South America Books

The author, a lawyer and a dual citizen of Venezuela and the United States, has literally risked her life to publish this book. She has received numerous death threats and plenty of insults. A sequel to her previous bestseller, "The Chávez Code: Cracking US Intervention in Venezuela", it examines secret US documents that reveal how hard the Bush administration is trying to overthrow the democratically-elected Venezuelan government.

"Follow the money trail" is good advice for any investigative journalist, and Golinger does just that. By studying thousands of US government documents obtained through exhaustive requests of every relevant department through the Freedom of Information Act, she is revealing proof of manipulation and covert operations to overthrow Chávez.

Historians generally do this work decades after major upheavals in Latin America. Golinger is doing this research now, in "real-time", to break the secrecy of Bush's imperial designs and to prevent a coup in the making.

Is the United States funding Counter-revolutionary groups in Venezuela? Yes, says "Bush vs Chavez: Washington's War on Venezuela". Claiming that American taxpayer dollars are funding, albeit indirectly, organizations that fund the counter-revolutionary groups of Venezuela, in hopes for gaining favor with Latin America's most oil rich nation. More frightening, there is a build up of US troops in the Caribbean that are ready to threaten the Venezuelan people and their governments. "Bush vs Chavez: Washington's War on Venezuela" is highly recommended for community library social issues collections and for anyone who wants a look into the shadier actions of the Bush Administration.

I cannot remember when I have had so much enjoyment in reading a book about plants. This is not a simple "how to identify" work, but rather a story by and of three very knowledgeable men, scientists, traveling through the countries of Bolivia, Peru and Argentina, not as tourists, but rather than scientist. For a book which is primarily about plants, i.e. cactus, it is so much more. We get a wonderful and insightful travel story/book thrown in. As another reviewer pointed out, this could quite well have been a very boring read. This it was not! I have actually given this one three reads simply because it is fun! But, most importantly, this volume is simply packed with wonderful information about cacti, their history, their origins and environment. This work in not simply a field guide or a bunch of pretty, sterile pictures of cactus setting on a shelf photographed with a bunch of high tech gear, it actually gives information about these wonderful plants as they grow in their home environment, their natural state, the wild. The photographs are all field photographs and for field photos, quite well done. The text is very precise and easy to follow, not being over the head of the amature (such as my self) yet providing so much information to the advanced student. Discriptions are great. I did have trouble at first with the Latin names of course, but this forced be to pull out my old high school Latin books and do a bit of brushing up...this was good. All of the photographs are in color and well captioned. As an added note, Timber Press did a wonderful job on this book (I wonder if all their books are of this caliber). I wish all books were of this physical quality. Of even more importance than anything else, my knowledge of this particular plant family took a 100 percent jump in depth. For that I am grateful. I very much suggest you add this one to your library. Recommend highly.

Since I started growing my first cacti nearly 30 years ago, certain books have been of great importance for my knowledge and development, when it comes to growing and understanding cacti. But never has one single book put so many pieces together as this one! The book is just packed with knowledge and I really became overwhelmingly inspired!
The authors travel through several South American countries and habitats, diverse as they are because of the andean influence. You just want to go there and travel yourself!

After reading this book twice in a short time, I view the whole consept of cacti and environment differently. How the tectonic plates moved and forced plants and animals to evolve and adapt to the new niches and habitats, from the ancestors in Gondwana, to the first cacti in south America, later spreading into the adjoining north American continent. How the cactusgenera are related. How a cactus works.
In fact I learned too many tings to mention everything; just read the book! It could seem very technical and boring, but believe me; its not! At least if you have a relation to growing cacti. Its all in there! Highly recommended!

Are you a Floridian or thinking about moving to Florida, particularly in the southern portion of the state? Then you must read "The Calusa and Their Legacy: South Florida People And Their Environments..." -- the definitive book on the Calusa. Darcie A. Macmahon and Dr. William H. Marquardt, an expert on the Calusa, have written a fascinating book that brings to life a group of people who disappeared from Florida in the 1700s. For hundreds of years, the Calusa built a society that had its own government, a religion, and adaptation to the environment that is quite impressive. On the one hand, the Calusa were warriors, practiced human sacrifices, and held spiritual beliefs which included communing with the dead. On the other hand, they governed a growing population, accomplished engineering feats of dredging canals through entire islands, were expert fisherman, and utilized shells and bones that would become tools, weapons and ornaments. They lived entirely off the land and waters, eating small game and fish of many varieties. They had no agriculture; none was needed, as they learned to live off what nature provided. These self-sufficient people did well until the Spanish arrived in the 1500s. History books report that when Juan Ponce de Leon visited Southwest Florida in the early part of the 1500s, on his second expedition Calusa arrows wounded him. He fled to Cuba, where he later died from those wounds. As the Spanish began to visit Florida with more frequency, the Calusa were beginning to be eased from their homeland. By the mid-1700s, they were no more. Read this fascinating book to learn where the Calusa may have gone to, and why there are no Calusa in the state today.

This is an excellent book. It's about a vanished people, the Calusa Indians of Southwest Florida. And it is written by two people who best know the Calusa story. From the Florida Natural History Museum, Darcie MacMahon (exhibits director) and William Marquardt (curator and archaeologist) have produced a book for general readership that is truly readable. Its few technical terms are well explained. Scientific names are there if you want them, but above all, THE CALUSA AND THEIR LEGACY tells, in clear language, the fascinating story of a fierce and powerful people who disappeard 200 years ago.

The book paints a broad picture. It starts with the bountiful estuary environment where these people lived, tells of the food they harvested, their religious beliefs, their weapons and their battles with the Spanish. Then, when the Calusa were no more, this remarkable book goes on to answer the question: "What happened next?"

Finally, the book gives us a look at what is happening to this land of plenty - a land that supported people for 6,000 years - today.

Excellent photos and illustrations bring the story to life. In addition to adult readers, the book is quite suitable for students grades nine and up.

What a great way to learn!

This is a very important book, because is concerned with a contemporaty issue because of the 500 years of american colonization. Since the Handbook of South American Indians,organized by Julian Steward no other enterprise of this kind was made. It is very important to us, american, to know better our indians. From the academic point of view, this book contributes with wide informations congregating researchers and the results of its reflexions together in only one place. It is really good to find in one volume informations about several country. We have in this volume, contrasting views from the theoretical aproach that enrichs, we have, besides of historical perspectives, archeological focus about empires such as the Inka and discussions about colonialism and its damages upon the indigenous people. And neither the indigenous organization is forget in this volume, in this historical moment a surprisengly movement of this massacrated people who is strugling for their rights by their own voices. I would recommend this book to students, to specialists in anthropology and ethnologist and to whom is interested in history of America and in our present days. Last, I would mention the beauty of the volume and of the hardcover.

This is a very important book, because is concerned with a contemporaty issue because of the 500 years of american colonization. Since the Handbook of South American Indians,organized by Julian Steward no other enterprise of this kind was made. It is very important to us, american, to know better our indians. From the academic point of view, this book contributes with wide informations congregating researchers and the results of its reflexions together in only one place. It is really good to find in one volume informations about several country. We have in this volume, contrasting views from the theoretical aproach that enrichs, we have, besides of historical perspectives, archeological focus about empires such as the Inka and discussions about colonialism and its damages upon the indigenous people. And neither the indigenous organization is forget in this volume, in this historical moment a surprisengly movement of this massacrated people who is strugling for their rights by their own voices. I would recommend this book to students, to specialists in anthropology and ethnologist and to whom is interested in history of America and in our present days. Last, I would mention the beauty of the volume and of the hardcover.

This book discusses the contempory and historical economies of Mexico, Chile, and Argentina. It is an easy read, with little technical jargon. In addition, it lucidly discusses the elementary probelms of development economics, notably rent-seeking, and details the benefits and benevolence of free market economies. The book focuses on the insitutions and environments that have encouraged unproductive and impoverishing political policies. Furthermore, they discuss the effects of these institutions and policies. The authors are not shy in their dislike for socialism, but they support their case very well with theoretical discussion and empirical evidence.

This is an excellent introdution to Latin American Economies, Development Economics, or Foreign Affairs. Highly Recommended!

This is an important book for future generations. The revolutionary work done by Pinochet and his advisors, copied not only in Latin America but the world at large.

It is also important that this book calls Pinochet by his real name, a Capitalist. These days anybody that doesn't agree with marxists-liberals is a fascist.

I'm still waiting to see how fascists implement free-market reforms like Pinochet did.

In summary: Pinochet is a Capitalist, fundamentalist if you will, who allied with the U-S during the Cold War, which was the fight between Capitalism and Communism. For a Latin American fascist look at Peron.

Wether you are in favor or against Pinochet it is important to get your facts straight.

Does your love life need a pick-me-up? Are your fires burning low? This exciting book suggests plenty of fun activities - from authors who know where to find the most romantic spots. For couples of all ages and lifestyles, this guide has something to suit every taste and budget. Competing "romantic" guidebooks are little more than a listing of expensive restaurants and hotels, but Hunter's Romantic Weekends guidebooks are for everyone. Quaint inns & delightful restaurants are included for their high romantic appeal - not their high price tag. Includes Charleston & its barrier islands, the Outer Banks (Roanoke, Hatteras and Nags Head), and Savannah, perhaps the most romantic city in the US.

This book suggests plenty of fun activities - from authors who know where to find the most romantic spots. For couples of all ages and lifestyles, this guide has something to suit every taste and budget. Competing "romantic" guidebooks are little more than a listing of expensive restaurants and hotels, but Hunter's Romantic Weekends guidebooks are for everyone. Quaint inns & delightful restaurants are included for their high romantic appeal - not their high price tag. Includes Charleston & its barrier islands, the Outer Banks (Roanoke, Hatteras and Nags Head), and Savannah, perhaps the most romantic city in the US.

Madden's book is essentially the only source for a comprehensive history of South Carolina's Catholics and it is certainly excellent by any standard. I recommend this to anyone who has an interest in a very small, but important part of South Carolina History.

This account continues to be a valuable resource and reference for historians studying the history of the Catholic Church in S.C. Because it is one of the few, written and published to date. It has been a tremendous help to the Diocesan Archives and individuals with catholic history archival interest.

In The Cattle Towns, Robert Dykstra demonstrates how five Kansas towns--Dodge City, Ellsworth, Caldwell, Abilene, and Wichita--developed through a complex set of conflicts that bred progress. Instead of adding to the frontier myth of wild and violent cattle towns, Dykstra builds upon studies of urban history and applies them to the developing frontier to create a local, social history that has national relevance.

Success or failure of a town depended on a number of variables including location, promotion, and people. Location as related to the county center, railroad lines, and especially for this study, cattle trails, played major roles in determining town futures. Advertisements in newspapers located between the Kansas cattle towns and the source of the cattle herds in Texas lured the trail drivers north. The most important element in the future of the cattle towns, however, was the local population.

Although the town newspapers often gave the impression that residents of the town and surrounding areas spoke in a unified voice, that was usually not the case. Disagreements between businessmen and rural folk, ranchers and farmers, natives and foreign-born, and reformers and vice practitioners were frequent. Dykstra contradicts earlier studies that claimed successful town development on mutual cooperation and shows how progress was made through such differences.

The differences over town policy provided a forum for area residents to discuss the future vision of their town. Whether the discussion was over alcohol, gambling, prostitution, or the movement of the splenic flu deadline, the result was an exchange of ideas focused on improving the town. Town businessmen, for example, sympathized with the reformers who sought to improve the moral values of the town by eliminating vices, but not at the financial cost of losing the trail drivers who were attracted by such vices and spent their funds liberally throughout town.

Due to the advancement of technology and the progression of settlers into the once open Kansas frontier, the cattle towns shifted their focus from cattle to the more consistent industry of agriculture. The westward movement of settlers altered the routes of cattle drives away from towns like Abilene and Dodge City and railroads continued to expand their coverage, removing these towns from the cattle industry. Despite the moral vices that accompanied it, the cattle industry between 1867 and 1885 helped provide an immediate economic base that developed towns and laid the groundwork for future success.

Utilizing information from period newspapers, letters, maps, government documents, and previous studies, Dykstra creates a well-written study that explores urban aspirations and rivalry in a frontier setting. By examining the motivations of individuals and groups in the cattle towns, Dykstra has made a valuable contribution to town building on the changing frontier.

"One of the most intelligent, interesting, and worthwhile contributions to the field of Western history in some time. [The author] has managed to say something rather basic about American culture in general." -- William H. Goetzmann. "Excellent . . . readable and persuasive. . . . One of the most refreshing and rewarding approaches to be applied to western history topics in many years, for [the author] is asking basic questions about social process and the nature of urban society." -- Howard Roberts Lamar.

Mr. Nelson is god. One should read everything that he writes. In two thousand years people will be awaiting the second coming of Mike Nelson. Rhodes is a wonderful college, and I wish that I had been wise enough ( in my college days) to shun Yale for such a personalized undergraduate education

Celebrating The Humanities: A Half-century Of The Search Course At Rhodes College is an intriguing look at the life-cycle of that college's renowned Humanities course, which has been in existence longer than at any other comparable liberal-arts institution. The book looks at the genesis for developing the course at Rhodes (then Southwestern) during the crucible of World War II and its evolution over the years. A number of individuals involved with "The Man Course" (as it was dubbed) contribute individual chapters that touch on their era of involvement touching on the curricula and the changes that came about. The course itself sounds utterly fascinating, incorporating some of the greatest literature of the modern world from the time of antiquity to the present, yet covering it in a colloquium style course setting. I would love to take this course, but to be honest the amount of reading that is covered in the short span of time is most daunting indeed!

Michael Nelson, the editor, does a good job of keeping the text coherent and cogent, which is frequently a problem with incorporating many different authors with varying styles of writing. The book is most gripping when covering the origins of the course and its early years but loses steam towards the middle. I had expected more dramatic tension when the book got into the era that encompassed the Civil Rights and Counter-Culture Revolution of the 1960s, but it was strangely unexciting, which is surprising considering the upheaval in Memphis during that era. It was again exciting towards the end when it gave a rather lively encapsulation of what it is like to take the course today that left me wondering why more universities aren't attempting the same thing. Celebrating the Humanities is a compelling argument for the bolstering of the Humanities at campuses everywhere and should be a rallying cry for this effort, yet my hunch is few outside of academia will ever read this, which is profoundly sad.

This book is an endearing story of a little girl who is not feeling well and her mother tells her of a doll she had as a child. I am using this book as a part of a reading program for First grade. It fills the need for a book about family and feelings. Your child will love hearing this book read to them and will probably become one of their favorites. I teach grades 1, 2, 3 & 4 and I know what children love. This is a winner!

I live in the Caribbean and am starting a Caribbean book collection for my kids. I really liked this book because it wasn't just another very colorfull book, it had a moral to the story. It is about a mother telling her little girl about the kind of doll she had when she was a child and how much she loved it because she made it with her own hands. It teaches a child the meaining of self gradification.