North America Books

Standing in the Light / 0-590-13462-0

I love historical novels, but most especially accurate historical novels. The Dear America series impress me regularly for often being extremely accurate about genuine historical events and phenomena, even under the guise of fictional narrators. Standing in the Light examines, carefully and accurately, a very real phenomenon in our nation's history, that of American Indian assimilation of European settlers.

While many adults actively chose to leave the European settlements and live with the American Indians (so many so, in fact, that many colonies instituted a death penalty to try to deter mass desertions!), it was not unheard of for American Indians to adopt European orphans and even, sometimes, kidnap children in order to replenish the American Indian children lost to war or disease brought by the stranger settlers.

Quaker Caty Logan is shocked and horrified when "savages" kidnap her and her brother. Certain they will be brutally killed, she is shocked when they are instead taken into the tribe, dressed and groomed as American Indians, and then treated as beloved son and daughter by their adoptive families. Caty progresses through the stages of her grief, while the American Indians treat her with nothing but tenderness through her denial and anger. When she comes to acceptance, she recognizes that her heart will always be torn between her true family, who she loves and misses, and her new family, who she has come to understand and care for. Matters are complicated further when she falls in love with another "adoptee" - a young man who has lived with the American Indians most of his life.

As Caty ponders the choice laid before her, she wrestles with her emotions - guilt, at loving this new family; exhilaration, at the love and freedom she has in this new life; fear, at the choices laid before her. Easily, this is the most emotionally gripping of the Dear America books, and the author has managed to understand human emotion more thoroughly than many "adult" literature authors do.

For parents, this book contains some violence as we see the wars between the European settlers and the American Indians. There are some frightening situations, notably the kidnapping, where Caty fears they Awill be slaughtered. There is no overt sexuality, as the romance is very chaste, but Caty does note that the American Indian women of her new tribe often marry at age fourteen, which may raise some questions. This novel is incredibly sensitive to the cultures it portrays (on both sides, noting that there are many good Europeans who want the American Indians to be treated fairly) and treats the religions involved with great respect. This book is both highly entertaining and deeply thought-provoking, and I would highly recommend it to children and adults alike.

This book was great! Caty was a little girl who was captured by the Lenape Indians. At first, she was terrified of them but then she started to understand their ways. My sister and I loved this story. Every night we could wait to read it because we wanted to know what happened next.
This story was adventurous, heart-warming, and sweet. I think that any age would love this book, even the grown-ups. At the end of the story the indians that she loved the most and had become her family . . . . read it to find out.

It was a really good book.My favorite part was when she finally becomes friends with the indians.Although recommend it to older kids becuase of the violence.

INDIANS EVERY WERE





Catty gets kidnapped by Indians,
Thomas gets sick,
Will Catty marry Snow Hunter?



In the book, Standing in the Light Catty's family respects the Indians.
They leave their doors unlocked and windows open to show the Indians
They are not afraid. But one night the Indians swoop throw the window
And kidnap Catty and Thomas.

My favorite part is when Catty's Indian Grandmother tells her
Indian mother that Catty and snow hunter are probley going to get
Married. I like this part because it is sweet and unsuspecting and
Catty is so surprised

I think the authors main idea is you can go from HOME to HOME
And will always be loved.

I would recommend this because it is surprising and you won't want
To stop!!!!!
By:Lauren

I love reading books in diary form and the "Dear America" series of books for younger readers are not only beautifully bound, but each individual story is truly engaging, transporting readers into a bygone era with its entailing adventures.

The heroines are typically young girls who find themselves in extraordinary circumstances - and having to display immense courage in trying times. "Standing in the Light" is the diary of Catharine Carey Logan, a Quaker who lived in the Delaware Valley in Pennsylvania c 1763. Her diary is an account of her experiences growing up in the valley and also about her capture by the Lenape Indians. It is a sad yet very engrossing read.

Another highlight of the book is the author's historical note on life in America during the time [1763] - there are also illustrations and drawings of Quakers and Lenape Indians engaged in their respective pursuits, and highlights the cultural differences between the two groups. In conclusion - an engaging historical read!

What a great little fairy tail. I wish I would have had it when I was young. It really does a great job of bringing down the myths of perfection. There is nothing wrong with being ordinary!

This is an angelic little fairy tale that is quite possible the predecessor of the many anti-fairy tale books we have today (I don't feel like doing the research). Anyway, I was quite enchanted as I read the story of Princess Amy whose fairy godmother gave her the gift of the ordinary. It's pretty much straight-forward, though predictable in the familiar good way of a fairy tale, and the story itself is just delightful to read. Definitely a winner.

I remember this book from my childhood. I think I kept it checked out of my school library almost the whole year! I am so glad to find it again, since it obviously left quite an impression. It's such a wonderful, well-written book, and certainly not your run-of-the-mill fairy tale princess.

I first read this book when I was in elementary school. I remember reading it and not wanting to put it down. When my mother finally made me put it down and help with the dishes I explained everything I had read so far to her in detail and after I was finished helping my mother, I went back to reading and finished the entire book the same day I started it. Years later I tried to find this book but because i had read it when I was so young, I couldn't remember the title. I was thrilled when I found it and once again read the book the same day i got it. The book was still amazing(I had my worries because things that seem great when your young sometimes turn out to be pretty bad as a adult). I found the story of Amy heartwarming with a creative twist to the other princess stories we all know. I find the idea that Amy wasn't the image of a beautiful princess because she had freckles and straight hair charming. It makes you realize there is more to beauty than perfect complexions and blond hair. I think every little girl should read this story and plan to purchase it for my niece when she is older. Even as an adult I enjoy reading this fairy tale and highly recommend it for all young girls.

One may know the story of the servant girl who gets to go to the ball, the story of the beautiful girl that falls in love with the beast, the princess that is finally awakened by a kiss from a dashing prince. But, it is quite possible that one may go half of her life before ever hearing the story of another girl, a princess in fact, who was born once upon a time in a land called Phantasmorania. She was christened Her Serene and Royal Highness Princess Amethyst Alexandra Augusta Araminta Adelaide Aurelia Anne--a name fit for the most beautiful and exraordinary princess in all the land. Special gifts were bestowed upon the baby at this christening celebration by the magical fairies of the land. All seems to be heading straight for happily ever after until the last fairy bestows her idea of a gift on the princess: "You shall be ordinary!" The kingdom is turned upside down. An ordinary princess?

The king and queen may consider this gift a curse indeed, but it is what makes the story so endearing to readers. Traditional views of what makes someone noble and special are tried, especially what makes a woman beautiful and of worth. In a classically fairy-tale setting, a mythical land ruled by Oberon, king of the fairies, new-age ideas are considered and ultimately proven plausible. M.M. Kaye's story, The Ordinary Princess, is a refreshing new take on classical fairy-tale stories that enamors readers with its relatable characters all the while enchanting them with a somewhat fantastic plot and imagery. Because Princess Amy is so believable, readers are better able to walk along side-by-side with a princess and vicariously experience all her adventures instead of gazing longingly from afar.

Kaye's story brings ordinary and fantasy into beautiful harmony: it is what makes this story the most enchanting fairy-tale you might've never heard of. It's never too late for this kind of magic.

A princess is supposed to be fair, with hair golden, skin like wild rose petals and cream, and eyes as blue as larkspurs (3). A princess is supposed to be graceful, well-tempered, always behaving with the utmost dignity and poise. Kaye characterizes all six of Amethyst's sisters by nothing more than this description of what a royal princess should be. But, because of the gift bestowed on the little princess to be ordinary, Amy, as she was thereafter called (for "what could be more ordinary than that?"), is hardly those things at all (21). Amy was much more like us: she was imperfect. She had a stubbed-nose, freckles. She was gawky and had the "distressing habit of standing with her feet apart and her hands behind her back" (22). Already, an ordinary audience has come to relate to this ordinary princess. The audience can relate to physical imperfections, but the audience is inspired by the way Amy reacted to her imperfections and lived her life. It wasn't that Amy never was discouraged. Indeed, no. This facet of character makes her all the more relatable, realistic. But, she was optimistic about looking at things though and she enjoyed life, trying to look at the bad in a positive light. Amy was such an ordinary sort of girl that she would sneak out of her window to play in the Forest of Faraway. It is easy for the audience to like Amy for themselves and it is natural for them to empathize with her, but the people in the kingdom don't seem to like Amy and her manners very much at all. The reader finds acceptance and an embracing of his imperfections through the character of Peregrine, the "man-of-all-work" she meets a neighboring kingdom. He grows to love her for her ordinary self and her ordinary habits. She is not timid and delicate like a princess is expected to be and he loves her and all of her "imperfections," without even knowing that she is a princess. It is human, it is ordinary, to want to be loved for what we really are and Amy and Peregrine's story gives the reader hope that it can happen.

Their relationship manifests the harmony of the ordinary and the fantastic that Kaye uses to enthrall readers. Amy meets him in a very casual setting and they decide that they would like to be friends. They talk as friends. They are informal and playful in their dialogue. One day, when they are lounging in the forest as they often liked to do, he talks of having seen the princess that had come to visit the king of this far away kingdom where Amy had runaway and where she met Peregrine. She asked him, "What's she like?"

He answered her, "Like a princess." She didn't like this answer saying that it was silly, so she threw a blackberry at his nose. That's not the sort of thing Cinderella would do but it seems an ordinary thing for a modern girl today to do. Their conversations are full of silly, friendly dialogue and they almost always end their rendezvous walking hand in hand and laughing together. But, the fantastic part about it is that they truly love each other. This ordinary relationship turns into something real and something that can last. Even when the plot takes an unexpected turn, they still live happily ever after together. The coming together of the ordinary and the extraordinary in their relationship uplifts the ordinary reader, giving him or her evidence that fantastic is in the realm of possibility.

In addition to character development and plot in bringing a refreshing harmony to the work, M.M. Kaye cleverly and naturally manipulates simple, every-day words and assembles them in an enchanting way that creates the sweet, lovely undertone of the entire work. Instead of using extraordinary, sophisticated words to describe the beauty of a baby, she says simply, "she was as pink and white and gold as apple blossoms and the spring sunshine." In these simple words, the reader receives almost an entire idea of what this baby is like because the reader is able to imagine the softness of the babies skin like the petals of the blossom, the babies sweet smell like the scent of the blossom, and the warmth of the babies skin like clean spring sunshine. Kaye takes advantage of the readers' minds ability to make relationships to words and bring up images without the image being explicitly laid-out by the author through unnecessary wordiness. The images that Kaye creates using such simple words are so brilliant that it would seem that she were a fairy herself. Because she uses this simple diction to color her piece, all, young or old, are able to read her story as if it were meant for them, gleening from it what their mind imagines all on its own.

Even the illustrations that enliven the pages of Kaye's fairy-tale are enchanting. The simple and sometimes amusing black and white line drawings add a childlike intrigue to the book. The images look simple enough but they are beautiful and oftimes delightful caricatures of the people or the situations Kaye is describing, adding to the humorous, casual, friendly aspect of The Ordinary Princess.

This story is attractive to modern audiences because of the idea that what is traditionally valued by society is not always the most valuable thing to have. What Amy lacked in beauty and elegance, she certainly made up for in warm, gentle kindness and friendliness. Amy, like other fair-tale princesses, was so gentle that she had animal friends that kept her company, a crow and a squirrel. She was able to look past herself and think of others because she was not caught up in her appearance. She was straight-forward and sometimes rambunctious about the way she did things, something contrary to the traditional idea that a woman should be demure, and in this way attracts the modern reader whose idea of woman may be different. This story has the fantastic, enchanting aspect of a fairy tale but because Kaye chose to combine that with the ordinary aspect of humanity, it can attract and resonate with a wider audience.

The title of the book itself, The Ordinary Princess, brings too dissimilar things, ordinary which connotes mundane or down-to-earth, homely and the idea of a princess which is basically everything extraordinary, beautiful and noble and sophisticated. The title intrigues readers because of the juxtaposition of these two seemingly paradoxical ideas; the reader may question or dare to hope that these two characteristics aren't so contradictory after all. As the reader turns the pages of Kaye's tale, absorbing the character of Amy, the fun and childlike humor of the dialogue and the characters, and the mesmerizing illustrations one comes across every so often, they are increasingly enchanted with the idea that fantastic is in the realm of possibility. Amy is loved for her ordinary self. Being true to one self is more important than living by society's norms and that is when happily ever after can really happen.

I first read this "novel" many years ago, and loved it from the first page. History told in the form of a novel, it was so interesting that I'd actually stop the story to check the very numerous footnotes at the end of each chapter. Since I live in NW Ohio, this book captures much of the early history of my state and area. When we were kids, our parents would take us to Ft. Meigs, and until I read this novel, I never knew what all the ditches and mounds were for. That was many years before they re-created the fort.

I hiked the Anthony Wayne trail to Fallen Timbers as a boy scourt, and learned about this battle. I live an hour and a half from Kenton, Ohio, and when I cross the Ohio River on I-75, I enter Kenton county, KY.

Tecumseh, MI is not far north of Toledo, and to me, it was Tecumseh's story which made this book so spectacular. We hear about Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse, and Geronimo, but Tecumseh was far above any of them, the potential threat he posed to American settlement just astounded me, when I read about him in thi snotel. It was inevitable that all of the Indian tribes would eventually succomb to the limitless numbers and resources of the settlers, but had Tecumseh been successful, it might have changed many things for many years.

Simon Kenton puts Daniel Boone and Davy Crockett to shame. Kenton is in another league entirely, and yet as forgotten as is Tecumseh by those who write popular fiction and history.

These were not men of legend, but of reality. They were both tragic figures in the end, but blazed so brightly across the wilderness when they lived that I'd challenge any person to find more truly heroic figures in all of American history. They dominated not by political deals or swaying voters, but by individual prowess and values which were frankly almost beyond compare.

That they lived during the same era is only fitting.

This is their story, set against the background of the settlment of Ohio and Kentucky, and what a compelling story it is.

I wodner how many people live today because Simon Kenton risked his life for their ancestors, and helped them survive?

I wonder if any native American has ever existed who can remotely compare to Tecumseh?

Everyone should read this book. They owe it to themselves, and to Simon Kenton and Tecumseh.

I enjoyed the way this book was written. It brought the characters to life by providing motives and emotions. It seems to be a fairly accurate history novel with lots of documentation footnotes. I was intrigued by the episode with Andrew Jackson that inferred he was older than history books claim and that he was not born in America but on an immigrant ship. If true, Jackson could not have legally been President.
I was also unaware of how many true frontiersmen were robbed of the land claims they risked their lives for, by Johnny Come Lately land speculators, lawyers and politicians.
This is a very good book, easily read, and full of characters from our history.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It is a history of the fist "Far West" (roughly the Ohio River drainage system). The book is not your normal history book in that it is not a recitation of facts and figures. Rather, it is a well researched narrative history of the late 1700's and early 1800's that focuses on Simon Keaton, a frontiersman of the era. The author does an excellent job of conveying the mind set of the era--both with the European settlers and the Indian nations. The author is also very objective: there are no heroes in this book, rather the good and bad of all participants is clearly shown.

By using the narrative structure, the author keeps you focused on the historical events and helps you keep all of the different story lines straight. This is not a sentimental narrative, rather it is a narrative that is believable (and is backed up by extensive notes and research).

I found myself alternatively sympathetic for the settlers, then the Indians, then disgusted with the settlers and then disgusted with the Indians. Finally, I realized that there were no heroes or villains--just people trying to live the lives that they wanted to live. This is not to say that there were not evil actions on "both sides", rather it is to say that there were no stereo-types---all the characters were seen as they truly are: fallible humans.

My one quibble (and the reason I did not give the book 5 stars) was that there was a dearth of maps in the books. Given the relatively small area that is being talked about, I would have thought that there could have been more detailed maps. But, that is a minor quibble.

This is a definite read is you are interested in American history. Enjoy!

Wow! What a fantastic book! I was recommended this book by a family member and several friends and I wasn't disappointed! The story is amazing and the description of the areas quite detailed. There are even footnotes if you want to learn more about the author's historical research, translation of Native American names/terms, and modern day locations.

If you want to learn what it was like to be a frontiersman, someone who paved the way for individuals and families that came after them, then read this book. It has me excited to learn more about the details of this time period.

A vast narrative following the life and career of Daniel Boone's somewhat less well known junior contemporary on the early American frontier, Simon Kenton, and the parallel life and career of the Shawnee chieftain, Tecumseh, who tried to unite the disparate Indian tribes in a last ditch effort to stem the sweep of the American Republic over native American lands, this book is rich in research and in the drama of those times. Allan Eckert has used the technique of a novelist to bring the details of historic events to life as he follows the paths of Kenton and Tecumseh and the men and women around them, from Kenton's first foray over the Alleghenies into the wilderness in colonial times to the denouement in the War of 1812 when Tecumseh makes his last ditch effort to stop the white settlers. Recounted as a series of historical vignettes around the main characters and often taking on the trappings of fiction (because Eckert purports to take us inside the heads of these people and to report conversations and some events for which there is little or no record), this book is massive and sometimes daunting to read. Nevertheless, it succeeds in breathing life into the era and, if many of the characters seem somewhat thin and almost to blend into a certain sameness, the multifaceted personality of the illiterate Kenton and the finely drawn picture of the mysterious Tecumseh, makes it all worthwhile.

I found myself wondering at times just how many of the reported miraclulous prophecies ascribed to Tecumseh, from predicting an eclipse to the appearance of a comet to the occurrence of a massive earthquake, were genuine -- after all, despite all these supposed successes, his basic prediction, that he would lead a united Indian nation to drive out the whites, did not come true. But the detail about the Indian culture and relations between the various tribes and with the whites was eye-opening and all of it made me ashamed of this aspect of the American past. Of course, we could not be what we are today if we hadn't supplanted the native peoples, and pretty much every nation in existence today is where it is as a result of driving out earlier inhabitants in much the same fashion. Still, one can't help rooting for the Indian side when presented with a book like this, even if the Indians were pretty cruel in their own right and the Americans did ultimately grow into a better nation than what we started out as.

SWM
author of The King of Vinland's Saga

This is truly a great fantasy book. I was instantly hooked on the characters of Cat and Chrestomanci, and couldn't put this book down. I went right out and picked up all the other books in the series that were available at the time, and have since picked up any new ones as soon as they came out. This is by far my favorite fantasy series!

Charmed Life is about some kids who go to study magic with one of the official guys in charge of magic. He has a couple of kids of his own, and they are the usual school age to have the school age disagreements and fights and not being nice to each other that goes along with that.

The eldest also gets a bit peeved at being thrown in with the young brats, too.

A young boy, Cat, must deal with his crazy and selfish older sister Gwendolyn who is obsessed with her own magical powers. Certainly much slower and less exciting than Jones' Howl books (read: more for children), but still has her enchanting and seemingly effortless style that captures a world where "magic is like music". Jones is always a good read. The characters are mysterious and thoroughly enjoyable. Gwendolyn is ambiguous and silly and selfish and delightful. Cat is an innocent; Chestomanci is Jones' typical ambiguous and passive wizard. The imagery of magic, particularly Cat's matchstick nine lives, is absolutely delicious. Grade: B

I am constantly on the lookout for new fantasy reads, because not only is it difficult to find a truly lasting (and by "lasting" I mean you think about it all the time, read it again and again, and gulp down every one of the author's other books) fantasy story, but if you do that author is usually what they call A Lofty One-Piece Wonder who writes one astonishingly beautiful story, gives it to the world...then settles into retirement and ignores all letters posted to them begging for a sequel.

Ah, not so with Diana Wynne Jones.

Hearing about her was actually an accident. I had picked up the book "Inkspell", the sequel to a book I'd enjoyed very much (Inkheart) and saw, on the back, that there was a quote on the back from "Diana Wynne Jones, author". For fun, I wandered over to the J's. Only a few Diana books were there -- THE MERLIN CONSPIRACY, ARCHER'S GOON, and -- the book that forever endeared me to this amazingly talented author -- EIGHT DAYS OF LUKE.

Having five dollars just aching to be spent and about that many minutes left till we had to go, I bought it on a whim.

And inhaled it that night.

I was going through withdrawls. NEED -- MORE -- DIANA -- WYNNE -- JONES -- BOOKS!!!

I got back to Borders and began to scrounge the shelves. Hmmm. "Chronicles of Chrestomanci". Looked okay -- not as good as I'd thought "Eight Days of Luke" was, but -- what was?

I read a little, put it down. Read a little more, and -- couldn't stop.

I am now on Book II, "The Lives of Christopher Chant".

I think you understand what I'm trying to say. Buy this book -- and while you're at it get "Eight days of Luke", too.



Rating: Very Good

"Charmed Life" is my first Diana Wynne Jones book (I know, I know ... I'm a little late) and I'll openly admit I came to her work through Miyazaki's amazing film "Howl's Moving Castle". Imagine how stupid I felt when I realized that I had been missing out on one of the best writers of our age. While it starts off slowly, Jones's first Chrestomanci book is still a grand, magical, yet simple adventure that sweeps the reader off their feet into a quirky yet solid world that readers will enjoy again and again.

Eric, a.k.a., Cat Chant, is a small and passive boy who thinks that he has no magical powers unlike his sister Gwendolen. Gwendolen is an ambitious, spoiled, and powerful girl who dreams of controlling the world. One day, when their parents die in a tragic boat accident, Gwendolen's powers attract the attention of the dapper and eccentric Chrestomanci. Chrestomanci is an enchanter, and a nine lived one at that, so that means he controls and governs all magic in the twelve related worlds. Chrestomanci seems to take an interest in Gwendolen, so he invites her and Cat to live in his castle.

When they arrive at the castle, both children dislike it at first. But Cat, being the passive boy that he is, quickly makes friends with Chrestomanci's two children even though he's absolutely frightened to death of their father. But Gwendolen has other ideas. She hates the fact that she has to learn maths and history instead of magic in school, and she is absolutely appaled that Chrestomanci doesn't take notice in her powers. Soon, Gwendolen sets out on a war of wills and magic against Chrestomanci and his castle, and Cat is unbeknowingly caught up in the whirlwinds of his sister's dangerous ambitions.

Jones is brilliant in her prose and writing. She easily writes with a sense of whimsy, while at the same time fleshing out realistic characters and villains. Cat is passive at first, but he soon grows a spine and stands up against the one thing that holds him back (I won't ruin the surprise). Jones' magic is an everyday and casual part of life for the characters, but it comes in second to their emotions and the overall story. The story takes so many surprising twists that shocked and surprised me, I was literally biting my nails towards the end wondering what would happen next.

"Charmed Life" is a delightful and charming surprise. While not a grand and sweeping epic, it will still sweep readers off their feet with the simple and quiet humor, magic, and sheer enjoyment that Jones so evidently finds and puts into her work. This book is not to be missed, and I can only end with saying how foolish I feel now that I didn't find Diana sooner.

I HAVE NOT RECEIVED THIS BOOK THAT I PURCHASED OVER A MONTH AGO SO I WOULD NOT KNOW HOW TO RATE IT.

I was recommended this book by a friend and i have to tell you i dont rarely read book who arent form my fav authors but i took and chance and sweets its great. it definently puts into prospective how latinos light and dark feel about being called black or african american etc. i loved the book and would tell anyone who wanted to open their mind to read it

This book was in perfect condition when I received it. My only issue with my purchase was when I received it. The only option for shipping when I ordered was standard shipping, not sure why?? Anyway it took about two weeks to get to me. All in all, it was worth the wait.

If you want to hear the truth about the old days, here it is. This was a perfect example of what many people in El Barrio saw and/or did. Its so real that if you read certain passages slowly, and then close your eyes, you could actually see how it went down. This book can help you look deep and realize that we, in this day and age, have it 50 times better than our fathers and grandfathers. Lets thank our stars and our parents. Praise to you "Don" Piri.

Down These Mean Streets is the story of Piri Thomas' journey into adulthood. The book is set in Spanish Harlem in the 1940s. The author's writing style is refreshing and lyrical. He uses some Spanish words here and there(readers might find the glossary in the back of the book helpful), and kicks in a few slang words as well, which makes the dialogs that much more genuine.

Piri struggles through poverty, family troubles, and desperately wanting to belong. He fights with being a dark skinned Puerto Rican during a time when racism was strong, and trying to find his place as neither black nor white. Piri did some not-so-good things in his life, being in a gang, drug addiction, and armed robbery among other things, but throughout it all it is easy to tell that Piri is a good guy at heart.

Overall, this is a captivating story. You might find yourself wondering what you would have done faced with the same situations. I even found myself rooting for Piri at times. This book is still a very accurate depiction of "the hoods" of New York, despite being published for the first time about 40 years ago.

I was sad to have to finish the book, and in the end I felt like I knew Piri. I look forward to re-reading this book over the years. It is truly a classic. Everyone should read it. Anyone can find something in the story that they will be able to relate to.

I've passed this book to my adult friends and family, and all agree it is a 'wonderfilled' book. Very descriptive of Native Americans life. Interesting time frames, smallpox and French traders, but mostly the story of a Native family. It also captures the pain of loss, the helplessness of people facing their future. My so cool 28 year old nephew admits to 'crying his eyes out'. I wondered if it would be too sad for kids, but the reviews I read don't seem to mention it. Perhaps Erdrich's mastery is such that those experienced with loss, who sympathize with the Native American plight will weep, the innocent will be shielded by their youth.
A great story.

I both read the book and listened to it. The book carries you through the four seasons during 1849 with a young Ojibwe and her family. This book is fascinating, the history and descriptions for chores is fantastic. There is hardship and work and joy and aggravation. It's a regular family. That's what it is so easily relatable to children.

I preferred to have the book read to me through the audio book, this audio book is read by Nicole Littrell. I think this is a great book to read aloud. Once you have finished this one pick up the Game of Silence where we can continue to journey with Omakayas read by Anna Fields, the Porcupine year has not been released to audiobook as of October 2008.

I purchased this book for my daughter who is attending CSUN. It arrived in a week and was in good condition, just like the description said.
Very happy with this purchase and many others.

Generations of American children have grown up reading Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder. I'm in one of those generations. These stories gave us a view into settlers moving into formerly Indian territories and the hardships of breaking new lands to the plow, fighting weather, droughts, floods, and illness. These stories are our stories of conquering the prairie West. But there's another story that needs to be told and this story is of the Indians we died of disease and starvation and were moved off the lands so that white settlers could build farms and towns.

Laura Ingalls Wilder told the only stories she could tell - one dimensional tales of white people in a white nation. Louise Erdrich tells the story she is equipped to tell - one of a rich group of people living together in the Northern prairie lands. In this story Omakayas is a young Ojibwe girl living with her family, but the characters aren't all Indian. There's Albert LaPautre, a Frenchman who bumbles through trades and wild visions. There's Omakayas' father who works to pay off his yearly debt to the trading post and knows how to play chess so well that he can sometimes win enough food to help his family through hard times. There's Old Tallow, a medicine woman with a pack of angry dogs who teaches kind lessons through harsh examples.

For Omakayas and her family life is both hard and wonderful. There's enough sadness in the book to make you cry and enough happiness to make a child play-act the parts. The one thing I love about native storytelling is the respect shown to animals and plants that are needed to survive. Ms. Erdrich tells of this relationship with the skill of a master storyteller.

This book is richer and more complete than Little House on the Prairie. It's a responsible book and deserves more accolades and a greater following than that earlier work. It's brilliant and sensitive and fun. Everyday life never made me feel so fully. Please let all children in your life read this beautiful book.

- CV Rick, May 2008

After reading so many praises from young adult readers, I'd like to make a suggestion for adult readers of historical fiction. I read this book, not so that I could instill a love of reading for my children, but rather, for my own pleasure in reading young adult fiction. The books may not involve many subplots, intrigues, and thickly woven characterizations, but certain ones can immerse you into their world of historical make-believe and even lead you to tears. I for one cried when reading this book. The way Louise Erdrich handles the coping of virulent illness and death through the eyes of a child is incredible. Not only does she paint this glorious heroine from a late 1800s Ojibwa girl, but she makes me dwell on the delicate vitality of the human soul and the subtle interconnectedness of each other. Yes, this book describes accurately the lives of the Ojibwa people of that time, but more importantly, above the cultural/historical lesson, the most prominent lesson from Erdrich's storytelling is her unveiling of human transformation into maturity clothed in the culture of the Ojibwa girl, Omakayas. Her auspicious past, her gifts with animals, her perseverance in caring for her family during the smallpox epidemic, and her coping with her brother's death -- for readers to feel that the book has a slow start, Erdrich more than likely chose to portray Omakayas' life in that way because that was exactly the pace it was. Meaning to say, it's not always violence and passion every minute, every chapter. The life of Ojibwas had a steady rhythm that followed the course of nature and only when the white settlers introduced themselves did that rhythm falter. For people who'd like an exciting quick read having to do with Native American history, I can't think of any. But for people who want to see life through a young girl's eyes -- life that involved hard work, sacrifice, love, death and living with what nature has provided, then this book is an excellent choice. Otherwise, there are a lot of old western novels that involve Native Americans (inaccurately of course) that would provide more of a thrill ride, if thrills are what you seek.

I was introduced to Donald Goines by a friend. I purchased the book and found it most intriguing and consuming. I just couldn't put it down. His writings depict the true life of the ghetto and you feel as though you, yourself are right there with the characters. I have now ordered several others writings by this writer and feel they will each draw me in as this one has. I feel he was a talent taken from us at a privotal time in his life. He is an author whose writings I feel will become classics one day. I can only wonder what other writings would he have written if he were still alive today.

This is the book that turned me onto Donald Goines, happy my friend put me on this book...R.I.P. Pruitt...Must read...

This book was great. For such an old book it was in perfect condition and got to me very quick.

THIS BOOK WAS OFF THE CHAIN!! I READ THIS BOOK IN LIKE 2HRS! I CRIED AT THE END. IT IS SUCH A SWEET STORY LINE, SO HOOD, AND HOLD YA MAN DOWN!! I LOVED IT AND I RECOMMEND THIS BOOK TO ANY ONE WHO LOVES TO READ URBAN FICTION.

This is Donald Goines best. You are guaranteed to cry at the end. I give Donald Goines much credit for being able to describe scenes so very well, that it's just like you are there at the scene. Goines is one of the best writers that ever lived, and this book is one of the reasons why. Warning! Do not read this book unless you are prepared to cry for the next 30 minutes after you have read it.

MacQuarrie's book describes with historic precision the Inca empire and their eventual total decimation by Spanish armament, greed, corruption, lust and religious fervor. The author's exacting research and wonderful narrative abilities make this one of my all time favorites. It is one of those great books you just hate to see come to an end.

I got tired of reading about the Incas and didn't finish the book, but what I did read was great. I loved the conquistadors in 4th grade social studies and this brought back that childhood excitement. Fascinating details on the Pizzaro bros, Cortez, Balboa, and De Soto. I don't have any trips to Peru planned anytime soon, but I would recommend this book whole-heartedly to anyone heading down there.

The last days of the Incas is eloquently told in a format that presents more like a novel of fiction, rather than the usual factual regurgitation of stall memoirs. I found myself engrossed in the adroiltly presented life and death struggles of a culture all to soon extinguished by the avarice of the most corrupt religously cloaked conquistadors. This is a read I wanted to finish, but hoped it wouldn't end the way I knew it was suppose to. I will be looking for more books by Mr. MacQuarrie and can only hope they will be half as entertaining.

Who needs fiction when history is this rich? This was a well written, easy to read narrative of one of the greatest series of events in human history. If you are interested in learning the details of the fall of the Incan empire, and the Spanish conquest of South America, you will enjoy this book.

I just purchased this book for my Kindle 2 and am very anxious to read it. The first 6 pages are The Chronology of Events, however, are not able to be read completely. The spacing is off. It appears that only two thirds of the text is visible. Even changing the font to the very smalest does not help. The rest of the text does seem to be complete.

This book is written like an entertaining, captivating novel, not dry history. The detailed research is woven into topical stories that take you back to the moment the history was made. Very colorful, very entertaining, very enlightening.

Thank you Dr. Fischer. Enjoy your time in the Champlain region for the 400th anniversary celebrations.

In this exhaustive but highly readable biography, historian David Hackett Fischer convincingly argues that Samuel de Champlain, the founder of the 17th-century Canadian colony of New France, is one of North America's greatest historical figures.

Revered in Quebec but little-known in much of the United States, Champlain left his mark as an explorer, political leader, cartographer, artist, visionary, diplomat, warrior and humanist. He founded French settlements in North America years before the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth, explored and named much of the New England coast and is immortalized by the lake that bears his name.

As Fischer makes clear, one of Champlain's greatest contributions was the respect and empathy that he extended to the Indian tribes with whom the French in Canada formed trading, cultural and military alliances.

In a display of tolerance that was nothing short of remarkable for a man of his times, Champlain encouraged settlers in New France to learn Indian languages and to study the ways of native people by living among them. Although he had a few blind spots regarding some Indian customs and beliefs that he found deficient or objectionable, Champlain openly supported the intermarriage of French settlers and Indians.

That attitude stood in sharp contrast to the hostility toward indigenous people that prevailed in the English and Spanish colonies of North America during the colonial period. As the 19th-century American historian Francis Parkman wrote: "Spanish civilization crushed the Indian. English civilization scorned and neglected him. French civilization embraced and cherished him."

Fischer's well-illustrated biography pays such close attention to detail that it includes appendices on everything from the uncertainty surrounding Champlain's birth date to a look at Indian nations as they existed in Champlain's time. The book also features more than 100 pages of notes and a 41-page bibliography. Clearly, Fischer did his homework.

As a Franco-American with roots in Quebec, I have long known that some of my ancestors were Champlain's contemporaries in New France. This detailed and meticulous biography of one of the most remarkable men in the history of North America made me all the more proud of those ties.

In a year filled with Champlain books, this is THE Champlain book. The author takes us "inside" Champlain, and the area, times and people who most influenced him. He moves from becoming a cardboard historical figure, to a flesh and blood, complicated but real and likable human being. The richness of the text, and the window into native American life add unexpected dimensions. It's a long read, but it revises my understanding of both French history, and the birth of French America..-fvp

One of the curious provincialisms of most Americans is that we know more about Europe and its history than we do about our immediate neighbors to the north and south and their histories. Canada was once New France, and it is not an undue stretch to state that New France was once Samuel de Champlain (b. ~1570, d. 1635). CHAMPLAIN'S DREAM is primarily about Champlain's New France, but it also serves as the most complete biography we may ever have of Champlain, given the relative paucity of personal details he left in the historical record. The "dream" of the book's title is Champlain's vision (which he attempted to implement with relative success while alive) of a New World settlement in which Europeans and Indians lived near one another, helped one another, and respected one another. It was virtually an antipode of the approach of the vast majority of Spanish, English, and Dutch colonizers of the Americas.

CHAMPLAIN'S DREAM is a fine, but not stellar, work of history by a man who has for over twenty years been one of our best writers of history. Fischer is a distinguished academic historian who does not write like an academic. All of his works are solid, exhaustively researched history, but the best of them ("Paul Revere's Ride" and "Washington's Crossing" in my experience) are written so that outsiders to the academy can also read and enjoy them . . . and learn from them. Unfortunately, CHAMPLAIN'S DREAM does not quite measure up to the best of Fischer. Even though he relegates scads of detail to sixteen appendices, the text is still cumbered with too much information and detail. Worse, there is undue repetition of both large and minute points. The writing, while serviceable and blessedly free of academic jargon, is not stellar. To the contrary, at times the text is, if anything, over-written, and there are a few inane platitudes.

Still, CHAMPLAIN'S HISTORY is worth reading, as an account of a remarkable historical figure (best remembered today for the lake that bears his name), the founding of Canada, and a model for European/Indian co-existence that unfortunately was adopted by too few others.

As an aside, I am encouraged by several of Fischer's statements regarding the contemporary practice of history (dare I say, maturation of the practice of history?). For example: "After the delusions of political correctness, ideological rage, multiculturalism, postmodernism, historical relativism, and the more extreme forms of academic cynicism, historians today are returning to the foundations of their discipline with a new faith in the possibilities of historical knowledge, and with new results."

Finally, I salute Simon & Schuster for having published a very handsome, high-quality volume, at least in the hardback edition. There are numerous illustrations (including two inserted sets of color prints on glossly paper) and intelligent maps, and, in addition to the 16 appendices, over 100 pages of end notes and another 40 pages of bibliography.

I had no idea who Champlain was before reading this book. It's not really possible to say Champlain was the man who molded and defined North America. You might say he was the man who should have, but he was French, and the French did not prevail. The places he founded, like Quebec, still exist and they are still French, of course.

Champlain was a man of real faith who thought of the indigenous Americans as the complete equal of Europeans. Unfortunately, that does not, by itself, provide a path to integrate the Europeans with the existing Americans. This is doubly so because different tribes were almost perpetually at war with each other. Of course, the Europeans were perpetually at war, civil and external, mostly over religion, in this period. Native law was based essentially on revenge, and Champlain never moved very far in shifting this, despite developing amazing relationships with many tribes.

Some tribes were completely violent. In order to foster peace, Champlain organized disparate (and friendly) tribal groups militarily. Then he floated and marched hundreds of miles through the wilderness to the territories of violently hostile tribes. He organized assaults, even though few of his soldiers would obey orders. This is pretty remarkable stuff. Mostly he prevailed because of his armaments. This is how he held something very fragile together, by assuming the most remarkable burdens.

The main driver of European movement in North America was commerce, especially for the French in this period. Champlain was trying to create the tiniest of new settlements, and he fought the trappers and traders at every turn.

The history of the court in this era is very detailed. It begins with Henry, who Champlain helped in the Civil War, and ends with Louis XIII. Henry IV was a remarkable man who seems modern by even our standards. Louis was not a great monarch, but there were worse. Champlain functioned within the power structure, and it shows how a man of principle can prevail against baser interests.

People like Champlain seem much more interesting than the English settlers in the same period. Unfortunately, you can't say Champlain represented the French visions of the region where Europeans first appeared and settled.

So if there is a problem with this book, it is that Champlain is too easy to make into an ideal. It isn't easy to see how much of the ideal would have been realized. Mostly this is about how the Europeans could have treated indigenous Americans better. Given the limits of what the Europeans represented, whether fur trapping or making extreme religious points, there were limited roles for cooperation. If the Europeans were simply competing for scarce resources, that couldn't be reconciled. If the Europeans were arguing religious purity at the extremes, there was little room for native converts to add much to that discussion.

The best thing about this book is that it shows an exciting period that could produce individuals we could regard as completely heroic by any contemporary standard. Champlain was a man who saw war and degradation, who survived in a bloody military context. From that experience he saw things with great compassion and a hard headed understanding of how hard things are to get done.

Champlain was a great leader, and a man of strong ideals. The fact that he fought people who were 'merely' pursuing their economic interests, throughout his life, might say something about economics as a driver of society. It's interesting to think about someone who made dozens of treacherous sea voyages, created colonies, led armies of indigenous tribes, and fought palace intrigues in Paris. It gives new meaning, I guess, to the idea of 'well rounded'?

People of the Lakes (The First North Americans series, Book 6) (Purchased on 05/22/2008)


came on time and in exact condition described. will buy from this dealer again

I have purchased the entire set of these books from Amazon. They were all delivered in great condition, not to mention how exciting it is to read about the "olden" days and how life was lived before trains, planes, automobiles, stupid music and electricity!!! WHAT????..No washer?..Go to the river! No dryer?..Wait for the sun to shine!...No toilet paper?..use your own imagination on that one! And get hooked on these great books.

But I have loved all the books in the series. That being said, this one was fabulous. They Gears do a good job of making the stories interesting and entertaining but if you are into the pre-history there is so much information in there well placed in broad daylight but it all blends together beautifully.

I've loved everything I've read by the Gears and I've read just about everything they have published. Wonderful interposing of fiction onto the facts! They use their expertise as anthropologists and as story tellers to combine what really has been found about North American Indians and interpose a very believable story onto it. They really make the past come alive! The inclusion of what has really been found by anthropologists adds tremendously to the books!

If you like the Gears and haven't read it you need to. If you haven't read the Gears try this one. This was the first one I read and I had a bit of a problem at first following there style of writing a book...but I got over that fairly quickly as things progressed and I realized what and how it was written.

These characters are absolutely endearing. Based on historical facts of the Hopewells it is a marvelous journey based on suspense, humor and the supernatural. It made me addicted and craving more of there books! Try it out, as you can see I am not the only one telling you you won't be disappointed!