States Books

I would love to read this book, my great uncle died aboard the Leopoldville and though the family has been told stories from some of the survivors, it would be nice to have a researched account of it all. At $1,050 a copy, I fear it may take a while before that happens, but all the same, i'm glad someone took the time to find out the truth about this disaster. This month, my great uncle's 3 brothers are all being awarded medals for their service in WWII, Korea and Vietnam. These are the real heroes, these four brothers.

This true story of the souls lost and those who lived on from a World War II disaster is unequalled in military history. There is probably no other single incident in WW2 that compares to or involves so many lives in so many states, stories that continue on to this day. The stories Andrade provides, and his writing ability place you on the Leopoldville on Christams Eve, 1944, the day it was lost.

My father-in-law's brother perished in the sinking of the Leopoldville. I married into the family 20 years ago and never really knew what happened to Uncle Waldo. Now I am filled with a great sense of loss at never having known him--and that loss is compounded as I think of the nearly 800 families who lost sons, husbands, fathers, and uncles.

I am also filled with a great sense of appreciate and reverence for all those on board--for those who gave their lives and for those who survived the terror.

Allan Andrade did a great job of presenting the story and introducing those who involved. They are very real people to me now. I finished the book with tears streaming down my cheeks. This is a must read for anyone who had family involved in the sinking. It is an important piece of history for everyone. It reminds us of the price others paid for our freedom, but it also raises important questions about the mistakes or errors that contributed to the loss and the failure to acknowledge those problems.

Thank you, Mr. Andrade, for writing this important book.

I just put this book down and was astonished both by the tragedy of the disaster and by Andrade's insightful and meticulous reporting. I highly recommend it.

"`Hey, I'm alive!' Drew blacked out. When he came to, he found himself on a beach, naked protected only by a raincoat thrown over him. He heard a faint voice `Throw him in there too.' Drew, realizing that they thought he was dead, yelled." This is just one of many harrowing tales of a life and death struggle resulting from the sinking. "SS Leapoldville Disaster, December 24, 1944" is the story of this troopship loaded with American troops being rushed to the help in the Battle of the Bulge. It was sunk barely five miles from shore taking with it 763 American servicemen. The book consists of many short stories detailing individual accounts of the disaster. Even the Introduction has 38. These were compiled from hundreds of interviews and research. Andrade includes many actual copies of letters. Perhaps the most moving are letters from parents to their sons before they knew they were dead. One story in particular is very moving: "Lt. Gene Barwick died that night. They never recovered his body. Each Christmas Eve reminded Barwick's parents of his death. His young bride eventually remarried and had two children but 20 years after her first love's death, she took her own life on a Christmas Eve." Many who died were only 18 to 21 years old and came from 47 of the (then) 48 states. All are listed by state in the In Memoriam Section at the end of the book as are the survivors.

This disaster was kept secret for many years. It was understandable during the war but not so afterwards. Allan Andrade has done a service to the nation and to the families of those lost with his book. It is well done, and an easy read - well worth your time!...

This book continues, along with An Adopted Woman, Twice Born and other titles the ever-thrilling story of a birth mother's reunion with the child she was forced to give up as an infant because she was unmarried and underage, usually from the 1940s, 1950s,or 1960s. Looking back on this practice it seems so cruel to both the mother and the child. I was wondering what becomes of these young pregnant girls today, and it hit me: abortion. How very sad in a totally different way. Society has its ways, often brutal when looked at from a distance, even a very short distance. Both ways of dealing with unexpected/unwanted pregnancies are obviously devastating to the mother, but at least adoption affords an opportunity to become acquainted with the child who was given up. In this story, the author has a rocky few years as we all do in one way or another, but always has the love of her children, and always has the hope of finding her baby. When she finally does, it is very exciting to read of the thrill the mother feels and of the slow awareness of the found child, now a grown woman who had never had any plan to seek out her birth mother. While being excited for Susan, the mother, my heart went out to Joanne whose entire life was instantly changed by this meeting. She was a married woman with a job, friends, and a loving family. Now, she was justifiably afraid of this woman entering her life, claiming to be her birth mother, who was pitting her entire happiness on Joanne's returning her love. Susan never quite goes over the line relative to stalking or smothering or demanding love, but she gets close. In any case, it is a very satisfying book and it is nice to read about such nice people who can have such a happy conclusion to a heart-breaking (for the mother) beginning.

I just LOVED this book! I can't say enough about it. I am an adoptee and it was really great to hear a birthmother's perspective. She told an honest, heartwarming story that flowed well and was easy to read. I couldn't put this one down!!! Grab your box of tissue, warm blanket & enjoy!!! It was EXCELLENT!

I very much enjoyed reading this "fantastic" read! I have been in the adoption searching business for over 13 years now and this is one of THE best adoption search stories ever - not kidding. The way Susan expressed herself and that oof her family members shows such genuine love and affection, considering what she had to go through.

Jan Bowyer

I attended High School with Susan Mello Souza but we were never friends. I knew who she was, but always considered her to be one of the "popular" girls and she always seemed to just be bursting with confidence... little did I know. I reconnected with Susan just this past year as I was surfing the net doing genealogy ... our last names were the same and that is how it came to be that I found a former classmate. After I read about the loss of her daughter, Jackie online and the story of her being pregnant in High School and giving that daughter up I contacted her via e-mail. She was very gracious and we e-mailed back and forth several times and I ordered a copy of her book.
The story is very well written and for me personally it showed me the "other side" of the adoption story. You see, while Susan was struggling with giving a baby up I had my own personal struggle. My parents were getting a divorce and I decided to give up my Dad and allow a step-father to adopt me. Like Susan this decision would haunt me for many years.
I thank God that I too had the chutzpah to correct a decision that was in may ways made for me and I was reunited with my Dad.
After reading Susan's book I came to realize how much pain I had inflicted on my own Dad.
Susan lost not one but two daughters in her life and you feel her pain, but also know that hope is what carried her through the dark days. This book I believe will inspire not only those birth mothers still looking for their child, but also those who may have given up on people that loved them.

When reading Susans and Joannes book...It brought me to a place I once was. As I shared Susan's life, her love, loss, reunion. I felt as though I was there. Sharing, hurting, caring. It really IS a MUST read. Whether you are a part of the adoption community or not. If you are...it helps the healing process. If you are not..you will learn we are not horrible. Just loving mothers searching for our lost children.

I was quite pleased with this book, especially the expanded edition, which includes information about his offspring. I wish it had more photos, but the photos that are there are choice. Wolfe did his research. And interesting read and a must have if you're a fan of Secretariat.

This book is great and chock full of beautiful, rich, and colorful photos; Secretariat almost looks real in some of them. It has just as much accurate information as Bill Nack's "The Making of a Champion," but doesn't go into the tedious detail of related bloodlines and the syndicate deal made for Secretariat. I found this book to be better than Nack's because of that, the pacing, and the gorgeous photos.

This book is a beautiful book, with great photos to supplement the text. It will be of interest to all.

I bought this book as a Secretariat and general thoroughbred racing fan. I discovered it in a book store in St. Petersburg, FL a couple of years ago, and just recently purchased it for my very own through Amazon. At that time, I remember seeing it on the shelf and with wide-eyes, removing it to sit on the floor cross-legged and look at the beautiful array of photographs. I couldn't believe that a coffee table book had been put together about my favorite champion.

And that's still how I feel. If one is looking for photos and photos and more photos of this red legend, this book is the one to own. I am just now getting around to the text, as I have read two Secretariat biographies already, but that is also well written and captures major and interesting details about this horse's life.

Thank you Raymond G. Woolfe Jr. for composing a book that is worthy of our 1973 hero.

On Oct. 4, 1989 the evening news shows carried the story that Secretariat had been euthanized. I cried my heart out. Called in sick to work the next day. My personal hero had left us. The current generation of Barbaro-worshippers can't understand what it was like to watch The Red run. You knew you were watching history unfold, as much as when Neil Armstrong stepped on the moon. Secretariat lifted up an entire nation, kissed it and put it back down. We were sick of Vietnam, sick of Watergate, sick of being the trashcan the world kicks down the street. Secretariat, the most magnificent assemblage of bone, muscle, brain and heart walked out in front of us and said, "watch me." Simple and to the point. Bred in America. Homegrown and hardworking. And setting the gold standard for perfection. This book simply reminds everyone how he was and how he made us feel. Nearly 20 years later I still cry my heart out on October 4th. But I look at his photos and read the stories about him and I am grateful to have been a witness to something that defies description.

I would recommend this book to girls who like journal style writing. Kristiana Gregory writes this book as the main character, Suzanna's, diary. She uses the elements of suspense and surprise to hold your attention; including how, when, and where Suzanna and Clara's mother died. I learned a lot from this book about the Gold Rush. I learned what gold fever was and how some men became thieves because of it. If you want to learn more about the Gold Rush and you like surprises then you should definitely read this book.

I am a huge fan of all the Dear America books. The Gold Rush is really cool and this book made me feel like I was there. This story is about a young girl who leaves her home to go and live with relatives. On the way her father gets gold fever, so they head out west. I really enjoyed reading about Susanna and all her many adventures

This book is the most fantastic book I have ever read! Susanna(the main charecter of this book)a girl who has no mom, a father who is a doctor in the Gold Rush, a bossy older sister, and who gets merried at the age of 15. She is always getting into trouble during the Gold Rush, But Wait! I don't want to spoil the whole story! I want you to read it yourself. I love this story more than anything ! Please consider this amazing book!

If your like me loving the past than you should read this book. It's about a girl and her father is a minner so they have to go differnet places so he can find work. At some parts it's hard for her and her sister. I SAY YOU SHOULD READ IT!!!

This book is about a girl named Susanne whose dad finds out about the California Gold Rush. They decide to stay for about a year, then go back to Oregon. Their dad goes away for a little while, leaving Susanne and her sister in charge of the cabin. A boy gets sick, and they want to help him, but their dad is away. They go searching for him, and they come upon a chunk of gold weighed around 1,000 dollars. Back then, that was a lot of money to just find. Anyway, this is a very good book and I suggest it to readers. READ IT!!!

This is an excellent cookbook, not only in content, but in the quality hard cover and readable print. I am so happy to have had it recommended for my cookbook library! Being a member of a local Herb Society, and having published our own books in the past, this book rates right at the top.

I have found every recipe created from this book to be so delicious and crowd pleasing. A staple item that I make at least three times a week are the Whipping Cream biscuits. Looking for healthy dishes to serve my family, I am fond of the Whipped Carrots and Parsnips dish as well as a rich and delicious Baked Spinach (a favorite often made for potlucks by a dear friend who is also a fan of this book). Each recipe is quite easy to prepare with readily available ingredients. An excellent book, highly recommend.

This is my favorite cookbook. Because the recipes are very thoroughly tested, unlike many cookbooks, I can trust that the recipes are accurate and easy to follow. I also love that all the recipes call for fresh ingredients, and it is an excellent book to use when cooking for company or holidays.

Absolutely wonderful cookbook! A must have for the kitchen! Beautiful bith in pictures and recipes!

I have collected cookbooks for the past 45 years, and this is absolutely one of the BEST!!! It is beautifully illustrated and full of unusual recipes. So far every one I've tried has been delicious and easy to follow. I'm ordering five more to have on hand for gifts.

This is a great Book! We used this book in a sign language class I took. It is easy to read and understand. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn to talk to the deaf or hard of hearing.

This book covers numerous "word groupings" in 17 chapters. Some of these groupings include, "Days of the Week & Time"; "School & Education"; "Descriptions,Thoughts& Emotions"; "The body& Health"; "Mealtime& Food"; "Home&Clothing"; "Numbers,Math Terms,Quantity &Money"; "Pronouns,People&Relationships"; "Actions"; as well as many more.
I especially like this book for the photographic illustrations. So far this is the only ASL book I have found with photographic illustrations.

With each word there are specific instructions for the proper hand shape, position, and movement to go with each sign as well as a visual reminder for memory. At the bottom of each page there is a photographic guide as a visual reminder of all the proper hand shapes that are used in all the signs for that particular page.

I would highly recommend this book for any with the desire to learn Sign Language.

This book was a required text for a Sign Language I course. The pictures are very clear, it gives good description of hand shape, location and movement. I really like that it gives a hint of how to visualize each sign, it makes it much easier to remember.

The book "Talking With Your Hands, Listening With Your Eyes" is a great book for people wanting to start learning sign language. The photographs of the signs are very clear. I especially like the additional material throughout the book about Deaf Culture and history. I recommend this book and enjoyed reading it even though I have been a student of sign language for 5 years.

Love the book, first borrowed it from my local library. The binding does tend to crack with much use, so I broke my book's binding and put all the pages in clear cover sheets in a 3 ring binder. Cost a little more but it was worth it because now I don't have to worry about destroying it and my book will last a lot longer. I found this book the most helpful in explaining how to do the signs as well as illustrating them in very clear photos. I highly recommend!!!

This is a very good book, especially for those trying to learn how to cook. Everything is easy to find and has helpful tips. This book is a very good teaching tool. I bought it when it was first offered by Oxmoor House and it was so good, that I had to come back and buy a few copies for my relatives who are just learning how to cook.

This is the best cookbook that I have run across. The one that I own is old and has food stains on it(from cooking and mixing right by the book) and some of the pages have fell out ( due to my own neglegence), however I always refer to this book for all my experimental dishes and all come out perfect!

I used to collect the annual SL cookbooks years ago and when we moved to senior apt community, I got rid of all but two as there were only a few recipes I used from them during the years I owned them. From the reviews here, I thought I'd take a chance & order this one. I wish I had reserved it from the library before ordering, but I'm relieved that I purchased it from a Marketplace seller. I'm not a novice cook and actually am a pretty decent cook (according to others), but I can't cook without a recipe. As a cook who would rather stay out of the kitchen as much as possible, collecting & reading cookbooks is more of my passion than the actual cooking itself. I like good food but will only cook if the recipe renders good results without too many ingredients or steps involved. I'm sure these recipes are great due to all the positive responses, but most of the recipes have far too many ingredients and steps without enough accompanying pictures for my tolerance levels. It's probably more suited to those who enjoy cooking much more me. If that were the case for me, I'd probably rate it much higher, however. I did find the substitutions at the back of the book, including alcohol and various flours, priceless.

I have tried several recipes from this book and they have all been outstanding. I recommend it as long as you are not looking for low fat recipes.

This cook book should be in any serious cooks/entertainers collection. The Shrimp Scampi is simply sublime!!! The Menu Index is Fabulous including ideas for "A Hunter's Feast, Ladies Tea Room Lunch, Comfort Food for the Family," and so many more. I have thousands of cook books and this is one I go back to time and time again. The recipes always come out fabulous. Too bad it is no longer in print. If you can get a used copy consider your self lucky!

This book not only deals with the issues of attachment and other developmental issues of the adoptive child, but it gives you practical strategies to overcome and deal with them. This book is very inlightning, but offers hope to parents of hurt children.

I thought this book provided valuable insights and gave good real life examples. I would recommend this book for anyone adopting an older child.

This book contained things that I think all parents should know about dealing with kids and thier baggage. I have refered back to this when dealing with situations with my special needs child, if only to know that I am not alone in my struggles.

This book was very helpful. It helped me even though I haven't ever adopted. It helped me understand hurting kids more. I will buy this book! I would like to adopt older kids when I'm married. Besides I have known several foster/adopted kids. It helped me understand them.

I read this book twice I liked it so much. I found many books minimized the struggle of raising adopted children and focussed too much on only the positive. Although I have not raised any adopted children myself I do plan on it after I finish university. After reading many books I knew it couldn't be as flowery as they put it. Although I am sure no book could truly prepare anyone for the realities of raising childeren it can help you understand where things are comming from. If nothing else I have a greater respect for the adoptive family because of this book!!!

This book does a very good job in trying to explain some of the causes of violence and some of the systemic failures in our society. It also provides an interesting narrative of the people involved in the story.

I am a descendant of James Butler. For the record, that family is not Scotch-Irish, they were English and had been for hundreds of years. They went to Virginia from England in the 1600's not because they were poor or down trodden but because they were wealthy and well connected with the intentions of making more money.

Shoddy research just makes me cringe.

On a cold wintry day in March 1978, Willie Bosket, a 15-year-old boy with an extensive juvenile record, shot and killed a middle-aged hospital worker in a New York City subway robbery. Eight days later, Willie robbed and killed another man under similar circumstances. Shortly thereafter, he was arrested, confessed, and was found guilty of these two homicides. He was given the maximum sentence for a juvenile of five years for the two murders. He felt not a whit of remorse for his actions, and was quoted as such in the papers.

A few days later, New York Governor Hugh Carey, reading about the trial in the New York newspapers, became so incensed that he immediately called a special session of the state legislature in Albany. He proposed and was successful in passing a new law in record time, the Juvenile Offender Act of 1978. This law allowed kids as young as 13 to be tried in adult criminal courts for murder and receive the same penalties as adults. This law was a sharp reversal of 150 years of American tradition. New York became the first of many states to make this watershed change in juvenile justice policy. Willie Bosket had made history.

If All God's Children were merely a harrowing recitation of the criminal life of Willie Bosket, it would be a fascinating chronicle of the "most dangerous prisoner in the history of the state of New York." But it is much more than that. It is also a multi-generational tale of the Bosket family dating back to 1834 in South Carolina. It in particular traces the interweaving stories of Willie Bosket and that of his father, Butch Bosket, with all that they held in common-genius-level IQs, a history of explosive anger, psychopathic tendencies and a conviction for two homicide.

In telling this saga of the Bosket family, Butterfield has successfully woven together a sociological treatise on violence in America, a cautionary tale of the pernicious effects of slavery, and a genealogical study of a truly tragic family.

Armchair Interviews says: A stunning read.

This book was indeed an eye-opener. I encourage all who are concerned about our society as a whole to study this book, and especially those who are in social services. Mr. Butterfield should be applauded for this work.

I'm not A reader of books. I was refered this one and I can't stop referencing it in everyday conversations. This book is not only a great history lesson of Racial tensions but also a great look into the history of violence in our Black Youth....

Bad

A. The narrative pace is just awful. I don't know what it is about this book I almost didn't make it past the first 40 pages because the begining moves so slowly.
B. The idiotic "conspiracy theory" idea regarding the Texas Revolution. Someday right minded people everywhere will be able to laugh conspiracy nuts right off the street.
Good

The book has a great deal of information regarding the beginnings of an organized abolitionist movement in this country. Garrison was the focal point for this when the movement started to move beyond isolated groups of idealists and Quakers and started to be taken seriously as a genuine force for social change.

Overall-Once you get into the book it is amazing, but you have to be in the right mood to do so.

Now a book that shows two sides of slavery that all white people were not all for slavery .Like Dr.martin luther king was saying that slavery was not about black against white ,but justice againt injustice.Because if all men and women are not free then we are all in chains.Books like this one has giving us a balance look at one of america darkest sides. But men like Garrison showed us that their were men and women that were a light of hope that all men are created equal . And being a black man I must say thank you to all the blackmen and women and white men and women of the past for fighting a fight that many of us still fight for today .And that is for an opportunity to live as we were when God created us in the beginnig as, a human being thank you.

This is the last and probably the best book completed by the late Henry Mayer.

Mayer admired Garrison, the most important leader of the abolitionist movement. In this book, he succeeds in renovating the reputation of a great reformer and activist who has often been neglected or written off as a crank.

Garrison and the abolitionists were originally hardly more popular in the North than in the South. They were seen as disrupting the Union and were regarded with suspicion for their pro-black beliefs - public opinion in the North was only marginally less racist than in Dixie. Garrison's courage and consistent refusal to trim his convictions for popular acceptance led to a career with an outsized share of controversy, oppobrium, and in several cases physical danger.

Some reviewers have felt the book is too long, and it is hefty. But the length is necessary for Mayer to give a full portrait, which shows not only the man, but also the era he lived in. In particular, Mayer writes extensively about abolitionism as a movement. Abolitionists, and Garrison himself, struggled with many problems - whether to compromise by supporting politicians whose platforms called for less than full abolition, evolving from a paternalist movement of mostly privileged whites to a movement in which free blacks and escaped slaves could play a meaningful role, and reconciling the pacifist leanings of many to their role in a war against slaveholders - that will be of interest to contemporary political activists. Mayer also shows how, after abolition was accomplished, former abolitionists seeking new causes worked for other advances, including the first stirrings of the women's suffrage movement.

Let's just get the obvious criticisms out of they way. First, the author pretty much flat out states that The Civil War was fought only because of slavery--and in the preface! Yawn. Will I ever be able to find a Northerner who can write a book that examines both sides of the conflict? I mean southern writers do it all the time. The second problem is the assertion that the Texas Revolution was some kind of government conspiracy--from Pres. Jackson on down to Sam Houston--to perpetuate slavery and continue manifest destiny. While I'm sure some men fought for those reasons, this moronic conspiracy theory about secret government shenanigans has no basis whatsoever. In fact, I would recommend the wonderful biography, Sam Houston, by James Haley. It expertly destroys that awful line of thinking that has somehow survived all these years.

But, being from Texas, I tend to be sensitive to such things. For most people it won't matter.

I still highley recommend All On Fire, though. It is very well written and researched. But most of all, it is the only real biography on Garrison worth reading. And say what you want about the author's biases, he can't muddle the fact that Garrison was one of this country's great patriots, willing to stand up to anyone to free his fellow man. He dedicated his entire life to this noble cause--and except for a few references in some Civil War books--is largely forgotten. What a shame.

William Lloyd Garrison was a man ahead of his time. Not by years or even decades, but centuries. In the 1830s he was an outspoken proponent of not just the abolition of slavery (many advocated various ways to deal with the South's "peculiar institution"), but called for the immediate abolition of slavery with complete and full civil rights for African-Americans. He dreamed of a time when a black woman might succeed a black man as Secretary of State a decade before the Supreme Court ruled that blacks were something less than human in the infamous Dredd Scott decision. He was also an early advocate of women's rights, labor reform, temperance and civil disobedience, as well as an outspoken critic of organized religion (Garrison was what we might today call a fundamentalist "born again Christian" who recognized no formal church other than Christ's teachings).

Given Garrison's role as founding father of the abolitionist movement, his passion for the cause, longevity in leadership and terminal impact on the greatest political issue of the nineteenth century it is puzzling that he has left such an obscure historical legacy. As author Herbert Mayer notes, Martin Luther King Jr. cited Gandhi, Thoreau and the Gospel as his inspiration and motivation in the Civil Rights movement with no reference to the man whose peaceful agitation did more to eradicate bondage than any other -- and who in turn may very well have been Thoreau's inspiration in writing "Civil Disobedience."

So why the obscurity? Mayer's biography does little to address this paradox. In fact, his book makes Garrison's general absence from the mainstream of American history all the more tenebrous. The man that emerges from the pages of "All on Fire" is a moral giant, a crusader in the purest and best sense of the word, who risked -- indeed, welcomed -- verbal and physical abuse, a life of indigence and scorn, all in pursuit of a truly noble cause. Garrison grew up in New England and never traveled further south than Baltimore until after the Civil War, yet he dedicated his life to the abolition of slavery with an intensity and zeal that surpassed dissident southern whites (such as the Grimke sisters) and even some blacks that had escaped from bondage themselves. Because of his central role in establishing and leading the cause, "All on Fire" is, as the full title suggests, as much a history of the entire abolitionist movement as it is a biography of its leading agitator.

However, a close reading of "All on Fire" also reveals a hidden side of William Lloyd Garrison that Mayer, unfortunately, never fully explores: a man of extreme ambition, vanity, and conceit. Garrison fought tenaciously to keep himself at the front-and-center of the moral movement he came to regard as his own. One senses that the fame and notoriety he gained by his agitation came to mean quite a lot to him. In this sense, Garrison reminds one of a contemporary political gadfly increasingly enamored of his high-profile image: Michael Moore. Perhaps Garrison's attraction to celebrity never fully outweighed his commitment to the ultimate prize of freeing three million humans from bondage, but it certainly meant more than the pious Christian in him would have liked to admit -- and certainly more than biographer Mayer is willing to concede. Again and again throughout the narrative Garrison experiences a painful and personal falling out with some of his closest friends and coadjutors: Frederick Douglas, Wendell Phillips, the Tappan brothers, etc. And time after time Mayer attributes the rift to simple misunderstandings or the result of the stress and pressure of the times. That Garrison might have been something less than the Galahad on ante-bellum America is left unexplored.

Nevertheless, for anyone with a desire to know more about America and especially to learn about a man that was once one of the most controversial and well-known figures of his century, only to sink to near anonymity, this National Book Award finalist can be highly recommended.