Kansas Books

Donovan joins N Troop, not really wanting to become an experienced calvaryman but would rather serve out his enlistment on the safer side of any combat. however, Trooper Donovan will see plenty of action throughout this book. This is a pretty good read, smooth but stimulating as are all of the RODERUS books.

"Trooper Donovan" illustrates the timelessness of some themes. Though thoroughly grounded historically in the Indian fighting army of the immediate post-Civil War era, the experiences of a young army recruit thrust into a military unit are ones with which many of us Twentieth Century warriors can identify. Roderus skillfully blends the minor, almost insignificant, details of daily life with the 7th Cavalry's mission to give a realistic portrayal of one man's experiences.

Frank Roderus brings us another exceptional western in TROOPER DONOVAN. From the very first day John Donovan arrives at Camp Horan to his final decision at the end, you find yourself pulling for TROOPER DONOVAN. It is evident from the start that this is a very well researched book. Unlike other western fiction about the cavalary that tend to glorify being a horse soldier, TROOPER DONOVAN gives us an excellent window into what life must have really been like being a cavalry trooper in the old west. VERY WELL DONE FRANK!

Frank Roderus does it again. Wet behind the ears Trooper John Donovan joins the newly formed 7th Cavalry, and is issued with second (or even third hand) kit, a purposely deafened horse called "Handsome"... and life gets a lot worse from there.

Frank Roderus has always got a knack for rolling a story right along, and whilst you`re skillfully transported there, you tend not to see all the little historical details he lovingly creates. But they just subconsciously add to the detail - and if the purpose behind a novel is to tranport the reader there, Frank does this splendidly. Close your eyes, and you can smell the coffee roasting. Recommended. As with all Franks` novels.

Dave

Normally I find a plot with so many characters muddled and confusing. No so here! The characters are so well drawn and interesting, each stands clearly on it's own, yet they weave together to form a very good story. It also provides and interesting, and timely, backstage look at the running of a presidential campaign. I've always felt Weir is a much-overlooked writer who deserves more notice. I highly recommend this series.

I won't bore you with the plot--let's go straight to the evaluation. This is a good book! It's got action, well-drawn characters, several intertwining subplots, lots of interesting background--and, the prose craftsmanship is outstanding. Well worth reading!

Susan Wren is Chief of Police in Hampstead, Kansas. Governor Jack Garrett is running for President. He and his entourage have come back to Hampstead to kick off his campaign with a homecoming rally.

Susan?s cousin Sean Donovan is in town as he is a reporter covering Garrett?s campaign.

Casilda Storm (Cass) has returned to Hampstead to Aunt Jean?s house. She finds a large dog in the middle of the road in a rain storm. She takes it in. Luke and Laura (her husband and daughter) were killed by a drunk driver. She is planning suicide. Jack is an old friend. He has Bernie Quaid enlist her help with the campaign.

M. L. Shoals (Em) has come to town planning to murder the governor.

Wakely Fromm is Jack?s childhood friend. He was paralyzed in a fire jumping incident many years ago. Jack takes care of him and has him travel with him. Jack?s wife Molly is not too pleased with this situation.

A woman calls 911 from the trunk of a car but no one can track down where she is located. She is later found murdered. Her niece Arlene Harlow (Moonbeam Melody as she prefers to be called) runs away. The killer comes looking for something and ends up attacking Moonbeam. Officer Luke Demarco cares for her and becomes her friend. This relationship is believable in a small-town atmosphere. It lets us get to know Demarco a little better.

Then Wakely Fromm is found murdered. Susan has her work cut out for her to get to the truth and find the killer.

I find these books a little hard to get into because there are so many different threads to the story, but once I?m in, I?m hooked! She has created fantastic characters for this story. Plus I really like Chief Susan. She has had hardship ? she lost her husband of four weeks! She doesn?t know if she wants to stay in Hampstead or return to San Francisco. The author has truly captured this struggle.

The various characters related to the governor are very well constructed and their interactions are so well written that I forgot they weren?t real.

I highly recommend this book.

Governor Jack Garrett is one of the several Democratic Candidates running for the office of President. Twenty years ago, he was a smoke jumper whose bravery saved three men in an out of control forest fire on Pale Horse Mountain in Montana. His friend since childhood Wakely Fromm was severally injured in that fire leading to his being wheelchair bound. For the past two decades Jack has taken care of him.

When Jack and his campaign team come to Hampstead, Kansas, trouble follows. The wife of a man who was on Pale Horse Mountain when Jack was fighting the fire is found murdered in the trunk of her car. Her younger sister was badly injured by someone who broke into her home but with time she is expected to recover. Wakely is murdered in a homicide made to look like a suicide and if Police Chief Susan Wren finds the common link that ties these people together, she will have named her killer.

Charlene Weir weaves a tangled web that somehow is totally believable in turns of plots and characterizations. There are some very interesting sub-plots that enhance and ultimately run into the main storyline including a suicidal woman who finds she has much to live for when the killer tries to make her victim number five. In a classic turnabout, she is the one that finally confronts the killer and is doing so learns to cope with the loss of her husband and child at the hands of a drunken driver. UP IN SMOKE is a very creative work that gives readers an insider?s look into a political campaign.

Harriet Klausner

This is a great read for kids and for anyone who remembers World War II on the homefront, no matter what their age. I find it interesting that PW criticizes the book for being too sunny and "Pollyan-ish." It is a sad social commentary that we cannot allow our kids to be happy, to think nice thoughts, to know that there are good, humanitarian people in the world and that not everyone is out to skin you alive. Not every good work of children's lit has to deal with death or betrayal or abuse.

I am a 5th grade girl. I did not think books about war could be this interesting. When I started the book I thought it was moving slowly, but it really picked up and gave a bang at the end. In some ways I could really relate to Teresa. I have older brothers and they give me nicknames too. I would miss them if they went to war. I went back to the map many times while I was reading. I thought the map was a cool idea. I would recomend this book to anyone who likes suspense and emotional stories.

I purchased this book for my 10 year old grandchild and decided I should read it before presenting it to her. I am so glad I did. It is a splendid combination of the spirit of World War II and the details of that period of history that should not be forgotten or changed. It was written for the kids we hope will never experience that kind of time, but who must learn about it.

It is not just a story of a victory garden but a child's view of the spirit of the people then and to some extent now. It is so timely because once again our children are called to the details of another world wide battle in which we (and they are involved).

Bravo to the author for bringing this charming, enlightening chronicle of a child uniting people by leading in a way that unified them while helping them. Isn't that what won that war?

I am a retired teacher. I retired early (age 25) to stay home with my first baby when she was born in 1989. We now have three children who love to read. I love children's literature and this book interested me. It interested me because entangled in the pages are history, family, friendship, devotion, loyalty and patriotism. The author had me glued to the pages and I, literally, did not put the book down until I finished it! She made the main character so real and I was cheering her on, feeling her pain, and could remember being a little sister to a big brother whom I loved and adored. My daughter is reading the book now - it is beside her bed. These are the kinds of books that I loved as a child and love passing down to my children. It's a wonderful book. I hope the author is inspired to continue to write more children's books. She has a gift and we are fortunate that she shared her gift with us, the gift of writing.

"I just wanted to take a moment to tell you how much I enjoyed "You Me and Apollo: Hope Beyond Bipolar Disorder." It is a wonderful message of hope and encouragement that really helped me understand Bipolar Disorder.

I feel strongly that 'Apollo' can be a real asset
to people needing to understand this illness, whether as a consumer or a family member and I am pleased to support it."

I just finished my third reading of this honest and hope-filled true story by J.D. Stottlemire. With each reading, I have felt a deepening of my awareness about Bipolar Disorder, as well as what it is to be human. The message of hope is for all of us, whether we have experienced Bipolar Disorder ourselves, or know someone that has, or if we just go through depression sometimes...(and who hasn't?) Mr. Stottlemire speaks from his heart, combining humor and seriousness in a very real-life way, that is so easy to relate to, and so easy to read. His story changes lives, by offering that we are not alone, and as he says, "Today there is a great deal of hope."

I never write book review becuase (well...frankly, I'm too lazy)but after reading Apollo I had to get off my duff and tell everyone what a great book this is. Informative, witty, an easy, quick read. If you don't personally know someone who would benefit from this book buy a copy to donate to your local hospital, mental health center, jail or library!!!!
This is the kind of book that could save a life.

J.D. Stottlemire takes us into the surreal world of a mind with Bipolar Disorder. Woven into one man's journey through life is a fascinating comparison to the Apollo 13 mission. Readers of this book will gather insights into the inner sanctum of a brilliant mind, a mind with "a hidden flaw."

This is an eloquently written account of a very personal struggle with Bipolar. Stottlemire humbles himself with grace and style and leaves the reader with real hope that they too can understand and get through the challenges. For all those whose lives have been shattered and broken by Bipolar, I urge you to read this book.

I have prepared many of the recipes from this book and have found all I have tried to be wonderful. They are easy to follow, and the collection of recipes is diverse and appeals to the most discriminating of tastes. This book also provides visuals on the art of artistic meal presentation. Of the cookbooks that I own, I know if a meal is prepared from this book all will be happy, especially me!

I've had this cookbook for several years and I think it's terrific. I haven't made a recipe from it that disappointed me.

The recipes are not difficult to make, so anyone should be able to cook from this book. The food turns out a bit sophisticated. You could easily use some of these recipes for a dinner party.

Two of the recipes I really enjoyed from this book were Mustard Ginger Pork Chops and Minestrone. The pork chops were wonderful - you basically add a simple marinade (pretty easy to do!). The minestrone is wonderful! It is probably my favorite soup ever. It uses ham to give it a smoky flavor, then you add a number of veggies and pasta to it, and top it off with cilantro and parmesan cheese. This is a great soup to make at the beginning of the week and have it for lunch every day for the rest of the week. I've made this soup so many times and I've even tried to freeze it (although I wouldn't recommend that). This is also a good soup to fix ahead of time if you're going to have guests. Add a salad and some bread and you have quite a nice lunch.

Besides the recipes, the photography in this book is amazing. It's quite different than other cookbooks. I would have to consider the photos as "art" because they are of the quality of framed photographic art. I keep thinking of taking this book off of my cookbook shelf and using it as a "coffee table book" because it is so beautiful.

Overall, I would recommend this cookbook to almost anyone. The recipes are simple but elegant and the pictures make the book a joy just to look through.

This book will hardly fit back on the shelf: Yellow post-it notes hang from its margins, nearly a pad-ful so far, each marking a high-taste recipe. I've only had the book a year, but it has fast become a favorite.

I drafted the Supreme Court petition questioning the legality of a people's initiative which purportedly sought to amend the 1987 Philippine Constitution which was our first democratic constitution after the dictator President Ferdinand Marcos was exiled (Santiago v. COMELEC). One of my main references for the petition was this book of which I am deeply indebted for valuable research in U.S. constitutional law and legal history. It discussed exhaustively and in a very provoking manner, the challenges posed by amendments to the immutable nature of the constitution as fundamental law of the land. Our petition, which sought to deny the proposed amendments by way of a people's initiative, differentiated between piecemeal amendments and a revision of the Constitution. I argued that if the amendments sought would ultimately change the form of government, then it should be considered a revision. Our petition was granted by the Supreme Court and became a landmark case in Philippine history. It also found its way as a bar exam question. This book was my guidepost as I drafted the petition in the wee hours of morning in view of the urgency for a Supreme Court ruling on the matter and to avert an impending national crisis and another coup d'etat. The legal luminaries of this country have hailed Richard Bernstein and Jerome Agel's book as the most persuasive and thought provoking treatise on the subject.

I drafted the Supreme Court petition questioning the legality of a people's initiative which purportedly sought to amend the 1987 Philippine Constitution which was our first democratic constitution after the dictator President Ferdinand Marcos was exiled (Santiago v. COMELEC). One of my main references for the petition was this book of which I am deeply indebted for valuable research in U.S. constitutional law and legal history. It discussed exhaustively and in a very provoking manner, the challenges posed by amendments to the immutable nature of the constitution as fundamental law of the land. Our petition, which sought to deny the proposed amendments by way of a people's initiative, differentiated between piecemeal amendments and a revision of the Constitution. I argued that if the amendments sought would ultimately change the form of government, then it should be considered a revision. Our petition was granted by the Supreme Court and became a landmark case in Philippine history. It also found its way as a bar exam question. This book was my guidepost as I drafted the petition in the wee hours of morning in view of the urgency for a Supreme Court ruling on the matter and to avert an impending national crisis and another coup d'etat. The legal luminaries of this country have hailed Richard Bernstein and Jerome Agel's book as the most persuasive and thought provoking treatise on the subject.

I drafted the Supreme Court petition questioning the legality of a people's initiative which purportedly sought to amend the 1987 Philippine Constitution which was our first democratic constitution after the dictator President Ferdinand Marcos was exiled (Santiago v. COMELEC). One of my main references for the petition was this book of which I am deeply indebted for valuable research in U.S. constitutional law and legal history. It discussed exhaustively and in a very provoking manner, the challenges posed by amendments to the immutable nature of the constitution as fundamental law of the land. Our petition, which sought to deny the proposed amendments by way of a people's initiative, differentiated between piecemeal amendments and a revision of the Constitution. I argued that if the amendments sought would ultimately change the form of government, then it should be considered a revision. Our petition was granted by the Supreme Court and became a landmark case in Philippine history. It also found its way as a bar exam question. This book was my guidepost as I drafted the petition in the wee hours of morning in view of the urgency for a Supreme Court ruling on the matter and to avert an impending national crisis and another coup d'etat. The legal luminaries of this country have hailed Richard Bernstein and Jerome Agel's book as the most persuasive and thought provoking treatise on the subject.

This book is just exquisite; heirloom quality. Not only do I want this quilt on my bed, I want to rug hook every panel for my floors and walls. Thank you so much A & A for sharing your talents with us.

This is a GREAT quilt book, as always Barb Adams & Alma Allen have out did themselves.

This is simply beautiful!!! The blocks are exceptional. I can't wait to start. Adams and Allen ALWAYS produce excellent products. Thanks A & A.

The 2006 D.B. Hardeman Prize for the best book on Congress published in
2005 has been awarded to "The CIA and Congress". Don Bacon, a member of
the award committee, says: "David Barrett has given us an engrossing
account of the highly secret, often contentious relationship between
Congress and its post-World War II creation, the Central Intelligence
Agency. Thoroughly researched, rich in fascinating detail, 'The CIA and
Congress' focuses on the spy agency's early years, when the Cold War was
at its peak. The author relies heavily on previously hidden official
records and his own insightful interviews to show that our lawmakers
worried more about the new agency's potential for mischief and kept it
on a shorter leash than has been previously known."

This book is a necessary read if you are into the history and political analysis of the American government from the 1940s through the 60s. It's a fascinating read. Dr. Barrett has gone to incredible lengths of archival research to write a book that is a truly original voice on the period. As someone who came across the book looking for material on Joe McCarthy, I was amazed at how enjoyable the book was to read just in general. Dr. Barrett has found material to support stories that were merely rumors before. For example, letters from a military officer who was "propositioned" by Senator McCarthy and memos supporting the fact that meetings occurred between the CIA Director and a Congressional subcommittee prior to the Bay of Pigs invasion. This is truly a groundbreaking book that should be required reading for anyone interested in the CIA or Congress.

Barrett's /The CIA and Congress/ is a triumph of research. Writing any history of the CIA is problematic because the documentation will never be close to complete; some official and private papers have been destroyed or "misplaced," others remain classified 50 years or more after being written, and many important discussions and decisions were never committed to paper. Faced with such endemic incompleteness, Barrett, a political scientist at Villanova University, persevered, found widely dispersed research materials and displayed sound analytic sense and balance in their use. Having done so much fine detective work, Barrett can present not only a gripping review of leadership dynamics among the CIA, the White House and Congress but also a coherent view of the development and oversight of the CIA's budgets (a notoriously hard target) from 1947 to 1961. His research is made more impressive by his frankness in admitting on several occasions that he cannot tell the whole story because the documents are not available.

Barrett's analysis of the relationship between the long-established Congress and the infant CIA (founded only in 1947) turns not only on documents but also on his superb portraits and assessments of the key players: The thoughts, actions and characters of senators, congressmen, presidents and CIA officials are front and center in the book. The human pageant Barrett presents is not all that different from that which exists today.

I haven't actually read this book, but I attend school where Dean teaches, and ever since I took a class with him last semester, I am convinced that he is the coolest person alive, and will therefore support anything and everything he does. I agree strongly with whoever said, "Let's face it...Dean kicks butt!" He is an amazing writer and a great person. YAY FOR DEAN!

You should really read this book! I thought Ruben was exalent! And Dean Nelson was great toO.(My point is to read the book). They both ARE REALLY GOOD!!! I am so giddy and exsited that the book was so great,I really want you to read it. For the last time,buy the book!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Lets face it, Dean kicks butt. When I started reading Welch's stories, I was very impressed on the talent he possesed to thread his stories together, and that alone should get you to read the book. I had at first skipped Nelson's part, just to get to the "good part", but when I began to read Nelson's passage, I was blown away buy his skill. I mean, WOW! I was taken into his world and could feel his passages around me. Nelson is a true master.

I read this book for a term paper and found it very informative and interesting!

Currently there is no review here for this fine book, and it deserves one. For starters, the title for this well-researched history of 400 years of cattle raising in North America is not exactly right. It should be called "Cattle Culture," because cattle and not cowboys are at the center of the story the author tells. And his story traces their introduction to the New World by Columbus in 1494 through to the end of the open ranges in the American West in the late 1800s. Horses, also introduced by the Spanish, are no less a part of that story, along with the cattlemen who owned, bought, sold and sometimes stole cattle, and the horsemen (vaqueros, buckaroos, and cowboys) who worked the cattle.

Readers learn a great deal about cattle as a business, how the price of livestock fluctuated with demand and depended always on getting cattle to market, often many hundreds of difficult miles away. In some periods, the value of cattle was not in the beef on the hoof but in the hides and tallow. The California vaqueros, we learn, were not just herders but also expert slaughterers of cattle.

Not surprisingly, a great swath of Texas history is interwoven with the rising and falling fortunes of cattlemen, and the author puts together a detailed picture of the industry as it emerged there in the mid-19th century, foundered during the Civil War, and then flourished as the railheads worked west into Kansas. But the cattle drives from Texas to cow-towns like Abilene were only some of the many that the century witnessed, as herds were driven in various directions, sometimes by west-bound settlers on the Oregon Trail, or often to meet the sudden demand for beef wherever there were gold strikes. The author provides accounts of many of these, illustrated with maps.

There are many black and white period photographs in the book, which challenge the back-lot Hollywood imagery that readers are likely to have of the West. There are also informative illustrations, like that of the early western bridle called a jáquima by the Spanish-speaking vaqueros, later anglicized to "hackamore" by their American counterparts. The reader learns of many words flowing from Spanish into English, including "ranch," from the Spanish "rancho." The meanings of Spanish words like "hacienda" (a place where work is done) are also clarified. There are also illustrations of how to throw ropes in different ways to catch cattle and horses, how to dally a rope around a saddle horn, and the design of various kinds of barbed wire.

One chapter, "Bunkhouse Culture," is devoted to describing the fraternity of young men, mostly from the South, who came to be the Texas "cow-boys" that eventually emerged as the mythic figures on horseback that excited popular imagination. The author describes the unspoken "code" that bound them together and notes their quick passing from history as long-range drovers when barbed wire brought an end to the open range starting in the 1870s. About the same time, ranching as a corporate enterprise transformed the old conditions of loyalty between cowman and cowboy that characterized the earlier years. And so 400 years of history drew to a close.

At 300+ pages, plus another 50 of notes and an index, the book is not a quick page-turner. It reads instead like a very informative and often entertaining textbook on its subject, drawing heavily on contemporary accounts from diaries, journals, and newspapers. Doing so, it brings the past to life with people, personalities, and arresting incidents. I'm happy to recommend this book to anyone with an interest in the American West, the origins and development of the cattle industry, and the interplay between cattle, politics, economics, and social history.

I enjoyed it. The title sounds like a college textbook, but the style is very conversational and there are stories on every page. The author clearly relishes his subject. The writing is crisp and the humor is understated. He puts the cattle business in a very helpful historical perspective. Although it's not a page turner, I always looked forward to picking it up. I also expect to get more out of it the next time I read it.