S Books

I had never heard much about 'The Mill on the Floss' before reading it, but I enjoyed other Eliot novels so I decided to try it. I usually enjoy plot-driven books, and this was a bit more character-driven, but I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. Eliot's writing (and, I'm sure, the editing) doesn't have the bogged down feel of many classics, and her descriptions--especially of places, but of people as well--are often brilliant. Her descriptions of education and women's 'place' in society are fascinating, and the interactions between characters are in many cases timeless. I strongly recommend the book even for those who are often 'classics-shy'. Though at times strong on description and slow on plot, this novel contains insights on relationships and a view on the education of women to which everyone should be exposed.

This was a really sad, but really great novel. Granted, it's not an action packed novel, but if you like Dickens or Austen, and have a shred of patience (the novel is lengthy) you'll like this novel, too. I really felt for Maggie and her unrelenting desire to be loved and accepted by her family. Unfortunately, the way she goes about trying to earn their love and affections doesn't turn out the way she wants it to. This novel has it's share of melodrama, as much Victorian literature does. I liked this novel particularly because it doesn't center around passion/romance (although it has that too), but the love and closeness of family, and what a woman will do in order to have that. The characters in this novel are well written, and as shocked as I was by the ending, I thought it was really good. I was satisfied because finally there is a point in the story where I think Maggie was truly happy. I recommend this read wholeheartedly.

The Mill on the Floss, published in 1860, traces the turmoil in the life of Maggie Tulliver, a young woman who has a streak of independence but who also feels close to her father and her brother and believes that she must always honor their feelings and wishes. Maggie's father is the owner of the Dorlcote Mill on the Floss River, a failing business drawing him into increasing debt to his relatives and creditors. Her brother Tom, with no interest in the mill, is encouraged to learn other skills which may suit him for a higher level of society. When the mill fails and is sold at auction to Lawyer Wakem, the Tullivers become social outcasts, at the mercy of creditors and dependent on their extended family.

Philip Wakem, son of Lawyer Wakem, is a hunchback who has been a school friend of Tom Tulliver and a special friend of Maggie, who treats him kindly and appreciates his intelligence and thoughtfulness. When the mill is sold to Wakem, Tom and Mr. Tulliver end all contact with the Wakem family, and though Maggie continues to see Philip privately, Tom eventually forces her to choose between the family and Philip. Another relationship with Stephen Guest, who has been courting her cousin Lucy, unleashes Maggie's passions and leads to a dramatic conclusion.

Throughout the novel George Eliot (the pen name of Mary Ann Evans) explores the many kinds of love in Maggie's life--her devoted love of her father, her dependence on and love for her brother, her intellectual and kindly love for Philip, and her passionate love of Stephen Guest. Creating a fully drawn character in Maggie, Eliot shows a full picture of a young woman of 1860, trying to be independent, trying to live according to society's strictures, and trying to be true to her own feelings, despite pressures from family and society. Eliot, who herself made the scandalous choice to live openly with a married man for twenty-six years, was thoroughly familiar with these issues herself, and her depictions of such themes as family loyalty and the social conventions and limitations of class carry the ring of truth.

Psychologically astute in the exploration of themes as they affect Maggie, Eliot amplifies these themes through imagery from nature, legend, and even religion. Often melodramatic in plot, the novel remains realistic, even autobiographical, in its attention to character. Though it is not as fully developed as her later novel Middlemarch, Mill on the Floss is still a well developed, thoughtful novel which goes far beyond the pulp fiction being serialized in newspapers and magazines during that time. Mary Whipple

Middlemarch (Signet Classics)
Daniel Deronda (Modern Library Classics)
Romola
Silas Marner, The Weaver of Raveloe
George Eliot: The Last Victorian

I read this book for a Victorian Lit/Graduate class and I was a bit put off because others, who had read it before, disparaged it as tedious. Yet again, I learned that one cannot judge by means of conformity (ever!). This is perhaps one of the best Victorian novels ever written. Seriously.
Maggie is the slightly wayward and tomboyish (but undeniably goodhearted) daughter of a proud, stubborn, and provincial man, and a dull witted, ridiculous mother. She is sister to an immature and exasperating brother who believes he possesses the very kernel of justice within his beliefs and actions, but in truth is a selfish and undeniably cruel "bastard." Lastly, she is a companion (and "potential" lover) to Philip, the deformed, yet soft-spoken and educated son of her father's worst enemy...

The Mill on the Floss is a novel of sacrifice and determination, revenge and forgiveness, society and selfhood. And in case anyone cares, I read this 400+ page novel in two days. Not because of a dealine I had to meet, but because I could not seem to put it down.

Interested yet? Listen, if you already know that you love Victorian literature, you will not be disappointed in this text. It is absolutely full of surprises. Granted, the ending could be infinitely better, but alas it is what it is. Regardless, the ending of a book is not necessarily where its merit is at.
Furthermore, if you are into Queer Theory, you might find this text interesting reading as it plays with gender roles and expectations throughout.
George Eliot (i.e., Mary Ann Evans) was a master and equivalent, in my opinion, to the great Charles Dickens.

This is Eliot's semi autobiographical novel, and tells the story of Maggie Tulliver and her brother Tom. The story takes place in the village of St. Ogg, and at the Mill on The Floss that's been in the Tulliver family for generations. Other reviewers have told enough of the story (in some instances too much) that I don't see the need to go into it again. I thoroughly enjoyed the way Eliot depicted the sibling relationship between Maggie and Tom with all of those ups and downs that we all have experienced with our siblings, and culminating in the final finish of the story that thoroughly blew me away. I think I just sat for a good ten minutes just saying Oh Wow over and over again, and then felt the need to seek out my brothers and give them both a big hug.

The joy of reading this novel or any other by Eliot is her gorgeous prose and brilliant characterizations, even with the minor characters. Just be warned, this is not an action packed, sit on the edge of your seat, can't put it down until it's finished type of novel. This is a story to savor and enjoy the multi-faceted characters and the author's glorious prose like a fine red wine or a box of chocolates (or both). If you are looking for high action and adventure, this is not the book for you. Highly recommended for any lover of 19th century English literature, not as dark and brooding as Hardy can be, but the prose is just as lovely, if not better.

This book is the first book that I recommend to anyone interested in learning about the Catholic faith. I use it myself as a Catholic and I have recommended it to non-Catholics, those interested in becoming Catholic, or Catholics who just want to know their faith better. It contains sound doctrine. Nothing modernistic or liberal, just the truth of the faith and what a true Catholic must know and believe. It is an incredible resource and wealth of the true faith. Every Catholic home should have this and every Catholic should read it to strengthen their faith.

Every person that I have recommended this book to has treasured it.

I learned of this book from a friend who was getting nstructions in the Catholic Faith. He told me about the book and said it answered all of his questions. He said he now understands what Cathoics believe and he believes, too! He said this book is a "treasure" which is true. I recommend it to anyone who wants to know about the Catholic Faith. It is easy to read and has wonderful illustrations.

MY CATHOLIC FAITH is really just about the best Catholic Catechism I've ever seen. It is thorough and comprehensive and - thank God - 100% Orthodox. It's only drawback is that some of it is "dated" information, i.e. the National Catholic Welfare Conference has been replaced by the USCCB, etc. But these are miniscule issues. If you want to learn the Catholic Faith accurately yourself, or teach it unadulterated to your children, MY CATHOLIC FAITH is the book to use. I cannot recommend it highly enough.

A beautiful catechism written by Bishop Louis Morrow in the 1950s. My Catholic Faith: A Catechism in Pictures was a very popular catechism in the 1950s until the 1960s. A special Jubilee Commerative edition was published in 1961, 1963, and 1965.

In the Philippines, My Catholic Faith is being published again by Catholic Trade, Inc. It is divided into 3 separate volumes and sold individually for P 36 Pesos which is about more than $0.50 in US Dollars! Sadly, the edition they reprinted was the 1965 edition under the pontificate of Pope Paul VI. It contains Modernist and other innovations such as calling Mass, "The Last Supper" or concelebration of the Liturgy by several priests. I know this because I own the 1965 edition of My Catholic Faith.

My Catholic Faith, was republished by Sarto House according to the 1954 edition prior to the Modernist revision of Pope Paul VI in 1965. It teaches the Catholic Faith very dogmatically and truthfully.

Here is an excellent example:

An anullment is when the Catholic Church declares a marriage to be null after thorough investigation and the evidence have proven that in the very beginning there had been no marriage thus it was not valid.

Nowadays, Catholics confuse anullments with divorce. Most Catholics believe they can get an anullment like getting candy from a baby. Ted Kennedy, a notorious liberal Catholic scandalizer had his 38 years of marriage "annulled" and is now married to a young woman about half his age.

I tell you this... This is an excellent catechism. It is even better than the Baltimore Catechism. It contains no Modernism or Americanism heresy teachings.

This catechism talks about everything---such as:

1. The [Tridentine] Latin Mass of the Roman Rite (prior to its simplication and revision in 1965 by Pope Paul VI and the reforms of the Second Vatican Council that preceeded the 1970 Novus Ordo Missae). It explains why Latin is used to celebrate Mass and why not the vernacular.

2. The role and organization of the Holy Office and Roman Curia* (prior to its reorganization in 1967 by Cardinal Jean Villot, the Vatican Secretary of State with the approval of Paul VI).

3. The Initiating Rank of the Priesthood---the ranks of the Minor Orders and Major Orders (prior to the abolition of the Minor Orders and radical reform of the priesthood by Pope Paul VI).

3. The Dogma of No Salvation Outside the Church.

4. Distinction between Venial Sin and Mortal Sin as well as Sacrilege.

5. The definitions of Heresy and Schism including the invalidity of the the Anglican or Episocopalian holy orders for bishops and priests according to the 1547 Edwardine Ordinal.

6. Differences between the Eastern (Uniate) Catholic Church and the heretical schismatic Eastern Orthodox churches.

7. The liturgical setting, background, and consecration of a Catholic altar according to the Roman Rite prior to the New Rite used in 1969 under Paul VI.

You'll never forget about learning about your Catholic Faith. If you have family, this is a wonderful catechism to instruct your children. If you have a friend or family member that has apostasized or was never born a Catholic, here is the best catechism to instruct and convert them with.

Many people think that the Catholic Faith is hard to follow, but in reality it is that simple to follow out of obedience and love for Our Lord.

Timelessly orthodox Catholic faith, beautifully expressed. One can go into more detail by reading everything, or move faster through just the larger type in some sections. Good-sized illustrations are designed to distill abstract concepts into memorable impressions that can stick in a reader's mind.

For the past year, we've kept our copy in the back seat of the car. I ask my sons, who are 10 and 13, to read aloud from it several times a week during short regular commutes we make. I have never heard a groan! Amazing! We all freely interrupt the reading with comments and discussion.

Everybody's lives are so busy now it's hard to keep any kind of regular schedule of teaching our children their Catholic faith (as we vowed to do upon Catholic marriage). I highly recommend this way of sharing the Faith with preteens and older kids especially.

Owned my first couple for years and gave it away to a relative. Had to buy another copy. It is the very best of the all-around food preservation books on the market. It is a must for the reference shelf.

This book will tell you everything you need to know to preserve your own food. It covers canning, freezing, drying, smoking and root cellars.

I found it very helpful, but a little intimidating. They emphasize safety, and they definitely should, but almost to the point of scaring you to death! I think sometimes the completeness makes the whole process seem much harder than it really is.

I've made two batches of jam so far, and all went well.

All in all the book is great, but I'd also read through the Ball books, as they make the process seem easier.

We have used this book for years for the preservation and keeping of food. It is complete, easy to understand and thorough. Highly Recommended for beginners and seasoned canners. The perfect reference book.

I was just ordering a replacement book for the one that I have been using for years that is falling apart. It is the only canning book that you will ever need. All you need to know to do safe and delicions canning as well as other food preservation techniques are in there. I have a designation from the NC Extension Service of Master Food Preserver, so you can trust my opinion.

This is the only book that I have found that tells me how to preserve figs.
You cannot find these type of books in the Midwest.
This was a gift to my friend that lived in the midwest but has now located to Arizona that is fortunate enough to have these beautiful trees!
The rest of the book is excellent and comparable to what I already have, but this has figs! Thank you Thank you Thank you!!!!

UN INSTANTE...¡TIENES QUE LEER ESTE LIBRO HASTA DAR CON LA VERDAD !
Si dejan sin terminar lo que empiezan..LEE EL LIBRO !

ESTE LIBRO ME HA MARAVILLADO...
Porque le dice a los padres, en lenguaje muy claro, si su criatura tiene nivel de genio, si es hiperactivo o si requiere un poco más de disciplina !

familia, porque el 80 por ciento de la poblacion infantil pertenece a UNA DE ESTAS TRES CATEGORIAS: Hiperkinetico, Genio o simplemente, MALCRIADO!
Este libro SE TORNA MAS IMPORTANTE, POR UN DESCUBRIMIENTO MARAVILLOSO QUE ENCONTRAMOS EN OTRO LIBRO TITULADO "Tu Hijo:¿Superdotado ?"
Ese libro anuncia que se han determinado SIETE TIPOS DE INTELIGENCIA GENIAL, y es VITAl DETECTAR LA DE NUESTRO HIJO, primero en esta obra, y luego de que tipo es en la de tu hijo, superdotado !

LUJO DE NO LEER ESTE LIBRO..
Nos permite definir a que categoria pertenecen los hijos y como educarlos

MARAVILLOSO !

sabemos que si al niño no se le detecta y se le descubre COMO GENIO, simplemente acaba por adaptarse a ser DEL MONTÓN, a disminuir sus propias capacidades para integrarse socialmente: Eso, es una automutilación abominable propiciada por la falta de conocimiento de sus padres...

Reeve surely has Ann's gene for writing. This book should be read by all who still have parents alive and will be faced with their eventual death and by those who have already lost a loved one. Alzheimers and dimentia are a death before dying. It is hardest on those left behind and gilt and worry are only some of the emotions one has to deal with during the dying process. Reeve caught the essence of her mother and was fortunate to be able to have 24/7 caregivers to help her through this ordeal.
This book is a tribute to Ann and to Reeve's Sister.

This is a fast reading book concerning Mrs. Charles Lindbergh's last few years of life. Written by youngest Lindbergh sibling, Reeve, she tells of living on her own farm in Vermont, with a smaller house on the property her mother lived in during that time. Reeve Lindbergh is a wonderful writer - she doesn't need the famous last name to prove that. When she isn't writing about her mother, which is riveting for some reason, her writing of anything else in the book has such a fresh, emotional spirit behind her words. Anne Morrow Lindbergh, a legend in her own time both in flying, her husband, and her many published works, did not talk much in her last years. It is a story of how the family felt and coped with her condition, letting go of the vibrant mother they once knew. An excellent book for those who have been a caregiver to a parent or sibling. Anne M.L. was such a famous figure, it was both interesting and heartwrenching to have the privilege of reading about her day to day living. Thank you, Reeve Lindbergh, for sharing this story that you could have kept to yourself, but chose to share. It's a book that will be remembered long after it's read.

I have read Reeve Lindbergh's work before in her memoir, "Under A Wing". I was surprised at her candor regarding her father, and what was equally clear was her fondness for her mother. "No More Words", which records the last 17 trying and rewarding months of her mother's life, is a tender tribute that is notable for what it includes and for what it omits.

The only photograph of Mrs. Lindbergh is the one that appears on the cover. The photograph depicts a young woman at the start of what would prove to be a life as fascinating as it was lengthy. The closing months of this woman's life are chronicled above all else with a great deal of respect. This is a most private family event, and just as the book is devoid of any pictures for the voyeur, the narrative too is informative without taking away any of the dignity of her mother. This would seem to be an obvious manner to write of one's parent, but a person does not have to look far to find books written with sales as the first goal, and exploitation of the subject left unconsidered.

Reeve Lindbergh is a poet, she is reflective, and these aspects of her personality provide a narrative that is unique. This book is not simply a diary; it is not a chronological description of the systematic health decline of her mother. It is more of a story that is driven by the limited interactions she was able to have with her mother, and the memories that were either hers or recollections of her mother's life. This is not a sugarcoated story of what was a very trying time. The book is a balanced memoir about how difficult it is to deal with not only the death of a parent, but also the very real difficulties and frustrations that caring for an elderly, ill parent involves. Mrs. Lindbergh had the best care available which took much of the moment-to-moment care off of the family. It did not remove many of the difficulties, and the reader can easily imagine what it would entail to care for a parent with little, or no outside help.

This is a very contemplative book that moves at an associated pace.

Reeve Lindberg has succeeded in giving us a marvelous journey through the last two years of her mother's life. It is also a very helpful description of what it is to deal with someone who is deep in the fog of an Alzheimer's like state. I plan to give copies to many of my friends, most especially those with elderly parents. Reeve's language is lovely and crisp in the strokes of its portraits. It is easy to see she that is her mother's daughter. I am so happy to have discovered this book and I would recommend it to anyone who is seeing or will see an elderly parent or friend through his or her last days and months. Tasha Halpert

This is a touching memoir of the time when Reeve Lindbergh was helping to take care of her aging mother, the famous Anne Morrow Lindbergh in the last year(s) of her life. This book is a look inside the private lives of a very well known family during a difficult transition in their lives.

The story is about how Reeve is trying to make sense of this time. It contains her thoughts and reflections and fears about the change in her mother's condition. I appreciate the honesty in which this book is written, I feel like the author held nothing back in relating her story. I was surprised and delighted at the openness of it. She wrote about things in dealing with this situation that people think, but would rarely admit to.

I found this book to be very comforting, as I recently experienced a similar situation in my own family. There were so many times, as I read this, I was shaking my head thinking....I know exactly what you're saying. Throughout the ordeal, there are sad times, but there were also light and funny times as well. Dealing with the aging and decline of a loved one that you have known so well all of your life is difficult. They change, and when it happens, we don't always know how to deal with it or what to think, and we wonder what they are thinking. It's hard and it's confusing when you are trying to guess at what is going on in their world. Reeve writes beautifully about it all.

I had not picked this book with the intention of experiencing what I did...the comfort of reading about someone else going through a similar situation as me. I initially picked this book because I love Anne Morrow Lindbergh's book 'Gift of the Sea' and I wanted to read more about her life. Once again, as I am a firm believer of...the right books come along at just the precise moment that we need them and so often they come in an unexpected way as this one did for me.

This book makes it clear under what pressures kids and teens grew up in the thirties and forties in Germany. The writer shows the big riff between the older and younger generations in Germany during the Hitler era. It is personal and detailed. It reaffirms many of the stories I heve heard from my parents and grandparents. A must read for every interested in keeping peace alive.

this is a very well-written book. The lifeline flows in order which makes it easy for the reader to keep track of events as they occurred. This provides a very different perspective because it is from that as a child growing up on 'Hilter's mountain', as well as that of a German citizen. This provides a very good inside look at what life was like in these most terrible of times.

This proves to be an interesting and somewhat insightful look from the perception of child. Irmgard Hunt spent her first 11 years of her life living in Berchtesgaden, under the shadow of Hitler's mountain retreat. She even had a honor of being on Hitler's lap and her parents must have been die-hard Nazis themselves to be allowed to live in that Bavarian village so close to their Fuhrer's own mountain home.

Hunt's recollection proves to be informative on how life was for people who lived in that village where Nazism was so strong. Many of her stories actually make great deal of sense to anyone familiar with the Third Reich and it made whole lot of sense to me especially since, the author was living in Berchtesgaden.

However, I do wondered how much of the book reflects reality. After all, she was very young when all this took place, most normal people do have a hard time remembering what they did, felt or thought when they were eight, nine or ten years old. The author may remembered very few details but I doubt if she could remembered all of it without being compromised by passing years of faded memories.

I would recommend this book to anyone interested in the story of an ordinary German girl growing up in one of the most nazified villages in Germany. But I would also caution these readers that you are relying on a memory of that child who is now a grown woman and asked yourself how much of your childhood you remembered with such details.

Excellent story of WW2 from the perspective of an ordinary little girl. I loved this story because it was a whole new look at this era of world history, a view not often captured. A must read for any enthusiast of the era.

I lived in Germany in the late 1970s with a family who would have been young people during the War. I was vastly curious about their experience as "average Germans" but they were evasive and would say very little. Irmgard Hunt, who grew up just 30 miles from my foreign exchange mother during roughly the same years, gives us a portrait of what it was like for the average German citizen. Relying on her mother's diary, and interviews with family and friends, it may be some fiction, as an earlier reviewer states, but it rings true to me. You'll enjoy this book more if you know some German.

Author Brian Bentley finally gives us insight into the world of a working Police Officer, without sugar coating or picturing us a glitzy world of glasmour of law enforcement. It really took me back as a law enforcement officer for a large public hospital with a Level One Trauma Center, which has to deal with the day to day hardship of what the "streets" brings into the hospital and tries to treat. I too found alot of comaparisons in my job and just changed the names of work colleagues and supervisors with his! His city government was not only like my city government, but add one more variable...an unappreciative hospital administration who should simply be managing medical care and research, and stay out of the business of police work. Many times they, along with the rest of the hospital support staff be it doctor, nurse, psychiatric staff, substance abuse counselors, all want a piece of the police department. And thinking after watching one episode of "Cops" think they know everything about police work! Should a new candidate dare read this book, it may in fact discourage him or her from pursuing law enforcement as a career. Sad that it maybe, at least Officer Bentley forwarned you before you signed on the dotted line! Law enforcement has it's rewards. But as Officer Bentley astutely puts it, it is "dog eat dog" and one has to do what he/she has to do to survive!

This is a very well written story of a cops everyday life in LA. Very sad that things have to be the way they are but he tells it like it really is. He is misjudged, mistreated and underrated which causes him to doubt himself and everyone else. He fights to stay true to all he believes and has been taught, but at times he is finding himself thinking and acting as the criminals do. Maybe that is how he survives.

Having grown up in S/C LA and also a retired Police Officer, this book give you the real world experience. This book will take you from one extreme to the other. You will laugh, cry and be very afraid. Because it is all so very true. Somebody needs to make this into a movie, Quick. Oprah needs to read this book

One Time is a hardcore and realistic look at the police. The author's writing style kept me interested and I am not a big reader. Since reading the book, I now look at police officers differently.

I very much enjoyed reading this book. It was very easy reading and went very quickly. While the author had some very interesting stories to tell, however, I think the publisher did him wrong for publishing it as is. There are a lot of editing mistakes and typos within the context that at times can make it somewhat difficult to follow. However, despite these mistakes, I highly recommend the book to anyone who is interested in law enforcement, especially in L.A. I'm sure it would be an eye opener. I never realized how violent a city L.A. could be.

This book is a MAINSTAY in my reference library. Though I do only limited back-end development in the applications I work on, this is the first book I look for when I need to be pointed in the right direction. I highly recommend it!

I bought this book as a complete Oracle novice, transitioning from Microsoft T-SQL to PL/SQL. I was worried about the transition being difficult until I read this book.

It is one of those very rare books that presents advanced concepts in a context understandable by users of all experience levels. The author often throws in tips about Oracle PL/SQL quirks to watch out for, as well as some very applicable information about how Oracle works internally.

I've since become more comfortable with PL/SQL, and the book also serves as a great reference. I highly encourage you to read this book straight through.

I recommend this well-written book to anybody wanting to learn PL/SQL, as well as anyone needing a great reference.

Although the information was accurate and useful, I think the strength of this book was it's clear and logical presentation. It is easy to read and very helpful. For example, I needed to know how to dynamically build the "where" clause for select statements and his chapter on DBMS_SQL gave me the tools to accomplish my task at work.

This is definitely an excellent book. No one should rank it less than 5 stars just because it was published in 1996. Please do some research before talk. Actually, Scott Urman has wrote a book, "Oracle8 PL/SQL Programming", which was published in 1997. Buy this one if you want to learn PL/SQL 8.0.

Oracle 8 is out and in this book it only covers to Oracle 7. It is a very well written book. It is a valuable reference however it was published in 1996. Still looking for Oracle SQL Plus 8.0 AND the PL/SQL Programming. I hope the author steps up to the plate and updates his work.

In this extraordinary memoir from 1932-1934, Kitty Crockett Robertson describes her life on the North Shore of Massachusetts during the Depression, a time when she, a Harvard graduate, became a hard-working apple farmer to save the family farm in Ipswich. Her physician father had died, and Kitty, wanting to keep the farm from being sold for development, which her Boston-based brothers favored, decided to give up her job working at the Harvard Library to try to make the orchard profitable enough to save the land.

Working almost single-handedly, she spent the next two years doing all the dirty work, learning in the process that "The Depression was that time of leveling when she and her neighbors kept going on the strength they learned from each other." From her earliest days on the farm, she personally pruned trees, cleared land, repaired sprayers and tractors, gathered swarming bees into hives, hired five workers at twice the going rate (because they, too, needed to make ends meet), dealt with an arrogant banker anxious to foreclose, protected her apples at gunpoint when necessary, and then fought the weather, storms, and a December temperature drop to twenty degrees below zero in her efforts to bring the crop to market.

In the process she earned the love of her workers (who had regarded her, at first, as an idle "North Shore millionaire"), gave up everything in her personal life to devote herself completely to her task, worked up to 16 hours a day for two years during the apple and peach seasons, and gained new appreciation for the values she saw every day among her workers, the wholesaler who bought her drops and cider apples, and the purchasing agent of Harvard, who helped her make commercial connections to sell her crop.

Robertson, who became a newspaper and radio columnist in her later years, was a formidable writer who always recognized the values which unite people, regardless of their "class," and this quality pervades her personal memoir. Unfinished, because her life became too busy to finish it after 1934, it was discovered upon her death in 1979 by her daughter, and it is she who moves the story to its conclusion after 1934. Filled with personal detail and wonderful tributes to those who helped her, Robertson is never self-serving, readily admitting her weaknesses while stressing her efforts to succeed. A unique look at one farm and its history during the Depression, The Orchard is an extraordinary record of the times, written by a truly extraordinary woman. n Mary Whipple

My only complaint about this book is that it only covers two years of the author's life in detail. I hated for the book to end. I wish she had had time to write more, because she was an amazing person. Kitty's father, a doctor, raised his family in a colonial farmhouse by the ocean. Beginning in her childhood, he made Kitty learn to do a man's work in the orchard. He also gave her a series of boats to sail on the ocean. She loved the farm and the sea. She got a college education and a good job in a college museum, but gave it all up when her father died at the beginning of the depression. None of her brothers were willing to do the backbreaking labor to keep the heavily mortgaged farm working. Kitty quit her good job and immersed herself in running the orchard, which her father had always said would save the farm he loved. She lived alone except her beloved dog, with no money and little heat in the winter. Her own family seemed determined to see her fail. She found good, loyal friends though, and though her life was daunting, it was also full of the joy of nature and achievment. I can't praise this book enough.

This book was truly one of the most interesting and capturing books I have ever read. I felt like I was present in the story and now can't wait to go to Ipswich and see this old farm house.

The late Adele Robertson's story of her attempt to save her family's property by establishing a commercially viable apple orchard during the Great Depression is a true gem. Robertson, who later went on to become an award-winning columnist for the Ipswich Chronicle, writes in a clear first-person voice. At times wildly humorous and often poignant, the story is superficially about growing and selling apples. What it is really about is self-reliance and courage. It is no wonder that so many New England high schools now include this book on their reading lists -- Robertson (with the help of her daughter Betsey, who retrieved and edited the manuscript after her mother's death) has produced a riveting work that speaks to a woman's need to "make it on her own" without ever preaching about it.

The Orchard, a Memoir, is a great book. Last week I was on a long flight back to San Luis Obispo from Omaha and I had this book with me, a gift from my mom. I started reading it and totally forgot about the flight, never noticed the movie they were playing. A good number of times tears were just pouring down my face and I'd wipe them away, wondering if the people on the plane around me thought I was a bit crazy.
But I tell you, I'm crazy about this book! Honestly, I read a good deal and this is easily one of the most interesting, deepest, most powerful books I have read in years. Although true, a memoir, it reads just like a fine novel. I was so totally absorbed reading this rare gem of a find, that it was difficult to realize that the author had died some 20 years ago--she, Adele Crockett Robertson, seems so real, so full of life, so gutsy, so immediate.
Briefly, this is the story of a young girl, a smart, educated girl with a good head on her shoulders, who loses her job in the great Depression, and goes back to the family farm to try and save it from the bank. The many people in the book all come to life perfectly and there are surprises aplenty. I am a gardenwriter (author of Allergy-Free Gardening)and have farmed myself, and I appreciate what Adele went through. I would also add that this is no doubt the best picture of life during the Depression I've ever come across.
I plan to review this book every place that I can, because to my mind, this one is so good, so readable, so well worth reading, so enjoyable, so satisfying, that it completely deserves to be a best seller. Do yourself a favor and read this marvelous book!

I saw this book several years ago in a book catalogue, I put off buying it because there really didn't seem to be enough subject matter to justify such a book. I could not have been more wrong. When I finally had one in hand I realized there really was a rich wealth of interesting material especially historically. This book shows the colorful evolution of holsters in the American West tradition. This is a fascinating collection of color and detail that leaves the reader in awe concerning this little known facet of traditional Western Americana. Well worth the price. Hours will be spent studing the beautiful illustrations and carefully researched text. You don't have to own a Colt sixshooter to apprecicate this beautiful book that faithfully follows and matches the tradition of the R.L. Wilson publications on the art of firearms.

This has rapidly become a favorite book of mine and, judging from the constant references to it from holster makers, has become a widely-used reference source. The quality of the book itself is excellent, with lots of crisp, large pictures and good accompanying text. The "frontier" period covered is pretty wide, really the colonial period into the pre-WW2 era. The emphasis, however, is on the 1800s. The first section of the book mostly covers military gunleather and its transition into civilian forms and usage. The bulk of part two is on California and Mexican Loop pattern holsters of the 1800's and early 20th century, although there is good material on a number of other subjects (all gun-related). The holster photo captions in part two tend to be very repetitious as there are numerous style variations presented, but ultimately don't detract from the pictures themselves or the text. This is not a book to buy if you are interested in costume or accoutrements other than gunleather, and you should pass it by if your primary interest is Western film and TV versions of gunleather - the buscadero, or drop-loop style is barely mentioned.

If you're into Cowboy Action Shooting or even history of the Old West, this is a must have book. The pictures are fantastic and the way the book was put together gives the reader an extremely great view of what they wore in the old days. Plus, there are some great pictures from the cowboy movie and television era. Great Book!

I received the book quickly, in great condition. I would definitely use this vendor again.

I'am very happy to add another great western book to my collection. Lots of great pictures and information in this one as well as others I have bought in the past. Great book.