Open letter to the author:
Mysterious Heritage is so great, Pat. I remembered the story, but I didn't remember it being that good. Did the publisher give you editing help, or did you get that polished on your own? The breaks in the story came at just the right times. I always knew where I was in time. All of the characters were accounted for at the end. As soon as I finished it, I started rereading it. You really did yourself proud, Pat.
What started out as a contemporary novel for the present day part thirty years ago has now evolved into a period novel. 1973 is almost another character in the novel.
I think you should call Oprah's office and find out how to submit a published novel for consideration for her book of the month. A lot of her choices have black characters. If you could get her endorsement, you'd have a best seller.
...I certainly will take you up on your offer to read my novel when it is written. Who can pass up PROFESSIONAL HELP!!

In Across the Red River to her Mysterious Heritage by Patricia Shipp Lieb, Mary Gray, a young black woman with blue eyes searches for her heritage. When she comes close to answers, she is involved in a car accident that leaves her in the mind of a white woman who died in the 1920s. Mary thinks she is this woman, Kate Wagner, and tries to find her way back to that era. The story takes the reader through time, and into the lives of complex characters, until near the end when the story reveals shocking results and Mary Gray is once again herself and satisfied with her idenity. The suspensful story holds the reader's attention from the first page to the last. The author must surely be a master.

This book is NOT out of stock, as it has been reprinted in 1988 and remains avaliable from Whalesback Books. For orders, call 202/333-2182.

This is a reprint of a book originally published in the 1930s, which describes with great sophistication the architecture of the many 18th century homes that dot the Piscataqua River valley, primarily in Portsmouth. At the time it was written, many of these homes were still occupied by descendants of the original owners, whereas now they are owned by non-profit organizations and are open to the public. It is enormously rewarding to compare the black and white pictures in the book with the houses as they are today. It also contains an introductory essay that gives a superb explanation of the evolution of domestic architecture from America's earliest settlements through the 18th century. As the book explains, Portsmouth, along with Newburyport, Annapolis, and Charleston, are unique among historic American cities because they prospered in the 18th century only to decline thereafter, thereby allowing their wonderful examples of Georgian and Federal/Adam architecture to be preserved. By way of contrast, Boston, New York, and Philadelphia grew so rapidly in the 19th century that most of their examples of this type of home were lost to the wrecker's ball.

If you want to learn about the gold rush and have fun doing it, read The chilkoot trail.This book, by Dave Neufeld and Frank Norris, will allow you to explore the facts about the gold rush, including the affect it had on the first nations of the yukon and women, whether they are wives of miners or Yukoners. Once you start this book, you won;t be able to put it down.You'll read about the 1896 Gold rush and the miners, each wanting their share of gold, the trail they had to pass to get there for not only was it a long and tiring steep trail, it was also a test of courage, a battle each miner had to fight before reaching their goal: gold. This is a great book for any adult, whether you're fro the Yukon, going to the Yukon or just wanting to read a great book. It's wonderful book to be used for reasearch.

Thank goodness someone has had the good sense to reprint this classic book about steamboating on the upper Mississippi! George Merrick relates his personal experiences as a steamboat pilot during the heyday of steamboating with stories about the boats, towns, and people of the stretch of river between St. Louis and St. Paul. I grew up in that area, and found his recollections fascinating. I learned a lot about the history of the towns along the river, and about the rich tradition of steamboating. Imagine piloting a 500 ton boat down a winding, wild river in the dead of night with no headlight, moonlight, or navigation aids!! Captain Merrick tells how he did it! A must for anyone who is interested in steamboating or the history of industrial expansion to the West.

When my grandma saw this beautiful book, she wanted to move back to Harrisburg where she was born. I just keep picking this book up and looking some more. The essays and pictures of the Susquehanna River and the towns along it elicit pride and nostalgia for rural/small-town Pennsylvania

This is a reissue of a book that is currently the only book that covers the general story of the Indians of Iowa, from past to present. In addition to the original essays, there are two new ones, both praiseworthy. One essay, by Maria Pearson, Yankton Sioux, describes her fight to protect native burials in Iowa-- which established state law that was the basis for the national law to protect native burials and sacred objects, NAGPRA. The other essay is a personal musings on the native tribe that provided Iowa with its name, the Iowa tribe; it is by Lance Foster, a member of the Iowa tribe. Few people recognize the importance of Indian history in the state of Iowa.. this book will help correct that.

Enjoyed his slice-of-life descriptions of people he spent time with. At first I was puzzle at the choices of characters, all men (incuding his father)and mainly those who did manual labor. Where was the rest of the town? Then I realized that he examining the people that he (and me) had least understood growing up.

This is a collection of eight accounts by participants in Iowa life. They are of uneven quality, but some are great reading. I especially liked the excerpts from letters written in 1936 by a mother to her daughter, which related the horrendous challenge which living thru that fabulous winter in Iowa was. There is also a good to read account by a railroadman telling of his work from 1911 to 1956--I thought his upbeat attitude to his hard work made a great account. Some of the accounts were a bit hard to believe, and one suspects some of the accounts are a bit embellished, but maybe not.