In 1864 Jim Bridger blazed a trail route through Wyoming and southern Montana that provided a shorter, faster access to the new Territory of Montana and the gold fields of Bannack and Virginia City. Jim Bridger's trail also provided safer passage for emigrant trains traveling to Montana during the turbulent decade of Plains Indian unrest, and eliminated hundreds of miles and many days of travel along the least dangerous, but circuitous route via the Oregon Trail or the longer routes by way of Fort Bridger or Salt Lake City. Historian James Lowe has assembled all available material on Jim Bridger's involvement with the trail that bears his name and dispels many of the inaccuracies and romantic assumptions that have built up over the last 130 years. A thorough background is provided on Bridger, gold discovers, federal Indian policy, variant trail routes, and other factors which precipitated the blazing of The Bridger Trail. This superbly documented, highly recommended contribution to Western Historical Studies is enhanced with numerous contemporary and historical maps, historical photographs, and portraits of several of the earliest travelers on the route, as well as tables providing a listing of the 1864 trains, the provisions and equipment used and recommended for travel, and a listing of the pioneers who used the trail in 1864.

James Lowe has captured the essence of Western History in this recent release. An accomplished author and historian, Lowe tells it like it was. He states in the preface that this text is intended for the layman or scholar alike, and though the former will find the story entertaining, the latter will reap the full benefit of his extensive research. Lowe has successfully provided the reader with an accurate overview of frontiersman, Jim Bridger, Native-American history and politics, the history of nineteenth century westward migration and United States Indian policy of the same era. In detail, he has presented a thorough and accurate account of the discovery and usage of the route known as the Bridger Trail to the gold fields of Montana, as well as compared the alternative routes of the Bozeman and Montana Trails. The reader is given countless examples from emigrant diaries of the difficulties presented these travelers in making the decision of which route to take. These diaries are extensively quoted to document the various trains, and experiences of the over 2,500 travelers who embarked on the Bridger Trail in 1864. Through Lowe's understanding of Native-American politics of that time, he also helps explain many of the fears and misconceptions of these heroic pioneers. His study includes the exacting of the location of the trail and points out both the accuracies and fallacies of many of the historic maps which are reproduced in the book. There are also several historic photographs of those who challenged the hardships of this route to become prominent citizens of Montana. This book makes both interesting and entertaining reading for anyone interested in the history of the American frontier, an excellent addition to the library of any scholar of Western History, and a must for everyone with a particular interest in Oregon Trail, Wyoming, or Montana History.

The day I learned of Richard Lowe's publication of the diary and letters of James C. Bates I ordered the book. I read Bates' diary and letters first then re-read the entire book. I was fascinated! In his letters, Bates reveals his feelings much more often than most Civil War soldiers. I have often wondered how he survived such a dreadful wound. His description of forcing a tube down his horridly damaged throat would make anyone cringe. I knew a descendant of James C. Bates had the major's Civil War papers, but I had no idea where to find that person. This book is a valuable contribution to the history of a band of brave and dedicated young men who deserve recognition. Their brigade, made up of the First Texas Legion, the Third, the Sixth, and the Ninth Texas Cavalry, is the only Texas cavalry brigade to serve east of the Mississippi. They were transferred from the TransMississippi to Corinth in April 1862 and remained in the Confederate West to the end of the war. In the Official Records they were known as the Texas Cavalry Brigade and later in the war as Ross's Cavalry Brigade. I have a special interest in the Ninth Texas Cavalry and would have paid a large ransom for Lowe's book a couple of years ago. I am elated to add it to my library. My mother remembered two uncles, Reuben and Jesse Rogers, who served with the Ninth. Her stories and a few old family records started my research on the regiment ten years ago. In January of this year Avon Books published my book about the Ninth and Ross's Brigade - All Afire to Fight - The Untold Tale of the Civil War's Ninth Texas Cavalry. See Amazon.com for description and reviews of All Afire to Fight.

In our family my great aunt was the keeper of this rare piece of glass pressed into a frame, not even as big as a deck of cards. It was the likeness of my great-great grandfather, a supposed captain in some Confederate unit, captured in an ambrotype, a primitive form of photograph. I peered at him as a child as he proudly gazed back at me from more than a century ago, his hat flamboyantly cocked, beard prominent, and pistols visible at his waist.

We never knew what the war was like for him, the details of his life blurred by a sketchy oral tradition: Didn't know what he thought about the cause in which he was engaged; what he thought about his fellow soldiers; about the Union; about his family. We didn't know why he came back home to Arkansas, so we were told, in the middle of the war, only to die. Had he been wounded or taken ill? Had he deserted, or just walked away on a long odyssey home, as Charles Frazier's Cold Mountain soldier had?

These past few days, though, have offered a vivid and authentic picture of how life must have been for my forebear. Richard Lowe, Regents Professor of History at the University of North Texas, pulled all the strands of that world together in this book.

Captain, then Major, then Lieutenant Colonel Bates' letters and diary entries, along with Lowe's invaluable geographical markers and chronological waystations, give us a true picture of the trials -- physical, mental and emotional -- that must have weighed heavily on those young men in the maelstrom of war.

Bates' own psyche tilts at the eternal and epic questions of Everyman's life and death throughout the book. In some letters, the young Bates playfully teases his future wife Mootie. In others, the darker hand of war and combat color his mind. His lightheartedness with Mootie stands out against the grisly accounts of terrible battles and revenge. In one he reports that his men "set a good many" former slaves who had gone over to the Union side "to stretching hemp," a euphemism for hanging.

As Bates' letters and diaries continue throughout the war, his own accounts of rumors brought into his camp and his joy at optimistic accounts of victories reported leave us pitying his soul, for he knows not yet of the war's inexorable grinding on the Confederacy. Lowe's ample and informative historical notes and charts force us to twist privately in our seats as we read, unable from this vantage point to even vicariously enlighten or encourage Bates in his travels and battles through the Indian Territory, Arkansas, Mississippi, and Tennessee.

Bates would hear of nothing to dampen the spirits of the Confederate cause, evidenced by a letter to his sister, a scalding scolding, after she had written to him a particularly depressing letter. "Why all this gloom," he asks. "You permit your imagination to conjure up a thousand dangers & difficulties & causes for trouble that have no existence in reality." Then, after a tub-thumping sermon on reasons for bearing up under the strain: "Make an effort to appear cheerful at all times - and making the effort to appear so will soon really make you feel so."

Bates' optimism bears up even when he contemplates continuation of the war after the fall of Vicksburg and Atlanta.

Analyses of the deeper reasons for the conflict pepper Bates' writings, based many times on his reading of letters and papers captured from Union soldiers. Then, as if it is all a joke, he relates a story of how the belligerents, negotiating in 1861, came to terrible disagreement over which side would take Mississippi. Abraham Lincoln, who in this tale really didn't want anything to do with Mississippi, reluctantly offers to take half, then precipitating the war, since the South could not bear to have only half. Bates despised Mississippi. On his second trip there, he was obliged to admit that his Confederate troops were treated better than before, the locals having got a dose of the Yankee medicine since his last visit, a medicine which he felt had taught them to respect the presence of their own Confederate troops.

Bates' use of American slang still rings true in the ear today, with his talk of having the "blues" from time to time, but his prose is undeniably pristine and proper. His take on the ineptitude of Confederate leaders is poignant and his analysis of politics is deadly sharp.

Possibly while on a visit back home, he, like so many soldiers in other conflicts, left a code with his friend Mootie, which allowed him to pass along information to her which could have compromised the troops' mission have it been general knowledge. Lowe includes the two instances of the code in use, along with a facsimile of the actual key used in deciphering. How exciting and intimate it must have been to think of passing along privileged information along to his future partner.

Bates also follows the lead of many other soldiers, finding God, or "taking religion," after his brush with death and subsequent injury. He assures his mother that if he were to die, he would be reunited with her one day in the heavens.

The war for Bates ended with his inability to return home for a while. He spent time wandering Mississippi, in all likelihood working through events that changed him from a young innocent to a vengeful, physically shattered man.

Bates was lucky enough to have survived a minié ball wound to the mouth, and lived a productive life for some time after the war, unlike my "Captain," who died before the war was over. Even so, I, and many others who may have wondered about their forebear in their own carefully passed-along photo, now have something to go on, something that reveals the real world of a Confederate soldier, the hopes, the joys, the wrenching twists of morals and psyche.

As a neurology resident, I find this book to be extraordinarily helpful. It is, as the title of this review suggests, the first text I consult for any neuropathology question. It is also an outstanding resource for concise summaries of the clinicopathological hallmarks of a wide variety of conditions.

The book contains numerous high-quality photographs of gross anatomical pathology and histopathology. The text is well-written, clear and concise. There are a number of handy summary tables in each section. The overall layout of the book is clear, aesthetically pleasing, and visually appealing. The color coding of different sections is helpful in reviewing a given topic, and the index is complete.

Some previous reviews suggested that bibliographic references could be more complete. While this is true, I find it to be a minor point in such an otherwise outstanding text. For comprehensive treatment of any given subject, other, more detailed textbooks are available, but few can rival the clarity of text and quality of pictures in Ellison et al.

From the perspective of an academic neurologist in training, this is the one neuropathology book I want to have on my bookshelf. It is an outstanding contribution to the field.

This book is a compact version of a pathology book. It covers most common pathologies instead of very rare academic cases.It is a practical book with very good pictures. There are a lot of good quality pictures to help to recognize cases. Explanations are short but to the point. You should not expect to find all the voluminuous information that you may find in other standard pathology books but you learn more practical things from this book. It is a must have book as a reference.

This color illustrated pathology cover a broad range of pathologic topic with pictures to enhance the topic. What's really great is the picture examination at the end of the book which reflects the usmle-type of questions. All of the pictures from the previous book: pathology picture tests, are covered in this book with full explanations. I highly recommended as a supplement or for pathology reveiw!

This book is well written by two Nottingham University academics, and is well worth its place on any biology/ medical student's bookshelf. the book is clear yet detailed and contains all the information you will need to pass a basic histology course.

This is a great book to own. The knowledge found in this book is wonderful. I felt like a whold new person after reading it.

This may seem quite strange but it is true.Reading this book i was totally terrified that histology could be a dificult and demanding task to deal with.But to my own surprise, i surpassed this obstracle with the help of another totally unknown book called " Basic Histology" by Adonis Kalligaropoulos.I recommend it to you if you want to acquire a clear and simple idea of histology and take an A in your exams.

I bought this recommended book for my Histology class at the University of Copenhagen. At first it was fun to read the authors' dedication of the book to different winemakers, but eventually I grew tired of the endless joking around. The actual core text is not very in-depth but the illustrautions are beautiful, thus the mediocre rating. And another thing, the book is useless when it comes to the central nervous system.

I think this book is one of the best in the market. The information is straight forward and easy to read. Everything in this book is very well organised.

Once again, we have the oldest trick in the book. A cheap way of getting the support of bitter and frustrated people by hurling blame at others and calling names (i.e., growing SOUR GRAPES). Simply another in a long line of rants to serve as an outlet for the bitter and semi-educated and collecting of cash by the clever by confusing the credulous.

The writers would have accomplished more by showing the readers how to defeat the ills they speak of and improve their condition rather than wastiing their obvious intellect in denigrating others. But hey, controversy sells.

BTW-In response to a previous poster, the Willie Lynch letter was a recent forgery, not a historical fact (see review for that book).

TO ALL THE PREVIOUS READER RESPONSES.......before you degrade the validity of this book, please remmember what the authors are trying to make us as readers realize. Even though not EVERYTHING in this book is 100% true, and although it SEEMS that the authors are slamming the idea of "success" in america, they are right in saying that these so called Uncle Toms or "sellouts" are not using their positions as powerful and popular figures in the black community and abroad to explode the reality of WHITE SUPREMACY in this country. The book is not saying that just because they are successful that they are Uncle Toms, it is saying so because they do not address the fact that we as a Black community are still being controled and manipilated by the same forces and powers that give these figures their salaries and status. True, people like Oprah and Bill Cosby have done many great things with their careers for all people, but they are still operating within their bondaries as the figures they are. If one of these prominent black figures had the audacity to speak out against the real history of this country dealing with the holocaust against black people and it's 400 year history and HOW TO REVERSE IT, their credibility AND their status, finances, positions and all would be virtually stripped away from them by the SAME corporations, financers and institutions that not only have an influential hand in their present status, but were a part of the mental degradation of black people when this all started. THAT is why some of these names are in this book. Look past the fact that they all don't live in the ghetto or don't speak slang, and pay attention to their role (or lack thereof) in working so that black people will no longer be associated with these things, as well as re-define the meaning of black people being "successful" as a WHOLE and not only as individuals.

a sad and sobering reality but yes the colonial/slave mentality still exists and is the number one reason behind black sabotage. read and weep.