I love Janet Dailey's books and have read just about all she has written. But on this book I was disappointed to see all the women,Maggie, Jessy and Sally letting the men in their live get away with murder. They take the men's disloyality and don't show any backbone especially Jessy who time and again allow Ty to come back to her after going back to his spoiled wife Tara. I don't care if Tara is beautiful or not he really should have looked deeper at her character. Other than this I enjoyed this book but not as much as soon of Janet Dailey other book. I would look to buy more of her books in the future.

I really enjoyed Calder Born, Calder Bred as a single book and as a generational series. Ty pretty much turned outlike to his father, Cal.

For a series, Janet Dailey did a fantastic job. I have enjoyed all of her books in this series, as a series and as individual books.

The research and knowledge she puts in her books about ranching is fantastic. I come from a farming community, as a young girl, and their were lots of ranches around us. She hit the nail on the head with the way the family career in ranching is done, or at least to the way it was done back then.

Out of all the calder series, I love this one the best. Jessy is the woman all of us would love to be....feminine, tough, ladylike, loyal, beautiful in the way the land needed, not just "prissy". Ty needs someone to stand with him, not to be a "trophy". The loss of Maggie is so difficult; Chase just isn't the same without her; I love seeing Cat grow up and the changes in all the characters. I have even learned to like Culley. The love he has for Maggie and Cat is wonderful and touching. I have been through 2 copies already and will choose this one when i want a real look at the calder's. What a wonderful way to escape.....

Jim Harrison's, Legends of the Fall retains morose and depressive ideals, depicting human nature in all of its negative aspects. The setup of the novel is nothing like the film's sequence in that, the movie only shows a portion of the third and last novella, which also shares the title of the book. There are two additional novellas enveloped in the novel itself, "Revenge" and "The Man who gave Up His Name." All of the novellas relate to the common theme that once a human commits a wrongdoing they head down a long decline of morals, this theme also manifests the title. Harrison repeatedly refers to love as being wonderful and sustaining, but that it creates many more problems. Due to specific tendencies of the book, it is not recommended for everyone.

To read these novellas, the reader needs plenty of patience and a dictionary nearby, because Harrison tends to use a higher logic than a casual read. He drags sentences out into long descriptive paragraphs that sometimes go on for pages and has an extensive vocabulary. Although the paragraphs are lengthened by the author's superfluous description, the words are utilized so the descriptions create vivid images of characters and settings in the reader's imagination. This novel would also not be recommended for optimistic readers because the novel's nature would make reading and comprehending even more difficult. Younger, immature readers are also advised to avoid this novel for sexual references and casual drug use. Regarding the fact that there are some good points throughout the novellas, there is absolutely no humor or extended periods of joy in the lives of the characters. If you are prepared for an emotional depressant and have a large amount of time on your hands, this is the book for you.

Like most of the people I know who read this book, I picked it up after seeing the movie. While I enjoyed both in their own right, they are so different that going from one to the other adds nothing to either.

While the movie's most notable qualities are a breath of story and an epic scope, the book is beautiful for its economy of words and distant style. Written in the third person, as opposed to the film's heavy handed first person, the perspective is all knowing, yet reveals few details. The author brings the characters to life to some degree, but what is amazing is that they are interesting given their one dimensionality. The story, short as it is, contains much less of the deep intertwined relations of the movie, but I believe that makes it much improved over the screen version.

While everyone focuses on the title story, the other two that are included are also enjoyable. As a read, each of the stories is quite quick and complete. If you are taking a trip in several staggered stints, this is a good book to take along and pass the time.

I read the few novellas contained in this book after having seen the epic movie LEGENDS OF THE FALL. In fact, I read it because of the movie. I should now recommend - although historically I do not - reading the (relatively) short book before viewing the movie. I am not knocking the movie by any means - but this book was a most excellent read! It hit the core of human passion - the darkness and light of it - with a raw and eloquent energy as I'd never even sought before!

There are two other novellas in the book - and one of them, REVENGE, has also been portrayed on the screen! Jim Harrison writes with as masculine, rough, and relentless a style as any writer I've ever read. I recommend this book of novellas wholeheartedly - it gives the core of emotion wrought from the human path without any need for the melodramatic twists contrived from Hollywood.

This work of writing makes no apologies. And ah - so boldly and truthfully its vision proclaims - it does not need to!

Montana. Rancher with alcoholic wife. Environmentalists. Wolves.
Billionaire with a dream to turn replace failing ranches
with a vast buffalo-covered prairie.

All the ingredients for a great and stirring novel, right? Maybe
so, but Richard Wheeler's _The Buffalo Commons_ isn't it.

I really *wanted* to like it, honest. Unfortunately, there's
something to dislike on almost every page.

The title is stolen from a real-life proposal by Professors Frank and
Deborah Popper. But if you hoped to learn something about that proposal,
you won't find much here: the Poppers aren't even mentioned once.

Instead you find insipid characters that are given to saying things
like "Alcoholism is a demon each person fights alone, even when there
are friends and counselors around" and "It's an instinct I have that
leaps beyond my very limited powers of thought."

The portrayal of native Americans borders on racism, with the main
Indian character described as having "some primordial way of
recognizing other peoples".

But the worst aspect of the book is its nasty slant on the Buffalo
Commons controversy. It's so one-sided it could have come directly out
of a Rush Limbaugh radio program. In Wheeler's portrayal, the
ranchers are all noble and long-suffering, while the environmentalists
are all evil, soulless hypocrites --- even more so if they happen to
work for the government. We learn that the Environmental Protection
Agency has a "penchant for abusing citizens" (p. 193) and "the
protection of civil rights of citizens" is of little concern to Greens
(p. 302). Wheeler's kindly old Professor Kazin says things like "The
very concept of wilderness touted by the Sierra Club and the Greens is
essentially racist" (p. 29) and "The government's bought most of the
university environmental sciences departments in the country".
Vegetarians by their very nature are suspect; one character is only
redeemed when he "[takes] beef into his mouth"!

The author hasn't done his homework very carefully, either. He
mistakenly calls the Wood Bison or wood buffalo (Bison bison
athabascae) the "woods buffalo", and he gets the name of Canada's Wood
Buffalo National Park wrong. The decline in the Wood Bison population
in the park isn't, as claimed by one character in the book, "all
because of wolf depredation". As Mark Bradley, the conservation
biologist for the Park told me, the decline isn't fully understood,
but is certainly due to many factors, including the cessation of winter
feeding.

The lowest point in the book was when one of the characters buys "a
Skye's West novel, and thus spent the day amiably." Guess who the
author of the "Skye's West" series is? That's right, Richard Wheeler.
This self-congratulatory ploy is par for the course.

If you're interested in the Buffalo Commons proposal, avoid this
cynical propaganda exercise, and pick up a copy of Anne Matthews'
splendid nonfiction book, _Where the Buffalo Roam_, instead.

What can I add to the praise from readers and professional reviewers? Mostly that I was surprised that this story could be so gripping when there is almost no violence, no profanity or uncouthness, just lots of drama. These are real people, undergoing changes that could be happening today. The last time I encountered a book that read like non-fiction but had the kick of a good story was "House" by Tracy Kidder. Most slick novels will roll out of your consciousness like yesterday's newspaper, but the effects of this one will stay with me for a long time to come.

Oh yes, if you've ever been to Montana, this book will greet you like an old friend. If you've never been there, you'll find out why you should go--now.

As a homesick former Montanan, I loved this book. Wheeler does such a great job of an even-handed presentation of the pros and cons of ranchers versus restorers. I sort of resented the "feds' being cast as the villains, since I know many of them and they are sincere, caring people who want the best for the land and its inhabitants, but I am also aware that the individuals who work for the agencies are often the victims themselves of political agendas. Kind of an old-fashioned novel--heros were flawed, but good-villains were BAD--made it fun to read.Wheeler obviously had done his homework--lots of fascinating information presented in a readable, entertaining manner. Well worth the read,

Unlike most of the people who buy Beyond Jennifer & Jason, Madison & Montana and its companion books, I have never used this book to name an actual baby but use it instead to name characters in the stories I write. I have always found it far more helpful in choosing character names than most other baby name books.

I have always had a fascination with names, and this book gives better detail about how names actually function in our world.

The only thing I dislike about this book is the authors' sense of which names are too dated to use, but this may just be a generational response on my part (I tend to think of names like Dorothy, Phyllis, Walter, and Raymond as so far out they're in again, whereas they just think of them as dated ). But overall, this book is an excellent choice for anyone who needs to name anyone else.

This book does offer opinions about names -- which are trendy, which are outdated, which are coming into style -- and that's what makes it the best name book around! First-time parents have no other honest guide to these issues. This book is fun to read as well as being instructive and enlightening. If you really want to find the best name for your baby, this is the book for you!

An amazingly informative, helpful, and fun book, BJ&J is the best guide for parents who are new to the naming scene, and it's also great for name-pros like me. I love the upbeat, unusual style of the writing and format; so many other name books that have commentaries are kind of depressing in their negativity. This book is not judgmental, it's simply honest, and it gives you the plain truth about how people will see your child's name. Many of the recommended names are classic, and it's not hard to see that the authors like unusual classic names.

I also think all the lists are wonderful. The compelation of names in other countries is fabulous (especially the French and Greek names), and also the list of exotic/creative names. I recommend the larger edition, simply because the fonts are nicer and the format is overall more professional.

When I first read This Calder Range I wanted to and did read some of the rest of the series as they became available. Perhaps it is now with a maturity I didn't have 15 years ago but I just can't give a book 5 stars where the author places partial responsibility for [physical abuse] on the victim. This is a poor message to be sending readers. A woman should, especially in the marital relationship where there is a promise of love, be able to argue without fear of physical violence. Ms Dailey mentions more than once about Benteen strong moral code of the West and at the same time more than once mentions the [physical abuse] with Lorna accepting partial responsibility. Apparently Lorna is held to a much higher standard than Benteen, as she is responsible for Benteen's actions. It bothers me that Lorna faults herself for a statement made under extreme duress and I might add after Benteen had callously thrown away something very precious to her. Lorna rather quickly forgives Benteen's behavior but on the other hand she has to continually prove herself to him for something said in anger and during extreme physical hardship. So, I guess I have to ask Ms Dailey is it the woman's responsibility to be constantly on guard as to mood and speech? Not a very satisfying relationship. Give me heroes and heroines that can have verbal conflicts without violence being the end result.
The other problem I have with the series is how they have become so predictable. The reader ultimately knows that one of the Calders is going to meet with an untimely death. It would be nice if one generation since the original Benteen and Lorna would have a happy ending in the tradition of the romance gendre.

This is the first book of a three book series, The Calder Series. I've read these books over and over. The Calder Range is a great place to spend a few hours. Never a dull moment!

I would like to say that This Calder Range is a great story and I have read the Calder series twice and loved it. I would recommend all of her books and I have say that after all she has been through, "WAY TO GO JANET"

I read the Springwater series and found it a bit shallow. The books are short and very easy to read, though. I find myself wanting more depth and character growth. The relationships were a bit sudden and flaky to me. My favorite characters were probably Jacob and June-Bug. If you want to read an exciting series try Debbie Maccomber's Promise, Texas series.

This whole series of books was a nice vacation for the brain. When you're tired of hearing about tragedies and violence and worst possible scenarios, when you've used your brain all day and just need a little quiet time, these are just what the doctor orderred. They are broken down into tiny little books, too, so you can begin and finish them in an afternoon. No high-brow intellectual stimulation, but better than the TV soap-opera drivel. Check them out they're fun!

"Rachel" is another of Linda Lael Miller's great book. The heroine, also named after the book, is a woman who travels to Springwater to teach. Rachel also comes at the request of her friend, Evangeline, whose story began in the book, "Springwater."

The characters in this book are people in the Springwater series. Ms. Miller has brought all the characters magically to life from the pages of the book. The readers can almost smell Miss June Bug's cooking and see her husband, Jacob McCaffrey shuffling his way to the barn. These are just a few of the other characters in the book. I will not mention all of them.

Rachel meets Trey Hargreaves, a widower, who has a young daughter, Emma, to raise. The attraction between Rachel and Trey began on their first meeting, although both do not admit it.

Rachel has her hands full with teaching the children, especially the unruly boys, some whose parents feel they do not need any schooling. However, that is what Rachel came to Springwater to do teach -- and teach she will.

Trey, who is part owner of the town's saloon, is a little shy about "courting" Rachel. Also, Rachel is not too fond of the saloon being in operation. However, when Trey realizes he has competition for Rachel's affection in the form of another widower, Landry Kildare (you will meet him again in Ms. Miller's book, "Miranda"), Trey set to work to win Rachel's love and hand in marriage.

Rachel and Trey eventually overcome everything and let love find its way into their heart and into their lives.

"Rachel" is the #2 book in the Springwater series, but "Rachel" is rated #1.

Wildlife by Richard Ford is about a family who moved to Great Falls, Montana. In Wildlife, there are three members in the family, the father is Jerry, the mother is Jean, and their son is Joe. Jean is an alcoholic and she is cheating on Jerry. Seven-teen year old Joe is caught in the middle of all the problems. I would recommend this book for others to read because it is a very interesting book, and it has many strengths, and weaknesses that I like.
The strengths of Wildlife are that it is fiction, but it seems to be a true story. It seems to be a true story because it explains what families really go through. It shows that everyone has marriage problems, financial problems and social problems. Even though some people are having affairs they still live with each other for the sake of their children.
The weaknesses of this book are that it has a great deal of depression. A lot of terrible things happen to the family, Jerry and Jean do not get along, because they do not love each other anymore, but they are still living together for the sake of Joe. I believe that Jean is the one that causes all these problems, because if she does not have an affair, or drink too much then they would all just get along. The thing that I do not like about this book is that it is too tragic, and I do not like it when families fight all the time.
I would recommend this book for others to read because it gives good advice to young people. It tells them not to make the same mistakes most people make in their family lives. I believe if you are going to love someone forever, and are planning on spending your entire life with them, you should be respectful, honest, truthful and trustworthy with each other. I believe that people that have experienced problems like the characters in Wildlife will enjoy this book because they can relate to it. I really enjoyed this book because it is very interesting.
Richard Ford has written Wildlife, which is about a family who has many problems. The wife has affairs, drinks too much and hates her husband. The husband works hard all day to support his family but, is not appreciated. The son is seven-teen and is caught in the middle of the problem. This is a really interesting book and I would recommend that everyone reads this.

In the novel wildlife, Richard Ford writes about Joe and his family's life. The story takes place in Great Falls, Montana, in the fall of 1960's. In reality, all the events happen in three days, however, the family feels these three days are very long time. The family members struggle and divide over many issues.
Jerry, the father, is a professional athlete; He can play every sport. In addition, he was a baseball teacher. He is a handsome, innocent, honest, and educated man. Jeanette, the mother, is two years younger than Jerry. She is a pretty, small woman who has a good sense of a humor. She worked as a bookkeeper, and a substitute teacher in math and science. Also, in Great Falls, she worked as a swimming teacher. Jerry and Jeanette met in college in 1941. Jeanette loved Jerry and simply decided to marry him. She followed him from town to town even to these of them she didn't like, for instance, Great Falls. Their only son, Joe, is a sixteen years old teenager. He is a very quiet and peaceful person. He never argued with his parents and expressed his opinion.
The family struggled emotionally and financially. Emotionally, the members of the family miss the love between them. The parents started to lose understand each other. For example, when Jerry stated to argue with his wife, he said, "You've changed your thinking, now, haven't you, Jean."(24). Jeanette started to sleep at the couch and Jerry slept alone in his bedroom. In addition, the family struggled financially. The father lost his job and left home to go fight a fire, which suddenly happened in the town. The mother started to teach swimming. She met a man and fell in love with him. The son became alone and afraid of what's coming in his way. One time, when he was talking to his self, he said, "Death was less terrible at that moment than being alone."(131)
The family separated and everyone of its member went in a different direction. After Jerry left home for the fire, Jeanette loved another man, Warren Miller. Warren didn't love Jean but he wanted to have some fun with her, as he always does with all the women. Jeanette decided to move out by herself. She forgot everyone, even her only son, and started thinking only about her future. One time, she told her son " You have to give things up. That's the rule. It's the major rule for everything."(123) Joe got lost between two sides, his mom and his dad. He could see his family breaking apart and couldn't do anything. Many reasons have worked together to lead Joe and his family to a bad situation. Starting with moving from town to town because Jerry wanted to find a better place and a better job. Finally, ending up with Jeanette leaving home.
Wildlife is a very interesting novel and easy to read. Richard Ford used easy words and wrote in an understandable language. In addition, Ford viewed the story from first person point of view, Joe. Joe was a very detailed character; He explained every little event happened in the most three wild days of his life. As Jerry said to his son, when Jeanette was leaving home, "This is a wild life, isn't it, son?"(143). Jerry really meant the words he said and Joe agreed with him. Wildlife is the kind of novels I love to read because it summarizes most of our life problems. Life is full of surprises, as I read in this novel, but I will try to get over the bad ones. I recommend this novel to everybody, especially to teenagers, because it's a meaning full story.

Having read several of Ford's other novels previously, I pretty much got what I had expected and had hoped for. No need for outrageous plot twists, chase scenes, or bawdry dialogues. The disintegration of this family showed me that people never stop growing, learning, and succumbing to not what is expected but what feels right at a particular point in one's life.

Two worlds, unknown to most, are vividly portrayed in The Good Brother.

I love when an author trusts the reader to make some decisions about the character, without spelling out every detail. I feel like I got to know Virgil/Joe. He had depth and intelligence that was never force fed. We got to know him over time and see that while he lacked education, he was a thinker. His loneliness was not only conveyed, but felt. The most moving scene for me was definately when Joe meets his would-be assasin.

The descriptions of the Kentucky hills and Montana were fantastic. I really felt that I got a taste of the scenery, climate and people. Almost a mini vacation in a book. I felt the dryness of Montana summers. I experienced the humidity of Kentucky.

I read this book for my all-female book club and thought it was an excellent choice. Especially for readers who feel over-dosed on estrogen. Parts of it were educational, as I got a deeper look into radical anti-goverment groups and a better understanding as to what can lead people down this path. This male-centered book has plenty of feeling and emotion, but also revenge and good ole' gun slinging!

I also like the way this book ended. I gives the reader a chance to think for themselves about what might happen next.

Chris Offutt's "The Good Brother" tells the story of Virgil Caudhill's inescapable fate after his brother Boyd is murdered. Offutt's beautiful but terrible tale perfectly demonstrates the futility of revenge, and the unintended but inevitable consequences that flow from retribution. This moving novel showcases Offutt's ability for character development and perfect dialogue with a true "page-turner" plot. While some reviewers are critical of the novel's turn once Virgil reaches Montana, I think they are missing the point. Offutt has done a magnificent job of conveying Virgil's isolation and disconnect with the world once he's removed from his native Kentucky. It is a telling moment when Virgil's happiest time in Montana occurs as he bonds with his would-be assassin, a native Kentuckian. This Southern boy can tell you, that moment was real.
Read this book. Offutt is a treasure.

Offutt's method is to draw you into the culture of both eastern Kentucky and western Montana. He lets everything build up to the point where you could almost see yourself in the shoes of the people that Virgil/Joe meets. I found myself agreeing with many of the militia members' sentiments, even though I (like Joe) found their methods and their thoughtless racism profoundly disturbing. Incidentally, if you liked this book you'll also like his book of short stories, Kentucky Straight. I also loved his memoir, The Same River Twice.

As a long-time student of science, my jaw dropped when I saw this book on the shelf and I immediately gave over my credit card and rushed home with this book.

First, the bad:
The same old Politically Correct song and dance, ad nauseum. A female African scientific genius tries to help save the world from Christian "cultists" and white male capitalism. I've nothing really against this notion of a story, but modern sci-fi is just dripping with PC, and I sometimes dream of a holiday from it. My eyebrows raised when Baxter noted that the poor monkeys were driven to extinction by a hunger for monkey meat in Africa (that didn't sound very PC, plausible or no) but then he finally added that this was in large part due to "European" loggers and the threat of heterodoxy was laid to rest.

Also, some of Baxter's flights of fancy were a little too far off the beaten scientific track: intelligent dinos, air whales, and Antarctic dinosaurs.

However, all of these criticisms cover a small portion of the story and in and of themselves are not reasons to avoid the novel.

The Good:
Baxter obviously loves these little anthropolical stories he's woven together. They are informative and compelling. A previous reviewer found them boring, but not me. I've enjoyed them quite a bit. They are epic in scope and leave me dwelling on the science of the tales, long after they're over.

This book was a moving series of vignettes of life on earth from 65 million years ago into 500,000 million years into the future. I felt for the simians he explored, the lives they led alongside the dinosaurs, in the aftermath of the great mass extinction of 65 mya, in the forests and tundra in competition with other primates. I was blown away. In the end, I felt an incredible loneliness. And when a book takes me on these emotional rollercoasters, it's got to be great. There is a subplot of these replicator robots sent to Mars by humans; they reemerge later in the book in typical Baxter-esque understatement. Excellent stuff.

A giant, juicy book full of the classic SF sense-of-wonder. Stephen Baxter does nothing less than take us on a journey from the dawn of primate life -- Purgatorius, the first primate, which appeared just before the comet strike at the end of the Cretaceous -- to the far, far post-human future. There's a sweep to this that reminds one of the last section of H. G. Wells's THE TIME MACHINE, which isn't surprising, given that Baxter previously wrote a wonderful sequel, THE TIME SHIPS. EVOLUTION is an ambitious novel, and a very important work.

This must be my month for reading books by authors I'm not familiar with. This is my first book by Kat Martin and I have to say I enjoyed it.

Kate Rollins is shot one night in a drive by shooting. While being operated on, she dies on the table and begins her journey to heaven. She sees her mother, her fourth grade teacher, even a coworker who died unexpectedly the previous year. She also sees a woman who looks familiar who seems to be trying to tell her something. Then her journey stops and Kate is brought back to life.

The experience haunts Kate and she decides to make changes in her life. She quits her job, quits her marriage, and takes her son off to Montana to live in a house left to her by her grandmother. It turns out the woman in heaven that was trying to tell her something was her grandmother, a woman Kate had never met.

Kate reopens her grandmother's café and quickly settles into a new life. Into her life comes Chance McLain. He's the embodiment of a cowboy. Tall, good-looking, and owns the largest ranch around. A romance quickly flares up. Meanwhile, a mining corporation is illegally dumping chemicals that are killing the wildlife. Threats begin and Kate finds her life in danger and her romance gone flat.

I enjoyed this book. It was entertaining and one that I will pass on to my friends. If you're looking for romantic suspense, this is a good one.

Ms Martin knows how to grab a reader and hold on tight to the very end. Kate is trying to start her life over again. She moves from LA after almost being killed by a gang related shooting. She leaves her deadbeat husband and takes off to Montana with her young son. She finds herself loving the country life until someone wants her gone. Her Grandmother left her a small cafe and house in Montana after she died and now it seems her Grandmother's death might not have been an accident at all. With the help of sexy Chance McLain she is in a quest for the truth. Hard book to put down. Enjoy

I am a Kat Martin fan, and read whatever she comes out with. I was not disappointed!! This book was really good, a page turner from early on, for more than just the romance too. I really liked the depth of the romance, both the pain and joy. I loved the characters, both Kate and Chance, and David as well; they all had a realness and depth to them. The murder and suspense lines of the story were also well done. It kept me turning pages until well into the night because I just had to find out how it would all be resolved. My one complaint is the number of typos in the book. One here or there is no big deal, but there were so many that at times it interrupted the flow of my reading. Where were the editors?! Anyway, get this book, you will think of it well after you are done reading it.