Robert ended up in Nebraska with another Swede who came over on The Charlotta.

After four years, Robert returns to Karl Oskar's and Kristina's farm. He has Arvid's watch and a large sum of money which he gives to his brother. Karl Oskar is suspicious. Did he find gold? Where is Arvid? Robert has changed. His health is gone, and he is disillusioned. He sees the folly of gold fever.

As it happened, Robert was swindled. The Swede from the ship traded him wildcat money for gold given to him by a dying Mexican. When Karl Oskar finds the bills are worthless, he hits his brother in the face. Broken, Robert wanders into the forest and dies, free at last. The pessimism of this episode is disturbing. We feel the tenuous nature of life and the ease with which men can be led astray.

The Settlers goes through 1860. Minnesota attains statehood. The book ends with Kristina resigning herself to life in America, just as her brother-in-law yielded to his inescapable fate.

Whether one is of Swedish extraction or not, if your ancestors came to America during the period of great migration from Europe, Moberg presents a wonderful picture of what it must have been like in "the old country" and the decision to start a new life in a new land. This is the third part of a four-part series. One would not get the full flavor of the book without reading the others in the series, but having the whole collection is a good plan, since it is a tale worth reading over and again.

The Settlers follows the experiences of Karl Oskar Nilsson, and his wife Kristina, from 1853 to 1860. In 1853 Karl Oskar is surprised to find something new in the woods around his homestead - a neighbor. The mass migration of Swedes has begun, and soon there is a community, with a schoolhouse and a church. Karl Oskar's younger brother Robert returns from the California gold rush, seemingly broken in health and spirit, and reluctant to say what happened to him. It is a bittersweet time of change, a time of gaining and a time of losing.

This book is the third in the Emigrants quadrilogy, and continues to demonstrate the same excellence shown by the others. Vilhelm Moberg was a great writer, and these books are amongst the best that I have ever read. The characters are powerfully written, seeming quite real; this was one of the authors many strengths. This is a wonderful introduction to the settler experience, and I recommend it wholeheartedly.

[For those of you with young children, I would like to recommend the Kirsten books in the American Girls series. Written for young readers (primarily girls), it tells the story of a Swedish family that immigrates to Minnesota in 1854.]

This is an epic work by its Swedish author, who is considered to be one of Sweden's greatest writers. Translated from Swedish into English, this beautifully written book of historical fiction was first published in 1956. It is the third part of a four part opus, the first two of which are "The Emigrants" and "Unto a Good Land". The last book is aptly titled "Last Letter Home".

In the first volume, "The Emigrants", the author detailed the emigration of a Swedish family to the New World, grounding it in the reasons for the exodus of so many Swedes from their mother country in the middle of the 19th century. The focus of the first book in this four part opus is on the family, relatives, and friends of Karl Oscar Nilsson, a peasant farmer who unceasingly worked his farm, only to find that, no matter what he did, he could not progress and would continue to live on the cusp of total poverty. The focus of the first book is on their life in Sweden. Gathering up family and friends of the family, the Nilssons decide to take the monumental step of making a fresh start by emigrating to the new world, specifically the United States of America.

The second volume, "Unto a Good Land", focuses on the arrival of the Nilsson family and friends in the United States of America. It details their journey from New York, a journey that was to take them across the Midwest by rail, steamer, and foot, to arrive in the wilds of what would one day be the State of Minnesota. It is in this wilderness that the Nilsson family and friends would homestead and struggle to make a new home. The author regales the reader with the travails this hardy group of settlers would encounter in their efforts to create by the sweat of their brow a new home in the wilderness. The early struggles of the Nilsson family to succeed in what was an unknown frontier is engagingly chronicled.

In "The Settlers", the author continues the story of the Nilsson family and friends. It is the story of a family who struggled to prevail in Minnesota, an alien land of harsh, inhospitable winters and scorching summers. The book continues to chronicle their lives and their adaptation to the adopted country that they would forever call home. It tells the story of the divided Nilsson brothers, each of whom would forge a path alien to the other. The author hones in on the fact that the early settlers were subject to being taken advantage of by the unscrupulous. He highlights the mass migration of disaffected Swedes to Minnesota and details their contribution to the prosperity of that part of the country. The author shows how these early Swedish settlers consolidated themselves into a thriving, bustling community, despite the obstacles and hardships that were to be their lot in the early years of their struggle to make the new land yield to their will.

I have enjoyed the first, second, and third volumes so much that I look forward to continuing this journey with the Nilssons by reading the last remaining volume. Well-written and vibrant with period detail, this is a book that those who enjoy historical fiction will appreciate.

Dear Readers,

I must say that this is one of the most outstanding books that I have read in a long time. In a most complicated world that we all live in today it was so nice to read about the simple things that make us what we really are.

Thankyou Renaldo and thankyou Mr Faccio Bello for showing us the way to your heart.

As a bulldog owner I found this book to be not only deeply touching, but very authentic as well. It highlights the animal's personality traits and loving nature. The Shaman Bulldog is a glorious story of how an animal can heal you and bring you face to face with the depths of love within you. It's a glorious tribute to not just the Bulldog, but all animals that give us the gift of their companionship. How few of us deserve them.

If you're really lucky, you understand me when I say that a dog calls forth the best in a man and reveals to him little glimpses of the mysterious otherwise unseen life force. As a Seneca saying tells us, "Whenever a person loves a dog, he derives great power from it."

Part of the power that we derive from the love of a dog is reversed, weakening us in the sense that in the back of our minds there is always a voice whispering to us, telling us that we and our loved one will go separate ways, at least for a while. The author's fear and dread of that separation, which we call death, comes across on every page. So be it. But fear and dread are conflated with joy and wisdom. It is such in life when one loves a dog.

"Our purpose together is to deepen soul," Dr. Fishcher states on page 66. On page 68 he continues the thought, "The shaman has to have a guardian spirit in order to do its work, ..." His guardian spirit was a bulldog. Yours might be a beagle, pit bull, chihuahua, or something else.

In the pages of this magnificent book you will read the story of a troubled man who learned to give unconditional love, just as it was given to him. Both man and dog love unconditionally as they explore the mysteries of life.

I promise you this. If you read this book, you will remember Faccia Bello until the day you die. And you will appreciate your life and that of your dog even more than you do now.

This is one of the most endearing books I have read in a very long time. Not just a book for bulldog owners, it is for anyone who has loved, lost and loved again. I couldn't put it down.

This book is like a combination of James Herriott and "The Alchemist" by Paulo Coelho. Very interesting mythical and spiritual images. It taught me a great deal about the "real" relationship between human and animal

IF YOU FEEL SORRY FOR YOUR LOT IN LIFE..READ THIS..ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS I EVER READ...

Wow-this book was so fun and sad and interesting to read, all at the same time. Olive's story is piercing and makes one ponder the amazing will to live in the face of such overwhelming odds. A fantastic true adventure story!

A story of a courageous strong woman. Descriptions of the environment (land & conditions) enticing. I found myself being scared right along side of Olive. A real adventure story.

This was a favorite, and it was done with no bad words or violence, other than from nature, I loved it and still wonder what happened to Olive and her second husband after they were married and flew off in the airplane. I watch it everytime it comes on tv. I have taped it and shown it many times to company.

A fresh, uncomplicated tale of the people who adventured north in the past. Action packed, engaging and reveling, this book will remain for ever one of my favorite adventure and romance stories. It shows much about how people may face a foreign environment, difficulties, and above all themselves. All comes out in very simple and clear language, with suits the story and the characters divinely.

Love, mystery and a story that will warm your heart. "Suzanne's diary for Nicholas" is one of the best romance stories I have ever read. This is truly a different turn for James Patterson, from his usually action mytery stories such as "Kiss the girls" to a story of love and lost. I would suggest this book to all who aren't afraid to feel and cry. For this story will capture your heart and many others as well.

I also am not a fan of mystery or suspence, but this book just drew my attention in. Read this book when you have time, because once you start you will not be able to put it down, have given it to many friends to borrow and read themselves, everyone loved it

If you like love and trust, but you also love treachery, then this is the book for you. In the beginning you understand how the character's lives are and what they're going through. Also understanding when your married and just finding out from a little diary that your husband was already married with a wife named Suzanne and a child named Nicholas. After you get done with the first part of the book, one day Suzanne tells her husband she's going to the store and was taking Nicholas. Then a few hours passes but they never come home. You have to read this book to find out what happened to them.

I am not a big reader as I never seem to have the time, until my mother gave me Suzanne's Dairy for Nicholas as a Birthday present, and what a present it was.. I picked it up and read it in 4 days which is a record for me as it normally takes weeks for me to read a book... I can't imagine anyone not loving this book, and indeed you'll need the tissues..... Do something nice for someone you love and go buy them a copy of this book and pay special attention to how you juggle the five balls in your life :-)

This book was so awesome. I am not a fan of mystery, but i decided to give the author a try. I could not put the book down. I luved how it switched from Katie to Suzanne. It was so beautifully written, it makes you want to laugh and cry. This is wonderful and a perfect high school level or older. It's worth buying! I wish there was a sequal because this was fantastic!

I loved the Thomas Flanagan trilogy.
By chance, I believe I came across the primary source books for each of the three.
The Year of the French seems quite obviously informed and inspired by Thomas Pakenham's Year of Liberty, a novelistic but dense nonfiction recounting of the western uprising in 1798.
The End of the Hunt takes much of its feel from "The Big Fellow", Frank O'Connor's beautiful account of Michael Collins' revolutionary career.
If these two are obvious the third is less so:
The Tenants of Time builds very effectively upon the foundations of Micheal Davitt's book, "The Fall of Feudalism in Ireland." This book, by an 1867 Fenian who became a leader of the Land League movement and an obstructionist member of the British parliament, is rich in detail about the Land League and the parliamentary struggle of the late 1800's that shows up in the Flanagan book.
I recommend these books to readers who have finished the trilogy, just as I would recommend the trilogy to all.

Though I have not a drop of Irish ancestry I have long been fascinated by nineteenth century Irish history. The Green Flag: The Turbulent History of the Irish National Movement, by Robert Kee, was the best book I read in 1972, and The Parnell Tragedy, by Jules Abels, was the best book I read in 1974 (even tho it is not the best book on Parnell--F.S.L. Lyons' book, Charles Stewart Parnell, which I read 20 May 1979, is equally good and Robert Kee's The Laurel and the Ivy: The Story of Charles SAtewart Parnell and Irish Nationalism [which I read May 1, 1996] is better). This novel by Thomas Flanagan is written with a most authentic-seeming Irish touch, and the story takes us through the Fenian and Parnell years with a better story line than The Year of the French, the first volume in the trilogy, had for its period, the rising of 1798. Anyone who likes to absorb history by reading fiction could scarcely do better than read this book as to late nineteenth century Irish history.

"Tenants" begins on the eve of the Fenian uprising of 1867. We meet four young men and their compatriots as they train to confront the British and the Irish Constabulary and free Ireland -- or so they hope. There is Robert Delaney, shopkeeper and politician to be, Ned Nolan, a returning Irish-American whose hardline sympathies presage the IRS, Vincent Tully, squireen and future brother-in-law of Delaney, and Hugh McMahon, schoolteacher of Kilpeder.

But the uprising is only the beginning of their travels. After serving their time after the failed rebellion, we follow Hugh, Robert, Ned and Vincent through their lives and the history of Ireland in the late 1800s; Parnell and the Land League and the boycotts which nearly succeeded in driving the British out altogether and succeeded in breaking the backs, largely, of the Ascendency. It ends with Parnell's disgrace and downfall, and the deaths of two old friends.

Flanagan's writing has a lovely Irish flavor; it may be this, as much as the story itself, which holds so much pleasure for me.

An earlier reviewer complained that the path of one character's life too closely paralleled the more famous events which occurred in history. But rather than a flaw, I see that as the author's intent, bringing the historical events close and helping you see them from the inside through smaller characters rather than trying to put words in the mouths (not that he didn't do that anyway, to some extent) of the historical characters they represented.

Bob paralleled Parnell, rise, disgrace and fall; Vincent, the Anglo-Irish landowners whose life was disrupted for all time by Parnell's boycotts; Ned, those who found Parnell and his non-violent approach at best wrongheaded and at worst traitorous to Ireland; and Hugh stood outside it all as everyone else did, having some of the picture but not all, seeing it for us.

I bought this in an airport because I wanted something to read. It has become one of my favorite books ever.

"Tenants of Time", Flanagan's book between "Year of the French" and "End of the Hunt", deals with the Parnell era in Irish politics. But it is much more than that. Three men bound together by an act of failed rebellion in their early years, remain tied to one another and their actions on that day while a young historian tries to understand "a single moment in history" represented by that doomed rebellion.

The characters are large and complex, the ideas even bigger and the setting so evocative that you won't want the book to end.

Great literature that is also a great read. I really can't do the book justice. Read the first fifty pages and I bet you can't stop.

One minor complaint: Delaney's circumstances too closely mirrored Parnell's in the O'Shea debacle.

Spanning four decades of tense Irish history after the Famine years, Flanagan's tour de force masterfully weaves the life stories of four boyhood friends from County Cork whose adult lives result in different and conflicting choices regarding their roles in Irish society and politics. Together, they join the Fenian brotherhood in 1865, but the revolution's failure pushes them on divergent paths for fuller meaning in their lives. In exploring these developments, Flanagan expertly combines the characters' life challenges with the dramatice course of Irish history in the late Victorian era, presenting vivid depiction of the Fenian assassins, the agrarian struggles of the Land League, the rise and fall of Parnell, and the inevitable growth of Ireland into the modern era. Yet this striking panorama of Irish history never overshadows the rich and complex dynamic of the relationship between Hugh, Robert, Ned and Edward, whose struggles to find fortune and meaning in their world thrusts them into tragic internecine conflict. This is a novel you will never forget, and I would rank it among the best historical novels ever written.

This book gripped my interest from the first page. It truly shows the need for a Humane Education curriculum in our nation's school system. Our children are the only hope that the nation's animal overpopulation problem can be corrected. Read this and tell your friends!

If everyone would read this single book and take its contents to heart, not only would the lives of million homeless companion animals be saved in our country alone, but future generations would learn compassion and empathy for each other and for other sentient beings. This would create a less-violent society of tomorrow. If there is such thing as "The Key To Peace & Happiness", this book is IT!!!

From being involved in the animal welfare work, and working with human/aniamal releations .. this book is ' the ' guide for anyone who is working within the education system - and for parents at home who really want to understand what is right path to be walking on and why. Change your outlook and teach the children right from the start - :) ! More importantly it is important I think for people who are working within animal ' care ' ! I see too many who are willing to take the role as ' killers ' when they should be putting resourses into teaching spay/neutering and responsible animal care ! More on good education means less animals being born, abused, and killed - how lovely that will be ! This book - helps us to reach that goal !

Mary Alice Pollard
Cornwall's Voice for Animals
Representing: The International Organization for Animal Protection
NGO affiliated to the UN Department of Public Information

A no-nonsense, easy read. Children should be introduced to this book as soon as they are able to understand it. If everyone takes Mr. Warner's words to heart, millions of innocent companion animals will not have to be euthanized - because they will never be born. A few dollars invested in this insightful book could be the "ounce of prevention" needed to save the millions of dollars currently being wasted to "cure" the problems of pet overpopulation.

If you believe "a society is a reflection of how it treats its animals", you must read this book! The author explains how companion animals are saved through humane education; not through money-wasting humane societies. He includes in his writings about abuse, overpopulation, and the inhumane practice of home breeding. The book has an element of prose about it, too. This should be on everyone's gift list!

The first 100 pages or so go as fast as any novel I have ever read. There's more horror in those pages than in the Heart of Darkness. Then things slow down and get psychologically very interesting. Then the whole book becomes a literary criticism puzzle. This book is frightening, deep, and fun. Quite an amazing feat.

I think I missed something. Honestly. I have this feeling that there was massive intensity, metaphor and grandiosity in this book and that I just wasn't smart enough to catch it all in one read.

Wright is incredible at tying down obscure feelings into words, and that was my favorite thing about this book. Describing descent into sleep as finding "the door in the floor." The interludes with Susan were indulgent, but he earned it with so many triumphs in naming un-nameable things.

But it wasn't just wasn't a tidy enough fit for me. I didn't grasp all the parallels and I am not sure I understand the author's big picture, his grand statement. His point for writing this book, because it wasn't just a murder mystery.

I wish I had a professor handing me a study guide so I could understand it like I am supposed to.

I agree with the reviewer who said this book should be read not just once, but again -- and I intend to do exactly that. What amazes me about Austin Wright is how different his writing is from book to book. I love the power of his words, his story-telling skill, his characters. Wright's brain must be an amazing place.

If you can get your hands on this book, by all means, do so. It is one of the most powerful books I've ever read. Here it is 10 years since it first came out and the characters and story stick with me like I finished it yesterday. As the other reviewers have said, it's a novel within a novel, the pace and storyline of one so terrifying and harrowing, comforted by the quiet thoughfulness of the other. You look for and draw parallels between the stories. It's impossible to put down, but sometimes you must because the manuscript is so intense you sometimes need a break. Austin Wright is an incredible writer. I can't recommend this highly enough.

I couldn't put it down. I found myself reading at red lights. Austin Wright has written a suspenseful thriller within a domestic tale, both equally spellbinding. This novel-within-a-novel propels you forward then makes you stop to consider the relationships between reality and imagination, reader and writer, civility and violence, husband and wife, perpetrator and victim. And when the roller coaster ride ends, you still feel its thrusts for days. Austin has marvelously crafted a multi-layered, literary experience. A+ professor!

This book brings so many memories... I had it as a child and I remember even cutting up the book to try to figure out some puzzles. Alas, I was too young to fully comprehend everything and now I'm too old to remember much of it. It took me months to track down the name of this book because I totally forgotten it but luckily the images are branded in my memory.

I love this book. Perhaps the hunt is no longer on but the book can still be enjoyed for its mystery, illustrations, and challenges. I bought the "collectors" book on this website and now I am in search of the video... ahh a treasure hunt for the treasure video! Lolz, 20 years too late... Any leads for me?

You can still rent the movie from Hollywood Movie Rentals

The treasure wasnt found but after the game ended two guys did find where the location had been..to late!! does anyone have a copy of the book or movie?

One of the best puzzle books ever created. It kept me working diligently for years along with countless others including two fellows that solved the puzzle after the contest ended. They dug up the empty box in a mountain pass in Colorado just to prove to themselves they had solved it. (The gold horse and money had already been donated to charity.) Dr. Crypton, the puzzlemaster, is in a class alone for fiendishly difficult, but fun and absorbing puzzles. I wish he would do another one. There was also a Treasure video with clues and I logged many hours studying that as well. It was solvable - I cracked part of it - but you just had to believe you could actually do it and not give up. That was the ultimate secret for the guys that figured it all out.

A copy of this book was given to me when I was 14 years old and I loved it so much that I wanted to share it with everyone. I gave it away to a good friend in high school and then we lost touch. I haven't seen the book in years but I still remember the haunting story and the beautiful illustrations. I recently moved to San Fransisco and found myself (half)remembering scenes from the book and searching for clues in Chinatown! I always look in bookstores for it and plan to buy another copy one day.

A Treasury of Christmas Miracles: True Stories of God's Presence Today (Miracle Books Collection)
good condition, good packaging, received timely
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This small book, easily read in an afternoon, will fill your heart with inspiration, wonder and joy at the way God works in our lives - yes, still today. The stories are real and powerfully written and all are tied into the miracle of the Christmas season. These are stories you won't forget...and they will increase your faith!

Because Christmas is a time for miracles. And this book is filled with real life miracles. God is alive and well and making his presence known through angels (heavenly and eartly) and unexplicable happenings. These stories are so inspiring because they show how people's lives are blessed through heavenly power and intervention.

Thiw book helps renew your faith in God and miracles. It is truly the perfect book for the holidays!

I also enjoyed:

Story of the Other Wise Man--a wonderful Christmas parable.

Christmas Gifts, Christmas Voices--a heartwarming, inspiring story.

The stories in this book are heartwarming, inspirational, and uplifting--this book is like one of the great Chicken Soup for the Soul books. Buy a copy for yourself and one for a friend. This is a book to treasure!

I also enjoyed Christmas Gifts, Christmas Voices--an inspiring and--ultimately--comforting holiday story.

A collection of inspirational stories that is wonderful to read to renew your faith especially at Christmas time. I highly recommend that you slow down and add reading a book like this to your Christmas preparation. It will help you to keep the hustle and bustle in perspective and encourage you to pray for your own special miracle during the Holidays whatever that may be.

My daughter loved reading this book. I t was in great shape when we received it also.

I would recommend this book to a reader who loves reading mystery books. The person who doesn't like mystery books, I would still recommend it to them because after they read it they would love reading mystery books. My thoughts about the protagonist were that they really wanted to solve the mystery about the woodshed. They wanted to know what was wrong with it. They were not afraid to go down and look. I really loved this book because it had mysteries in it and I love reading mystery books.

Would you think that you would find a trap door in the potato pit in your aunt's basement or in the wood shed in her back yard? Well, the Boxcar Children didn't, but they found the trap doors, they had things from the Revolutionary War! They found strange letters about what was going on in the house during the Revolutionary War! Find out what mysterious things they find!

I think this book is so good because you never know what will happen next, like when the children find the trap door in the woodshed and then they find the trap door in the potato pit! The moral of this story is never play with some thing that isn't yours.

Have read the first eight Boxcar Children books and think this is one of the three best with the other two being The Yellow House Mystery and The Blue Bay Mystery. This book could stand alone although an important character is from The Mystery Ranch book and might be more fun to read after reading that book. This is also the only book of the first eight to have a dedication. The Boxcar Children books are all good reading and can't think of a good reason not to read them in order. With the Box sets 1-4 and 5-8, four books are available for the price of two and a half. I read these books in order and there are references in the books to events and characters in previous books but not enough that the books could not be read out of order or as stand alone books. Gertrude Chandler Warner wrote the Boxcar Children books over a period of many years from the 1940's to the 1970's. She must have enjoyed writing them and that spirit comes through in her books.

Like "Mike's Mystery", this is a mystery with a solid foundation and never once drags.

I first read it when I was about eight and learnt several things I didn't know before. I learned what ammunition meant. It also was my first introduction to any information about the Revolutionary War.

The story takes place primarily on a farm in New England that dates back to the 1700's. Grandfather and Aunt Jane grew up there, and he buys it back for her to live in. But everyone seems to think something is wrong with the house, and the children set out to find out what it is and clear the air of all secrets. And they are pretty sure the woodshed holds an important clue.

Read this book to your children - I am sure they will like it.