North America Books

We purchased this for our 4 year old daughter and our whole family has learned a great deal about birds! The book is simple yet informative for the beginning bird enthusiast. The birdfeeder stays on the window well UNTIL squirrels try to climb in it. It is very difficult to keep squirrels out of this kind of feeder - they are tenacious and quite agile. Buy a copy of Outwitting Squirrels by Bill Adler if you want to contend with them. We have given this book and feeder as a birthday present to adults and children and everyone has loved it. Great price and quality.

I am in no way an expert birdwatcher, but this book and birdfeeder are so much fun to use. Like another reviewer, I was skeptical of birds actually coming to the feeder. In less than a week, they had not only found it, but were fighting to get inside it! The book is small, but well written and very informative for all ages, especially if you know very little about birdwatching. It makes the common birds you will see easy to identify. The feeder is great because it can be attached to a window pane, making up-close viewing possible from inside your house.
A great gift!

I purchased this book just after my son was born. I saw it in a flyer I received in the mail and thought it would be a great educational experience for my son to see the birds right outside of our window. Not long after he turned 2, I installed it on our living room window. A few days went by and I was afraid the birds weren't going to visit it. Boy, was I wrong! They absolutely love it! It is not the only birdfeeder that I have, but it certainly is most popular. The smaller birds absolutely adore it. In bad weather, they hop right inside and eat and sit a spell. It has brought much joy to our family. My son thinks everyone sees birds up close and doesn't realize what a gift this is!

This is a very nicely done book. Includes some lovely photographs of gardens and close ups of birds. The information provided is the best part of this book, though. The book starts out by saying that all too often, homeowners hang a pretty painted birdhouse in their yard and sit back and wait for birds to move in. The book then goes on to explain ways to attract birds to your yard that are actually helpful to the health and wellbeing of the birds. The book provides the reader with an understanding of what birds want and need in a habitat.

Lists of recommended plantings, favorite foods by bird species, nest box dimenions by species, and other useful information are included.

I have found myself referring back to this book often as I try each year to make my yard a little more bird friendly - and I've had real success - the number of species that visit my yard have increased with each year.

Based on my own limited experience, I would assume that all gardeners end up being birdwatchers. When I would be out in our garden working, or just sitting in it and enjoying a cool evening, the songs of the birds always added to the experience, and they more and more attracted my attention.

In this wonderful book, the authors tell you everything you need to make your garden a bird-friendly environment, and as such a bird-magnet. Everything is covered herein, including what flowers to plant, what utilities to add (birdbaths, houses, feeders, etc.), and even notes on how to bird watch, and what birds you are likely to see. This is a great book, one that I highly recommend to all fellow gardeners!

Whether you enjoy gardening or not this is a must have, enjoyable book. Delightful photographs accompanied with informative descriptions regarding the plants that birds love. It also describes what function the plants provide for the birds as well as information on the habits of birds. I would joyfully recommend this book for everyone of all ages to enjoy.

If your just starting out in birding, this is a great place to begin. As it mentions in the introduction on the cd, while you look only one direction, you hear 360 degrees. I've noticed a lot more birds since I started learning their songs.

As someone who is interested in improving their birding skills, I found this an excellent guide. The authors begin by explaining some basic bird facts related to vocalizations. They proceed with the recordings, which are grouped into birds with similar songs (the authors refer to this as "pairing"). This improves the listners ability to correctly identify the song with the bird. The last portion of the auditory cassette places the birds into habitat groupings without the identification of the bird. This section can be used as a test of the listners abilities or to help familiarize the listner with where each bird can most probably be found. This in turn helps the reader correctly identify birds in the field by narrowing the possibilities. Finally, the tapes have an accompaning written guide. Each bird is listed with a black and white drawing, habitat type and a written description of the song/call. The authors also reference the page number to Petersons Field Guide of Western Birds and provide a space where the listner can write his/her comments. All in all, this is an excellent resource.

I've birded for a number of years but I wanted to be able to distinguish birds by their calls, especially the shy ones. This CD volme was the perfect introduction. Dick Walton's informal, almost folksy, comments made for enjoyable listening and learning. Sure there are only 91 species but one great sampling. Now that he has taught me "hooks" and "handles" I have graduated to using the Stokes CDs, but at least I can now differentiate closely related songs thanks to Mr. Walton.

If you are new to bird songs, please start with this volume. In contrast the Stokes volume presents the songs, but no commentary. It is up to you to find the hooks and handles and figure out how to memorize all the songs.

BTW, I disagree with Mr Walton on one bird. He says the California Quail is calling "Chicago, Chicago." In my field experience I am sure it is looking for "Atlanta, Atlanta."

Great CD, buy it!

Being a birder for years and going to Cape May, NJ for years, this book is great to have. It summarizes all about Cape May and will tell others what Cape May is about and what to look forward to.

A "must have" for anyone considering birding in the Cape May area!!! Clay and Pat Sutton are wonderful writers making this book not only a wealth of information but also very enjoyable to read!

Cape May is a peninsula, the southernmost point of New Jersey. It separates Delaware Bay from the Atlantic Ocean, and lies only fourteen miles north of Delaware. Consequently, millions of birds funnel through the area in the spring and fall of each year. There are a number of nature preserves and wildlife refuges nearby. The Cape May Bird Observatory is the center of birding activity in the area.

"If birds are an excellent judge of climate, Cape May has the finest climate in the United States, for it has the greatest variety of birds." Alexander Wilson was writing in 1812 before Texas, the current US record holder, joined the union. But the area is still one of the best places to watch birds in the United States.

The climate also attracts thousands of people to the area. There is a wonderful array of attractions, beaches, restaurants, hotels and camping spots available to birders and to any companions who may not share their passions.

The authors have dozens of birding books and articles to their credit. As a quick perusal of the extracts on Amazon proves, they know the area intimately, and describe it in clear, helpful language. They profile 33 birding locations, and discuss the histories of popular birding sites. Some of the best passages deal with some of the great birders who enjoyed this area: Alexander Wilson to Roger Tory Peterson to Pete Dunne. They add delightful accounts of their own experiences; the sighting of a Yellow-nosed Albatross is especially good.

There is simply no better single volume resource covering the birds, history and geography of this area. If you go, take along this book, and stop in at the Cape May Bird Observatory to see what is going on. BirdCapeMay can give you a head start before you leave home.

Robert C. Ross, 2008

I think is such a wonderful book. I found it while I was at a nature conference, and it just seemed so relieving that there was something written about minority presence in the outdoors. Various people are profiled, all with different background and stories. I'm putting this book in my classroom as an inspiration to others.

Black and Brown Faces in America's Wild Places is an excellent book to share with young people. It lets young people see people of color participating in actitivies and careers in the great outdoors. These actitivies and careers are open for all to enjoy. I purchased several books to share with the young people in my life and have received very positive feedback. One young man was very proud to share his book with his class for Black History Month.

Keeping It Wild

Dudley Edmondson uses the personal comments and profiles of 20 black and brown Americans to make observations on the participation of minorities in outdoor pursuits. The "whiteness" of many of these activities is obvious. Without pointing fingers, the book makes clear the importance of drawing minority populations into activities such as birding, hiking, camping, etc. As the population of this country grows more diverse, as faces of color appear more often on city councils, county boards, and in legislative positions, an appreciation of the value of natural resources by these people will become important. As the saying goes, we protect what we understand and appreciate. Edmondson's book offers personal experiences and observations that make the point that the outdoors and its pleasures are for everyone. The book is illustrated with the author's excellent photographs. This is a book to be shared with anyone who enjoys outdoor activities.

I enjoyed this book and believe the author did an excellent job of presenting the topic. I would recommend this book as a good introduction.

Henry Mitchell writes and teaches history as a family portrait worthy of sharing not only with the family (African Americans) but with the neighbors (all Americans). In the first half of "Black Church Beginnings," Mitchell documents the interplay between African religion, African American Christianity, and European Christianity. This is fascinating material presented with insight and passion. He puts to rest the notion that slaves were simply passive recipients of their masters' religion, teaching instead that the spiritual impact went both ways.

The second half of the book contains a detailed and helpful historical outline of important dates with brief comments about some key figures.

Reviewer: Robert W. Kellemen, Ph.D., is the author of "Beyond the Suffering: Embracing the Legacy of African American Soul Care and Spiritual Direction," and of "Soul Physicians," and "Spiritual Friends."

Henry H. Mitchell is a retired professor of history and black church studies: his Black Church Beginnings: The Long-Hidden Realities Of The First Years fills a gap in history in considering the struggles of African Americans to establish churches within the boundaries of slavery in the American colonies. The black church phenomenon began in the mid-1700s and its history is followed in a coverage which ends in the 19th century. Successes and failures alike are profiled in this strongly recommended and highly valued contribution to Black Studies, American History, and Christian Religious Studies reference collections and supplemental reading lists.

This book is a breath of fresh air for anyone looking to succeed in life. E. LeMay offers no excuses for being born to an impoverished family. He shows how a little education and a lot of hard work can help anyone of any shape, size, disability, handicap or color succeed. E. LeMay refused to be stereotyped and shows how he succeeded because of his merits, not the color of his skin. E. LeMay is an inspiration to his peers and a positive role model for our next generation.

You may not like what Mr. Lathan says and you may not like how he says it but if you want to succeed in corporate America you should get this book and study it. Mr. Lathan tells the truth that black men and black women need to hear about working, setting goals, and making it. I've purchased several copies and gave one to every teenager in my family.

I enjoyed the ideas put forth to help his son deal with life. I took a lot of courage to put thoughts out there like these. I would like to think this book has helped me think about changing the way I look at people of all colors. It has put me on guard as to how I treat others and the attitude I portray. I will have my kids read it and then make sure they understand it. It will be a book I will pass onto my family and friends whenever possible.

Kenneth Wiggins Porter apparently died before he finished the manuscript for this one and so it fell to others (Alcione M. Amos and Thomas P. Senter) to edit and update this book. It's hard to sort out the contributions of each but the result is a well documented narrative of the Black Seminole from the early days in Florida to the early part of the twentieth century. Built mainly around the rise and life of the still little known Western hero, John Horse, a man of mixed blood (his father seems to have been a Seminole tribesman, perhaps of mixed blood himself) and an African mother who was an escaped slave in pre-Civil War America, it details the formation and development of a unique tribal people in America's history.

Indeed, the evidence suggests that thousands of Africans fled the chattel bondage of South Carolina, Georgia and, later, the states of Alabama and Florida in the 18th and early nineteenth centuries, forming communities that existed under the protection of the Florida Indians (themselves exiles from internecine conflict in Georgia and Alabama within the Creek nation or from white Americans who set out to suppress them under Andrew Jackson). The exiled Muscogulge peoples (the proper name for the Creek as suggested by J. Leitch Wright Jr. in his own well documented work "Creeks and Seminoles", University of Nebraska Press) initially kept slaves, a practice learned from the whites, but did not have the economy to use them as the whites did. And so Seminole slavery evolved in a very different fashion. While purchasing or receiving some slaves as gifts from whites, the Seminole treated them as status symbols and pretty much let these people operate independently. Gradually, escaped slaves joined the Indian communities and built up their own communities under the influence and protection of the Seminole chiefs. They were seen more as vassals than slaves by the Indians who left them to their own devices and basically expected them to hunt and raise their own crops to feed themselves, only remitting an annual portion in tribute to the tribal chief.

Free to come and go as they pleased, the blacks developed their own eclectic tribal culture, partly in emulation of the Seminole and partly reflecting the lives they had lived in bondage to the whites. Into this world John Horse was born around 1812. He was still a boy when Andrew Jackson violated international boundaries and Spanish sovereignty in Florida to carry his war against the defeated Creek Red Sticks in Alabama into Florida. Driven by a fear of the free and growing black communities under Seminole auspices, Jackson and other whites sought to wipe these people out. They had other goals, too, including forcing Spain to accept American expansion into East and West Florida and pushing the Creek Indian renegades (the Seminole) out.

John Horse seems to have been a child on the Suwannee River in northern Florida when Jackson appeared and burned the black and Indian villages. Later John appears on Florida's western coast around Tampa Bay at around 14 years of age where he is documented as trying to cheat the local army commander over some turtles. From these creatures, called gophers by the locals, he took his lifelong nickname, Gopher John. The story of the Black Seminole follows John's career as he came to the fore in the second year of the Second Seminole War (which lasted for seven years), becoming an important sub-chief and leader of the Seminole-affiliated blacks.

Taking part in many of the major battles, he is first documented in a fight at Okeechobee though he may have been present earlier at Dade's Massacre, the Battle of the Withlacoochee, of Camp Izard and of the Great Wahoo Swamp. In the fighting, the American military soon realized that the black fighters, though fewer, were fiercer antagonists in many ways than the Seminole warriors, no doubt because they had more to lose. While the whites were mainly interested in driving out the Indians, relocating them to Indian Territory west of the Mississippi, they were keen to use the war with the Seminole as a pretext to capture blacks for re-enslavement since the new republic had banned importation of new slaves from abroad.

John Horse honed his tracking and fighting skills in that war but was finally convinced of the futility of the effort and was among those blacks who decided to take a chance on the promises of then U.S. Army general in charge, Thomas S. Jesup, that blacks who freely surrendered would not be re-enslaved but sent with the Seminole to the West. Unfortunately Jesup, whatever his original intentions, soon came under pressure by the white population of Florida to allow re-enslavement of many of the blacks. When this became known, John Horse and various Seminole leaders raided and freed some 700 Indians and blacks who had voluntarily surrendered and were awaiting transfer to the West near Fort Brooke in Tampa.

Jesup seems never to have gotten over this loss and repeatedly thereafter used trickery and deceit to capture and imprison the Indian leaders though he continued to hold out the promise of freedom to their black allies in order to wean this group away. John was one of the few remaining black leaders by 1837 (the war had begun in 1835) still free and actively resisting and was finally persuaded to accept Jesup's terms. Thereafter he was sent, with others, to Indian Territory in what is today Oklahoma. There the Seminole blacks found they had new problems for the Creek were already there and the Creek wanted to reassert control over the Seminole who had originally been part of their polity. But the Creek had adopted the institution of chattel slavery from the whites and insisted that the blacks with the Seminole had to be re-enslaved.

John Horse spent some time back in Florida working as a scout for the Army there against his old allies and eventually was instrumental in convincing many of them to come in and accept deportation, too. But when John was ultimately obliged to return to Indian Territory in the West, he found a situation that was untenable for the blacks. John, who was half Seminole himself and had papers freeing him issued by the U.S. Army leader he served, General Worth, as well as freedom from the Seminole tribal council, could have stayed on without fear while the other blacks were forced back into slavery. But he refused to do so and advocated strongly to see that Jesup's decree was fulfilled by the American government. Jesup, to his credit, did the same. But the slave interests in the region, including planters and slavers in nearby Arkansas, would not abide a community of free blacks so close by. More, many of them coveted title to the Seminole blacks.

When the U.S. government refused to sustain Jesup's decree and, instead, decided to force the black Seminole back into servitude, John found an ingenious way to save many of his people. Allying with the Seminole chief Wildcat, an old ally from the Florida war, he took a contingent of blacks and Indians in a dash across Texas to freedom in Mexico. Pursued by Creek warriors determined to re-enslave them, Arkansas slavers, and hounded by Texas Rangers who supported the slavers, attacked by Commanche intent on preventing their crossing the Rio Grande to take up arms in defense of Mexico's borders, John's and Wildcat's combined people managed a successful exodus, crossing the Rio Grande in the dead of night on make shift rafts -- just ahead of the Texas Rangers.

In Mexico John Horse and Wildcat proved a daunting team though Wildcat died early on in a smallpox epidemic and John became the revered leader of the "Mascogos" (as the Mexicans called the black Seminole). Through a tumultuous career, he led and defended his people. This book tells that story as it closely follows the battles and struggles of this forgotten American hero, John Horse, a man who risked his own life and freedom many times to defend the lives and freedom of others.

SWM
author of The King of Vinland's Saga
and A Raft on the River

As a descendant of Florida's Apalachicola Indians removed to Texas in 1834, I know the Black Seminole as my kin. Porter's narrative parallels our oral tradition and enhances it with photos and maps. Facts presented are well researched and documented with scholarly precision. Historic accuracy is near flawless. Language of the text is readable and the style captivating. No dry history here! Porter brings this forgotten segment of Florida's mixed blood Seminoles to life in seventeen easy chapters. Like a piece of tender, seasoned vinson, it leaves the reader filled but wanting more. No worse injustice could be done to Professor Porter that compare The Black Seminoles to another text. The power of the Porter pen has no peer. Without reservation, Porter's text is a unique gift to all of us. sixwomen@nettally.com

This is a classic. Every serious historian of African Americans needs to have this book. I am a descendant of these people and much of what is in the book confirmed what I have been told since I was a boy. Thanks to those tireless warriors who coompleted this work for without them, it would have remained hidden away.

This account of a people dedicated to freedom is a must read.

I didn't even know what the heck "entrepreneurship" meant before I read this book. It's kind of a long word and I don't have a very good, like, vocabulary. Geez, I even had to look at the title to see how to spell it here.

See, I didn't learn how to read until I was about 10 years old. I was always the "dumb one", you know? So as soon as I could muster up the courage, I skeedadled to South Carolina because I "fit in" here. The real reason I even bought this book is because when somebody saw me carrying it around, they knew that I had got some learnin. It's a big book, and if you want to impress your co-workers, I highly suggest that you carry it around with you and throw around the word, "entrepreurship" a lot. So as you can tell, this is a good book to buy. The end.

When I first sat down to read this book, I was pretty sure I would fall asleep within seconds of starting it. How do I know this: I always fall asleep when I read books about entrepreneurship and I also have a case of narcolepsy. This being said; I was pleasantly suprised that I read it cover to cover in just one setting. I was like "Dizang" (Of course, I speak facetiously. I actually said "Wow".) There is so much about the field of entrepreneurship that I did not know. Who knew SME stood for "small and moderate sized enterprises". Let me tell you, I do now. Little nuggets of wisdom such as this one await to be mined from this book with ease and without the use of nitro, pick axe, or migrant workers.

The only bad portion of the book was that there was no article concerning the term "entrepreneurship". I think it would have been nice to have seen the orgins of the word and how it relates to the current state of the field. I would also like to see why no entrepreneur has entrepreneured a short word for entrepreneurship. I think there is money to made in this field for someone with an entrepreneurial spirit. Let us face it the word is just to long to use that often. I make the following suggestions: money-makership, bill-bankership, and ching-chingship.

I agree with all the statements of Colonel Alan about the quality of this book. Che Sara, Sara. Viva Entrepreneurship.

I have been making excessive use of "The Blackwell Handbook of Entrepreneurship" of late. I have to say, this is the finest handbook of entrepreneurship I have ever come across. I am a consummate student of entrepreneurship and I have often grappled with the trouble of carrying four, five, sometimes even ten books on the subject with me at one time. My back was aching and my arms were tired. Now that I have discovered "The Blackwell Handbook of Entrepreneurship", this is no longer a problem - all the entrepreneurship I need in one convenient package! Marvelous!

They are all here: Dennis De's "SME Policy in Europe", Barley and Stockley's "Entrepreneurial Teams and Venture Growth" , Bengt Johannisson's "Networking and Entrepreneurial Growth", and of course the all time favorite, "Conceptual and Empirical Challenges in the Study of Firm Growth" by Per Davidsson and Johan Wiklund! In other words, all the modern classics that the modern innovator needs.

Because I feel so strongly about "The Blackwell Handbook of Entrepreneurship", I wish to lend it my strongest endorsement. It has proved to be a tremendous help for me in my research. Kudos! Bravo! Good Show! Amore! Hooray! Right On! Je Temme! Yo La Tengo! Encore!

Hagan is great. once you read her you will be like me and turn into a serious addict. her words are mesmerizing and captivating. give this a try and you wont regret the choice or the cost. also read savings

Hogan has tapped into her ancestrial history and brought to light the importance of connection back to nature and how much we need it in our lives.

Hogan takes her readers through history and rewrites/transforms the mythology of our beginnings. In short it seems that Hogan says Nature was here before man and can live without man, man however, cannot live without nature and now, with the destruction that man has caused and continues to cause to nature, we are dependant upon each other to survive. It is our job, mans, to correct our errors, that we may all continue to live in the centuries to come, that our children's children may enjoy the beauty and wonder of towering trees, mysterious animals, and colorful flowers, along with the flowing waters of rivers, lakes and the ocean at large.

Hogan is amazing in her works, a must read for any reader. With her works, the possibilities are endless.

Loss, redemption, ruptures and healings. From the roots of a native perspective, Hogan chants vivid stories in poems that illuminate and heal. With true magic, she opens us to greater depth and vision through the power of words that haunt and whisper and eventually compel us to change. Raise yourself up and read this collection.