North America Books

This is a great book for those who are fans of the "So Weird" T.V. show.

I thought this book was really great, it is one of my favorite's in the whole So Weird book series. Fi gets lost in the woods while on a camping trip with her family and finds Bigfoot, who tries to save her. Fi finds out that a Civil War hero died just so he could protect Bigfoot, now Fi has to do the same.

...The story follows the main plot of the episode"Sacrifice" almost verbatim. It doesn't leave anything out,but it does have things that weren't in the show. It spices up the paranormal aspect and gives a much more extensive backstory for the Civil War soldier who encounters "Bigfoot" (middle name: Fuzzy) so many years before Fiona. It's a cute book and even if you haven't seen the show the story is easy to follow and the characters are given quite a bit of background. You won't be lost at all.

Do you think you could maybe put this series on dvd format. I would love to see The whole series again on dvd format. I would even buy the ones with Annie I just loved that show. Please concider putting this on dvd. I would buy this a.s.a.p. Thanks. I love this show. I give it 100 stars if provided.

I ran across this when I googled Kemp's name years back. I went to Howard with Kemp and just wanted to see what he was up to. I had read a few of his pieces in this or that magazine. I was shocked and excited when I saw he had published a book and this was it. I ordered it and it was awesome.

Memoirs have always been kinda suspect, but his one written by a dude in his 30s, was so genuine in its recollection of events and emotions. it pulled me in, sucked me under, pulled me up, revived me, patted me on my butt and sent on my way with a perspective of - what would I do, how would I feel after a life altering event. How do folks cope after loss? How would I?

By the grace of God go I...

Eloquently written and vividly detailed, the Shooting is a story of a child who make a stupid mistake (as children do) that cost his best friend his life. Although he does not end up doing any jail or juvenile time, he ends up paying for it psychologically for decades. It is obvious that Powers has played out the incident in his mind on an endless loop, going over the "what ifs?" thousands of times.
Also, the imagery of his childhood growing up in New York City is fantastic. I never heard of this book before coming across it on Amazon and buying it because it was listed under used books for just a couple of cents. But it is by far one the best memoirs I've read, and I've read a lot. Even though I may have nothing in common with a black man from Brooklyn, it touched my heart, made me laugh, and made me cry. It took alot of guts to write this book, and I hope Mr. Powers has made peace with that one defining moment all those years ago.

I loved this memoir. I related to Kemp Powers' story of depression, guilt, loss and determination. We are all on the quest (at least I hope we all are) to make something of ourselves and to do something meaningful with our lives, yet many of us don't pursue this goal with the burden of having taken a life on our backs. This is a must read!! Here is hoping a paperback is coming soon so I can pass it on to the many young boys I know who would benefit from Powers' story!

Kemp Powers tells his story about an unimaginable moment at 14 when he accidentally killed his best friend in a gun accident. The actual shooting is described in just a few pages, the remainder is Kent Power's life before and after, impacted forever by that moment.

The real pull of the book is the undercurrents about life and fate. There are no answers except the story.

Very interesting and complete. Information appears to be very accurate. Fascinating read of information that seems to be kept as a "secret". Much of the information in the book comes from actual Japanese soldiers and officers involved in attacks and bombings of Mainland America.

Recommend this book for anyone interested in WW II information. It is used by Washington State Historical Site visitor centers.

This book covers all Japanese attacks so far discovered from Alaska to Mexico and as far east as Michigan. Includes attacks on Canada as far east as Manitoba and chapter on severe battles in Alaska's Aleutian Islands. Here are the attacks on British Columbia. Unique attacks on Southern California includes details and newspaper headlines for infamous "Battle of Los Angeles" in February 1942. Shelling of the U.S. harbor defence post on the Columbia River at Fort Stevens, Oregon by the Japanese Navy on June 21, 1942. Includes Japanese submarine attacks on shipping along U.S. west coast with details of the damage and sinking of many ships.
Japanese Navy bombs Oregon forests in Septmeber 1942 starting forest fire intending on burning the Oregon timber industry out of business. (The attack started the forest fire but it failed to burn down the forest.)
The U.S. Coast Guard rides horses as well as boats and operates attack war-dog patrols, walking every inch along the beaches, to protect against an anticipated Japanese invasion.
Concise chapter tells the basic factors about the German, Italian and Japanese evacuation from the State of California, and parts of Washignton, Oregon and Arizona due to military necessity.
Only book in print with current data of over 300 of those mysterious Japanese balloon bombings that hit 28 states and Canadian provinces and in Mexico, one of the attacks killed all the kids on a picnic in Oregon on May 5, 1945. For the unbelievers, there are pictures of all the kids and of their cemetery markers. Chronological list of all discovered Japanese balloon bombing locations in the U.S.A. including the incident in downtown Cicero, Illinois (Apr. 16, 1945), and that of Farmington, outside of Detroit, Michigan (March 25, 1945), and the bombing of Medford, Oregon on January 4,1945 these and other incidents kept out of newspapers on fear of panic, and letting the enemy know he was successful. List of incident sites shows that balloon bombs and parts still being found and warns what to look for. Latest incident in this new November 1997 edition of book is incident discovered in summer 1992, therefore the warning that there are parts are still out there.
(In November 1997, author addressed a convention of bomb disposal experts at their convention in Portland, Oregon.)
Book includes some material on the Japanese building their own atomic bomb which they tested the day after the U.S. bombed Nagasaki, Japan. Also includes data on the risk of biological warfare by the Japanese against the mainland of North America.
Book has more than 450 pictures, many maps, charts, drawings, newspaper clippings, appendices, bibliography and Index.
Recommened for all school and public libraries and for those individuals who want to know about the hushed-up Japanese attacks on the U.S. mainland.
Book demonstrates nothing short of amazing, superior research skills, exciting "this is the way is was (is)" writing. Provided is full documentation in a trememdous bibliography, and has a comprehensive Index. No other book covers these subjects.

Very interesting and factual accounts of little known aspects of World War Two. Book is NOT afraid to take the unpopular view,such as "Japs" living on West Coast were a danger to U.S.

Some of material tends to be what I call "filler space" and could have been omitted.

As a retired reference librarian, and widely read on World War II in the Pacific (in which I also served) Webber's book is noted for its historical accuracy and it is easy to read.

I own six copies of this book (four are loaners). My life revolves around literature, and this is one of the best books I've read. It's definitely my favorite. Rawlins uses relatively simple language with a powerful, poetic effect. If you have any kind of interest in the environment, backcountry travel, or the mountains--and even if you don't--read this book. Rawlins' writing is beautiful and intense; overall, I think the writing carries more impact than even authors such as Ed Abbey or Aldo Leopold.

Phrases such as "The cabin is a frozen skull" jump out, as do passages such as this: "At first you're a stranger to the forest. It's too quiet. You feel as if your every move is seen and judged. Then, without noticing a difference, you feel more at home here than anywhere else. It's as if your heart skips a beat and then begins on an older pulse." If you're not an environmentalist when you start the book, you might begin seeing things in a new light. If you were already concerned about the human impact on the world before you started it, you'll feel it more deeply.

Richard Nelson, author and Burroughs Medal winner, might have said it best in his review of "Sky's Witness:" "A very fine writer...as lavish and varied as a jazz musician--lively, funny, sometimes outrageous; poignant, tender, engaging; richly informative; and deeply poetic. Filled with the joys of working on the land, Rawlins documents the subtle wounding of America's remotest wildlands, where rain and snow are tainted by the breath of distant cities."

Anyone willing to endure the physical hardship involved in self-supported mountain travel will appreciate Rawlin's extrordinarilly beautiful soliloquies on the mountain wilderness experience. Example: "But it wasn't the smell of the air that played in me so much as the light. The moon and sun lay opposite each other in the sky, exchanging their gleams, and the country was laid out below all rough and golden. The ridge was a strong point, the hardest rock in the range. On it you could meet the wind, face it, draw it in and breathe it out. And I felt a desire with no object or reason, except the land and the wild light."

Clearly Rawlin's regards the essence of the mountain wilderness and the essence of himself as one. He writes of the experience of being alone in a small raft on a clear summer night on a high altitude lake in the Wind River Range. "I've touched this water, tasted it. I've caught and eaten its trout, scooped it into pots for coffee, mixed it with my blood, taught it to walk and tell lies, and pissed it back steaming onto the ground. The lake and I have more than a casual acquaintance, yet in the dark, it seems not to know me. I can't see my reflection. The water that has claimed a part of my life now holds me in a star-flecked indifference."

I believe that all mountain travelers grapple with words to express their most intimate feelings about their mountain experiences. Rawlins gives these experiences expression with the skill of a violin virtuoso who is able to prolong the playing of a single note with haunting clarity and seemingly project it into eternity. So also does Rawlins project his love of the Wind River Range to a spiritual level. The drawings of Hannah Hinchman are exquisite!

If you want to hike, back pack, and live in the Wyoming Wind River Mountains for one year, C. L. Rawlins will take you there in these 300 pages. You will not find a better companion: his writings proceed in a rythmn -- moving from intricate description of rock, snow, and lake, to insightful and stunning explanations of nature itself, followed perhaps by a down-to-earth philosophical reminder. His humor catches one off gaurd and he tests more than a few other emotions. I returned from a four-day back pack trip in the Wyoming Wind River Mountains August 1996. Several days thereafter, by happenstance I noticed this book. In the early pages, Rawlins and his companion, John are skiing with fully loaded packs on the exact trail. up the Big Sandy Opennings, that I traversed. This book was an extra treat for me. Rawlins loves to walk and hike. He writes: "Walking feels good. It helps me think. The Grail, Mecca, Lourdes, the Frontier, Everest -- all are simply good excuses for going." C.L. Rawlins might be considered the "Annie Dillard of the Wind Rivers." When enthralled with a certain spot in his mountains, Rawlins writes, "Words make no sense at all. Being here does." He is humble. His words do make undeniable sense.

The books you have read in your life likely fall into one of several classes ranging from extremely poor to unsurpassed worth. On that worthy end of the spectrum, there have probably been those books that caused a pause in you upon reading the final sentence; a pause followed by a nod of thanks to the author for having given you so much pleasure. And then there are those even more rare instances where you reach that final page and feel that sense of want for more. Its a mixed feeling of love for what you have just read combined with the emptiness that follows upon closing the pages for that final time. It is as if you have lost a friend. Rawlins hit that chord in me with Sky's Witness. The Wind River Range is probably my most favorite place to wander, and I was led to this book after searching for all I could find written about it. But one does not have to go to The Winds or appreciate their grandeur in order to be captivated by the author's writing style here. His ability to describe thoughts and places and to reflect on their nature is almost a gift of magic. He covers a lot of territory, both physical and emotional over the course of a year. It has been about five years since I read it, and I still miss the times it gave to me. If I were to have any reservations it its regard, it would only be the put-offish nature that his personality occasionally evokes in his writing and some of the personal encounters that he describes. Put simply, he is certainly not one to be with when he is in a foul mood. But in praise, this again also speaks to his ability to convey all those elemental spokes of our humanity. If you are one who loves the outdoors, this book will go a long way for you. But even if you are not inclined to the rugged nature of the backcountry, this book will still bring rewarding moments to you during that time spent in that soft leather chair.

This book is an absolute delight. Not at all a simple reference book filled with historical information, it rather reads like a good smoke itself; the pages contemplative puffs that needn't be turned too quickly, but lingered in as their meaning wafts skyward.
...and though it certainly warrants rapt attention, you'll no doubt soon feel a welling desire for a nice pipe-ful out of doors.

A pipeful of what? Likely, the very "weeds" at you feet, and within the pages of "Smoke Plants", you'll discover yourself surrounded by an intriguing world of medicine wherever the ground grows green.

A wonderful, wonderful book.

I've just finished smoking my own customized blend for the third time. The author of this book came into the health food store where I work last week and left a stack of these books with us. They were all sold out within a day!

Years ago, I explored sacred smoke while reading the book "Spirit of Place" by Loren Cruden. It has remained a part of my life ever since, but I haven't really explored the great variety of plants that are literally at my feet!

I added a couple of herbs to the Spinning Coyote recipe, and it has become my before-bed smoke. I deal with chronic pain and lying in bed has always been the most difficult time of day for me. Now I'm smoking my special blend about half an hour before lying down, and I'm getting to sleep more easily and resting more soundly.

The book is an absolute pearl. The gift of the author's stories is precious. To add to that, the information about the plants makes me want to try smoking some of them as soon as possible! The rhythm of the prose and the way the author has paced the brief statements, the stories and the information is calming and healing in itself.

This is a delightful and elegant book. There is a surprising ease and intimacy in the reading of it. The way the author has intertwined the sharing of the "information" with her "journey of discovery" is masterful. What most people would have made into a dry encyclopedia of facts, the author has magically crafted into a captivating story which draws the reader to want to read more and to even want to learn and share in the experience. I did not expect to be interested in this topic, and now I am -- to my surprise!

This is more than a book about a remarkable community of people. It is an inspiring guideline for how to live.

My family has roots in the Snowbird community; Both of my grandparents on my father's side lived in the Snowbird area, as do many of my cousins to this day. My two aunts moved to the main Qualla rez, and my father left Snowbird for the Navy, and then college in 1956, and never moved back. Even so, there is no place on earth where I feel more at home than the Snowbird mountains.
I preface the review with these statements because when I read this book, I felt like I was "back home." Dr. Neely obviously cares a great deal about this community. Perhaps it makes her ethnology somewhat biased, but it certainly livens up this book! Her descriptions of the annual gospel singing event at Snowbird were on the mark, and her description of the constant factionalism among the Eastern Cherokee band is also (sadly) accurate.
The most useful thing about this book for someone who knows nothing else about the Cherokee is that it explains how the "harmony ethic" is still a part of the way Cherokees live, and how it has subtly changed the Cherokee way of practicing Christianity, and how we deal with modern political and economic life. It shows that it is possible to be "traditional", in a sense, while being fully engaged with the modern world. It also shows that Indians are not the cardboard cutouts so often seen in the movies, or in "New Age" explorations of native spirituality.
If you read this, back it up with Finger's broader histories of the Eastern band, Mooney's classic exploration of Cherokee mythology, and, if you take them with a grain of salt, the Garretts' "Cherokee medicine" series. Then, take a trip to Graham County, preferably around Memorial Day weekend when you can be a part of Snowbird's annual "Fading Voices" festival at Little Snowbird Church, stopping in Robbinsville to visit the Junaluska Burial Place. You'll be welcomed, but if you can't make it Snowbird, this book is the next best thing.

I was lucky enough to take a course from Dr. Neely (Modern American Indians) at Northern Kentucky University and this was a required textbook. Her class was one of the most interesting I have taken as an anthropology major. Her detailed ethnograpy on the Snowbird Cherokees is a must for anyone interested in Cherokee Indians or Indians of the Southeastern United States. She spent several years living with the Snowbirds prior and after writing the book if I remember correctly. You really get a feel how life is like for the Snowbirds. I definately recommend this book!

By the time chapter one is finished, the reader has the comforting sense that they have somehow become part of the Snowbird community. Chapter two, one of my personal favorites, defines a "real Indian." You just might be surprised at the definition Sharlotte uncovered and the source of some of the discrimination felt by the Snowbird population. If for no other reason, this book should be read for this chapter. Far too often, we are satisfied to settle for loose definitions penned by someone without the slightest notion of understanding and the result is invariably and simply wrong. Sharlotte, though, has listened carefully to the voices of these fascinating people; she has let them define their existence within the parameters of their own culture. There is no finer type of understanding than the one which is born within the confines of the specific culture and this book humbly delivers a powerful punch of humanistic reality. Simply put, this work is an import! ant contribution to the very essence of cultural relativism and should not be missed.

This book is one to have in your collection. The images by
photographer "Jack Dykinga," are done with an artistic approach
to landscapes. Very nice layout,text and paper quality. I bought
the hardcopy used in excellent condition. Much to my surprise it
was signed by the author, "Charles Bowden," as an added bonus.

This is a stunning book of photography, with about 120 color plates of the Sonoran desert, taken by photographer Jack W. Dykinga. Besides Arizona, locations include Mexico, Baja California, the shoreline of the Sea of Cortez, and Anza-Borrego and Joshua Tree National Monument in southern California.

There's no mistaking that it's a dry, hot region, but it's also clear that there is plant life almost everywhere. There are photographs of landscapes of sand, rock and sky, with saguaro, barrel cactus, ocotillo, and many desert flowers. There is not a sign of human life (until you reach the last half dozen pages where the editor has included several shots of blight: graffiti, a junkyard, a concrete water channel). Many photos are taken at sunrise or sundown, capturing glowing colors and shadows. A few are taken after snowfall.

The text, by Charles Bowden, is personal and impressionistic, with a Sierra Club point of view. He emphasizes the desert's resistance to any but the Native populations, who lived here in harmony with the landscape for millennia before the exploitation of European explorers. To these, in their crudest manifestations, are compared the more reckless schemes of modern-day developers. The closing chapter is an appreciation of wilderness advocate Edward Abbey. In my opinion, an error on the part of the book designer was to set these long essays as full pages of italic type, which makes them difficult to read.

As a companion volume, I recommend Joseph Wood Krutch's "Desert Year," an account of a year spent in the Sonoran desert near Tucson. Although a different desert, there's also Abbey's "Desert Solitaire."

Having grown up with Arizona Highways magazine, I had, over the years, lost interest in the same old lovely-but-humdrum Meunch brothers photography and lackluster text commonly given to the Sonoran desert. Then I saw the cover of "The Sonoran Desert" and everything changed as I leafed through it. Bowden's text is intensely thought-provoking; the text is spare and rich at the same time, like his subject matter, and Dykinga's photographs show the Sonoran desert in the only way it should EVER be photographed. The photos capture a depth of the desert I've never seen in print before. Dykinga shows like nobody else the juxtaposition of textures and colors, the whole feel of the Sonoran desert in all its glory- and there's a whole lot of glory there if you take the time to look for it. Dykinga clearly does.

If you think of the deserts as places of emptiness and boredom, have a look at this superb book! The subject was not easy but Jack Dykinga is mastering the art of using the light and the shapes to make us enter a new dimension. His breathtaking large format photographs plead in favor of preserving the wilderness in it's original state and presents us to it's amazing vegetal hosts. After seeing this book, you will never ever think of the Sonoran Desert as an "uninhabited place".

Dexter Cirillo's first book on Native American Indian Jewelry is a must for any collector. Includes many photographs of jewelry and artists, along with valuable information everyone can use to purchase beautiful Native jewelry.

I wanted this book for some time. I must say, I love it and don't know why I did not buy it sooner. An all time favorite of mine for sure.

As a collector of Indian art, jewelery, pottery and rugs, I had the wonderful good fortune to know and consider the Hopi Master jeweler Charles Loloma my friend.

Finding a book on American Indian jewelery was almost impossible to come by until this great book by Dexter came out in 1992. The artists, their work in magnificent color will move anyone to want to own some of this jewelry.

From it's beginings late in the 19th century jewelery was the Indian method of carrying their wealth around in the form of necklaces, braclets etc, Indian jewery was mainly of two schools. Most prominent was the Navajo and the other Zuni.

Then in the mid 1960's came a Hopi indian Charles Loloma. He was the Picasso that was going to revolutionize American Indian jewelery and he did. This book is a testament to Charlie's followers who now produce jewlery that is both modern and magnificant. Buy the book then go out to an Indian Art shop anywhere in CA, AZ, NM or even NJ and you will not be able to resist owning someting.

Hi I bouhgt Southwestern Indian Jewelry and it arrived with no plastic wrap and the jacket was damaged. Please let me know how to go about exchanging it for another in perfect condition. I am a collector and condition is important. Thank You, Joe Garcia.

Once again Dexter Cirillo has created an outstanding book on Native American Indian Jewelry. The jewelry throughout is photographed beautifully and includes pieces from established, as well as up and coming Native artists. This book is a definite must for any collector of Native jewelry.

This wonderful "sequel" to the earlier Cirillo book is even more comprehensive and the photographs are excellent...a "must have" for serious collectors and fans of silver from the American Southwest!

This, her latest book on Southwestern Indian Jewelry by Dexter Cirillo, is a well written, finely illustrated and impressive volume that I would recommend to anyone interested in this beautiful art form. However, while the list of artists featured in the book is long and contain most of the big names in contemporary Native American jewelry, there is at least one glaring omission. It is inconceivable to me that any serious author on this subject would fail to include Ervin P. Tsosie who, in my and most collectors opinion, is without an equal in the art of mosaic inlays today. This omission, deliberate or not, is a blemish on an otherwise excellent book. Omissions, sadly, also marred her great first book, published in 1992, failing as it did to include two of the giants in early Southwestern Indian jewelry, Leo Poblano and Lambert Homer.Southwestern Indian Jewelry: Crafting New Traditions

Many years ago, too many to mention, during visits to the national parks in the West, I purchased beautifully hand-crafted "pawn" Indian jewelry. Although, thankfully, "pawn" is no longer sold in our parks, I still treasure and wear what I own. So, you can imagine my surprise when I picked up Dexter Cirillo's wonderful and authoritative book on the new Southwestern jewelry being created by today's Indian artists - pieces totally different but none-the-less as creative, unique and expressive as mine. However, this is much more than a picture book. Although the photography is dazzling and certainly moves you easily through the book, it's the text that continues to hold my interest. The stories, anecdotes and explanations make me feel like I know these artists intimately and can relate to the historical references just as they have. My favorite piece? An equisite necklace, which has nine four-sided reversible beads inlaid with 36 distinct bird designs created by Jake H. Livingston. And, the delighful inlaid holiday turkey pin made by M. Dale Edaakie - I love it. As I continue to read about these 85 artists, I am already planning a trip to the Southwest and will use as my guide the jewelry and Indian market sources provided by Cirillo in the back of the book. While, arguably, I may not find many of the jewelry pieces pictured in the book affordable for the budget-conscious consumer, this book "Southwestern Indian Jewelry, Crafting New Traditions" is a bargain for anyone interested in the Southwest, Indian artists and their crafts, history of the New West, fashion, jewelry, stones and gems, and, just a good read. Congratulations to Cirillo and Doty for a fine and scholarly work.

"Standing in the Light: A Lakota Way of Seeing" is a print version of conversations between R.D. Theisz, a college professor, and Severt Young Bear, a Lakota singer, historian, and cultural traditionalist. "Standing in the Light" is a cornucopia of cultural information about the Lakota people. The book begins with a discussion about Severt Young Bear's relatives and ancestors, followed by a very brief history of the Sioux people. Unfortunately, the book went to press about the time Severt Young Bear died, in 1993.

"Standing in the Light" has four parts. The first section deals with names in Indian culture. According to Severt, names are of central importance in Lakota culture. Young Bear explains how the people received their names and what names mean in Lakota (his own Lakota name is Hehaka Luzahan, or Swift Elk). Agency officials anglicized Lakota names in the 1880's for a census on the reservation and then applied these names to descendents in perpetuity. This bothers Severt because it means descendents in his family do not earn their name, an important part of the Lakota life process. "Young Bear" comes from Severt's grandfather, who received the name to reflect his accomplishments in battle; he was a fearless warrior who fought like a bear when cornered. The name "Severt" comes from his father's war experience, when Severt's father befriended a Swede and promised the man to name his son after him.

The second part of the book discusses oral traditions in Lakota culture. There are some great stories in this section, like the story about Sio Paha (translated as the Medicine Hill). This place received the name Medicine Hill because in prereservation days it was the site of a test between powerful medicine men. The medicine men would practice their magic on each other in order to discover who had the most powerful medicine. Whenever a man was felled by magic, he was out of the contest. Severt discusses one contest where a heyoka (a sacred clown, or someone whose role in the tribe was to make fun of everyone else) won by practicing medicine he learned from the bumblebee. There are more stories in this section, all of which are fascinating and informative.

The third section covers Severt's career as a musician and his days as a member of the Porcupine Singers, a Lakota drum group who toured powwows and other important Indian gatherings. There are all types of songs in the Lakota world, from honoring songs to dancing and social songs. Many of the social songs helped Indians get together back in the days when the government frowned on Indian gatherings. The Rabbit dance is a good example of a social song. Rabbit songs are quite simple lyrically, but young people used to gather in someone's house to dance to these songs. Of course, all these musical gatherings required musicians, and this is where Severt brings in the importance of the drum and its role in creating and expressing the music. He also discusses how life on the road for the successful Indian musician is just as stressful as it is for any type of musician: egos get large, cars break down, and arguments over money usually ensue.

The final section of the book is Severt's examination of what is wrong with Lakota society. Young Bear turns out to be quite conservative as he discusses the problems of the reservation world. His arguments for a return to personal responsibility, a healthy diet, respect for the elders, and responsible childrearing not only have lessons for Lakotas, but also are important for all cultures. Severt's involvement in the American Indian Movement (AIM) and its stand at Wounded Knee in the 1970's, covered in some depth in the book, further highlights his concern for cultural issues.

At the end of the book, Severt sums up his reasons for agreeing to create this book. Severt believes every powwow or gathering of Indians has four circles. The first circle is the one in which Indians are dancing and taking part in their culture. As the circles move outwards, one finds Indians who are not as aware of the cultural activities going on in the first circle. The last circle, the circle on the farthest reaches of the gathering, holds the lost Indians, those who are afraid of learning about their culture and so lose themselves in drugs, loose sex, or alcohol. Severt wants to bring all of the other circles into the first circle, into the "light," so all the Lakotas may partake in their culture.

"Standing in the Light" is a powerful statement. For those who wish to learn about Indian culture, look no further than this book. I am surprised there are not more reviews of this amazing survey of Lakota cultural ideas.

There is a joke that one often hears when traveling within Native circles. The joke asks what is the average size of a Native Family? The answer is five, a father, a mother, a son and daughter and one anthropologist. It has been written that Native Americans are the most studied but least understood people on the Earth. Native author Michael Dorris states this thought in a more direct way. He writes that Native Americans are the most lied about people on the face of the planet. Much of this discontent with the written record about Native Peoples is due to the fact that much of this record has been recorded by Non-Native people and thus passed through a cultural filter that distorts the reality of Native experience and tradition. "Standing in the Light, a Lakota Way of Seeing," is a collaborative effort by the authors Severt Young Bear Sr. and Dr. Ronnie Theisz to record an account of the world view of the Lakota people that was written from the viewpoint and understanding of a person that has lived his life within the traditional culture of the Lakota People. Severt Young Bear Sr. was born on the Pine Ridge Reservation in 1934 and lived his life in the traditional community of Porcupine, SD. In his life he was a rancher, a ranger, a tribal councilman, a singer with and drum keeper of the acclaimed Porcupine Singers that appeared in the movies "Dances With Wolves, " and "Thunderheart," an instructor at Oglala Lakota College, and founder of International Brotherhood Days, a cross cultural forum that is held the second week of July each year at the Young Bear dance grounds just outside Porcupine, SD.. This book is a rare look from the inside of Lakota culture from one that lived within that context. The work touches on the past of the Lakota People, and focusses on the importance of traditions of the culture to the survival and identity of the Lakota Nation. As a self-styled student of Lakota culture I value this book as one of the most relavant books in my collection. Highly recommended. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Beyond feathers and bells, "Standing in the Light" gives non-Native people a glimpse some of the real culture and values of the Lakota people. What values are held in high esteem, and how do they work in the everyday life of the people, are just a few of the answers given. Long overdue for those seeking to learn the culture beyond the feathers and bells of a Powwow.

I am enchanted with this book, one of the most exquisite books I have seen in a long time. The Lakota way is a simple but universal way of living. It is a book I want to share with many.
I was blessed to share so many lakota traditions and even though I don't practice those traditions any more I have them in my heart.
This book just brought so many memories.