After some sixty to eighty years after they were first printed in the pages of the fabled pulp magazine "Adventure," these stirring tales by Harold Lamb of swordplay and strife in the wildest parts of medieval Asia are being re-issued. It has been too long. Congrats to the publisher for doing this. Now if we can only get the Khlit/Kirdy novels - White Falcon, Kirdy: the Way Out of the World and the Mighty Manslayer - out in print! Harold Lamb was one of the great early masters of historical fiction, his best single work is the novel "Durandal: A Crusader with the Horde" (Grant Books has printed part of this novel in two deluxe volumes - "Durandal" and "Sea of the Ravens," without completing the set). His "historical" non-fiction - Babur the Tiger, Nur Mahal, Omar Khayyam - is really good too!

There's a story told about a Buddhist monk who could look into your eyes and see your grandmother's soul. The collaboration between author Howard Frank Mosher and photographer John M. Miller, called "Granite & Cedar: The People and the Land of Vermont's Northeast Kingdom" gives the common reader a chance for a similar view. This remarkable book gives a profound opportunity to see into and beyond the familiar of "home."
"Granite & Cedar" is set in Vermont's Northeast Kingdom; the black and white photographs (most taken between 1971 and 1976) represent a simpler time when the region was a world unto itself. Then the Interstate rolled through, and it was suddenly easier to have second homes here. Long-time residents could come and go with ease, and the world of the Northeast Kingdom changed. Patterns of life shifted, and familiar traditions suddenly reappeared as people, places and ways that were different.
Mosher's haunting story of Aunt Jane Hubbell weaves through the photographs like hand washed thread turning into fine lace. The story opens in 1965 as the plans for the Interstate are introduced. Aunt Jane has fierce stubbornness and loyalty to family, both living and dead. Will she stand up to the engineers at the public hearing for the highway, or will she back down in deference to her 78 years and ancestors lying at rest? How will she be remembered?
We see the time-worn buildings standing tall beside symbols of an emerging era of rapid obsolescence; we see wool jackets and spruce boards holding their ground to synthetic fleece and vinyl siding; we see men and women whose lives and ways are somehow very familiar although today - they are gone.
We see into a place and time well used by those who lived off the land and were shaped by it and who like Aunt Jane were, above all, practical. Mosher and Miller have unwrapped the gift we thought unique to the legendary monk.
For those with connections to the Northeast Kingdom "Granite & Cedar" will be tenderly familiar. And yet strictly regional, this book is not. For those who only know Vermont's fringe from a distance, the connection to home will prevail.
"Granite & Cedar" is Mosher and Miller at their best.

It's a mystery why Claude Simon is not more widely read in the U.S. A recent visit to the largest bookstore in San Francisco revealed not one copy of any of his books, and he is hardly an unknown or obscure author (Nobel Prize winner in 1985). It would certainly not be an eccentric view, and one I would not be the first to suggest, that he could easily be ranked close to the "big four" of 20th Century literature (Beckett, Faulkner, Joyce, Proust) and based on the four Simon novels I have read, I would agree. "The Grass" is a great place to start with Simon. It is his fourth novel, but the second translated into English. ("The Wind", translated a year earlier, is also a good starting point) It is helpful to read this novelist in chronological order, as it is with most important authors, but even more here as Simon's style has considerably evolved over the course of his career. Also, as this novel is part of a five-book cycle (the "Reixach Cycle") in which some of the characters reappear in other books, it is best to read them in order. His reputation as a "difficult" writer is somewhat undeserved, and no more than ordinary alertness will allow the reader to enjoy an incredibly supple and rich experience. The translations are excellent, as far as I can tell, judging from my limited reading of him in French, and are mostly by the poet Richard Howard, as is "The Grass." This novel tells of a post-World War II family in France, largely three women, and the narrative is loosely constructed around their memories and experiences, particularly those of a young woman who describes the journey towards death of her husband's aunt. The book, as other Simon novels, is very death-haunted and are filled with a sense of melancholy and dread. The descriptions of nature and the countryside are amazingly lyrical. Simon's heroic experiences as a volunteer on the Republican side in the Spanish Civil War and as a prisoner of war in WW2 and a member of the French resistance also show up in his fiction, especially "The Palace" and "The Flanders Road" which I also highly enjoyed. This was the first Simon novel I read, and I definately intend to read the others.

The History Channel has put together an interesting American History trivia quiz that consists of 101 questions with subsequent answers on the next page. This reviewer played a game against her husband as we tried to see who could answer the most over a week's time. The book is fun and enlightening, especially for trivia buffs.

Translated from French into English by Phyllis Aronoff and Howard Scott, Gilles Havard's The Great Peace Of Montreal Of 1701: French-Native Diplomacy In The Seventeenth Century focuses on how the persistent, bloody, and often desolating wars between the French and their Native allies on the one side, and the Iroquois confederacy on the other was brought to a conclusion in the summer of 1701. 1,300 represents of forty First Nations (which ranged from the Maritimes to the Great Lakes and from James Bay to southern Illinois) met with the French at Montreal and, after a month-long ceremony, signed "The Great Peace of Montreal" which ended the Iroquois wars. The treaty, Gilles Havard persuasively argues, was the culmination of the French colonial strategy of native alliances and adaptation to Native political customs. The treaty process illustrates the extend of cultural interchange between the French and their Native allies and the crucial role the Native Americans would later play in the French conflicts with the Iroquois and the British. The Great Peace Of Montreal Of 1701 is a scholarly and invaluable contribution to both Canadian history and Native American studies.

"Green River Daydreams" is a book one cannot feel indifferent about. I loved it--I hated it--I loved it. It made me angry. It was beautiful, down right hilarious, ugly, enthralling, disturbing. It was hard to put down. It is even harder to forget. As a Chinese-American writer, I was entirely mesmerized by the language, the smoothness of the translation by Howard Goldblatt; I felt I was reading the original Chinese. I envy Liu Heng's deftness of pen; the author depicts characters with a few concentrated strokes like the Chinese xie-i painters of old.

For the China-phile, for the lover of literature, for those who simply want a great story, Liu Heng's "Green River Day Dreams" is not to be missed.

Fantastic Book on how to write your college essay and organize your admissions application. Useful writing strategies and much more. A great guide to the application process.

The Public Ivies opens an exciting window of opportunity for parents and students who are concerned about how to gain a top education at an affordable price. As the authors indicate, today 80% of all students enroll in public universities and thus it is important to understand which are the best of the flagship institutions, and what skills and attitude it takes to succeed in them. Any family with a motivated student should make this book a must as they search for educational opportunities that will help them prepare for life. The book is well written, easy to read, adn full of intimate advice for both student and parent.

A fast pased action adventure with a hard edge that is a sure pleaser!

This book contains everything that an experienced kayaker needs to know to plan a trip to Alaska's Inside Passage. For those who already know where they want to paddle, the first chapter and apendices still provide great local information and advice on gear, clothing, and techniques that are most appropriate for this area. Anyone who will be paddling in these waters should read these sections of the book not only because they will answer many of the difficult logistical questions but because they will make your trip safer and more enjoyable while helping reduce your impact on the area. For those seeking ideas on where to paddle, the rest of the book offers a wealth of suggested routes without getting so specific that you lose all sense of personal discovery.

As a sea kayak guide based in Gustavus I have paddled most of the northern routes described in Jim Howard's book over the past 20 years and I can report that his descriptions and advice are current and accurate.

Something that really bothers me about some guidebooks I have seen is that they name specific campsites and suggest day-by-day itineraries for a few selected routes; they are like a journal of the author's trip. This approach leads to over-use of a few areas and sites and diminishes the sense of discovery that is one of this wild area's greatest attractions; following one of those guidebooks is more like taking someone else's trip than one's own. Not only that, but many of the best sites along a route are (thankfully) NOT named in those guidebooks, so kayakers can have a better trip by ignoring those authors' detailed suggestions.

Jim Howard took a different approach. His routes cover most of the region and for each he gives a description of the area and an assessment of the difficulty of the trip. He names the hazards and gives helpful logistical advice and a general description of the route. This is just what I look for when visiting a new area. I want to know whether I am getting in over my head and how to get to the area. I don't want to know exactly where someone else paddled and camped and what they saw. Finding my own campsites, wildlife viewing areas, and special places is what sea kayaking in a wild place is all about.

Because Southeast Alaska is a wild place with plenty of hazards far from help, it's wise to have solid sea kayaking skills if you are alone or leading less experienced paddlers here. Therefore, this book doesn't cover basic sea kayaking and navigation. Beginners will need to find this information in one of the many other general sea kayaking books and by going with experienced paddlers.

Jim Howard does an excellent job of giving helpful area-specific information while preserving opportunities for wilderness self-discovery. I can tell he's explored the area thoroughly and talked to lots of local folks. Get this book if you're coming here.