South America Books

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.

Most books about the Galapagos Islands are concerned with their natural history but relatively few fully discuss the human history of the islands. This book belongs to the latter catagory and presents an in depth review of how people have interacted with the islands. It is rich with detailed activities of various rogues, knaves, hermits, whalers, tyrants, murderers, and misguided settlers who attempted to establish colonies on these islands.

The Galapagos archipelago was discovered in 1535 during the voyage of the Bishop of Panama, Fray Tomas de Berlanga who was on his way to investigate the activities of conquistadors in Peru. His ship was becalmed and drifted westward due to the ocean currents. On March 10th,1535 an island was sighted and a party went ashore in search of fresh water. Although he did not name the island he described the fauna in a letter to the King of Spain. Known variously as Las Enchantadas, the Archapelago de Ecuador and the Archepalago de Colon, they first appeared on a map as the Galapagos in 1570. The archipelago was claimed by Ecuador in 1832 and the first colony, which consisted of convicts and political prisoners, was established on the island of Floreana.

The most famous visit to the Galapagos was Charles Darwin's during the voyage of HMS Beagle in 1835 which is thoroughly covered in this book. The effects of his monumental conclusions following a five week study of the islands are presented in detail.

The islands of the archipelago are arid with the exception of Froreana where fresh water is available. The history of this island is particularly interesting. The book includes information about the whaler's post office barrel, a slave rebellion, the bizarre activities of an Irish hermit, and the mysterious disappearance of the Baroness vo Wagner de Bosquet. In addition, the activities of a variety of other visitors are described. I was fascinated to learn of the efforts of several groups of Norwegians to establish permanent settlements. In spite of their Teutonic stubornness all such activities failed.

I highly recommend this book to anyone with an interest in the history of the Galapagos.

We all want to go and a lucky few have been. Most books on the Galapagos are either about Darwin's famous finches or about the beautiful flora and fauna. Not this time. This Galapagos historian writes of the "human history" of the islands. This incredible book reads like the most captivating novel. Out of its pages spill pirates, a famous writer, a baroness and her lovers, miscellaneous adventurers, mysterious travelers and so much more. If you have even a passing interest in these enchanted islands, this book will leave you wanting more.

In this fascinating and succinct book "Charlestonians in War: The Charleston Battalion," W. Chris Phelps records the history of a Confederate unit that was central to the defense of Charleston: the 1st South Carolina Volunteer Infantry Battalion, usually known simply as the Charleston Battalion. Mr. Phelps ably describes the battalion's brave and pivotal role in several key battles in the Charleston area. He also lays out the unusual composition of the battalion and its constituent companies, including the Charleston Light Infantry, the Irish Volunteers, the Sumter Guards and the German Fusiliers. Mr. Phelps writes that more than a few of the battalion's privates were well-to-do lawyers and businessmen. That fact called for a firm and capable leader, which they had in the person of Lt. Col. Peter C. Gaillard, a Charlestonian West Pointer turned businessman, who was in command throughout the battalion's existence.

The Charleston Battalion played a key role in repelling a Union thrust against Charleston at nearby Secessionville, SC in June 1862 and it repeatedly defended Fort Sumter, the keystone of Charleston's defenses. The battalion bore the brunt of the famous July 18, 1863 attack on Battery Wagner, which was led by the black 54th Massachusetts. Inside the fortification, the Charleston Battalion withstood an 11-hour close-range bombardment by Union ironclads; during the infantry assault, its executive officer and the Irish Volunteers' company commander were among those killed in the intense combat. Mr. Phelps continues the narrative through the battalion's consolidation with another unit to form the 27th SC Infantry Regiment. The new regiment was assigned to Lee's Army where it fought several engagements in the Richmond-Petersburg area, again proving its valor and suffering heavy losses. At several points in its service, Mr. Phelps points out that the battalion's companies often mustered no more than platoon strength in modern terms. In the last chapter, Mr. Phelps follows representative members of the Charleston Battalion into the post-war era with thumbnail sketches of their later lives.

An appendix listing the battalion's members and casualty lists for several battles are among the products of the author's extensive and detailed research. My only quibble is that the format of the book made some of the maps difficult to read but reading the book in conjunction with any good Civil War atlas will solve that minor problem. That my great-grandfather enlisted in the battalion's Irish Volunteer company only added to my interest in the book but any student of the Civil War or, more generally, Charleston's role in Southern history will find the book an excellent account of a remarkable unit.

The Charleston Battalion was first organized in 1860 and began with six independent companies of militia volunteers. In February, 1862, these six companies, Company A ("The Charleston Riflemen"), Company B ("The Charleston Light Infantry"), Company C ("The Irish Volunteers"), Company D ("The Sumter Guards"), Company E ("The Calhoun Guards"), and Company F (composed of both "The Union Light Infantry" and "The German Fusiliers"), were organized into the Charleston Battalion for one year's service in the Charleston area.

The battalion took part in the Battle of Secessionville (June 1862) and played a vital role in the defense of Battery Wagner (July 1863). The battalion also helped to repulse the daring but suicidal Union night attack on Fort Sumter. After three companies of South Carolina Sharpshooters were added to their ranks in the fall of 1863, the battalion was designated as the 27th South Carolina Infantry Regiment. In April, 1864, the regiment was sent to Petersburg, Virginia, where it took part in several battles, including the bloody Battle of Cold Harbor.

In December, 1864, it was sent to Wilmington, North Carolina, which at that time was one of the last ports still open to Confederate Blockade Runners. It took part in the Battle of Bentonville and was soon after surrendered and paroled with the rest of Gen. Joseph Johnston's army, which had been overwhelmed by Gen. Sherman's huge army. In this book there are several rosters which will be very helpful to researchers, including casualty lists for the battalion's/regiment's battles and skirmishes as well as the complete roster of the regiment. The author has written a superb history of this neglected Confederate unit and this book is an absolute must for any Civil War buff!

The book has all the substance and objectivity of a scholarly work by someone who has done research in Chiapas for over a decade, but unfolds with all the suspense of a good novel. It is the definitive account to date on this very important topic and a significant contribution to the debate on indigenous rights.

You will be hard pressed to find another book written with this level of analysis. The Zapatista rebellion was not an overnight reaction to a single set of economic rules, but is rather the manifestation of centuries of injustices, financial hardships and lack of political efficacy. This book explains the multitude of issues and events leading to the Zapatista rebellion. Dr. Harvey is a scholar who understands the political complexity and communicates this for all to understand.

This book has moving stories of war told from many different countries, which is helpful for building reading skills, vocabulary, and building on historical knowledge in the classroom. I have used the stories from Russia, France, Italy and Germany the most in my history class.

This book is perfect for prose selections. I am doing a selection of Fiorella which is absolutely beautifully written and and very moving. I really enjoyed it very much.

I am a Melungeon descendant who formerly wrote a column on the topic in a history journal. I wrote an extensive review with some context for my remarks for Amazon, but it was refused. I rewrote it and it was still refused. From the point-of-view of those who have already read a great deal on the subject, and from the point-of-view of those involved in discussions about Melungeons (for whom this may be their first book on the topic), a contextual review would be helpful. This book does away with much of the conjecture and folklore, and helps to eliminate many of the more bizarre origin stories that some would rather believe than the truth about how the Melungeons came to be. Melungeons are a uniquely American people, created out of the raw materials of people who were already here before colonization, colonists, those the colonists brought with them as servants, and those the colonists bartered-for or purchased as laborers ... before the days of chattel slavery. Hashaw's book lays the foundation for a rational discussion of the topic ... and is the first book to do so. It is, therefore, a breakthrough in a rational discussion of Melungeon origins.

Children Of Perdition: Melungeons And The Struggle Of Mixed America by award winning investigative journalist Tim Hashaw is the history of mixed-race communities in America during the 300 years in which marriage between whites and nonwhites was outlawed. Melungeons, often called "children of perdition" by both whites and blacks, ranked socially below communities of freed slaves even though they had lighter skin. Persecution of melungeons included imprisonment, whipping, slavery, lunching, gun battles, forced sterilization, and exile, yet they persevered and preserved folk tales. Even in the twentieth century, there were various American schemes to forcibly exile US citizens with as little as "one drop" of black blood to Africa. In addition to tracing history, Children Of Perdition delves into psychology and the development of racism both historical and modern, as well as the practices of scapegoating, racial politics, and the impact of World War II and the Nazis. Highly recommended as both history and ancient and modern social commentary.

This is one of the great classics of anthropology and Latin American studies. Largely ignored during the rush to make anthropology a science of culture, this is a description of Candomble and the women who led the spiritual life of Bahia in the thirties. Good to see that it is now available in this format.

If you are looking for an excellent book on the Candomble Orixa Worship of Brazil, then this is the classic. The book as the title states is of the power of the Brazilian Priestesses of the orixas, also known as orisha. Mai De Santos, or Priestesses of Orixas are as powerful, and as highly respected as the Babalawos of the Ifa and Babalorichas of Lucumi. I highly recomend this to all Voodoo Mambos, Santeria Santeras, and all Woman of the world, who believe in the power of Woman.

From a man's point of view this is a brilliant and inspiring work, and should be read buy all who honor the Ancient African Gods.