North America Books

This book is one of my favorites in recent years. I have become interested in the history of foods and Sophie Coe was an incredible scholar. Her books are great reading and amusing. Unfortunately she is no longer with us but she has left us with two wonderful books on the foods of the Americas (The True History of Chocolate--finished by her husband Michael Coe, another great writer of history. I highly reccommend this one as well).

The list of food products discovered or created by the American Indians seems endless: corn, manioc (cassava, yuka, or tapioca) squash, beans, chocolate, tomatoes, potatoes, peanuts, pineapples, avocados, vanilla, and chile peppers -- plus for your Thanksgiving table, turkey, and for your wicked moments, tobacco, coca, and magic mushrooms. Conversely, there's been very little written about pre-Columbian cusine. Coe's book fills this lacunae.

The Spanish destroyed every aspect of Indian culture they could but enough accounts of Indian food were recorded to partially construct what they ate. Coe focuses on the food of the three main civilizations in the Americas at the time of Columbus: the Aztecs, Mayas, and Incas. A lot more information survived about the food of the Aztecs than the other two.

Working with fragmentary information Coe has reconstructed the cuisines of these civilizations -- and rich indeed were the foods they ate -- dozens of variations of tortillas and tamales, a heavy reliance on chiles, innumerable varieties of potatoes, and a huge variety of chocolate dishes that seem ripe for the exploration by culinary adventurers, entrepreneurs, and writers of cook books. The notion, often advanced, that the pre-Columbian diet was boring, primitive, or deficient is refuted persuasively here.

The book suffers a bit from being an overly broad summary that left me hungry (groan!!!) for more information about many foods only barely mentioned. There's plenty of material here for additional books and questions to be answered. To echo an earlier reviewer: what did the Italians eat before the tomato amd the Irish before the potato?

Smallchief

I purchased this book based entirely on the review by kneisl. I am glad that I did. I had no idea that so much of our everyday food came from the "New World." Peanuts, vanilla, tomatoes, chocolate, potatoes, beans, squash, tortillas, tamales, etc. all were eaten by the Aztec/Maya/ Inca Indians long before the Europeans arrived. Some of these food types date back to 7000 BC. I found this stunning. I had always incorrectly believed that most Mexican food came from Spain.

The book is thouroughly researched, well-written and easy to understand. There are more foods mentioned than those I have just described, so you'll have to read the book.

A few years ago, I wrote a paper on the original cuisine of the western hemisphere before European exploration.Prepared for the drudgery of a paper, I checked this book out of the library, expecting myself to be put to sleep by the dryness of the topic.How wrong I was! Ms. Coe's book was stunning in how it broadened my understanding of food. Every chapter is chock full of interesting research and conclusions. Even the index was remarkable for its detail. You will be informed and entertained by amazing stories about what was eaten, how it was eaten, and why it was eaten. You will learn the surprisingly interesting history of corn. You will learn the origins of the algae spirulina, recently come to our health food stores. The fascinating story behind the newly popular grain amaranth will interest you. Many old theories (eg, that certain Mesoamerican indians were cannibalistic), are in one stroke shown to be false. The cuisine of the western hemisphere *IS* the cuisine of the world. The staple foods of Europe and Asia are often Maya/Aztec/Inca in origin. The humble potato and tomato, for instance, DID NOT EXIST *ANYWHERE* in the Eastern hemisphere until they were brought back from the west. Makes me wonder WHAT, exactly, did the Italians eat before they had the tomato?

Wonderful book; fascinating stories; important for women and men. Especially important for the significance of minority women writers.

Zitkala-Sa (Gertrude Bonnin) collected her autobiographical narratives from the Atlantic Monthly (1900-1902), and some fictional folktales, in this 1921 book. Obscure and out of print for decades, it was rediscovered in the 1970s and in 1985 was issued in this facsimile of the first edition, with a helpful forward by Dexter Fisher. It's tempting to call Zitkala-Sa the Native American Zora Neale Hurston, but Zitkala-Sa is too original to be seen as a version of anyone else. The story of her upbringing, and the deceptive luring of her to a missionary-sponsored school in the east, where she found herself held down as her hair was cut (a scene that reads with the intensity of a rape), is riveting and heartrending. Although bitter about her experiences, she achieved a full education in English, expertise on the violin (she performed in Paris), and finally the presidency of the National Council of American Indians, which successfully promoted a law making Native Americans citizens of the United States. The book as a whole reflects her empowerment, but also speaks eloquently in a conquering culture's language of what it is to have no power over your destiny or selfhood. Her integration of several competing selves led her to write this, in "The Great Spirit": "The racial lines, which once were bitterly real, now serve nothing more than marking out a living mosaic of human beings." I for one feel richer for having read this book, and knowing the story of an American hero in her own words. Very highly recommended to all.

I have never read any Native American literature before but, I had to read these stories for a Literature class and I thoroughly enjoyed them.

I would recommend this reading to anyone who is somewhat interested in the history of Native America or who is interest in great story telling. The stories are so visual and Zitkala Sa takes the reader through her childhood memories with passion, emotion, depth and sincerity. Her stories shed light on what happened in that era for those who aren't as familiar with the history of Native Americans. Her experience compels us as humans to take a closer look at our actions and strive to preserve the beauty and differences of all cultures not just of the Native American. Zitkala Sa emerges from her tragic experiences and her loss of culture and spirit to become one of the most notable Native American Activists fighting for the rights of her people and stressing the importance cultural preservation.

All these short stories are beautiful and moving.

I have never read any Native American literature before but, I had to read these stories for a Literature class and I thoroughly enjoyed them.

I would recommend this reading to anyone who is somewhat interested in the history of Native America or who is interest in great story telling. The stories are so visual and Zitkala Sa takes the reader through her childhood memories with passion, emotion, depth and sincerity. Her stories shed light on what happened in that era for those who aren't as familiar with the history of Native Americans. Her experience compels us as humans to take a closer look at our actions and strive to preserve the beauty and differences of all cultures not just of the Native American. Zitkala Sa emerges from her tragic experiences and her loss of culture and spirit to become one of the most notable Native American Activists fighting for the rights of her people and stressing the importance cultural preservation.

All these short stories are beautiful and moving.

North American Indian literature apparently stands alone in its willingness to publicly integrate the profane into the oral storytelling tradition. These stories--some already familiar to me through my former readings in American Indian mythology, most new--are captivating and clever. They are notable purely as art literature, apparently serving no etiologic purpose. If you enjoy these stories, take a look at the Winnebago trickster cycle as narrated in Paul Radin's "The Trickster." Radin's wacky character, by way of his X-rated adventures, ends up establishing much of the Winnebago cosmos.

For many years the "Trickster" and it's charecteristic was unknown to me. I heard this name everywhere when it came to native american studies, but I never knew how important is to get to know my own Trickster. this book help us all to find that within us.

American Indian Trickster Tales is a great way to spend the time, be it on a train, boat or jet. Myths and legends about the Coyote, the Spider-Man, the Raven and Master Rabbit. Shape shifters, fill of greed and cunning, this characters are always getting into trouble. The stories are sometimes funny, sometimes gross and sometimes a tad kinky, but they are old as the first humans to come to America and play an important part of Indian culture, past and present. But NOT for kids.

This is a well written group of trickster tales. It gives us a glimpse of what the Native Americans used to teach their children. The Trickster Tales gives the average person the ability to enjoy a piece of Native American culture. Pick up this book and you will read about a trickster tale lesson!

The author was the public relations spokesperson for the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, thus he had a great insiders perspective. He includes insightful insider stories. Great read!

From the very first page, I felt like I was there. Dick Yarbrough combines incredible professional credibility and integrity with expert story-telling. What a great read!

I was always suspicious about the goings-on behind the scenes during preparation for the Olympics in Atlanta.While Richard Yarbrough's book has not completely convinced me that all was well, it awakened me to the fact that the folks working in the trenches performed admirably under very adverse circumstances. It also confirmed my belief that the Committee's goals were undermined by a selfish and greedy city government. Yarbrough's account of preparation for the games, the bombing of Centennial Park and the competition is must reading for those who, like me, need to know the truth. Good going, Richard!

Dick Yarbrough's well written book really tells it like it is (was) with no holds barred. It is a fascinating behind-the-scenes peek into the very political upper levels of planning and running the Atlanta Olympic games. I highly recommend it to everyone. It is a must-read for Atlanta residents!

A Portrait of America

¬ Vicki S. Welch has produced a masterpiece with And They Were Related, Too: A Study of Eleven Generations of One American Family. The book came to my attention in a search for information about Antoine DeSant, an emigrant from the Cape Verde Islands who settled in New London, Connecticut, during the mid-nineteenth century. What I discovered in And They Were Related, Too was meticulous research and careful documentation of the family into which he married. His wife, Susan Congdon, was a granddaughter of Cuff Condol or Congdon, the patriarch whose descendants populate the more than 600 pages of this work. And what a family they were! They lived and worked as farmers and homemakers and blacksmiths and teachers and nurses and engineers. Some survived wars, epidemics, or natural disasters to live into their nineties. Others succumbed when they were just a few days old. They were of every ethnicity as the Native Americans of southeastern New England married Europeans and former slaves from Africa. The members of this large and diverse family can say along with Walt Whitman, "I contain multitudes." They truly are America.
And They Were Related, Too is a book to read from cover to cover - or to dip into here and there for the view it gives of every era in American history from before the founding of the nation to the present. As a journalist I always look for good stories, and the stories behind the census, vital records, and newspaper articles Ms. Welch has collected in such detail are captivating. Some are tragic: a destitute veteran of the American Revolution who struggled financially for years and died before he received a pension; a woman murdered by her husband; a daughter of the DeSants who spent thirty years or more at a state hospital for people with mental illness. There are tales of spectacular achievement as well. Probably the most famous Condol/Congdon descendant was the Reverend Amos Gerry Beman, son of Cuff's daughter Fannie, who became pastor of the Colored Congregational Church in New Haven and was an ardent supporter of suffrage and other rights for people of color before and after the Civil War. Another descendant was the organist at the Second Congregational Church in New London for 35 years and performed for Mark Twain at a concert in New York. One of Cuff's great-grandsons married a woman who promoted education for black women and worked alongside Susan B. Anthony to advocate for women's rights.
Most importantly some of Cuff's descendants left written records that allowed Vicki Welch to "connect the dots" and trace the family's long and complicated lineage. She makes good use of these works to support the otherwise sketchy records left by people who had to dedicate their lives to survival and had virtually no leisure to record their memories.
Everyone should own a copy of this book. Even if you don't find your own family's history here, it is a model of how to approach the work.

Liz Petry
author of "Can Anything Beat White? A Black Family's Letters"
published by the University Press of Mississippi
available at www.lizpetry.com

I purchased Vicki's book in order to have a source for our family's history. My father's cousin had shared with me my first clues into our ancestor's lives, and then I connected with Vicki Welch on a family message board..as she was researching what has turned out to be an exciting line of ancestors!
But reading the book was more amazing than I had imagined, and I learned SO much more than just "who my ancestors were." I was given a glimpse into the history of the area where I was raised..Connecticut..and I was thrilled to know how diverse my ancestry was!
And Vicki somehow brings it all to life..just as a small notation that was found about one of my ancestors noted that "he always carried a fiddle with him"...suddenly that "name" became a person. Vicki has done that with hundereds of "names" in the book..she has made me see them as living, breathing people..my people.
For people of color..for those of Native American ancestry..for those brought up in Connecticut..for those who enjoy good writing in a historical context..I would highly recommend this book.

This book is completely differant from any geneological book you will ever read! It looks at people of color and native americans in a way you would not believe. It's long but is deffinately worth reading and the author is also very devoted to what she does (trust me, I live with her.) She will show you things that takes years to find and learn that you would never expect to read about. Enjoy it.

This is much more than a detailed and first-rate genealogical study--although it is that. In this extraordinary work of research into of eleven generations of an American family, the Condols of southeastern Connecticut, Vicki Welch has in effect given us a core sample of history, a rich transverse section of American life in all its complexity, tragedy, travails, and triumph.

Welch has an astonishing grasp of the relevant sources and secondary literature, reflecting decades of genealogical research, chiefly focused on native Americans. While her book admirably follows the canons of her profession, the sheer scope of the extended family networks traced here leads Welch into almost every corner of American history, from descendants of Aaron Burr ("Yes, that Aaron Burr"--and perhaps Thomas Jefferson as well) to the Nehantic sachem Ninigret and the Chinese immigrant tea merchant Charlie Lee. At the same time, the depth of source material (much of it presented in full) fleshes out the lives of individuals with far more detail than in most genealogical studies. The extraordinary probate record of the family's patriarch, Cuff Condol, for example--which runs to fourteen printed pages, including a detailed inventory of such items as "one white fort cow $25 one read [red] D[it]to $25"--offers a rich window into the daily life, work, and social connections of a prosperous self-emancipated former slave in early nineteenth-century New England. Other key documents--wills, obituaries, newspaper articles, and a wealth of rare photographs--bring to life many of the more than 3,500 persons gathered here.

An unprecedented boon to genealogists and family historians far beyond Connecticut--Cuff Condol's descendants spread out throughout the nation and beyond--And They Were Related, Too also contains a rich vein of information that historians will mine for years. There is raw material here for innumerable future studies, and tantalizing threads to thousands of other stories. But the casual reader will find it fascinating, too, and may very well find connections to his or her own family history.

In particular, Welch's book illustrates the manifold ties in southern New England among Native Americans and Africans and Europeans of many backgrounds. It is hard to imagine that anyone could arrive at the end of this book still believing that there is such a thing as race; but the reality and centrality of ancestry shines forth as a gleaming flame. To read this book is to come to understand that family is the most important thing, and that it encompasses everything.

I remember reading H. Allen Smith's "Three Men On Third" years and years ago, and Salisbury's product is in the same vein. I enjoyed it tremendously: great choices, fun trivia, and the constant reminders that sports heroes are, after all, inestimably mortal. It is really too bad that Salisbury's stuff (see other titles on Amazon.com under his name) don't get a wider appreciation.

With dry wit and solid research, Luke Salisbury tackles that American creature known as baseball. He looks at why stats make the game so special, and how people get fascinated with quirks such as hitting streaks. Famous figures abound--Ted Williams, Joe DiMaggio, Ty Cobb, and of course, the Babe. There are lesser-known ones as well, such as Louis Sockalexis, baseball's first Indian, whose hot career fizzled due to alcoholism. Salisbury answers questions you'd never thought of before: who was baseball's first Polish player and how did "Dummy" Hoy get his nickname?

"The Answer Is Baseball" is packed with interesting facts for baseball fans of all ages!

This is a great book about baseball. The author does not ask stupid questions that anyone could look up for themselves. He doesn't treat baseball trivia like it is an answer to be found in an encyclopedia. Why is this book not in print?

If you have any interest in baseball--or if you were ever a devotee of H. Allen Smith's THREE MEN ON THIRD--you'll have trouble putting this one down. Yes, you will add tremedously to your factoid collection and probably never again pay for another glass of whatever you drink at your local watering hole. But that's only half the story of this book. Salisbury loves his subject and that sympathy for facts is contagious, reminding us that "fan" does come from "fanatic." Yes, some of the collection tells stories that are not very happy, and Boston fans are going to struggle reliving the part on Conigliaro, but Salisbury does an excellent job throughout. I finally forced myself to a chapter a night just to prolong things.

This book is worth the paper it is written on, the photographs are beautiful, the words are rich, and the stories offer various views of what its like to be a young black woman in the 90's. If you have a few hours to expand your mind, then this book will assist you.

"As I Am" is a perfectly edited and beautifully photographed collection of thoughts and images from some of today's most eloquent and inspiring young women like, Danzy Senna (author of "Caucasia"). The images and quotes bring to mind Brian Lanker's "I Dream a World". I can't wait to share this one with my friends and family. Truly inspiring!!!!

I finally have found a book that is true to life and modern concerning the plight and challenges of young Black women. It is a truly magnificent collection. The women with the pages fulfill the purpose of motivating and inspiring others. Each women in this book is an example of hope. As I was reading the book, I was emotionally struck by the uniqueness of their lives yet many other women, I know, can relate to their experiences.

Okwu seems to have the gift of finding beautiful people with outstanding lives. The photo shots were magnificent and added a particularly captivating life to the words.

Thanks again for a true to life teaching book of amazing stories. One may use their examples of coping and harvesting energy for development of their own positive future. Truly a gift to have to read or give to someone who you love.

This is a wonderful book. Okwa focuses on the narratives of young African-American women who have taken their passion to heart and made successful careers and important contributions to society. A highlight of this text is that it not only has amazing photographs anchoring these women within the contexts they work and live in, but also highlights their struggles, especially academic and personal, along the way.

This book is also helpful for people agonizing over career choices. For every person who has wanted to major in Women's Studies or History but wondered what to do with it--here are examples of powerful people who take the study of the humanities and arts to exciting new places, from television producing, to free-lance photography, to well-respected academia.

This book also has a companion one---"Face Forward." This other volume examines African-American men, who, as a whole, are also facing a critical time in American society.

Get both---buy Both, and draw strength and power from those who have struggled before you. Okwa is a master photographer and lets the compelling narratives of these women shine. We all should do the same.

The delivery came even before the due date and I think that was super-excellent. Keep it up.

This is the type of African-American history book I have been searching for! The Atlas of African-American History and Politics offers not only a detailed chronilogical narrative of the African-American's history from slavery to today, but also clean-crisp visuals to clarify. You will learn and see the actual routes that were taken during slave trades. Not only is this book great for African-American study courses, but every household in America should have a copy of this easy read, yet informative atlas.

This is the type of African-American history book I have been searching for! The Atlas of African-American History and Politics offers not only a detailed chronilogical narrative of the African-American's history from slavery to today, but also clean-crisp visuals to clarify. You will learn and see the actual routes that were taken during slave trades. Not only is this book great for African-American study courses, but every household in America should have a copy of this easy read, yet informative atlas.

Excellent, informative reference guide. Clear and concise information. A must for your library!

If you have a copy of Volume 2 (Gulls, Terns and Skimmers) for sale, please notify me.

Kasieluka@aol.com

the best of the best, be sure to get all three volumes, i have found these books to be the most accurate from florida to canada, and new jersey to california

I looked for a long time for the best book with photos not someones idea what the birds look like. Also it gives excellent data on identification, breeding, habitat and comparisons

Every serious birder should have the Master Guide. Unforntunately it is out of print and until the publisher decides to release it again so that one can have the complete set of all three volumes, it will leave a void in one's birding library. It might be out of date (1983), but the photographs for the most part as well as the text are extremely helpful when used in conjunction with other field guides. Sometimes it is the guide that will finally answer the question of what bird was that when the other guides have left you guessing. Here's hoping the publisher, Alfred A. Knopf, will release all three volumes again real soon! stormpetrel@msn.com

Well printed, nicely written and interesting with a forward describing his life-- Castaneda is nothing comparing what has happened to this man and it's for real. Buy it, you wont regret!

If you wish a clear, objective overview of shamanic worldview, this book is outstanding. The introduction alone (which is all I have read so far) is worth a great deal. Without being dressed up in obscurities, there is much to learn here.

Along with Schultes' and Raffauf's Vine of the Soul, this is one of the best books on ayahuasca ever written. Luis Eduardo Luna is one of the world's leading authorities on this intriguing subject and Pablo Amaringo is equally knowledgeable. A treasure trove of info and art for anyone interested in art, the Amazon, and shamanism-

I have tried time and again to pick up this book and read the text in sequence, but the full-page color plates of Pablo Amaringo's paintings always pull me away from the text and into the world of shamans, angels, devils, serpents, jungle cats, mermaids, and aliens. I've read a lot of the text, but usually I have done so in search of an explanation for the images in specific paintings.

My first ayahuasca experiences were under the guidance of Luis Eduardo Luna. His knowledge of plant lore, chemistry, shamanism, and human nature is awe-inspiring, and I do want to read his words, but the pull of Pablo Amaringo's images has been too strong for me to resist thus far. I'm glad to have this book on my shelf because whenever someone asks me about ayahuasca, I know that I can place this book in their hands and the images will capture their imagination and make them hungry to learn more.