An American Indian girl visits her grandmother in Alaska and learns about her place in her family and community. An introduction to both past and present Native Americans as real people - educational but not dry or didactic. Illustrated with lovely photos by D. Bambi Kraus, whose family this is.

Fairy, dragons and lairs oh my!

This book covers everything from storys concerning Orges to King Arthur, from Witches to hellhounds and from fairys to the legendary Warrior Knight of the Blood Red Plume.

A must buy for anyone with any interest in mythology

An illuminating look into the mascot controversy, "Team Spirits" covers many of the issues surrounding the debate, including historical, fiscal, and racial. This book belongs on the shelves of anthropologists, sportswriters, sports fans, and concerned individuals. "Team Spirits" is especially useful for countering the tired and ignorant accusation that removing mascots is merely a PC move by liberals with nothing better to do.

It's forty below in the Northwest Territories of Canada - so cold the ravens won't fly & Richard can't go outside. He decides to ask his family & friends the question that became the title to this book. Their answers bring a whole other world into light. Brilliantly illustrated by George Littlechild from the Plains Cree Nation, this humorous quest of a youngster's mind during a long winter's day, brings out the silly & the insightful. Makes a lovely gift!

Temple University Press has published some notable team histories in this on-going series. The Sox Encyclopedia however, is at the top rung of the ladder for its completeness, quality of photos, and crisp writing. Even Cub fans are envious, considering how badly done the Cub book was, in comparison. Only a true believer and a died-in-the-wool fan could have produced such an epic labor of love as this -- 600 plus pages of facts, figures, trivia, stories and Sox folklore. Lindberg is controversial in his opinions. A lot of Sox fans don't agree with him, but few doubt his knowledge of team history. Fans of the South Side team who haven't read this book are really missing out on something. Lindberg concludes with the 1997 season. I hope there is an update in the works. No one writes books about the Sox these days, let's face it. But then again no one writes about the Sox like this guy either.

Frank Wesley Craven presents a concise work introducing us to the lives, conditions and experiences of Virginians in the 1600s. Euro-American, Native American and African-American experience is capsulized in this compact volume. The portraits given are terse and sharp.

This book contains 20 essays of travels in the wilderness written by some of the best outdoors writers of today (including Tim Cahill of Outdoor Magazine who has written a number of excellent books of his own). At the end of each essay is a section of notes for how to get to the places described, what you will need, what to check out while you are there, and other kinds of information you can use to make the trip yourself. The essays are well written and very entertaining for armchair travelers and actual adventurers alike. It is definitely the next best thing to being there.

This excellent collection of myths and legends in the "oral history" style - either from the mouths of storytellers, or from documents where their words were first captured - presents a wonderful insight into the American Indian spiritual philosophy. The book is neatly organized into chapters from the genesis of the planet and people, through myths and legends emphasizing the social structure, to love stories, warrior myths and on to the final death and afterlife stories. Stories from tribes across the North American continent show both the divergent philsophies, as well as the common ground. The editors have wonderfully resisted any urge to edit these stories. Each chapter opens with an overview provided by Erdoes and Ortiz. There are occasional editorial explanations at the ends of stories. They should expecially be applauded for including stories with humor. As someone with Indian ancestry, but not a traditional Indian upbringing, I enjoyed the experience of spiritual concordance with the basic philosophies, no matter which tribe or region of the country was being presented. The book is easily readable by most age groups; parents of younger children could read these as entertainment and even bed-tiime stories. I consider this akin to a Bible of American Indian spirituality.

Adult storybook....
I ordered this book to glimpse into the Native American mythology, and I have to say, I am very impressed. This book comprises of ten parts, each consisting of intelligent, sometimes even funny tales and facinating stories of Human Creation, World Creation, Sun-Moon-Stars, Monsters, Love and Sex, Animals and Birds, and Ghosts-to mention a few. It's filled with analogies taken from nature. All these stories come from the tribes once spread across all over the North American continent. The editors claim that some of the stories are completely "untouched" by white people and that they still convey the original folklores started some thousands of years ago.
If you are interested in idiosyncratic facts than forget about it, if you like good stories and folk-tales, this book is for you.

"American Indian Myths and Legends" is a collection of 166 stories selected and edited by Richard Erdoes and Alfonso Ortiz that represent the heart and soul of the native people of North America. In contrast to the more familiar classical myths of ancient Greece and Roman, the genesis for these stories is much more organic, rising from the animals, plants and herb that made up the every day world of the people who told these tales. These tales also reflect the diversity of the peoples group under the name of American Indians, from the Seneca and Alconquian of the East to the White Mountain Apache and Navajo of the Southwest to the Brule Sioux and Nez Perce of the Plains.

Using an admittedly artificial system of organization, Erdoes and Ortiz present ten sections: (1) Tales of Human Creation; (2) Tales of World Creation; (3) The Eye of the Great Spirit; (4) Monsters and Monster Slayers; (5) War and the Warrior Code; (6) Tales of Love and Lust; (7) Trickster Tales; (8) Stories of Animals and Other People; (9) Ghosts and the Spirit World; and (10) Visions of the End. I have been reading my copy again to consider its inclusion in a Contemporary Mythology class I am toying with teaching, and it certainly offers students an impressive collection of myths and legends in fairly pure form. There is some commentary, but the point here is not to analyze the stories but to preserve them and present them to new readers.

However, teachers at any level who are studying myths can certainly find stories that can be used to create fascinating comparison/contrasts with tales on similar subjects from classical, Celtic, Hindu, African, or any other mythology they can get their hands on for class. I can see an excellent unit being developed just on the various creation myths of both humans and the worlds related in this book, which would provoke students to think about what difference the differences in these stories make in terms of how a people view the world and their place in it.

Note: Many of the stories in this volume were collected by the authors in their extensive field research. Others are classic accounts, which are presented in their original forms, while the rest come from 19th-century sources that have been retold by the authors in an effort to do away with the artificial style typical of the period and restore their authenticity. The result is that there is a wide spectrum of American Indian history and culture covered within these pages.

Goldstein has taken a well known story and put a new face on it. Those of us old enough to remember the sinking of the Andrea Doria will match our long ago memories with fresh, new information which brings the story back as if it happened yesterday. Those of us who didn't know about this ship will find a facinating account focused on those aboard the ship. The technical details are sufficent; the confusion during the 'desperate hours' are brought alive; the people become very real. I recommend Goldstein's book to history buffs, ship buffs, and anyone who enjoys a good story, told very well.

"The Desperate Hours" is an account of the collision between the passenger liners Andrea Doria and Stockhlom, which occurred on the night of July 25, 1956 south of Nantucket. Fortunately, the accident took place in summertime within heavily traveled shipping lanes. DH is not another "Night to Remember", which was the tale of the vastly more tragic and heartbreaking Titanic sinking of April, 1912. Author Goldstein is a New York Times journalist and like a good reporter faithfully follows the who-what-why-when-where- and how path to constructing solid news stories. Sergeant Joe Friday from the old "Dragnet" show always wanted "the facts ma'am" and this is exactly what readers of DH will get. Mr. Goldstein touches all the bases here, including a brief history of the ships, various personalities among the passengers (mostly those of the more glamorous Doria), a background of word the ships' Masters, and a retracing of the actions of the 2 crews leading up to the collision. Goldstein solidly recounts the frustratingly contradictory versions the 2 skippers gave of their actions in the final critical moments. "Who did or didn't do what" is explained and analyzed in layman's language. The author also covers the post accident investigations and follows up with tales of the subsequent lives of various passengers and crew. The only objection from this reviewer is its title! The rescue operation was not "desperate" at all- in act it was amazingly orderly. 5 ships, including the Stockholm, carried survivors back to New York, with 2 more vessels standing by at the scene. The Doria lingered for nearly 12 hours (the Titanic lasted 3!) before sinking. All fatalities were caused by the ships' impact, none by drowning. This is the virtual opposite of the Titanic tragedy, where an inadequate rescue effort gravely worsened the situation. Author Goldstein deserves 5 star credit for a solid soup to nuts reporting. One star is deducted for the implication of excitement and suspense that simply is not there. Those who approach DH as a first class news story, with no frills added, should not be disappointed.

I enjoyed reading this book on the tragedy of the Andrea Doria. However, I found that I didn't really learn anything new that I hadn't read years ago in the books by Alvin Moscow and William Hoffer. Yes, there were more Third Class passengers mentioned and their experiences on the Doria were recounted.Goldstein did fill in a few gaps that others had left out. But, Goldstein didn't tell the story with as much breathless anticipation as previous books on the subject. All in all, I'm glad I read the book but equally pleased that I borrowed it from the public library.

I haven't been much of a reader in my time, but for the past two months I have read five books to kill time at work. I'm still reading the fifth book and it is called "Silent Witness" by Richard North Patterson. This book by far and away is the best book I can recall ever reading! When you read this you feel like you are right there in the story experiencing what the characters are going through. The main character Tony Lord is introduced in the beginning and you learn right away that he is a powerful lawyer who just successfully defended a client accused of murder. Shortly there after he recieves a call from an old friend in need of help, legal help. Patterson then takes you back twenty eight years in the past and explains what involvement Tony's old friend played in his life at the age of 17. We learn that Tony Lord was a bright, athletic and a popular student who on one romantic turn tragic night his life would change forever. I don't want to ruin this book for anyone so I'll just say that I was moved more than once when reading what happened to these characters. I rated this book four stars, probably will be fives stars when I finish reading it. If you like suspense mixed in with love and mystery, get "Silent Witness". This book is excellent!

Richard North Patterson continues his string of outstanding novels with this penetrating look at friendship, faith and love. Tony Lord, who we first met in "Private Screening" is the legal wizard who is called to his hometown after nearly three decades to defend his best friend of the murder of a sixteen year old girl. Tony himself left his hometown because he had been accused of murdering his girlfriend, Alison Taylor. Tony's guilt was never really clarified, because the only other person who could have murdered Alison was killed robbing a convenience store. We know Tony didn't kill Alison, but the townspeople believe he did.
So now his best friend (who also may have thought Tony was guilty) is facing similar charges, only he gets to go to trial with Tony as his lawyer.
A stunning novel, filled with secrets; heartbreaking scenarios that are so lifelike in their structure, you can't help but feel for those involved. The confrontational courtroom scenes, as always, are brilliant and riveting. The relationship between Tony and Sam is superbly etched; Tony's feelings about Sam's wife, Sue, are painstakingly real; the enigmatic Sam Robb is focal---is he capable of such a brutal murder; does he lie about everything? Is he really Tony's best friend? And is Tony justified in what he does to Ernie?
The novel cruises along with such intensity and fervor, one can't help but gasp in awe at its structure. The finale is devastating, although you can see it coming, you just don't want to admit it.
A brilliant, exceptional novel.
HIGHLY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

Richard North Patterson doesn't get close to the amount of attention he deserves for his masterful way of writing. If you read a lot and think you can pretty much predict what is going to happen...well you are in for a surprise here. If you've ever wondered..."What If..." this book is for you. Patterson takes you from present day life and transforms you to the high school years of youth and freedom. From puppy love to vicious deaths, you will be surprised, intrigued and have a sick curiosity about everylife involved. You'll root for a killer and want him to be free, then realizing he's killed again, you'll want revenge. There's indepth autopsy information and plain and simple friendship. There's loyalties to be kept and betrayals that must be brought to light. You'll be enamored with each and every character, and when the last page is turned, you'll wish there were another hundred more.