Missouri Books

I also grew up in Hitler's Germany and find Karin Finell's book fascinating. It certainly brings back many sad memories and I am sure it is difficult for people who were not in Germany at that time, to realize what was going on. War is at best always terrible, there are no winners, as far as I am concerned, only losers and usually the civilians have to suffer the most. Granted, many voted for Hitler, but I doubt that anyone could foresee the tragic events which happened. I think Karin Finell's style is very good and she undoubtedly interests and fascinates anyone who reads her book. Let's hope we have no more tragic wars like this!!
I was always sad that Germany is now remembered for the atrocities which happened under Hitler and all the famous writers, composers like Goethe, Schiller, Brahms, Schubert etc. are somehow in the background.

If you read all these reviews of Karin's book, you will still have many surprises as you read Goodbye to the Mermaids. The strength of Karin's narration is that she recounts the precise moments when her attitudes toward war change--and those moments shock because war mutilates reality. None of the events in this book conform to normalcy. To buy bread, for example, meant dodging bullets and bombs in occupied Berlin. Putting on a dress meant risking your life.

Karin recounts the contrasts between her family's needs and desires with the realities of war, and she does this in a subtle, detailed way. Karin wasn't just a child in the war, she was a maturing young woman whose sensibilities grow within the context of her story. She makes her reader feel the deprivation and humiliation of war. This book is one of the best I've read in a long time. It's an extraordinary work by a woman who sacrificed much of her life to war and the repercussions of it. She deserves our respect, and I feel honored to know her.

Adoption Parenting: Creating a Toolbox, Building Connections

Pushing Up the Sky



I was buying some books on Amazon.com with an article I had to write at the back of my mind, and a parent Guide I was editing for EMK Press (www.emkpress.com) by Terra Trevor (author of Pushing Up the Sky) at the forefront. I was ordering on automatic pilot, while thinking about the articles I was editing... suddenly my choice of books had an Amazon.com suggestion staring up at me.

It was of course Karin Finell's searing, sensitive book Good-bye to the Mermaids. It documents `a childhood lost in Hitler's Berlin'. My brain clicked into gear as I read the brief blurb. Serendipity! I was writing an article for adoptive parents of kids adopted internationally. The remit? How we adoptive parents help our adopted kids feel pride in birth cultures prejudiced by e.g. civil war, lack of human rights, family planning practices that seem draconian, societies where the ethos of `family' is lost to poverty and the baggage of substance abuse which that brings.

I bought Good-bye to the Mermaids, and devoured it in three late night sittings. And I realised as I read that this book is a must read for anyone who has survived... or helped another survive.. the onslaught of horror and terror which was imposed not sought, where the survivor has been helped to find another safe haven, an anchorage in which to grow.

But the book shows that no-one who survives can leave behind the memories. Even if they move to another country where things are meant to be better...

What a message for adopted children and their parents! EMK Press (where I am Senior Editor) publishes books and offers free Parent Guides for adoptive kids and their families. Adoption Parenting: Creating a Toolbox, Building Connections, our publication for adoptive parents, has a wonderful section JOURNEY which deals with where adoptees travel as adults in making sense of adoption. To add to this chapter in our groundbreaking book, I would recommend that adoptive parents and folk now adult who were adopted internationally read Karin Finell's book on how to survive knowing you were part but NOT part of a culture that made family life impossible.

After reading this remarkable book I concluded it was not only informative as to historical content but also a masterpiece of writing. It is an important addition to a series of books by a variety of people, who lived through the horrors at the end of WWII in Berlin - I have read most of them, including the one by Anonymous. Their stories reflect all of the terror and awful conditions of those months and years as does Karin Finell's book. The framework Finell uses, the very detailed personal memories enriched by her reconstruction of actual verbal exchanges is unique, as is the perspective of a child growing up and experiencing the change from a privileged early childhood to the frightening reality of what followed - and then the slow and gradual recovery. And also, the special relationship with her Oma, which I thought is a centerpiece of Finell's book. Apart from the very human side, the American raised Oma also brought the U.S. close to Karin Finell as a child and prepared her for her immigration. The book is a tribute to the women who had to cope and did cope so valiantly with the conditions thrust upon them by a war which many supported, and a few loathed from the beginning, as they loathed and continued loathing the Nazi government. Finell's book also made me aware again how little we citizen can do when politicians go amok as did Hitler and all of the Nazis.

A heart-wrenching story lovingly told by Karin Finell. She relates what was for her a normal part of growing up while participating in activities of the Hitler youth, watching friends disappear, and daring to question.



Good-bye to the Mermaids is beautifully written, with gorgeously remembered details, providing a deep, rich look into life in wartime Germany that we have not seen before.

Just finished this book. Lovely romance. Enjoyed reading the book and am looking forward to other books she has written.

THIS IS A GREAT ENDING TO THIS SERIES. IF YOU WANT TO LEARN ABOUT THE AMISH LIFESTYLE AND HOW GREAT THE PEOPLE ARE PLEASE READ THIS SERIES.

Great purchase, came extremely fast. Would buy from seller again. Wonderful condition and transaction.

It was too far between books to see how it all ended, but the book was great. I really enjoyed it.

I love all of Wanda Brunstetter's books. The books make you feel as if you are a part of them. Hard to put down.

Cuneo is very accurate with his facts (I should know, I was there), and he also has an excellent writing style.

This December, ten years ago, while a hostage to a group of terrorists
in Lima Peru, my name was called for me to come down from the second
floor of the Japanese Ambassador's residence. I was to be released.
It happened at 11 am on a Sunday morning at the same time a special
prayer service was going on at my church in Lima. My pastor was asking
for the safe release of all the hostages. He asked that the Lord to
intervene and gain the release of me and other church members held
hostage. It was already happening as they prayed.

All of us have our own stories, we know there's power in prayer.

I thought of all that when I read "Almost Midnight" by Michael Cuneo.
The book is about Darrell Mease, a criminal in Missouri who brutally
killed three people in a drug deal (crystal meth). Mease was convicted
and sentenced to death. He had received the Lord at an early age and
his mother was still active in the Assembly of God church. She led
prayers for her son. Mease turned to the Lord again and made what many
considered to be a sincere conversion. A blue grass musician received
a word from the Lord that he was to speak to Mease and tell him that
the Lord was his lawyer and that he was not to worry he would not be
put to death. After the musician visited him in jail, Darrell Mease
had a revelation that he was to be spared the death penalty. Time went
by and his execution date was scheduled for late January 1999. He
never lost faith that he would be spared.

With only two weeks to go before his execution, the date was suddenly
changed. It seems that Pope John Paul II was scheduled to visit
Missouri on the same day as the original execution date and Governor
Mel Carnahan had it changed to early February to avoid embrassing the
Pope who was a strong opponent of the death penalty. The Papal staff
were aware of the change in the execution date for Mease. The Pope's
visit was a one day stopover in St. Louis. During the visit, the Pope
presided over a special prayer service attended by Governor Carnahan.
As the service concluded, the Pope slowly made his way to the Governor,
took his hand and whispered in his ear, "Please have mercy on Mr.
Mease."

Amazingly, Governor Carnahan commuted Darrell Mease's death sentence
based on this personal plea from the Pope.

One of the pastors who had attended the interfaith prayer service at
which the Pope had descended from the altar and talked to the governor
had also ministered to Darrell Mease on death row and had urged him to
make peace with God as his execution date approached. Darrell had told
him that God had been clear that he would not allow his execution. The
pastor said, "I was blown away -- Darrell had never asked the pope to
say a word on his behalf. He'd simply continued to pray. Absolutely
remarkable. And I thought there was a lesson here for all of us. The
Scriptures are radical, and God's mercy is boundless. But most
Christians don't truly appreciate this. We're too timid in the our
faith. We needed someone like Darrell Mease to drive it home."

The story went on with other strange twists. A few months after he
commuted the death sentence, Governor Carnahan was killed in a plane
crash as he campaigned against John Ashcroft for the US Senate seat
from Missouri. Carnahan, although dead, received more votes than
Ashcroft on election day a few weeks later. The new governor of
Missouri named Carnahan's widow to fill her late husband's Senate seat.
Ashcroft went on to be named Attorney General of the United States.

God answers prayer -- "Almost Midnight" made me remember that again.

Michael Maxey

"What on earth is a Canadian of northern Italy Jewish descent teaching at New York's Fordham University researching a meth-related multiple murder in the Ozarks?" I asked Mike Cuneo as he sat across from me in Branson's Bob Evans Restaurant. He was in the tourist town researching the Darrell Meese case for a book. Meese was sentenced to die by lethal injection in 1990 after the brutal shotgun murder of three people, Lloyd Lawrence (a man many locals admitted "needed killing") his wife, and their paraplegic grandson. A drug kingpin might deserve it, but two innocents?
Governor Mel Carnahan had just recently made news for his commuting Meese's death sentence, after having met with Pope John Paul II in St. Louis during the Pope's visit. Cuneo,
"I don't know why Carnahan would do that. He's killed himself politically, I would think," I told Cuneo. Little did I know that the governor who saved Meese's life would lose his own in a tragic plane crash during a race for senator-and still beat opponent John Ashcroft.
Like the Meese case, Almost Midnight, Cuneo's "American story of murder and redemption" is filled with sudden turns, surprises, and ironic twists. It's interesting and riveting investigative journalism. For Ozarkers, it shows a subculture that exists in the land of Bible belt religion, country music, and family-friendly tourists, a subculture unknown to many residents unless they are involved in law enforcement or social services. Cuneo covers the events that lead up to the murders, Meese's hair-raising road trip to the Southwest that only leads him closer to justice back home and death row, and the trial itself. He also looks closely at Mease's time in prison, where the convicted murderer rediscovers religion. It is there that he professes "God is my lawyer" and is miraculously delivered from lethal injection-just as he predicted he would be.
It sometimes takes an outsider, or a novelist, to show us the family skeleton we deny exists. Cuneo takes us on the real wild ride in actuality that Dan Woodrell does in fiction in Tomato Red. For those who are Ozarkers, the book is interesting to read just to see "if Cuneo misses the mark" in capturing a portrait of an area and a culture. For non-Ozarkers, it's an interesting portrait of the Ozarks and its denizens that, unfortunately, can add to the stereotype that exists. Cuneo's Almost Midnight, with its detailed descriptions of the virtues-loyalty, self-reliance, family, and faith-and the negatives-violence, chemical dependency, and lawlessness-of our Ozarks' culture presents a remarkable portrait of Meese and ourselves.
The tourist area that prides itself on family values and a friendly atmosphere while hosting almost 8 million visitors annually has a below-the-surface reality that's hard to confront. All it takes is a Meese incident, or an incident like the triple murder of the Husman children and mother at Kissee Mills, Mo., this last March, to let us know now shallow is the soil that covers what's beneath. Michael Cuneo probably has material for another riveting book.-Fred R. Pfister: Editor, The Ozarks Mountaineer

I was reading a lot of books with the word MIDNIGHT in the title when I stumbled across this one. This is by no means the worst one of the bunch. In its own unique way, it's a fine study of redemption, breeding, and forgiveness.

And marketing too, for it seems almost as though the late Pope John Paul II was the victim of a marketing scam when he decided to pardon Darrell Mease, the killer at the heart of this wonderful biography. He was coming to St. Louis on a once in a lifetime trip, and a local cleric decided that he would gain some press by picking out a convicted killer and seeing what JPII could do for him.

It helped that the circumstances of the crime indicated that Darrell was himself well loved in his community (in the fields of rural Missouri) and that the man he killed, Lloyd Lawrence, was hated and feared. On the other hand, Lawrence's wife was killed too, as well as a poor paraplegic boy who hardly ever did anything hurtful to anyone.

Methamphetamine, the scourge of the Ozarks, was behind the killings. Darrell, who served time in Vietnam, was one of those who couldn't get it together after his tour of duty. He had a surface charm and affability, but inside, he was troubled. We get all of this through multiple narrators, people in the community who tell us his whole story from birth to the present. Like CITIZEN KANE, ALMOST MIDNIGHT gives us a constantly shifting perspective on a hidden corner of America. The popular TV sitcom MY NAME IS EARL will come to mind when you read this book, for the multiple murders that claimed the lives of the Lawrence family are just one more twist removed from the wacky trailer-motel life of the MY NAME IS EARL characters. Or, Johnny Depp in CRY BABY.

Roughly the first half of the book concerns the life and crimes of Darrell Mease, hard-partying hillbilly 'Nam vet and would be meth cooker. The detail in which Mease's life is recounted makes it hard not to sympathize with him and to understand his crimes, a feeling which the author appears to share.

The second half of the story explores Darrell's trial, imprisonment, conversion story and ultimate pardon from execution. In that part, Darrell is portrayed less sympathetically, and there is even a suggestion that he is undeserving of his eventual pardon from death row.
This apparent shift in viewpoint is appropriate to this complex tale, though, where Darrell comes to represent something different to everyone who comes into contact with him: death penalty opponents, Ozark locals, the victims' family, law enforcement, even Pope John Paul II!

It's a fine book, ultimately, and explores a lot of the issues (religion and government, death penalty, small town policing, veterans' problems, rural poverty, drugs) raised by this unusual case. Well written, compelling and highly recommended.

Written in 1998, and criticized for stopping its retelling of the abortion story in the U.S. several years before that, Articles of Faith is nevertheless still an important book and may be increasingly so if the abortion debate heats up again now that George W. Bush is President. A completely even handed retelling of the history of the abortion debate in the U.S. from the 1960's through the 1990's told through the lives of dedicated partisans of both sides. Yet the author tells this story with sympathy to both sides. Its hard to read this book, your emotions swing from side to side in the debate as Gorney shifts her focus from chapter to chapter from pro choice to pro life. Each side is presented forcefully, but not stridently. Its an excellent book.

As an adult convert to Catholicism struggling for now five years with infertility, a non-American and the daughter of a founder of my hometown's Family Planning Association, I ordered this book wondering if it would help me sort out my mixed feelings about abortion. When it arrived my heart sank: though I had been interested in the topic, it looked long enough to remind me of the first-grader's book report, ``This told me more than I wanted to know about penguins.'' But it's so well-written, well-peopled and thoughtful it's a joy to read. When Cynthia Gorney describes a pro-choice activist she does it so carefully you feel certain she's pro-choice, and certain you must be. But when she describes a pro-life activist, you realize she might be pro-life -- and so might you be. If we were all be so generous and balanced, so readily able to enter into the subtleties of other people's positions, abortion might never have become a ``war.''

This book was wonderful. Though on first glance it seems very long and likely dense and dry, it is anything but. Gorney does a fabulous job of presenting both sides of abortion evenly and without bias. And she ties in the thoughts and feelings of the players with the actual battles of the day so smoothly that the book ends up being an easy and very enjoyable read. It should be mandatory reading for anyone involved in, interested in or having an opinion about abortion.

Before Roe vs. Wade thousands of women a year were getting illegal, unsanitary and oftentimes dangerous abortions. Articles of Faith does a great job of presenting both sides of the abortion argument. The book focuses on the abortion wars in Missouri. It starts in the 60's with Judith Widdicombe, who is an obstetrics nurse and who had an abortion herself. She is a key figure in the underground abortion world in St. Louis. She recruits doctors and she directs women to doctors. Her opinions on abortion are formed from personal experience as well as occupational experience. She was strong in her opinions that a baby and a fetus were different. She had seen hospital beds full of women dying of infection from getting illegal abortions. This led her to her calling.
While Judy was directing women to safer but still illegal abortions, the laws state by state were slowly starting to break down. This created a movement of concerned citizens who were against abortion. These citizens would give presentations using medical and scientific information to support their position that life begins at creation. As to drive their point home, they would show pictures of aborted fetuses. These pictures featured a trash can full of little fetuses and a bloody mass of appendages. What they didn't realize is that people like Judy Widdicombe looked at the same stuff, in real life-not in photographs. She would bring women with gauze and bandages stuffed up their vaginal cavities and let them miscarry in her home. She would then examine the remains of the miscarrage and make sure there wasn't anything left inside the woman.
After Roe vs. Wade, Judy set up a clinic specifically for performing abortions-the first one of its kind in Missouri. She wanted it accessible for all women, and wanted a warm and medical environment that set women at ease-they knew their situation was understood and they knew they were safe. This is where Samuel Lee is introduced. He arrived in St. Louis in 1978 intent on studying theology at Saint Louis University's seminary. As soon as he arrives he becomes involved with the Franciscans. They hosted a meeting of people planning a protest on the steps of an abortion clinic. This was how Sam became drawn into the abortion argument-he was exhilarated by it. Sam researched both sides of the abortion argument, but the more he read the more he became convinced that abortion was never justified-it was putting an end to human life. He left the seminary and became engulfed in the protests and the research-he would protest and be arrested until there was no longer a need to protest abortion.
The abortion argument came to a head in the 80's when Sam and Lou DeFeo wrote a bill that was passed by the Missouri state Senate and the House. It became a Missouri law in 1986. The bill stated that public funds may not be used for abortions and public employees may assist in abortions. The bill also stated that life begins at conception, unborn children have interests that should be protected and the parents of an unborn child have protected interests in the child. But that's only the beginning. The bill says that unborn children at any stage of development should have the same rights of all of other people. This was the first attempt to reverse the ruling of Roe vs. Wade, and it seemed well on its way.
One month before the law took effect, a lawsuit was filed against the bill by Frank Susman. He approached Judy, who had been fighting for almost 30 years for the woman's right to choose, and she was hesitant to join the lawsuit. She was tired of the fight, but she couldn't turn her back on this lawsuit-this one was too dangerous to reproductive health. The judge in that suit came back in 1987 declaring that every provision in the bill was unconstitutional. In 1989, the law suit went to the U.S. Supreme Court for appeal and the justices left Roe vs. Wade alone. The problem with this ruling is the vagueness of the language in the ruling-saying that parts of Roe needed to be more defined, but that it needs to be argued for years to come. When I read the ruling in this book, I really didn't understand exactly what it meant. It almost seemed like the judges had very definite opinions, but they were all different from each other.
After reading this book, I was more affirmed in my own opinions of abortion. It was really interesting to read the other side of the argument. There's no arguing that at life begins at conception-just like a every cell in our body is life, so is a zygote. However, the foundation of my belief in the pro-choice movement lies in the belief that a woman has the right to decide if a fetus should be born. One of the best bumper stickers I've seen about abortion is "Don't like abortion? Don't have one." A woman deserves the choice, that's it-PERIOD.

Once in a while, there's a rare book that'll smack you in the noggin, grab you by the lapels and scream, "This is how it really is! Now learn something!"

Articles of Faith is one of those books. You'll learn abortion is never nearly so clear cut as "either side" would have you believe; you'll see how each side's arguments, legal status, movements and, later, extremism are developed. But most importantly, you get the honest truth about what it's all really about, or not about. Despite the serious of the issue, I was never even able to get a glimmer of what Gorney's own view is of abortion. It's not simply objective; it never fails to delve into the details of each side, while coming up with an occasional fresh insight.

I've had this cookbook for years and my most recent purchase of it (used) was to get it for another foodie friend. It is a feast for the eyes, but also has wonderful recipes that are in my regular repertoire. The book also gives you wonderful ideas for presentation and combinations with other dishes.

I have had this cookbook since it was first published and I still find that it is one of the cookbooks that I reach for most often. Beautiful photography. I don't hesitate to try a new recipe on company as I've never had a failure. I consider it to be a "Classic".

This is one of those cookbooks that you can pick up hours before a dinner party, open it to any page, make the dish and have rave reviews. There are VERY few dishes in here that aren't good.

This is an older cookbook, but definitely worth looking into adding to your collection!

We would go hungry without this book! This is the cook book we use far and away more than any other. We have even started some family holiday traditions from the recipes i.e. the green beans with pears - amazing! You never have to worry about making a recipe because they are all fantastic. It is a regular gift from us and we have been told many times it's the receivers new favorite cook book as well. Buy it, it is any cook's must have!

Beyond Parsley is one cookbook I always have nearby -- and I have many, many cookbooks. I am renowned among my family members and friends for e-mailing special recipes -- and many have come from this special gem. I have too many favorites in the book to list but if I had to select just ONE, I would choose Cossack Cheese. That one is a WINNER in every respect, and has gained the love of people around the US to whom I have sent the recipe. D. Ray Fuller Jr., Dallas, Texas

I came across this little gem by accident, found it in the local Missouri section while walking down the wrong aisle at B&N, rather than in the animal section. I picked it up and gave it a glance and didn't think twice about purchasing it or not.

It's practically a dictionary of local birds, each entry has a beautiful picture of the bird, both female and male. Includes important information for identification, what area of the state they prefer, what their eggs and nests look like, and much more.

I really like the color tabs. See a brown bird? Turn to the brown section for quick look up. Living in Missouri, I only recently took up an interest in feeding birds in my back yard and have purchased several books on the subject. This one is the best by far! It's easy to use, informative, and the pictures are of excellent quality!

This is a great book with great pictures of the birds. My boys were able to go straight to the color and find the bird we were looking for.

This is a great book. I got two bird feeders and was curious about the kinds of birds that were feeding. This book is easy to use, it lists birds by colors, it also says whether they are all year round, migratory, summer or winter. Very helpful for identifying the birds!!

After moving to Missouri for my husband's job, I was interested in all the colorful birds. I purchased this book and have been using it for about a year. It is easy to use and include brief descriptions and fun facts about each bird, as well as colorful photos and maps. The best thing is that the pages are color-coded so you aren't flipping through the whole book trying to find that one red bird you saw--you just flip to the red tab pages.

I just started birdwatching, and this is the first book that I bought to help me along. It is arranged by bird color, which is great for beginners like me who have no idea what to look for. I would say that this is a great book for beginners, but maybe a bit too simple for people who have been birdwatching for awhile. I am about ready for a new book myself...

You don't have to be a fan of basketball to enjoy this book--but if you are you will love it. I wish all of todays athletes would read this book. These kids were a "one of a kind" team. Mr. Combs makes you feel as if you are sitting in the stands watching these games. I got so excited reading about the last game I could hardly stand it!! This would make a wonderful movie. Ron Howard, Clint Eastwood, Steven Spielberg, one of you please read this book!!!

What a wonderful book! Leon Combs is a great storyteller. Living in the Ozarks and near the Bradleyville area most all of my life I could really visualize the story. The characters and situations were like telling a part of my own family and hometown history. The play by play of the basketball games was like being there in that place and time. I would love to see it on the big screen! I'm ready for the next book Mr. Combs.

This author not only reveals the spirit of the sport, his colorful, descriptive narrative takes you into the very hearts of the players. Nostalgic, well-written story about a winning team, interwoven with games and statistics, makes this book a winner. Can't wait for the movie. It will happen.

I just read this wonderful book last weekend. My parents, Harlan and Betty House, were two of Bradleyville basketball's most enthusiastic followers. Both are mentioned in the book for a small portion of their contributions to the Bradleyville basketball program. The Bradleyville teams, those that were champions and those that were not, were made up of very special people--people who were willing to use all their god-given talents as best they could. With hard work they overcame their limited personal, family, and school resources. Bradleyville coaches were the best at enhancing the skills of their players and making a team out of very different individuals. The whole community was energized by the hard work and success of those winning teams. They were proud of the victories and the way their teams achieved those victories--by being great sportsmen. This book captures the spirit of the people, the players, the coaches, the community and the era. This story of our own Missouri "Hoosiers" will be enjoyed by anyone who enjoys an uplifting story about those who can prevail over long odds by hard work and fair play.

I live in the area and so the book is pretty special to me. The author has written an insightful story depicting the down/home special family quality of the Ozarks. I really enjoyed the descriptions of the raccoon-hunting point guard and the innocence of pre-Vietnam/early 60's rural society. There are too many good stories to spotlight but I really liked the one about the kids at the big Springfield tournament berating their coach for calling too many time-outs when they wanted to go coon-hunting through the hills that night the best. The Bradleyville people really shine in this book which is written with great authenticity and obvious personal experience adn affection. It's a work which deserves to be up there with the best of midwestern/western folk history-it ranks with the Milan basketball story and October Skies in my opinion any way.

Oddly enough this book sat on my shelf for over a year. I was inspired to give it a try after reading John Grisham' A Painted House during a recent vacation since it was based in the same era, local, and lifestyle as my father's childhood.

As a beneficiary of a couple of peach farmer generations, Mr. Tompkins has revealed what life was like before and after the peach bonanza in Campbell. I always felt that the peach orchard life was incredibly difficult. Now I realize that this hard life was an escape from the much more difficult life.

This excellent book is every American's history. There is such an honesty without the trappings of sugar coated memories.

I am taken back to a time I will never experience. In my mind's eye I can visualize the commitment, struggle, joy and heartbreak of a family bound together in their effort to survive. Many aspects of this book reveal the hardships and pleasures of our elders' daily life that we cannot imagine on our own.

This book offers the gift of understanding that deepens our respect for where they have been and how they have come to be who they are.

I recommend it to all who want to understand the fabric and true grit of this country. What a wonderful resource for youngsters in school to read, it lends a greater appreciation for all we have and how we got to this point.

An amazing journey indeed!

Mr. Tompkins' book is a great read! It was even more special to me, though, because my Grandpa Tot was one of the "O'Neals on the next farm over". Their house is in the background of the photo on page 269. Some of the stories, like the one about the "Wild Man of Crowley's Ridge" I can remember from my childhood. Others, though, are a fresh glimpse into history. I drive by the Old Tompkins Farm every day on my way to work. Now, I can not help but to try to visualize what it was like when Mr. Tompkins was growing up, there in the house on Riddle Hill.

Glenn Tompkins wrote this book from his heart. He told stories of how hard it was to survive in the 1930's and 1940's on Crowley's Ridge in Southeast Missouri. The struggles of that time made the family unit strong there was work to be done and you did it. The family never gave up. After getting the book from Glenn's son and daughter in law I found I could not put it down. The first day I read 95 pages. The true stories make you laugh and then cry and I feel I know the Tompkins family personally. I would recommend this book to anyone and I plan to pass it on to my family members to read. Thanks to Glenn for a job well done.

I am a librarian. In my library, I look over all the new acquisitions before they get shelved. Being around books all the time (and being in love with them) I have had to develop strong will-power to set aside interesting books, otherwise I'd never get my work done.

"The House on Riddle Hill" was powerful enough that even with my strong will-power, I was not able to set it down. There is something very honest about this book -- it is about real life, with all the seemingly simple happenings that have the ability to leave a mark in your heart. Here's a story that is a good example: Glenn got a few dollars to buy a pie at the country fair. He didn't have enough to buy the pies of the popular girls, but did get a mincemeat one (a kind he didn't like) from a girl who he hadn't thought of as pretty. But as they sat together and Glenn ate, she said to him so sincerely, "Thank you for buying my pie." They are simple stories, but they strike a heart chord.

I purchased my copy of the book at a book signing where I got to tell Mr. Tompkins how much I enjoyed it. He told me how at an earlier book signing, a woman came up surprised him by throwing her arms around him in a bear hug, and saying "After reading your book, I just feel like I know you!" I can understand this perfectly. "The House on Riddle Hill" is filled with love, so it just seems to bring it out in you.

I am not a fan of westerns but I received a copy of this book from a family member and once I opened it on the plane, I couldn't put it down. The characters are great and the story moves pretty quickly. I was captured by the plot and descriptions of the areas.
I would recommend this book to anyone, lovers of westerns or not.

When the sequel comes out, I will be buying a copy or two.

Rick

I found this book to be a very interesting snapshot of life in the mid-west during the 1800s. It was evident that the author did his research. His style is easy to read and most entertaining.

Great Western, much research went into this book, great plot, not your regular shoot 'um up western, the ending? I thought, "What did I just read?", went back and read it again. Very clever! Plan to read the book again. Can't wait for the sequel. Highly recommended to any reader.

After John Dee Tyler's Dad dies, he and his mom learn that the bank is going to foreclose on their farm. It seems there's a new manager who claims the note has gone unpaid for eight months. With no work available in the area John Dee hatches a plan with his two best friends Billy Ray Matthews and Tom Ballard.
As Billy Ray puts John's plan, "Now let me see if I got this straight. We find a bank, go play Jesse James, rob a bank to pay a bank, then come home and eat apple pie. Yeah, I like it! I'm in."
With the agreement struck and made, the three Missouri riders head south to Lexington, where, as legend has it, the James and Younger gang once robbed the very same bank they've targeted.
The robbery goes smoothly. No one is hurt and the boys make a clean getaway. Now all John Dee has to do is be patient and wait the 45 days before making the payment. No sense in hurrying matters and making everyone suspicious.
What John Dee doesn't know is that the new bank manager, Mr. Matting, already had plans for the Tyler farm, and when he pays the note, as they say in Missouri, all hell breaks loose.
With a sense of place that takes the reader easily back to those pre-twentieth century days when life was more simple but perhaps harsher in its demands, George Banks adeptly presents his story of three young men caught up in a tangled web of guilt and fear mixed well with a youthful need to have some fun.
With the Pinkertons investigating and getting closer, the boys make a hard decision. They'll go to San Antonio where a rancher they know is putting together a trail drive. By the time they finish working for him, it'll be safe to return home and see how things are going. Thus begins the exciting adventures of these Missouri riders.
George Banks certainly knows his subject, and the characters he creates are right out of the faraway past. As for history, he paints a picture so true to the times it's easy to "suspend disbelief" and live the tale with these three boys. A tale of life and adventure that make this book a pleasure to read for anyone at any age. Interspersed with pieces of historical fact, the book also serves as a good research tool.
I'm fascinated when John Dee explains how the original pioneers used a combination of feathers and wooden wedges and shims to pry great lengths of limestone apart before soaking them in water a couple of days and cutting them to needed lengths to build limestone fences on the treeless plains. This is just one of the many things I learned in reading this captivating book.
Velda BrothertonFly with the Mourning Dove

The Margin
Life was tough for almost everyone after the Civil war. The economy was devasted, food supplies were depleated because both armies confiscated everything in their path just to survive. Homesteaders starting new lives prior to the war lost land, homes and businesses. Post war chaos opened the door to unscrupulous people who made their fortunes on the back of the pioneer. This is where The Missouri Riders begins. John Dee's mom is about to loose her farm to the bank. In despiration John Dee enlists the aid of two very close friends, all three men of good character. But, influenced by the emotion provoked by the apparent criminal confiscation of his mother's farm John Dee, Tom and Billy rob a bank. Motive, of course, to pay the mortgage. From this point the author, George Banks takes us through hard times and adventure as he pens this wonderful story of the three friends eluding the consequences of their unlawful deed.

...but I did! It was so funny and cute! The mystery was very well done. I really, really liked it and I was so surprised!

Book was received in excellent condition and in about 3-5 days, I was very satisfied with my purchase and most definitely will purchase from this vendor again.

Thank you!

I really enjoyed this book, just as I have enjoyed all the Torie books. Rhett MacPherson really has a talent for bringing her characters to life, warts and all, and keeping me waiting for the next book. I highly reocmmend this series to mystery fans, and even non-mystery fans who like interesting characters.

The only problem I had with my copy is that something went wrong, apparently in the binding process. Near the end, right when the murderer was being disclosed, every other page or two was not the page it was supposed to be. Instead there were pages from an entirely different book in an entirely different style--it seemed like some kind of victorian romance--sprinkled in where the real pages should have been. I could still figure out who did it, but I wish all the pages had been there. I wonder if that other book had Rhett MacPherson's pages?? It was very weird. Has anybody else encountered this?

Died in the Wool by Rett MacPherson is further proof than an author can indeed start a series, create a number of works following the adventures and exploits of one individual, and still maintain the quality of the first book in said series. I have read eight Torie O'Shea Mysteries now, and to be honest, they just get better and better.

As with most of her other works, the setting is in a small river town, south of St. Louis. In this story, our heroine gets involved in a triple suicide that occurred shortly after the First World War. Three siblings, two brothers and a sister commit suicide within a very short time. Years later, as Torie plans to buy the wonderful old house and turn it into a quilting and fabric museum, she, as is her nature, comes across some very strange happenings, or coincidences as she accomplishes her genealogical research. Was it suicide, or was it murder? If you are a follower of this series, you will know that Torie just cannot leave a question, any question, unanswered. She may drive half a dozen people nuts, but she will find the answers she is looking for.

The Tories O'Shea Mysteries are cozy mysteries through and though. The author has certainly mastered this particular genre. In this work she has woven quilting, roses, genealogy, family, and the regular characters in her village into a nicely done little mystery that actually takes some thinking on the reader's part. The author has stayed true to her characters as with the other books in this series. Her writing style, rather than getting sloppy, as we often see in "series books" has improved...she is getting better and better with each novel. This is impressive, as I thought her first effort was quite out of the ordinary for a new author. Obviously a lot of research and time has gone into creating this delightful story. I do wish that more of our first line authors stuck with quality writing, and well thought out stories as MacPherson has with all of her novels. We would all be much better off for it.

For a nice, interesting, humorous, informative, and well...cozy read, I cannot recommend this one highly enough. Do be warned though, this is one of those that once you read the first couple of pages, you will be hooked and will find the book difficult to put down.

Torie O'Shea is the central character in Rett MacPherson's series and to say the least, she is a hoot. Entertaining is an inadequate word. Torie is a genologist who has lived in the small Missouri town all her life and knows not only every citizen but their entire family history. And she uses that knowledge to solve the current mystery.

More than the process of solving crimes to the reader are the bumps along the road of Torie's antics and sometimes outrageous derring-do activites. She has a unique and loving relationship with her hubby, who understands and wrote the book on the word patience, and her children are challenging to put it midly. A totally entertaining read watching Torie navigate between the current family crisis, the need to move to an audacious adventure to solve the crime, and the guts and grits it takes to maintain her livlihood of museum curator and geneologist.

Torie is a busy lady and following her around while she navigates her daily non-routine existance is fun, fun, fun. You might want to go back and start at the beginning - or at least read a few earlier books to get the gist of the main character and her encounters, but any book you read you will laugh and muse, and when completed, the smile will still be there. You cannot help it, I promise.