Western Books

"Wisdom's Children" is a landmark work in the history of Christian esotericism. Thought mainly to be the domain of Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy, Protestant mysticism has been marginalized for too long. Arthur Versluis takes us back 300 years and shows us that beneath its stern veneer, there has been, and still is, a vital current of the imagination and mystical understanding in and around mainstream Protestantism. Jane Leade, Johann Gichtel, Boehme, Freher, are all brought to life. The chapters on German theosophy, folk magic, and qabala in colonial Pennsylvania alone are worth the cover price. Highly recommended.

Well written and well thought out. For me personally, it filled in an enormous gap in my knowledge and greatly improved my understanding and opinion of Jacob Boehme. I would recommend Jacob Boehme's Way to Christ (Paulist Press) as a good "next book." Have fun with this; the vision is quite beautiful.

This book gives a great overview of the movement of christian mysticism which was essentially founded by Jacob Boehme. The only complaint that I have with it is that it does not have a section on Louis Claude de Saint-Martin.

Well written and well thought out. For me personally, it filled in an enormous gap in my knowledge and greatly improved my understanding and opinion of Jacob Boehme. I would recommend Jacob Boehme's Way to Christ (Paulist Press) as a good "next book." Have fun with this; the vision is quite beautiful.

Christian mysticism is generally associated with Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy, but professor Arthur Versluis here casts needed light on the obscure Anglo/Germanic theosophical mysticism deriving from Jacob Boehme.

Writing in a style that is scholarly yet accessible, Versluis follows the influence of Boehme down through disciples such as Johann Gichtel, John Pordage, and Jane Leade, figures who remain little-known even in esoteric circles.

The "theosophy" of Boehme and his followers differs markedly from the later theosophy of Madame Blavatsky and the Theosophical Society, a syncretistic theosophy which owes much to Buddhism and Hinduism. By contrast, the Christian theosophy of Boehme is thoroughly Christian and Christ-centered, deriving from his personal mystical visions rather than from readings in Eastern religion.

A main emphasis of Boehme and his followers is that religion be experiential rather than simply an intellectual acceptance of dogma or an assent to verbal expressions of faith. Boehme often described verbal religion as "Babel," signifying that it lacked the truly transformative quality of real religion.

Christian theosophy typically invokes the idea of "sophia," seen as a feminine personification of divine wisdom. Although present in the Old testament "Song of Songs," and occasionally referenced elsewhere in both the Old and New Testaments, sophia/wisdom largely went underground in the Christian tradition, and is more often associated with heretical groups such as the various gnostic sects of the first Christian centuries.

Indeed, Versluis takes up the question of whether there is a link between the Boehmian tradition and the earlier gnostics, and his conclusion is generally in the negative. First of all, there is no evidence of a direct line of transmission between the two traditions; secondly, the theosophers eschewed the elaborate mythical constructs of the earlier gnostics, relying instead on their own direct visionary experiences.

Versluis has tapped into a mystical thread in Christianity which bears further study, and I recommend his "Theosophia" as another laudable effort to elaborate the sophian tradition in Christianity - not merely as a historical curiosity, but as a living tradition that might have something to teach Christians to this day.

A buffalo soldier fresh out of slavery tries to enslave the free Indians of West Texas. While you read this book try to find out why. It doesn't make sense, but it makes a good story. Try my novel by searching butler, luthe

Required reading in a college history class in 1992, I remember it and keep a copy to this day. Outstanding story of Gideon and his plight. No less than 5 stars. An absolute must read.

This book ranks among my top five personal favorite novels of all time. Mr. Kelton weaves a tapestry of West Texas culture and history and storytelling that will envelop a reader. The story of two men, Gideon Ledbetter, a former slave who becomes a US Cavalry soldier (or Buffalo soldier, as they were historically known), and Gray Horse Running, an American Indian fighting for his way of life, is an absolute must-read. His description of weary solidiers travelling through the West Texas desert will have you reaching for a glass of water!! I first read this book as a college assignment and have happily recommended it to friends and family for years. I consider it to be Mr. Kelton's masterpiece, even better than "The Good Old Boys" or "The Time It Never Rained" which are also outstanding. Some smart person is going to make a great movie out of this book one day.

Luther Butler THE WOLF AND THE BUFFALO BY ELMER KELTON Elmer Kelton skillfully takes the rugged geography of West Texas, accounts of the Texas Comanche wars, mixes in the Buffalo soldiers with their hair the Indians thought looked like the curly buffalo, and adds white officers, Comanches, buffalo hunters, and makes an epic struggle of two cultures that will be enjoyed by many generations of readers. And to add spice to the story, he stirs in the women of San Angelo, Texas who washes not only clothes but who provide sexual relief for the men who chase dusty savages into a world unknown to them. The story centers around two strong characters. The Buffalo is Private Gideon Ledbetter, a recently released Louisiana slave who is now a member of the Tenth U.S. Calvary stationed at Fort Concho, Texas. Hated by most of the white settlers, Ledbetter has two jobs. When he is not chasing Comanches, he spends his time building adobe buildings and shoveling horse manure at the fort, but. he prefers to be on patrol trying to make the savage Comanches go to a reservation in Oklahoma Territory. He goes out with Lieutenant Hollander under Black Sergeant Nettles. Ledbetter grows stronger in his position until he eventually takes over Nettles job. The wolf is Gray Horse, a young Comanche warrior who tries to keep the invading settlers after the Civil War from killing his people's source of food, the buffalo. In constant visions, the wolf and the raven seek to lead the developing warrior to new buffalo herds. Symbolically, Gray Horse sees visions of a red buffalo calf. Unlike Ledbetter, Gray Horse declines in prestige until he is forced to make a suicidal attack before his people go into servitude on the Oklahoma reservation. Ledbetter almost loses his focus because of the beautiful mulatto, Hannah York, who gives a purpose for him to not only live, but to advance so he can earn enough money to marry and start a family. The old woman who controls the desirable young maiden saves her charge so she can sell sexual favors to the white officers. After the young soldier has enjoyed Hannah's body numerous times, he finds her with his commanding officer, Lieutenant Hollander. Hannah is forced to leave. Sergeant Nettles saves Ledbetter's career by talking sense to the betrayed young man who planned to marry his beloved. Hollander's subsequent marriage to a proper young lady and his attempt to repair the damaged relation with Ledbetter forms a hinge that much of the latter action pivots on. Gray Horse leads Ledbetter's unit on a wild chase into a land where there is no water. The chief thinks he has destroyed the enemy only to find the new enemy is invincible Even after the white government turns white hunters loose to slaughter the buffalo for their hides, does Gray Horse fail to acknowledge that the only hope for his people lies in going to Oklahoma Reservation where the Quakers will rule them. At Adobe Walls, the Comanche leader begins to glimpse the truth when a few buffalo hunters with their rifles that can kill at over a mile, turns back a gathering of the Indian nation. General Mackenzie's rout of Comanches at their winter quarters in Palo Duro Canyon makes Gray Horse realize the end is near. Gray Horse goes to the hated reservation a wounded and beaten warrior to shed his buffalo robes and become a cattle raiser. He realizes he must make one last try to find the red buffalo calf after he finds his wife with their son who is dying because of poor living conditions. Taking a band of warriors, he goes in search of the mystical calf. After he and his men brutally slaughter a group of buffalo killers, Gray Horse realizes his dreams of being free are over. After finding the red buffalo calf, the warriors kill it and eat it! To him, a way of life ends. Out numbered by the buffalo soldiers who come to punish the Comanche band for slaughtering the buffalo hunters, Gray Horse makes a suicidal attack on Sergeant Ledbetter's unit. Even though the Indian's arrow goes through Ledbetter's shoulder, he is able to fire the final shot that brings an end to his enemy. Like the end of a Greek epic, the defeated Indian is carried off on a symbolic shield to be given a hero's funeral. Ledbetter recovers from his wound so he can fight a new enemy, the Apaches. And I hope he eventually finds Hannah, nurses her back to health, and goes into retirement to live on a small farm and raise a family. END

then you'll love this book. Amazing true stories of survival and the hardships and joys women faced as they traveled west. Excerpts from diaries, etc. from real women. Encouraging to see how strong women really can be and how far we've come.

Women of the West is a great book. It tells of the women who endured so much to make a home for their families. This book is told through thier writings in their journals, so it comes first hand. I love the fact that if it weren't for the Women of the West, the west would have never been settled.

For myself, my burgeoning interest for anything related to 1850's western life was prompted by a visit to Bodie, a ghost town on the Eastern Sierras in California. Amazingly intact, this mining town preserves life as it was back then, down to the most minute detail and one that you can visualize through windows, storefronts and streets as you walk through the town. A trip to the museum offered more incredibly intimate and thought provoking glimpses into what the people's lives were like in those days. The life they lived was very difficult as profiled by the many wonderful books and resources sold there and available all along the Eastern Sierra towns. I purchased a few books detailing the history and people of Bodie. Soon, I became fascinated by the experiences the women had. Of the many books I have bought, I found this one, _Women of the West_ to be truly one of the best when it comes to portraying and historically presenting authentic writings and pictures of the nineteenth century "pioneer" women in the Western United States.

Gripping and personal diaries reveal their thoughts and feelings as they travel to the west in covered wagons. Upon their arrival to their new "home", the journals reflect their personal situations as they struggle to settle the land and etch out a living. Some of the women are widowed by the time they arrive out West. Some are burdened with more children, complications of pregnancy and perhaps the death of the young ones. Against staggering obstacles, these women march on with such integrity and strength that it appears nothing less than heroic. Not given to whining and bitter complaining, their tone is of acceptance and self-reliance.

The beauty of this book is in the wide assortment and many pictures that chronicle the women, their home and life style. The pictures are clear, large and detailed, so one can savor the peek into an 1850's home, hearth and kitchen, not to mention the lands and buisnesses they worked so hard on.

There is so much offered to the reader, I can only say that this book is really a treasure: true stories and pictures that bring a virtual museum into your own hands.

This book truly shows how hard women had it back then, and makes one thankful everytime they think they've got it bad. Fantastic pictures! A real eye opener!

I think we tend to forget that people and times in the past were as alive and could be as complex as things are today. I think this book could be summed up by the picture of the woman receiving title to her land. She's arranged for a photographer to come to her home, instead of posing at the studio. The land agent has affably agreed to travel to her home and participates in the pose the woman surely thought of herself: the act of handing over title to the land. One other interesting thing is that she isn't wearing a hat or bonnet - she wants everyone to see her face. She's standing in front of her house wearing her best outfit, not looking at the agent, but looking at the camera, her face reflecting the pride of hard-won independence and well-earned ownership.

Lots of great stories, good writing, well-researched, and the photographs themselves are worth the price of the book.

This book packs a punch. If you are talented at reading between the lines this book is even better. While it is mostly an overview the specifics are mind boggling. Make it a companion for a month and watch what happens.

Thanks so much for this excellent book. It is one of the best books about the practice of this Way on WHOLE day. I don't practice Dzogchen but it is easy to see that the quality of teachings of this book are superior. One of the best books of practical Buddhism that I have read.

The simple way to expose the deepest matters and the humility and high knowledge shows the great level of practice of the author and the importance of this Tibetan school. Helpful to any Buddha follower. Excellent purchase. Recommended 100%.

This is one of the best books I have ever read on Tibetan culture and religion. It is clear and concise. It is extremely informative, revealing practices that have been kept secret, for some unknown reason, for centuries. A great book!

His Holiness the Dalai Lama writes, "This book will be of great help to readers wishing to find a clear explanation of the Bon tradition, especially with regard to its presentation of the teachings of Dzogchen."

Indeed! *Wonders of the Natural Mind* is a treasure trove of information --- appropriate for any level of practitioner. Here's an excerpt from the back cover of the book:

*Wonders of the Natural Mind* is a presentation of Dzogchen as taught in the Bon tradition. Dzogchen has begun to be familiar to Westerners principally through the teachings of the Nyingmapa school, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, and other Tibetan teachers residing and teaching in Western countries. In *Wonders of the Natural Mind*, the author presents the Dzogchen teachings based on the *Zhang Zhung Nyan Gyud*, the fundamental Bon text. The book gives an epitome of the main points of Dzogchen, its relation to the various systems of Bon teaching, and the author's personal reflections on the practice of Dzogchen in the West.

Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche, a Lama in the Bon tradition of Tibet, presently resides in Charlottesville, Virginia. He is the founder and director of The Ligmincha Institute, an organization dedicated to the study and practice of the teachings of the Bon tradition. He was born in Amritsar, India, after his parents fled the Chinese invasion of Tibet, and received training from both Buddhist and Bon teachers, attaining the degree of Geshe, the highest academic degree of traditional Tibetan culture. He has been in the United States since 1991 and has taught widely in Europe and America.

Recently, in the West, a number of books have appeared on the subject of Dzog Chen. This is the first book to describe the Bon-Po point of view of these high teachings. This pleases me greatly. They are derived from the Zhang Zhung Nyan Gyud, which is the most essential within the Bon-Po Dzog Chen.

Lama Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche has been trained in this lineage since he was fourteen by the Venerable Lopon Sangye Tenzin and the Venerable Lopon Tenzin Namdak. From the early days on, he has shown a special gift when it comes to these meditations.

The book is written in clear and concise English. This is particularly important as the teachings are very elaborate and at times hard to understand. The simple language used clarifies tremendously. The authentic descriptions of Dzog Chen give the serious student ample material to practice Dzog Chen.

This book doesn't include stories; it explains the quintessential aspects of Dzog Chen. In other words, it gets right to the point. Especially the chapters such as the ones on Contemplation and Integration. I highly recommend this book to any serious student of these high teachings.

Think of country music and you think of the South automatically - but California too has been the source of many a notable country music artists, and here's Workin' Man Blues: Country Music In California by Gerald Haslam with the assistance of Alexandra Haslam Russell and Richard Chonto celebrates and highlights that fact. Chapters cover a range of artists who contributed to the genre, from early immigrants to California to later stars. Bob Wills, Gene Autry, Buck Owens and Dwight Yoakam: the lives of each famous contributor to the genre is linked with California musical history as a whole, creating a vivid interplay between musical history and biography. Outstanding.

Nobody doubts the importance of Texas and Tennessee in the development of country music, yet the substantial contribution of California to country music is often ignored. At first glance, this is understandable, since the Californian music scene is generally dominated by the major cities of Los Angeles and San Francisco. However, these two cities are several hundred miles apart and much of the territory in between is deeply rural, populated by people displaced from other states, who took their music with them when they migrated. In particular, Bakersfield and its surrounding area became a hotbed of country music. This is the area from which the author comes, but in this book he covers all aspects of the California country music scene including Hollywood's contribution.

Whole chapters are devoted to the Crockett family, Gene Autry, Bob Wills, Spade Cooley, Rose Maddox and her brothers, Buck Owens, Merle Haggard and Dwight Yoakam. These are clearly the artists that the author regards as the most important to the development of Californian country music and I'm certainly not going to argue with him. While very few people these days know about the Crockett family, they were California's first country stars even if (as it seems) their appeal did not extend beyond their home state.

Between the chapters devoted to individual artists, there are chapters devoted to particular decades. These chapters describe all the remaining significant artists. Early on, the author attempts to define country music but, as we all know, it is impossible to define. Being unable to clearly define the music, the author covers the music in all its aspects from traditional to contemporary singers but focuses mainly on tradition. Thus, Glen Campbell (born in Arkansas but who made his career in California) and Barbara Mandrell (born in Texas but raised in California from an early age) are given due coverage, their achievements being far too important to ignore. Although I love their music, I know as much as I want to from elsewhere. It is important that they are covered but they are not the reason to buy this book.

Apart from the chapters on the selected major traditional artists, this book serves as a reminder of many great but obscure performers such as Kate Wolf, who seemed set to make a major commercial breakthrough with her brand of folk-country music but died of leukaemia before she could capitalize on her growing popularity.

Country-rock is covered too - there is a page devoted to a family tree showing how various performers switched between various groups - the Byrds, the Eagles, the Flying Burrito Brothers, Buffalo Springfield, Crosby Stills and Nash, Poco and a few others. It's not complete (no Dillard and Clark Expedition, no Desert Rose Band) but it covers all the line-ups that most people are interested in. A truly comprehensive family tree would take too much space to make it easy to follow.

This book is a real treasure trove of information about country music in California but if it whets your appetite for more reading, there is a selected bibliography that runs to over twenty pages.

Every country music fan can learn much about the history of the music from this book, which proves that California has played a major role in the development of country music - maybe not quite as important as Tennessee and Texas, but far more important than most people realize.

Nashville has not always been the home of country music. Following migrations westward from the South and Dust Bowl states during the 1930s and 1940s, country music flourished in California, where it thrived in Hollywood, throughout the agricultural interior valleys and around the war-related industries in Los Angeles. And it continued in the post-war years, peaking in creative output one final time in the 1960s.

Author Gerald Haslam's history of country music in California tells a story full of rich appreciation for its many musical styles, from hillbilly (the Crockett Family, seen on the cover), to the singing cowboys (Gene Autry), to the heyday of western swing (Bob Wills and Spade Cooley), to Tennessee Ernie Ford, and the Bakersfield music scene, centered around Buck Owens in the 1960s. Haslam then tracks its story since those golden years in the careers of Californians who made it big in the Nashville years, such as Merle Haggard.

Haslam's sympathies are clearly with performers who have bucked the homogenizing trends of Nashville and the dominance of a music today that calls itself country but has largely lost contact with its roots. He praises the musical mavericks and outlaws who keep traditional and "hard" country alive in California, giving special attention to Dwight Yoakum, who stubbornly and fiercely chose Los Angeles as a base to launch a career that got national attention in the 1980s.

You may or may not love the author's blue-collar bias. He notes the frequent theme of discontent in traditional country music, characterizing it as the music of the hard-working men and women who labor not always successfully in pursuit of an American dream. Their yearning for simpler times and rural values is a sensibility mostly absent from today's country play lists, with only rare exceptions like Alan Jackson. It's a sentiment that finds its parallel in the traditionalist's dislike for the urban market-driven output of Nashville's lucrative music industry.

This is a highly readable book, with over 50 photographs of performers, and it's also a reference based on a good deal of scholarship. There's a 22-page bibliography and both a song title index and a subject index covering another 24 pages. Readers interested in western swing will especially appreciate the author's extensive study of this subject. As a companion volume, I'd also recommend "The Rough Guide to Country Music."

I simply can't recommend this book highly enough! It was the first scholarly work on Country Music that I read, and it really opened my eyes to country music as a serious field of study. Being a native Californian, I had always been aware of the pivotal role the CA scene played in Country Music history, I was exposed to the music of Haggard at an early age and became familiar with the music of Buck Owens through Hee Haw, but I didn't know too much about other important players such as Chester Smith, The Maddox Bros & Rose, Wynn Stewart Etc. This book inspired me to go out and discover the music of these pioneering artists. The author also discusses the way rock and roll influenced west coast country and vice versa. If you're a serious student of country music history, this book is a must read! It should be required reading in all CA schools :)

As one who was born and reared in California's Great Central Valley, and is old enough to remember the country music of the 30's and 40's, I very much enjoyed this book. Haslam not only brought back lots of memories, but he also skillfully told the story of the rise and fall of country music in California. Clearly, he's been there and he "talks the talk". As an admitted liberal, he unfortunately litters the landscape with some superfluous "social commentary". Nonethe less, it's a fine book, deserving of reading by all who like country music and/or the Central valley.

Before Louis L'Amour settled down and became famous for writing Westerns he traveled and worked around the world. "Yondering" is a collection of stories from this time period. These are the stories of an men fighting the Germans in Greece at the start of WWII, of a sailor trying to get gold to the daughter of a dead man, of miners, of men on the edge of hungry in San Pedro, of the survivors from a ship sinking who last long enough at sea to be rescued, of incidents in Shanghai, and other stories.

There is a richness in these stories from what life was like for average people a hundred years ago. It was a hard life. Louis L'Amour could tell these stories because he had lived through similar experiences.

This was a hard book to put down. Louis L'Amour has always been one of my favorite authors. If you like real life adventures from a time long ago, this is a good book to read. If you've enjoyed any of Louis L'Amour's stories, give this book a try.

I grew up with my dad's Louis 'Lamour westerns around the house, which didn't interest me, but this book caught my attention. If you've ever read the "about the author" entry in a L'amour book than you will find this book interesting. A big part of this book is based on his years as an able bodied seaman. Stories in this book deal with life at sea "Thicker Than Blood" life at overseas ports "The Admiral" and "Shanghal, Not without Gestures" and life in the 1930's California waterfront "Old Doc Yak." L'amour's daughter is currently working on a biography which should shed some new light on these years.

I still have my wornout copy that I carried accross the Pacific and Indian Ocean and I recommend this book to every young person who wants to get the most out of life.

_I do so love this book. Alot of hack writers have done war stories, adventure stories, and sea stories like these, but in L'Amour's case you know that he has actually been there, actually done that. I've read alot of this author's work over the years, but this is probably my favorite of his books.

_Here is a working man that has actually travelled to the rough and wild places in these stories (and when they were much rougher and much wilder.) He has done the hard labor and endured the harder conditions. This is refreshing in a period when it seems that all working people are automatically assumed to be ignorant, if not stupid. Louis L'Amour was a working man that not only loved books the whole time he was working, wandering, and fighting, but he went on to become one of the best-selling authors of the 20th century.

_It is funny, back when I first read this book, before I had done most of my own "yondering", I read them with a sense of awe, envy, and a grain of salt. Now, when I read them it is with a sense of recognition and validation. Yup, I recognise that situation, I recognise that character. He got it exactly right. Some things really don't change whether you are talking the Wild West, the 1930's, or...now!

I love the writings, and especially the short stories, of Louis L'amour more than those of nearly any other author, and Yondering is by far his best work. Drawn from real-life experiences and set in intriguing cities, deserts, mountains and oceans throughout the world, Yondering takes its' readers on a fantastic but utterly believable journey. Each story tells us something of the nature of men, of the battles they wage, not just on the battlefield, but in their soul as well; we see men torn between pride and hunger, honour and lust, convention and common sense. At times the characters are painfully human; they make mistakes and pay for them dearly, yet we are drawn to that humanity, we relate to that same imperfection we are all victim to at one time or another. At times they are heroic and strong, compassionate and wise, showing us that even in our imperfect and naturally selfish state we can rise above our base emotions and passions and live with honour. I have read this book many times and never fail to find something new and thought-provoking in its' well-worn pages. It is one that I will keep by my side wherever my life takes me and I highly recommend that you read it as well.

York's Journal: A Novel
By William Nichols

Review by Terry Davis



Oregon has been celebrating the 200th year anniversary of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. The celebration includes lectures at universities, colleges, and other schools, exhibits, tours, music, with instruments of the period, and much more. Even now, a replica of Fort Clatsop is being built, after a fire recently destroyed the previous one.
York's Journal: A Novel, by William Nichols and published in 2005, is a creative addition to this celebration.
William Styron, a generation ago, wrote a novel, The Confessions of Nat Turner. The novel triggered considerable criticism and conflict regarding the author being white and trying to create the consciousness of a black man.
The same issue could be raised by York's Journal-a white author and a black main character speaking through the device of a journal. The resolution is that in spite of the racial difference, at least two important characteristics are shared. Both black and white share a common humanity and the potential for empathy. Through the power of the imagination, an author can shed beautiful and shining light on our common existence as humans. I believe that William Nichols has accomplished such a work.
York, a slave in the servitude of William Clark, was a member of the "Corps of Discovery" though never officially recognized as such. Earlier in his life, he had learned to read and write. How this unusual learning occurred is recounted in the novel. York's love of reading and writing is central to the novel. His perceptiveness brings out and develops many themes: the sheer adventure of the Expedition, with its hardships, illnesses, and humor, relationships with various aborigines and tribes, women and sex, the mystery of wilderness, spirituality, and the overriding tension between freedom and servitude.
The language, the voice of York, is impressive, consistent throughout, inventive, and often humorous. It sparkles with imaginative turns of phrase. Some examples give a taste of this highlight of the novel: "The master's fear is often the servant's opportunity" (p. 14). "The gold of evening" (p. 78). "Nothing is better than work one freely chooses" (p. 10).
The language is important to the novel not only for such characteristics but also for the importance of the journal and its writing to the characterization of York. When York has not had opportunity to write for awhile, he exclaims, "My journal comes alive again!" (p. 182). The journaling became almost an addiction for York, "like strong drink was to white men" (p.188). On the downside for York, "my journal was become a visible emblem of all the bonds that held me to civilization" (p. 188). On the other hand, his writing "gave shape to the joy I find in freedom" (p. 212).
These examples reflect and embody a central theme, a conflict both external and internal, between freedom and servitude. York never varied from his understandable longing for freedom. Yet he is honest enough with himself to see that gaining his freedom was not merely a matter of becoming legally free or of leaving the Expedition and staying with natives and making a new life with them. He "longed for civilization despite my hatred of servitude" (p. 166). The Expedition became for York a quest for his freedom. "On my journey westward I would be a man," he said, hoping to find freedom in the west (pp. 61, 62).
Along the way were all the adventures, joys, and trials and tribulation of this great physical adventure. As the Corps of Discovery made its way across the vastness of the continent, they encountered many native tribes, and their many differences are described. Because of his condition of servitude among the whites, York seemed much drawn to the natives and developed many interesting and valued personal relationships with them. Some of these were sexual relationships, which was an important part of York's adventures. In the Barocka Uanapa ceremony of the Mandan tribe, as an honored guest, he enjoyed the pleasures of intimacy with the wife of one of the Mandans. Later, he learned directly that "Clatsops couple more patiently and deliberately than any people I have known" (p. 149). He developed a close relationship of love with Keluk, of the Clatsops.
York felt drawn to the natives in part because as a slave in the white man's Expedition, he was lonely. Except for Shannon, a young white man, he could not be open with the whites. As York pointed out, "dissembling is a necessity of servitude" (p. 152). Shannon was "the one man on the Expedition with whom I did not have to pretend I was a dolt" (p. 28). Yet even with Shannon, York noted that he "was not foolish enough to share my dream of freedom with a white man" (p. 31).
He "longed to find a place where I could feel the presence of true companionship" (p. 41). Among the natives, he did find that true companionship. And because of his liking for them, he found his sympathies with them in the disputes and conflicts between the Expedition and the various tribes. The Clatsops, for example, feared a treacherous alliance between the white men of the Expedition and those of a ship arriving in the Columbia River. York's comment tells a lot: "Knowing what I do of white men, I saw no reason to dismiss their fears" (p. 149).
An outgrowth of his finding companionship with the natives was his hearing interesting stories from them, stories of mythological and spiritual insight. These stories, of Teahwit, Bear Woman, Talapus, and others, are engagingly narrated. They speak about truths relevant to York's emotional and psychological states and become integral and revealing parts of the novel.
They also point to what I take to be a central part of the novel. It is that the adventure becomes a deep spiritual quest. This aspect of the story is hinted at in the references to the mystery of the wilderness, at first just hints of the spirit, a feeling York "came to cherish" despite his fears (p. 72). The stories often related to such fears. As Keluk explained to York, the story of Awl Woman was a story of yas mesachie, that is, of great evil (p. 177).
The spiritual quest blossoms and deepens in York's encounter with Teahwit's story about seeking his tahmahnawis, the Clatsop term for the Holy Spirit, by going to the top of Saghalie mountain. This name refers to the mountain with the shape of a saddle. This mountain, now called Saddle Mountain, is a real mountain near the northern Oregon coast. It still, of course, is a place of great mystery and spirit. Teahwit's story led to York making his own journey up the mountain in search of his tahmahnawis. Significantly, there is just one path to the top. Also significantly, Mooluk, York's Clatsop friend and teacher, took York's rifle before showing him the way to the mountain. Nor did he take food.
As with any truly spiritual quest, York's ascension of Saghalie brought up the essential conflicts and troubles in his psyche and life. Central to these were his journal writing, so precious to him. But his writing was also the telling, as York said, "of a slave whose fortunes depended on the whims of others" (p. 188). His journal, he sees, had become "a visible emblem of all the bonds that held me to civilization" (p. 188). And that bond made his task more difficult. "In this vast wilderness," York says, "I knew I must come to feel at home" (p. 187).
York's resolution on the mountain top was to "forswear writing in my journal and if that failed to free my spirit to live among the Clatsops, I would throw its pages in the fire" (p. 188). The resolution to sacrifice the symbol of his bondage is at the heart of any true spiritual quest.
He did not, however, keep this resolution. The journey through life often hits us with the unexpected. For York, shortly after his quest on the mountain, Master Clark told him that he would free him on their safe return. "Then I understood the truth: I was not become a Clatsop" (p. 191). He could, York said, "think only of my joy and pride in holding freedom as a prize won on the Expedition to the western sea" (p. 191). But the inner conflict was so great that he was "filled with rage, knowing I would not choose to stay among the Clatsops" (p. 191).
Thus, he returned to civilization with the Expedition, continued writing in his journal, was freed as promised from the bondage of servitude, and given by Master Clark some land of his own to work.
How puzzling, ambiguous, and mysterious life is! York's return to civilization brought him "only sorrow" (p. 197). He concluded that "it had been an error to leave the land of the Clatsops" (p. 197). He remembered his farewell to Keluk and his promise to return "when I am free" (p. 197). She did not believe him.
The story of Talapus reverberates at this point with all the angst of life. Talapus, who must "guard against his habit of doing foolish things," had "grown to like his life among the shadow people" and he "tells the spirit he prefers to stay" with them (p. 199). Because of his disobedience, "The spirit never returns" to Talapus (p. 200).
Whether the story of Talapus applies directly to York is ambiguous. But York does say that in telling his story, he came to understand a truth: "this freedom and this land are not enough. It remains to tell what I have learned from writing my story" (p. 206). He understands also that he must "go to seek my way in the wilderness that once seemed to me only a terrifying land" (p. 216).
Perhaps he did. I hope so. Whether or not, he was indeed a man. True liberation of any person brings more light to our human condition. And this marvelous novel throws clarifying light on that condition. Well done!

York's Journal is intriguing partially for what it is NOT. The novel assumes that the reader is informed about the expedition or is able to look things up. So, as other readers have noted, it does not spread itself thin trying to cover non-fiction matters commonly available. One hardly senses, for example, the enormity of the distances and time (and drudgery) involved. Nor the trip's logistics, goals, funding, setbacks, and even its historical impact. And since its protagonist is something of a stoic, it doesn't dwell very long on privation, loneliness, and hardship.

Rather, York's Journal: A Novel is a fully imagined and unexpected trip into a trip. The language is magical; the locutions, vocabulary, and rhythms carry the reader back to our young nation's growth spurt and lend a compelling sense of authenticity. York gives us dark views of the leaders, esp. Captain Clark. Since York is Clark's black slave, his special position vis-à-vis his "master," his white company and the very different Indian nations they meet makes for some startling possibilities (and also some humorous and uninhibited sexual encounters). It offers York's troubling, mysterious dreams and nightmares as he becomes more and more alive.

Most important, though, is how the novel artfully explores powerful connections between writing, freedom and selfhood.

As a history reader and teacher, I am acutely aware that history is about "selection" of the available data. In this way many stories, often those of women and people of color are left out.
Nichols has done an amazing job of recapturing Clark's slave York's story from the Lewis and Clark Journals, never overstepping into flights of fancy but instead imaginatively giving us another insight into that incredible troop of explorers and their incredible journey. Good scholarship, excellent writing, a great read.

This book turned out to be quite a nice surprise. I have little interest in either historical novels or the Lewis and Clark expidition, but was intrigued by the fact that the journey did, indeed, include a slave, and in Nichols' book, the slave can read and write, and therefore we have, his, York's journal.

Fortunately, the author has spared us a day by day account of the journey West, and concentrated on the more notable events of the trip, including extensive interaction with Native Americans and the difficulties attendant on traversing a new and unknown part of the continent. This is all seen through the
eyes of York, who shares in the triumph of discovery as someone thought of as something less than a man. The book deals in detail with his interaction with the various tribes that are encountered, and the concept of freedom begins to define itself in York, until a promise is made to him which is revealing of both the tragedy and the sorrow of slavery, and the book ends with York's decision of how to deal with it.

This novel succeeds on all levels. It is an informative narrative of the journey as well as an excellent description of the white-and black-mans interaction with the tribes of the West. The passages dealing with Indian myth and legend are of particular interest. Most importantly it succeeds in its presentation of another dimension of the peculiar, and horrifying, institution of American slavery. Equally important, it is the story of a slave not broken at the wheel, and able to rise beyond circumstance to assert his right to humanity.

When I finished reading this book,I had to spend a little time thinking on it. This is the highest compliment I can pay any
author, and lament the fact there aren't more who can lead me to do so. For a modest investment, this is a very fine read.

Anyone interested in good historical fiction, especially about the American frontier, should read York's Journal, a novel about the Lewis & Clark expedition as told from the point of view of William Clark's slave. Nichols has created a plausible, dignified, often humorous and engaging voice for his narrator. Like an earlier version of Frederick Douglass, York keeps his literacy and intelligence secret from his white master. We experience his longing for freedom, his robust sexuality, his prowess as a hunter, his dignity and integrity. From his first glimpse of native people along the Missouri to his friendship with members of the Clatsop tribe at the mouth of the Columbia, York feels a deep kinship with the mistrusted, despised, yet resilient Indians, and he is forever scheming to run off and join them. He shows us the familiar heroes in an unfamiliar light, especially Clark's struggles with the English language and Lewis's struggles with the gloom and paranoia that would eventually consume him. Having read several accounts of the Lewis & Clark saga, including the official journals, I was intrigued by this fresh telling.

Well written book, nice to see Rich and Sue are doing well, I used to work with them at Eastman Kodak.

"200 Waterfalls in Central & Western NY" is an especially well organized and presented recreational guide to a dazzling, beautiful, sometimes unexpected but always memorable assortment of natural waterfalls in NY. Maps, directions, time and effort required to reach them, as well as distinctive features of each waterfall are listed in this handy, convenient and highly practical vacationer's guide. If you are an outdoor enthusiast and planning to travel through the central and western regions of New York State, then begin planning your excursion's daily itinerary by browsing through the pages of Rich & Sue Freeman's "200 Waterfalls in Central & Western NY."
The Midwest Book Review - Buhle's Bookshelf

200 Waterfalls In Central & Western New York is an especially well organized and presented recreational guide to a dazzling, beautiful, sometimes unexpected but always memorable assortment of natural waterfalls in the New York area. Maps, directions, time and effort required to reach them, as well as the distinctive features of each waterfall are listed in this handy, convenient and highly practical vacationer's guide. If you are an outdoor enthusiast and planning to travel through the central and western regions of New York State, then begin planning your excursion's daily itinerary by browsing through the pages of Rich and Sue Freeman's 200 Waterfalls In Central & Western New York.

Rich and Sue Freeman have come out with another must-have Finger Lakes guide book. This one, called "200 Waterfalls in Central & Western NY," is a well-done guidebook of accessible waterfalls complete with driving directions, access trails and photographs. Their descriptions include information and some historical notes. Whether a year round resident with out of town visitors or a summer resident, you will find this book a fine reference for area waterfalls. Mark this book as a good gift too.
Leona Jensen, The Observer

Well worth the money you'll pay for this book

Well worth the money you'll pay for this book

This publication has been my "Hikers Bible" for many years now. As some of you already know, there is not much information out there on this subject. Craig Martin has created a concise, easy to read list of places to the footpaths of New Mexico. Complete with maps and photos. A book I keep in my car!

This book, as the title states, lists 75 hikes that are in New Mexico. I found this book to be very useful in planning our family camping trips.

I particularly liked the fact that at the start of each hike was some information that can help me rule out or count in a hike with very little reading. For example, it will provide: distance, elevation, elevation gain, interesting points of the hike, maps that I might want to have, the difficulty, the best season to hike this trail. THe maps also are very useful.

My only comment would be that the pictures are black and white and many of them can be left out with very little loss since they don't add much to the text. (in otherwords, they are flowers, chipmunks etc.)

An excellent resource for someone who might be interested in hiking New Mexico.

What a great read. Read it in one sitting. Can't wait for the next book. Great characters and a great story. You will really love this book.

It is refreshing to read a well crafted western by an author that is obviously very familiar with the subject. Mr. Flanagan tells a gripping tale in true western form that keeps the reader entertained. I am happy to recommend this book to anyone who enjoys this genre.

A great story.
Looking forward to the next installment.

A really good read! I couldn't put it down. The characters pull you right into the story.