Kansas Books

If you think a coming of age story with food as a central character and recipes included sounds like fun, give this a try. It's enjoyable to read, and the recipes I tried are good too.

Here's another good one I lapped for the month of
June...This one is a feast for the Stomach and the
Soul.

The product of a cross-cultural family obsessed with
food, Weston Tito begins his story by saying he was a
seed in his parents' kitchens‹plural in both cases.
Weston's mother is Italian and works the successful
catering business BuenAppeTito upstairs; downstairs,
his father, who is fixated on cooking only indigenous
foods "Santa Fe style" (they live in Kansas City),
runs the Tsil Cafe, a restaurant as it is
tear-inducingly spicy. Wes' crib and later his cot are
literally in his mother's kitchen (in the cabinets,
for a while), and she teaches him her "vocabulary,"
the names of foods, by letting him taste them. His
father refuses him entry into his own obsessive
domain, almost a holy order, until he can claim to
enjoy such un-childlike flavors as habanero and
anchovy. After that, like a knight's apprentice, he is
allowed to help slice and chop ingredients -- carry
his own sword, in effect.

One of the points of contention between Wes'
hot-blooded parents is the local restaurant critic, an
old admirer of his mother's. Nevertheless, the critic,
who acts first as a teeter-totter between the two
adults, ultimately becomes a sort of bridge, giving
Wes his first opportunity to critique -- to see the
food of both parents objectively -- and start to
develop his own concept of food.

Over the years, Wes absorbs a rich stew of influences
and emotions from his mixed-ethnic family, along with
the various Mexican employees of the cafe who serve as
surrogate relatives and even a Native American
graduate student who takes him foraging for cactus and
cattails and invites him to a corn dance. Ultimately,
he will even marry the critic's female successor.

So pervasive is food in this coming-of-age novel that
the recipes become a reflection of life's shifting
flavors in Averill's kitchen novel. The almost

magic-realism intensity of the flavor descriptions and
the author's habit of dropping in dictionary
definitions of various terms such as "turkey,"
"mescal" and "maple" re-emphasizes the native quality
of the ingredients. The narrator's entire life is
lived in the study, anecdotal and later academic, of
foods; ultimately he will become a chef as well,
melding his parents' Old World and New World cuisines
into a One-World cuisine.

A great fascinating read!!

This is a warm, engaging, and eccentric novel, which gourmands will find captivating. Its focus on a Southwestern cafe, of uncompromising native American cuisine is set in the seemingly unlikely "wonder bread" mid-west. Averill devotes little time to the possible disconnect with the cafe's surrounding environment but focuses upon the clash of indigenous peoples and cuisines with European incursions, and the inevitable fusion of both.

Philosophical, insightful and profound, albeit in a very subtle fashion. The author makes many worthwhile observations and statements about the encounter of these two cultures without being pedantic, and while having fun. This is a delightful novel, one which I thoroughly enjoyed reading.

SECRETS OF THE TSIL CAFE is a creative and refreshing novel which endears itself to anyone who enjoys experimental cooking, a deep sense of family, and an appreciation of New World culture. It presents the challenge of growing up in the world of a rather unusual restaurant with its own special food critic. Dotting the novel's pages are descriptions of New World foods and rather exotic recipes which might challenge anyone's taste buds! The story itself captures the essence of a young man who grows to more fully understand himself by learning about his parents and his extended family.

I wouldn't want to "give away" the ending, but I think one would have to be asleep throughout to miss it on the horizon. As Wes Hingler makes his way from childhood to young adulthood, he learns the necessary but unremarkable lessons that all must learn: parents are imperfect, life isn't fair, people and pets die, hard work has it's rewards, etc. Eventually, he finds himself. There is a cast of enjoyable, if not always well-developed, characters, from whom Wes learns various lessons along the way, culminating in a rare meeting with his maternal grandfather. As a piece of writing I would have given this only 3-and-a-half stars. However, it is the context of the story that makes it a fun read. The narrative is interwoven with unique, adventurous recipes, which mark the protagonist's life lessons. What Thomas Averill's book lacks in the way of dramatic tension it more than makes up for in the inventiveness of his recipes and his use of them to move the story along.

This book works on many levels. It has a great narrative, which drives one to keep reading. The fast-paced story is also one of underdogs who succeed against all odds.

The exciting narrative is a vehicle the author uses to effectively share with the reader how truly awful some inner-city schools are and how uneven the playing field really is. This information is contained in the story and is not preachy.

The author also uses the narrative to teach readers about debate and the on-going controversies within the debate world. I highly recommend this book for both teenagers and adults.

The premise of Cross-X is very similar to 'The Game: Penetrating the Secret Society of Pickup Artists' by Neil Strauss; a journalist decides to write a book. Joe Miller wrote it about a debater; Neil Strauss wrote it about himself. There are actually a few parallels in debate and pickup; there are rules and guidelines, some people obsess and know every little detail, it's considered a game by those who play it, etc.

So if you liked The Game for its writing, you'll like Cross-X. If you liked The Game for its subject matter, you'll probably be disapointed; Joe Miller is a cool dude, but he doesn't know NEAR as much about social dynamics as Neil Strauss.

Aside from the questions of the politics of liberation in education and the difficulties of racial balance in urban schools, there are two inner conflicts at work in the context of this piece of reportage. The first has to do with the shift in practice in academic/policy debate from what could be called persuasive oratory - as the book presents it speeches designed to convince "Suzie's Mom" to a high speed delivery, multiple flow theoretical presentation designed for experts in the subject and style. The difference is a rate of delivery more than one and a half times that of most casual speech, laden with acronyms and jargon. And then there is the challenge to this. The second conlictis the competing areas:small schools vs. large consolidations, urban vs rural, public vs private. At the college and university level the regional organizations have almost disappeared. Debate is an endowed activity or a speciality ( sometimes for ideological reasons, one finds schools with agendas also tend to have debate programs). To really understand what goes on in this book, this inside knowledge is helpful.

So I warn, if you are not going to misread events, "What do you know about academic debate?" It is a complex world, the shifting forms of which are at work in this book: NFL (the original one), NCFL, TOC, CEDA, NDT as well as city, state and regional leagues and tournaments. At first blush it seems there are obvious nasties and obvious good guys, aspiring inner city youth and dedicated teachers, dullard administrators and power mad bureacrats. But you really need to know a bit more if you are going to truly understand this nationwide, multi linked and important activity. And it is important- the precentage of public figures with high school/college debate experience is not much less than the number of NFL (football one that is) players with highschool/college football experience. Miller portrays some empathetic individuals and some he can't stand, but it is vital that any reader be aware that this is advocacy journalism, much like the advocacy debate he is pushing for in the book. Many of the "enemies" are there because of principle not laziness or self interest. The history of debate, changing from the persuasive oratory of the sixties to the speed delivered ethos of the seventies, to the pedagogy of liberation theory influenced rhetoric in the eighties has morphed to performance activity and has filtered from colleges down to high school. Those presented as standing in the way, may in many cases be standing against the educational ideas of Pauolo Freire and Jonathon Kozol and in favor of rather traditional, non deconstructive rhetorical theory.

Mr Miller's book is told from the experience of African-American students in an inner city high school. One must consider why a student is involved in what is admittedly a highly competetive activity. His advocacy reminds me of the alternative of being highly successful in the "game" chosen by one of my outstanding students who said concerning Ebonics, "This little brown girl knows if she is going to take care of herself in this world she better know when to write 'I am' and when 'I Be.'" This is the problem of privliging of a discourse. Mr. Miller( and the performance school) do not acknowledge that within a context or ethos certain discourse is privleged and to act differently is to invite retribution. We are educated to do and not to do a number of acts. And here is the rub, what is truly discriminatory, and is the debilitating effect of any discrimination best fought on a personal or organizational basis. The argument goes on and on.

I really wanted to like this book. As a debate coach for an inner city school, I looked forward to having my own problems and complaints validated. To some extent they were. However, the book as a whole left me with more questions than answers, more anger than acceptance, and more frustration than appreciation. Let's start with the obvious: the author is a reporter and the book was an to be an unbiased look at the debate culture and how it affected an inner city school. That the author not only became a part of the story but actually directed the actions of the story is an appalling breach of jounalistic ethics. While I did not expect the writer to remain entirely neutral, and I do give him credit for portraying the debaters honestly, his own leap from neutral observer to debate judge to coach while still writing this book crosses a line.
Secondly, we are introduced to the major characters and confronted with an injustice: these students are prohibited from attending a major national tournament by a set of archaic state rules. Forgive me for being confused, then, when the team attends national tournaments in Washington, DC and Atlanta. The writer never clarifies this point, perhaps because it minimizes the conflict. The book gives short shrift to a comment by James Copeland of the National Forensic League that Central attends major tournaments throughout the year that the majority of competitive teams cannot afford to go to.
It bothered me as well to read about debaters who come to practice late--if at all, work that does not get done, late night partying and yet, and yet, debaters that rise to the top of each tournament. How? Was it too much to ask how the debaters got from point A to point B? I was troubled throughout the book by Mr. Miller's attempt to minimize the role of coach Jane Rinehart. Other than a few exercises she leads new debaters through, her only role in the success of her team appears to be as driver, observer and censor of language. One can't help but wonder if this is deliberately done to make his own debut as an assistant coach who literally takes over more impressive.
That leaves me to deal with the issues of debate style and content. I have, in the past, been a big fan of the Urban Debate League and its quest to bring minorities into what is largely a "white" activity. I am not a fan of programs that tell debaters they cannot succeed in the event as it currently exists because of their skin color or their poverty. Originally debate centered on analysis and persuasion, something that cannot occur in 300 word per minute speeches designed to cram in as many cards of evidence as possible. While both the book and Rinehart reject local tournaments that condemn speed and require debaters to talk to "Suzi's Mom", these tournaments teach students to really understand what they are saying and to be able to explain it coherently to someone who is not an expert in philosophy, who does not understand how simply passing one piece of legislation will lead to nuclear war. Rinehart elects instead to compete on the National level but condemns those tournaments for not rewarding the very things local tournaments would: analysis and persuasion. I find it insulting that the author makes the gigantic assumption that having his debaters turn to hip hop and a rejection of the structure of debate would have magically saved a young man from being a gun shot victim. The message he sends by the end of the book is that he is one of the few visionaries of debate; that the only honorable style of debate is one that rejects debate as currently played. I am not an apologist for many of the abuses in the activity today. I am, however, a firm believer that debate can change lives, regardless of skin color and family income. I am a firm believer that debate teaches students skills that will serve them throughout a lifetime--organization, the ability to structure their arguments and presentations, the composure in unfamiliar situations. If we accept Miller's assertions that the entire activity has to change to accommodate a few, that without these changes minorities can never succeed in this activity, then we are buying into a even more racist mindset and it disturbs me that Miller's book perpetuates this myth.

Cross-X by Joe Miller covers about a year in the lives of several students from Central High School in Kansas City, Missouri as they travel on the debate team. They face racism, infighting from the state activities board, and the choices made by their own family. Miller does an amazing job taking this story and making it accessible to all readers. The stories of Ebony, Marcus, Antoine, and Brandon are poignant stories of survival. These black teenagers compete against white kids from private schools and win because of their quick wit and determination to win. Miller completely changed my ideas about debate: what it is and what it stands for. He includes a history of Central High School, a flashpoint in the controversy over Brown vs. Board of Education and also the site of an astronomically expensive renovation to encourage white families to move to the district. Instead these teens have to face ambivalent teachers, tough home lives, and peer pressure in an environment that expects them to fail. The story ultimately becomes about racism and the right to be different. The only disappointment in the book is when Miller inserts himself into the story by becoming a coach to two of the boys. As an objective observer, Miller was able to narrate a tale showing all of the different sides to these young men. As an active participant, he becomes strident as he attempts to be their savior. As such, the ending is a bit of a let-down. The book exposes the deep differences between black and white education and points out that we need to make a change so that all children have the same opportunities for education so they can succeed. It opened my eyes to the incipient racism in schools today.

"The Fugitive Heart" is a heart-wrenching story of the civil war and the families this conflict tore apart. Samantha is a girl of 14 growing up on a farm. She knows that she will marry 17 year-old Nathan, her neighbor and her brother's best friend. Their childhood dreams are torn apart when both of their fathers enlist in the Union Army, are reported missing, and their homes are burned to the ground by Confederate soldiers. The boys drop Samantha off at an orphanage and enlist in the military, too. But war changes the boys, hardening them until they reject the grace of God in their lives. When the three are reunited 6 years later, can Samantha pour God's love back into Nathan and Caleb's lives? Or are they too hard-hearted to allow His love and forgiveness to take root?

This is a superbly written novel of grace, forgiveness and second chances. The genuine presentation of these characters, their inner turmoil and their experiences made my heart race one minute and brought me to tears the next. This is a book that you won't want to put down!

This is the story of Samantha and Nathan. They are young sweethearts growing up and it's war that seperates them. Samantha's brother (Caleb) and Nathan leave her at an orphage and join the war. Over the years Caleb and Nathan have become wanted men and have lost their faith because of the awful things they saw and experienced during the war. Nathan has a strong feeling that Samantha needs him and decides to go the the orphange but doesn't expect to find her. She's there. He asks her to come live with him and Caleb. He still loves her but knows that he can't have a future with her. She loves him but is shocked to find not the gentle boy she knew but a hardend man. The story is their journey of triumphs and defeats, love and hurt.

The thing that I loved about this story is that it was true to life. When I say gritty I mean that you can feel the physical struggle between the two. The desire to do what is right and the desire of the flesh. Isn't that how real life is as well?

If you like westerns, romance and realism than you will love this story. I also recommend the sequel "The Hidden Heart". It is the story of Caleb. That's a great one too.

Just as a side note...if you order the book it may have a different cover than the one shown. So if you want a particular cover you need to ask the seller.

Growing up on the Kansas prairie, Samantha Martin cherished two desires: to love God and marry her childhood sweetheart. But the War between the States took nearly everything--her family, her home, and Nathan her love. When he returns six years later, she is shocked to discover he's no longer the gentle boy she's always adored. Instead, he is a physically and emotionally scarred man on the run, dodging charges of theft...and murder.

Nathan Hamilton once dreamed of seeing the world, becoming a doctor, and making Samantha his bride. But instead of adventure, he encountered tragedy and made choices that nearly destroyed his life. Now, in Samantha's arms, Nathan seeks peace and freedom--while she strives to lead him from darkness to light and into the embrace of the only one who can provide a true refuge for The Fugitive Heart.

This book paints a realistic life of frontier struggles. It's gritty, sometimes violent. The heroine meets obstacles with incredible bravery. The novel honors family and faith, instead of glorifying gunfighters, and that's a wonderful change of pace.

At times, however, Samantha was too good to be true. Instead of feeling angry with Caleb, which would've been natural, she felt guilty for doubting him.

Also, I couldn't believe how far Nathan had fallen from his faith. Sure, his experiences during the Civil War would make anyone bitter, but I couldn't accept that he'd become a sarcastic outlaw who smoked, drank, and robbed banks. He seemed too intelligent to succumb to those things. His growth and redemption, however, was very believable.

I gave this book a C at All About Romance.

What a great read! The first book I've read by Jane Orcutt and she needs to keep up the good work! She has talent and really portray's that not everything goes "right" even when you're a Christian. What a great example of God's love for us and forgivness no matter how much wrong we have done and how bad we think we are. A great romance also! A breath of fresh air in the inspirational section of fiction writing! Worth your time.

This is a story that tells itself because the events are so riveting and the prose so clear, there is not need for embellishment. And although it's more or less a straightforward memoir/narrative, it culminates in a wonderful epiphany for any reader who is eager to learn how someone can turn personal tragedy and hardship into a life of contribution. Recommended for humanities, cultural studies, and social science teachers looking for a text that can actually teach the essence of what being human and its trials and adversities is all about. That it is 'unavailable' is truly a travesty.

Not exactly. If you arrive at this book as I did, mildly inquisitive after enjoying his two masterful, definitive tomes on nuclear weapons, you are in for one HELL of a ride.

This is a different book altogether, one that you will not put down. I find myself wondering how elder brother Stanley might have turned out if he hadn’t been the one to walk into the bathroom and find their mom dead with a shotgun in her mouth. Seems he turned out OK, though he didn’t go on to win a Pulitzer Prize.

And when the manipulative floozy moves in and besots their dad to the point where he just seems to vanish, and she starves them, and tortures them, what comes through is just what basic survival machines human beings are capable of becoming when necessary.

Yeah, sure – I had a rough childhood, and so did you. It probably haunts you still. To get an idea of how lucky you are, read this book.

But then, you probably have never won a Pulitzer Prize, and neither will I. If that was the deal being offered, I’d jump on it.

This is a beautifully written memoir of childhood hardship, cruelty, and neglect. The author's candor and equanimity in examining a painful history is remarkable, as is the poignant outcome.

I came to this book quite late, just finishing it a month ago. I read a few non-fiction books by the author and liked them quite a lot, so I grabbed this recently at my local Friends of the Library used book sale. Actually, since I am a domestic violence social worker, reading autobiographical accounts of various kinds of abuse experiences is part of my continuing education. Sad to say, I have read tales of abuse suffered in childhood which are even more disgusting than what Richard and his brother endured, and which lasted much longer than the two-plus years of horror the Rhodes kids experienced at the hands of a vicious stepmother. This is well-done, and the suffering depicted is probably understated...my sense is that Rhodes did not want to rub the readers' noses in his agony, but rather present a message that acting to protect the multitude of neglected and abused kids all around us sometimes does pay off in big ways. If you have an interest in the survival of a bad childhood, this one should be read, but probably would be even more powerful if paired with Dr. Laura Schlessinger's upcoming book, "Bad Childhood, Good Life" due to be published in January, 2006.

"A Hole in the World" was recommended to me by people that had read my memoir. I was astonished to see how much our childhoods were alike. Although my story involves being raised as an Old Order Mennonite, we both had childhoods filled with anguish and fear, the deprivation of a mother's love, and behaviors tailored to whatever you had to do to get through the day. And we both had an essential ingredient that helped us make it in life, and that was teachers that saw potential within us. Mr. Rhodes knew he had raw intelligence, and with the positive influence of his teachers, went on to become the successful writer and person we so greatly admire. He clearly cites his personal difficulties in his adult life for he did not know how to be a father, how to have a happy home. I think as the title of his book alludes, he will always have an ache that can't be filled. This is a book everyone should read for it shows the importance of good teachers and mentors. Their encouragement can say to a child that gets it no where else: You are somebody and you have value.

Key strategy/ work to FINISH THINGS! Addicts do not finish things,ENDING THINGS (what things?) adds substantially to recovery. They prefer to "keep options open." Thrives in unfinished business. Starting more than you can finish leads to CRISIS. Addicts avoid completing their conversations; Important feelings and facts are not communicated. Conflict not resolved. PAIN ACCUMULATES. Increase PAIN AND COST TO STOP. Childhood needed something(the addict) didn't receive- trust, security, safety, non-sexual affection, both parents together. Normalcy. (Need trust mot to worry, to simply live life normally) RESPONSIBILITY TO THOSE YOU HAVE HURT. NEGATIVE EMOTIONS ARE TRANSFERRED TO CHILDREN. Addictive sex feels shameful, illicit, stolen, exploitive, and joyless. Healthy sex = adds to self-esteem, is mutual, intimate, fun, and playful. Fighting (disagreeing)= act of trust- focus on issues. - Give outcome to God. Horniness = loneliness. When in doubt, don't have sex. Secrets will separate you from others in recovery. Get a pet to have healthy touching needs met. Avoid the feeling that you are a victim (having control over your body, thoughts, opinions, and feelings that you Think someone in authority wouldn't approve of you having. You have to answer only to yourself. Be gentle w/ yourself about old tortuous conflicts. They are not about you! They never were! You are safe with your thoughts. They are yours. Recovery = burst of creativity, brings awareness of abuse. NURTURING- Learning how to care for themselves and to allow others to care for them IS an essential RECOVERY TASK. Intimacy= shared enjoyable experiences! FIDELITY TO YOURSELF is the ultimate act of faithfulness to the other. Trust yourself. It's as hard for your partner as it is for you! Admit mistakes. Share Spirituality. Have fun together= common experiences. Sustain from sex w/o intimacy. Talk before, during, and after sex. Compliment your partner. Respect boundaries. Pay attention to feelings. See Sex as a legitimate joy! Take care of your body. Express attraction. Work on friendship and companionship. Fast-forward the realtionship.

Molly Miller tenderly and articulately captures the co-addicts dilemma in dealing with sex-addiction within the marriage relationship. Her intimately personal style draws the reader into the volatile and sometimes unpredictable emotions of this family disease. No matter where you are in your journey of recovery from the effects of sexual addiction, "My Husband Has a Secret" is a MUST READ!

I didn't want to put this book down. It was engaging and surprisingly relevant to anyone. Yet, by listening to Townsend and Cloud on their New Life radio program, and hearing of the popularity of their "Every Man's Battle" workshop, I would have to sadly conclude that sexual addiction is more common than most of us think. One friend didn't know it was possible to be addicted to sex. And one pastor said the same. The awareness of this addiction and how it is destroying families must be raised as well as the hope of healing. This book does both.
I found My Husband Has a Secret quite practical at the skill development level, for example, the how to's of active listening and why that form of communication is so essential. I have shared this book with a number of friends and some of my students. They have described it with words like "compelling" "empowering" "sad but hopeful." Others have wondered if this couple is still together after what they have gone through. I had the joy of speaking with Molly Ann, the author, and she and Timothy today enjoy a very strong marriage and their children all have a strong faith in Christ. God has obviously brought much healing to this family. This book is a witness of the power and love of God when God's principles for life are followed.

As this is a reletivly new 'addiction' in America, when I found my fiance up to some of this behavior, I didn't know where to go to learn about it but my first thought was "educate yourself about it...now!" and I did. This was the first book I read and it made me feel A LOT better within the first 3 chapters. I recommend this book to anyone going thru this as it a very useful tool.

My Husband Has A Secret: Finding Healing For The Betrayal Of Sexual Addiction This book is the perfect help when you are at a loss for words of your own. When a friend has confessed to you that this is her struggle - living with a husband who struggles with sexual addiction and the fact that she has helped him keep her secret. I had no wisdom to share as I could not fully understand - but Molly Ann does. Her words are perfect and I continue to find that keeping an extra book is impossible - as soon as I purchase another I hear of a friend who really needs the encouragement & support that this book brings. BUY TWO - you will find that you will have a hard time keeping a copy for yourself on your shelf.

I have long been facinated by extinct marine reptiles and have been waiting for a book like this since I was a child. The wait was worth it. This book is facinating and well written, as the subject deserves. Part travel book, part history of science and part prehistory of the center of North America this book is all interesting and all fun.

Well worth the read and a challenge to those who follow to tell the story of other prehistoric seas with equal vim.

I did finally get to the end of this book, but it was just out of stubborness. Not worth the effort. A book review of about 10 pages would have been a better way to learn a little about this subject,

A long winded with the history of the paleo pioneers but extremely well done. I enjoyed it.

Mr. Everhart provides first-hand insight and fabulous references that will accurately inform and entertain any science enthusiast or educator! His book is THE authoritative reference for the Cretaceous-era marine event in the American hemisphere, and it is invaluable to me for my field work collecting fossils.

I was looking for an 'intermediate level' book on Marine Reptiles and I bought this book based on good reports in some of the earlier reviews. I wasn't disappointed it cleverly manages to appeal to everyone from the interested non-specialist (me) to a research student working either on the basin or one of the families of animals described. The centrepiece of the book are the colour plates featuring 11 evocative paintings by Varner. Most chapters are based on a particular family and it is gratifying that the less 'glamourous' inhabitants get as many chapters as the Marine Reptiles. (Although I started out looking for books on Marine reptiles I am glad I ended up with one that describes the whole Eco-system).

Each chapter starts with a well-written, imaginary snap-shot of life in the sea, often based on one of the paintings or an actual fossil. Thereafter it gets into more technical detail which the non-specialist can take or leave depending on your interests. It is worth dipping in and out of however: there are lots of anecdotes about how some of the fossils were found and the general history of the area.
The black and white illustrations - mainly photographs - are sharp and generally close to the text that refers to them. The book is nicely laid out and even at its most technical, easy to read.

This book is a general encylcopedic type that cover alot of topics.A person could use this book to write and expand on alot of the topics covered in this book.For instance there were numerous references to illegal substance abuse by Soviet soldiers in Afghanistan,very similar to US soldiers during the Vietnam era.This includes some officers as well.
The Soviet war machine was geared toward a "civilized" European war and was completely unprepared for the insurgency style guerilla war that occurred in Afghanistan,also very similar to the US experience in Vietnam.Apparently the Soviet supply system wasn't able to adapt well to the vast distances that this war encompassed and the Soviet equipment broke down badly,leaving frontline troops to improvise on "scissors and paste".There are excellent summations by Soviet military writers at the beginning and end of each chapter so if you miss what is being said in the read,you can still "get it" from the summations.Indeed the chapter summations would give one a good general outline of the war in itself.
There is also a chapter devoted to ideology.Apparently the Soviets self image of,"the good guys who are devoted to workers of the world",meant little to nothing to the general Afghan population.Militant type Islam has a bigger influence on the Afghanis and the Mujahadeen have no scruples about using terrorism on local Afghanis.In addition the Mujadin are being funded and trained by Russia's superpower enemies,constructing a Mujahadeen terrorist"Frankenstein" type monster that will come back to permanently haunt the west.The authors of this book have done a great job,books like these while not a "soldiers story" can save lives in a next conflict by the abundance of interpretive info.

Ah, the great literary prose of Nabakov and Dostoyevsky this is not. Keep in mind this is an official Soviet study of the conflict. For those wondering just how colorful an after-action report from the monolithic socialist empire can be, wonder no more.

You get what you pay for, this is the literary equivalent of the cold, soul-killing, concrete block architecture employed by the soviets through Eastern Europe and Afghanistan.

If you can get past all of that, and it is a DIFFICULT read, you will find a level of detail and thoroughness without peer. It is similar to books published by our own government. Lots of numbers, lots of diagrams, and tons of information (20 pages on Ammunition Combat Service Support anyone?). The reader will need a decent level of understanding of military science - because the book does not stop long to explain concepts, and assumes quite a bit of the reader.

In conclusion, it is the type of book you only really begin to enjoy when you have finished it. A worthy undertaking.

Definitely a manual/lessons learned for Soviet leaders or those who have to read it for a class, etc... I couldn't get past page 84. The book couldn't keep my attention. I recommend reading "The Other Side of The Mountain." Mujahideen Tactics in the Soviet-Afghan War. This book is a testimonial of how the Mujahideen fought and defeated the Soviets. Much more engaging......

Soviet General Staff studies are generally interesting, but difficult to read. They're intended for Soviet officers, and intend to convey lessons that can be used in future conflicts. I've read a couple that deal with World War II, and if they'd been carved into trees they couldn't have been more wooden. This book suffers from that: lifeless technical prose with no attempt to keep the reader's attention. What the book contains, though, is a wealth of information and knowledge of how the war in Afghanistan was fought, from the weapons and tactics that were used to the method by which Soviet soldiers in Afghanistan received their mail.

This is at times very interesting. There's a great deal about tactics and weaponry, and much about the technical aspects of soldiering, everything from aviation to engineering to supply and construction. Though there's a lot of information in the book, it's not sorted chronologically: there's no central narrative history of events. Instead, there's a brief prologue telling of the beginning of the war, and an even briefer epilogue recounting the Soviet withdrawal. I'm still waiting for a narrative of the war that's reasonably accessible, with detail and a reasonable narrative that I can follow, so that I have a better background into what's going on there now.

Let me first start off that this is not a quick easy read. It goes into VERY small detail about practically everything in the Soviet-Afghan War. However, some of the small things that the author goes over gets very boring very quick. When you read this book, it almost feels like a battle manual for the Soviet-Afghan War. However, when you get done reading the book, its probably the closest one person can come to understanding the war without actually being there. The drawings in the book are also very useful to help spell out what the author is saying. All in all, the book does not give an action/adventure story of the war, but when you comprehend it, you will have a firm understanding of what the war was like from an operational point of view

This is an excellent fictionalized account of the Kansas-Missouri war during the Civil Way. Though cowboys are on the cover there are no cowboys inside. The gorilla warfare was unheard of on the scale it was carried out by both sides during the Civil War in MIssouri. By following the life and times of William Anderson --Blake introduces the reader to the context and rationale behind these act. The events that take place in the book are accurate --and unbelievable. The correlations with the IRAQ conflict are undeniable. Be warned this a blunt accurate account. Nothing is left out or glossed over. Excellent.

All i can say about Wildwood Boys is that it made me want to fight the Unioners and rustle horses and roam to the great wild west.

Blake saddles you up and sends you out riding and raiding with Quantrill's Raiders and Bloody Bill Anderson's Gang. It was hell. The political situation was all screwed-up and the worst type of border warfare erupted all over. You'll see it all first-hand as only Blake can tell it. You'll ride like hell, fight like hell, stink like hell, and hell, some of you won't make it. Saddle up!

THIS WAS AN EXCELLENT BOOK. I LOVED IT. IT TOOK ME BACK TO THAT TIME AND PLACE, AND GAVE ME A LOOK AT A GREAT HISTORICAL STORY. ONE REVIEWER WAS SO BIAS, I AM SURE HE WAS FOR THE OPPOSITE SIDE IN THIS STORY. HE MUST BE VERY UNHAPPY AND COWARDLY IN HIS APPROACHES TO NOVELS.

I hate to be the dissenting voice to all the gushing reviews for this book, but I thought it was weak at best. The plot was thin, the dialogue sophmoric, the character development was forced, and the overall portrait of the war was unrealistic. For example, the bushwackers that form the core of the book are almost invincible except at times that aid the story. In battles with even seasoned federal calvary, they rarely lose more than one or two men while wiping out dozens of enemies. They never suffer from hunger, even at a time when many farms were burned.

But, setting aside the lack of historical credibility, the book never evokes the feelings of the war or its human impact in a way that Charles Frazier did (I only bring up the comparision b/c of the quote on the paper edition). Bill, our main man here, never develops as a character- he just sort of lurches from phase to phase.

I wouldn't bother with this book- there are so many other novels of the Civil War worth your time.

Excellent insight as to why we do the things we do and more importantly, what to do about it. Wonderful book!

Look into the past to prepare for the future. This book gives a good understand how past experience shapes our life. May not be for everyone but approach with an open mind and heart.

Very informative to learn why we don't understand the whys and where all our personal problems came from. Good counseling to help in unlocking our wounded pasts and how they have by our natural make-up set in motion body functions that have to be re-wired to correct and live freely productive and prosperous lives. How traumas really affect us physically, mentally, emotionally as well as spiritually.

This is a great read for anyone who is an abuse survivor or someone who lives or works with an abuse victim. It is easy to read and explains so much that other books on this topic don't. It is not full of psycho mumbo jumbo and written in lay mans terms. Highly recommended.

It was Dr. Paul Hegstrom's teaching that changed our lives forever. In 1994, we were struggling in a ten year marriage that had lots of problems including abuse and adultery.

Dr. Hegstrom's teachings began the miracle that we needed in our life and marriage. The next ten years of our marriage were so wonderful that in 2004, we wrote our first book on marriage, "The Man of Her Dreams/The Woman of His!" Dr. Hegstrom wrote the Preface to the book.

Let Dr. Hegstrom's teachings change your life and while you are at it, click on the following link and get a double blessing! The Man of Her Dreams The Woman of His!

If you like The Man of Her Dreams/The Woman of His! - then you will also want to check out The Man of Her Dreams The Woman of His 2 - Livin' It and Lovin' It! (Volume 2)


Joel and Kathy Davisson

This is a very unique book about settlers and the plains Indians because the author gives a detailed introductory history on each as it coincides with the discovery of gold, the mass migration of miners and settlers that went west and the effects it had on the nomadic Indian's way of life. Lots of minute detail that is not exactly for a quick read but the author makes great points that the Indians existed in America thousands of years before Moses and that their life as nomads accelerated when Cortez introduced the horse to the plains Indians. The author also demonstrates that the various tribes of Cheyenne, Kiowa, Arapahoe, Comanche, Apache and others were already straining the resources of the plains, which are dramatically effected by the mass migration of whites. Even the buffalo moved further east from the front range of the Rockies where tribal rivalries gave the over hunted beasts a sanctuary in no mans land. In addition, the development of Denver through the discovery of gold is actually quite interesting as the mountain men and those married to Indian women had initial influence that promptly disappears as Denver flourishes once a higher class society emerges. The initial boosters are eventually disregarded as well as the tribal influences through family relations. Finally, the author puts it altogether noting that whites took the various oases on the plains where water, grass and trees were plentiful, removing the primary sources of comfortable survival for the Indians. What happens to the Indians has some familiarity to what is happening in rural America where developers (ranchers, the army, farmers and miners in this case) flatten large tracts of land changing not only the landscape but also the community itself but of course with more dire effects to the Indian way of life. By taking the natives' areas of shelter and food, they are eventually hard pressed to survive culminating in occasional armed conflict particularly by the dog soldiers. There was a misunderstanding or lack of appreciation by settlers that just because Indians did not occupy water and treed sites at the present, it did not mean it was not used. The Indians used many of these more productive areas as seasonal shelters for their nomadic use, which begin to be occupied exclusively by whites. In the end, resistance by some dog soldiers fuels the totally avoidable massacre at Sand Creek where peaceful Cheyenne were instructed to camp. The massacre was even a greater tragedy since responsible individuals knew and informed Chivington that village camp was peaceful with several notable whites staying with their relatives by means of marriage. As the author points out, the massacre may also have been a violent repudiation of the intermingling of the races. Sometimes there is too much detail (in the introduction that author states that his friends complain that he cannot write about a stop sign unless he gives an in-depth history of the intersection) but the final 60 pages converge into understanding how the Indians were pushed out of their prime hunting areas and areas of respite resulting in short termed and sporadic welfare. As the author points out, the attraction of gold in Denver causes the vacuum of the plains to be filled changing the life of the Indians in virtually a short period.

Elliott West is an intriguing author and this expansive history of the Plains Indians and the Colorado gold rush is fascinating. He begins by relating the story of the peopling of the central High Plains, how the Spanish-introduced horses thrived on the grasses found there and how the Indians, especially the Cheyenne, made the horses the central aspect of their way of life. He describes next the earliest contacts with Europeans, the early fur trappers and traders along the Santa Fe and other trails. Then he reaches what will be the main thrust of his book: the discovery of gold along Cherry and Dry Creeks near today's Denver by a group of Georgian prospectors in the summer of 1858. Word of their finds reached Kansas City by late August, the rest of the eastern United States by September, and California by October (via the Isthmus of Panama). The rush was on. He tells of the three main river routes open to the gold seekers: the Platte (northern), the Arkansas (southern), and the Smoky Hill (central), the riskiest route because of a shortage of water and deadly weather storms. He explains how the Front Range prospered quickly and towns grew. And he traces how all of this activity devastated the way of life for the Indians, resulting, if not exactly ending, most disgracefully at Sand Creek. The field covered by West's book has been mined often, but rarely with the flair and style he brings to his study. The book combines scholarship and anecdotal reports magnificently, and is a pleasure to read. Highly recommended.

This may be an important work in it's field, but it is, sadly, quite boring. I began skimming it at about page 50 and finished it that way. I read a lot of history for pleasure and derived none from this book. I could only recommend it to scholars or students.

The Contested Plains, by one of the most imaginative Western historians writing today, is a masterpiece in the field. It puts peoples-white and Indian-together in a complicated field of action--the Plains and the Rockies in the 19th century. West shows us a world of surprising and fascinating complexity, a place of high drama undergoing sweeping transformations. West is a master storyteller. Behind the compelling and vivid narrative there are new approaches in the field of Western history, including its way of re-looking at the frontier as a zone of cultural contestation and exchange in which it is as important to take stock of the land and animals as of the peoples, their economies, and their ideas. If you are at all interested in Western history, read this book!

The title, The Contested Plains, relays Elliot West's desire to tell the story of the 1858 Colorado Gold Rush not from the perspective of the destination, but from the tale of the journey. West is determined to understand the environmental history of the plains as well as the perspective of the Indians who long inhabited them. He not only attempts to understand the land itself, but also how the indigenous peoples, and ultimately the gold seekers, used it. Clearly defined within the story are the concepts of imagination, impact, and power and the story itself is in fact divided into these three subsections: Vision, Gold Rush, and Power. West relates the tale through multiple scopes as he attempts anthropological, geological, economic, cultural, topographical, and biological interpretations of the 19th century transformation of the western Plains environment.
West begins by taking the reader back to the land before time in what he calls the "Old World." His clever play on the general Euro centric application of the world is all the more poignant when it is understood that this truly is the Indians' "Old World," and that a new and generally inhospitable future awaits them. After this short introduction, introduced is Spanish explorer Coronado and offers the foreshadowing of the encounter, exchange, and exclusion of the next four centuries.
The staples of the Western encounter remain the same. Disease, trade, firearms, and the horse are the four major players in the transformation of Indian lives. This is where West's biological angle emerges. He constructs the interdependence of life between the Indians and the Plains and the fundamental impact that the introduction of the horse levied upon their lifestyle. While horse and firearm prove beneficial and disease fatal, trade has been cast in a more complex light. The same trading systems that permitted the general rise of the Plains Indian became its downfall as settlers pushed westward in search of increased capital through a marginal gold rush or a now expanded trade system.
The encroachment of settlers onto the Plains found fundamentally different uses for the land. While the Cheyenne, or Tsistsistas, had managed a sustainable lifestyle consisting of hunting, grazing, movement, and trade, the relatively static farming productions of the white settler not only consumed valuable land space needed for the Indians, it levied substantial tolls upon the environment itself, particularly in times of drought. Accompanied by a population explosion wholly untenable with the nature of the land, it wasn't long before bloody conflicts between the two groups would arise, with the ultimate victor being the white settler.
West has written a comprehensive narrative consisting of several different vantage points, the most emotive being the ultimate transformation and decline of the life of the Plains Indian tribes. Voice has also been given to the land in this account. West is careful to make no judgments on the Indians or the gold seekers and settlers. He is pragmatic when he exclaims that "two cultures acted out compelling visions in a land that could support only one."