This could have been a much longer book, since there is an almost endless number of Native American stories dealing with animals. Bruchac made a good selection, though, and the stories of a wide variety of North American native peoples are represented here. All of them show the importance of animals to the Native Americans in that they are central to creation myths, as well as tales of friendship and those providing numerous survival instructions. Bruchac kept the prose simple, making this book ideal for children. Also useful is the glossary at the end, and the descriptions of tribal nations which provide a great deal of useful information on the major North American peoples.

Finnis presents a new outlook on an old battle. He considers the ethical and moral, as well as the pragmatic issues pertaining to the nuclear question.

John O'Hara is the master of 20th Century American Fiction. Matthew Bruccoli's work was so fascinating, it inspired my wife and I to make a pilgrimmage to Pottsville, Pa., O'Hara's hometown (and the "Gibbsville" of his short stories). I highly recommend this work to anyone seriously interested in O'Hara's life, and "The Gibbsville Stories," now out of print, to anyone interested in exploring "The Master."

First hand relation of Missouri history during the Civil War from a rare view by a Catholic Missionary. Rev. John Hogan recounts his life and recounts vivid civil war stories of death and destruction and of his accomplishments as a missionary to Missouri. Most accounts are of Northern Missouri, but my interest was of his Irish Catholic pioneering in Southern Missouri and the settlements devistation by the Civil War. Today this area is known as the Irish Wilderness and is little more than hiking trails and forests. My family is from this area and this book gives insight to the areas history that is not afforded from any other sources to my knowledge. Schoolcraft might come close. Exciting accounts written with dry style with some poetic glimpses of what he sensed: "Nowhere could the human soul so profoundly worship as in the depths of that leafy forest, beneath the swaying branches of the lofty oaks and pines, where solitude and the heart of man united in praise and wonder of the Great Creator," and "O beautiful prairies of Missouri, so often and for so many years the joy of my heart, well I have said in my younger days, when first I heard of your transcendent loveliness, and when friends would tempt my youthful feet to other climes; O no, leave me my joy; Missouri is my home; I love her for her woods and praries; amid these let my grave be made; under the bending boughs of her forests I long to die."

Written in 1854 and published the next year,this book is fascinating in providing personal sketches of distinguished Americans Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton, Andrew Jackson,Henry Clay and John Randolph with many references to other prominent men who were their contemporaries. The author's
analysis is interesting not only in the spirited description of the individuals profiled but in his comparison of each of them with their political antagonists. The unique perspective he brings a man whose life overlapped some of these figures is worth a read for history or politics buffs. His admiration and defense of some he buttresses with argument. His passion is clear.
His oratorical style is typical of the time yet conveys a vivid impression of his subjects, and reminds one of a time before soundbites and simple words geared to a mass audience.

Pipe Clay and Drill: John J. Pershing, the Classic American Soldier by Richard Goldhurst is an interesting and informative biography of John J. Pershing. In general this text provides and accurate and objective account on Pershing's life and the changing world around him but in some areas I was disappointed. To say that this book is purely a biography would be misleading. I was hoping to read a book that would focus on Pershing as a person but this book was more about the political situations and wars that Pershing had taken part in. My disappointment does not reflect poorly on the author but it should be stated that this account is less about Pershing's humanity than I had hoped. Still a very good and informative read.

I have this book as a text for a political science class I'm taking at the Rochester Institute of Technology. Though a bit pricey at $40, I truly find this a solid read. It should be appropriate for all levels of reader, though it seems to be geared towards those with at least basic knowledge of the American political system.

Quiet Moments is a wonderful gift for yourself, friends and family members. John Powell's poignant insights about life and love offer clear guidelines for personal growth, self-acceptance, and improved relationships. The selections chosen, sequenced, and edited by Nancy Sabbag allow the reader to savor Powell's insights and to see ourselves and others in new ways. The book's quiet, meditative style provides for enjoyable and easy reading at any pace -- a few pages at a time or all at once -- and can be read over and over with new learnings and insights each time.

In this book, the fictional protagonist essentially describes the authors life, according to his daughter who wrote the introduction. Struggling to be successful in the white man's world, a mixed-blood Osage Indian is really only comfortable back home on the reservation. Never feeling at home in either, he often feels isolated in both. The book follows him from boyhood on the reservation to college and military life beyond, but always returning home.

This book is an absorbing read, and is notable for being one of the first books to examine this topic intelligently. It is devoid of romanticism or New Age allusions (illusions?), but is not the inevitable sinking despair of a James Welch read. I strongly recommend it for anyone with an interest in mixed-culture and heritage topics.

John Joseph Mathew was probably the most influential Osage Indian writer yet born. A World War I Army Air Corps pilot, he was Oxford educated as a geologist, travelled the world, especially Africa, yet came back to the Osage hills in Oklahoma to be "home". He was not a "full-blood" Osage, but was a "mixed-blood" of Osage and Caucasian heritage.

In his era, it was this mixed heritage that probably allowed him to be as educated as he was. This was invaluable in his later writing career, because his books are both poetic in style and writing, capturing much of the feel of our Osage oral history and home, yet scholarly in their documentation. He wrote the first best-seller by a Native American author (Wah-Kon-Tah: the Osage and the White-Man's Road)published in 1932. Following this, he wrote a history of our tribe, (The Osages, Children of the Middle Waters) which while controversial in some aspects, is the most complete written history we have yet. He also wrote on topics of naturalism and his personal views on many topics, and a biography of an oilman, both of more or less relation to the tribe.

But in none of these books to we get a real flavor of how he *felt* about things, and the experiences that molded him. In this book, Sundown, we see an intimate personal, often painful look at a younger Mathews. This, along with Mathews' prose syle is why I recommend the book.

This book was one of the best books I have ever read on the subject of the martyrdom of the Prophet Joseph Smith and and his brother Hyrum. It was historical, it was unedited, and gave me a unique perspective into the events that lead to their death. I had no idea that the entire state of Illinois was virtually at war with the Mormons.