I am a descendant of one of the women in this book (Penelope Stout). The book is apparently supposed to be a children book, but I found it remarkably informative and interesting. The author takes the stories of four women and brings them together with some historical background to present a fun to read narrative. Along the way are many unobtrusive but (to me) immensely interesting side notes (including origins of place names and historical tidbits).

The second book in The Reardon Brothers Series introduces you to Noah, a lawyer who has sworn off women. Then along comes Jessica and what can he do but save her from her father and take her back to her unknowing family in Baltimore.

Dianna Crawford does a great job of showing you the differences between frontier life and "high society" in the late 1700's through Jessica's eyes. You will love Noah's honor and his quest to bring Jessica happiness, and cheer when Jessica realizes where her heart truely lies. You will also look at salt with new appreciation!

I have enjoyed many of this author's books and this is a wonderful follow up to the first in the series, Freedom's Promise.

I am not a sci-fi fan, so it takes something really interesting to grab me. This one did and held me with excellent description and "show, not tell" narrative. Sucks even "non sci-fi" reader in, so you forget you're reading and find yourself "experiencing." The plot doesn't even matter because the writing just sweeps you along like a piece of debris in outer space. Sort of like a Star War thing. Good literary adventure to go on.

This was an ambitious undertaking. Information available from state to state (or ____ to ____, insert the jurisdictional or geographical units of your choice) is wildly inconsistent. Land status often changes rapidly, as do what we know and what we can say about resource conditions at any given moment.  "Habitats and Ecosystems..." necessarily became a historical document once it was finalized.  But it is nevertheless a useful one-stop reference guide to natural America; and an intriguing browse for conservation-minded readers.

I was one of the many people around the U.S. whom Mark Crawford enlisted to provide information for his book, and I know what a chore it was for him to take what I could provide and distill it into something useful.

Of course, that means I got my copy free! - but I'm sure the book will be a useful addition to my library. I'll refer to it regularly, and I'd buy it if I didn't have it already.

This is a very wholesome book about some animals setting off in search of the wind. They finally realize that only God knows where the wind is, so they learn an important lesson. This is a great, easy read book for families who want to introduce the idea of an all-knowing God to their children. It uses friendly characters and asks a question most children probably wonder about. It is a definate thumbs-up book for any children's library.

The late Crawford B. Thayer, Fort Atkinson native and Sauk War researcher and enthusiast, diligently assembled eyewitness accounts of Black Hawk and the movements of his "British Band" and his American pursuers through the wilds of then-western Michigan Territory. His narrative, if it can be called that, follows the words of the participants in a day by day... in some cases hour by hour... story that encompasses several weeks in Summer 1832.

Thayer's style includes both compilation of eyewitness accounts and dissection of the same accounts, with re-assembly in chronological order. The effect is to have numerous quotes that frequently cover the same item or subject. Thayer defended his technique by insisting that his cut-and paste methodology offered a "richer" accounting of events. Some readers, including myself, find the technique occasionally annoying.

The overall effect, however is a generally excellent compilation of accounts that trace the history of the campaign as the "British Band" and Gen. Atkinsons' army meander through present-day Wisconsin. I find Thayer's work second only to Ellen Whitney's compilations. His use of footnotes and citation is meticulous and exhaustive.

Thayer allowed the narrative to speak for itself... so persons looking for insight or analysis will need to look elsewhere. Also, Thayer assumes you have background history of the war, as he starts his essay in June, or the middle of the war.

"Hunting a Shadow" is the first book in Thayer's three-volume opus on the Sauk War, which he completed before he died. The other volumes cover the Battle of Wisconsin Heights and the Battle of the Bad Axe. Again... these are eyewitness compilations, not analytical hisotries of these events.

This is a wonderful book not just of ice creams and sorbets but of many different kinds of frozen desserts. This was a gift from my husband when I bought an ice cream maker--but with this book, you don't even need one. The author gives instructions on still-freezing, so anyone can make the recipes in this book.

This is a wonderful introduction to the legend of Arthur. The story is told in a nice, straightforward way that doesn't interfere with the wonderful drawings. There's enough detail in the drawings to entertain an older artist, but not so much that a younger person will get frustrated trying to color.

ACF Competencies for Business and Math Skills, as outlined in the Apprenticeship Operations Manual v1.3 can be met with successful completion of this workbook. Great resources that chefs can use for many years. A few errors found: temperatures need to be updated to agree with ServSafe guidelines and Food Code of 1998.

Sharon McCone, RD ACF Central Arkansas Culinary School of Apprenticeship

Loritts' easy to read tribute to his father is a "must read" for any father who is striving to not only "talk the talk" but "walk the walk" with his own children. This down to earth story gripped me from the beginning and I couldn't put it down until I had read the whole book through in one sitting. You won't be dissapointed by learning the lessons that Crawford Lorrits has to offer about loving God and sharing that love with your family.

Randy Conley
randyc@blanchardtraining.co