Having seen the movie Glory for the first time this past weekend, I couldn't help but wonder about the 54th and its Colonel Shaw. So, when I got my hands on this book I had very high expectations. I have to say that I was very happy with the quality of this book. It has just enough sentiment for Colonel Shaw and his family, yet it also portrays the 54th as the heroes I believe they were. I would recommend this to any history buff, or to anyone who finds that they had the same thirst as I after seeing Glory on television. Great book..

Matthew Broderick portrayed Robert Gould Shaw, in the movie "Glory," as shy, idealistic, tenacious. In real life he was all these things and more: more complex, more a product of his age and social class (what we today call "classism" was universal then), struggling to escape the iron grip of his abolitionist mother, wrestling with notions of race which we today would call "racism." Burchard's book is still the best for bringing him back to life: sharing army life with his friends, courting his future wife, organizing and forming the first black regiment to serve as a regiment of the line (the rest were mostly used for bushwhacking or manual labor). He surely knew before accepting the job that he would face unpopularity, uncertainty, and execution if captured. Twenty-five-year-old Robert showed awesome moral courage in taking it on, and one of the virtues of this book is that it makes Robert's record believable, first in his choice, and then in sticking with loneliness, exhaustion, discouragement, fear of death, and obstacle after obstacle, to prove that "Black Men can fight as well as White Men" and therefore can meet the coming demands of citizenship. Another virtue, for older students maybe, lies in its portrayal of the "classism" and "racism" which formed the unexamined background of most Americans in the 1860's, against which we can measure how far we've really evolved since then. All in all, an excellent book for young people in American History courses, to supplement the movie "Glory" which is often used to illustrate the Civil War and its human side.

Peter Blodgett's Land Of Golden Dreams: California In The Gold Rush Decade, 1848-1858 is a superbly written, splendidly illustrated, authoritative history that begins with a description of Mexican California society before the discover of gold. Blodgett then describes the great western migration of 1849 launched with the discovery of gold at Sutter's Mill; the cultural and political transformation of California with the sudden and huge influxes of people; and the enduring legacies that the gold rush decade had upon the people and the land. Highly recommended reading for students of the American west in general, and the California Gold Rush in particular, Land Of Golden Dreams is enhanced with a checklist of the three-gallery Huntington Library Press exhibition upon which this book was developed, and a "user friendly" index.

account of the early european visitors to San Francisco Bay, focusing on the area that became Yerba Buena, then San Francisco. The book ends with the discovery of gold in California, which signified the end of the villiage known as Yerba Buena. Imagine the green valleys of San Francisco, oak glens and cool creeks, a few barns and homes. Then imagine an influx of sailors, "Americans, Yankees, Spanish, French, Italians, Portuguese, English, Canadians, Irish, Scotch, Russians, Germans, Chinese, &c. Not a man was to be seen without a pistol and knife in his belt."

Reviewed in Trends in Cell Biology, Vol 12, No. 4 April 2002
Frauke Melchior
Max-Planck Institute for Biochemistry, Germany

"... a stimulating and interesting anthology that covers the first decade of Ran research"

"As a whole the book also serves as an excellent reference source because virtually all available data on Ran are covered somewhere in the book. In general, the chapters are very well written and provide valuable background information."

"In conclusion, I found this book an enjoyable and instructive read and will certainly use it often as a reference in the future."

This was a okay book The movie was adpted from this?

Robert Gould Shaw was that shy, stubborn hero of the movie "Glory": a Boston aristocrat, reared among abolitionists, struggling to break free from the iron grip of his mother, a good soldier, a born leader. Peter Burchard's book is still the best for bringing the young Colonel to life before our eyes: reading military history in his tent, courting his future wife, fighting on great battlefields, and displaying awesome moral courage as well as physical courage. A complex and in some ways a heavy-burdened young man, he took on the uncertain, unpopular and dangerous job of organizing, training and leading the nation's first black regiment. He certainly knew before he took the job that in order to prove that "Black Men could fight as well as White Men" he would probably have to lose his life along with many of the men who would come to trust him. The story of how he battled every kind of prejudice and misunderstanding, as well as the common hazards of poor food, boredom, cold, homesickness, and the grief of leaving his wife of just three weeks, makes for a well-presented saga; 140 years later it's still worth pondering. It proves that one cheerful, rather ordinary young man--a dedicated man--can make a difference.

While somewhat difficult to plod through due to clunky language and obscure elemental defenitions, After reading this book, anyone with access to a moderately stocked chemistry lab can create a plethora of mind-altering substances out of basic household materials. Useful and tons of fun!

This was pretty good book with great insites on the band Phish. I suggest any Phish phan read it.