After their parents die of illness on the journey west, sixteen-year-old Betsy Monroe and her older sister Willa are left all alone on the Oregon Trail. Betsy is determined to fulfill their parents' last dream and complete the journey, and Willa, never the stronger one, agrees to go along with Betsy's decision. The sisters are found by Charlie Freeman, a handsome young trail guide. He wants them to turn back, convinced two young women on their own have no chance of making the journey. He reluctantly guides them to the nearest fort, where Betsy and Willa are able to join up with the very wagon train Charlie will be guiding to Oregon. Betsy begins to fall in love with Charlie, but a misunderstanding leads him to believe that she led him on, and has no feelings at all for him. I highly recommend this book to teenagers who enjoy reading historical romances. It's really a shame that it's out of print.

This is one of the most well written teen romances I have read. I first read this book 14 years ago when I was just 16...In rereading this book as an adult, I found that it still has it's same magic. This story is great for any teen and I think it will awaken a thirst to learn more about our country's history.

I first read this novel when I was 16 years old. I instantly wanted to learn all I could about the Oregon Trail. This novel is great at sparking curiosity about educational stuff in kids' minds! I recommend it for any middle school to high school reading selection.

This is a very touching, yet realistic story for its time. Ms. Michaels does a very good job of mixing historical fact with fiction and/or likely occurrences. She obviously put heavy research into her writing, as confirmed by the bibliography in the back of the book.

This book deserves to be read and cherished!

I found this book terrific. Manning taught me much about the biology of the great American prairie, or what's left of it, as well some of the ways to save it. Unlike other conservationist writers or thinkers, Manning puts a human angle on the subject, pointing out the personal and societal (political, economic) issues. Importantly, though, he spins this tale with an almost poetic quality that is accessible to all levels of readers. He also challenges some of the conventions of some parts of the environmental movement that is refreshing, uplifting and quite meaningful and relevant to all levels of ecological protection.

I grew up in Iowa and was given this book a few years ago while living in Manhattan, Kansas. I now live near Fresno, California. Manning starts out by saying that he intended to write about science, politics, and journalism, and ended up with a more personal narrative. To which I say, "of course". This book seemed to me to flesh out for me how patterns of rainfall profoundly influenced the ecology, agriculture, and ultimately the societies of the various places I've lived. For one interested in these issues, I would further suggest (in this order) Wallace Stegner's "Beyond the 100th Meridian", Wes Jackson's "New Roots for Agriculture", Judith Soule and Jon Piper's "Farming in Nature's Image: an Ecological Approach to Agriculture", Ian Frazier's "Great Plains", and Aldo Leopold's "Sand County Almanac". But this book is an excellent start.

Reading Grassland was one of the best things I have done in a long time. The book will cause one to rethink the manner in which North American agriculture occurs and to question one's role in the web of life. It has caused me to question my being a vegetarian and is simply a profound work. The novel is truly enlightening, I highly recommend that everyone read it.

I live in England and have no idea how I first came across this book apart from the fact I bought it from Amazon! But am I so glad that I took the plunge and ordered it. I have not enjoyed a mystery novel as much as this one in a very long time. The plot twists and turns with as many potential murderers as stars in the sky. Combine this with a wonderfully laconic sheriff, Jules Clement, great scenery, a large dose of romantic tension plus a lot of wit, sarcasm and humour, and you have one of the best crime novels you will have read in a while. I could not recommend it enough and am going to spread the word about Jamie Harrison to all my friends.

This is outstanding writing, not merely an outstanding mystery, and is, in my opinion, the best novel of the year. The plot - and that word does not convey the depth of this story - would be marvelous by itself, but Harrison adds almost a dozen characters that stick in your mind and then melds them into a literary event. The writing's top-quality and there's not a hint of a wrong turn in this masterful performance. We all know her Dad's the better writer... uh, don't we? Don't we?

The characters are all believable, the writing is literate and witty, and the growing sense of evil makes this book well worth reading. Ms. Harrison gives a clear sense of place (Southwestern Montana) that never detracts from the book's pace or plot. She handles the large cast of characters and their complicated relationships so deftly that I almost never had to remember who was related to whom. A real pleasure.

One of the best books around is Across the Wide and Lonesome Prairie . I would rate this book 5 stars out of 5 stars! The story is about a girl named Hattie Cambell, her family wants to go to Oregon but they can't afford it untill her uncle dies. They come across some trouble, but not alot in fact she falls in love, and she fins a new best friend. As I said in the begining this is the best book in the world!

This book tells, in diary format, the story of Hattie Campbell and her family on the Oregon Trail. It starts out in Booneville, Missouri at Hattie's birthday. They travel by steamboat to Independence, and go west. Along the way, Hattie meets and makes friends with Pepper and Wade, who are twins, Gideon, and Mrs. Bigg. She also encounters a thief. The trail is filled with many dangers, including food poisoning, deaths, rivers, mountains, etc. You have to read the book to find out what happens to Hattie and her friends and family. I would recommend this book to anybody who is interested in pioneers, excitement, and dangers, or who is a fan of Kristiana Gregory's work or a fan of the Dear America series. This book is one of the best in the Dear America series, as Kristiana Gregory has once again done a superb job in the research and writing.

Hattie Campbell, her parent's, her aunt and uncle, and her two younger brothers leave their home to join a wagon train on the Oregon Trail. Hattie meets a girl named Pepper, and they become good friends. There are surprises along the way such as marriages, but there were also hardships like deaths, food poisoning, and robberies. Also, if you're the type of person who want's to know what happens after the end, this book has an epilogue (tells what happens after the end).

The Series "My First Little House Books" is a great tool for Special Education adaptations of the Core Literature "Little House in the Big Woods". I've used this series in general education classrooms, too, to supplement the Core Lit text. The children's positive responses to the beautiful illustrations made my day! The beautifully portrayed color illustrations capture essential details from the book chapters and make the stories come alive for all of the students. Two thumbs up for this series!

I bought this book for my 1st grade daughter, hoping she would love the Laura Ingalls Wilder tradition as I had as a child. She did and I was excited because she could read this book herself and she was empowered! I only wish that you could buy the other 13 titles of the "first books" in a collection or gift set like you can the original series.

I ordered the whole series for my soon to be 4 year old for Christmas. She is absolutely delighted with the stories. The illustrations are beautiful. A must have for younger children.

I read this book on a whim and thoroughly enjoyed it. The writing is first-rate, and the story of this amazing woman is inspirational. The book does an excellent job of describing what pioneer life was like. Great book for kids, but I enjoyed it, too.

According to my 11-year-old daughter, this is a classic case of "Don't judge a book by its cover." "I thought it would be boring, since there is only grass on the cover, but it was the best book I ever read," she said. She was fascinated by the details about the nitty-gritty of prairie life, by the size of the families and the constancy of the chores. She's looking forward to reading Warren's book, "Orphan Train Rider," and wants the author to hurry up and write more.

This is the story of a real pioneer girl, Grace McCane. When Grace was just three years old, she moved with her parents and two sisters to Nebraska to homestead a claim on the lonely prairie. Grace grew up on the prairie, and she loved her life, although it was hard. If you liked the Little House on the Prairie Books, you will love Grace's story - the story of a girl and her family striving to make their dream come true despite innumerable hardships.

Can people who claim to be Christians hold grudges against people because of their religion, ethnic origin, or handicap? In Prairie Fire, Palmer shows an entirely different side of the citizens of Hope than she did in Prairie Rose. When Caitrin Murphy falls for Jack Cornwall, her sister, brother-in-law, and the other citizens of Hope do not approve because of his Cornish heritage, traditional enemies of the Irish immigrants of Hope. When Caitrin tries to point out the irony of Hope residents who accept German and Swedish immigrants but not Cornish, her brother-in-law Jimmy O'Toole won't listen. He tells her not to forget her Irish heritage and her allegiance to it. Caitrin replies that she is now an American and "won't be bound by petty prejudice." Jimmy refuses to listen, even when Jack gives his life to the Lord and changes his previous ways. When Jack's mother and sister arrive in Hope, the townspeople become even more suspicious. How can a family keep one of its members in chains? The townspeople resolve to force the Cornwalls to leave. The drama builds to an exciting climax at an emotional prayer meeting of dedicated Christians that ends up in a scene not unlike a bar room brawl. Can these so-called Christian citizens ever accept those who are different? I found Prairie Fire an enjoyable novel, one that teaches as great a lesson to Christians today as to those of the town of Hope over 100 years ago.

I loved this book and don't plan on exchanging it any time soon. It was always exciting and it made me laugh. There were some good lessons to the book too, but even though the morals were serious they were mixed in with a cheerful and happy tale. It was a funny book that takes you away and doesn't bring you back until it's over! You should read it!

As Rosie and Seth Hunter begin their married life, the town of Hope flourishes. The mercantile and post office are now run by Caitrin Murphy, sister of Mrs. O'toole, and the focus shifts. Jack, the bully and the outlaw of book one, is attempting to escape town after being shot in the shoulder. He hides in a barn and encounters red-headed Caitrin for the first time. Both are firey, opinionated, mouthy and fiesty. The highlight of this book for me was when Jack learns that God loves him and he is so humbled by that realization. When he heals, he tries to return to Hope, start anew and make peace. The people of Hope do not intend to make peace with the likes of Jack, and bigotry and prejudice especially in Jack's mother and Caitrin's brother in law keeps the town in an uproar....mostly against Jack. He has brought with him his sister, Lucy, who seems like a mad woman. She cannot relate to normal people...but no one except Caitrin makes any attempt to reach her. Lucy's family's dark, ugly secret is kept for only the 3 of them to ever know. It is not until Jack is actually threatened himself that Lucy has to decide whether or not to break her silence, admit to her dark past and save her brother. The author does a superb job in identifying the ugly and mean side of some of the townspeople, and the good and the gentle side of others. She manages to elicit fear, anger, sympathy, hope, despair and excitement in the reader. Familes are divided, loyalties are questioned, love seems destined to die and the town struggles to stay alive in the drought. The reader is left to wonder whether the real "Fire" is the prairie fire, or the fire of hate and dissention which burns out of control several times in the book. I could hardly put the book down, and I am sooooooo anxious for "Prairie Storm" to be released!

The book is a refreshing approach that combines gardening and natural history. I like the balance. A useful guide but also a good read on its own. The best part is having a book written about the prairies by authors who garden on the prairies. Too many books miss the mark for our region but this one is on target for the insect questions I've had. I hope more garden writers in our region pick up the torch as this book does.

It's great to find a book that is actually of practical use. I like the mix of gardening info and Nature info. I've already identified a few critters in the garden and figured out which ones (there was only one) to keep an eye on for problems. The illustrations are top-notch. I like books that aren't dumbed-down but the average gardener can still use. I hope there are more books written by people who garden in our climate and don't just rehash info that is more relevant to warmer zones.

Everyone who gardens, especially those who live in the prairies of Canada or the Northern USA, should read this book!

It not only has great information about entomology and the individual bugs but also details about how to live with them. The illustrations are wonderful too!

As a teacher, I suggest that it would make an excellent resource for school libraries as well because it's not only dry facts but is written in a manner that is easy and fun to read.

...

Starting with a strike of the coal miners, the company hires outside thugs, who end up massacring the miners. But this is only the beginning of the blood that made Williamson (a small coal mining town in southern Illinois in the 1920's) Bloody!

The thugs didn't leave. They rather liked having the run of the town. Bootlegging, gang wars, and all [heck] breaks loose.

Its important to remember the context when reading this book--because the author doesn't give you much. The worst race riots in American History happened a few miles away, in East St. Louis, in 1916--a few short years before the time covered in this book. Unions hadn't been legally recognized--that came a few years later, amidst the depression. Coal, and the economy in general, were booming. The stock market was exploding. And the federal government took the position that its role was to foster the wealth of the rich.

Anyone who thinks that political corruption is confined to big cities, hasn't spent much time in small town politics. This book is an eye opener. Of course, anyone who thinks that this sort of corruption is a part of America's long distant past, hasn't been reading the paper much recently. Political shenanigans in down state Illinois are alive and well. Of course, the big economic engine driving the southern Illinois economy today is the prison industry, but that's another book. (see Going Up the River, by Joseph Hallinan, for a description of the same area today, dominated by Tamms Supermax Prison).

Williamsburg County had an unbelievable amount of violence, in both variety and magnitude, in such a short period of time. In less than fifty years this one county had labor wars, Ku Klux Klan wars, gang wars, and one of the worst feuds in American history. Paul Angle is a good writer, but that is only an added benefit. Reading the media accounts of these events would be fascinating enough. Anyone interested in a case study of a dysfunctional community should read this book.

I write primarily to prevent the interested reader from being influenced by Alan Mills's review. It seems that Alan's review is based on a look at the dustjacket, or perhaps something someone told him while he wasn't exactly paying attention. Had he been listening more closely, he might have learned that Williamson is not a town, but a county. Had he finished Chapter One he might not have missed the central fact that it was not the miners who were killed in what came to be known as the "Herrin Massacre", but the company's mine guards and a group of recent Irish immigrants working the mine during the strike,who surrendered to the union under promise of safe conduct, before being taken to a field and shot by striking miners, who then cut the throats of their victims and urinated on their bodies. It is possible that a reading of the book would have alerted Alan to the fact that in 1922 Williamson County the union was not only well established, but had the support of a majority of the populace, and the collusion of some county officials. It was a combination of public intimidation and bribery that prevented jurors from convicting anyone in the two celebrated murder trials that followed the massacre. I don't understand Alan's point about the federal government fostering the wealth of the rich; worrying about this may be a hobby of Alan's, but the concept has nothing to do with Angle's book, or the events it describes. Those who do go on to read Angle's classic book will find a well-written and exciting account of an extraordinary period of lawlessness in Southern Illinois. It is also well-researched and accurate. Some of the participants in these events later refused to write books of their own, saying that they could never tell the story as well as Paul Angle already had.

This book was recommended to me by a friend. I am ever grateful to him for finding it. It takes me to this imaginary place of great grandmothers, grandmothers, farms, and recipes over a century old. Even before I tried my first recipe from this book, it brought about certain nostalgic emotions inside of me. With the descriptions that accompany each recipe, I see a little piece of history that could have been my own German grandmothers had she shared it with me. Unfortunately, while she did teach me a lot about cooking, baking and handing down recipes wasn't something she did a whole lot of. My mother was the baker and she was more of a "new world" baker than someone who used recipes given to her by her mother or grandmother. This book makes up for part of that in its own special way.

I received the book two days ago, thumbed through it once, then twice, and tonight I made my first two recipes. In fact, one just came out of the oven..."fly off the plate" rolls. One word: Heavenly. Among the best dinner rolls I've had or made. Slightly sweet, buttery, rich, yet light and full of flavor. Definitely something to accompany a dinner of flavorful comfort foods like pot roast or roast turkey and stuffing...even something like chicken stew.

For those of you lacking the comfort that comes from having time-tested old-world recipes handed down to you, this book is for you...and even for those of you who aren't lacking it, this book will prove to be one of your favorites.

In Prairie Home Breads, culinary expert Judith Fertig showcases 150 outstanding recipes for a variety of breads. Categories of breads include Yeast Breads; Naturally Leavened and Slow-Rising Breads; Whole-Grain Breads; Rolls and Buns; Quick Breads, Muffins, & Popovers; Scones, Biscuits, Crackers, and a Soda Bread; Coffee Cakes and Pastries. The recipes range from simple family meal favorites, to celebratory breads ideal for even the most festive occasion. The recipes are complete, easy to follow, and accessible to even the most novice kitchen chef. A strongly recommended addition to any cookbook shelf collection, Prairie Home Breads is enhanced with two useful sections "Source Guide" and "Prairie Bakers", as well as a user-friendly Index.

I was lucky enough to receive an advance copy of this book several weeks ago, and I haven't put it down yet! I love the satisfaction that comes with making delicious bread from scratch, and there are so many wonderful recipes in Prairie Home Breads that I can't wait to try. Ms. Fertig included everything from basic breads to more elaborate and unusual recipes, so anyone can follow along! I've already purchased several copies as Christmas presents for my friends.