North America Books

Let's face it -- folks are having sex, but we rarely talk about it in the church. If we really want to help people, we need to start to talk about what is ailing us. This book is a great tool to open people's minds to what is really going on and how people are really living. I highly suggest it to anyone involved in young adult ministry.

Kelly Brown Douglas has opend a work that will be reqired reading in most schools of divinity. The conroling thesis of her work is the establishment of a sexual Discourse of Resistance as a counterforce to white racist culture that has exploited and damaged African American sexuality.Douglas contends that the damage is so deep that blacks have a difficulty speaking openly regarding issues of sexuality. She has masterfully made the interconnections between sexuality, racism, sexism and homophoia. She challenges the black church to employ her sexual discourse of resistance but does not clearly explain what contstitutes the black church. What about Black Catholics, Black Episcopalions, et.al. Her work underscores the sadness that some theologians (namely, Black Roman Catholics) could never author such a text because much of Douglas's volume counterveins Roman Catholic dogmatic formulations and a Catholic theologian would have to answer to Rome for such a work. Thank God for African American Episcopalions like Douglas.

I think I've recommended this great work to everyone I know.

This book should be a must read for all African American church members. It is challenging, provocative, and engaging. A work like this is the only way to begin the dialogue necessary to resurrect the dying Black Church.

Douglas tells the truth about American history when she reveals how black people were mistreated during slavery. This book shows that sexuality was used to oppress black people, the white culture exists only as the non-white culture is oppressed, day to day social struggles are a microcosm of the macrocosm (for example, "gangsta" rap is a response/result of dehumanizing social influences such as institutions and systems). But the book gets off track when Douglas condones homosexuality and mixes principles of Christianity with principles of secular humanism.

Kelly Brown Douglass has written an excellent first chapter for her book Sexuality and th Black Church. What she has done here is to explain the relevance of using Michel Foucault as a tool to look at the history of black sexuality in the United States. Her basic argument is that black sexuality as we know it today is a fiction, a number of fictions (made of up numerous stereotypes), more or less derived, from what she calls White Culture. That Black sexuality has been a means to discipline and control black bodies. This book is commendable in that it dares to use Foucault and that it touches upon the personal in such aa way as to make all a bit uneasy --- black, white, male, female, heterosexual and homosexual. We all have a lot to learn from her analysis.

Purchased this for my husband who is Lakota. It is a lengthy book, but very interesting and well written.

I bought this book for my brother-in-law for his birthday. It was the perfect gift for him and his interest in Native Americans. Great buy.

This was an excellent book. Hard to put down. Beautifully written and great photos. Wonderful, accurate history.

Just finished reading "Sitting Bull." Enjoyed it very, very much. There are wonderful photos and maps, one including good old Highmore, SD. The book is a dramatic and scholarly accomplishment. Professor Yellowtail's glowing endorsement must feel like a crowning feather. Has he given the author an Indian name?!
I was surprised to learn that Sitting Bull was only with Bill Cody's Wild West in 1885 and never went to Europe, never performed for Queen Victoria. As the book points out, it was his deaf stepson, later known as John Sitting Bull, who toured Europe with Cody's Wild West during a few years after the turn of the century. Indeed, the popular confusion about this persists and resurfaced the other day at lunch with our tennis players. How nice to have it right!

Much has been heard and written on the Lakota chief Sitting Bull, famed from the battle at Little Big Horn, he was cast as the villian, the killer of Custer. He met Annie Oakley and he and she got along wonderfully. Sitting Bull was a headliner in Buffalo Bill's Wild West for a year and the photographs of him and Bill Cody are well known. This book covers all of the life of Sitting Bull, and traces his trials and tribulations, from the leader of a people faced with attacks by the US Army, driven from one spot to another, their supplies and winter food burned and destroyed, the bison which covered the plains in his youth, dropped to below a 1000 animals during his lifetime. A wise man, a humble man, a man not to be trifled with, he was brave, not afraid to take a life, not afraid to be kind and gentle with children, but a strong leader to his people and devoted to them. The author does a wonderful job in telling this story, well written, well organized, an enthralling story. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wishes to understand the life of one of the most important Native Americans of the late 1800s.

I really enjoy this book. I've checked it out at least five times. Each resort section has alot of helpful information. It makes planning a trip a breeze. David Holyoak really nailed it.

Very informative but dated. The lift ticket prices listed are significantly below the actual rate in some cases (i.e. Vail, Breckenridge, Keystone, Copper Moutain). They should be updated.

David Holyoak's Ski North America Guide is first class. Nothing like this has been published before. This stocky, well-illustrated guide to all the significant North American ski resorts contains intelligent, un-flowery text and good practical advice. A must for any skier or snowboarder seeking the reality behind the American dream, I wish I'd written it myself.

Arnie Wilson, ski author and editor, Financial Times ski correspondent for 18 years who, in 1994, became the first person to ski for 365 consecutive days (Guinness Book of Records), including more than 100 resorts in North America

This book by far surpasses excellent. If you are planning a ski trip and are interested in going somewhere new this book seems to have it all. It lists every major ski area in the United States. Every ski resort mentioned is chronicaled by state and gives you area and mountain facts and most have their trail map pictured as well. It also lists local airports, directions from most areas to the ski resort as well as lodging suggestions. I could go on and on about the other little tidbits within the publication but you'll just have to read it yourself.

Being new to the States as well as a crazy skier I spent hours on the net trying to collect information about different resorts. This book is the first, and so far the only book, that gives very detailed, professional overview while providing non-biased information about resorts. I visited many resorts in the States in the last 2 years and compared my impressions with the reviews in the book - you can relay on the book! Great advantage of this edition is a an amount of illustrations such as aerial photos, maps of the area, etc. I wish there will be similar book about skiing in Europe.
On the down side I would expect more info about resorts on the NE (for example, my favorite Whiteface is not included).

Great book outlining various ripping locations across North America. A bit outdated as it was published a decade ago, but def has its relevant points that are still valid. I still pull it off the shelf every time I plan a trip. It's very well laid out, organized, and to the point info. It even caters to all types of riding, pointing out the ropes from novice areas to the best spots to find the pow for those advanced riders. No riders handbook would be complete w/o a section on the night life. Once again, a must have for the rider who likes to explore the resorts around North America... or Europe in the European edition.

After 7 years of snowboarding, mostly in the rockies and the sierras, I have yet to find a more organized and informative snowboarding guide. This book breaks down the different mountainsbased on location(Pacific, Mountain West, East Coast, Alaska and Canada). And it breaks them down in terms of freeride, carving, freestyle(park riding)and backcountry. It also tells a good bit about the town lodging, restuarants and things to do.
It gives detail history of snow amounts and all the statistics of the mountain.
Oh yeh, if you are a visual person this is the book. Lots of pictures. It has a mini-map of all resorts slopes.

Just a quick note to say that Ali Hannan was our co-ordinator/text editor and the publishing editors/authors were Tim Rainger, Bruce Sutherland and Ollie Fitzjones. This is also the case for The Snowboard Guide: Europe. Thanks for buying the book and I hope it gets you into some freshies!

This is THE book of resorts in North America. Stop looking now and buy this book! I recieved this book as a Christmas present in 1999. Although the cover is missing, the pages are stained and torn I love it. I still get it out every time I plan a snowboard trip. It should be required reading for anyone who is planning a snowboard trip. This book has taken me all over Vermont, Quebec, Colorado, Oregon and Washington. An updated version would be VERY nice, alot changes at these places in 7 years.

"Thanks again for doing such a stupendous job on the book, we are very pleased with the results and our placement is great." Amani King, Switch Manufacturing USA "Let me start by saying that the Snowboard Guide: North America is incredible!..... The best ever." Sonny Mayugba, Heckler Magazine "Possibly the sickest snowboarding travel book avaliable........ they'll make you amped to ride. " Melisa Larsen, Transworld Snowboarding "I'm going to take it home and play with it." Kevin Kinnear, Transworld Snowboard Life "That North American book is siiiiiick.... it makes me homesick. Keep up the good work." Trey Cook, Switch Manufacturing Europe "You should all be stoked on such a solid piece of work." Barry Duggan, Burton USA "Excellent - bursting with informtion." Sean Newsom, The Sunday Times "I would say that if you are thinking of going to the states then this would be the compulsory travel companion." Chris Nelson, Asylum Magazine

I totally enjoyed this book. Not only appreciating all the historical research but the development of the various characters, as well.After the introduction to all specifics of the time and place,I found it to be a real page turner! Nadine Kovar

Combining first-rate scholarship with an almost lyrical prose style, Tom Joseph brings to life the long-vanished world of the Calusa tribe on Florida's Gulf coast in the sixteenth century. This complex society, living in harmony with the land and water, is thrown into turmoil over decades of contact and intermittent conflict with Spanish explorers and missionaries. Ultimately the Calusa disappear from history. Using contemporaneous Spanish accounts, other historical research, and his own knowledge of coastal Florida, Joseph offers a plausible vision of what could have happened, built around a compelling story of love, political intrigue, religious struggle, and power. His images of the islands, mangroves, plants and animals paint a beautiful picture, and his descriptions of the Calusas' and Spaniards' ways of life should fascinate students of history. Some of the characters are historic, others fictional, but all are well-developed and the reader comes to care what happens to them. This first novel thus combines the best qualities of history and fiction. Let's hope we will have more in the future from this gifted writer.

This was a very unusual, interesting book on a subject I knew very little about. The history of these Indian people is fascinating. The author's characterizations were unusually strong and carried throughout the book. The more I read the more I looked forward to getting back to it.

This was a great read. Very descriptive and well researched. I often reread passages in order to savor the beautiful language used by the author. I enjoyed matching up the old place names with the current place names. Also, I am a birder and had fun identifying the birds in the book by their descriptions. I found especially interesting the way the author juxtabposed the Caalus religion and Christianity. The dramatic ending really conveys the anguish and loss of another native civilization decimated by European imperialism. Highly recommended!

True enough. Tom Joseph's first published novel is a hummer of a summer read, but this popular notion that a book should be read on an inflatable raft while sipping a drink through a long straw is limiting. Song of the Tides is sure to be enjoyed in every season for many years. By composing a symphony of violent adventure; absorbing characters like Aesha, the magnetic protagonist; her perilous romance; the lure of myth; and a largely unknown part of Florida history, Joseph emerges as a superb prose stylist. The froth of Conflict between the Calusa Indians, the conquistadors and the Jesuit missionaries blends with gentle descriptions of land and seascapes. As Mozart said, "A compositon must have no extra notes."Joseph uses no extra words. It is a work of bold energy and tender understandings. Best of all, the "Song" is story, one so affecting, you'll want to read it again and again. Listen for its spell-binding notes. Don't wait for summer.

Stunning in every way; beautiful heartfelt poetry, glorious colourful native american indian style artworks. Definately a collectable book, a coffee table book, or a book to contemplate in your own peaceful moments. Loved it's unique wisdom.

Not only is the poetry very appropriate and full of wisdom of the Elders, etc., but the images by Howell are some of the best pieces of art I've seen depicting the culture and heritage of the Native Americans. This is one of my author/poets of all time. Very well done!

This is a "to the point" review. This book is beautiful - in every way. It relaxes me after a dificult day, or when I need to come back to "Spiritual reality". I'm so sorry it isn't being published any longer - along with several other books by the same author & illistrator. the only one I have is "Spirit Walker"; dreaming I owned all the rest as well.

this is the best book of poetry that i have read. I am 15 years old and i have read this book many times. i got it from my grandma when i was little. reading this book helped me though my fathers death in sept. my fav poem is three sisters. i think that people should read this book. now i am tring to get my mom to get me her first book.

Like Dancing Moons, Spirit Walker is a set of jewel like reflections on what matters most, written with the sensitivity and sentiment of Native American wisdom which captured Nancy Wood some time ago. This book is not just for young adults as it is classified; it most certainly is for anyone who wants to hear the rhythms of the world a little more clearly. A great book to supplement one's morning meditations, prayers, etc. The paintings by Frank Howell are spellbinding. This is a rare gift for those who need to slow down, to listen, to heal.

I refer to this book on a nearly daily basis, and it is a must for any serious baseball fan. If you're in a fantasy, roto or sim league, you need to have this book.

Don't miss it.

When's the new one coming out?

John Sickels does a tremendous job. The book is well organized, well written, thorough, and doesn't cloud the joy and anticipation of baseball. The best of the STATS books, and always on my 'must-buy' list every year.

there is no better, more accurate source for minor league future stars and role players available at any price. John Sickels is the best!! He spends his winters watching baseball, and he spends his summers also watching baseball. he talks to coaches, managers, players and scouts. his seven skill approach is the most accurate forum for determining future success. I learned the importance of strike-zone judgement, and noone can convince me it's not the single most important factor in determining future success. My roti-team is stocked with Sickels reccommendations. Eric Chavez, Gabe Kapler, and Matt Clement for starters. it's easy to say now, what great players they will be, but John told me FIRST!!!

I'm writing this because Sickels deserves it. After years of roto info overload I now prepare for Draft Day with only three books: Sporting News Baseball Register (so i can see the statistical history of every player on the 40-man rosters), and the masterpieces from Benson and Sickels. The key in a competitive league is all timing, and Olkin gives you a better feel for WHEN a player will bloom than anyone else. John, thanks for helping me win 5 out of 6 league titles in the last two years. But I'm worried now that my competitors will start noticing your book at my side...

If you're a serious fan like me, especially if you do fantasy baseball, purchase this book. It is the most comprehensive text on the top prospects in baseball and a must have!

I constantly refer back to it throughout the baseball season.

Martin Prechtel is perhaps the most capable of sacred story telling of today's authors. His respect for the power of language is immense and this book where he is retelling an ancient Mayan myth as it parallels his own experience is stunning in its capacity to illuminate todays world in all its contrasts. It is the third in an autobiographical trilogy. However, if you have not yet read the first two, don't worry, it stands completely on its own. This book was previously released under the title "The Toe Bone and the Tooth".

You wouldn't think it possible to say "this is Martin Prechtel's best book yet" because they are all so exceptional. If you are interested in current Mayan culture, indigenous peoples, love, life, Central American politics... this book is a tour de force. Martin Prechtel is one of the most truly amazing, talented, gifted, wise, insightful people you might ever hope to meet. On top of this, he is an extraordinarily gifted writer. Buy the book. Buy them all.

It might help readers to know that this book and "The Disobedience of the Daughter of the Sun" are written to be read aloud. When you do this the prose has a rhythm that is part of the meaning of the book.

"In much wisdom is much grief" says the Preacher in Ecclesiastes, "and he that increaseth knowledge, increaseth sorrow." There is much wisdom, grief, knowledge, sorrow, and finally joy in Martin Prechtel's new book. You don't have to read his previous three, *Secrets of the Talking Jaguar,* *Long Life, Honey in the Heart,* and *The Disobedience of the Daughter of the Sun* to understand and appreciate the message of *The Toe Bone and the Tooth* - but it helps.

This is a story about keeping the Great Story alive - "An Ancient Mayan Story Relived in Modern Times: Leaving Home to Come Home."

It starts out with Martin's return to Guatamala in 1992 after many years in exile from his adopted country, where his village of Santiago Atitlan had been destroyed and 1800 of his friends and villagers slaughtered by American-backed death squads in the 1980s. He was picked up at the airport by three teenage boys (who had been small children when the devastation took place) and smuggled back to the village under a truckload of Mayan squashes. Along the way, the boys were eager to hear the story of the Toe Bone and Tooth that had been outlawed (as well as their language) by the various and many invaders of their country. Landmarks of the Story were everywhere (much as Australian Dreamtime stories are dependent on the land for the telling).

Martin was welcomed in Santiago Atitlan as the Shaman and healer that he was for many years. He had had a Mayan wife and three sons there (one son died) and his little family had barely escaped with their lives.

The ancient story of the Toe Bone and Tooth is inserted here - the Story of a mortal, Raggedy Boy, who fell in love with the Water Goddess, the story of her death after bearing him two corn children and being forgotten when her husband returned to the mortal world. When he did remember her through dreams, he had to re-member her, gathering her bones with the help of Coyote (who had the toe bone and tooth) and descending into the underworld to retrieve her heart. He was helped by an old magical couple. Re-membered, she became an ordinary woman and he became an ordinary man, and from them, all humans are descended.

The next few chapters chronicle the story of Martin's first arrival in Santiago Atitlan - how he'd been lost in a blizzard in his American homeland of Northern New Mexico in his youth, and how he was saved by a mare named Morningstar and an old Spanish lady who cured him of an almost fatal fever with bear grease and herbs. During his convalescence, he had 11 dreams of Santiago Atitlan and Nicolas Chiviliu Tacaxoy, who was to become his teacher, friend and mentor and who had called him through dreams for three years before he finally arrived in the village. Says Prechtel, "Though I was blond and born far away, we were the old and young generation of throwbacks from other times and layers of existence in which a humble dynasty of people in service to the remembrance of the Dismembered Goddess was continued from century to century."

Another chapter tells of Martin's defense of a young Mayan seminary student, Gaspar Culan, who was accused of worshipping idols because he had participated in an ancient Mayan sacred ceremony involving Holy Boy, whom the Catholic Church had branded as a devil but is actually a Christ figure. Martin (who speaks English, Spanish, and Mayan fluently) was to be Gaspar's advocate. Holy Boy had been called a Jew by the Church. Martin pointed out that they had dubbed the deity a Jew (and a devil) because Jews were at least considered to be human and therefore were subject to the 16th Century Inquisition. Mayans hadn't been considered people before that, so if their God was a Jew, the Inquisition could persecute and prosecute them. Martin won his case, and Culan was ordained as the first Mayan Catholic priest.

Several chapters are devoted to the Prechtel family's nothing-short-of-miraculous escape from Guatamala. Martin's teacher had ordered Martin to stay alive at all costs so that he might carry the seed of the story to the U.S. and preserve it for the Mayans whose history and culture had been outlawed.

When Martin got back to the U.S. and his old homeland in New Mexico, he and his family lived in poverty and difficulties for several years, but in Santa Fe he met a homeless couple who were like the old couple in the Story. Here, the narrative goes into the third person as the old couple tell Martin's story and do for him what he had done for countless people in his life - re-membered him for the holy amnesiacs (all of us). Martin's story mirrors the Great Story - "the story of ordinary people, extraordinarily in love and the story of the struggle of what it takes to be graced with such love is the story from which all humans are descended."

The author dedicates this book to the "deer-eyed daughter of the mountain, the mother of the great diversity" and to "all those peoples, plants and animals who have been and continue to be forcibly uprooted, rerouted, relocated, corralled, cut, branded, burnt out, burned down, burnt up, crushed, eradicated or driven from their homes in infinite diasporas of all types, to live where they may be unwelcome, while still trying to keep alive their seed capsules of cultural memory in hopes to regrow a home again. May their descendants be carved by the inherited grief of their ancestral loss to become feeders of what is holy in the ground, dedicated to something bigger than their need for justice and the pursuit of revenge."

This is a fantastic, exciting but true story, and in my opinion, this is a life-changing book. Read it!

TV, more than any other medium, has become America's storyteller. Sometimes that's not so bad; other times it presents shallow and false values to impressionable minds. When I'm hungry for ultimate truths, I've often found it best to go to other cultures and borrow their stories. One of the very, very best is "Stealing Benefacio's Roses." Within this story you will find your heart and be surprised at how strong and lovely it is. You will find your soul and come to know your true self. It's a story that works on the surface level of "Once upon a time . . ." yet also touches the deeper realms of mythology, spirituality, psychology, history and the many varieties of love. The writing is superb. Here's a quote: "Onto the floor I dropped to sleep, drifting on the tossing sea of my aching heart in a little canoe of Gustavo's friendship, into dreams filled with the unkillable perfume of Benefacio's roses." To understand and savor the last five words, buy the book and enjoy the revelations. This is the one you will keep to reread over time.

I have heard that Assata is the aunt of famous rapper, Tupac Shakur. Is this true? Is their any mention of Tupac in her books???

A collection of mostly interviews conducted over a number of years, the voices of Dhoruba Bin Wahad, Mumia Abu-Jamal and Assata Shakur speak loud & proud while revealing the roles of a variety of government agencies in destroying the Black Power movement.

Originally published in 1993, the topics covered include the Black Panther Party, (Philadelphia) MOVE, the Black Liberation Army and the racism in the American judicial system. Particularly interesting is the BPP chronology and a collection of FBI documents that explain in government-speak the targeting of individuals/organizations.

These are important accounts that challenge and ultimately debunks mainstream media coverage of individuals & events that will continue to have significance when one researches the real history of the Black Power movement.

This book gives a insight of the most famous victim of The F.B.I's cointelpro next to Geronimo Pratt. This book shows that 19 years of Prison has not dulled Dhoruba's committment to Revolutionary Struggle. The excerpts by Mumia abu Jamal and Assata Shakur are very helpful.

After spending about two decades in America's penal system for a crime he did not commit Dhoruba bin Wahad gives us his too brief insights into America and it's relationship with Blacks. Interms of clearity perhaps only matched by Chomsky.

The other two writers [Jamal and Shakur] one on death row, the other exiled in Cuba also peel back the illusions of justice for all citzens in America. A vivid account of what it is to have the most powerful country in the world trying to destroy you for standing up for justice.Also a great general history lesson.

Book should be part of a mandatory reading list in public schools for all students black and white.

This book gives a insight of the most famous victim of The F.B.I's cointelpro next to Geronimo Pratt. This book shows that 19 years of Prison has not dulled Dhoruba's committment to Revolutionary Struggle. The excerpts by Mumia abu Jamal and Assata Shakur are very helpful.

In large measure, this book is the history of Louis Riel, a Metis leader, and his efforts to gain recognition and independence for the Metis people. Since the ethnic group usually called Metis was closely tied to Riel, the book is also a partial history of that group.

Metis is a French word that can be translated as "mixed blood." In a narrow sense, one might think of the Metis as the offspring from intermarriage between the French and Indians (mostly Cree) of eastern Canada during the early days of the fur trade. In a practical sense, the group must be broadened to include at least Chippewa, English, and Scot parentage. In the context of the twentieth century, an even broader definition is used. However, some combination of white and Indian linage is usually a prerequisite.

This book is a classic by a legendary author of Montana history. Joseph Kinsey Howard (1906-1951) is also known for another classic, "Montana: High, Wide, and Handsome," a book considered for decades as the definitive history of Montana. Howard spent much of his short life in an area of Montana that has a significant Metis population. He understood the Metis, respected them, and spent years preparing to write "Strange Empire."

The original publication was in 1952. More recent issues include an introduction by Nicholas C. P. Vrooman, Director of the Institute for Metis Studies at the College of Great Falls, Montana. This introduction is a magnificent addition.

The Metis were primarily a product of the fur trade. Their language was a hybrid of French and Indian; definitely not English. Most of the Metis communities remained in close contact with the local Indian tribes. Many of these mixed blood people were drawn to the Red River which flows north from the present states of Minnesota and North Dakota into Canada and on to Hudson Bay.

Louis Riel had trained for priesthood, but hadn't become a priest. Despite occasional self-doubt, Riel had many characteristics of leadership. He was literate and a good speaker and, more importantly, was fluent in English. The Metis attempted to establish their own nation in the Red River Valley. Howard beautifully summarizes the Metis situation: "This conflict between the Metis and the Canadian government was not only a battle over native and Euro-American claims, but also an age-old fight between Catholicism and Protestantism, English and French, English and Irish, and English and American causes." Louis Riel and the Red River Metis faced the Canadian forces with little loss of life on either side. Some people feel that the decision of whether the United States or Canada would rule what is now central and western Canada hung in the balance. The Metis won many of their goals but came under Canadian rule. One result is that the Red River part of Canada became the province of Manitoba in 1870. However, for his part in the "rebellion," Canada exiled Riel for five years and he went to the United States.

The Metis were buffalo hunters but were significantly different from Indians. They dressed differently. Many combined their hunting with agriculture. They had their own language. They had their own culture, a melding of the cultures from which they came. They were much more efficient at commercial buffalo hunting than were the Indians. Their background in the fur trade meant that they had the weapons, hunting experience, and trading expertise needed. Synonymous with the Metis is the Red River cart. Pulled by draft animals, it had high wheels and could carry several hundred pounds. With these carts, the Metis could transport the hides, pemmican, and dried meat of many buffalo to market locations. Twice yearly, the Metis gathered in a large force to go to the buffalo herds.

As the buffalo herds dwindled, the Metis went further west for their hunts. As a result, Metis communities developed in the Turtle Mountain area of North Dakota, the Milk River country of Montana, and Saskatchewan in Canada. Later, communities developed near Lewistown and Great Falls, Montana, (note that most of these locations were undeveloped, and probably unnamed, when the Metis first arrived). Louis Riel moved westward also and became a teacher at a mission in the area of Great Falls.

In Saskatchewan, the Metis were experiencing problems dealing with the Canadian government; problems very similar to what they had experienced in the Red River country. In 1884, the Canadian Metis appealed to Riel to serve as their leader and negotiator. Riel answered the call. Ultimately, an armed conflict evolved with the Canadian military and Mounties facing the Metis and their Indian allies. This time the Metis were crushed. Louis Riel was tried and hung.

There is disagreement concerning Riel's role in Saskatchewan. Some people feel he became insane, some dispute that opinion. He felt that God guided him and when a disagreement arose with the Catholic priests, he attempted to separate the Metis from the Catholic Church. The Metis uprising in Saskatchewan was probably doomed from the beginning, but Riel made things worse by his indecision between peaceful negotiations and the use of force.

In 1982, an amendment to the Canadian constitution gave the Metis aboriginal rights. In the United States, the Metis do not have a legal relationship with the government and do not have a reservation or enjoy other rights granted to Native Americans. In each recent session of the U.S. Congress, there have been bills concerning what is often termed Montana's Landless Indians. Many of this group are Metis.

This book reads almost like a novel. It is well researched. Every book published since "Strange Empire" and containing a mention of the Metis, references Howard's book. A comprehensive and modern history of the Metis is needed but at the moment, this reviewer is unaware of anything near as useful as "Strange Empire."

The amazing story of the Metis people whose French ancestors first colonized and controlled most of North America. Louis Riel should have been a National Hero for all Canadians since without him most of the land west of Ontario would have fallen in US hands.

This book is riveting and should be required reading for history majors.

The genesis story of the Metis in North America, this book describes the evolution of the 'New Nation' and its place in continental history. Arising from the Fur Trade a new race of people, the Mixed-bloods, being descendents of Celtic Orkney and Highland Scot and Celtic Normandy and Brittany French fathers and predominantly Algonkian Cree and Chippewa mothers, create a new native North American identity. The Metis struggle to maintain their place as true descendents of aboriginal lineage while expressing the finer elements of their European paternal heritage. A finely crafted narrative of the attempt to affirm the cultural, economic, and political equity of the Metis, and all aboriginal peoples during the reconfiguration of the continent, Strange Empire is a powerful, dramitic, and epic telling of the most significant 'missing link' in our understanding of how the North American continent came to be.

First I would like to thank Amazon for making this fine book so easy to obtain. There are countless thousands of descendants of these, strong, courageous people that now live throughout the world. my son among them, being on a temporary assigment in Turkey. Many thousands more know little of the history of our people. This book should have a particular appeal to these folk. Perhaps by the reading of Mr. Howards book some will be induced to further study and research. It is a benifit to all that seek the true history of our country. These folk were a monolithic type, what happened to one could be an indicator of what happened to the society in the whole. My families have ties to several of those mentioned in this book. As an example, my grandfather was the first cousin to the wife of Louis Riel. My great grandmother was the god child of, Marie Anne Gaboury, the first white woman in the northwest. My fathers mother was baptized by, Father Lestanc. These people are mentioned in this well written book. Thank you, Melvin Beaudry Lynnwood, Washington.

A century ago, North America almost had a fourth nation, Assiniboia. That would-be nation's leader, a poet, religious zealot and one-time schoolteacher named Louis Riel, once was considered a traitor ro Canada but now is being revered and "rehabilitated" as one of the founders of the Dominion of Canada. Riel was "drafted" as leader of the Metis, "mixed blood" children of the fur trade, when Canada was reneging on its promises to these people who carried on the cultures of both European and indigenous ancentry. (Today, Celtic and French folklorists visit Metis in Western Canada and Montana to record unblemished versions of tradition folk music long dead in their original mother countries.) Howard, a legend in Montana journalism and history himself, penned his masterpiece in "Strange Empire." He gets down to the basics of the struggle for Western North America and some of the more haunting passages deal with the pyschlogical effects of such white man's diseases as smallpox and alchohol and their role in subjugating the natives a century or so ago. Riel was hanged for his insurgence, but had he been more decisive in battle, the maps -- and language patterns -- of much of North America would be much different.