"Your Affectionate Daughter, Isabella" is a very entertaining book - the kind of book I always slow down on reading, towards the end, because I don't want it to be over - but also a fascinating look into the world of the Antebellum South. Most of us have a picture of plantation owners as Clark Gables and Scarlett O'Haras in silks and brocades; the Torrances' plantation in North Carolina is a reasonably prosperous but serious working plantation, whose owners do care about their slaves - apparently the only information we now have about them comes from annual summaries James Torrance writes up - and who would probably free their slaves, except that "Then, where would we get workers for the Plantation?" A good summary of much of the prewar Southern situation.
The basis of the book is an extensive collection of letters written by Isabella and various other family members, all interwoven with just enough history and background so that it all makes an absorbing story. The Torrance plantation - in western North Carolina - prospers and exemplifies the good life, sure enough; various sons and daughters, including Isabella, go off elsewhere to find their fortunes, mostly with indifferent success, and often as not drift back to the old homestead. This is life as it was lived by a group of attractive but fairly ordinary people, in a world in which the vagaries of the weather, the agonizingly high rate of infant and adult mortality and the price of cotton, year by year, were far more important than far-off Abolitionists and Fire-eaters.
As a part-time Civil-War buff, I found this a fascinating insight into the people on the Other Side, who are of course now Us. It's part of the magic of Your Affectionate Daughter that you really want to know how they all came out - the book tells us all the letters know, but I found myself wanting more. And, if making you really care about the characters isn't a measure of a book's narrative power, what is?

p.s. Well, yes, I am a brother-in-law of the Author. But it's still a really good book.

"Your Affectionate Daughter, Isabella" is particularly noteworthy as Ms. Williams has avoided the trap that most authors who base their work on a collection of letters fall into... her narrative carries the story, using the letters only to support the text.. rather than the reverse.

She accomplishes this with an impressive working knowledge of the post 1800 south and plantation lifestyles, presented to us with both a flair for writing and a skillful turn of phrase that, when combined, turn this work into a charming story that will find favor with anyone who enjoys well written and educational history. I hope we'll see more of Ms. William's work.

What a wonderful book! A good read, a touching story, and accurate history. Isabella Torrance was a strong woman who suffered much, and accomplished much, growing up in North Carolina and Mississippi in the early part of the 19th Century.

This story is set in the early 1800s in the American South and is totally based on existing letters from the period. The Torrance family of North Carolina must have kept every piece of paper they ever got. It follows Isabella from the age of 7 when she was sent off to boarding school (Salem College, North Carolina), to coming home at the age of nine to a new mother and growing up on a large farm which was turning into a plantation. She married early and pioneered with her husband and baby in Mississippi - the edge of the wilderness at that time. After much suffering on the frontier, and the death of her husband, she returned to North Carolina to more adventures and a full life.

The story is told through family letters, using the actual letters and other family records, plus enough imagined dialog to keep the story moving along. Ms. Williams seems to have done her research well and all of the details, from the largest to the most minute, ring true. I really enjoyed reading the book as a story, plus the added value of finding out what life was really like in the American South and on the frontier in the period just before the Civil War.

Poison Ivy Murders proves that William H. Reid has mastered the tools of a good writer. His total concept of writing is second to none.

A gruesome campus murder opens a keg of worms in this small New Hampshire town. Reid's book moves fast as Mike Thatcher goes about in his quest to bring the murderer to justice. His investigation instills fear into the entire University faculty, staff, professors, and several Petersborough citizens. What are they hiding?

Two decades ago, Thatcher himself attended Fields University. His love life is on hold but his detective work has now turned up skeletons from his own past.

Mr. Reid's first hand knowledge of Universities gave him an edge on Poison Ivy Murders. This book is exciting, thrilling, and keeps the reader in suspense. It is well written by a master and suggested for adult reading.

Poison Ivy Murders proves that William H. Reid has mastered the tools of a good writer. His total concept of writing is second to none.

A gruesome campus murder opens a keg of worms in this small New Hampshire town. Reid's book moves fast as Mike Thatcher goes about in his quest to get the murderer brought to justice. His investigation instills fear into the entire University faculty, staff, professors, and several Petersborough citizens. Many have multiple sins to hide.

Two decades ago, Thatcher himself attended Fields University. His love life is on hold but his work has now turned up skeletons from his own past.

Mr. Reid's first hand knowledge of Universities gave him an edge on Poison Ivy Murders. This book is exciting, thrilling, and keeps the reader in suspense. It is well written by a master and suggested for adult reading.

I have found this book very useful both in the field and in the museum. It represents an excellent feat of practical scholarship by Bonaccorso, with good keys, locality information (with maps), reference to specific museum specimens, and external measurements for all species from PNG, including the provinces in the Bismarcks and northern Solomons. It is not only a terrific synthesis of what is known of bat biology in the country, but also offers a large store of new information. Also extremely handy are the comprehensive gazetteer at the end with lat/long coordinates and the good bibliography. Fiona Reid's excellent color illustrations round out the guide.

Bill Reid is an eye-catching artbook showcasing the stunning sculptures of Bill Reid, cast in gold, argillite, bronze, cedar, and other materials. His works of art embody his Native American heritage; full color photographs combined with descriptive and anecdote-filled text make Bill Reid an artbook treasure. Intrinsically fascinating to simply browse through, Bill Reid is a welcome and recommended addition to personal, academic, and community library Art History collections.

D.L. Moody once said: "Salvation is free, as free as the air we breath...". While it is true that the gospel is simple and that salvation is a free gift. Many proffesing Christians are mere proffesors, that is to say that their concept of salvation relies on the fact that they have "prayed" and "ask Jesus into their hearts", well meaning? hopefully yes, but at best it is not relying on Christ alone. This is an example of faith in faith, i.e. existensialism. What people need is faith in Christ, and in Him alone, void of any efforts, empty of self; through repentance from sin and faith in Christ, any sinner can have salvation. This book provides a good deal of ideas for evangelizing the lost, without the heresy of instant prayerism.

Well researched and well written. If you work in the field of addiction treatment you have an ethical obligation to read this book. If you are contemplating seeking treatment, you should know what you are getting. "Caveat Emptor, let the buyer beware" should be the warning posted at the entrance of most addiction treatment centers in the US. This book offers the most up to date research which strongly suggests that traditional treatment in the US maybe worse or no better than no treatment at all. It has chapters outlining effective alternatives such as Brief Solution Focused Therapy, Community Reinforcement Approach, and Social Skills Training. Frankly if you are an addictions professional in the US and haven't read this book or understand this material, you should read it or go get a job selling used cars.

So, Sorry, I'm the author...for over 15 years this book IS the ONLY book to do a translation from engineering to everyday language...How else are you going to have a clue how CHIPS are MADE? Hey, they run your life ,you might well find out how they are made! Selling to the chip makers, > 1 Million readers,to date.....

The book gives history and insight on his life and follows his working history from Macon to Florida to Atlanta. His attention to detail is pointed out in many chapters and the photography along with the orginal drawings are a good touch. If your looking for some ideas or maybe a facade to copy this would be a excellent book. Most of his houses are timeless designs and the interior views and elevation views are stunning.

I was a former student of Chester Finn's at Vanderbilt and a big fan of his writing. This along with Senator Lamar Alexander, is an extremely well written and interesting book. Gives a perspective that many should consider. I highly recommend it.

Don McNay...

I think that The Return of the Indian was a pretty good book. I especially like the parts when Omri put his figures in the cupboard and they became real. This book will appeal to all those people who are a Book Worm or who are best friends! I also learned a lot of new words by reading this book. Joshua

The Return of the Indian is the second book to the sequel of The Indian in the Cupboard & at the end of the book in The Indian in the Cupboard the toys were not real anymore & Boone the cowboy & Little Bear went back home & in the second book, Omri couldn't believe he would bring them back again.

This book is alright & I enjoy it alot!

A year after Omri first meets his Indian friend, he decides to visit him again, only to find that Little Bear is close to death and in need of help.

I like the chapter called "Chapter 10. Boone's Brainwave" because it just makes me happy because of Boone the cowboy.

This is one heck of a sequel & that book The Return of the Indian reminds me of anything like Oliver Twist & Black Beauty or Son of Black Beauty.

This is just a good book & I loved it?

I liked it when Omri went to Little Bear's world. Omri was the tepee and got set on fire. He went back to his world and his hair was burned off.