Western Books

This is a wonderful cookbook. I've made 4 recipies from it that were absolutely outstanding. One recipe in particular...the spanish rice is above and beyond. I think it's because neither me or my husband are big fans of spanish rice and I made it on a whim. It's so good that he's asked for it a couple of times since I made it.
Pictures are wonderful and because I am a Texan I am very pleased with the fact that it's written by someone who has lived here for a long time the recipies are exactly the kinds of things that we would eat.....
I've recommended the book to friends and even bought another one for a gift.

NPSBookie order # 464878 One book, TEXAS ON THE PLATE arrived in a tiemly fshion. However, the spine was broken, and prompt communications from NPSBookie offered a refund since they had no other copy for exchange. I countered with request for a discount. They agreed to a $3.00 discount, and I accepted since I could use the book personally rather than gift as I had anticipated.

The recipes are wonderful and the book itself full of gorgeous photos, drawings and, in general, just wonderfully produced. I'm buying several for Christmas gifts for out-of-state relatives and friends. I'm new to the state and this is a fabulous introduction to the food and customs.

Definitely goes "beyond bbq and chili" to wonderful fusion of the traditional and the most up-to-date. You will not be sorry you bought this.

This is a beautiful cookbook! Even if you have lived in Texas your whole life, you will see places you haven't glimpsed. Having been born in Texas and raised on the variety of foods available here, I love how these recipes take it to a higher level. The recipes are perfect...though not always easy, they are always worthy of the effort. I made the cover dish first thing and got raves from all who ate it. I love the way she pairs the Texas wines with each meal. And she tells so much about Texas...research well done!

Terry Thompson-Anderson has produced a marvelous collection of Texas recipes, beautiful photos of food and scenery from around the Lone Star state, and a wonderful contribution to the exciting new Texas cuisine that is sweeping the southwest and beyond. As a native Texan I found the book not only a delight to the eyes, but a wondrous and far-ranging assortment of recipes with ingredients and influences from all over the state. Of special note are such heady entrees as the "Slow-Smoked Quail on Savory Bread Pudding withThree-Chili Sauce" (using Scamorza Cheese from the Mozzarella Company in Dallas) and the "Grilled Medallions of Venison Backstrap with Ancho Chili and Honey Sauce" - fabulous! Throughout there are wine recommendations from the growing number of Texas wineries; definitions of cooking terms and ingredients; and a "Texas Cook's Pantry" telling where to find hard-to-get ingredients. Texas on the Plate is a delight to use and a pleasure to read.

In her book, They Saw the Elephant: Women in the California Gold Rush, Jo Ann Levy weaves letters and journal entries into a picture of the lives of women during the California gold rush.
Coming by covered wagons or ships these women wrote about their journeys' across mountains, deserts, oceans, and jungles. The excitement of an adventure and the beauty of the land was not the whole story however; misery and death joined them on their journey. Inadequate provisions, brutal storms and sickness were common themes. And once these women reached the promise land of San Francisco, the streets were not paved in gold as they dreamed, but littered with trash.
The belief that there were only prostitutes or actresses was also not true; many women ran boarding houses or mined for gold. Some left after the gold ran out, but many women stayed in the cities that they helped create.
Though this book it is not organized in to one story, it is an insight into the women who came to California during the gold rush. You will be amazed by their bravery as they left their comfortable lives and uprooted their families for adventures unknown.

I thought this book was extremely enjoyable. Women are often neglected in the historical narrative. So, it was nice to read a book that told the story of these women of the gold rush through their own words and through a colorful narrative by Jo Ann Levy. My only criticism is that minority women are rarely mentioned in this book, which gives an incomplete picture of the history of California women during the gold rush.

This book is great!
A person wouldn't even need to be interested in history of the gold rush days to thoroughly enjoy reading this book. I don't have alot of free time to read, so when I pick a book it has to be worth my while. This certainly was. And it's an easy book for reading a few pages at a time, like I do just before going to bed. I love how it organizes the accounts and groups the stories into chapters of a particular theme. Fascinating!

In They Saw The Elephant, Jo Ann Levy has combined women's journals and letters with newspaper articles of the gold rush era into an articulate, shining gem of historical writing. Her purpose was to dispel many of the common assumptions and general characterizations made in earlier histories about the women who participated in the California gold rush. A number of the early twentieth century histories of this monumental American event imply there were few women in California, and that a majority of those women were of questionable social standing. Levy's placement of her chapter on prostitution is wisely situated in the second half of her work. She admits there is little written record concerning the lives of these women, particularly those of Chilean and Chinese descent who came to the gold fields. The author does not fill in the blanks with supposition or fiction. By the time the reader gets to the chapter on prostitution, it is already clear that women were contributing far more to the Gold Rush than physical pleasure for males.

The Oregon Trail opened in 1847. Levy includes some of the women's stories from this trek even if their final destination was not the gold fields. This is a plus. The reader understands that women had started emigrating west for reasons other than gold and the journals and letters used to demonstrate life on the trail were vivid.

The variety of women discussed in this book was a cross section of society at the time. I laughed out loud while reading about how some of the highbrow, educated women reacted to the primitive society of San Francisco. These women adapted, and most made a good living as boarding house keepers and cooks.
Levy does an excellent job showing us the ingenuity of the women who went west. Living aboard abandoned ships in the bay, renting out rooms in, and using wood and goods from those ships are details about day-to-day life often lost in the telling of the human experience of the gold rush.

Perhaps the strongest statement Levy makes in her book is found in the Postscript. Women who went west during the gold rush continued their lives long after the three- year bonanza. Most didn't stay in San Francisco. Most didn't even stay in California. Their toil was but another blip on the radar screen of their lives. They didn't crawl back east to their families as broken women. They had seen the elephant, but had no desire to own the circus.

Several of the accounts made me chuckle and realize how little life has changed. One letter describes how quickly houses were being built in San Francisco. It goes on to describe the shoddy workmanship including gaps in the walls large enough to see through. I live in the fastest growing metropolitan area in the country. Houses go up over night here, literally. We joke about housing developments growing as quickly as mushrooms in the forest. The only reason the cracks in the walls don't allow light in now is chicken wire and stucco. Little has changed in the last 150 years.

Women civilized the wild California gold rush society. Some used the money they had made from the miners and started churches, schools, and hospitals. Others became heavily involved in various societies. In general, they went west with their husbands, to support their husbands in search of a better life, and they brought their civilized mindset with them.

This is an excellent book, appropriate for all audiences. It flows well, and contains a great deal of authentic information

As a writer of both fiction and non-fiction, I found tremendous value in "They Saw The Elephant." For the general reader of non-fiction, this book reads like a novel! The stories of these valiant women grab the reader and never let go. You feel that you are with them, as they face the unknown perils and triumphs of the Gold Rush in California of the mid-19th Century. The words of these wonderful women have the special ring of Truth to them. I cannot overstate my admiration for the author and her work in presenting this important book.

First off this book helped me greatly with my BA in English Literature. Anyone studying Dramatic Lit will benefit from reading this. If your getting a degree in philosophy this book will help you make connections between Aristotle, Socrates, Nietzsche, and Sartre. As a fan of Sartre's, "The Flies" this book greatly helped me to understand something I thought I already did.

If you despise Nietzsche don't buy this because by reading it one can tell Kaufmann was quite fond of the tragic philosopher--even though he disputes Nietzsche's belief that Euripides caused the death of tragedy. If your a complete advocate of Rationalism don't buy this unless you truely believe the unexamined life isn't worth living. Only buy this if like a good argument, no matter what side is right, and enjoy a deep analysis of the human condition.

Walter Kaufmann, you are missed. In this age where intellectuals and academics seem able to justify their lives and works solely by how confusing or intimidating they are, Kaufmann's work are respite, reprieve, and sanctuary.

Sometimes I feel like the post-modern intellectual ferment is a phenomenon akin to Medieval Scholasticism (how many angels can dance on the head of a pin)- the rampantly tendentious obscurantism, the impenetrable jargon and idiotic linguistic play of theoretical discourse... If only Kaufamnn where here to call these post-modern charlatans (who all-too often pillage Kaufmann's intellectual and spiritual predecessor, Nietzsche) out on their empty sophistry... As always, I'm getting off topic.

This book is an exemplary work of scholarship- aproachable, insightful, clear, interesting, at times humorous, and unencumbered. It is so good and so readable it is at odds with our age. Kaufmann analyses not only the major tragedians of antiquity (Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides) but also the commentators of antiquity- Plato and Aristotle, calling them on their glaring faults and presumptions. It takes serious [courage] (or it used to) to go messing with the two Grecian heavy-weights of western thought but Kaufamnn is up to the challenge. One walks away from the first half of the book STEEPED in ideas.

Kaufamnn also examines Shakespearian Tragedy. Then he discusses the theories of both Nietzsche and Hegel as regards both tragedy and Greek culture in general. This, in my opinion is where Kaufmann truly shines, as a brilliant commentator on German philosophy and literature. (His book on Hegel was the first to enable me to understand Hegel, and I reccomend it whole-heartedly). He knows Nietzsche like the back of his hand and has the ability to call ol' Fritz out when he falls prey to his own style, the shrill and willful naysaying. He is highly fond of Nietzsche but is also not an acolyte (the greatest disservice one can do to a thinker as profound as Nietzsche is to be a disciple and nothing more, and Nietzsche himself never tired of stating that), Kaufmann possessed a head level enough to work through N's thought and avoid his missteps (Nietzsche, for example, points the finger at Euripides for the fall of tragedy. Kaufmann disagrees and clearly believes that the form continued on through other historical epochs, but not our own).

Still, despite his differences, Kaufmann finds much in both Nietzsche and Hegel that is worthwhile and illuminating, and he delivers to the reader not only a thorough comprehension of both thinker's perceptions of tragedy, but also a capacity to root both men in their historical context, so that one has a sense of WHY they thought and wrote as they did. Don't underestimate that.

He finally posits his own 'ironic' theory of tragedy against those of the thinkers he has perused and analysed (This is not surprising, as Kaufmann's first and highest devotion, philosophically was to the ever-ironic Socrates). He also discusses why our age has been unable live up to the art of those who have come before, and why (in his opinion) our age has produced no fully realized tragedies of its own (though a few have tried... perhaps the form and all its particulars is no longer relevant, like epic poetry- it can be studied and of course enjoyed for its sublime nature, but to attempt to create one would be a farsical endeavor??? I'm just wondering aloud so to speak...) He briefly looks at Sartre's 'The Flies,' in connection with Euripides and doesn't fault JP too much. I'm very fond of that play and my copy of the book is underlined almost the whole way through on this chapter.

I can't think of any other text on tragedy (or even drama in general) that does so much for the reader. Why can't all writers and scholars be this concise, enthralling and well-learned?

I'll end by repeating: the finest book on tragedy and thought I have come across.

Princeton's own Walter Kaufmann has devised another book that fits a central category of his lifelong interest: the nexus between philosohy and art. More specifically, he engages that topic of philospohy and its relationship to tragedy.

Being a philosopher, one would think that Kaufmann would write a book of literary criticism that is somewhat condescending to the poets. He does no such thing. While he does offer some literary criticism, he also uses the paradigms of the poets to go after the philosophers. This is an unexpected approach, and also a unique one.

One cannot read one of Kaufmann's books without admiring his erudition. It's not just a matter of his knowing his material but knowing it inside & out. His scholarship can be downright intimidating at times. This fact may serve as a warning for those considering this book to become at least somewhat familiar with its subject matter before delving into Kaufmann.

That said, Kaufmann is not for everyone. He is not one to pull any punches when it comes to artists and scholars whom he does not care for. He has been known to launch intellectual uppercuts from his books. This aggressive style may not be appreciated by all readers.

If you are interested in tragedy and the history of tragedy, then this book is for you. Kaufmann traces it from the ancient Greeks to the modern age. He discusses the different paradigms and literary theory of philosophers down the ages. In short, this book details everything you ever wanted to know about the genre - and then some!

Walter Kaufmann has a wonderful prose style-lucid, pithy, and even witty. Consequently, this book will be a pleasant and enlightening read even if you are only minimally familiar with the dramatists and philosophers that Kaufmann brings together in this work.

Kaufmann starts from the basic premise that to know what tragedy is one must examine the tragedies themselves. Any theory that can not account for all of Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripedes & Shakespeare's tragedies is not sound-and he appears to be the first to really hold the theories of Plato, Socrates, Neitzsche, Hegel and other philosophers to this standard. But Kaufmann is not merely a nay-sayer; in the process he develops his own theory. (It's soundness you must judge for yourself!)

I would recommend that the prospective reader have a little familiarity with Greek and Shakespearian tragedy-ideally Sophocles' Oedipus the King and Antigone, Aeschylus' The Oresteia, and two or three of Shakespeare's tragedies. One of Kaufmann's key points is that the plot and characterization of tragedy takes many forms, and it will help if you can reflect on this yourself, instead of having to take him at his word. A background in aesthetic philosophy is quite unnecessary. However much you go into this book with, I think you will come out eager to read more.

Se trata de un brillante y riguroso estudio sobre el complejo género de la tragedia. Es realmente notable la claridad, la erudición y la amplitud de la información presentada por el autor. Este libro resulta una guía luminosa para comprender la tragedia. Resulta además muy bien escrito (la traducción al español publicada por Seix Barral en 1978 es también excelente). Desde Platón y Aristóteles (de quien examina algunos de los términos más importantes expuestos en La Poética), hasta Nietzche y Sartre este ensayo enriquece en cada página nuestra comprensión de la tragedia, no solo como género literario y dramático sino como visión de la realidad. Un espléndido trabajo.

If you like McMurtry, you'll like this book. Sometimes the plot gets a little thin, and there are one too many coincidences for me, but it moves forwards so quickly you overlook any minor flaws. There was some very nice character development -- you can tell the author is doing a good job when a character's death gets to you.

A wild ride with a satisfying ending.

I have not read a western since "Shane" in the 7th grade so I was nervous when my book club picked this book. Despite my fears, this book was terrific--full of wonderful imagery and surprising characters. I would recommend to anyone who wants to travel back in time and be carried away by Spring's glorious storytelling. I cannot wait for her next book!

Edward Turrentine Bayard III is one character that truly comes to life from the pages. For about the first 50 or so pages, I just enjoyed the humor of the story and the witty writing style. Then the book really started to set in. Behind the humor, the wild & interesting characters and circumstances, one begins to see a view of American history from a new angle. The trip down the coal mine, the "marriage" of Avelina and Tilfert, the stay in the Chicago slums, and the brutal time on the frontier provide a compelling panorama of this time in America's history. At times, I just had to shake my head with "this is just too over the top" -- but then it all seemed to fit.

And, I so agree with other reviewers that the last chapter pulls everything together in such a satisfying way. As someone who has heard many a story told by an elderly person, the author sums up memory perfectly: "Never is being so permanent as in yesteryear, when...soft memory solidifies into story, and in that solid form, rejects the anguish of reality..... If we exist at all after we are gone, it will be as a story."

Turpentine is funny, interesting, and just a wild ride that will make you smile and think.

I am normally in agreement with the old saying "you can't judge a book by it's cover." Spring Warren's Turpentine is definately an exception to that rule. I knew the minute I saw the cover of this book with it's majestic buffalo head staring out onto a golden plain that I had to read it. I bought the book without a second thought. I was not dissapointed. What a page turner! Spring Warren's novel is full of interesting characters and is anything but predictable. I highly recommend this fantastic novel.

Turpentine is a novel that embodies many happy surprises: colorful characters, language so beautiful, shimmering and skillful that it seems almost water painted onto the canvas of the page, and a final chapter that not only concludes the story of Edward Turrentine Bayard, but somehow deepens it.


The unique characters Warren has developed and the outrageous circumstances that they find themselves in make this book a page-turner from start to finish. The reader cannot help but reflect through the hardships of Ned "Turpentine" the impacts that our choices emboss on our lives and on the lives of those we are entwined with. Even if the reader is not a fan of the Western genre, this is a novel that embodies the best of the Western while transcending it further to an exploration of the best and worst in the human condition.

I read this series over the summer and compliment author Stephen Bly on a few levels. I'm not a horse person, I'm quite intimidated by anything bigger than a Golden Retriever. This series, and this book especially, made me feel like I was on vacation in Argenta too, watching all the fun unfold, and I wanted to jump on a horse and follow these characters as they galloped off to the sunset. The scenery depiction and town life felt so real I felt parched from the dust and in need to meet up with Dev if only for a few moments. This story had many laughs, deep, rich characters you truly get to know and care for, and a heart. Just like the Labor Day holiday signals the end of summer, turning the last page on this book was something I wasn't anxious to do.

Looking for an inexpensive get away? Journey with this series for a vacation you'll fondly remember and want to visit again and again.

I was given Wish I'd Known you Tears Ago as a gift. I read the book in one day...it's that good!

It's about a woman who basically runs to a place she loved as a little girl to rediscover herself. Towards the end of her journey she invites her college-aged daughter to join her in hopes of mending broken fences, and building a new bond.

Many strange things happen during the last days of summer that changes the woman's life forever...Will it be for the best? You'll have to read the book to find out.

One thing I can say is that you'll walk away with a few personal revelations of your own.

Stephen Bly is able to bring me to tears either with laughter or
pathos. How he can write so believably about females amazes me.
Having lived with school teachers and hearing their discussions
at holiday meals and family get togethers Develyn and her love
for her students mirrors several of the elementary teachers of
my various family members. But Mr. Bly doesn't stop with
believable characters, instead he keeps me reading to all hours
of the day and night to see what kind of "fix" his characters
will wind up in next.

Delaney perhaps was the least believable of the bunch since
most modern fillies would have solved the dilemma of pregnant
or not in the length of time it took to get to a pharmacy, get
back home and do the test. Then before they stewed for several
weeks would have repeated the test. However, the anguish Delaney
went through and the treatment of her mother throughout the
whole ordeal of pregnant or not parallels well with the relationship existing between daughters and mothers witnessed
in my own experience. With four sisters and myself and numerous
daughters the yin and yang of rearing girls does see-saw endlessly and never seems to be completely resolved with the
realization that both mothers and daughters can truly settle
down to a permanent and lasting peace of simply loving one
another undeservably/unreservably.

Cooper Tallon? What can I say except could we clone a few of
him for the widows of Texas. On the other hand I believe the
Hunter Burkes of the world may have been cloned already. Casey
Cree-Ryder's Jackson is every mother's wish for her daughters.
Which leads back to the fact that Stephen Bly does men quite
well also.

A wonderful tale of Wyoming and the yen most of us have of re-
visiting the wonderful times of our youth and resolving the
heartaches of our middle or senior seasons of life. Made me
want to revist the land of blue skys, wide open spaces and
typical Western people, culture and terrain.

What a hoot....you find yourself smiling or laughing out loud when reading this series. I think the heroine Develyn is capable of stimulating Stephen's creative powers in producing at least 3 more adventures. I didn't want Develyn's summer vacation to end. This is a fun set of novels to escape in....if you're due for a vacation...and there's none in the immediate future...get lost with Develyn and you'll feel as if you'd been there by her side.

A great conclusion to the Horse Dreams Trilogy. Well written contemporary western fiction. Have you known people who just seem to be able to make friends with anyone, from truck stop waitresses to wealthy ranchers, from precocious 10 year olds to eccentic senior citizens? Well, Devy-girl, the main character in this series is one of them! The characters are continuously developed through the trilogy. Each book allows you to get to know new characters, and yet the people you met and loved in the previous books are still continuing to grow and even surprise you in the last. Great life-lessons learned without being preachy. . . well at least it is in character for a middle-aged 5th grade teacher from Indiana.

This is a great book. It is extremely accessible. I am using it with great success for an Introduction to Ethnomusicology course that I am teaching at a Liberal Arts College. The students like the book very much. It stimulates a good deal of in-class discussion. I would highly recommend this work for anyone interested in music, dance, ethnomusicology, urban studies, popular culture, popular music, American studies, and more... It is the kind of book that affords multiple points of entry. Bravo Kai Fikentscher

If you're looking for a book that's an excellent reference for Underground Dance Music in New York City, then "You Better Work!" by Kai Fikentscher is great reading!

Kai Fikentscher's evolutionary study and rounded presentation of New York's underground dance music and culture is a lonely triumph for a subject matter that desperately requires equal exploration of peer contributing U.S. cities such as Chicago, Detroit and Washington D.C.

"You Better Work!" is a straight edge to which much of what has been said about underground dance music culture should be realligned.

It's evident through well-crafted and intricately expressed text that the author has really done his homework. His book shines, especially when compared to similar historical efforts that clearly lack the consistent impact found in "You Better Work!".

Not only should those familiar with underground dance music absorb this essential reading, but the effort should be required academically, with particular regard to music, culture and art.

In addition to explaining fundamental concepts and techniques, Fikentscher details an often ill-reported but critical importance of UDM - the DNA of African, African American, Latino, Gay and a dejected segment of American society which defines the fabric of underground dance music culture.

Kai's work is a rarity in ethnomusicology; it's accessible, entertaining, and enjoyable to read. His inclusion of 12 inch singles, top UDM charts, DJ and equipment photographs, in addition to his on personal exposes in relationship to the house scene in NYC make this study a rarity within a discipline full of bickerings over authenticity, theoretical concepts and musical hierarchies. "You Better Work!" is a rallying cry for aspiring musicologists and music fans alike. If you danced during this period, it'll bring back those sweet memories of Mr. Fingers, Frankie Knuckles, Ru Paul, Acid and the like.

This text is the unrivaled standard for anyone truly seeking insights into the rich culture of Underground Dance Music. No long is house music an urban legend, but this book invites debate, theory, and growth based on a solid foundation of research, interaction, and presentation. From the halls of academia to the dark places where the underground lurks; each and every reader benefits from Kai's research.

If your a fan of techno... read this book.

Classics? Read.

Soulful... get to know this text.

... then Work!

-Byron

This is one of Robert Carmeron's last books and it is one of his best. Seattle really lends itself well to this kind of photography, the city is so naturally blessed. The photography in this book is classic Cameron and the photos are so vivid. I recommend this book to anyone with an interst in this beautiful city or just an interest in great photography in general, you won't be disappointed.

Seattle is set in a very diverse geographical region. This diversity provides for ample breathtakingly beautiful and lush photographs of the metropolitan area. Lakes, mountains, trees, islands, bays, rivers - this area has it all and is cleverly photographed in this Robert Cameron book.
The book is fairly up to date although citizens or connosieurs of Seattle may notice the dated-ness of the book by the conspicuous absense of some new construction in the downtown area and the changing condition of other areas of the city. If you like pictorials, this is a great one to own and probably one of the best of the Seattle Metropolitan Area. I highly recommend it.

THIS BOOK IS A KNOCKOUT, IT'S 12 X 14, THE PICTURES INSIDE, MOST OF THEM ARE THE SAME SIZE AND ARE SO CLEAR IT LOOKS LIKE YOU ARE THERE, YOU LOOK AT SEATTLE FROM ALL ANGLES AND TACOMA, YOU CAN MAKE OUT PEOPLE IN THE BUILDINGS, THERE ARE OLD PICTURES FROM THE 1920's RIGHT NEXT TO TODAYS PICTURES, THE BOOK TELLS YOU WHERE AND WHAT YOU ARE LOOKING AT, YOU CAN READ SIGNS IN THESES PICTURES, IT SHOWS HOW CLEAN THE SEATTLE AND THE PUGET SOUND IS, IF YOU LIVE THERE THIS BOOK IS A MUST, FOR IT WILL SHOW YOU AREAS YOU MAY HAVE NEVER SEEN, FOR THERE IS SO MUCH TO SEE, AND TO THE REST OF THE WORLD, THIS BOOK THIS IS THE PERFECT TRAVEL GUIDE FOR THE NORTHWEST, IT'S A 160 PAGES OF THE CITY, WATER, NAVEL SHIPS, FERRYS,AIR PORTS, AND MOUNTAINS, THERE IS JUST NO WAY TO PUT THESE GREAT PICTURES IN TO WORDS! "THANKS" ROBERT CAMERON

Stunning quality; if you've been there, you will easily be able to pick out your favorite spots, despite the distance. The captions are a little dry, but the pictures make this aesthetic book one of value.

Everybody who has any relation to Seattle should have this book! To people who live there it shows their city from a different point of view. To people who like to get a detailed impression of the city and its close environment I really recommend it ! But this book (in my eyes) is not made for people who look for a "tourist guide".

Viet Nam veteran Matt Reed returns home after two years of service. In his absence his father heavily mortgaged the family ranch for money to pay medical bills for his terminally ill wife, Matt's mother. After his father tragically took his own life, Matt was faced with paying the $ 100,000 mortgage in six months to avoid foreclosure.

"Absaroka" describes the area of Wyoming bordering the Reed ranch and the land of the Crow Indians. The interaction of the townspeople, the ranchers, and the Crow make up the back drop for this contemporary Western drama.

The plot has many surprise twists which include intrigue, romance, environmental issues, post traumatic stress syndrome, Indian rights, and relational issues. Bochmann has developed genuine, believable characters. Some are corrupt and unprincipled. Others are feisty, heroes and heroines that create empathy, dislike, admiration, or warmth.

Although I expected the story to end well, the final chapter came to a dramatic surprise ending that exceeded any expectations I had. Joan Bochmann is rich in imagination, a gifted communicator, and dedicated to impact her readers with an important and timely message.

I found "Absaroka" absorbing, fast paced, and uplifting. Another Raven Publishing triumph.

Review by William Phenn for Reader Views (05/06)

A Western writer with a modern twist, that's how I would describe Joan Bochmann.
She was raised in the high Yampa River valley in Colorado. Her love of horses brought out by her father, while her mother instilled in her the value of literature. These factors are what make up this compelling novel called "Absaroka."

"Absaroka" is a moving story of a Vietnam Vet and his struggle to regain his normal life after the war. Matt Reed is a veteran of the Vietnam era who comes home to find his mother has died, his father old and ailing, and his home about to be taken away by unscrupulous people and his town on the verge of extinction.

Matt hooks up with a few of his friends from diverse backgrounds to battle the forces that are threatening Matt and his town. They encounter many obstacles at every turn in their valiant effort to save the town and Matt's home. Though the story is modern day, the struggles are as old as the days of the Wild West. Cowboys, Indians, a Damsel, and a Villain make "Absaroka" a compelling read.

"Absaroka" is not like any western I have read to date. It is modern, exciting and was a pleasure to read. Joan has presented this story in a way that has earned it my very high approval. If you enjoy westerns and all the wonderful things that comprise a good western, you will enjoy "Absaroka." I give it an A.

The moment I began reading this book I couldn't put it down. I found ABSAROKA captivating. The walk through this book evoked a multitude of emotions. Matt weathered the intense grief over the loss of his mother during his stint in Vietnam, and the tragic loss of his father shortly after his return. The experiences of Vietnam and his return home brought a shadow of shame and lack of respect displayed by society. Fear was another emotion felt over the shocking realization that the family ranch was close to being claimed by a ruthless banker, and more pronounced, his fear of failure as a man.

During Matt's struggle to find a way to reclaim the family ranch, he faced death by an Indian tribe. However, the more compelling focus was with each perceived failure or roadblock Matt faced. He was forced to come face to face with the nightmares of his past and rely on the foundation of integrity and self-worth he had grown to value with each passing day to meet the challenges he faced. His tenacity combined with the support and love of his friends allowed him to sucessfully retain the family ranch in a unique way, and more importantly the true value of personal identity, dignity and love.

This book is definitely a keeper in my library!

This book is an excellent choice for any reader. It moves quickly and precisely from beginning until the end. The protaginist is a true-to-life man who deals with the hardships of life in Wyoming after the Vietnam War. I found myself entranced by the story and the setting. Matt Reed is truly a character for the ages. I was constantly taken back to the 1800's through a modern day hero. This a book for anyone who has ever struggled against the gravest of odds in there life and dreams to come up a winner. Do yourself a favor and buy this book and two for two friends it will pay you back ten fold. As for myself I hope the author continues the epic saga with another novel. I wait anxiously...

What an absolutely wonderful book this is, it was a delightful reading pleasure from beginning to end. Set in Wyoming, we meet Matt Reed as he is returning from Vietnam. He desperately needs the peace and security his families ranch will bring to him, but soon that is shattered and Matt is left with another war to fight.
Jake, Matt's father dies shortly after his return and Matt learns that their beloved ranch has been mortgaged and the deed is held by none other than Matt's arch rival from years ago, Paul Pringle. Why is it so important for Paul to own Matt's ranch? Is it just revenge against Matt or is there a more sinister plot beneath it all? You'll be surprised.
Now Matt has six months to come up with $100,000.00 plus in order to save his homestead. The odds of winning this war are totally stacked against him. However, miracle do happen I am happy to say.

A form plans in Matt's mind, a form filled with wild horses, the help of a Indian named Joe Little Hawk, a family friend named Hank and a woman who will be more than a friend to Matt, Jill King. You are in for a treat as this story unfolds.
This book is extremely well written, keeps your attention, has characters that wrap around your heart and a storyline that resembles the great movie, "Rocky." I had to smile as I put the book down, sometimes the good do win.
Don't miss this one. Highly recommended.
Shirley Johnson
Senior Reviewer
MidWest Book Review

John's ADVENTURING IN ARIZONA has always been a favorite on our bookshelf.

"A superb new guidebook called ADVENTURING IS ARIZONA is a fast-moving blend of history and trekking advice for canyoneers, climbers and river rafters. Author John Annerino even can tell you, mile by mile, how to see the Grand Canyon in virtual solitude.

Of all the general guidebooks I know on the Arizona outdoors, the best for hard-won information is John Annerino's ADVENTURING IN ARIZONA. A longtime resident of Prescott and Tucson, Annerino has been tooling about on the state's dirt roads and hiking trails for a couple of decades now, and he's covered a huge swath of territory firsthand. He takes in well-known destinations, from the Grand Canyon to South Mountain, but, more to the point here, he offers mile-by-mile instructions for more remote places like the Superstition Mountains and the Lechuguilla Desert. One of the treks he proposes, not for the faint of heart or easily sun-stroked, retraces Padre Eusebio Francisco Kino's route across southern Arizona's Camino del Diablo - a fitting name meaning "Devil's Highway," a route that comes the closest Arizona has to compete with Death Valley for sheer hellishness. Water is nearly non-existent along the route, and those attempting it should bring along at least four gallons per person per day, a luxury Kino could not enjoy. Many available guidebooks uncritically repeat long-obsolete information on the location of the Camino's few watering holes. Annerino went out to the place himself - in summer, no less - to map them on foot, an act that may well save a few lives some day. -New Times

I found John Annerino's ADVENTURING IN ARIZONA a great source of information.

ADVENTURING IN ARIZONA by John Annerino [is] one of my bibles

When I started reading the other reviews, I started sobbing. I was brought to the moment I first saw Sri Adi Da Samraj in person in 1986. He will also always remain for me Love-Ananda, and I started sobbing uncontrollably heart-broken just seeing him, and I was not until that point inclined that way. As the other reader said: I will always be his student/devotee. His Sacrifice is the first sacrifice and His Teaching, if any real history is told, will be known to be the geatest Dharma to have ever entered the world. It is overwhelming in it's breadth and depth alone, let alone the content, which is without peer. Why so many people fail to see what for me is obvious . . . i have only my own failure to respond in appropriate, deserving, and serious practice to look at.
All His critics are petty dharma bums, but as He has said: "You do well to be offended by Me"

I had been searching for God and the meaning of life for as long as I can remember. All that changed the moment I read Aham Da Asmi: Beloved, I Am Da; I knew in my heart that God had found me, at last -- the Living God is here for the sake of all beings! Ruchira Avatar Adi Da Samraj's love and compassion is revealed in this amazing book. Never has such a proclamation so profound and moving ever been uttered. It has changed the course of my life, and I am eternally His devotee.

When I first got Aham Da Asmi, I hoped for a lot-- but there is so much more than I even dared hope for. Every time I read it, I find I am changed in some way-- a new understanding of myself, of the world and of God. Adi Da's elegant writing moves me through my confusions, and challenges me to live from a greater depth. For me, the wonderful mystery is: Who can write such transforming words? Who knows my heart so perfectly?

It is no longer necessary to wonder "where" God is, "what" God is or "who" God is. The great philosophical questions from time immemorial have all been answered by the Avataric Revelation of Adi Da Samraj, as communicated in Aham Da Asmi. Read this book, and you will surely see this is so-- and you will marvel at the glory and the beauty of this Divine Revelation.

There are several reasons why every person should read Aham Da Asmi. I have read it, and my life has been changed. That's an extreme statement to make about a book, but you will understand how I could say such a thing when you read Aham Da Asmi.

In Aham Da Asmi, Avatar Adi Da speaks in plain, straightforward language. What I appreciate the most is being addressed so directly-- for in this book, Adi Da speaks directly to the heart, and the more He spoke to my heart, the more He brought my heart to the fore as the one receiving His Revelation. I soon found myself in a "conversation" in which all my real questions were being answered. And the answers were plain Truth, spoken with the clarity and authority of one who knows. This book reveals Adi Da's utter commitment to engaging the heart of every being in a sacred dialogue. I have always looked for people who are interested in the great matters of life and spirituality, and if you are such a person, I am happy to introduce this book to you.