Silas House can tell a story better than just about anybody writing today. He paints pictures with his words. His characters are real and heartbreaking and full of joy. I said all that when I read his first book, CLAY'S QUILT. But now that I've read his new one, A PARCHMENT OF LEAVES, I am absolutely stunned. It's the best book I've read in FOREVER and I've recommended it to everyone I know (and also bought copies for all my closest friends for Christmas) and everyone just absolutely loves it. So I think I'm safe in recommending it to you, Amazon customer, too. Silas House will be famous someday, but he should be already. I don't understand why this book hasn't been a blockbuster...it should be chosen by one of the talk shows (not because they choose the best books but because it gets some good books some well-deserved attention). READ THIS BOOK. It's beautiful

Following his well-received Clay's Quilt, Silas House continues to explore the meaning of family, love, home, and belonging. Unlike many popular novels today, House is never heavy-handed in his themes. A Parchment of Leaves unfolds itself as naturally to the reader as own lives unfold to us. His clear prose is welcoming and contains an undercurrent of description that reveals the simple beauties of the landscape and human relationships. The characters of Vine and Serena are so three-dimensional that you'll convince yourself they're real people. Curl up with your quilt, a cup of hot chocolate, and this book. Recommended for all readers, not just devotees of Southern literature.

"A Parchment of Leaves" was highly recommended to me, and I now highly recommend to all that want a brilliantly written, poetic, and moving story about love, life, and family. It is a beautiful story and one of the best books I've read in my life. It had me mezmerized and drawn in. The characters are all so amazingly real.
Tough yet tender Vine, of Cherokee descent, is the main character who we want to get to know, and we do as the story progresses. Thought to be a "witchy woman" by the townsfolk, she is soon discovered by Saul Sullivan. They fall in love. Vine is one of the best characters written in the English language. She springs to life so vividly, and you want to see good things happen to her throughout her life at "God's Creek" with Saul, once the get married and settle down.
You have to read this masterpiece to find out for yourself.
Thank you, Silas House! You are a literary genuis!

Keep reading, Eileen

Kephart's engaging, entertaining style does a terrific job of bringing realism to a heavily stereotyped people; his approach is balanced, illustrating the people's good and not-so-good characteristics with anecdotes (some hilarious) and facts. He provides historical and topological frameworks for the character of mountain people. He lived a bare-bones existence among them for several years and so his narrative is richer--and truer--than that of a drop-in-ask-get-out historian's. The book provides a realistic basis for understanding people of today's mountains, where personal background is often still important.

Kephart delivers the facts as they really were while avoiding any hints of "documentary reading". The story gives many real life events and the reader feels almost as if he's having a conversation with Kephart. A very vivid look into Appalachian life as it really was in the early 1900s.

I love Appalachia history and would rate this as my favorite book on the subject. I hated to see the book end!

For any one who is researching their family name of "Crawford and Rosebrook out of the White Mountains of New Hampshire and Vermont.
I have read this book several times and have learned a lot from it. I still continue to read it.
It took a considerable amount of determinaton from both of these families. They had the forsight to see the future and built on that.
Thorough good times and bad, they perservered.

So you like to hike and you like history but you don't know where to turn. Then look no further, there is a book that has both of that. This book will keep you in suspence and wanting you to read more of it.So know you have a book to read and you didn't even know it.

THIS BOOK WAS REALLY ABOUT A GUY WHO JUST WANTED TO FIND A TRAIL TO GET THROUGH THE WHITE MOUNTAINS SO OTHER VISITER OF THAT TIME COULD GET THROUGH. I THOUGHT IT WAS A GOOD BOOK FOR HISTORIANS WHO LIKE THE MOUNTAINS AND THE OUTDOORS. IT WILL WANT TO KEEP YOU READING TO SEE WHAT HAPPENS NEXT TO THE MAN. VERY STIMULATING AND KEEPS YOU ON THE EDGE OF YOUR SEAT.

This manual contains an abundance of real-life scenarios that give the reader a "feel" for the river. It shows by one example after another how complex the swiftwater rescue problem can become, and how sophisticated the rescue solution ought to be. The reader is challenged over and over to think things through and learn how to respond properly to various situations.

Although this book is not designed to serve as the primary instructional text for swiftwater rescue training, it should be required reading for such a program, and can be used as an adjunct to any swiftwater rescue curriculum

I picked up this book two weeks after I went on my first whitewater rafting trip because there was so much I didn't know about the river. This book gave me a great introduction to what the river is capable of and what to do if something goes wrong. If you travel the river, you should read this book or something of its quality. The book covers rescue equipment and rescue procedures and operations very well. Little did I know that a few months after I read this book I'd be on the Ottawa River and use these techniques to possibly save my life or serious injury. If it wasn't for this book and what I learned in it, I may have been seriously hurt on the McCoy Rapids. I don't know what I would have done without this book and I'm glad I didn't have to find out. If you whitewater kayak, canoe or raft, get this book or "Swiftwater Rescue". It may just save your life one day, hopefully you'll never need it. It's better to have the knowledge and not use it then to need it and not have it.

This book covers the basics of river rescue. It's not really an in depth book. You would definately benefit from a book about technical rope rescue. This book shows briefly how to make some rope rescue systems, but that's not really its strength. Some sort of first aid/emergency care manual and/or training should accompany this book because they go hand-in-hand.

This book is a neccessity for anyone who is a river runner! It not only covers rescue techniques from the gurus of whitewater rescue, Les Bechdel and Slim Ray, but it also covers ways that one can prevent an accident from happening in the first place.

Bruce Lessels did a nice job of augmenting Gabler's original work. This book will replace my dog-eared copy of Gabler's book in a place on honor on the backseat of my car. The extended depth and recent scouting updates on the river included within are great. My only complaint is that the pictures included in the book are not contained on the same pages of the river being reviewed. All-in-all a worthwhile purchase.

If you paddle whitewater in the northeastern United States, or intend to, this should be the first guide you purchase. Bruce has updated and extended Ray Gabler's venerable "New England White Water River Guide", greatly improving on that classic. You can supplement it with volumes of the AMC's state-by-state "river guide" series, which have information on many less interesting rivers, but there's enough here for a lifetime of delightful paddles.

This is easily one of the best adventures for D&D that I've ever seen. It's very imaginative, well-written, and has plenty of information for DMs. It's got just enough story backing up the hack-n-slash to keep players interested, and the final encounter is monumental. It's great fun to play for both DM and PCs.

The original S2 was one of the more clever and interesting A&D modules I ever read. Most of the others were just an excuse for hack and slash and grab the booty.

The original adventure encompassed more thinking and even a little negotiation which was uncommon in 1st edition AD&D.

So, that's why I'm happy to see a revision to the old module into a book form. This new edition has some very interesting twists and a big moral dilemma at the end which I thoroughly appreciate. It also has a method in it that potentially will ruin the lives of foolish PCs so DMs may want to be careful in playing this one out if their players aren't the thinking or cautious types.

Overall, there's a lot more room for negotiations in this series. I like that as I'm trying to push more roleplaying in my players. Moreover, the storyline is set up with four warring factions; all evil but I plan to change that to a few neutrals since the PCs in my campaign are all good and would never negotiate alliances with evil groups.

This game is great for an adventuring group from 7-10. I would add that they should be interested in thinking out possible traps and tricks and also be adequate (or better) at negotiations. The weapons may unbalance the game so make them either super evil, which means good PCs must destroy them, or have them destroyed at the climax (will make sense when you read it). Lastly, you may want to give the different warlords more allies as the module gave them a skeleton crew of thugs.

In my opinion, Return to White Plume Mountain is one of the very best adventure modules out there! It features a very clever central plot, realistic encounters, logical combat situations, and several opportunities to roleplay and interact with the dungeon's inhabitants.

This supplement provides very clear and detailed histories for both Keraptis and White Plume Mountain. The plot is unique, realistic, and intriguing. The effects of roleplaying and of interacting with the non-player characters is outlined. In addition, the dungeon crawl itself is not linear at all, allowing the players to roam at will. And the maps look great!

Although a lot of information is presented, the module can easily be altered or customized. There is no setting specific material, so White Plume Mountain can easily be inserted into any ongoing campaign. However, no addition work is needed to fully enjoy this adventure.

I have run this module with 3 separate groups of players, experiencing 3 very different, yet wonderfully memorable, adventures. Do yourself a favor, purchase Return to White Plume Mountain - it is worth every penny!

I expected this book to be a little more story like, i.e. no "technical references", but it was a good book nonetheless. A very interesting read.

This book holds special interest for folks of all ages. Those persons with no knowledge of these magnificent animals are instructed, through tales and humor, of how llamas think and why they respond as they do. Persons who have experience with llamas can identify traits of their own llamas throughout Dudley's story. It is fun and entertaining reading.

This is a wonderful children's book that parents will enjoy, too. It teaches lessons of tolerance and family spirit. The llamas are characters that everyone can relate to.

I have three books in my cabin. The Holy Bible, The Complete Walker, and The White Mountain Guide. They are all you need.

i actually read this book for fun. my copy is extremely dogeared and annotated. it is my guide to life.

This is indeed the bible of White Mountains hiking, and is particularly recommended for anyone attempting a multi-day hike and/or a hike above treeline. Not much I can add to what others have said, except that for casual hikes and dayhikes you should really check out White Mountains Map Book of New Hampshire and Maine (Hiking Maps and Guides) by Steve Bushey, Angela Faeth (Illustrator), Steve Smith (Editor), which has a superb map and brief descriptions of the most popular day trails.

This writer does more to explain the Appalachia of my parents and grandparents than anything I have ever read. I am a college professor too but I was born and brought up in the north. I never understood my parents' love for the area of their birth. Frankly, I was ashamed of it and always resisted going "home" as they insisted on referring to East Tennessee. Creeker has given me insights into the strengths of Appalachia without glossing over the weaknesses. I appreciate that. I hope this author is continuing to write about her roots because I am finally interested in discovering mine. This book is well-written and I just passed it along to my mother. Thank you, Linda Derosier, for your honesty and your willingness to let a city girl finally learn about "our people" in your Creeker.

Just before Christmas my husband and I saw this author speaking on BookTV and he called and ordered Creekers for me. I am glad I saw and listened to her before I read the book because I could clearly hear her cadences as I was reading. In a most unique writing voice she takes us along on her journey from an Appalachian Creek, to which she forever remains loyal, out into the wider world beyond. Though she speaks lovingly of her home in Appalachia, along the way this writer manages to show us the time and the place and the people without a hint of sentimentality or condescension. I particularly enjoyed her description of the metamorphosis brought about by her education. Her story is by turns funny and painful, sometimes simultaneously! Both my husband and I enjoyed this book, which is not the usual occurrence, though he liked the first half while I preferred the last half. We look forward to more work from this talented writer and we agree that she really should put this book on tape!

If you've ever thought about the consequences and significance of your life, your family and your home, then you are like me. And, if you're like me, then chances are pretty good that you'll count Scott-DeRosier's "Creeker" among your favorites. This is an interesting and gripping autobiography of a woman who is living the kind of life we all hope to live; it made me laugh out loud, reflect on the choices in my own life, and it moved me to tears -- all qualities of a book to be read more than once. In addition to all these strengths, Scott-DeRosier shared her Appalachian Mountain memories lovingly and candidly. Through her you will see what you've never seen before, respect people you might not have thought about before, and find reasons to hope for renewed community in our own lives. There was so much familiar in Scott-DeRosier's life story that I recognized those universal questions and truths that resonate in my own life, in all our lives no matter where we come from.

The slightest figment of hope, even when totally fabricated, may spell relief in an otherwise hopeless situation. Survivors of shipwrecks and other disasters have often proved the power of hope. Mourning their lost comrades who died in dispair, survivors recount how they continued to support themselves with fantasies of being rescued. Sometimes optimism, even if irrational, has greater value than more realistic approximations to truth.

Recently I was fortunate to read a book which helped me to experience this paradox in a novel way. Weeping Willow (Farrar Stroux) is a book I ordinarily would not have read. Working so much with the printed word, reading fiction is not something I usually choose for my leisure time. Moreover, this particular book was written primarily for teenage girls. It's the sort of book they'd love, detailing a young woman's coming of age within a poor family in the Virginia mountains, struggling to emerge from the last years of high school out into a larger world. I read the book out of respect for the author, Ruth White, who is one of A.R.E.'s librarians. It is her second book. I recall browsing through her first, Sweet Creek Holler, which won an American Library Association award as a Notable Children's Book. I had put it down because of the subject matter and presumed adolescent audience, but was haunted later by its deceptively simple style of writing and the mood the mountain dialect evoked. When Ruth gave me a copy of her new book, I immediately sat down and read it. As I was nearing the end of the story, I began to cry. I didn't know why I was responding this way to a "kids book" and felt somewhat embarrased with myself. By the end of the book, however, there was no holding back my uncontrollable tears and I was heaving sobs of release. Later that day I found myself blurting out to people feelings I would normally keep to myself. I could not deny that the book had exerted a powerful, if mysterious, effect on me. It remained on my mind for over a week as I pondered its meaning.

The tale is about a girl named Tiny whose prospects for the future are grim. Poverty, being needed around the home, and a lack of expectations in the community narrow her chances of stepping out. Her meager pickings are further sullied by the specter of incest by a step-father. The book handles this topic very gracefully but we can feel the depressing, life draining effects it has on Tiny. There is a happy ending, however. What turns things around? The book begins with a vignette showing how an unsympathetic school teacher forces a young Tiny to disavow her imaginary playmate, "Willa." Periodically through the story she tries to call Willa back, but to no avail. Only when she is in deep dispair over her encounters with her stepfather does Willa return to comfort her. Just as in many documented cases of real life victims of childhood abuse who find their companionable imagination and inner voices to have paranormal ablities, so does Tiny find Willa providing some special guidance that saves the day in a critical moment. By responding to her inner guidance, Tiny is able to face an important challenge and graduates from survival into the larger world of success.

I now know why the book affected me so profoundly. Several times in my life I have known hopelessness, whether through addictions, depression, or interpersonal tangles. I was saved from my first encounter with hopelessness almost magically. The second time around, however, I had to participate more actively in my own rescue. Through successive encounters I was learning, as has every wounded healer, Cayce's secret of transforming crisis to creativity. I discovered that I have an imaginary companion who has a special magic. The companion doesn't usually appear as a vision of a superior being, or as a fairy god mother, or even as a fairy. It usually comes first simply as "The One Who Listens." This friendly ear appears as I become willing to listen to myself. If I have to resort to basics, I get my journal and write how I feel and have an imaginary good listener write out, without judgment or interpretation, simply a "receipt" for what I said ("What I hear you saying is..."). The "One Who Listens" becomes the hint of a special companion. Receiving the gift of listening calms me, my feelings begin to unravel, and a natural intelligence appears. What was at first mere listening now becomes a gateway to wisdom, a companion with guidance. The acceptance of my feelings begins a process of recovery of the ability to hope.

Throughout most of the book, Tiny's attitude toward her life has a special quality. Even if only by dint of the author's use of a first person style, Tiny can acknowledge her feelings. Her breakout to success isn't all to Willa's credit. At a critical moment Tiny herself takes action. Hers is an act of listening. She listens to herself and she hears a clue her little sister's been giving her. Then she gets her mother to listen. These little acts of listening bring about significant change.

Sometimes we can feel too helpless to initiate change and, as Tiny and I both know, self-hatred may seem to be the only thing we can still assert. You may find, however, as we both did by listening even to our self-hate, that there is something good inside, a core untouched by life's wounds, that welcomes us home like the prodigal child returned to awareness. Accompanied by sweet and sour tears, sadness now recognized at a new level of acceptance becomes sadness now open to hope.

A book of fiction for children turns out to be not fiction at all, and not for children only. A simple truth, well told--I wish all my non-fiction reading were as valuable.

To read Henry's essays on other interesting books in the field of consciousness, spirituality, dreams

I remember reading this book in the 6th grade and it has been my all- time favorite book ever since! I love to read it over and over. I highly recogmend this book to anyone. I hope you get as much out of it as I have!

Too melodramatic, people have said. Yes, and we all know rape is, in real life, just a lovely stroll through the park, right? This is the best book I've ever read, and I'm not just saying that. If you like Weeping Willow, check out "When She Hollers and Kivrin