West Virginia Books

I like to think myself a very well-rounded reader (I have my degree in English), but I don't know if the genius of Virginia Woolf was just beyond me in Orlando. I enjoyed the story and the various historical characters that made appearances throughout, but something about it went a bit over my head. It was a strange tale of adventure and romance, with Orlando seeking the beauties of life and poetry throughout the centuries.

I read Orlando because someone told me that a central theme was Knole, the massive great house of the Sackvilles in Sevenoaks, in Kent south west of London. (I also liked Mrs Dalloway--See my Amazon review.) When we lived in London my family and I spent a day at Knole. It is supposedly the largest private house in England. Much of it now belongs to the National Trust. Knole beggars description--it is a vast mansion, brooding, and dark, but also eminent; it is a castle, a factory, mills, breweries, a village, and menagerie. I remember the deer as being especially numerous and friendly. Orlando the novel is dedicated to Vita Sackville-West who sadly was unable to inherit Knole although she grew up there. Only males could inherit.

The novel Orlando is a tour through English history from the mid-15 hundreds to 1928 always from odd perspectives. It is also a subtle and searching exploration of gender roles, social roles, and artistic and creative efforts. Themes interweave with lightning speed. It's crazy, funny, satirical, wild, and moody. I found parts to be incoherent, post-modern stream-of-consciousness, but most is entertaining and illuminating.

But this novel always comes back to Knole just as Orlando does. He/she (there is a sex change mid-novel) tours her house, thinks about it, ponders it, worries about it, and is always focused on it. Orlando lives for hundreds of years, but somehow I think he/she is a metaphor for the great house. Knole is not mentioned by name in the novel, but that's it. Knole is also the setting for The Edwardians by Vita Sackville-West. Knole is very worth a visit if you get to London or Kent. On the web at the National Trust website.

A visit in person however would help bring the novel Orlando to life. The novel is titled Orlando: A Biography. I think it is the biography of Knole.

One other odd feature: My edition (Signet Classics) has in index. This is the first novel I've read with an index. This suggests to me that Orlando is more than a novel, it is also a history of sorts.

This `roman à clés' is very original. The hero continues to live in different historical periods and undergoes a sex change.
However, it is written in an emotional, sentimental, superlative style: `society in the reign of Queen Anne was of unparalleled brilliance. The graces were supreme.'
Except for the first period, there are no conflicts, only rather superficial descriptions of the mood and spirits of the times. For V. Woolf, `to give a truthful account of society ... only those who have little need of the truth, and no respect for it - the poets and novelists - can be trusted to do it, for this is one of the causes where the truth does not exist.'
`Orlando' is a perfect flight from reality: `But let other pens treat of sex and sexuality; we quit such odious subjects as soon as we can.' `Whigs and Tories, Liberal party and Labour party ... should be left to the historian.'

This book is a clean, introvert, aristocratic, long ode to pure Beauty.
Only for Virginia Woolf fans.

The story begins with Orlando as a passionate young nobleman in Queen Elizabeth's court. By the end, Orlando is a 36-year-old woman three centuries later. Orlando witnesses the making of history from its edge. A close examination of the nature of sexuality and the changing climate of the passing centuries. Very novel and engaging if a bit loose-ended at times.

Written in 1928, this book clearly sought to shock the reading public. For every repression delivered by Victorian authorities which surely hampered Woolf's freedoms, this book delivers a defiant rebuke to the same.

Orlando - it states in the beginning - is a man for whom "there can be no doubt of his sex." He is rich, handsome and lives a life even Hugh Hefner may be jealous of. But, scandals lead him to isolation, to public ridicule or upbraiding, which led him to sequester himself to his 200-bedroom hermitage-castle. In his hermit's existence, he does not pass time philandering, but instead pulls books off the library's shelves and romanticizes with fiction.

Eventually tedium compels Orlando to ask his friendly king to deliver him overseas where he can perform the duties of ambassador. He ends up in then Constantinople, now Istanbul, Turkey. While living there, he ends one exhaustingly long night of debauchery and partying with a seven day sleep - and awakes a woman.

This was a "good thing." As a man, he could not appreciate Tennyson, Shakespeare, Byron and the like. As a woman, their written word touched her greatly. She could be red eyed, she could be lachrymose. As a man, he never loved. Wollf says, ". . . love - as the male novelists define it . . . has nothing whatever to do with kindness, fidelity, generosity or poetry. . ." Orlando the man had no love? Maybe, with Sasha (a Russian seductress) - but maybe Sasha ruined him so that he could never love again.

As a woman, Orlando knows love. Wolff explains, "Love is slipping off one's petticoat and - "
Can you imagine the Victorians reading that?!

Orlando's life continues not for decades, but centuries. And, some other characters do as well. "The true length of a person's life . . . is always a matter of dispute. Indeed, it is a difficult business - this time-keeping thing. . . " Indeed, it was for Wolff who quite intentionally delivers this novel as a time-challenged writer.

More obscurities arise - androgynous lovers, angels' visits, children born from or for Orlando - and splendor with these very biologically-defying events.

This is not written in the weaving masterful language which Woolf delivers in "To the Lighthouse" or "Mrs.Dalloway." Instead, here the schizophrenia lies with the main character, not the writing style. Probably, a better story than "Lighthouse" or "Dalloway", but I am partial to the writing style of those masterpieces.

In any event, anyone wondering just how throttled Woolf felt in the stifling moral norms of her country, read this book. If anyone wants a bizarre tale about a bizarre man/woman, this is a must read.

Many people of all ages will like this book, Shiloh Season. If you like the book look through and look at all the pages that have pictures. Read and find out. What happens to an abused dog rescued by a boy named Marty?

Many people like this book. It is about a young boy named Marty Preston,
his family,Judd Travers,and an abused begle named Shiloh.
I love this book, and I bet you will, too. I like it because there is
a lot of action and fun. If you like beagles read this fantastic book.
I hope you like it, too.

Shiloh Season is a really great book. It is the sequal to the Newbery Medal winner Shiloh. So it contiues with Marty and his dog Shiloh who he got from a mean grumpy man named Judd Travers. Judd has started drinking and that is causing problems with him and Marty.For example Judd is blaming everything that happens to him on Marty. Will Judd and Marty ever become friends? Well to find out you should read this book!

The novel Shiloh Season is an excitant novel by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor. Shiloh Season is a good book.
In the narrative the characters were unbelievable. Marty and Shiloh are my favorite characters. Judd was mean at beginning at the end Judd was a nice guy. Phyllis Naylor wrote such an enchanting novel. She should rite another Shiloh story.
My favorite scenes in this novel is when Shiloh licked Judd's hand. If I would not change in I would not because Shiloh Season is a good book.
I learned from this novel that you should not people. I would recommend this book for my friends because I is a good book.

Shiloh Season is the second book in the Shiloh Trilogy. In this ongoing saga, 11-year-old Marty must face some of the consequences of past decisions, particularly the secret of how he managed to "buy" his beagle Shiloh from Judd Travers, his previous owner. Just when we thought Marty's fears about Shiloh's well-being were over, Judd begins to drink heavily and is displaying erratic behavior which causes Marty to once again fear for Shiloh's safety, as well as his own. Marty faces some difficult decisions again, as well as showing maturity as he wrestles with needing to protect Shiloh and wanting to find out if it's possible to teach kindness to someone who has never known it.

While this sequel was very enjoyable, it somewhat lacked the page-turning intensity of its predecessor. In Shiloh, Naylor deftly managed to make all the characters alive and a meaningful addition to the book, but Shiloh Season didn't quite draw me in as well and the scenes with Shiloh himself almost seem superfluous. If you are a fan of Marty and Shiloh, then you will most likely enjoy this next part of the story. If you haven't read the first book, I would highly recommend reading it first and become a fan before reading this second book.

Positive Elements: Though Marty's willingness to take risks in reaching out to Judd Travers stem from his desire to keep Shiloh safe, he learns compassion in the process and then attempts to teach it to Judd himself. Again, this book demonstrates to us an excellent work ethic and devotion to family. Marty may not always know what the right thing to do is, but his desire to do the right thing is refreshing.

Negative Elements: As in the first book, there are scenes which may frighten or disturb some children, including the use of firearms. One of the main themes of the book deals with abusing alcohol, and I edited out some language as I read this book aloud to my children.

If you have read Rocket Boys, it's imperative you continue with Coalwood Ways and Sky of the Stone. All are wonderful reads with great life lessons. Sky of the Stone was my favorite of the three but they build on each other. I look forward to reading Red Helmet in February!

Just a great part 3 continuation of "The Rocket Boys", AKA: "October Sky". I could hardly put it down. I really enjoyed this book, too.

A wonderful book that was not only an engaging story, but offered a glimpse into the life of West Virginia coal miners. Following on the heels of the "Rocket Boys" ( the book that inspired the movie "October Sky"), this book carries on the story of Rocket Boy and author Homer Hickam. You won't be sorry you read this book.

I read October Sky a week ago and then grabbed this one. I haven't read The Coalwood Way but after starting Sky of Stone, don't think it's necessary. This book continues where October Sky left off, and in many ways people are introduced in this book that were never mentioned in the first book. In manyways this book seems to be derived from all the notes taken out of the first book. Sonny's father's character comes to light in this book and we see the continued tension between father and son, and the son's reluctant growth into adulthood when he accepts (or is forced into) adult decisions for the first time.

Homer is a year out of college and he's slowly learning that many of the naive things he experienced in boyhood are coming back to haunt him. Where we all read about the fame and success of the six Rocket Boys, we now find that they are scattered across the country in college. With Homer, the grades in the first year weren't anything out of this world, or anything indicative of an aspiring rocket scientist. Without reading October Sky this book may appear to be a mystery, and I recommend reading October Sky first before attempting this one.

It is unfair to compare one book to the other, although I am doing it right now. What the first book was in childish charm, this one is with mature awakening. The writing style is still superb, the narrative flowing. The built-up to the plot, however, takes longer. The rocket scientist is no longer a rocket scientist in this book, and we find Homer Jr more of his father's son as a summer miner, exactly what he never wanted to be while in high school.

There is much more sadness in this book. The focus is on the death of a miner at the mine that Sonny's father manages. This book is more of a country suspense than it is a happy-go-lucky story like October Sky is. I think that this change in tone was necessary because the first book was full of optimistic, youthful naivete.

The problem with sequels and trilogies is that to understand the whole picture, all books must be read. I have now read two of the three and don't plan on reading the second book.

Sky of Stone, by Homer "Sonny" Hickam, is the sequel to his famous memoir, Rocket Boys, (October Sky). The story takes place in 1961, a year after his graduation from high school. Sonny, now eighteen, has just finished his first year of college at VPI, and is hoping to spend his summer with his mother in Myrtle Beach, lying on the beach, watching the girls go by, and dreaming about building rockets with Wernher Von Braun, the world famous rocket engineer. Out of the blue, his mother calls and says that he can't go to South Carolina; he to go back to Coalwood, West Virginia, the place he thought he was free from, to keep his father company. Sonny, shocked out of his socks, at first argues, but he eventually gives up knowing that he would not want to get on his mom's bad side. So, he heads up to Coalwood, filled with confusion pounding at his head. His father is a pretty stubborn man who can hold is own. Why would he need his company?
Within the first few days of being in Coalwood, Sonny wrecks his father's car. In order to pay his father back for repairing the damages, Sonny has to do the one thing that he never dreamed he would do in this or any other life time: he joins the UMWA (United Mine Workers of America), which is the union for the Coalwood miners. He becomes a "track-laying man," one of the hardest jobs in the mining business. His father, completely enraged with this, as well as having the pressure of the Tuck Dillon case on his mind, threatens to cut off Sonny's college fund if Sonny doesn't stop working in the mines. Yet, Sonny, who is actually beginning to enjoy the hard work of being a miner, refuses.
As the story goes on, Sonny slowly begins to find more and more information about the Tuck Dillon accident, and starts to wonder if his father might have actually killed Tuck. Sonny also has many other adventures during this experience of being a miner. He makes many new friends, some of whom give him very important advice and teach him life lessons; he meets a girl engineer who is older than he, and he starts to have feelings for. He also participates in a heated track-laying race with the other mining group.
Sky of Stone, like Rocket Boys, is a beautifully well-written memoir, filled with such amazing images, you feel as though you are reading a novel. The fact that this is a true story about one man's experience is astonishing. Along with it being about Homer's life, it deals with the hardships of growing up, changing from a teenager into a young man, trying to find your place in the world, while dealing with reality and the new feeling of independence. Each page you read takes you further into this adventure, making you fall in love even more with the book. You feel as though you are with Sonny every step of the way, learning more and more from this new experience. Personally, having read October Sky, I love both books and think that Homer Hickam is great author. It is a wonderful book, for anyone, as it reflects on life and the many lessons it teaches us, "I knew then, as I faced the sky, that Coalwood would go on. Its buildings might be torn down, its mine closed, its people might even die, but Coalwood would persevere. There was something about this place that maybe, as the Reverend Richard maintained, God just liked. Coalwood had nothing to fear and I guessed I didn't, either. When I needed it, the old place of my boyhood would yet be there waiting for me with all its wisdom and purpose, if not in stone and wood and iron, then still in my memory and my heart. I closed my eyes and felt the rain against my face, and smelled the smoke of the defeated fire, and thought of Coalwood. Coalwood, as it was, and shall be. Coalwood my home. Coalwood forever." (354). As I got to the end of the book I felt as though I was looking back on memory, in awe and filled with respect. In conclusion, I think this is great book, and I highly recommend it to anyone.

Brodeur's novel is a testament to anyone who think that men are challenged yet refuses to give up on them completely. The book is easy to read and funny. The writing is simple yet perfect for the beach or a picnic.

Ms. Brodeur's debut novel - a wonderful hybrid of Chick-Lit, ornithology and sociobiology - is so funny and smart, the only downside is that women all over the land will be saying, "Why can't I send my guy to Man Camp???"

Best friends Lucy Stone and Martha McKenna struggle daily with the dilemma of finding the ideal manly man in a city filled with pampered and egotistical guys. After a long dating dry spell, Martha starts up First Date, a business to help men solve their dating problems. As Martha sets out on many dating adventures both she and Lucy are amazed how successful First Date is when men seem to flock to Martha for her dating advice. But Martha and Lucy soon realize that one date cannot solve the problems of city men and so the idea of Man Camp is born.

Martha and Lucy gain the aid of Cooper, a real man's man who also happens to be Lucy's dear friend from college, to help make Man Camp a reality on Cooper's West Virginia dairy farm. Surprisingly, the girls convince several of the guys to attend Man Camp including Lucy's boyfriend and Martha's brother. At the farm, Martha and Lucy hope that the men will learn how to really treat a woman! But what is even more amazing is the new discoveries about themselves and the guys that they realize during their week at Man Camp.

**** This is a fun and lighthearted story for all the women who have found it challenging to find "real" men to date! Adrienne Brodeur has written a fast-paced book that is hilarious and at the same time very truthful concerning the obstacles faced in modern dating. A quick and enjoyable read! ****

Reviewed by Barbara Stabler.

Reviewed by Kisha Green of Read Zone Book Reviewers and given 3-1/2 stars

In the novel Man Camp by Adrienne Brodeur readers will be introduced to characters Martha and Lucy and these good friends attempt to understand the male species and what better way is to attempt to come more in touch with their masculine side.

Readers will be delighted with the authors attempt to bring light to the age-old question of Why do men do the things they do? What the character Martha decides to do is simply educate men on how to treat a lady. The story is somewhat unrealistic since in the real world these attempts would never actually take place.

The novel has its highs and lows and the reader will not dissatisfied with the comic relief displayed throughout the book and that is partially what keeps readers engrossed.

Author Adrienne Brodeur does a magnificent job of bringing humor to the monotonous dating scene and finding that "perfect" mate.

Man Camp is a swift read and readers will definitely be looking forward the author's next fictional literary endeavor. This novel will easily become a favorite amongst the ladies and Man Camp is indeed the perfect recipe for the recently popular "Chick Lit" genre of readers.

Job Well done Adrienne Brodeur!!!

Recommendation:

Buy this book...

- If you're looking for a swift read
- If you like an author with a sense of humor
- If you like chick lit
- If you're looking for a book for your discussion group.

I must say that this book not only degraded men, but women, as well. Yuck.

"Gloria" tells the story of a girl (an ice queen, actually) in her twenties in the 1950's growing up in a well-to-do home. Gloria dominates the novel completely, even in the scenes where she isn't telling the story. While the plot is unwinding there is a lot of joint-commentary on the fates and mindsets of the characters. There is a lot of struggling against social roles and classes. Even when Gloria fits in among her peers she feels that they are not getting to know the "real" her, but a hardened, perfected pretense she puts up. The revelations Gloria experiences are gradual. Both times she thinks she's fallen in love, she pulls away, leaving her fiancé or lover either crazy with disappointment or manically disillusioned. As involved as she might be with somebody during a moment, I always shared the feeling that predictable Gloria will distance herself no matter how close she gets. Gloria is considered beautiful but she sees herself as not really that pretty. No, she's certain she's fooling the world with her lipstick, blush, and eyeliner. As different uncertainties- such as how to carry oneself in public, how far to go with her boyfriend, whether to get engaged, whether or not to fall for the crazy poet- carefully shed their weight, Gloria tries her best to come into her own; not just be a pretty people-pleaser girl, but a smart, autonomous, conscientious woman. The small psychological thrills in Gloria's revelations are only effective in making the poetic, well-crafted verses hold ones interest more than they would otherwise. The main complaint I had was that I've seen other novels like this one, (The Secret History by Donna Tartt comes to mind) and while I appreciate the lengths this book went to in creating detail, there wasn't much that I picked up in the course of this novel that I hadn't seen elsewhere; in otherwords "Gloria" wasn't entirely memorable or unique. In the end, Gloria just seemed a bit luke-warm; she was icy, but led everybody on and tried to be nice about it all the time- she was kind-hearted, but never confident enough to make any truly deep changes. If given the choice I would happily read this book again, but I'm not sure if I would get much more out of it. Still, it's quite engaging, has enough subtlety and plot development, and leaves you feeling satisfied.

It's hard to believe that this book was written by a man as he has everything right. As a female who is the same age as the heroine and who knew exactly what Gloria was talking about when she was describing clothes, customs and expectations of that era, I can empathise completely. Young women of today would probably find a lot of this story to be far fetched and totally unbelievable, but it really was like this.
The daughter of a wealthy upper middle class family, Gloria spent her junior and high school days in fear of "not fitting in", and trying to disguise her above average intelligence and academic aspirations, so as not to draw unwelcome attention from her peers. Having finished college with an excellent degree, she now intends to take her Masters at Columbia with a view to teaching poetry at college level.Her socialite mother is urging her to marry and to lead the "normal" life of the young American woman of the 50's, but although Gloria tries to conform, she finds her interim summer to be plagued with doubts about her whole life style.I would like to be able to read further into her future life to see what happens next.

Outwardly Gloria meets all the criteria of a 1950's debutante. Wealthy, beautiful, stylish and privileged, she spends most of her time trying to disguise the fact that she is one serious scholar who does not fit the mold of a 1950's woman. Hers is a life of dicotomy, on one hand she is a slave to the fashions of the day spending copious amounts of time (and her father's money) on being the best-dressed and most elegant young woman possible; while her internal dialogue reminds us that even the most outwardly privileged have their demons. As other reviewers have stated the fact that this novel was written by a man speaks volumes to the author's skill in nailing a female voice. Gloria's journey to eventual maturity is a fascinating one, and this novel provides compelling insight into a thankfully by-gone era for women. I especially enjoyed Gloria's eventual "revenge" on her father's creepy colleague, a truly horrid character if there ever was one. 4.5 stars.

It is really obvious of me to read this book. After all, that's my name. I didn't know anything about the story, or the author. I got this book simply because I liked the title. I had to endure that god-awful song during my junior high-school years, so I was really hoping for a nice surprise. Book, please don't let me down.

I loved it! I went through the 635 pages of it in amazement, enjoying everything. This is a complex story that covers a lot of ground. Gloria is a college student in the 50's. Her parents are well to do; she lives in a lot of comfort, but is surprisingly brainy and resourceful. She has a difficult mother, a functional alcoholic, who is not ageing gracefully. She is extremely jealous of Gloria, and shows that at any opportunity.

The book pretty much starts even before Gloria is born. Her mom is rich, her dad is not. He works very hard to become worthy to the eyes of her family, and slowly starts climbing the corporate ladder. Gloria is sent to boarding school from an early age, and she develops the resourcefulness that later on will save her integrity, if not her life.

During long, boring summers at home, she reads and reads and writes papers that are doctoral theses' material. She goes to college to study English Literature. She falls in love, disgracefully, and has a fabulous English teacher, who will be key in her emotional development. Everybody should have a person like that in their lives, someone who is not blinded by love, but that appreciates you enough to know what's the best route for you. I love books where there is such a figure present, maybe out of a yearning for such a person in my life (not now, but 20 years ago, when such advice could have saved me a lot of heartache).

Gloria joins a sorority (in fact, this was the most tedious part of the book), and develops wonderful friendships. She defies conventions in an aggressive way, and keeps on truckin' with the certainty of rightfulness.

One amazing part of the book is the research notes at the end. The author explains what his sources of information were, and I enjoyed seeing the background work required by this novel.

I loved this book so much, and found it so varied, engaging, and hopeful that I recommend it to everybody. It is long, but if you're not afraid of volume and want to be captivated by a young woman on the path of self-righteousness in the middle of a constraining society, this is the book for you!

It was astounding to me that a man could have written this book, that he could have transcended the gender gap so skillfully. Maillard delves into the mind of his protagonist as deftly as a brain surgeon, with a meticulous sensitivity for the zeitgeist, dogma, and idiosyncrasies of her background that puts most women authors to shame. In fact, this could be the best feminist novel I've ever read!

This story was deeper-feeling than your usual chick-lit. I really enjoyed it, even though the circumstances of the story were far-fetched. I read this in 3 days, and was sad when it was over. Definitely recommend!

Believe it not, Pinecob WV is a real town, however not anywhere in the vicinity of Charles Town, Harpers Ferry, or Martinsburg, WV. I know, I live here. Despite that minor detail this book is wonderful. Growing up in a small WV town, the characters are very believable and easily remind me of people I grew up around. I read this book in one sitting. I couldn't help turning to the page to see what happens next. Leanne is a wonderful character, her actions are of someone naive & innocent in the beginning but towards the end, she begins to reach out, stretch her legs and grow immensely. Hey, even small town people have big ideas and big dreams. The end of the book may suprise you. Looking forward to another story from this author.

This book was well-written and cleverly created. I enjoyed reading the book and teh new perspective on stardon, love and small town life.

The only reason I'm giving this book two stars instead of one is because the writing (at the sentence level) is decent. But I found the plot to be SO out there, I couldn't get past it. First of all, living in LA and knowing quite a bit about the entertainment industry and the people in it, I can't believe for a second that any of this would ever happen...not the initial dinner invitation, not the conversations, not the judge's ruling, etc. Come on - when celebrities can get off on murder and rape charges, this guy is forced to spend three months in a stranger's home in the middle of nowhere? Also, if agents were really willing to dump their clients over their bad attitudes, 90% of Hollywood would be without representation. This book might work as a thirteen-year-old's wish fulfillment, but if you're over thirteen, don't waste your money.

When I read the plot synopsis of this book, I was a little nervous that it would come off as a teeny bopper "chick lit" novel, but nothing could be further from the truth. In reality, it is a charming look at personal interactions and the situations that result from them.

I think one of the most impressive aspects of this book, particularly since it is Cochran's first novel, is the wonderfully believeable character development and the constant melange of poignancy and humor. To a much greater extent than I expected, this book pulls you in and connects you with the characters in a seamlessly powerful way.

It's beautifully written and it just feels good to read.

A compelling story that brings a little know era of US history to life. The characters are developed richly throughout the book. The author pulls no punches in terms of bringing the circumstances of the early days of coal mining to life. I read this in the context of a book group. Some members found it hard to follow the many characters. I found the author's treatment of them to be interesting and enjoyed the shifting of perspective.

If you like historical fiction with well-developed characters and you have even a passing interest in Appalachia, you will enjoy Storming Heaven.

Storming Heaven is a retelling of the unionization of the Coal Mines in Rural West Virginia and Kentucky. This is a tale of stolen land and power crazy coal owners that will go to any length to get the coal. It is very heart wrenching to read this story. At the very end, the author has an afterword, which leads me to believe this is based on a true event and even uses the real name of the people involved. The characters are very true to life and the dialect is spot on. Anyone who wants about the history of the area, should include this book in their must read list.

This book was masterfully crafted with in-depth insights into the characters, the nature, the culture, and the time. At times, it is absolutely thrilling and other times it is heart-wrenchingly sad. A definite must-read.

Most of this book is written in hill people style speak. So unless your house has wheels on it, you also will find this type of diction very annoying to read. I was turned off by this after the second chapter. I was assigned to read this book for a class so instead of throwing it into a fire; I continued reading hoping it would get better. My hopes were never realized and I was actually happy when one of the main characters was cut down by machine gun fire. A good author is supposed to get the reader to empathize with the characters, not pray for their deaths. Trust me save your money pass this one buy.

Between 1910 and 1920, one million people moved to the coal fields of West Virginia, Kentucky and Virginia. Hundreds of thousands of folks who were already there were sucked into the coal mines or run off their lands into the coal mines by the combination of big coporations and the governments they bought from Washington down to each county and town. Some were mountaineers from the region, some were immigrants from Italy, Hungary, and Poland, and some like my grandfather Henry Hudson Jones were Black miners from Alabama who thought they could make more money and have less Jim Crow up there.

This book is the story of those people and the struggles they had with the coal companies and the bosses' government. It is told not historically but in the voice of four different people who are not just examples for history but real people struggling for love, to fit into or get away from their families, and who learning about life.

This is a good read, a page turner that does not need to be melodramatic because the lives of its characters have such real drama.

I enjoyed the way the author tried to inhabit the voice of her characters by having them (with the exception of her Italian character) speak in the language that they would have used. However, I am familiar with that language from people in my family as well as having spent years studying Appalachian folk music. I am not sure how someone not familiar with these varients of English would have found this novel.

I live in Florida, but I am in touch with people in the coal fields. Old mines are being reopened in the Appalachians due to the high price of oil and the cheapness of coal. Mining companies are being set up with the same greed that powered the exploiters described in this novel, often with a get rich at any cost while the oil prices are high approach. There are expanding battles coal miners are facing in the Western coal fields in Utah, Colorado, and Wyoming that are now the center of the expansion of the mining industry. Battles are taking place in the West where the new militancy of immigrant workers especially from Mexico has given strength to the UMWA.

Moreover, people in coal areas of Appalachian and no doubt the West, are facing ecological disasters--floods, ruined water, higher risks for cancer and other diseases--as a result of the rapacious way mining was and is being done.

And every year more miners are being killed, more miners are being injured, as safety is disregarded. Unionization a life and death question for miners and their families. Fewer accidents and death take place in mines where the union mobilizes miners to defend their rights to safety and health.

Of course, in a larger sense, all working folks and farmers are up against the same greedy capitalism we see in this novel. We've got no other solution but to get together and realize that we are in a war with the big business system, with the politicians in the Democrat and Republican party supported by that, and we need to follow the example of the fighting miners we read about in Storming Heaven.

After saying all these things about the social and political questions, I want to emphasize that this book sensitively describes the lives of real people, not just in the face of the mines and the struggle but in the real ways we all reach out for love and identity.

This is one where you really feel bad that the book ends. I hope Denise Giardina and other children of the mountains have more like this.

If you start with this guide, you probably will never need another. Color illustrations, rather than photos, accurately illustrate the ideal image of the various birds, making specific note of the pertinent details. Birds are grouped by type for easy identification, and indexed in the back by common and Latin names.

Not very useful in the field and in fact there are many species that aren't listed. The worst part of this book is the cross reference indexes.

This has always been the reliable and preferred reference for my wife and I. We have worn out two of the paperback version over many years of use. Now, with the revised arrangement of the book it is even easier to use and may cause it to wear out prematurely due to overuse. I might have to buy another so we can both refer to our own copy at the same time.

The book is excellent in most respect. But like all of these types it doesn't provide much help in actually identifying a bird. You can't go from "small-brown-stripes on side-purple head-green feet-S. Az area to Pages xxx & xxx for the types.

So we have this pond in our backyard and it's attracted alot of birds. My husband and I have no idea what species they are or what they eat since we work in the judicial system not for the Forest Service. The solution seems pretty simple...go to Amazon and buy a bird book. So, after reviewing several options; many of which seem to require at least a Master's level education in biology and years of field experience in identification, I wildly and in some what a desperate state picked this book. What a relief when it arrives and lo and behold it is written in English with lots of pictures! We use this book at least 3-4 times per week. It is very user friendly and a great resource for the average person who wants to know what to call the yellow bird eating all the sunflower seeds...besides greedy.

I read this novel as a junior at WVU. I am from New York and was so captivated by this story that I had to physically go to this town just to see if it was all really there, and it was and described just perfectly as I imagined it to be. 5 stars all the way. Completely captivating. I can't wait to read more of his work.

This book came into my lap the other day (I work at a library) and I read the back cover and noticed the blurb about Maynard being similar to Mark Twain. Wow, I thought, perhaps this is a jewel of a writer that's somehow flown under the radar. Not so much. The profanity and hillbilly humor is overboard and there were two scenes with boys watching a woman urinate, which seems like the authors fantasies coming out onto paper. The main character is an outcast and not one of the characters is well defined. By the end you get the sense that you none of them and if that's what Maynard meant to portray, then it was a story not worth telling. As a young writer with little experience I felt absolutely great after reading Crum, knowing that I could write down whatever fell out of my mouth and have it published. There were some good parts but overall it was a mess and unbelievable, Mark Twain would agree.

There was a lot that I really liked about this novel. I'm a native West Virginian myself and it is really hard to find well written fiction set in my home state. I really enjoyed Maynard's voice and a lot of the book was funny and true. The opening was one of the best that I've read--honest, straightforward--and the epilogue was very effecting as well. I had trouble the nebulous sense of time in the work. Because of the conditional verb construction used throughout most of the book it was hard to place the narrative in a particular time until the chapters developed. Aside from these minor issues, I was really drawn in by it and and thought Maynard wrote a wonderful, haunting, true novel. I recommend it.

This book has an appeal all of its own. It is full of bad language and teenage sex jokes, but this goes along perfectly with the characters in the story. Even though there's foul language like on every page, it really (I'm not kidding) becomes a very poignant tale. Maynard creates a place you just know is real. In fact, by the time you are done with this scrappy little book you will feel like these were people from your own childhood and you lived through half the stuff.

I accidentially read Crum simultaneously with Eric Reese's Lost Mountain, which documents, in an affecting manner, the process of mountaintop removal mining in Kentucky and West Virginia. It slowly dawned on me that Crum takes place right in the same place.

At the end of the book Maynard (in first person) revists the town decades later for the first time since he left as a kid. It was pretty heartbreaking how it changed, especially having just finished Lost Mountain. The two books compliment each other really well. Reading Crum makes the people living in the region where Lost Mountain is located completely, vividly real to you.

I grew up in Kermit, W.Va. - just up river from Crum about 8 miles. I finished the book today, 2006, and have felt moved and enriched all day from the reading experience. Just like the main character in the book Crum, I lived and breathed just to escape Kermit. I identified with many events, attitudes and feelings conveyed in the book and as a result found it a wonderful read - and I'm female. By the way, I did "get out" and now live in New Mexico. I return to the area regularly to visit the wonderful people of the area, but like the main character in the book know that I never in the past belonged there and still don't.

An engaging, comprehensive review of the vision and life-dream
of the "real life" Patch Adams, M.D. This, the good doctor's
first book, gives the reader the background leading up to, and
the progress of the dream made since, the 1994 Hollywood version
of this man's life, which starred Robin Williams. An easy, but
enjoyable and informative read for anyone curious about what
this amazing doctor is doing now, what he has learned from his
"pilot project" clinic, and how the dream for a 40-bed free
hospital had changed and grown over the years. A must for
anyone interested in visiting the West Virigina site and working
as a volunteer. A joy for any reader who, like Patch, has
suffered the detriments of our current health care system,
and who seeks to reform it into something that can actually heal.

This was required in my studies and I thought it'd be kinda lame. It's much better than it seems and reminds you to keep the joy in your life and bring it to others.

This book was an inspiration to read and also a trip down memory lane for me. I had the pleasure of knowing Hunter "Patch" Adams many years ago in Northern Virginia. I was a Stewardess at the time and was working for United Air Lines. I was based in Washington DC and lived in Norther Virginia. I first met Patch at a nutrition clinic where the woman running the clinic relied on muscle biopsies to let her know what nutrients a person was missing. Patch did the muscle biopsy. From that encounter a friendship developed and I used to visit he and his group at their home on weekends. I did this for several years and was able to observe the kindness and caring first hand. During those years many people came to the commune for medical care, myself included. It is joyful to see that Patch is getting the recognition he deserves.

Rose

If you are interested in making this world a better place and if you are looking for role models, read about Patch Adams.

I've seen the movie, I've read the book, and everytime I think of Dr.Adams or speak of him to my friends and students, it's an inspiration.

I promise you. This laughing doctor is no joke. We need more people like him in this world.

So, read the book, watch the movie... and hopefully it will inspire you to take action!

Whoever reads this book and absorbs its messages will become a healthier individual and a better citizen of the world.

First, Patch examines the American healthcare system. He explains why corporate healthcare is a contradiction and cannot be permitted in a healthy society. He shows how the doctor-patient relationship has become more like a business interaction, and how this is relationship in itself is a fundamental plague on America.

Extending his experiences in healthcare to all society, Patch observes that we have lost touch with ourselves and each other, with nature, and lost perspective on the joy and wonder of life.

This criticism is where 99.9% of books and people stop. Patch is one of the few in the world who is not only deeply aware of the problems but has detailed plans on how to fix them and acts on those plans. In the book, he outlines his model for personal living and for a better society. A model based on the radical principles of joy and fun:

"The most revolutionary act anyone can commit is to be happy."

"We hear far more about pain because it seems to be associated with maturity. Enthusiastic joy is associated with childhood--as if it were something to outgrow."

Reading this book gave me a new conception of health. It's not just physical or personal like the parts of a car, it's psychological, intellectual, spiritual, social, political, economic, local, international, and interpersonal. Live creatively! Discover the fun we can have together! Live in peace! Now that's good medicine.