North America Books

Well written biography. Moves along with a smooth pace. Has the feel of an exciting novel rather than a history. Will be of interest to southern Californians and particularly Angelenos. Those who have seen the movie, "There Will Be Blood" will find this story worthwhile.

The book was very interesting and historical. The writer was excellent and easy to read and understand.

Margaret Leslie Davis has done it again with another fine biography. Ms. Davis shows us the inner man of Edward L. Doheny, one of the richest and greatest Californians in history, virtually the John D. Rockefeller, Sr. of the West. Doheny was flat broke at the ripe age of 40 and yet within a few years he became one of the richest men in the country through his wild-cat oil discoveries in Los Angeles and Mexico. The break-up of Rockefeller's Standard Oil by the U.S. Supreme Court left Doheny an opening which he exploited adroitly. Most impressive is Ms. Davis's keen legal understanding and her scrupulous attention to noting her sources. In fact, the "notes" at the end of the book are arranged so that the top of the page refers the reader to the page number of the text thereby making it very easy to flip back and check the source. A small detail, perhaps, but much appreciated. Ms. Davis is a true scholar; her legal training shows itself especially when discussing the Tea Pot Dome scandal that ultimately tarnished Doheny's reputation. In short, Ms. Davis is becoming our finest historian on the West and particularly California.

Good read, except for the fact that the author deliberately omitted the fact that Ned Doheny & Hugh Plunkett were gay. Ned Doheny probably was bisexual and he spent a lot of time with his buddy Hugh Plunkett. Certainly the Doheny family asked the author to downplay this issue in exchange for their co-operation with the book. Hugh was more than a "private secretary". I assume the author is straight; so she would not understand Ned's sexuality; Ned was spoiled rotten, an only child, and was given everything money could buy. It is a wonder Hollywood never made a film of this story; perhaps the Doheny family have something to do with this? In 1929, it was assumed that Ned and Hugh were lovers. Ms Davis has tried to change history? For a price? The public is not that stupid. Especially now with the scandals coming out of that seminary in Camarillo for pediphile priests that Estelle Doheny donated so many millions to. It is a wonder the Doheny family did not provide more photos as there are more at the USC library than Ms Davis was able to come up with in this book. The Beverly Hills Historical Society has a better collection of photos of Greystone; fully furnished in its heyday than you see in this book. Behind every great fortune there is a great crime. I expected to read something I had not heard before; but she is afraid to go there. Did Lucy Battson die with her secret? It was scandalous to be gay in those days, but not now. Maybe a gay author could have done the story justice. Her details about the oil fields are great; it is the social history that is lacking. We all know that the greatest export from Ireland is its people.......

This book is a fascinating look at the life and times of one Edward Doheny the onetime founder of Mexican Oil Company prior to the nationalization of reserves by the revolutionary PRI party in the early days of their power. The narrative follows the career of Mr. Doheny from his modest prospector days in the Wild West to the heights of his infamy during the Teapot Dome scandal.

This is perhaps a timely book as well given the questions being raised at the time of this writing about corporate malfeasance and corruption in the U.S. (Enron). Teapot Dome was one of the biggest political scandals in the first half of the 20th century and involved the leasing of government/public lands in preserve areas for energy development. More than one person went to prison and wrongdoing was proven against multiple individuals in the matter.

The book makes the case that Doheny was more or less guilty of poor judgment and being in the wrong place at the wrong time more or less. It is true of course that Doheny was found innocent on the charges and it is also true that despite this Teapot Dome is the matter for which he is best known (despite for instance being a contemporary and rival of John D. Rockefeller in the oil business). If in fact he was innocent of the charges then he paid a heavy price in terms of his health and the somewhat mysterious death of his son, which was either suicide or murder depending on who you ask and how you look at it.

For those with an interest in the biographies of the early titans of U.S. industry this is a worthy read in that it does detail Mr. Doheny's rise to power as well as his fall from grace. He came from a modest background and did not make his fortune until after the age of 40 in a time before life expectations averaged 70+. He suffered through personal loses and setbacks and managed at the time of his death, despite the misfortunes, to bequeath a sizeable fortune to his heirs. This book may also be of particular interest in the study of Los Angelos in particular and California in general in that the Doheny's were prominent citizens who built some noteworthy structures in the city including religious and educational facilities.

The author acknowledges that she had the cooperation and blessings of the descendants of Mr. Doheny and that a good body of original documentation was available for review and research. This provides an intimate look at the lives of the people in question but it also may cause the thesis to lean towards their views. The book does tend to exonerate Doheny in Teapot Dome and it does make a good argument that his involvement was not profitable and that the Navy Dept in fact sought him out because of rising fears of the Japanese Navy in the years leading up to WWII. It was a condition of Mr. Doheny's development of the area under lease to him that he build an extensive oil storage and supply facility for the Navy in the Hawaiian Isles out of his own pocket. This he did and subsequently was not reimbursed when the lease was negated despite having spent many millions in pre-WWII monies. It is also I believe true to state that it was Henry Sinclair who was the actual lease holder on the Teapot Dome acreage and that Doheny was leased an entirely separate parcel of public land. Sinclair along with Interior Secretary Albert Fall went to prison in the affair but Doheny was also tarred and feathered by the affair.
Whether the delivery of $100,000 in cash by Doheny's son to Sec. Fall was in fact a personal loan much as one might expect between old prospecting buddies (which they were) is really a matter of conjecture. At any rate there was clearly the appearance of impropriety in the matter and both Doheny's son and the man accompanying him that night were involved in a murder/suicide after indictment but before trial. With the principle witness gone and little other corobative evidence Mr. Doheny's celebrity legal representation did get him acquitted although he was convicted in the court of public opinion.

Personally I am inclined to believe a man of his stature might loan a friend the sum in question but I also would not be surprised if a quid pro quo were expected in return. You see there was any number of companies competing in secret for the government contracts and it is interesting that both men who won had either the appearance of impropriety or were outright convicted of bribery. Part of the reason Doheny was spared prison was in fact due to the death of his son and his earnest and teary eyed appearance on the witness stand where he looked the part of a grieving grandfatherly figure who had lost something money could not replace.
It is an intriguing story and well written book, not terribly long or archaic for the casual reader. While it is a history book it is in fact also the story of an interesting chapter in American business and personality history.

Limón's novel spans almost a century in the history of a Mexican family, beginning with Don Flavio Betancourt, a man who has nothing until he wins his boss's hacienda in a card game. The story revolves around two forbidden loves; one between Don Flavio's wife and his sister, the other between his daughter and an Indian. Limón begins her story during Don Flavio's final days, and his memories lay out the general course of events within the first few chapters. Then, using a mixture of flashbacks and mysterious discoveries, she allows her characters to slowly reveal to each other (and to the reader) secrets which have been hidden along the way. This extremely well-written novel will entertain until the final page.

Graciela Limon has continued her tradition of giving us the real story from the point of view of indignas rather than settling for an accepted view of history. Just as she takes the Hummingbird god of war in Song of the Hummingbird and makes him the female diety Huitzitzilin, she invokes the male diety Xipe Totec and makes him female. Limon rewrites traditional mythology and gives power to the female. Her choice to call the Tarahumara tribe, Raramuri, the name they prefer rather than by the name the Spaniards gave them allows these people to have their own voice. On top of these accomplishments she gives us an innovative story and tells it so well we. Limon's descriptions compliment the quality of her storytelling. Some are so effective that they give you chills, as when she describes a young girl's horror of the shadows caught inthe corners of windows. She says, "The shadows that clung to the vaulted ceilings like giant blackbirds scared her (76)." Limon's treatment of the different faces of silence gives her story strength. From the silence that the protagonist's sister weilds to the silence that the scheming plotting protagonist Flavio maintains, and the silence of Isadora after she meets with a fateful demise, silence is a mechanism for mystery and intrigue. Day of the Moon is definitely a book you can't put down. To read it is to be transported to another world, to another place in time, and into the lives of a type of people most of us have never even thought of.

What a wonderful book! Once I had started, I could not put it down. I see it as a combination of Romeo and Juliet (but this Juliet tries to shoot her father), Othello (but the "general" here is jealous of his sister's love for his wife), and maybe even some Cask of Amontillado thrown in for good measure (yes, someone is walled up). Classic themes, however, are treated in a fresh way-lots of them, including family secrets, murder, dismemberment, casting out, imprisonment, forbidden love, racism, and a quest for one's place and identity. What is particularly interesting is the way the novel is set up with sections devoted to most of the main characters. All are told with the omnicient point of view except one, this one almost in the very middle of the book and coming from the voice of Ursula Santiago who by speaking in a letter appears to be talking directly to the reader. Graciela Limon has written a wonderful novel illuminating the situation of the Indians who escaped the Spanish Conquest by fleeing to the mountains and caves, a place called El Cañón del Cobre. The Spanish called the people the Tárahumara, but their name for themselves is Rarámuri.

Read this excellent book. It will capture you completely.

a skillful portrayal of "forbidden" loves!

from the first page, graciela limon takes her readers by the hand (and heart!) and leads them deep into a mostly misguided world where secrecy and shame shroud and shackle life's inhabitants -- but where real and true love will be neither silenced nor denied anymore!

thanks to well-crafted and meaningful writing -- you, too, will fall in love! ... with a character, with a belief, with a cause! the power of the passion that has been poured into these pages will ignite in you a fire, and incite you to rise up alongside these courageous "underdogs" -- and to fight against a man/society who/that so cunningly, coldly, and diabolically plots, schemes, connives and contrives to control those, who by virtue of nature and gender, have been born and are considered to be lesser/weaker, by condemning them to living deaths - for loving those who are "forbidden" -- and, in one way or another, by taking the lives of their "forbidden" lovers.

who can read, and not feel, the pleasure and pain that seduces and sways the lonely brigida as she first lays eyes on her brother's betrothed? only to be forced to succumb to an empty life devoid of her existence. -- and -- who can bear witness to, and not be affected by, the finish of the raramuri's race - in which isadora's too-brown-skinned young lover will, quite literally, run away forever with her heart!

yet, there is the promise of triumph amidst the tragedy -- the novel ends with new hope in the form and character of alondra, isadora's daughter, for this "bird that sings sweetly and flies to unknown distances" becomes intrigued by the passion(ate stories) of her past/ancestors, and returns to her roots in search of a better and brighter (a more enlightened) tomorrow.

as one of limon's characters reminds us: "some spirits are made for one another" -- and, until the day comes when we are free to live and love without fear, condemnation or reserve on THIS side of the sierras, we have our/The Day of the Moon = a must read! especially for anyone who has ever been tormented by and/or lived a "forbidden" love!

Limon uses a historical setting in Mexico during one of the many Mexican revolutions to spin a tale of forbidden love, jealousy, and opression of native peoples. All readers from teen to adult ages would enjoy it. Beautiful language is used in description of characters and setting. The reader can really picture the people and places. I highly recommend this book, not only for the story, but also for the important underlying themes concerning the Raramuri people of Mexico.

I love the art of Bev Doolittle. This is just a great book to add to my collection.

When I first looked at this book, I rolled my eyes. The Earth is My Mother? But when I opened the book, and I began to read, something made me want to cry, and make a difference. I understand Sarah's love for nature, and the inspiring tale of her makes me want to stand up and save the world. The way all her snapshots oddly made one picture of a mother, HER mother, OUR Mother, it just made me so happy. This book looked so..well..stupid, and right now, I can hardly believe my previous thoughts about it. I practically hugged this book. The next day, when I almost littered, I stopped myself, because I remembered this book. A life changing tale about a girl who makes a difference...all for her dead mother, and though she didn't know it, for herself...to protect Magic Canyon.

Another "earth" book I love for the illustrations is:
Dear Children of the Earth.
I also love a novel about how hope can work miracles, that is an all-time FAVORITE of mine:
The Secret Garden

If you and your children love nature and the outdoors, give yourself a treat and read this book together. I read this with my 10 year olds, and all three of us loved it. There is enough adventure to spark a child's imagination, and the tale provides opportunities for teaching one's children about important conservation issues. The artwork is wonderful, and we had the poster which is included with the book matted and framed. My girls love to look at the poster, and discuss again the details of the story that are depicted in this wonderful artwork by Bev Doolittle. This is a book that your children will remember and return to again and again.

This is a beautifully written adventure story set in the Southwest which my son and daughter, ages 10 and 11, both loved. It made a terrific family 'read aloud' for all of us. Like most kids today, they are conservationists and lovers of nature and Native American lore. The author artfully sets forth an important environmental issue, destruction of habitat, in an adventure-story format. The 11 year old heroine, Sarah, is brave and delightful, wrestling not only with saving the earth but family difficulties my kids empathized with. The illustrations by Bev Doolittle -- 'camoflague' art the kids loved to piece together -- are gorgeous. We loved it! I'm ordering a few copies for friends -- it's a great summer read for kids.

THE EARTH IS MY MOTHER is the tale of a girl named "Star" -- a spunky 11-year and a true heroine. EMM has been beautifully illustrated by Bev Doolittle--known for her "camouflage" Native American and wildlife artwork. Since millions of dollars from the proceeds of Ms. Doolittle's works have gone to support the National Wildlife Federation, you can imagine the major theme of this book is the preservation of the wilderness. The storyline is based on Ms. Doolittle's concept but the text was actually written by Elise Maclay, author of two books of poetry, "Approaching Autumn" and "Green Winter." EMM is a feast for the ear and the eye.

I cannot praise this book enough as it reflects all my core beliefs--that girls can be strong, brave, and caring individuals, that traditional cultures have much to teach us, that we are all part of the great circle of life, and that we are made from stardust and the earth is our mother.

As a childhood fan of Laura Ingalls Wilder's stories, Thorton Burgess' "Old Mother West Wind" tales, and fan of American Indian traditions and lore as well as a lover of the great outdoors, I was pleased to discover a book I could hand to my granddaughters with these words, "You want to know what life is about? read this book."

I found this book while browsing in the library and came on here in hopes of finding one to buy for me and for one of my cousins. I guess I'm going to have to look in some second-hand shops now. A wonderful story, I admit I cried in some parts. Definately one to keep.
A young girl named Irina lives out in the country with her parents, helping on the farm. Her parents told her a while ago that she was getting to old to celebrate christmas and so they have no tree, no decorations and she is only allowed to buy one gift for herself. Trying to pick something to please her mother she ends up spying an old wooden horse in a junk shop window that she wants to save because it's being crushed. Her mother is not pleased with her choice,("probably a mass of wormwood!" claims her mother)but they allow her to take it home. That's where the story continues from(for that is truly the start of the story), but, it's hard to love an enchanted thing.

A wonderful,enchanting story.A little girl named Irina is sad and lonely.She discovers a giant horse figure in an old shop and begs to keep it.Irina loves her pretend horse so much that it turns into a real live horse!!Then it runs away!!

I thought The Enchanted Horse was a cool book.I liked it because it is easy to read and it was about a horse. It is a story about a girl and a magical horse. I liked reading it lots. If you like animals and magic I think you will like this book.

I picked this from the library to do a reading project on fairy tales. I didn't know how it was going to turn out. But, it was a great book.

This book was just a guess; I picked it up at the book fair with no expectations a few years ago. It turned out to be a beautiful, involving book that enthralled me. I still remember it fondly and always will as a glowing story of Christmas.

My copy of this book is in tatters, because I have read it so much. Since buying the book I went on a canoeing expedition to one of the northern rivers Cliff talks about in the book. I would agree with most of what Cliff recommends. This book or the newer edition is a must if you are going to do an extended canoe trip in the wilderness.

Good reference book, interesting read. The section on BEARS pays for the whole thing. Here I thought I was doing right, but now I find that I am lucky I ain't been et yet.

This book takes you through the planning, paddling, and post adventure stages of an expedition canoeing experience. It is a very thorough collection of expedition canoeing issues, from one of the leading authorities on expedition canoe travel.

A terrific read for novices and pros alike. The writing is easy to follow and accompanied by detailed diagrams and photos.

It is required reading for all of our guides and clients taking part in one of our expeditions.

This is not a book for the novice. I suppose it would be enjoyed but to really apprieciate the excellent ideas and tips, I think one would need to have many wilderness miles in your log. I rank this book with Colin Fletcher's [The Complete Walker] from back in the 70's at the top of the advanced "how to books" list. Well written with just the right amount of stories and humor. This is not to be read by just those useing canoes or traveling the far north. If you spend as much time as you can get away with "out there" you will love this read.

Cliff Jacobson has once agian set a new standard for canoe tripping literature. In his most recent publication, Expedition Canoeing: A guide to Canoeing Wild Rivers in North America, Jabobson goes where no other book of this kind has gone. The book is a thorough and comprehensive collection of every aspect of expedition canoe travel. Jacobson covers everything from choosing a river to the meals that you can prepare in barren land, but what sets this book apart from others is that he includes his own novel concepts for the trail alongside time-tested techniques that only someone with his experience can add. This book will surely become the standard against which all other books of this nature will be measured. The book is an absolute must for anyone wishing to venture north with a canoe.

I found this book to be an excellent overview of Falcony. It has a good section describing the different types of raptors suitable for the sport, and some interesting descriptions and drawings relating to training and equipment. However, I would not attempt to use this book as a "how-to" manual. It doesn't have nearly enough detail on any subject. In places it can be a little difficult to follow. I am pleased with my copy and will be happy to add it to my library.

This is a great little book. Frank Beebe packs all the essential information around hawk training into this book, drawing on decades of practical experience and research. Beebe writes with the authority of someone who has actually practised what he is preaching, rather than some authors who seem to have written a falconry book for the sake of personal aggrandizement. He also writes in excellent English, almost with an academic eloquence.

He deals with all three classes of falconry birds: buteos, accipiters and falcons, and draws very useful comparisons between them on temperament, character and hunting application.

Note however that the book is mostly a training manual, and with the exception of a very interesting chapter on the history of falconry regulation in the US, it about trapping, furniture and hunting. If you want a book with detail on hawk care, dog training, breeding and housing then choose another one (I recommend Emma Ford's for all except breeding and dogs, Nick Fox's for the former and Diana Durman-Walters' for the latter). Note also that its a North American text - the chapters on trapping and bagged quarry are of no use to a UK falconer.

This is an excellent book for people who are intrested in falconry. At one time falconry was the sport of the noble gentry. This book does a real service in describing these intelligent, beautiful birds of prey and how falconers work with them.

A must have for prospective falconers.

This book has very good information for beginners who are a little confused. A very good profiling on individual species. Also good section on equipment. I found it very informative and worthwhile the price.

I am relatively new to the world of falconry. As a result, I am reading just about everything I get my hands on. Frank Beebe is an undisputed master on the subject of falconry. I found that Mr. Beebe's style of writing, presents the information in a very easy to read & understand format. After having read this book, it convinced me that I should order his major work entitled "A Compleat Falconer". I am certain that it is most probably "The Bible" for falconry. An excellent book by an excellent author.

I love writers like the Sills, who can write with humor, tongue-in-cheek comments, and illustrate with equally supurb drawings. Even my husband laughed, and he usually doesn't pick up such books. The Sills take a serious topic - at least most birders I know seem so serious about their "lists" - and turn it into a very fun read. (I plan to use it in language arts classes this year for examples of many literary terms, especially alliteration.)

This book was not written for bird watchers, but for those people who are looking for subtle and intelligent humor. The authors start with the characteristics of birds and then add features of other items. My favorite bird was the White-Lined Roadrunner or Geococcys Alba-linearis, whose habitat is a series of interstate highways, primarily in the southwest United States. The last two sentences in the description are "Feet have a unique radial tread pattern. Environmental noise can obscure the call, which is an occasional beep."
Each bird is given English then "Latin" names, followed by a description, and then hints for better observation. You must read the descriptions carefully to catch all of the subtlety of the humor, but if you do, it will amuse you.

I have been a fan of these exquisite little bird guides since I first stumbled on volume 1 at Hearthside Books in Juneau, Alaska in 1988. At that time, I decided to purchase a raft of these guides and they became excellent gifts for other lovers of wildlife over the years.

Since then I have passed both volumes around to our guests when I do tours as a naturalist in Haines, (SE) Alaska. The drawingsare so realistc, even the Elderhostlers think they are real birds...and laugh as they figure out the joke...Highly recommended for all those with a sense of humor and love of birds. Thank you Sills!!!!

I highly recommend this book as a gift for any birder. Anyone who has attempted to find a way to tell a "greater" from a "lesser" or who has tried to learn those hard to recall Latin names will appreciate it!

I have been afflicted with Serious Birders Disease. You know the symptoms, flitting from Peterson to Stokes to Sibley and beyond, memory fading. Was it a yellow bill, blue legs, black feet or was it black bill, yellow feet? It gets worse and worse with each passing hour. They all begin to look alike. I was becoming frantic.

Finally a friend came to the rescue with the best antidote yet - the little field guide by Ben, Cathryn and John Sill "A Field Guide to Little-Known & Seldom-Seen Birds. Symptoms disappear within 24 hours. Laughter, after all, is the best medicine. Never again will I venture into the field with quite the same driven attitudes - unless, of course, I think I have finally happened upon the elusive ringed gimpy (see pp 26-27).

I saw an earlier edition of the "Golden Guide to Fishing" many years ago when I was young and it left an impression on me then. I always believed it would make a nice addition for teaching the Fishing Merit Badge in Boy Scouts. After purchasing and reading the new edition, I am convinced. A great resource for not only the beginning fisherman, but also for experienced anglers as well.

Aside from being a good, introductory guide to fishing, this book's artwork makes it a classic of 1960s artwork. The book contains great old photographs of men in waders, leaping tuna, and dead fish hanging from hooks, as well as terrifically kitschy drawings of various trout, reels, knots, and mahi-mahi.
The book is well organized and thorough, and even contains an index.
I'll keep my copy forever.

I have owned several editions and copies of this book, going way back to the first edition when I was 9. I used it to become one of the best fisherwomen in our family.
That first edition book got lost in my travels, so I got the new edition for my older daughter to use it for a ready reference for fishing tips when on trips. She is 25 now and is a good fisherwoman like her mother. That book eventually got lost too, so I got another new edition for my youngest daughter of 12 and also for myself so I can learn how to fish on the Southeast Coast of the United States. I am 50 now and still take the book with me whenever I go fishing in the Pacific Northwest as a ready reference on fishing rig set ups.

This is a great book for those who want to carry a concise reference on fishing. The book is easy to read and locating information is no problem.
I try to not leave home without a copy!

"Golden Books" were great for my children and grandchildren, and now their "Fishing", "A Guide To Fresh and Salt-water", book helps me with salt-water fish identification and tackle preparation. I have recently relocated to the S.C. coast and do a lot of salt-water fishing. With all of the rules and regulations relative to fish size and limits, "Fishing" comes in handy in identifying the fish caught so as not to run afoul of the "man" by having the wrong fish in the creel.

This is the third book of Parkman's that I've read. Previously, I read Pioneers of France in the New World and The Jesuits in North America. About all three I would say a) they are absolutely amazing works of brilliant, inspired scholarship, b) Parkman's measured, objective, caring approach to the topics -- and the beauty and tone of his writing -- is extremely compelling, and c) my grade school, high school, and college education did not provide me with the gritty, fascinating facts about what REALLY happened back in the 17th Century in North America.

This is not James Michener (as much as I have enjoyed his works) packaging and making sense of history -- or the dry, intellectualized expert texts I had to read in school -- or the politically correct wholesome simplified upbeat teachings of my youth, with for example the perfect Puritans and the friendly Indians sharing Thanksgiving.

This is what really happened, detail by detail, based on exhaustive research of original texts -- letters, reports, maps, government documents, earlier histories, etc. Fortunately for Parkman, the early adventurers did a lot of writing, including many of the members of religious orders who accompanied or in some cases led the explorations.

My main takeaway from these true histories is how incredibly dangerous, unsuccessful, and unpredictable the courses of events were in these times (and probably in our time as well). In a way they are like anti-stories, or anti-history. Good often does not prevail over evil; heroes do scandalous things; scoundrels act heroic; no one is assuredly, consistently good or evil; when you least expect it there is a generous caring act; and when you least expect it, when all is going well, there is a foolish, unfortunate, destructive act that ruins all that has been accomplished, etc.

That is, while there may be certain patterns in events, these patterns themselves are constantly shifting, and the most logical and predictable outcomes almost never happen. In other words, Parkman has truly captured life in all its shades of grey and inconsistencies.

His treatment of the Indians is a perfect example. By modern day standards, it is egregiously politically incorrect. But he reveals them in all of their savagery, helpfulness, childish immaturity, wisdom, thievery, generosity, deceit, and unpredictable kindness. The commonplace cannibalism and similarly common extreme forms of repulsive torture done by Indians are carefully documented and reported throughout his texts, as well as the way their easily given friendship essentially saved the lives of most of the key European adventurers at one time or another.

These books are definitely not for the faint of heart or people who want a simplistic "Dummies Guide" to history!

While there is a new Introduction, this is the historic account of Robert LaSalle's exploration of the Louisiana territory in the 1680s. Parkman first published this treatise in 1869; it has since been reprinted numerous times. An excellent, thoroughly engrossing recounting of the exploration of the territory which LaSalle claimed for France in 1682, through which the reader not only learns of the daily travails of the little band of explorers, but also, the human frailties of the man, Robert Cavelier, known as LaSalle. This book gives life to a name from history, and exemplifies the methodical research done by Parkman in the days before telephones, faxes, and copiers. I was thoroughly impressed by the subject and the writer. Excellent; informative, totally enthralling reading-writers of today should take note! Kudos to the publishers (and Krakauer) for bringing this series (back) to life!

Parkman is that unusual combination of great scholar and wonderful writer. His books depicting the history of French exploration of North America and the conflict between the French and the British for control of North America remain the basic narratives of these events. Parkman's writing, combining narrative, psychological insight into major historical actors, and use of rhetoric that seamlessly reflects his narrative, is often superb. This particular book is almost entirely devoted to the career of the Sieur De La Salle, the French explorer obsessed with establishing French control over the Mississippi valley. Parkman provides vivid portraits of the almost incredible hardships of travel in North America, the character of politics in the French colonies, and an insightful treatment of La Salle and his associates. Parkman's powerful but restrained language often recalls the style of Tacitus.

I picked this up on a lark and found I couldn't put it down. A fascinating story, extremely well written and a pure pleasure to read. I travel extensively and found it amazing how many places I go to regularly have a direct link to La Salle. Couldn't recommend it more.

Frances Parkman was a man who lived and breathed his history. He not only researched his subjects thoroughly, but seems to have crawled inside their heads as well.

Parkman's gift for bringing people alive is nowhere more evident than in this complex story of Robert Cavalier de la Salle's attempt to realize his dream of making France a leader in the new world. Parkman's skillful examination of the man behind the story lets the reader understand why LaSalle and his ideas were the cause of such controversy. At the same time, Parkman paints a vivid picture of the new world frontier as it existed in LaSalle's time. This is a book that can be savored on many levels: as an entertaining adventure story, a psychological thriller, and a historical reference.

Parkman's prose is rich and full of details you will need to understand the complexity of the charcters and the consciousness of the times. Therefore, you should be prepared to spend time working your way through this book. Whenever I tried to hurry through a section, I found that I missed something important that was needed later on. In other words, patience is needed, but well worth it. Parkman was a true lover of history and the people who shaped it and it shows.

Regardless who you are or what you read, you can't be anything but 100 percent into this Native American story. I wish I had a "ghost in the rainbow." We should all be so blessed by our "ancestors".

I am neither a Native American nor anyone who has suffered from substance abuse but I am an animal lover and I LOVED this book. I loved the characters, the story, and the way it was written. I had a hard time putting this book down. I think this story would make a good made-for-TV movie.

This is a thrilling story of one woman's determination to learn the truth behind the murder of a young child. Her search for truth plunges her not only into the world of a psychotic killer but into her own inner world where she must confront personal relationships, alcoholism and her desperate search for spiritual peace. This is also a story of the bond between a woman and her dog that transcends both time and bounderies of this physical world. Myra Whitehawk is one of the most compelling characters in my reading experience, and Ghost In The Rainbow is a book you won't want to miss. I'm glad I didn't!

Ghost in the Rainbow is a compulsive read. I couldn't put it down. Because of my own battles with alcoholism and substance abuse, the path the heroine takes touched me deeply and even helped me to confront some of my own demons. That I should be so spiritually and psychologically helped by a book of crime fiction illiustrates how deeply real is Ms. Woodruff's understanding of life. After the vapid musings of many of the current bestsellers, Ghost in the Rainbow explores the extremes of human emotion with courage, humor and the rare sensibility of a Native American worldview. Without a doubt, one of the best novels of the year.

What a fabulous read! Woodruff deftly intertwines her thrilling search for a serial killer with the internal journey of Native American writer Myra Whitehawk as her life disintegrates around her. The book never loses momentum and provides us with moments of genuine feeling and insight. I highly recommend it!