South America Books

Comprehensive coverage of the state for visitors and Virginia residents alike. The rolling hills of horse country, Shenandoah Valley, the Blue Ridge Mountains and numerous wineries are among the state's offerings. Here's a guide to the national and state parks, the cities, towns and villages. Accommodations and places to eat, along with historical sites and attractions.

As a native Virginian, I don't know why it took me so long to discover this book. It's a great reference to have for both residents and visitors. I spent the first two hours just looking up points of interest and trivia about the Old Dominion. Virginia has so many historical sites that touring the state is like taking a class on the formation of America. A tourist can visit Revolutionary War Sites, Civil War Battlefields, scenic old towns, and the beautifully restored great houses, like Mount Vernon in Alexandria , Monticello in Charlottesville, Oatlands Plantation in Leesburg and, of course, the James River Plantations. Williamsburg is a must see for everyone.

This book's Introduction gives a little background of Virginia and some general history. The handbook is then divided into the five regional areas of the state. They are the Northern, Central, Coastal Plain, Southwest and the Shenandoah Valley. Within these divisions information is given on the counties and major cities. In each place, the historic sites, annual events, shopping places, museums, hotel accommodations, recreation areas, dining and local transportation are all listed and given detailed descriptions.

I think that the best way to truly critique a guide book is to read about an area that you know pretty well and see how the authors handled that region. All of the major sites were mentioned in my area and the accommodations and things to do were all covered. I checked out the restaurants listed and there were eight mentioned. I would have left out two. One major restaurant was not included. Other than that minor point, the authors gave a pretty accurate description of my area. This book is very concise and I believe it to be a very helpful guide to traveling in the great state of Virginia..

"Recommended for visitors who want to research a trip ahead of time and take the book along for repeated reference. Covers the parks, scenic highways and historic attractions of the state, including tips on everything from shopping and dining to hotels and entertainment. An excellent destination guide." The Bookwatch

This guidebook does a good job of presenting its information in a concise, meaningful way. You can easily flip through its well-marked sections and feel as if you are taking a trip all over Virginia! I like that each section (History, Shopping) starts with a quick intro, telling you the overall feel of that area. It's not afraid to tell you that one city is more known for its nightlife while another is known for its shopping malls. The beginning of the book includes an overall look at Virginian history, major cities, climate, major roadways and wildlife - great information for newcomers to have!

This well written and thoroughly researched book is like fine wine, meant to be enjoyed and savored! This is not merely another "I remember when" or "oral history" book. VOICES' prose is clear, seamless, and graceful with subtleties and complexities as it easily slips between the time frames of the past and present. It explores the profound impact of institutions such as volunteer fire departments, churches, scouting organizations, and baseball teams on the fabric of life in small towns.

How skilled and adroit is the authors' presentation? I had finished reading the section on the methods of clamming and fishing and was just starting to ask "Why did they spend so much time describing this subject in such detail?" when I realized I had also been given a quick course in the economics of transportation and distribution of seafood from the harvesting in the Chincoteague waters to the delivery in the eastern cities of the mid twentieth century and on the vagaries of making a living as a "waterman" during that time frame.

The crowning achievement of the authors is their portrayal of the lives of the people. Whether relating townsfolk's stories of working, hard times, making do with little, sharing with others, drinking sprees by hard working men, or the damage wrought by hurricanes, they treat their storytellers with a deep respect and dignity.

Social studies and sociology teachers will find this book especially interesting and useful especially in "compare and contrast" exercises for students in small rural towns, suburbs or urban areas.

VOICES OF THE CHINCOTEAGUE is a fascinating well written book.

This book is a most beautiful tapestry woven throughout with a mixture of dedicated research and fascinating personal stories. The authors did such a skillful job of moving from one thread to another that I was spellbound throughout. The most precious colors I caught on every page were the appreciation these authors had for the resilent residents of those two communities and their respect for how these people continue to live their lives caring for one another. The spotlight is focused on the beauty of who these people are. The authors have gifted these people and the readers of this book with a love tapestry. It is a true treasure and a great read.

Burns and Hartsock, in their debut book, have captured a sense of time and place in the lives of people of the Eastern Shore and Chincoteague Bay. The historical context, real voices of the people interviewed, and sense of the rhythms of nature on the Chincoteague Bay provide for a captivating read. Their writing style is down-to-earth, sentimental and funny in the right places, and an invaluable contribution to the history and folkways of the people of Greenbackville, Virginia. I highly recommend this book to those who are interested in reading about a way of life in the rural outback that is quietly slipping away. The beauty is that Burns and Hartsock have written about a proud and private people with great integrity, respect, and a refreshing honesty.

Local lore can be a bore to those unfamiliar with the region under study, but this book is about more than the Chincoteague. Voices of the Chincoteague is a book about the value of giving a voice to people with insights about the past. The book makes you want to go right out and interview your elderly neighbors and relatives. Burns and Hartsock make it clear that if you only care to ask, you will be rewarded. While the book is logically organized, you can open it to any page and find a story that can stand alone and that is funny, sad, informative, thought provoking, or all of the above. I imagine some of the individuals interviewed didn't feel at the start that they had much of interest to say, but the authors must have asked the right questions in the right ways to elicit the many gems in each chapter. Written with respect and with the insight you would expect from scholars, the book is a great read.

Waiting for Daylight is a wonderful coffee table book that highlights the joys of ranching which only someone with a broad background in the saddle could write. Janell Kleberg also has a great artistic touch seen in the many photographs that are sprinkled throughout the book.
Having been raised on the King Ranch do Brasil, Kleberg's book brought back many memories. She has done a wonderful job of capturing the many locales of King Ranch operations outside of the USA.

Waiting For Daylight: King Ranch: Images From The Past is a marvelous showcase of full-color photographs taken by Janell Kleberg from horseback while working cattle in South Texas, Brazil, Argentina, and Australia. Descriptive captions add insight to the moving images of ranch and animal herding life. Providing the reader with a unique suspension of the ever-present flow of time, the beautiful scenery, the hard-working horses, and superbly documented images of everyday life create and unforgettable window into the lives of dedicated men and women employed in the hard but rewarding work of ranching.

This is a great book documenting the life of people in a harsh environment. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in not only spectacular photos but unbelievable descriptions of the photos.

The authors name is Janell Kleberg, not Janell King.
Janell captures the people of ranching. The images are taken while she worked side by side with the men and women of King Ranch. Photos were taken as she worked horseback on the various operations including Brazil,Texas,Argentina,Australia and Venezuela.The images are of a time past 1970-1990. Tio Kleberg

The Chachapoya, or Cloud People, created a complex civilization in the upper Amazon of northern Peru in the terrain separating the Marañon and Huallaga basins. Keith Muscutt spent over 20 years studying the civilization. His book is a treasure of careful and vivid writing, enhanced by wonderful photographs of a breathtaking landscape.

The Chachapoya were conquered by the Inca around A.D. 1475, and shortly thereafter were decimated by Spanish colonial rule. Pedro Cieza de León described the Chachapoyas: "They are the whitest and most handsome of all the people that I have seen in Indies, and their wives were so beautiful that because of their gentleness, many of them deserved to be the Incas' wives and to also be taken to the Sun Temple .... The women and their husbands always dressed in woolen clothes and in their heads they wear their llautos, which are a sign they wear to be known everywhere."

Descendants of these people still live in the region amid the ruins. Muscutt offers splendid color plates of cliff-side tombs mixed with photographs of modern-day village life. His photos also capture the forest-choked valleys, high-altitude lakes, and orchid-studded vegetation.

Vincent Lee's maps of of Vira Vira are excellent. The bibliography, compiled by Douglas Sharon and Muscutt, is first rate. Muscatt traces some of the life of Benigno Añazco, who spent 36 years deep in the Andean forest, founded 14 settlements, abandoned his wife and many children, married one of his daughters, killed his son-in-law, fought drug peddlers, and sought to re-establish the Inca Empire.

According to chachapoyas.com , a website devoted to this book, Keith Muscutt is Assistant Dean of the Arts at the University of California, Santa Cruz. A native of England, he has traveled widely in the United States, Mexico, and Peru, photographing and writing articles about rock art and pre-Columbian remains. He is the founder of the Fundación Benéfica Niños de Chuquibamba, which promotes the health and education of children in the remote Andean village shown on the cover of this book.

Although the book is ten years old, nothing seems to have supplanted it for a student of the Chachapoyas.

Robert C. Ross 2008

This was an extremely well researched and fascinating book to read. Having been to Machu Picchu myself I was totally absorbed in this other ancient Peruvian culture. A must read for all archaelogy enthusiasts!

I was looking for information on Machu Picchu, when I came across this gem. The cover stirred up fantasies of Shangrila. I was intrigued, ordered it, and was delighted.This is a photographic exploration of Kuelap, a mysterious citadel in the high Andes, discovered seventy years before Machu Picchu. The Chachapoya, or Cloud People (understandably so-called) were the inahabitants of this remote and inaccessible area.Keith Muscutt has provided a detailed and interesting text to accompany this visual feast. He photographs the present inhabitants of the region, supposedly the ancestors of the builders of Kuelap. Perhaps or perhaps not, but interesting anyway.The photographs of tombs built vertically in the cliff side are indescribable. All in all I highly recommend this, whether the interest is information or pleasure. Both are to be found in these pages. Thorough and interesting and visually beautiful.

One of the world's greatest civilizations was the Incan civilization. The Incas settled in Western South America, along the Andes range. This civilization was very similar to the Great Aztec Civilization. The Incas had adapted to their environment. They built terrraces and were skillful builders. Find out how the Great civilization adapted to their environment and how they were conquered by Pizarro's trickery...

Very comprehensive and excellent detail. Every mammal, reptile, bird, and fish we delighted in during our Galapagos adventure is thoroughly covered. Detail that memories and photos could never provide.

Beautiful photography, clear explanation of the differences between the flora and fauna of the various major islands.

In anticipation of an upcoming trip to the Galapagos, I looked at a bunch of books before deciding to purchase this one from Lonely Planet. I love the way the book is organized, taking each island and explaining the unique features of that island. After that, the animals and birds are listed so that you can cross reference everything. In addition, there are lots of helpful travel tips in the beginning chapters. Most importantly, the pictures are fantastic!!

This was hands-down the best wildlife guide we used when visiting the Galapagos Islands.

It's divided by islands but also has sections about the types of mammals, fish, birds, and reptiles for further, in-depth review.

Because visitors reach the islands one-at-a-time, in designated areas and trails, the book is organized exactly to the physical approaches. Really reads quickly, and to the point. Locations totally accurate about nesting areas and sea lion hangouts, but also describes the best geological landmarks. Will help you with itinerary design, with logging your sightings, remembering your trip, and help with virtually all species identification.

Possibly the most user-friendly book LP ever published.

The miscellaneous writings include (among other writings) Bartram's responses to carefully worded questions about Creek and Cherokee Indians. This edition has numerous glossy color and black and white prints. There is a picture on Amazon that shows the book in a slipcover--it doesn't come in a slipcover. Otherwise, a high quality edition.

This is the best edition of Bartram that is available today.
Like all Library of America volumes, it is an attractively designed book with a ribbon marker.

I didn't read it , but my son, the Forester has worn out his older copy.

Imbued by his father, John Bartram, with a love of nature and a passion for learning, William Bartram set forth in 1773 to explore the flora and fauna of the wild frontier country of the American Southeast.
The elder Bartram had established a Botanical Garden on the outskirts of Philadelphia, where he cultivated trees, shrubs, and herbaceous plants indigenous to America. He sent seeds, animal and plant specimens to horticulturists and naturalists in England, sometimes including drawings by his son. William had accompanied his father on botanical expeditions to Connecticut, New York, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida.

The Travels reported in this volume were sponsored by Dr. John Fothergill of England, to whom William sent drawings, specimens, and a 2-part written account of his discoveries.
Publication of his pioneering work was delayed by the intervening Revolutionary War. The American edition, containing numerous errors, was printed in Philadelphia in 1791; a British edition followed in 1792. Irish and German editions appeared in 1793, and a French translation in 1799. The "Travels" had a significant influence on European Romanticism. Coleridge, Wordsworth, Chateaubriand among others drew on their imagery.

William Bartram's travels took him, between 1773 and1776, from Charleston and Savannah to the coastal region and the interior of Georgia, then to Florida as far south as Cape Canaveral and as far west as Pensacola. He ventured into Alabama, visiting Mobile, and journeyed on to Baton Rouge. Sometimes he joined survey crews or traders, but mostly he traveled alone - on horseback, by boat, or on foot. He kept extensive lists of the plants he found, some of them heretofore unknown or unreported. Franklinia alatamaha and Magnolia auriculata are famous examples.

But he also gives vivid descriptions of the wildlife he encounters: alligators, wolves, bears, panthers, turtles, snakes, fishes, birds and insects in great profusion. He examines the soil and the quality of the water, comments on meteorological phenomena - in short, nothing escapes his observant eye. His Quaker spirit fills him with admiration and gratitude for the magnificent design of nature; it might be called Edenic except for the mosquitoes - and he doesn't appear to be too fond of alligators, either. Curiosity wins out over fear, however, when he pokes into alligator nests to see how they are constructed and how the eggs are arranged.
Forty-eight splendid plates and a number of drawings accompany the text and give a lively impression of what he saw and how he saw it.

His gentle disposition renders his encounters with Indian "savages" peaceful and friendly, marked by mutual respect. The Seminoles call him Puc Puggy, the Flower Hunter, and offer him hospitality, protection, and assistance in his quest for medicinal herbs. He gives a highly sympathetic account of the daily lives, customs, social organization and religious beliefs of various Indian tribes. An expanded version of these observations is part of the Miscellaneous Writings included in this volume.
In a philosophical vein, he muses about the "innate moral principles" that guide unlettered and untutored men, and deplores the detrimental effect civilization has on them: commerce with white traders who provide them with luxury goods in great profusion causes the Indians to kill more animals than they would normally need, because the traders take the hides and pelts in exchange for their wares; and the women are beginning to forget the ancient skills of weaving and pottery-making since everything can be obtained ready-made from the white men.
He does not fail to mention the existence of slavery among the Indians as well as among the white planters, but he takes no definite stand on this issue.

After his return to Philadelphia, William devotes his time to reading, writing, teaching, and cultivating his father's garden which is visited by many famous men, including George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and the leading horticulturists and naturalists of the time. It is still there today, "worthy of the attention of lovers of Science and admirers of Nature", as envisioned by its creator.

I WAS INTRODUCED TO HARRY FRANCK BY MY BROTHER WHO GAVE ME A COPY OF 'A VAGABOND JOURNEY AROUND THE WORLD'. 'ZONE POLICEMAN 88' IS ONE OF HIS BEST, BUT I ENJOY ALL OF HIS WORK. IN HIS EARLY BOOKS, AND THIS IS ONE OF THEM, HE MORE OR LESS WALKS INTO SITUATIONS, THEN WRITES ABOUT THEM. HERE HE DESCRIBES THE BUILDING OF THE PANAMA CANAL. HE WORKS AS A CANAL ZONE POLICEMAN; THEN BECOMES A CENSUS TAKER WANDERING THE STREETS & JUNGLES OF PRE-ZONE PANAMA. HIS COMMENTS & MUSINGS AREN'T ALWAYS POLITICALLY CORRECT, BUT YOU GET THE SENSE AS YOU READ HIM THAT HE TOOK EVERY MAN AS HE CAME; AND HE MET MANY MEN, HAD MANY ADVENTURES.

It was one of his earliest books, the first being "A Vagabond Journey Around the World" (1910?). He wrote a total of almost 30 travel books, the final one in 1940. In WWII he managed to lie about his age and get a commission in the Army Air Corps (true age 61), serving as a historical officer at Amarillo A. F. Base, Lowry A. F. Base, and finally in the Battle of the Bulge with the 9th Air Force. He died in 1962, suffering from Parkinsonism.

Book list on request. psheffld@warwick.com

Harry Franck presents a delightful and highly entertaining look into the past and culture of the Panama Canal Zone. I thoroughly enjoyed this first hand account of the early days of Canal construction. A must read for all present and past Zonians.

This book was enjoyable reading...but it does not hold a candle to his other works. For his best work read: Vagabonding Down the Andes (Garden City Publishing 1917) and A Vagabond Journey Around the World (The Century Co. 1910) You will probably have to look around for copies of both books...but they're out there.

I was pretty familiar with the history of this subject, but was more interested in the archeological finds. For instance, in the world of shooting today the 50-70 is all but forgotten yet there were more 50-70 cases and cartridges found than any other caliber. The thing about some of the long shots the hunters made during the siege is that the authors point out that the hunters had no doubt tested their prowess at different targets at different distances, so had probably already "marked" many of the shots and distances. Good reference for anyone studying the battle, I am going to the site this summer, and read this as a preface...Ivery

Best book on the Adobe Walls battle available. Covers every aspect from the structures, to the archaeology, people (both anglos and native american), the battle, the occupations, etc. Great info on the archaeology, including ammunition, guns, dinnerware (plates etc), blacksmithing,etc. I learned much about the battle, the times, the people, the construction of the trading post, who, why, when, how.
Highest recommendation!

This is one of the best books on Adobe Walls, ( the other being the life of Billy Dixon). It takes you all the way through, from start to finish. The last half of the book is about the archeology that was done in the 70's. It gives a real insite into the hide hunters and store keepers lives during the six month's at the Walls.

For a short time I worked at a Florida lab helping to compile the USDA list of introduced arthropods. It was then I learned about a lot of obscure creature that had invaded the US in ballast, on plants, in clothing, and on wood, rock, sand, and just about any commodity or personal effect. The invasion has not stopped, but it is often not even known to be going on by the general public, except in some high profile invasions such as the Asian tiger mosquito!

John Leland, in his "Aliens in the Backyard: Plant and Animal Imports into America" presents us with many (but certainly not all) of these imported organisms, from starlings to Russian thistle and from dogs (first brought in by Native Americans) to anthrax. Some of these introductions changed history as they destroyed or interfered with crops, or were of medical importance. Smallpox, unknown in America, was used to kill Native Americans long before anyone heard of a virus by transferring contaminated blankets to the intended victims. Both diseases and destroyers of crops had their effects on armies and the outcomes of wars, as well as the physical and economic health of the hemisphere.

Despite a few irritating typos, I found the book to be basically accurate and I learned a few things as well, such as the fact that all species of human lice were already present in the New World when Columbus landed. Typhus may have been here as well.

This is one of those eye-opening books that should be read by everyone, especially if you are concerned with security. We don't need terrorists (although they can help things along) to cause major impacts on society. Nature and our own mobility can do it as efficiently or even better! We should also keep in mind that we, who evolved on the plains of Africa, are aliens to the New World as well! Indeed, John Leland drives this point home several times in this book!

We've all heard tales of the dreaded zebra mussel, rampant purple loosestrife, or prolific European starling, but if you think exotic species are the exception, even a quick browse of Leland's entertaining compendium of aliens will set you straight. You can't step into your backyard without treading on interlopers, like the favored Kentucky bluegrass.

From the hallucinogenic properties of hemp, morning glory, datura and more; to attempts to cultivate the silkworm; to rats, cockroaches and disease, Leland's essays offer an entertaining history of facts, rumors and squabbles on an exhaustive number of alien species. Whether purposely (often to rid the place of some other unwanted interloper) or accidentally introduced, aliens have long thrived in their new home and many have come to be considered natives.

A professor of English at the Virginia Military Institute, Leland ("Porcher's Creek: Lives Between the Tides") writes with wit and a certain wicked relish, and his research is dizzyingly thorough. But the sheer width and breadth of information is overwhelming. This is a book to keep, to dip into again and again a chapter or even a few pages at a time, so as to have some hope of retention.

With chapter titles like "Out of Africa," "Cowboys: And Their Alien Habits," "It Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time," and "Bioterror: Older than You Think," Leland makes an appreciative and entertaining case for the melting pot.

John Leland (Professor of English at the Virginia Military Institute) does a great job of pointing out which plants and animals are, and which plants and animals are not, native to America. He writes well with style, grace and wit, and he gives a lot of interesting information about how various animals and plants came to be incorporated into the America landscape and enterprise.

From apples to kudzu he details which aliens have been a boon and which have been a sorry bust. In the case of kudzu (Pueraria lobata, which I saw for the first time in a Louisiana swamp a week before hurricane Katrina hit), "It Seemed a Good Idea at the Time" (title of one of his chapters). That was before people realized that kudzu completely blankets "whatever it grows on in a smothering welter of leaves and vines" strangling trees and other vegetation to death. (p. 161)

Also not a good idea was the introduction of carp into America's waters. Leland opines that "Most fishermen and environmentalist regard its widespread introduction...as a disaster...," although there are some, including the Carp Angler Group, who have a different opinion. Similarly, people differ about whether it was a good idea to bring the starling (one of the birds mentioned in Shakespeare's works) to America since it is now considered "a dirty, noisy, gregarious, and aggressive" bird that has displaced native species. Perhaps the worst of the "it seemed like a good idea at the time" species is the gypsy moth, brought to America as a possible silk worm. Leland goes into some detail about "well-intentioned dreamers of silken fortunes" in the chapter, "A Sow's Ear from a Silk Purse."

But these deliberately introduced species are relatively benign in the public eye compared to those that have freeloaded their way into our land and have more or less taken over in ways that we cannot control. The German cockroach, the Norway or brown rat, and the tumbleweed (surprisingly not native to the land of the cowboy but from Russia (with love)--oh, you deluded Sons of the Pioneers!) are three that Leland zeroes in on. He also has a few words to say about the American cockroach (probably not American--also called the palmetto bug) and the Oriental cockroach. Here in southern California we have all three, the German, the American and the Oriental. The German is the ever so prolific one that lives indoors in apartment houses and restaurants the world over, while the larger American and Oriental tend to live outdoors. I sometimes find one of the latter in my house dried up and dead in a corner or in a drawer, having wandered in and found nothing to eat and no moisture.

An introduced species that is perhaps an even bigger pest here in the southland is the Argentine ant, which Leland unaccountably does not mention. I recommend he take a study on it. There's enough material there to write a book and then some. Once the Argentine ant (small and black with only an occasional tiny bite) sets up shop inside the walls or under an establishment such as an apartment building or a college dormitory, it is there to stay.

What Leland does so very well in this book, and what makes it superior to some other books I have read, is integrate the alien species into the historical and cultural experience of the American people. In his chapter, "Out of Africa," he details "How Slavery Transformed the American Landscape and Diet." I had to laugh when I read that watermelon is not native to America but comes from Africa, as do peanuts and Bermuda grass, sesame seed and of course the cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) also known as the black-eyed pea. I had to laugh because I recalled Randy Newman's satirical song encouraging Africans to come to America in the early days of the republic for "the sweet watermelon and the buckwheat cake"!

Naturally, it is not in any way surprising that many of our foods come from other lands since most of the world's cuisines have found a home in American. Rice is not native, although the so-called "wild rice" is. Wheat comes from the Middle East as most people know, while potatoes are native to the Andes in South American.

In the chapter "Cowboys and Their Alien Habits" Leland recalls the familiar story of how the horse was once native to America but had gone extinct here before Columbian times, and then was accidentally reintroduced by the Spanish explorers after which it revolutionized the Plains Indians' way of life. (p. 92) Also alien are the cowboy's cattle, including the Texas longhorn; and if we go back far enough even the "Indians," the so-called native Americans are not native. Sad to say many of the true natives, like the giant sloth and the cave bear and the great mammoth went extinct coincidental with the arrival of the first humans from across the Bering Strait.

The only problem I have with this book and others like it, is that there is never enough. The way plants and animals have moved around the world and the way they have changed the lives of people is a continual source of fascination. Leland's fine book adds to the reader's pleasure while not sating it.

World limnologists predict that the global water supply will, by 2060, cause greater concern to human existence than a shortage of fossil fuels. The Anandrous Journey is a highly readable adventure about a female protagonist and a zoology professor who managed to triumph over everything from the sexism of the early 1900's to physical dangers encountered on scientific expeditions. Her study of microscopic plankton continues to be a vital ecological factor in determining the projected life of Earth's bodies of water. How Hattie Bell Merrill, a petite five foot tall women, stood up to her male counterparts is described with amusing and revealing imagery of the moral, social and professional mores of her era.

Hattie Bell Merrill stood barely 5 ft. tall from her men's boots to the top of her pompadour. The author describes her delicate 100 pound frame as, "usually encumbered with camera and specimen gathering equipment as she trekked through hazardous, unknown terrain." She traveled by steamship, river boats, cog rail and horseback to areas where few white women ventured. She mingled equally with peasants, wealthy industrialists, natives of the rain forest and men of letters and science. When Merrill ventured out from her sepia-toned academic community in the North to the vivid spectrum of the tropical Amazon and South America she stated,"It was as liberating as loosing the constraints of my corset stays and changing into a shift." This is a biography that will make the reader want to cheer for the heroine who coped with obstacles more of man than of beasts.

M. L. Hartridge writes with accuracy and compassion this turn of the century saga as one who actually lived during the life of her heroine. The vivid descriptions of cultural contrasts in The Anandrous Journey are exiting visions in print!