Central America Books

For many years people ignored Viking Sagas claiming visits to North America. That was a mistake as would be ignoring the many finds reviewed in this short yet fasinating book.

Ancient coins, a Celtic sword, Iberic inscriptions and the famous Dighton Rock, artifacts like the "Roman Head," a sculptured head found in Essex. Cahill's surveys the region's vast collection of stone chambers, temples and dolmens. He notes that Native American accounts verify the existence of some stone formations, but don't seem to claim to be their designers.

Mystery Hill in North Salem New Hampshire which is a collection of stone structures that has fascinated people for centuries. Evidence that indicates that the site is pre-Columbus is compelling. Perhaps it's time for archaeologists to reexamine this site. It's bizarre for such a site to be ignored when it could decide once and for all the prehistory of North America.

This far reaching study, the first of its kind, is still an indispendable guide to the literatures of Hawai'i and required reading as such. The pathos and commitment of the book still come across, over the years and the distances of island separation and diaspora in Michigan. Read it on the beach or in your study.

These wonderful stories have been chosen to represent, according to the foreword, the clash between the indigenous culture and the third world. Perhaps black English speakers are not considered indigenous enough and there is nothing from Belize or about the Garifuana. Only one story is from Panama. It would be interesting to know if the right wing is literate at all. I get two problems with politically motivated fiction. The first is that fiction may be one-sided and over-simplify a complex situation. The second is that when terrible atrocities have been committed then writing about them in fiction can make us complacent. We are able to say "it is only a story"(does Arturo Armas really remember the events of 1954). That said, these are are all remarkable. The influence of the South American magic realists can be seen, especially in the title story and there is a tendency to idealize Indian life and the Popol Vul. I has only read Quesada and Ramirez previously and shall be seeking out more by the other writers.

This book is full of great pictures documenting the complete Ant Farm collection of works. Original design sketches and interviews with the artists offer a lot of insight into the art group Ant Farm. I may be a bit biased since I study this kind of art, but I think someone could enjoy this book even if they know little to nothing about Ant Farm. In my opinion, its worth every penny.

Dennis R. Hidalgo

Thomas Bender, ed. The Antislavery Debate

What can a historian do when there is not enough empirical evidence to produce a quantitative and comprehensively thesis for a social historical problem that defies psychological scrutiny? David Brion Davis opted for an answer that satisfies cynic assumptions with circumstantial evidences. Davis argues that the strength of abolitionism in early industrial Britain derived from its susceptibility to the needs of the dominant political elite. It was particularly influenced by this new bourgeoisie capitalist class' modes of industrial discipline. Antislavery main, and unconscious, purpose was to desensitize English society to the newer forms of oppression evident in the increasing wage labor. His context of conceptual reference appears to flow from Marxism and Freudian thought: the rise of an oppressing bourgeoisie driven by its hidden and selfish Id. To Thomas Haskell this idea of unconscious "self-deception" and motivation by class interests is not convincing. For him, it is impossible for the historian to bring concrete evidence to bear, which will distinguish between unconscious intention and unintended consequences. Following what appears to be a more objective goal, Haskell intends to draw a straighter line between the rise of the market economy and the rise of the abolitionist movement in 1750s. In doing so he moves from a quasi-Freudian historical analysis to an Ericsonian: that of a cognitive change of behavior. For Haskell capitalist and market expansion broaden social perception that in turn promoted moral responsibility. The most powerful catalyst in this process of change was the "intensification of market discipline, and the penetration of that discipline into spheres of life previously untouched by it." To this Davis decries Haskell approach for being more economic deterministic than a rationalistic. To this, John Ashworth adds that Haskell is not able to follow up the empirical inclinations of his Davis' critic since he does not supply enough evidence to support his argument. Indeed, his only example of moral switch to Antislavery is the Quaker John Woolman. Without knowing Haskell is caught in one of the most frustrating traps of an empirical driven discipline. His response is that he is not looking for a comprehensive societal change but for a mechanism that might have caused the change. The problems this approach is the usefulness of such "found" mechanism if there is no proof that the mechanism was indeed used sufficiently as to merit its historical validity. Nevertheless, Haskell bottom line is his desire to demonstrate that abolitionists rationally attached the worst evil of their times. Davis and Ashworth's response to Haskell's premise is that wage labor could have been also attacked and was not. Ashworth spend most of his time criticizing Haskell and throwing some bits toward Davis. Yet he is also able to provide an interesting proposition. First, he asserts Davis' starting point as the place to launch the investigation: the emergence of a dominant class. This would lead us to the disregarding of wage labor abuses and protected interests. But instead of moving completely toward Davis, he detours into the cultural notion of family and its effect on productivity. The simple conclusion, thus, is that since slavery, through its detrimental effect on family and society, slowed the pace of economic advance, "it is not surprising that to more people than ever before it seemed an unmitigated evil." Haskell response to this is that these family values could have been in existence long before the abolitionist movement, thus, rendering useless in the debate. Ashworth's last answer is that the production ethos has a long family history, it was the innovation brought by master-wage earner relationship that transformed the view of family into a more entrepreneurial project. Clearly this debate is provocative, but narrowly conceived, as is mainly centered around Marxist concepts of history, evasive evidences and a revival of neo-Whiggists approaches. Very little criticism could be employed against the authors since they exhausted most of it that could be applicable to their line of argument. However, an also important critique to a combine look at the arguments presented may be the dearth of sociological and cultural approaches that may enhance the historical view that as historians we are trying to discover.

An Honorable Mention title of the 2006 Independent Book Publisher Awards, Any Damn Fool Can Be a Farmer: Growing Up on a Wisconsin Farm is the true-life memoir of author Bob Knopes, who matured on a small dairy farm during the lean times of the Great Depression. But even though Knopes' father was wont to stoutly declare "Any damn fool can be a farmer!" the truth was that not just any damn fool could apply the necessary money, time, resources, and 14-hour days of labor to successfully keep a farm solvent. A handful of black-and-white photographs illustrate this touching picture of farm life from barn-burning fires to block-in blizzards, and the remarkable changes wrought by technological advancements such as milking machines, threshers, and indoor plumbing. A bittersweet and hard-hitting glimpse into what farm life was really like.

I used this book to review for the AP U.S. History exam in 2004. The review that the book gives in the beginning of each chapter is well-selected, and the practice questions asked in the book are of a very similar nature to those on the actual test. Also, I found the full-length practice tests in the back to be a very good indicator of how I'd do on the exam. I'd recommend this book to anyone looking to take this AP exam; it is very versatile. There is no set method as to how to use this book, so it will complement almost any learning style.

Having spent my childhood and a few special years of my adult life living in the Blue Ridge Mountain, I can honestly say there a few places more beautiful than the Southern Highlands of Appalachia.

Jerry Greer's book captures this region from a variety of areas and seasons. From Janes Bald to Mount Rodgers, his camera captures the essence of this very wonderful place.

Living now in Oklahoma and so very far from my mountains, it is a small comfort to have this volume on the shelf and in an instant return me home.

So if you are in exile like myself or planning a trip to visit, grab a copy of this book and share in the wonder of mountains so beautiful they make your heart skip a beat.

Appalachian Trail Guide to Central Virginia is a good general guide which consist of a 4 X 6 inches packable book and three maps in a waterproof bag. The maps are double-sided and give adequate detail of the covered areas. The book starts out with general information which I found fairly basic. Most of this info was of little value to me, but a green hiker might find it useful.The actual meat of the trail descriptions is very good, giving mile by mile directions as to what to expect and where to turn. An interesting feature of this book is the small horizon sketches which show different mountain peaks and valley with their names. I don't think I have every seen this done before, but I can't wait to see if it will actual help me locate and identify the surrounding landscape. This is a series of books so the complete collection (11 books)would weigh down a thru hiker. For the weekend ender or week long hiker, this book and maps should be worth it's weight in his pack.

This remarkable little book is chock full of information on the magic, mysticism and religion of the Aztecs and Mayans of classical Mesoamerica. Gathering together archaeology, anthropological surveys and accounts from the Spanish conquistadors, this wonderful little book takes the reader on a merry romp through the cultures of ancient Mexico and occaisonal looks at modern Indian beliefs today. Theres tons of information about gods and demons, magic and witchcraft, shamanism, nagualism, the Aztec and Mayan calendars, astrology, Aztec holy texts, the Popol Vuh and even the philosophies of the region. Spence makes a point throughout the book of drawing comparisons between American and European mythologies, making it even more accessable to readers who may be aware of Greek, Roman and European beliefs but have little familarity with the more exotic traditions of Central America. Of course, some of his assumptions (such as the idea that a European presence must have penetrated Mexico at some point) are completely false and reflect the cultural bigotry of the time. Nonetheless, looking beyond such things this is a wonderful book for the more obscure occult beliefs of the Aztecs and Maya. Or at least a start. I certainly felt that each chapter gave a decent amount of information on the subject and I strongly recommend this book to anyone interested in the magic and religion of the Native Americans of Mexico.