I really enjoyed this book! I couldn't put it down - I read it in 2 days. TRUE CRIME is my reading of choice but to have it take place so close to my hometown of Douglas is unusual! I live about 20 miles from the burial place of most of the people in this book. This book is really entertaining for history buffs wanting to know what life was like in turn-of-the-century rural Georgia including Coffee County and Lowndes County. Back then trials were the biggest source of entertainment available. The book mostly takes place in Jacksonville, Broxton, Ambrose, Hahira, and Valdosta, Georgia. REALLY INTERESTING READING!

The book, Blind Obedience, is truly a well-written story. I grew up very close to the site of the Rawlins & Carter farms near Val-Del Road a few miles east of Hahira, Georgia. My grandfather knew the families involved. A few years after the trials, my Uncle Ivey Johnson bought the old Carter place and lived there for several years. Anyone living in South Georgia should especially be interested in reading this text. Any book that I can read in slightly more than one days time has got to be good. Bill Boyd deserves praise for his writing efforts.

Bill Boyd has taken the forgotten hostilities of two families of the late 1800s/early 1900s and brought it back to life as if it were any modern day, headline-grabbing saga. His exploration of the characters' motivations and actions makes one feel as if Boyd were a first hand witness to this intriguing part of south Georgia's rich history. The tale of two misguided families is as fascinating as it is tragic. Take the trip back in time and experience a piece of forgotten human tragedy so deftly told by Boyd.

The books you have read in your life likely fall into one of several classes ranging from extremely poor to unsurpassed worth. On that worthy end of the spectrum, there have probably been those books that caused a pause in you upon reading the final sentence; a pause followed by a nod of thanks to the author for having given you so much pleasure. And then there are those even more rare instances where you reach that final page and feel that sense of want for more. Its a mixed feeling of love for what you have just read combined with the emptiness that follows upon closing the pages for that final time. It is as if you have lost a friend. Rawlins hit that chord in me with Sky's Witness. The Wind River Range is probably my most favorite place to wander, and I was led to this book after searching for all I could find written about it. But one does not have to go to The Winds or appreciate their grandeur in order to be captivated by the author's writing style here. His ability to describe thoughts and places and to reflect on their nature is almost a gift of magic. He covers a lot of territory, both physical and emotional over the course of a year. It has been about five years since I read it, and I still miss the times it gave to me. If I were to have any reservations it its regard, it would only be the put-offish nature that his personality occasionally evokes in his writing and some of the personal encounters that he describes. Put simply, he is certainly not one to be with when he is in a foul mood. But in praise, this again also speaks to his ability to convey all those elemental spokes of our humanity. If you are one who loves the outdoors, this book will go a long way for you. But even if you are not inclined to the rugged nature of the backcountry, this book will still bring rewarding moments to you during that time spent in that soft leather chair.

I own six copies of this book (four are loaners). My life revolves around literature, and this is one of the best books I've read. It's definitely my favorite. Rawlins uses relatively simple language with a powerful, poetic effect. If you have any kind of interest in the environment, backcountry travel, or the mountains--and even if you don't--read this book. Rawlins' writing is beautiful and intense; overall, I think the writing carries more impact than even authors such as Ed Abbey or Aldo Leopold.

Phrases such as "The cabin is a frozen skull" jump out, as do passages such as this: "At first you're a stranger to the forest. It's too quiet. You feel as if your every move is seen and judged. Then, without noticing a difference, you feel more at home here than anywhere else. It's as if your heart skips a beat and then begins on an older pulse." If you're not an environmentalist when you start the book, you might begin seeing things in a new light. If you were already concerned about the human impact on the world before you started it, you'll feel it more deeply.

Richard Nelson, author and Burroughs Medal winner, might have said it best in his review of "Sky's Witness:" "A very fine writer...as lavish and varied as a jazz musician--lively, funny, sometimes outrageous; poignant, tender, engaging; richly informative; and deeply poetic. Filled with the joys of working on the land, Rawlins documents the subtle wounding of America's remotest wildlands, where rain and snow are tainted by the breath of distant cities."

Anyone willing to endure the physical hardship involved in self-supported mountain travel will appreciate Rawlin's extrordinarilly beautiful soliloquies on the mountain wilderness experience. Example: "But it wasn't the smell of the air that played in me so much as the light. The moon and sun lay opposite each other in the sky, exchanging their gleams, and the country was laid out below all rough and golden. The ridge was a strong point, the hardest rock in the range. On it you could meet the wind, face it, draw it in and breathe it out. And I felt a desire with no object or reason, except the land and the wild light."

Clearly Rawlin's regards the essence of the mountain wilderness and the essence of himself as one. He writes of the experience of being alone in a small raft on a clear summer night on a high altitude lake in the Wind River Range. "I've touched this water, tasted it. I've caught and eaten its trout, scooped it into pots for coffee, mixed it with my blood, taught it to walk and tell lies, and pissed it back steaming onto the ground. The lake and I have more than a casual acquaintance, yet in the dark, it seems not to know me. I can't see my reflection. The water that has claimed a part of my life now holds me in a star-flecked indifference."

I believe that all mountain travelers grapple with words to express their most intimate feelings about their mountain experiences. Rawlins gives these experiences expression with the skill of a violin virtuoso who is able to prolong the playing of a single note with haunting clarity and seemingly project it into eternity. So also does Rawlins project his love of the Wind River Range to a spiritual level. The drawings of Hannah Hinchman are exquisite!

Its role reversal in this work where two sisters get their exhausted mother into bed, telling her a bedtime story and undressing her. This story is adorable and children will love the girl's take-charge attitude. The colorful illustrations are superb, conveying a realistic and human quality. An amazing amount of detail went into the illustrations. The scenes of the various rooms in the house portray the way in which a house would look with two children and a very tired mommy. Books thrown around, shoes scattered about, clothes hanging out of a dresser drawer etc. This book would be an outstanding bedtime story.

My son loves this book. It ecame a favourite for a while, and is requested from time to time. It's a gentle story about two kids with very ordinary home life - nothing fancy, and 2 parents who are leading busy lives - Dad comes in with a lunch box, wearing overalls, looking tired himself, and lovingly tucks in his daughters after they tenderly tuck in their exhausted mum.

This is a lovely book to share, and with which to encourage the beginning reader.

My daughter, aged 2, just loved this book. It is the only book at the library that she demands again and again. Thus, I am buying it for her. (Overdue library fines are a drag.) This book has real, life-like characters: Mom has an occasional fat roll showing; Daddy works late; Mommy is exhausted. The kids in the book make the unselfish decision to put mom to bed and take care of themselves. This book is also the right word length to read little kids and the pictures are excellent.

I use this book in class rooms all over the place, from 6 year olds to 12 year olds. I am currently planning a 10 week program of literature and art around this book for 10 year olds. The older kids appreciate the things that the younger kids don't pick up on,eg: family relationships between different characters at different times. It a great jump start to talking about Multiculturalism in Australia and how this came about, where the different nationalities came from and why. Discussions about war are also valid. I am using it to focus the kids on their place, physically and metaphorically, we will be creating our own maps and writing to go with them. We are then going to 'publish' them in our own book and hold an exhibition of the original art works in conjunction with their completed page and the completed book.

This book came out in 1988 during Australia's bicentennial of the European invasion of Australia. It shares a title with a book by Sally Morgan, an Aboriginal women whose search for her own identity and place was published at the same time. This book can be read in either direction. For younger children, it may be easier to start at then end an move forwards. For older children, part of the fun is in uncovering the history of the place - an inner urban area of Sydney.

The book emphasises the timeless continuity of the place, and that even though we might be the temporary custodians of a piece of land, we share a common history and linkage through our humanity, and our Aboriginal history. Lushly illustrated by Donna Rawlins, and words by Nadia Wheatley. A valuable asset to any school library, primary or secondary, and public library, as well as the shelves at home.

My son first showed interest in t at about age 4, and has returned to it periodically since - ie over 2 years. It will stay with him for many years yet!

This is a richly detailed, and very touching book about one place though history. Although it is a children's book, adults will find plenty to interest them, especially if they have an interest in history. There are maps drawn by the characters of where they live that are interesting to observe for the continuity through time. Wars, immigration, and environmental change all play a part. Some things remain the same.

Ethan Slade has been widowed for some time now and he has been living like a monk. He wouldnt even live in the house that he share with his late wife. Than the unexpected happens and his sister sends him a telegram telling him that she is sending her two daughters to Ethan's for two weeks. Ethan is shocked that his sister would give him no notice that she is sending her children to him in about two days. Ethan hires a woman (Sara)to come in and clean the house that has set empty for so long, so that it is ready for his nieces. He did not expect the woman and her daughter to get under his skin. Both Ethan and Sara have pasts that haunt them, but the question is can they learn to open up,trust, and love again. This is a good story that I was sad to see end. When I got to the last page I thought no, thats it. I agree with the previous reviewer-I would love to hear more about Sam and Ethan's sister. This book will definetly leave you wanting more.

This is my first book by author, Debbi Rawlins, but it will not be my last! This was a very easy to read book, with a heartwarming storyline. Ethan was living as a reclusive widowed rancher who recieves a telegram that his sister is sending her kids to him for Christmas. At the same time, Sara who was hiding from her posessive ex post an ad to find work as a housekeeper to help support her 5 year old daughter. Ethan sees this and hires her to open up the Ranch house he abandonded when his wife died. Ethan is faithful to his deceased wife's memory, and puts up emotioal roadblocks. But between his two nieces, Sara's daugther and Sara herself, he finds himself living again. Debbi Rawlins did a great job bringing the characters in this book to life. She also hints at romance between Ethan's sister and the Ranch foreman Sam. I hope they will have a story too!

This is a wonderful book. It took me back to some fine childhood memories. No matter where you live, or how old you are, this book takes you on a marvelous trip with poems and short stories that make you feel good.

I have read the book and found the stories, and poems to be very real, honest and heartfelt. A good read for anyone wishing to look inside themselves and find "a true meaning."Author, Roger Dean Kiser "Orphan", "Chicken Soup for the Soul", "Heartwarmers Book Series"

You don't need to be a believer in physics to appreciate this book. The insights into the vagaries encountered along life's journeys are very beneficial. This is a category I never thought I'd explore, but Fred Rawlins shows sensitivity and perspective that are valuable to any one. Plus, it's a great story!

A highly insightful, mature and thought-provoking work. This is a book that shouldn't be read as a novel. Each page should be studied; the thoughts and concepts internalized. While drawing on extremely difficult personal circumstances, Mr. Rawlins effectively discusses and promotes the thought of individual "free will" - the true enabler to achieving life's goals.

Additionally, Mr. Rawlins successfully distinguishes between being religious and being spiritual, and the commonality of the Ten Commandments among all the major religions - a much neglected subject in all of our churches today. Finally, Fred Rawlins "takes on" organized religion with startling insights on church wealth, the man-made rules, rituals, requirements, demands and "dogma" that frequently tend to diserve and ignore those that need spiritual help the most.

Good reading.

This is one of the best books I've read (and I've read a lot of them) on overcoming the various obstacles confronting a Christian as they attempt to walk out the destiny that God has planned for their life. I found the chapter on overcoming low self-worth to be particularly insightful and helpful.

This book is full of practical strategies, spiritual principles, and wisdom that can be applied to the situations we face in everyday life. There are "Principles to Remember" in each chapter, and Scripture verses to help us stay focused and moving in the right direction. It's a book I'll pick up and refer to often ....

I would recommend it very highly.

It was helpful, thought-provoking, and easy to read.It made me want to keep on "keeping on."

If spending two summer months in the western mountains of Wyoming herding sheep sounds like your idea of fun, think again. C. L. Rawlins' day-by-day reminiscences based on a journal he kept in 1973 as cook and horse wrangler for a sheepherder makes no bones about it -- the scenery may be breathtaking, but the work is mostly back breaking and sometimes dangerous. Rawlins, in his early 20s, takes the job as a kind of escape from several personal struggles, including an ambivalence about the war in Vietnam, which has caused a rift with his family. There's also a romance that's gone somewhat haywire.

But almost immediately, the mountains, still under snow in mid-July at the high passes, and the demanding work envelope him in a physical world where his only human companion is a pony-tailed sheepherder, Mitch, not much older than himself. There is wind, rain, sun, hail, more rain, heat, frost, and then snow again before the short summer is over. There are bear, coyotes, hawks and other wildlife. There are walks by moonlight, and reading Homer by candlelight. There's the round of meals to be prepared: bacon, beans, chili, tortillas, currant muffins, rhubarb pie.

They meet a team of Basque herders. Driving in on old logging roads, Rawlins' brother visits until they get on each other nerves. Then his girlfriend visits, and after their heated lovemaking tells him she's seeing someone else. Through it all, the author recounts the emotional ups and downs of a young man unsure of his place in the world, but sure of one thing -- that he has a deep fascination for this "broken country" of mountain ranges, rocky ridges, wildflowers, streams, and meadows. Much of his book is rich with detailed descriptions of carefully observed landscapes. I felt when I finished the book that I had been on a long journey away from civilization.

Writing 20 years later, Rawlins preserves the point of view of his younger self, complete with the youthful excesses that express his angst and exuberance, often told in short personal poems. I recommend this book to anyone interested in nature writing, the mountain West, ranching, and roughing it in the outdoors. Definitely worth adding to a Western nonfiction bookshelf.

I first started reading Colin Fletcher at the dawn of my backpacking experience over 30 years ago so have a certain affection for the book. Of course, I would rather not carry a copy of this voluminous work in my own bag for leisure reading! The book is at its best in developing and sustaining an appreciation of the philosophical and truly basic aspects of backpacking. I think there are better works on any aspect of traveling with a pack, and certainly the various journals on outdoor traveling have some advantages over this book, but you are unlikely to find a single work as good. Where the book can come under serious question is the authors' opinions of various products -- given the rapid onset of technology and product changes, the equally rapid efforts to minimalize and downsize, and the sometimes rabid opinions of various gear-heads (for instance, I happen to really like the Stephenson Warmlite products which he trashes and I think anyone who doesn't share my opinion in every way is....). This is a rather large part of the volume. In addition, the authors tend to be a huge bit wordy as well (of course this makes it easy to skim, and they are enjoyable to read). Having said that, this is a classic work in a rapidly evolving and re-evolving field. It's good to see it again and may it be edited and re-edited and carried on long after we all hit the Geezer Trail.

i dragged my feet before buying this book. i thought "i've already read plenty of books about backpacking." i wasn't exactly satisfied with any of them, but i learned a little from each different title. i finally bought this book 5 days ago from the Lodgepole Ranger Station bookstore in Sequoia NP, on a crazy impulse.

OH MY GOSH. 800+ pages of the most useful, precise information i've ever read anywhere (and i've read a lot). these two guys know their stuff, and are eloquent, realistic, CLEAR, and mildly humourous when they talk about it. this is so far above & beyond the quality of other books on the subject - i'm blown away. i've been reading it nonstop for 5 days. it covers everything: shoes (from full-scale boots to trail runners to hiking sandals & tons in-between), socks, packs, tents, clothing, weather, food, cooking, stoves, lights, hats, animals... the authors have EXTENSIVE experience and it really shines through. there is an extensive listing of additional reading material on every subject they discuss, plus gear lists from various trips of their own. this is a treasure trove.

as a HUGE plus, the book is fun to read. witty, wry humour and their very honest accounts of their own dumb mistakes help readers not to feel like we're begging at the table for crumbs of their vast banquet of knowledge.

if you feel like you could stand to learn a little more about ANY aspect of backpacking, this book will totally exceed your expectations. it's THE MOST useful book i've read in a long, long time.

If there were 6 stars, that is what I would give this book. I read the other reviews after I had written mine and oddly (or perhaps not oddly) they seemed similar. Oh well.

I was very interested in how this book would be revised to cover this quickly growing and changing subject. How do you take the overwhelming explosion of products and ideas about backpacking that have developed over the last decades and try to write about them? Well, Fletcher and Rawlins start by discussing that very subject. How do you keep 845 pages on gear and technique from being a long pedestrian trudge? I'm not sure, but somehow they combined personal experiences, wry humor and charming illustrations to do so. The book abounds with illustrations that are as beautiful as they are functional. Mostly though, they used their own unique writing styles to accomplish the task and completed a remarkable compilation of facts about backpacking gear and technique that reads like a novel. The two authors take turns writing about each subject, sometimes each idea. They seem to have similar philosophies (e.g., get out and do it, and gear is only a means to that end) yet the juxtaposing of ideas gives the book a fresh, and I think, healthy flavor. With many fine (and some not-fine) books available on the subject they still managed to write a remarkable, complete, and interesting book that is not just a rehash of what has already been said. Some of (the late) Vanna Price's familiar illustrations from the original edition again bring the subject to life. There is also some of the original text where appropriate. Hannah Hinchman's illustrations do a nice job of taking up where Vanna Price left off. More than just a "how to" book, the authors have managed to embrace "why to" appreciate the wilderness on foot. Reviewers often say things like "nothing comparable" or "Without a doubt a classic". This time it might be true.