The real joy of the Lewis & Clark journals consists in their presentation of early 19th Century American idiom and spelling. This edition modernizes spelling, grammar and sentence structure. Clark , for example, never spelled Sioux the same way twice. Mosquitos often was spelled as mosquitors. I deeply missed the charming character of William Clark's English. Its absence is palpable in the text. Meriwether Lewis, on the other hand, was an elegant stylist whose prose needs no modernization. On balance, a disappointment that robs the true wealth of the Lewis & Clark Journals

It's no secret that the only narrative available from Lewis and Clark themselves was one they wrote in raw form while on their journey. While this offers a certain "real time" value, it is a value best appreciated by researchers and not your average reader. I was intrigued enough by other books in this series to want to hear about Lewis & Clark's adventures in their own words, but not to read details of every single day of their journey which, by its very nature, can't help but be monotonous.
This book, on the other hand, gave me a true sense of what their journey was like, and what they were like without giving me the details of each morning's breakfast menu.
And that sense, by the way, was conveyed without any sense of abruptness or with any apparent gaps in the narrative. This book was a joy insomuch as it delivered the experience smoothly in their own words without the kind of puzzling pauses which accompany writings in broken English.
In much the same way that this exploration opened the west, this book opened my eyes to this exploration. It is absolutely worth the read.

After trying (trying is the operative word here) to slog through the journals in the original spelling and with little or no punctuation, it was a real joy to read this version edited by Anthony Brandt. The stories of their encounters with natives tribes, grizzley bears and of their day-to-day lives make for a compelling adventure story. And unlike the previous editions, Brandt summarizes those sections that are not included in well-crafted prose that keep the story flowing. This reads like the true adventure story it was and is destined to be a classic in the American history literature.

I knew a little bit about Rastafarianism before reading this book. Primarily, I knew about some of the religious underpinnings and of course, the use of ganja in religious practice. What I didn't know about Rastafarianism, however, was Rastafarianism as a political and economic policy, one which renounces much of the governmental and economic structure that is such a part of our modern, globalized world. The author, a Jesuit priest, definitely brings an interesting perspective to the book, which my anthropology professor suggested is why the women of Rastafarianism seem to have such a minor role in this book. While this is definitely a valid criticism, the book is actually one of the more interesting and least sensational books I have read on the subject. Indeed, it makes me want to be a Rasta!

Although this book does not go into a large amount of detail, it is a quick and useful introduction to the Rastafarian way of life, at least on the social and economic side. William Lewis has based his work on direct interviews and observations with Rastas that he has met, so the book focuses on their social interactions, lifestyles, and viewpoints on the world around them. However, you have to wonder if those particular Rastas were being truthful because Lewis is a white Roman Catholic priest (although this does not infringe on his view of other cultures and religions). Lewis includes case studies of both urban and rural Rastas in Jamaica, a group in a large US city, and the interesting case of a "repatriated" group in Ethiopia. There is an interesting aside in the study of the US urban Rastas, as Lewis keeps the name of the city confidential to protect his subjects from prosecution, but later in the book he accidentally tells us that it was Brooklyn. This book is lacking in deeper insights into the true religious nature of Rastafari, as Lewis' historical backdrop to the development of the belief system is rather quick and sketchy, and there is little more than superficial coverage of the complicated Rasta belief system. It would have also been nice to see more on the direct influence of Haile Selassie rather than just his historical inspiration, and also how the religion adapted to his death (the Rastas literally thought he was the messiah). If you already know something about Rastafari, you probably won't learn much new here. So this book is most useful as an introduction which may inspire you to explore more in-depth studies elsewhere.

Please tell me where I could find the sound track for the audio book of Louis L'Amour called Pistolero. My aged aunt loves the music and I would like to provide her with a copy of it while I still can.
Thank you kindly,
Sandra Fischer

Mr. Lewis has brought together old and new concepts in a way that is beneficial to the entire spectrum of IT professionals. Data Warehouse architects, modelers, and managers will appreciate the overview and detail of E-Commerce projects, especially with regard to how data is used and accessed with new technology. E-Commerce specialists will gain value from the areas related to database storage and metadata processes.
Most importantly, both business and IT managers will gain both an overall and detailed understanding of how Data Warehouse and E-Commerce projects work in concert. This book complements well my library of books by Imhoff, Inmon, and others.

In 1849, a party of a hunded men, women, and children set off for California. By the time they reached Salt Lake City, it was so late in the season that people advised against trying to cross the snow-locked Sierras, lest they suffer the same fate as the Donner Party three years earlier. They headed south, but became lost in desert country. Exhausted and starving, they were trapped in a deep, barren valley. William Manley volunteered to try to climb out of the valley and get help. He made an incredible journey on foot to Los Angeles. Although most of the party died, those that survived until rescued named the place Death Valley. In this volume, Manley tells the story of the trapped party and his struggle to reach Los Angeles to get help. Settle down with the book and a good set of maps, and enjoy the tale told first-hand.

This is a book that will keep you interested in the times of yesteryears. I was intrigued by the decriptions afforded by the expedition members and the visual response that I experienced. The varied data provided the reader was attractive to the mental attention of the individual experiencing the written words of both Lewis and Clark. Clark did stand out as a outstanding hero of the Expedition and in the latter part of the book his real character is accentuated in contrast to the tragedies that fell to Lewis. You felt sorrow for Lewis and a sense of loyalty that Clark felt toward his good friend Lewis. It is a sensitive story and heartwarming with York and Sacagewea playing multiple important cameos in a bombastic adventure.

I brought this book home from the library for my son (9). After he read it, I picked it up and started reading a few of the chapters. It is well written, which I can't always say about books for children. It's also a great story about American exploration.

I like that it comes with a set. All of the things that it comes with is fascinating: facts, make-believe things from the journey, and other things.

If you are a "fan" of the fantasy books by Tolkien, C.S.Lewis, Charles Williams or Chesterton, then this is a book worth reading. It is a collection of essays by various authorities in literature, myth and theology. A couple of the contributors were acquainted with either Tolkien or Lewis. The central thesis running through this collection of essays is that mythic symbols found in folk-tales and religious rituals, all express a common, fundamental human yearning for healing and a return to a "lost paradise". The essayists draw on insights from religious phenomenology, Jungian analysis, Christian theology and literary interpretation to tease out the potent mythic symbols found in the writings of Tolkien, Lewis, Chesterton and Williams. Lewis, Williams and Tolkien were associated with one another as drinking partners in an informal literary club known as The Inklings. The essayists "test" their thesis about the power of myth to reveal our search for meaning through the novels of the Inklings. The essayists take us a step further to consider the Christian world-view that informed and shaped the writings of Tolkien, Lewis, Williams and Chesterton. Although a couple of the essays are slightly "dated", any one interested in fantasy literature would find the thesis very absorbing. It should be useful not merely to students of english literature but also to the general reader who might like to know more about the backdrop to The Lord of the Rings, Narnia, etc. Certainly a book to add to your list for reading if you enjoyed the novels!

This is one of the best in the UKanss Presidency series. Gould makes an effective argument that McKinley was the first modern president. This account helps to dispell the notion that McKinley was no different than the other Gilded Age Presidents. A really good read!