Law for the Elephant is an incredibly well researched work that deserves much attention. If the myth of the lawless trail riders perpetuated by pulp fiction scribes yet infiltrated the ranks of professional historians up until the publication of this work, this book was their death knell.
Reid methodically debunks one of the most commonly misunderstood aspects of mid nineteenth century life on the Overland trail. His exhaustive use of primary sources and his meticulous notes must brand this book as the definitive work on the subject of property and social behavior on the overland trail from a legal perspective. The weight of evidence regarding the relative lawfulness of the travelers is such that, as presented, nearly half way through the reader is inexorably swayed to its veracity. Reid presents not a modicum or even generous amount of proof, but a crush of evidence. The fact that he was only able to locate three specific journal entries of lawlessness regarding property, while it does not suggest there was not more, is significantly persuasive. The fact that he is able to logically illustrate that these cases of lawlessness may be shown as examples of how legal theory and values were imbued within the lawbreakers, is doubly clever.
Although not a scintillating read, Reid displays a certain deftness for keeping the readers attention through what could have been far drier material in the hands of one not so gifted with the pen. His assemblage of innumerable primary sources is a praiseworthy accomplishment. Quotes from primary sources are woven consistently and seemingly effortlessly throughout the text, creating a patchwork of storytelling by case study.
This is not to say, however, that this is an entertaining read for laity or even the armchair historian. Reid occasionally slips into legalese that may momentarily obfuscate the read for even the professional historian, but a standard or legal dictionary remedies this. Also, Reid believes the average American on the trail possessed a greater knowledge of the law then than previously thought. Although this may be the case, some of what Reid chalks up to proof of extensive legal knowledge seems no more than ordinary common sense on behalf of the traveler. In a broader sense, to be fair, Reid does not delve deeply into criminality other than in regard to property. But, conventional wisdom suggests that the two are closely linked and thus, Reid obliquely strengthens his argument by this subtle correlation. These few minor criticisms notwithstanding, as a work of legal historical scholarship, Law for the Elephant is nearly flawless and is a significant contribution to the historiography of the overland trail.

The Overland Trail that spread to the gold fields of California and Oregon was a trying ordeal; it tested the will and endurance of the American character. The experience of the trail not only shaped America geographically, but socially, politically, and economically as well. The trail also shaped another American institution: law. Law and the Overland Trail is a topic that deserves greater study to determine charaterisitcs of the overland trail and the development of law in America. Law during antebellum America focused on capital speculation and corporate structure, and a bed of safe property law allowed corporate proliferation to occur. Reid examines inherent social and legal developments of the Overland Trail with great detail by examining a plethora of sources. He examines diaries, papers and other records for inferences to legal conduct. Reid explores the use of property law on the Overland Trail. He concludes that property law was something that was inherent to Americans in general, and not something forced upon them by corporate America (p. 335). The trail is unique in American legal history, because it shows how Americans administered law in a lawless land. Reid starts the book with general assumptions about the trail, emigrants and jurisprudence. He notes that the emigrant is a typical American: man women, child, old Young, ethnic, educated and uneducated. This mass of humanity seeking a new existence, in a place presented as a paradise, was not a lawless immoral group as legend, and some scholarship dictates. In assuming so, Reid states that, "Easily overlooked is the possibility that law could be the common denominator, explaining both the definitions people shared and the conduct they followed" (p. 10). Reid examines a common thread: property rights. The remainder of the book examines the interrelationships, uses, and behaviors associated with property and property rights. He notes that the creation, operation, and dissolution of joint stock ventures operated with a high degree of jurisprudence. An interesting aspect explored is the concept of ownership. Except for natural resources such as water, property was an abstract concept. Emigrants abandoned property as the hardships of the trial demanded, to avoid liabilities associated with traveling weight. Emigrants obtained supplies by barter, or by acquiring discarded property (p. 293). Reid notes that the transfer and handling of property, whether by and individual, or partnership was peaceful, and rarely was violence employed as a means of resolution (p. 341-54). Reid concludes by stating, "Instead, they respected the rights of property owners much as if still back east in the midst of plenty. By respect for their neighbor, and their neighbors property, they were, more than not, adhering to a morality of law" (p. 364). Law for the Elephant is an excellent macro interpretation of property, legal, and social relations of California gold rush emigrants. Another advantage the work provides us is an understanding of why current views of property came to be. The research is well covered, and the readability of the book is excellent. The book not only provides generalizations about law and the Overland Trail, but gives insight into how emigrants acted at the micro level as well.

This book is a marvel. Mr. Keller takes a very familiar part of Christianity and makes it live in your heart. He goes through the LORD's Prayer verse by verse. As he does this, he makes it part of your life by helping you see not only what it means but how it can be applied to your life. I HIGHLY recommend this book to anyone that wants to come to know our LORD but, also, to any Christian that would like to be in a more intimate relationship with his Father in Heaven and our LORD, Jesus Christ.

Phillip Keller has taken a very familiar passage of Scripture and helped me to REALLY understand it. His style of writing makes you feel that he is sitting right next to you and discussing the book WITH you. I highly recommend this book because it has helped me to get into a more intimate relationship with God, my Father. This book takes a very well known piece of Scripture and brings it truths home to you so that the Scripture moves into your heart and takes up residence there. I would recommend this book to anyone wanting to know our Father more intimately.

(The following review is taken from The Eufaula Tribune, Joel P. Smith, Triibune publisher) The Lena Baker Story, the story of the first and only woman to be executed in Georgia, is almost as fascinating as Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. The plot centers on Lena Baker, 44, who had never known anything but the pangs of poverty, and gristmill owner Ernest B. Knight, a white man 23 years the African-American Baker's senior. They had carried on a love-hate relationship for some three years --"The kind that usually ends in one of the parties being harmed." It began when Lena was hired to care for the mill owner while he recovered from a broken leg.The trashy affair isn't exploited, but it dramatically raises the question, was justice served even though the slave woman-locked in his gristmill and not allowed to go home -- confessed to killing him?....I found the well-researched true story to be a page-turner....The book is divided into three parts: Lena's life, the trial and the execution. If the story line doesn't have appeal, the life and times of the shooter and the gristmill owner do. It's a delightful, graphic depiction of this bygone era, encompassing politics in Georgia, including neighboring Quitman County. Georgia's own gubernatorial debacle is included, when Ellis Arnall and Herman Talmadge both claimed to be governor, sitting 20 feet from each other in the executive suite, carrying on the business of Georgia....Much history and life of the times are skillfully incoorporated into the book, such as the founding of Andrew College in 1854 to bring prospective wives to Cuthbert for the young men attending a local Baptist academy. There's the tale about the old woman who took her cats in a croaker sack with her when she went downtown to shop foor groceries. then Mrs. Luci Moye made a daily trip in the late afternoon to Eufaula to buy her pet parrot, Polly, a cherry Coke, following her "racous litany of 'Polly want a cherry Coke.'" The story doesn't have a happy ending, though. The Cuthbert Times, a local newspaper I bought years later and edited, crassly reported on her death on page one: "Baker Burns."

The story of Lena Baker, the first and only woman to be executed legally in the state of Georgia, needed to be told.
Lena was an impoverished Black woman who lived in Cuthbert, the seat of Randolph County, in southwest Georgia. She lost control of her life because, in addition to her station, of two facts. A prominent white man insisted she be his mistress, and she was dependent on alcohol.
When she killed her oppressor in self-defense, she was tried for murder. Did she receive a fair trial? Was her case given an adequate investigation? Was she assigned a competent defense attorney?
The exploration of these questions makes Phillips's The Lena Baker Story an absorbing one, but even more engaging are the minute details the reader learns of small-town, Southern life in the 1940s. We are told what is playing at the movies. We know that one Cuthbert resident drove all the way to Eufala, Alabama, to buy her pet bird cherry cokes. We know what most folks had for dinner.
This book is highly recommended for its general appeal and to any student of the history of jurisprudence, of the civil rights of Blacks and women, of Americana, or of Georgia history.

a little book of big affirmations is a humorous look at the average, everday occurences that we all muddle through...tracy phillips has a knack for taking these everday happenings and spinning them on their ear...the result? laugh out loud humor! this is a book not only for 20 somethings, but for people of all ages...it is about things that all ages can relate to..life, growing-up, and the endless pursuit of a really great job! my advice? get it and have a good laugh!!!

This author is obviously very in tune with the struggles facing our generation in an extremely humorous fashion. Tracy Phillips has her finger on the pulse of 20 and 30 year olds. The author takes us on a ride we won't soon forget. My advice to you is buy this book and do your friends a favor and buy them one also. Laugh out loud funny.

The authors have a wonderful gift for connecting the mystical to the everyday. They also prove very conclusively that spirituality and abundance are not mutually exclusive, and that money is a form of energy that can be invoked, directed and amplified. The technique that they teach here is built around the sign of increase. Further magical techniques and exercises include the rituals of the black mirror, getting help from your subconscious, reading your dreams and the fivefold Prana sequence for increasing psychic energy. The style is simple and engaging, making for reading enjoyment and stimulating the reader to go through with the interesting exercises. This is an excellent manual on achieving personal prosperity, probably one of the best. The book includes an illustration of the Sign of Increase, a catalog of dream symbols and an index to the practices of creative money-making. It will amply reward the reader if you put the exercises and techniques into practice.

If you are serious about money, energy, and magick, then this book is a must-read. From personal experiance I can tell you that, if you're motivated, apply what is taught, and are willing to give money a new place in your life, this book will pave the way to greater wealth. Enough said, just do it!

Bloomfield and Goldberg manage to take a comprehensive and heartfelt perspective on a very sensitive subject: how do we explore and understand our relationship with God? They ask the hard questions from many different viewpoints in a way that invites us to ask those same questions of ourselves--what do we expect of God, how do our own attitudes of God color our vision of God? Ultimately the authors show us ways to find peace within ourselves and with the Divine by both challenging us, and empathizing with us, as we explore and strive to reconcile our connection with God. The book was rich with stories, metaphors, humor and pathos, allowing the reader to connect with this delicate issue in many different ways. I highly recommend it! --Susan Quinn

I'll admit I approached this book with some skepticism. I initially feared that the authors were bringing a feel-good, self-help approach to a subject that demands considerably more gravitas; and in any case "God" has not been an operative term in my vocabulary for some years now. I was pleasantly surprised. Bloomfield and Goldberg skillfully mine sources both Eastern and Western, scriptural and secular, and extract an expansive definition of God (or rather an expansive appreciation of the undefinability of God) that blows past the usual Sunday school Superbeing that has sent so many intelligent people running for the exits. There's a lot of warm humor and feet-on-the-ground spiritual pragmatism here. One innovation that I found particularly helpful is the idea, adapted from the Enneagram, of nine types of people (the Reformer, the Lover, the Boss, etc.), who all find different dynamics at play in their quest for the infinite, with different resources and different challenges. As the authors caution, everyone has elements of more than one type, but these psychological portraits can still be extremely valuable in pointing up limiting patterns and assumptions that we have been so locked into that we don't realize we're locked in. Once you see these patterns, you're a good part of the way toward transcending them. This is a useful book that will open doors for people who care about a relationship with God, and for many who think they don't.

The text is a thorough examination of worldviews...from a Biblical worldview. Presenting composite definitions of all worldviews, the authors then examine them in light of a Biblical worldview. The book is both thoroughly objective and thoroughly apologetic in nature, utilizing their own Biblical bias as the frame of reference for tying up loose ends and bringing every examination full circle.

The book is (1) objective in that it presents every possible worldview, recognizing major categories (i.e. Naturalism, trandscendentalism, thiesm, and a Biblical worldview) and minor subdivisions of the respective worldviews, allowing the case for each to have its place. It is (2) apologetic in the sense that its sole purpose is to, once again, bring every examination full circle back to a sound defense of a Biblical worldview.

The text presents and examines: (1) The concept of worldview; (2) The world of worldviews, when, and how they collide; (3) The case for a Biblical worldview; (4) The essentials of a Biblical worldview; (5) What's wrong? The problem of evil; (6) Who's right: The problem of pluralism; (7) A view for the self; (8) A view for the family; (9) A view for the church; (10) And, a view for the world.

One of the text's greatest strengths is its utilization of practical graphs and illustrations that serve to map out comparisons and contrasts of concepts, among other information. Such graphs include: (1) A classification of major worldviews; (2) Some transcendental distinctions; (3) Theistic religions; (4) Comparisons of worldviews; (5) The canon Jesus affirmed; (6) The canon Jesus anticipated; (7) Ancient texts and the New Testament; (8) And, explanations of personal suffering.

William E. Brown is a professor of Bible and President of Bryan College. W. Gary Phillips is a professor of Bible and Philosophy, Chair of the Division of Biblical Studies at Bryan College, and Pastor of Signal Mountain Bible Church in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

Making Sense is an excellent source for those wishing to study world views. It is a clearly written and well-documented book, which demonstrates the validity of the Christian world view as the thinking person's world view. In preparation for world views presentations, I have gone back to this book several times over the last few years. Making Sense is the best all-around book covering the pivotal issues of world views.

I Couldnt even a imagine the effect this book would have on me before i first stumbled upon it. Recommended first by my high school film teacher, my whole preception about framing and especially lighting was changed completely!

Nestor is a Myth, his work is amazing... READ THE BOOK!!!

Nestor Almendros is brilliant in describing his every techniquein regards to achieving the magic like visuals of his films. A greatbook for the film student or the film lover. Alemendros gives interesting insight into the political reasons that took him out of the Island and into the world of exile and Truffaut. But still I'm unable to get a copy of the book!!!!!! One last word.... ViVa Cuba Libre y el buen cine.

My favorite book beside The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Orchids by Alec Pridgeon, I recommend it highly for anyone who loves orchid species.

As complete a reference as you can own in one cover, this book has it all. Cultural medium requirements, temperature, light - everything you need to know for the most species coverage. Most of the color plates are high quality, some not so good.

This is an excellent book for building water gardens, ponds, pools and streams. The subject is covered thoroughly with detailed descriptions about installing fountains, lighting, islands, and landscaping. There are lots of lovely photos that will let your imagination grow as to the kinds of ponds you can design and build. You are only limited by the size of your yard. There is a large section about adding different types of water plants to specific areas of the pond. Plus, there is good coverage about adding fish, attracting wildlife, and performing seasonal maintenance. Construction techniques vary from simple to more complex designs, including waterfalls and ripple effects. Another book, Nash's The Complete Pond Builder, seems to have slightly better construction detail and also more examples of smaller ponds. However, Swindells' book is much more comprehensive and it contains a lot more information about maintenance, fish, and plants.

This Book has GREAT content. Not only does it have clear, and easy to understand diagrams of plants, but it supplied me with information to build my own pond. Now, my pond is filled with koi that rest underneath some waterlilies . The water hyacinths, (which I did not know about until reading this book) , smell soooo wonderful. My pond would never be complete without this book. I say you buy it, because it is worth it's price!