Though the terrible war for Independence is over in the colonies, now the United States, the war in Nathanael "Fox" Carter's life is just beginning.

Just after the war, Fox and his mother, Awinita, get news that a family member was killed in the last battle of the war. Soon tragedy strikes and Fox inherits a plantation. But will greed overcome his uncle Naaman who's furious because Fox inherited the plantation. Fox and his mother fear for their lives so they escape over the Misty Mountains.

Hannah Spencer soon befriends Fox. Fox gets to explore his Indian side of his ancestry. He meets the Indians Akando and Adahy and they teach him the ways of the Indian. Little does he know his mother and Akando have a past together. Sequatchie also becomes a big part of Fox's life.

Fox soon becomes unsure of his feelings for Hannah and not knowingly is really in competition for her with another man. All the while Fox struggles with his faith and heritage. Little does Fox know that both sides of his heritage have plans for him and they may not bed good.

Will Watauga ever become a state? Will Fox choose the right path for himself?

This is a wonderful edition to the Spirit of Appalachia series. Fox was a wonderful character to bring into the series. Fox made the plot twist and turn with the people he brought into the plot with him. Well the plot was wonderful and I strongly suggest the book

One of the things that I love best about Gilbert Morris are his historical settings. I love American History and enjoy the fictional stories that revolve around fact. This book was not as satisfying as his other books in the series, but it was still very good and enjoyable. I'm looking forward to the next one.

These books are of the typical Gilbert Morris genre. Admit it, we all pretty much know what will happen in the end. Don't get me wrong though, it's a fun read. I love U.S. history. Somehow though when I'm reading out of the history book, only faint dusty pictures come to mind. Not with this series! Famous historical figures like Daniel Boone and the Little Carpenter take on a life and a magic of their own. Gilbert Morris manages to give these people a good dusting! Makes me kind of lonely though. I seriously doubt that there is my own Hawk, Jacob, Andrew, or Seth out there. Guess I'll have to wait and see...I recommend you read this series. It puts new light on age old things!

Smith is not an Indian, although he claims to be. If you know anything about him, you'll know that he might be about 3 % or less Choctaw, but that has not even been documented. Yet he continues to make a huge deal out of it, as if it somehow makes him informed enough to write a book about Indians. The worst thing about this book is that is is told mostly from the white point of view. What is told from the Indian point of view (and there is precious little of that) suffers from Smith's fixation on the Noble Indian idea. Smith includes art from all these white artists who also had fixations on the Savage/Noble Indian...this is the kind of book that white readers will like, because it's not going to make them too uncomfortable. I suggest that Smith lose his white sources and read up on history written by those who were the most affected by the Removal: Native Americans. And get some humility: just because you might have a tiny bit of Indian blood does not make you qualified to write a book about the most humiliating chapter in American Indian history.

"THE CHEROKEE LOTTERY [is] a magnificent sequence that celebrates the Indians of the famous Trail of Tears....This is as fine in its way as similar poems by Robert Penn Warren, and it is an appropriate poem to have been written by a former Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress." --World Literature Today
"Smith accomplishes a remarkable poetry of fact and documentation..." --Publishers Weekly
"The richness of these poems makes the multi-layered task of memory a luxurious task." --Real Change
"William Jay Smith has been one of our best poets for more than sixty years, and THE CHEROKEE LOTTERY is his masterwork: taut, harrowing, eloquent, and profoundly memorable." --Harold Bloom

William Jay Smith was unknown to me as a poet or author before I picked this book up in a local library. "Cherokee Lottery" is an exceptional and refreshing book of poetry, a real pleasure to read. There is nothing tedious and overwrought here. The book begins with an invocation, and obviously the muse served the writer well. Each poem presents a chapter of historical fact and allows the reader to digest it without dipping into excessive negative pathos. The reader is brought to a new awareness of just what the plight of the southeastern Indians was. William Jay Smith has a great feel for language and how it sounds. In many ways I think this is the book of poetry I have been waiting to read for years. Now I want to read everything else he has written.

Lovely, classless, 'B' movie, over-the-top pulp horror. In short, I loved it. Conley joins the ranks of gifted new authors such as Harry Shannon (Night of the Beast) who are trying desperetely to revitalize the horror genre by turning back the clock to the kinds of books we all used to know and love as kids. He deserves to be read, and I hope more books follow.

Conley,a native American,is mostly known as a Western writer-and for my money,is a good one.In Brass he tackles the horror tale retaining the West as a setting and stirring into the mix the fashionable themes of ecology and Native American lore.
It opens in a small mid -Western town where a major environmentaL project,railroaded through Congrees by an opportunistic politician ,is about to get underway.This involves the draining of a fetid stretch of water and the reclaiming of the surrounding area for tourism and recreation.Project leader Joe Shelby is uneasy from Day one;buried in the middle of the water is a pole,guarded by two crows whose hostility towards the workers on the project is active and violent.Joe pulls out the pole.Big mistake .
The pole is impaling Brass or Untsayi,an ancient Native American demon,and shape shifter out for revenge and the satiation of his desires.
Cue much shape shifting --alligator,bear,human- as the good guys hunt him down but not before he mates with a teenage runway and wreaks havoc in Vegas prior to a lively climax where the heroes try to return him to the watery prison
Its slick and utterly unpretentious written with pace and elan.
I enjoyed it and veture to suggest devotees of pulp horror will have themselves a good time reading it too.
The best of Conley is to be found in the Westerns but this is good too

Conley (winner of the Beginnings of Horror Award) uses an ancient Indian myth of Untsaiyi (Brass). Brass is a monster with metallic skin, one of the original beings who lived before humankind walked the earth. He is immortal and can change form at will (for example, into a grizzly bear, a bat or even a boa constrictor). Brass was captured thousands of years ago, spiked by a wooden post through his belly that secured him to the ocean floor, and watched over by two crows who perch on the top of the pole. But now the beach where he lies is under development, and Brass is unknowingly released. The novel follows Brass, and the subsequent carnage he creates, as four human hunters pursue him. And this isn't just a senseless monster on the rampage type story - every death that occurs happens for a reason, and to be honest, there were times I felt on the side of Brass.

Overall, this is an exciting, unpretentious horror novel, with well-developed characters (especially Judith Ann, the runaway 16-year-old who teams up with Brass) that readers of all ages should enjoy. Perhaps the only thing I question is the wooden pole that was used to trap Brass - why didn't it rot after so many years? Perhaps it can't?

Readers might be interested in the British horror writer Stephen Laws's 'The Wyrm' which has an ancient monster trapped by a gibbet through its body.

I like the novel by Jean Hager. In my opinion it is interesting and realistically written. There are many dialogues so you can really 'see' the different characters and come to conclusions as to how they are. Molly Bearpaw is a likeable character. Hager shows contemporary Cherokee life through Molly's eyes. Due to Hager's knowledge regarding the Cherokeee Nation she pays meticuluous attention to geographic and cultural details. Her novel is full of local colour. Throughout the novel the author shows us Native American traditions and beliefs. Nevertheless, her novel is exciting, too. Until the very end you can never guess who the murderer is. It is like in Agatha Christi's detective novels. Hager knows how to put a good plot together, therefore I think the novel is a good one.

I am a German pupil of English in the 13th form who had to read The Spirit Caller in class in 1999. I found the novel easy to read because Hager uses a lot of direct speech and short main clauses which make it easy to understand. The characters are described with a lot of details. Those are helpful to visualize the persons. I believe the novel is exciting, because the reader is hooked by the plot. You get to know almost nothing about Talia Wind's murderer at first. The investigator Molly Bearpaw has got several suspects, but the murderer is only found at the very end. It is interesting, too, that the storyline has got several parts. Molly Bearpaw sees her father for the first time after 25 years plus the unravelling of Wind's gruesome death.

I believe this novel is very interesting. It contains elements of love, crime, Cherokee culture and a lot of mysterious details. Hager vividly describes the lifestyle and the tradions of the Cherokees. Most of the details taken from culture and geography which are used in the novel are realistically drawn and not ficticious. There are numerous dialogues which help us to understand the characters' motivations. The plot of the story is full of suspense. Until the end you never know who the murderer is. The mysterious element is provided by the ghost in the library. I believe the novel is a good one because it contains so many different topics.

Work on the Cherokee hospital is continuing, but something strange is happening. Someone keeps tearing the newly placed boards down during the night, and everyone is getting frustrated that the work is not progressing. So Mandie and her friends set out to find the culprit.
But things get darker and darker. Joe disappears, and then Mandie and Sallie are kidnapped and imprisoned in a hole in the ground, where they find Joe hurt badly. Will they ever get out and get Joe to help? Find out when you read this book.

When I read this book, I had a creepy sensation that something was missing. And after reading it over a few times, I haven't pinpointed what is missing. Nevertheless, this book makes for excellent reading. Pretty suspenseful at times.

This was a rather interesting Mandie Book. In this one, thegold Mandie and her friends found is being used to build the hospitalfor the Cherokees. Mandie wants to see how the project is coming along, but nothing is done! It turns out that the builders work all day, and a night watchman keeps an eye on it after dark. But continually, the watchman is beaten up, gagged, and someone tears all the walls down. Who could be doing this? No one knows, because the watchman is continually beaten up. Mandie decides to figure it out, but in the meantime, Joe gets kidnapped! Then she and Sallie do. They do solve the mystery, though. Is it Ts'ani? I'll never tell...

This was a rather interesting Mandie Book. In this one, the gold Mandie and her friends found is being used to build the hospital for the Cherokees. Mandie wants to see how the project is coming along, but nothing is done! It turns out that the builders work all day, and a night watchman keeps an eye on it after dark. But continually, the watchman is beaten up, gagged, and someone tears all the walls down. Who could be doing this? No one knows, because the watchman is continually beaten up. Mandie decides to figure it out, but in the meantime, Joe gets kidnapped! Then she and Sallie do. They do solve the mystery, though. Is it Ts'ani? I'll never tell...

I feel that "Soft Rain" doesn't depict the happenings of the Cherokee Trail of Tears very well. I guess I was looking for more detail. Don't buy this book unless it's for a child; this would be a good book for children.

This book tells about a young girl traveling west with her family and the trials they go through. I believe this book is a awesome book that you should read because it gives you a child's view of the Trail of Tears.

Soft rain is a good book. Soft rain lives in a village and the white men made them movie to the west and they don't want to move to the west I think it is a good book you should read this book if you like Indians.

The book is delightful to read and full of dialogue which brings Dragging Canoe to life. I was disappointed with the sketchy description of the battle of Buchanan's Station which was the turning point of the Cherokees as a main force in the area. The arrival of a large force driving off the Indians is not supported by other historic writers.

Until I was 15 years old, I lived in Oklahoma and was vaguely aware that I was part Cherokee. Beyond learning that Sequoyah, (inventor of the Cherokee alphabet), was part of our family tree and that my great, great grandmother came to Indian Territory via the infamous Trail of Tears, I knew little of Cherokee history. I learned in school that the Cherokee Nation, (one of the 5 Civilized Tribes), welcomed the white man and eagerly took up their ways. As a youngster, I was disappointed that my indian ancestors were not more like the exciting and famous indian warriors that stood up to the white invasion into their land. Although on one hand I was disappointed, nevertheless I was proud that at least I had some Native American blood in me. In reading Robert Conley's, CHEROKEE DRAGON, I learned that the Cherokee Nation did have a Warrior Chief who chose to stand and fight against the "confiscation by treaty" of their homes and land. Conley's historical chronicle of Dragging Canoe and the conflicting decisions that faced tribal leaders gives a balanced insight and understanding of the Cherokee politics of the time. Conley does not attempt to defend the new "Americans," and likewise, he offers no defense of the Cherokees, neither those that chose peace nor those that chose resistance. I grew to appreciate and respect the thoughtfulness and reasoning that went into their decisions. Conley presents a portion of Cherokee history that took place before, during and after America's War of Independence, through the eyes of those who became known as The Real People. CHEROKEE DRAGON is a most enjoyable page turner!

Although I really enjoy Cassie Edwards, this was not my favorite of hers. I did like this book, as I have all the books I have read by Cassie Edwards. I just had a problem with the story line. The idea of Shayless coming back to earth as an Angel, instantly falling in love and then being granted another chance on earth, was a bit much. Once I got past all that, I did enjoy the book. Cassie Edwards can tell a tale that keeps the pages turning. I do enjoy how the bad guys always seem to get it in the end.

this book keeps you interested from the start, great book to read

Spellbinding! Captivating! Wonderful display of different religions and practices. I love the way she put God in play with Shaylee and the fact that she had to learn to forgive to find her child. Then Standing Wolf had to learn to forgive wrong doers and learned to believe that there was God and not just a Great Spirit. I love the way the story line displayed the loving way that tribes would accept not only members of other tribes but whites as well. Whether they be child or adult, male or female. Standing Wolf accepting not only a white son but also a enemies son was wonderful and true of nature of the Cherokees. Thank you Cassie for another wonderful book that took all of 7 hours to read because I couldn't put it down.

This book was really really borring

Bartram's "Travels" is an odd, idiosyncratic, and highly original book. There is really nothing else like it in all of English or American literature. Certainly there are scads of chatty travel narratives by later explorers who wrote of more exotic regions and more dangerous adventures, but there are none I can think of that rise to the level of Bartram's. Its rich and colorful images, the poetic quality of its language (in places), the strange juxtapositions of prosaic discussions of the habits of certain animals or features of certain plants with profound analogies between the physical world and the spiritual realm, and the narrator's frequent speculations on the meaning of human existence and humanity's relationship to nature and the creator mark it as distinct a contribution to American letters as Melville's "Moby Dick."

The world Bartram writes of is late 18th-century (just after the American Revolution) Southeastern America: mostly East Georgia and East Florida. Some of the places he visits, if you are a Floridian or a Georgian, you will recognize: Augusta, Savanna, the St. John's River, the area around Gainesville, Archer, and Micanopy; the Suwannee River and its tributary springs (specifically Manatee Springs). Below Savanna, it is a sparsely populated wilderness inhabited by various Indian tribes (such as the Seminoles and Muscogulges) and where whitetail deer, racoons, black bears, rattlesnakes, alligators, turtles, and various species of bird and fish grace the fields, woods, lakes, rivers and streams.

If you love good descriptive writing infused with a passionate appreciation for natural beauty, you will be moved by Bartram's descriptions of Florida, which comes off in the book, quite convincingly, as a sort of prelapsarian paradise. Bartram entering Florida is like Adam going back to the garden of Eden before the fall (I am admittedly a little biased, being a native Floridian): he sees seemingly endless vistas of sawgrass and sabal palms under amethyst skies, crystal-clear springs of the purest water bubbling up out of the forest floors, emerald hammocks of palmetto, sweetgum and cypress; groves of massive liveoaks and wild orange trees. All of this is taken in and recorded in an attitude of childlike wonder, and a deep awe and respect for the mysterious but benevolent power that fashioned all of it. Bartram is a scientist (botanist), able to engage (sometimes, to the detriment of the book) in detailed discussions of biology, so his effusions about the majesty of the deity seem all the more genuine and sincere.

Lastly, what endears the book to many of its readers, I suspect, is the personality of the author. The "William Bartram" of the book is a kind, gentle, reverent, simple, generous, tolerant, and quiet person. The great thing is, he doesn't really tell us about himself--we get an idea of what he is like mainly from his observations on the people and things he encounters. His Quaker faith in the wisdom and omniscience of God undergirds all of his observations and speculations.

Regarding the book's place in literary or intellectual history, it stands at one of the turning points when one episteme is giving way to another. In the "Travels" we can see the influences of the Enlightenment: an emphasis on empirical observation and data-gathering, and the emphasis on the role of reason in securing man's betterment--but at the same time we can see the influences of the then-ascendant Romantic worldview: a belief in the "noble savage," that all people are basically good but corrupted by institutions, and a pantheistic sense (looking forward to Wordsworth) of God as immanent in nature.

Belongs on the shelf with Jefferson's "Notes on the State of Virginia," Thoreau's "Walden" and "A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers", the "Journals" of Lewis and Clark, and Melville's "Typee."

This Dover edition is the best buy out there. It has an attractive cover (some unknown artist's rendition of a Florida hammock) and has all the illustrations included, plus Mark Van Doren's short but helpful introduction. It's also a very durable volume--you can keep it in your rucksack to pull out and gloss over choice passages as you hike the wilderness trails of Florida.

This is a wonderful book for anyone interested in the nature, landscapes, Indians, and early settlements of Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, and Tennessee around the year 1775. I haven't read this book in about 10 years, but I do remember checking it out of the library about 3 times, and I'm going to buy it for my birthday. The landscapes the Bartram describes will by and large never be seen again. Bartram described seeing a 45 square mile forest made up of nothing but magnolia, and dogwood trees. He saw forests that were covered by grapevines for miles. The trees were sometimes 20 feet thick, and the grapevines were so old that the vines were more than a foot thick. He saw canebrakes that covered miles, and some of the bamboo cane was 40 feet high. Canebrakes are practically extinct as an environment. He saw virgin forsts, abandoned Indian fields, overgrown Indian villages, open pine savannah forests, and uninhabited swamps. He saw wildlife which today would be scare, or extinct. He reported seeing a bobcat stalk a turkey. He pleaded with a market hunter not to kill a mother bear, and lamented the reaction of the bear cub to it's mother being killed. Bartram also reported seeing wolves, and bison skulls from recently killed buffulo. Bison were just rendered extinct in eastern Georgia at that time. Bartram took literary licence with some events. He exaggerated his encounters with alligators in Florida. After enjoying a meal of fish, rice, and oranges from the Spanish missionary orchards, he battled "fire breathing dragons." Bartram had many encounters with the Creeks, and Cherokees, and most were friendly. He feasted with Indian cattle raisers. Bartram also gives a good account of early settlements. If you decide to get this book, also get a copy of a tree guide with the scientific names, because Bartram tells exactly what kind of trees he came across in each forest. What I wouldn't give to see what Bartram saw?

I found the information for a 1988 Jeep Cherokee to be vague, superficial, and many times, incorrect. This might be due to production changes in the 1988 year. In looking for information on automatic transmissions, ignition system, engine control computer, or transfer case dissasembly or repair, the book says that this is beyond the home mechanic. Well, few other repairs even require a book for anyone with reasonable experience. I believe they are copping out. It was not worth reading.

Not bad, but get the Factory repair service manual, which is more accurate. Some wire diagrams are different.. good for the newbie, but better get some advice first, like Always use Quadra-trac fluid
in Transfer case, never anything else, the Friction cones will not tolarate it, since it is a full time 4 wheel drive. ( from 73-79 borg -warner)

As a beginner in home car mechanics I found this book very helpful. It helped me already with understanding my Jeep Wagoneer '73 (V8, 360). And I used it to replace the powerbrake booster, the powersteering pressure line, rear suspencion leaves, door window, door lock and so on. New jobs are coming and this book wil help me, I sure...