This book was a wonderful insight into the mind of a woman and artist in the early twentieth century. Growing Pains follows the story of Wanda Gag from age 12 to 22 or 23. It is fascinating to see how different life was at that time, and watch a woman with vast creativity and talent as she struggles to survive the poverty of her childhood. How poignant the destitution of her early years, as well as her discovery and development of her talent. Wanda Gag was also a very introspective person, and had a decided trancendentalist slant. It is interesting to read her philosophies about the self which apply even today. I think this book would appeal to people who have an interest in the early twentieth century or illustration. I also recommend it to fans of the Betsy-Tacy books, as Wanda grew up in New Ulm, MN, not far from Mankato (Deep Valley) and during the same time period. She also appears to be aquainted with Delos Lovelace (the husband of Maud Hart Lovelace (the real Betsy) who wrote the series). Later in the book she mentions going to a concert or play with tickets given to her by Delos Lovelace (Before he ever met Maud!). Overall this book was very good and I was extremely sorry to reach the last page.

Not only is this catalog of Chicago's murals enormously useful for the casual reader/visitor, but its style is elegant and restrained, its color illustrations clear and gorgeous, its scholarship impeccable and useful, and quite simply a pleasure to study and own. We are fortunate to have such a comprehensive book.

This book has been a very useful guide. In addition to the guides for a variety of kayak trips this book also highlights some of the scenic places to visit in the Great Lakes region. The advice given is useful on any sea kayak trip, on any waterway around.

Bill and Sarah's long time knowledge and experience in Great Lakes sea kayaking shows through in this gem of a guide.

This book had a surprising amount of information and insight. Mr. Cummings followed politics, read newspapers, and wrote poetry, then wrote about these things in his journals. It really gives a look at how hard life was back then, and we like the lead character a lot. I recommend this for anyone who knows someone who grew up on a farm, or who is interested in history.

"When I was sixteen years of age I traded the golden harvestfields of grain for the red harvestfields of death." With these words the book Harvestfields of Death begins the epic journey of the men of the Twentieth Indiana Volunteers through the Civil War. An heroic regiment and an equally heroic endeavor to write this history. Craig Dunn is becoming the finest Civil War historian of his generation.

A wonderful book of color photos taken mostly in the eighties and early nineties of railroad activity in Michegan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Wisconsin. There some historical photos from the fifties and sixties, including a super one (page 27) from 1956 taken at Durand, Michegan, the essential station photo, a parked car or two, people waiting trackside, smoke drifting up from the engines smokestack, station building, signals etc.

The photos of freight and passenger trains are taken through the seasons by thirty nine photographers, captions are explanatory without too much technical detail, the books landscape shape helps display the trains better than an upright format.

After looking through the book a few times I was aware that I could tell if it was a Greg McDonnell photo, to my eye he seems to have a knack of framing the train in the composion and all the elements in the photo work together. This is not to say the other photographers are not as good as McDonnell (the famous Emery Gulash has a great dock and diesel photo on page 130) but his work clicks best with me.

Railroad fans are very demanding customers, they want raw energy, speed, sharpness, detail and very little moody, out-of-focus stuff that other photographers might say contributes to their best work, I suppose railroad photographers are basically involved in the reportage style. This and McDonnell's other book 'Signatures in Steel' of railroading in his native Canada are as good as it gets for train fans. Highly recommended.

This volume, though hard to find, is worth every effort. Not to be missed are the three selections by Thomas James. Stryk's introduction is, as always, illuminating and provocative. There is no better collection on this subject

This inspiring and fun-to-read book profiles 23 Ohioans who have exhibited outstanding character and courage. Some are quite famous, others not at all. Among the famous are the Wright Brothers, Tecumseh, Harriett Beecher Stowe, Toni Morrison, and Jesse Owens. Among the not-so-famous, but should be, are Jacob Parrott, Mary Ann Bickerdyke and Janarius MacGahan.

I put this book at the top of my Christmas giving list for these reasons: 1. All the stories make you appreciate the sacrifices and character of the individuals profiled ("Could I ever be that brave?"). 2. All the stories are well-researched. I thought I knew about all there was interesting to know about some of these Ohioans, but the book taught me otherwise. 3. It's written in story-telling fashion, making for a good read-aloud book for the family and an interesting read for the junior and senior high school set. 4. It well represents the diverse interests and ethnic backgrounds of Ohioans.

Minutes after you stop for a free glass of ice water at Wall Drug, in Wall, South Dakota, you can be hiking in Sage Creek Basin, the largest designated prairie wilderness area in the United States.

Badlands National Park, which contains Sage Creek Basin, is just one of twenty three major grassland parks in the United States and Canada that Ken Ludwig describes in his nicely designed guidebook.

Order a copy today. Its pictures, maps and park descriptions are sure to make you want to see tall bluffs, coulees, rolling grasslands and big sky.

This book is great for an outdoor enthusiast! It contains detailed descriptions of 100 trails located throughout Illinois, including a difficulty rating, estimated time required and trail length. A summary of this information is also displayed in a table, allowing users to easily identify a trail and locate it within the book. Each detailed entry includes directions to the site, rules and regulations, contract information, and maps of both the trails and the parks. In addition, other sites of interest which are located in the surrounding area are often listed at the end of each entry. Hiking Illinois offers very complete coverage and the author incorporates her experiences at the sites into her book.