United States Books

Holling Hoodhood is Presbyterian. Normally that isn't a problem, except on Wednesday afternoons when the Jewish kids go to Temple and the Catholic kids go to Catechism. That leaves just Holling in Mrs. Baker's 7th grade class at 2pm, much to her chagrin. Initially she tries to send him back to 6th grade math, but when that fails she puts him to work. She has him pounding the chalk dust out of the erasers (they used to do that back in 1967) but that ends up in a minor disaster. So she decides they will spend their time more productively by reading Shakespeare. Holling isn't convinced this is a productive use of his time, but he learns to appreciate it in different ways and learns a few other - more important - things as well.

Told from Holling's perspective, this is the kind of book I loved to read as a kid but doesn't come along often enough. It'll have you alternately laughing out loud and drying your eyes as he goes through the 7th grade year. He's convinced Mrs. Baker hates him, his older sister wants to be a "flower child," his dad is consumed with building his achitectural business, and his friends are mad at him because he got a creme puff. And wait till you hear what he has to wear! Whether you grew up in the 60s or are growing up now, this book will resonate with some of the ridiculous situations we occasionally find ourselves in, and the sometimes painful process of finding our way in the world. Parents and kids alike will love this book and I'm planning to get it on audiobook for the car on our next family trip. Very highly recommended!

I loved this book! I bought it because my kid will be on the Pentathlon Team at school and she needs to read it for competition. I thought I'd start reading it just to get an idea of what she would read and I couldn't put it down! It gives a great feel for what life was like growing up in the sixties (that's 1960s) through the eyes of a middle schooler. If you lived through the 60s, it's a great look back, and if you weren't there in the 60s, it gives an idea of what life was like.

I went to a presentation by the author, I sat next to a kid who probably didn't think reading was cool, and going to see the author was less cool. I asked him which book he'd read, he said the Wednesday Wars. I said what did you think? He said it was good, you know, for a book. After the author finished discussing the Wednesday Wars and his inspiration for the book I elbowed the boy next to me and said What do you think now? He said I think I like, you know more than before.

This book is just what I like, it makes you laugh, it makes you cry, it makes you think and it makes you smile. I read Macbeth for the first time in 7th grade, I had to read a play for school, and my dad handed me MacBeth and said I think you'll like this, I groaned heavily, but I read it, and then I read the rest of Shakespeare's plays. I got an A for being the only kid to tackle Shakespeare. I will leave all the other reviews to disect the plot for you. I think to really benefit from a book this good both the young adult and the parents should read it. As for Mr. Schmidt he is still one of my very favorite writers for young people, and I hope he writes for a very long time!

In an effort to work my way through Newbury winner/honor books, I picked up the Wednesday Wars - and what a treat this turned out to be!

Holling Hoodhood reminded me of a combination of Holden Caulfield, Scout Finch, and Anne Shirley. There were times when I laughed out loud, and other times when I felt tears running down my face. What a wonderful, unique, yet totally believable character. Never again will I take for granted a cream puff.

Supporting characters, particularly Mrs. Baker, are deep and rich, and the backdrop of the turbulent late 60's American is realistically portrayed. How sad I was to see this one end...

Do yourself a favor; I know that this is listed under young adult, but this one is a keeper for any age, so pick up a copy and enjoy the ride!

I'm a 12 year old kid and this is my favorite books EVER! I love it because it is action packed, also you never know what is going to happen next. I totally recommend The Mysterious Benedict Society. The second book
(The Mysterious Benedict Society And The Perilous Jouney) is just as good as the first! Make sure you read the first before you read the second, other wise you will not understand anything. These books are the kind of books you'll NEVER want to put down! I really hope Trenton Lee Stewart writes a third, fourth, fifth and sixth. These books are so good I started rereading the first, right after I finished the second.
I would read his books a thousand times and I totally 100% recommend these books to everyone and hope you love these books as much as I did. Absolutely 100% worth the money!!! HAPPY READING!!

I teach fourth grade and use this book every year to teach writing. I use it as an introduction on writing a descriptive essay on a place that is special to the child. I also use it to teach similes and metaphors. The children love this book and they really seem to "get it" when I point out the vivid descriptions and the similes and metaphors. The language in the book is just beautiful. It is one of my all time favorite children's books!

I am the parent who picks out books for the kids, whether it's at the library or the book store. It's not very often that my husband comments on my choices but this one he came to me right after our 3-yo daughter's bedtime and said how wonderful it is. The text is so lovely and tender, and the illustrations are so rich and lifelike. It really gives a sense of connection to both nature and family roots. A real pleasure for kids & parents alike.

I like this book very much and know that I will read it over and over to my grandchildren. The illustrations are excellent. The story is helpful (learning about the concept of history in a simple fashion) and told in a lyrical voice.

Patricia MacLachlan creates a heart warming masterpiece through a simple country family's connection with each other and their land. All the Places to Love begins with Eli's birth and his first view of the countryside his family calls home. Eli would soon grow to love this countryside through his experiences with his mother, father, and grandparents. They each have a place on the farm, which holds a special place in their heart. Mama loves the hill where she can see the sun rise on one side and set on the other. Papa love the fields and working in them. Grandma shares her love for the river with Eli as they sail notes down stream to one another. The barn grows special to Eli's heart after sharing experiences with Grandpa working in a place that brings joy to his life. Eli creates his personal getaway where the spring rains come and turn the meadows into marsh. The paintings by Mike Wimmer combined with the words by MacLachlan capture the passion filled anticipation of Eli as he awaits the birth of his baby sister. Eli is eager to show Sylvie "all the places to love."

The other reviews did a great job describing this book. I agree with what they said about the beauty, emotion, and love in this book. Here are my top two reasons why this is an important book:

1. Richness of language. Developmentally, if children are exposed to language rich in vocabulary, structure, and grammar, it helps in so many ways. If you read a sentence each out of stack of random Disney, Sesame Street and other character books they all sound the same. If that is all children hear they miss the richness of our language, and actually their ability to think in complex ways is affected. If you read a sentence each of books like this, you hear the difference.

2. Exposure to experience. If you read Richard Louv's Last Child in the Woods, you are familiar with the theory that children today have much less real contact with the natural world, and it is affecting them. Even in my own experience, I got to poke in creeks and catch crawdads, hike in woods by myself, eat warm tomatos and corn right out of the garden, and ride my bike all day and stop by the side of the road to eat the lunch I packed. My kids won't have those experiences, and even a school trip to Sunnydale Farm so the kids can line up and pet a cow won't make up for not having the experience of being alone and self-directed in a natural environment. This book doesn't, of course, replace a first hand experience, but I believe can give children some sense of an important experience in our cultural history that most children will not get any other way.

Before I picked up this book, I had no idea what a detailed and interesting history lay behind the explorations of the Arctic region. This is a truly fascinating book about man's determined quest to explore one of the last unexplored regions of the world.

This is a story of the search for the Northwest Passage, that elusive waterway that would let ships sail over the north of what is now Canada, instead of having to sail around the tip of South America. Even after the British had determined that the icy arctic conditions and the maze of islands made the Northwest Passage worthless as a commercial shipping route, they were still determined to find it anyway. Ship after ship headed to the Arctic to find the passage, sometimes spending two or three winters trapped in the ice, with only a few warm summer months each year in which to explore before the winter ice returned. Many men died, mostly because of the remarkable inability of the British Navy to learn from its mistakes, or more importantly, to learn from the natives, who had lived in the Arctic for thousands of years. The British sailors wore wool instead of fur and sealskin, refused to hunt (they didn't even know how), suffered from scurvy from their impractical diets, and hauled extremely heavy sledges over the ice with man power instead of dogs. Not only did the British fail to learn from the natives, but the natives also got less than their fair share of credit at the time for helping avert death and starvation for hundreds of expeditions over the years.

This is also a story of the quest to reach the North Pole. Early explorers held the belief that the top of the world was an open polar sea, and tried to sail all the way to the pole. Once that theory was abandoned, explorers tried other ways of getting there. One allowed his specially-designed boat to become trapped in the polar ice and then played a waiting game as the boat drifted with the ice. Another tried to float to the pole in a balloon. Many tried and failed to walk to the pole over the hundreds of miles of ice. And even when two explorers claimed to have seperately reached the pole in this fashion, their claims were dubious.

While this book is long and a bit heavy at times, it is worth it to stick with it. Pierre Berton has done his research, and he is an excellent writer. I look forward to reading more of his books.

This hefty door-stopper details the first century of Arctic exploration, from the intrepid but failed first expedition of British Navy commander Sir John Ross to the flawed triumph of America's Robert Peary, whose expedition to the North Pole made him an international hero -- though it was revealed decades later that Peary had faked his data and probably never actually reached the pole.

Berton was a great writer and historian, and he makes each of the explorers and their expeditions come alive in fascinating detail.
Tragically, most of the expeditions were failures that resulted in strandings, lost ships, horrible deaths from scurvy and starvation, and the loss of countless seasons that could have been used to further human knowledge and instead were spent waging a desperate battle just to survive. The march of human folly is on display in page after page of this book.

If you like history and are interested in explorers and what makes them tick, you will enjoy this book.

Reviewers: Liz Clare, co-author of the historical novel "To the Ends of the Earth: The Last Journey of Lewis and Clark"

Very rarely the reader is so moved by a book that he simply starts thinking about it around the clock. It is such a powerful book. For two weeks I couldn't think about anything else than Arctic and those people confined by and in the ice for often several years.

It is the book you will never forget. It is so powerful narrative.

Reader get accustomed with names like Lancaster Sound, Admiralty Inlet, Gulf of Boothia, King William Island etc. Reader feels urge to see those strange locations on a map.

I bought and read this book just out of curiosity about arctic exploration and the men behind the quests...I was very much awed at this spellbinding tale of adventure,loneliness,deprivation,life,death and above all the courage and determination of the individuals involved in the Artic explorations....I had no idea at all what to expect and after the first chapter was hooked till the very end...I recommend this book to anyone interested in history,explorers,'firsts'...I gave it 5 stars on everything...I wish there were more photos but the drawings were good and the maps explained a lot....READ IT !!!

This excellent book, first published in 1988, stands as a fitting memorial to the prolific and accomplished writer Pierre Berton, who passed away at age 84 as recently as November 31, 2004. It details the events and personalities of Arctic exploration over nearly a century, beginning in 1818 with the first British naval expedition of John Ross and Edward Parry, and the related disastrous first naval land expedition led by the oddly ineffectual John Franklin. It concludes with the strange twentieth century tales of Robert Peary and Frederick Cook, both of whom claimed to have reached the North Pole, though neither could prove actually to have done so (nor had they). Along the way we meet a host of players, including the indomitable Lady Jane Franklin, Admiralty puppeteer John Barrow, the underestimated arctic masters Edward Penny and John Rae; Robert McClure, M'Clintock, Charles Francis Hall, Sabine, Nares, Greely, Elisha Kent Kane, Nansen, Amundsen, a number of memorable Inuit personalities and a host of others.

The great strength of this account is the repeated demonstration that the outcome of almost every event in the drama depended ultimately on the characters and personalities of the major players, their strengths, weaknesses, flaws and ambitions, and their capacities to learn from the experiences of their predecessors and their Inuit contacts. This gives a Shakespearian, if not biblical, dimension to the history, which is ably exploited by Berton. The book is as much about explorers as exploration.

Berton's well-detailed sources include the numerous accounts of the explorers themselves, their biographers and ghost writers, and much archival material - letters, original field notes, official reports etc, all woven together in a skilful and compelling synopsis. The book can be heartily recommended!

A few matters are missed among the vast number of items covered, for example James Cook in HMS Discovery, shortly before his death in Hawaii, reached Barrow Point, Alaska, from Bering Strait in 1780, setting the target for Franklin and others exploring from the east. One would like to have read the story of the Oval Office "Resolute desk", donated to the American Presidency by Queen Victoria in 1880, and constructed from timber salvaged from HMS Resolute, a ship mentioned frequently by Berton. The icebound Resolute was abandoned at Bathurst Island, Melville Sound by the British in 1854. She released the following summer and was later found adrift in Baffin Bay by a US whaler, sold on to the US government, refitted and returned to the British with a gorgeously attired naval band, much panoply and splendid one-upmanship. Also that Amundsen eventually disappeared in the arctic in 1928 while on an aerial search for the wonderfully zany General Umberto Nobile and his downed dirigible Italia (watch those late-night movie listings for the excellent film Red Tent (Krashnaya palatka), in which Peter Finch plays Nobile and Sean Connery Amundsen). Most of all perhaps, that the first expatriate to fully traverse the north west passage (on McClure's Investigator to Banks Island in the west and Intrepid from Barrow Strait in the east, with much walking and sledging between the two) was Lieut. Samuel Gurney Cresswell, in 1853 (he departed for Britain ahead of the other former Investigator crewmen with the news that McClure and his men had traversed the elusive passage).

Many original works of relevance have appeared in recent years. Notable are the excellent commentaries and reprints of the first Franklin expedition journals and paintings of John Richardson, George Back and Robert Hood edited by C. Stuart Houston (Arctic Ordeal, Arctic Artist and To the Arctic by Canoe), and David C. Woodman's studies on the Inuit memories of Franklin and his lost crews (Unravelling the Franklin Mystery - Inuit Testimony and Strangers Among Us ( all published by McGill Queens UP). Also the hard-to-find and indispensable arctic chronology of Alan Cooke and Clive Holland (The Exploration of Northern Canada - Arctic History Press), a first version of which was used by Berton. Many others are well covered in Amazon.com documentation.

I've read all there is to read about Grant vs. Lee
but Rhea's works are the finest. From the Wilderness
to Cold Harbor, each book is a fascinating. There's no
way these books will ever leave my shelf! I usually reread
them every couple of years. Highly recommended!


Matt Looby

Having previously read Rhea's first volume on the 1864 Overland Campaign, I moved on to this work. Just like the first volume, Rhea has written a winner here. I had gotten somewhat tired of "military history" books because they were either overly detailed and dry and boring or they often focused too much on the commanders and not enough on the ordinary soldier. Well, no such problems with this book. Rhea has a very balanced prose focusing on the generals, the privates, and everyone in between. Furthermore, despite being full of enough detail for any military history buff, the book is very readable and Rhea writes in a style that makes you feel as if you are amongst the action, making you turn page after page. Other reviewers can probably write much better than I, but simply put, this book is a must have for anyone interested in military history or the Civil War.

I have recenty - in the past two ot three years - become interested in the Civil War. The Shelby Foote series is wonderful, but still leaves a lot of detail to be fleshed out. The more you read the more you want to know. Much about the War remains a mystery. The battles can be presented in much detail and Rhea's writing is clear and lucid. There is considerable detail in presenting excerpts from diaries, reports and the like to make the battles real from a human standpoint. The books are much like the work of Stephan Sears.
All are well written and enjoyable, although I do recommend a bit of lighter reading between volumes.
The only quibble that I have is with the maps. They often neglect detail that could help follow the action. Plaaces mentioned in the text are sometimes not to be found on the maps.
This complaint can be applied to virtually every Civil War book that I have read. If you are interested in the civil war, this series is excellent.

The Battle of the Wilderness May 5-6, 1864
Product Details
* Hardcover: 520 pages
* Publisher: Louisiana State University Press (July 1994)
* Language: English
* ISBN: 0807118737

The Battles for Spotsylvania Court House and the Road to Yellow Tavern May 7-12, 1864
Product Details
* Hardcover: 483 pages
* Publisher: Louisiana State University Press (May 1997)
* Language: English
* ISBN: 0807121363

To the North Anna River: Grant and Lee, May 13-25, 1864
Product Details
* Hardcover: 505 pages
* Publisher: Louisiana State University Press (May 2000)
* Language: English
* ISBN: 0807125350

Cold Harbor: Grant and Lee, May 26-June 3, 1864
Product Details
* Hardcover: 552 pages
* Publisher: Louisiana State University Press (September 2002)
* Language: English
* ISBN: 0807128031

I am reviewing the four books a single series although each book is a full stand-alone history. This is a highly detailed military history of Grant's Overland Campaign of 1864. Two of the best generals commanding two of the best armies, in American history, decide the Civil war in the East. Gordon Rhea gives this month the detailed attention it requires and had never received. The 2,000 pages allows for the full story of the campaign, the personalities, failures and success.

The first book covers the major battle of The Wilderness an area Grant wished to clear and Lee hoped to trap him in as he had Hooker in 1863. Through a series of Union miscalculations and command problems, Lee manages to get in Grant's way. What follows is a confused bloody two-day battle that has been termed "Bush whacking on a grand scale". An excellent series of maps, help the reader stay abreast of the battle and understand the confusion of both sides. Lee loses Longstreet and starts to make the hard decisions about personnel that he has avoided since 1862. Grant while testing his relationship with Meade and Burnside, is trying to learn the AOP's generals too. This process dominates the four books as repeatedly Grant is forced to deal with the problems this creates and Lee takes steps that were unthinkable in 1863.

The second book moves the battle from The Wilderness south to Spotsylvania and Yellow Tavern. Grant refuses to "play the game" and retreat behind the Rappahannock but pushes past Lee and continues south. What follows is a race from defensive point to defensive point, which the AOP concedes to the AoNV. Union commanders hesitate at critical moments while the AoNV reinforces the objective. This allows Lee to stay up or ahead producing one of the bloodiest battles in our history at Spotsylvania. In addition, this book covers the critical cavalry operations, Grant's reasoning, and the price paid in taking Sheridan away from Meade. J.E.B. Stuart's death, is well covered. Both in terms of what it means to the AoNV, to Lee and to the Confederacy.

After one of the hardest weeks in their history, the two exhausted bloodied armies eye each other over their entrenchments. Lee understands that he is being trapped and that defensive war can only end in defeat. Grant is trying not to be stuck in a siege and determined to continue south. What follows is a series of forced marches and small battles as Grant and Lee test each other. Each general wins and loses daily as the armies march, counter march and fight. However, at the end of each day, Grant is always closer to Richmond. Lee produces a brilliant trap, Grant takes the bait but circumstances keep lee from springing it. Almost to late, Grant sees the trap pulls back, changes direction and continues south. Book 3, To the North Anna River covers this brilliant and exciting time in detail. Rhea produces some excellent analysis of both commanders and the developing personnel problems they are facing. Neither man is having an easy time of it and both understand they have never faced an enemy like this.

The last book takes us to Cold Harbor, one of the most controversial battles of the war. The detail history and excellent analysis leads us through this battle and produces some startling conclusions. As always, the author provides full support and justification for them. This might be the most important book of the series and the definitive book on the battle of Cold Harbor.

Each book has a full set of maps and illustrations. The writing is uniform and very readable. While detailed, the actions are understandable and you are seldom lost in a sea of names and/or unit numbers. Each book is a stand-alone history and is readable as such. The books were published from 1994 to 2002 and had to be written that way. This is the best account of the Overland Campaign available. It is both an invaluable reference and a great reading experience.

The Battles for Spotsylvania Courthouse and the Road to Yellow Tavern
By Gordon C Rhea

Between the opening round in the Wilderness and the culminating blood-letting at Cold Harbor there were two other major areas of action in the Overland Campaign.

In volume two of Rhea's extraordinary four volume series the action moves out of the wilderness as Grant seeks to outflank Lee and force a battle in the open where the weight of Union artillery and manpower would give it the opportunity to break the Army of Northern Virginia.

In a pattern which would remain true for this entire campaign, Lee's army simply moved faster and counterattacked faster than the Union Army. The culture of the Army of Northern Virginia was a culture of automatic aggressiveness. When attacked they immediately began to organize a counterattack. When they discovered the Union Army they immediately began to probe to see if they could get around its flank. When they had to defend they immediately began entrenching and dug as deep and fast as possible to give themselves the maximum advantage in stopping a Union attack.

Grant' had a much bigger Army but it was simply a lot slower and a lot more hesitant than its Southern opponent.

The Army of the Potomac was a very courageous and stubborn army when it was attacked but it had a hard time spontaneously engaging Lee.

Grant kept trying to overcome these institutional weaknesses by surprising Lee with night marches, diversions to distract him, and carefully planned mass assaults.

At Spotsylvania the Union Army almost gained an advantage using a surprise move which, if it had worked, would have put Lee at a huge disadvantage. Unfortunately the Confederate Army moved fast enough to get there first and by the margin of a few hours entrench enough to stop the Union advance.

Grant then prepared a massive assault at a vulnerable salient and actually won a shocking victory. Unfortunately , in a pattern which would become the norm in the first world war some fifty years later, the disorganization inherent in breaking through made it impossible to exploit the breakthrough and by the time the Union forces reorganized the Confederates had created a new and equally formidable line a short distance back.

Rhea carries you step by step through the agonizing bloodletting in which two powerful armies tried to maneuver but found themselves again and again engaged in bloody fights of attrition which were sapping northern morale and southern capacity to fight at about the same rate.

These books are a remarkable accomplishment.

As the last reviewer stated, there is not much else that can be said about this book. It is excellent and very good information to know. As a woman, I was especially impressed with some of these stories, especially the 74 year old woman who protects her disabled husband from an attacker / burglar AFTER being maced in the face...... GOOD FOR HER and GOOD FOR EVERYONE ELSE IN THIS BOOK THAT FOUGHT BACK AND WON. I'm sick and tired SICK AND TIRED of hearing all the arguments for "gun control". Gimme a break. Read this, read Roger A. Waters other book, read a few others w/the same concept.....the police are great and I admire and respect them - I have four relatives in various forms of law enforcement, including a SWAT sharp shooter and a patrol cop that works in a gang infested area of L.A. - so like I said, I admire and respect the police, HOWEVER, they can not protect you very often, most often they are there AFTER the crime to get the report. Responsible gun ownership is a right for every eligible citizen that I believe in strongly, especially after reading these books.

With 25 reviews prior to this one, this book doesn't need more promotion, but I can't resist giving it another 5-star vote.

Most things about this book have been stated by previous reviewers. I can add one comment: If you think that citizens should not be allowed to own guns, read the first chapter of this book and tell me what besides a personal gun might have saved Doug and Judy Stanton and their four children.

Jerry Hessler, the murderer who came after them, wrote these words:
"Brian dead, Tracey dead, Amanda dead, Thane dead.
Reid orphaned, Sue widowed, Mark crippled, Ruth unstable.
Countless friends and family stricken with grief.
Not a bad day's work.

The score is 4 to 0.
Even if they execute me it will still be 4-1."

How does a citizen deal with someone who thinks like Jerry Hessler? With a gun.

This books shows how and why.

I feel this is the final word in the gun control debate. This is what we the legitimate gun owners have needed. Some proof that packing heat is the best way to deter crime and to keep yourself and your loved ones alive.

I finished reading this book very quickly. Every story was intense and captivating. The book was enjoyable for entertainment value alone, but it also contains critical information about personal defense.

Ever wondered what it was really like to be attacked by someone trying to kill you? These are stories of people who lived to tell the tail. Many potential murder victims only survived because they had a loaded gun handy.

On a personal note, my brother wasn't as fortunate as many of the people in this book. He was returning a tape at a well lit video store on a Sunday night when he was kidnapped by four thugs. They had his car, his cash, and all his possessions, but they murdered him anyway. Apparently just robbing people had become boring to them. They are now in jail, but I often wonder if my brother would be alive today if he had a gun with him.

It's alright, some fairly straightforward tellings of real-life crises by an excitable writer.
Sometimes the embelishments made presumably for the reader's sake tend toward the melodramatic.
But if you believe the cops are here to protect you (they mostly take reports) then you need to read this and things like it...

In the Prologue, the authors state victorious war veterans have long vexed politicians noting that "Early in the Revolutionary war, the Continental Congress provided for both disabled veterans and the dependents of soldiers killed in battle" and that "The last surviving dependent of the Revolutionary war continued to receive benefits until 1911." The authors write "By1932, the amount paid to Civil War (Union) veterans and their survivors amounted to twice the cost of the war." After World War I, in 1924 Congress passed a law that granted the WWI veterans a bonus. However, payment of the bonus was constantly delayed. The end result was the WWI veterans formed a bonus army that marched to Washington D.C. in 1932 to lobby for the bonus. Historians have given only passing references to the bonus marches, however their significance was great and their influence continues to today.

The first half of the text gives an excellent account of the 1932 bonus march. They called themselves the Bonus Expeditionary Force (BEF), and they traveled in freight cars, state trucks, private autos, motorcycles and some even walked. They began arriving in June 1932, and upon arrival in Washington they were politically supported by the American Legion and the Veterans of Foreign Wars as well many members of Congress, principally Wright Patman. Fortunately, in 1932 the Washington Police Chief, Pelham Glassford, was a competent and fair chief who looked to the welfare of the bonus marchers. The BEF Commander-in-Chief was Walter Walters who was also competent, and was able to exercise control of the BEF that could have become a vicious mob. The major issue was by law the bonus couldn't be paid until 1945. However, by 1932 the nation was mired in the Great Depression, and many veterans desperately needed the bonus. However, the bonus exceeded the income of the government so both Presidents Hoover and Roosevelt vetoed early payment of the bonus.

The military erroneously thought the 1932 bonus veterans consisted of ex-criminals, radicals and non-servicemen and; were controlled by communists. However,Walter Waters bitterly opposed the communists. The BEF and splinter groups were encamped in Washington in vacant buildings plus 15,000 veterans and about 1,100 wives and children were camped in tents and shacks at Anacostia. Most interesting was the fact that at Anacostia and in the other camps, the color line didn't exist. The text contains several interesting personal stories. After the veterans made several attempts to secure payment of their bonus, Police Chief Glassford was told that beginning July 22 and completed by August 4, the bonus veterans had to be out of their camps; the Army now had control of the bonus armies. The army burned camp Anacostia and used tanks, bayonets and tear gas to expel the vets and their families from Washington. Two civilian casualties were attributed to Army eviction activities.

The text next covers two subsequent bonus marches on Washington in 1933 and 1934. In order to keep veterans from camping in Washington, the administration set up work camps for veterans in South Carolina and Florida. The hurricane that struck the Florida Keys on Labor Day 1935;was devastating and especially hard on the veterans in work camps on the Florida Keys. 259 veterans lost their lives. U.S. Government officials tried to cover-up the government's failure to take proper measurers to prevent lost of life maintaining it was due to "an act of God." Most interesting Ernest Hemmingway who lived on Key West wrote an excellent critique of the government's failure to take proper actions to evacuate the keys and avoid injuries and lost of life. The text provides an interesting account of this sad affair.

On January 27, 1936, Roosevelt's veto of a new bonus bill was overridden and the cash bonus finally became a reality. `The new bill differed from the earlier Patman bills in that this bill called for the issuing of bonds in $50 denominations.... that could be redeemed on June 15 or held at 3-percent interest to maturity in 1945."

With the United States entry into, World War II, Congress introduced legislation to provide benefits for the men and women in the military. By the end of 1943, 243 bills on veterans legislation were pending before Congress. Amazingly beginning on December 15, 1943, a special committee of the American Legion drafted a rough version of veteran's legislation laying the groundwork for what eventually became the GI Bill of Rights. The bill was signed by President Roosevelt on June 22, 1944 and provided six benefits: education and training; loan guaranty for a home, farm or business; unemployment pay of $29 a week for up to fifty-two weeks; job-finding assistance; top priority for building materials for VA hospitals; and military review of dishonorable discharges.

The text ends stating "Millions of Americans have since peacefully marched on Washington in support of various causes, their way paved by the veterans of 1932." This book is excellently researched, well written and hopefully will place the bonus march in its proper place in American history.

As a Vietnam combat vet I cannot be objective about this book. As I read it, I couldn't help comparing it to my own experiences of re-integrating into civilian life following my service. As I read The Bonus Army I am overwhelmed with gratitude for the sacrifices these men and their families made, not just in war, but in the aftermath.

Paul Dickson and Thomas B. Allen set out to chronicle an event, but wound up giving us a look at how politicians deal with the pesky problem of what to do with returning veterans. One of the most shocking aspects of The Bonus Army is how quickly the same men who cheered from the grandstands as these soldiers went off to war in 1918 now wanted them washed away and forgotten.

As an American war veteran I am grateful to Dickson and Allen for writing this book. It should be read by every returning Global War On Terror (GWOT) vet. Like freedom itself, when it comes to holding government to their promises after the trumpets fade, you only get what you are willing to fight for.

I knew little about the Bonus Army, other than Patton's role in breaking up their camp in Anacostia. Little, indeed. This book brings to life a rich period of U.S. history where the nation--or parts of the nation--came together in a period of economic desperation. There are a few villians, but far more unexpected heroes of high and low station determined to see fellow American treated with dignity and respect. This is truly a wonderful read that places the veterans in the Bonus Army in the same tradition as those who kept our republic alive at Valley Forge.

If you went to college or bought a house on the GI Bill you can thank the Bonus Army, a ragtag group of WW I vets who converged on Washington, DC in 1932 demanding payment of their dollar a day bonus promised to them after years of political wrangling. They were called communists, criminals and freeloaders by the president and members of congress during the worst years of the depression. President Hoover used US troops commanded by General Douglas MacArthur to drive them out of the city and the American voters were so outraged the incident helped carry FDR to the White House that fall. It would still be several years before the bonus was paid but the saga of the bonus army paved the way for the GI Bill of Rights and provided a model for every mass protest held in the capital since.
Dickson and Allen provide a stirring narrative with an all star cast that includes Herbert Hoover, George Patton, Douglas MacArthur, Andrew Mellon, Dwight Eisenhower and J Edgar Hoover.
The Bonus Army has faded from view over time and this worthy book brings an important era in or history back into focus.

Allen and Dickson have written a very compelling book on the history of the Bonus Army, veterans from World War I who converged on Washington in 1932 and subsequent years to demand their promised payment known as the "bonus". The authors give us a good background as to who some of these veterans were, what conditions were like in the country during the years of the First World War and the next two decades after that, who some of the major players were in the debates and issues concerning the Bonus Army and their time in the nation's capital, and lastly how our nation would treat veterans of future wars.

This book details some of the men who made up the bonus army and where they came from in their move towards the nation's capital, with special emphasis on Walter Waters and his group of men from Portland and their journey eastwards. In addition to these Bonus marchers we learn of Pelham Glassford, the Washington D.C. Police Chief who oversaw the gathering veterans, citizens and groups who gave aid to the veterans on their journey to Washington and while they stayed in the city, politicians like Representative Wright Patman who became a leading advocate for the veterans in the halls of Congress, and of course other political and military figures who would play crucial roles in the issues and events surrounding the Bonus Army.

We also learn of how America perceived these veterans as they marched towards Washington and during their stay there. One of the constant worries of some in power at the time, those in the Hoover Administration, the Congress, and the military was the threat of communism, i.e. the Red Scare. Some believed many of these veterans weren't real veterans, believing many had criminal backgrounds and held communist views who wanted nothing less than to incite violence in the nation's capitol or even overthrow the U.S. Government. These worries were vastly over exaggerated as there were very few communists in this group of veterans, and those that were had little or no influence. These were loyal Americans who had fallen on hard times and needed and deserved some help from their government.

The events of the end of July 1932 have garnered the most attention and left the most indelible impressions on the minds of those who have any knowledge of the Bonus Army. This was when the military was called out to disperse the veterans who had encamped in vacant city buildings as well as the larger concentration of veterans who had gathered at sites like Camp Marks on the Anacostia River.The use of force to disperse the Bonus marchers became a damaging symbol that left a stain on the Hoover Administration as well as the reputation of Gen. Douglas MacArthur who had led the effort to rid the city of these veterans. The authors of this book are fair in spreading blame and correcting some myths that had developed after these events, for example there were not upwards of 100 casualties in this event, which is detailed in one of the appendices at the end of the book.

Even FDR did not support the bonus payment, but his veto was overridden by both houses of Congress in 1936, thus the bonus became a reality. But the real accomplishment, as the authors mentioned, was the piece of legislation known as the GI Bill passed in 1944, helping veterans from the Second World War to secure the needed and well-deserved assistance from the federal government to help them fit back into civilian life. As the authors believe, the Bonus Army of 1932 and those that followed had led the way in securing even greater promises for future veterans who deserved and still deserve the thanks from a grateful nation. Allen and Dickson are to be commended for writing this compelling and important book on an often all too summarized period in American history.

This documentary of Kim Dozier's experience as a CBS correspondent in Iraq is revealing; not only does she discuss the experience of wounded soldiers but she herself becomes wounded in a bomb blast in Iraq.

From discussing frankly what it is like to be a woman correspondent with a major news network to the treatment as patient, first in Landstuhl in Germany, then in the US, Dozier learns the hard way about the medical system and about terrible wounds and pain. You'll get very angry about her treatment in the US hospital (but from stories people I know here tell me, some of what she experienced is what happens day to day to anyone --from call buttons put out of reach, no one answering alarms on equipment to having her complaints--valid, ignored.)

This is an unusual memoir--not only eyewitness to events in Iraq and the US but firsthand experience of being wounded. Though Dozier "becomes the story" rather than reporting the story, I think you can insert "any soldier" into her experience minus, perhaps, the experience of being a soldier sent into battle with a mission, and learn just a small amount about the terrible price our men and women are paying for volunteering for this duty. None of them will tell you about the pain and suffering but Kimberly Dozier can. A must read.

This is a great read. It brings another perspective on the war in Iraq.

First off, full disclosure. I have met Kimberly, and we have exchanged emails. I respect her as a journalist, and now as an author.

Her book is a quick read, but not always a pleasant one. In her brisk style honed as a broadcast writer conveys a candid and authoritative narrative. I found three themes of particular interest.

Her description of military medical practices is fascinating. She gives a detailed yet comprehensible explanation of the life-saving methods practiced by corpsmen and medics on the battlefield. Procedures immediately after the explosion are clearly spelled out, and I think that has to be a comfort to anyone who has a friend or relative in harm's way.

She also tells us about the long and agonizing rehabilitation process from start to finish. Too often we only hear about the tragic incident and then the outcome, whether it's happy or bittersweet. The gut-wrenching middle gets left out or short-changed. But Kimberly clarifies the recovery process without being maudlin or grotesque. This book is highly recommended for anyone facing long recovery from serious injury (and for their family and friends).

Kimberly's decision regarding the choice of psychotropic drugs versus counseling is instructive and can be a guide to others in similar situations. She recognized, or perhaps just sensed, that she did not need drugs. Of the three states of mental health problems -- stress, distress and disorder - she was battling the first two, but not the third.

Her counseling references also are in stark contrast to the situation for many active military personnel. DOD recognizes other mental health professions for independent insurance reimbursement, but not certified counselors. This is a disturbing disincentive, particularly at a time when the shortage of mental health care services for military personnel and their families is well documented. Maybe her book will prod (or shame) the military establishment into making counselors more readily available to service personnel and their families.

Her editors let her down in a few places (dropped words, redundant passages), but otherwise "Breathing the Fire" is a good story told well, with interesting information and revelations for just about any reader.

This is an excellent book, contemplative and moving in its detailed descriptions of a U.S. news reporter's first hand experience of war. Dozier's discussion of her near death and recovery from severe injury and loss is as captivating as it is frightening. Written in the prose style of a scrupulous reporter but with the rhythm of fiction, the book brings the reader into places of desire, anticipation, shock, betrayal, anger and triumph.
Breathing the Fire is recommended for anyone concerned about the Iraq war -- a real war that permanently affects the lives of journalists and photographers, soldiers, translators, health care workers and their families.

I read this book thinking, "I am not sure if I can relate to this". War stories are not my reading genre of choice. But, I had met Kim over the phone one day and so received an e-mail from her letting me and all her address book addressees that her book had been published. So, I ordered one from Amazon not quite knowing what to expect. This book is so NOT a war story. It is the courageous story of a woman with a goal who achieved that goal, a goal which led her into combat where a life-changing event changed her life forever, as well as so many other lives. I was drawn in the moment I started reading. Kim's writing is clear, concise, factual, with just the right amount of emotion and personality. She lets people in to her very personal yet very public experience without a hint of self pity or any reference to a "poor me" attitude. The book is an inspiring one about a woman of intelligence, bravery, dedication, and love who dared to follow her dream, went through a nightmare, and is today a source of strength to people chasing a dream or living with their own struggle.

Like many other reviewers, I first read this book and the other Williamsburg novels in my teens. I loved them, and read them repeatedly. That these books are so beloved of teen-age girls forty years ago should give a good idea of what they're like. This one is probably the best, but all are sweet love stories with an interesting historical setting--good plots, memorably noble and heroic characters, and happy endings, both on the personal and historical level. There's little real pain and suffering, no matter how horrible the historic event described was, and few really bad guys. If you want enjoyable, G-rated escape, these are your books.

Dawn's Early Light, the first book in the Elswyth Thane Williamsburg series, is a delightful read with memorable characters and an accurate rendering of Williamsburg's Colonial days leading up to and through the Revolution. Here we see the beginnings of two families: the Days and the Spragues as well as the beginning of our nation. From the first moment when Julian Day steps off the boat from England and is met on the wharf by St.John Sprague, Thane's story captured this reader who read it for the first time in the 60's and has just finished reading it again. The characters and their stories, their loves and heartaches in the midst of this tumultuous Revolutionary period have become a part of my own story. What better way to learn history than through the eyes of those who lived it. Kudos to Thane for a well-researched account and for the portrayal of flesh and blood characters who captured the heart. It is wonderful book. Enjoy! Ann Westerman

My grandmother passed the Williamsburg novels on to me when I was 16. I devoured all of them that summer. I always wanted to read them again, and yesterday on a whim I decided to do just that. It has been 16 years since I last read the series, and I'm enjoying Dawn's Early Light with a new appreciation.

Thanks to the Internet, I now know more about the author. Elswyth Thane (1900-1981, American) was a romance writer in her time. She wrote several books, but the Williamsburg series are her most popular.

I'd say while these novels have a healthy dose of history -- historical characters like Jefferson and Washington interact with our fictional characters in "Dawn's" -- they are first and foremost romance novels. Therefore, female readers might enjoy them more, which seems to be the case from the comments posted here!

This is the beginning book in a series of books called the Williamsburg novels. I have been reading and re-reading this series of 7 books for over 50 years. They are my all time favorite books. Each book deals with a war or pre-war action (except the war of 1812) in which the US has taken part from the Revolutionary War (Dawn's Early Light) to the Civil War (Yankee Stranger) to the Homing with is the last of the series and the 4th book which deals with WWI and WWII and the years in between. They are a great source of history. Ms Thane (widow of the explorer Dr. William Beebe) has done an excellent job of research for each of the books. I hope others find them as wonderful, and as entertaining as I do. I have read my old copies until they are falling apart. I was very excited to find they had been reprinted and purchased them immediately.

The advice is--- don't make the same mistake I did. Upon reading all the glowing reviews, this series of books sounded like just what I love to read--- long,interesting books, interesting characters. So- instead of buying them one at a time, I bought the whole darned Williamsburg Series, plus a few more by the same author, "Queen's Folly", the "Tudor Wench" and "Tryst". What a disappointment. Since this review is about "Dawn's Early Light", I won't mention how boring the other books were, but I've got to say-- "Dawn" was the best of the lot. However, I could hardly bring myself to finish it, but I did. The other books were just as boring--- if all the references to war had been left out, they would have been pamphlets, but much more interesting. Ladies, these are men's books-- unless you like to read of ambushes, guns, dead horses. I think Elswyth Thane had seen "Gone With The Wind" and was trying to emulate it in her work. She failed miserably. I should have bought one book to see her writing style, and I would have saved some cash, because I wouldn't have wasted my money on the rest.

My mother gave me this book when I was in elementary school, and I didn't have much interest in it...at first. When I finally got around to reading it, I thought I would have to force myself through it, but I couldn't have been more wrong. Constance has tied with Pride and Prejudice for my favorite book of all time. I have read it at least once (sometimes twice) a year [...], and now - as a freshman in college - I'm re-reading it again and still find it as great as it ever was! It's so rare to find a book that appeals to both kids and adults, and the great thing about Constance is that, as you get older, you notice more and more about the characters and the story. If you're able to get your hands on a copy of this book, don't hesitate to buy it!

Constance is a book about a girl who moves to America and starts out on fresh land. i love romances and this book is very romantic! Constance is a complete flirt! Theres many twists in the book but i still liked it very much. basically its about a girl who grows and learns about her new home theres indians and a great sickness and many romances. enjoy!

This book was given to me when I was nine, and is a long-standing favorite. I'm now in my late teens, but every November I read it again for old time's sake around Thanksgiving, and every year I love it. It speaks many truths about life in general, and Constance is an engaging and highly relatable character. I looked online out of interest to see if it was as widely read as I thought it should be, and thankfully it appears to be. This book would make an excellent gift for a young girl; it is gaurenteed to be a book she will read over and over again and always hold a special place in her heart.

I picked up "Constance" somewhere - I have no idea where, but my copy is old and yellowed and falling apart. I read it and fell in love with it. I must say - my old copy has a fantastic cover and I much prefer it to the one depicted here. But that's by the by... =)

I'm teaching my (7th grade) son the 1600-1850 time period this year and was able to pull "Constance" off the shelf and introduce him to its delights. It has been the ONLY book he has begged me to continue to read to him outside of planned school reading times. WOO HOO! It warms the cockles of this mother's heart. We've laughed at the funny bits, sobbed our hearts out at the sad bits, and marveled how these people, with their numbers decimated that very first spring, worked together to make a successful community.

We'll be finishing the book tomorrow. I drove him bananas by reading the first sentence of tomorrow's reading, telling him WHO proposed but NOT what the answer or consequence was. He says I'm an evil mother. =D I laughed with joy at his enthusiasm for the book.

I got this book on a trip to the East Coast when I was ten years old and fell in love. It was my favorite book during all of my early teen years; and though I haven't read it in years, I think it will always hold the place in my heart as my favorite book.

A friend of mine from the Bronx told me about this book, and I'm glad she did. This if a beautifully written story that gets at the truth of both the time and the heart. The Bronx is a place that seems mythic and all too real to me and this writer keeps both of those images alive.

I loved this book. It gave a shape to Pearson's life and let me understand that there is a shape to all of our lives. It's just up to us to find the meaning that is there for us notice.

For me Dreaming of Columbus read more like a novel than a memoir. I mean that as a compliment to the writer. The story had the feel of fiction to it, as if you could see inside the characters lives and enter the story for a while. I loved it.

Michael Pearson has the right idea, but the ideas that are gathered into the book are a little disjointed and fractured. If he could smooth out the stories so that blend one into the other, the entire book would read better.
On the positive note, Dreaming of Columbus would definitely stir memories of the neighborhood for those growing up in that part of New York. He does have some descriptive stories of people, places and landmarks in the book that are entertainingly delightful.
If you are a Bronx native, I would recommend this book so you can remember things you may never see again.

Despite the images of sea voyages inspired by its title, Dreaming of Columbus is not the story of a young man spending his salad days in exotic, foreign settings. Instead, Michael Pearson takes the road less traveled and keeps his story closer to home. The reader looking for journeys will not be disappointed, however, in the imaginative way the Pearson uses literature to break away from the confines of the Bronx and the unpredictable, bourbon induced, violent outbursts produce by his father's rage to live. Although Pearson engages in excessive epigraph dropping, the means by which literature provides an avenue for escape adds a universal element to his narrative from which we call all learn something about the art of bridge building.