North America Books

This book gives you the opportunity to get a feeling of what your life may have been like living in the Jim Crow era of Georgia. My name is Bullard and I am a white genealogist. Eugene Bullard was the son of ex-slaves that were owned by a family named Bullard.

It is fabulous to see a black person rise out of impossible circumstances to become an expatriate combat pilot in the French Air Force during World War I. Jazz and Blues is what I listen to every day and the Jazz story in this book is very interesting to me.

A must read for any aviation buff who's ever wondered if there was a black pilot in WWI, and how he lived that life is truly an extraordinary saga.

Eugene Bullard was an African American man who was born in 1895 in Columbus, Georgia, and lived a really fascinating live. After leaving the U.S. in 1912 to escape the existing suffocating racist oppression, he stayed first in Britain, and then settled in France where he lived as a boxer, entertainer, jazz drummer, was a war hero in the trenches in Verdun, and become the first African American combat pilot in 1917 (in French service: the U.S. would allow black combat pilots only in 1941...). After the war, like so many other African Americans, he remained in Europe. He become a well known entrepeneur in the Parisian night club life during the 20s and 30s. At the German invasion in 1940, and after a brief stint in the French army, he went back to the U.S. where he died in New York in 1961. Revered in France as a national hero during is life, and completely unknown in his country until more than twenty years after his death, the life of this extraordinary man has in this book a much deserved homage and, probably, its definitive biography.

A very well documented biography on a genuine American and French hero. Unfortunately he was born during the Jim Crow era in the south (even though the constitution which was written over 100 years before his birth mentions "all men are created equal", this did not include any non-caucasian's or women, did it? Did not use the word minority since it denotes less than some majority, there are more non-caucasian's in the world anyway and what is really meant by that word is just that, non-caucasian. I find it odd that the USA was founded by European descendants like the English, French and even though the country prided itself on it's progresive nature, it did not include equality, even though Europe itself did not practice racial discrimination). He was born the seventh child of a large family and his father always had a premonition of a very distinguished future for him and let it be known to him when he was young. Talks about his travel through the south after he left home and was told early by his father of a country (France) where all men are truly free. This had a profound effect on him because he eventually made it to France via England first.

He began his livelyhood as a theatre performer and boxer; two opposing and similar avocations. He joined the military and became the first Black American and Black Frenchman aviator and was awarded medals for his bravery, dedication and skills. Very well liked, he had a contagious personality and started working at a famous Paris club later in life and eventually became a club owner himself. He met the famous of the day like Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Langston Hughes, Bricktop and many others. This biography also got me interested in Jazz age Paris to request both autobiographies of Hughes and Bricktop.

Slowly (too slowly) more is being known about this man and his acomplishments and contributions to the human race.

You won't be able to put it down. Jack Johnson's autobiography "In the Ring and Out" is another good bio of that era too.

I had earlier learned of some of Eugene Bullard's exploits, but Craig Lloyd's book spotlights an endless list of amazing achievements that seem unbelievable for any man to accomplish in just one lifetime. It's a shame Bullard's life has been up to now unexplored and uncelebrated. Hopefully this extremely well-researched biography will fix that.

Morison was a Harvard professor, a Navy Admiral, a sailor, and a good writer and he turned out two hefty volumes about the discovery of the Americas. This volume concerns European travelers to North America before 1600. Volume 2 is about the southern voyages of Christopher Columbus, Magellan, and others.

Morison begins his account with the mythical St. Brendan, proceeds onward to the Vikings, examines the claims of other pre-Columbian "disoverers" of America, and then gets to Cabot, Cartier, and the 16th century explorers. He ends the book with a description of the attempt to found the first British colony in the United States at Roanoke Island, NC. Following each chapters he describes his sources and the work of other historians and discusses some of the more outrageous theories about pre-Columbian discoveries.

The book is enhanced by Morison's own experience as a sailor. He is able to refute some of the fantasies of other historians with his on-the-ground and sea experiences. One of the most interesting chapter in the book describes English ships and the life at sea of sailors in the 16th century. Good illustrations and maps enhance the text.

Morison doesn't have much interest and empathy for the Indians the early explorers encountered, nor the forces in Europe that caused the European explorers to trust their fortunes to hazardous journeys. He's a man who celebrates the romance of the sea -- and casts a baleful eye on those sailors and historians who fail to live up to his high standards of seamanship and scholarly endeavor. That this is the best book ever written on the discovery and early exploration of North America is almost without dispute. It's a shame that it has been allowed to go out of print.

Smallchief

When not compiling the history of the United States Navy in World War II, Morison had a passion for chronicling the discovery of the New World. His two volume set constitutes the best, if not the only, repository of each and all European discoverer in the Americas, and this volume captures not only Columbus but also Scandinavian (Leif Eriksson), French (Cartier, Verrezano), English (Cabot) and a host of other expeditions. Also superbly illustrated with often stunning photos by the author of the Eastern seaboard, Labrador and the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

Premier historian Morison brings in very narrative form discoveries of America. Decribes one by one each voyage to north of Virginia, and even discusses those that never took place. Seasoned mariner himself, details to reader not only specific voyages, but explains social environment of the era. One chapter tells about ships and seamen. This helps understand what and how the discoverers were thinking, and how they proceeded.

Each chapter is followed by discussion of source materials (rare these days). Those who are interested to find out more, will have ready shopping list of additional books, as well as their evaluation by Morison.

(...)

Many pictures.

In this volume Morison goes back to the voyages of St. Brendan and the Irish monks as well as those of Norsemen such as Leif Erickson. The first post-Columbian voyages the author describes are those of John Cabot in 1497-1498 and the book ends with a discussion of the experiences of the second Virginia colony in 1587.

Morison is an entertaining writer who offers many original insights.

Some of his thorough research was done as a passenger on a small twin-engined plane flown along the same coasts which were discovered by Cabot, Cartier and Verrazzano.

In reporting the discovery of the Americas the popular focus of historians has been on the voyages of Columbus and others in the southern latitudes. The early northern explorers, in search of the elusive north west passage to Cathay, sailed in waters far more hostile than their southern compatriots. Morison has a great love for his subject and wealth of knowledge. He clearly details the personalities of the leaders of these early expeditions and the dangers they faced. This is a most enjoyable read filled with wit and knowledge, which has left me searching for other titles by the author.

...after reading countless books on ADHD...this book was the first thing that made any sense at all, and finally gave me the information I needed to get my stepson diagnosed properly at age 12.... This book would be the quickest and best way, other than through years of living with someone with FAS, to try to understand the complexities of this condition. MOST people cannot understand it until they either have lived with it for years, worked with it for years, or at the very least read this book. Highly recommended. Dont raise, teach, or work with a FAS child and thier family without this kind of knowledge.

On a personal level this book has been a godsend!.Our child was recently diagnosed with FAE and this book has been our bible. You can refer to any section of this book at any time for helpful information. From reading this book, I now see my child as a child with special needs and not as a monster child! . My child didn't ask to be born this way,it is not my child's fault! . I see hope where once there was despair. I would love this book to be part of all teachers curriculum! .

I am the adoptive mom of two great kids with fas/fae and I found this book to be a Godsend. When I feel discouraged about my kids, or frustrated by their behavior, I read Fantastic Antone and I regain my sense of hope. I have lent it to all of my kids' teachers and have used it at trainings and seminars. Looking forward to reading "Grows Up"! Thank you Judy!!

Fantastic Antone Succeeds is a wonderfully informative book full of true-to-life stories from parents of FAS kids and helpful advice from educators who have worked with them. I came away with a greater all-around knowledge of the condition and a reasuring feeling that I wasn't the only one out there 'in the trenches'. If you are the parent of an FAS/E child or an educator, this is an invaluable handbook to take with you on your journey. e-mail brownla@midstatesd.net

This is a wonderful positive book for parents and caregivers of FAS/FAE children. I have read so much negative and disheartening material on the subject of fetal alcohol syndrome which gave me little hope for the future for my son. This book gives me hope and guidelines for enhancing his life. The chapters written by other parents are especially helpful. I thank the authors for their research and sincerity in their work. We, as parents, need assistance and guidelines in heading off some of the secondary disabilities which often come with fetal alcohol syndrome. This book offers some real answers! I keep it on the kitchen table so I can refer to it often.

My grandma originally owned a copy of this book and regularly noted sightings of interesting/rare species. I bought my own copy several years ago and it has proved quite useful. The most interesting example was a Java Sparrow sighted in Albuquerque, New Mexico. I couldn't find out what it was from searching around online, but looking in the back of this field guide, under foreign/introduced species, there it was.

I received this book as a gift and have used it constantly. I keep it on my window sill during the feeding season to identify the visiters to my feeder. The book's size and physical construction are excellent. As someone who is a novice it seems to be very comprehensive on the subject matter.

Even when I lived in the city, I liked to feed and watch the birds (mainly sparrows and pigeons). Now that we live up in the woods, we're in bird paradise. Using this Peterson Field Guide for "Eastern Birds" plus a good pair of binoculars for visual identifications, and the "Birding by Ear Eastern/Central" CDs (Richard K. Walton and Robert W. Lawson) I've identified 42 species of birds in just over a month, as a casual observer for the Michigan Breeding Bird Atlas II project.

I have other bird books, but it is Peterson's Field Guide that I use most frequently. Roger Tory Peterson's 'system' "is based on patternistic drawings with arrows that pinpoint the key field marks." You don't have to have the bird in hand in order to make an identification. In addition to 136 full-color plates of Eastern birds (male, female, and immature, or summer and winter plumage if they differ markedly), there are also 390 three-color maps (first introduced in the 1980 edition).

The maps are absolutely essential for an amateur like me. If I've narrowed down a blurry little gray bird to X and Y, and Y never makes it north of the Mason-Dixon Line, I can be pretty certain that the bird is X. Here's an actual example on the utility of the maps: I was trying to distinguish a trilling song that could either belong to the Swamp Sparrow, the Pine Warbler, or the Northern Junco. We do see Juncos at our feeders in the winter, but this is July and according to Peterson's map, the Juncos spend the summer north of here, mostly in Canada. So I've narrowed the trill down to the Swamp Sparrow or the Pine Warbler (actually I'm positive we've got both as I've made tentative visual identifications. It makes sense since we live in the Pine Barrens which is dotted with numerous swamps).

This book begins with a generalized introduction to identifying birds by shape, distinctive features and behavior. Physically, it is tightly bound and just the right size to slip into a backpack. The pages are glossy and 'relatively' waterproof if you wipe them quickly dry. There is even a 'life list' up front where you can check off the birds you have seen.

Don't go birding without it.

The Peterson field Guide to Eastern American Birds turned out to be the best birding book I've ever read. The book was well thought out and had the format that we needed in our suburban environment. The illustrations were concise and made identifying the birds extremely easy. We have a large population of Red-Winged Blackbirds and Mourning Doves, and its great to actually know what in the world we were looking at. It was great!

This is the best of the field guides for the amature birder in my opinion. I purchased a guide that had actual photos of birds in their habitats, thinking it would be the best, but it definately was not as good or as easy to use as the Peterson field guide. If you are looking for a good all around field guide to keep near your binoculars, this one is my pick.

Many times in the field you only see a small portion of a track, or an indistinct line of marks, like in snow a line of tracks may be a line of little holes in the snow. . is there a way to still tell what the animal is and what it was doing. . YES. The answers are in this book in Dr. Halfpenny's methodical way of measuring gaits, stride, animal size and other clues. With this guide, as well as Mark Elbroch's heavier one on Mammal Tracks & Sign you can learn to track animals. By that I mean you can tell what animals were there, what they were doing and when, even when you can't see picture book examples in the mud or dust. This book (my third copy) is in my pack, and Mark's is in my car (with a second copy at home).

Animal tracks are more than just impressions in the snow, mud, or dirt. They are a record of what an animal was doing, where it was going, and what it was thinking... IF you know how to read them.

Jim Halfpenny has spent most of his life following, recording, and interpreting the elusive tracks of animals. This book focuses on mammals.

Now there are a number of books on bird and mammal tracks. A Field Guide to Mammal Tracking in North America is much more than a collection of diagrams. This book:

* discusses the anatomy and behavior behind tracks

* develops a rationale on how to look at and measure a track

* revels the differences between a gait, a step, a jump, and a straddle

* discusses tracking techniques (Halfpenny gives seminars on this topic, and it is included as Chapter 4 in this book)

* reviews track characteristics of canids, felids, lagomorphs, ungulates, and rodents, along with bears, weasels, raccoons, opossums, and shrews.

* discusses "scatology"

* presents a number of interesting cases that he then works through to show the reader how to approach a mystery track and identify the animal, and its behavior, correctly.

This is not a very expensive book. It could have been even less expensive with the elimination of the 12 full-page color illustrations of selected mammals in the center of the book. They were nice, but distracting, and most of the drawings don't even have pictures of tracks, the point of the book!

This book would have been improved with use of a digital camera in capturing images of tracks. However, Halfpenny has been collecting them his whole life, certainly prior to the common use of this technique! This is a "must have" book for the serious tracker.... a bargain through and through.

I've read a number of tracking books and this one is the best. Easy to follow. Sensible. Lots on gait patterns and scats. James tells you what he knows and is careful not to pretend to know more than he does.

This book has so much information about tracking that it will take a while to digest it all. The gait descriptions are thoroughly explained. Finer points of tracking and how to see tracks are well-defined. Explanations are written clearly and amply illustrated to make learning easier. This guide shows you how to identify not only the tracks, but the patterns and other signs left behind by animals. I have an extensive collection of books on tracking and I rate this one among the top three.

More in depth tracks, skills, info, much better than any of Tom Browns books, also does not contain T.B.'s spirituality. The actual art this man retains is amazing!!! GREAT BOOK!!! There is a reason this book is almost always sold out!

If you are interesting in plants, and you live in latin_america this is a book for you!! Al Gentry give us a view of tropical plats...in a taxonomic way... but includes practical and field tips to recognize families and some genera, and includes some simply and helpful illustrations . This "little" field guide it is some like the "Botanic Bible" of tropical American botanists (However I am a template Southamerican, I found this like a book of "head"....!!)

The best avaliable guide to the wood plants of this region of South America that I am aware of.

I'm an amateur naturalist -- and had the plants of the Eastern US pretty well under control. All that went out the window when I moved to Nicaragua. This is the first broad, clear, complete guide to neo-tropical woody plants (and lots of the herbaceous plants as well) I've seen. Although it was written for Columbia, Ecuador, and Peru, it does well enough for Central America. Just leafing through the illustrations has given me the family, and often the genus, of lots of the plants I've seen in our cloud forests. The author has a very readable style, laced with an understated sense of humour that bubbles to the surface on several occasions. See the entry for Euphorbiaceae, for example.

The book is not, however, for the complete beginner. Unless you are thoroughly familiar with the arcane botanical terminology, you will need a botanical dictionary. "Plant Identification Terminology" by Harris is a good one.

I'm an amateur naturalist -- and had the plants of the Eastern US pretty well under control. All that went out the window when I moved to Nicaragua. This is the first broad, clear, complete guide to neo-tropical woody plants (and lots of the herbaceous plants as well) I've seen. Although it was written for Columbia, Ecuador, and Peru, it does well enough for Central America. Just leafing through the illustrations has given me the family, and often the genus, of lots of the plants I've seen in our cloud forests. The author has a very readable style, laced with an understated sense of humour that bubbles to the surface on several occasions. See the entry for Euphorbiaceae, for example.

The book is not, however, for the complete beginner. Unless you are thoroughly familiar with the arcane botanical terminology, you will need a botanical dictionary. "Plant Identification Terminology" by Harris is a good one.

This book is the only one to cover so extensively the flora of Colombia in such an accessible way. You won't regret this purchase. It certainly deserves five stars.

After reading this book several times, my enthusiasm for it just continues to grow. This book is one of the most monumental assets to mountaineering since "The White Spider, The Story of the North Face of the Eiger." It raises the bar on climbing levels and performance to such heights that even experienced mountain climbers will get shivers reading some of the stories. It exposes a cross section of the best climbers in Amercia while telling stories of their favorite ascents. Anyone who enjoys mountaineering books or adventure books will consider this a asset to their library, and it is so readable that anyone who picks it up will have trouble putting it down. What a book! 5 Stars..

One more book for armchair climbers. It's a good book, but it's basically useless to the real weekend warriors. With the noted exception of Lynn Hill and 2 or 3 others, all the climbers in this book are offering routes that are way beyonb the ability of the average climber. Yes, they are professional climbers, and yes, they want to show off their greatest achievements; so if this book will make you dream, it won't make you want to get up and follow in their footsteps !

I just got my copy of Fifty Favorite Climbs in the mail. What a book! Much to the dislike of my family, I read it cover to cover over the weekend. After reading it, I am so inspired to climb and explore. The book profiles 50 elite climbers and describes their all time favorite mountain and rock climbs. The author does an exceptional job at capturing the personality of each climber, and then tells a wonderful story that explains why the climb is such a favorite.

The book is also BEAUTIFUL. It includes over 150 color photos, and not just shots taken by the author. Most are from renowned outdoor photographers. This is a unique book and a great gift idea for anyone with an interest in rock climbing and mountaineering.

Fifty Favorite Climbs is simply outstanding! Imagine the mountaineering marvel, "50 Classic Climbs" combined with intriguing biographies on 50 notable climbers of today, all tied together with compelling writing and outstanding photography. As one who has and dragged his camera all over Yosemite, the Cascades, Smith Rock, etc. since the 70's, I can tell you that the photography alone makes this book a must have.

Clear my calendar! I'm fired up and going climbing!

50FC is a terrific book about climbing, but it really plays to a much broader audience. Its about climbing and specific ascents, but then climbing and ascents are really about a whole lot more. The book has absolutely killer photos, clear maps laying out the technical aspects of each ascent, portraits and profiles of the individual climbers, and very readable discussion about each particular climb and climber being profiled. The various chapters are each a separate world, laying out the geography of climbing and the broad differences between one face and another, as unique as the characters and personalities involved. The author is a climber who took a number of the photos himself, so this is told from the POV of someone who knows what climbing is about, but not in a condescending way (no pun). Kroese writes clearly, so that anyone can get excited about what's happening up above. I have never climbed, which is what makes 50FC even more intriguing. Its about 50 distinct challenges, and the different ways people plan and conquer those challenges. The methods and process draw a good parallel to any sport, or even business. An inspiring view of high-altitude acheivement. A great book to give someone as a gift. But keep a copy for yourself.

I wish all the pieces in this book ended like the piece "Split Decision". "When the bell rang at the end of the fight
after Joe Frazier had floored Ali with a left hook
you must remember that Muhammad Ali was still standing

he stood up."

There was some hope in that ending, but not in a lot of the others. This book made me very sad and angry about the past and what we as a people continue to do today. How much we have destroyed and how much we have missed by always wanting to stick to who and what we know and surround ourselves with possessions.

Each essay or poem is sharp and clear and vivid. Each scene that is described can easily be pictured but the emotions can only be imagined. It would be wonderful if many, many readers were to be exposed to Sherman Alexie's work.

Sorry if that sounded gushy, but throughout the pathos and humor, I coulldn't help but marvel at this man's spirit-- and his literary skills. I've seen his interviews and featured bios on television and reading his work brings it all to life. I wish I had his ability to draw verbal pictures. Thank you for being you!

A very sad collection of pieces by Alexie, covering all manner of topics of res life. More impressive, however, is his use of style and technique in these works. Sometimes in traditional poem format, sometimes in prose writing, flirting with fiction storytelling. Around every page is a new experience. This is a great collection.

With a voice that begs contemplation and makes you want to find the everyday magic in your own life, Alexie gives us a heart-filled and heart-breaking collection of tale-like poems about Amerindian life in the 20th century and beyond.
Stunning.

Sherman Alexi is an in-your-face poet, there's no doubt about it. He has a voice that demands to be heard, and you will listen, even unwillingly. His style is unique, mixing short, terse lines of verse alternating with long lines of prose that carry contrasts of charged emotion against the calming voice of reason. It is not an easy read. There are harsh truths, but truths that need to be addressed and heeded. His voice is the voice of many and the voice of few, but all demand you hear them. Powerful and moving.When I finished reading it, I felt as if I'd been shot in the back with many arrows and was left carrying around holes in my heart.

this is the legend of how the first strawberries came into being, and it's kind of nice because it's a love story. i'm going to summarize it so if you don't want to know skip over.

one day a husband comes home from hunting to find his wife picking flowers instead of cooking. he angrily reprimands her for this and she indignantly walks off. the husband immediately feels sorry for getting so angry and tries to catch up to his wife to apologize but she's too fast for him so he asks the sun to slow her down. the sun shines itself on various berries but the wife is too angry to see them so the sun makes strawberries right on the ground so the wife would see them, and voila the first strawberries. the wife sees them and thinks to herself that it would be nice to share these with her husband so stops to pick some. the husband catches up to her and they live happily ever after.

it was a nice story. i enjoyed it.

This Cheyenne tale is a great lesson about how words of anger hurt and about forgiveness. Also a nature pour-quoi tale! Can be shared easily with very young, important message for older boys and girls as well as adults. After reading this, eating strawberries will be just a little sweeter!

A wonderful story that teaches a timeless lesson. Everyone married or yearning to be should read it. Now I always get strawberries to follow-up an arguement.

I love this book both for it's great story and because it is a terrific resource for teachers. It's one of those books (like Where the Wild Things Are or Runaway Bunny) that just grabs kids up and speaks directly to things they are deeply connected to. In this case: inequity, anger and how to deal with those feelings.

If you are a teacher (or parent) and want a book that addresses these issues witout being overly complicated or inauthentic - run, don't walk and buy this wonderful book!

This beautifully illustrated lyrical book is very special. It's story of thoughtless words, anger and forgiveness is told simply, but powerfully. It is a lesson both adults and children can hear over and over. The lush watercolor illustrations are breathtaking. I buy this book as a wedding present, and read it on the last day of classes that I teach, and think of it whenever I bite into a ripe, sweet strawberry.

I have owned several editions and copies of this book, going way back to the first edition when I was 9. I used it to become one of the best fisherwomen in our family.
That first edition book got lost in my travels, so I got the new edition for my older daughter to use it for a ready reference for fishing tips when on trips. She is 25 now and is a good fisherwoman like her mother. That book eventually got lost too, so I got another new edition for my youngest daughter of 12 and also for myself so I can learn how to fish on the Southeast Coast of the United States. I am 50 now and still take the book with me whenever I go fishing in the Pacific Northwest as a ready reference on fishing rig set ups.

Aside from being a good, introductory guide to fishing, this book's artwork makes it a classic of 1960s artwork. The book contains great old photographs of men in waders, leaping tuna, and dead fish hanging from hooks, as well as terrifically kitschy drawings of various trout, reels, knots, and mahi-mahi.
The book is well organized and thorough, and even contains an index.
I'll keep my copy forever.

This is a great book for those who want to carry a concise reference on fishing. The book is easy to read and locating information is no problem.
I try to not leave home without a copy!

"Golden Books" were great for my children and grandchildren, and now their "Fishing", "A Guide To Fresh and Salt-water", book helps me with salt-water fish identification and tackle preparation. I have recently relocated to the S.C. coast and do a lot of salt-water fishing. With all of the rules and regulations relative to fish size and limits, "Fishing" comes in handy in identifying the fish caught so as not to run afoul of the "man" by having the wrong fish in the creel.

A powerful, pocket-sized introduction to the wide world of fishing. Excellent, extensive illustrations. I loved this book when I was a kid, and it still holds up well. I recommend it for anyone, child or adult, who is new to the angling arts.