United States Books

Like many other reviewers, I first read this book and the other Williamsburg novels in my teens. I loved them, and read them repeatedly. That these books are so beloved of teen-age girls forty years ago should give a good idea of what they're like. This one is probably the best, but all are sweet love stories with an interesting historical setting--good plots, memorably noble and heroic characters, and happy endings, both on the personal and historical level. There's little real pain and suffering, no matter how horrible the historic event described was, and few really bad guys. If you want enjoyable, G-rated escape, these are your books.

Dawn's Early Light, the first book in the Elswyth Thane Williamsburg series, is a delightful read with memorable characters and an accurate rendering of Williamsburg's Colonial days leading up to and through the Revolution. Here we see the beginnings of two families: the Days and the Spragues as well as the beginning of our nation. From the first moment when Julian Day steps off the boat from England and is met on the wharf by St.John Sprague, Thane's story captured this reader who read it for the first time in the 60's and has just finished reading it again. The characters and their stories, their loves and heartaches in the midst of this tumultuous Revolutionary period have become a part of my own story. What better way to learn history than through the eyes of those who lived it. Kudos to Thane for a well-researched account and for the portrayal of flesh and blood characters who captured the heart. It is wonderful book. Enjoy! Ann Westerman

My grandmother passed the Williamsburg novels on to me when I was 16. I devoured all of them that summer. I always wanted to read them again, and yesterday on a whim I decided to do just that. It has been 16 years since I last read the series, and I'm enjoying Dawn's Early Light with a new appreciation.

Thanks to the Internet, I now know more about the author. Elswyth Thane (1900-1981, American) was a romance writer in her time. She wrote several books, but the Williamsburg series are her most popular.

I'd say while these novels have a healthy dose of history -- historical characters like Jefferson and Washington interact with our fictional characters in "Dawn's" -- they are first and foremost romance novels. Therefore, female readers might enjoy them more, which seems to be the case from the comments posted here!

This is the beginning book in a series of books called the Williamsburg novels. I have been reading and re-reading this series of 7 books for over 50 years. They are my all time favorite books. Each book deals with a war or pre-war action (except the war of 1812) in which the US has taken part from the Revolutionary War (Dawn's Early Light) to the Civil War (Yankee Stranger) to the Homing with is the last of the series and the 4th book which deals with WWI and WWII and the years in between. They are a great source of history. Ms Thane (widow of the explorer Dr. William Beebe) has done an excellent job of research for each of the books. I hope others find them as wonderful, and as entertaining as I do. I have read my old copies until they are falling apart. I was very excited to find they had been reprinted and purchased them immediately.

The advice is--- don't make the same mistake I did. Upon reading all the glowing reviews, this series of books sounded like just what I love to read--- long,interesting books, interesting characters. So- instead of buying them one at a time, I bought the whole darned Williamsburg Series, plus a few more by the same author, "Queen's Folly", the "Tudor Wench" and "Tryst". What a disappointment. Since this review is about "Dawn's Early Light", I won't mention how boring the other books were, but I've got to say-- "Dawn" was the best of the lot. However, I could hardly bring myself to finish it, but I did. The other books were just as boring--- if all the references to war had been left out, they would have been pamphlets, but much more interesting. Ladies, these are men's books-- unless you like to read of ambushes, guns, dead horses. I think Elswyth Thane had seen "Gone With The Wind" and was trying to emulate it in her work. She failed miserably. I should have bought one book to see her writing style, and I would have saved some cash, because I wouldn't have wasted my money on the rest.

My wife and I like to listen to a tape while we read the book. We are rereading this book that way. It is a classic and a good introduction to Alaska, where we have lived and worked and touristed.

Want to read about the realities of the 49th state????
Want to really learn something about this region???
Want to get good visuals????????
If NOT don't read this book!!!!!!!!!!!!

This book is a wonderful relic, the last plausible vision of a living American frontier. In the mid seventies, McPhee went to Alaska to do a few pieces for the New Yorker. He met a lot of trappers, prospectors, and "river people" who'd built moss-chinked cabins and whose individualism, gruff hospitality, and happiness he admired. McPhee made a plea for democratic access to Alaskan land. He argued that land far from roads should remain fair game for homesteaders in perpetuity.

It is odd to read an ode to Alaska's wild immensity at a time when islands are being evacuated in the Aleutians, polar bears are drowning, and the permafrost is melting. The question these days is not whether Americans can still choose to live in more or less untainted outback. The question is whether that outback will soon be transformed beyond recognition, not by oil drilling, but by climate change.

What Coming into the Country offers the twenty-first century is escapism and nostalgia. McPhee's account of the political squabbles over the location of Alaska's capital has lost its relevance, but the rest of the book still comes to life. We meet a mix of clannish Christians, proud native people, and prickly bootleggers in the small, dry town of Eagle. McPhee's tale of a man's survival in sub-zero weather after a plane crash constitutes a minor classic of its own.

The book reminds us how powerful the frontier fantasy remains in American psyches. Can it be harnessed as a metaphor? Can the dream of self-reliance on a private patch of woods help motivate us, indirectly, to cut carbon emissions? It has motivated us to go camping and conserve some wild lands even while ruining others. Still, I suspect that as the environmental movement shifts in response to global warming, we may have to jettison the frontier fantasy. It depends too much on a view of nature as more powerful than man. Whether or not we agree with Bill McKibben that we have arrived at the end of nature, we know that everything is responding to elevated temperatures. There is no untouched patch of land left in Alaska. The romance of a homestead sours when the flora and fauna are marching north past the log cabin, driven by coal and oil fires from all over the planet.

I traveled to Alaska in 2006 but lived there in the early 70's. Why I delayed so long in reading "Coming into the Country" I don't know, but John McPhee has taken me back to that earlier day. Both his character and place descriptions are wonderful and make me long for the cabins, the ice break-up, the dogs, the bush planes, and the 55 gallon drums. The Anchorage of today is much changed, but the bush is still there -- Thank God.

We bought this book in Nome, Alaska on a visit there in 2001 (my brother owns a flying service there). I took my time reading it the first time. Coming into the Country is not a book to be read quickly, but, rather, one to be savored, taking time for the details to seep into the crevices of one's memory until they become part of one's knowledge base. Every page holds a vast amount of information that if read too quickly blurs to nothingness and is lost.

McPhee's descriptions of the land, its rivers and mountains, its challenges, its beauty, and its people are thorough and draw the reader into the pages of his book. It takes a certain kind of person to survive in the Alaskan bush. I, for one, am drawn to its splendor, its starkness, its fearsomeness, but am sure I don't have the right stuff to live there long term. The river people and others, who thrive in communities like Eagle and Central (even Fairbanks and Juneau), have remarkable stamina and a strong determination to live the lives they choose in their respective settings, all of which are breathtaking in their beauty. McPhee also writes of the tension between the races (Indian and white)and the human dynamic among community members (the good and the no-so-good)that always accompanies the sharing of space and resources.

Over the past five years, I've picked up CITC now and then to re-read parts of it. Most recently, I re-read the whole of Part III Coming into the Country. This is my favorite section because it focuses on the bush and its people, most particularly on Eagle, Alaska located on the Yukon River and just across the International Boundary from Canada's Yukon Territory. (Incidentally, the term "coming into the country" refers to the arrival of a person into the Alaskan bush with the intent of staying. I may move from Michigan to Ohio or New York or California, but, if I go to Alaska, they call it coming into the country. "Brad Snow and Lily Allen came into the country in 1973." "Joe Vogler came into the country in 1944." "John Borg came into the country in 1966" (and he's still there. Check out the Eagle site. Borg has worn many hats in Eagle and still sits on the board of the Eagle Historical Society and Museum. Borg's wife, Betty, is the board's treasurer).

The original copyright on this book is 1976, thirty years ago. The growth in technology since that time has allowed almost every municipality to have their own website. Eagle is no exception. [...]

Carolyn Rowe Hill

A friend of mine from the Bronx told me about this book, and I'm glad she did. This if a beautifully written story that gets at the truth of both the time and the heart. The Bronx is a place that seems mythic and all too real to me and this writer keeps both of those images alive.

I loved this book. It gave a shape to Pearson's life and let me understand that there is a shape to all of our lives. It's just up to us to find the meaning that is there for us notice.

For me Dreaming of Columbus read more like a novel than a memoir. I mean that as a compliment to the writer. The story had the feel of fiction to it, as if you could see inside the characters lives and enter the story for a while. I loved it.

Michael Pearson has the right idea, but the ideas that are gathered into the book are a little disjointed and fractured. If he could smooth out the stories so that blend one into the other, the entire book would read better.
On the positive note, Dreaming of Columbus would definitely stir memories of the neighborhood for those growing up in that part of New York. He does have some descriptive stories of people, places and landmarks in the book that are entertainingly delightful.
If you are a Bronx native, I would recommend this book so you can remember things you may never see again.

Despite the images of sea voyages inspired by its title, Dreaming of Columbus is not the story of a young man spending his salad days in exotic, foreign settings. Instead, Michael Pearson takes the road less traveled and keeps his story closer to home. The reader looking for journeys will not be disappointed, however, in the imaginative way the Pearson uses literature to break away from the confines of the Bronx and the unpredictable, bourbon induced, violent outbursts produce by his father's rage to live. Although Pearson engages in excessive epigraph dropping, the means by which literature provides an avenue for escape adds a universal element to his narrative from which we call all learn something about the art of bridge building.

Being a bit of a nostalgia freak, I have more than a few books highlighting 50s and 60s pop culture. This is my second favorite, with only Populuxe rating higher. It's a memory-invoking rush of nostalgic nosh, with plenty for your mind to delightfully delight in. You'll treasure this book. Ton of full color pictures and lively appreciative writing makes you want to read this book again and again. Holy Nostalgia, Batman!

After hearing about this both the book and the CD, both by Hal Lifson, I just had to get these. I could not put this book down. I called my mother about it and thanked her for letting me born in such a cool year! I have always been a fanatic for that type of pop culture in the '60's. My sister once told me that I was born twenty years too late! After reading this book, I couldn't agree with her more! If you know someone who was born in 1966, and looking for a birthday gift for them, look no further than this book. This book rocks, and so does Hal Lifson!

What a groovy book, baby! I was only three years old in 1966 but I remember just about everything in this delightful scrapbook that's a time capsule for everything from that hip decade.

Hal Lifson has collected photos, ads, album covers, toys, etc. that brings back a very cool, swingin' period in American culture. The Beatles, Batman, James Bond, Playboy, Nancy Sinatra--they're all here!

Definitely a book for anyone alive at the time. Or anyone interested in what that was like.

Hal Lifson took me on a journey that was so exciting, I couldn't stand it! From Batman to The Monkees to the Beach Boys song "Wouldn't It Be Nice", I feel like I've relived my childhood all over again. Now if I only had my Batman utility belt again....

I recommend this book to anyone who wants to take that journey, even if you weren't born yet!

"Hal Lifson's 1966" is, indeed, the ultimate time machine. It works on two distinct levels. First, having lived in the San Fernando Valley during that period, I found the book to be the most delightful, teary-eyed journey back to the old stomping grounds...who says you can't go back home?! To see a picture of the old Encino Bowl...the last time I even thought about it was when I was sneaking a smoke in the parking lot on the way back from ELEMENTARY school! Second, and more important (yes, important), "Hal Lifson's 1966" captures the innocence of the period...perhaps the last innocence the country enjoyed before it was forced to grow up during the Watergate hearings. Indeed, the lack of any political references keeps the journey a magical mystery tour. Honey West, Catwoman, NANCY SINATRA...many a 13-year-old boy lost his innocence "appreciating" these classically sexy women. Thanks, Hal.

I found this incredible interview regarding how the game of Golf has changed over the years. You wouldn't believe the evolution! If you have any interest in the history of Golf, this is a must read. If you want to become even more knowledgeable on the subject, scroll to the bottom of the interview and get in touch with the author. After reading, I guarantee you will be able to lead the most interesting discussions and impress your friends!

http://www.golfclubatlas.com/interviewroden.html

Curt Sampson has done a really fine job with this book ! I really like his idea to interview Valerie Hogan. Hogan wrote Power Golf NOT 5 fundementals, he brings this out in the book.

Few people, even non-golfers, can escape ever having heard of Ben Hogan. Maybe you don't know exactly who he was, but the name is oddly familiar.

To golfers, Ben Hogan is as close to legend as anything. Other players, even Bobby Jones and Tiger Woods, lack the mystique which has encompassed Hogan, even many years after his death.

What few of us know is just who he was. This information may not be so pertinant to people who play the game, since they are mostly interested in his swing. However, anyone who has touched even in a small way on part of his career realizes the great mysteries that lie in his life and being.

"Hogan" may not answer everything satisfactorily, but it comes as close as any are likely to get. This covers his life in as much informative detail as could be needed, and presents Hogan not so much in a less-than-glamorous light, as is common to biographies, but rather in a "judge for yourself" presentation of evidence for what made the man what he became.

Anyone curious about this modern legend will get more than he bargains for. Where perhaps the book does not go into his game to the extent golfers may want, the story of Hogan's life is engaging enough without it.

In my very large golf library this is clearly the best book on golf
I have read period. For the first time you get an insight into the "wie ice mon" in what reads like a novel.

When I was growing up the names of Palmer, Nicklaus, Trevino, Player, and their generation were the top competitors. Ben Hogan was a revered name, but one of past glory. His great year of 1953 was in the past. I had heard about his auto accident and his amazing comeback, but this book helped me see the man who "dug it out of the dirt" through hard work, discipline, and ferocious tenacity.

Mr. Hogan started out with less than most. His father's suicide and the family's subsequent poverty didn't leave him with many open paths to success. He found golf and found that it not only matched his physical skills, but was an even better match for his nearly obsessive temperament.

The swing he developed has become the pattern millions of us try to emulate, although he would find our haphazard approach to the game less than useless. Why we love being duffers would be beyond him. He knew how to work and to practice. I still cannot fathom the kind of internal strength it would take to come back from that terrible leg shattering accident when his Cadillac was struck by a bus. He played in great pain for the rest of his life and had four surgeries on his left shoulder. When I realize that his greatest achievements and most of his wins at major tournaments were after the accident I am simply dumbstruck.

Mr. Hogan was a very private and enigmatic figure. Mr. Sampson does a good job in teasing what facts we know into a good story. We get interesting stories from the golf side of his life (mostly stories told about Hogan by others) and those are very enjoyable. However, I like the way Mr. Sampson puts all that in the context of a real person - a real man. Ben Hogan wasn't a fictional character even though the media version of him was a distortion of the actual hard working man who practiced, practiced, and then practiced some more, who loved his wife, Valerie, and built a successful golf equipment business.

Ben Hogan made a long journey through life and I think this book tells the story well.

I recommend this book for all little girls of color. This includes biracial and adopted girls who can also become quite conflicted about their amazing locks.

Even though they may be surrounded by friends and immediate family with similar hair, sometimes they stop seeing the rich beauty of their own hair. They start comparing themselves with their family members with different hair.

This book was perfect for us. A godsend.

I think this book should be given to every family that adopts across racial barriers and recommended to every African American and biracial family (where one parent is of African descent).

Even better it should be read in every elementary school in America. The beauties of long, straight (especially blond) hair is extolled throughout children's literature. So should people of all cultures hear the beauty of African hair extolled.

I loved Ms. Tarpley's comments about her own hair journey. I am so grateful that she wrote this book. I wish it had been around 60 years ago so that many generations of girls could have seen the beauty of their hair affirmed in print.

I have loved every book written by Ms. Tarpley. I find them educational and uplifting. This book is no exception.

My older niece loves this book, all about a black girl who, as you expect, loves her hair.

She describes it in various poetic and imaginative terms - her hair can be like a globe, or be spun into a braid; it's curly like a vine winding into space; she likes to wear her hair in "ponytails like wings".

There are some unnecessarily didactic elements - kids at school teased her, so her teacher talked to them about having Pride in Your Heritage (a good concept, the whole book is about that, but that page wasn't so well-handled, I think), and her mother starts talking to her directly about how she's "lucky to have this head of hair" when she complains that haircombing *hurts* sometimes.

Also, some of the illustrations have odd perspective - I'm thinking specifically of one where she's going down the street with beads in her hair.

However, overall this is a really great book. And my nieces (aged five and 2.5) agree. They love reading this book.

My daughter loved this book as it has vivid illustrations and really helps to promote a love for African American hair!

IF YOU WERE THINKING OF BUYING THE BOOK "NAPPY HAIR", GET THIS ONE INSTEAD. ITS BEAUTIFULLY WRITTEN.

This is an excellent book for building confidence in African-American girls about the natural beauty of their hair. The pictures are wonderfully done and contribute to the feeling of pride you get when reading this book. My daughter especially related to the part where the little girl makes music with the beads in her hair, and I try to remember to be as compassionate as the mom in the book when I comb her hair.

I read a book by Gene Simmons called KISS AND TELL. I also read a book about KISS called BEHIND THE MASK. After reading KISS FOREVER I noticed something strange happening to my way of thinking in regards to KISS. Before reading these three books I used to think of KISS the way I always had. What songs I liked, which album covers were the best, which costumes were best, ect. After reading this book (and the other two) I know so much about the day to day lives of KISS during the 70s and 80s that now I feel more like I was a member of KISS remembering my days with the band than a fan. As I read this I found it easy to imagine what it would have been like to have been a member of KISS. The book states when someone was sick, when their pants split on stage, when they did store appearances, ect. If you're a KISS fan you should have this book. I was worried I was wasting my money on a book that I wouldn't find interesting but I was wrong. Its a great book.

this is a great read. i like to just pick it up and browse. Interesting to see the actual attendence figures because they prove how much money KISS LOST in order to put on a good show. There are many dates that werent even close to selling out (mostly in the 80s), but it also shows that even in their hey day they usually only sold out places with apprx. 8 - 10,000 seats. Being compared to todays standards, that is pretty weak considering the sizeable show they toured with.
The set lists are interesting as well. Though many are the same, now and then you see a song and wish you were there to hear them play it! This book also has a few interesting notes in between tours.
This is one of the best books out there for kiss fans. Gives you a new appreciation for the band as you see how they played to a lot of half empty halls but still stuck with it. the book is also honest in its figures, no sugar coating. a really cool read that must have taken months, if not years, of research. Essential for any Kiss fan as well as rock n roll fans in general.

Kiss Alive Forever is a must read for any KISS fan. The book is filled with details from all their tours including dates, set lists, and many, many details from each show.

I've had this book for a couple years now and I can't put it down. I read it over and over and find interesting new facts every time. A day to day history of all their tours from day 1.

I Love This Book!!

This book has all the facts and figures about Kiss concerts that I've never read anywhere else.

It tells you the dates of each show, how much capacity the arena holds, what the attendance figures were, what songs were sung at most shows, in the order in which they were performed. It also has interviews with some touring personnel and their memories of the tour and/or show.

I really appreciated the end of the book that has all the songs Kiss has ever performed, the first and last time they performed the song (Hard Luck Woman was ever only performed during an 11 day period in 1976 and NOT during the three Forum shows that were recorded for Alive II. Some songs were only ever performed once, others only in other countries).

It breaks each tour down by album, tells you the biggest shows by attendance, all of their opening acts, who Kiss opened up for. It is packed with tons of information you never hear Gene and Paul talk about.

A must for any Kiss fan or anyone who enjoys the behind the scenes happenings of a major rock act.

For this book review I read Little Town on the Prarie by:Laura Ingles Wilder. This book is good reading for preteen girls. The story is historical and is about living in the pioneer days.

In this book Laura and her family work hard to send her older sister to Collage and keep her there untill she finishes. Laura and her little sister Grace have to go to school when they move to town for the winter. Laura is very exited about going to school because she wants to get her teachers certifacit when she is sixteen. To find out what else happens you will have to read the book.

This book was fun to read and kept my intrest. It was a little confusing at timeskeeping up with who was talking. It was very interesting also to learn about how they lived back then. Over all it was a good book and I would consider reading it again.

It's wonderful to see how my children love listening to these books over and over, now that we've been collecting the CDs. The little details really stick in their heads, and have been surprisingly useful tidbits of information on several occasions, as they hear or read other things that relate!

When I first bought the CDs, I was unsure about Cherry Jones' accent, but it just brings a nice, down-home aspect to the reading. Of course, the readings are unabridged - the only way to go, I think!

My favorite part of the CDs, though, is hearing the songs, often accompanied by a fiddle. As a child, I remember skipping over the songs as I encountered them in the text, especially those I didn't know, and it has really added to the experience of the books to hear an actual tune for them. Often, the songs reflect the mood of the moment exceptionally well. Cherry Jones sings them out (usually as Pa!) in her low alto voice, and you do really have to hear a few of them to get used to it, but we love them.

Laura Ingalls thought that being thirteen was difficult, but now she is on the cusp of her fifteenth year, and things around her are changing like crazy. After a difficult winter full of one blizzard after another, Laura is happy to be back on the claim shanty with her family, away from the hustle and bustle of town. But she knows that her family will most certainly head back to De Smet to live in the shop before winter comes again, to protect them from the harsh weather that may lie ahead. Weather aside, however, Laura can't believe how many new things are arising. Especially the most important one of all - changes for Mary.

Laura couldn't be happier to be back in school again. After so many months of studying on her own, she is thrilled to be back in the classroom with her old friends Mary and Minnie, and Ida. But there's someone new in the classroom. A person from Laura's past who makes Laura shake with anger - Nellie Oleson. Laura, however, is determined to ignore the nasty Nellie and study as hard as she possibly can in order to gain her teaching certificate, and help to send Mary to college. But even without her being a part of the workforce, Mary is able to go off to college, and Laura couldn't be happier - or more devastated. But seeing how much Mary loves college, Laura resolves to study even harder, and begin earning the money to assist in keeping her there. Of course, Laura never imagined that things could possibly stand in her way. Such as the selfish new schoolteacher who thrives on taunting and humiliating both Laura and Carrie in front of the other students; and working as a seamstress in town. But the most shocking of all, is Almanzo Wilder's sudden interest in young Laura. Almanzo is a handsome fellow, whose Morgan horses are the talk of the town, and now Almanzo seems to have taken a fancy to Laura - something that leaves her confused and excited at the same time. But no matter what, she must remember to continue her studies, or else Mary may have to return home before her education is complete.

It seems strange to bear witness as someone ages, but that is exactly what readers have had the opportunity to do as Laura Ingalls grows in age, height, and maturity. The love she holds for her family is so refreshing and charming, and truly keeps the reader's interest peaked; while the constant maturity Laura displays in each and every one of her decisions is just unbelievable. Laura has completely grown up before our eyes, and each year she just becomes more and more lovable. The inclusion of facts regarding the changes taking place during this era are interesting, and present a fun learning experience for readers; while the sudden budding romances springing up around the young people of De Smet indicates just how much older these characters have become. Almanzo Wilder has grown on me over the past few books, and I love reading the scenes where he is present; and Nellie Oleson, as nasty as she is, will always remain a fun character whom you absolutely love to hate, but hate to love. This series just gets better and better!

Erika Sorocco
Freelance Reviewer

I read this book to my two sons, 7, 9 and my husband, during long drives. We all loved it. Even though the main character is a girl, my boys were interested the entire time and identified with Laura. The descriptions are great and the characters are well-drawn. We're now reading These Happy Golden Years and my family is loving that, too. I recommend this book for a family to read together.

This is a charming, entertaining, and educational story about what life was like among homesteaders in the Dakota territories in the 1880s. I mostly agree with the other positive reviews here. But there is a teaching moment in this book that should not be overlooked. The parents in this book are paragons of virtue, and their behavior matches the highest standards - standards of 1880, not 2006. There is a short scene during one of the "literaries" where several men perform in blackface. Although it occurs with innocent intent, modern readers might find it in questionable taste if they don't allow for the historical context.

If they're smart, parents and teachers will embrace this as an opportunity to open a discussion with children about changing standards, and the work it took to improve those standards.

The book is well written and entertaining. The story was nicely presented around the letters of Mary Pringle. All the similar names of the characters make it a little confusing. A nice reference chart showing the relationship of the characters should be included at the beginning of the book. Did the author hide some things to make the family look better? I wonder. It's hard for a Northerner to muster up a lot of sympathy for this family of slave owners. Perhaps Julius, who likely became a Unionist, was the real hero of the family. It's ironic that the South nearly destroyed our country in the 1860's, but is saving it today.

Mary's World helped me to understand life in the Antebellum South and the culture that thrived on slavery. But it also showed the North's response to winning the Civil War, which was anything but forgiving. It was a thrill to see the Miles Brewton House and the St. Michael's Cemetary on my recent visit to Charleston, and to feel the connection with the Mottes, Alstons, and Pringles.

In Mary's World Richard N. Cote has succeeded admirably where so many others have tried and yet missed the mark. With his succinct style and exceptional organizational skills he has laid bare the thoughts,emotions and lives of Mary Pringle, her family and their slaves, and done so in a way that has given us a book
that is informative as well as enjoyable. By putting their lives
into context with the times Mr Cote has given the reader not only the opportunity to learn what they thought and felt but the ability to understand why they thought and felt the way they
did. This book will appeal to historians and the average reader
alike.
It took me only 2 days to read Mary's World and I found myself
so absorbed that when interrupted I was momentarily confused to find I wasn't in 19th century Charleston.

FOR THOSE INTERESTED IN ANTEBELLUM CULTURE AND THE CIVIL WAR, THIS IS A MUST READ. EVEN FOR THOSE WHO AREN'T A STUDENT OF THE ERA, "MARY'S WORLD" IS STILL A FASCINATING GLIMPSE OF THE LIFE OF AN ELITE SOUTHERN PLANTER FAMILY. TAKEN FROM FAMILY PAPERS, THE STORY OF THE PRINGLES IS A FIRST HAND ACCOUNT OF THEIR INNERMOST THOUGHTS AND FEELINGS.

THE READER GETS TO WATCH WILLIAM BULL AND MARY ALSTON PRINGLE'S CHILDREN GROW UP. BY THE END OF THE BOOK YOU FEEL AS IF YOU HAVE KNOWN THEM ALL. I DREADED FINISHING THE BOOK BECAUSE I FELT AS IF I WAS LEAVING OLD FRIENDS.

DO YOURSELF A FAVOR AND MAKE TIME FOR THIS BOOK. REGARDLESS OF WHETHER YOU ARE AN "ANTEBELLUM-OPHILE" LIKE ME OR NOT, THIS IS AN EXCELLENT BOOK.

I found this book in Charleston on vacation after touring this home. I loved this book! Now I want to visit again because I am so much more invested. I read this book for pure pleasure, and di it deliver! One doesn't need to visit the south to enjoy, the book takes you there. It gives such insight to the era and history the reader gets pulled right in.

Wow, Joy Butler has just made our lives easier. The Permission Seeker's Guide Through the Legal Jungle is a user-friendly, detailed, wealth of knowledge for authors, producers and anyone who wants to use copyrighted material. I've written 4 books and had to wind my way through the jungle of permissions on my own, which was tedious and painful (news flash, your publisher doesn't track that stuff down for you and YOU are legally responsible for any inapporpriate use of material your use in your books and productions.) Thank you Joy for making every book I write in the future a breeze with your book now on my shelf right next to my desk.

Joy Butler's The Permission Seeker's Guide Through the Legal Jungle arrived promptly and I was blown away. The guide expertly covers rights, clearance issues, how to obtain clearance, minimizing risksThe Permission Seeker's Guide Through the Legal Jungle: Clearing Copyrights, Trademarks and Other Rights for Entertainment and Media Productions (Guide Through the Legal Jungle). It also has a section at the end for resources and forms. Butler enables the reader to navigate through complex issues with ease. Her style is comfortable. You can pick it up and read straight through or skip to the sections that are of immediate concern.

This book should be required reading for all of us creative industries. Sure wish I'd had it earlier!

Shannon Grissom
Author: Monkey Made of Sockies
Television Producer: Give Your Walls Some Soul!

Joy R. Butler is endlessly impressive as she charts and details all of the legal choices, decisions and ramifications behind being a producer: that higher stage of artist which combines talent and inspiration with the realities of the global marketplace. This is, definitely, a book for the artist who is taking their craft and their lives to that next level.

The degree to which she covers virtually every subject that could be covered re copyrights, permissions, trademarks, etc. is daunting. The book in fact is so detailed and voluminous that being shellshocked or momentarily disheartened as an artist will be inevitable. Showing once again how litigious our society is, amongst her many examples of interpretations of the law--and what artists and producers must contend with in that context--include the following: a treasured Muslim friend & assistant of Spike Lee unexpectedly suing him for the right to be considered a co-writer of his masterpiece MALCOLM X; and Eminem's fourth grade bully suing him to get a share of a song written about him being overcome later in life after it broke the Billboard charts! (And we wonder why stars can be so aloof.)

Butler does say at the outset, however, that there may be big chunks of the book not designed for you, given your artistic specialty. And indeed, every artistic specialty is covered: from visual arts to computer arts; dance to drama; music of all genres to literary works; videos to commercials, TV, cinema and documentaries.

You may walk away from this book thinking as I do: I gotta hire her as my lawyer! But either way, in the end, you'll walk away from this book feeling inspired, as the wealth of information provided supplies you with new ways to approach your work--beginning with the degree to which it is or isn't dependent on the inspiration and marketable work of others. Knowing your options regarding trademarks, copyrights, and other rights to use or transform works that have either come before you or are part of your individual and unique production teaches you how to think big time--really big time--as an artist. And helps make the inevitable success associated with taking this mindset on possible.

Highly recommended.

Serendipitously, I received entertainment and business attorney, Joy R. Butler's "The Permission Seeker's Guide through the Legal Jungle" when a good friend of mine was in the process of designing and launching his website. Knowing that he had some trademark issues ( he had recently come up with a logo for his goods and services and wanted to protect his intellectual property) I promptly handed over this book and awaited a detailed synopsis of his first hand experience with it.

His comments exceeded my initial impression of this guide. While my reading of the book revealed a tightly crafted compendium of situations and solutions that arise during the identification and elimination of rights clearance problems in media production ----think anything through which people communicate and express themselves i.e., film, video, television programs, newspapers, magazines, posters, computer games, comic books, paintings, photographs, fine art, advertisements, websites, sculptures, books, etc.--my friend's opinion waxed practical as he followed the steps to insure that his production contained no material that violated the rights of another person.

Specifically, he wanted to use a song and CD photo on a website that he had heard on a CD and change key lyrics to reflect and promote his product and personal enterprise. Author Butler explains how to identify the rights owner - in this case the owner of the recording and the photographer of the photograph used on the CD cover----and how to seek permission to use the music and the photo. Using Butler's techniques, my friend successfully accomplished his mission and both the edited song and the photo appear on his website without the fear of kindling a lengthy expensive and tiresome lawsuit.

Butler's guide is definitely well organized; the summary table of contents, the table of contents and the index lay out with an encyclopedic precision exactly what the book contains. She presents an overall format for using the book, defines and explains relevant rights and laws, relays clearance issues for each media type, details the process of clearing rights and seeking permission, while minimizing risks and protecting oneself from possible lawsuits. Specific information is extremely easy to find within this volume; all topics are comprehensive, well documented and easy to read and comprehend with procedural information as well as examples of up-to-date cases and court rulings.

Bottom Line? On a real and practical level, Joy R. Butler's "The Permission Seeker's Guide through the Legal Jungle" provides a wealth of information that every writer and publisher should own and reference to avoid rights clearance problems in any media production. Recommended highly for all those who need to know the law and make it work in their favor.
Diana Faillace Von Behren
"reneofc"

This book is written for publishers, writers, visual artists, muscians, music producers, film & TV producers, producers of Web sites and software, people, celebrities, and businesses. They all have or want intellectual property, and by reading this book they can learn how the commercial licensing of intellectual property works. The book has 28 chapters:

1. Guide to using this book
3. Copyright basics
4. Trademark basics
5. Common elements of privacy, publicity & defamation law
6. Right of privacy
7. Right of publicity
8. Defamation
9. Other relevant rights & laws
16. Getting organized (to seek permission)
17. Putting your own house in order
18. Submitting the request for permission
19. Negotiating the rights agreement
27. Methods of minimizing risks
28. Dealing with lawsuits

2. Checklist of clearance issues
CLEARANCE ISSUES FOR ...
10. Publishers & writers
11. Visual Artists
12. Musicians & music producers
13. Film, TV, & audio-visual producers
14. Producers of Web sites and software
15. Business
CLEARING RIGHTS AND SEEKING PERMISSION ...
20. To use books & other printed material
21. To use visual art
22. To use music
23. To use film, TV, & video footage
24. To use Web site & software materials
25. With respect to people
26. To use trademarks, products, & locations

The numbers above correspond to the chapters as they are sequenced in the book. I have rearranged the chapters in the order in which I would have liked to have seen them included in the book. Also, I would have liked the book better if it had been split into two parts instead of six. Part A would have included the chapters "1-28" as cited herein above. And Part B would have included the chapters "2-26." As a result of the way the book was organized I almost gave it a 4-star rating. But this book really is a gem and full of content.

My favorite chapters were chapters 2 & 3 (intellectual property law) and chapters 6-9 (tort law). And chapters 18 and 19 were really good, too. Clearly much of the book is aimed at topics an entertainment lawyer handles in her legal practice. But from my perspective as a SCORE small business counselor I think chapters 3, 4, 10, 14, 15, 20, and 24-28 are the most relevant to my clients' concerns. 5 stars!