I enjoyed the book very much being from northwest indiana near the places where some of the stories take place. Its nice to see alot of the ghost stories i heard as a child put on paper. I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes good ghost stories.

I'm founder of the Northwest Indiana Society of Ghost Research, and Mark Marimen has successfully written a book about the ghosts, legends and myths surrounding Northwest Indiana. He adds true accounts, as well as fiction and blends them together nicely. Its a must have for everyone who loves a great ghost story!!!!.

Mark has found all kinds of wonderful stories about unexplainable things. My children even found some of them hilarious! I would recomend this book to anyone who enjoys good ghost stories.

Alas, the book 'Indiana Legends: Famous Hoosiers from Johnny Appleseed to David Letterman' does not offer a definitive answer to this article's title question: What is the definition of a Hoosier? Kevin Kline's recent film 'In and Out', set in the not-so-mythical Greenleaf, Indiana, had a scene near the conclusion where the teacher of the year was trying to deliver a speech with the same title, only to get interrupted before giving the answer. Perhaps the answer contained in this book is not so much a dictionary-style answer, but rather the collective experience of people such as those represented in this book.

The author, Nelson Price, has been a reporter for the Indianapolis Star and News newspapers, the state's largest papers, for over 15 years. Born in Indianapolis, educated at Indiana University, he is a fifth generation Hoosier; his great-great-grandfather arrived in the state just about the time of Indiana achieving statehood. Thus, if anyone has background qualification for producing such a text as this, it would be Price.

Indiana is well represented in the history of the American nation. Three presidents: William Henry Harrison, his grandson Benjamin Harrison were Hoosiers, and Abraham Lincoln claimed substantial Hoosier influence in his backgrounds. Other historical figures in the country's political and historical development include John Chapman (Johnny Appleseed), George Rogers Clark, Tecumseh, Frances Slocum, Robert Owen, Eugene V. Debs, Wendell Willkie, and Dan Quayle (eek!). Indiana has in fact had five vice presidents, including Schuyler Colfax and Thomas Marshall.

Little known fact: Reggie Miller and Jane Pauley were both diagnosed with ailments in their childhoods that would have ruled out most any productive role in adult life, Pauley with nervous disorders, and Miller with a crippling childhood disease.

Hoosiers in Hollywood and the performing arts include Cole Porter, Hoagy Carmichael, James Dean, Steve McQueen, Anne Baxter, Karl Malden, Clifton Webb, Red Skelton, Carole Lombard, John Mellencamp, Florence Henderson, David Letterman, Michael Jackson, Crystal Gayle, Shelley Long, Joshua Bell and Twyla Tharp. Writers and artists include Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., Robert Indiana (could have guessed that, right?), Jim Davis (of Garfield fame), T.C. Steele, James Whitcomb Riley, Booth Tarkington, and Theodore Dreiser.

Famous business people have included Madame Walker (the first self-made black millionaire), Eli Lilly, the Studebaker family (yes, the cars), the Ball brothers, and J. Irwin Miller, all known not only for their entrepreneurial spirit, but also their philanthropic drive. The Lilly Endowment is one of the largest in the world today.

Little known fact: 'Go West, Young Man!' is a phrase coined by an Indiana newspaper reporter.

Indiana is also the state of Ryan White, the child AIDS activist whose name became familiar all over the world. It is home Sandi Patty, the gospel singer, and Jane Pauley, the television journalist. It is the birthplace of the fashion designer Bill Blass and the childhood home of Halston. It is the home of sex research Alfred Kinsey and the gangster John Dillinger. It is the home of journalist Ernie Pyle and publisher Eugene Pulliam. It is the birthplace of high flyers Orville and Wilbur Wright (now, there aren't too many states in the nation where a family would have both an Orville and a Wilbur, don't you know...)

Indiana wouldn't be Indiana without sports, particularly basketball, and boasts such legends as Larry Bird, Bob Knight, Oscar Robertson, George McGinnis, and Bobby Plump. Racing goes without saying, too, in Indiana, and the names such as Bettenhausen, Andretti, and Gordon are legendary in the sport. Mark Spitz, Kurt Thomas, Doc Counsilman, Jaycie Phelps, Don Mattingly, and Knute Rockne are other well-known names in the sporting world.

Little known fact: Carl Fisher, the founder of the Indianapolis 500, took his fortune to found Miami Beach, Florida, where he died penniless.

So, you now have a perhaps overblown sense of who comes from Indiana. So what?

Perhaps the best thing about this book is to give a sense of pride of place to native Hoosiers. I am a firm believer that knowing one's personal history is very important, and this includes a sense of the place where one is born and raised. There is, among my acquaintances who have come from elsewhere in the world to live here, a decided reluctance to admit the term 'Hoosier' applies to themselves. For the longest time, I thought that no one actually comes from Indiana, or that perhaps Indiana is a good place to be from, but not a quality to be valued. Nelson Price's book is somewhat of a revelation in that sense, in that it shows the great diversity of persons in a wide range of human endeavours who were born in or had significant residence in Indiana. Once, Steve Martin made a comment describing a place as 'nowhere, USA', and he picked a town in Indiana. Perhaps Indiana is somewhat distant from the 'centre of all things', be that New York, Los Angeles, London, wherever one might choose. However, perhaps its critics are a bit too harsh on the state, and the history of this relatively small place needs to be re-examined, not least by those who reside here.

Little known fact: William Henry Harrison built a plantation as a Governor's Residence in Indiana, and called it Grouseland.

The Hoosier state is richer in history than might at first meet the eye. Nelson Price's book puts in small, journalistic-style stories, accessible narratives of the people who make up this history, past and present. This would make a great gift to anyone who lives in Indiana, who is moving to Indiana, or has a significant Indiana experience in the past.

Little known fact: A large number of astronauts have come from Indiana, and those who were not Hoosier natives often have a Hoosier connection - education from Purdue University, renowned for engineering.

This is a coffee-table book. Wonderful pictures of people past and present, good print production and nice formatting make this a pleasant volume to read.

This book is the most exhaustive study of Indiana natives available today. Written in the same conversation style that he uses in his newspaper column, Nelson Price relates the "rise to fame and fortune" stories of many familiar personalities. And to receive such a terrific hardcover book for this price is almost criminal. Everyone should buy a copy today!

I was thoroughly entertained and captured by this book. Furthermore, I was thrilled to receive such a large and handsome hardcover book. Everyone should give a copy to every Hoosier they know!

The Inferno is a record of Dante the Pilgrim's first trip through hell. It was Virgil's second. This was my fifth trip through the Inferno, and having Musa along for the ride made it wonderful. Whether this is your first time through or not, you ought to have this critical edition as your guide. As another reviewer noted, Musa isn't nearly as fettered by the rhyme scheme as translators like John Ciardi and Robert Pinsky. Even Ciardi apologizes often for his liberties in the name of rhyme. Musa has gorgeous footnotes on lines that Pinsky and Ciardi neglect for the rhyme. If you have the great fortune to teach the Inferno, it makes great sense, of course to have multiple translations before you, but Musa's critical edition will be the most weathered edition in the end. Your students will gain a great understanding of the importance at looking at multiple sources as well.

Musa is a scholar, not a poet, at least not professionally. But the authenticities of his translation's thunder, juices, epiphanies, and whiffs would indicate that scholarship makes a successful move to a new language more probable than do poetic gifts. Dante, now, was a poet. The infinite riches of his simple simple lines glow from each line of Musa's. While the essential deep love for the poem glows from each line of his commentary. Pinsky, a very good poet, spent his powers on reproducing the virtually unreproducible--the never-ending aba bcb cdc terza rima rhyme scheme. And he did an expert job. But the poetry is the loser. It's in the back seat, trying to stay awake. The real surprise is how careless Pinsky's rhythms are. Musa's pound right along-a fairly consistent, and unobtrusive, iambic pentameter. Dante, of course, rhymes and rhymes and rhymes, but always to profoundest purpose. (It is said he wrote three lines a day. The deeper one goes into the Commedia the easier it is to believe this.) What rhymes with what was clearly something Dante cared a lot about. Take Inferno 34, 34-39. Dante's final six words (and I should point out that my Italian is very limited) for these six lines are: UGLY, EYEBROW, SORROW/ WONDER, HEAD, RED. Pinsky's are: beautiful, brows, well/ was, head, this. Musa's: foul, Maker, him/ up, faces, red. The parallels the rhymes convey, as I see it, are these. Lucifer, now UGLY, is the source of the world's SORROW. (Musa faithfully pairs "foul" and "all grief should spring from him." Pinsky pairs "beautiful" (reversing Dante's careful sequence of beautiful to ugly) with "then all sorrow may well" which depends on the next line to mean anything, which sort of weakens the parallel: Like saying 1 plus 1 = 1.2 and uh oh another eight tenths.) And the second parallel: Lucifer, whose fall to hell began with the raising of an insolent EYEBROW, has become hideous, a three-headed WONDER. From beautiful to UGLY, from the happiness of Eden to a world of SORROW. Musa's "Maker"/"looked up" is admittedly not terrific. Pinsky's "brows"/"How great a marvel it was" is more successful. But compare the two translations' net impact. If you saw what Dante saw, and he was very much writing so that you would, which set of lines below would better convey your reaction?

"If he was truly once as beautiful / As he is ugly now, and raised his brows / Against his Maker--than all sorrow may well /

Come out of him. How great a marvel it was / For me to see three faces on his head: / In front there was a red one; joined to this, /

. . . "

"If he was once as fair as now he's foul / and dared to raise his brows against his Maker, / it is fitting that all grief should spring from him. /

Oh, how amazed I was when I looked up / and saw a head--one head wearing three faces! / One was in front (and that was a bright red)."

The Inferno is a book that everybody should read (if they can even read). Mark Musa translates Dante's original pros. into a cloak wheel which is very easy for almost anybody understand. The poetry is lost(as with any translation), but the story Dante will tell shall live forever.

This is a high-quality reprint of a scarce title which has been out-of-print for years. Sulzer's writing style can be a little disjointed at times, but there's a wealth of good information in this book. It sits on my shelf right beside Simons and Parker's book, Railroads of Indiana; they complement each other very well.

Material about the late 1800's and turn of the century railroading as well as early 1900's is difficult if not impossible to come by. Sulzer provides rare and extremely useful photos and commentary about Indiana RRs. A must for modelers of the turn-of-the-century.

At long last, Elmer Sulzer's definitive work on abandoned railroads of Indiana has been reprinted. While not updated, and much of the original errors and ommisions still remain, this book still remains as THE reference for anyone interested in railroads that disappeared in the Hoosier State from the beginning to 1970. Full of photos many never before seen and maps to show you the way, I suggest you buy this book while it is still available...the originals fetch $200-$300...if you can find one. If this is your interest area, don't miss out!

If you want to remember what the world looked like through a child's eyes, you'll want to read this book. Educators, naturalists and Theologians will be inspired by GSP's ideas. If you are interested in the author, visit the Gene Stratton-Porter Historic Sites in Geneva and Rome City Indiana. The story of "Laddie" has many similarities to the author's own childhood, making it even more interesting.

Laddie was my most beloved book as a pre-teenager. I absolultely loved the world portrayed, and with each rereading (17 readings in all) I was more caught up in the world of Little Sister (what was her name? We never do find out, do we?) I'm thrilled to see that it's available, as my old copy is in tatters, with pages missing and held together with a rubber band.

I read this story aloud to my 10 year old daughter and 11 year old son. We laughed, we cried, we wondered what would happen next, we were oh so sorry when the book was done. My kids said it was their all time favorite of the many many books we have read aloud together. This is the kind of story that inspires great character and kindly behavior....something that is sadly lacking in most modern liturature for the young. Well worth reading, alone or aloud.

After reading this book,I becamemore aware of how the 'CivilWar"families,were separated bypolitics that were never resolved.And the recipes found in this bookare treasures,that can still be used today.It is fascinating reading,a book you definitely won'tbe able to put down,until you'veread the last page.It's so absorbing,so historical,and thephotos bring the "Lincolns' alivefrom the past to present time.The author has displayed warmth,of a family's love,and couragebeyond imaigination. Donna McCrearyis truly giving the reader far morethen the culinary arts,she isshowing how a family under thedirest circumstances,emergesfrom the War' with grace,and dignity."Lincoln's Table' is alsothe greatest love story,I have everread,a test of vicissitudes thatbrings hope for others to endurein their marriages.This book is a cookbook,a'How-to-"keep a family together',and most of all,a masterpiece of all times!!

The book is bursting with an array of a myriad of 'President Abrahamand Mary Todd Lincoln's' lifefrom their childhood to the time they got married,recipes thatgives the reader a delightfulinsight to what prompted the"Lincoln's tastes.It tells us whatfoods were 'Lincoln's favories',as a young boy,to adulthood.Ancedotes that tell us about thecooking ingredients that were popular in the different timeframes of their lives.It is abook of great intensity of notonly the foods that the 'Lincolns'enjoyed when they were married, also, a marriage of superbspices,blended with each recipeof historical facts(i.e.....what foods were popular duringthe 'antebellum' period,and the'Civil War.' Abrahan's favoritecomfort foods that he had whenthe 'Civil War' was raging,andMary's love of the culinary arts.It's book full of lovely remmbrances of the "Lincoln'senduring love for each other,and you feel like you're havingdinner right there with them.The author did an excellent merging of food with Americanhistory.A book you'll want to own,and pass it on to your grandchildren. Kudos to theauthor, 'Donna D.McCreary'for a book that should be ineverybody's library to betreasured.A "best-seller' that should beon the lists of 'books' to be read for decades.

The author has done a wonderful job of collecting an array of recipes of food that Lincoln enjoyed from his boyhood through his presidency. The recipes are easy, fun, and are good old fashioned home cooking!A very charming part of the book is how the author has added little anecdotes, background info and tips about certain ingredients. Quite a bit of history thrown in too as we see the menu for Lincoln's sister Sarah's wedding, and menus from an inaugural luncheon and a White House ball. The book also serves as a mini biography of Lincoln as we see him go from a boy in Kentucky to a laywer, husband and father in Springfield IL, to being President of the United States and alot thrown in between! We see the private side of Lincoln and the love he had for his family, and the meals they enjoyed. This book is a must for any Lincoln buff, and even if you're not, it is a great addition to any cookbook collection. For a good old fashioned taste in the midst of this fast paced processed world-give this book a try!

Armed guards are stationed at ferry terminals on both shores of the wide river, carefully inspecting the travel documents of selected persons, insensitive to the fear and humiliation they inflict on these targets of their scrutiny. A scenario from a modern totalitarian government in the years just prior to the fall of Communism in Europe? Hardly. The ferry terminals are in Louisville, Kentucky and New Albany, Indiana, and the time frame is just prior to and including the American Civil War. With honesty, precision and determination, Pamela Peters presents her readers with a glimpse of what it must have been like to be a slave in a Southern state who had the hope of freedom and the means to attain it: The Underground Railroad

Peters paints a brutally frank picture of the stark realities that faced slaves who attempted to cross the Ohio River into a "free" state like Indiana. Degradation and vilification did not cease on the other shore. Humiliating legislation denied both runaways and free blacks the rights and privileges enjoyed by the white majority, forced them to live in isolated designated areas, required them to register as aliens and even to pay a bond against the likelihood that they might lack gainful employment. She makes it quite clear that crossing over into "free" territory could not be the final goal for runaway slaves. For complete security, the destination had to be Canada, since federal law permitted owners of escaped slaves to arrest and detain them anywhere in the United States.

With painstaking precision, the author documents her findings. She employs every available resource, from gravestones to courthouse records to personal interviews with descendents. In addition to correcting the mistaken popular view that there was freedom and security for runaways in the North, Peters also demonstrates the complicity of most of the mainstream churches in the odious institution that was slavery. As if that were not enough, perhaps one of her most significant contributions is the clear and compelling evidence that the Underground Railroad's conductors were not mostly well-intentioned white folks. Rather, those who risked so much to bring freedom to others in this unique clandestine network were free and recently-freed African-Americans , as well as other runaway slaves. After Pamela Peters, the popular textbook version of the Underground Railroad's conductors being principled, church-going white people is no longer tenable.

Having been born in Floyd County, Indiana, I often wondered what role Indiana, being a border state, played
during the unfortunate period of civil war in America. This
treatise so eloquently presented, answered many of the questions I often asked myself before I was able to sink deeply into this discourse. Thank you Pam Peters, for I now know many of my ancestors aligned themselves with good and fought diligently on the side of freedom and against the evils of human bondage. And, were able to accomplish much, despite the transgressions and oppression that were visited upon them.

This book contains extensive and thorough research to back up and debunk certain claims about the Underground Railroad in Indiana. This is a fascinating look at what happened right along the border of the North and the South. The author does a good job of revealing the truths often imbedded in the legends regarding the Underground Railroad.

A wonderfully personal account of life in the depression years as seen through the eyes of a child in a family of Russian immigrants living on a farm at the edge of a garbage dump in a town called Lilly, Indiana. Lilly is the fictional name given to what was actually Roby, Indian--a town whose last remnant, the tavern, was being torn down just as the book was released.

It takes a while to get into it, but once you're there, you won't be able to put 1234 5th Ave. down.

Great story about a Russian family living through the rough times of the Depression years in Roby, Indiana. Once you pick it up, you will not put it down! Full of laughs and tears.

This factual account from the mouths of the women and men who lived (and still live) with racism is an important record. This book should serve as an eye-opener for smug northern individuals who feel that segregation and racism are artefacts of "the South" alone.

This book takes you into the homes and hearts of African Americans growing up in post-WWII Madison, Indiana. "All We Had Was Each Other" details the pain, the hard work, the persistence, and most of all the faith these people displayed in God, themselves, and their community. The firsthand accounts this author has collected will tear at your heart. This book is a must-have; the author has made wonderful use of primary sources, and the issues he raises are as real today as they were before the Civil Rights Movement.

I enjoyed both Redemption, and the latest, Remember. The author has given the reader characters who face real struggles yet grow spiritually in dealing with them. When a character "falls away", the author leaves the reader with the hope that he/she will return and renew their faith. It is easy to feel the heartwrenching pain and heartache the characters experience, as well as the joys. The book is a very easy read, and left me waiting expectantly for the next book, Return. For me, "not wanting a book to end" is the hallmark of a well written book, and is what I've found in the Redemption series.

I have read several books by Karen Kingsbury and she has never failed me yet to supply a great read. The characters in this book show true human nature and emotions. Family emotions and true to life struggle within. How valuable family is to a person. I especially enjoyed the love and concern that our main character Ashley shows to the Alhemizer patients. This is an excellent book, I did not realize it was part of a series so now I can't wait to read the first book in the series "Redemption". Truly a great, moving, enjoyable read. You won't be disappointed.

This is the first Karen Kingsbury book I have read. I missed the first book but I am going to go back and read it too. I can hardly wait for the next book to come out. What a blessing this book was! I plan to share it with all my friends who love to read like I do. I also plan to read every book by Karen that I can get my hands on! The way she portrays her characters is amazing. It is as if you were living in the Baxter house and you are one of the family. You feel what they feel. I couldn't put this book down. My mom died a few months ago and this has helped me so much to remember her in ways I had never thought of before. The loss has eased somewhat. I hope her other books are this inspiring, uplifting, and helpful. I read one review that said it more of a self help book than fiction. Not So! It's like a buy one get one free! You are not only caught up in the story but at the same time you will reflect on your own life and realize that God is always there waiting for you to give it all to Him and watch Him work!