North America Books

I picked up this book to skim it to check its eligibility for secondary school (second language) reading material, and ended up reading through the whole of this engaging story.

I'd definitely recommend it for teaching; Big ideas that lend themselves to good discussions, presented in very accessible language. The story is bound to appeal to a teenage audience--there is suspense, romance (a la romeo and juliet), social issues that are easy to relate to.

Though it tends to hit you over the head with the political statements, the book has some worthy things to say, and it does so through the story of star-crossed teens living in a reverse-racism/bravenewworldish fashion.
The ending surprised me (I hadnt expected the tear-kerking realism)... though I wish there hadnt been an added bit to this edition, which apparently was published afterwards elsewhere. The orginal, more poignant ending was best.

As a teen, I absolutely loved this book! I finished it and for weeks on end i couldn't stop thinking about it. I know that this book ( no joke) made me think in different ways about the world and about love...it utterly took my breath away! There is definitly something about the way the author writes that keeps you wanting more and also keeps you questioning...Though it is a great book for teens , with a lovely message, I don't recommend to adults for it might seem a bit like the Romeo and Juliet more destined for teens (yet when i read it, i made absolutely no connection between romeo and juliet). I adored the book and so far, everyone who reads it can't put it down and it becomes they're favorite book too, hands down, no question about it!

This book was intended for children and it's well written for that age group. I didn't really appreciate the soap opera-style plot, which includes a lot of unnecessary drama. It really put things in perspective for me personally though, because it changes the societal postitions of blacks and whites in a very interesting manner. A better book about oppression would be "Tesitmony of an Irish Slave Girl" because it discussed the position change without, again, the unnecessary drama.

This book is the most powerful book i have read in ages! it has a heartbreaking plot and left me crying! Its about the relationship between two people of different race and how they keep their freindship during the times of racism, discrimination. The events in this book are interesting especially the ending. Unforgetable! cant wait to read the next book in the trilogy.I recomend this book to people ages over 12.

break your heart, startling, gripping. it left me crying. a powerful story that makes you question the death penalty, and really make your heart ache. don't read to children under 11. Unforgettable. Malorie Blackman did it again. I read the sequel, too - just as heartbreaking and stunning as the first one. This book is a wake-up call.

Damn this book is Flawless it has Olympic stats it has some stats on the old players. The Only thing missing was 1892-1917 stats for players who did not play in the NHA or The NHL. I love the sections on the stats it has the players complete minor league and college stats as well as his Pro stats. It has the place he was drafted and all the transactions. This book has a wrap up of the Draft from 1965-1998 and does a fantastic job at it. The Stats and the Draft coverage is the best.

this book has anything and everything you want to know about hockey its almost to much stuff

If you like hockey, hate hockey, or do not know anything about the inarguably-greatest sports ever, then you definantly need this book. It's a great price too, believe it or not, and it's my personal bible. Anything I need to know about hockey is right here, every single player and all.

This book can tell you everything you every wanted to know about hockey and the tradition of hockey. You get to see so many stats about all the teams and the players of the NHL. A must have for all Hockey fans and players of the wonderful game.

I'm one of those schleps who had the misfortune of investing the CDN $70.00+ dollars on this book when it first came out, only to learn that many of the (in particular non-NHL) statistics were inaccurate or missing completely. This is understandable for the very early players, but still, it seems as though more effort should have been put into this initially. I am interested in the old Hamilton Tigers franchise, and prior to getting the book had already done some research into the early careers of some of the players. Right off, I noticed that there were problems with the Leo Reise and Goldie Prodgers listings. These--and no doubt innumerable others--were rectified in the later edition, but that is little consolation for me. I made my investment, and unless I can find the revised edition cheap, I have no intention on blowing more money just to finally get what I should have gotten in the first place. Still, it has been a useful book at times, so it's not a complete loss, I guess.

This is what history is all about. I have read few history books as good as this one. It's readable, it's complete, it's unbiased, it sheds light on a previously hidden topic, it moves you in ways you would never have imagined. It seems funny to say about a 500+-page book on such a horrible subject, but it was a real page-turner, a book you simply couldn't put down.

The real strength of this book is in simply uncovering what happened. The scope and the enormity of the crime is really overwhelming, and Dray gets this across in a masterful way. His accomplishment is in treating each lynching individually, in all its horror, but also in tying the individual lynchings together in a real narrative.

And that narrative can be surprisingly positive, provided primarily by the people and organizations - Ida Wells, W.E.B. DuBois, the NAACP, Clarence Darrow, et al - who brought light to the topic and shame to the nation that would tolerate something like this.

You will learn a lot reading this book. Did you know, for example, that lynchings were more likely to involve immolation, that descration of the corpse was the primary goal, that all of this took place in a picnic-like atmosphere, that they were advertised beforehand, that souvenirs and postcards were all part of the deal? Did you know that only 7 states did not have lynchings, that they occured in places like Minnesota and Pennsylvania, that plenty of whites and Latinos and Asians were lynched too?

It makes you really wonder about this country. As one of the victims of the Peekskill riots in NY said: "As the stones kept coming, all I could of think of was: This is not America. This is Nazi Germany. I don't want to live like this." It makes you understand why WEB DuBois simply gave up and emigrated to Ghana, where he died and is buried.

I had only two beefs with the book. One was the role the author accorded two white, Southern-based organizations - the Commission on Interracial Cooperation and the Association of Southern Women for the Prevention of Lynching. I simply did not see them playing that big of a role. It reminded a little of the movies with a non-white cast but a white hero or "interpreter" (Dances with Wolves comes immediately to mind).

The other is that the book touches on, but doesn't really discuss, what's behind all this. The behavior seems so extreme (I liken it to a sadistic serial killer) that it begs some deep psychological explanation - i.e., how can human beings act like that? But I guess that's another book. I'd love to hear from anyone who's read something covering that topic.

This is a very informative book. It certainly shed light on a shameful slice of American history.

This is history book in the purest sense of what a history book should be yet this book is much more than a history of American Violence against African Americans, it's a history of how civilization can be repressive and savage despite it's seemingly enlightened ideology. Philip Dray doesn't hold back in painful details of lynching, the dynamics and psychology behind the mob mentality, and how people actively seek to uphold an illusion of law and order from the bigoted vigilantes to the unsympathetic courts. Collectively we have tried and still continue to try to supress the history of slavery and the bloody history subsequent racial violence. This book needs to be required reading in our schools as a counter to other so-called history texts admonishing certain fathers of the nation.

This book was not only shipped within 2 days but in new condition. The book itself is very informative about other things than lynching. It talks about various people related to the anti-lynching movement tons of other things. I'm currently using this as a text book for a college class. This is a great teaching resource! Buy the book, you won't forget it!

Quite possibly the best, most well-researched book I've ever read. A smooth read, impeccable use of historical sources, and a clear narrative account of the most tragic era in American history. For scholars who research or teach in the area of social control, legal, and extra-legal punishment, you *cannot* have a full grasp of the topic unless you read Dray's work. A fine work of history...the author is to be commended.

You can take all the faux adventure movies cobbled together with computer graphics and franchise action stars, roll them into a wad, and chuck them out the window. This simple book remains one of the most gripping, heart-in-your-mouth adventures ever written. It's history, but it's pure fiction.

The historical part is straightforward. A band of marauding Spaniards conquered the New World for the greater glory of money, slaves, the queen, and god, in that order. They fought off superior numbers, disease, incessant war, mutiny, plots, and desperate odds to subdue and enslave an entire continent. They rammed their foreign gods down the throats of the natives on the point of a sword, and by their victory turned Spain into one of the world's greatest powers.

The fiction is more astounding, of course, than the history. Bernal Diaz truly believes, at least in his old age, that murder, rapine, and enslavement were acts of fealty to Christ. He sees the treachery of Cortes as being more than offset by the horrific practices of human sacrifice practiced by the Aztecs. He sees the subjugation of the New World as the very just price of European progress and civilization.

Between the historical reality of Cortes's military victory and the fictional account that justifies the war and its atrocities lies a gripping narrative that will shock and astound you with its simple prose and matter of fact description of battles won, lives lost, and a continent brought under force of Spanish arms. This is both the best historical work I've ever read and one of the finest tales of pure fancy and imagination in Western literature.

If I could rate this work greater than five stars, I would. Not that it's the most erudite of tales but simply because it is the truth as Bernal Diaz experienced it. Almost certainly, it isn't one hundred percent accurate for Diaz' experiences are necessarily modified by the years separating his experiences from his writing of it. Nor was he, or any other member of the Cortez' expedition, an anthropologist, ethnographesr, scientist or even a particularly accurate observer. They were simple men--brave men, brutal men, trapped men--bent on plunder.

Still the Bernal Diaz memoirs are as good as it gets regarding the Conquest of Mexico and, as such, is an invaluable account. I find his account so important that I used it as my primary source in researching my novels--"Skull Rack" and "Hummingbird God"--on the Conquest of Mexico. I loved it when Diaz remarks towards the end of his account that, even in his old age, he wasn't able to sleep the night through. He "had to get up and look around." It's fascinating to note that basic human nature doesn't really change. Bernal Diaz del Castillo was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder induced by the fearful events of his two year battle in Mexico. Also, I loved it when he commented--also toward the end of his tale--that "although we robbed the Indiains, Cortez robbed his soldiers even more."

Cortez, for all his brillianace, luck and perseveranace, was, at the end, nothing more than a common thief.

Ron Braithwaite

I purchased this book intending to get an unbiased view of the Spanish exploration of the New World. That is a difficult task given the nature of 20th & 21st Century academia.

This text, an eye witness account of what happened on real explorations, more than satisfies my objective. What's more, it's as exciting as can be... kind of like Star Wars... exploring new worlds, defeating the bad guys and establishing new alliances.

Excellent work.

When I first read the 1800 English translation, I could not put it down. Here are the first lines--a real grabbers! "In the year 1514, I left Castile (Spain) in company with Pedro Arias de Avila, who was then appointed governor of Tierra Firma (east Panama)...but afterwards suspicious that his son-in-law had an intention of revolting, he caused him to be beheaded."

Bernal's description of the Aztec city of Tenochtitlan is amazing: "To many of us it appeared doubtful whether we were asleep of awake; nor is the manner in which I express myself to be wondered at, for it must be considered, that never yet did man see, hear or dream of anything equal to the spectacle which appeared to our eyes on this day."

And how about this magnificent line: "And now, let who can, tell me, where are men in this world to be found, except ourselves, who would have hazarded such an attempt."

And here is the horrific vision the Spaniards beheld when they climbed to the top of the great Aztec temple-pyramid. Remember that nearby, and looming up like a nightmare, was the stupendous "tzompantli," or skull rack. By careful Spanish count, it contained the grinning remains of 136,000 human beings.

"In this place they had a drum of most enormous size, the head of which was made of the skins of large serpents: this instrument when struck resounded with a noise that could be heard to the distance of two leagues, and so doleful that it deserved to be named the music of the infernal regions; and with their horrible sounding horns and trumpets, their great knives for sacrifice, their human victims, and their blood besprinkled altars, I devoted them, and all their wickedness to God's vengeance, and thought that the time would never arrive, that I should escape from this scene of human butchery, horrible smells, and more detestable sights."

The Conquest takes on a different color when seen through the eyes of the Spanish. Yes, they were greedy and cruel, but the scale of human sacrifice practiced by the Aztecs was beyond imagination. It is said that some twenty thousand people were sacrificed for the dedication of the Temple of the Sun. The Aztec priests worked for hours on end cutting out human hearts. They worked until they collapsed from exhaustion.

Bernal's history is also interesting for another entirely different reason. Joseph Smith (born 1805), the Mormon prophet, came of age during the period of English translations of Spanish histories (Bernal's in 1800 in London, and 1803 in the US, and Clevigero's "History of Mexico" in 1806 in Virginia and 1817 in Philadelphia).

Therefore, the golden splendor of the Spanish conquests of Mexico and Peru was fresh on everyone's mind, especially because the Spanish colony of Florida had become an American state (1821).

Thus, any notion that Americans were unaware of the great civilizations of ancient America is without foundation in real history. Ancient civilizations in America were so on the mind of people that in 1816, Solomon Spaulding wrote a history about a white and dark race in ancient America. His novel, "Manuscript Found," had the white race of mound builders destroyed by a darker-skin race.

Read my review of Robert Silverberg's magnificent book, "The Mound Builders of Ancient America: The Archaeology of a Myth." A must-read for anyone interested in the archaeology and myths about ancient America. Click here: Mound Builders

Diaz was one of the soldiers who accompanied Cortez to invade the Aztec Empire. His account is one of the best we have of the whole affair. It is not written with much bias and was written to discount historical myths after the invasion had taken place. It is very analytical at times and his analysis of what happened is given added authority since he was present at the events. If you want to understand what happened this is a great book to read.

This book is so full of spirit growing information that I've had to read through and review it over and over... It just keeps presenting MORE to think about and absorb!

I have been studying this book, Dancing the Dream, since I purchased it in the year 2000. I have had 8 years to work through the 7 Paths, and I love how I am still working through them. This is my airplane book, that goes with me on long voyages, so I can think and reflect about the next path I will read about. What wake-up calls have I had that have changed my life forever? It's amazing to look back and count them all, and then see how my life has progressed after I had learned my last lesson. Are there people who master all of these levels? I am sure there must be, or the book would never have been written. I look forward to my own personal growth, as well as to gain some more understanding as I work with others with this material, and increase my awareness while I am Dancing My Dream. Andrea Samadi, author of The Secret for Teens Revealed: How Parents, Teachers, and Teenagers Can Inspire Leadership and Transform Lives

Sams is a profoundly gifted writer and spiritual teacher. I highly recommend this book to anyone on the spiritual path.

This book is easy to read, with sensible suggestions that can be incorporated into your life with relative ease.

Jamie Sams once again takes us on a journey through the layers of our spirit by bringing a complete understanding to the path we walk.

This book is about a hot bed of baketball in inner N.Y.C. namely Bklyn in the mid 70's When the King wasn't called Lebron James, but King Albert (Albert King) averaging 44 a game in H.S. he was hailed & christianed the greatest ever to come out of New York City (although his pro career did not live up to the billing Albert & brother Bernard will always be fondly remembered). This book is about Albert and his come up through Bedstuy and so forth. It also gives you an inside look at some of BK'S playground legends circa 1970's and some of their tragic downfalls. The best N.Y.C. ball-book ever written will always be "The City Game" by Pete Axthlem, but this is a close 2nd.

Rick Telander brings all together all the great themes of basketball in this unforgettable book. He stays true to the sport and never strays too far from it (or its many characters). With great books, readers say they never want to see the characters potrayed in the movie because it will never live up to the image/character they've envisioned. In "Heaven Is A Playground", I never want to see Fly Williams or Albert King play ball because I'd rather keep the court wizardry, provided by Telander, permanently embedded in my brain.

This is the best book on basketball I've ever read. First read it when I was a kid in the late '70's, and it still rings as true today. Just about the best sportswriting ever.

I read this book around '93, just after having read the "white version" in both Larry Bird's biography and autobiography. What was interesting was these two very similar yet distinct experiences and how they related to my own experience, growing up it what would seem like a very safe and socially adjusted rural town.

Heaven is a Playground was a departure for me in to a world where basketball had the utmost symbolic and cultural meaning - where legends were born and died and everybody else was willing to take the gamble. Was basketball more a sacrifice of a better future (missing school) or a one shot escape from certain poverty? Telander would probably argue the latter. What I found interesting was that only a few of the characters in the story actually had the potential for professional basketball, yet all the other young men seemed (unconsciously) willing to sacrifice their own futures for those players. Not so much blinded by their dreams they were living them.

Certainly some other reviewers have me beat in the department of basketball-related literature, but I count "Heaven Is A Playground" amongst the many social science books that I have read. And indeed, it matches up quite well with the best reads of the past few decades. On the surface, the book seems to be about inner-city basketball, but within the pages, it is a complete dissection of the (one segment) inner city African-American man.

The amazing book "Tally's Corner" managed the same feat in its analysis of street corner men. Both have achieved great feats with their respective works. For basketball fans like myself, "Heaven Is A Playground" not only reads as great/sad/true/mystifying social commentary, but also as plain sports entertainment. Rick Telander, as a sports writer, was really able to hit home with the writing, really giving readers a feel of the 1970s game - which has many similarities and differences to the game of today.

Another great aspect of the book is that it reads as if you there. Telander makes only the necessary analysis in the pages about what went on, and basically leaves the facts as they are. The book could have easily become a textbook lesson on sociological concepts, a lofty preaching on the ills of inner city life, or a rambling 200+ page play-by-play. Fortunately, the easy going style of writing is great journalism. Telander's style fit me well.

Thanks Rick for a great read.

"Hope is the Thing with Feathers" profiles 6 North American bird species that are now extinct: the Carolina Parakeet, Ivory-Billed Woodpecker, Heath Hen, Passenger Pigeon, Labrador Duck (Sand Shoal Duck), and the Great Auk. Most of these species became extinct -or were presumed to be extinct in the case of the Ivory-Billed Woodpecker- in the early 20th century, although the Labrador Duck and Great Auk disappeared in the 19th century with less documentation. Author Christopher Cokinos takes the reader on his personal journey to learn about these birds and shares with us all that he finds. He discusses where these species were, what the birds ate, what is known of how they behaved, why they became extinct -which is not always clear, and the people who studied them. Of particular interest to me are the detailed accounts of the last living birds of these species, some of whom were closely observed.

I was surprised to learn that humans did try to protect most of these species at some point before they were wiped out. It was often a case of too little too late, but the disturbing thing is that legislation designed to protect the birds was sometimes passed with time to spare but was not adequately enforced. It isn't as if the extinctions took people by surprise. The greatest threat to the birds was loss of habitat, i.e. logging of old growth forests, but disease, politics and hunting played their parts. How extraordinary that the ubiquitous passenger pigeon, once the most populous bird in the world at a frightening 3-5 billion, up to 2 billion in a single flock, could be completely wiped out in about 50 years due to overhunting and loss of mast-producing forests. Even those familiar with the passenger pigeon's demise will find some new information here. Christopher Cokinos has dug up and verified the details of the shooting of the last wild passenger pigeon by Press Clay Southworth in 1900, including an account in Mr. Southworth's own written words.

I wish there were more photographs of the lovely Carolina Parakeet, but the 2 photos that are included are truly engaging. It's astonishing that this bright, affectionate, adorable parrot that could easily be bred in captivity was allowed to die out. If profit could not coax anyone to breed the birds for the pet trade, the degree of apathy is incomprehensible. I have often read that the Carolina Parakeet was hunted to extinction by farmers protecting their crops, but Cokinos takes issue with that claim, asserting that the major cause was habitat loss, but why the species died out entirely seems to be a mystery. "Hope Is the Thing with Feathers" is an evocative and informative chronicle of 6 North American bird species that are no more, some of which were quite common in their day. It must have been remarkable to look out the window and see a flock of shimmering green Carolina Parakeets in the trees -in the dead of winter, no less!

Although it chronicles several chapters of bull-headed human stupidity, this book also documents the painstaking efforts of the many people who worked hard to save these vanished creatures, and offers some hope that the future need not repeat the past. At times sad, but also funny, and even joyful despite the material.

In _Hope is the Thing with Feathers_ (the title is taken from a line in an Emily Dickinson poem), author Christopher Cokinos sought to relay some of the natural and human history of six vanished birds of North America.

The first bird he examined is the Carolina Parakeet, once a relatively common bird that ranged in noisy flocks across the eastern U.S., north to Illinois, Ohio, Indiana, Wisconsin, and New York, south to the Gulf Coast states, west to Kansas, Nebraska, and eastern Colorado. This bird with a "luminous plumage of green, yellow and red" frequented wooded rivers and bottomlands. Once a delight to many Americans the birds unfortunately were persecuted as a threat to crops, for the caged bird industry, and for the demands of women's fashion. Cokinos suggested though that the main cause for its extinction was habitat destruction. Two related theories of extinction were that the thick bamboo canebrakes once common in the bird's range were mostly cleared out for farmland. In addition to providing food, the bamboo may have given a vital breeding stimulus to the bird (as like bamboo, the parakeets apparently did not breed each year). The second theory is that the bird may have been denied the hollow trees it required for roosting and nesting by the rapid spread across the continent by the European honeybee.

Next Cokinos had a lengthy section on the Ivory-Billed Woodpecker, once known as the Lord God Bird (presumably because observers would blurt "Lord God!" when they spied the nearly two foot long bird with the two and a half foot wingspan). Once the second largest woodpecker in the world (Mexico's Imperial Woodpecker is larger) it ranged across bottomland forests and swamps in the South, west to eastern Texas, north to Missouri, southern Illinois, southern Indiana, and southern Ohio. Though hunted (later largely by collectors, shooting it in fact because they were going extinct), the bird appears to have perished due to habitat destruction. An extreme specialist, it occupied a niche "almost as slender as a feather;" it primarily fed upon beetle larvae from trees that had only been dead for two or three years. Though they also included seeds and fruits in their diets, they became extremely site dependent on places that yielded the larvae that they favored. Interesting coverage of the Brand-Cornell University-American Museum of Natural History Ornithological Expedition led by Arthur Allen that set out in 1935 on a 15,000 mile scientific expedition to record the sounds of wild birds using brand new technology - one of the places they visited was the Singer Tract in Louisiana where news came out that the last Ivory-bills were found; and the bitter (and lost) fight to save the Singer Tract from destruction by loggers.

Next Cokinos examined the Heath Hen, an extinct subspecies of Greater Prairie Chicken. The bird once favored dry, brushy habitat with low trees as well as meadows from Maine to the Carolinas (though primarily from New Jersey up to Connecticut and Massachusetts). Once called by naturalists - along with its western cousin - the pinnated grouse owing to the dangling neck feathers on the males called pinnae - the bird perished on the American mainland by 1870 thanks to loss of habitat due to fire suppression and farming as well as relentless overhunting. The bird survived on the island of Martha's Vineyard and Cokinos covered at length the intense struggle as well as the political infighting over trying to save the bird there. Despite intense hunting of "vermin" (including feral cats, rats, owls, and hawks), planting of crops to feed the Heath Hen, and other efforts, through a run of bad luck the bird finally perished; the last of its kind apparently died in 1932 in the wild, known from close examination to have been an incredibly old male seven to nine years in age (average lifespan in the wild was one year). The author discussed efforts to reintroduce the Greater Prairie Chicken to Martha's Vineyard while highlighting the plight of the possibly doomed Attwater's Prairie-Chicken of Texas and Louisiana, which in 1999 has a total population of 146.

The Passenger Pigeon was the next subject. After impressing upon the reader just how astronomically abundant it once was (one early 1800s flock was estimated to have 2.2 billion birds and a nesting colony in Wisconsin as late as 1871 covered 850 square miles and had 135 million birds), Cokinos related how this bird was systematically destroyed by market hunters, for a time by the cruel trapshooting business (birds were collected to serve as live target practice), and due to habitat clearance (the birds were heavily reliant on the massive amount of mast (nuts) produced by oak, chestnut, and beech trees). The author went into a great deal of detail about the last known wild pigeon ("Buttons," so called because once mounted its eyes were in fact buttons for a time) and the last pigeon period ("Martha" from the Cincinnati Zoo).

A smaller chapter focuses on the Labrador Duck. A handsome sea duck also called the Skunk Duck and Pie or Pied Duck, this somewhat poorly known waterfowl had a large and odd-looking bill that aided the bird in its search for sand-buried shellfish. The range of the bird was the eastern seaboard though where it bred is still open to conjecture. Cokinos and others speculated that the bird - never common to start with - may have perished due to loss of shellfish due to overharvesting and sewage runoff and thanks to increased ice packs from the Little Ice Age (which lasted till the 1850s), which may have interfered with breeding sites and aided some predators.

Cokinos closed with a by comparison slim chapter on the Great Auk, an interesting chapter that could have been a bit longer. I was struck by the long human contact with them - their images have been found in 20,000 year old French cave art and bones in 4,000 old Newfoundland graves - with care they could have survived to today.

This is a great book.

It's a sad one in realizing the destruction of various bird species. The chronicles of various species during the late 19th/early 20th century are astonishing to read. It was incredible to read and learn of biologists determined to collect species before they vanished - rather than attempt to preserve them.

Particularly entertaining (in an ironic and sick sort of way) was the tale of the last man to shoot the last Passenger Pigeon. The author did an incredible amount of research and weaves a delightful short story worthy of the purchase of this book in itself.

The writing is simple yet incredibly deep; it brings home an important and moving message that can be understood by a variety of audiences - even those who may not be particularly interested in nature, birds or environmental causes. Poetic and beautifully wrapped up. The only troubling portion of the book is the outcome of the fate of these species - obviously not the fault of the author, who provides a hope of preserving "what we still have" - it is moving, nonetheless ...

A wonderful book!!!

...From the second line of the Emily Dickinson poem that both inspired Cokinos and gave him his title for the book. It is only natural that a poet would look to Dickinson and it is appropriate that it is this form which guides this book. HOPE IS THE THING WITH FEATHERS is indeed a poetic and lyrical description of the symbolic significance of six vanished species of North American birds.

The Carolina parakeet, Heath Hen, Great Auk, Passenger pigeon, Labrador duck and Ivory-billed woodpecker have with their passing come to represent for Cokinos a lot more than simply another group of vanished species. They are emblematic of lost time, effort, habitat, environment, and are missing slice of life. Poignant as his descriptions of their loss is, there is always an element of hope that suffuses each of his chapters.

Cokinos with this book successfully blends history with a little bit of biology and adds just enough personal observation and insight. The mix works and his writing is excellent. There is enough science here to satisfy those who wish to remain at a respectable distance. For those who don't mind getting close there is sufficient reason - through what these birds represent about our past and future on this planet - to allow them to come and perch in your soul.

Lee: The Last Years

This is a wonderful book about a wonderful man. Although Robert E. Lee is most remembered as a General, for most of his adult life, he was an engineer and educator (although in the army). Mr. Lee could have become very wealthy after the war by simply allowing his name to be used commercially. However, he wanted to make a contribution and did so by accepting the position as President of Washington College. He seldom spoke of the war and brought no military flavor to the College.

There is an argument that Robert E. Lee is responsible for more American dead than any other single individual. The difficult part of this book is tying to tie that Robert E. Lee to the man he was in his last five (5) years. He played Santa at Christmas, broke up a lynching, stroked the ego of his horse Traveller, was a good family man, looked out for the under dog and took care of his students, even when they were in trouble. How he handled all these situations, often minor by standards of the war, brings out the essence of the man including his character, values, wit and subtle humor.

I have read/studied history and biography for 40 years. I have spent more time on Robert E. Lee than any other individual and this book someway brings all my study of Mr. Lee together and puts it in perspective. I highly recommend this book to anyone with any interest in American History. Thanks Mr. Flood.

Outstanding biography of the man. Much has been written about the general, this book brings the humble father, husband and Christian man to life.

I've long considered myself a student of Southern history and the Civil War. Heck, I've been a historian at museums so I think I have a pretty good knowledge of the Civil War era. Furthermore, I live in Virginia and have been to the campus of Washington and Lee University. However, nearly every page of Charles Bracelen Flood's work on Robert E. Lee's post-war years is full of information I've never heard about. Flood has used many differing sources to pull together a wonderful, highly readable account of Lee's years after the war, how he came to be President of Washington College, and his role in the reconstruction of this country. What jumps out off the pages is that for as much as Lee has been studied and idolized for his exploits on the battlefield, his postwar years as President of the college should get just as much press. While Lee did not think defending his native state was wrong, he did wish for both North and South to reconcile as quickly as possible. After reading the book, I still do not think Lee is the god that some people hold him up to be, but he does stand out as a good man who wanted to bring the nation back together while also helping his fellow Southerners get back on their feet. While Flood's writing can be unimaginative at times and I thought he threw in little stories and vignettes that he didn't need too, the book is excellent overall and should be a must read for anyone interested in Lee. However, the book is such an easy, good read that I think almost anyone should pick it up.

Bracelen Flood clearly does extensive research in order to render this intimate and engrossing portrayal of Lee.

Lee: The Last Years was well worth reading. A must for anyone who wants to know a little more of the Rest of The Story about a fine American, though much misunderstood.

If the human race could knoww the ancient knowledge it will be easy to live in peace, as a family between us as a real family and with respect to the Mother Nature, learning from Her EVERYTHING, specially, humility.

Easy to read and understand. Very "down to earth". A guide book to preparing the necessary items and tools of the Native culture. Very well written.

Eagle Man (Ed McGaa) shares his knowledge of Lakota Sioux spiritual practices as a way to include everyone who wants to heal our world. He calls those who revere Mother Earth and want to ensure her continuation, Rainbow People. He writes in an intimate way, as if talking with friends. He describes the meaning of the various rituals and myths and shares helpful information about how non-Native people may or may not participate. In addition to his personal journey and the sacred practices, he details techniques for building a sweat lodge, making a peace pipe and more. A fascinating book which has earned a place in my personal library.

If you're interested in Native American Spirituality then I would read most all of Eagle Man's books. He provides great insight into the Native American beliefs and customs.Personally I believe his books should be used in high school and colleges to allow others the opportunity to understand our Native American Indian brothers and sisters.

I read this book while spending the summer backpacking around the Rocky Mountains. Anything that you carry around in a backpack for that long has to be worth the weight and this one definitely was.
Thanks Eagle Man! :)

A most comprehensive source of information on this tragedy. Well written and well organized. Nicely stocked with period photographs.

A must have for any library on this subject.

This is the most outstanding book I have ever read. The pictures, the information, it could not have been written better. Anyone would love this book. Those who are in search of unique pictures would find this book invaluable, likewise those who are in search of information, facts, nowhere else seen loss of property claims would too find this book invaluable. Upon seeing this book in the book shop (I did not buy it here) I gave it absolutely no second thought and regardless of price bought it. I am a Titanic historian and I'm picky about the books I buy, and this book is just about the best book in my collection. Don't hesitate, buy it, you will not regret it.

I found this book in my local library and took it out to read. However as soon as I got it home and looked through it I was enthralled by the pictures. The text was fairly standard fare although some of the earlier chapters had interesting info concerning the planning and construction of Titanic. The pictures steal the show and they made up my mind to buy this book for myself as such pictures need to be looked at and digested over months and years rather than the few weeks one has with a library book. If you have any interest in Titanic - BUY IT.

John P. Eaton and Charles A. Haas already known for their very involved Titanic research and dives in Nautile (IFREMER's Titanic submersible} have done a beautiful Titanic book describing stateroom's the voyage building and sinking in a beautiful 352 pages have put together a book which in itself is as good as Titanic: An Illustrated History. Gives insurance claims Philadelphia first class passenger mrs. Cardeza filed for 18 suitcaces , 3 trunks and a medicine kit . A book which many experts (Myself included ) Love . Excellent for any Titanic Buff!

I must say this is the most comprehensive book on the Titanic I have yet seen. Every facet of the liner's history from its origins to the wreck exploration is covered. Each chapter includes pictures of everything connected to the ship. Anyone with any interest in Titanic at all should have a copy.

I did think the authors could have done better with their chapter on the sinking itself though. As it is they wrote little text and tell the story through picture captions! It is as if a book on the Kennedy assassination covered details of the flight to Dallas and then said little about the shooting itself. I also feel the authors were a bit too soft on Lord of the Californian.