This is a must-read for anyone interested in the civil rights struggle of the 60's. It is a very readable and detailed account of the murder of Medgar Evers by Byron de la Beckwith. This is one of those books I thought I would leaf through, but I got so absorbed that I read it in one sitting.

This book is definitely not what you would call fun to read, but it is a stirring and important document. The author commits a few infelicities of language (for which I would have deducted the quarter-star if I could) but keeps the narrative tension high and sheds a lot of light for this Yankee girl on the kind of culture that made a man like Medger Evers loyal to the state of Mississippi even though it was a state that would allow his murderer to go unpunished for decades. It doesn't gloss over the warts of those on the side of the angels, and although it doesn't fully explain the psychology of the assassin, perhaps no one can.

I picked up Ghosts of Mississippi several years ago but tucked it away for a rainy day. De la Beckwith's death earlier this week (and a California rain storm) prompted me to dust it off. I now regret not having read it years ago. Maryanne Vollers' work is, in short, a masterpiece. Her amazing investigative skills and craftmanship left me wanting to read more. Logging on today to write this review, I was thrilled to see that Vollers has a new book out (Ice Bound). This time I won't wait!

If ever in your wildest imaginings, you would ever consider wintering in the coldest, darkest place on earth, then this is the book for you. It is absolutely amazing to consider all the difficulties involved in human survival in this harshest of climates at the south pole. While dressing in multiple heavy layers to conserve body heat, one still has to inhale the frigid air. I never realized how hypoxic (low in oxygen) living conditions were until I read this book. There are physiological reasons in addition to the two mile thick ice layer that make the south pole a high altitude experience. Even more amazing to consider is that 8 month period of total isolation incurred during the dark, long polar winter. The book does a great job of successfully relating the challenges posed by this extremely brutal environment. It vividly impresses the reader with the very tenuous and fragile nature of human existence in conditions where electric generators are an umbilical cord . Severance means certain death for all humans at the station since outside winter temperatures drop three digits below zero ( below -100 degrees)!

The book also deals with the ordeal of facing serious illness or traumatic injury in this harsh isolated environment. The doctor is a one man/woman show. She/he is a jack- of -all medical trades, performing multiple other duties (those of a nurse, lab technician , x-ray technician ,storekeeper, and Radiologist, etc. ) This most rudimentary medical care is further jeopardized when that solo doctor becomes a patient and medical evacuation/replacement is not an option for many months. This is the story of a doctor who having diagnosing her own breast cancer is stuck with a lenghty delay in treatment, watching her tumor grow in a setting where treatment options are essentially nonexistent- much as in the days of our ancestors, before anesthesia, surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy . (Fortunately an emergency drop of chemotherapeutic drugs and a medevac eventually do take place.)

This is an enlightening and educational book. It effectively relates the very deep sense of camaraderie and coping mechanisms shared by the "polies" . Written as a narrative with copies of email scattered between the paragraphs to expand on the story, it could use editing to eliminate redundancy especially in the emails . A more concise and smoother flowing narration would improve readability. For the scientifically curious, more information about ongoing polar research would add to the book. Overall, an interesting and worthwhile read, certainly an experience this less adventurous reader prefers to be vicarious!

WOW !!!!!!!! Not often do I read a book that leaves me speechless...or close to it. While reading this tale I found myself crying more often than not, and reevaluating the "needs" in my life. Not only was it a tale of how the South Pole can change your life, from needs to the way you look at reality, but it was the story of a courageous woman's struggle. The book was well written and had email letters that she sent as well as ones that she received and often they told the story better than an author could. It was these letters from family and friends that usually brought me to tears. Just when I thought I knew what bravery and courage are....the book helped me redefine the words. It is one thing to look death in the face when you get news of a cancerous tumor in your body, but quite another when you learn that you have to treat yourself and there is no way to send physician help to you. The book was frank and to the point with concise terminology that was easily translated to laymans terms. If you want a sad but ultimately uplifting story, or have loved ones facing the terrible disease of breast cancer, then this book is a must read. I highly recommend this one for ALL women (and men).

Dr. Jerri Nielson was no ordinary ER Physician. She sought adventure in her practice as a member of the trauma team in an Ohio Hospital. She struggled to get past an unhealthy marriage that resulted in the loss of her children to a husband who would sooner spite his own children from their mother than accept defeat through an ugly divorce. Dr. Nielson found healing and new adventure in her new job at the Antarctic. Little did she realize that this assignment would not only change her life, but bring her on the brink of death as well when she found a tumor growing in her breast deep in the night and cold of Winter at the South Pole where a flight to safety and life-saving medicine was out of the question for months. Readers will be enthralled and delighted as they read this tale of one woman's bravery to heal her life and fight the cancer that threatens to take all that she hoped for away like a thief in the night.

I found this to be a book that I looked forward to reading nightly and difficult to stop reading until the night enveloped me and sleep was easily put off in lieu of "one more chapter". We all know of Dr. Jerri and here is the story we don't know, her thoughts, her fears, her hopes and her dreams during the time when she doubted she would see her life return to "normal" or for that matter see any of her family again.

In one sentence, this is a story of triumph over not only breast cancer but over chaos of a life shattered by years of abuse and eventual divorce.