This is a reissue of a book that is currently the only book that covers the general story of the Indians of Iowa, from past to present. In addition to the original essays, there are two new ones, both praiseworthy. One essay, by Maria Pearson, Yankton Sioux, describes her fight to protect native burials in Iowa-- which established state law that was the basis for the national law to protect native burials and sacred objects, NAGPRA. The other essay is a personal musings on the native tribe that provided Iowa with its name, the Iowa tribe; it is by Lance Foster, a member of the Iowa tribe. Few people recognize the importance of Indian history in the state of Iowa.. this book will help correct that.

As a West Virginia resident and one that lives near the Ohio river, I find myself thinking about Mary and her journey home. I find myself wondering what the river looked like to her. This is a fantastic book. I have passed this book on to several people and they all tell me that they can not put it down.
If you read this book you will find yourself asking, "what is going to happen next".
What is so remarkable is that this is a true story. I found myself crying when Mary left her newborn baby behind. The perils she and Gretel endure are unbelievable. I would hope that I would be able to persevere as she did in such trying times. I don't think a man could have done any better.
West Virginia history classes need to teach about this wonderful women and not focus so much on learning the counties. I could not believe that this story takes place in our beautiful state and had never even heard of this woman.
The Hallmark channel showed a TV movie based on the book but played lightly on the hardships and was not a true adaptation of the book.

The first time I read this wonderfully gripping novel was about 15 years ago, and when I started reading it, I could not put it down. Now, 15 years later, I have had the same experience. It kept me up at night and I found myself in the same state of awe as the first reading.

Mary Draper Ingles was a 23 year old pregnant mother and wife, when the settlement she lived in was invaded by Shawnee Indians. They killed her mother and took Mary, her 2 sons, and her sister-in-law captive, leading them deep into unsettled territory. While on the trek to the Shawnee camp, she gave birth to a daughter.

After being in captivity for months, Mary escaped in the company of an old Dutch woman. Together the two survived a walk of one thousand miles through untamed territory in the beginning of winter w/no food, no warm clothing, no weapons, nothing - except the Ohio River as her guide to "home". Eventually, literally starving to death, the old Dutch companion started seeing Mary as a "meal", and it was Mary's determination and wits that kept her from being Gretel's next meal.

The Shawnee Chieftain, Wildcat, kept Mary's 2 young sons - the youngest died shortly after being seperated from his mother, and the oldest stayed w/the Shawnees for around 13 years, before Mary's husband, Will, finally managed to locate him and get him back. She made the very hard and unimaginable decision to leave her baby daughter w/Otter Girl, for she knew there was no way her baby would survive the trek home. When she finally did get back to civilization, she was unrecognizable, starved, and frozen. This is a remarkable story of determination, focus, drive and strength of character of one 23 year old woman! It is well written and as I read it, I find it very easy to "experience" all she experiences. I am in total awe of this great woman and story of her survival. I HIGHLY recommend it for anyone - for I cannot imagine it not touching the heart of any who read it!

I've read this book three times and teach it to my twelfth grade English classes. Mary Ingles is an inspiration of the possibilities of endurance of the human spirit. Victim of a brutal Shawnee attack in the summer of 1755 she is force marched from Virginia to Shawnee, Ohio while nine months pregnant giving birth on the trail. She is sold into slavery and taked to the area near Big Bone Lick State Park in Kentucky. Together with an old Dutch woman she escapes and begins a 1,000 mile trek home through unknown and hostile wilderness. In 43 harrowing days she goes from 125 pounds to under 80 pounds as she faces the elements, starvation, wild animals, hostile Indians, implacable nature, and a companion that turns cannibal. The reader shares the agony of the journey with Mary as she must go the final miles on her hands and knees. The most amazing thing about the story is it is true. Like his other historical novels Thom has done his research and he makes the history come alive for his reader.

This book has some wonderful techniques to change the dream of you life. In my opinion; many of the techniqies in other shamanic books are better.

However; I have several problems with this book.

1. Mr. Perkins is an environmentalist wacko. (I agree with Mr. Perkins that nature should be protected, and I am all in favor or protecting the environment. However; there needs to be a balance somewhere, and nature should not be given precedence over the needs of human beings.)

2. Mr. Perkins is a proponent of the halucinogenic he called Awahusca. (The real name of this plant is Hayascua sometimes called "the vine of death". In "Reality Is Just an Illusion: The World of Shamans, Ghosts and Spirit Guides" by Chuck Coburn. Mr Coburn relates the experience where he took Hayascua admisistered by a tribal Shaman. In "The Way Of The Shaman" by Michael Harner. Mr. Harner relates the story of having Hayascua administered by a Conibo tribal Shaman.)

3. I am NOT a proponent of the use of any halucinogenic substance because these substances open the doorway; but the would-be Shaman loses any control of the visionary experience. Allow me to quote Frank Foolscrow a wicasa wakan (holy man) of the Teton Sioux; after someone asked him if he used the halucinogenic cactus; peyote "I do not need drugs. Wakan Tanka can take me higher than any drug.".

I agree with Foolscrow's statement completely! I feel that to add toxins to your body is an insult to yourself and your Creator that gave you life.

(...)

Wah doh Ogedoda (We give thanks Great Spirit)

I just finished reading this book for the second time. Having had a few more experiences in life than when I read it the first time, I appreciated the author's message more, during and after this reading.

Everyone who reviews this book, or any book, is obviously coming from a different perspective and from a different place in life. Many have had more experience in some areas, or have formulated opinions based on deep learning. This is one of the first few books regarding shamanic practices that I have read. It is also the second book by Perkins that I have read, the other being Psychnavigation.

Perkins very ably explains for us his own personal evolution, and makes his motivations clear. Thus, although we may not agree with everything he says, or with everything he has done and is doing, for me it comes naturally to respect him, and even to trust him.

The way Shapeshifting is written is quite interesting. It revolves around two conversations Perkins had with a friend, a Maya shaman. Particularly in the first conversation, Perkins does a great deal of reminiscing about his life experiences, particularly regarding the subject indicated by the book's title. These reminiscences woven into the conversation become chapters in the book. Direct quotation gives way to a fresh reocunting, for the reader's benefit, of seminal events in the author's life.

I think we can all take away from this book some basic philosophical lessons, and an adjustment of attitudes that will be beneficial for most.

My reason for stopping short of giving the book five stars is purely personal. I think it has to do with Perkins' style of presentation, which for me is not as powerful and engaging as I would like. My emotions were not sufficiently swayed into wanting to believe in the literal truth of Perkins' accounts. This is not to say that I think "he made it all up," but I wish I had gone to the place while reading where I didn't even care whether the stories were literally true or not; and I did not quite get there, on either my first or second reading of Shapeshifting. For me, Perkins' concern about whether the reader believes him or not is displayed to the point that it actually detracts from the accounts.

John Perkins has studied with shamans from around the world, leads workshops on shapeshifting and shamanism and has written several books. His approach is to use ancient shapeshifting techniques as a tool for societal as well as personal transformation....offer many practical exercises for learning shapeshifting techniques. Of course, this is a difficult and lifelong process and not something you can learn from simply reading a book about it. Traditional shamans are raised with a magical and holistic worldview that is very different from our modern technological, materialistic one. Shapeshifting is, however, an excellent introduction to this path and may motivate you to delve deeper into the subject. Shapeshifting is usually thought of in terms of transforming the physical body; shamans can supposedly (I believe it, but I realize many don't) literally shapeshift into plants, animals or spheres of pure energy (the latter is described in the book). As fascinating as this prospect is, the possibility that social institutions can shapeshift may be even more important. It has become almost a platitude to say that our present political and economic system is seriously damaging the environment. As tired as we may be of hearing this, and as much as we'd like to believe that it's all hyperbole, it seems hard to deny at this point. In addition to teaching shamanic techniques, John Perkins' Dream Change Coaltion works to preserve the rainforests and influence the thinking of large corporations. Projects of this kind are crucial today.

I agree wholeheartedly with the rave reviews for this book and it has become one of my favorites (I even sent it to an ethnobotanist in Yap as a must read). Not only is it wonderfully well-written, and not only does it address crucial ecological concerns, but it is an exciting account of Plotkin's effort to identify and explore the medical possibilities of Amazonian plants, while preserving the indigineous lore about their uses, both medicinal and spiritual; the discovery and adoption of plants by Europeans and North Americans, and Plotkin's own adventures. I found some it so fascinating on so many levels I'd read it to my family (okay, I know that may be obnoxious, but I couldn't restrain myself). It's thought-provoking, important and absolutely fascinating. Can't recommend it highly enough!!

This is an absolutely amazing book. Basic story: autobiographical accounts of an enthnobotanist looking for medicinal plants in the Amazon rainforest.

Daniel Quinn talks about 'The Great Forgetting' in the Story of B. But this books really hammers home how great a Forgetting it has been, and how much of a loss it will be when tribal cultures have been totally wiped out.

Whereas our cultures may date back several thousands of years at most, the cultures of these people have been distilled over so much longer a period.

I remember when reading 'Roots' I was stricken and moved by the oral traditions of the tribes (preserving their ancestoral history by word of mouth). I got a similar feeling here as well.. In one part the author talks about the tribe telling of ancestors who 'crossed through great cold, wrapping themselves in animal skins..'. Apparently it is generally accepted that the Indians of South America crossed over from Asia during the last Ice Age. Can you imagine a culture rich enough to preserve stories dating back twenty+ thousand years?

The book's focus is definitely on the author's search for the flora (and sometimes fauna) of the jungle. However, there is a lot more to take away from it.

Highly recommended reading.

A great read! Plotkin's book should be required for anyone travelling to a rainforest or interested in conservation, biodiversity, the immense value of natural resources and indigenous knowledge. He is a master storyteller who shares his experiences among indigenous peoples while searching for ethnobotanical knowledge in a way that reveals his cultural sensitivity, humor, love of adventure, and scientific determination. This book made me want to pack my things and head for the Amazon

"The Second Bend In The River" is about Rebecca Galloway, an Ohio settler in the late 18th-early 19th century, and her life from ages seven to sixteen. While the book is pitched as a historical romance novel, it's more of an examination of life in the frontier and Indian-White relations in the early days, before the tensions reached the fever pitch released in the War of 1812.

When Rebecca is seven, she meets Tecumseh, the fabled Shawnee chief. At first she is afraid of him and suspicious of Indians in general, but her family is relatively open minded and she grows to like him. She teaches him to read better and improve his grammar. While this is happening, the peace achieved in the 1790's is slowly deteriorating and relationships between the Indians and the settlers worsen. Rebecca's good friend, Nancy Maxwell, hates Indians because one of them killed her baby a long time ago.

The main characters of "The Second Bend In The River" are mostly Rebecca's family and the other people in the town. Tecumseh is really a supporting character. That's one of the problems ... the book can't decide to be a historical fiction novel about the Indian conflict in the West or a love story. The relationship between Tecumseh and Rebecca isn't very well written- although we can tell when Rebecca starts to fall in love with him, it doesn't seem really genuine. Also, some of the writing is a little sappy and cliched, for example, when Rebecca wishes her name was "Break In Parts", because that's what her heart does around Tecumseh.

All those flaws aside, "The Second Bend In The River" is an interesting slice of frontier life in America's younger days. The historical detail, characterizations and good pace keep you interested all the way through. The ending is particularly poignant.

I love all her books, but the two I loved the most throughout all my reading were 'Time Enough for Drums', and this one, 'The Second Bend in the River'. I'm not really an historical romance buff, unless the romance is only part of a large web of historical detail and intriguing plot. These two stories, however, are almost all about the romance, and how the characters are affected by their love and the exciting times.

In this novel, a young girl Rebecca Galloway is growing up on the frontier. Relationships with the neighboring natives are tense: sometimes good, sometimes bad. She grows up in a household of brothers, learning to be self-sufficient and intelligent as well as attractive and feminine. It is this combination of qualities that draws Tecumseh, the legendary cheif who plans to unite the tribes to fight off the lying, cheating white government. Although he was there throughout her childhood, the age difference seems to be simply material and not worth thinking about.. in short, against all odds, they fall in love. When Rebecca is forced to make a choice between the dangerous and foreign life of Tecemseh's and her own "white" ways, things really start to get good.

However, at the end, I couldn't help but want to scream "You made the wrong decision!! Go back!!", even though the story works out so well as to completely make me love Rebecca's character, despite what I think was a poor choice on her part. Oh well, after reading the story, I couldn't help but understand, commiserate, and support Rebecca. I even thought she made the right choice after all.

I know I did, picking up this book!

Rebecca Galloway is growing up in the Ohio territory. Native Americans live not far away. Infact, her family's land was once a Shawneee chief(Tecumseh)'s land. When Tecumseh has supper at the Galloway's home, Rebecca and Tecumseh are instantly friends, even though they have a big age difference. Rebecca has been the only white person to say Tecumseh's name right: Tecumtha. Every year the Galloway's get a visit from Tecumseh. He and Rebecca remain strong friends, despite many things, like prejudice against Tecumseh. Years later from the first time they met, their friendship turns into love. They both must decide if their love means giving up the only life you know, to spend time with the other person, or if it means loving the person in your hearts, but going o with your life. How can they decide? Though this book is not Ann Rinaldi's best book, it is fantastic. Like all her work, it shows life in another time, amidst family, social, love, friendship, trust, and any aspect of life problems. I would reccomend this book to any Rinaldi fan, to any historical fiction lover, or to anyone who wants to sit down with a good book about life.

I read this whole book in a day- it was one of the richest reading experiences I have ever had. The author has an ability to say so much with few words; he has an amazing talent. He writes about his childhood with a white, cowboy father and a Native American mother, the difficult life they led on the road, the death of his adopted son- Tommy Nothing Fancy- from fetal alcohol syndrome, and his pursuit of the writing life. Even though there were moments that I was reduced to tears, he writes with warmth and humor that don't leave you overwhelmed. This is a FANTASTIC book. Read it!!

While viewing books in a bookstore in Boise, ID, Nasdijj's memoir caught my eye. The title drew me in, since I am a poet. The first chapter made me sit down. Chapter three brought me to tears, as he writes of Mariano Lake, which is home. I am Navajo and live next to the school. The wild horses Nasdijj wrote about are my uncles'. They are still there, running and creating dreams and fantasies in boys' eyes. And the goats and sheep are my grandmother's, my mother's and mine, they still graze around the school and in the baseball field. The school officials always tell us not to graze them there, but we tell them the goats were there before we permitted the school to be built. They leave us and the goats alone now, until new administrators arrive. My grandmother (the old lady in the book) died September 11th. My mother took her place with the goats and sheep.
I read the whole book in the bookstore, then I bought it. Now, the children in Mariano Lake are reading the book. I have to send five new copies, soon. Nasdijj has literally painted a picture of my community and Navajo life, in general, with words which is hard to do. This book is more than a treasure. The simple sight of it reminds me of home, with Nasdijj's empowering colorful words.

Into the majestic desert landscape of the American Southwest, among the hard life of a Navajo reservation & into this angry man's life comes a baby boy with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome & an unrelenting & mystical would-be mother. With Tommy Nothing Fancy's arrival, the heart of this dry & sorry man is cracked open & out floods memories & all the love of the world & a father is born.

Yes, this is an angry book - there is no escaping the heartache of a people severed from their ancestry, confined to welfare misery & generations of intentional abuse by government & do-gooders. Children wrenched away to boarding schools where everything that made them who they were was systematically & brutally erased. Adults proscribed from eking out a living off their land & that ubiquitous & invidious palliative for all that pain. That assuager which brings the dread disease that destroys their children before they are born.

Read The Blood Runs Like a River Through My Dreams for the story Nasdijj has to tell, then read it again for his lyrical language. Like paintings of sunsets over desert mountains, Nasdijj's essays are fulgent with passions, paronomasias & revelations.

I could not put this book down until I'd read the last word & even then I sat, astonished & breathless with Nasdijj's thoughts & images. I urge you to check out my eInterview with this author & my full review at: [my website].

I like Margaret Coel's casual style of writing. It has a good flow, and she writes in an interesting manner. I thought I had found a real winner in "Storyteller," was interested in the basic storyline. But the book just--ends. There is no big finish like one expects in a mystery. That is a serious flaw, I think.

Make Vick and Father John part of your life. They aren't perfect people like some characters in mystery books but they are good people who struggle with many issue that we do. Fine reading. Enjoyable through out.

I picked up another of Coel's mysteries set on the Arapaho Res. at the hospital giftshop, while desperate for something to read. I found it so good, I sought out the others available in the series. So far "Story Teller" is my favorite. It is a compelling mystery, and the regular characters are also quite realistic. Although not as introspective as Hillerman's Navajo characters; the mystery elements move along at a faster pace. I really like the new genre of mysteries set in-and somewhat illuminating for the nonIndian-the native nations of the West. Coel is one of the best of this genre.

I recently decided to pick up the first book written by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child and give it a go. I am a huge fan of these two, and for some odd reason, I never picked up The Relic. No I am mad at myself for not picking it up earlier.

Having read Reliquary and all of their other books, I had the basic story line of The Relic down before I opened the cover, so I was not expecting much. Well, I was wrong, this book is filled with incredible action, and details that keeps it moving at such a fast pace.

One mistake leads to another, and things just keep moving. I enjoyed meeting Agent Pengergrast for the first time, and I though the other characters were developed very well.

All in all, this is the first Preston Child book, and it is still the best, Cabinet of Curiosities comes in a close second! This book is highly recommended!

Also, if you have seen the movie, pick up the book, there are so many differences that it is almost a whole new story!

Out of all the thrillers i've read, including some King and Crichton, Relic, without a doubt was the most terrifying. By terrifying I don't me that it was spooky. I mean that you feel like you are actually there, that your life is at stake. The fact that they based it quite accurately in the New York Museum of Natural History adds more to the feeling of reality. I looooove the fact that they provide so much archaeological and scientific background. Whether it is actually true or not, at least they did their homework to know what to say and how to say it. I have to disagree with EVERYTHING that scott truik said in his review. I saw the movie, it is horrible in comparison to the book . . .why did they feel it necessary to move the setting into the Chicago Field Museum? that really bugs me :^) Anyway . . .after i read this book i was looking over my shoulder for weeks. If you enjoy a good thriller, then you cannot deny reading this book.

I read Relic over three months ago, and it is still fresh in mymind. This book is great! Preston and Child show themselves to be apowerful emerging force in the thriller/sci-fi field. The setting for the story (the American Museum of Natural History in New York City) is realistic and frightening at the same time. Several scenes make good use of the museum's dark corridors and lonely exhibitions. The character development throughout the story is superb, and you actually find yourself cheering for some characters, and heckling others. My personal favorite is the ever-so-cool (almost Holmesian) Special Agent Pendergast. The plot is interesting, and yet equally as terrifying. It is not the gore that will scare you, but Mbwun, the creature itself. This thing is something out of a nightmare! The descriptions of this thing are so detailed that, in the darkness, you will find yourself listening to hear the tread of those stealthly feet, smelling the air to detect that pungent, goatish odor, and straining your eyes to see that looming shadow against shadows and those feral red eyes that announce its presence. Perhaps the greatest surprise of the entire book comes in the epilogue when..., well, if you want to find out, you are going to have to read the book yourself. Truly, this book has everything a person could hope for in a novel. So read Relic, and you will never look at a museum the same way again.

Phenomenal! I've become so involved with the characters that they almost become a part of me as I'm reading Harrison's books. I read the first trilogy two times -- the first time I've ever reread anything. Each of Sue Harrison's books ends too soon. What a great escape for me! The storytelling is incredibly vivid and I have learned so much about these ancient people. Could anyone recommend a writer of Sue Harrison's caliber that writes about prehistoric cultures? Please email me.

I enjoyed this book and reommend it to anyone who wants a good, solid, engrossing story. Sue Harrison has done meticulous research to write this tale of 6th century B.C .Alaskan human relationships and lifestyles. As an archaeologist I usually pick up similar books with great trepidation since they are all too often written from a modern viewpoint and are filled with 20th century motives, passionate love, predictable plots, etcetera (I recall one whose heroine jumped "onto mat"---no beds in those times---with every warrior she met). "Song of the River", however, gives us believable characters, situations, and conflict resolutions for the time period and locale. In addition, the reader learns about what the technology, belief systems, economy and social structure may have been in prehistoric Alaska. A good book to curl up with and learn from.

this book was absolutley amazing. Sue harrison is a wonderful writer. The characters come to life in her novels. Her books are so vivid. I could imagine myself in that time period. can not wait to find out what happens in the next book Cry Of THe Wind.

I wouldn't travel with Redmond O'Hanlon personally, although I'm quite happy to be a vicarious companion. And judging from O'Hanlon's opener here--where he tries to find someone to accompany him in his latest foray--it seem that my opinion is shared by O'Hanlon's friends. Except for one--who is shown to be under a mistaken impression about what a jaunt down the Amazon is like, not to mention having Redmond O'Hanlon planning the trip.

The title aptly describes the action. If you read O'Hanlon's Into the Heart of Borneo, this book follows without nary a break. While it doesn't have quite the originality of the first book, it doesn't fail to fulfill the promise of that book either. O'Hanlon's a little bit wiser, but still as trusting and stubborn. He presses on in circum- stances where most would have turned around--things like the fiercest tribe of natives in the world, torrential rainfall (not to be trifled with, especially on a river), and rapids in which he is dumped and unable to escape until a mile or so down river.

The best thing about O'Hanlon--although the amazing trips he takes are worthwhile in and of themselves--is the companions that he does manage to take. I'm not talking about the physical companions, who do provide humorous interludes, but the ones that are to be found in the books--the explorers who have traveled this route before. Rather than just supplying a bibliography, O'Hanlon uses them to annotate his own trip. An adventurer and a scholar, O'Hanlon's one of the best.

Good travel writing is as hard to find as good places to travel. Mr. O'Hanlon does a thoroughly enjoyable job of describing his misadventures in the miserable, bug-infested Amazon jungle. However, unless O'Hanlon is exaggerating, the trip could have easily ended in tragedy rather than comedy. As the book went on, I felt sympathy for his companions and guides who may have signed on to the trip assuming there was logic and sense to it. In the end, I hope O'Hanlon will stay home next time.

Redmond O'Hanlon displays a tempered lunacy in his account of an extraordinary search for the infamously violent Yamamoni tribe. It all seems a little contrived at first. He deliberately searches London for a traveling companion, then selects the most inappropriate he can find - a nightclub owner. Simon, his foil among the insects, snakes and spiders of the Amazon, loses his marbles half way through the book. The strength of In Trouble Again, is that despite feeling total sympathy for the sane, you can not help but admire O'Hanlon's crazed doggedness. Everytime he has an excuse to turn back, he redoubles his efforts, dragging his guides onwards. To say that he survives is certainly not spoiling the ending, but it is an extraordinary read and enough to limit adverturous dreams to the Discovery Channel. It deserves a 10, but O'Hanlon is obsessed with birds. I, like Simon, have always thought a bird is just a bird. Which is why I'm staying at home.