As a teacher of Elementary School social studies, this book has become an invaluable resource for my classroom. The format is easily read and understood by students. It has a wealth of information about each Texas Indian tribe. This book is much easier to read and understand than any other book on the subject that I have found. A must-have for every classroom and library. A classroom set makes it much easier for students to do their research, since they fight over a single copy!

Mommy look!Ok here's how it goes.When I was 5 I had a brain tumor, and one day I was watching TV when the hit TV show "Faimly Matters" came on.I watched it, and this amazly cute guy came on, my mom told me his name was Freddie Prinze Jr.He's been my idoil ever since.When I found out about this book I froze I was sooooo happy. Then when I read the book I was soooo happy, because it was soooo good.That now I want to order one for my cousin.The whole time I was in the hosipal I wanted to meet him soooo bad now for some reason I feel like I've met him, but I know I haven't.A long time ago when Freddie Prinze Jr was hosting TRL I called in, and got to talk to him.Yeterday I was with my dad in a Harley shop when I saw George Clooney I was soooo happy, because as he was walking past me he bumped me,and then he talked to me and touched me I was soooo excited that I wanted to go get an autograph but I thought it would be mean so I didn't but I wish I would have.And I know if that would have been Freddie Prinze Jr I probably would have died.

It's really a shame this book is out of print, as it is just as good as the more famous Ambrose books. The reason "The Making of a Paratrooper" reads so well is that Kurt Gabel was a paratrooper and participant in everything he describes...something Ambrose can't claim. His is a light, easy style of prose that reads easily, yet conveys the emotions, both high and low, of war. Friends blown to pieces or shot in the head right next to you. Moments of hilarity and joy...or the abject misery of fighting in hellish conditions. It's all here, from the beginnings in the tough jump school--it's amazing how hard these men trained--to the bloody European battlefields. All I can say is, this book pulls you in and keeps you there in a way that few tomes do. It is well worth the purchase. I might also add that Dr. William Mitchell, a paratrooper in the same Airborne outfit as Kurt Gabel and who wrote the final chapter of "The Making of a Paratrooper," was my political science professor at the University of Oregon in Eugene. He still proudly wears his paratrooper beret.

SPADA is a journal that contains some of most current ideas on historical swordsmanship by a number of the field's leading researchers. As a student of historical swordsmanship myself, I think it is an excellent step in the right direction for the progression of this school of study.

As far as the contents of the book are concerned, my hat goes off to the editor, Stephen Hand, for distilling such a diverse, and yet interesting range of papers from the vast array of excellent treatises available.

The book also features some interesting reports on some of the most recent activities undertaken in the WMA community. This provides the reader with a very good 'big picture' perspective into what advances are being made in what fields, and an appreciation for the vast range of people who are now interested in historical swordsmanship.

With regards to it's practicality, the book caters for many different tastes - whether you are interested in the finesse of renaissance fencing, or simply a medieval re-enactor using the trusty 'sword and shield' method. SPADA provides useful insights and a greater understanding of historical methods of fighting.

I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in gaining a greater appreciation of historical swordsmanship, and anyone who is curious to know what the swordmanship community out there is doing. I rate it as a 'must have' item, and I look forward to more SPADA releases in the future.

cheers

Matt Partridge
Secretary
Order of the White Stag

swamp angel is a very good book I found. It depicts the surrounding around the main character maggie as she starts a new life. Maggie leaves her 2nd husband one day after cooking dinner and take off into the counrty . Maggie gets a jog a 3 loon lake and keeps in touch wiht her best friend neil. Neil has a gun called the swamp angel that she had whil in the circus.