I am very excited about this book and the history,This story is about my family ,, Frances Short Smith is my Great- Great Aunt ,, I recall the stories from my Grandfather ,, and looking at the origanal book was so exciting ,, this is a must for history buffs ,,,,

By pure luck, I ran across this excellent first hand account of the Smith brothers captivity by Comanches in Texas. Written before a revisionist philosophy dominated history writing, their accounts of Indian raids and murders in Texas in the 1870s are the opposite of what is usually written or shown on screen today. My sympathies are with the Texas pioneers who suffered so much. Outstanding reading from such a little book.

Amazing story of a boy who was captured and lived with the Comanche Indians for five years. He actually became a Comanche and identified as an Indian while he was with them. Fought with them against other tribes and the US army, etc. Told in an absolutely matter of fact manner. Written in 1927 so not "politically correct" but gives an amazing view of frontier life and life with the Indians. It is in print.

Unger's Lafayette is one of the best written revolutionary period biographies. Most of us know Lafayette only for his American Revolution contributions. Unger's book takes us to the French revolution as well and Lafayette's key role in it. Here he tried to prevent the massacres that took place and personally paid dearly for his role. One can not help have strong admiration for Lafayette as a man of ideals, honesty and courage. Unger has written a highly readable and entertaining biography. I read his book on Hancock and was also imnpressed with Unger's ability to tell a story with an always interestimg prose.

Harlow Unger's book covers a biography that is stranger than fiction, starting with LaFayette's unique marriage and continuing with his fanatical dedication to the remote American struggle for freedom; his close relationships with Washington, Franklin, Jefferson and other world leaders; his exceptional military leadership; his continuing voluntary work for independence in his own country (including 13 months in a horrific prison) all the way until he died at the age of 77. Throughout the story, the mutual, unabated love between the Marquis and his very capable wife, Adrienne, provided even more dramatic episodes. Nearly every event was more amazing the the one before.
This is a detailed and eye-opening history of both the American and French revolutions and their great contrast. If the reader has trouble believing it is truly factual, he will be convinced with the frequent, verbatim letters and voluminous, documented historical references. This is absolutely a must read for anyone with an ounce of interest in western civilization.

This book swept me away with its twists of adventure, romance, and military scenes. It is definitely the best biography I've read on Lafayette with its thorough detail and gripping narrative. Lafayette's story combines French and American history, and captures the moving love story of his marriage. It has been a long time since a book transported me like this one did.

For the last eight years, a group of aviation history enthusiasts in Mexico have done much research about one of Lafayette's pilots: Didier Masson. Dennis Gordon has obtained much more information, both in quality and quantity, that in the end has become an inspiration for our museum project. (And he did 38 times! ...Shame on us!)

Dennis Gordon's comprehensive look at each of the Lafayette Escadrille's 38 pilots, from birth until death, shows what outstanding personal devotion these brave Americans with diverse backgrounds had for a just and honorable cause.Also included is information on influential persons associated with the squadron, personal aircraft markings, memorials,and the lighter side of the pilots wartime lives.

This is the best book on the Lafayette Escadrille. Compiled as separate biographies on every pilot who served with the escadrille, there are also sections devoted to interesting subjects I had always wondered about such as aircraft markings, squadron locations, the lion mascots, fun in paris,etc. Dennis Gordon did a fantastic job on this book. The time and effort it had to take to thoroughly investigate each pilot as well as the history of the squadron must have been monumental. The book is very well written and put together. You can tell it was a labor of love for Mr. Gordon and fans of the Lafayette Escadrille (like me) will never be able to thank him enough.

Virtually essential when travelling to Japan for business (or visiting relatives) and extremely helpful for the casual tourist. In spite of its brevity, it covers nearly all of the essentials and provides a weath of historical and cultural background for many of the customs. Even though this is the only one I have read so far, I would imagine that other books by De Mente are well worth reading.

the authors time tested phonetic system is great and I think he should write a complete English-Japanese and Japanese-English dictionary using romaji and true Japanese characters. a complete dictionary with all four systems: english, romaji, japanese, and the authers phonetic system.

I'm reading this book from beginning to end, and I must say it is very interesting. It has improved my understanding of Japanese people and how they think in general; why Japanese often tend to respond to situations the way they do, differences between the Japanese' way of thinking and the western etc.

Highly recommended; I'm glad I chose to buy this book.

Is there a more comprehensive and well laid out guide into how the Japanese think and, more importantly, what their emotional turn on and off buttons are than this? The book should, however, be read more as a guide to Japanese root words, idioms, and philosophical expressions. For instance, WA meaning HOLY HARMONY is not commonly used. It would be like saying BENE means GOOD in English when it is a root for many words that have something to do with good - like benevolent, benefit, benediction ect... . But WA can be found in HEIWA (peace) and WAFU (Japanese style) amoung others. The book is full of stereo-types, both good and bad, which should not be taken too seriously or read like a Bible. Japan is a complex country undergoing constant change and it is full a wide variety of individuals with varied interests and talents and prejudices. But the book contains some general insights that one can explore on their own and judge for oneself whether they agree or not with it. Some of the expressions are not popularly used and if one were to say them to Joe Yamamoto on the street they would have no clue what you were talking about. But again, however, the roots, or part of what is being said in the book, can be found in other expressions. You would need the help of a native speaker to truly make good use of this book, a dictionary would do some good.

I find that many Japanese people I know are interested in the expressions contained in the book, as they are deep and abstract in nature, important, but not always thought about. I find it lends to people helping me learn Japanese as they also have something interesting to explore, and many Japanese enjoy talking to me about these terms and ideas. It serves as a great ice breaker.

If you are just interested in the world of ideas, or how language helps formulate or reflect those ideas and the sources by which they came, then the book could serve as something of value and interest. Again, is there a better book?

The book gives a Japanese expression, or word, and then discuses, in English, the significance of it and how it reflects the Japanese psyche and sometimes how it can be found in other words. The author writes in a mature style and has a world of knowledge and experience about and in Japan.

This a the sequel to the first Talk About Good, but is good and complete enough to stand on its own. I recommend it highly as I do the first one. The artwork by Rodrigue is wonderful and the recipes are truly authentic. A necessary edition to any kitchen, Cajun or not.

This cookbook is an excellent source reflective of South Louisiana (i.e., "Cajun") culture. The recipes are interesting, easy to follow, and have been "tested" on family and friends of Junior League members.

As interesting as the recipes are the illustrations by internationally known painter George Rodrigue of Lafayette, Louisiana. His paintings and comments accurately portray the Cajun culture, and give an insight into the Cajun way of life. You will even learn the meaning of the expression, "Laissez les bons temps rouler".

If you want to know how to make a good gumbo, many delicious ways to cook seafood (after all, the Cajuns invented the idea of "blackened" fish), or what to do with some of the game that your mighty hunters have brought home, this is the cookbook for you!

As a third year medical student, I have come to see the lack of attention and prophalaxis to a strong killer in our African-American community. This book will help open some eyes and minds in the pursuit of the elimination of this silent killer.

I feel foolish praising such a small book to high heaven. But, I must say that this book is a fascinating read. I bought it during my first business trip to Japan and couldn't put it down.

The book's author, an American, has lived in Japan for 50 years. It's clear that he knows the language and the culture. Moreover, he also has kept in touch with the States, and still has the ability to communicate with an American audience. As I said, the book is small. It's only half the physical dimensions of an ordinary book. It is about 170 pages in length. There are 64 chapters, so each chapter is only 2-3 pages long. Each chapter is like a short essay on some minute but nonetheless important detail about Japanese business culture, or advice on how to successfully interface with it. Some of the chapter titles are : The Role of the Greeting Ritual, The Name Card System, How to Recognize "No," The Importance of Going to Japan, Making the First Contact, Seeing Behind the Facade, The Importance of Following up, How to Use Interpreters, Dealing at the Negotiating Table, More Mistakes Foreigners Make, and Mastering the Art of Business at Night. Each of these short chapters is very well written.

The author has obviously advised many foreign companies on how to approach the Japanese and how to get past all the suspicion and barriers that prevent the Japanese from establishing a formal relationship with a foreign firm. His descriptions of how the Japanese protocol functions, how the Japanese company functions, the importance of etiquette, the all-important socializing between potential business partners, the Japanese sense of caution, their fixation on outward appearance, their "group think" mentality, their concern that everything be right and that everyone be comfortable with any new venture before it can begin, and even his description of how Buddhism affects the Japanese business mentality, singularly and in toto indicate that the author really knows what he is talking about.

I've lived a year or more in four different countries, and written about the culture of three of them. It's hard to write about a culture in a way that does not sound like criticism or like proselytizing. Yet, Boye De Mente manages to do so. The reader becomes far more sophisticated in a couple of hours than (s)he was before picking up the book. I was so impressed that after reading this book, I ordered another by the same author. I'll definitely read this book again before my next business trip to Japan.

I'm trying to buy this book to replace my worn out copy that I inherited from my mom. This is a fantastic cookbook full of everything from simple stuff to fancy company stuff. It is a true compilation of recipes from Lafayette's Junior Leaguers (my mom has a recipe in there too!) and it's a much truer depiction of Louisiana cooking than what most people thing. I collect cookbooks as a hobby and have over 100 of them, but actually USE this one. And when I taste the results I can almost hear my mom saying "Oooooh sha, you talk about GOOD!"

i purchased a copy of this book while on a family trip to new orleans in the early 1990's...maybe it was 1989 on my belated
honeymoon with my then husband. the recipes are compiled from
mostly native louisiana women...i am thinking that this book was
first printed in the 1960's. this a very homemade kind of recipe
book. straight out of some housewife that has been cooking for
a while kitchen. it is nice to know that everyone has their own version on food. i tried the cheese puffs stuffed with olives
recipe...yummmmm...very simple...it was made with food that most
of us keep as staples in the fridge or pantry at all times...no
gourmet stuff here...just good louisiana cooking secrets from the
source...though my beignets bombed...the puffs were a hit. you
will find out things on how to make cakes from scratch and frosting from the start. it is like a cooking bible...just a
new orleans version of 'the joy of cooking' classic...

I LOVE this cookbook. Out of all the cookbooks I have collected, many of them claiming to be cajun cookbooks- this is the one I turn to when I want to cook something uniquely Louisiana.

The recipes are easy to follow and the results are wonderful. I have not had one recipe I have tried fail.

I only wish I lived in Louisiana where I would be able to get fresh shrimp and crab and tasso and andouille and on and on.

However, barring that, these are wonderful recipes. I particularly like the recipe for benets. Yum.

I found this book to be extremely helpful in properly pronouncing japanese words and phrases. I've purchased several books on learning to speak Japanese and find myself constantly referring to "Instant Japanese" by Boye De Mente when I'm unsure of the correct pronounciation. In addition, the size is perfect to carry around in your purse or pocket!

Highly recommended!

This is one of the best beginning books on Japanese that I've seen. Mr. Demente's "learn 100 words" theory is fantastic. If you're going to Japan and don't intend to spend hours in serious study of Japanese but would like to communicate basic ideas, I'd recommend this book. Plus, like others noted, this book easily fits into your pocket.

I just got back from a two-week vacation in Japan, where I used several books in an attempt to improve my miniscule knowledge of Japanese. This book was the best of a good lot; the word selection is excellent, and the book teaches sufficient grammar almost effortlessly; most important, it's small enough to finish fairly quickly. Of course, it's only a start--for a second book, I recommend "Japanese Made Easy" by Tazuko Ajiro Monane.

Even if you thoroughly learn the content of this book, though, you still want to carry around a phrase book for those (frequent) times when 100 words just isn't enough. De Mente's book will teach you enough Japanese so that you can make simple sentences without looking up every word, but you will still need words not in this book.

[Minor complaints: he spells the word "o" (pronounced "o") with the old spelling "wo" throughout the book, for no apparent reason. Also, an index would have been nice.]

In short, the book is superb for its one intended purpose, which is teaching a very basic, careful selection of Japanese--an "instant" introduction.