I want to correct the reference in the review to Harvard Skull and Bones to Yale Skull and Bones. Thank you, Carter Rila

Having met one of the authors of this work while mining some of the same sources in the files of the National Archives, I can say that I appreciate the shrewd and incisive way they have pulled together diverse sources from many depositories to cover some of the more obscure facets of the "Border Days". The books is an omnium gatherum of a number of articles published in various scholarly journals known mostly to specialists in the period. Much of the detail of the gun running and undercover operations was gleaned from files of the Customs, the Immigration, the Army, the Bureau of Investigation, and the State Department.
Of all the tales that needed to be told is the discovery of the famous saddlebags lost by the Villista forces during the Columbus Raid in March 1916, which raid triggered the Punitive Expedition commanded by John J. Pershing and indirectly led to Pershing's eventual field command in France of the American Expeditionary Force.
Later in June 1916 the entire National Guard of the United States was called up for border service. Thus again contributing to the US successful intervention in WW I. And the Army gained experience in motor transport and management. All of this has led to a current appreciation that Pancho Villa, in a moment of desperation, indirectly had a major impact on the defeat of the Central Powers.
The other major revelation herein, and the only story included which made the national papers, particularly USA Today, is the discussion of the carrying off of Pancho Villa's skull in the mid 20s, and the supposed deposition of that object in the clubhouse of the famous Yale University Skull and Bones secret society. (Some of the most prominent members of the society have been the George Bushes, father and son.) But the secret of Villa's cranium has yet to be confirmed.:) After all, that is the purpose of a secret society -- to keep secrets. So, if you have a scholarly interest or just a curiousity about the more obscure aspects of the border running days, this book is your meat. A husky meal of research and well written as well.

I haved lived in St. Louis for most of my life, yet I never knew there were so many beautiful parks hiding within our city. After reading "Hiking St. Louis", I feel as though I have made a new discovery right underneath my nose. The hiking trail directions and maps will make it easy for me to find these nearby treasures and enjoy them during their best seasons. I look forward to pulling out those old hiking boots this upcoming Fall season.

This trail guide is so easy to follow. It gives just a little history of an area and then exact and detailed directions of each trail. This book is for a local and tourist or newcomer to the area. I loved Cliff Cave Park and the overlook of the Mississippi river, which I had always wanted to find. And I loved Belle Fountaine and Coldwater Creek with the Wpa ruins and giant staircase. The overlook there was spectacular too. I am discovering so many new places and some of the harder trails I have been shown how to make them easier. Ellisville has a very interesting trail system, on which I took my bike, being a paved trail, but mostly wooded. I love the information about available restrooms, suggested seasons difficulty of trails, etc. I will purchase this inexpensive book for many of my friends, relatives, and business partners because there is so much valuable information about the wooded trails all within the St. Louis area and it is in the format of a hiker-friendly book that is easy to carry.

Everything that you wanted to know or needed to know about African American Literature is contained in this eight hundred page volume. This comprehensive volume covers the historical and cultural contexts of African American literature that has been too long neglected.

Oxford's Companion encompasses the traditional genres of poetry, fiction and drama but goes beyond them. It gives the same analysis to special genres such as Slave Narratives, Oratory, Folk Literature, etc. that you don't normally find in reference works of this kind. These special features and others give this book a unique spot in reference works of literature.

From the moment I got this volume in my hands, I couldn't put it down. Its numerous essays, brief biographies and analysis of the various hues of African American Literature was overwhelming and enjoyable. A referance guide such as this should be in every home. It is user friendly, informative and entertaining. Most of all it will give you a deeper appreciation of the vast types of African American literature produced throughout the years.

I purchased this anthology to assist me in my African-American literature class. This book has given me great insight about the literature of African-Americans. Not only does it give great details about the many authors, but it also explains the nature of their many works. I strongly recommend this book to anyone taking an African-American literature course - regardless of the time period.

Hardback, 160 pps, 125 illustrations/72 full-color
Shows Tiffany's wide range of versatility: enamels, jewelry, bronzes,ceramics, mosaics and paintings. A very good overview.

Mr. Duncan is currently being charged in connection with selling at least one stolen Tiffany window. He bought it for 30K andsold it to a party in Japan for 220K. The theft was not discovered until he tried to do it again 6 yrs later.

As a stained glass artist, I am impressed with the excellent writing and photography in this book. Mr. Duncan is an author whose name I associate with superb photography and interesting information.

This is one of those tough reviews to write. The book, as described on the jacket, captures the lives of a number of characters in Washington, DC - 1996 style.

Or, does it capture Washington through the eyes of a number of characters. Maybe it captures politics both local and federal through the eyes of this nations capital city.

Maybe what it really does is capture relationships in as many variations as described above. Friends, co-workers, lovers, confused social climbers, some straight, some gay all are here to be discovered by the reader.

The backdrop is the Washington of 1996, but sometimes, the city insists on taking over and becoming the main character.

I don't think it is possible to get tired of one character in this story since the variations on the theme - you can decide what the theme is - keep the pages turning

One can't write something about this book without mentioning the politics that play a role in the lives of these sometimes likable, sometimes not, intelligent, and all so human characters.

At times it seems the author's sole intention is to write something which can only be described as a polemic view - of course, that description may only apply to the reader if they disagree with it. And then, just when this reader felt some of the views which the characters were discussing were as polemic as some of the 1980's Japan bashing novels, the writer insists on showing us other viewpoints through our very fun characters

The title does say it all. The story follows a musical cadence. Variatons - like the ones so present in my life. So, I suggest you put on a nice piece of music and sit down for a fun read.

So, where does the star field title of this review come from? In thinking about the book I was struck by how many points there were in the bood (points being the city, the many characters, the 38 variations, and more). I then thought of our galaxy (don't ask how I made that jump). Looking up from earth we know that what we see is a 3 dimensional image, yet from here, our eyes are hard pressed to see the difference in distance between the many stars. But enter the star field and we can see that we are surrounded by these points of light. We can draw many lines from one star to many other stars. This book is somewhat like that. If I plot out the story lines, the characters, the politics, the city, and the relationships I come up with a star field. And there is nothing boring about something that offers me so many ways to experience something. Enjoy.

This is one of those tough reviews to write. The book, as described on the jacket, captures the lives of a number of characters in Washington, DC - 1996 style. Or, does it capture Washington through the eyes of a number of characters. Maybe it captures politics both local and federal through the eyes of this nations capital city.

Maybe what it really does is capture relationships in as many variations as described above. Friends, co-workers, lovers, confused social climbers, some straight, some gay all are here to be discovered by the reader. The backdrop is the Washington of 1996, but sometimes, the city insists on taking over and becoming the main character.

I don't think it is possible to get tired of one character in this story since the variations on the theme - you can decide what the theme is - keep the pages turning.

One can't write something about this book without mentioning the politics that play a role in the lives of these sometimes likable, sometimes not, intelligent, and all so human characters. At times it seems the author's sole intention is to write something which can only be described as a polemic view - of course, that description may only apply to the reader if they disagree with it. And then, just when this reader felt some of the views which the characters were discussing were as polemic as some of the 1980's Japan bashing novels, the writer insists on showing us other viewpoints through our very fun characters.

The title does say it all. The story follows a musical cadence. Variatons - like the ones so present in my life. So, I suggest you put on a nice piece of music and sit down for a fun read.

I don't normally read fiction, but this book was so entertaining and gripping that I wanted to finish it in one sitting! It normally takes me months to finish a work of fiction. I highly recommend this book.

In the wake of the tradegy of 9/11 this book is eye-opening. It goes into detail about how this family/group operated here right under our noses.

This book starkly frames the force of hatred which overtook New York City and the world with the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon. It relates specifically to Zein Isa's November 1989 murder of his daughter, Palestina. The West Bank immigrant and his Brazilian wife co-conspired in the brutal St. Louis murder of their teenage daughter, whose friendships they believed had endangered their terrorist plans.

In their search for terrorists, the Federal Bureau of Investigation inadvertently taped the actual killing. Zein Isa and his wife were sentenced to death.

The book reveals much about the village life in the West Bank, where most families, according to Maria Zein, belong to radical military groups whose ultimate goal is to destroy Israel. Many West Bank residents are actually "refugees from other countries." According Maria Zein's account, her husband knew "men from Syria, Libya, Kuwait, Saudi." Maria Zein told the author that her husband had traveled from the West Bank village of Beitin, to Jordan, Syria, Libya and Bolivia. He lived undetected for years in the US, and also claimed to have lived in Europe.

The book reveals twisted morals, which condone murder for the sake of family honor. It unmasks intense hatred that evolved into conspiracies to slaughter Jews, blow up the Israeli embassy in Washington and to murder Tina because she posed a threat to these plans.

It also exposes the frighteningly broad inroads that the Abu Nidal terrorists have made into American cities and life. Alyssa A. Lappen

This true-crime story is written in the sensationalistic fashion typical of the genre. It grabs your attention right from the beginning and doesn't let go.
The author describes the irony of Tina Isa's life: to any otherAmerican family she would have been cherished as a charming, friendly, hard-working teen...
The author also describes the network of Palestinian terrorist groups living in the U.S. and the role they might have played... This story is gripping and very informative because the author did a lot of research and provides so much background information about the Palestinian culture, the lives of generations of the Isa family, the Abu Nidal terrorist organization and more.
...

This book had a very creative storyline, and was exciting and a little humoruos at times, but did not provide a very interesting novel. I wouldn't recommend this unless you're a big fan of Robert Louis Stevenson.

Stevenson wrote this tale of the islands in 1891 and it appeared in Samoan before being published in English.

The story is one of want and envy. Although it ends happily, the narrator comes perilously close to living eternally with the devil--all for his envy. There is poetry in this prose, love, and of course magic.

The tale opens as Keawe the Great--a poor, brave, mariner, a reader and writer, shipped on a vessel to San Francisco where he saw a house "smaller than some others, but all finished and beautified like a toy." Its steps shone like silver, the borders of its gardens bloomed like garlands and the windows shone like diamonds. Keawe could see the man who lived there "like a fish in a pool upon the reef."

Of course the owner's life was perfect in every respect, except that he owned a magic bottle which must be sold for less than he bought it, or else in death he would be condemned to hell. He was ill, and therefore desperate to sell the bottle. Keawe bought it.

Small children may not appreciate this story, which seems best suited for independent or sophisticated readers of 11 and up.

But the tale (beautifully illustrated) is as much a treasure as Stevenson's most famous classic, Treasure Island. Alyssa A. Lappen