Illinois Books

During a recent trip to Chicago, I used several guide books to plan our trip and to use during the visit; I found this particular reference was the one I used most frequently and the one I threw in the backpack as we headed out the door each day. This guide was indispensable, containing suggested itineraries, an overview of the city, great ideas for excursions -- tours, strolls, attractions, shopping and entertainment -- as well as a history of the city and superb chapters on hotels and restaurants. We even stayed at a hotel that was surprisingly inexpensive and in a great location, and one that our native Chicago friends didn't know about! The guide is written in a friendly style, is well-organized, has lots of maps, and is jam-packed with useful information.

A superb guide to Chicago for families. Highy recommended.

With colorful maps and reviews of the best hotels, restaurants, and activities for the family, this guide was the only book I needed to plan the perfect trip.

With colorful maps and reviews of the best hotels, restaurants, and activities for the family, this guide was the only book I needed to plan the perfect trip.

I am a Frommer's fan! If you already have the recent Frommer's Chicago, then you may find much of the information in this book a tad redundant.

The book tackles topics pertinent to families: prices, facilities, times when families will feel most welcome, etc...

I am very happy with my purchase and will pursue other Frommer's products in the future.

Even if you've resided in or visited Chicago frequently, this guide includes activities and insight which are invaluable when traveling with children. From the best places to eat and stay to the most "kid friendly" museums and gallaries, this book has it all. A definite good buy if you want to plan the most cost effective and enjoyable family trip to Chicago.

I bought this book for a class and was surprised at how engaging it is. This book is very well written and informative, and gave me a great general knowledge of Russia leading up to the Great War. The bibliography is extensive and very useful for anyone researching Russia in this era. Highly recommended.

The book I ordered, In War's Dark Shadow, was exactly as the seller described it - in perfect condition. Since the book is not longer in print, I feel lucky to find one that looks as if it has never been used. The book was shipped promptly, and the seller was a pleasure to work with. I highly recommend this seller!

thanks!

I chose this title, because it was true, at least for me. As Americans, we (some of us, not all) "think" Russians are not "very intelligent", "backward" and even, "less than human."
After reading this book, I tend to "get on my soapbox" to help people understand what few choices, the Russian people ever had in the outcomes of their lives! I never knew this before purchasing and reading Mr. Lincoln's book!
If you cannot be convinced by the poverty imposed on the Russians through Mr. Lincoln's words, you will be convinced by the heart-wrenching photographs; the children who appear as hopeless, hovels designed as homes with animals living within, death from starvation was not uncommon. And all the time, Russia refused (those in power prior to the Revolution)to feed her people, wheat was being shipped to other European countries.
And the Russians never questioned the motives of the Tsar; after the Revolution, they still starved and were murdered by Stalin and Hitler.
We need to change our attitudes and this book did it for me.

In the forward, W. Bruce Lincoln states the book is "...an effort to explore the lives, thoughts, hopes, and dreams of the men and women who lived in the world's largest empire and to convey some sense of the tensions that tore at the fabric of their existence on the eve of the Great War and the Revolution of 1917." In this effort he succeeds brilliantly.

We see portraits of Tsar Alexander III, Nicholas II, Pobedonostsev, Lenin, Rasputin, and a host of other generals, officials and ordinary people who shaped that era.

We get an insider's look at what life was like in a peasant community, inside the peasant's izba or house, and their attitudes towards schooling, medicine and religion. We go inside the growing factories and the slums the workers inhabited in the cities with rapidly developing industry. We see the new nobility of the industrial barons, the revolutionaries fighting the tsarist autocracy, the defenders of the Old Order...all come to life in these pages.

Graphic descriptions are given of the vicious pogroms against Jews. The impact of the Trans-Siberian Railroad in both economic and a political aspects is covered. The 1904 war with Japan is there with its criminally incompetent generals and and admirals and the war's impact on the development of the Revolution of 1905 as well as the mood of the populace as the nations slides toward the Great War.

This well written, illuminating, detailed and well documented book is a classic work on the Russian society of those years and fleshes out the soul of Russia as few other books do. 16 pages of photos. Highly recommended.

I am Russian so I knew quite a lot about Russian history before opening this book. The book is the best guide to Russian history of the period. Here's why:

-It is written in a wonderful language - very easy to read, yet directed towards scholars.
-History is divided into chapters that concentrate on specific subjects.
-It is full of detail that other history books often lack. I was suprised to see Bruce Lincoln use original Russian words instead of finding an English equivalent for it (such as "izba," "domovoj," "dvorovoj," "lapti," etc.).
-Finally, I've not yet read a book that concentrates so much, and gives such an in-depth study, on the subjects that are usually avoided being talked about "pre-revolutionary" times (simply because they are deemed not important in the light of a warfare).

With this book you will get a clear idea of what the Russian society looked like on the dawn of WWI. Bruce Lincold actually spent several years in the Russian archives doing research (but not just for this book), so he has a first-hand knowledge on the subject.

The chapters discuss the following subjects:

Chapter 1 - 1891: The Fateful Year:
Basic overview of the situation in Russia by the yar or 1891: camine, construction of trans-Siberian railway, some politics.

Chapter 2 - In the Wake of Famine:
Famine, peasants and life in the country.

Chapter 3 - Russia's New Lords:
Emancipation, new layer of society "Kuptsi" and arts and trade associated with it.

Chapter 4 - Life in the Lower Depths:
Proletariat and life in cities and towns.

Chapter 5 - The Few Who Dared:
Revolutionaries - formation of the political parties, radicals, impact on literature.

Chapter 6 - Defenders of the Old Order:
Royal Defenders - key figures that supported the old "tzar" order; their lives and activities.

Chapter 7 - "A Small Victorious War":
The Japanese War - why, when, and how. Gives the background, as well.

Chapter 8 - 1905: The Year of Turmoil:
Revolution of 1905.

Chapter 9 - "What We Want is a Great Russia!":
Government - parties, duma, people behind the law, the lawmaking process.

Chapter 10 - "The Childre of Russia's Dreadful Years":
Art revolution.

Chapter 11 - The Last Days of Peace:
Political situation on the dawn of the WWI - foreign relations and repressions.

Chapter 12 - The Drums of War:
WWI and how it affected Russia and its people.

"An Irishwoman's Tale" is not only a novel for the Irish, but for anyone who longs to heal from the oppressive tragedy of rejection. It is for the wayward daughter shackled in prison, as well as for the prestigious businesswoman throttled by invisible white knuckles from the past.

Basing her novel on a true story along with careful research, Patti Lacy has interwoven colorful details and patterns of speech in a way that transports the reader to the pastoral countryside of Ireland. Perhaps more importantly, she has plumbed the depths of honesty, courageously scraping the barrel, while simultaneously offering bright hope to those whose lives are compounded by seemingly hopeless circumstances.

Patti is a masterful writer whose style is a unique combination of succinct dialogue (as in F. Scott Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby"), cutting-edge literature (as in Upton Sinclair's "The Jungle"), and lyrical descriptions (as in Willa Cather's "My Antonia"). Altogether, her tale aims to enlighten, heal, and restore. Her writing has addicted me as the voice of a newfound friend I'd despair to live without.

What is most compelling about Patti Lacy's debut novel is her characters. As Mary Freeman struggles to understand the decisions that were made for her when she was a child, and her friend Sally supports her as she is also drawn into the tale, the reader quickly comes to care about Mary as much as Sally does. Reminiscent of the storytelling in Fanny Flagg's Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe, An Irishwoman's Tale will keep you reading to the end.

Cindy Thomson
Author of Brigid of IrelandBrigid of Ireland: A Historical Novel

I'm not usually one to pick up a women's fiction novel, but this one grabbed my attention from the first page and held it to the last. The story of Mary's struggle to accept herself and her past, her search for true friendship and understanding, and her battle against her own inner demons make it impossible to put the book down. The Irish setting is really vibrant and beautiful, and the characters will stick with you even after you've closed the book.

Patti Lacy has demonstrated what a wonderful storyteller she is in An Irishwoman's Tale. I spent two days completely absorbed in Patti's masterful and poetic descriptions of both geographic locations and character emotions. It wasn't light reading, yet it was never depressing either. Although this is a fictionalized account of a true story,Mary Elizabeth O'Brian's journey from a dysfunctional childhood to finding authentic inner peace as an adult is not an uncommon story for many women. The story offers hope to those who have walked in shoes similar to Mary's and are still searching for that peace. If you belong to a book group, I highly recommend this for your next selection. Patti includes some great discussion questions at the end.

Be prepared with plenty of reading time before you pick up An Irishwoman's Tale and open it to the first page. Patti Lacy has a character you will immediately grow to love, Mary, the Irishwoman. Lacy takes you step by step through this woman's struggle to understand and come to terms with her past from growing up in the Chicago area to her roots in Ireland. An excellent read--the kind of quality writing that makes you want more. And, as Dennis Hensley says on the backcover, "Solid storytelling."

Marvelous. Should be required reading for all college and university students.

Much of our common knowledge of U.S. civil rights movement's history comes from books and films portraying the nationally known struggles of the 1950s and 1960s. This book tells a different story - the struggles of the largely African American activists who, working without the benefit of the national spotlight, sought to open up the closed society of Mississippi to equal treatment for its African American citizens. It was a tremendous and extremely dangerous task. Mississippi was the toughest nut to crack among the Southern states. It was the most impoverished state in the union, where subjugation of African Americans was strictly enforced through intimidation, violence, disenfranchisement, job firings and economic ruin. Any sympathetic whites who dared to even question Mississippi justice were financially ruined and all but run out of the state. In this seemingly impossible to change social, political, and economic climate, a movement of local Mississippi African Americans emerged, with the help of activists from other states, who challenged the situation head-on by attempting to empower African Americans through voter registration drives, by attempting to set up cooperatives in order to gain economic power, and through education. The emphasis was not so much on organizing for desegregation of public facilities as it was on changing the power structure of Mississippi, to enfranchise its African American citizens and gain for them political and economic justice. Working from the bottom up, these activists had few allies, were largely ignored by the national media, and faced life threatening dangers on a daily and nightly basis. Many were savagely beaten, shot at, and repeatedly jailed. Several were murdered. They persisted, working diligently and out of the spotlight. Local People details the successes and failures of these every day struggles, and by doing so, lifts this aspect of the movement from obscurity to its rightful place in history. Prof. Dittmer is a first-rate writer - this book is very hard to put down once you start reading it. What emerges is a portrait of some of the most courageous people in our nation's history, such as Fannie Lou Hamer, Amzie Moore, and Bob Moses, and the local people who responded to the activists efforts. Local People is essential reading for any true understanding of the civil rights movement.

This was required reading for a graduate course in American history.

John Dittmer's Local People: The Struggle for Civil Rights in Mississippi paints a portrait of one of the most horrendous acts committed in our nation's history. The torture and abuse the black population endured just to be able to vote was unimaginable. Black men from Mississippi fought for our country in World War II but they could not have a voice in who helped run our country. They remained disenfranchised in this state. White supremacy ran rampant in Mississippi for decades.

Trying to keep blacks from voting in the 1940's made headlines in the Jackson Daily News which read: "DON'T TRY IT!": "Don't attempt to participate in the Democratic primaries anywhere in Mississippi on July 2nd* Staying away from the polls on that date will be the best way to prevent unhealthy and unhappy results." (2) Senator Theodore "The Man" Bilbo played a major role in what became known as the "reign of terror" in trying to keep blacks from voting. Although a complaint was filed with the US Senate committee to Investigate Campaign Expenditures claiming Bilbo had something to do with ostracizing blacks he denied all charges of wrongdoing and was exonerated.

The state constitution had been set up in such a manner that made it almost impossible . for any black man or woman to be able to register to vote. The four main criteria were:

1. Prevent them from registering in the first place
2. Two year residency requirement
3. Two dollar poll tax
4. "Understanding clause" which stated that any prospective voter must be able to read any section of the constitution or as an alternative, be able to understand it when read to him, or to give" a reasonable interpretation of it". (6)

The vast majority of white Mississippians believed blacks should not vote. For four decades blacks struggled against forces of white supremacy with limited success. Most of the' power coming from the "Delta Aristocracy" dominated the state politically and economically for almost half the century (10).

Racial violence was a daily reality for blacks in Mississippi. The caste system that existed before World War II still lingered and remained well into the future, After the war black activism began. Efforts began to be made for voter registration. Organizations began to form in order to advance the black population into what should already be theirs, human rights. Many still held jobs associated with slavery. Jim Crow commanded the pace of life in Mississippi. "Keeping the Negro in his place" was the duty of every white citizen (20). The black vote was not progressing the way organizations like the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) wished it would. Three of the factors that accounted for the failure to register large numbers of black votes are as follows:

1. Tactics of intimidation
2. No on to vote for
3. Registration campaigns centered on the small black middle class

Organizations such as the NAACP and the RCNl (Regional Council of Negro leadership) were both working toward the same goal; however, their differences were more territorial than ideological. They had to remember that their common enemy was the same. Mississippi came to be in a class by itself. The philosophy of the white population came to be that it was "open season" on blacks. If any black man ever achieved anything or got
ahead in any way white supremacy out ranked him every time. Voting remained the main objective for blacks for many years. They continued to have many obstacles in which to overcome in order to just get registered. The state kept the difficult tests in place and violence was EVERYWHERE.

By the early 1960's outsiders began to infiltrate the state. Freedom rides began, college students began protesting in different ways, sit-ins and demonstrations started; and during this time President Kennedy's only goal was to avoid violence. Voter registration came to a standstill after the murder of Herbert Lee, a member of the Mississippi state legislature. His murder was sending a message to the black population which was standing up for your rights in southwest Mississippi could get you killed (109). Organizers came to the realization that no progress could be made unless someone was willing to die.

The activist decide to go to the Delta which was the most oppressed and poor area of Mississippi. There they find that the poorest people are the most willing to act because they have nothing to lose. Violence follows them everywhere but patience begins to subside with the black population and they start to fight back.

James Meredith applied to Ole Miss after serving in the military and enrolling in Jackson State in 1960. His main goal was to desegregate Ole Miss. After many appeals, Meredith was admitted and the governor, Ross Barnett, had been in secret negotiations with the Kennedy' son how to keep Ole Miss from becoming integrated. The Kennedy's had trusted Barnett to keep the peace with this matter; however, on September 30, 1962 the Ole Miss riot took place when Meredith entered Oxford with federal Marshalls. When it was over two men were dead and 160 marshals were injured (140).

Hunger, illiteracy and voting were concerns that needed to be addressed immediately. The SNCC(Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee) forced the Kennedys to do what they did not want to do, to "be on somebody's side" (153). The black community became excited. They got involved. The Greenwood movement, as it was known, survived the repression it experienced and the SNCC workers returned to their projects once again. However, the federal indifference and the white narrow-mindedness did not put an end to the fight for civil rights. At the same time in Jackson they were getting ready for a campaign against segregated facilities and discriminatory employment practices. They were insisting on the use of courtesy titles, equality in hiring and promotion, and an end to Jim Crow practices (157). After gaining some momentum in their quest the NAACP decided to reverse their direction which is still unclear. In Jackson, the Kennedys' primary objective was to bring an end to violence, which meant getting black people off the streets. They preferred order to justice (169).

Violence, hunger, and hatred continued to ensue throughout the state. Pastors of black churches finally opened their doors to organizations so they would have somewhere to meet. Voting rights were still a primary goal. With more organizations in the middle of things conflicting strategies became a problem. They all wanted the same end result but the ideologies were not the same. Therefore, they each had a different opinion on how things should be done.

Willie Dillon a COFO (Council of Federated Organizations) participant and parent of children, who went to Freedom Schools, had his house bombed in McComb. The police blamed him and arrested him for operating a garage without a license. He pleaded guilty after intimidation and without the guidance of an attorney and was fired from his job. McComb's blacks were consistently bombed by the KKK, if the blacks were active. McComb's white leadership was silent. Black principals and ministers who had not been active in the COFO movement were bombed. Black residents went to the justice department, but to no avail. Eventually the government heard rumors of marshal law and white bombers were eventually arrested and the KKK terror stopped. The bombers were let off with a stern warning. With nationwide media watching, McComb desegregated for the cameras; but returned to the old way of life once the media was gone. Black activists decimated the Klan's authority and won some small battles; and some white moderate voices were beginning to be heard.

In 1964 COFO emerged as a powerful force in the election by trying to get blacks registered and voting. COFO was expanding. Some people returned to school. CORE(Congress of Racial Equality) and SNCC had low morale and few activists signed up in 1964. Women were discriminated against in SNCC as secretaries when they were qualified for much more. The Freedom Democratic Party would be an independent force, the successor to both COFO and SNCC.

Freedom Democrats contested the Mississippi elections of five House representatives. More than a third of the House membership voted to bar the Mississippi members. National publicity and lawyers came to Mississippi because of the contention. COFO and the NAACP could not agree on anything and were increasingly hostile towards each other. COFO was abolished and SNCC went under the FOP. SNCC activists were alienated from mainstream politics. White terror made it so blacks did not want to vote. Natchez was a town of the "Old South". Charles Evers emerged as that section of Mississippi's main leader and played the organizations against each other. The Natchez blacks demanded equality in the police force, government and business or the blacks would boycott white stores. FOP did not agree with Evers, but Evers won with popularity. He was cautious and did not march when the other organizations thought they should. Evers went against FOP thought and ended the boycott to white stores that had compromised. FOP was on the major decline, defeated in Natchez. FOP
money was running tight. New strategies would have to be employed.

In early April 1965 the Mississippi Freedom Labor Union (MFLU) and the Child Development Group of Mississippi (CDGM) were created to organize black farm and domestic workers in the Delta region. The MFLU efforts failed not only because the traditional hostility of white Mississippians toward all labor unions, but also because farm workers had no leverage to use against the planters. Efforts to form farmers cooperatives in the region barely made a dent in the problems of black unemployment and poverty. CDGM was one of the nation's pioneer Head Start programs, providing poor children with preschool training, medical care, and two hot meals a day. It also provided employment at decent wages for hundreds of local teachers and paraprofessionals at Head Start centers.

On June 4, 1966, James Meredith began his 220 mile walk from Memphis to Mississippi's state capital of Jackson to challenge the fear that was still dominant among black Mississippians and to convince them it was now safe to register and vote in the Magnolia State. On the second day, Meredith was shot, but while he was recuperating leaders of the national civil rights organizations continued the march. During the first week of the Meredith march there were few white hecklers. Local officials were eager to avoid incidents of violence and the march itself had an informal and relaxed quality. That all changed during the final ten days with familiar tactics of repression and mob violence; but it also became more militant as the ideological and philosophical divisions among its leaders became more apparent (395 & 396). When the march ended anticlimactically on June 26th, and the national civil rights leadership left the state - fighting over who would pay the march's bills - Mississippi was still segregated, black poverty was still getting worse, and local black Mississippians were still left to pick up the pieces.

SNCC as an organization had little impact on the Mississippi movement after 1966; it had become preoccupied with internal problems centering on the definition and implications of black power and it had voted to expel all whites from the organization in December 1966. The local people, who had been the backbone of the old COFO coalition and the Freedom Democratic Party (FOP), faced challenges from black and white political moderates. FOP leaders agreed that the 1967 state and local elections would make or break their party (410). In the face of urban race riots in the North, and calls for revolution among black nationalists, FOP continued to work within the political system and welcomed support from all people who identified with its theme of black empowerment. State legislative strategies conspired to dilute black voting strength(gerrymandering congressional districts, creating multimember legislative districts requiring at-large voting, and increased filing requirements for independent candidates); this, combined with black political infighting and white intimidation limited FOP's achievements (411-415).

Recommended reading for anyone interested in American history, civil rights history.

In my opinion this work looks at the civil rights movement in a way that all historians shoud take note of. Dittmer's in-depth bottom up look at the way movements happen allows a deeper understanding of the incredible struggles that local Mississippians went through for a few small steps toward racial equality. It also knocks the national leaders (JFK, LBJ, MLK) off the pedestals that mainstream history has placed under them and shows the truly peripheral role that they played in the struggle.

If you have any interest in the civil rights movement in Mississippi, this is the work you should turn to. It has great depth and is written with an enthusiastic flair that is not often found in similar works. I echo the comment....you won't be able to put it down until the last page is read.

The Longest Cave is a book which will hold you spellbound and wishing it would never end! Roger Brucker and "Red" Watson were young men 50 years ago when they first toured what was then known as Floyd Collin's Crystal Cave. This book is the story of how they and so many others dedicated days, months and years to seek out new passageways deep underground. In the case of Roger and Red, they dedicated decades and continue to work to preserve the very fragile cave environment.

This book has everything that you would want not only in a book but in a feature blockbuster movie! Adventure, Suspense, Humor, Friendship, Excitement, Discovery, Danger, and around every corner lurks the Unknown which would leave any movie-goer on the edge of their seat! All this without the gore and crime which seems to be the standard in so many books and movies today.

I HIGHLY recommend this book for anyone of any age!!! What makes this even more amazing is that this is a true story.

What these men and women accomplished is the equivalent of climbing Mount Everest in the DARK and without ever having seen a map of it! This is the American Dream of hard work, dedication, comraderie, and perseverance.

We have movies of Everest and Space Exploration and I look forward to the movie based on this book!
Without a doubt "The Longest Cave" will far surpass any movie on the above-mentioned topics.

Thanks Roger and Red for an AWESOME book!

This book is the best book I've ever came across! Outstanding adventure of how the World's Largest Cave System ever came about. The discoveries in this book are amazing! Suspence to the fullest! The people in this book who made this discovery should be noted as the best exploration team of all time! I can only amagine the feeling they got knowing they had made the biggest connection in cave history to this day. It would be almost impossible for anyone else to top the discovery in this book. An amazing adventure!! I couldn't stop reading this book over and over. The authors of this book should give the story to Hollywood to make into a motion picture. I could imagine this story making the best adventure movie of all time. Ron Howard or Steven Speilburg should be given a copy of this book! It would be a hit! I wish I had the full video tape of this expidition. National Geographic's short segment in "Mysteries Underground" was a tease. If anyone knows where or if there is such a tape, please post it! This is a must read if you like adventure to the fullest!

If you like adventure, if you like caves, if you like drama and suspense, or if you breath in and out regularly and have a pulse, you really ought to read this book. The story of the years it took to connect the Flint Ridge/Mammoth cave systems, it sweeps the reader into the wonderfully obsessive world of the Flint Ridge Cavers. A great book. Strongly reccomended.

I bought this book about 15 years ago while visiting Mammoth Cave National Park. I still enjoy rereading it from time to time. It is the sort of book one hates to see end.

The book narrates the history of the discovery that Kentucky's Flint Ridge-Mammoth Cave system of caves is by far the world's longest known series of continuously-connected caverns. The writers and their many cohorts are not only daring adventurers, but a collection of cavers who deeply appreciate the mystery, beauty and science of caves.

A very interesting part of the book is the well-developed character sketches of the many explorers, a good number of whom participated in parts of the long, arduous struggle to discover the connections between five different large caves so as to make them one.

The overriding star of the show is the cave system itself, and the book contains many facinating portions about the beauty, danger, wonder, and history of the things found there by explorers dating back to prehistoric Native Americans, forward.

After a frustrating series of events, including an initial startling lack of interest/resistance by National Park personnel, progress begins to be made in leaps and bounds. When the Ohio cavers find that the Flint Ridge system is the longest then know, an effort is taken up to connect it with Mammoth Cave.

In a spine-tingling narrative about going past the "Tight Spot", a very small passage, the cavers eventually make the connection by going down in Flint Ridge and emerging in a well-known Mammoth Cave tourist gallery. The sense of truiumph and relief is overwhelming and excellently captured.

My size and age prohibit me from doing the things described in this book, and I have never done them. But I was captivated from start to finish by the story of these brave, resourceful people and the cave system they explored and charted. It is as if I am there myself.

My only quibble is that the photographs are limited and in black and white, but the excellent descriptive writing overcomes this factor. I love the book. Very, very highly recommended.

Caves have been intertwined with Kentucky history since a man named Houchins chased a bear into Mammoth cave in the late 1700s. Later on, the valley north of Mammoth Cave was named after this early settler, and the ridge north of Houchins' Valley was called Flint Ridge. Starting in the early 1950s a group of cavers began a lifelong ambition of connecting the caves on the northern ridge (Flint Ridge) to the caves on the southern ridge (Mammoth Cave Ridge). Their goal was simple: To map the Longest Cave. This book covers that time. Along with 'The Caves Beyond' and 'Trapped', this book constitutes an informal trilogy about Mammoth Cave. It is a story of determination over hardship, of perseverence over fatigue, of triumph over nature. Roger Brucker and Red Watson write this book with the confidence of people that were there. From the very beginning, their influence on the project helped mold it into what it was to become. We see them age, from young men in their ealry twenties, to grizzled Flint Ridge veterans to seeing their children caving alongside them. There is a real sense of the passage of time here; people come, people go, the cave is eternal. Fiction should hope to be so true. Dominating all this is the cave. It is all pervading. Over three hundred miles of passage lies under their feet, and the reader fells as if he is crawling, climbing and squirming along with them. We feel the explorer's chill they wade through Hanson's Lost River, we feel their pain as they crawl through Agony Avenue. We satand alongside them as they are awed by the vastness and remoteness of Unknown Cave. Above all else, it is the story of the people who explore the cave. For fourty years, cavers have been gathering in Central Kentucky to explore this cave. To mankind, the cave is eternal. We may choos to protect it, we may, in our ignorance deface it. Either way, we live our lives by interacting with it. Or to put it in the books words: "That is where life is, that is where your friends are".

Read this b! ook.

THIS BOOK IS POWERFUL, ITS SHOCKING, AND IT IS ASPIRING. THERE IS NOTHING ON CHANNEL 11 THAT BRINGS THE HONEST, INSIGHTFUL, VERY REAL ACCOUNT THAT MR.DOUGLASS DOES IN HIS BOOK. FROM SLAVE TO FREE-MAN, THIS IS TRUELY AN AMERICAN SUCCESS. SKIP THE INTRO, AND JUMP INTO IT.

Douglass's second, and lengthier, narrative fills in many of the gaps left in his first autobiography: we learn about his mother, his siblings, and more details about his psychological transformation from brute to man. It's quite insightful, as Douglass is careful to relate each of his personal experiences to the innate evil of the peculiar instituition, for both the slave and the slave holder.

What are your impressions of Frederick Douglass? What would you say about Douglass observation that "conscience cannot stand much violence? Do you think it was possible to be a good slave owner?Why or why not? Why does Douglass view slaveholders as well as slaves as victims of slavery? Why is education incompatible with slavery? Why do you think the white children's attitude toward slavery is different from that of their parents? How would you describe Douglass attitude towards Mrs. Auld?

Having read a biography of Douglass many years ago, I thought I knew his story. Hearing through his pen was an entirely different matter. What a master of the language and insighful set of observations on human nature.

I am a man of many words, but words fail me in my endorsement of this book. The letter to his former master in the appendix is worth the price of the book by itself.

Standing in line at the Lincoln Memorial, a book beckoned to me that I previously hadn't seen before. The face of Frederick Douglas grabbed my attention; a man that I've respected for many years, encountering him mainly through my study of Abraham Lincoln. On the spur of the moment, I snatched up a copy of "My Bondage and My Freedom", and within a few days, my admiration in Frederick Douglass was transformed from interest to awe.

Frederick Douglass orginially penned his book as a response to people's accusations that someone as articulate and composed as he couldn't possibly be a former slave. With that goal in mind, Douglass wrote his memoirs, in a straight forward, powerful way. In the book, he painfully and honestly documents the path his early life took; the memories of being owned, how slaves coped during these times, and how he managed to pull himself out of it all.

While Douglass' life in itself is amazing, (as he describes the amazing process he undertook to learn how to read), what amazed me even more are Douglass' discourses that he sprinkles through the book, discussing relevant issues during the time. In one instance, he addresses the concern about why slaves simply didn't run away from their oppressive situations. It's almost as if you can actually hear the people talking to Douglass and he responding to them.

This book does not only tell the tale of a truly amazing American, but gives us a unique insight to the times. This book should be required reading in every high school in this country.

This book was a very satisfying and rewarding experience for me. I would put this on my "must read" list if you have not done so.

This book is an incredible journey about the Episcopal Church and the history of our country through the eyes of a truly great disciple, Bishop Noble Powell.

Hein portrays the life of this Bishop in a wonderfully depicted, and accurate manner. He also reveals the discipleship of Powell and the incredible journeys it takes him on. This book is about "love in action". Bishop Powell takes on the "Great Commission" with great pride and passion his entire life. I loved this book and hope you are fortunate to glimpse into the life of Noble Powell, by David Hein.

I loved this book!! To me, someone not raised in the Episcopal church, this book told me so much not only about the twentieth-century history of this important mainline denomination but also about its ethos -- its distinctive approach to spirituality, which combines the mind and the conscience, not just the feelings. Episcopalianism focuses not simply on an emotional conversion experience but, as we see in Powell's life, a rhythm of prayer and praise, repentance and amendment of life, through the liturgical year and the sacraments. This biography is informative on such matters, and yet, what made it a delight to read was feeling the personality of Noble Powell as a constant, comforting presence on every page. The story is beautifully written and told by David Hein, and his choice of material for this book reflects an exquisite sensitivity to the important dimensions of a life lived "in Christ." I felt such admiration when I considered the extraordinary research effort that went into understanding Powell's life and the result produced in this wonderful biography. I hope the author will write more on the history of the Episcopal church.

This is an absolutely top-notch biography of an important (if heretofore little known) American Protestant leader. As Hein convincingly argues, Noble Powell was a representative figure who embodied the essential values of the religious "establishment" in the United States in the mid-twentieth century. I strongly recommend this book both to scholars and to ordinary readers interested in the evolving relationship between mainline Protestantism and American culture from 1920 to 1960.

Who needs to read about an Episcopal bishop who has been dead for 33
years? David Hein of Hood College in Frederick, Maryland persuades
us that anyone interested in the state of Christianity in America
today should know about Noble Cilley Powell, for two reasons: he was a
winsome, self-confident, compassionate leader who presided over a
church which attracted the faith of a generation emerging from the
Depression and World War II; and second, he represented a
turning-point in the role of mainline Protestantism. What Hein calls
"the Episcopal Establishment" had, at its best, a political
and social influence far beyond its numbers. Since his retirement on
Nov. 22, 1963-- the very day Kennedy was shot--the world changed and
so did the churches. In some ways this was a loss, in many ways a
gain, but it must be understood as a major shift. This
well-documented and clearly written biography shows that Noble Powell
represents the best of the old "establishment" and is a
gauge by which to measure what has changed.

This seemingly unassuming book is full of treasures to be discovered. David Hein's biography of Noble Cilley Powell, Episcopal Bishop of the diocese of Maryland from 1943 to 1963, presents so much more than an exact account of the life and works of a well-known and beloved Episcopal bishop. Hein's insightful and clear writing style is very effective at depicting the circumstances of the times in which Bishop Powell lived and how these shaped his character and his actions. The author also has been able to illustrate, through the testimonies of those who knew Bishop Powell at different stages of his life, how his noble and nurturing character influenced others inside and outside the church. But, for me the highest value of this biography is how Hein masterfully brought forth the connecting thread of Bishop Powell's life: a life signaled by love and friendship through Christ's love, or what Powell referred to as "love in action".

"A jolly, laughing lady," those are the opening words of the biography.
The closing words are:
"To be able to share what I have learned with others is a privilege and a joy. Has not this journey been an enviable inheritance in itself?"

In between those personal words, I got the chance to intimately share the life of Winnifred Eaton. Birchall opens the family vaults, secrets and intimacies; shares her deductions and her thoughts about Winnifred with me as reader; and writes in a zesty, tangy language that kept seducing me to read on and on.
The things I learned about the early filmindustry in Hollywood and the look behind the screens, are as fascinating as all the facts about the working conditions for women in the first half of the century in the USA

This biography by Birchall leads me to wonder and think about Winnifred as a human being and also about the culture and times that Winnifred went through in her life and tackled straight on, in her own inimitable style.
What more can a biography do?

Normally I am none too fond of biographies as genre. This one had me enthralled, qua content and style of writing.

Birchall's fascinating and beautifully written account of her grandmother's life is an important work for scholars in women's studies, Asian-American or American studies, Canlit, and the movie industry, and for the general reader seeking a compelling biography.

Other reviewers have mentioned Eaton/Watanna's background. I will stress instead the absorbing interest of Winnifred's successive reinventions of herself in societies that had no ready place for her. Like a brilliant slackrope walker with an increasingly awkward load, Winnifred managed to shift her balance not only to survive, but pulled off one tour de force after another. Her performances as a Japanese-American novelist, as a screenwriter and as a rancher doyenne would win applause from Daniel Defoe.

Eaton/Watanna has become a focal interest of American scholars in recent years. As her granddaughter, Birchall had informaitonal advantages in writing on her. Her graceful, well-considered book shows how glad we should be for Birchall's advantages.

I didn't mean to like Winnifred Eaton. After all, she was a bit of a fanfaronade and very much of a poseur, not at all the sort I wanted in my circle of intimates.

But Diana Birchall's sparkling biography changed my mind. Writing with unblinking honesty, Birchall describes the many lives that her chameleon grandmother lived, from journalist and novelist to story editor and screenwriter. Of most interest to me were the stories of her career as wife in two unconventional marriages and mother to four children. Birchall's graceful use of language is enhanced by her wit and intelligently ironic style. She concludes this delightful biography with the acknowledgment that sharing what she has learned about her grandmother has been a privilege and a joy. Surely it is no less a privilege and a joy for the reader.

In my library I have dozens of books inherited from my parents and my grandparents. We have been readers for several generations, and I grew up with many of these books. One of these books was a novel called "The Heart of Hyacinth" by an author mysteriously named Onoto Watanna. The author was unknown to me, but I thought the book was one of the most beautiful of all the books I'd inherited, with lovely Japanese-style illustrations and drawings.

But now I've had a chance to learn about the woman who lurked behind that exotic nom de plume. I learn she was not Japanese at all, but half Chinese and half English. Yet her true story seems to be as fully exotic as any of the character's lives from her books.

Diana Birchall has done a wonderful job of bringing her fascinating grandmother to life. The book give a wonderful look at a most unusual woman, and what life was like for young women at the turn of the last century. At least what life was like when the young women were as self-confident and gutsy as the young Winnifred Eaton.

"A jolly, laughing lady" are the first words of the bigraphy; the last ones are: "To be able to share what I have learned with others has been a privilege and a joy. Has not this journey been an enviable inheritance in itself?"

Inbetween these words Birchall indeed shares with the reader the life of Winnifred, in personal and intimate detail. Birchall also seduces the reader into not just reading, but thinking about the culture and times Winnifred faced in her own inimitable style, from her life in Canada as young girl down to the years of Hollywood.

Normally I am none too fond of biographies but this one enchanted me, by the content and by the style of Birchall's writing. Full of zest, lifely images and easy to read on and on. As non native reader I appreciated this very much; it was a joy and a privilege to share. Would that all biographies were such a good read!

This book is wonderful! I laughed, I cried, I felt the way the author must have felt at the time of the letters. The format of reading her (Corinne's) mail made this such a personal book. I am still with my husband, but have felt EVERY one of the authors' issues. The feeling of being alone at a party, The questions, the "looks". WOW...Thank you from the bottom of my heart ((*_*))

Reflections from a Woman Alone held me captive for several hours as the pages turned automatically. The style format varies from letters, to essays, to poems all held together by the skill of the writer as you walk down her path. As her life unfolds, after her husband's death, the reader experiences, the wit, the humor, the depth of loss, the loneliness, the angst, eventually leading to integration. Her learning is shared with the simple statement: "nothing outside yourself can save you; nothing outside yourself can bring you peace." This book passes on the author's miracle, a change in perception, ever so quietly and smoothly from her psyche to yours.

Good books don't make you work to read them. They just let themselves be picked up, and that's it, because they fill you with wisdom, grace and a better sense of what's important and why it should be cherished. This is a GOOD book!

This book was teriffic!!! I opened the package when I received it and could not put the book down until I had finished. Being a fairly recent widow, I identified with so much the author had to say. It really helped me to look at my status in a whole new light. I wish I could thank her personally for writing this book.

I could not put this book down. The author's candor and bittersweet approach to an often-ignored subject allowed me to travel within the pages as a kindred spirit. Corinne Edwards has a gift in transcending generations and gender to bring together the message of love for us all. Miracles abound within the pages. I would highly recommend this beautiful book to anyone seeking spiritual renewal.

This is a no nonsense book of some very devious people who were outlaws in morotcycle gangs serving self and their evil ways selling drugs, getting high, beating up people and just being real bad keeping up with the outlaw biker image. You'll learn of the gang initiations and the brutal nature of the biker gang if you upset them. Most were filled with an angry rage ready to unleash at any moment of provocation, which they did so frequently. Jail, prison, theft, hatred is just some of the personal anguish they experienced. Suddenly, these hard-core bikers come to an end point of total frustration and failure, even sickness and are saved by God, Jesus Christ, and tell about their rotten lives without God and how wonderful life is with the Lord. These men and women (and the girls were tough bikers, too) tell it all in a personal interview format. This is no small book and the cover and paper is of high gloss quality. If you want to know about bad people living in a bad life then this book can bring you face to face with these outlaw bikers who are now living for the Lord and are happy tell you their story! There are dozens of motorcycle pictures in this book with photos of the gang members and 263 pages of very interesting true crime reading. There are pages that reveal cruel tortures, so it's not a book for children. These are true stories by those who have commited crimes while operating inside the dark world of the outlaw biker lifestyle.

Remsberg's powerful and intimate photographs imbue his subjects with a dignity too often missing from studies of people living at the margins of society. Though Riders for God is worth the price for the photos alone (the Blessing of the Bikes is brilliant), it is much more than an art book. Remsberg elicits from his subjects the startling truths that belie the easy stereotypes conjured by the notion of Christian bikers. I found the powerful stories of redemption gripping and utterly unexpected. Rather than masking or exploiting their interior lives, Remsberg's photographs reveal. Remsberg's patience and gently prodding curiosity make him a wonderful guide connecting the reader with people generally regarded as marginal or simple. While he remains an outsider to the gang, he clearly gains their respect along with their candor.

This finely crafted book offers a fascinating look at a world that is doubly obscure: the mind-set and lifestyle of outlaw bikers and the world of religious extremists. Remsberg's photos are mesmerizing. And his text, which reveals these unique bikers in their own words, is equally compelling. Anyone with curiosity about human nature will be engrossed from the first page on.

This book takes an uncompromising view of people who simultaneously live at two extremes of society--the wildly liberal, almost anarchistic side, and the deeply religious. The photography is stunning in its ability to cut through what I would normally notice about a man or woman decked in leathers on a motorcycle--features such as hands (particularly hands,) faces, postures, etc. are brought to the surface by this talented documentary photographer. This is a book which will surprise and absorb anyone who pulls it off the shelf in your home.

This book gives a new perspective on the inner lives of motorcycle gangs and bikers. Excellent photographs coupled with first-person interviews give the reader an in-depth view of bikers who have given up the violent life for a shot at spiritual redemption. Remsberg talks to all kinds of 'scary' people and shows us their humanity. A great read.