With a title like "I Am the Blues", you can expect Dixon to talk a lot about The Blues. And he does. And there's no one better to provide a first hand account of Blues music and it's evolution from the 1940's through the 1980's. But Dixon also describes his own life in vivid detail. Love and the loss of love. Hard work and hard living. A man of principles, Dixon was arrested on stage in 1941 for evading the draft. As a struggling black man and musician, he refused to go to war for the country that he felt had done nothing for him. Later in his life, Dixon fought for the rights to his own songs, and profits he never made from many recordings of those songs.

In later years, Dixon's songs were recorded by new blues legends like Buddy Guy, and British rock artists like The Rolling Stones and Eric Clapton. Many of his songs remain Blues standards, today. But the best legacy Willie Dixon leaves behind is his human legacy. This is best reflected in the words of his own favorite self-penned song, "It Don't Make Sense (You Can't Make Peace):

"You take one man's heart and make another man live
You even go to the moon and come back thrilled
Why, you can crush any country in a matter of weeks
But it don't make sense you can't make peace."

Amen to that, Mr. Dixon.

Administration of the area was divided between the military, various missionary associations and cotton agents. The negroes continued with their agricultural duties, but no longer as slaves.

Under the new system, cotton productivity declined. One major factor was because the negroes preferred to grow food crops rather than cotton. They could not eat cotton.

When the Civil War ended in 1865, some of the old planters returned, but in many instances their land had been forfeit.

From a non-academic layman's viewpoint, even though there is worthwhile information to be learned from this book, it was very hard for me to finish it. The basic ideas could have been presented in a much shorter monograph.

Anyway happy 2000 ! melinda..

Arising from a unique exhibit & live performance at the Northwest Folklife Festival, Spirit of the First People is a collection of personal narratives, stories & essays on the music of the First People in the region that now encampasses Washington State. From tribe to tribe & reservation to reservation across the state, a wide range of musical genres & individual styles have developed, including social dance songs, game songs & hymns.

It takes time to re-tune our ears from listening to the artificial & steroidal music we're used to. Listening to both the CD & reading the stories is like hearing the thunder in a gorge, a hawk on the wind, snow-muffled footsteps, water rushing to the sea. The voices of the People of the Earth whose ears have heard its heartbeats & remember the stories.

Tucked into the many memories of boarding school, singing the songs to life, berry gathering & potlatches is a gallery of exquisite black & white archival photos as well has full color ones of today's families, ceremonial regalia & drums.

A rare treat & an inspired gift for someone you know who favors music of a First People. A treasure! For my full review do check out: [my website].

Dutchman's Flat - Six angry men chase the winner of a brutal gun-fight. In the frustrating, insulting and dangerous days that follow, each learns the startling truth about the man they're goint to lynch.

His Brother's Debt - Cassidy can draw faster than a snake can strike. So why is he afraid to leave the back country? Because he has to avoid his demons - if they'll let him.

I found both stories to be great, but it would have been nice to at least add some special effects. Well worth the purchase price. One cassette. Run time: 1 hour.

Bill Shoemaker was one of my heroes years ago. As a child growing up in Northern California and a lover of horses, I naturally followed the exploits of "The Shoe", arguably the best jockey of all time. Well, I can't yet claim that Shoemaker is the best mystery author, but he does a good job in his second novel, "Fire Horse".

Corey Killebrew is a retired jockey who left the track after a suspicious loss in an important race. He's now a restauranteur in "Bay City", partnered with a love-struck Las Vegas casino owner who asks him, as a "favor", to keep an eye on his latest flame; the spoiled daughter of a despised (or beloved, depending on your politics) radio and TV pundit. This seemingly innnocent request draws Killebrew into a complex game of horse racing, blackmail, fraud and, of course, murder.

The plotting is effective, although it stretches a bit thin in a few places. The charcters are interesting and generally well-drawn but at times stereotypical. The dialog needs work in a few places (in others, though, it crackles). But, Shoemaker's knowledge of racing and horses shines without being obtrusive or pedantic -- it makes "Fire Horse" believable and a real page-turner!

I'm a big fan of Dick Frances; Bill Shoemaker isn't quite up to his level, but he's not too far away, either. If you enjoy a good action mystery (that favors the action side), you'll like "Fire Horse".

This book would make an interesting and complementary addition to a collection including such books as Black Mass by O'Neill and Lehr. It discusses New England organized crime in particular and even touches on inside knowledge of the JFK assassination.

It is an o.k. but more valuable for its local historical flavor, even though some of the organized crime tapestry is not entirely accurate.