All of the above and more. I found it to be educational and moving. Don't let the number of pages scare you. Large easy to read print. If you like historical fiction, romance, humor, adventure, surprises and just a plain good story this is a must read book. For me, an eye opening account of the truth of the white man's encroachment into a culture, a people and a land. We can't change the past but we can be changed by it. Read and learn.

My grandmother loved River Rising and said it was the "best book".

I am not Cherokee, or even Native American, but I have always felt an affinity with the Cherokee especially. The characters in your book came alive for me and I went on the Trail of Tears just as they did. I felt their sorrow and grief, their joys and triumphs, and felt as if I knew each one. A superbly written book!

This book lays out wonderfully the metaphor of our life's journey. It is an important tool. I thoroughly enjoyed the interpretation and particularly liked the spatial models.

It was very readable and thought provoking. I found it opening doors to making a spiritual journey out of daily living.

Initially I thought this might be a flip review of the movie the Wizard of Oz, but rather found it to be a thorough textbook and very helpful to me and my practice. And the mandala made great sense at the end. I would like to use it as a group study book.

More than anything, Frank Stewart challenges you to think. The examples he gives are designed to topple the very paradigms, or "natural plays", that burden our development as bridge players. Many times, after working through a problem, I've thought, "Wow! I never thought of that!". It really opens your eyes. If you're an intermediate player, who wants to improve your game, this book is for you!

I recommend this to all beginning bridge players and will recommend to all my students. Frank presents the material in a logical fashion along with a thought process that will get you going in the right direction. Bridge is more than memorizing the basics. Learn how to "think"bridge from Frank's easy to follow explanations. IngridH at OKbridge

I have improved a lot after I got this book. It's very good for advanced players.

I recently had the honor of meeting the 80 year-old Hone at a poetry reading in Christchurch (New Zealand). To me, a New Zealander, Hone Tuwhare I regard as a living prophet. Open any New Zealand book of verse and Hone will fill a good twenty pages. It is impossible for me to say how important this man is to our country. His poetry is mystical, political, romantic - he captures the landscape and its people like no-one else ever has. You don't have to be a New Zealander to enjoy these either - they will be, I assure you, the most beautiful, energetic, natural, informed poems you will ever have the pleasure of reading. and in no way am I going to be able to put across the sheer wisdom that is "Deep river talk" with a list of adjectives. Its like cummings got lost in wilderness with Thomas Wolfe and built a monastery and they all came out drinking and laughing and singing Maori spirituals. Hell - just read it for yourself.

This is a book that anyone interested in writing from Asia and the Pacific ought to read. Insightful, engaging, and a complete pleasure. Includes a great collection of Korean women writers.

After enjoying DL Stewart humor in the local newspaper for years, it is hard to imagine finding better quality humor writing anywhere. Stewart, in this book, combines the wit and sarcasm of his of his collumn with the vivd observation of his newly integrated family in, arguably, one of the funniest books ever. Few humor books are much more than amusing, whereas this one should contain a warning not to read while trying to go to sleep. I laughed so hard, out loud with eyes watering, that my sides would hurt for a full day afterwards. As a 20 year old college student I would highly recomend this book to anyone, as it relates parents to kids to pets to life in such a humorous manner, any audience could enjoy it.

There's more to Mr. Marsalis than his stewardship of the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra. There's even more to him than his relationship with Albert Murray and Stanley Crouch. This book is--in addition to being a polemic on self-worth, love, and swing--the diary of one of the greatest working jazz bands of all time (well, since Buddy Bolden, anyway): The Wynton Marsalis Septet. Wynton gives you a seat on the bus, and it's an illuminating look at the life of a working band. My only quibble is that too many pictures go without captions: It's up to you to figure out that Wynton is hugging Clark Terry somewhere in Greenwich Village.

The book "Sweet Swing Blues on the Road" is a fantastic view into the life of American jazz darling Wynton Marsalis.

It professes and appears at first glance to be about life touring on the road, but instead reveals itself as a collection of essays about subjects as diverse as bandmates, romance, and of course music.

The tone Marsalis takes is very reminiscent of his good friend, Stanley Crouch, who wrote most of the liner notes for Marsalis' albums. However, while Crouch can come off as losing a ferocious battle against the English language, Marsalis seems earthy, clever, and insightful.

Marsalis writes like a musician or every black preacher worth a drive. He has a cadence. A strong cadence. A cadence that finds resonation in the soul. He developes writing themes like any good improviser should.

It is clear that Marsalis has spent time with noted writer Albert Murray, whose book "Stomping the Blues" finds a kindred heart in "Swing Sweet . . ."

Readers receive a sneak peak at Marsalis' Pulitzer-prize winning epic "Blood on the Fields" as some of the sights of this book reappear in that work. Readers also find themselves agreeing with Marsalis' view of rap ("Rappers have funny haircuts") and misunderstandings of jazz.

Photographer Frank Stewart provides visual compliments to the text in fine black and white fashion. Perhaps the belle of this ball is the out of fucus shot of the late Dizzy Gillespie with an in-focus sillouette of Marsalis in the foreground.

"Swing Sweet home blues" is a great book that people who like jazz would love and those who don't understand jazz owe to themselves to check out.

Wynton Marsalis is commonly referred to as the leader of the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra in New York. His fame was established through years of touring with his brilliant Wynton Marsalis Septet. It is from that period in his creative life that this memory album comes. Frank Stewart's genius snapshots are complimented by Marsalis' commentary on a multitude of topics. Some excerpts are just recollections, others read like sermons. If nothing else, one is given a chance to observe Wynton in all of his elements - intellectually, musically, and socialy as well. His band is also introduced throughout the episodes. A highly intimate journey through the life of a jazz legend in our time.

I ordered this book because i needed help understanding the calculations for the IHIT exam. since i did not know a lot of the calculations, and didnt want to waste the time trying to find all the information, i bought this book. the book spells out what each letter and number stands for. its very easy to read and the layout of the book is not confusing. The book also gives some background information. The book is bound with a plastic spiral and a some-what plastic cover. I found this a little awkward. Over all the information is great and it must have taken some time to put it together, but i think the price is a little high. But i guess you pay that for the convenience.