North America Books

Character is key. This is what Lori Armstrong seems to understand perfectly. Julie Collins, already such a strong character in Blood Ties returns even more full-fleshed. Julie is cranky, smokes and drinks a lot, engages in shallow sex, enjoys rock music and is one tough woman.
The convoluted plot starts out with a missing persons case. Looking for this Native American kid the dead bodies start to turn up quickly when the mob gets involved and rival casinos take on each other. Also love blooms for Julie in the person of the shady owner of a biker bar.
Although the book is a bit too long (almost 500 pages) there's enough action and surprises to keep you entertained.
I loved the characters, the action and writing. What could make this book even more perfect was maybe cut it down in size somewhat and trim a few plot elements.

I'm glad I read this novel. I read it several months ago, and I'm still glad, so that's a good review from me right there. I didn't read the first novel in this series, but that didn't hurt my enjoyment of Hallowed Ground. Great pace, great characters, satisfying ending, and the writing shone throughout. The main character, Julie, is an interesting blend of traits and a complex balance of hard and soft. I thought it would be difficult to keep her consistent for the entire novel, especially with all she was dealing with, but the author pulled it off.

No kidding, this book kept me sitting in a chair all day and into the night. I've been waiting for the sequel to Blood Ties and I wasn't disappointed. It was a great read! I can't wait for the next book.

I had been awaiting Ms. Armstrong's second book in the Julie series, and I wasn't disappointed!! "On Hallowed Ground" is filled with excitement and action with every turn of the page -- I had a difficult time putting it down. I loved it. How soon is book #3 coming out???

I read Blood Ties months ago and couldn't wait for HALLOWED GROUND to come out. Boy was it worth the wait! The relationship between Julie and Tony totally made the book for me, but the action and adventure kept me glued to the book when I should have been feeding my kids. The mystery had me guessing right until the very end, which is how it should be. This was a fantastically exciting read and I can't wait for the next book in the series!

I've been down part of the Colorado from Diamond Creek to Lake Mead but have never had the means or opportunity to see the rest at water's edge. Ed Abbey's text and John Blaustein's photos take me on a vicarious trip that brings back all the excitement of white water and the awsome experience of gazing up and up at the canyon's walls that many only view from the rim. It's a different canyon down there and a river journey allows me to see it all and remember the feel of ancient schist and the plaintive song of the canyon wren. It's a book to read and look at again and again even if you can never visit or revisit the river itself.

As a person how recently did a two week raft trip down the Grand Canyon, I can say that this book visually caputures the essence of the experience! The pictures are wonderful. I have recommended it to my rafting friends as well as some Grand Canyon river guides.

Having done the Colorado in a private raft, The Hidden Canyon absolutely thrilled me - again - as much with its elegant pictures as with Edward Abbey's flat-out-fun narration.

I have traveled through the Grand Canyon many times, both on the river and on the trails. John Blaustein has not only been able to capture the beauty of the canyon but also the soul of the river it contains. Abbey's journal is a fine compliment to the pulchritude of the pictures.

Having rafted the Colorado myself 2 years ago, this was a perfect souvenir-reminder of my trip. The photos in particular are exquisite - some I have no idea how he managed to capture without ending up in the river himself. I lost my Pentax to the very first rapid! This book definitely gives a sense of what the Canyon, the river, and the rapids are like. Makes me want to go back!

This book is a great way to jump into the Civil War (at least it was for me). It has just the right amount of detail and allows me to continue my investigation (which was limited to the battle at Gettysburg). It came up a little short is style and approach but it gets the job done. Speaking as one who always wanted to give more time to this epoch but did not know where to go next, this covered the battles, the people, and the country before and during the war. It also piqued my interest in other battles and put a couple more sites on my "Must Visit" list. At the current price, it is a good deal and does what it purports to do.

THIS WAS A GIFT FOR MY HUSBAND. I DIDN'T GET A "WOW" FOR THIS BOOK. I DID NOT READ IT MYSELF, BUT IF HE REALLY LIKES A BOOK, HE'LL LET ME KNOW. MY RATING IS ONLY TAKEN FROM THE REACTION I RECEIVED.

American Civil War expert and history teacher Thomas R. Flagel wrote The History Buff's Guide To The Civil War as a guide to the most critical people, places, and events of the Civil War. Meticulously organized under over thirty headings to spotlight key facts and topics in an easy-to-lookup manner, The History Buff's Guide To The Civil War is accessibly divided into the main subjects of Antebellum, Politics, Military Life, The Home Front, In Retrospect, and Pursuing the War, with each section deftly and succinctly exploring issues with heavily researched, matter-of-fact directness. An excellent introductory guide and consultation reference for readers of all backgrounds, The History Buff's Guide To The Civil War is a welcome addition to personal, school, and community library Civil War Studies reference collections.

The History Buff's Guide to the Civil War by Thomas R. Flagel was very informative and provided this individual with many bits of information that haven't been seen before.

As an individual who reads twenty or more civil war books each year I would strongly recommend this read to those who desire those little bits and pieces that are not usually found in more well known publications.

The book is well written and presented in very readable fashion.

Well done!

The writing in this book is eloquent, evocative, and brings the Civil War to life. I've given copies of this book to my daughters who are in middle school and high school as well as to my older daughter to share with my Granddaughter (they live in the south and this book contains truth rather than historical fiction). I would recommend this book for every student who thinks history is boring - so they can find out it's not.

Every once and awhile a reader is forturnate to come by a book that might seem uninteresting but upon reading it finds it to be one of the best books ever. Such is HOLDING STONE HANDS which I bought several years back from University of Nebraska as one of their sale books. Turned out to have been one of the wiser buys of my time.

One of the very first things that struck me as I began this book was the flat out courage it would take to do what the author has done. Leave home, leave safety, walk upwards of 1500 miles, live, eat, and sleep out of doors much of the time. Another thing that quickly came to me was the interest people, mostly Cheyenne, still held for this historical happening. And they wanted to aid the author in his quest.

I have read some on this subject but things such as the Northern Cheyenne life coming to an abrupt end in December, 1876, was a surprise. Also that Lone Wolf's name was not that but 'Lone Coyote', or that Dull Knife's name was not that but 'Morning Star'. Also that both of these heroic and historic personages of the Northern Cheyenne, each in his own way, ended life mostly an outcast. Remembered today, yes, but only in a tempered way. Many still find fault with some decisions Dull Knife made. And with Lone Wolf murdering a fellow tribesman, his later life of blindness and isolation had to be very unrewarding.

No matter the reason for reading this wonderful book, a reader has struck a true classic of western history. And the main thrust of the book goes beyond history to be one of mission and people. Great reading as usual from University of Nebraska Press.

Semper Fi.

As my title states, this is a very powerful book. Mr. Boye walked the trail that the Cheyennes travelled in their tragic journey to get back home (from Oklahoma to Montana). Along the way the author meets up with two Cheyenne men who travel with him for the better part of the journey. When they leave he meets a mid-20s Japanese man who travels with him for a while. Why is this Japanese man touring the American West? Read the book to find out. Despite my praise for this book, my rating is a 4.5 out of 5. Why? I will give two examples (not that there are many more):
1 - On p. 225 he states that hundreds of Indians were killed at the Battle of the Blue Water (the number was about 86 and his own source--Utley, Frontiersmen in Blue--states 85).
2 - Following Little Wolf's capture his followers shortly after became scouts for General Miles to fight the Sioux. Boye only mentions his surrender. He should have gone on to include this important detail.

Having said that, the book is still a very good read and I really enjoyed his journey and his dramatic retelling of the Cheyennes' escape from Fort Robinson. I would like to know more about the film made by some Cheyenne's as mentioned in the book. Final verdict: Recommended.

I'm not much for history as it is taught in our schools, but this book is great. It is a perfect blend of history, present day (in the form of the author's trip), and thoughts and stories from the author's personal life.

I recommend this tome to anyone that likes travel stories. Especially if you dont know, or want to know more about, the Cheyenne Exodus. Expensive, but worth the money.

This is a story of heartache and strength, of hope and struggle...it is the story of a man's love of the land and a people's fight to keep their homeland. Boye is a gifted and talented writer whose words flow as he leads us from page to page, back into the past and then gently into the present. He is a writer that truly cares about his story and the people that inhabit it. He opens his heart and the words come tumbling out. A wonderful MUST READ for all nature lovers and history buffs.

This is a magical walk through a dark time in American History...Alan's own experiences are so materfully intertwined with history on this voyage, the past truly comes alive as you feel every step and face every fear. With each step, with every encounter along the way, you can feel the ghosts of the Cheyenne people walking in your own shadow. Make no mistake, HOLDING STONE HANDS is a Masterpiece...you'll feel the pain of endless walking, the anger for what the Cheyenne people were forced to endure, and the sorrow for the pointless death as they tried to make their way to the only land they would ever call home.

i love the pictures in this book.........large and colorful.......the book itself is informative...........we keep it right next to our binoculars.......

Awesome book. Received quickly and in perfect condition. Thank you so very much!! Peggy Bender

I love hummingbirds. I found this book most useful for helping me identify many of the different species of hummingbirds when I went down to photograph and videotape 14 different types south of Tucson. The book has valuable information, brilliant close-up photos and more valuable insights into these birds, habitats and much more. There are many on the market but if you want one for identification and more too this is in my top 3.

Um livro bastante técnico, exelente para biólogos e/ou ornitólogos.As informações são muito completas principalmente no que se refere às variações de plumagens que ocorrem dentro das mesmas espécies( machos, fêmeas e filhotes).Exelentes informações sobre a distribuição geográfica das espécies.

I'm now able to correctly identiful many species of Hummingbirds. Great source of information. Very detailed book.

As a history major, I have various interests. One of my favorite things to study is the civil rights movement. Of all the books that I have seen, few match the caliber of this book. It takes the state of Mississippi (which may be the book's greatest irony)and shows how powerful a grassroots movement such as the civil rights movement can be with the proper forms of leadership. I urge anyone who is interested in learning about the civil rights movement should start with this book!

I agree with the earlier reviews but I'd like to provide some details about this book's strengths.
First, Payne places the people who made the Mississippi movement at the center the story. He tells the story of both the original local leaders who made it possible for the civil rights movement to happen in Mississippi and the activists who followed their lead in the 1960s.
Second, he extends the time span of the civil rights movement, showing that it would not have been possible without the "organizing tradition" referred to in the subtitle. Payne expertly traces the relationships and linkages between different generations of heroic troublemakers in Mississippi.
Third, he shows that the original radicals, and I mean those who wanted to change Mississippi from its roots, were those who had already challenged the system to achieve personal gain. "Bourgeois" blacks in Mississippi weren't uniformly complacent or fearful. Wisely, Payne does not use this fact to justify any notion of a "talented tenth" that ought to lead the masses.
Fourth, the chapter on Ella Baker is a stunning and riveting account of one heroic troublemaker who didn't receive enough recognition for her efforts.
Fifth, when Payne writes about what we typically consider the civil rights movement, he places you in the midst of the activists and makes you feel their exhileration, exhaustion, frustration, fear, and courage. Scholarly books never have this quality. At the same time, he does this in a historical context and with a critical eye which absolutely illuminate the raw material in a way that first-person and journalistic treatments rarely approach.
For these reasons, and many more, this is clearly the best of many excellent books on the civil rights movement. Some could fault Payne for placing less emphasis on the national and institutional dimensions of the freedom struggle. But, in the case of the black American struggle for freedom, Payne shows us the story begins with, and is carried by, people who tried to change their communities, not their nation.

Two years ago the author taught a short course at my college on the Mississippi civil rights movemement. He used this book, and I've been recommending it to people ever since. His style and content are both amazing, and I feel really lucky to have had an opportunity to read this book in a course structured around it. _I've Got the Light of Freedom_ offers a new perspective on the way history is taught and remembered. Organizing and people's history are emphasized in what happens to be one of the best movement books out there. It's everything scholarly writing should be. Kudos to Charles Payne.

The real history of the civil rights movement. Who really made the difference in a day to day way on the front lines. Not only that, a description of how to organize from a working class, feminist perspective in the context of the African-American freedom struggle. A must read for anyone who is trying to build the movement we need today to make a world free of oppression.

I'd pair the book with a more nationally-oriented one, such as the Taylor Branch trilogy, which give a better sense of national politics, but Payne's book is both profound and profoundly moving in its depiction of local communities and Ella Baker's "Organizing Tradition", which turns a number of assumptions about the movement on their head. I've read the book a few times with students and never fail to be personally engaged and to have invigorating classes with students. Great, great stuff!

this book is grate for yung readers gust like my self. I liked the way raven would stand up to aunt Emma. The description made me fell like I was really there. The way raven took care of her little brother was sweet. I thought the book showed a lot of caring for one onther. The book is interesting you don't want the book to end.

At first when i opened the book to read it i almost knew it was going to be good so thats why i had to keep reading it i wish it wasnt so short because i would like to now where raven went, and did she stand up to everybody that she thought was mean. how could she stand up to lucy's aunt if she was so mean this book have thoght me how to speak mty mind even more now and that your opoion always count no matter what.

The book The Indian School was a very good book. This book was about an Indian school that taught Indian childern without a family. The Indian childern at the Indian school have certain chores they have to do. A white girl named Lucy came to live with her uncle Edward and aunt Emma. They owned the Indian school. Lucy had to come to live with her uncle and aunt because her father and mother were killed in an accident. So Lucy was sent to her uncle and aunt. An Indian girl and boy came to the Indian school because their Indian father brought them to stay there while he went north. After the winter their Indian father came back to get them. He thanked Edward and Emma for taking care of them. Edward and Emma asked them if they would stay. Did they or did they not stay? Read the book and find out. I think you will enjoy the book.

When I turned to the first page of the book,I thought that it was going to be boring.But when I went further and further,I was engrossed in the book.I feel more like Raven,one of the character in the book.Unlike,Lucy,Raven is bold and speaks her mind.She is obstinate but I think that children should be that way to get what they want.Lucy is too meek and never demands for what she wants.Every children must have their right to do something.We must stand up to the grownups.I also learned about friendship.Raven and Lucy were different in many ways but they still maintain their friendship.This book teaches me a lot of things.I especially like Raven's behaviour.I am very attached to Raven.I find this book very enthralling and it is one of my favourite books.

First concern: The book is written by a non-Native, albeit one sensitive to several issues around indigenous peoples' assimilation into "white culture." Second: I'm a teacher, not a child. This book claims to be about a 3rd grade reading level. I'm not sure a 3rd grader could relate to it. I'm not even sure a 5th grader would -- unless an adult read it to her. It's another one of those lovely books that grown-ups sigh over, but children find a little light on the action. The themes are important though, and this gives it reason to be read, at least aloud.

This book not only gives a person a fresh perspective, it goes into detail HOW to begin anew - how to re-learn and re-live a common path and lifeway we all once walked. This is not a "dyed-in-the-wool" self help or new age book. The book shelves are lined with them. Anyone asking questions, and then questioning the resultant answers about their most basic belief systems will most likely renew their spiritual enthusiasm after reading this book. If you're a Seeker by nature, a questioner, this book will rejuvinate you. If you're living a lifestyle in the mainstream, and comfortable with what you know (or think you know), this book may challenge much of what you've been taught since you were a child. Especially re-assuring is the basis for the commonality we all share. Debunks the precept that Native Culture "primitivity" is inferior to the modern, civilized way of living. Outdoor enthusiasts will be challenged to view the world they love so much in a new light of Stewardship and Appreciation.

Many books have 10-20% useful information, padded with verbiage. This is a heart-touching book worth reading repeatedly- with 100% useful material, really more like 150%, because it is so good that as I grow, I go back and reread it. It is easy to read, and very profound. I got a B.A. in Anthropology, and all of my useful notes together do not equal what is in this book. This book, and Tad James' first book on Huna, are all I sought getting my BA, and didn't get. We don't know what healthy community is; we know only the pathology of the average. This describes the elements of healthy human living, of a healthy community. I paid to donate this book to 3 University libraries, so that other people, seeking as I was seeking, could find this. I didn't know this kind of high level awareness could be put in print. For my interests, I've never found a book even close to being as good as this one is.

Western society is more and more fragmented. Indigenous cultures, before contact, weren't. This book is clearly written from the perspective of someone who has spent a lot of time among indigenous peoples. Really good books are such that you can read them several times, and get new insights each time. This book is like that, and I re-read it once a year, to get new insights. It has a lot of the heart of indigenous cultures. The heart of the problem is usually a problem of the heart, and this book is very useful for getting to the heart of issues. As a community organizer, student of minimal equipment wilderness survival, and even just human being trying to improve, I have used this book a lot. I have given at least 7 copies of this book to friends. I wish there were more books like this in print. It is really, really good. This is easily among the best 10 books I've read in my life.

It is somewhat difficult to enter the indigenous world of immediate experience and intuitive awareness from Western culture. Teaching it is even more difficult. Putting this transition in words, so people can read about it is even more difficult. Yet he does it. This book is the best book of its type, of the over 500 I have read. It is a book I go back to as I grow, because I find new ideas when I reread it, and this is not true of many books for me. If you have an interest in indigenous cultures- even European- and in expanding awareness, or in learning how shamanic indigenous cultures lived, this is a book well worth getting. I have personally given 10 copies away to relatives and friends. This is a treasure trove, a smorgasbord of useful ideas. Dover will, in my opinion, reprint this book, in another 30 years, because it is such a classic.

This book is really neat. I learn something new every time I read it, it's like it's layered, with something for every level. I will keep my copy of it as long as I live. In many other books, one finds cool tidbits, here and there. This guy gathered a lot of cool tidbits and put them in one place, with like almost no waste.

As a person who has celebrated Kwanzaa for a couple of decades and as the creator of several kwanzaa products myself, I found the book 'Kwanzaa: From Holiday to Every Day' to be a very informative book on this growing celebration.

The book offers historical info on Kwanzaa and illustrates how the celebration connects people of African descent around the world with our cultural roots.

The book shows you how to organize a Kwanzaa celebration of your own and has a lot of great contacts for Kwanzaa music, books and supplies.

I recommend it for anyone interested in learning about Kwanzaa. I also recommend it for those who already know of and celebrate Kwanzaa as a way to reinforce its concepts and its meaning to you.

This book explores not only the holiday of Kwanzaa, but how to incorporate the values of Kwanzaa into your everyday life without going outside of who you intrinsically are. You are already a person who is creative, caring, conscientious and interested in African inspired cultural values, then this book can expand and enhance your practices.

Ms. Angaza's journalistic style takes the reader on a historical voyage as well as a personal one. Her sense of prose will dazzle the reader as well as make him ponder of why it is so important to celebrate such a holiday. This book has even inspired me to throw my first Kwanzaa event this year.

I picked up Ms. Angaza's text, Kwanzaa: From Holiday to Every Day,and have begun to read it like a novel. I thank Ms. Angaza for penning this positive vibration and upliftment. Her prose is smooth and rational. It puts into perspective the cultural repression and damage to the psyche of Africans worldwide while also providing numerous examples of our triumphs, successes and committment to our cultural heritage.

I laughed out loud at the passage where she exposes the cultural bias inherent in the debate over hyphenated identities and the kiss me i'm Irish example. She's crafted a blend of history, social commentary, practical applications, call to action and inspirational vignettes that can be beneficial to all. I reccommend purchasing this text just for the resource section - simply phenomenal. The resource seciton could be used as a life long self study core curricula. Don't overlook the recipes - yummy. She presents things so honestly (sans pretext) that I think people will be encouraged to try out many of the book's recommendations. A Complete guide is an apt subtitle for this work.

I thoroughly recommend this book to everyone! Were I able to give it 6 stars, I would have given it 7. This book is not simply a nice read... it is an Absolute Need. Seriously, this piece comes at a time when our communities & our families are in dire need of self-realization and a reconnection to the roots and core values that make African people unique. One of the things that was most impressive to me was the level of research that was done to compile this work. Who knew that so many people in so many countries across the world are celebrating Kwanzaa and adapting it's principles. Myself and my mate have even discussed beginning to travel each year during the holiday so that we may expose this tradition to our children as it is celebrated throughout the world. If you have never celebrated Kwanzaa, have celebrated all your life or think that this book is not for you... Buy this book! It is for you and you will absolutely not be dissapointed. The Resource pages toward the back are worth the purchase alone.

Reviewed by Tyler R. Tichelaar for Reader Views (12/08)

Richard Hill has captured a way of life and a piece of time in "Lake Effect: A Deckhand's Journey on the Great Lakes Freighters." This book is no dry piece of history about working on the Great Lakes ore boats, but rather, a personal memoir of time spent on the ore freighters in the 1970s and 1980s, capturing what daily life was like for the men, including not only the work, but the camaraderie, the shore leave, the trips to bars, the time away from family, the dangers of November gales, and the magnificence of the Great Lakes. Richard Hill describes how technology is changing this way of life, yet year after year as they will do for a century or more to come, the ships travel the Great Lakes, hauling iron ore and other cargo from the iron mines of Upper Michigan and Northern Minnesota to the southern lakes to provide material for the steel industry.

I was curious to read "Lake Effect" because my own father worked on the ore boats in the 1960s just a few years before Hill. Many have a romantic notion of what it is to be on a ship in the middle of Lake Superior with nothing to see but the breathtaking beauty of the world's greatest lake. Hill recounts the stunning beauty of the lakes, but also the hardships and deprivation, the loneliness and longing to be with one's wife and children, the inability to get away from the other men, and also the camaraderie of their constant presence. Through Hill's experiences and vivid descriptions, I felt I was aboard the freighter, "Leon Fraser," for at least a few hours.

My favorite parts of "Lake Effect" were the depictions of the men on the ship. While the bosun, Dirty Dan, is the most memorable, several others provide humor and diversity to the book. These men were Hill's real-life coworkers aboard the ship, but their colorful language and occasionally rough behaviors would have made them fit well as characters in a Jack London novel. Beneath their swearing and occasional frustration with each other is a humor and brotherhood that kept the sailors together through festive trips to bars and through dangerous winter storms.

Beyond the book's history of Great Lakes shipping, and the documentation of life on a ship, is Richard Hill's personal story of why he chose to work on the ore boats, what he loved about the life, how it changed him, and why he eventually left the boats from a self-discovery that he needed a more creative, free life with his family. Hill places his experiences within the tumultuous time period of the 1970s, the Watergate scandal, and the shock of the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald. He writes honestly and with a perspective that makes "Lake Effect" history, memoir, and adventure. The book concludes with a lengthy glossary of nautical terms, but the entire text reads easily without one needing to run to the glossary. Hill has captured a way of life for us, something only a good writer who lived the experience could do so effectively.

Whether readers have a connection to the Great Lakes or shipping, or they have never been on a boat, they will find "Lake Effect" an intriguing portrait of a way of life which is vital to the success of the U.S. economy and its industries, one that has not received the attention it deserves, but which demands of its sailors, patience, sacrifice, courage, and a sense of humor. Take the journey with "Lake Effect" by Richard Hill. You won't be disappointed.

"Lake Effect" is as real as it gets: the good, the bad and the ugly of working the ore boats on the Great Lakes during the zenith of the industry. I was amazed at the similarity between Richard Hill's sailing experiences during the 1970's and my own twenty years later, and his unbridled passion comes through loud and clear in his compelling narrative. Working the boats is as much about the men (and women) aboard as it is about the ports, cargos and vessels themselves. Rich makes memorable characters out of his shipmates, describing with great humor and authenticity the delicate and not-so-delicate relations between co-workers who live and work in such close proximity to each other. As the shipping seasons pass and Rich grows "salty", his outlook on the industry and his own life goals become a central theme as he fends off the contagious pessimism of his shipmates and contemplates his future as a sailor, husband and father. As I read Rich Hill's "Lake Effect," I felt a great deal of camaraderie and solidarity with the author, because his novel provides a voice for the untold thousands of us young Midwesterners who came of age in the nautical school of hard knocks on the Great Lakes. This wonderful journey of self-discovery aboard the classic steamers of yesteryear is a must read for uninitiated and veteran "boatnerds" alike.

Ryan Barone
Author of "Steamboating"

Knowing what it is like to work on the Great Lakes aboard those enormous freighter ships is an area in which there is limited information for the non-specialist general reader -- until now. In "Lake Effect: A Deckhand's Journey on the Great Lakes Freighters", author Richard Hill takes his readers on an informed and informative journey into the daily life and work of a freighter ship deckhand. In this intelligent and candid memoir, readers will learn of the social and political turbulence of the early 1970's. "Lake Effect" also provides an insightful look into the world of the sailor, what makes them tick, and why they follow the sometimes hazardous work on a Great Lake freighter as a their career -- for better and worse. Smart, humorous, delightfully detailed this personal account is a great addition to any collection or supplemental reading list concerning the Great Lakes, commercial sailing, and the life of a contemporary deck hand.

Tonya Thul-Theis
Reviewer

For a first time author, I was impressed with Hill's writing style.

He uses self exposure and honesty in revealing his impressions of life on the lakes, the work, the shore leaves, people he met and befriended as a young sailor during the early '70s.

The book provides the uneducated landlubber an enlightening and entertaining glimpse of a sailor's life on the Great Lakes - just enough technical jargon to make sense of the sailor's life while focusing on the broader perspective and the people.

I thoroughly enjoyed and highly recommend this book to anyone.

I just finished reading Richard Hill's book, "Lake Effect: A Deckhand's Journey on the Great Lakes Freighters." As I approached the final pages of this truly enjoyable book, I found myself slowing my reading pace, even rereading paragraphs that I'd just finished, merely because I was reluctant to admit to myself that I'd reached the end. I've never stepped foot on an in-service Great Lakes freighter, but I do remember being lulled to sleep during my childhood by the deep, low, soothing tones of the whistles of ore boats that made their way up and down the St. Mary's River. I guess that it was my unanswered curiosity about life and work on these boats that prompted me to buy myself a copy of "Lake Effect."

What a great read this book is...on so many levels! This book is one of those books that, when you've finish reading it, you close up, set down and say to yourself, "Well, that was a downright pleasure to read!" Even for a landlubber like me. Hill has a wonderful way with words...in creating scenes that capture your senses, in colorfully describing his zany coworkers and others, in relaying stories in ways that the reader can really hang on to...all the while making you laugh right out loud when you least expect it! I might add that Hill doesn't sugar coat (what I would imagine to be) the true-to-life language of the ore boat workers. Meaning, the author doesn't pretend that "Dirty Dan" typically would exclaim, "Well shuckie darn, whaddaya know about that." when something would go wrong...nor that hot-tempered "Gary" would gently respond, "Gosh...you know, I'd really prefer that you didn't manhandle me like that, sir. After all, I have feelings too." when given an angry shove by the bosun. It's a true story told in true-to-life style. I recall my parents sometimes saying, "He was cussin' like a sailor." I suspect that there's a reason that this expression exists.

I really believe that, whether you've worked on "the boats" for years or you know absolutely nothing about lake freighters, you'll thoroughly enjoy reading Richard Hill's "Lake Effect." It's funny, it's enlightening, it's educational, it's entertaining...it's even philosophical. Get your hands on a copy and give it a read. I'm sure that you won't be disappointed.