University of Nebraska Books

The Great Liberator of South America, General Simon Bolivar, had
a dream of an all-encompassing, Spanish-speaking, Latin American
Federation of Nation, based upon the concept and reality of the United States of America. Yet,four decades later, the 1864-1870
Paraguayan War shows that then, and even now, this wonderful
dream of Simon Bolivar is still many decades away. Bolivia still
wants it's pre-1879 seacoast returned. The Chaco War-1932-1935
shows this "irredentitism" spirit of revenge has followed Latin America into the new 21st Century. Paraguay has yet to recover
from the 1864-1870 War of Disaster. The 1826 speech of General
Bolivar, in Panama, was and stll IS a great hope for all of
Latin America, but the mechanics of Latin American Unity is
"just not in the cards". The continuing tragedy of Paraguay
haunts still--135 years later. May Paraguay find healing.
In terms of this fine book-
This book, the Paraguayan War is 10,000% "on target".
A "MUST READ" for old history-buffs, and all serious students of
Latin American History, and Social Structures.
A most-excellent work of historical literati. BUY IT!!
VIVA PARAGUAY Y Libertad!!
from
Dr. Nick Stage-PHD History--Zionville Indiana

This book is a valiant effort to understand the only true war in the history of Latin America but in the end it falls short. I feel that some of the classifications for starting the conflict are wrong and his analysis is shaky. He takes several liberties and makes excuses for the dictator in Paraguay. If you are looking for information on the war try reading To the bitter end by Chris Leuchars. It is much better written and focused. I don't think we will be seeing volume two anytime soon so if you want the whole war see the other book. Overall just stay away.

While looking for background information on Paraguay I stumbled across Mr. Whigham's book. The book focuses on the Triple Alliance War fought in the mid-1800's. I found that he has a great writing style and I found myself not wanting to put the book down. The text is packed with the history of South America, but put in a way that was cohesive and interlinked. If your interested in the history of South America from colonial times to the mid-1800's pick this book up you won't be sorry!

The Paraguayan War (sometimes called the War of the triple Alliance or the Lopez War)frequently appears as a line or two at most in military histories and is immediately dismissed as not worthy of note. Thom Wigham has rightly rescued this facinating and tragic story and given it its rightful place among the great wars of the 19th century. The story is placed in context with a thorough exploration of the politics of the Plata in the decades leading up to the war; politics which can be most generously be described as "byzantine". The early conduct of the war is also both described and dispassionatly analyzed.

I do wish there were more and better maps. Also as a hard-core military buff it would be nice to have more notes on uniforms, equipment and orders of battle (as an appendix, of course).

My other wish is for Dr. Whigham to finish the next volume, which I understand will be in a couple of years. Until then I will have to satisfy myself with "I die for my country".

The Paraguayan war which lasted from 1864-70 was one of the bloodiest wars in Latin American history. More then 70% of the men of Paraguay perished in a terrible war that destroyed the country to such an extent that it has not recovered to this day. The Paraguayan was launched due to political machinations involving a civil war in Uruguay and this wonderful book delves into the root causes and opening campaigns. This is simply a must read and a needed contribution to a period of history that has been totally neglected by historians. Any student of Ltin American history will be happy with this work.

Seth J. Frantzman

Still Giving Kisses: A Guide to Helping and Enjoying the Alzheimer's Victim You Love
Reading about Lela Knox Shank's incredible committment, creativity and and joy in caring for her husband as he suffered from Alzheimer's Disease was incredibly inspirational as well as informative. As an occupational therapist I appreciated her ingenius adaptations such as Velcro along the sides of his pants to make undressing easier and understanding of emotional needs as she discovered onging solutions to new challenges. As a writer Ms. Shanks presented as such a loving and sincere person, I asked her to write the foreword to my book: Still Giving Kisses: A Guide to Helping and Enjoying the Alzheimer's Victim You Love. Thank-you Lela, for your book, writing my foreword and being who you are!

I especially admire the sections "Twenty Coping Strategies" and "The New Life of the Caregiver and Its Rewards". She is so wise, although she doesn't always acknowledge that other demenitia pateints may not have the same problems. Wish I'd found this book during my husband's illness! I quote it often in my own book, "Voices of Alzheimer's."

For any family going through this heart-wrenching disease with all of it's struggles, this book should be mandatory reading. I have found, as a daughter of an Alzheimer victim, that people are afraid to ask you about your loved one, because they don't know how to react. Lela Shanks is to be admired for her enlightenment of this disease. This book should be handed out to any family upon the diagnosis of Alzheimers.

This book helps those of us new to dealing with a family member with Alzheimers's. It helps identify odd behaviors as expected and helps give caregiver tips for dealing with the affected family member.

I strongly encourage anyone facing any type of involvement with an Alzheimer's patient to read this book. Anyone who knows the author could tell you that she is the type of person who is honest and straightforward. This book is a mirror image of her personality. There are practical solutions to the day to day trials of dealing with an Alzheimer's patient as well as an overwhelming sense of love and acceptance for the entire situation. The book also deals with the importance of support for caregivers. The best thing you can do to support yourself or anyone involved with an Alzheimer's patient is to love them. The second best thing you can do is to educate everyone involved. Start with this book and it will open your eyes and your heart in ways you never thought possible.

I've decided to write reviews of the books that not only caught my attention early on, but lived in my memory all of these years, words and phrases coming unbidden to mind occasionally from a literary experience far removed but not forgotten - a spirit residing within your own as an old friend. This book was one that probably never got the acclaim it deserved, although I never spoke with anyone who didn't like it. If your culture or experiences spring from a youth originating in the West or Southwest, you will be enchanted with it because you will recognize parts of it as your own.

This is the "long hot summer" story of two boys, friends since infancy, South Boy, a white youth, son of an Arizona rancher, and Havek, a Mojave Indian boy - whose intertwined trails to maturity took one last summer to complete for them.

During the course of the summer,it takes you through the complex and oftentimes uneasy coexistence between white and indian culture; and the coexistence between the "cultured white" and the "earthy ranch people" is equally tenuous. In the words of the long haired outlaw foreman that ran the ranch for South Boy's father during one of South Boy's Learning Sessions: "Don't put no stock in those wild ideas of you mother's. She's a Lady. Naturally, she's ignorant!"

The adventure begins with the rising thermometer and a youth sleeping in the shade of the grape arbor - he makes his way to the river under the blazing summer sun, goes to sleep on an overhanging limb with the muddy water flowing beneath him; and there Havek finds him "with a dream on his face". Havek is aspiring to become a "great person", is of an age to take a better name for himself in the Mohave tradition; and reads into South Boy's slumber something South Boy is reluctant to dissuade him from for appearances sake, so he agrees to travel "name taking" with him.

They spend one last glorious summer together as adolescents blundering through the Arizona mesquite and greasewood, in a variety of scenarios, some curiously noble, some ill-conceived and dangerous - before the final departing from the comfortable innocence of childhood, where a friend is a friend regardless of anything else; and moving into the complex world of the adult where nevermore will their friendship be as simple as it was on the banks of the slow-flowing, muddy river that day. It is evident in a very poignant scene as they are returning home after the adventure of death, rituals, ignorance, survival, all stunningly woven by Mr. McNichols into a tale spawned from the living of some of it, you can tell. The mesa is awash in rain water dropped by a violent storm after a long draught; South Boy suddenly applies the teachings of the "Foreman" to his immediate reality and comes up with the idea that he can make a lot of money putting weak, cheap cattle on it. Havek, on the other hand, is on his way home to celebrate his new name with his people, and "financial gain" is of absolutely no interest to him - and there they go their separate ways, each to the world he springs from, the same physical world, but in all other ways as different as the ideals and teaching that shaped them.

One feels a certain sadness that it should be so and most of us probably secretly wish that we could reside in our youth forever, never growing up.

This little-known book is, IMHO, one of the greatest books ever written. Reading it as a boy, I was puzzled by how it made everything seem so real in so few words - everything in it seems to have a life off-camera that we had just glimpsed part of.

McNichols crisp writing, detailed knowledge of Mojave Indian and Colorado Desert ranching, and realistic plot make this a genuinely timeless work., My tattered copy was given to me 45 years ago by the writer Madge Harrah. Every half decade or so I dig it out and read it again. It taught me to write and, in a way, was a model for my North Of Nowhere. Bravo Charles!

South Boy goes with his friend Havek on a Mojave name-quest. It sounds simple -- but under the surface is a breath-taking wealth of experience, mythology and understanding of the many personalities in one person, or one horse, or one culture. Every sentence of this book is laden with knowledge of its time and place. Even the mention of the "little yellow catfish," about which no more is said than that they "make good eating," reflects the fact that in this period the US Government seeded the Colorado river with the Yellow Catfish, a transplant from Texas. This is the key to the book -- that everything is in flux, as two cultures melt together, and new ways try to live with old ways. The ending seems to be a conclusion -- until you realize that it's only one more step to escape from final decisions. The book begins a long way before the first sentence -- and would finish a long way after the last. Dreams and visions reverberate through the telling, and Great Things are done.

Having recently moved to Mohave County in Arizona (not far from the Colorado River), I was interested in reading "Crazy Weather" to get a little of the "flavor" of the area, and to learn something about the Mojave Indian culture as well. The book lived up to my hopes in both of those respects, but what surprised me was how absorbed I became in the story itself. On one level, it's a simple adventure story involving South Boy (who's actually white but was partially raised by Mojaves and was given that name by them) and his best friend Havec (a Mojave) as they travel up the Colorado River into Piute territory --- and in some places it almost reminded me of Huck Finn travelling along the Mississippi with the runaway slave, Jim, and meeting an assortment of characters along the way. On another level, though, it's really about the challenges of truly understanding another culture and way of thinking --- and in the end the pull of their respective societies is too strong and the two friends inevitably have to part and follow their separate destinies.

The author seems quite knowledgable about Mojave culture and history, as I've confirmed from subsequent readings on the subject. If you're interested in the American Southwest, the Colorado River, native American cultures, or just a good story, I think you'll enjoy this book.

I usually read non-fiction when I need help getting to sleep. Not so, Enigma Woman. I was up until 1:00 A.M. finishing it.

Well written, good historical background, and an exciting real life story.

I highly recommend this book. But don't plan on falling asleep reading it.

This book is about my aunt(through marriage) and I personally know the author did a lot of research. I commend her.

This book has something for everyone. It's a compelling crime drama, a carefully layered character study and a cultural history that provides insights into gender roles, the legal system and the media of the 1930s and the 1940s.

Nellie May Madison was an unusual and at times a desperate woman, but she found the inner strength to avoid being a victim on two occasions. The author masterfully re-creates her story, including pain-staking research about her Montana pioneer family.

The book has lots of surprising legal twists and turns. But what sets it apart is the larger story it tells about the life and times of Southern California during that period.

One note of caution: don't start the book if you need to go to bed early, I couldn't put it down.

I first became aware of Nellie Madison in the summer of 2006 when I was told that she was buried at the historic Mountain View Cemetery in San Bernadino, CA. Well, I was told that a "woman who was on death row" was buried there, but no further information was given. A few months later I located Nellie's victim, her husband Erik Madison, at Vallhala Cemetery in North Hollywood and the pieces of the puzzle all came together. Then I heard that Proferssor Cairns was about to publish a book about the entire case! Talk about it being a small world.

The book is excellent. Sources are cited throughout, no tabloid style writing, no sensational prose. A welcome relief from most true crime stories. She did an amazing amount of research, interviewing people connected to Nellie, obtaining archival photos, everything you would hope to see but rarely do.

Nellie Madison's story deserved to be told, and Ms. Cairns did an excellent job sharing it.

The doctrine of self-defense has always required an "imminent" danger. To a man, "retreat" involves a physical act. But a beaten woman who decides to get her man before he gets her often preemptively strikes while he's incapacitated.

Alas, the law has always shaken a finger at slaying a sleeping drunk.

Nellie Madison woman shot her sleeping husband in the back, and the lawyers and the press didn't know what to make of it. Indeed, her lawyer kicked women off the jury and refused to put on the evidence that would explain why she did it, and the puzzled jurors contemplated the bloody bed set up in the courtroom and sentenced her to hang.

This book finally tells us the entire tale of Nellie Madison for the first time, and it is so terrifically researched, so well put together, you might forget the story took place in 1934. It's supposed to be an "academic" book, and was published by The University of Nebraska Press, yet it's anything but a stuffy academic treatment, and it's a physically lovely, beautifully produced book.

The crime rags were quick to put a moniker on Mrs. Madison, referring to her as "a real-life Roxie Hart," among other names, and dubbed her crime one of the most mysterious in the annals. An investigator called her "the coolest woman I have ever questioned."

Purple prose never fades, and the author couldn't help but quote some of the press accounts. My favorite, courtesy the Los Angeles Evening Herald and Express:

"Like the opening of a detective mystery will be the prosecution's evidence in the trial of the comely 'enigma woman.' There will be told in court the screams of a woman at midnight, excited footfalls in dim halls. Then, like the closing chapters of a 'thriller,' in which the mystery is solved, the story of Mrs. Madison will unroll before the jury, providing, it is hoped by the defendant and her counsel, an adequate excuse for blasting Eric Madison into eternity as he lay on his bed that fateful night."

She was an unusual woman; she began her marital adventures at 13 and was divorced several times -- this when divorce rates were in the single digits -- and yet she never had children.

Then she bought a handgun and made herself a widow. Witnesses originally thought the gunshots came from the adjacent Warner Brothers Studio. Despite the Hollywood backdrop, Nellie May missed her cue; she didn't weep into her handkerchief for the press. Indeed she refused to say anything at all about the murder until she was behind bars and sentenced to swing.

Then she told a story of rib-cracking abuse -- and it was backed up by the dead man's other loves, who told virtually identical stories of stranglings and beatings and humiliations that the flashpoint-tempered Eric Madison heaped upon the many women in his shortened life.

The Enigma Woman is a wonderful piece of storytelling, masterfully constructed, and the author obviously put many miles on her car getting the full story. I wish I'd written it, and I stand in awe of anyone who can glean so many fascinating details from a case that's coated in decades of dust.

I also noticed Amazon is pairing it for sale with The Good-Bye Door, the book out last fall about electrocuted 1930s serial killer Anna Hahn, another I enjoyed very much for the same qualities.

The Enigma Woman is top-shelf stuff for votaries of high quality historic crime stories. Professor Cairns will keep you mesmerized in contemplation of a most curious murder case, one in which our recalcitrant heroine could not speak until she was within the shadows of the gallows, one in which the victim may well have had it coming in spades and by golly got it.

Every once and awhile a reader is forturnate to come by a book that might seem uninteresting but upon reading it finds it to be one of the best books ever. Such is HOLDING STONE HANDS which I bought several years back from University of Nebraska as one of their sale books. Turned out to have been one of the wiser buys of my time.

One of the very first things that struck me as I began this book was the flat out courage it would take to do what the author has done. Leave home, leave safety, walk upwards of 1500 miles, live, eat, and sleep out of doors much of the time. Another thing that quickly came to me was the interest people, mostly Cheyenne, still held for this historical happening. And they wanted to aid the author in his quest.

I have read some on this subject but things such as the Northern Cheyenne life coming to an abrupt end in December, 1876, was a surprise. Also that Lone Wolf's name was not that but 'Lone Coyote', or that Dull Knife's name was not that but 'Morning Star'. Also that both of these heroic and historic personages of the Northern Cheyenne, each in his own way, ended life mostly an outcast. Remembered today, yes, but only in a tempered way. Many still find fault with some decisions Dull Knife made. And with Lone Wolf murdering a fellow tribesman, his later life of blindness and isolation had to be very unrewarding.

No matter the reason for reading this wonderful book, a reader has struck a true classic of western history. And the main thrust of the book goes beyond history to be one of mission and people. Great reading as usual from University of Nebraska Press.

Semper Fi.

As my title states, this is a very powerful book. Mr. Boye walked the trail that the Cheyennes travelled in their tragic journey to get back home (from Oklahoma to Montana). Along the way the author meets up with two Cheyenne men who travel with him for the better part of the journey. When they leave he meets a mid-20s Japanese man who travels with him for a while. Why is this Japanese man touring the American West? Read the book to find out. Despite my praise for this book, my rating is a 4.5 out of 5. Why? I will give two examples (not that there are many more):
1 - On p. 225 he states that hundreds of Indians were killed at the Battle of the Blue Water (the number was about 86 and his own source--Utley, Frontiersmen in Blue--states 85).
2 - Following Little Wolf's capture his followers shortly after became scouts for General Miles to fight the Sioux. Boye only mentions his surrender. He should have gone on to include this important detail.

Having said that, the book is still a very good read and I really enjoyed his journey and his dramatic retelling of the Cheyennes' escape from Fort Robinson. I would like to know more about the film made by some Cheyenne's as mentioned in the book. Final verdict: Recommended.

I'm not much for history as it is taught in our schools, but this book is great. It is a perfect blend of history, present day (in the form of the author's trip), and thoughts and stories from the author's personal life.

I recommend this tome to anyone that likes travel stories. Especially if you dont know, or want to know more about, the Cheyenne Exodus. Expensive, but worth the money.

This is a story of heartache and strength, of hope and struggle...it is the story of a man's love of the land and a people's fight to keep their homeland. Boye is a gifted and talented writer whose words flow as he leads us from page to page, back into the past and then gently into the present. He is a writer that truly cares about his story and the people that inhabit it. He opens his heart and the words come tumbling out. A wonderful MUST READ for all nature lovers and history buffs.

This is a magical walk through a dark time in American History...Alan's own experiences are so materfully intertwined with history on this voyage, the past truly comes alive as you feel every step and face every fear. With each step, with every encounter along the way, you can feel the ghosts of the Cheyenne people walking in your own shadow. Make no mistake, HOLDING STONE HANDS is a Masterpiece...you'll feel the pain of endless walking, the anger for what the Cheyenne people were forced to endure, and the sorrow for the pointless death as they tried to make their way to the only land they would ever call home.

I recommend it to anyone that is interested in learning more about the life of the original Americans.
Apreciate the fast delivery and the good condition of this book.

great book! buy it!! Everything is wakan. find out why!

Lakota Belief and Ritual is a book rich in oral history. It was recorded at the a time when there were First Nations members who had the personal experiences of a lifetime and whose tradition was an oral tradition. Dr. Walker (a physician and anthropologist) collected and preserved this oral history in the face of the destruction of most First Nation's cultures through the intervention of the European cultures.

The narratives are all excellent and there are 90 + documents containing those first-person narratives along with several photographs.

The Bison Books edition has an extensive (and very valuable) series of appendices, including an extensive (modern) bibliography.

The original Walker papers (or the majority, at any rate) are now part of the Colorado Historical Society collection.

A first rate piece of work by the editors, DeMallie & Jahner, working from the primary materials created and preserved by Dr. Walker and his family.

An invaluable work. This book -or at least excerpts- should be part of any text on U.S. History. The inclusion of First Nations culture in our textbooks is rare, indeed.

James Walker went to the Pine Ridge reservation in 1896 (as a Christian) to serve the indians as a Medical Doctor.

18 years later when he left the reservation; he had adopted the Sioux form of Spirituality, and had become a wicasa wakan (holy man). He was trained by George Sword, and other medicine and holy people.

Some of this material is very dry, and dificult reading because a large part of the book (expecially the rituals and myths) were translated into English from the Language of the Sioux. But if you have a sincere wish to understand this form of Spirituality; this book is well worth reading.

I do wish to confirm one statement in this book by wicasa wakan (George Sword). "Any pipe can be used in a sacred manner" I could NOT agree more! I have used a meerschaum pipe, a pipestone (catlinite) pipe, and a briar pipe. The condition of the heart and mind is far more important than the kind of pipe one uses.

I encourage questions and comments about my reviews; Two Bears.

Wah doh Ogedoda (We give thanks Great Spirit)

This book is the litmus test for subsequent interpretations of the Lakota religion. Since the true authors felt that their culture was disappearing, they were extremely forthcoming with their information to Dr. Walker. All Lakota expressions of religion that follow this revelation of the Lakota medicine men are in fact derivative of it. Some have questioned the qualifications of the "informants" within Lakota society, but I have seen no contemporary Lakota belief or ritual that deviates from the broad strokes of this book. If you truly want to learn about traditional Lakota religion, start here, and then move on to Raymond J. DeMallie's edited texts under the title The Sixth Grandfather.

This book is about the expulsion of the Germans after the Second World War, whose impacts still last in the present of the 21st century. In this book, the effects of the decisions of the Allies at the Potsdam conference are described in a detailed way as well as the tragedy of these decisions. In a very good documented and researched as well as extensive manner, the author characterize the problem of the expulsion which based on the decisions of the "well-regulated and human" resettlement of 16 million German and led to one of the biggest postwar period crimes in which more then 2 million German lost their lives.
Alfred M. de Zayas is able to illustrate in an objective way the facts of the holocaust on the German independent of any ideology and without putting the blame on so. nor looking for excuses so that a dark but fast forgotten chapter of the 2nd World War will bear in remembrance. This topic is most times tabu for German. A lot of German still suffering ( physically and psycological) from that history and they fear to be considered as a NAZI if mentioned that issue but it is necessary to deal with that subject and to accomplish comprehension which is useful for underlining the efforts for peace.
This book prompt me to do some research on that subject but also to other related documentations of the 2nd World War among other things of de Zayas. He gave me understanding but also the impulsion to get closer to that topic. This book is a must to understand the German history completely and to be able to deal with that. The first German version of that book was published in 1977 under the title: Die Anglo-Amerikaner und die Vertreibung der Deutschen, Vorgeschichte, Verlauf, Folgen.

This book is about the expulsion of the Germans after the Second World War, whose impacts still last in the present of the 21st century. In this book, the effects of the decisions of the Allies at the Potsdam conference are described in a detailed way as well as the tragedy of these decisions. In a very good documented and researched as well as extensive manner, the author characterize the problem of the expulsion which based on the decisions of the "well-regulated and human" resettlement of 16 million German and led to one of the biggest postwar period crimes in which more then 2 million German lost their lives.
Alfred M. de Zayas is able to illustrate in an objective way the facts of the holocaust on the German independent of any ideology and without putting the blame on so. nor looking for excuses so that a dark but fast forgotten chapter of the 2nd World War will bear in remembrance. This topic is most times taboo but it is necessary to deal with that subject and to accomplish comprehension which is useful for underlining the efforts for peace.
This book prompt me to do some research on that subject but also to other related documentations of the 2nd World War among other things of de Zayas. He gave me understanding but also the impulsion to get closer to that topic. This book is a must to understand the German history completely and to be able to deal with that. The first German version of that book was published in 1977 under the title: Die Anglo-Amerikaner und die Vertreibung der Deutschen, Vorgeschichte, Verlauf, Folgen.

Abraham Lincoln once said that "history is an agreed upon set of lies": I believe every word. The atrocities that were committed by the Allies to helpless civilians should never be forgotten and should be included in modern textbooks, lest we be damned to repeat such ethnic cleansing. Let us see history for what it is, not what others wish us to believe. I applaud Mr. De Zayas for having the intestinal fortitude to step forward and offer this intriguing account of the horrors of revenge.

It's very difficult to find much information, especially accurate information, on these expulsions. This book is a very responsible portrayal. Of course the Germans in a way brought this nightmare on themselves, but its hard to really justify the hypocricy and historical distortions of the Poles and Russians. I wonder whether these border adjustments can stand the light, now being allowed, after 45 years of Russian occupation? The current dysfunction of these regions begs for German investment, dispite the ambivalence of the current residents. At least this book brings to light, for those few who have read it, the hypocrisy of the allies.

Abraham Lincoln once said that "history is an agreed upon set of lies": I believe every word. The atrocities that were committed by the Allies to helpless civilians should never be forgotten and should be included in modern textbooks, lest we be damned to repeat such ethnic cleansing. Let us see history for what it is, not what others wish us to believe. I applaud Mr. De Zayas for having the intestinal fortitude to step forward and offer this intriguing account of the horrors of revenge.

I prefer the new Mermaid text to those in the anthologies primarily because the notes are on the same page as the text. I don't think the background to the play in the introduction is quite as thorough as it could be (the Oxford being more complete I think in that regard), but his notes are helpful and his history of production, though short, is revealing. I tend to side with those that attribute this play to Middleton, but who knows? The play itself is a wonderful mixture of the melodramatic revenge plot with a surprisingly comic over-view of the world in which it takes place.

PreShakespeare, but a lot of fun to read! I enjoyed it very much--- has to do with a man who is carrying around a murdered girlfriend for almost ten years-- he is planning revenge on the king...

This dark tragi-comedy resonates with the dramatic potential of Hamlet, but and edge particular to Jacobean Drama. A play which is still relevant today (many students related it to "The Godfather"), and brimming with cinematic violence, lust, deception, vengence, and, with all this, communicated through beautiful poetry.

Brian Gibbons, editor of the New Mermaids second edition (1991), describes The Revenger's Tragedy (1607) as a minor masterpiece. Judged against contemporaneous revenge plays like Hamlet and King Lear (and even Titus Andronicus), the term 'minor' certainly does not imply inferior. Minor or not, I agree with the four previous reviewers: The Revenger's Tragedy deserves five stars. Also, it is much easier reading than most Elizabethan and Jacobean plays.

Despite its title, The Revenger's Tragedy is no more bloody than Thomas Kyd's The Spanish Tragedy (fifteen years earlier) and it is certainly not as insanely gruesome and brutal as Shakespeare's Titus Andronicus (1594). No dismemberments and no cannibalism. Bloody, yes. But not excessively so.

Nonetheless, we learn of a murder, a rape leading to a suicide, and yet another aggressive seduction (or rape, if need be) that is in the planning stage. So ends Act 1. Revenge and mayhem follow.

The plot is not unduly complex. Vindice desires revenge for the poisoning death of his betrothed, Gloriana, by the lustful, aging Duke. Vindice also indirectly blames the Duke for his father's death, though "he died of discontent, the nobleman's consumption". Vindice is perhaps obsessive; he has retained Gloriana's skull and sometimes speaks directly to her.

In disguise he provokes discord between his enemies and leads them to plot against each other. (This ruse reminds me of Malevole's subterfuge in John Marston's play, The Malcontent.) A poisoned skull, a mistaken execution, and a murderous banquet highlight the later acts. The play concludes with an ironic twist, possibly added as a moral lesson, or simply to surprise the audience.

Hats off to either Cyril Tourneur or Thomas Middleton, or whoever may have authored this fascinating revenge play.

Update July, 2007: I recently encountered reference to this lesser known play in a murder mystery. Cecil Day-Lewis, Poet Laureate from 1968 until his death in 1972, wrote sophisticated mysteries under the pseudonym Nicholas Blake from the mid-1930s to the early 1960s. Thou Shell of Death (1936) is a revenge murder patterned on The Revenger's Tragedy. In the first scene Vindice speaking to the skull of his dead mistress says: "My study's ornament, thou shell of death, Once the bright face of my betrothed lady ...."

OK. The jury has more or less decided that "The Revenger's Tragedy" is not by Cyril Tourneur after all, but by Thomas Middleton. This is on strictly scholarly grounds. Either way, it scarcely matters, as this play is strictly sui generis. It's like nothing else either Tourneur or Middleton ever wrote.

The best way to think of it is as standing in a relation to the classic Jacobean and Elizabethan tragedies of Kyd, Shakespeare, Webster and Middleton sort of like the way Quentin Tarantino's early films stand in relation to previous Hollywood classics. Whoever wrote this, they were Taking The P*ss. The play starts in next-to-top gear, and accelerates into warp speed fairly quickly. Few other plays of the era (this is roughly contemporaneous with "King Lear", to give you an idea) are so ruthlessly efficient. The basic plot is put in motion by two brothers, Vindice and Hippolito, who are a bit cheesed off because the egregious Duke (of wherever) killed Vindice's wife cause she wouldn't put out. From here proceeds a bizarre and increasingly unlikely series of revenges, climaxing in a frankly chortlesome mass slaying. Vindice is the juiciest role - a bit like Shakespeare's Richard III, he guides the audience through the action, but with far greater economy and far less wrangling of conscience, not that Crookback Dick is noted for his remorse.

By the end, the stage is littered with bodies, and Vindice and Hippolito cheerfully go off to execution, with barely a qualm in sight. This is truly the most cynical and the funniest of all Jacobean tragedies. Whoever wrote it, be it Cyril or Tom, was thinking along the same lines Howard Hawks was on when he (Hawks) turned "Rio Bravo" from a Western into a chamber comedy. It's all thoroughly reprehensible, and great fun. You want depth, try John Webster.

There aren't many four-hundred-year-old plays that I laugh aloud at whilst reading, but this is one of them. Pace the opinion below, it couldn't have less to do with Jonson's careful layering of reality if it tried. It's a brisk, bleak, savage cartoon. Full marks, whoever you were.

Black Elk Speaks

I ordered the book for my friend Kayla. When I found out that she was writing a paper on American Indians, I insisted she read what I feel is one of the most amazing insights into a facet of the mind they, the American Indians know well; that of the Medicine Man, their Shaman. Black Elk Speaks opened my mind to a world I knew of only in reading other books on sages that have entered realities unknown to most of us, sages from other parts of the world. Our culture generally discourages any practice that helps an individual get beyond the mental confines of the world we know. In this book, we read about a people, in this case one man, that makes it his and their life-style or "Way" where the exception in the norm.

Robert Yanasak

These are the original records of a series of interviews about spiritual awakening that resulted in the classic book "Black Elk Speaks." When Black Elk describes his vision, it is the most beautiful, the most profound assessment of human experience that I have ever encountered. Black Elk speaks in the language and symbols of his culture, so a reader who has knowledge of his way of life will better understand what he was trying to convey.

This book is the most powerful book I have ever read. Black Elk exudes a spiritual connection that is unparalleled. He also was a man of service. He speaks with a poetic sense of the world that has been killed by science, rationalism and money lust. If we could recover the spiritual sense, this indigenous way of being, that this man had the world would be rich. This book is better than the book "Black Elk Speaks" by Neihardt, because Demallie publishes the interviews verbatim (Neihardt's influence is limited), he provides many footnotes and writes a 100 page introduction and biography on Black Elk using material not contained in the interviews. Demallie also discusses issues that arise from what Black Elk says.

I felt this book was a constant page turner. If your interested in native american literature this is a wonderful book to have in your collection. Find a quiet place burn some sage and cedar and begin your journey with the sixth grandfather.

In reading this book on Black Elk Speaks I was overwhelmed. It seemed like the book was meant to land into my hands. When I began to read this novel, I understood. My feelings about vision quests, and soaring with the creators helpers has been an enlightenment to me for being here. I see things that I read in Black Elk Speaks and I understand. I understand what it is like to want to save the people and to have this heaviness come over you when they don't understand you. I have heard your message and I understand.

this book set everything in motion in regard to this era the fiery speeches of Pontiac alone make the Ottawa chief a character of Shakespearren proportions.This book is not cold historical interpretation but is packed with emotion and tragedy.

This book was written in the 1800's so a lot of the language is "old-fashioned". I found it to read almost like Homer's Illiad. I high-lighted several quotes that I found interesting and someday maybe worth reciting. This book is worth it just for it's portrayal of Indians, Frenchmen and The English.

This is Vol. 1 of Francis Parkman's excellent account of the major uprising of the Great Lakes tribes in 1763-1764 whose orchestration is generally attributed to the Ottawa chief Pontiac.

Pontiac's Rebellion, as it is often called, is generally seen as a epilogue to the French and Indian War. At the end of this conflict, France was forced to concede defeat, and to hand over control of all their former forts and settlements to the British. The complex relationship between the Britsh, French, and Indian tribes in the Trans-Alleghany region was in a delicate situation after the fall of New France. The great lakes tribes, allies of the French and tradionally tied to them trough trade and inter-marriage, were fearful and suspicious of the British conquerors. The British were generally eager to establish trade with these new tribes, which had up until now been exclusively partnered with the French. But the view held by some in the upper British echelon, particularly General Jeffery Amherst, the commander-in-chief of all British forces in North America, was extremely biased against the Indians, whom they viewed as dangerous savages.

When the British took control of the Forts in the Great Lakes region, Amherst immediately instituted a harsh trade policy which essentially punished the Indians, preventing them from obtaining gunpowder and ammunition for their muskets needed for hunting. Amherst and his cronies, warm and safe in their lush surroundings in New York, failed to grasp the unique relationship that had evolved between the Indian and the white traders since the early days of European settlement. The Indians could no longer support themselves without the trade goods from the whites, particularly guns and ammo. Amherst also eliminated the traditional giving of "presents" as a diplomatic offering to the Indians, which was seen by them as a major breach of trust and friendship. This proved a recipe for disaster which was forseen by many in-the-know on the Frontier, particularly men like George Croghan and Sir William Johnson, British Superintendent of Indian Affairs and a well-respected figure among the New York Iroqouis. But all their warnings to Amherst and the high command were ignored. The result was one of the largest Indian uprisings in American history.

Parkman's account is an extremely detailed retelling of the uprising from it's beginings at Fort Detroit to it ultimate defeat by British troops at the Battle of Bushy Run and Colonel Henry Bouquet's march into the Ohio Country. Some people may find Parkman difficult to read and his language can be dry at times. Some modern readers will find his 19th century view on the Indians, whom he often refers to as savages, as offensive. However, Parkman was a 19th century American writing at a time when the war to conquer the American continent was still being waged and white animosity and racism toward the Indians had not been tempered. Even so, Parkman does seem to give them more credit than many of his contemporaries.

The war's outcome did not bode well for the Indians and Pontiac's tragic fate seem to foreshadow dark times to come for the native tribes. Even the tribes close with and allied to the English began to realize that their days were numbered and that the attitude toward them was changing for the worse. Soon, the British, who had once been heavily dependant on trade and military alliances with the tribes would no longer need them now that the French had been vanquished. The fears of the Indians, that the whites would soon come to drive them out and take their land, were beginning to be fulfilled. The fallout from this tragic conflict, a despreate attemtpt to cling to the traditional relationship that had existed between the whites and the Indians, would echo down the long years of history. In later years, great Indian leaders like Joseph Brant, Blue Jacket, Little Turtle, and Tecumseh would try to recreate what Pontiac attempted in 1763: To preserve their homes and way of life, a struggle that would ultiamtely prove a failure.

I have a love for history as it happened, and this book was as good as it gets with regard to "telling it like it is" and the explanation about the environment and the character of the people involved. I understand more about the Indian people and the French and the British (at that period of time) than I knew before reading the book. As to the book it shows how the French lost most of America and Canada, when they were better positioned (they had made friends with the Indians) to take over than the British. The author of the book lived in a period where he could visit and speak to persons who were affected by the French and Indian wars (which period is almost forgotten). It also explained who was "Pontiac", an Indian chief of amazing leadership(& who is not a car). I had heard his of his name in a movie and I was curious to what he represented. I had read the "Lewis and Clark expedition" book before this one and both books complemented each other very much. A movie, regarding the Indian assault on a desperate Fort Denver should be made (I believe there is one with Gary Cooper and a young Lloyd Bridges, but it is not completely - historically speaking - reliable).

This book and its follow-on volume 2 of 2 provide us with rare detail of a mostly forgotten chapter of American history. While Francis Parkman is best known for his 7-volume masterpiece "France and England in North America, as well as numerous accounts of Westward expansion, this more focused 2-volume work, in my opinion, brings forward his most impressive writing skills. Parkman literally paints with words, including the most descriptive interpretations I have ever read of the early American frontier and the fascinating range of peoples vying for control or mere survival.

These two volumes are a true pleasure to read and a treasure for those who enjoy the history of North America and its peoples, as well as those who appreciate the power and beauty of the written word.