Non-scholarly approach, obscures facts and makes unsupported assumptions.
Adequate as first person, unacademic approach to history of FLW

This is the personal story of the author's architectural discoveries and insights after buying a spacious old house that turned out to be one of Frank Lloyd Wright's most liveable Prairie houses. She evokes the amazing ever-shifting quality of light and reflections, how its architectural forms guide furniture placement, the functions (and dusting) of woodwork and its thorough patterning throughout, why an overhanging roof is great, the eternally surprising views, the role of landscaping, and even explains how one lives in a bedroom without curtains. She does not reveal as much construction detail exposed during the restoration process as I had hoped, like electrical upgrading, the use of steel in the cantilevers, or exactly why Wright's roofs always leak. She discusses adapting the kitchen, and shows how her Tomek House is the prototype for the famous Robie house, and friendlier to boot by being less insistently exaggerated. The many illustrations emphasize the outcomes rather than the process of restoration. Moran is not a professional writer, and the text wanders a little, but she truly gave me a feel for how wonderfully right it would be to live in a house by Wright, or one designed by his modular procedure. Yet one also needs an artistic streak of one's own, lots of energy (and money), and patience for all the avid visitors who treat you as an unpaid guide and caterer. For building a Wright house, see Jacobs' Building With Wright; for living with one today, get Moran.

This book is an absolute must-read!!! The story of the pioneers' unwavering impetus to conquer all the elements of the West was very compelling, I thought. When I read of how North American politicians and other citizens were so preoccupied with an easy election victory of William Aberhart and his Social Credit Party, I questioned what all the contention was about. Perhaps they perceived the Social Credit Party as some radical, left-wing party, and sympathizers to the Communist cause. I read this literature when I was twelve, and at that age I felt an odd obligation to study Western history, for some reason...

I thought this book was very informative, although I did not find the history of the political parties during the Depression years that interesting. This book is very in depth about the Prairies political and economic history.I became annoyed at how Prairie residents are so arrogant. Toronto will always be the financial capital of Canada, not Calgary, as quoted in this book.Generally I could summarize this book as a story of the Fur Trade, western migration and farming, farmer political parties, and economics.

This is a gem! I laughed out loud, I cried, and I gained new insight. Olson talks about every day things -- but he lets us see the extraordinary in the ordinary. A fast read that I enjoyed so much! I will definately be recommending this book to my friends and family.

Many people don't have the courage to "tell it like it is," but Brent Olson has done just that. He doesn't mince words and stays true to his values. I like the fact that his sense of humor comes through even in the most serious essays. I will definitely wait for more material from this guy.

In the first story Catherine Palmer returns to the town called Hope and picks up the lives of the familiar characters. A surprising twist makes this one especially good. The second story is by a relatively new author to me, but now I will read more of hers since this one is great...The last is an entirely new concept to me, that of the courtship of a senior couple. Most Christian romance stories steer away from those folks in their sunset years, but this one is sweet and believable. I would recommend this book. Each author gives the reader a glance into her own life and some interesting recipes are included as well.

Catherine Palmer has again written a fabulous book. In this anthology she revisits a town called Hope and tells the story of Rolf Rustemeyer. I have read all of the books in the 'A town called Hope' series and this story lets me revisit my favourite series. Readers can also watch the lovable German farmer Ralf find his true love of the Kansas praire.

Included in this anthology are stories by Elizabeth White and Peggy Stoks. Both of these women are fabulous authors and their love for the Lord is evident in their stories. Annie and Betsy make wonderful heroines and I fell in love with them as well as their men, Seneca Jones and Elmore Determan.

This book is a must read for all Catherine Palmer fans and everyone who loved the 'A town called Hope' series.

I enjoyed this book until about 2/3rds of the way through. It has a pat ending, which I found way too predictable. I also felt that this book has one of the lamest proposal scenes I have ever read. The premise is a strong one and it could have been a terrific book, but the plot loses focus near the end.

Prairie Dreams is one of the most heartwarming books I've ever read. The main characters, Laura and Caleb, have become "friends" to me, as I have read this book 5 times! The characters are well-developed, and the storyline flows smoothly. Amanda is a darling whose part in the storyline will make you cry tears of joy! I recommend this book to anyone who likes historical romance. Prairie Dreams offers it all...romance, struggle, humor, and, best of all, a satisfying ending! I would love to see a continuing saga based on this strong, loving family!

This book deals with modern law in a rural setting. Mr. Usle has created a story of nature and politics. Farmers of the land vs. the law of the land. It is as if the reader is sitting on top of the proverbial water tank that towers above each small Midwestern town, a vantagepoint for this story of politics and common sense. Just as the photo of the author shows on the back, the water tank of Carthage in the background, I couldn't help but look up the historical details and see how ancient Carthage was a threat to the Roman Government and destroyed. However, not until Hannibal, a Carthagian general, had crossed the Alps with his troops and his war elephants. If I know the author, he was waxing philosophic with a twist of a good joke.

It starts with an accident in the fields of wheat, in an area ecologically protected by State law. Under the risk of arrest, neighbors rally to the aid of this family's tragedy. As if a natural disaster, the story snowballs into a story of common people rebelling against the absurdity of politics and law - "... The rulebook and bureaucracy are the first things to go when a tornado or flood hits a town."

The comparison of a natural disaster to one that's manmade sums up the underlying theme of this book. The metaphor of the Mississippi River overflowing its banks, with the National Guard and townspeople struggling to keep it from destroying their town, is used to show the reaction of the same citizen to the manmade disaster of a broken parole system and the enforcement of absurd environmental law.

I would recommend this book for those who enjoy stories of common sense delivered with poignant irony.

I found this book to be a quick read. It kept me captivated on a plane trip to Tokyo and really helped the time go by. All the characters a believable, passionate, tree dimensional and believable. I found most of the conclusions about legal cases and political situations to be plausible and convincing. The only criticism I have is that I feel the story wraps up to quickly, I would have loved another 50-75 pages of detail. So the simple truth is that I believe for his first full-length fiction novel Mr. Usle has shown himself to be a writer with talent. I hope that he will continue with his writing to give us more.

"PRAIRIE HEARTS makes a significant contribution to the burgeoning, yet underappreciated, works of ...women writers. Whitney Scott should be commended for exposing us to such a rich and diverse compendium of writing talent."

"Moving, accurate portrayals....This anthology is a truly worthy undertaking, unprecedented in its...scope. Looking closely, what one may find here is the belief that the land itself might be a spiritual masterpiece."

One of the reasons I purchased this book (aside from the obvious) is because the author's review said that instructions were included for making stained glass lamp bases, since prairie lamp bases were hard to find (at the time the book was published).

The pattern book that was delivered to me had pictures of stained glass lamp bases on the cover, but there were no instructions inside on how to accomplish this. So... in my opinion, it was false advertising (Maybe this is a subsequent printing of the book and the patterns were omitted. Still it was disappointing.)

The patterns themselves were fairly run-of-the-mill. It would have been just as well to have one full-sized pattern with lots of smaller examples.

This book by Alex Spatz is the fifth book of his I have purchased, and it is as excellent if not better than the others. All of his books on stained glass are so easy to follow and the designs are wonderfully crafted. The book "Prairie Lamps" was very helpful and the suggestions were very inciteful. Excellent book!!!

There are many great books on railroad folklore; unfortunately, "Prairie Whistles" does not quite make the list of "greats." Its stories are all quite short, many being only a couple of pages long. Because the stories are all quite recent, most from the 60's and 70's, their narrators are, for the most part, still alive, and Boyer "protects" their identities by refusing to identify any of them; while I am not suggesting that Boyer simply made up any of his book's contents, he just as easily could have done so because all of his sources are anonymous! The stories also vary widely in both topic and interest with little consistency as to either. They range from the highly entertaining (one tells of a young war bride who got to travel with her husband only because a marine gunnery sergeant locked them in a compartment in an admiral's private car) to the very boring (one tells of a man's model railroad, and one is just a list of name trains once viewed by a self-styled "senile citizen"). The only photographs in the book are those on its cover. There are enough of the highly entertaining stories here to make the book worth reading, but they are interspersed with so many of the very boring variety that the book is in no way a "page turner." In fact, it took me from Christmas to the 4th day of February to finish its 128 pages of text, an unusually long while!

Prairie Whistles: Tales Of Midwest Railroads is an engaging collection of railroading tales and folklore from time gone by, filled from cover to cover with vivid anecdotes told by men and women who once labored to spread this historical mode of transportation. Prairie Whistles includes tales from conductors, porters, carmen, tower operators, telegraph operators, and more to give a picturesque, vibrant look into the past of the Midwest. Engagingly written by Dennis Boyer (a member of several railroad historical societies), Prairie Whistle is a fascinating, informative locomotive history and a "must" for all railroad buffs!

More books are published about Lincon than any other public figure and Carl Sandburg's take on America's 16th president is a good place to start your learning on this extraordinary individual. Sandburg's style shows his roots as a poet; the writing is lyrical and captivating. Though it leans towards myth-making, Sandburg doesn't leave out Lincoln's flaws. Other biographies go deeper into Lincoln's psyche or touch on specific chapters from Lincoln's life; however this book is a good start to begin your education on Abraham Lincoln. Find the complete six-volume set if you can. It does a much better job of putting Lincoln's life into the historical context of the 1800s than this abridged volume does.