In Navajo Sacred Places, Kelly and Harris seek to elucidate the sacredness of Navajo landscapes. The monograph consists of four main parts which are subdivided into thirteen chapters. The authors introduce their own research in Part One. In Part Two, they compare their work to other researches on the same issue conducted by other scholars. In Parts Three and Four, Kelley and Harris make comparisons between their work and those of others in terms of methodology and interpretations of the analyses. With such efforts, the two authors try to establish an argument for the preservation of Navajo culture that is tied to the sacred places on the Navajo Reservation. What the Navajos are concerned with most is the preservation of the sacred sites against land and economic developments, which is ironically, needed for the enrichment of the modern Navajo society. In the course of land development, some sacred places are endangered in exchange for the economic development. Developers often consult with the Navajo elders, who are knowledgeable of such sacred sites, in order to identify which sites are more important and which sites can be sacrificed." Consequently, this results in prioritizing of sacred places. In light of this, Kelley and Harris warn that the prioritization of these sacred places for the sake of economic developments becomes what they call as "piecemeal approach," and is a menace to the preservation of Navajo culture. In contrast, they declare that each sacred space must be viewed as a part of the larger sacred geography in terms of the cultural preservation against the economic development. Such approach is glossed as "landscape approach," and comprises the core of their assertion in this monograph. As far as the authors are concerned, the preservation of the sacred places is crucial to the Navajos, and is always confronted by the curse of the colonization. By offering their "landscape approach," they hope to provide a solution. However, colonization has brought several other changes to the Navajo culture, such as the decrease in the number of the medicine man who are the keepers of the traditional religious repertoires. This religious change connotes the decrease in the importance of the sacred places and knowledge associated with them. Thus, the question becomes: How can the "landscape approach" be effective in such a circumstance? Though the authors display their awareness of the problematic nature of colonization and the efforts made by the Navajos to cope with the situations, their theory is ironically trapped into the curse of colonialism. The theory of the authors is only an idealism which lacks pragmatic solution to "real-time-oriented" contemporary society which places economical prosperity on a higher priority over cultural nourishment.

I found this book to be very well written, as one would expect from Matson. The only problem with the book, of course, is that it is slightly outdated. We now have much more information regarding occupation of the Colorado Plateau than Matson did at the time of his writing. This in no way invalidates his work, and I find the fact that he presented three models of the origins of corn agriculture an interesting concept. Of course two of the models were in place prior to his book, and his model of the Maize Development is important. I do recommend this book to all archaeologists who work with early southwestern sites, be they Late Archaic or early Basketmaker. It will also be of interest to anyone who follows Southwestern Prehistory. The book is well written, and easy to read, and I found the side bars with additional site specific information quite useful. We could only hope that Matson will update this book in the future. In the meanwhile, enjoy this work.

Harrell is Professor of Anthropology at the University of Washington and Acting Curator of Asian Ethnology at the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture. He is author of Ways of Being Ethnic in Southwest China (forthcoming) and Human Families (1997).

The government classifies all minorities into one of 56 minzu ("ethnic group"). Nearly seven million Yi people live in Yunnan (the majority), Sichuan, and Guizhou Provinces, with a few in Guangxi Province and Vietnam. That's more people than Danes, Israelis, or Cambodians. The Central and Western dialects of Yi are more closely related to Lisu and Lahu (languages of a separate minzu) than they are to the Northern, Eastern, Southeastern, and Southern branches of Yi. Although a large body of written material exists, there has been little produced that would hold up to the standards of Western scholarship.

In order to introduce the world to the Yi, Harrell convened a conference in 1995 made up of Chinese, Americans, French, and German scholars who attempted to understand each others' "discourse" about the Yi. In the (very) recent past, Westerners could hardly believe that the Chinese could be so dense in insisting upon the history for this category they call "Yi"; Chinese scholars couldn't believe that the Westerners could be so arrogant in ignoring the local knowledge they possessed of the area. The conference certainly did not minimize these differences, but it allowed both sides to begin to listen to each other. The book is definitely a hybrid (the two discourses do not reach a consensus and are confusing if the reader does not understand where the authors are coming from) and should be read remembering these two widely divergent discourses.

The chapters in section one draw primarily from Yi-language documentation to understand social and cultural history. Section two focuses on the Yi of Liangshan (a region that includes areas of Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture, Panzhihua Municipality, and adjacent parts of Leshan and Ya'an Prefectures, as well as Ganze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Sichuan; and in adjacent parts of Yunnan, most particularly Ninglang Yi Autonomous County in Lijiang Prefecture). Almost all of these Yi belong to the Northern Dialect Group; they call themselves Nuosu. In fact, when one encounters material written about the Yi, it usually refers to the Nuosu. Section three covers Yi societies in Yunnan and Guizhou. Section four covers the Yi today and the unique problems that face them.

There are a number of really good articles in this book, particularly chapters 3, 4, 10, 12, 14, and 16. It seems that the Western authors try to speak the same language as the Chinese, refering to specific groups (such as the Lolopo, Nisu, or Nuosu) as Yi. Read carefully to understand that they do not view the Yi culture, language, and history as a monolith. I wish that this book contained more information about other Yi groups rather than focusing so much on the Nuosu but there probably hasn't been a huge amount of research done amongst the other 100 or so minority groups...

In this work, Prof. Amy Remensnyder depicts how the fictional relationship between northern medieval kingship and southern monastic foundation legends allowed monasteries to wage ideological war over contested material and spiritual wealth in Southern France between 900 and 1300. While the magnitude and breadth of her research is quite remarkable, it inevitably detracts from her work. Instead of a detailed composition of Merovingian and Carolingian kingship in monastic warfare, Prof. Remensnyder offers brief sketches of local confrontation. Since Prof. Remensnyder organizes her research chronologically around the roles of specific northern kings, the vitality of monastic confrontations becomes inexplicably muddled and confused. Prof. Remensnyder should be commended without hesitation for the attempted scope of her research, but the multitude of examples does not make up for the lack of a coherent narrative. For any readers interested in the imaginary elements of southern French monasticism, use Prof. Remensnyder's detailed epilogue and bibliography to launch into further reading.

Mr. Pickenpaugh's book deal with the transfer of the XI and XII Corps from the Army of the Potomac to the Western Theater, during the crisis the Army of the Cumberland faced in Chattanooga after the Battle of Chickamauga. The author does a fine job setting up the story as to how the trip was planned and coordinated, and the cooperation that took place from the many railroad's involved.

A favorite part of the book for me, was what the soldiers did and saw as they made their journey to the West. There are touching stories of Ohio and Indiana boys going home to see their families for the first time since they left to fight the war in the East. Some of course made that trip home for the last time, as they were killed during the fighting that awaited them once they reached the Chattanooga area.

The chapter on the fight at Wauhatchie, is workmanly handeled, but like most of the book, not thoroughly delved into as it could have been. The book is a great starting place for those who want to learn about this part of the war. Mr. Pickenpaugh writes very well, and his use of what the soldiers did and saw through their letters and memoirs are a real strength to the book.

I recommend the book, but I just wish more information could have been gleamed from this fascinating subject.

I have always been fascinated by Chaco Canyon. I picked this book up one time when I was visiting there. I was looking forward to reading about the roads the Chacoans built.

There are these massive roads that have been cleared away leading to/from Chaco canyon. They connect pueblo to pueblo. They go for miles and miles in straight lines. Although many of these are covered by weeds, these roads can be seen from the air and if you know where to look, they can be seen on the ground. No one is really sure what these roads were for- ceremonial? travel?

This book is very interesting. However, I found it to be very dry reading. It really seemed to be directed towards a college class level rather than someone like myself who just wanted to learn more in laymen terms.

If you can get over the dry reading, this is a great book. It is the only book that I have been able to find regarding the Chaco Canyon roads themselves (although many books mention them.) IF you find a better book regarding these mysterious roads, please drop me a note.

The author has obviously done his homework, as this is a truly massive compendium of legal information. The characterizations and style read like a novel, sometimes you get so wrapped up in this book that you forget its a research tool. There are places I could not put it down.

With that being said, [it] is a lot to spend for this book. That is why I rate it 3 stars instead of 4 or 5. If you are not made of money, I suggest you check this baby out at your local law library. I am glad I read this book, but wish I could have done it for free!

I expected this book to be excellent, given its subject and authors, but I was disappointed with it. Like many books about Himalayan expeditions, Shishapangma focused on disagreements within the team. But whereas in other cases this has been amusing or affecting, here it seemed dreary, and unfortunately tinged with misogyny. The climbing itself is described in rather dull terms; one gets little sense of excitement or danger. Scott's informational/philosophical postscripts may actually be the best part of the book. Don't read this one unless you're studying the route or are a real completist.

Keep in mind now that I have not read the book, I am only noting what I heard that hooked me enough to put it on my wish list.
I was reading "Walter Benjamin at the Dairy Queen", impressions of Texas by Larry McMurtry. Larry McMurtry was talking about the western sky. He said that while driving from Virginia back home to Texas he would notice, after crossing the Mississippi, a lifting of his spirits due to the widening view of the sky. He felt closed in by the limited view of the sky in the wooded areas of the east. He quoted another author who expressed the same feeling, and he then specifically recommended this book for addressing this feeling.
At the same time that Larry McMurtry was talking about the sky he was talking about the arid land of west Texas, and how difficult it was to establish life there. He recommended this book, written in the 1940,s, as a good study on the accomodations living creatures must make to aridity.
That's enough for me.

Although published in '91 the quilts and techniques in this book are reminiscent of the '70s. Ms. Olsen does a great job of researching Native American designs. Her interpretation and execution of the quilts, however, is a little dissapointing. Her quilts are very simplistic and, in the case of her CHEMEHUEVI CRIB QUILT, entirely misses the design elements. Most of the quilts are pictured draped instead of full view. These quilts could easily be done with the strip piecing technique but Ms. Olsen gives directions for individual patchwork pieces instead. The book does however, have wonderful patterns which are easily adapted to modern techniques and fabrics. Overall, I enjoy the book and look forward to using her authentic designs.