John Talbot does a good job reviewing the reason why this war was fought. Algeria had been French since the early 1800s, and had a large settler population of one million. These one million settlers thought of themselves as French, whereas the other eight million people resident in Algeria thought of themselves as Algerians. Talbot describes the conflict between the FLN and the French Republic. Also described was the conflict of the OSS with the French and Algerians. Good review of the government program of all four governments of the Fourth Republic, and DeGalle's progress in resolving the Algerian crisis.
Talbot is a rather dry writer, so although this book was a good summary of the conflict, it was not a page turner.

This is a novel with a rich setting. Owen Sutherland is a former member of the Highlander Black Watch who was unfairly court-martial 18 years prior to the events of the novel. One feels for him as he must struggle with being both British and Indian, and yet not of either. He seeks vengance for the death of a loved one, only to find a possible new love. This is not a PC book, which makes it all for the better.

For anyone interested in finding out more about Juliette Gordon Low this is the next book to read after her biography. The author of Wau-Bun was Juliette's grandmother and was a very strong influence in the life of JGL. From her grandmother JGL acquired an independent streak that allowed her to break most social conventions of her time and instilled in her the desire to see girls and women achieve more. With this trait she would go on to found the GSUSA.
Additionally Wau-Bun is a first person account from a female perspective of the early life on the frontier of Wisconsin in the 1830's. It includes stories of disaster, war, and everyday life. Notable characters include, Jefferson Davis, Eleazar Williams, and Col. Wm Hamilton, the son of Alexander Hamilton. Wau-Bun includes an account of the Fort Dearborn Massacre, as well as stories about the early development of Chicago. The language is period but understandable. Overall the book is a fascinating glimpse into the settler's life on the Wisconsin frontier in the 1830's.

The illustrations are all from cut out paper -- very intricate and visually interesting. The story includes danger (readers should be ready to deal with drowning, and attack on a village by cannons from a ship). Has a message about grieving the loss of a good, native, natural life to the influx of crass europeans. Beautiful imagery about a brave and wise young woman. Has a suggestion of hope and holding on through hard times for a better future for us all.

Have used this book for over 15 years. It's strengths are its detailed descriptions of ebible plants and the excellent color photos shown. Its weakness lies in its failure to mention and show numerous common edibles that appear in other similar texts. All in all, though, a good reference handbook

It's hard to rate an opinion based on accuracy, so I'm rating this book on usefulness and general appeal.

In terms of general appeal, I have two major objections to this book:

One, it is heavily biased to woodland and foliage plants. This is fine to a point, but to bill it as "best bets for year-round gorgeous gardens" I think is misleading. We are talking about plantings where shape and texture dominate, and that is a rather specialized gardening challenge.

Two, this book is very region-specific in terms of the plants covered. The author and I both live in Zone 8, but she lives in the Pacific Northwest, while I live on the Atlantic Seaboard. The upshot of this is that, despite 5 years in the nursery business, I have never seen a great many of the plants in this book. They can, theoretically, be grown here, but good luck laying your hands on them. Mail order catalogs can solve this problem, but it is something to remember when considering this book.

In terms of usefulness, this is, as I've said, an opinion-based book. It's usefulness will be limited to how closely your opinions on what makes for a "gorgeous" garden matches hers. Do you prefer subtle presentation or ostentation? Will you take the time to appreciate small beauties, and do you have the patience and skill to bring those features out in such a way that those less experienced will be able to find them? Not my call; just remember that this book is about small details. A considerable part of each two page entry is devoted to making the case for _why_ a given specimen should be considered beautiful.

The long and the short of it is that this book is not for beginners. Nor, I think, is it a particularly good introduction to the more advanced forms of plantings. Overall I found that I either knew the plant to begin with (in which case I already had an opinion and didn't need hers), or the information provided --while detailed-- did not adequately convey to me the appearance of the plant. Unfortunate, since it is a book about selection, with relatively little to say about cultivation.

This book should come with a cautionary note: the author is a smug zone-8 gardener; unless you are in the Pacific Northwest, this book is useless as a gardening guide. Moreover, the author does not include USDA hardiness zones in the description, perhaps instead of the cutesy "sounds like" guide to pronouncing the latin name ("Epimedium" sounds like "stop the tedium".) Perhaps it did not occur to her that people from other regions of the country would read this book. For those of us outside the Pacific Northwest, this book should have been called "Plant this-- and watch it die." The illustrations are lovely, but the author's affected folksiness (most egregious example so far: "Yup") make this an extremely annoying read.

I once took a friend to a beautiful wild garden that had been planted (over many years) incredibly well. Since she is a fan of plants and gardens I had hoped that we could walk the grounds - quietly and appreciatively. Instead my friend chattered incessantly for the entire hour and a half we were there. Each plant provoked a monologue: anecdotes, jokes, asides, and factual material in an ultimately maddening cacophonous symphony. This book had the same effect on me. You are awed by the quiet beauty of Rene Eisenbart's paintings, you know that the plants described are great, but the text is so talky as to be distracting - and even annoying. If you enjoy a lot of off-topic opinions and chat about all sorts of things, then this is the book for you. If you want to study and enjoy beautiful plants in a quieter frame of mind, look elsewhere.

_Sarah Canary_ is the tale of a mysterious woman found in the Pacific Northwest in the days of the American frontier. She is dubbed "Sarah Canary" because she has no English, and possibly no language at all: her only means of communication is a peculiar warbling song which does not seem to mean anything at all: and thus, people who encounter her interpret it through their own experience and filters.

In SARAH CANARY, Karen Joy Fowler takes the reader on a haunting journey through a long-forgotten time and place, where Chinamen are almost as alien as women who cannot speak, where spiritualists have the power to command huge audiences and change lives. Yet, it is a time and place with repercussions for our time and place, and the book resonates with contemporary readers.

The mood and feel of SARAH CANARY stays with you for a very long time after you've put the book down: you may find that you want to go back and revisit it at a later date.

This is one of the best books I've read in the last five or ten years. It has a remarkable sense of place and person, very vivid, very sharp. So many fabulous bits! Interestingly, the novel's "realism" varies as the viewpoint gets farther and closer to the central character, Sarah Canary. Sarah Canary herself resists "objective" interpretation: we as readers, and the other characters in the book, share the experience of making of Sarah what we happen to project on her. Which is, in some sense, precisely what the book is "about", though the experience of reading it is a whole lot more than that.

I would recommend this book to people who enjoy literate science fiction, "slipstream" fiction, magic realism, and/or well-crafted prose. I would not recommend it to people who pick up their reading material at the grocery-store checkout line, who need everything explained, or who read to revisit one or another formulaic experience. Sara! h Canary is a unique, and uniquely delightful, read. Highly recommended to those who appreciate such things.

I recommend this book to everyone who asks me, "Have you read any good books lately?" I read this book about 7 years ago and very few novels match its depth of humanity and scope of the imagination. Sarah Canary, the novel, is an adventure with everything. Sarah Canary, the chracter, is a metaphor for the changing perceptions of human beings. Depending on the character's perceptions Sarah becomes a wild woman to be exploited, a victim of circumstances to be saved, a beauty to be admired. The introductory passages in which Fowler discusses the news events of America in the nineteenth century parallel the oddities of present day American current events - the love of the bizarre, the sensational, the surreal. Interesting to see how Fowler sees the novel as a retelling of The Wizard of Oz, something I wish I had caught on my first reading.

I really expected to like this book. I like John Hockenberry's work on NPR, and the subject matter is near and dear to my heart. But the novel just doesn't work very well. I think the author tries to weave 3 or 4 ideas too many into the plot, and the story and characters suffer as a result. The characters end of being cartoony, their motivations end up being very sketchy and unconvincing, and by the end I just didn't really care what happened. And as another reviewer points out, Mr Hockenberry glosses over an aftermath of immense contamination and suffering.
The only reason I'm giving it 2 stars is that his writing style and descriptions of scenery are good. Alas, that's not enough.

This first novel of Hockenberry is promoted as a thriller or a mystery. I think both of those designations do not do justice to this book. This book demands that the reader think, and it is hardly light and banal reading. As another reviewer has stated, the author uses 'stream of conciousness' which was very difficult for me to understand at first. There are so many characters involved with such different backgrounds, values, and belief systems...that at first it was extremely difficult to follow. However, this is one of those books that the reader must stick with and ultimately not only is it worth it, but after closing the book when finished, the mind is racing and wondering "Is this a real possibility?"

Hockenberry has the background as a journalist to acquire information about subjects that many writers do not have the ability to do. He takes full advantage of this to weave a story with a basis in reality that is shocking in its telling. Like most people, I know a little bit about all the topics he raises: the rights of Native Americans, our historical past concerning nuclear arms and nuclear energy, the prejudices that exists against people and their beliefs, the all too real tendency of corporations and government to discard their loyal workers after years of grueling and thankless work, and the environmental impact of our country's energy needs. This book greatly expanded my understanding of many of these topics, and piqued my interest in both the Northwest and the Native Americans from that area (I immediately went to the web to look up the dams on the Columbia River). To me this is a sign of a great book and a good writer. When people are moved to find out more about subject matters because the author has made it so interesting, then the author has more then succeeded.

I hope that Hockenberry continues to write, and continues to provide us with books that make us stop and think. Definitely worth the time and the money... Karen Sadler, Science Education, University of Pittsburgh

"A River Out Of Eden" sounds like it might be a very pastoral and peaceful novel about a beautiful river. Yes, the river is beautiful, and the country it flows through is likewise pastoral -- and the river is very real. It is the mighty Columbia. Hockenberry has done a great deal of research of the region. Many issues make up this fascinating novel about the Chinook native peoples, the dams on the river, white supremacists, a plutonium researche at Hanford, excessively heavy rain that treatens the strength of the dams. When people begin to show up dead by a strange but familiar harpoon, Francine Smoholla, a marine biologist who happens to be part Chinook Indian decides to do some investigating. This is a real page turner, well worth your time.

Scott Cookman's book on the "tragic fate of Sir John Franklin's lost Polar expedition" of 1845 provides a fascinating account of the times, the British Admiralty's politics, and the incredible known facts which surround this failed voyage. Cookman cites in his preface the encouragement of his parents in changing a well-paid advertising career to "take up the dubious path of the pen". Let me be honest in saying that Mr. Cookman needs either to refine his style or find a better editor,if he had one, because I was continually frustrated by repeated facts, sometimes within the same chapter in exactly the same words, and repeated phrases throughout the book when trying to make a point. This criticism aside, I salute Mr. Cookman for the amount of research he has done into an expedition from which only one sheet of paper was retrieved with two brief and cryptic messages written eleven months apart. All of his facts were woven into into a fascinating tale of a voyage of discovery to the fabled Northwest Passage by 2 ships and 130 men, tracking the extremities of attempts at survival from accounts of rescue attempts and recent archaelogical discoveries. Cookman has, he feels, uncovered the prime reason for the mission's failure in the incredible fraud perpetrated on the Admiralty by the supplier of tinned food for the expedition, one Stephen Goldner. Cookman's research into Goldner's methods of preserving food are every bit as morbidly fascinating as Upton Sinclair's expose of meat processing in Chicago. Except for the stylistic eccentricities, Cookman's book is a fascinationg read, and adds to the growing library of voyages and explorations gone bad.

This is the story of a fateful 1845 polar expedition that went terribly wrong. This was a British enterprise led by Captain Sir John Franklin to find the Northwest Passage using the most advance ships and equipment at that time. Now I am a complete novice when it comes to this subject matter however I found this book very interesting and it offered a compelling story of misadventure, bravery, corruption, and suspense.

I found that the author, Scott Cookman, presented his story in such an easy manner that the narrative just raced along and I lost track of time reading about this terrible drama. It must be stated from the beginning that the author has no direct testimony of what actually happen to this expedition since all involved died.

However Cookman has utilised the accounts of many other polar explorers to support his theory of what may have happened and to give graphic examples of the conditions these men laboured under during this expedition. Overall I found it a gripping account and although he may not be 100% correct in his deductions I found that it was quite believable.

Cookman has used a wide range of sources including material from the Public Records Office and the Admiralty in London. He takes the time to fully explain the means and methods used at the time for polar exploration and I fully enjoyed his account of the men and ships involved. This is a great story and the book has prompted me to learn more about the brave men who charted the Arctic and Antarctic regions before modern technology made all too easy.

The Arctic expedition of Sir John Franklin is one of the most infamous incidents in a series of infamous incidents that was Arctic exploration in the 19th century. This book retells his story, and the story of his men. In this, it is no different from the many other books on the subject, including Buried in Ice, a recent archeological study of the Franklin expedition. However, this book gives a name to the enemy: Stephen Goldner, who sold the canned food to the expedition. It is the perfect book for the novice, like myself, who just wants a basic overview of one of the more fascinating and tragic episodes in exploration history.

While the author does an admirable job of thoroughly outlining one particular version of the history of the ecological/conservancy movement and of the fallacious assumptions in the popular spiritually-overtoned meanings of "ecology" and "ecosystem" within the USA, obvious flaws in this book include the lack: of evidence for his own assertions, of positive elements in the history, of any alternative suggestions to the efforts he critiques, and of any acknowledged culpability for man due to man's science-enhanced unnatural fecundity and destructiveness or man's innate avarice.

While Chase does an admirable job here of blending a whole lot of intellectual history with a modern clash of ideology, one can't help but wonder who he is actually writing this for. At times insightful, others discursive, but always readable, it seems that the main point of this book is to sway the fencesitters and romantics in the big cities to not be so quick in sending a check upon viewing a demonstration on the evening news. Ultimately, Chase shows his hand by portraying the loggers of the Northwest as the victims, while the 'Earth First!ers' are their hedonistic nemesis bent on growing marijuana and making love in their idealized wilderness. These nefarious 'eco-terrorists' are the bad guys here, and the poor loggers clinging to the vestiges of family values are the tragic heroes of perseverence. Not exactly the critical analysis one would hope for. Nevertheless, if the reader transcends the obvious bias of the author (which seems to stem from left-over dissatisfaction and anger with liberalized 60's university politics) there are other, deeper messages well worth noting.

The main strength lies in his analysis of ecological 'science' and uncovering many of its inherant fallacies. The reader will do well to expand this theme in taking from this lengthy tome the lesson that far from being based on immutable laws, Science as a whole is as subjective as philosophy. Indeed, Science is in large part determined and shaped by philosophy. As such, while Chase spends much time debunking the environmentalists by discrediting the foundations of ecology, he ultimately hurts his own thesis by conveniently appropriating Science in justifying the plight of the logger. It is a catch-22 of sorts that Chase hides well, but he can not escape from it entirely.

All in all, it is a good read and certainly houses something for all. Those simpathetic to the logging industry will find little to disagree with, while those whose hearts lie in the ideal of pristine wilderness will come away feeling as though they've been chastized by their stodgy uncle. Somewhere in the middle is where this book has the most value as, despite the ubiquitous timbre of distaste towards environmentalists, it offers an intriguing critique of man's overdependance on 'Science' and his ability to manipulate it for whatever his or her ideals demand. Ultimately, the recognition that Science is inherantly a human construct shaped by our own capacities of comprehension demands that we stop and reconsider our motives for either cutting or saving trees, rather than simply relying on some numbers to make those decisions for us. That is the message that makes this book worth reading: Think, people, think....then act.

Alston Chase has written a wonderful book for those who want to know the truth about the environment, it's myths and realities. This is a scholarly book written like an adventure novel. It is obviously well researched and documented. . He tears through the myths and pseudo science and romanticism which has taken a theory bordering on a new science to a quasi religious/political philosphy. A man with impeccable credentials and the facts he cuts through sentiment and the dangerous dogmatic ideology of ecology looking for what the truth is re the environment. What he uncovers is a tyrannical mind set based on little more then romanticized nature worship. Without a clear and logical thought process in the search for the truth it will be difficult for future environmentalism to be relegated to anything but a "know nothing" philosophy demanding strict obedience to unproven bad science which in the end will work against saving the environment. He is right on when he says what we need are "livable communities", not enclaves of nature crammed next sprawling development. He also suggests that modern environmentalism is its own worst enemy and the very thing it does not want, unchecked development, is what it will get unless it becomes less romantic and more realistic. I have read the book 3 times and get something new each time. For those who want the truth and not propaganda. Be prepared to have some of your favorite environmental theories blown away. Enjoy the ride. I did.