"The Roads of North Carolina" is an excellent resource for anyone who longs to get off the interstate highways. It's an accurate, essential tool for NC bicyclists because it shows whether roads are paved or unpaved. The atlas has largely reprinted NC DOT's collection of county highway maps. But they're edited, combined, and enhanced in a way that adds considerable value. I'd love to see the same treatment for Virginia and other states. "The Roads of North Carolina" works best as a companion to DeLorme's very useful "North Carolina Atlas & Gazetteer."

I found this book in a Marquette bookstore. If you are interested in waterfalls of Michigan's U.P. and photography this will probably be worthwhile. It is full of B&W photographs of various waterfalls. It is not the best reference guide for finding the waterfalls (for this look to Penrose's Guide to 199 Michigan Waterfalls). However, it is full of large format camera (i.e. sharp detail) pictures of the waterfalls. I personally think this is one of C.J Elfont's better efforts compared to his other books. In addition there are no other books which try to present the U.P.'s waterfalls with such nice photographs. For photographers there is nice documentation of the camera settings and type of camera used. Again it is all black and white photos.

This is a large hard cover coffee table book that covers many popular areas and locations of the Saginaw County area. The photos taken by Gary Bubliitz are from a new and fresh perspective making this book distinguishable from previous books about Saginaw of the same scale. The commentary from Greg Branch (a lifetme Saginaw resident) are both interesting and accurate and only add to the enjoyment of the book. The only drawback is that the scope of the book is limited to the businesses that funded the book which has left out many of the smaller companies that have made Saginaw the comunity which it is. Overall this book is still a must have for any Saginaw County resident or lover of Saginaw County past or present.

Dunn's invaluable book offers an impartial examination of historical basis of the conduct of our past presidents. Rather than taking the standard polemical swipe at one political party, this book succintly and usefully explores how the moral integrity and failings of previous presidents have much to tell us. By force of a clear, readable writing style, Dunn offers strikingly lively vignettes of each president to have served, and through this to deliver an authoritative narrative regarding the moral underpinnings of our culture and what should be expected of our leaders. Cutting through both the inanity and ideological preconceptions associated with most, if not all, of the writing that address the political scene, Dunn's detached, scholarly and firmly objective treatment of what he terms, "the seamless garment of personal and public morality" that underlies our nation's highest elective office, promises to enliven the commentary on this timeless topic. This book offers a history lesson that civic-minded individuals should assuredly encounter.

This is not a book for the casual reader -- the text on underwater archaeology can be somewhat dense and technical, and the listings of shipwrecks are encyclopedic, not narrative. However, if you are a wreck diver, shipwreck enthusiast or archaeologist, this is a useful reference volume. Marx's knowledge of the subject matter is obvious, though put to more enjoyable use in his books on the underwater excavation of Port Royal.

The only thing I don't really like about this book is the categorization. It discusses Napoleon, then skips to the industrial revolution, but then comes back to Napoleon again and the Bourbon restoration. In my opinion, history books should follow the chronology of history, and include everything from one time period in one section.

Many American literature textbooks cover the topic of Transcendentalism with selections from just Emerson and Thoreau. Why they don't include some of the essays of Margaret Fuller is a mystery, especially in our current age of political correctness and emphasis on diversity. She provides a woman's opinion of life in general and of the landscape and people of the Midwest in particular in this, her first published book.


_Summer on the Lakes, in 1843_ is first and foremost a travelogue of Fuller's tour of the Midwest, and we follow her to Chicago and Milwaukee and into rural Michigan, Illinois, and Wisconsin. Her trip not only predates her friends' visits to the same area (Emerson first came through by stagecoach in 1850, and Thoreau took the train in 1861) but it also offers more observations about the people and the living conditions out on the prairie. Fuller had more time to spend roaming and adventuring, and she seems to have been more interested in the local culture than the men later were. (Or perhaps Emerson and Thoreau figured that Margaret Fuller had already provided the world with descriptions of the region, so they need not bother.) Midwestern readers should particularly enjoy the historic look at familiar landscapes, written at a time when white settlements were just beginning to congeal and take hold.


Secondarily, Fuller focuses much of her writing on the plight of American Indians and also of women in general. She had read a great deal about the native people and seems disappointed to find that most of the Black Hawk War survivors had already moved west by the time of her visit. She also points a critical eye to the fate of the members of her gender who were helping to eke out a living on the prairie: "The great drawback upon the lives of these settlers, at present, is the unfitness of the women for their new lot." ... All domestic labor "must often be performed, sick or well, by the mother and daughters, to whom a city education has imparted neither the strength nor skill now demanded." (p. 38) And yet, many of the people she meets seem to be happy; and while life is hard and without most amenities, entertainment (even the occasional piano!) and merriment can abound.


The narrative tends to languish when Fuller digresses into long-winded stories of the plights of specific women she either knew personally or heard about second- or even thirdhand. While these plot interruptions get tedious to the casual reader, they are further glimpses of feminine life in the early 19th century. Seen in that light, they can provide interesting diversions to the travelogue.


Original illustrations by Fuller's traveling companion, Sarah Ann Clarke (sister of James Freeman Clarke) augment the text. This edition's introduction by Susan Belasco Smith helps to bring perspective to the trip and the writing. Recommended especially for residents of northern Illinois and to anyone interested in Midwestern history, transcendentalism, or women's studies. [This reviewer was an Illinois resident when these comments were written.]

This is a wonderful book to pick if you are looking for a great selection of symbols, from a variety of tribes and regions. The pictures are intricate and rich in detail. Included next to each symbol are an explanation, a story, or legend for a more informative reading. There is also a section on totem animals with a brief explanation on how to find your own totems. And in case you don't know which particular region a tribe is from, the author has included a rough map in the back for this purpose. I would also recommend "Authentic Indian Designs", edited by Maria Naylor.

The book is about the emigration of the Burlend family from rural England to the wilds of Illinois in the 1830s. It gives us a glimpse into the life of this family through the eyes of Rebecca Burlend...the decisions to be made, the sorrow of leaving home for the unknown, and the hardships they would face once they arrived in the new world. As a decendent of this courageous woman and her family, I am proud to recommend this book.

This book has a collection of interesting bike rides of varying lengths and difficulties. All rides have information on point-to-point mileage, nearby attractions (including Dairy Queens for stops on the way), and terrain/difficulty. The routes are great (have ridden several already), but the maps are only good to a certain level of detail. Bring a street-level map (and maybe a compass) if you don't know the area. If you are a recreational biker in the Twin Cities, this is a must-have.