This book features superb photography of the historic Catholic missions built in the southwest states and California. The beautiful photographs, many of them full-page, are of exterior and interior views of the missions, as well as closeups of architectural and artistic details. A short written history accompanies each featured mission, and although there are some mentions of the historical personages and events connected with the missions, most of the histories refer to the physical aspects of the missions such as their construction, remodeling, etc. This is a great coffee-table or armchair traveler book, but one will need to look elsewhere for a serious study about mission history.

I purchased this book after a recent visit to the Santuario de Chimayo near Taos, New Mexico, which is one of the churches it features. The photos are absolutely gorgeous and provide an excellent feel for the incredible beauty of these wonderful, historical buildings. The book covers everything from each church's unique architecture to the fascinating folk art that can be found within.

The Story of a Bad Boy is one of my favorite books. It's interesting, humorous, and touching, and gives you an inside look at the life of a boy in Massachusetts in the early 1800s. I love the author's style of writing. It seems to make the story all the more humorous, and brings you back to those olden days. I also love this book because it's a true story, and this kid led a life full of adventures and mishaps. I would recommend it to anyone who enjoyed Tom Sawyer because these two books are similar, and the two boys have the same type of mischievous personalities. Yet in spite of similarities, Bad Boy is unique because it's true.

We live in a world of fantacy and of real life.This book gives you a glimpse into the life of a real American boy.

As a Seattle native who grew up near Seattle's Musesum of History and Industry, I found this to be an enjoyable story of the first white settlers we often call Seattle's "pilgrims." One of my favorite spots in the museum was the diorama of the early settlers on a rainy-looking Alki Point with their roofless log cabin.

As an elementary school librarian, I have recommended this book as a read-aloud to our fourth grade teachers, where the history of Washington State is covered in our curriculum. What we've discovered is that, while factually interesting, the boys get turned off to the love story that weaves in and out. Now we mainly recommend this to upper elementary girls, and those who do read it end up wanting to read more titles in the series.

I've only read the first book in this series, which I thoroughly enjoyed, but my wife is currently devouring, and loving, the next titles in the series.

Readers who know the streets of Seattle will begin to recognize where many of the names came from. Personally, I grew up near Louisa Street. I wonder where that name came from?

For people interested in Washington State, Seattle, or the Oregon Trail, this book is highly recommended. This title was recommended by the Washington State Centennial Committee back in 1989.

I have read this book a couple of times and have been very impressed with the writers research on the facts and history of Seattle. Living in Seattle for 10 years I learned a little bit about how Seattle got started but I found that this book written as a love story kept my interest. When I am down town and see the street names and see the different buildings I remember the stories I've read from the Sweetbriar series. I love these books. Other cities should follow suit.

As Tom was forming the images for this book he fell extremely ill. While in a deep and long coma he met Henry and based upon that meeting several of the images in this book were changed. These beautiful images of the Hudson River and in particular Storm King Mountain will haunt and excite you as you consider how this area was formed and has survived man's interference. The essence of this area will be finally synthesized in his next book, The Story of a River. When completed this will give you a private insight into time and ecology not found anywhere else.

Written and illustrated by Thomas Locker, Walking With Henry is a warm and resplendently beautiful picture book based on the life and works of Henry David Thoreau. Majestic painted landscapes showcase simple descriptions drawn from and inspired by the man who loved to walk in the wilderness. Walking With Henry is a highly recommended and heartwarming tribute suitable for young readers of all ages, and aptly serve to introduce the life and work of America's most famous and enduringly popular naturalists.

I thought this book was great! The pictures of the objects are beautiful. Where a picture could not be obtained there is usually a detailed sketch of the object. The descriptions give not only insight into use of the archaological object but also surrounding information like similar objects and archeological context. Then the essays descibe the time period and unknown/debated issue of Egyptian Archeology. As a newbie to Egyptian Archaeology I found the book easy to read and felt that things were explained well.

This is a wonderful book that can be helpful in many class levels of American History. I personally am using this book in my AP US History class. I find that all facts in the text are completely relavent to the topic being discussed. Bailey also has a way of putting in many little important tidbits and anecdotes that are very humorous and pertain to the subject matter. The book's layout is very well organized. This makes it easy to find any information. In the margins Bailey has put in may quotes from famous historical figures. These quotes always pertain the the subject being discussed and are very helpful when writing essays. The book also does a good job of including the inportance of different ethnic groups in the formation of America.

This book provides wonderful sources for the middle school classroom. As an 8th grade social studies teacher I would be lost without this book. It provides a great balance for the textbook, and brings history alive for students. Some sources are advanced, but many can be used in an inclusive classroom setting. A perfect choice for any teacher of early American history.

An outstanding and well researched expose of the Martha Jefferson-Sally Hemings half-sister myth. The rumors and political slandering of Thomas Jefferson began with early political enemies of Jefferson, some fired from office or denied office due to malfeasance or unsuitability for government office. The notorius scandalmonger reporter, James T. Callender, continued the "Campaign Lies", (the Tom Woodson charge was exposed by there being NO Jefferson/Woodson DNA match), and these slandering efforts were carried out by Samuel Wetmore in the Madison Hemings interview in Pike Co, Ohio. Many of the statements contained in this interview have been exposed as being very doubtful under close and minute research.

Recent evaluations of these misleading findings of the Jefferson-Hemings DNA Study of 1998 and the resultant sensationalist media coverage, would lead one to believe that Thomas Jefferson is guilty of fathering Hemings children. Nothing could be further from the truth as reported in the Jefferson Scholars Commission Report, a blue ribbon panel of thirteen prominent professors, released April 12, 2001. The Thomas Jefferson Heritage Society has links to the full S.C. report.

The authors have long researched all the material and have personally visited many of the covered sites. There are many excellent references cited and for all who wish to keep current on the Jefferson-Hemings controversy should read this book and also the Thomas Jefferson Heritage Society book, "The Jefferson-Hemings Myth, An American Travesty."

Dennis R. Hidalgo

Thomas Bender, ed. The Antislavery Debate

What can a historian do when there is not enough empirical evidence to produce a quantitative and comprehensively thesis for a social historical problem that defies psychological scrutiny? David Brion Davis opted for an answer that satisfies cynic assumptions with circumstantial evidences. Davis argues that the strength of abolitionism in early industrial Britain derived from its susceptibility to the needs of the dominant political elite. It was particularly influenced by this new bourgeoisie capitalist class' modes of industrial discipline. Antislavery main, and unconscious, purpose was to desensitize English society to the newer forms of oppression evident in the increasing wage labor. His context of conceptual reference appears to flow from Marxism and Freudian thought: the rise of an oppressing bourgeoisie driven by its hidden and selfish Id. To Thomas Haskell this idea of unconscious "self-deception" and motivation by class interests is not convincing. For him, it is impossible for the historian to bring concrete evidence to bear, which will distinguish between unconscious intention and unintended consequences. Following what appears to be a more objective goal, Haskell intends to draw a straighter line between the rise of the market economy and the rise of the abolitionist movement in 1750s. In doing so he moves from a quasi-Freudian historical analysis to an Ericsonian: that of a cognitive change of behavior. For Haskell capitalist and market expansion broaden social perception that in turn promoted moral responsibility. The most powerful catalyst in this process of change was the "intensification of market discipline, and the penetration of that discipline into spheres of life previously untouched by it." To this Davis decries Haskell approach for being more economic deterministic than a rationalistic. To this, John Ashworth adds that Haskell is not able to follow up the empirical inclinations of his Davis' critic since he does not supply enough evidence to support his argument. Indeed, his only example of moral switch to Antislavery is the Quaker John Woolman. Without knowing Haskell is caught in one of the most frustrating traps of an empirical driven discipline. His response is that he is not looking for a comprehensive societal change but for a mechanism that might have caused the change. The problems this approach is the usefulness of such "found" mechanism if there is no proof that the mechanism was indeed used sufficiently as to merit its historical validity. Nevertheless, Haskell bottom line is his desire to demonstrate that abolitionists rationally attached the worst evil of their times. Davis and Ashworth's response to Haskell's premise is that wage labor could have been also attacked and was not. Ashworth spend most of his time criticizing Haskell and throwing some bits toward Davis. Yet he is also able to provide an interesting proposition. First, he asserts Davis' starting point as the place to launch the investigation: the emergence of a dominant class. This would lead us to the disregarding of wage labor abuses and protected interests. But instead of moving completely toward Davis, he detours into the cultural notion of family and its effect on productivity. The simple conclusion, thus, is that since slavery, through its detrimental effect on family and society, slowed the pace of economic advance, "it is not surprising that to more people than ever before it seemed an unmitigated evil." Haskell response to this is that these family values could have been in existence long before the abolitionist movement, thus, rendering useless in the debate. Ashworth's last answer is that the production ethos has a long family history, it was the innovation brought by master-wage earner relationship that transformed the view of family into a more entrepreneurial project. Clearly this debate is provocative, but narrowly conceived, as is mainly centered around Marxist concepts of history, evasive evidences and a revival of neo-Whiggists approaches. Very little criticism could be employed against the authors since they exhausted most of it that could be applicable to their line of argument. However, an also important critique to a combine look at the arguments presented may be the dearth of sociological and cultural approaches that may enhance the historical view that as historians we are trying to discover.

This book contains miscellaneous information about the Mythos collectible card game. It contains: the rules of the game, a FAQ, a short play and deck construction guide, a sort of designer's notes on the game, background information on selected cards, rules for solitaire play and creating your own adventures, a complete spoiler list for the limited edition of the game and lists of card attributes and requirements for completing adventures.

As a collector and player of the game, I found the designer's notes on the history of the game and the design philosophy to be especially interesting. Also useful to me are the short notes on the background of selected cards and the rules for creating and scoring your own adventures. The pictures of the selected cards are black & white with a paragraph of background info. Buyers should also note that there is an updated version of the rules of the game at the Chaosium website.