North America Books

The photography in this collection is some of the best, most colorful that I've seen. The interviews with the people in the book are very well done.
This is a must for anyone that has an interest in the native American culture.

I found this book to be entertaining and infomative. It moves the reader to a better understanding of the Native American Indian, their customs and their celebration of life.

Never have I found a more informative book on "the People" as this one. Being Native American myself, and wanting to learn more about my heritage, this book answered questions I've had for years. The pictures are amazingly vibrant. This book makes me proud to be a part of the Native American family.

I have had the pleasure of meeting over half of the people featured in this book. For those wishing to know more about Native American culture and pow wows, one would be hard pressed to find a better book. A beautiful illustration of a magnificent culture.

For anyone interested in Powwow and the American Indians, this book is a treat! It is loaded with beautiful photos of the dancers and their regalia as well as a wonderfully readable text. Each dancer profiled shares his or her own thoughts on being Indian in America today as well as what Powwow means to them. I found it hard to put down and I learned so much from these wonderful people who were willing to share their experiences.

I got this for the child of a friend of mine. The friend is an artist and I thought it would be fun for mother and child to read it and talk about art as history. It is such a lyrical work, expressing the concept of physical manifestation of history so well, I almost kept it for myself. We don't often think of small bits of things carrying history but, as this book illustrates so well, every piece of everything has its own story.

This is a beautiful book--in text, in illustration, in design, in concept. The warm earth tones are pleasing to the eye; they do not detract from the book's central messages: the value of historical-mindedness and respect for civilizations of the past. Though the book is intended for children, adults can glean quite a lot of educational treasure from it as well. I love the following soul-stirring statement from the book: "...every piece of clay is a piece of someone's life." A perfect reminder that, in the past, pottery was not only useful, it was highly personal and culturally meaningful. Pottery merged function with art. Without "libraries" of pottery surviving the centuries, we would have lost much human history.

Baylor's worthy book provides an intriguing introduction to basic archaeology, and it would be an appropriate supplement to any class and / or discussion about the cultures of the ancient Southwest or their art. I do feel, however, that most children under five years old might not understand / appreciate many of concepts well enough to make true connections with the story, especially if they are from a region other than the Southwest. Certain vocabulary words could be a challenge for these youngsters: desert, pottery, ancient, thousand, kneel, perky, speckled, polishing, tribe, fierce, canyons, ceremonies, etc. If I were selecting the target audience of children for this product, I would probably say 6 to 10 year olds rather than the given 4-8 year olds. But that's just my opinion! :)

Especially nice is the small map at the back, which shows where four prehistoric Native American cultures flourished: the Anasazi, the Hohokam, the Mimbres, and the Mogollon. The pottery of these cultures inspired the designs used in this book. My favorite illustrations are those of Kokopellie, the flute player, and the ones with celestial themes. Somehow, I found the bear-wrestling image rather funny! :) All in all, I am quite satisfied with this book--thought-provoking and inspiring.

People who actually craft pottery may enjoy this book because it recognizes and celebrates hand-made products.

When Clay Sings, tells the story of Indian pottery lying in the sands of the desert of the American Southwest. This pottery cries out with stories from the lives, customs, and thoughts of the people. The legacy of their lives are wrapped up in the art. The beautiful Indian artwork on each page matches the lyrical, imagery effect of the text. A great book for introducing children to Indian heritage or pottery in general.

This is a book I would give to my grownup friends who are potters, or graphic artisits, or parents of budding artists.... I was drawn in by the title and the cover art, and enchanted by what I found...truly a treasure! It is about the centuries-old tradition of pottery and the stillness necessary to hear the small voice in the clay as it sings to the potter. A wonderful book to give as a gift during these holidays so filled with noise and technology and BUY ME! Enjoy.

i find the book interesting, its approach in introducing children to archaeology and culture is unique and should be followed..
the drawings / paintings are marvelous!!!!
i believe children (and adults) will find the book stand out from others....

As a person very interested in California history, I thoroughly enjoyed "When the Great Spirit Died" by William B. Secrest. It is the most informative and educational book I have read about the Native American Indian tribes of early California. Mr. Secrest's clear descriptions of the culture and way of life of California's first inhabits stirs the imagination. He vividly illustrates how cultures clashed with the arrival of the white settlers. He truly makes history come to life. I highly recommend this well-written book.

William Secrest has once again done an outstanding job of historical research. This book explores one of the most painful episodes of Euro-American history, and brings to light the attitudes and morays of early settlers whose goal was, indeed, to exterminate the Native American population. He offers irrefutable proof of a shameful period in our history, one that we need to recognize and deal with.
It is a factual and well-written documentary that every American should read, especially those of us whose roots go back to those settlers.

Len Wilcox
Author, Desert Dancing

This history deserves to be better known. They didn't teach this in school or college when I was growing up; and when traveling to the various historical sites and museums in the state you'll see few references to the many sorry episodes well told in this excellent book.

The book is broken into eighteen chapters. The first briefly sketches the history of the California Indians to 1850. The following chapters are each a regionally centered story of the one-sided conflicts during the period 1850-1860 that traditional histories refer to as Indian `troubles' or `wars'; but is no different from the genocides or ethnic cleansing of more recent times.

The author makes powerful use of newspaper accounts, diaries and similar sources to tell the stories of the brutal destruction of California's original inhabitants by Americans flooding in. As the settlers and miners spread throughout the state they took land and, more importantly, access to traditional sources of food away from the local Indians. And no matter whether the Indians resisted or cooperated the men, women and children were killed with impunity. Many children were sold into slavery; many women were kidnapped and raped or forced into prostitution. Treaties weren't honored. Assistance from the Federal Indian Department was diverted by corrupt officials. Even on the reservations the Indians starved and were ravaged by disease. It can be a difficult read.

The author acknowledges that he isn't an academic historian or anthropologist; and thankfully this book is free of 'theory', although it might have benefited from some additional context. It is nonetheless well referenced for those looking to check his facts and sources. And it is a history well worth knowing and thinking about.

As Jonathan Kirsch says in the March 2, 2002 LA Times Book Review section (p.R2), 'Secrest reminds us that the California dream was a nightmare for its original inhabitants... For anyone whose knowledge of California history derives from bland grade-school textbooks, Secrest's book will be nothing less than shocking." An important supplemental history to the usual tales of missions and the gold rush in California.

This history of the destruction of California's Indians covers a narrow time frame from 1850-1860, but documents a startling point in American history where Indians were slaughtered and hunted. When The Great Spirit Died probes the philosophy behind these killings, using source material references, previously unpublished material, and a host of vintage black and white photos to capture the terrible events. A 'must' for any Native American history collection from high schools through public libraries.

Its a great back. I give it five stars. When I started reading it,I instantly fell in love with it. It made me cry and it made me laugh. It took me back into time when I grew up. I could not put it down. Its a great book.

That old saying "big things come in small packages" is perfectly proven in Joyce Sequichie Hifler's "When the Night Bird Sings" -- and don't for an instant underestimate the strength of this book by its diminutive size.

Sequichie Hifler is certainly a modern day mystic for our times. In this small collection of vignettes reflecting on her Cherokee childhood in Oklahoma, her homespun wisdom brings us closer to the true meaning of God than any would-be Deepak Chopra or Marianne Williamson.

With all due respect to those noted authors, it's the simplicity of Sequichie Hifler's writing and the warm introduction to her life through storytelling that unlocks the door and allows us to return to that wonderful place of knowing and understanding.

Throughout the book there is the haunting voice of the Great Spirit that almost demands the reader to run outside and kiss the ground, embrace the trees, touch the flowers and look into the warm eyes of all the little creatures about. We should thank them all for having patience with us while we struggle to remember and return to that which is real and important and necessary in our lives.

Sequichie Hifler writes, "the soul of the Cherokee is forever immutable in its love for a kindred spirit. And yet that love of brother is never so strong as the love for things of nature. So closely woven are these allies of spirit, we can sense that all things are brothers, all people are one with nature. All nature keeps a constant pace; it never forgets and never loses the love of life for which it was made."

Her poignant memories delivered me back in time to my own Oklahoma childhood and to the remarkable, almost daily, celebration of the mystery and magic in nature. She provides a gentle reminder that we are connected, all creatures great and small, and that by gracefully honoring nature we come face to face with the reflection of the God that exists inside each one of us.

Sequichie Hifler might have been deeply and wonderfully exposed to the innate wisdom of her Cherokee elders but she grew up in a time and place where the Christian doctrine was exceptionally unforgiving - unfortunately quite common and typical even in the Oklahoma of my youth. But we survived and transcended it by overcoming our fear of church and heeded that inner call which allowed us to make our own church in the bosom of nature and there find God and become one with the Great Spirit. With remarkable insight she reminds us that "the true church is within each one of us, and it is a personal responsibility to worship there often."

Through the words and memories of Sequichie Hifler we are introduced to some incredibly delightful characters, wise beyond their time, that help pave the path to our journey back home. We marvel at her simple but exceptionally wise mother and applaud when her equally sage-like grandmother encourages Sequichie Hifler to love herself first and unconditionally and watch, as the rest of the world would certainly follow. These are simple words to live by and truly insightful writing that can help you change your life in an instant.

I think, perhaps for me, as one who endeavors to reflect on the simplicity of life through the written word, the following passage moved me more than anything else in the book; and promises to challenge me forever to the way I see things. She writes, "Everything is full of life for such a short time. The image must be as important in my notebook when I read it again as it was when it happened. It must be able to live again on the page in another season. My winter notebook goes with me into spring, and my spring notes are soon filled out with the summer pictures. I record and record, because each image must have time to work through my own fingers and my own consciousness to live on paper. The word is only part of the Spirit, but it feeds the one who cannot stop to see, to experience the purples of the land. I cannot assume readers will know what I have seen, how a flower blooms, how a bird flies, or what fragrance is. To trigger someone else's imagination to see for themselves is to come full circle to awaken my own. No one should miss the purples that accent nature. We who record the whisper of the land must live in it, breathe it and bring it forward. Wonders await us all. But our spirits must be kindled to see and to feel. Then, when we are weary, when all the color has drained from our spirits, we can tap into the life of the land again and find a healing peace."

This is the little book that could and it speaks volumes to anyone who dares to allow Sequichie Hifler's memories to ignite their own and transcend ordinary life. As grandmother Sequichie says, "when you think you have learned all the lessons in life little one - look again." If you look for life's lessons in this book you will be rewarded beyond belief.

What an enjoyable book. When visiting Okla. I used to hear the night bird calling in the middle of the night and was so touched by this. When I saw this book, I knew I had to have it. The little stories are so wonderful, spiritual and educational. I read one story a day as a daily lesson and then I think about it throughout the day and realize there is so much more out there for us to learn and understand. Thank you for the book to the author, Joyce Sequichie Hifler. I have other books by her and enjoy every one of them and have bought for family members for the spiritual content and peacefulness. Loralee Minyard

I know the land she writes about - every tree and creek in Cherokee country - for it is the place of my birth, too, and her lovely memories are as true as my own heartbeat. I even knew her beloved Papa. I write about this same land in my own book of memoirs "Sometimes A Wheel Falls Off" (Hawk Publishing Company.) Joyce Hifler wrote a blurb for my book, saying it is "deep and dear and so touching that I want more of it." We have the same homeland and the same abiding reverence for ordinary, holy place. She leads the way in telling this story.

When The Night Bird Sings is a beautiful collection of meditations or essays by the author of A Cherokee Feast of Days. How easily and how gently these pages read, like clear water flowing in a stream. As they are absorbed page by page, sequentially or haphazardly, the reader experiences a feeling of renewal. An example of her inspiration is found in Living by Personal Measures: "Plan for good...Rise up and make your own decisions. Open your mind and spirit to new understanding and new ability to overcome any problem - especially inertia. What appears to be impossible may be the wall you can only see from your present stance. If you are willing to give thanks for something you want before you see it, you will not be disappointed. Be constant and faithful to your goals, show gratitude - and one day you will look back and wonder why you ever doubted (p.81)." All of this book of days is to be treasured. It is a gift to the heart. Highest recommendations for inspirational reading.

Nancy Lorraine, Reviewer

The conservative, european-american movement's declaration of the end of white supremacy in this country requires the kind of challenge offered by "Whitewashing Race". This book offers every fair-minded reader an opportunity to judge the realities that still persist as a consequence of 250 years of chattel slavery, 100 years of complete segregation, lynchings and restrictions on work and educational opportunities. The efforts needed to create a truly non-racialized culture in America are far from over.

It presents information in such a way that you are at the very least, forced to consider what they've presented. As a self-identified "African-American" who considers himself a conservative, I think this book does a great job of presenting the foundation of how the problem of race still exists and presents pragmatic ideas - however controversial - that are far better, in my view, than maintaining the status quo.

If those who on principle oppose these ideas (specifically, the conservatives this book spends a lot of time lambasting) would come out with substantive data to disprove what this book says, the race debate would become a lot clearer and would bring us closer to realizing a better America for all.

For anyone interested in how the politics of race are presented in today's world (affirmative action, prison sentencing, etc.), this book is a definite must-read. The authors analyze the conservative's overly-simplistic view of race as being based simply on whether a person exhibits overt prejudice while ignoring the larger implications of accumulated wealth and advantages enjoyed by whites from years of legal discrimination.

The authors poke holes in much of the misinformation coming from the conservative side of the aisle, and reveal just how sinister and permeating racial bias still is in America. Grab this book, a good cup of coffee, a high-lighter, and become updated on the dynamics of race in 2003 America.

I read this book hoping to find some ideas about the status of race in post civil rights America. Although I found the book helpful and infomative, I do remain highly concerned that the issues the book addresses seem static. The authors do offer a lot of statistics and concise ideas to help understand the problems concerning race in America.

The attack on the racial realists and conservitive views on race really caught my attention. I find the arguements in this book far more convincing. I struggled to articulate how the conditions of American culture create a negative experience for blacks, but this book articulates the message clearly. I find myself reading and hearing arguments about race with a new understanding.

Should one send political scientists to do a historian's job? That is the question one has to ask about this book compiled by a consortium of political scientists, in response to the "racial realism" of today's right-centrist consensus. This consensus, argued by such authors as Jim Sleeper, Tamara Jacoby, John McWhorter, The New Republic and the renowned historians of American immigration Stephen and Abigail Thernstrom, argue that racism is not really a problem in American life. To the extent that African-Americans are disadvantaged it is because of their own failings or, somewhat more tactfully, the failings of the black politicians and the guilty liberals they (overwhelmingly) support.

This book argues that this fundamentally optimistic view is wrong. They are right to say so and their book is very detailed and comprehensive (the Thernstroms in particular are repeatedly criticized). Still the book is not perfect. The book makes an error in numbering its footnotes in chapter five. It also incorrectly says that until recently there were no African-Americans elected from North Carolina since Reconstruction (one in fact was elected in 1898). The style is not very engaging, it consists mostly of summaries of papers in economics, political science, sociology and the other social sciences. The result is a certain dryness and abstract quality that could use more historical analysis (the treatment of unions is somewhat superficial). The discussion of racism is not the most thoughtful available (and little is said about Latinos). Nevertheless one should not ignore its points. "Racial realists" argue that racism is not a problem because only a handful of people would support racist attitudes in opinion polls. There are several problems with this argument. Aside from the fact that people do not necessarily volunteer their support of unpopular ideas, it turns the concept of racism and racist harm into a question of pure malice. If there is none (or if it somehow "rational") there is no racism. One might ask why showing discrimination should require showing malice, when other torts merely require showing negligence? Also it is a non-sequitur to argue that if whites are not malicious, blacks and/or liberals must have screwed up. Moreover, rephrasing the question can lead to rather different results: in a 1980 poll only 5% supported segregation, but only 40% supported a law stating that a homeowner could not refuse to sell because of race. The authors go on about how in the post-war period African-Americans were discriminated in social security legislation, GI bill benefits and housing segregation. We also relearn about the insufficiently notorious effects of urban renewal and automation.

What is best about the book are the statistics it provides showing consistent racial gaps, even when corrected for class, age, income or any other variable. For example 53% of mortgages in black Chicago middle-class neighbourhoods are from sub-prime lenders, whereas only 12% of mortgages in white neighbourhoods are. African-Americans are 25% less likely to get mammograpy screening, notwithstanding age or income, while a 1985 Massachusetts study showed that whites underwent significantly more corony surgery than blacks. 61% of basketball players were black in 1996-97, but 81.5 % of coaches were white; 52% of football players are black but in 2001 nearly 97% of head coaching positions were white. During the 1990s in Los Angeles, Latinos make up 41% of the population, but only 6% of the jurors. It is often said that spiralling illegitimacy is the key reason for persistent black poverty today, but the President's Council of Economic Advisers has noted that the poverty gap would have fallen by only a fifth had there been no changes in black family structure since 1967. Likewise the Thernstroms et al have argued that high black youth unemployment is the result of their demand for excessive wages. Yet studies have shown that their length of employment is not correlated with wage demands. The gap between black and white test scores has infuriated potential university students. But the correlation between scores and success is somewhat weaker for women and Asians. Another questionable use of data by "racial realists" is their concentration of Berkeley in the 1980s. There the white graduation rate within 6 years was 88% but only 59% for blacks. But in 28 other colleges the white average was 86% and the black average 75%. Might this not say more about the problems of particular universities than an inherent cultural failing of African-Americans?

We also learn about a third wave of criminology scholarship and we learn how only 26% of the gap between blacks and whites drug offences in Pennsylvania is the result of the higher arrest rate among blacks. Even after making every allowance Georgia blacks are five times more likely to get life sentences for drug offences than whites. We see at every stage of the arrest process, from scholars such as Madeline Wordes, George Bridges, and Michael Leiber, a clear bias against African-Americans. Although the prospect that somewhere, somehow affirmative action might hurt white men has haunted the conservative imagination, only 4% of 1990-94 sex/age discrimination suits were launched by white men, (yet they file three-quarters of age discrimination suits). Oddly enough, racial realists have blamed blacks for inadequate black representation. Supposedly they won't vote for whites. Yet in the past few decades only 0.5% of white majority districts elections have chosen a black representative. And whites have shown great reluctance or active hostility in voting for blacks in prominent elections in Chicago, Philadelphia and California. The authors conclude with sensible suggestions for reforms in education, stronger civil rights protection and an improved welfare state.

Anyone who fears the possibility of mining interests encroachinginto the wilderness will understand the real threat thatfaces the Native American "hero" of Wolfsong. With an Abbey-like view to Monkeywrenching when the time is right, Tom Joseph learns to set his priorities and do some great backpacking up the Suiattle River in the process. This is Owen's first novel, begun in 1975 when he was a Wilderness Ranger in the Washington Cascades. There still is a valid copper claim on Miner's Ridge, north of Glacier Peak. This is a scary story; it could really happen.

This is not a politically correct book.

It challenges ideas of Native "authenticity" and gives short shrift to out-of-town environmentalists (rather shorter shrift than I entirely agreed with, in fact). When Tom decides to act against a copper mine, he does so not out of simplistic ideological purity but because of a complex of reasons, largely having to do with his own identity. (And he was uncritically working as a logger before that.)

Nevertheless, this is a profoundly environmentalist novel, with intensely beautiful descriptions of wilderness. It's an environmentalist novel because of the unbreakable connection it creates between humans and their environment and because of its challenge to the ideals of short-term profit. (At the same time, the problems of poverty are never glossed over.)

Owens wrote beautifully and incorporated stunning passages of magic realism. Tom is a believable character--confused, irresponsible (college drop-out), lonely, fierce, and ultimately heroic in the same way animals are in those old Western novels where wolves and mustangs leap off cliffs rather than be captured.

This book combats the usual conservative white male destruction of the enviornment, and offers instead a compelling look at the incredibly brave and noble traditions of Native Americans and their conservation efforts. Copper mines are not usually something I could care about, but this book challenges the assumption of the domineering white patriarchal culture, and I for one am grateful.

Wolfsong is a cautionary tale of what could potentially happen in the North Cascades. Congress conveniently neglected to ban mining in wilderness areas where old claims were established. This is Owens' cry of alarm: don't even consider mining in places like this. Wolfsong is told through the eyes of a local Native American, Tom Josephs, who inherits the mantle of protector of this sacred place from his uncle. Funny, insightful, true to the environment and the community, this book deserves a place on the shelf next to Desert Solitaire and the Monkey Wrench Gang

It is the "forks" in the river and the road for the citizens of Forks, a small town which perviously had logging money running through its veins, but now it is considering an infusion of mining dollars as the mills close down. Native American Tom Joseph returns home to attend his uncle's funeral and to unconsciously assume the mantle of trickster and to learn what drove his uncle to acts of ecoterrorism and monkeywrenching. Readers will get a true feel for the temperate rain forests of Western Washington while reading this novel, and may be tempted to don a slicker or their climbing boots by the time it is finished. Owens lets the reader decide many of the outcomes in this novel, though the meaning is always clear, the humor is rampant and the small town was probably a role model for Northern Exposure, right down to troubled sexy waitress and a fly bouncing around in the pie case.

For wilderness supporters, this book is a horror story. The book is based on the very real possibility that a copper mine could be opened with the attendant roads and carnage, on Miner's Ridge, north of Glacier Peak in the Glacier Peak Wilderness Area. Congress left a loophole big enough to drive a front-end loader through when the Wilderness Act was passed. The road isn't there yet, but Owens' vision is remarkably clear. Take heed, and enjoy

"I have a question for my soul," Joy Harjo writes in this book, "a creature who has little patience with crows--and less with snow. The question grows new leaves with each hard rain yet bends with grief at loss in the cold" (p. 26) After first reading this amazing book of poetry in 1996, I've returned to it many times. Something new is revealed with each reading, and along the way, Harjo has become one of my favorite contemporary poets.

Harjo writes that she is a poet "charged with speaking the truth about "the landscape of the late twentieth century" (p. 19). Written from a Native American, feminine perspective, her poetry here is filled with images of earth, sky, stars, bones, blood, rain (the "earth is wet with happiness," p. 12), and lightning ("A blue horse turns into a streak of lightning, then the sun," p. 48). In each poem, Harjo asks her reader the question: "do you see the connection?" (p. 51). At least for me, Harjo's connections are rarely obvious, but the poetic experience offered by her verse is always powerful. "It's possible," Harjo observes, "to understand the world from studying a leaf . . . It's also possible to travel the whole globe and learn nothing" (p. 57).

In her poem, "Witness," she connects walking the streets of Lucca, Italy with "driving the back roads around Albuquerque, the radio on country and a six-pack" (p. 42).

I recommend the breathtaking experience of making the connection with Harjo's poetry.

G. Merritt

I found this book in a thrift store, of all places, several years ago. This has become one of my all-time favorite books of women's poetry. The truths that Joy Harjo puts forth through her use of language is so telling and pierces one like arrows. So good and highly recommended.

In this book, Harjo herself identifies poet with truth-teller; truth-teller is an accurate description of her work, especially in this volume. This volume contains several of the more political pieces on her album (with Poetic Justice) - the boarding schools, the unkept promises, the discrimination. Several of the piece blur the line between poetry and prose but read aloud a clearly poetry.

To read this poetry is to receive a gift, a grace of seeing another way to view the world - one in which the tree, the butterfly, the water speak and are connected to oneself. She clearly speaks from experience, from truth - not as some who tell such stories of connected for personal gain but as one to whom this telling describes her world. But in connectedness she shows the tears - the alcohol, 'Nam, enforced 'white culture' - the rips in the Native cultures that must be healed for the people to survive.

Excellent poetry - deep in meaning, superb in handling of language and image.

Joy Harjo's "Woman Who Fell From the Sky" encompasses many aspects of modern Native American life and, although it reflects a strong sense of her own cultural heritage, is not overtly political. In many of her poems she incorporates her religious tradition into modern contexts, effortlessly merging magical or mythical reality with the modern industrial experience. As she states in "The Place the Musician Became a Bear" (51-53), "It's about rearranging the song to include the subway hiss under your feet in Brooklyn."

Harjo's writes in long poems, about one-and-a-half pages long, and uses complete sentences. Her style resembles prose only in form, however, for each sentence is dense with meaning and rewards close perusal. She chooses each word with care, working and re-working each sentence for maximum effect. Her sentences are so compressed, in fact, that a casual reader might fail to comprehend the full meaning of her work. Explanatory notes at the end of each poem are invaluable to understanding the meaning and context of her poetry.

"The Woman Who Fell From the Stars" is a finely-written and inspiring book. The author's unique writing style rewards careful reading and re-reading, and, while she chooses heavy themes, she deals with them positively -- weaving pain, human cruelty, joy and love into a tapestry of life which is beautiful and understandable.

I must admit that I usually have a hard time reading poetry (a serious problem for a literature major!), but Joy Harjo's THE WOMAN WHO FELL FROM THE SKY is simply the most moving and eloquent group of poems I have ever read. From beginning to end, I was awed by Harjo's skillful use of language to convey not only impressions and emotions, but levels and varieties of meanings. I was especially moved by the title poem, which recounts a timeless love story -- these characters could be out of myth or they could be your neighbors, but either way the story is lyrical and passionate, the events flowing like eddies in a stream toward a natural conclusion. Most of the poems in the volume have this same motion -- of fated adventures that make one serenely happy that things turn out as they should. For lovers of poetry, stars, water and people, this is one volume of poetry that cannot be passed over

Using diaries, log books, letters, and other narratives, the editor has woven an anthology of women and their stories about life on the Great Lakes from the late 1700s until the present day. There is also a strong emphasis on the Native American women's accounts of their lives and activities. Of special interest to me were the accounts of women lighthouse keepers and women who worked on the ships that navigate the Great Lakes. This book is highly recommended to anyone with an interest in women's literature and/or the Great Lakes.

Lighthouse keepers, fur traders, cooks, wives and mothers - women from all walks of life have traveled to the Great Lakes region over the past 200 years.

Some stayed only a short time, others made interesting and often challenging lives. Their stories, collected by Grand Valley State University Professor Victoria Brehm in The Women's Great Lakes Reader, reveal a wide range of voices and experiences, from the poetry and travelogues to letters and diary entries about life in mining camps and homesteads around the shores of these vast bodies of water.

Among several dozen chapters are the polished words of novelist Constance Fenimore Wilson, who committed suicide at age 54, after becoming a popular and successful author. Weaving narrative into rich and vivid scenic detail, Wilson puts herself in the shoes of Roxana, who follows her husband into the west.

Brehm also includes brief but fascinating Chippewa tales penned in English by Jane Johnston Schoolcraft, daughter of a fur trader and a Native American woman who married explorer Henry Schoolcraft.

Written from 1789 to present day, each of the stories in this collection holds a unique place in women's history. Best of all, The Women's Great Lakes Reader reflects a diversity of women's voices and reinforces the timeless notion that no one voice speaks for us all.

I found this book to be extremely informative and entertaining. It enlightened me about the history and culture of the region, and looked at both aspects from a more feminist point of view. An excellent read for pleasure or education. I will definitely read it again.

The Women's Great Lakes Reader is an impressive, informative, superbly presented contribution to women's studies, native American studies, regional and Midwestern history studies. Victoria Brehm has assembled an outstanding contributors writing on the theme of women's roles in the cultures, development, and history of the Great Lakes region of the American Midwest organized into five major sections: Anishinaabeg: The First Peoples of the Lakes; Women Pioneers on the Frontier; Women Travelers on the Lakes; Women's Work; and Women's Lives, Women's Lakes. Of special note is Judith Minty's "The North Woods" (1981) which serves admirably as an introduction to the wealth of informative, insightful, and engaging commentaries comprising The Women's Great Lakes Reader which make this work a seminal contribution for personal and academic studies.

As opportunities for woman waxed and waned on the frontier of the Great Lakes of the 1800s, those few who performed jobs restricted to men were forced back into a patriarchal society that determined their roles more suited to hearth and home, "quelled by the anti-feminist rhetoric of the 1920s and the diminished opportunities of the 1930s". Harriet Colfax, a thirty-seven-year old lighthouse keeper of the Michigan City, Indiana, lighthouse in 1861 shined more than a figurative beacon on the wilderness landscape. In the late nineteenth century, gender roles were fluid in the Great Lakes region, allowing women to assume occupations formerly reserved for men. For a time, the frontier gave women access to well-paying positions as fur traders, cooks on lake's ships and travel writers. East Coaster's were avid readers of "local color", post-Civil War tales of wilderness travels by women who returned from their adventures to write of their exploits, delicious escapist reading for those concerned with urban sprawl, immigration and the inexorable advance of the Industrial Revolution.

Industrialization and the changes it wrought altered the landscape of women's opportunity, bringing with it restrictions of class and gender long familiar to "cultured" society, but in these tales, albeit briefly, women are the putative masters of their own fates. The Women's Great Lakes Reader honors those women who took the risk and journeyed into the unknown, achieving in this vast wilderness what they were denied in professions at home, an escape from the domesticity assigned to them, relying on their wits for survival in a genderless landscape. These narratives avoid the stereotypical stories of nation-building and development, the standards of a male perspective, written from the female point of view, "they tell us less about mastering a landscape and more about adjusting to it", perhaps the most important lesson in preparing for the future.

From "The First People on the Lakes", "Women Pioneers on the Frontier", "Women Travelers on the Lakes", "Women's Work" and "Women's Lives, Women's Lakes", these selections range from the Indian settlers of the early 1800s to a spiritual midlife journey in the 1990s. Here the voices rise from a distant past to join with the present in profiles, narratives, essays, stories and poetry that emerges from the common experience of a life-changing region, women in communication with nature, forging unique identities in a wilderness that refuses to be tamed. Luan Gaines/ 2006.

Deftly compiled and professionally edited by James Treat (Associate Professor of American Indian Studies, University of Illinois), Writing The Cross Culture: Native Fiction On The White Man's Religion is a provocative and somewhat iconoclastic anthology of writings based upon the Native American cultural transformation and adaptations of the beliefs and practices of the Christian faith. Featuring works ranging from satire to philosophy, Writing The Cross Culture presents a creative collective interpretation of the significant occurrences in the Native American culture as impacted by Christianity. Writing The Cross Culture is very strongly recommended to students of Native American history and literature as a quite unique perspective on an often neglected aspect of contemporary Native American culture.

Deftly compiled and professionally edited by James Treat (Associate Professor of American Indian Studies, University of Illinois), Writing The Cross Culture: Native Fiction On The White Man's Religion is a provocative and somewhat iconoclastic anthology of writings based upon the Native American cultural transformation and adaptations of the beliefs and practices of the Christian faith. Featuring works ranging from satire to philosophy, Writing The Cross Culture presents a creative collective interpretation of the significant occurrences in the Native American culture as impacted by Christianity. Writing The Cross Culture is very strongly recommended to students of Native American history and literature as a quite unique perspective on an often neglected aspect of contemporary Native American culture.

Deftly compiled and professionally edited by James Treat (Associate Professor of American Indian Studies, University of Illinois), Writing The Cross Culture: Native Fiction On The White Man's Religion is a provocative and somewhat iconoclastic anthology of writings based upon the Native American cultural transformation and adaptations of the beliefs and practices of the Christian faith. Featuring works ranging from satire to philosophy, Writing The Cross Culture presents a creative collective interpretation of the significant occurrences in the Native American culture as impacted by Christianity. Writing The Cross Culture is very strongly recommended to students of Native American history and literature as a quite unique perspective on an often neglected aspect of contemporary Native American culture.

Deftly compiled and professionally edited by James Treat (Associate Professor of American Indian Studies, University of Illinois), Writing The Cross Culture: Native Fiction On The White Man's Religion is a provocative and somewhat iconoclastic anthology of writings based upon the Native American cultural transformation and adaptations of the beliefs and practices of the Christian faith. Featuring works ranging from satire to philosophy, Writing The Cross Culture presents a creative collective interpretation of the significant occurrences in the Native American culture as impacted by Christianity. Writing The Cross Culture is very strongly recommended to students of Native American history and literature as a quite unique perspective on an often neglected aspect of contemporary Native American culture.

Deftly compiled and professionally edited by James Treat (Associate Professor of American Indian Studies, University of Illinois), Writing The Cross Culture: Native Fiction On The White Man's Religion is a provocative and somewhat iconoclastic anthology of writings based upon the Native American cultural transformation and adaptations of the beliefs and practices of the Christian faith. Featuring works ranging from satire to philosophy, Writing The Cross Culture presents a creative collective interpretation of the significant occurrences in the Native American culture as impacted by Christianity. Writing The Cross Culture is very strongly recommended to students of Native American history and literature as a quite unique perspective on an often neglected aspect of contemporary Native American culture.

Jeff Girvan has done what has been overlooked for over 150 years; he reveals the valor and honor of the common soldier over the over-inflated previously recounted feats of Picket's command. Namely, that the common farmers-turned-soldiers from Cleveland County (and environs) of southwestern North Carolina fought as valiantly as any of the units representing the CSA. In a clear, concise and well-documented account he presents factual data as well as the human side of the Southern Cause in this great conflict. You'll enjoy this quick read and keep this as a ready reference for descendants of these gallant men.

I have read several regimental and general Civil War histories, and Jeffrey Girvan's is up there at the top. His narrative is very readable, and the roster and unit listings of those killed in action, missing, and those that died from disease are helpful for any one interested in the 55th NC. The narrative tells the story of a regiment from Gettysburg to Appomattox, but also has information on the little known battle for Washington, NC that occurred in September 1862, and the Sufolk campaign. Girvan's use of primary sources provides the reader with a better understanding of what it was like to fight in the Civil War. The every day camp life, but also the combat. As one man from the unit says about Pickett's Charge at Gettysburg it was like being in "the jaws of death." Also, the description of the 55th and Heth's division on May 5, 1864 in the Wilderness is exceptional. One can feel the desperation these men must have felt after being assaulted numerous times and out numbered 4 to 1. Col. Belo, then commander of the 55th hears of his brothers death during the battle but must keep commanding his troops and is almost forced to order a bayonet charge when the men run out of amunition.A great read!! I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the American Civil War.

I have read many Civil War books, including regimental histories like Pullen's 20th Maine and J Girvan's book about the 55th North Carolina ranks as one of the best. The 55th did not join Lee's army until after the great string of victories, but was there for Gettysburg and, although green, was able to prove its worth. So many exciting incidents stand out in this book. On July 1st the 55th was one of the first on the field, and the regiment's youthful leader Colonel John Kerr Connally wanted his men to prove themsevles to their brigade (which except for the 55th NC wer all unit's from Mississippi under the command of President Davis's nephew Joesph R. Davis) As his men moved forward their color bearer was shot and Connally, wanted to motivate his men, picked up the regimental standard and charged only to be shot several times and severally wounded. When asked if he needed help the brave colonel's response was to instruct his men to keep going and not to let "the mississippians get ahead of you."
The 55th would again face death at Gettysburg on the third day when they participated in the famous charge, and several officers from the unit would be credited with going farther than any other. Again during the Overland campaign the 55th would find themselves in desperate figthing throughout the summer and fall of 1864, and finally to surrender, all 83 left of more than 1000 when the regiment was formed in May 1862, with Lee at Appomattox. But this book is more than a chronical of battle it is a story of the men who fought and sometimes died for the Southern cause. After reading Mr. Girvan's book I gained a better understanding of what it was like to serve in the Army of Northern Virginia. Some men fighting with their fathers, sons, brothers, and cousins. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in learning about the life of the Confederate soldier during the Civil War.

This is one of the best regimental histories I have ever read. Girvan's use of primary sources provided a better understanding of what is was like to serve in Lee's Army. Also, the battles covered in the book were described very well, especially the battle for Washington, NC, and the Suffolk campaign, which are two engagements I knew little of before. Gettysburg was a watershed for the Confederacy, but also for this regiment. The 55th NC went in with little experience, but proved their worth by participating in some of the battles bloodiest engagements. Again during the Wilderness the 55th found it self in a tight spot, and after numerous assaults by Federal troops was low on amunition. Colonel Belo, whose own brother had just been killed during the day's battle was prepared, as Chamberlain at Gettysburg, to order a bayonet charge, but relief came. For anyone interested in Civil War regiments, soldier life, and seeing a battle from the eyes of the combat troops I highly recommend this book. J Johnson