In 1882 Wyoming Territory, Garrick Bateman, owner of the local mines, hires Dayle Dobson, a Lady Pinkerton to keep his wife, Lotta, out of trouble. It seems Mary Stillman Davies, head of a Chinese undergroundrailroad, has recruited Lotta to help free Chinese girls from the brothels.

Garrick and the local Tong are responsible for importing the Oriental ladies so that the Chinese laborers are sexually satisfied.

The Hooded Sleeper, a notorious anarchist, has soaped the train tracks as a means of protest. Dayle believes that someone traveling with the P.T. Barnum Spectacular circus is the Hooded Sleeper. However, she has no time to investigate the act of anarchy as her assignment is to watch over Lotta.

A traveling Shakespearean troupe arrives in town. One of the actors is Harry Bryant, who loathes big business, but in particular the Pinkertons. In his mind, the only good Pinkerton is a dead Pinkerton until he meets and falls in love with Dayle, who reciprocates his feelings. However, Dayle cannot commit to anything long term because she fears that her beloved Harry is the Hooded Sleeper.

Jerrie Hurd provides fans of historical romance and historical fiction with one of the top five Americana tales of the year. The support cast of Harry, Garrick, Allan and William Pinkertons, the townsfolk, and the Chinese are very intriguing players who bring dimension and authenticity to the delightful story line. However, in the end it is the moral quandary of their love for their men vs. the immoral actions their men have done confronting Lotta and Dayle that makes this a classic novel.

Harriet Klausner

Making Bent Willow Furniture has terrific projects and is very easy to follow. The illustrations and step-by-step instructions made it easy to build the chair on the front cover during a weekend family camping trip. I'd recommend this book to anyone who likes to complete building projects in the same decade they started them!

If you love rustic funiture you need this book. I have several books on the subject and this is by far my favorite. It has lots of great photos of both contemporary and traditional rustic pieces, and many helpful tips and how-tos. I made a willow chair and found the instructions easy to follow, with good descriptions and step-by-step photos. It was a fun project. Daniel Mack makes beautiful furniture and does a great job of sharing his knowledge.

Walter Gibson's "Pleasant Places" will help you enjoy the quiet and unassuming genre of 17th Century northern European landscape art. The author accepts the works at face value: pleasant images of places the Dutch in particular liked to visit. Gibson does not read religious allegory into them as some art historians do, but he instead shows you how to appreciate the quality of light, the sense of place, and the Dutch character that emerges from Dutch landscape art. He perhaps inadvertently offers some examples where religious interpretations may be more important than he allows, and you do not feel that he is forcing all of the works to fit his premise even though he is steadfast. The book is well-written, and I especially appreciate the author's parenthetical definition of Dutch terms and concepts as they are introduced. In addition, he gently reminds you of their meanings when they are reintroduced in subsequent chapters, so you won't have to hunt through the index and text to find them again. Some of the black-white reproductions of prints are too small, and not clear enough to enable detailed study, but this is a common problem with art history books, and this book will motivate you to visit the nearest art museum to study the genre in any case. Walter Gibson communicates a love and respect for 17th Century northern European landscape art that makes me want to visit Holland and experience it first-hand. Walter Gibson has persuaded me that I will find the Dutch countryside a pleasant place laden with history and wonderful light.

I was in a bookstore in Toronto and stumbled across the different Dover font books and was instantly in love with all of them. Wisely, my significant other gave me a limit of ONE book to buy. "Fine," I said as I began poking through the books. It didn't take me long to realize which one of the books was superior. With stunning creativity and originality, this collection caught my eye and had me digging in my wallet. If only I would have known about Amazon.com then, I might have saved me a loon or two.

This coffee table book is a magnificent visual tribute to the rustic artists who dedicate themselves to creating "exquisitely handcrafted home furnishings and decor straight from nature". The photographs by the author are stunning and provide a rare visit to some multi-million-dollar homes. This is a wonderful book to display and to share with family and friends. As with all of Ralph Kylloe's books, the production is top-notch, the text is informative and thought-provoking, and the photography is awe-inspiring!

Dan Mack's Rustic Furniture Workshop is a superbly presented compendium of do-it-yourself woodworking, furniture making projects using a variety of "found" materials including simple sticks, twigs, and branches. From tables and stools to a bookcase or room divider, clear instructions are provided for each project, along with detailed "how-to" photos and inspiring examples. The required tools are explained and fundamental techniques such as drilling and simple mortise-and-tenon joinery are carefully explained. If you are a woodworker looking for unique, challenging, and inspiring projects for a weekend, browse through the pages of Dan Mack's Rustic Furniture Workshop!

If you like gardens and nature you will enjoy this book. My girl friend gave it to me and now I am buying a copy for a friend. I have already made one bench from ideas in the book. A must have for the creative gardener

Sloan presents really easy and consistently good recipes for all skill levels. These are great Italian comfort food recipes--not much fuss but always really yummy. I highly recommend this cook book.

I originally chose this book for the pictures, but fell in love with the Italian cuisine. The photos provide an appetizer to the eye while taking you on a romantic journey through the Italian countryside. Each chapter introduces the reader to a new menu, a new chef and a new taste of Italy. The recipes are sure to give any home chef a taste for the gourmet with the delightful aromas, textures and tastes each has to offer.

De Gustibus has done an excellent job of translating their cooking classes into a useful book for the home cook. The book is put together in such a manner that each step is clearly defined along with tips for timely preparation. I highly recommend the introduction as it provides some helpful tools that can be used every day in the home kitchen. Even novice and occasional cooks will find the recipes easy to follow and techniques accurately described. This is a favorite in my kitchen library and has been a great inspiration in awakening my taste for gourmet cousine.