If you value field guides, you will love this Time-Life edition of "The Walker's Companion" from The Nature Company. Several highly respected nature writers, including David Rains Wallace and Ann Zwinger, make contributions to this well-illustrated and highly informative text. Those names should give you a clue to the excellent combination of literary and scientific writing that makes this text a must-have reference for anyone who is interested in the environment.

This is a field guide that powerfully combines content with context in a way that makes the information about nature and the environment not only highly accessible, but intrinsically linked to the key social topics that are central issues in both science and social studies. Topics include the history of nature writing and in America, hiking tips, the study of nature throughout the ages, field identification and sketching outdoors. Ecological concepts such as food chains and pollination are concisely described and illustrated in a section titled, "Understanding Nature". Information about every ecosystem from forests, mountains and deserts to farmland and vacant lots is included in the "Guide to Habitats" section. This kind of comprehensive perspective about environment helps the reader to think about and see ecology in very relevant ways.

The format of double-facing pages per topic gives concise environmental information, making it easy to read, index and apply to the reader's world. The guide is an essential home or travel reference as well as a valuable classroom text that would be interesting and accessible for audiences from 10 to 100. The text is so versatile that I have a copy for myself and have ordered a class set for my middle school students for a wide range of class use including nature drawing, research, gardening and environmental education.

In The Wisconsin Traveler's Companion, author and Wisconsin native Jerry Apps brings to life and carefully explains the sights of rural Wisconsin: its landscape, farmsteads, crops, rural buildings, roadside animals, birds and flowers, planting and harvesting cycles, and more. Readers will learn the differences between Jersey and Brown Swiss diary cattle, Finnish and Swedish style barns, and wild flowers from the columbine to the geranium. Whether day tripping, vacationing, or simply traveling the state, The Wisconsin Traveler's Companion is an invaluable resource enhanced throughout with beautiful illustrations by Julie Sutter-Blair.

This book seems simpler than Alexie's later works, though by no means do I mean that in a literal way. Later works reveal a deep and complex style and voice. This book, an early piece, shows what is to come. Alexie's voice is strong and powerful, with very pointed pieces arranged in creative and innovative ways. This is a stepping-stone book into his heavier works, such as Summer of Black Widows and One Stick Song. You can definitly see where Alexie is going in this book...up.

For a long time I heard little bits and pieces about a poet named Sherman Alexie. I would see his name appear here and there, or a few words speak of him, and then I would lose track. After Smoke Signals came out, I vowed that I would remember Sherman Alexie and read more of what he had to say.

Years passed, to my shame. As a writer I was probably afraid on some level to begin reading his work because I had heard of his amazing success at a young age, but more important, his amazing output.

I finally decided to get a book, and I chose to buy Old Shirts & New Skins. I absolutely love it. The poems and the stories wonderfully compliment each other and tell a story of identity and pride. I really enjoyed the biting humor. it rang so completely true, I sometimes could not contain myself.

Based upon what I have read in this book, I will definately keep reading and buying his books.

This book of poetry has a real quality, a sort of grittiness so you know it's true.

The poems tie together present miseries with the history of Indian wars. But of course it's not the version of Indian wars we got through the movies; rather it is the untold part, of suffering of native people defending their way of life.

I am new to Sherman Alexie and new to American Indian literature; I came upon him through his movie "Smoke Signals." It's very good reading!

His writing contains heavy themes, but is light and graceful and has a healing quality. "Shirts" and "Skins" are the team names in pickup baasketball games; "'skins" is how Indians call themselves. I dont know what a "shirt" is - a white guy, probably -- that would fit. There is humor, word play and joy here holding up a world of sadness.

This was such a great book! I absolutely loved Rachel and Gabe. Their relationship was a roller coaster of a ride. Gabe's tragedy was heart breaking and Rachel's struggle to overcome the prejudice caused by her dead husband's betrayal of a town was valiant and admirable. Her son Edward's need for a stable home and a father was heart wrenching. It was wonderful to see them accept the unevitable love that had developed and finally become a family. It was also wonderful having the other characters in the book grow and heal. Kristy's wish finally comes true when Ethan, her employer, a minister and Gabe's brother, finally realizes his love for her. Their scenes were hilarious and touching. Cal, Gabe's older brother, his wife Jane, and their baby daughter Rosie, were also fun to get to know. This book is definitely worth your time and money. You'll love it. Trust me!

I actually read "Nobody's Baby but Mine First", liked it, and looked for other of her books. I found out there was a sequel, about the second Bonner brother, Gabe, so I went ahead and bought "Dream a Little Dream", and let me tell you, I haven't laughed and cried so much reading a book before,and all at the same time! I read other reviews and people raved about Heaven, Texas, but this is sooo much better.
Rachel Stone was married to a corrupt televangelist who died in a plane crash. She lost everything and left town with her son, Edward (otherwise known as Chip). Years later she suddenly finds herself stuck in Salvation, a town that hates her,as a last resort because she is determined to find some money she knows her husband left behind, money that will help her feed and keep her son because they have $10 dollars left and are living in their car (which dies a noisy death at the entrance of town, leaving them definitely stranded). Enter Gabe Bonner, a vet whose son and wife had been killed in a car accident and who has lost the will to live. He reluctantly ends up hiring her to help him put up a business and gets much more than he ever bargained for. She constantly challenges him, taunts him,insults him, and even desperately offers her body to him the day they meet, and through it all manages to keep her composure, strength and dignity, her spunk, her sense of humor and her desire to go on despite unimaginable hardship. She makes him feel again, even if it's mostly anger,and slowly brings him back to feeling somewhat human again.Unfortunately there's still another hurdle to overcome: Gabe can't stand her son because he compares him to his dead son and finds him so weak, scared, and lacking, that he can't understand why his son is dead while this scrawny kid is alive, and Chip can't stand his guts either. Then there's the people from town, who aren't happy to have Rachel back and give her a really hard time.With Gabe's help she tries to look for the money and fights against some enemies she unwittingly made along the way. But all's well that ends well, with a few surprises to boot! The eldest Bonner, Cal, and his wife appear too, and as in Nobody's Baby, there is a parallel love story, about the third Bonner brother, Ethan, who's a pastor in the community. I highly recommend this book, I found it was almost impossible to put it down, and was sorry to see it end. The second time I read it, I laughed and cried just as hard, and I'm sure I'll do it again some day.

This book absolutly had me hooked! I almost finished it in one day, but once again that sleep thing got in the way.

Three years after leaving Salvation, NC after her televangalist husband is killed and found to have stolen money from the congregation, Rachel Stone is back to try to find the five million dollars that he stashed away. Unfortunately, things don't go well for Rachel. She has nine dollars in her pocket, a car that just broke down (which has also been her home for the past week), a five year old son and has to deal with Gabriel Bonner.

Two years after Gabe's wife Cherry and their five year old son Jamie was killed by a drunk driver, Gabe is still greiving. He's a very unhappy man, especially when Rachel Stone shows up with her kid and wants a job. Reluctantly he gives her a job and the two eventually fall in love, although they wouldn't dare admit it.

Since Rachel's husband swindled the town out of millions of dollars the entire town of Salvation, NC hates her. She can't go down the street without names being called or having her tires slashed. Gabe is time and again coming to her rescue.

Something that I both liked and disliked about this book was Ethan and Kristy's relationship. I really found I enjoyed their story, but they should have had their own book. That is my only complaint.

Overall, excellent read, highly recommended.

A fun read! Most books concerned with this period of history usually separate Roanoke and the Lost Colony from Jamestown and focus on one or the other. This is a valuable contribution to an overall understanding of the entire era of English colonization. Milton begins at the beginning with the initial voyages of Sir Humphrey Gilbert ("Savages among the Icebergs") and describes the unfolding saga of ill-luck tempered with arrogance. While the scope of the book is limited to the American adventure, the reader can sense the excitement of the Elizabethan age. Shakespeare,Marlowe, John Dee, Phillip II and the Great Armada are just beyond the covers of the book. I also liked Milton's description of the cultural shock James I cast upon the story-"He was so malcoorinated at the table that it was said to be possible to identify every meal he had eaten for seven years by studying the scraps of dried food stuck to his clothes." One can sense the impending gloom of the Puritan future and the end of the Elizabethan party. Morris also connects Ralegh with the Virginia Company in an advisory capacity and alleges that Ralegh finally met Mrs.John Rolfe aka Pocahontas in his final years. (Another historical mystery!) Having celebrated the Roanoke Voyages in 1984-97 and with the upcoming 400th anniversary of Jamestown in 2007 (of which we North Carolinians will never hear the end), Big Chief Elizabeth will be a valuable work linking the Roanoke enterprise as the First English settlement in America to the First Permenant English settlement. A final footnote: There is a fascinating chapter in "Marking Time:The Epic Quest To Invent The Perfect Calendar" by Duncan Steele (John Wiley,2000) relating to "The Perfect Christian Calendar and God's Longitude" and English attempts to locate their claims both at Roanoke and Jamestown in accordance with calendrical and political motives-the meridian seventy-seven degrees west of Greenwich-"God's Longitude"

Wonderfully readable account of the initial colonization of America by the British. It's amazing to me that there is this much detailed information available about this era and, given that, Giles Milton crafts it such that you get the "feel" of what it was like in the late 1500's in both England and in the colonies. Realistic and sometimes gruesome, it shows that the initial colonization of America was no picnic. Details of starvation, organization and relationships with the natives will leave you wondering why the English kept coming back. The Elizabethian society is well chronicled and Milton does a fabulous job of portraying Sir Walter Raliegh's rise and fall as well as the true stories of John Smith and Pocahantus. Finally, his conclusions on the fate of the missing Roanoke colonists are very plausible. Overall a colorful and entertaining read making you wish that all history was written this way.

A fun read! Most books this period of history usually separate the Lost Colony from Jamestown and focus on one or the other. This is a valuable contribution to an overall understanding of the entire era of English colonization as Milton begins at the beginning with the initial voyages of Sir Humphrey Gilbert ("Savages among the Icebergs")and developes the unfolding saga of ill-luck and arrogance. While the book focuses on America one can sense through the narration the excitement of the Elizabethan age-Shakespeare,Marlowe,John Dee,Phillip II and the Great Armada just beyond the covers. I also liked his description of the cultural shock James I cast upon the story- "He was so malcoordinated at the table that it was said to be possible to identify every meal he had eaten for seven years by studying the scraps of dried food stuck to his clothes." Morris also connects Ralegh with the Virginia Company and alleges that Raleigh finally met Mrs.John Rolfe aka Pocahontas in his final years.(Another historical mystery!) Having celebrated the Roanoke Voyages in l984-87 and with the upcoming 400th anniversary of Jamestown approaching in 2007 (which those of us in North Carolina will never hear the end of), Big Chief Elizabeth will be a valuable work in linking the Roanoke project as the First English settlement in America to the First Permenant English settlement. Final footnote:There is a fascinating chapter in "Marking Time:The Epic Quest to Invent The Perfect Calendar" by Duncan Steel, John Wiley,2000 relating to "The Perfect Christian Calendar and God's Longitude" and English attempts to locate their claims both at Roanoke and Jamestown in accordance with calendrical and political motives.

As Gilmore writes (p. 1) in Gender and Jim Crow, "since historians enter a story at its end, they sometimes forget that what is past to them was future to their subjects." And with regard to black optimism, potential and opportunities during Reconstruction, African American "subjects" looked forward to a future of encouraging possibilities, as African American males had real political power and influence within the Republican and populist parties, which courted their votes. These men and women believed that race as a social classification would decline in importance in favor of class. Yet just as the hopes of Agrarian radicals were thwarted by the harsh the realities of the two-party system, so too were the dreams of Reconstruction-era blacks crushed by the resurgence of white supremacy and the systematic attempts by whites to disenfranchise the Negro. Gilmore presents this tale of high hopes and shattered dreams in her first chapter, "Place and Possibility."
Gilmore's story is one of perseverance among the increasingly subjugated blacks of North Carolina after Reconstruction ended, in particular, the struggle of middle class black women to maintain power, dignity and to some degree control over their lives and communities. By the 1890s, the ugly image of white supremacy showed its face, as white men fought a successful battle to disenfranchise black men through the instrument of fear, that is to say, fear for the safety of white women from the ravenous clutches of Negro rapists. As Gilmore details, this sexually based contrivance branded black men as beasts and drove them from the political realm. Articulate black women, she argues, stepped in to this cultural and political vacuum to coordinate with whites (especially white women and Northern reformers) to get social services and to work for "racial uplift," especially through church and voluntary associations such as the Women's Christian Temperance Union. Gilmore notes that these types of activities were not as exposed to white restrictions or ire as overt political action, and thus helped to assure some success by these middle-class black females. It seems that black women could travel within certain community and political circles that were no longer open to their male counterparts.
Gender and Jim Crow is an innovative look at post-Reconstruction race relations, in that the chief actors in Gilmore's tale are women. It nicely dovetails with Kantrowitz's Ben Tillman and the Reconstruction of White Supremacy, in that we see similar examples of the creation of Jim Crow and the use of sexual fears to bolster notions of white supremacy as well as white political solidarity. While Kantrowitz shows that Ben Tillman was representative of many of white Southerners of his day, I am unconvinced that Gilmore's subjects are as representative. Her geographic realm is limited to one state of the Upper South, North Carolina; did black women carve out a similar role for themselves in the Deep South as well? Additionally, her cast of characters is quite small, and perhaps we are drawn to these women and their story because of its very exceptionalsim and not its typicality. Nevertheless, Gilmore's new and nuance perspective is groundbreaking and valuable in that we see the era of Jim Crow from a viewpoint previously unexplored.

I was assigned this book as part of my social relations class, and, given its title and description (as well as the other readings I've done in other similar classes), I wasn't expecting much in the way of entertainment. While I wouldn't call this a page turner by any means, it certainly had its moments. Gilmore does a very good job of weaving stories in with facts to keep the reader going.

Most importantly, however, I learned about the existence of a Southern African American middle class pre-1900s that I never knew existed. Gilmore does an exceptional job of reminding the modern reader that these African Americans were working without the benefit of history. They did not know that Jim Crow would become so pervasive in the early 1900s; they thought they were well on the road to equality.

Gilmore breaks new ground on many fronts that will interest social historians of race and political historians. She uncovers the myriad arenas in which black women and white women pursued "politics" outside the formal arenas of electoral institutions. She also reveals the surprising coalitions formed across racial lines and the mindset of an upper-South State on the eve of disenfranchisement. Gilmore's writing flows smoothly, as other reviewers have noted, but at times becomes overwrought and sentimentalized in a way that makes it sometimes tedious and sometimes aggravating to stay with the text. She's become captured a bit by her characters and sources. But this is a small criticism in the context of an overwise pathbreaking study that's well worth the read.

Plucky Jess is now 19 (mother of one and expecting) at the start of this 4th book in the LYON saga. M.L. Stainer tranports Jess, her Indian husband and several other non-English friends in a circuitous manner back to England. Pirates, separation from her English family and a woman's worst shipboard terrors stalk the prisoners for months--challenges sufficient to bring a lesser heroine to despair. Undaunted and deteremined to hide her non-Indian identity, Jess conceives a grandiose plan: to seek an audience with Gloriana--Elizabeth I. What would the mighty Queen of England care about the fate of a poor English colonist and several half-breed children?

While her warrior
husband chafes in confinement and shame at his captive status, Jess battles her own quick tongue, which threatens to sabotage her hopes. Who will befriend the outcasts in England? How can a girl who prefers the free and salty sands of the New World win the patronage of the Virgin Queen? How will Native Americans fit in or even survive months as captive "guests?" Will they be better received at court or by the common people? Follow the Lyon's saga as the author offers yet another possible solution to the mystery of the vanished colony of Roanoke. This series, which introduces to elementary readers the genre of historical fiction, will appeal to girls, and hopefully stimulate interest in pre Jamestown settlement of America. With the emphasis on the role of imported horses, this series provides excellent background for the Misty of Chincoteague books by Marguerite Henry.

This is the fourth book in the Lyon Saga series of five and eagerly awaited. After Jess was kidnapped by pirates, I couldn't wait to see what happened next. In Queen Elizabeth I's court, she must work hard to gain freedom for herself and her friends, especially Enrique, locked up in the Tower. Great action, thrilling adventure. Make sure you read the books in order.

This book makes colonial history come alive. Everyone thinks the first colonists were the Pilgrims. But these people were here long before. What happened to them? M. L. Stainer makes Jess and her adventures so exciting.

This book is BASIC in its context...don't expect any major revelations except, of course, if you haven't read anything about the Native Americans of the Southwest. It is beatuifully illustrated with some color photos, many excellent charts & maps, and many many turn of the century photgraphs of the area. I live in Phoenix so many of the places are familiar to me. It is amazing to see a freeway going over a Hohokam ballcourt or to note that many of the canals in use TODAY in Phoenix began as Hohokam irrigation canals. All in all, a nice book. The publishers could have cut costs a little, though, if they had used regular paper instead of the heavy glossy paper, but the photos look so great on the heavier paper it is worth the price.

I enjoyed this volume because I lived briefly in Arizona and saw some of the ruins (Montezuma Castle and Tuzigoot National Monument) mentioned. I had read a book on Monte Verde as a child but other than this modest brush with SW archaeology, I knew little or nothing about the prehistory of the area. This volume was a good place to start for information about the material data available and the way it has been assembled to create a clearer picture of the settlement of Native Americans across this part of the continent. I found particularly interesting the notion careful custodianship of available resources of an entire area allowed a fairly large population to thrive without agriculture. The author also points out clearly that even at the stage of nomadic existance, when little material evidence is available, the cultural differences attendant upon a lifestyle of wide range migration following animals as opposed to intensive plant use within smaller areas are still distinguishable and can be seen in material remains--or relative lack thereof--over a region under study. Of interest too was the concept that farming, far from being the panacea for mankind it is often seen as being in the modern world, was actually a double edged sword. It encouraged increased population density--with an increase in food and fewer problems for sedentary mothers raising children and an increased demand for labor creating population pressures for which a natural environment would not be able to provide in emergencies--which left the farming peoples much more vulnerable to weather changes and episodes of famine. Schooled as I had been in 1960s and 70s anthropological concepts of "better life through agriculture," it was a novel notion that the hunter-gatherer forbears of early farmers had actually been better nourished and that their mobility and understanding of a larger range of countryside actually had left them less vulnerable to environmental mishaps than agrarian people. The volume also does an excellant job of describing some of the better known and publicized settled cultures of the SW, such as the Hohokam and Anasazi with which I was somewhat familiar having lived in the Phoenix area, and the less well known Mogollon and Mimbres (known more for their lovely pottery) cultures. The book is well illustrated with maps, drawings and photographs that will help give the reader a fuller understanding of the written information. It also sticks to the interpretation of the data described rather than going into elaborate detail regarding actual excavation in the region, which would probably lose the average reader on the subject. I found the book very informative on the subject, and wish I'd had it to read before I lived in the area. I would probably have gotten more out of my stay.

Great book for techniques in mixed media. I have to admit i checked this one out at the library first and realized when it was a month overdue and i was still having problems returning it that i should just buy the book. Tate gives great ideas on different effects that you can acheive while painting etc... but i was also hoping for some more actual finished product examples where she illustrated the ideas presented. It didn't hinder the wonderful inspiration and ideas too badly, but it'd be nice to see more of the final works- or different ways you can incorporate the uses shown. I use this book all the time when questions arise or i just want something cool to inspire me.

I loved this book! Elizabeth Tate has given us a comprehensive guide to painting techniques, which can be helpful to anyone, regardless of their level of mastery. She offers step-by-step instructions, with wonderful illustrations of each step in the process. Some of the techniques include blending, backruns, gradations, masking out and many, many more. The author also explains how to create various themes such as landscapes, still life and portraits, to name a few. This book has a wealth of information, written in an intelligent and useful manner. The illustrations are incredible and would inspire anyone to pick up a paintbrush. I couldn't recommend it more!

I think that my book was funnier than anything else. I mean it's about history and all but it was even funnier. It makes you not want to stop because you want to see what's next. I think that the autor wants it so you learn and have fun at the same time. Some other books were all talking and no fun if you know what I mean. There's a little story teller on every page; he tells jokes about the things you've just read. I liked this book and I hope you do to thanks.

This books are wonderful. They make learning history fun and cool. It combines jokes, historical facts and funny information in a great easy-to-read package. My 4th grader loves the whole series. Both reluctant readers and history lovers will enjoy the breezy way history is told in these books. Ideal for 3rd-5th graders and even middle school students. Great as gifts or for a classroom. Too bad all history books aren't this fun!

This book teaches you about Prehistoric times and how creatures survived. The book also has some humor. There is almost a comic on every page, and most of them are funny. It's a way to learn and have fun at the same time. Inconclusion, I write this because it's a great book to learn from and get a few laughs along with it.