Harry Crosby was a navigator in the 100th Bomb Group in World War II. He was one of the original members of the 100th, a bomb group that, because it ventured into battle with less training than groups preceding it, and because of its unenviable position flying in the lower part of the formation on many missions, suffered heavy losses and became known as "The Bloody Hundredth". Crosby uses his obvious skill as a student of the English language to recreate the drama, the humor, and the terror of flying B-17's out of East Anglia in the war. He describes many of the historic missions flown by the 8th Air Force as an eyewitness. I have read the book several times and it is good history as well as a good study of human beings and the stresses they face daily in war. I highly recommend this book.

Find a copy of this book somewhere, it is well worth the extra effort. Only the new WWII airwar novel, The Triumph and the Glory, moved me as much as Crosby's epic tale of the 100th Bomb Group

This book is real, deep and insightful. I find myself in awe of the personal courage of the men who ventured over Festung Europa during the darkest days of 1943 and early 1944. I read and reread this book whenever I need inspiration to face daunting and/or painful circumstances. I really wish that it was back in print.

Gateway To Alta California: The Expedition To San Diego, 1769 by writer, photographer, and historian Harry W. Crosby is the story of the first land journey to San Diego undertaken by Europeans in 1769. Crosby draws upon original sources such as the journals of Padre Juan Crespi, Joseph deCanizares (Captain Rivera's official scribe), Padre Junipero Serra, and Gaspar de Portola, as well as recreating the overland trek himself (literally on foot and muleback) to map out the original and historic route that went through the then unexplored, unknown, desolate wilderness of northern Baja California to found the community of San Diego. A strongly recommended addition to California Historical Studies reference collections, Gateway To Alta California also lists the names of the Hispanic members of this historic expedition party.

I don't usually like History books, because they always feel like reading homework. A friend bought this book for me and I didn't think I was going to be interested--but I was! What a great adventure story--as interesting as Lewis and Clarke or Captain Cook's stories of discovery. I didn't know anything about this expedition, and I've lived in California all my life. I highly recommend this to people who like a good adventure book with some interesting history.

This is a beautifully written account of an unusual and tender relationship between an older man and a much younger woman. It is absorbing to read and hard to put down. It is a delightful surprise from an author who has only written well researched historical accounts before.

What care this author has taken--each word paints a picture, from the backdrop of fabulous locations around the world to the physical beauty of the people in its cast, for example a small child, a shopkeeper, a young girl, an older woman...The characters are very real seeming, as are their complicated lives and emotions. The story starts slowly at first, but really it is beautifully written, and the trip is worth the time as you'll want to visit all these places (or I felt that way at least). Stay with this book--you'll be glad you did!

When missionaries came to colonize California, it was to Baja California "Antigua California" that they came. This is the story of the Jesuits who persevered in a barren, waterless, resource poor place. But the really great thing about the book is that it is the whole story of the pioneer mission period: it is also the story of the aboriginal peoples who were the targets of the Jesuits, and of the people (mostly Mexican) whom the Jesuits hired and brought along to handle and create daily life-soldiers, sailors, artisans, laborers. For once, a comprehensive history truly is. Using original eighteenth century materials (church records, diaries, letters, reports) the author has tracked down the movement of individuals, their genealogies, their careers, their contributions. More than most, it is a book of portraits of real people, pieced together sympathetically from scattered and scanty records. For a scholar, the book is eminently useful: full of maps, chronological tables of people and places, explanations of systems and bureaucracies. For the history buff, it is a dream of readability and detail. Highly recommended.

Both my father and I used this book to work on our spelling. I was born in the US, and English is my first and only language. Ironically, I am actually an English major. While I could interpret the innerworkings of Shakespeare, I couldn't spell basic English words. I started using this book and my spelling improved incredibly! My father, an immigrant from India, didn't begin to learn English until he was 17 years old. However, by the time he had finished with this book, his spelling was nearly perfect!! This book is great for anyone and everyone!!

"Shadows of the Sun" is an extraordinary document from an extraordinary individual. While 1920s Paris conjures up all the usual heroes and cliches, this captivating & unique document offers something altogether different - a wild burst of mystical, poetic euphoria, the fevered voice of a true original. For anyone interested in the literary foundations of Modernism or in that much written about era of literary explosion, Harry Crosby's "Shadows of the Sun" should be required reading.

Crosby has an encyclopedic knowledge of the area. Based on many years of travel in the peninsula, this magnificently illustrated volume not only provides information on visiting the primary pictograph sites of central Baja, but also provides memorable insights to the contemporary human culture of the area. Highly recommended for anyone interested in prehistoric art of Southwestern America, particularly the Cochiti peoples.

A MUST READ FOR ANYONE INTERESTED IN PREHISTORIC ROCK ART. SUPERBLY DOCUMENTEDWITH EXCELLENT MAPS AND ILLUSTRATIONS. PEOPLEUNFAMILIAR WITH BAJA CALIFORNIA WILL BE AMAZEDBY THE SHEER NUMBER OF PAINTED SITES AND THE MONUMENTAL SCALE OF MANY OF THEM. A SURE AWARD WINNER.

for three winters my wife and i searched for and found many of the painted sites crosby catalouged.some of the sites were disappointing but some were outstanding. without crosbys book a good spanish dictionary and atlas of baja it would be impossible to find any of these exciting paintings. this was a quest fulfilled thanks harry.......

Wolff wrote this book in reaction to Malcolm Cowley's portrait of Crosby in Exile's Return. Unlike Cowley, Wolff did not find Crosby to be the representative figure for the Lost Generation. He finds Crosby's obsessions with suicide to predate his war service and his interest in the mystic to be Crosby's alone. The book is probably the best possible portrait of a failed poet and wealthy mystic, who happens to have a deathwish, as could possibly be written. So the book is more a study in human pathology than a sociological study of a generation. It's worth reading all the same.

Geoffrey Wolff's bio of the poet, publisher, and mystic Harry Crosby is a terrific read as well as a singularly important contribution to the unfortunately slender body of scholarship on Harry Crosby. Despite persistent popular and academic interest in 1920s literary Paris, Crosby & the Black Sun Press are generally ignored completely or dismissed as marginal. This is truly puzzling. Wolff's biography, while certainly not uncritical, nevertheless does take the man seriously and offers an absorbing account of the life & work of a true original.

1920's biography of decadence and hedonism. Quite a disturbing read but well worth it.