Central America Books

My grandma originally owned a copy of this book and regularly noted sightings of interesting/rare species. I bought my own copy several years ago and it has proved quite useful. The most interesting example was a Java Sparrow sighted in Albuquerque, New Mexico. I couldn't find out what it was from searching around online, but looking in the back of this field guide, under foreign/introduced species, there it was.

I received this book as a gift and have used it constantly. I keep it on my window sill during the feeding season to identify the visiters to my feeder. The book's size and physical construction are excellent. As someone who is a novice it seems to be very comprehensive on the subject matter.

The Peterson field Guide to Eastern American Birds turned out to be the best birding book I've ever read. The book was well thought out and had the format that we needed in our suburban environment. The illustrations were concise and made identifying the birds extremely easy. We have a large population of Red-Winged Blackbirds and Mourning Doves, and its great to actually know what in the world we were looking at. It was great!

This is the best of the field guides for the amature birder in my opinion. I purchased a guide that had actual photos of birds in their habitats, thinking it would be the best, but it definately was not as good or as easy to use as the Peterson field guide. If you are looking for a good all around field guide to keep near your binoculars, this one is my pick.

Even when I lived in the city, I liked to feed and watch the birds (mainly sparrows and pigeons). Now that we live up in the woods, we're in bird paradise. Using this Peterson Field Guide for "Eastern Birds" plus a good pair of binoculars for visual identifications, and the "Birding by Ear Eastern/Central" CDs (Richard K. Walton and Robert W. Lawson) I've identified 42 species of birds in just over a month, as a casual observer for the Michigan Breeding Bird Atlas II project.

I have other bird books, but it is Peterson's Field Guide that I use most frequently. Roger Tory Peterson's 'system' "is based on patternistic drawings with arrows that pinpoint the key field marks." You don't have to have the bird in hand in order to make an identification. In addition to 136 full-color plates of Eastern birds (male, female, and immature, or summer and winter plumage if they differ markedly), there are also 390 three-color maps (first introduced in the 1980 edition).

The maps are absolutely essential for an amateur like me. If I've narrowed down a blurry little gray bird to X and Y, and Y never makes it north of the Mason-Dixon Line, I can be pretty certain that the bird is X. Here's an actual example on the utility of the maps: I was trying to distinguish a trilling song that could either belong to the Swamp Sparrow, the Pine Warbler, or the Northern Junco. We do see Juncos at our feeders in the winter, but this is July and according to Peterson's map, the Juncos spend the summer north of here, mostly in Canada. So I've narrowed the trill down to the Swamp Sparrow or the Pine Warbler (actually I'm positive we've got both as I've made tentative visual identifications. It makes sense since we live in the Pine Barrens which is dotted with numerous swamps).

This book begins with a generalized introduction to identifying birds by shape, distinctive features and behavior. Physically, it is tightly bound and just the right size to slip into a backpack. The pages are glossy and 'relatively' waterproof if you wipe them quickly dry. There is even a 'life list' up front where you can check off the birds you have seen.

Don't go birding without it.

A wonderful book for botanists or any traveler heading to the Galapagos. It covers 436 flowering plants and provides photos of more than half. It also introduces the botanical history of the islands and their varied ecological zones. Its boasts clear text and some exceptional pictures.

I have been intrigued for years by the plants, animals and birds of the Galapagos. Not only have I found the perfect field guide for flowering plants written by Dr. McMullen but, in addition, this book will serve a dual purpose as a guide for my own visit and that visitors to my home will find it on display among my favorite and frequent references. The pictures are beautiful with detail and clarity. Keep up the great work Dr. McMullen and I hope your obvious hard work and labor continue to bear fruit.

This is a GREAT book! The descriptions are concise and accurate, and the photographs are excellent as well. This guide is clearly head and shoulders above all other existing literature in terms of utility. If you can only buy one book about the islands, this is it.

I found the "Flowering Plants of the Galapagos" to be a very useful and user-friendly flower guide. The discussion on how to use the guide was thorough yet simple enough for the botanical novice to understand the information. The "Introduction" section was helpful in acquanting the user with the general characterists of the archipelago and the vegetation zones of the islands. This section not only assists the reader in knowing where specific plants may be located, but also gives some insight into the ecology of the plants. I found the key to be one of the most straight-forward and user-friendly that I have used. Even the most botanically challenged individual could easily work through the logical progression of choices offered in the key. The amount of information given with each plant is also a positive attribute to this guide book. The author clearly outlines the range of the plants and lists the islands in which the plants inhabit, which is a very useful piece of information. The habitat is given along with a thorough description of the plant. Lastly, the additional comments offer a nice touch of the plants natural history, use, or some other piece of interesting trivia. I thought the author did a superb job of presenting the amazing flora of the Galapagos in a simple, easy to understand fashion that any visitor could appreciate. Lastly, the quality of the photos truly add to the attractiveness and effectiveness of the book.

It would have been a lot easier to have been a naturalist guide in the Galapagos if we had only had this book. This is a treat and a treasure! The plant life of these incredible islands has been overshadowed by the antics of the wildlife and threats of El Nino. They can now take front stage with this useful guide that even a novice will find easy to use. The pictures are beautiful and the descriptions accurate. For those that use this book, they will introduced to a special world that has been ignored. Conley - you have made all Galapagos Guides very happy!

From Planeta Journal - The Handbook looks better than ever. This new edition of the Mexico and Central America guide provides reliable information about general tourism as well profiles of national parks and reserves. Explore the ruins of Copan in Honduras, Oaxaca's beaches or Belize's cayes. This is a terrific guide. The format is easy to follow. Colorful pictures and maps compliment the text. Highly recommended.

I used the handbook for a 6 month motorcycle trip along the transamerican highway (from Canada to Peru) and it has proven to be very accurate and reliable. Its like a bible for tourists.

Our company, AmeriSpan, sends thousands of people to Latin America every year. This is the book that we use AND recommend to our clients. It is updated annually and is simply the best. -John Slocum, President of AmeriSpan

i traveled through mexico to costa rica with this book over a period of three years (1992 edition). stayed in every type of living arrangement, travelled by nearly every type of transport, and it had the info that i needed to make it. one book for 7 countries you can't beat it. just got the updated edition for my next trip.

I'm a big fan of the Handbook series; I began using the Latin America Handbook in 1972, have used it over many years, and have used any of the rest of the series that I could find, whenever and wherever I have found them. I used the 1996 edition for Mexico and Cuba, and it confirmed my opinion that there is no better guidebook available for Latin America. I'm headed for Central America in a few days, and unfortunately haven't been able to get a copy in time, so I've had to get another - O.K., but I will miss the thorough coverage of the Mexico and Central American Handbook. It's good for places to stay at all levels, for services, for transportation, and gives good general information such as history, current situations, and most importantly, is updated every year.

Founding Character: The Words and Documents that Forged a Nation opened my eyes to the whole picture of our origins. First, I hadn't read the Declaration of Independence nor the Constitution since college. And, the original draft of the Declaration by Jefferson? It was never mentioned in high school or college, so I missed its relevance altogether!

Then there is the Treaty of Paris which I know see in a whole new light - it's the formal recognition of our country after all. And, I had never read the full text of George Washington's farewell address until Founding Character; what an eye opener!
The significance of a peaceful transfer of power every four to eight years now seems trivial, but it really isn't.

But, the most eye-opening part of this book is the Causes and Necessity of Taking Up Arms; written a year before the Declaration of Independence, this resolution from the Continental Congress called for armed resistance to the crown. I had completely missed this in my history studies.

This is much more than a copy of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, with the additional content, this is a complete picture of the character of our nation at its founding.

If you are tired of the tiny pocketbook edition of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, and want a version with more substance, then Founding Character: The Words and Documents that Forged a Nation is the book for you!

Not only do you get the Constitution and the Declaration (both final version and Jefferson's original version), but you also get the Articles of Confederation, The Treaty of Paris (a very important document where the United States are recognized as a nation by England!), as well as the Causes and Necessity of Taking Up Arms (never included in other books, but oh so important!) - a document from the Continental Congress that predates the Declaration by a year!!

This is a book that I have given to each of my teenagers as well to take off to college!

I found this book "Founding Character:The Words and Documents That Forged a Nation" to be outstanding. In todays climate of Red States vs Blue States and the Division that the last election has wrought, it was uplifting to read the words that
formed our nation.
I highly recommend this book for every American whether they are liberal or conservative. It gives you pause , makes you think and appreciate what we have today.

I really like this book. It almost has everything you need. If the editors had included "Common Sense" it would have been perfect. Still, though, it is the best all-in-one reference I have found.

Found this book while doing a search for the Constitution and was pleased to find that it had everything in it I needed for my American History class. Saved me from having to buy a couple other books.

I am a biologist that has been working in the Galapagos as a Naturalist leading tours there for the last 6 years. Michael Jackson's book is the "Bible" for the beginning naturalist and certainly more than adequate for the casual "ecotourist". Jackson covers all major aspects of the history, geology, ecology, and biology of the islands. In the "biology" section, he gives a clear, concise, but thorough group-by-group treatment of all major taxa including plants, reptiles, land and sea birds, mammals, and a brief section covering marine life. While there are other guidebooks available, none come close to the accuracy, clarity of presentation, and logical format of this book. Of particular usefulness are the many photos, tables, and graphs which provide a visual representation of many of the topics discussed and a synthesis of large amounts of data.

Every naturalist guide in the Galapagos has this book. They also sell this book at the Charles Darwin Center in Santa Cruz, and it is a must read. It explains how the islands came about and what makes them so unique. I highly recommend this book!

My wife and I bought Jackson's book in preparation for a trip to the Galapagos. The book served us well; when we arrived at the islands we felt that we were almost on a first-name basis with all the fantastic creatures and plants that make the Galapagos such a fascinating place. The book is considerably more than just a field guide; it includes information on the islands' history, their environmental and ecological setting, and the conservation efforts being made to preserve this truly unique place. And, as the title indicates, the book provides a lot of natural history, not just a brief summary of bare facts about each animal or plant. Not only is it a fine guide, it is a most enjoyable read.

I just recently returned from the Galapagos Islands, and the book that guided me throughout my journey was this book by M.H. Jackson. Very easy to find the animal you are looking, and also helps to discover more creatures to look for. Helped explain things further from what the guides had said. Also helped me in answering many people's questions about different creatures. A Great book! A must for all travelers to the galapagos in search of unique wildlife.

I would imagine that most visitors to the Galapaos are not naturalists. For those without a strong background in natural sciences, I would highly recommend this book. The book is easy and fun to read, detailed without being tedious. The photos are amazing and the author's passion for the islands is evident. If you only have time to read one book, this is one I would advise a Galapagos visitor to read in advance of their trip.

I have a collection of quality Spanish language books for toddlers. This is one of my favorites. I have 3 young children and teach them all Spanish. I also teach Spanish to preschoolers, and I will be getting a copy for each toddler/studen to take home. I usually shy away from bilingual texts, because they do not foster 2nd language learning, but this is an exception. There are some great classics in this book. The ones I don't like so much are the riddles, which do not translate well.

I took this book to my dear friend who is from Central Mexico so she could read it to her great grand daughter. She later told me that this book brought back many sweet memories from her childhood. Her aunts used to sing many of these rhymes to her younger siblings.

This is a great book for use in K-2 bilingual classrooms. Pictures are vibrant and the rhymes are well translated into English without changing the sentiments.

I bought this book in the interest of my Spanish-speaking nanny and my 15 month-old boy. He is drawn to the pictures in this book. They are particularly appealing with their whimsical nature and bright colors. Our nanny loves the rhymes and she feels right at home reading to him from the book unlike with some other translations of rhymes that end up with mispronunciations in Spanish. My favorite part of it is that I read the "quiet time" rhymes (in English) at the end of the book to him at night and they are actually very calming to him. That's rare! And, I would recommend it soley on that even if it weren't great otherwise.

I think this is just one of the best Spanish books for children. It's simple, but can teach a wide vocabulary for the bilingual toddler. I think you and your baby would have fun with this book. The pictures are colorful and interesting as well, unlike many Spanish books out there. (They look kind of cheap and that's not good considering they usually cost more!) This is a winner in my house!

In this superb second volume on Grant's war-time service, Bruce Catton shows how Grant devised and executed the grand strategy that ensured we'd be one country.

Beginning at Chattanooga, Catton chronicles Grant's successful battle to save a beleaguered federal army there and his selection as head of all of the armies of the Union.

The strategic plan, the overland campaign, the investiture of Petersburg and the finale with Lee at Appomattox are chronicled well.

What Catton does very well here is focus on Grant the General-in-Chief. We see how Lincoln and Grant are drawn toward each other through a shared and fundamental understanding of what it would take to win the war and the will to do it -- incredibly a trait Lincoln could find in no other General selected to head the Army of the Potomac.

The actual management of the Union's armies and efforts is given great attention. Even the Civil War devotee who knows a lot about the battles of the war will appreciate this focus on grand strategy, army management and the particular and singular attributes possessed by Grant to manage the affair to a successful conclusion.

A wonderful book, as is it's predecessor, "Grant Moves South."

This is a well-researched account of the last two years of the Civil War (1863-1865). The harsh realities of the battles and living conditions are especially given great detail here. The final days of the war and the surrender of General Lee are extremely poignant as the author examines the tattered remains of the once invincible Army of Northern Virginia. The exchange between the victors and the vanquished at Appomattox is the highlight of the book. The author also takes pains not to overlook any of Grant's military blunders such as Cold Harbor and gives an even-handed viewpoint throughout. I recommend this book for anyone who is interested in the darkest days of our nation's history.

It is almost amazing that even after nearly 40 years, this book still stand the test of time as one of the best studies of General U.S. Grant's tenure as the military commander of all Federal forces. The book starts off from the Chattanooga campaign in late 1863 and moving on to his promotion as overall commander and his attachment to the Army of the Potomac for the rest of the war. By this move he clearly determined that General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia will be his primary target and a key to overall victory for the Union. Bruce Catton does a wonderful job in narrating each event in a clear and colorful way that make this book a joy to read.

Best part of Catton's writing is the way he make individual characters stand out in a way that most pertaining to the event at hand. We understand how Lincoln and Grant bonded so well, how even Meade and Grant worked well on surface and why Grant kept his eye on the ball when grinding Lee down to earth.

This book is a follow-up to Catton's earlier work, Grant Moves South which was published 7 years prior to this book and captured Grant's military activities from the beginning of the war to end of the Vicksburg campaign in 1863. As part of the two book set, Bruce Catton continued to captured the essence of Grant's military chronicles with clarity and understanding that any reader can appreciate.

For anyone interested in the American Civil War, this book is sure to be part of your mandatory reading material and the best part is that its really is a great reading book.

"Grant Takes Command" is the second of two volumes by Bruce Catton on Grant's Civil War service and the third volume of a trilogy on Grant's military career (beginning with Lloyd Lewis's "Captain Sam Grant"). However, this volume can easily be ready by itself. Catton picks up the story in the fall of 1863 with Grant's successful raising of the siege of Chanttanooga, following which President Lincoln picks him for a third star and command of all the Union armies.

Grant is the latest in a long series of Union commanders, most of whom have been badly beaten by General Robert E. Lee and his Army of Northern Virginia, and none of whom have been able to bring superior Northern resources effectively to bear on a slowly weakening Confederacy. In fact, as Grant takes command, the war has not yet been won and could still be lost.

Grant will be the commander that Lincoln has long sought. Lincoln's telling exchange with an aide, repeated by Catton, lays out why. Grant is the first general to take the supreme command who will work in harness with Lincoln and in full acceptance of Lincoln's constraints as President of a democracy in the midst of a civil war. Grant is prepared to take full responsibility for the conduct of the missions of the armies, and without setting up an alibi in advance for possible failure. And as it becomes apparent in the course of Catton's absolutely superb narrative, Grant understands the terrible math. Lee and his army are too proficient to be easily beaten; great persistance will be called for. Grant grasps the essential truth that Lee's army is the Confederate center of gravity, and the corallary that Lee's requirement to protect Richmond ultimately limits his ability to maneuver. Further, Grant is able to cause the Union armies to work at a common design, denying Lee the ability to reinforce Virginia by drawing on other theaters of war. The result will be a long, grinding, and exceedingly bloody campaign stretching from 1864 into 1865, as Lee's army is slowly bludgeoned to death.

Catton's narrative does not spare Grant his errors; in the 1864 campaign, Grant underestimates both Lee's abilities as a general and the difficulties of conducting campaigns on such a huge scale. Grant has to learn the job of Army commander in chief on the move; the unnecessary casualties of Cold Harbor and the repeated failures to flank Lee out of position in Virginia are proof of the learning curve. But Grant's great gift is his refusal to be deterred from his objective; he pins Lee at Petersburg and uses the Union armies of Sherman and Sheridan, among others, to destroy the Confederacy's means to make war.

"Grant Takes Command" was first published in 1960, and the details of the history of the Civil War have evolved since then. However, Catton's prose has stood the test of time. This is a truly magnificently told story on an epic scale and a highly recommended treat for the Civil War enthusiast and the casual reader alike.

A change in Focus--Grant takes the Reins

Until 1864, the Army of the Potomac had never won a campaign. Each Union attempt to capture Richmond drove south, was repulsed, withdrew to Washington, found a new general, and tried again. After his successes at Vicksburg and Chattanooga, Grant came east to a promotion, to general in charge of all Union Armies.

Grant brought a different focus, and Catton defines this superbly in this book, drawing on many of Grant's memoranda to other officers, as well as President Lincoln. Catton captures the essence of a Grant campaign: hold on to the enemy, grasp and retain the initiative, and always move your logistics aggresively forward.

Catton also tries, albeit weakley, to show that Grant was not a "pure" attritionist. He offers examples of Grant's desires to push west and sever Richmond from the Shenandoah. Catton explores the political reality of uncovering Washington to a Confederate thrust, while attacking the logistics that sustained Confederate armies, while Sherman simultaneously attacked Atlanta and its strategic railhead. Catton states that after the battle of Cold Harbor Ggrant's numerical superiority was at its lowest level, but he does not provide the hard math to support this stance. On the other hand, Catton shows well the manuever warfare used by Grant to slip away after Cold Harbor, steal a march, and get across the James River before Lee, stripped of his cavalry, could discover the move and react.

This book does a very solid job of capturing Grant's determination, his unyielding efforts to impose his will on the leaders and staff of the Army of the Potomac, and to integrate the political realities of volunteers, political appointee generals and a presidential election with the cold hard reality of constant campaigning.

A good read not just for students of the martial art, but for any leader who must address the Sisyphean task of invigorating old "we've always done it that way" people with a new ethos and drive.

If you want to get your mind around Thoreau's mind and the more significant facts of his life, buy and read this book. Because the chapters are brief but meaty, and because Richardson's an accomplished prose stylist in his own right, this book is a joy to read and, I have found, is wonderful to come back to periodically, particularly when looking for a great way to spend ten to twenty extra minutes profitably.

Robert D. Richardson takes the busy-bodied world of Thoreau and places each of his accomplishments into context starting with their respective intellectual origin. In the process of doing this, Richardson constructs the world of Thoreau's Concord and creates it for us vividly and realistically. This is by far the best Thoreau bio out there and serves a perfect book-end with his Emerson bio, The Mind On Fire.

As a young man my Holy Trinity was: Emerson, Thoreau and Whitman. Emerson's essays are pure poetry; Thoreau's "Walden" and "Civil Disobedience" became a blueprint on how to live and why to write; and Whitman's life and "Leaves Of Grass" taught me about myself.

"A Life Of The Mind" filled each page with the authenticity and richness of a life well lived. Thoreau, the humanness, the naturalist, the friend and son; the poet of the unraveling, entangled soul beating within the humdrum of everyday and ordinary life, leaps from every page. I have read other biographies on Thoreau which never captured the mind and writer of "Walden". Here the man and life equalled and qualified the literature.

Richardson is more than a biographer of Thoreau; he's made from the same stock. He didn't simply tell of a man and his life, he savored, and shared in the same poetics and struggles as the man he researched. The theme of Thoreau's life was an opportunity to express his own convictions and struggles.

It was while reading an anthology of Thoreau's work that I first understood why some poets and writers must write. I came to understand how every sentence could be layered with meaning and timelessness. After reading this biography I must reread my annotated "Walden". I must sit in my backyard amongst the leaves and flowers and shapes and densities I've not paid attention to in some time.

This book remains the best biiography about Thoreau. There is much here to interest both the detail-seeking scholar and the casual reader. Richardson does an admirable job in bringing Thoreau and his ideas to the fore. I found this work very useful when editing my own volume - Profitably Soaked: Thoreau's Engagment With Water, which presents a more bodily than conceptual Thoreau.

In the concluding chapter of "Walden", Henry David Thoreau offers a parable of a great artist in the city of Kouroo "who was disposed to strive for perfection." In Thoreau's story, the artist spends eons working to carve the perfect staff. By the time the artist was satisfied, his friends had died, Kouroo was no more, the dynasty of the Candhars had ended, the polestar had changed, and "Brahma had awakened and slumbered many times". Yet, the artist saw that "for him and his work, the former lapse of time had been an illusion, and that no more time had elapsed than is required for a single scintillation from the brain of Brahma to fall on and inflame the tinder of a mortal brain. The material was pure, and his art was pure: how could the result be other than wonderful?"

This parable of the nature of the self, freedom, and high purpose, told in the language of Eastern thought, is one of many aspects of Thoreau that Robert Richardson illuminated for me in his biography, "Henry Thoreau: A Life of the Mind." (1986) Richardson's biography of Thoreau is the first of what has become an outstanding trilogy of studies of American thinkers. Its companions are "Emerson: A Mind on Fire" and, most recently, "William James: In the Maelstrom of American Modernism." These three biographies cast great light on intellectual and spiritual life and their continuing influence in the United States. Richardson was a professor at the University of Denver when he wrote "Thoreau". He is now an independent scholar.

Richardson's biography of Thoreau (1817 -- 1862) does not begin until its subject reaches the age of 20 and returns from Harvard to Concord, Massachusetts to teach school. Thoreau becomes friends with Ralph Waldo Emerson who encourages the younger man to keep a journal, a habit that will remain with him throughout life and which will constitue the best evidence we have of Thoreau's inner life. Richardson's study draws heavily on the Thoreau's Journal, which when completed ran about 2,000,000 words and which was the source, with Thoreau's other notebooks, for much of his published work.

Richardson aptly characterizes Thoreau as leading a "life of the mind" and his study focuses on Thoreau's intellectual development and on the books which he read. Richardson uncovers and elucidates Thoreau's broad reading over the course of his adult life. Thoreau read broadly in the ancient Greek and Roman classics, and he was greatly influenced by German writers, especially Goethe. His transcendental philosophy was heavily German in origin, as mediated by English writers such as Coleridge. Thoreau read copiously on the history of New England and Canada and on the Indians. He was a careful observer of nature, as is well known, and was influenced by Aristotle's writings on biology, as well as by the classification work of Linneaus, and Agassiz. After the publication of the "Origin of the Species", Thoreau was won over to the developmental theory of Darwin.

I was particularly struck with the influence of Hindu and Indian thought upon Thoreau. This influence is shown in the parable of Kouroo, discussed above, and throughout "Walden" and "A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers". Richardson also made connections between Thoreau and writers and friends on an individual level. For example, Richardson discusses Melville's "Typee" and the influence this book had upon Thoreau in its depiction of human nature, and allegedly primitive peoples. Melville's influence appears lasting upon Thoreau. Richardson discusses Thoreau's friendship with the former Unitarian minister, Harrison Gray Otis Blake, and the letters the two men exchanged. (These letters have been compiled in a volume titled "Letters to a Spiritual Seeker.") As a final example, Richardson also discusses Thoreau's meeting, late in his life, with Whitman and how these two writers came to view each other.

Richardson's book brings home Thoreau's conviction that human nature is basically the same everywhere and throughout time. Thus, for Thoreau, persons in his time or our own, are capable of leading a life of freedom and meaning upon the making of effort. Even though Thoreau was fascinated with the Greek, Roman, and Indian past, these sources taught him that people retained the potentiality of living for themselves. Richardson emphasizes the love of wildness in Thoreau, in man, animals, and nature, just below the surface of what he regarded as some of the superficialites of civilization. In addition to Thoreau's self-sufficiency and love of freedom, Richardson emphasizes Thoreau's love of good companionship. Richardson also argues that following the publication of Walden in 1854, Thoreau's interests turned from the self-sufficiency and freedom, to a recognition of the interconnectedness of all things in nature.

The strongest effect on me of Richardson's book was in making me revisit and rethink the inspiring conclusion of "Walden". After a paragraph devoted to life and the ever-present possibility of regeneration, Thoreau concludes Walden as follows:

"I do not say that John or Jonathan will realize all this; but such is the character of that morrow which mere lapse of time can never make to dawn. The light which puts out our eyes is darkness to us. Only that day dawns to which we are awake. There is more day to dawn. The sun is but a morning star."

Richardson's book inspired me and it encouraged me to want to read and reread Thoreau. Those readers who are also moved to rediscover Thoreau may want to explore the two large volumes of his works available in the Library of America.

Robin Friedman

I would like to encourage the author to write more volumes on the Illinois Central. This book is a great reference for mid 20th century locomotives and rolling stock. If I may be so bold as to suggest, a volume featuring branch line activities and depots would be an excellent follow up to this fine book.

Good section on the history of the Illinois Central Railroad. Steam section was good. Orange and White was the era I grew up watching on the IC. This book is an AWESOME photographic history of a historical Railroad.

First twenty pages are brief history of I. C. railroad. Next 29 pages are mostly pictures w/ brief discriptions of steam locomotives, followed by "around the map" photos, mostly of locomotives. Latter part of book is passenger trains, surburban Chicago "electrics", work & maintenance of way rolling stock, and cabooses (cabeese?).

Having grown up along the ICRR in the 50's through 70's, it brought back many fond memories, thank you so much.

AS AN EMPLOYEE OF THE ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD FOR THE LAST 27 YEARS THIS WAS BY FAR THE MOST INTERESTING BOOK ON THE RAILROAD I HAVE READ. BOTH PHOTOGRAPHY AND CONTENT PUTS THIS BOOK AT THE FRONT OF THE TRAIN.

Focusing on the early decades of South Carolina, Alan Gallay places English colonization in the context of the French and Spanish presence in North America, and of the immensely disrupted "first nation" cultures struggling to recreate stability in the face of European intrusions. Since the book won the 2003 Bancroft Prize, it shouldn't be necessary to praise it excessively or to call it to the attention of serious students of American history. For more casual readers, let me flag a few surprises:

* First, the mere idea of Indian slaves! Yes, the colonists enslaved Indians more often than they converted them to Christianity, and lured the young men of some tribes into warfare aginst other tribes for the purpose of capturing slaves to sell to the English.
* South Carolina exported more slaves in its first fifty years than it imported, most of them captured Indians sent to New England, the Bahamas, and other English sugar islands which were already more populous and more economically important than the mainland.
* The rapid expansion of cultural mayhem from the spottily settled English colonies to the whole of North America east of the Mississippi.
* The culture of slavery and the perception of racial identities that so quickly emerged in the American South! Was the Civil War inevitable from the onset?
* The immediate emergence of conflict between the interest groups of the English, that is, the proprieters vs. the settlers, the local authorities of government vs. the ungovernable colonists, the rivalry between colonies, etc.
* The challenge to the dominant historical hypothesis that Virginia was the model and seedbed of later Southern colonies and states; Prof. Gallay suggests that South Carolina may have disseminated its values and habits rather more widely than many have supposed.

Some readers may find this book overly detailed and laborsome. Fair warning, okay? But those who are seriously interested in American history, of any era, should be advised that "The Indian Slave Trade" is required reading.

I have been doing research on the Indian slave trade and this book is a gem! It explains the political and social climate so to explain the "whys" of something that is difficult for 21st century minds to comprehend.

A wonderful read! This is one of my favorite books. The way the author seamlessly pulls together information that has been passed by numerous historians before him, and writes about it in clearly stated but intricate text is outstanding. The Indian Slave trade us unlike any book I have ever read. No wonder it won the Bancroft Award. Give it a try, you won't be dissapointed!

The second part of the title, The Rise of the English Empire in the American South, is a more accurate description of what this good book describes. Gallay presents a detailed description and analysis of the interaction between European colonists, particularly the English in what we now call South Carolina, and the native peoples of the Southeast at the end of the 17th and the early 18th centuries. Gallay is primarily concerned with 2 issues. First, how did the native peoples respond to European colonization? Second, what led to the British gaining the upper hand over the French and Spanish? According to Gallay, the key feature that addresses both these questions is the Indian slave trade. While the French and Spanish pursued colonization for essentially strategic reasons with very limited resources, the British Carolina colony originated as a commercial enterprise originally supporting Caribbean sugar plantations. The British colonists became enmeshed in relatively large scale commerce involving virtually the whole Southeast while the French pursued diplomacy with commercial elements in a more limited area and the Spanish attempted to use a mission system in the Florida region. Gallay presents the Indian slave trade as the key feature of the English trade system. The British colonists used European goods to barter for slaves and other products, particularly hides, from native groups. The slave trade connects the Carolina colony to the larger Atlantic plantation economy and drives development of the colony. This led to an increase in warfare between Indian communities as warfare became commerce driven. The British colonists were then able to exploit their commercial leverage and the increase in turmoil to establish a preeminent position in the South. Gallay is careful to point out that the South was anarchic and conflict ridden prior to European intervention and that slavery was a traditional institution, though expanded greatly with commercial slaving. While Gallay does not say so, this is essentialy an extension of the model of slaving developed to describe the African end of the great Atlantic slave trade. In both the case of Africa and Gallay's discussion of the American South, the model points up the key roles of, and the power of the indigenous communities, which were actually more powerful than the European communities.
This is a creditable interpretation but the data that Gallay actually presents about Indian slaving is relatively modest. There is some anecdotal information and he does make an estimate of the number of slaves taken, arguing that more slaves were shipped out of Charles Town (modern Charleston) than came in. Gallay is clearly limited by his documentary material, most of which does not address directly the issue of the Indian slave trade. Most of the book, however, is not directly about the Indian slave trade but a detailed account of 2 related topics. The first, and best documented, is about the struggles between colonists, the colonial government, and the governing investors in England to regulate the colony, particularly trade with the Indians. The second is an effort to reconstruct the diplomacy and warfare between the different European groups and Indian communities in this period. This is arguably the best part of the book; an effort to describe realistically the independent roles of native communities. Again, though Gallay does not mention this but pioneering work by Francis Jennings and others have demonstrated the powerful and independent role played by North American native communities, particularly the Iroquois, in this period.
Overall, this is a valuable and clearly written book.

I'm not sure what to say about this book. It just flows so smoothly that, while I don't consider the topic wholly engaging, I'm having as easy a time with it as if it was a gripping novel. Even reading this as an assignment, it's not a burden at all. Gallay is such a masterful author, and the book is so accessible, that you move seamlessly along as if the words were your own thoughts. I really have no higher praise for its quality than that.