Donal Cline clearly demonstrates his inability to distinguish fact from fiction. I find his book to be biased (towards the Murphy-Dolan faction), poorly researched (claiming that Billy the Kid was known as Michael McCarty), and his findings to be very questionable (presents evidence without veryfiable sources.)After reading this book I asked myself why did Cline write this book? He seems to not think to much of "Billy the Kid" so why write a book about him? Why not stick to your true passion and write a documentary about James Dolan and L.G. Murphy.

This book is the most accurate that I have read concerning the earlier years of Billy, Starting with the arrival of his mother in New York City, fleeing the Irish Potato famine. I would recommend reading this important book along with the Billy book writen by Robert Utley, "Billy the Kid, A Short and Violent Life."

This book explains in explicit detail the Civil War within Kentucky's borders. It explains Kentucky's importance as a strategic military buffer state for both the North and South. The Civil War in Kentucky explores the underlying political strife that shaped and piloted the Civil War in Kentucky. It touches on the effects this war had on ordinary citizentry. I liked the detailed and little known information included in this book. It gave the background behind many commonly known facts within the state. It was an interesting touch when Dr. Harrison added well selected quotes to backup his facts. However, I thought the book was extremely dry reading. It was difficult to get through the book.

This is a brief overview of a complex subject. It gives basic information on the political turmoil in Kentucky before, during and after the Civil War and on the few battles which took place in the state, including Morgan's raids. It spends little time discussing Kentuckian Confederate troops outside the state. I found this to be a useful basic introduction but to be very lacking in detail -- I understand the series of which it is part is intentionally made up of overviews. Missing from the book was much discussion of social history and socioeconomic and ethnic divisions within the state.

I was expecting an intelligent, informed checklist with pertinent information about the region's reptile fauna. Instead it reads more like a children's book. Grainy outdated pics and a measly one or two lines of description about each animal. There are many more books on this subject that are more informed and thorough in their approach. Just my opinion though.

An especially useful guide for those who spend a lot of time in the outdoors and are located in the Southwestern USA. The book has color pictures, which makes it easier to identify the animals that are encountered. Also included are prevention tips when dealing with certain animals, and also some emergency methods for the possibily of a snake bite. Overall this is a very good book for identfying snakes, lizards and turtles of the southwest.

Jean Boyd's poorly researched book should hardly to be taken seriously. She managed to gather up most of her source material from various researchers who have gone the distance and has compiled it as her own. She also quoted from some faulty publications, in her chapter on 'Western Swing Guitarists', namely, Guitar Player Magazine. Boyd quotes freely from the September 1983 GP article I wrote on Bob Wills' Texas Playboys guitarist Junior Barnard, which thanks to their editorial staff (especially assistant editor Jim Ferguson), butchered my manuscript to the point it contained little factual information. Boyd never checked out any of the false information provided by GP in their published version of my article nor did she take the time to read the corrections I provided in the December 1983 GP issue. In addition to this, she confused much of the published information and made matters even worse in her book. To ad insult to injury, she never attempted to contact me to verify or refute any of the information even though I am noted in her text as 'Barnard's biographer'. Neither Boyd nor her publisher, The University of Texas Press, has provided a copy of this book. Requests for a courtesy copy have gone ignored. I have provided them with a corrected manuscript in the event should they decide to reprint the book. I hope that the book does not see a 2nd edition and here is why:

In addition to these problems with Boyd's book, there are a multiplicity or factual errors in other chapters of the book, far too many to go into here. There are many great artists who were productive and influential in the golden era of the Southwest music scene playing jazz, blues and Western Swing who she only gives an honorable mention and in some cases neglects reference altogether. These are glaring omissions considering some of the unknowns Boyd allotted numerous pages to. This is especially irritating considering the wealth of information available, much of which never been published on some of the more effluent progenitors of this music who have never had their day.

At best this is slip-shod research where Boyd has basically borrowed from many sources and turned out a college funded volume with a text that wasn't purged of errors, with little or no verification of facts, nor inclusion of important figureheads that should have been covered in depth. I consider the work highly irresponsible and considering the publisher I am incensed that they not only paid Boyd to write it, but they published it with little or no thought as to the quality of the material. Nor with any respect for the unsuspecting consumer who might decide to add this book to their collection unaware that the book is little more than pulp fiction. An 'oral history' it is not, as another reviewer's comments well stated. I have come to expect this kind of tripe from Guitar Player and other rags that grace the rack, but when an institute of higher education foists off something this bad which bears the name of one of their associate professors I am not amused and you the consumer shouldn't be either. I borrowed a copy and now I am returning it.

I give the book 1 star for the photographs.

Buddy McPeters
Bay Area, CA USA

This is not what I'd call an oral history. There were interviews but the bland voice that tells this story is the author's. Jean Boyd is not a storyteller. A lot of the information conflicts with what I've read elsewhere but there is no perspective. Also odd is to seperate the chapters by instrument so there is no chronological sense. It then becomes the story of the mucians. It's interesting but not a great book.

Ms. Boyd (no relation to the Boyd brothers Bill, Jim and Clyde who hotted up the radio waves around Dallas in the late '40s) went to the trouble to look up many of the stars of western swing and record their stories.

It's a workmanlike effort, clearly stating its generalizations from the oral histories, and offering many quotes from those who played with Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys, the Sons of the Pioneers, and dozens of the less famous and more specialized bands.

There are a number of pages of photographs.

Some useful information but a lot of research and work wasted. The author has obviously worked hard on this but after laying out bits of history, he lapses into socio-babble and post-modernist claptrap. It's obvious that he had a pre-formed thesis in mind when he started and tortuously bends history to fit it. To a man with a hammer, everything looks like a nail.

There is a shortage of books on bulb gardening for Southern gardeners, however this book does little to remedy that shortage. Thad Howard's book reads like a textbook and is not user friendly for the recreational gardener. Basic information such as planting time and depth, soil preference, bloom time, and light needs is missing or scattered in the text. Howard focuses too much on bulb classifications and history and not enough on giving readers advice on how to pick bulbs that will be successful in their garden. Academics and those in the bulb business may enjoy this book, the average gardener will be disatisfied. If Howard wishes to sell more books he should at the least add a legend for each major bulb with basic information the gardener needs.

This book is a nice sketch of the life of Daniel Boone, first published by the University Press of Kentucky in 1978. While it does not compare with the larger and more valuable biographies of Draper, and Bakeless, and lacks the primary value of Boone's own account of himself in Filson's "Kentucke" (1784), it is a nice survey, and may be more appreciated by younger readers, or by those new to the subject, than the larger volumes.

I felt that this book was poorly researched resulting in inaccuracies. It is also rather superficial in its treatment of Thailand. Of all the various guidebooks I bought, and I bought quite a few, this one proved the least useful when I traveled there.

This book is more "fluff" than "The Best of New Mexico Kitchens" -- more trendy restaurant recipes, PLUS the infamous "How to Boil Water" recipe. If you want traditional New Mexico -- not restaurant versions -- buy "The Best of New Mexico Kitchens" instead of this version.

A real disappointment. I have looked over the "Quadrant" series by Eckart and it was much better. I would recommend a book search for the "Gems and Minerals of America" by Jay Ellis Ransom, it has much more comprehensive information and a lot more than even the "Quadrant" series contains. But of course local "collecting guides" are even better. Contact the clubs in the area you are going to visit and see if they will let you go on one of their field trips or suggest a location. I'm VP of the Montgomery Gem and Mineral Society, we would love to take you on a trip.

This book is loaded with useless information. If your looking for someplace to mine gold or gems. This book will not tell you. It does however provide you with guide services contact information.So if your looking for a river or area in your state where you can pan some gold. Don't look in this book! I didn't see anything you can't see in the yellow pages of your local phone book.

Very few sites listed, and mostly out-of-date info. Of no use in planning a trip. Save your money.