This is a profile of the frontier woman---the biography of Delphia Eliza Odell Reoh and her journey from Kansas to Oklahoma in a covered wagon. Delphia's husband was chosen by her mother, and she struggled with tubuculosis. This book chronicles her wild ride in the Oklahoma Land Rush, and encounter with a mad dog. Frontier women struggled with birth, death and bed bugs while establshing a home. They settled in Spokogee--- present-day Dustin. Delphia bore eight children and lost three before they reached adulthood. Delphia's last journey took her to the Lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas, near present-day Raymondville, where she and her husband established a farm. All are buried in the Raymondville cemetery, but the name endures in the Valley.

This book is for Young Adultsand older. It's a true historical and depicts a more simple and basic way of life. The contents are suitable for any age group. It's more than just bare bones historical facts and dates. It goes to the heart of the people who lived the story. Emotions come to the surface and simple pleasures are relived, fears surface and a wide range of raw apprehensions and a subtle suspense creeps in at times. The key word was survival.

He had been chozen by her mother, and the marriage ceremony had been a simple affair beside her mother's dying bedside. DELPHIA'S new husband was a railroad man---helping lay the tracks for the railroads that would criss-cross the country. He was a good worker, and (as her mother had shrewdly surmised) a good provider, but he had no roots nor a place he called home. Now DELPHIA gathered everything into a covered wagon and prepared for her journey into the unknown with a stranger---

Well worth the seemingly hefty price. In addition to containing source material that benefits *any* modern-day game (e.g. details on international law-enforcement agencies), it includes expansions on things alluded to in the main Delta Green book, such as the Army of the Third Eye, and new icky horrors like the Skoptsi.

There is also wonderful information on ghoul society and on the "King in Yellow"/Hastur mythos, concluding with "Night Floors," which is in my opinion one of the best damn adventures ever written.

If you already have Delta Green, Countdown should be your next purchase (if you don't have Delta Green, BUY IT!!!). Countdown adds write-ups for PISCES (Britain), GRU SV-8 (Russia), The Skoptsi, The Outlook Group, Phenomen-X, Keepers of the Faith (Ghouls), and a new look at The Hastur Mythos. Add rules for the Gift (Psychic Powers) and international templates from all over the world and you have a book that would be cheap at twice the price!!

Pagan Publishing has done it again!!!

After getting and reading the Delta Green book, I was very impressed, but left wanting more. The main DG book has a lot of detail, but it's scope is a bit limited - the main adversaries available are MJ-12, the Karotechia, the Fate, the Mi-Go, and that's about it. There is a lot of terrific, well-researched info on these four, but I wanted more options. More options is what Countdown provides. The bulk of the large book is taken up by thorough, detailed descriptions of more organizations, much like the ones in the original book. These add a wealth of additional details and possibilities to the game world. If you're going to run a DG game, you definitely want to have this book!

What a work of art!
I couldn't put it down, it's still in my hands now.
Where has such a talent been hiding without any notice or acknowledgement?
I encourage anyone to read Discreetly Dysfunctional and become involved in this amazing family's tales of past and present life issues that many of us face, but keep them tucked away inside. Scott Antwan has found a creative yet tasteful way of bringing these issues to the table. This is simply a masterpiece, that leaves me looking forward to what this new talent has in store for me next....
Take a bow, Scott Antwan!

Just when you thought you read it all. The title of this book says it all. It was well written. I laughed, cried, cheered and some no she/he did'nt. It held my interest from beginning to end.
( I almost walked into a pole reading this book) This is a must have for any reader. I can't wait for his next book.

Discreetly Dysfunctional was an extraordinary book, centered on a family's struggle to deal with their present and past losses. For those of that have a hard time facing life's ugly realities, or try to mask the dreadful truths, this book is a real eye opener. Introducing a family that appears typical to the outside world, the writer reveals what all "perfect little homes" have tucked away in their closets. Because every family has skeletons, but few are willing to share, this book never fails to shock the reader. Through a creative and detailed writing method, the audience is taught how trapping these realities inside the home and heart can affect not only the destiny of the victim, but also the fate of others involved. This book is a definite MUST HAVE, it has a lot to offer even the most open-minded readers.

There is little that I can add to what has already been written. Fehrenbacher is clear, thoughtful, and comprehensive.

I read the abridged edition of 1981, titled Slavery, Law and Politics. I can only echo what the other reviwers have said. It's about a court opinion but it is anything but dry. You learn much about the law and politics of slavery, from the founding of the nation forward. You learn about the Dred Scott case itself, including the legal maneuverings in the lower courts. The author's analysis of Chief Justice Taney's opinion for the Court is one of the best single chapters I have read in a history book in a long time. The author is learned but the prose is engaging--elegant, even. You feel you are in the company of a wise teacher, who is not trying to impress you but simply to impart his considerable knowledge without ego on a topic that turns out to be an excellent prism through which to view an important swath of our history. Read it!

This is one of the best books I've read in a long time. It might seem that a 700 page book (600 pages of text; 100 pages of notes) on a 19th century court case might be the epitome of exceedingly dry material suited only for particularly motivated graduate students. But I found this book captivating. What came through in every paragraph was the work of a skilled and judicious historian sleuthing his way to an understanding of the background and ramifications of the enormously important Dred Scott decision. Not one page in this book read like the work of an uninspired academic sawing his way through a pile of research notes.

Fehrenbacher focuses on the political, legal and constitutional aspects of the Dred Scott case. He explores the background and developments, from the arrival of the first slaves in the colonies in 1619 through the bitter political battles of the 1850s. His discussion of legal developments is particularly interesting because this is one area where the reader encounters the concrete complications and conflicts between various state and federal laws affecting slaves and slave owners. He also shows how legal developments and constitutional theories were affected by the increasingly acrimonious political battles over the rights of slaveholders. His analysis of Chief Justice Taney's opinion was particularly impressive. Finally, his discussion of the immediate and longer term impact of the Dred Scott decision was fascinating. When I finished the book, I was disappointed that he hadn't carried the thoughts in the last chapter further (even though it was clear he had chosen a good stopping point for his analysis). I was also tempted to go back to the beginning and re-read the book immediately! It is so rich, and there's so much of importance to understand. (Instead, I started in on Fehrenbacher's more recent book, The Slaveholding Republic.)

One of the strengths of the book is Fehrenbacher's attention to the relevants facts and texts. His text never reads like a cut-and-paste compilation of other authors' conclusions. Throughout, Fehrenbacher was doing his own thinking - and he came through as quite skilled in asking good questions, identifying all the relevant facts, weighing the possible meanings and interpretations, and arriving at fair conclusions. (Whatever the topic, it's always a pleasure to read the work of someone who works as Fehrenbacher did in this book.)

I highly recommend this book to anyone with even a passing interest in American legal or constitutional history, in the events that lead to the Civil War, or in race relations in America.

Mr. Sigler let's out all the stops on this entertaining thrill ride of terror and suspense. Don't even try to start reading it unless you have the rest of the day to kill.
Rabid pacing, and in depth characterzation make this writer a new goal marker in this genre.
by r douglas weber
author of Protocol-17:A Conspiracy Thriller

... EARTHCORE is a long novel, but Sigler's mastery of pacing keeps the action flowing. There are twists and turns, but they are honest twists and turns, he doesn't resort to 'mind games'...Plot, danger, the characters and changes in who has the upper hand provide ample coloration to Sigler's rolling kaleidoscope of underground terror.

"I do recommend purchasing this book. It's nice to see an aspiring young horror writer who doesn't try to bludgeon his style into Stephen King's."

Sat down and read this book all night.

I never knew mining could be so dangerous.

I can't wait for the next book.

Had everything I needed to get going, even the obscure stuff.

Only thing missing was an explanation of what Access does with it's version of Stored procedures, but then again, Microsoft isn't sure on that one itself, so that's no surprise.

Great book, I recommend it.

Love this book. This is the only book I know that does not abandon DAO. I like DAO. All other post Access 97 book abandons DAO.

It is well written and have used many of this examples for my job. I even like it better than the Getz books.

This book is not for the faint of heart in Access 2000 coding but it is invaluable to the advanced programmer. I refer to this book almost daily in developing our in-house applications. The real strength of this book is in developing code that is more portable or reusable. I have gone from writing sloppy code that is application (or even form) specific to writing completly reusable (and of course fully documented) code. Excellent reference for the power VBA programmer!

Doreen Rapport Freedom River; Illustration by Bryan Collier
14pp. ISBN 0-7868-0350-9.-ISBN 0-7868-1229-X (pbk.).-ISBN 0-7868-229-0 (lib.bdg.)
(Intermediate)

Freedom River is a true story, about getting from Kentucky to the free state Ohio. John Parker a former slave, and now a businessman of Ripely Ohio. John then helps a couple and their child escape being slaves to freedom. The freeing of these salves is taken place through out the year. Both the author and the illustrator work wonderfully together to make this book seem real. The text clearly goes along with the pictures. The illustration is remarkable, the pictures look like photographs. Bryan Collier uses a different technique for his illustrations, it looks as if the pictures are pieces of a puzzle arranged together. As you begin to read this book look closely at the faces of the people, you will see wavy lines, these lines represent the Ohio River. The color schemes really put things in perspective also, they are realistic colors. Through out this book, Doreen Rapport uses short phrases to describe the event that is taking place: Run. Run, Row. Row, Listen. Listen, Wait. Wait, Closer. Louder, Crawl. Crawl. This gives the reader insight to what is going on in the picture by just two word phrases. Another author that does this same technique is Under the Quilt of Night by Deborah Hopkinson. The ending of this story is really surprising, I but when thought about it makes sense. This book is just not about the freeing of slaves, but it is about doing what is right in life, helping others out. I recommend this book to adults and children in the intermediate level. An interesting addition to the end of the story is a historical note which explains in great detail about the life of John Parker.

In the book, A Freedom River, the writing of Doreen Rappaport along with the illustrations of Bryan Collier together create a stunning retelling of one particular trip on the Underground Railroad. This is the story of a slave family escaping from the slave state of Kentucky to the free state of Ohio.
The book's uniqueness lies not in its topic, but rather in the characters. John Parker, this true story's hero, was not only a conductor on the Underground Railroad, but also an accomplished businessman from Ripley, Ohio. He was born a slave and worked to buy his freedom. He owned his own foundry, and employed both black and white individuals from both Ohio and Kentucky. He helped to make this book unique because he is not a well known conductor, but his impact on the Underground Railroad was just as great. It is said that he helped over 900 slaves escape to freedom during his lifetime.
A Freedom River draws the reader into the experience of the Underground Railroad. It masterfully pulls forth every imaginable emotion, as the characters must make choices that may end in the separation of families, death or freedom. The pace of the book along with large, bold directives, such as RUN, CRAWL, and LISTEN, create a feeling of breathlessness, much as if the reader too, were running for freedom.
The illustrations work hand in hand with the written word in order to create the overall experience of the book. The multi-textured collages with realistic faces add emotion and dept to the story. Wavy lives found throughout the illustrations deeply symbolize the river and its importance in the search for freedom.
This is a beautiful book and worthy of a rating of more than five stars. It could be successfully used with children from 1st to 6th grade. It is an excellent book for introducing and further understanding the Underground Railroad.

Before the Civil War, Kentucky was a slave state. But just 1000 feet across the Ohio River, Ohio was a free state. John Parker, was as a conductor on the Underground Railroad and helped hundreds of slaves cross that river to freedom. John was a unique individual, an ex-slave who learned to read and write and was able to buy his freedom and a successful Ohio businessman who employed both black and white workers. But he never forgot his slave roots and the terrible pain of being separated from his mother and sold when he was eight years old. Because of this, he risked and devoted his own life to helping slaves escape to safety in Ohio. Freedom River tells the story of one of John Parker's trips to Kentucky to rescue a family of three..... Doreen Rappaport has written a powerful and inspiring story of the courage and determination of one man to right the wrongs of slavery. Her eloquent text makes John Parker and this story come alive and is complimented by Bryan Collier's vivid illustrations that add a real sense of drama and urgency. Perfect for children 8-12, Freedom River is a wonderful introduction to the Underground Railroad and includes historical notes to enhance the story and augment discussion.

The four volumes of the Raj Quartet overlap and complement one another, while at the same time forwarding the main storyline of the slow twilight of the British ascendancy in India, always with the rape of a white girl by Indian men as the central lodestone everpresent in the background, the nightmare which is seldom mentioned but which none can drive from their minds. Events occur, are discussed, witnessed as newspaper reports, court documents, interviews, vague recollections from years later, or perceived directly by the main characters. Then the next volume will take two or three steps back into previous events, and these same events will be perceived from another angle, perhaps only as a vague report heard far away across the Indian plain, or witnessed directly by another character, or discussed in detail long after their occurrence over drinks on a verandah. This may at times seem like rehashing, indeed as one reads the four volumes one will be subjected to the account of the rape in the Bibighar Gardens many times over; but what will also become apparent is that additional details, sometimes minor variations in interpretation and sometimes crucial facts, are being added slowly to the events discussed, as though the window to the past were being progressively wiped cleaner and cleaner with successive strokes of Scott's pen. In this way he draws the picture of the last days of the Raj not in a conventional linear fashion, but recursively, and from multiple angles. One gets the clear impression of life in India during the first half of the 20th century as similar in nature: Fragmented, multifaceted, largely dependent upon perspective and experience and never perceived whole or all at once.

Book 4 is the tour-de-force of the series, the longest and the one that covers the greatest distance, emotionally and chronologically. Into the Laytons' social set come Nigel Rowan, an officer in the political branch whom we have met before in Book 2 interrogating Hari Kumar some years after his imprisonment, and Guy Perron, a sergeant in the intelligence service who is "chosen" against his will by Ronald Merrick to serve in his unit. Merrick seems deliberately to surround himself with people who dislike him: Guy Perron, Sarah Layton, and before them Daphne Manners and Hari Kumar. Rowan and Perron, incidentally, are former schoolmates of Kumar's at the posh Chillingborough Academy in England. And they're not the only ones: The British in India seem constantly reminded that Kumar symbolizes the insoluble problem of India's Britishness. He's too British for the Indians and too Indian for the British. Perron is an excellent guide through the final days of the Raj, stolid and proper yet inwardly seething with intellectual outrage. An explosive yet sombre climax in 1947 details the very end of the British presence in India, the beginnings of the Hindu-Muslim riots throughout the country, and gives an expansive sense of just how far one has come from the small town of Mayapore and the darkly deserted Bibighar Gardens.

"A Division of the Spoils" is the fourth and final part of Paul Scott's "Raj Quartet". World War Two is drawing to a close, as is the British Raj. However, Ronald Merrick's career is still on the rise much to the irritation of most of those who come into contact with him: Merrick's involvement in the events following the incident in the Bibighar gardens in 1942 hover around him like a persistent ghost.

Scott brings the events of the three previous novels to their resolution, and examines the agonising death throes of British rule in India: the distaste of empire, of India and of the Indians felt by those Britons posted to India during the War; the displacement and disorientation of those Britons actually ruling India; the Muslin/Hindu rifts in the Indian independence movement and the emergence of Pakistan; and the unease of those Indians who found a modus vivendi with the Raj.

Mixed in with this, almost as a paradigm of the difficult birth of the new nation is the after-effect of the capture of Indian troops who fought with the Japanese in Subhas Chandra Bose's Indian National Army - how should the British deal with them, now that the Raj is nearly over? How will those troops be treated by their fellow Indians - as traitors, as freedom fighters?

As with the rest of this series of novels, "A Division of the Spoils" is written with great assurance and sensitivity. Scott uses different narrators to move the story along and departs from a linear narrative to give the reader different views of past events. It's a superb finale to an excellent work.

G Rodgers

A DIVISION OF THE SPOILS by Paul Scott is the last book in his series known as the Raj Quartet. The four books are classics, that have been read and will continue to be read centuries from now as readers attempt to understand what happened during the last days of the British Raj in India. I read history but I am also a great fan of well written historical fiction and these books are extremely well written historical fiction. Having read them, I am much more enlightened about the struggles which continue today betweem Hindu and Muslim.

Many of the characters from the earlier books converge in DIVISION, and the book introduces a new character, Guy Perron, who is a Chillingborough-Cambridge educated historian whose "period" and place are mid-19th Century India. Guy's character is used to tie up all the loose ends.

After arriving in India as a British army sergeant (he has elected not become an officer although his education and class clearly warrent it), Guy has the misfortune to be "chosen" by the recently-promoted-to-LtCol. and very wicked Ronald Merrick as his aide-de-camp. Merrick is still riddled with class envy, and sees in Guy an excellent opportunity to abuse someone he despises. Fortunately, Guy is able to escape from Merrick through the graces of his Aunt Charlotte who pulls strings to have him released from the army.

Fortunately for Guy, he doesn't escape Merrick before he meets Sarah Layton. Their story is told in this fourth volume and certain elements of the tale bring to mind the earlier story of Hari Kumar and Daphne Manners. In fact, it is through Guy's meeting of Merrick, Sarah, and another Chillingburrian, Nigel Rowan (who interviewed Hari Kumar in prison) that he becomes interested in the events at Mayapore in 1942 and the subsequent consequences for all involved.

As with other great classics, in DIVISION things do not always evolve as the reader would have wished. This book is very realistic -- sorrow and joy are mixed. In JEWEL IN THE CROWN, the first book in the series, Lady Chatterjee says she does not want to go to a heaven that excludes joy and sorrow because being human requires one to feel joy and sorrow.

Perhaps it is because humans can experience sorrow they are capable of experiencing joy. In the end, the reader discovers Hari Kumar's fate and the identity of Philoctetes as well as the difference between Dharma and Karma. This is a powerful series and a fabulous ending to the tale.

I usually develop custom applications against Oracle. But for one project, I needed to make Access front-end Oracle in order to support ad hoc queries. After playing with Access for a day, it was apparent some functionality was not easy to get my hands on. I was confronted with a few "how do I get from here to there" situations. This book clearly and concisely explained how to implement some common business processes. While I have a technical background, the Access user interface is decidedly non-technical and not always intuitive. This helped me in a couple of key areas. It was much easier to use than most of those dreadful 1,200 page tomes. And it covered things I couldn't find online. For me, it was definitely useful.

Scott Clark and Doug Kleiber effectively collaborate to show busy executives how to quickly become proficient in using Microsoft Access software in Effective Executives's Guide To Access 2002. They present a seven step approach to designing, building, and managing a Microsoft Access 2002 database. Included is an overview of what Access databases are and what they can accomplish; what is necessary for designing and building an Access database; how to create forms and then utilize those forms to supply a database with data; how to turn data into useful information through describing how data ties together; how to search through and filter data, plus bring data from several databases together; create concise reports gathering data together and presenting it is useful, effective ways; and how to publish the data from an Access database, including making it available to others via the Internet. Effective Executives's Guide To Access 2002 is very highly recommended for anyone requiring a quick learning curve in the use of a Microsoft Access 2002 database.

This is kind of a funny computer book. For one thing, it's really well-written. (Not always the case with computer books.) For another thing, it doesn't just document the program, it explains how to use Access 2002 to build a database. (The example used in the book is building a database of donors for a nonprofit agency, but as you read through the book you see pretty easily how things would work in your real database.)

One thing I appreciated was the real world perspective. When I read about stuff like when you need to augment Access with SQL Server or Oracle and how much these options cost, I could tell the writers had used Access in real business settings.

One important warning though. This isn't a big book on Access. Think of this book as "Access for Dummies" minus the silliness and humor but plus business advice and information. This book is a fast tutorial that will get you very proficient and comfortable. But it's not a book to turn you into an Access developer.

By the way, I read this after reading a positive review in Library Journal (they recommended the Effective Executive's Guide series) and a very positive blurb in Publishers Weekly (they said these books, uniquely, tell people how to get their work done).

"The Founding," set during the War of the Roses, is the first book of the prolific Moreland family saga. The story opens with the marriage of the ambitious young Eleanor Courteney to Robert Moreland, son of a wealthy York wool merchant. Eleanor, having lived among nobility for most of her life, believes the match is beneath her station and desperately opposes it. The first half of the book revolves around Eleanor's struggle to come to terms with her marriage. As the novel progresses, the family is swept up, for better or for worse, by the tumultuous political tides of the war.
"The Founding" was an enjoyable read, full of colorful descriptions of everyday life during mid-to late fifteenth century England. The author effectively blends her fictional creations with historical events by giving her characters minor roles in the royal households and in significant battles of the war. In doing so, these characters' adventures seem plausible in light of known historical events. The author has also included a family chart, which this reader found extremely helpful for keeping track of the prodigious Moreland family.
I have only a few minor criticisms (the reason for the four star rating). The large gaps in time that occur between chapters can be disorienting for the reader. I also thought the book would have been more satisfying had the author given her characters more depth, rather than emphasizing the same character traits repeatedly.
Despite these criticisms, I felt the book was highly entertaining and am eagerly looking forward to continuing with this saga.

The Foundling begins a series that blows the mind with its historical accuracy. Unlike many other authors, Harrod-Eagles shows the good side as well as the bad, and each character is different. A depiction of real life and what the women (and men) had to go through during that time is written in great detail.

A must read for history fans!!

This is a well constructed book. You really feel for the main charchter and her family. You can feel the force that drives her to make something of her husband and her family. She suffers a lot especially from unrequited love. This book is excellent and the historical detail and accuracy is amazing. This book, the first in the dynasty, was a great starting book. It made me want to go out and read all the others which were just as good.