Oklahoma Books

This is the kind of food/ingredients I grew up with so it's great to see them in print.....Trisha is a delight and it's very enjoyable and fun to read the history of the recipes and about the Yearwood family....she's the "real" thing.

Many of the recipes in this book remind me of the way my mom and dad cooked when I was a child.
I can't wait to try them!

I simply love this cookbook! It's the next best thing to mom's cooking. Every one will enjoy these simple recipes. All of the ingredients are already in everyone's kitchen cabinets. Even if your an inexperienced chef you will be amazed at our well these dishes turn out. Enjoy every taste!

Thought the book was well done and has some "worth trying" recipes for sure. If you like to try all sorts of foods from all over the USA then pick this one up.

Don't think I will ever use this recipe book. There is altogether to much fat and calories. I have enough trouble just using regular recipes. Guess I will try to sell it as a used book.

I bought this book on account of all these rave reviews, and everyone was right - this is one of the very best books on writing fiction there is. I have over twenty, and even after all that, when reading yet another chapter on point of view is like slogging through sludge, Swain brings such refreshing verve and wit to the subject that everything seems new again. And it actually is, since he clues you in to key aspects you'd never considered before.

First, some clarifications - forget the title and the ugly cover. Rip them off, if you like. A better title would be "Techniques of the Dramatic Writer Who People Will Enjoy Reading." `Cause that's Swain's clarification - that this book isn't about pretentious writing for literary journals, and it's not about shallow novels or selling out. It's about solid storytelling and what engages audiences. What will, in the end, sell, simply because it's what publishers are looking for - novels with depth, feeling, and compelling characters that carries audiences along from one scene to the next.

Most books on writing stay at one level - the literary theories that just briefly touch on actual works you've heard of, and the cookie-cutter manuals that stay on the surface without giving you the tools or insight you're looking for. But here you find a combination of psychological depth and street wisdom that never floats off in heavy philosophy and yet never sinks to crude sketches for the popular market. It tells you how to write with both emotional insight and compelling action.

To top it off, Swain not only gives you the basic story structure of a hero facing conflict, but also gives a few nuggets I haven't seen in other books, such as curtain lines, scene and sequel, pet fragments, simultaneity, framing tightly in close-ups, reaction sentences, and the hero's stated goal vs. their true goal. The section on wish fulfillment was especially enlightening. There's also sections on a writer's life and being productive - including fifty pages on Planning, Preparation, and Production - that are sharp and true to life.

"The best observation anyone can make on preparation, planning, and production is that everyone has a God-given right to go to hell in his own way - and don't let anyone kid you out of yours."

Sitting down with this book is like sitting down at an all-night diner with a straight-talking veteran like Gene Hackman and having him lay out the terrain for you. Sketching phrases on napkins and crossing out words, telling you stories about fellow writers, and always setting up dramatic situations and how you can make them better. Spinning out stories about the waitress and explaining between goals of achievement and goals of resistance and how her boss's reaction could be the key.

Swain's enthusiasm is uplifting, his candor refreshing, his insight exactly what you need. He even breaks up each chapter into sections, so there's barely a single page with a solid wall of prose. For instance, the sections on increasing tension include 1) Build with scenes, 2) Don't confuse delay with complication, 3) Tie your characters to your story, 4) Balance your forces, 5) Have enough at stake, 6) Force continuing adjustments, 7) Keep the action rising, 8) Box in your hero, and 9) Drop a corpse through the roof.

Each of these is given a half page or more of explanation: "Your job is to spot holes and plug them; to foresee escape routes and block them; to cut off your hero from all apparent hope. If you don't, your reader's going to see those holes, and scream because your hero doesn't duck out through one."

It clocks in at 320 pages, jumps right in on the very first page, and though written in 1965, it's dated only by the magazines it names, mentions of typewriters, and a funny line about computer tubes. You still find the usual Steinbeck, Faulkner, Tennessee Williams, and Travis McGee. Everything else is as timeless advice as Shakespeare or Stephen King would give.

(For a pointer, it helps if you already have a few stories under your arm to check with Swain's advice as you go along. Also, when he mentions character types, or dramatic reversals, write in the margins the books and movies you've seen this in. It'll sharpen your perception and help you make the connections between what he's talking about and the works you've always enjoyed. And finally, Chap. 3 is good, but can be skipped to get right to the best parts.)

My only regret is that I wasn't given this book in college, rather than the stale, technical wish-wash that made writing fiction seem like typing up doctorates to please your professors. Those books one had to sit down and slog through, but this one I always looked forward to, knowing that even the things I already knew would be told with bold, brash wit and made new again. Which is, actually, what good writing is all about.

I have purchased dozens of self-help writing books, writing magazines and writing related software over the past years, however I could have saved a lot of time developing effective writing techniques by purchasing Dwight Swain's book, "Techniques of the Selling Writer", earlier on in the process. I highly recommend this book to the beginner, as well as the long time aspiring writer.

This is a good one. It's written in an encouraging tone, it's entertaining, and it's full of good advice. The age is showing a little (women are either ditzy blonds or housewives who spend their husband's money on mink coats) but that just gives the book a certain charm.

It doesn't extensively cover the whole topic, this is not one and all book. It gives you the basic tools on how to create conflict, characters, and structure, but you should still check other books for tips on editing and style.

This was one of the first books I read on the subject (I've since read several others) and it really helped me to structure my writing better, consider POW, and the character goals. The friendly, supportive tone was very important, this book boosted my confidence and my manuscript is all the better for it.

So many other books are filled with dire warnings how hard it is to get your novel ever published and how there are thousand things you can (and probably will) get wrong. Not this one, it tells you to just keep on writing because that's the only way you'll get better.

I've read this book a few times now and I find it one of the most helpful in crafting genre fiction. Swain gives a writer the nuts and bolts for building scenes and increasing tension to a satisfying conclusion for the reader. If you want to get published, I highly recommend reading this book and studying it!

While the price of this book is steep, it is worth every cent!
It is the best book about writing that I have ever read.
I learned more from this one book than from the combined hundreds of other books on writing I own.
If you have the write stuff, this one book should be on your desk!
John Bradt

This is a superb introduction to ancient warfare and can serve as a springboard for further studies in ancient history. The artwork depicting the uniforms of various armies of that time is well done and the narratives, diagrams of battles are really helpful and informative.

Loved the book. The sketches and battle tactics illustrated made them come alive for me. Gave me a much better insight into the whole thing. And the delivery was fast, even with free shipping.

As I researched the equipment and modes of Greek warfare while writing the historical novel "Maccabee," I consulted numerous excellent sources, but John Warry's book was without a doubt the best. It became my virtual bible for the staging of the battle sequences between the Jews in the Maccabean Revolt and their Syrian enemies who employed the Greek methods that had worked so well for Alexander the Great. Warry's explanations of military techniques in their historical context as well as the wealth of illustrations makes this a valuable resource for anyone interested in ancient warfare.

This is an excellent introduction to ancient warfare. It is lavishly illustrated, and provides excellent diagrams to support some of the concepts such as how a phalanx of Greek infantry manoevered and then moved into combat. The book covers the technology of the times, but also looks at tactics and gives an overview of the politics that lead to the various conflicts. I would higly recommend this book for beginners in the field of ancient warfare such as myself. My only reservation, is that while the primarary authorities are extensively referenced in the text, I would have liked to see a bibliography (although the glossary is great too!) Highly recommended for beginners or those with a general interest in the topic.

I just got this for my son and I ended up reading it first. I am sure during this X'Mas both of us will want to fight for the book. The pictures and the drawings are of the highest qualities. I love the descriptions of major wars. I just wish that the author has given it more explanation of the drawings for the major battles like adding more legends. Also, it is kind of hard to read/understand the numbers and types of soldiers for both sides on the battlefield. But all in all, this is a great book that I suspect I will read and re-read many times.

This is one of the better first-person accounts I've ever read. I highly, strongly recommend that you take the time to read it. It's well-written, relevant, and hard to put down.

A great day in an day out story about the war. No hype, no frills. Just the story of what the days were actually like for a foot soldier in WW II.

I had to read this book for a course on WWII. Neil does an excellent job of "putting you there" as the cliche goes. The complexities of battle, to the horrid conditions to the mindstate of men about to die are all covered well in this novel. Neill really does a good job of keeping the reader attached to the book, and helps bring to life something that many people have only read about in history text books. I recommend this novel to anyone interested in War in general, and of course in WWII.

George Neill presents a front line soldier's view of what it was like to be part of the WWII American infantry. While reading the book, I almost felt the cold and fear that were the soldier's constant companions. while the rear echelon soldiers got the winter boots, and the generals got heated quarters, Neill and his fellow soldiers tried to survive the cold, boredom and attacks. I felt like I was there. This book gets my very highet recommendation.

The ASTPer's were the brightest, most intelligent young citizen soldiers of their part of the World War II generation. Originally deferred from military service to be allowed to attend college, they were thrown into the battlefields of Europe when America needed bodies to make to final push to Berlin, just in time for the Battle of the Bulge. Infantry Soldier: Holding the Line at the Battle of the Bulge is an accurate account of the fighting and front-line conditions facing the common infantry rifleman during one of Europe's coldest winters. Neill not only served as one of these men, he has done the research and interviews needed to complete the picture, not just of the men on the ground who knew little beyond the events of their immediate foxhole, but events on the German side and U.S. Army rear echelon and high command decisions. Included is an excellent description of the destructive power of a German artillery barrage, and the problems encountered when supply lines are stretched and items desperately needed by the front-line soldier for survival are being diverted to rear-echelon personnel. Neill also takes an intelligent look at war in general, and the conclusion is that we should never forget the horrors and untold human suffering caused by war.

The summer of 1944, Gretchen Gilman was only thirteen. Yet thanks to the shortage of available workers, she is able to land a prize opportunity -- working as a reporter for her hometown newspaper.

Delighted to cover even mundane stories, Gretchen never imagined she'd find herself at the center of the biggest crime ever to hit her sleepy little Oklahoma town.

Faye Tatum, Gretchen's neighbor and mother of her friend Barb, was brutally murdered in her own home. Her husband Clyde, a soldier on leave, is nowhere to be found -- a fact that convinces most area residents he's responsible.

As the days pass, Gretchen is torn between her duty to cover the story for the newspaper, and between loyalty to Barb, who is staying with Gretchen and her grandmother. She's also struggling to deal with her widowed mother, away in Tulsa working for the war effort, as it seems Lorraine may have a few changes in mind for the Gilmans.

As narrator, Gretchen's voice alternates between two phase of her life -- that summer when she was 13, and present-day, when she's an older woman, who's had a successful journalism career. Hart does an excellent job, combining the elements of a mystery and that of small-town fiction.

and I have read a lot. I very much enjoy Carolyn Hart's other books, but not as much as this book. The imagery is as compelling as the dialog. The characters are drawn lovingly & realistically. Her use of the letter, the preset & the past in each chapter keep me racing to read more. I felt that the "mystery" serves as a backdrop for the story of the characters, unlike most thriller/mystery works where the plot is the most important part of the book. I love mysteries, but for those who do not, this is just as wonderful a book showing the slice of life for these characters. This is the first review I've ever written, but this book compelled me to share my thoughts. It really is the best book I've ever read. Ms. Hart has my respect... and thanks.

I enjoyed this book and will read more Carolyn Hart mysteries. I found the ending - the mystery's solution - particularly satisfying. But much of the story called on way too many all-too-familiar and overused cliches of small town America. Which we all know (yawn) is narrow-minded, hypocritical and suspicious of those artistic types. The book's Children of the Corn mob scene is way over the top.

Nearly all of the characters fall into two rather obvious piles - the saints, and the villains. Grandmother is a perfect, selfless saint a la Ma Joad; the victim, Faye, is the Saintly but Misunderstood Artist. And the preacher, of course, is a slimy, evil purveyor of hell-fire-and-damnation. And then you have the silly side plot about the townfolk veering into vigilantism over what everybody clearly assumes is a domestic murder. HUH? And I had to stifle a snicker when, at the city council meeting, the leathery-faced, tobacco-chewing farmer yells out, "How come you ain't found Tatum yet?" How imaginative.

The mystery itself could have held its own without having to take these detours into such overworn territory.

The descriptions are so vivid that you can almost smell the starch in the doilies,taste the crunchy watermelon and feel the blast of hot air through the window.

Not only does Ms. Hart place us amidst the happenings, seen through the eyes of Gretchen, she manages to make the story twist and turn so that at the end, we are truly surprised at the outcome.

The two young girls, Gretchen and Barbie, follow very divergent lives, and their story is told through fragments of a letter sent to Gretchen and her thoughts as she looks back to that time long ago.

This book should satsify any mystery fan and those who love stories from the 40's. We get a feel for the times with women doing war work, rationing and young boys from the town that are killed.

And one great thing about this book is that a young girl is given her break into journalism by a crusty old editor. A concept that in those times was remarkable indeed.

Gretchen Gilman is only thirteen the summer of 1944, but she's managed to get a summer job at the local newspaper. With all the men off fighting the war, the editor was desperate. It's hard work, but she's enjoying herself and gaining great experience.

One night, her friend and neighbor Barb comes to her window asking for help. They return to find Barb's mother, Faye, murdered in the living room. Immediately, the rumors start about Faye's dancing at the local tavern every night while her husband is off at the war. But Gretchen finds herself getting more caught up in events that will scandalize a small town and change her life forever.

I'll admit this book took a chapter or two to fully get. Each chapter starts with part of a letter the grown up Gretchen has received, a few thoughts of her own, then flashes back to the third person account of the story as it unfolded. Once I got into the story, I was hooked. Foreshadowing keeps the suspense up, while the writing style pulls you in. I felt like I was in the small Oklahoma town that summer with its problems, prejudices, and pride. The ending is as surprising as it is logical and extremely powerful.

In spite of all I've heard about her, this is my first Carolyn Hart book. It won't be my last.

Don't start this book unless you have time to finish it in one sitting. I never expected it to be such a good read, so engrossing and emotional. Because I was only a few miles from part of the May 3rd tornado and have a friend who lost a twin brother in the Woodward tornado I expected to find the typical stories of the death and destruction of those storms contained in one book. How surprised and delighted I was that after a short time of deep attention I learned more than I knew was even out there. I've lived in Oklahoma all my life and have seen the weird destruction within my own hometown (the roof blown off my dad's office with one picture on his desk gone and the other still setting there undisturbed!) Those of us living in "tornado alley" are not terrified by tornadoes but have a healthy respect for them because we know if we pay attention that we can save ourselves. Our kids know how to protect themselves before they even start school. Gary England (who's like kinfolk) always speaks directly to the youngsters, instructing them on what to do if they happen to be alone. We suffer extreme property loss but because of the work of the people depicted in this book the loss of life is minimal. We have family living in other parts of the country and realize how blessed we are here to have the weather forecasting that we do. We know within blocks of where the tornado, or even thunderstorms, will hit as well as when. Now I know the nuts and bolts behind this fantastic gift we have where we need it the most. Thanks to Nancy Mathis who did such deep research in every area of this story and brought it together with her great writing talent. If there's one criticism is that there's a lot of technical material that I found hard to understand but my husband loved it! This is a good book and I'm buying several to pass around to family and friends!

A compellingly detailed narrative that's concisely written and superbly researched. Gives you just enough science and history to make sense of the events, but focuses on the human cost of this extraordinary storm.

I thought the book Storm Warning by Nancy Mathis was outstanding. Besides explaining a lot about the history of tornadoes there is a book background on the late Japanese tornado expert Ted Fujita.

The May 3, 1999 tornado stunned central Oklahoma--but yet, it was not entirely unusual. As I grew up in Norman, Oklahoma (the center of weather research and now home to the National Weather Service), tornadoes were a fact of life. Springtimes in Oklahoma always included the hours spent in front of the television, watching the supercells. Even the non-scientific minds among us learn to grasp the basics of supercells, of the hook echo, of the wall cloud. We are willing to watch the storm on TV until it is within 10 miles of us, and then, and only if it is heading in our direction, will we descend to our storm cellar.

Nancy Mathis has captured the feeling of the springtime in Oklahoma; the awe, the fear, and the respect with which tornadoes are regarded. The book weaves together many stories of common people from this area, people just like any other central Oklahoman. And she compellingly tells the story of how lives are shattered, molded--simply changed by the power of the tornadoes.

The May 3 tornado (the big one--A9) passed within 15 miles of my house; I had been playing golf that afternoon on a course in Moore that was destroyed--in fact, had we played the back 9, we would have been on the course when the twister hit. But the sky looked ominous, with the clouds at different elevations moving different directions--signaling significant wind shear, a factor in tornado formation that Mathis discusses in this book. It was simple stories like this that Mathis used to create the feel of the book.

Mathis captures the history of tornado forecasting and the personalities involved wonderfully. She tells the story of the meteorologists excellently. I believe this book to be the best available at telling the story of the tornado in totality and of the people it impacts. I have just a few quibbles with this book--the occasional instances of strong language (always in quotes) require editing before youngsters can read it. The book is not particularly scientific, and there are no photos or charts explaining the science. That is not the intent of this book. The story is so gripping (and graphic), that some children could have difficulty stomaching it. But this gripping retelling is what makes the book so good--for the story of the tornadoes is so extraordinarily exciting, and the springtime afternoons in Oklahoma so spellbinding, that only a book written in that way can accurately tell the story of the May 3 tornadoes.

I have been hesitant about writing a review for this book because I am very clearly biased. I felt very honored that Nancy Mathis chose to include my daughter in the book. I got to participate in the portion of the book that discussed the people involved in the storm. Those parts were emotional for me to read. I got to see a tiny portion of the research that went into the book and after reading the book, I realize that there was a tremendous amount of research done for the book. I learned a great deal about the history and science of weather forecasting. I also learned about home construction. I don't think I have ever read a book quite like this one.

At last out in paperback, this unusual novel finally gets a foothold. It's not a "Western" at all. There are no blazing guns, sheriffs, or bad guys. There is just the beauty of the western high country bringing sustenance to a kid farmed out from a depression defeated Montana ranch to a find life packing mules and horses into the mountains. . . . We see the mountains grow into Ty Hardin as he grows into them, even when yanked from them to fight a war he is obliged to fight and which wounds him physically as his mentor, Fenton Pardee, knows it will, somehow. . . . Hardin returns to his high country to repair, and subsequently suffer the failure of a love that cannot be. He soon finds the deeper love of the woman he marries. But that too goes awry, his love dying with their child in a botched delivery. . . . That sadness takes him from the Montana mountains where he found life into the High Sierra, the west's highest range, where he knows life. He becomes a legend and dies there, trying to rescue a drug addled boy who should never have tested a country so high. . . . The book is a startling testament to something we have cherished but have never quite resolved in our literature -- the perennial allure and majesty of the American west.

I admire a spellbinding story where the characters are real, their choices and dilemmas have a grab that keeps you absorbed by their story. Then you add to this a complete understaning of the settings, the profession, the way people behave in the wilderness West, and it becomes an insight into a vanishing breed as an extra bonus beyond being a great story. The prose is as good as it gets - it often has a poetic quality. This book should be a best-seller: that is the bottom line, plain and simple.

Great book, hard read, must find a place that has no noise, then you will get through, you will enjoy it. Sound like a prop from a college wrote it.
Over all I enjoyed it.

Read this. It will stay with you. And it will probably lead you to check internet sites for pack trips into the mountains of western Montana and the Sierras of California so that you can experience what the novel describes and visit with the characters even more closely.

I loved this. One of my favorite reads of the last year. It communicates a life ethic that is 180 degrees from the culturally promoted one of contemporary American life. The persons you meet within its pages will awaken memories of folks from the margins of your life.

I can't say enough good things. It deserves to reach a wide audience. Make sure you've got plenty of time to give to this novel because you'll find you want to keep going and going till you've reached camp.

Great book if you love the mountains and enjoy escaping into a great story line with wonderful descriptions of the life of a packer in the mountains. I could not put the book down!

This is one of the most inspirational books I have ever read--in part b/c it was not written to be that. Bill Hancock's message is so simple...appreciate life. Appreciate the good times because they are good. Appreciate the bad times, because they alone can help you realize the good, and both are part of who you are. He should be commended for his tenacity to stay the course, both his journey in life and cross country biking!! I wish I could thank him in person for sharing his story.

I originally bought this book for friends who lost their 16 year old son in an accident. This last year I bought it for myself and read it. If you have recently suffered the loss of a loved one it is very difficult to get through the first chapter where the author details the loss of his son and the immediate reactions of the family and friends. After the first chapter the book moves into the difficult ups and downs of getting on with every day life with while being gripped by overwhelming grief. There are so many places in this book where the author is able to put incredible perspective on what most people would consider ordinary events. Whether you've suffered the loss of a loved one or not, you will read this book and look at people and things differently than you did before. I hope that I am a better friend to people who suffered a loss because of the understanding this book gives the reader. I found myself disappointed as I was nearing the end, because the book was so well written that I wanted to keep on going with Bill Hancock beyond his cross country bike ride. I "googled" the author and contacted him by e-mail to tell him why I had bought 2 copies of the book and how much it meant to me after reading it. He responded the next day with a very thoughtful e-mail. I highly recommend reading Riding With the Blue Moth by Bill Hancock.

Ooops; that is the title of another book out there; but it's still true and I think this is a fairly good book to accompany the book by Lance Armstrong which details Lance's fight with cancer. Both of these fellows having to deal with tragic situations.

The author goes through my home town; so I was fairly bent on not giving him 5 stars just because he did that in his journey from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic; but I am a cyclist; and I came to think after reading it, this is rather darn good; although, just like some characters that Bill describes, I've gone through some hardship, to the point that it was not easy to concentrate and read this; but I did.

March Madness; the NCAA tournament also, is underway as I write this for the year 2007; you know, it is in a tiny bit of a way a basketball book, seeing how Hancock is involved and connected with the NCAA; and it's things like that, that make this a good book to read. Now, I say this, because I believe the basketball fan could well find this entertaining too; but of course, not a basketball book like say, for example; the book "Pistol" that is currently in the stores.

But I'll keep this short and to the point; I like Dean Karnazes book, The UltraMarathon Man; but I read that and think, I wish Dean gave out more info on his running, diet, etc.

Bill Hancock for some reason, gives a lot of detail, the basic facts of his road trip on a daily basis; I mean saying part of his diet was on any given day, "17 Fritos or 12 Cheezits, 2 gallons of water and a gallon of gatorade" is detail I've never seen anyone relate about before; some of the chapters even has a bit of a question and answer session via email where Bill is asked questions and he gives back answers about his trip. So, it definitely has a real diary quality about it and it is the attention to detail that makes me give it the high ranking; cycling detail but of course the book is much more.

A solid enough book, I like his descriptions of many geographic locales; such as Yarnell hill; I had to look up that mountain on the internet I was so curious; or the Wichita Mountains of Oklahoma.

Glad to see the positive reviews for this book; but most of them are rather short to gather people's impressions. I decided to make mine a bit longer. A fine contribution to cycling literature.

I felt like I was along for the ride with Bill Hancock in "Riding With the Blue Moth", experiencing the emotional highs and lows, chuckling at the amusing experiences he had along the way, and shedding more than a few tears. Nothing strikes fear into the heart of a parent more than the prospect of losing a child. The Hancocks experienced every parent's nightmare and the healing of the cross-country bicycle ride was great both for the reader and, I suspect, for the author as well. I highly recommend this book to anyone, but especially to anyone who has lost an offspring or is close to someone who has.

I've been reading this book at night for a week now. I shed tears nearly every night, and find myself at the bedside of one or both of my kids thanking God for the privilege I have of being their Dad. This book has almost become a devotional for me. The depth of the writing is stunning.... My prayers are with you Bill and Nicki. Thank you for letting us glimpse enough of your pain so that we can better treasure all that it means to Live.

I purchased this book because my Aunt and Uncle are on page 97 but found that I love the whole book. There is so much wisdom in these pages. These people are amazing and the photos are beautiful.

This has become the must-have book on aging with grace. Why? Remarkable straightforward photos and quotes from remarkable straightforward people who have looked aging in the eye -- and not blinked.

If you can find a copy, grab it. If you can't, contact the publisher and ask when it will be available again.

"Salt of the Red Earth" is a timely treasure commemoratiing the lives of sage Oklahomans at a momentous slice of time -- Oklahoma's Centennial. This carefully crafted book, with its unvarnished, honest quotations and beautiful photography is not only a snapshot of real people living long lives -- it is also a testimony to the dedication, determination and hard work of a talented photographer and savvy chronicler, M.J. Alexander.

What a wonderful tribute to the older and wiser Oklahoman's in this Centennial year! M. J. Alexander does an amazing job capturing the wit and wisdom of all she interviewed and photographed. Our whole family enjoyed her work and we can't wait to see what she chooses for her next project.

What a wonderful book. The author has led us down a path, allowing us glimpses into days gone by, told by those who lived them. How inspiring to read positive words from people who lived through some of the hardest years in American history. The photos are beyond compare, just the faces of the individuals allow us to see the past. Some are worn and shadowed, wrinkled and aged, yet with finesse and compassion, Alexander has captured images of history, and all done with tenderness and care. Own this book, I assure the reader that they will be in awe at the gift of longevity these subjects have been given.
More from Alexander, please.

Kerry masterfully draws you into the world of terrorism just as he and his family were drawn into the group. A truly riveting tale that offers insight so very relevant to the reality of potential domestic and foreign terrorism faced by the world today. If you ever thought such groups were harmless or didn't really exist, you had better read Kerry's book!

This book is a wonderful read. It is a fascinating chronicle of how a closed community, founded on religious principles, slowly goes off the rails as its members fall under the spell of extremist ideas.

Tabernacle of Hate by Kerry Noble is the definitive work about the Christian right wing extremist movement in the US and Canada today. Noble imparts an understandable and pointed look inside the extremist-religionist mentality in the US and even insight into the fanatic religionist movement around the world.

Tabernacle of Hate is must reading for politicians, political scientists, psychologists, sociologists and anyone who cares about fanaticism in action and its effects on the very foundations of the nation. The book is well written by Noble and very well edited by Sean Fordyce. It should be the basis for documentaries and even a feature film. It is worthy of the attention of Speilberg. Only a film maker of that caliber can do justice to the importance and ramifications of the revelations of Kerry Noble.

Kerry Noble brings a new and fascinating look into the workings of the extremist right in America. His experiences, his insights and his confusion as a member of CSA creates a sensitive account of a devout man struggling with both himself and the toxic dogma of an insular and isolated society. As a writer who has researched the racial right for over five years, I find that Noble does an excellent job of articulating the conversion experiences of the radicalized religious right. It is indeed a short step sometimes from moral dissension to dangerous alienation, from a spiritual retreat to an armed camp.

Tabernacle of Hate again illustrates the dangers of blind faith in any leader, the twilight zone reality of isolated individuals whose only truth is the truth from within the movements, the odd "Catch-22's" of revelation and prophecy as practiced by the Identists, and the uncompromising racial and political positions that faith demands.

But perhaps more than the examination of the radical movements, Noble's ruthless examination of himself and his beliefs add a dimension to his work that is missing from other works of this nature. Noble provides a clear understanding of how a good-hearted and well-intentioned man can lose himself in a world of fear, hatred and dark religious zeal.

Howard L. Bushart Co-author, "Soldiers of God: White Supremacists and Their Holy War for America"

I was one of the reporters forced to confront Kerry Noble and the heavily armed thugs he commanded at Bull Shoals Lake. It was 1984 and the fascist fringe Noble represented was on the rise: talk radio host Alan Berg had been assassinated in Denver because he was Jewish, an extremist named Gordon Kahl had gunned down two federal marshalls come to arrest him on a minor a tax beef. State troopers in Missouri and Arkansas were about to be slaughtered by Noble's friends. I can tell you when I stood before him, I saw no glint of insight, compassion or self-doubt in his eyes. He liked carrying guns, playing camouflage-clad warrior, and kowtowing to the petty and perverse Hitler who commanded CSA. I find it ironic that after all the horror Noble and his spiritual disciples, including Timothy McVeigh visited upon our country, he writes a tell-all book about his supposed "conversion" from the dark side. Another ignoble scam: this one about money rather than sex and power. Perhaps we'll give Osama bin Ladn a book contract too.