ROLLER is the story of a young white boy--"a dirt road sport" as the subtitle says-- growing up in the south in the days just before the freedom riders. His friend and guide is Cooper, a black man who has grown old expecting neither justice nor mercy in the lynching death of his father a half century before, a story so old and repressed its mystery is no longer noticed, like the dust on the road itself, and on the leaves of the family tree Roller climbs to rise above his raising. A new road is coming their way, and it threatens Roller's tree. Roller learns from Cooper how to bide his time, perfect his plans and aim, and wage righteous war against the breakers of his heart's peace. If Cooper endures, Roller prevails. Their adventures are funny, tender, rowdy, and even bawdy. The times are changing. Roller is growing into manhood, and Cooper is in decline, along with his beloved mules and rural life. "Rolling with the flow" is the way--as his daddy tells him--to survive change, and Roller rolls, but never far from trouble. "Boy," Cooper tells him more than once, "you thinks too ass much, sometime." But Roller's gift is that very brooding, upon which nothing is lost, "notes and words and many voices... an anthology of sad and happy, of earth and heaven, of today and tomorrow."

If the old game show, To Tell the Truth was still coming over the airwaves, we could have an interesting set of contestants using some of the books and novels that have been written in the past 100 years about farm life in Georgia. And, the secret is, Gone with the Wind would not be the winner - - in fact it would probably come in a distant third with Roller: A Dirt Road Sport leading the pack.

Julian Morgan, a fellow with first hand memories of the reality of growing up in the little town of Coleman, Georgia has penned a marvelous account of real life in the real age of innocence. Away from the influences of the "city" and long before the tainting of society by television and violence, Morgan sets forth an entertaining, realistic and straight-forward account of growing up in the dusty cotton and peanut fields of the rural south. With an old share-cropper as his mentor, guide, keeper and friend, young Roller is seen as he is maturing through the challenges of progress. With a keen eye for observation and an ever present wit that can be traced to his roots in the rural south, Roller goes about his life with the free spirit of an eagle.

The review on the dust jacket likens Roller to a modern day Huck Finn and this is a very apt description. Although quite honestly, Roller transcends the mirth of Huck Finn and confronts the realities of life and death, wealth and poverty and winds up as a character that every mother would want for a son and every father should be proud to claim as his own blood.

This is a great book and should be read by anyone who has even the slightest problem picturing Georgia as anything but what was put on the silver screen in Margaret Mitchell's classic legend. Roller is real - as real as the dirt between his toes and as real as the pain of shooting his own pet duck. It is a book with guts and a book with glory.

In fact, there really should be a new and separate genre of literature for books like this and those by other Georgia authors such as Ferrol Sams, Sonny Sammons, Amy Blackmarr and Jimmy Carter. I would call it Heritage literature- - the real side of life not some fictionalized and sugar-coated rendition of reality. While the names may have been changed, the stories are as real as they get. What these writers put on paper is honest, human, humane, and very rich with the blessings of growing up in the rural south and living in the rural south even after progress tried to ruin it.

Read it - you won't be sorry.

The introduction to this book is as interesting as the book itself. Anna Leonowens remains a controversial character. The truth of her stories is questionable, her own biographical information may have been selectively edited or changed to reflect a more genteel background than Anna really had. Was she, in fact, an Anglo-Indian? Much scandal surrounds her still.

This book is the source, along with her other book The English Governess at the Siamese Court, for Margaret Landon's better known work Anna and the King of Siam. This book has the story of Tuptim, the concubine who was executed for running away, disguised as a priest. It is written in a typically Victorian elaborate style, so can be heavy going for some people. However, if you are curious about Anna herself, this is a must-read.

Mrs. Leonowens is a fine writer. Though most of here stories have been debated whether they were true or not, it reads as a good book if not a historical novel. Ms. Morgan gives a lot of backround to the author and book and unviels an amazing truth about Anna Leonowens. I like the book because it was like a small door to the world of yesterday that is dead with only a faint memory behind. I also like storiesof history.The book is heavy like most Victorian novels I've read. It takes longer than most but worth the effort. In this copy we see a picture of Anna Leonowens herself. If you enjoyed this you ought to read Anna and the King of Siam.

Salt Lantern by William Towner Morgan is an in-debth study of a man and his relationship with the home he was born and raised in. The story he weaves includes his personal recollections, other family members' recollections, as well as a chronological history of the structures his ancestors lived in over the centuries.

Salt Lantern is also a personal history of the various branches of Morgan's families--in England, Ireland, early America, and into the Twentieth Century. It appears he was born after the sudden death of his father, he was raised in a household of women, and he grew up not really understanding his place in the family.

Morgan seems to become the Salt Lantern, an artifact that has signifigant meaning within the family, but is not really understood. Morgan explores his own birth, life, and relationships through the structures he studies and describes.

This is a study of history, architecture, family relationships, and personal memoir. A good read.

SALT LANTERN: TRACES OF AN AMERICAN FAMILY is a salty journey with author, Bill Morgan, as he traces his life and records his family history. Beginning with his great-grandmother's salt-filled chimney lantern, Morgan captures his ancestral family history through his study of family homes, landforms, letters, and family artifacts.

Morgan travels back through time by visiting ancestral homes in England, Ireland, Scotland; then he moves to Vermont, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, and North Dakota searching for buildings and landscapes, letters and historical documents that help him tell his story.

Satl Lantern is also about Morgan himself. As a child gowing up in Pipestone, Minnesota, with a single mother, surrounded by older siblings and cousins, (his father died before he was born), Morgan uses the environment he grew up in to find his own sense of place and purpose within his immediate family and his ancestral family.

Morgan adds fresh memories written by his brothers and sister, as well as journals and other family documents to create a comprehensive American famiy history.

For anyone interested in family history, architecture, or just a good read, this book is a pearl. Photos throughout help to tell Morgan's story. Esspecially interesting is the story and photo of the Salt Lantern House that inspired Morgan to pursue this project. Morgan tells us he now has the family heirloom in his possession.

Time-saving reference, packed with terms, theories, generalizations, laws, formulas, symbols, abbreviations, conversions, ideas for projects. Divided into 12 content areas (Plants, animals, physical science...) Grades 1-12

This isn't a read-it-cover-to-cover book, but it's great to have for all of those questions that pop up during class. Just have your student find it--it increases research skills! It covers everything.

I have never read or done such spells it was more fun then I thought it would be boring but it brings you out!! Me and my friend Jeanette and Shane from the computer lab are very thankful.

It was kewl. i am a witch now

What a lovely book, and it's all that the description states -- dreamy soft illustrations, soothing spiritual text that guides you to leave life's mundane and stress-filled days behind. We bought this for our 2-1/2 yr. old (too young to appreciate). I particularly liked the quality of the publishing and paper. An excellent gift choice. One complaint: if the book were larger the illustrations could be appreciated much easier. They are detailed and worth study.

While A Spirted Alphabet From A To Z, by Morgan Simone Daleo, is a physically small book, it's a giant in content. Each letter of the alphabet is superimposed in large print upon a charming illustration. Beneath the picture is a two-line stanza describing what each letter represents. The stanzas can be read through as an inspirational poem. For example, O is for open and P is for peace. The stanzas are: "O gives us open, the ocean so wide; P is the place where peace can abide. Unlike most alphabet books, each letter is represented by an idea, not a thing. Full-color illustrations complement the poetry. For example, Frank Riccio drew a nest of baby birds to illustrate N for nature, and two dancing clowns to show the joy that J represents. Daleo and Riccio won the Parents' Choice award for their previous books. A Spirited Alphabet From A To Z is clearly another winner. It's a lovely and gentle book that all children will treasure.

Sandra Smith, Reviewer

I like this book more more than my three year old. All the things the squiggle can become are chinese things. It is good to have a nursery book where all the faces are not blond, blue eyed! The walk with the squiggle becomes full of giggles.

The little girl in this book has a wonderful sense of imagination. She can create marvelous things with one piece of string. The illustrations make this book even better. They are eye catching, and colorful. Kids will learn to use their imaginations to see wonderful things where other people would only see a a piece of string. This is a great book!

I found this book to be a good outline for handling a crisis. It gets slow sometimes in describing the events the author was involved in but overall the message and points are sound. I struggled a little since he is a Clintonite, having served with Slick Willie and he talks and teaches of integrity while at the same time loving Bubba ... but that doesnt take away from the job hes done at FEMA or the lessons he is passing along. Good book.

James Witt is the former director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency. In "Stronger in the Broken Places" he takes his knowledge and experiences and develops a plan for dealing with disaster. His experience has taught him that there are four critical times when you can deal with an emergency. The first is to anticipate it as a possibility and prepare for it. The second is once you understand it you can make plans to prevent it or mitigate its effects. The third is when and how you respond to the emergency. And the last opportunity is during the recovery phase.

"Stronger in the Broken Places" clearly explains how businesses, communities, or even individuals can work through a potential crisis. Thorough in its coverage of crisis management, it starts with examining your company's values since everything you do will have to be based on your company value system and priorities. From there it follows a logical progression through communication, changing priorities, identifying strengths, keeping employees encouraged and functioning well during a disaster, re-evaluating the plan, etc. One of the best texts on managing through a major crisis, it is filled with multiple examples from real life that make it a truly educational read while driving home the important points. A recommended read for business leaders and others who may be involved in crisis management.

This book presents traditional and non-traditional Caribbean foods in a simple and clear manner. It is an excellent choice for anyone interested in the new, fresh and exuberant Caribbean cooking. Many of the recipes can be reduced in calories by the substitution of simple ingredients. If you like this book, you'll love Angela Spenceley's "A Taste of the Caribbean Cookbook" which also includes a chapter on Bartending in the Islands. Her other cookbooks, "A Taste of the Virgin Islands" and "Just Add Rum! Cookbook" are fabulous and well worth the addition to any good cookbook library.

We have fond memories of our honeymoon at the restaurant and inn owned by the authors in the British Virgin Islands. Our memories of the wonderful "dining experiences" rank high among those of our blessed honeymoon. The cookbook lets us "taste" a few of those memories here at home!

Hiram Morgan's monograph is an excellent study for any reader interested in early modern British or Irish history. One cannot understand the contemporary Protestant versus Roman Catholic distrust, animosity, and cultural divide in Northern Ireland without understanding the English Tudor's racist Irish policy of colonization. One of Morgan's major contributions is to put the causes of Tyrone's Rebellion into the even broader context of late 16th century Europe where the Protestant-Catholic religious divide shaped national and international politics. The author is no polemicist. He has grounded his study in manuscript sources and Spanish archives (Catholic Spain supported the Irish rebellion).

Tyrone's Rebellion was led by the controversial Hugh O'Neil, the earl of Tyrone. This outbreak was the culmination of growing Irish animosity towards intrusive Tudor policy. Despite the Tudor's usually successful strategy of divide-and-conquer, the ignorance and heavy-handed tactics of Elizabeth I's English administrators managed to unite the Gaelic chieftans with the Anglo-Irish (English or Norman expatriates who had become "more Irish than the Irish themselves") in opposition to English plantation and pacification under the leadership of O'Neil. The rebellion was fomented in 1593-94, broke out in 1598 (Battle of Yellow Ford), and lasted until 1607 (after Elizabeth I had died, and been succeeded by James I).

Tyrone, the "arch rebel," ultimately came to terms days after Elizabeth's death, and went into exile (the famous "flight of the earls"). Robert Devereaux, the earl of Essex, and one of the queen's favorites, was not so fortunate. His personal ambition, military incompetence, and defiance of his majesty's orders cost him his life. While the fate of such elite persons (along with the great apologist of English policy - poet Edmund Spenser) is well known, one of Morgan's minor oversights, which is common in most books about this era, is a lack of attention to the appalling fate of the masses of English and Irish who were slaughtered on both sides of this early version of total war. Half of Ireland was destroyed. The result was famine, disease, and anarchy. The war cost the stingy Tudors a fortune in expenditures and debts. But England prevailed and secured Ireland from being a threatening base of operations for Spain or France. The "flight of the earls" - the "wild geese" - scattered throughout continental Europe, signaling the decline - but not the end - of Gaelic Ireland.

A study on the influencing factors of key decisions made by Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone and events leading up to the 'Nine Years War" with England. Unlike many other works, there are references to key players in these events including the Earl's brothers Cormac and Airt as well as Hugh Maguire, Red Hugh O'Donnell, and others.
Hugh O'Neill, an Irishman who was taken into custody as a child and trained in the English manner, returns to Ireland. His eldest brother Brian dies leaving him taniste to the title of 'The O'Neill'. Political intrigue ensues when a rival family member claims the title for himself. Meanwhile, the English crown seeks to plant more settlers in Ireland. O'Neill takes the sword for England and earns his title 'Earl of Tyrone'
The temperament and willpower of a man largely ignored by the Crown comes into question as he is dogged by enemies and harrassed by the state. Further problems arise when English troops establish fortifications on his land.
The book becomes a study of the events and circumstances surrounding O'Neills decision to seek aid from the Catholic King Phillip of Spain and turn his back on the tyrannical and genocidal Tudor advance.
The tactics used by O'Neill while negotiating and fighting are the roots of 'guerilla warfare'. The successes at Clontibret, Enniskillen, and the Yellow Ford are mirrored by the Irish failure to win the disasterous battle of Kinsale.
As evidence for the author's conclusions, he includes a letter written by Cormac O'Neill, the Earl's brother, requesting aid from King Phillip II of Spain.
As the author is a historian, all references are cited.
2001 marks the 400th Anniversary of the Battle of Kinsale. This work is a must have for any serious student of Irish history.