I felt that The Ice Pick Artist by Harold Adams was a major dissapointment. I felt their was a lack of characterization in the main character Carl Wilcox, we don't know what drives him to want to solve the murder of a young hotel visitor. I felt their were to many twists and turns in the story that it confused me as a reader. Adams also could have gone into more descriptive language concerning the setting of these small towns in the Midwest, as well as the characters in the book.

I'm not sure exacty what the author was trying to portray in this book. I didn't pick up on any particular train of thought where the protagonist, Carol Wilcox, was concerned. At one point, I almost lost track of the cast of characters, there were so many; and there didn't seem to be any real connection between this girl and Carl that would make him go traipsing all over the place trying to solve her murder. As for the murder storyline itself, it was somewhat adequate in keeping in line with the rest of the book. Nothing to write home about, that's for sure.

During the Depression, painter Carl Wilcox works at his family's Corden, South Dakota hotel because his father is ill. Three individuals, traveling separately, book rooms in the Wilcox Hotel. Lillybelle Fox is in Corden conducting research into the town's founders with an emphasis on Colonel Cutter. The next day, Lillybelle is found murdered and the other two guests (Murdoff and Olson) are gone.

Carl decides to investigate the killing by continuing Lillybelle's research in a hope that it will reveal a motive for murder. He quickly finds several people with an incentive for killing his guest and most of them start acting ugly towards the amateur sleuth. It seems that everyone has a secret, but especially wanting to keep quiet their clandestine past is a very powerful family with strong state-wide ties.

THE ICE PICK ARTIST is a superb historical regional mystery that brings to life the Depression in South Dakota. The who-done-it is fun and Carl is an intriguing character. Readers will taste the dust while driving all over the state in Carl's Model T. Harold Adams demonstrates why he is a Shamus Award winner with this tale that will have readers running to the used book stores for previous novels in the series.

Harriet Klausner

"Where Peasants Sing: Life in South Dakota 1900-2000" is a charming, unpretentious little book of "happy stories about life in South Dakota." Most yarns are from the days when people "plowed fields and planted seeds on the untamed prarie."

Tales cover an impressive variety of topics. They range from the famed "Corn Palace" in Mitchell---a building so large that it houses sports events, yet is covered each year with "600,000 ears of corn of all kinds"---to a "complicated recipe for Swedish meathballs."

Author Clayton Davis writes in a casual style, tells readers pleasing tales as they apparently come to his mind. For example, in writing about the giant grain elevator in his wife's hometown, Redfield, he also informs readers a bit about concrete construction of some 2000 years ago. Then he briefs us about "the first concrete reinforced bridge built in America." And he also mentions inventor Thomas Edison making "houses with poured concrete (that sold) for less than $1,200 and are still standing."

This book has many photos, mostly family snapshots. There are pictures of the author's wedding to Irene Brink in 1952; her grandmothers---"One was from Sweden and the other from Czechoslovakia;" a friend's sleek racing car; uncle Charley's old cow; and more.

Closing the book is a laid-back description of the author's "trip (to) see South Dakota the way an early mapmaker saw it." Davis reports briefly on such places as a hunting lodge where you can stay in "private rooms (or) an eighteen-bed dorm;" Britton, the town named for a general manager of an area railroad; Fort Sisseton, which offers "A five hour guided walking tour;" and other such attractions.

If you are interested in mostly early-Americana, based largely on "first-hand accounts told by immigrants in northeasten South Dakota and archival materials," written in informal prose and structure, this may be just the book for you.

This is a dandy capsule history of South Dakota development. Using basic family stories, author Davis sketches the development of one small segment of South Dakota from immigrant soddy to motorcar racing to modern class reunions. Along the way he provides a snapshot of comic hardships and truimphs of hardworking Swedes who settled this treeless country of hard winters and hot summers. From blind mules to racecars to chicken stealing skunks, family stories provide insight to daily life on the prairie and progress to the present. Much of the book centers around Redfield, a small rural town and home of the author's wife, and one section provides details of Swedish meatball delights and Lutefisk. Lutefisk being a dish only appreciated by dyed in the wool Swedes.

Author Davis concludes the book with a cook's tour of South Dakota, providing useful information and tips for touring the countryside.

A delightful book highly recommended for history buffs.

This being about the only Dakota-English dictionary still in print makes it good enough. But there are a lot of words you will not find in here, and forget about help for which tenses to use. It is limited, often frustrating, but it is the only one. I also had to purchase the English-Dakota dictionary, because for some ridiculous reason (most dictionaries provide both (Forgein Language)-English & English-(Forgein Language)translations in ONE book) this dictionary only goes one way, so you have to buy another one to get the rest! Annoying & Expensive!

This book was a huge disappointment. Extremely overpriced---much of the book consists of obsolete lists of restaurants, veterinarians, campgrounds, etc. Lots of generic, re-hashed information on things like dogs and guns and decoy layouts, with very little in the way of helping nonresidents understand the unique habits and habitats of North Dakota game birds.

This book tries to do too much. I needed to change my oil pressure sending unit in my Dakota and there is no reference to an oil pressure sending unit much less a picture of one in this book. A waste of time and money.

To place it short and sweet, I also have found this mannual to be lacking in technical information. In the past I found Hanynes' manuals to be very informative, but this one needs a unconditional money back guarantee. It is very vague. It appears to be more of a maintance manual than a repair manual, which is the main reason I bought it!

I purchased this manual over a year ago and my Brother and I have replaced the carbeurator (87 only), head gasket, replaced radiatior and hoses, set rockers, learned the values of numerous electrical tasks we were stumbling over. The pages we use are referred to by us as dirty page maintenance, sort of a, been-there, done-that, symbolism. We are not mechanics, just broke enough to try the work ourselves. The manual has told, showed, and given hints to prevent oops-events. I give it Four Stars and have no reason not to give it Five.

Bitter Harvest is about a man who gets accused of something he did out of self-defense. He goes though racism and torture. This man murdered three men out of self-defense. This book was all about how people are so prejudice that they cannot even look passed their feelings about others. Bitter Harvest was based on a true story.
I enjoyed this book because it was a true story about the passed. About racism and how people hated each other. This is something that I really find interesting to read about. How people lived in America in the 60's or 70's. Bitter Harvest had tons of exciting adventures put in to the story. This is what people thought when they were apart of this story.
He reason I chose this story is because it is about crime. It is also about trust and truth. Also I loved the cover. I thought it would be interesting. It was believed that it would be about World War 2. Even though it wasn't it was still okay. Anyways all of these events are true with plenty of depth.

This book covers only very well known locations and only of rocks and minerals suitable for lapidary. This book is a good 30 years out of date. In my own state, I have been to every location listed and 90% of them do not exist anymore or are no longer accessible. In addition, I know of several other areas that are well known but not listed. Don't waste your time with this book.

it is stupid , crazy , wild ,ect..