Hamstead, Kansas had rarely seen a never-ending cold snap like this one. With Christmas a few days away, wind chills put the temperature at about 30 below, townfolk were dropping like flies from the flu, and there just wasn't much holiday spirit in the air. That was certainly true at Caley James' house. She had caught the bug, big time, the house was falling apart, her ex was no help at all, her three kids were living in front of the television eating cold cereal, and that's when the furnace decided to die. Life had definitely hit rock bottom, and just when she figures things couldn't get worse, her four year old daughter finds the furnace repairman, Tim Holiday, dead and badly burned in the basement. Police Chief, Susan Wren, missing more than half her force to the flu, takes on this case herself, but immediately hits a brick wall. Nothing about this murder makes sense. Who was Tim Holiday, and why did he seem to be trying to keep his identity a secret? Though she claims she'd never seen him before, what is his connection to Caley? And why would anyone want him dead? Add to that, two more possibly related murders, and Chief Wren has her hands full with a whole town full of suspects and too many unanswered questions..... Charlene Weir is back with another installment of her Susan Wren mysteries and A Cold Christmas is definitely her best book so far. This is a short, fast-paced, very readable novel full of atmosphere, smart, crisp writing, strong and engaging characters, riveting scenes, and enough twists and turns to keep readers guessing to the end. Ms Weir does not skimp on the secondary story lines, and at times the plot veers off in too many directions and becomes somewhat confusing, but she pulls it all together and ties up the loose ends neatly with a cliff-hanger ending that will leave fans waiting and wondering. So put up your feet and get comfortable, A Cold Christmas is an entertaining mystery you'll have to finish in one sitting.

In Hampstead, Kansas, this winter's weather is so brutally arctic that old timers believe it is the coldest ever. Police chief Susan Wren prays that the adverse weather keeps major crime down to zero because half of her staff suffers from the blue (non-blue variety).

However, her hopes are quickly dashed when furnace repairer Tim Holiday is found burned beyond recognition in Calley James' basement. The police find identification in the victim's pocket, but no one seems to know anything about the man. Calley's ex-husband Matt was seen arguing with the casualty and it is soon learned he had an affair with the man's wife twelve years ago. Tim's real name is Bran. He was just released from prison on a technicality though convicted of killing his wife. Susan wants to know why he moved to the same city as the person who betrayed him.

Charlene Weir provides a cast of characters that seem so genuine that readers will feel familiarity with the ensemble. The mystery is well executed with plenty of suspects, everyone having a reason for wanting the victim dead. The independent heroine displays humor and strength, but has the innate ability to know when someone lies to her. A COLD CHRISTMAS is a warm police procedural.

Harriet Klausner

Percival G. Lowe's account of militart life in the pre-CivilWar west is a must read for the military historian, anyone interestedin American frontier history, or anyone who just likes a good read. Lowe's account is most enlightening because it is written from the enlisted troops point of view. Most histories of the day were written by the officers who were better educated and often said little about the enlisted life on the frontier. Lowe's memoir starts with his induction and training in Carlisle, Pennsylvania and his 3 month trip west to his first post. Just the story regarding his travels to his first duty station include canal boats, river boats, mule trains and just plain old foot slogging marches across a raw expanse only recently opened to settlers from the east and Europe. His writting about his troops escort duty on the early Santa Fe trail is also quite informative. The book is written in the style of the 19th century and is a colorful as well as interesting reading. Well worth the price and time involved.

Percival Lowe was a gentleman, even if he was not an officer, and he was also a good soldier and a great frontiersman. If you want to know what it was like to be a Dragoon on the frontier this is the book. If you are interested in the history of the US Cavalry you need to read this book.

I was born and grew up in Kansas, yet there is much of the state I've never seen. I recently began driving the back roads of Kansas to get from my house to my daughter's on the western side of the state. I am learning to appreciate the undervalued beauty of Kansas. This atlas, showing all the roads in Kansas, including county roads and minimum maitenance roads is an excellent resource for finding my way around the state. It's fun to look in the atlas and find the little dirt road that runs by the cemetery or to see the gravel road that edges the pasture owned by a friend. I didn't realize map reading could be this fun!

Once again, Delorme atlases won't lead you astray. Living in Kansas City, I often take excursions into Kansas when I want to get out of the city. With this atlas I can head onto almost any back road and not get lost. These maps are great for finding places that the basic road maps can't show. Whether you're birding, hunting, or camping, you'll find this atlas useful. You can get to Lyon County Fishing Lake, Quivera NWR, Morton County or any place in Kansas easily. Highly recommended!

Kansas Bootleggers presents a criminological view of Kansas during prohibition. It is written in that, "good ol'e boy style," only a history buff could appreciate. The author writes about a time and subject which is not unfamiliar to him. I reccomend this book to anybody interested in criminal justice, Kansas, prohibition, or drinking grain alcohol.

Being a resident of Southeast Kansas, I really enjoyed this book. It told tales that were very interesting and fun to read. This book should be mandatory for all Southeast Kansans!!

These are two easy reading books that consist of short episodes in the lives of an "upper class" couple in Kansas City in the 1930s and 40s. Each book progresses through their lives, so you see them age and their children grow. The book "Mrs Bridge", characterizes her as a true ditz, the kinds who always says meaningless "right" things and rich woman preoccupied with shopping. Mr. Bridge is characterized as a remote, clueless kind of guy. The book ends with Mr. Bridge's death and his son sadly recognizing that his dad spent all his life trying to make life better for his family when all his family really wanted was some time with him. Showing the biases of the time of publication, Mr. Bridge becomes much more humane and likeable in the book about him. In "Mr. Bridge," even the annoying Mrs. Bridge is much more likeable. Even though set long ago, there are all sorts of insights that are very human. Everyone can see themselves in this book somewhere.

Connell does a superlative job of illustrating upper-middle class society in the 30's and 40's with these two novels. Each is a series of vignettes that serves to illuminate the characters of Mr. and Mrs. Bridge, through their interactions with each other, their family and the society they live in. Subtle, richly textured and very real - these are the people that lived ordinary lives. I recognized people I know in these portraits

Lumir Buresh wrote the first and only book on the Battle of Mine Creek and the events of October 25th, 1864, over twenty years ago. The book was thoroughly researched, bringing forth information about this little known event of the Civil War, and in so doing, sparked interest in preserving the battlefield. Lumir correctly identified the Union Cavalry charge at Mine Creek as one of the largest and certainly most successful mounted attack of the entire war. The book also identified many notable participants in the battle, including several future governors and several West Point graduates.

Another important effect of the book was to correctly include the action at Mine Creek, Kansas, as an important battle in Sterling Price's campaign or invasion of Missouri. Too many accounts simply leave out the invasion of Kansas and the resulting Confederate defeat at Mine Creek. Since the book was written, 280 acres of the battlefield have become protected as the Mine Creek Battlefield State Historic Site, with a visitor's center built in 1998, administered by the Kansas State Historical Society. Efforts are ongoing to add further land to the historic battlefield. This book is not only the first account of this important battle to appear in book form, it is itself an historic document which has spurred the preservation efforts to protect this hallowed ground.

Wonderful detail of the largest Civil War engagement on Kansas soil. The battle at Mine Creek is described as THE classic cavalry charge of the Civil War, you can truly feel the grandeur from Buresch's words. Many detailed maps, & the text covers Price's invasion of Missouri & Kansas beginning at Westport & ending when his thoroughly beaten, demoralized, & starving troops flee to Texas & safety.

What starts out as a confusing book becomes richly rewarding. Everything from K's quirky habits (signing the quotes on the men's room walls and talking to herself) to her pattern of working, going to the bar and returning home is well detailed.

This makes it all the more confusing when she starts writing tales which become true. You're never sure though if it's because she's seen the future or if she is causing these events to occur. What's better is when the characters in her stories start interacting and responding to her.

While I won't give away the last portion of the book, I will say the only reason I didn't rate this book a 5 was a few spelling errors and editorial issues.

A Great book that I can relate too. A slow beginning but starts to pick up once you get into it. I myself have purchase quite a few of these book from Runs on the Wind. Since my girlfriend enjoys reading, I got one for her. She got hooked and told her family about it, and I bought them each a copy. so in my opinion, this book is great!!!

I know Runs on the Wind and he's a wonderful person. (Not trying to make him blush) but in all honest truth he is a great friend.

Here's one for the history buffs out there. Kids and adults, read about frontier life in Kansas. This is an excellent addition to any library collection. -Native Kansan

I live in New york on the Island. I've always, always had a fascination with the old west, and in particular the state of Kansas.. even though I haven't yet been there. For Christmas this year, my mum gave me among other things, an actual Kansas license plate along with this book. I started reading it right away and it has been entirely engrossing. Very interesting individual tales, some are pretty short, so this is the perfect book to read while on the train. I love it.

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz The Kansas Centennial Edition By L. Frank Baum Illustrations by Michael McCurdy Foreword by Ray Bradbury ISBN 0-7006-0985-7, 600 Words

Dorothy and Toto are home again thanks to the University Press of Kansas' publication of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz: Kansas Centennial Edition. The wizards at the Press conceived of the edition after discovering that L. Frank Baum's book, first published in 1900, was in the public domain. The original print story about a little girl and her dog may be a surprise to Kansans familiar only with the classic 1939 film version of the Wizard of Oz. Even Judy Garland might be shocked by the new edition's black-and-white drawings by acclaimed children's book illustrator Michael McCurdy.

As a child during the 1960s, I remember watching the annual television broadcast of the Wizard of Oz. The scenes when the Wicked Witch sent the Winged Monkeys against Dorothy and her friends were so frightening that I would hide behind a chair. Now as an adult, I find some of McCurdy's illustrations equally unsettling, but rather than hide from them, the drawings compel me to examine and reflect upon Dorothy's journey, a journey that may be interpreted as one from innocence to knowledge.

The most provocative of McCurdy's twenty-five scratch board illustrations is the one in which Dorothy confronts the Witch. The witch has the pointed chin and bony fingers we expect from fairy tale witches, but her eye patch makes McCurdy's witch especially sinister. The Witch tricks Dorothy into giving her one of her Silver Shoes, (they are ruby slippers in the film version). With one foot bare, the angry Dorothy grabs the nearest object, a bucket of water, and throws it on the Witch. "...I never thought a little girl like you would ever be able to melt me and end my wicked deeds," wails the Witch.

W.W. Denslow illustrated the first Wizard of Oz book and his illustrations have remained popular. While Denslow's illustrations are charming and whimsical, they have none of the psychological interest of McCurdy's. As unusual as McCurdy's artwork, is the new edition's forward by science fiction and fantasy author Ray Bradbury. Bradbury contrasts the Wonderful Wizard of Oz with Lewis Carrol's Alice in Wonderland.

Bradbury writes, "...Lewis Carroll's cast of characters would have died here of saccharine or run back to hide behind the cold Glass. Baum settled in, delighted with bright nothings. If the Wicked Witch is truly dead it is because L. Frank Baum landed on her with his Boy's-Life-Forever-Sunkist philosophy. No witch could survive Baum, even today when witches beam themselves up."

A criterion for literature to be considered classic is its ability to be reinterpreted over time. In 1964, Henry Littlefield wrote an article in the American Quarterly entitled, "The Wizard of Oz: Parable on Populism." Littlefield suggests Baum's book is an allegory for the Populist politics of the 1890s in which "led by naïve innocence and goodwill, the farmer, laborer and the politician approach the mystic holder of national power and ask for personal fulfillment."

Baum was aware that a story holds different meanings for different ages. In the forward to the original Oz, Baum notes that most horrible characters and disagreeable incidents have been eliminated from modern fairy tales. "Having this thought in mind, the story... was written solely to please children of today. It aspires to be a modernized fairy tale, in which wonderment and joy are retained and the heartaches and nightmares are left out."

One-hundred years after its initial publication, the children's classic The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum remains worthy of reading by every Kansan regardless of age. However, in Michael McCurdy's illustrations, adults may find new meaning for an old children's story.

Paul Hawkins is regional librarian for the South Central Kansas Library System.

I enjoyed this book very much. It takes one on an exciting journey through magical lands that come alive in this fantasy book. The characters in this book make it a delight. This book is a treasure, and anyone of any age would enjoy it.

Part road-trip novel, part biography of Dr. Thomas Harvey, the pathologist who performed the autopsy of Albert Einstein, this book has a you-have-to-read-it-to-believe-it feel. Michael Paterniti approached Dr. Harvey because of rumors that Harvey kept parts of Einstein's brain. Sure enough, Harvey did have the brain pieces floating in formaldehyde, and before you know it, the two of them are driving to California (with the brain) to see Einstein's granddaughter. There are some hilarious moments (such as a side trip to a high school in San Jose) and poignant moments at the end of the journey, but I was a little disappointed because there wasn't enough closure. For me, it remained a bizarre little journey.

Here's an ultimate meta-book: a memoir about driving across country with the man whose fame rests on having removed and kept the brain of Albert Einstein. The glow of the glow of the glow!

Thomas Harvey, the physician who performed the autopsy on Einstein, is himself, as sketched here, a somewhat melancholy character, and Paterniti himself is trying to find some meaning for his existence, which he achieves by marrying his long-time love Sara and by writing the memoir itself.

Along the way we get a fragmented thumbnail sketch of Einstein's life and loves, descriptions of Americana from Dodge City to Las Vegas to San Jose, and a meeting with Einstein's granddaughter.

The book is a meditation on fame and the meaning of life in post-Einstein, post-nuclear-bomb America. It sports some lovely poetic prose, poignant ironies, and memorable images.

I hope Michael Paterniti continues his meditations and next gives us a memoir about life in Portland, Maine.

The weighty equation E=mc2 and the theory of relativity, conjure up images of a wiry-haired wrinkled old genius known to the world as Einstein. The author, Paterniti, mixes his own equation with words. The result? More than just a relative success, "Driving Mr. Albert" is a light and amiable concoction of humor, eccentricity, wit, poignancy, as well as raw and often highly amusing observation.

The ever-curious journalist (Paterniti) researches and finally meets Dr. Harvey, the mortician who performed the autopsy on Einstein in 1955. Scandal ensued when Harvey absconded and ultimately "disappeared" with the brain of the genius himself, claiming to be doing scientific studies to assertain if there were any unique facets to it. As Paterniti and Harvey's worlds collide, the result is far from prosaic.

Paterniti writes with such a personal flourish of his own, I was instantly captivated and found myself a passenger aboard his eccentric cross-country pilgrimage with Dr. Harvey and their third "passenger", Einstein's brain (bobbing in a formaldehyde-filled Tupperware container stowed in the trunk).

"Driving Mr. Albert" is the embodiment of the cliché: it's not the destination, but the journey that counts. As Paterniti and Harvey bomb towards California in a rented Skylark to rendezvous with Einstein's granddaughter, Evelyn, the author not only ascertains much about the contradictory persona of Einstein, and Dr. Harvey's fascinating life, but also about his own existence. The words I absorbed enraptured me in laughter, had me strolling down my own memory lane, and brought me near to tears during unexpected poignant scenes. The story and the intriguingly vivid characters, coupled with Paterniti's descriptive rhetoric made for an utterly arresting read. It's also makes for wonderful light weekend reading, as it's mere 211 pages will attest, and can be finished in a few sittings. With a plethora of these factors in its favor, I would not hesitate recommending "Driving Mr. Albert" to anyone who enjoys a truly entertaining anecdote, both deep and humorous.