Laurel Hasper has made up her mind what she wants to do with her life and who she doesn't want to do it with. But God has a way of revealing his plans for her life. Will Laurel leave Alaska to go to college and then build a career? Or will she stay and marry? And if she marries, will it be Robert? Or Adam? I liked this book, not only for the unfolding of romance, but also for the insight about the people who settled Matanuska Valley and the perils they had to overcome, including Ray Townsend who doesn't want anyone moving into his valley who doesn't suffer as much as he did when he first came. This story is a must read.

It is the time of the Great Depression. Drought has destroyed the land and many farmers are forced to make desperate decisions in order to survive. In Valley of Promises, we trace the journey of Will Hasper and his family who leave their home and most of their possessions behind to join a colony of settlers in the far off Matanuska Valley of Alaska. The move involves sacrifice, heartbreak and loss. As they struggle to carve a new life from an untamed land, they must trust in the promises and provisions of God. Woven through the pattern of history and human drama, is a thread of romance that draws the reader into the very heart of each character. A great read. I can't wait for book number two.

It's been, oh, let's say about five to ten years since I read this book. But I remember it and I remember LIKING it. There's a part about a wanna-be painter who spent nearly his whole life learning a single brush-stroke. A samurai who lost his sword. Two samurai that come to a village where someone is cutting down the cherry trees. I don't even know why I picked this book up in the first place, but I liked it. I wouldn't say I'd put it in my personal library, but it is a good book nonetheless, especially if you're a kid. When you get older you can give Shogun a try, but for now, this will do.

This book, while not the best in the series, is still reallygood. I'm really mad that the entire series is out of print. I wishmore people would read these fun books.

The stories in this collection push the reader to the extreme edge of darkness--and sometimes beyond. Valley of the Shadow is not for the squeamish or weak of heart. Characterized by a highly visual style, every story builds to a dark, often disturbing crescendo. Stories are carefully crafted, and main characters are generally well developed.

The short stories in Dr. Logsdon's collection are at times disturbing and at times horrific but always enjoyable. Set primarily in Las Vegas, Oregon, and Southern Idaho, the stories follow characters from all walks of life--strippers, college professors, spinsters, hit men, rednecks, impressionable teenagers, and more. More significantly, though, most of these characters have reached a crisis point in their lives and must decide forevermore on the fate of their souls...

A very strong Christian ethic informs the imagery and the themes set forth here, and not by accident. Dr. Logsdon is intent on showing the spiritual side of the crises that the characters undergo and in so doing places a great importance on the soul as the agent of choice as well as the object of the forces fighting within each character. If the characters choose to uphold their faith in God and listen to the warnings of their souls, they are saved, even if they are killed. But if the characters choose to be faithless and ignore the warnings, then perdition awaits them.

Dr. Logsdon also injects some very dark humor in his stories, most noticeably in "Dog-Fightin' Fool," "Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John," "Naughty Jane Austen," and "The Night Uncle Willy's Car Caught on Fire on the I-95." But in all these stories, the reader is bound to be intrigued by the struggles each character must face. I heartily recommend this collection for serious readers of dark, horror-laced fiction.

This is my second book by Mr. Leib. I find him to be a great author and holds not only the war,but America in context of the 60's. There is no doubt to any of us that lived through that era that the war, the country, and our people were surely at risk. America as we knew it had to change and luckily it did. Let us hope that history will not repeat that era. I will read all his books as his insight is great.

When read with it predecessor, Liebs "The Fire Dream", this book provides the best of worst of the Vietnam War in a moving account of the life of a soldier as seen through the eyes of a man who wants to live and let live yet is forced to kill. I have never read a more realistic account of what it was like to be there and am doubtful that I ever will.

This is the best book I have read in a very long time. It is funny, it is heartwarming and truly portrays the sacrifice, love, and dissapointment that are part of a marriage now. I laughed and I cried. It offers an excellent glimpse of rural live and pioneering. After I read it I felt grateful for all that I have and had a greater perspective and sense of happiness.

Here's a book that deservedly won the Seal of the Idaho Centennial Commission. It's a well-written biography of a matriarch who lost her husband to cancer in the early 1900's and then had to raise her six children on a dry farm in the great Gentile Valley of Southeastern Idaho. Anyone who loves stories of the West and well-written biographies will enjoy this story.

Frederick Nolan is, by far, one of the top-notch writers living today dealing with the subject of William Bonney (Billy the Kid). Even though Nolan makes his home in England you wouldn't know it by reading his material; he's a man of the west and that west is Lincoln County, New Mexico.

I've studied the Kid's life since my first visit to Lincoln in 1969. As a young boy standing at the foot of the stairs in the Lincoln County Courthouse, I saw firsthand evidence of the Kid's desperation to live; a bullet hole in the wall. This resulted from the Kid's dramatic escape, while being held prisoner in the Courthouse, on April 28, 1881. He shot at deputy James W. Bell and missed, hence the bullet hole in the wall. The Kid's next shot found its mark and Bell stumbled out the back door before he died. The Kid's next act is pure Hollywood except it's true. Still shackled by ankle, the Kid made his way to the Sheriff's armory, grabbed a shotgun and moved toward the window facing northeast on the second floor. There he waited for Deputy Bob Olinger. I'll have Nolan tell the rest of the story.

Nolan's book is filled with many fascinating photos of the places and people during the Kid's life. Many photos are comparison shots of the places then and now. Nolan has dedicated many years researching this story and tells it with passion. I highly recommend THE WEST OF BILLY THE KID.

A pencil drawing of my great, great, great uncle is in this book. My family knew Billy and Pat Garrett. Both spent nights at my great, great grandfather's ranch prior to the killing of Billy. My family was present during the drama, the Lincoln County Wars, and the governorship of Lew Wallace. Maybe I am not an expert on Billy the Kid, but I feel I have right to a few opinions via ancestry and old family stories. One opinion is that good solid research on the Kid is hard to come by. I have been hardily disappointed by many books that portray him either as a complete socio-path or as a half-wit misled by circumstance. This book does the best of any I have encountered in placing Billy in a mileau, a time, a place. The resultant sense of having been there and having seen the interaction of real people with complex motives is the reward. This volume has many photos and inset personals on the people whose lives surrounded Billy's. It is a study of a man in context, and therefore, is a study, too, of the time. Thank you, Frederick Nolan, thanks for giving me and my family the Billy we always knew existed, the Real Billy.

When Miners Sang by Gage McKinney is a terrific book for anyone interested in Christmas music, folk music, California history, mining history, or the history of the Cornish in Grass Valley. There is something of interest for almost anyone. The book is clearly well researched, complete, scholarly, and thoroughly documented. The marvelous thing is - it is also a compelling narrative written with style and brio. I found it to be both an enjoyable and an informative read.

Fascinating accounting of local history! While covering the facts about the singing group over many years, the author has given us a picture of the lives of Cornish people who traveled around the world to settle in a small foothill gold mining town in California. Recently the connection has been made back with families in Cornwall to complete the circle. The choir has been a vehicle to tie the families together. It is so important to get these stories written down before they disappear. Thanks to Gage McKinney for doing that!

I am a student of history and local history is especially interesting to me so I love the Arch Merrill books. His writing style is informative and at the same time very easy to read. Every time I travel to Letchworth Park I am reminded of this book and Merrill's vivid description of the beauty and the story of Mary Jemison. Merrill's books should not be out of print because they are the most valuable resource we have in keeping the history of Western New York alive! I aspire to write local history in the tradition of Arch Merrill and I respect him as a role model.

I recently re-read this Arch Merrill classic. His use of language has a flair that is rarely experienced in modern novels. He paints a picture of the Western New York locales that I, as a native, find to be accurate yet remindful of a time when these hills, valleys, and the gorge of the Genesee River must have been so pristine and even more beautiful than today. Merrill tells of the raw truth of savage times without the gore that modern stories find necessary to include. He leaves much to the imagination while describing a multitude of detail. I love the book and the authors quaint style.

What a good enjoyable book. This is how archaeologists should try to write most of the times. A book on a little known part of MExico, archaeologically, written in plain english. It provides a great overview of the origins and the rise of Zapotec Civilization until the abandonment of its main site at Monte Alban ca 700 AD. It also provides a refreshing new approach called actin theory, viewing history as determined by the actions of real people, not untangible forces of the environment or society. Classic.

I really, really, really liked this book. If I could have given it 6 stars I probably would have! The authors of Zapotec Civilization have covered the field nicely for this small segment of the perhistoric Middle American world and have set it clearly amidst the other contemporary cultures of the region, most notably that at Teotihuacan. Kent Flannery is one of THE names in the field of Middle American anthropology and archaeology and the quality of the volume shows why. I am less knowledgeable about Ms Marcus, although the vita provided by the book itself suggests an impressive intellectual treasure here as well. I enjoyed the volume enough to keep it to read another time. A rare kudo, believe me.

Did you ever think about leaving your life as you know it, in order to explore a spiritual thirst half way around the world? It takes courage and committment, but the rewards can be priceless. The author tells a story that is personal, inspirational, and rewarding. Her easy to read style grabs your attention and holds it for 120 days. Enjoy the journey. The Gods will be with you.