My husband and his family are among the Swedes of Greater Brockton. It was wonderful to find this book as few are aware of the contribution and connection of Swedish folk to the Brockton area. I recommend it to any one with an interest in Brockton or the history of Swedes in Massachusetts

This text was assigned as required reading for a public administration course. I found the book to be easy to read and it gave a great deal of information on the NPR. I found it well worth the time.

A pretty good western story, set on the border of Arkansas and the Indian Territory in the 1890s. It is a good read, however, it is pure fiction. If you are looking to actually learn about the historic characters portrayed in the book, go to the library and check out a history book. This novel strays from the truth in a pretty wide manner.

All in all, it is a fun story!

How many authors of Westerns use a 15-year-old orphan as the central figure who tells the story and pairs him with a dyslexic girl? That setup alone might be enough to interest some readers of this new Western. There's plenty of action, too. The author does a fairly good job of developing the story though much of the rest of it is more traditional. A wealthy and influential rancher whose sons make trouble for any who get in their way controls the town. A stranger from New York City happens to be in town when trouble is brewing for young Nate, the orphan. Jake, the stranger, ends up sticking around to see what he can do to even the odds. The struggle between these two sides, as in many Westerns, becomes the struggle between good and evil. Perhaps this might be one of the book's weaker points. It may be a little too black and white for some. Also the dialogue occasionally sounds a little unnatural. But with the setup the way it is and the interaction that occurs, this is a book worth reading.

This book was the first in the series that I purchased, but I definitely intend to buy the other two. The main characters, Leo and Jacque are well developed, the historical personalities they run into are represented accurately (having read biographies of Judge Parker and the real Dr. Lemat, who is presented as a relative of Leo in this book) and the details (food, tack, firearms, locations) are accurate. This is a pleasurable way for someone to learn about Ft. Smith and Indian Territory history without having to locate several of the hard-to-find books that the author's obviously studied to create this book.

Highly recommended and definitely a cut above many of the Western genre series.

I purchased this book expecting it to cater to someone beyond University level. However, the contents clearly cater for high school level learning and therefore provided little value to me. If you are looking to strengthen your technical and analytical skills look somewhere else. If you want basic training, give it a try.

This insightful book proved worth its weight in gold. A must read for any entrepreneur looking for serious funding.

Looking with the other reviews written, I do see their sense of frustration in wanting more practical ways to decorate a home, however I felt it needed to be seen in a postive light as well. It is a very artful book, and I don't believe the author intended it to be a "How To" as much as it was intended to be lively, inspiring, "get-you-to-think" type of book. It has beautifully tipped-in pages, and is a very high quality book. I am a graphic artist, and I bought it for the book's design as I did for its content. If you would like a wonderful coffee-table type book, as well as some inspiration for decorating, you should enjoy this book!

I bought "White Hot" almost the minute it came out, after seeing it on display at the Pottery Barn. I should say at the outset that my taste in color and decor coincides with that of the author, so I was thrilled to finally find a decorator who spoke to my aesthetic sensibility.

As a watercolor painter, I adore Tricia Guild's romance with color and her exploration of beauty in simple, natural objects. I frequently keep her book open and find that each time I study the photographs of rooms, I get new ideas. The author quite deliberately chose to avoid making a "how to" guidebook. This book is not designed to give ideas for projects, or tell you what to put with what, but rather is designed to inspire and to trigger the reader's imagination and empower a person to tap their own subconscious creativity and come up with solutions for their living spaces. To me, decorating and design are processes that grow and cumulate organically, at different paces for different individuals. In my opinion, Guild is something of a decorating midwife, helping the reader tune into their own design vocabulary and re-imagine their space by being able to perceive space, color and objects in different ways.

Unlike many other books which I have tired of, I regularly look through the pages, which are meditative and relaxing in their beauty and tranquility. If you like Cirque du Soleil, you are going to love Ms. Guild's work. There is a magical quality to all of her work. I view her book much as I view "The Artist's Way" by Julia Cameron, because this is ultimately a visual workbook. Many of her ideas are democratic and easily accessible- the placement of plants, the use of pillows, fabric, wood, ceramics, and the rhythm of color combination. It is a far more right-brained approach, and one that enabled me to look at my space and get past the "stuckness" I had in seeing the same objects in the same way. As a result of using her books and getting a feng shui consultation, I redid my entire apartment, which I veiw as my work-in-progress. My inspriation came in spurts, sometimes in 14-hour long passionate bouts of rearranging. I had many ideas for re-imagining my space, and also was better able to conceptualize room arrangement.

I was able to edit and groom my belongings in ways I never thought previously possible, and found that I had far greater confidence in making purchases of new things for my apartment. Guild's book trains you to see your space as a living, breathing, mutable canvas to which ordinary objects are orchestrated into a symphony of color, form and texture.

The spiritual component of this approach to decorating is that one does not envy what Ms. Guild has or uses. Guild's approach is not to aim for perfection, or to motivate the reader to do the same. If there is a perfection in style embodied in her book, its goal is to coach, to challenge, and to inspire the user to groom his or her belongings, much as one treats oneself to a spa, to appreciate the simple beauty of nature, of flowers, plants, organic forms, and to use these elements - air, light, water, fire - in decorating to achieve a greater sense of balance and harmony in one's being.

My main source of disappointment is that there was not enough information on where to purchase some of the quirky pieces of furniture featured in the photos, and the difficulty in obtaining fabric shown in the book. I wish she had a store in New York City!

Carol Lipton

From the moment I received this book I have loved it, as it is. For me it is a beautiful artwork about how your home can look and be, it is very inspiring and shows a lot of what you can do with light and nuances in your home. I think it is a bit unfare to say it doesn't tell you 'how to' - it is not a how to book, it is intended as inspiration, not that I know Tricia Guild but it is usually the purpose of books of this kind. It does tell you, however that color works different ways in different light and that I see as a definite 'how to' hint..
As inspiration and setting your mind to work it is assume!

It isn't often that I read a novel by a respected and admired author that I find so little to like and undeserving of any kind of literary merit or praise.

Lily Tuck's "Siam" tells the story of a young, twenty-five year old woman named Claire, who impulsively marries an American, who helps build airfields for the army and is living in Thailand on the eve of the Vietnam War.

Claire joins her husband in Thailand, and the novel describes her experiences living in a country which is exotic and strangely beautiful on the surface, but also extremely "ugly" and even "sinister" beneath the country's seemingly beautiful facade.

Despite this short novel's well depicted, exotic locale (realistic and well done), the book isn't really about much of anything. Claire's marriage is shown to be falling apart:no reasons or motivations given, other than the fact that James doesn't seem to be in love with her (if, in fact he ever was) and seems to enjoy being away, working. Claire and James are sketchily described at best and never rise above being shown as more than just "types"--rather than interesting "individuals" in their own right.

What small amount of plot there is, concerns itself with the mysterious disappearance of a Silk enprenneur, named Jim Thompson, and Claire's obsessive attempt to find out the reason for his disappearance while he was flying somewhere else in Thairland supposedly while vacationing.

Claire's interest in Bill Thompson, (an actual, historical figure who disappeared under mysterious circumstances, is never plausibly spelled out for the reader, other than just to be told that the object of her search was an exceedingly polite and well bred man, who had exquisite artistic tastes)and seemed altogether different from her husband, whom Claire is obviously no longer in love with anymore than her husband is with her.

Lily Tuck's unwillingness to describe any of her characters in any depth made it impossible for this reader to care in any way what happens to them---which isn't much of anything, except that Claire never finds out what happened to Jim Thompson and an unexpected act of violence occurs in the swimming pool of the house where she is living, at the close of the novel.

Besides the dearth of an interesting plot and the lack of interesting characterization, there is a seemingly endless attempt on the part of the author to explain the intricacies of the Thai language as Claire struggles to familiarize herself with with Thailand's customs and traditions.

Page after page is filled with ITALICIZED Thai words and expressions--as though Lily Tuck is trying to compensate for her lack of plotting and poor attempts at characterization, by illustrating how much she knows about the Thai language.

Perhaps other readers will find virtues in the book which I have somehow missed seeing. But as far as I'm concerned--except for the lush descriptions of Thailand's fauna and plant life--there is little reason to read "Siam."

Don't waste your time!

A friend gave me Siam and I really liked it. I have never been to Thailand but I felt like I was visiting while reading this book (through the eyes of Claire). If you're wondering if Siam is for you read the Editorial reviews by Amazon.com, Booklist, and the Publisher. I think all three reviews describe the book very well.

This is a novel that obviously promoted strong pro and con sentiments. I found that many of the reasons that the readers were disturbed by the novel was what I liked best about it. This is certainly not a book for those that must have all their questions answered. This novel is a suggestion of Thai history, allusive, mysterious and provocative.

This is a story of a rather naive young American woman, Claire, who marries impulsively to a military contractor working out of Thailand during the Vietnam war. She must cope with a new culture, servants she distrusts and a husband that she becomes suspicious of. Yet, there is a tone of mystery, a friend they met at a dinner party disappears. Based on a real event, Jim Thompson, an American silk buisnessman disappears during a vacation. Claire becomes obsessed with his absence, along with other issues of her life that begin to unravel.

At first, her arrival prompted her to take Thai language lessons, research Thai history and culture in the local library and join a military wives weekly tour group. The plunge into Thai culture begins to take it's toll on Claire. She mistrusts the servants, and later finds items missing that she treasures. Worst, she doubts her debonair husband and fears he is having affairs with friend's wives. She takes to examining his dirty laundry for evidence of infidelity. She can't sleep and begins to drink more. She misses her home and her family. She finds the Thai food disgusting and the outside town filthy. There is a palpable tension that the author alludes to, a crisis in the making and a constant referral to the violence of the Thai past intersecting with this woman's life.

I guarantee all your questions will not be answered. The ending is allusive and disturbing. While accepting the novel as it is would be my advice, I would relish the opportunity to review this book in a book club setting. I am sure the interpretations would be various and vast. Don't let the originality put you off to an incredible unique novel.

Its a shame that such devisiveness exists in the Church that the "Whore" myth continues. Such hatred, and why? I can recount a Catholic martyr for every Protestant martyr mentioned. As for Rome,our Church suffered more from the Emperors than any other. Maybe the Whore described represents churches of many denominations that pick and choose what doctrines they believe and do not, and the endorse any person running around quoting Scripture out of context to their hearts content.

I WAS HOPING TO ADD SOME NICE COLORS TO MY HOUSE BUT THIS BOOK IS MORE FOR A SINGLE PERSON LIVING IN AN APARTMENT. TOO MANY COLORS THROWN TOGETHER.

The title is all wrong for this book. It isn't a decorating book but an arty book about color, period. Don't look for gorgeous color-filled room in this book, because you won't find them. What you will see are big shots of closeups of flowers or fruit or other such things. Pretty but useless if you are into decorating.

I've been poring through tons of magazines and books, searching for examples of modern style with lots of bold color, and this book has it. It is at the top of my list of sources of inspiration for decorating my new home.

I agree with another reviewer who said that it does not provide basics of color design, and yet another reviewer who claimed it did not have enough about the rooms themselves. The book does offer ideas for bringing color into your living space, through the furnishings, as well as when you entertain.
If you dislike modern styles and bold colors, then don't get this book. It's not for you.

If you are tired of looking at taupes, mochas, chocolates, beiges, creams, grays, "sand", etc., then this book should provide some great ideas for color combinations and ways to infuse your rooms with color.

He uses big words and doesn't spell them right! He spends to much time talking about how amazing vampires are. The dialouge is a poor attempt at humor and needless to say it fails miserably. I don't recommend anyone read this unless they want to die of boredom!

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