Kansas Books

I don't remember how or when I discovered the three books on the Miller Girls but they quickly became favorites among the many, many children's books I've read over the years. Ms Constant has a deft touch with portraying thought patterns of adolescents and it shows well with with Willie and the Wildcat Well and Miss Charity Comes to Stay. The illustrations in the Miller Girls books by Beth and Joe Krush enhance the whole aura of the era and I have learned to look for their names on books. This is a highly underrated author.

I LOVED THIS BOOK!

For some reason, when I was younger, I found this book sitting on my bedroom shelf, untouched. Over the years, i've read this book many, many times and every time I read it - it amazes me. This book is simple and sweet...like a cozy home in the snow. It provides all the essentials needed for a realistic book. Lou Emma has a wonderful family, although frequently feeling less accomplished than her smart, outgoing younger sister. She also deals with her boyfriend, and of the uncertainty of their relationship. She also deals with teachers, parades, woman rights, and so much more! :) I would recommend this book to any person in this entire world - thats how great I think it is. But don't misunderstand me, it's not a long classic like THE TALE OF TWO CITIES or somehting..it's a simple short to the point book that everyone will enjoy.. I hope you enjoy it!

I really related to this book when I was young. Lou Emma deals with sibling rivalry, first crush, and learning to be your own Woman...all in the early 1900's, but it correlated to my life in the 1980's so well. I love this whole series of three!

We bought this board book for our 16 month old daughter at the art museum in Chicago because it was so colorful and cute. My daughter loves this book so much. She is almost 2 now and she can say many of the words and loves to say and mimic the things that cleo is doing on each page. We were so happy to find that more Cleo books exist at the library too! There isn't a night that goes by that we don't read this book before bed. It ends with Cleo going to sleep and is very good for reading before bedtime.

My son got this book as a Christmas present when he was 9 months old. The book was a great read then, and we still enjoy it now that he is almost 2. I think it has a lot more use left in it. The book has really nice pictures, and a nice rhyme. We are cat lovers here, so this book was an especially big hit.

I love looking at children's books now that I have had my first child. But as I have shopped, I've learned that many books marked Baby to Preschool are not always appropriate for a baby under 1 or even 2 (aside from being excellent for chewing) because the topic or text is too advanced. But sometimes, it's nice to find a book that conceptually works for the little ones. And this book is perfect. Very simple text about a little cat who wants to find a friend and a home. The story is not too cloying, and it's not silly. But it is humorous, cute, and sweet. The colorful artwork matches the sweet, rhyming text. Highly recommended.

David Kyvig has revealed a fascinating aspect of our Constitutional history by focusing on the history of how we can and have changed that document.
The early part of this book tells the history of constitutionalism in colonial America. Kyvig tells us the story of the Constitutional Convention focusing on the development of Article V throughout the Convention. A major problem that developed under the Articles of Confederation was the requirement that any changes made to the Articles be unanimous. This made any one state (no matter how small its population) capable of killing any amendments no matter how important those amendments were to the bulk of the country.
Kyvig makes the observation that Amendment V with its less stringent requirements for adopting change was a major factor in winning the ratification debates in Massachusetts, New York and Virginia (p. 75). Anti-Federalists did not have to accept the idea that this was the best constitution that could be had. They could accept it as a good initial document but one that could be improved immediately by the addition of a Bill of Rights. All of the conventions ratified unconditionally (remember that a conditional ratification proposal was voted down in New York) but many conventions suggested a list of amendments to placate the local Anti-Federalists.
Kyvig makes some observations about Article V's requirements that speak to the original understandings of federalism.
Once a proposed amendment is sent to the states, it has to be ratified by ¾ of the current states (so the current requirement is 38 states) in order to be adopted. This is the largest supermajority specified in the Constitution. The Founders felt that disapproval by only 25% of the states should be enough to prevent fundamental changes in the structure of our government.
Kyvig also points out that there are ways around this stringent requirement. Congress can specify that the means of state ratification has to be by convention and not by the legislatures. Thus the national government can increase the chances for ratification by working around the state legislatures.
Similarly, the states can force the Congress to submit an amendment to the states by having two thirds of the states request a constitutional convention to consider an amendment. This threat has been used to spur Congress into action on the 17th Amendment (direct election of senators) and more recently on proposed balanced budget amendments (pp.471-2). This type of constitutional convention is one of the great unknowns of our Constitution. For example, if 25 states call for a convention to consider an abortion amendment and another 13 call for a convention to consider a balanced budget amendment does Congress have to call the convention? The answer is unknown or, at least, not agreed upon. Similarly, could the convention consider more than the amendments it was called to consider? The 1787 Convention provides a precedent for the answer that once a convention is called, it is capable of proposing changes to the entire Constitution. This too is an ongoing debate in legal journals. Yikes!
In other words, Kyvig feels that the original understandings of federalism show a balanced respect for the states, the national government and for the people as opposed to either. Article V was designed so that any two of the three could work around the other but only on conditions of the supermajority requirements.
Kyvig's book is exceptional when it comes to the political histories of the various amendments and how various players in these histories were able to play parts of Article V against other political players.
His discussions of the Reconstruction amendments, the suffrage amendment, the Prohibition amendment and its repeal amendment are brilliant. He is very balanced about how the Reconstruction amendments were shoved down the throats of the Southern states and how those same states basically made that a necessity by their immediate post-Civil War behavior. The consequences of this constitutional revolution were played out at least until the 1960s and probably are still being played out.
The one weakness that Kyvig's narrative has for me comes up in his discussion of amendment history from the FDR presidency on. Kyvig is a modern liberal who believes that the national government has a duty to provide basic social services to its citizens (And just for clarity sakes, so do I). Kyvig believes that FDR made a fatal mistake in not trying to push through amendments that would make his ideas about government programs constitutional. Instead, FDR choose to place political pressures on the court. As a result, FDR won the battle but may have lost the long-term war (Kyvig discusses these points in his Chapters 13 and 19).
I have no problem with Kyvig's point of view of these issues. However, I do find myself being critical of him when he is writing of recent conservative attempts to win a balance budget amendment or one to protect the flag from being desecrated in protests.
He is dismissive of arguments that were advanced in support of these proposed amendments (see p. 437) and he is dismissive of the motives of the politicians involved as playing to their base. I agree with his opinion of the economic arguments as the balanced budget idea although I would have liked to see the counter arguments outlined better. I totally disagree with the motive attribution junk. One of the disgusting components of political discourse these days is how much of it involves assessing the psychological health of the other. Conservatives are opportunists; liberals have a mental disorder, blah, blah, blah. If you don't know what I am talking about read the one-star reviews for any book of contemporary political commentary.
This is a relatively minor complaint. Kyvig is an engaging, learned and thoughtful guide to the first 180 years or so of our amendment history. For the last thirty years or so, he is more tendentious but he still has a lot to teach us. I have learned a lot from reading him. I suspect that you will as well.

David Kyvig's book "Explicit and Authentics Acts" covers the formal attempts to change the U.S. Constitution. It is packed with information from every era from the Articles of Confederation to the 1990's. Kyvig demonstrates how a national consensus must emerge before Constitutional change can become a reality and that changes which are not codified in the Constitution are rarely lasting. This is a work of stunning research and erudition. Although there are no deep or brilliant insights to be found here, the depth and scope and the judicious nature of the scholarship make this a must read for anyone who considers himself to be well informed on Constitutional history.

This great book and Great Expectations: The U.S. 1945-1974, by James T. Patterson, were the co-winners of the 1997 Bancroft History Prize. I found everything in this book good reading and I learned a lot I did not know about the 27 amendments to the US Constitution. Congress has proposed 33 amendmants to the Constitution, and 27 have been accepted by the requisite number of states and so were added to the Constitution. The research done to write this book is awesome. I found this book a much better book than the co-winner of the Bancroft Prize merely because this book told me so much more than I knew before I read it.

Some time ago, I wrote a great review of this book, but I see that it's been removed for some reason. Nonetheless, I have to again state that this is an indispensible field guide and reference book for anyone who loves fishing and learning more about the natural histories of the freshwater fish in the central United States. Peterson, Golden, and Audubon guides cover all of North America which makes most of their books cumbersome and useless to those of us in the heartland, non-ocean states. The pictures are the most lifelike depictions of fish I've ever seen of any North American fish. It's also full of interesting tid bits of each fish species. Again, great book. It's in a class of it's own.

This book is the best I have in my library. All the important information on fishes in the Missouri or Mississippi drainage are well covered. The color pencil drawings are flawless.

Some time ago, I wrote a great review of this book, but I see that it's been removed for some reason. Nonetheless, I have to again state that this is an indispensible field guide and reference book for anyone who loves fishing and learning more about the natural histories of the freshwater fish in the central United States. Peterson, Golden, and Audubon guides cover all of North America which makes most of their books cumbersome and useless to those of us in the heartland, non-ocean states. The pictures are the most lifelike depictions of fish I've ever seen of any North American fish. It's also full of interesting tid bits of each fish species. Again, great book. It's in a class of its own.

I am a fan of Louis L'Amour and Matthew White will give him a run for his money. This is a great book worth reading and hard to put down. I hope he will write a sequal and maybe even a trilogy. Keep up the great writing and hope to read more books written by Matthew White.

Fort Medano is a great western story. When I started reading this book I couldn't put it down. Matthew White has done a wonderful job of bring the real old west to the palm of your hands. I felt like I was right in the middle of the action riding side by side with outlaws, soldiers, and Indians. I highly recommend Fort Medano as a must read western from an author on his way to becoming the next Louis L'Amour.

A promising new young writer has written a good clean book that anyone can read and not be offended. His insights are remarkable as he presents all types and classes of people from those upholding the law as well as the law breakers, people of different races and cultures and yet does not condemn anyone but depicts how they feel and why. A very good read and one that you will not want to put down until you get to the end.

Bruce's controversial thesis is that it was France and not Britain who was the main American ally during the First World War. French generals such as Joffre supported an independent American force while the British wanted the American forces to be assimilated into the British army. According to Bruce, the French trained the Americans in the techniques of trench warfare and use of artillery. Bruce believes that all American operations in the closing days of the First World War were based on close cooperation by the French army such as supporting the Americans by protecting their flanks, providing artillery support, and using planes to spot German army formations. Plus the French and not the British supplied the AEF with its weapons such as tanks and artillery peices. I would reccomend this book to anyone intereted in a controversial thesis about the clost days of the First World War and Anglo-French relations.

In the preface of his book A Fraternity of Arms Robert Bruce asserts that his intention is to refute a popular image "so widely held in America, of a historically acrimonious relationship between", (Bruce, xiii) the United States and France. Indeed Bruce's account of Franco-American cooperation is well documented, vividly expressed and covers the social, political, and military aspects of this relationship.

Bruce examines the experience of the American volunteers, including the Rockwell's, who found themselves in the Légion étrangère. Bruce points out that many of these young men wanted to fight and they wanted to find action as quickly as possible. Many of them, however wanted to serve in the regular army and found the Foreign Legion to be disappointing. They found the legion to be composed of mercenaries from many nationalities and not particularly friendly to the idealistic volunteers. Bruce points out however, that even in the face of severe disillusion Kiffen Rockwell and others still wanted to fight, but in regular French army units. Quoting Kiffen Rockwell's letter to his injured brother, "If you can get me into a French regiment, get busy, for I want out of the Legion".

Bruce provides details of the many shortcomings of the American army, especially the lack of modern heavy weapons. Chapter 4 illustrates clearly the fact that although America had tremendous quantities of natural resources and a huge industrial capacity as well, the situation was that it would inevitably be the French who would equip the American army. Bruce shows that despite heroic efforts on the part of American armaments manufacturers to build the machine guns and artillery, the allies did not have the luxury of time and could not wait for American manufacturing to come up to speed, and so the Americans would go to war with equipment that was almost exclusively French. Bruce provides as evidence a table comparing the French and British contributions of war material to the AEF during the war and in every category; the French contribution far exceeds that of the British.

Bruce provides engaging accounts of all the American engagements from Catigny the first battle in which American units play a deciding role, through Belleau Wood, the Second battle of the Marne to the Meuse-Argonne and the end of the war. He defends the Americans against those who have denigrated the American contribution to the final allied victory by quoting Ludendorf; "It was most assuredly the Americans who bore the brunt of the fighting on the whole battle front during the last few months of the war."

In the final paragraphs of his book Bruce recounts the interment of the remains of the Unknown Soldier in the tomb of the Unknowns in Arlington National cemetery with moving quotes from Field Marshal Foch and Chief Plenty Coups of the Crow Nation and then points out that:
"At the bottom of the crypt, on the hallowed ground of America's Valhalla, a two inch deep layer of French soil, gathered from the battlefields of the western front where the French and American army had fought side by side, had been spread. Here the Unknown American Soldier of the Great War rests for all eternity."
With that statement, Bruce brings his book A Fraternity of Arms: America & France in the Great War, to its conclusion having made his point that despite sometimes enormous political differences that America and France share a "fraternity of arms", and though it may be dismissed and forgotten, has formed a lasting foundation for Franco-American Relations.

Bruce's thesis is that it was the French and not the British who were the main American allies during the First World War. During their period of training the American soldiers easily mixed with the French soldiers while having a diffcult time with the British. Moreover the French were the main trainers of the American forces and provided them with artillery peices, tanks, and guns. The French also were the main defenders of an independent American force while the Britih wanted to assimilate the Americans into British units. Bruce concludes his book by stating that all of the American actions in the closing phases of the First World War were heavliy supported by French infantry divisions and artillery. I would reccomend this book to anyone who wants a new and interesting perspective of Franco-American relationship during the First World War.

I HAVE BEEN AN INSTRUCTOR FOR 8 YEARS AND THIS IS NOW ONE OF THE REQUIRED BOOKS THAT ARE INCLUDED IN MY TRAINING CLASS FOR NEW DEALERS. AT MY SUGGESTION A LOCAL POKER ROOM HAS INCLUDED THIS AS THEIR RULE BOOK AND ALL SUPERVISORS ARE REQUIRED TO USE IT. THIS BOOKS HAS COMPREHENSIVE UP TO DATE RULES. AS WE KNOW RULES MAY CHANGE FROM ROOM TO ROOM, BUT SOMETHING THAT IS CLOSE TO STANDARD THE POKER ALMANAC HAS IT ALL. TDA RULES, ROBERTS RULES, GAMES, AS WELL AS A GREAT UP TO DATE GLOSSARY. THIS BOOK IS AN ASSET FOR TRAINING NEW DEALERS. I USE THIS AND THE PROFESSIONAL DEALER'S HANDBOOK AS A REQUIREMENT TO PURCHASE.

This is a concise encyclopedia of the rules for poker. The Official Rules will particularly appeal to novices as it explains the nature of the cardroom, the equipment integral to the game, and hand rankings. Much of it is based on Robert's (Bob Ciaffone's) Rules of Poker and is elaborated upon by the author. It provides an introduction to the game as well by experienced player, Kelli Mix. The various styles of games are also discussed: limit, spread limit, no limit, and pot limit. The text covers just about everything including seven card stud high low and deuce-to-seven high low. The explanation of tournament rules is valuable because, as those of us who watch HSP already know, tournaments and cash games are entirely different animals. It even tells you what should be done with the "odd chip" in casino games. I appreciated the definition of "kill pots" and wish I would have read it before I began playing in kill limit games online, lol. This is definitely something I could have really used back in 2004 when I first began learning about the game.

Game Day highly recommends this book as the standard poker book for use during all types of poker games. This book is especially helpful to players in home games of poker, where it is important to have a way to resolve rules disputes quickly and amicably.

We at Game Day saw that there was something missing in the current field of poker books: a standard poker rule book. Before we published the Official Rules of Poker, the only authorities on the rules of poker was Scarne and Hoyle, which were written in the Nineteenth Century. The game has changed, especially in the last ten years, and we realized that it was important to have a Twenty-First Century rule book.

When we put out the word that we were looking for an editor and for such a book, Kelli Mix came forward. Ms. Mix, or "Poker Mom" as she is known at the poker table, eagerly took up the challenge of gathering and writing the rules to suit the modern game of poker. This turned out to be a gargantuan task. Ms. Mix researched each rule, making sure that they were found in at least five independent sources. Mix turned out to be a wonderful choice as editor and author of the Game Day Poker Almanac Official Rules of Poker.

Mix is a professional poker player. She is still under most poker players radar, but she is quietly climbing the ranks of tournament poker players (she finished 11th in the 2007 World Series of Poker Texas Hold 'Em Women's tournament in a field of more than 1,200 players). However, she is more likely to be found at cash games, playing high stakes.

The Official Rules of Poker includes all the rules of poker, from the most basic hand rankings to the most obscure tournament rules.

Contents:
1: Elements of Poker. This chapter covers the most basic rules of poker, and also describes the way poker is played in casino card rooms. Mix wrote these rules in a way that makes them easy to use while playing a game.

2: Professional Poker Rules. These rules cover more of mechanical means of acting in a poker game, giving the finer definitions of what constitutes a raise, a call or a fold. They also discuss the penalties of rules infractions. There are four parts to this chapter.

a) Robert's Rules of Poker. These rules were written by professional poker player and authority, Bob Ciaffone, as a standard set of rules of cash games in casino card rooms. While local laws may require changes to these rules, and some casinos use their own rules, these rules are often cited as the official set of rules in professional play.

b) Robert's Rules of Poker for Private Games: This is Ciaffone's "Robert's Rules of Poker" which he adopted to home games where no impartial dealer or floorperson is present.

c) Poker Tournament Director's Association Rules (TDA Rules). Each year, the Professional Poker Tournament Directors Association updates its rules, which most casinos and poker leagues use as their official rule book in tournament play. Tournament rules add a new layer of rules to poker, as tournaments are about eliminating players, not about accumulating money.

d) World Series of Poker Rules: The World Series of Poker is considered the premier poker tournament event. Due to its sheer size and commercialism, the rules for WSOP tournaments are different than TDA rules. Many poker leagues use WSOP rules instead of TDA rules, as the WSOP rules are more popular among those who learned poker from television.

3: Poker Etiquette. There are types of behavior frowned upon in poker games, due to the fact that poker is a highly competitive game and may involve large sums of money. In some games of poker, violating etiquette may result in ejection from the game.

4: Variant Poker Games. Includes 69 different versions of poker, including 5-Card Draw, 5-Card Stud, Cincinnati, Chicago, Baseball, Anaconda, Mexican Stud, Chinese Poker, Iron Cross, Guts, English Stud, Kansas City Lowball, California Lowball, Pineapple,Spit, Three-Card Draw, and the ever-hilarious Indian Poker. Also includes rules for declaring wild cards and using jokers. WhIle professional poker players and casino card rooms will never play most of these games, home games are notorious for playing "dealer's choice" where the dealer chooses which of the many variations of poker will be played that hand. (Note: Mix and I had a really good time finding out about all of these games.)

5: Glossary. Again, Mix was very thorough in her research. Poker terminology is highly colorful and is a lingo all its own. from the Nuts to the Fish. Mix used multiple sources, as there are many local poker terms and terms used that do not last more than a few months. She excludes popular names for two-card Texas Hold 'Em hands, purposefully, although we plan to have a separate glossary for hand names in future editions. Still, this is one of the most complete glossaries I have seen in a poker book anywhere.

6. Index: Okay, I did the index. I believe that indexes should be thorough, and so I did my best to make the index easy to use in the heat of play. Still, this was a fairly easy index to create, as Mix's presentation of the rules and her organization of the material was straightforward, allowing me to easily pick out the rules.

The Official Rules of Poker has been wonderfully received. Professional poker dealers have been clamoring to get this edition. When we released the book at the WSOP 2007 in Las Vegas, the WSOP dealers practically knocked me over trying to get their own copy.

Thank you for considering The Game Day Poker Almanac Official Rules of Poker. I personally hope you will find it to be of great use, and that the book will provide you with years of fun--and fair--poker.

David A. Rozansky
Publisher
Game Day (an imprint of Flying Pen Press)

Rabbi Eichhorn's letters and diary entries portray a family man, soldier and rabbi. The book gives you not just a memoir of the war, but insights into his personal life (letters to his family), his own journals (detailed and much more frank about the war), and finally, reports to various Jewish agencies and the Army (the most disturbing ones of all). How he managed to experience all of this, and still retain his sanity and faith is astonishing. He is a man I wish I could have met, and I respect him highly for all that he did during his life.

"The GI's Rabbi: World War II Letters of David Max Eichhorn" is edited by Greg Palmer and Mark S. Zaid, and includes an introduction by Doris L. Bergen. The book brings together not just his letters, but also other documents that illuminate the wartime career of Rabbi Eichhorn, who served as a chaplain in the U.S. Army. His service included time in the European combat zone.

Other texts interspersed among the rabbi's letters are excerpts from his 1969 unpublished autobiography, as well as letters he received from family, friends, and colleagues. Altogether these texts create a vivid portrait of his travels and service. Also included in the book are photos that span the rabbi's entire life, including his wartime service; a glossary of Yiddish and Hebrew words and phrases he uses in his letters; an index; and an epilogue by coeditor Zaid, who is also the rabbi's grandson.

The letters and other texts cover the rabbi's travels in France and Germany, his encounters with important military leaders, and the living conditions he experienced in wartime. The book is full of interesting details about his duties as a chaplain. He discusses the horrors and inhumanity of war, as well as examples of kindness and courage that seemed to restore his faith in humanity. The personal touches on his letters to his wife and children are charming and sometimes humorous.

This is a marvelous book and a fine tribute to a man who, in his own words, strove "to be a good soldier and a good rabbi" during one of the most critical periods in American and Jewish history. Inspiring and educational, "The GI's Rabbi" is an outstanding contribution to both U.S. military history and Jewish studies. I strongly recommend this book for both academic and general audiences.

This book captures an individual perspective of World War II from someone who was intimately involved. It provides glimpses that historians and even many of the contemporary books did not. It's also an easy book to read -- like reading letters from your family, only these letters are not just about personal matters but about matters of general interest and international importance. A good book to read, no matter what your age, especially in these times.

I liked the coverage of this book. I haven't seen any other
book that deals with all these issues. Some good books have been written on the notion of sexual consent or on particular areas of sexuality (such as prostitution), but this book covers a bunch of issues and does so very well. Belliotti maintains a sense of perspective on what is he doing, is challenging, adds humor, and engages the reader.

This book covers much: Hellenic dualism, natural law, Judeo-Christianity, sex only with love, libertarianism, Kant, Marxism, Feminism, bestiality, necrophilia, incest, prostitution, the nature of moral reasoning, and defends a combination of Kantian-libertarianism. Belliotti's sophisticated writing spiced with humor is appealing. He provides a wide, deep philosophical foundation and addresses contemporary issues with sensititivity
and learning. A worthy contribution to the literature.

The best book I have seen for a comprehensive account of liberal,conservative, feminist, and leftist views of sexual ethics. Bellioti is fair and attains a nice balance between criticism and sympathetic explanation of the various views. His own "sexual morality in five tiers" is an excellent framework for evaluating sex acts. The book is written with style and spiced with humor. The author covers an admirable amount of material given the breadth of the subject. Readers will learn a lot of history of philosophy as well. Belliotti defends a modified libertarian view of sexual ethics that is appealing. Throughout the book he maintains a fallibalistic attitude that
understands the no single approach contains the final word on sexual ethics. Good sex is fair, interesting, comprehensive,
provocative, stimulating, and refreshing. Highly recommended.

I recommend this to any person who enjoys working with their hands. It is an exceptional tool to learn hand Applique as well as a basic for your library to refer to. The author has done an excellent job. It is clear and concise.

I found this book beautifully presented and a pleasure to read, as a resource book into appliqué it is wonderful source of information, but most of all I found it a wonderful source for inspiration when it came to making Healing Hearts for my many quilting friends.
May you have many hours of Fun Hugs Dawsie.

Excellent book; beautiful photography; explicit instructions by an expert. I like the book and would recommend it to anyone interested in hand applique. This technique does require some practice, but what doesn't, if it is worth doing. Kathy Delaney is also frugal in her recommendation of supplies which is greatly appreciated.