Missouri Books

This is a great book with great pictures of the birds. My boys were able to go straight to the color and find the bird we were looking for.

This is a great book. I got two bird feeders and was curious about the kinds of birds that were feeding. This book is easy to use, it lists birds by colors, it also says whether they are all year round, migratory, summer or winter. Very helpful for identifying the birds!!

After moving to Missouri for my husband's job, I was interested in all the colorful birds. I purchased this book and have been using it for about a year. It is easy to use and include brief descriptions and fun facts about each bird, as well as colorful photos and maps. The best thing is that the pages are color-coded so you aren't flipping through the whole book trying to find that one red bird you saw--you just flip to the red tab pages.

I came across this little gem by accident, found it in the local Missouri section while walking down the wrong aisle at B&N, rather than in the animal section. I picked it up and gave it a glance and didn't think twice about purchasing it or not.

It's practically a dictionary of local birds, each entry has a beautiful picture of the bird, both female and male. Includes important information for identification, what area of the state they prefer, what their eggs and nests look like, and much more.

I really like the color tabs. See a brown bird? Turn to the brown section for quick look up. Living in Missouri, I only recently took up an interest in feeding birds in my back yard and have purchased several books on the subject. This one is the best by far! It's easy to use, informative, and the pictures are of excellent quality!

I just started birdwatching, and this is the first book that I bought to help me along. It is arranged by bird color, which is great for beginners like me who have no idea what to look for. I would say that this is a great book for beginners, but maybe a bit too simple for people who have been birdwatching for awhile. I am about ready for a new book myself...

You don't have to be a fan of basketball to enjoy this book--but if you are you will love it. I wish all of todays athletes would read this book. These kids were a "one of a kind" team. Mr. Combs makes you feel as if you are sitting in the stands watching these games. I got so excited reading about the last game I could hardly stand it!! This would make a wonderful movie. Ron Howard, Clint Eastwood, Steven Spielberg, one of you please read this book!!!

What a wonderful book! Leon Combs is a great storyteller. Living in the Ozarks and near the Bradleyville area most all of my life I could really visualize the story. The characters and situations were like telling a part of my own family and hometown history. The play by play of the basketball games was like being there in that place and time. I would love to see it on the big screen! I'm ready for the next book Mr. Combs.

This author not only reveals the spirit of the sport, his colorful, descriptive narrative takes you into the very hearts of the players. Nostalgic, well-written story about a winning team, interwoven with games and statistics, makes this book a winner. Can't wait for the movie. It will happen.

I just read this wonderful book last weekend. My parents, Harlan and Betty House, were two of Bradleyville basketball's most enthusiastic followers. Both are mentioned in the book for a small portion of their contributions to the Bradleyville basketball program. The Bradleyville teams, those that were champions and those that were not, were made up of very special people--people who were willing to use all their god-given talents as best they could. With hard work they overcame their limited personal, family, and school resources. Bradleyville coaches were the best at enhancing the skills of their players and making a team out of very different individuals. The whole community was energized by the hard work and success of those winning teams. They were proud of the victories and the way their teams achieved those victories--by being great sportsmen. This book captures the spirit of the people, the players, the coaches, the community and the era. This story of our own Missouri "Hoosiers" will be enjoyed by anyone who enjoys an uplifting story about those who can prevail over long odds by hard work and fair play.

I live in the area and so the book is pretty special to me. The author has written an insightful story depicting the down/home special family quality of the Ozarks. I really enjoyed the descriptions of the raccoon-hunting point guard and the innocence of pre-Vietnam/early 60's rural society. There are too many good stories to spotlight but I really liked the one about the kids at the big Springfield tournament berating their coach for calling too many time-outs when they wanted to go coon-hunting through the hills that night the best. The Bradleyville people really shine in this book which is written with great authenticity and obvious personal experience adn affection. It's a work which deserves to be up there with the best of midwestern/western folk history-it ranks with the Milan basketball story and October Skies in my opinion any way.

Oddly enough this book sat on my shelf for over a year. I was inspired to give it a try after reading John Grisham' A Painted House during a recent vacation since it was based in the same era, local, and lifestyle as my father's childhood.

As a beneficiary of a couple of peach farmer generations, Mr. Tompkins has revealed what life was like before and after the peach bonanza in Campbell. I always felt that the peach orchard life was incredibly difficult. Now I realize that this hard life was an escape from the much more difficult life.

This excellent book is every American's history. There is such an honesty without the trappings of sugar coated memories.

I am taken back to a time I will never experience. In my mind's eye I can visualize the commitment, struggle, joy and heartbreak of a family bound together in their effort to survive. Many aspects of this book reveal the hardships and pleasures of our elders' daily life that we cannot imagine on our own.

This book offers the gift of understanding that deepens our respect for where they have been and how they have come to be who they are.

I recommend it to all who want to understand the fabric and true grit of this country. What a wonderful resource for youngsters in school to read, it lends a greater appreciation for all we have and how we got to this point.

An amazing journey indeed!

Mr. Tompkins' book is a great read! It was even more special to me, though, because my Grandpa Tot was one of the "O'Neals on the next farm over". Their house is in the background of the photo on page 269. Some of the stories, like the one about the "Wild Man of Crowley's Ridge" I can remember from my childhood. Others, though, are a fresh glimpse into history. I drive by the Old Tompkins Farm every day on my way to work. Now, I can not help but to try to visualize what it was like when Mr. Tompkins was growing up, there in the house on Riddle Hill.

Glenn Tompkins wrote this book from his heart. He told stories of how hard it was to survive in the 1930's and 1940's on Crowley's Ridge in Southeast Missouri. The struggles of that time made the family unit strong there was work to be done and you did it. The family never gave up. After getting the book from Glenn's son and daughter in law I found I could not put it down. The first day I read 95 pages. The true stories make you laugh and then cry and I feel I know the Tompkins family personally. I would recommend this book to anyone and I plan to pass it on to my family members to read. Thanks to Glenn for a job well done.

I am a librarian. In my library, I look over all the new acquisitions before they get shelved. Being around books all the time (and being in love with them) I have had to develop strong will-power to set aside interesting books, otherwise I'd never get my work done.

"The House on Riddle Hill" was powerful enough that even with my strong will-power, I was not able to set it down. There is something very honest about this book -- it is about real life, with all the seemingly simple happenings that have the ability to leave a mark in your heart. Here's a story that is a good example: Glenn got a few dollars to buy a pie at the country fair. He didn't have enough to buy the pies of the popular girls, but did get a mincemeat one (a kind he didn't like) from a girl who he hadn't thought of as pretty. But as they sat together and Glenn ate, she said to him so sincerely, "Thank you for buying my pie." They are simple stories, but they strike a heart chord.

I purchased my copy of the book at a book signing where I got to tell Mr. Tompkins how much I enjoyed it. He told me how at an earlier book signing, a woman came up surprised him by throwing her arms around him in a bear hug, and saying "After reading your book, I just feel like I know you!" I can understand this perfectly. "The House on Riddle Hill" is filled with love, so it just seems to bring it out in you.

I am not a fan of westerns but I received a copy of this book from a family member and once I opened it on the plane, I couldn't put it down. The characters are great and the story moves pretty quickly. I was captured by the plot and descriptions of the areas.
I would recommend this book to anyone, lovers of westerns or not.

When the sequel comes out, I will be buying a copy or two.

Rick

I found this book to be a very interesting snapshot of life in the mid-west during the 1800s. It was evident that the author did his research. His style is easy to read and most entertaining.

Great Western, much research went into this book, great plot, not your regular shoot 'um up western, the ending? I thought, "What did I just read?", went back and read it again. Very clever! Plan to read the book again. Can't wait for the sequel. Highly recommended to any reader.

The Margin
Life was tough for almost everyone after the Civil war. The economy was devasted, food supplies were depleated because both armies confiscated everything in their path just to survive. Homesteaders starting new lives prior to the war lost land, homes and businesses. Post war chaos opened the door to unscrupulous people who made their fortunes on the back of the pioneer. This is where The Missouri Riders begins. John Dee's mom is about to loose her farm to the bank. In despiration John Dee enlists the aid of two very close friends, all three men of good character. But, influenced by the emotion provoked by the apparent criminal confiscation of his mother's farm John Dee, Tom and Billy rob a bank. Motive, of course, to pay the mortgage. From this point the author, George Banks takes us through hard times and adventure as he pens this wonderful story of the three friends eluding the consequences of their unlawful deed.

After John Dee Tyler's Dad dies, he and his mom learn that the bank is going to foreclose on their farm. It seems there's a new manager who claims the note has gone unpaid for eight months. With no work available in the area John Dee hatches a plan with his two best friends Billy Ray Matthews and Tom Ballard.
As Billy Ray puts John's plan, "Now let me see if I got this straight. We find a bank, go play Jesse James, rob a bank to pay a bank, then come home and eat apple pie. Yeah, I like it! I'm in."
With the agreement struck and made, the three Missouri riders head south to Lexington, where, as legend has it, the James and Younger gang once robbed the very same bank they've targeted.
The robbery goes smoothly. No one is hurt and the boys make a clean getaway. Now all John Dee has to do is be patient and wait the 45 days before making the payment. No sense in hurrying matters and making everyone suspicious.
What John Dee doesn't know is that the new bank manager, Mr. Matting, already had plans for the Tyler farm, and when he pays the note, as they say in Missouri, all hell breaks loose.
With a sense of place that takes the reader easily back to those pre-twentieth century days when life was more simple but perhaps harsher in its demands, George Banks adeptly presents his story of three young men caught up in a tangled web of guilt and fear mixed well with a youthful need to have some fun.
With the Pinkertons investigating and getting closer, the boys make a hard decision. They'll go to San Antonio where a rancher they know is putting together a trail drive. By the time they finish working for him, it'll be safe to return home and see how things are going. Thus begins the exciting adventures of these Missouri riders.
George Banks certainly knows his subject, and the characters he creates are right out of the faraway past. As for history, he paints a picture so true to the times it's easy to "suspend disbelief" and live the tale with these three boys. A tale of life and adventure that make this book a pleasure to read for anyone at any age. Interspersed with pieces of historical fact, the book also serves as a good research tool.
I'm fascinated when John Dee explains how the original pioneers used a combination of feathers and wooden wedges and shims to pry great lengths of limestone apart before soaking them in water a couple of days and cutting them to needed lengths to build limestone fences on the treeless plains. This is just one of the many things I learned in reading this captivating book.
Velda BrothertonFly with the Mourning Dove

I started reading Pamela Morsi years ago. She is one of my favorite authors. I am still reading this book but so far I love it. If I had the time I would just sit and read it all the way through!!!

I just finished this book and already want to read it again. I loved the characters and the town. I want to go to Bitsy's and try the terrible BBQ and dance on music night. This is the first book I have read by Morsi and look forward to reading more of her. While some of the plot seemed to be very obvious I was pleasantly surprised with the twists and turns that kept me reading. What a great read!!

Bitsy's Bait and BBQ is a little snapshot of life in the Missouri Ozarks. The characters are endearing and it is a delightful tale of small community life. It is a charming story of Katy and Emma who think they are buying a Bed and Breakfast and instead wind up with a Bait and BBQ. While Katy and Emma adapt to country life and try to master the BBQ pit, Katy's ex-husband Sean and his domineering mother Gwen arrive to try to gather evidence in order to change the custody arrangements for Josh, Katy's son. The small community rallies around Katy and the story comes to a great ending. My only complaint is that I want to know the rest of the story. Several budding romances were just beginning to blossom at the end of the book and I want to know what happens next.

Bitsy's Bait and Barbecue by Pamela Morsi was a charming novel set in the Ozarks of Missouri. Katy Dodson uses the divorce settlement she receives from her wealthy ex-husband to buy a B&B on eBay, thinking that the rural atmosphere and small town will be a wholesome place to raise her little son. Her sister Emma comes along to get Katy and little Josh settled in. The sisters are shocked when they learn that, in this case, B&B stands for Bait & BBQ rather than Bed & Breakfast - and that business, bought sight unseen, is a run down hole. Katy decides to make a go of it, and an interesting summer with all sorts of additional surprises awaits the sisters.

This was a very pleasant book about a family (and community) working out problems, growing up, and coming together.

I am a huge fan of Pamela Morsi, I have read all of her books, some of them many times over. THIS IS HER BEST BOOK. Wonderful story line, a place you want to visit, a heroine with a heart and backbone, great supporting cast and an antagonist you love to hate. A sequel is a must (she has done this before). Thank you Pam for a book that is a keeper. Also, Bitsy is very quotable, as my family both fishes and cooks.

I read "Kings Row" when in high school many years ago. I decided to re-read it and enjoyed it even more the second time. This book allegedly was written about the small midwestern town where I live. It includes everything from first young love and loss to tragedy after tragedy. It is a real page turner. Great read.

There's a great movie, Kings Row, which I adored and after reading the reviews here, I was excited about reading the book. I found it well written but melancholy. For me it dragged on with not enough action and too much psychological meandering. My mind wandered often while reading page upon page of Parris Mitchell's thought processes as he wanders a field sorting out events of his past. It seems his life was destined to be filled with tragedies such as his best friend's amputation of both legs by a vicious doctor and his parents' and grandmothers' deaths. Even his romantic interests had sad demises. In between these tragic events, there are very few positive events detailed of good times that any normal human would experience. The town of Kings Row contains a mental institution vaguely described yet clearly a central location of the story. The entire book seems to be told with a certain hopelessness. Thankfully, it seems Parris' story has a hopeful ending with some resolution. I DO like the author enough to read the follow up novel, Parris Mitchell of Kings Row, in hopes of further resolution. What I gained from this book was the meaning of true friendship and loyalty.

I read Kings Row about 12 years ago and became a huge fan of Henry Bellaman. Kings Row is the kind of book that lives long in your mind and heart. He breathes life into the characters and you feel as though you know them each personally and would recognize them on the street. He knows the pulse of human emotion and the author is a psychologist, a man of spiritual depth and insight, and his words sing. I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in what it means to be human and how we fare in terms with the world around us and the inhabitants we come in contact with. I will never forget this marvelous book and have recommended it to many. Beautiful!

I had heard of KINGS ROW since the movie made from this 1940's bestseller featured Ronald Reagan as Drake in what Reagan considered his best role and the famous "where's the rest of me?" scene has been shown on television many times. I found an old paperback of the novel at a used book sale and was not expecting much but was very pleasantly surprised. The book is the story of two young men coming of age in small town Missouri in the years between 1890 and about 1910. There is enough scandal and "the sap of life" (as a New York Times review says on my old copy of the book) to satisfy the modern reader and Bellamann brings the entire town to vivid life as he peoples Kings Row with believable townspeople of all ages and walks of life. The author was sixty when the book was published in 1940 so he was a contemporary of his characters and the book is believed to have many autobiographical elements. At times the book is a bit slow paced and ponderous but Bellamann draws his characters so well and sympathetically that the reader is compelled to keep reading and there are some truly memorable and dramatic events in the story. I couldn't help but think how little has changed in the over one hundred years since the setting of the book and that perhaps the good old days and the people that lived them were not so good after all.

KINGS ROW may move you, stir you, shake you, shock you, stimulate you, reassure you, and inspire you. It is one of the few books that, like a true friend, I will return to often and never forget. It is a wonderful gift that transcends time and place.

Interspersed among the captivating narrative and rich characterizations are succint insightful meditative segments that sparkle like rare jewels and are brilliantly woven into the story.

My personal index of this book includes, in approximate order of appearance: angels, point of view, cage, science, intuition, mysticism, philosophy, struggle, vanity, *shining goal*, place in the universe, the conscious and the unconscious, multiple worlds, rivalry, piano music, control and order, discipline, *tryanny*, conformity, human nature, jealousy, things without faces, qualities, civilization, words versus voice, game, refuge, beauty, ugliness, money and power, mathematics, *design*, friendship.

Broadly and deeply erudite, astutely observant, and poetically articulate. FOR YOUR OWN GOOD, PLEASE DON'T MISS IT. And share it.

I purchased this book for my son, a high school student who was assigned HUCKLEBERRY FINN in an American Studies class, and promptly fell in love with it. The commentary is delightful, and the many illustrations (many taken from the original edition,) photographs, prints, cartoons, and maps give a real sense of time and place. Homey details that might not be familiar to the modern reader are explained in some detail, as are customs of the time. The author includes material from Twain's notes and details about his life, always in a manner that illuminates the passage.

HUCKLEBERRY FINN frequently turns up on lists of banned books, and it's interesting to read of the controversy that dogged this story from the beginning. The particulars of readers' outraged sensibilities might change, but the response this book has always engendered suggests the timelessness of Twain's targets: ignorance, cruelty, hypocracy, racism. The story is a clear-eyed yet subversive look at a society in transition, and a relentless skewering of treasured myths concerning childhood. These themes remain as troubling today as they were in the 1840s, the supposed setting of the novel.

This book is an excellent resource for students and teachers, as well as for those of us who love Mark Twain's stories. The book itself is beautiful, with high quality paper and binding. A worthy addition to every library!

The greatest American novel, still. The country it sees is still in front of our eyes. The Americans it shows, we still are, though we live nearer to highways now than rivers. Twain's tale can be read both intellectually (yuck) as symbolic of the American quest for masterlessness (see Studies in Classic American Literature by D.H. Lawrence) and as a kid-on-a-raft-let's-see-what-happens story. Art and fun. Not an easy achievement to tie those two rascals together with one rope. Master of structure and flinger of fun though he be, the most exciting reason to read Twain is the language. The book is a hundred and sixteen years old, the writing ain't --"Steamboat captains is always rich, and get sixty dollars a month, and they don't care a cent what a thing costs, you know, long as they want it. Stick a candle in your pocket; I can't rest, Jim, till we give her a rummaging. Do you reckon Tom Sawyer would ever go by this thing? Not for pie, he wouldn't. He'd call it an adventure-that's what he'd call it; and he'd land on that wreck if it was his last act. And wouldn't he throw style into it?" --One caveat: Be careful the illustrations don't mess up the pictures the author can put in your head with his sentences.

Mark Twain at his best...great pictures and annotation...that are first rate. Due to time restraints, I have only skimmed the book. What I have read is great. It is a Norton book...always-great editions. If weight means anything, then this is a heavy-duty book. I look forward to reading the entire book after graduation in the spring. In addition, it even looks good on the shelf....

No repeats of the due praise by previous reviewers. If you have never read Huck Finn before, do not start here, the annotations would make it difficult to read with a curious eye to the margin notes breaking up the flow, like watching a DVD movie with the director comments turned on. But do come back when your done a non-annotated version (or even audio); travel down the river again with the annotations by your side, here as lengthy as the book over again, a whole new magical worlds awaits in the margins; you will discover the hidden depths and meanings of one of the most important literary works about America ever written. An amazing book lovingly produced.

Mark Twain opined that a classic is a book everyone wants to own but nobody reads!
However if you want to read Twain's best book with a full
critical apparatus, an introduction over 100 pages and excellent
illustrations this is the volume for you!
Anyone teaching Huckleberry Finn in high school or college should make use of Michael Patrick Hearn's well researched notes
which make this volume required reading.
I have read all of the Norton Annotated Classics and found this one (along with the Sherlock Holmes volume) the best.
Huckleberry Finn deals with the tragedy of 19th century slavery as Finn helps the black slave Jim escape down the mighty Mississippi river. In Huck's odyssey down the river he also travels from boyhood to manhood.
Twain's use of dialects is amazing as is his dissection of prebellum southern/southwest society rife with violence, bigotry, child abuse and cruelty.
Norton is to be commended for their series of classics opening up new ground for all students of Mark Twain. Excellent!

The Author brought to life real people who lived through a very important period in our nation's history. The Civil War played a major role in the lives of her ancestors and the author was able to express with realism how they were affected. A most interesting aspect of this tale shows how a town is split down the middle with one side supporting the Union Army and the other side the Confederates. The living conditions and family life during this period of our history is woven with color and flavor. Genealogy can be boring especially when it is not our own, however Carol Troestler makes the reader part of her family allowing the reader to experience their pain, their sorrow and their happiness.
Carol Troestler can be proud of her ancestors who made a significant contribution to this country.


Abe F. March
Author, To Beirut and Back

I followed this book as it was being written. My 10 seconds of fame come in the introduction. This story takes on the character of the writer, honest, compassionate, gentle, fun, passionate about writing and her family, past and present. It is an honor to be her friend. No foul language and therefore good for young people as well as those who appreciate clean language. I just ordered her second book, IOWA BORN AND BRED, from Amazon, and I think she is writing a third at this time.
Nancy Holum, Summerland Key, Florida

There was nothing even remotely uplifting about the Civil War, yet Carol Troestler's poignant and thoroughly researched novel about a Missouri family that experienced it firsthand gives a new focus.

We read about the Boothman family, based on her own ancestry, whose spirit and values go above and beyond the divisions within their chosen country, state, and town to achieve unity in family and nation through romance, marriage, birth and death.

Ms. Troestler describes eloquently the tensions produced in each member of the family by the warring factions of North and South, as the men or boys leave home to join one or the other side--the Union or the Confederate--and position for battle in the border state of Missouri.

As schools and churches close for the duration, Elizabeth "home schools" the children with a "play" to teach a history lesson about the lives of Lewis and Clark's expedition down the Missouri River to find a route to the Pacific. As a former teacher who often used this method, this reader found it delightful.

In another joyful moment that made her heart pound, Elizabeth dances the jig--an Irish dance she knew from her youth in Ireland--that also brought back memories of a time when I was part of an Irish Dancing Group.

Not allowing anything to totally destroy their family, not even suffering and death, moving to different states or far distances, Elizabeth Boothman's strong character gives the history an authenticity as she employs spiritual values and qualities of life that redeem an otherwise dreary and depressing moment in the history of America's struggle to become a united nation.

The question we cannot help but ask ourselves is "was the country already in the throes of a peaceful resolution of the evils of slavery, or was this a necessary war with all the suffering and loss of life it produced?"

Bringing the question to a different level--one that is very much in the minds of Americans today who face similar divisions and a war many do not support in a country not their own--Ms. Troestler describes with compassion the sorrow and emotional confusion of those Missouri soldiers who faced an "enemy" and found it was "themselves."

This is a novel that would be an important piece of literature in high schools and colleges to teach history because it is written with knowledge of the issues involved, not just facts, and with a human touch. Five brilliant stars.

Joyce Ann Edmondson
The Listening Tree

I just completed reading what I think had to be a very difficult book to write. The author provides a detailed history of her family; history requiring hours of research. Even with the many "in depth" details covering 264 pages, I found myself reading each page with ease and understanding.
Beginning in 1858 when the family of ten crossed the ocean seeking a new life in America, this pioneer family spans nearly 150 years of loving life yet the sorrow of too much death; death from the war, devastating fires and early childhood diseases.
Elizabeth was the early matriarch of the family being a strong-willed woman with great courage who would stand up to the strife of war, the jayhawkers, the vigilantes and of course the bushwhackers - each on different sides of the conflict but invading the area of Missouri where this family had settled. Even the town where they lived was divided in philosophy.
"Minnie" was the first baby born on American soil during the early part of the Civil War. When her mother was forced from their home by bushwhackers, Minnie made her appearance to the family on the banks of a coal mine. As she grew, became a mother, grandmother and great grandmother, she was to become the future matriarch. During her long, difficult life she came to realize the true meaning of freedom - the freedom they sought in this, the new land.
Minnie's final request during her last days was that her granddaughter, Alice release her own daughter from the controlling ways the mothers in the family had always demanded. Her final gift to her great granddaughter (Carol Troestler) was that she have the freedoms to live, play and love - those same freedoms the women of her family were denied. And, oh yes, the freedom to write - write a wonderful book about the Farrar Boothman family titled Flow On Sweet Missouri. It is a great read - Carol took a difficult accumulation of facts and molded them into words that flow like the mighty Missouri River itself. If you enjoy history, you will especially enjoy reading this wonderfully written book. I did.

As I read Carol Troestler's Flow On Sweet Missouri, I was impressed with her dedication to the story of her family, the mind boggling amount of research that she had to do, and the gentleness of her spirit.

When I was in high school, the class I most dreaded was American History. At that time American History was remembering dates and names that did not seem to connect to my life. It is too bad that we did not have Carol Troestler's book, Flow On Sweet Missouri, for reading at that time. Through her families struggles, you see both sides of the Civil War. It makes it real. It is not just dates and battles, but people surviving and dying on both sides.

Carol has written a magnificent book that should be in schools. Her documentation is wonderful. The songs and hymns of the time are accurate. Her research is without fault.

Many people have written books about their own family history. The difference with Carol Troestler's book is that you know where they were, what they thought, how they lived, their trials and their joys and how they all fitted within the politics of the times. It is a beautiful book!

Some of the characters in this story are the same as in Edge of Town. I liked it because it gave me some insight into country folk, bootlegging and the story line was interesting to me. It showed how sometimes decent people get involved in bad things. The bootlegger's daughter, whose father was trying to get out of the bootlegging business, finds some romance after helping fix up Jack who was beat up on his way home from baseball tryouts one day. I enjoyed reading this very much. It is a fast read and recommend it for light, entertaining reading.

High on a Hill is the story of Annabel Donovan, who would just like to stay in one neighborhood long enough to befriend neighbors, but because of her father's shady whiskey business, they have to stay on the move. Corbin Appleby, and ex-marshal is assaulted, and has to stay in the small Missouri town, or so he says until his injuries are healed. Corbin and Annabel end up meeting when she goes into town, they fall- in-love, but could Corbin be after her father, you have to read this book and find out. There are also other characters in the book who has their own little story lines going on. I thought the book was good, but lagged on at one point, I do plan to read more books by this author.

Wow! It was really good. This was my first Dorothy Garlock story. I have since read 3-4 others and am in the middle of another. So yeah, her writing totally impressed me. You can see here that the story is about Bootlegging in Missouri in during Prohibition. But the whole package---what you're getting is not so much your typical romance, where the story focuses on one man and one woman, with subtle humorous secondary characters.
In Garlocks stories, so far that I've noted, she intertwines others stories so theres not just one romance/relationship blossoming. Its not all about the main characters! Woohoo!
The details she provides really impressed me. She'd add little descriptions, or talk about the cars, or how to cook on an old stove, or going and getting ice for the freezer---its amazing to have all the period detail, quality writing and a sweet little romance all wrapped up in one. And I like the fact that some of the resolution ends in DEATH----seems another taboo thing for a romance novel---makes it, to me, stand out as more realistic.
I loved it! I hope you do too.

Dorothy Garlock does it again with this excellent historical romance, set in the 1920's. For those of us that read "The Edge of Town," you'll be delighted to read Corbin Appleby's story, along with Jack Jones!! If you have not read "The Edge of Town," you won't miss a beat, as this story takes place in another Missouri city called Henderson (not Fertile). The characters from The Edge of Town are mentioned, but only to please those Garlock fans that never miss a word of her writings. This story has it all, mystery, intrigue, danger, deception, love and romance, close friendly relationship, and more! There is enough information in the description that tells what this book is about, and if I stated anything more, I'd give the surprises away. Sit back and enjoy this one! It's great!

The prohibition brings big business to bootleggers, speakeasies and gangsters. For years Annabel Lee Donovan, daughter of a bootlegger, has endured frequent upheaval and promises that her father will soon leave the business behind. Their latest move brings them to Henderson, Missouri to a house on a hill. Annabel worries over her father's frequent absences, but tries to make their new home comfortable. Her father leaves behind two men to look to her safety and take turns guarding their stash, Boone and Spinner.

One day a seriously injured young man appears on her doorstep seeking help. Annabel welcomes Jack Jones, nursing him back to health and earns his loyalty. Jack does not know a family friend, Corbin Appleby, tracks him. A former police chief, Corbin insists that he is not a Fed, but his interest in her father's business and in the illegal activity in the area leaves both Annabel and Boone suspicious. In addition, Annabel has dangerous neighbors to contend with, especially when one decided that she belongs to him.

As a new comer to Dorothy Garlock's work, I found her choice of setting, the Prohibition, absolutely fascinating, and her writing delightful. Annabel proves to be a delectable combination of contradictions, raised fairly conservatively by a bootlegging father. Her need for permanent roots proves charming from her acquisition of farm animals to garden planting. As her attraction for Corbin slowly blossoms, suspicion of his motives leaves her questioning his trustworthiness. The Secondary plot proves even more delightful, especially as Boone and Tess almost upstage the romance between the main characters. A beautifully realized old fashioned romance with a emphasis on family ties, HIGH ON THE HILL comes highly recommended.

We live approx. 3 hours from KC and like to visit about once a year. This book is packed with useful information. It's a great buy even if you plan on visiting KC only once.

I am a resident of the area and was impressed with the ideas given to have a vacation without leaving the city.

THE INSIDER'S GUIDE TO KANSAS CITY is a wonderful book. It tells you where the best neighborhoods are on both the Missouri and Kansas sides; the best school districts; the best health care; and virtually everything you need to know about this area. Of course, it could talk about the shopping malls in more depth, like some other books in this series, and some radio station listings are inaccurate as to category and should be taken like the humor in AMERICAN WEDDING, SIMPLY IRRESISTIBLE, THE SISTERHOOD OF THE TRAVELLING PANTS, HARVARD MAN, DRIVE ME CRAZY, 13 GOING ON 30, PRETTY WOMAN, MY BEST FRIEND'S WEDDING, HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER, FRIENDS, DATE MOVIE, and/or the two GARFIELD movies featuring Jennifer Love Hewitt (for example, KRBZ belongs in the Rock/Rhythm/Soul category, not the Contemporary category, while KLZR is not even a Kansas City station but is based in Lawrence and belongs in the Contemporary category, not Rock/Rhythm/Soul, as does KFME, which is now KCJK, and moreover, KNRX is now KMJK- an adult urban contemporary station- and is located about 45 minutes away, in Lexington, MO), as should the listing of Countryside as a separate city (it merged with Mission in 2003), but overall, if you're interested in different metro areas, you'll crave this book.

When I read this book I felt like Katie was personally showing me KC. It was like she was holding my hand as we explored the neighborhoods and hot spots.

As a local, who takes the city for granted and continually revisits the old haunts, I am enormously grateful for this comprehensive insight into what MY city has to offer.
Katie has sparked the "adventurous" in me and now I am ready to hit the road. This is a book meant for every local's library not to mention all visitors to the city. Most of us are unaware of the myrid options that Kansas City offers. This guide gives us the opportunity to explore and enjoy everything that is available. We are also prepared when, when they come, to enlighten visitors as to everything that Kansas City is about.
Thank you Katie for making all of us who have the book "insiders." The book is a must.