Virginia Books

Birds of Shenandoah National Park, Blue Ridge Parkway, and Great Smoky Mountains National Park is a convenient, full-color field guide that lends itself to easy use by amateur birdwatchers and professional researchers alike. Birds of Shenandoah National Park features a brief entry for each of 336 avian species sighted in the area of Blue Ridge in North Carolina and Virginia, and the Great Smoky Mountains. Each entry consists of the species' common name, its scientific name, its approximate size, a verbal description of its appearance and characteristic habits, and a brief summary of where it can be found during what seasons of the year; yet by far the most valuable identifier are the illustrations, almost all of which are in full color. An index, a checklist, and a brief supplementary section of birds that are not common in the area round out this elegantly useful guide.

As beginner bird watchers, this book has been a tremendous help to us in identifying our "local" West Virginia birds. Previously we had purchased the Audubon field guide to north American birds (a fine book), but we find "Birds of West Virginia" to be more user-friendly for three reasons: 1) it shows the pictures of the birds and the description of the birds on facing pages (Audubon makes you flip to the back of the book for descriptions), 2) the photos of the birds, both male and female, are large and clear; and 3) the "Stan's Notes" section at the bottom of each page gives the novice bird watcher some interesting tidbits about the birds. Thank you to the author for helping us learn more about our West Virginia birds!

Part of Oral Traditions Project-Covers broad spectrum of topics by 12 authorities including quilt historians,folklorists & social historians Virginia Gunn, Nancy Roanm Patricia Herr, Tandy Hersh, Jeanette Lasansky, Patricia Keller, Kathy Sullivan, Laurel Horton, Cuesta Benberry, Barbara Brackman, Mary Cross, Rachel Maines. Book Explores & chapters include Late 19th century dress fabrics & period quilts, Fabrics used by Penn-German Farm Families, Small piece, Appliqued, and Quilted Objects in Penn-German Household, Penn-German Pillowcase, Dowry Quilts, Lancaster County Marriage Quilts, German Quiltmaking, S. Carolina's Dutch Fork Textile Traditions, Penn-Dutch Patterns nationalisation in 1940s-1960s, Influence by Fairs & Expostions, Oregon Quilt Contest, Needlework Technology in Industrial Era - This is a serious scholarly study with full Bibliography for each chapter - good large examples of dress fabrics are pictured, rare objects like Amish birds from Mufflin County, Penn, Quiltmakers bios, quilt provonance are documented.

"Thelma V. Reed has lived through a lot, and we are fortunate that she has chosen to share her stories of pre-Civil Rights Southern girlhood, wartime and post-war work and family life in the North, and her inspiring emotional and spiritual journey in this vivid and gripping memoir. Mrs. Reed is part of a long line of African American storytellers, and you are not reading so much as listening to stories gleaned from sometimes painful but always rich experience. "Black Girl from Tannery Flats" will stay with you, whether you are a scholar of twentieth-century African American history or a student of life itself."

Cecil Brown, author of "Stagolee Shot Billy" (Harvard University Press) says: "In "Black Girl From Tannery Flats," Thelma V. Reed employs a narrative that has all but disappeared from African-american literature. This is how it sounded before the arrival of television, when the young people gathered around the Southern fires and listened to their elders tell their histories."

Myers's narrative examines the story of the US Army's Fort Jackson as the first military instillation in the South to actively desegregate its base after President Harry Truman's groundbreaking decision to integrate the armed forces in 1947. This study, however, explores the broader context of how the fort's experiment with integration influenced the wider civilian community outside its gates: Columbia, SC, which ironically was the capital of one of the nation's most racially divided states. Using previously unutilized sources, including declassified military and government documents, Myers (Univ. of South Carolina Upstate) adeptly traces the institutional changes and challenges of this controversial community transformation, as well as attitudes of participants both black and white. He also smartly carries the story beyond the contentious early struggles in the late 1940s into the end of the Vietnam era to demonstrate the long-term political and social effects of the integration process on the city and the army. Although this case study's context could benefit from comparisons to other military bases of the period, this is a tightly written, well-researched account that will prove useful to both military and social historians.
Summing Up: Recommended. Most levels/libraries.
General Readers; Lower-division Undergraduates; Upper-division Undergraduates; Graduate Students; Researchers/Faculty; Professionals/Practitioners.
Reviewed by B. A. Wineman.
From: Syndetics Solutions, Inc. Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.

Hello Chris.Just had to give a nod and a wink to my
Criterion Buddy and say hey man...I am so glad I know
ye. I have bought movies I never would have if not for you
(The Vanishing 88 and Funny Games)and just for that I am
thankful..... Thanks bud and congrat.on getting married
on Sept.14th I wish you two(or is it three,your mormon
right...hee-hee)I wish you two the best and most of all
thinks for being a great friend and always there!!!
your bud always the BROSON-ATOR!

p.s.I know this does not have anything to do with the Blackshere
school and I DON'T CARE! So tag me with NEG. all you want!

A great book for visual identification of certain Blenko glass pieces and colors.

A must for any serious Blenko Glass collector. An excellent source of background information and images of early Blenko production pieces. The saying goes "knowledge is power" then this book is one powerful tool. Also included are some reprinted catalog pages and advertisements. Beautiful images abound of this beautiful glass. If you or someone you know collects Blenko Glass, get this book!

This book rocks! John Nelson puts the pedal to the medal and roars down the road to colonial Virginia parishes. If you want to know about the complex relationship between parishes and politics in Virginia (and who doesn't?) this book will kick your bum-bum. It rocks baby.

She came from a small catholic high school in Utah and Portland University, but she can write!!
Ginny,
Please contact Steve Cotterell at Judge - we want you for the 40 year reunion!!
Tom Sweet