Central America Books

For some reason, the impression this book description gives is that it only covers the Indian raids on the road ranches along the Little Blue River in August 1864. It certainly does that in exhaustive detail. But it covers SO much more. It basically covers ALL the Indian raid activity in Nebraska in the 1860-67 time frame including all along the Platte Valley as far as Julesburg. Biographies of all the major players are here too, no easy task considering most were simple pioneers that left a tough trail to follow.

The comprehensivness of this tome is incredible. The book is richly sourced and the footnotes highly informative. Maps are excellent, although throwing in one additional map showing all the rivers of Nebraska would have been nice.

This is a book so packed full of information that it needs to be read twice, because there's too much to digest the first time around.

Mr. Becher, my sincere congratulations. You've done a marvelous job. This was obviously a labor of love. Hard to believe this is your first book.

I have been a "student" of the Indian raids along the Little Blue in Nebraska in 1864 and have written and lectured on the subject for the past 9 years. Even my own publication falls way short of this new book. The history of the raids has needed someone to present it using no frills, no embellishments - just hard, cold facts supported by good documentation. The author has done just that and with the flair of a storyteller, the fascinating account of the events leading to and after the conflict is flawlessly unveiled in the book. The real heart of this book though is in Part II, presented in a nearly blow by blow "you are there" view of each of the attacks on stage stations and road ranches by Cheyenne and Sioux warriors. No other accounts have told this story with the thorough and painstaking examination given it by the writer. Drawing upon a vast body of military records, manuscripts, government publications, newspapers, periodicals, books, and other documentation, he has sifted meticulously through half-truths, outright untruths, shaded truths, and filled in with factual material where none was available or had been omitted in previous accounts. The remarkable research has resulted in a work that sheds a new and delightfully comprehensive light upon this period of American history.

For those who know (or wish to learn about) the whys and wherefores of the white-Indian relations from the time of the colonists and through the final conflict at Wounded Knee in 1890, it is put into perspective with this work. The book is divided into four parts, followed with an epilogue and appendices. Part I gives an overview of the development of white-Indian relations and interactions, presided over by government intervention from the 1600s up to the 1860s and the eve of the raid or massacre along the Little Blue. Unfolded in Part II is an amazingly accurate and detailed description of each day of the raid and immediate aftermath taking place from August 7th through August 19th. Beginning on the 7th, Cheyenne and Sioux warriors attacked numerous road ranches along the Little Blue and vast amounts of property and goods were destroyed. Commerce and travel along the route west from Missouri and Kansas through Nebraska and Colorado came to a halt. Hundreds of people were affected, many lost their lives, several women and children were captured and held hostage - some for as long at nine months.

Part III describes the panic and some levelheaded preparation and fortification of their homes by people living in the outlying areas of the actual raids. Accounting of press coverage given to the events, military campaigns to seek out and punish the Indians is given by the author before chapters on the captives and their unplanned for journey against their will.

For those interested in the ordeal and aftermath of the captivity of those mentioned, the book is a goldmine of information. Of the known captives (Lucinda, Isabelle and Willie Eubank, Ambrose Asher, Laura Roper, Nancy Morton, Daniel Marble) all survived and were released to military authorities. All returned home to relatives except Daniel Marble and Isabelle Eubank, who lived for only a short time after reaching Denver where they were brought by Major Edward W. Wynkoop, the commander at Fort Lyon in Colorado Territory. Nancy Morton was held 6 months and finally reached Fort Laramie in Wyoming, as did Lucinda and Willie Eubank who were brought there by their captors in May of 1865. For those interested in the history of the Sand Creek Massacre and Black Kettle's role in the events of 1864, it may be a surprise to learn that he was one of those greatly responsible for negotiating the release of the captives to Major Wynkoop near Hackberry Creek in western Kansas in September of 1864. Colonel Chivington and the First Colorado Volunteers ultimately attacked him and his fellow tribesmen in late November 1864.

Part IV of the book describes the aftereffects of the raids with concluding stories about many of the individuals who had lived in the valley of the Little Blue as well as others who impacted the story. Summation is given the Lemmon, Roper, Martin, Eubank, Morton, Emery, Mudge, Comstock, Baker, Artist, Gilbert, Hunt, Palmer, Bainter, Uhlig, Metcalf, Morrow, McDonald, Gilman and Marble families. What became of those military and governmental officials like Colonel Summers, Generals Samuel Curtis and Robert Mitchell, John Evans, and John Milton Chivington is discussed. A concluding chapter describes one former captive's return to the site of her capture that had occurred 64 years before.

Appendix A lists the known casualties of the raid, including those killed, mortally wounded, wounded and captured. This list is incredibly valuable for those trying to make sense of all the names and dates. Appendix B is a list of the military troop dispositions of company units and commanding officers. The photographs and illustrations are fine and their clarity is very good. Although a few typos crop up here and there in the text and one map on page 174 erroneously lists Nuckotte County instead of Nuckolls County, there is nothing about the book that needs much improvement. I loved the book and learned a lot from it that even I, after nearly 10 years of studying this topic, did not know.

No bookshelf of individuals interested in American west history should be without this awesome piece of research and easy to read style of writing. I highly recommend the book and give it my highest endorsement.

This book is one of the best books done on Maya art. Hundreds of well-done photographs. Looking at the photos in this book was the first time that it finally sunk in that Maya art is on par with the art of any of what is considered the "best" art from around the world. The articles interspersed with the art are interesting too. Well worth the money.

This important, lavishly produced book will more than satisfy all, including scholars, students and collectors, as well as the casual reader. The highly descriptive/photographic catalog of the comprehensive '98-'99 Palazzo Grassi exhibition (514 artifacts listed on 142 pages of 696 total) is worth the price by itself. The photography is absolutely superb, making this a fun book to just browse through. With more than 20 scholarly articles covering all aspects of the most current knowledge on the MAYA, this is the definitive "Must Have" book on this most amazing culture. Easily worth double or triple Amazon's price.

This is by far the best and most beautiful book on the Maya for the general reader that I have come across. I have traveled extensively throughout the Maya Area, and own several books on the subject, including classics such as "A Forest of Kings", "The Blood of Kings", Coe's "The Maya", and Henderson's "The World of the Ancient Maya". However, none of these volumes come close to Grube's massive, lavishly-illustrated tome in terms of spectacular photographs, wealth of topics, and breadth of scholarship.

Edited by N. Grube, a renowned Maya scholar, the book is a collection of articles by several experts on the Maya, each a specialist in some aspect of the civilization. The range of articles is wide enough to form a comprehensive general introduction to the Maya and their achievements. In addition, there are articles that discuss unusual topics covered only briefly, if at all, in the other books. Alongside the usual material on Maya history throughout the Pre-Classic, Classic, and Post-Classic, you will find delightful chapters on the role of caves in Maya religion, intoxication and ecstacy, war and prisoners, court dwarves, the meaning of the Bonampak murals, Puuc architecture, Tikal architecture and its influence, astronomy and mathematics, grave robbers, Maya Gods, cacao, obsidian, the Teotihuacan connection, the Spanish Conquest, and the Maya in the Colonial and Present Eras. Your reading will be greatly enhanced by the dozens of beautiful illustrations, many of them unique to this volume. Where else, for example, will you see large color photographs of the Rio Bec and Tonina ruins, of chicle gathering and looted sites in the Peten jungle?

While "Divine Kings of the Rain Forest" certainly does some justice to the divinity of its subject matter, it is relatively expensive. Moreover, since it is out of print, you might even have to pay more than the list price to obtain a nice copy. However, it will be worth every penny. It is truly a pity that this book is out of print. (Try used book stores in large cities, where you might be fortunate enough to get a good copy at half price, as I did.) This is definitely a volume to display, treasure, and savor repeatedly.

This is the best book I have ever come across on Mayan culture. It is a oversized coffee table volume, some 450 deluxe pages, each of which is covered with maps, illustrations and many, many photographs. Each period in Mayan development is covered in the chapters and the illustrations correspond neatly with the text. The text also does not veer off into the author's own opinions as these books frequently do. The first evidence of humans in the Mayan planes date to around ten thousand b.c., the book starts there and continues to the current Mayans (yes, their descendents alive in the world today, and that, too, is an interesting look). For anyone who thinks that civilization began in the Mediterranean, this book is clear evidence that it began on the other side of the world at the same time, if not earlier. It's a shame that the price and the fact that this book is out of print makes it less accessible to readers. For Mayan historians, this book is a must, but even someone with only a casual interest in the subject would find much of interest here.

I recommend this book because it is a thrilling kindadventure. I didn't want to put it down, as it was an excitingbook.The greatest thing is that I'am doing a book report on this book. The ages I recommend are 8yrs and above.I'm in fourth grade and I'm 10 years old.

I recommend this book because it is a thrilling kind adventure. I didn't want to put it down, as it was an exciting book.The greatest thing is that I'am doing a book report on this book. The ages I recommend are 8yrs and above.I'm in fourth grade and I'm 10 years old.

I agree with the reviewer above - John Brown is one of those figures that noone really understands so a full length work with sources and analysis of Brown's writings like this has been a long time coming. I teach a class on the coming of the Civil War and my students have already been taught, like most Americans, that John Brown was at best a well-meaning madman. But this book shows the various John Browns of history and myth, so that, whether you agree with the actions of Brown, you will at least understand them better and see him as a complex and human individual. The Harvard authors have a sense for biography and history, and do convincing close readings of John Brown's own writings. Fascinating sources and great prose by the authors, good analysis of art a bonus. It's a good story and told well. I have some criticisms of the politics behind the book but this doesn't detract too much from the overall quality.

This book reads very well and covers all of John Brown's life and death, then also the huge range of responses to him and his career. The connections that Zoe Trodd and John Stauffer make between John Brown and Timothy Mcveigh is provocative. No one who buys this book will be disappointed.

This is a book of photographs of the interiors of Churches in Mexico, and their shrines and alters, and saints which adorn them.

Porter's photographs capture a religious grace which is direct, simple, beautiful, and moving. Seeing these pictures gives an outsider into a window on a world in which life may be difficult, but heart and faith are celebrated and strong.

Contiene una amplia colección de fotografías que muestran la gran variedad y riqueza arquitectónica de las iglesias de México, algunas de las cuales son poco conocidas, y que en cierta medida deben su esplendor al sincretismo cultural hispano-indígena. Las fotografías fueron tomadas alrededor de 1956, por el excelente fotógrafo, sobre todo de paisajes, Eliot Porter (quién abandonó la fotografía por la medicina).

It contains a large colection of photos that shows the great variety and arquitectonic richness of Mexican churches, some of them are not well know, and their splendor is in certain way product of the cultural hispano-indian sincretism. The photos were taken around 1956 by the excelent photographer, landscape specialist, Eliot Porter (who quit medicine for photography).

I liked it. And if you write to the author, he'll probably write an engaging response.

Caplan's Mind Games offers an original and engaging analysis of the origins of psychotherapy in the United States. Rather than tracing the birth of psychotherapy to Freudian ideas about the unconscious, Caplan argues that roots of American psychotherapy are planted firmly in the soil of American medicine and culture. The evidence he offers to support these claims is extensive and extraordinarily well-documented. This book is a true gem that deserves the widest possible readership.

This book really is a lot of fun. You'll learn about a family that makes canoes the old-fashioned way, about two chain-sawing sisters that set up a bar, about ice fishing and all the strange things that get found at the bottom of a lake, and lots of interesting characters. The author has written for Prairie Home Companion, so you'll recognize the style. It's fun to read, even if you're not going to visit Minnesota.

The quisisential answer to "Everything you ever wanted to know about Minnesota.........but didn't know what to ask". What a delightful journey into some of the most tucked away sights and stories of Minnesota. The author has a style of writing that seems to have that Paul Harvey punchline giving you ..the rest of the story. Tales are spun respectfully no matter how outrageous the oddity. Even life long Minnesota residents will get a knee slap as they are compelled to read a chapter out loud to folks that will just keep saying "Gee, I never knew that"
This book will be our companion for spring travels this year. Our goal is to hit as many of the curiosities as possible and either put a notch in our book or get an autograph! Highly recommended for family gatherings and folks who love to know it all.

I first read this book back in the early 60's when I was stationed in Montana. I found it full of facts that you don't find in history books. The characters are real and believable; makes you wish you had a time machine to go back and witness the action. A must for history buffs.

If you want to know the story of Montana, this is where you start. It's written by the best journalist-writer who ever lived in the state (excluding Bud Guthrie, of course, who chose fiction instead). It must be understood that it is not a "definitive history" as Howard himself stated, but a personal narrative of what matters. In the past two decades, a cottage industry of Howard-bashing has emerged in Montana, by historians eager to establish their own reputations. Yes, some of what Howard wrote was incorrect. Other aspects of his writings now seem outmoded (the colonial economy thing). But to say modern history proves Joe Howard was wrong is like saying Lewis and Clark are disproven by Rand-McNally. Howard was the visionary who showed the way to what Montana should and could be. But 50 years later, this remains the best non-fiction book that will ever be written about Montana.

Frederick John Dalton is to be congratulated for this beautifully written and spiritually inspiring study of the moral vision that underlay Cesar Chavez's activism. Following in the tradition of Jesus, Dorothy Day and the Catholic Worker movement, and the Berrigan brothers, Chavez's orientation was biblical to the core. He preached and practiced nonviolent resistance, personal and group sacrifice, the transformative power of love and forgiveness, and individual prayer and meditation as essential tools in working for peace and justice. Unlike so many activists then and now, Chavez wasn't concerned with protesting and demonstrating just to say "No." More fundamentally, he was interested in working for social and economic conditions that would affirm people with a resounding "Yes!" Chavez's deep faith in God and the Gospel of justice and peace grounded that "Yes" and made it truly prophetic. As he himself said, "What keeps me going? Well, it's like a fire--a consuming, nagging everyday and every-moment demand of my soul to just do it. It's difficult to explain. I like to think it's the good Spirit asking me to do it. I hope so...If you really want something, you have to sacrifice. Because of my faith the concept of sacrifice is understood" (p. 162).

This is a must-read for anyone who yearns to integrate a passion for social justice with a deep, mystical faith in God. Cesar showed us, as all genuine mystics do, that the two are not only incompatible but necessarily conjoined. Dalton's sensitive and well-written study has done Chavez proud.

Cesar Chavez has been likened to the American Gandhi, using the powerful tools of nonviolence, including fasting with prayer and mass mobilizations, to affect political change, labor rights and human rights for his people, our people, for Americans now again forgotten, rejected, despised, blockaded, dispossessed. We need him now. We need him again. Read this book. Be him now.

Published by the excellent Catholic printing house Orbis Books, this biography was written by a professor of moral theology at Holy Rosary College in San Jose who briefly and intermittently volunteered for the UFW after the death of Cesar Chavez, whom he had seen once deliver a speech.

I met Mr. Chavez a few times nearly twenty five years ago at Mass in the tiny chapel of the Maryknoll House in Manhattan, as he was visiting during conferences in New York. Mr. Chavez was ever a faithful and a profoundly practicing Catholic, inspired by our Faith to work for peace and justice and labor and human rights for the most poor and despised, just as Our Holy Father His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI recently exhorts us in Sacramentum Caritatis: el Sacramento de la Caridad: una Exhortacion Apostolica Postsinodal that the Eucharist in itself compels us to alter the unjust economic structures which entrap so many of us in desparate poverty.

Ceasr Chavez therefore inspires and guides all Americans and all Catholics in the true realization of living our Faith integrally. Professor of Moral Theology Dalton here examines deeply the life of Mr. Chavez, exploring his moral vision and his true path in Faith.

Briefly the professor sums up this intense and real moral vision thusly:

"Cesar's moral vision centered on sacrificial service, solidarity through voluntary poverty, nonviolent confrontation, and faith in God and others. These virtues shaped the identity and character of the union community just as they shaped Cesar's own identity and character. These characteristics were from Cesar's perspective, non-negotiable (p. 152)."

I fonud the references to the great Bishops Connelly and Curtis of Connecticut tantalizing yet welcome. Despite the revised Code of Canon Law's bias which might throw cold water on such faith necessities, they performed truly Catholic work in line with Pope Leo the Great's famous encyclical Rerum Novarum, a courageous labor which may be studied more fully and thus usefully at Cesar Chavez, the Catholic Bishops, and the Farmworkers' Struggle for Social Justice. We need them and their truly Catholic hierarchical witness and orthopraxis and deeply moral vision and integral living of our Faith now more than ever.