John Jakes has done it again with another great historical epic. The writing and images put the reader in that era. I felt like a part of the Crown family. It was a long book, but I could not put it down!

This book took me back in time to events that were very important in American History. I often find myself thinking that today's world offers many difficult and unique challenges; however reading "Homeland" helps me to remember how good, many of us have it now, in the twenty-first century. In the 1890's life was very proscribed for women and still very class-based. John Jakes manages to touch upon many very contemporary issues in an objective and interesting way while writing about history. I am delighted to have stumbled upon a new (to me) author and I look forward to reading his other works in times to come.

John Jakes has scored big on this one. This book is a real page turner! The characters are genuinely interesting and how they come together is amazing! John Jakes is a master. Can't wait to read the sequel. I never thought I could read a book that's 1200 pages, but this one doesn't seem nearly that big as you absorb every word late in the nite!!!!!!

I've long been fascinated with early exploration of the Colorado plateau area of the U.S. This book is fascinating particularly because the author wove together information from many sources rather than rely on just a single journal. By comparing what different men wrote about the same events on the same day, you feel like you've gotten a realistic view of what happened, toning down on Powell's indefatigable optimism and some of his companion's discovery of dire consequences behind every rock.

The one annoying part is that there are a few too many long deviations from the story to explore other threads. I think these were intended to provide background, especially to Powell's character. But too many times they just went on too long, into too much detail, particularly Powell's Civil War experiences. I certainly didn't expect to read quite so much about blood and gore in a story about Grand Canyon exploration during which no one died on the river or even seriously injured.

Nevertheless, this is a very good, can't-put-it-down read.

This is an exciting adventure story. The book describes the Powell Expedition's journey of exploration of the last unmapped area of the lower 48 -- the Colorado River and it's canyons (including the Grand Canyon).

These century and more ago adventure stories always amaze me as a modern reader. Major Powell and his group knew nothing about the Colorado River or the canyons. They didn't know if game would be available, they didn't know if the river contained just rapids or huge water falls like the Niagra. They didn't know how to run river rapids -- all of the men were hardy outdoors types (some courtesy of the Civil War completed four years before their great adventure). None of the men were boatmen and none had ever run white water.

Nevertheless, the intrepid Powell and his expedition started out on the Green River in present day Wyoming and followed it down through it's merger with the Colorado and through the Grand Canyon over the course of 100 days.

Powell was driven by the adventurer's quest to leave his mark and a love of Geology and natural history. His crew were driven by nothing more than youthful adventurism and wages. Although they lost one boat, had much of their food spoiled, went weeks without killing any game and regularly climbed rocky canyon sides for vantage points, no men were lost as part of the expedition. Several later expeditions following in their wake had men drown, die from falls and exposure and generally suffered for their lack of experience, planning and knowledge.

Powell was an enthusiastic leader -- and lucky. He had also left an arm in Tennessee courtesy of Confederate gunnery during the Battle of Shiloh. Powell endured his wilderness trip with one arm and -- this is incredible -- usually was one of his party who ascended canyon sides to take readings or scout the coming river conditions. There is an unbelievable story in the book of Powell being trapped on the side of a cliff, hanging on by one hand. His man above had to pull him up. With no rope, he had to take off his union suit, dangle it behind Powell and have Powell let go of the cliff in order to grab the lifeline and be pulled to safety.

The book has many thrilling vignettes like the one above. Their trip was hard work. About a third of the rapids encountered were portaged or lined instead of run. Portage was hard work -- unloading all the supplies, carrying them around the rapid, carrying the boats (made of heavy oak) around the rapids -- over rock and w/o shoes near the end of the trip. Lining was also hard, boats were let out through the rapid with rope and jumped around vantage points in order to get them safely through. But many rapids were run - some without adequate knowledge of what was in store, some because many parts of the canyons through which they traveled had no side landings over which to portage or line.

That these backward rowing men in boats designed to runabout placid harbors were not dashed to pieces and drowned ten times during their journey is amazing. It also makes for a heck of a good story.

The writing is good. The author makes much use of Powell's classic book on the trip -- as well as his river notes, and the journals of several other participants who have survived. The descriptions and story telling give as good of a "you are there" feel as a book can. He also cuts away at times to modern river runners to give an appreciation of how certain famous rapids look to people who run them for a living. This and dashes of geology and brief histories add a nice balance to the book.

It is amazing how these adventurers were willing to go blindly into "the great unknown." They stared death in the face and defeated it by a combination of luck, pluck and determination.

A good book for armchair adventurers.

(...) There was a cast of ten which made up the Colorado River Exploring Expedition . Led by John Wesley Powell. None of them had ‘white water' experience. Many were barely 20 and 7 were Union Army veterans. There was no record of persons having gone down the thousand miles of this journey so they were floating blind. It lasted 111 days.

They were to use wooden boats made in Chicago Illinois. They would put in at Green River Station, Wyoming at the point where the recently completed transcontinental railroad had been celebrated. It was chosen because the [4] boats could easily be delivered by rail freight to Green River Station from Chicago. (...) This is a history and Edward Dolnick has done his best to use the notes and writings of Powell, Summer, Bradley and other of the expedition. Powell's book was written some years later but the crew wrote more personal and soon after the trip. They reveal some pain and misery that Powell in his enthusiasm for the mission - geology exploration of the earth including flora and fawna - avoids.

Dolnick has also told the tales of others who ventured on the Colorado River and who were reported in the press of that day. But, none had done what this mission did; namely go the distance without any real briefing and not any knowledge of these tales. On the river they were out of touch with all - alone. A person of ill repute reported after the first month that the party had been destroyed by the river and only he had survived. He was widely published in the press including his tale of how he got on the expedition. But, like story tellers he had dates wrong and Emma Powell, John Wesley's young wife read the stuff and informed the press that he couldn't be believed. They did more research and began retracting the articles. The good effect of this was that the Expedition got more press than they had had before they left. Of course the voyagers did not learn of this until many months later.

Dolnick has a couple of chapters about Powell's military service as an artillery officer in the Grants army at Shiloh. Here Powell lost an arm which comes in for some interesting comments during the voyage down the rivers. Emma is a heroic and fascinating wife of great personal support to Powell. One of the boats is named after her; Emma Dean.

Dolnick seeks to tell it as it went along, not to sum things in advance. So there is an air of adventure - what will happen next?
Sumner was of great value to Powell and all the men seem to have followed the decisions - there Army training is reference as an aid in this respect. But, some of the trappers didn't cotton to the order giving; still they did their part.

There is detail about the boats and equipment - built in Chicago - the best for the lakes - but not properly designed for the river. But sturdy. Still they lose one to the rapid while still in the three hundred mile stretch of the Green River. And, 1/3rd of the food and other supplies went down with that crash.

Powell is the focal person. He had the crazy idea and he had the energy to make it happen with little money and little backing and many persons of repute advising against the venture. It is a crazy thing to do given the level of experience and knowledge that was the foundation of this expedition effort.
BUT - the beauty and grandeur does grab your imagination and it did theirs too.
They often stopped to look, if they could stop, or linger if camped at a place of special interest to Powell. They took side walking trips. And the number of times they climbed to get a better view of the prospects of the river ahead were legion. YOU are presented with their wonderment and deep appreciation for the trip - that seems to have been its saving grace. For they were called upon to live with privation and the rain. I couldn't believe the number of times they had severe rain storms especially in Arizona. (...)

The author has placed a little map of the segment of the river they were about to enter at the beginning of each chapter. It helps keep you oriented. There is also a photo section which provides enrichment of the principals and some locations.

Now, the story itself builds to a natural climax that will begin to grab you midway through the venture. You will sense the feeling of eternal repetition of the river and its mad behavior. It becomes a kind of tormenter. When will they be through with the trip? The men become restive and short tempered. They do not all like each other all the time by any means. And, although Dolnick doesn't stress this he has to report what they write in their notes. And, there reflections of the trip. They are caught up in the reality that they volunteered and they are responsible for their own fate; yet they are in a very intimate situation which requires them to note the flaws of others - especially the leader. It is hard work and Powell expect them to do their job. Because he has only one arm there are many tasks he cannot perform, this becomes an aggravation too, but they all knew this in the beginning. Yet there is, as Dolnick tells the story, a need to be loyal to the mission and the needs of others; and so they have their experiences where great joy and satisfaction is express by the group after some tough experience. (...)

Because it is a history, not a novel, the author tells of the future lives of the men. He tells what he can based on

This book is very informative for those that know nothing about the movement, and most people KNOW NOTHING. I encourage all White people to read this book and take to heart what it says. If you disagree with the Identity doctrine, try to disprove it. The beliefs are not only backed by Biblical truth, but as well as Historical proof. My praise to the authors for thier straight forward reporting. They said that they would not twist our words around, and they made good on the promise. Thank you Myra and Howard.

The authors are to be commended for letting their subjects speak for themselves, rather than presenting the reader with an editorial on the evils of white supremacist movements and using selected quotations to back it up. That said, I find the book incredibly frightening: the members of the groups profiled have made the common mistake of confusing "We're sincere" and "We can find Biblical support for our beliefs" with "We're RIGHT." (In fact you can find Biblical justification for just about anything, but that's never stopped anyone.) They resent being lumped together with "racist groups" by the FBI et al., but they themselves lump all sorts of unrelated phenomena together and call it the Satanic plot to take over the world.
These groups may contend that they're not "racist," but according to the maxim attributed to the late Cardinal Cushing: if it walks like a duck, and swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck, I say it's a duck.

The authors of the book take a neutral stance on these white supremacists. They present their ideas without actually condoning them. They have a reserved sympathy for these people since the authors live in the rural conservative culture of Texas that breeds this sort of extremism. They also mention that they had repugnance towards some of the ideas presented, but avoided editorial comments as part of their deal with the extremists.

Many racial extremists have the religious theology of an antisemitic variety of Christian Identity. They interpret the scriptures to mean that whites are actually the chosen people and the Jews are the seed of Satan. They believe that the stone of destiny that the monarchs in England swear themselves upon when being enthroned is Jacob's pillar in the Bible because English tradition says so. Not all Identity Christians are anti-semitic though.

The extremists are firm believers in conspiracy theories involving the Jews and their Gentile freemason cohorts. They believe everything is controlled by ZOG (Zionist Occupied Government) and that the Jews and freemasons involved shape society to their own benefit and to the detriment of the white population.

The authors do not sanitize their accounts of what the extremists truly believe. They believe in the elimination of homosexuals, Jews, race mixers, and the unproductive. Some of their beliefs on these matters are influenced by their interpretation of the Scriptures. (The more violent, younger and secular Neo-Nazi gangs believe in elimination of the unproductive.) The religious racists see themselves as soldiers of God in a righteous fight against what they see as evil. These religious beliefs make them very committed and sometimes they will attempt violence or lawbreaking to achieve their goals of having a Christian theocracy. They believe they are at war with a corrupt government that needs to be overthrown. However, they think that Timothy McVeigh was actually a government agent that worked to put the blame on racial extremists for OKC bombing and to create an incident to pass an anti-terrorists bill targeted against patriots.

They have problems with the theory of racial equality since they think affirmative action is used to promote people who do not merit the position and that blacks often make formerly all-white neighborhoods crime zones.

The authors do not try to confirm or deny any of the many conspiracy theories that they believe in and I think that this is weakness to the book.

The racial extremists have a battle strategy of leaderless resistance in which they form a small group of no more than seven people who know each other well. This strategy guards against infiltrators because the group remains very quiet about what they plan to do. They plan to have hundreds of these groups who will reek havoc upon what they see as ZOG controlled society as they attempt to implement a revolution.

I view the group as ultra conservatives with unorthodox Christian beliefs that do not want to live in a multi-culti society with race mixing and little adherence to some of the more thorny traditional Christian beliefs. They are unable to get what they want at the voting booth and are willing to use violence to get what they want. They also see through the weaknesses in the theory of racial equality and racial sameness when they observe reality. They are scary, but at the same time, fascinating to read about. Although milder conservatives may have the same complaints as the extremists do, they do not have the same nuances in their beliefs that will lead them to violence. Nuances in belief systems are important.

More people will probably be radicalized enough to join extremist groups in the future if the economy keeps sputtering and more foreigners come to live here making the nation less of a predominately white culture. Resentment will be stirred if non-whites are still considered a protected class as opposed to whites according to the law.

This is an informative and readable book that covers extremists in depth while avoiding the simplicity and distortion that the media usually resorts to when covering extremists.

This is the penultimate Science Fiction story. Some of the technology is far fetched, but some of it is used in many sci-fi stories of the present. Inertialess drive is one of them. This story has efverthing a young reader would want in a story, Monsters, heros, big powerful space ships and bad guys, who are really bad. I believe if you have a youngster interested in science fiction, ala starwars, this entire series is for you

Before Star Trek, before Star Wars, before all the other Space Opera's, there was E.E. "Doc" Smith's LENSMAN (or History of Civilization) series. Make no mistake about it: this is THE classic sci-fi work! Galactic Patrol is the first novel in the series which chronicles an epic struggle between Good and Evil -- and Mind and Matter, incidentally, if you want to look for a deeper meaning. OK, chronologically, its the third, but it was the first one written, suitably revised for inclusion in the series. If you want to get started in Sci-fi, this is the series for you. If you want to start the younger generation, it's even better! Written in the 1930's, it's long on action, but the love affairs and language are mild by today's standards, perfect for young readers. (although the vocabulary is pretty advanced). It's strong on family values and democratic ideals, but don't make the mistake of thinking it's preachy or sentimental. Just good, solid, Outer Space adventure throughout. I first read these novels in the eighth grade, and I've read them fifteen times since; my original copies have long since disintegrated. The Lensmen novels truly rank with Tolkien as one of the classics of Sci-fi/fantasy genre. Do yourself a favor and read this series.

This book started it all. Many, many of the devices, plots, alien races, and moods of later science fiction come from this book, and indeed the entire Lensman Series. No one does it like Doc Smith!

This book is very light compared to most Edward Goreys. The creature is so funny, especialy when he puts on that innocent look that my dog puts on when she's down something bad. The family pretends to want to get rid of this animal while they really probally like the change from their boring, Victorian lives. I treasure this book as much as a picture I have of Edward Gorey with a Doubtful Guest stuffed animal.

This is the second book of Gorey's that I've gotten, the first was The Gashlycrumb Tinies. I think I like Doubtful Guest even better than that volume. The wonderful illustrations of the prim and proper residents of the house, as they put up with the antics of the Doubtful Guest tickle me to no end. The rhyming verse that Gorey uses to tell this tale is whimsical and bizarre. It brings a smile to my face every time I think of this book, if you like Gorey, you've got to have this one.

My only gripe is that the book is a little short. I can easily tolerate it, however, as it's just so much macabre fun...

"It would carry off objects of which it grew fond, And protect them by dropping them into the pond." This quote sounds like British humour to me --- however these are the words of the American author Edward Gorey. This entertaining tale of a creature that arrives at a family's home one day is very amusing because of its strangeness. Each little episode is a description of a strange little event precipitated by the "Doubtful Guest" done in rhyme. It begs comparisons with Dr. Seuss, but it is a more sophisticated, darker humour, that is more suitable for adults. Accompanied by Gorey's own ink drawings, this book is a classic. Although it will only take a few minutes to read it, you will enjoy re-reading it many times.

As the editor of a forthcoming book of essays on John Burroughs, I have found The World of John Burroughs an invaluable resource. Its author is an in-the-field naturalist as well as a superb writer and scholar. The beautiful format of The World of John Burroughs might mislead readers to look at the pictures and ignore Edward Kanze's superb writing and painstaking research; but the book is filled with factual and verbal treasure-- including the most recent and complete research on the fascinating story behind the birth of Julian Burroughs. Most of all, this book helps to renew our awareness of the continuing relevance and liveliness of John Burroughs's contribution to American nature writing.

John Burroughs, the naturalist and philosopher, was a best-seller in his day (the late 19th century and early 20th), a Thoreau without rough edges and politics. If he has enjoyed a revival in recent years it is probably due to Ed Kanze's stunningly written and attractively presented biography, "The World of John Burroughs,'' published by Abrams in 1993, and now out of print. The good news: Sierra Club Books is coming out with a paperback version in fall 1999. Some of Burroughs is dated today, and as Kanze notes, he published some mediocre essays along with the good stuff. But much of Burroughs' nature writings are brilliant in their painstaking observation and solid prose:

"Most persons think the bee gets honey from the flowers, but she does not: honey is a product of the bee; it is the nectar of the flowers with the bee added. What the bee gets from the flower is sweet water: this she puts through a process of her own and imparts to it her own quality."

Kanze, like a good conversationalist, leads the reader gently through Burroughs' life and writings. Burroughs was a real 19th-century figure: He consorted with the literary likes of John Muir and William Dean Howells and in later life was a favorite of Teddy Roosevelt and Henry Ford -- not to mention the Vassar girls who visited him at his rustic Hudson Valley hideaway, Slabsides. (Burroughs' private life was, in a word, difficult, and Kanze is unstinting in dealing with the birth of his one -- illegitimate -- child.) It is not surprising that Kanze is a naturalist himself and has been a museum curator. The book has the feel of a nature walk or a good museum exhibit, in which a subject not readily familiar to the reader becomes fascinating with the help of a terrific guide. There are well-chosen historical photographs and the luminous nature photography of the author, each photo chosen for its relevance to one or another passage from Burroughs' work. Particularly moving are the photos of Burroughs in Slabsides; paired with Kanze's own color photos of the house's preserved interior.You find your eye traveling back and forth from the old photo to the new, to see the same fireplace stone here, the unpeeled birch desk there.

Mr. Kanze's lucid writing and wonderful photographs quickly drew me into the world of John Burroughs. I was not a fan of Burroughs when I first encounter this book, in fact, I had never heard of John Burroughs. I recently read this book again and I walked away with a renewed sense of wonder for the world around me, the birds, plants, trees and people. I can think of no better testament to the efficacy of John Burroughs influence on the way we view the natural world and his personal philosophy than to read his story so well told. I think Mr. Burroughs would have approved. I was also inspired by the notable friends of John Burroughs, people like Theodore Roosevelt, Hernry Ford, Edison, Walt Whitman, who the author so adeptly weaves into a story that recreates a time period that rarely fails to enchant. I highly recommend this book!

Edwards and Magee is considered one of the bibles of technical analysis. While it covers the basics well (head and shoulders tops, etc.), the shear number of not so well known patterns can be overwhelming. I would doubt most people could (or would) finish this book. It's more of a reference book. John Murphy's Technical Analysis of the Futures Markets is a much better choice. Murphy covers trendlines, patterns, stochastics, Elliot Wave, money management and a host of other technical topics. Don't be fooled by its title -- it's quite applicable to stocks.

Investors and traders and technical analysts who are not familar with this book are only short-changing themselves. Unless you are informed as to this material you are unable to evaluate the products of number driven analysis. This is TA 1. I am amazed to hear some people call it boring. In fact it is extremely well written. Having read it 15 or 20 times I think I am qualified to say that. Scoffers at technical analysis and traders who use only statistical technical indicators do nothing but delight me and other chartists. We need their money ... W.H.C. Bassetti

I read Edwards and McGee, Technical Analysis of Stock Market Trends with great enthusiasm. Here was a book that was originally written in the 1940's that is equally valid to anyone trying to play the stock market in the Twenty First Century. It also gave me insights into the wild times on Wall Street in the Roaring 20's, and taught me how the pros did stock manipulation and organized "bear traps." Understanding Wall Street irrational exuberance in 1928 helps a smart investor understand the irrational exuberance in 1999. I started reading and then using Technical Analysis because I found I couldn't make money on the market just using the fundamental analysis that my accounting professors taught me in business school. I bought stocks based on detailed analysis of the firm's fundamentals and then could not understand why the prices of my "smart" investments immediately dropped like a rock. Technical analysis provides an investor with insights into the market forces (supply and demand) that affect the rise and fall of stock prices and give a rational investor understanding of the psychology of the herd of investors.

Modern web technology available from Clearstation and E-trade take the drudgery out of the technical charting, and make it easy for an amateur investor to become an experienced technical chart reader. Edwards and McGee was the book that helped me develop this skill. I can not praise the authors of this book enough.

I read The Pilgrim's Progress as a child and recently reread it in order to do a comparative essay on allegorical journeys for my english class. The other book I read for the assignment was Heart of Darkness, by Joseph Conrad, and I found that Bunyan's novel equaled or exceeded Conrad's in every way. While Conrad used far more symbolism and allusions, I felt that Bunyan still did a better job of making the reader identify with his character's journey. The Pilgrim's Progress is a wonderfully written story that inspires hope and confidence in God to help his people though their own journeys.

My Grandmother proferred this book to me at a very early and immature age in my lifetime. I struggled and persevered with it, using a dictionary to decipher most words longer than 6 letters! Eventually I came to the end with with a strong determination to face up to my life with the same courage as Christian! Unfortunately, like Christian, I lost my way,more than once in my later years, lingering in unseemly places,falling into pools of Despondancy,and loosing Hope at one stage. I cant really remember the entire ending to Christian's journey,but as a man of some years now, and finding life a lot less turbulent and more meaningful,then I graciously look forward to the final part of my journey. Praise be to God. Like the book of JOB,John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress is impossible to rate with a few stars! I would suggest that such books should be purchased 'mainly' unabridged but nevertheless, intelligible to the reader.

Pilgrim's Progress has been accepted by the world as a classic piece of literature. However, just as Handel's Messiah is recognised as a magnificent work without people really appreciating the message it brings so Pilgrim's Progress can suffer from its own fame. Here we have the stories of believers moving towards heaven. They have ups and downs. They suffer pain and experience pleasure. All the time the christian reader is being led forward into experimental practical christian avenues. Despair, doubt, backsliding, the temptations of the world, helps from above and support from others on the Way all make this work so vital and relevant. Both parts, Christian's journey and Christiana's are wonderful in their own ways. For the past four years I have preferred the second part. Read it every year at least once. If you must read only one other book next to your Bible let it be this one, (Or Thomas Watson on All things for Good) but do read it all. A classic that is beyond review.

John Edward has been my spiritual guide for years. No, I don't know him personally. But after watching so many of his readings on the scifi channel, I feel as though I do. This audio cassette set is very pragmatic. He talks about psychic self-defense, and TRUST ME! you will need that once you delve into this arena. His guide through meditation is excellent as he helps you tune into your psychic center by making the 'psychic room' something everyone can easily use and adjust to their needs. If you wish to develop your abilities, I highly recommend getting this.

One Last Time was a sure thing to read.I am A believer in the other world, and I truly see my late father in the last 13 years, and know that he is always around me.The book and John Edward keep me going and each day I truly watch his progam each chance I get.Thank you John Edward!

I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in spiritual development. Although it is not (as he admits) the psychic training "silver bullet", it is full of very effective and practical techniques for psychic and spiritual development, especially for western society. The psychic defense exercises alone are worth the price of this book. Also, his creative chakra training techniques (found here and in most of his other books) are easy to follow, instantly committed to long-term memory, and very effective. John Edward does it again!