Very well laid out and easy to use. It has info on where to stay and what to do. Other books are more complete but this one does OK. I would recommend it

I grew up two miles and one generation away from the setting of this story. It brought back childhood memories of familiar locations and names. The author uses an interesting technique of telling the story with different points of view in each chapter. It makes for enjoyable reading even though it's a mostly fiction story based on real characters. The author's POV is used often enough to bring out the emotions of a coming-of-age story and the social aspects of mid-Thirties farm life. There are many similarities between this Hidewood memoir and mine, "A Farm in the Hidewood: My South Dakota Home."

Tabitha's the daughter of a *very* conservative minister in North Dakota in 1899, when anthropologists are just beginning to show up looking for dinosaur skeletons. Her father's convinced these skeletons have been planted there by the devil, and forbid's Tabitha from even trying to learn more about them, let alone join an excavation team. So Tabitha dresses up as a boy, claiming to be a twin brother called Tom, and sneaks out to be on a team, with the help of an older woman friend, Abby.

When I first opened this book, I was a little skeptical, it seemed like it was going to be easy reading, and I was very frightened at the prospect of a romantic element finding it's way in there, which would cause all sorts of problems for Tabbie (since she's dressed up as a guy and all). But while it was kind of an easy read, it was very enjoyable. I could hardly put this book down Christmas morning as it's very engaging and you always want to find out how Tabitha gets herself out of each difficult situation she gets herself into (and, thankfully, they're realistic situations, and they aren't portrayed as being all her fault just because she's a ditzy girl who has no place in science, as she eventually proves she's more capable than many of the men on the expedition).

The only thing that keeps this from getting 5 stars is the end. I'm not going to give details, obviously, but several characters make complete turn arounds in the last few pages that aren't explained.

This unpretentious literary travelogue provides an excellent window into a number of top American crime writers and the (mostly urban) areas they inhabit. Williams' 1989 circuit of the U.S. is a kind of crime fiction grand tour, as he visits thirteen established and up-and-coming authors (only one of whom is female) in ten locations, each of which gets about 20-25 pages or so, as follows:

Miami >> Carl Hiassen (Lucky You, Stormy Weather), James Hall Louisiana >> James Lee Burke New Mexico >> Tony Hillerman Los Angeles >> James Ellroy, Gar Anthony Haywood San Francisco >> Joe Gores (32 Cadillacs) Missoula, MT >> James Crumley (Bordersnakes) Chicago >> Sara Partesky, Eugene Izzi Detroit >> Elmore Leonard (Be Cool, Cuba Libre, Pronto, Pagan Babies, Riding the Rap) Boston >> George V. Higgins New York >> Andrew Vachss

Williams is clearly a believer in detective fiction as social portraiture and commentary, and like myself, he's most interested in what is generally classified under the catchall terms "hard-boiled" or "noir." That is to say, crime novels about the everyday criminal world, as opposed to semi-mythical world of "The Godfather," the serial-killer world of Hannibal Lechter, or the cozy world of crime-solving cats or little old ladies. Williams tends to stay in the cheaper, and thus seedier, parts of the places he visits, and tries to get the writers to show him around, show him their world. In addition to touring the seedy side of America, Williams often takes side-trips of a musical nature--as befits his music journalist career. His contrasting of a (white) cajun fete with a (black) zydeco dance is one of the truly telling parts of his journey. The conversations with the writers are intermittently interesting, although it's interesting to note that many of them came from impoverished backgrounds and came to writing by accident. Another similarity is their rough treatment at the hands of Hollywood. Most of the writers are extremely forthcoming and open with Williams, the most notable exception being Higgins, who comes off as a pompous ass in comparison to the rest of the book's subjects.

Some twelve years after Williams' trip, it's rather amazing to find that 12 of the 13 writers are still going strong, with a string of books to their credit from the intervening years. Indeed some, like Carl Hiassen, James Lee Burke, James Ellroy, and Elmore Leonard have gotten considerably more famous. The one writer who isn't still producing is Eugene Izzi, who was found dead in 1997, hanging from his 14th-story office window in what was ruled a bizarre suicide...

Since writing this book, Williams has gone on to write crime fiction himself, including the 1983-set London novel Faithless, and a collection of stories set in the Cardiff underworld, Five Pubs, Two Bars and a Nightclub.

Lakota Hoop Dancer not only explains about the dancing and dancer, but gives a feel for the land of the Lakota, their views of the world, and the people themselves and their values. The brief glossary and explanations of Lakota expressions within the book help. Students and others interested in American Indian tribes will enjoy this and gain insights. Excellent photographs enhance the text.

As a 5th grader I recommend the book *Legends of the Mighty Sioux* because it's a detailed, fun, and entertaining book. This book has a variety of stories, so you won't get bored reading one whole book. Some of my favorite stories in the book are "The Gift of the Peace Pipe", and "Maiden's Isle". My very favorite is "Punished Woman's Lake". It's my favorite story because the legend is about a married couple who is broken apart by the chief who wants to take a wife. So to protect her, at night, the real husband took her on his horse and they ran away together. But the chief realized that the wife was missing and sent out warriors to find her. When they found her, the chief killed the real husband and tied the wife to a tree until she said she said she would live with him. The chief had a bad heart and didn't wait for her answer and killed her. Because he murdered two innocent people, a lightning bolt hit him and he was also killed. No one knew where it came from. But from that day forever the Indians had a good heart learning that being bad never pays. I would change three things in this book: longer stories so people will be entertained longer, more scary stories so you could have more excitement, and more books written by this tribe. Thank You.

I thought this book was very good. It takes a really good book to get me past the first chapter, and this one kept me interested throughout the whole story. I'd recommend it to anyone who likes a good mystery!

Mobil guides in general have some of the info you need for your stay but I prefer location specific guides more. They only list a few of each (hotels, restaurants, attractions etc.) Overall it was helpful but I wouldn't use it by itself. There isn't enough info about each area.

This is a true story of a man in the South Dakota territory between end of the Indian Wars and the settling of the homesteaders. This will fill the void that this time period is seldom written about.

I enjoyed reading about life in the first half of the 20th century, told vividly and humorously. Walta tells about her childhood as if she were still a little girl experiencing it, but her style of writing changes as she "grows up." I split my sides laughing at the joke pulled on her step-dad at the Chivaree, but the Great Depression stories about sharing cold biscuits with a tramp and being bilked by an escaped convict are poignant and sensitive. She's a good "story-teller," with the ability to paint pictures with her words. She's the kind of author you'd like to get to know.