The Japanese American draft resisters responded to Pearl Harbor not with an ultra-nationalism for the America that had treated them and their families so unjustly, but with a principled insistence on America's higher ideals. By vindicating that choice, Professor Muller's work helps to preserve for all of us the same choice of responses in the wake of 9/11. For many Americans, especially Asian Americans and Arab Americans, waving the flag today combines and conflates a message of patriotism with a historically well-founded fear that we will be counted as less than fully American when America, the one and only nation we love and call home, faces a time of crisis. In the face of these conflated meanings, it is only with a free conscience that an American can ever hope to invest a choice to dedicate his life to his country with the meaning he intends. The resisters remind us that in a time of national crisis, the freedom of conscience is the most precious freedom of all.

We know about the 120,000 Americans of Japanese heritage who were imprisoned and interned in ten concentration camps in the USA during WWII "By Order of President" Roosevelt and the Army, in places like Tule Lake, Heart Mountain, and Minidoka. We know about the young men, the Nisei, who served their country with distinction in the 100th Battalion and 442nd regimental combat team in Italy and Europe, while their families were stripped of their civil rights and property. But what about those young men who resisted their draft order since they had no civil rights? What of those who were imprisoned and never pardoned after the war? In hindsight, weren't they just as courageous? What about the courage of Federal Judge Louis Goodman? The author of this book, himself the son of a refugee, the grandson of a man who was sent briefly to Buchenwald from Frankfurt, and was tagged an enemy alien in the USA, has written this excellent, well researched book that will be an excellent resource to students of U.S. history and the fight for civil liberties.

This is a group our history books will never cover: Interned Japanese-American citizens who resisted the draft. This book also covers details like their interactions with Black folks and Conscientious Objectors (mostly Quakers) once they were imprisoned.

The chapter on continuing tension within the Japanese community relating to how to treat the resisters is also valuable. It's no exaggeration to say this book contains information the average person will find nowhere else.

Here's another book of fine photography devoted to cowboys and buckaroos, this time put together by three women. It's a big oversize book, with 48 black and white plates by California photographer Kendall Nelson. The rather worshipful and romantic text is by German-born writer Felicitas Funke-Riehle. Gretel Ehrlich has provided an introduction about the lonely, hard work of a cowboy, written in her own meticulous eye-for-detail style. (Clint Eastwood has a brief 5-sentence foreword.)

The photos were taken 1996-1999 on several ranches in Nevada, with some additional shots taken in Texas, Wyoming, and Idaho. Most of them are of individual cowboys, many with their horses. Typically they are captured against a sweeping terrain under a big sky with scattered clouds. A buckaroo gathers sage brush for a branding fire. Another sits in the open flap of a teepee tent bent over a silver bit he's repairing, Four vaqueros sit in the shade against a wall, smoking cigarettes, the oldest of them watching the photographer.

Cowboys move cattle through sage brush, raising clouds of dust. A cowboss stands with his wife and son against the plank walls of a shed, their three border collies gathered at their feet. A man leans, head down against a fence, snow collecting on the brim of his hat. The photographs capture the relentless, hard work of these men and something of their solitude. Even as they wait for their horses (see cover photograph) they stand separately, keeping a distance between them. I recommend this book to anyone with an interest in cowboys, cattle ranching, Western life, and thoughtful photography. For vintage photographs of cowboys, I suggest also Richard Collins' "The American Cowboy."

Timeless black and white photography of a timeless subject, Cowboys of the American West. Well done with an obvious emotional connection to her work. A must for everyone's home and heart!

If you have any interest in cowboys or the American west, you'll love this book. The stunning photographs and elegent text tell the story of a simple, rugged lifestyle that is, sadly, disappearing all too quickly from our national landscape.

You'll want to keep this one handy to look at again and again. And it makes a great gift!

In and around the town of Poetry, Missouri, a sudden string of tornadoes have done a great deal of damage. Jenilee Lane ("white trash") and Eudora Gibson ("garden society") find themselves literally thrown together as a result. Though they've been neighbors for many years, the two would normally not be seen in each other's company -- would probably have never spoken to each other again, if not for the unusual circumstances caused by the tornado. Through alternating chapters, these two women reveal what they're seeing and feeling. Their stories and those of the other residents of Poetry make for fascinating reading. The setting and the characters are so real that you feel as though you could drive down the road and find them all in the next town. Lisa Wingate is indeed a gifted writer. _Good Hope Road_ is the best mainstream novel I've read in years.

What a blessing to have had GOOD HOPE ROAD picked for our Virtues & Vices Book Club! Lisa Wingate has crafted a beautiful story filled with hope and forgiveness. Others have mentioned God's timing of the release with the recent tornadoes, so let me focus instead on the characters and theme.
Her three-dimensional characters have the same struggles that we all do--negative thoughts, a tendency toward gossip, fear of the future, and painful family relationships. However, they move through life with a certain hope buoyed by their faith. She captures the essence of small town life--both the good and the bad--as the residents of Poetry, MO work to make some sense out of a tragedy and search for miracles in the devastation. None of her characters are perfect but that is what endears them to her readers.
I gave her first novel, TENDING ROSES, to all of my children's teachers for Christmas last year (and they all loved it). I will buy GOOD HOPE ROAD for birthday presents for friends this year. Lisa, we love what you're doing here. Keep it up!

Remember the last time you read a book so wonderful you wanted to tell everyone you knew about it? One such book is GOOD HOPE ROAD which takes place in the aftermath of a tornado. The book is told in alternating first person POV by Jenilee Lane, a 21 year-old woman whose family has been called the "worst white trash" of the small town of Poetry, Missouri and of Eudora Gibson, the 78-year-old woman Jenilee saves when her house is destroyed by the tornado The author has done a fabulous job with these characters and in telling this fabulous, fabulous story.

Jenilee is stunned but unhurt as she watches a powerful tornado pass near her rural home. As stunned as she is, she knows she has to check on her neighbors including elderly Eudora Gibson. Jenilee's father and brother have taken their truck and gone to a cattle auction so she takes the only transportation available ' a tractor and stops at the Gibson farm. What she sees shocks her ' the stately old home is completely gone. Calling for Mrs. Gibson, she finally hears noises from a nearby cellar -- the door of which is blocked by a large tree limb. She uses the tractor to remove the tree limb and saves the life of not only Mrs. Gibson but of little Lacy, Mrs. Gibson's six-year-old granddaughter.

The next day Jenilee heads out for town but on the way she picks up fragments of the lives of many of the townspeople ' photographs, mementos, and letters ' things she is sure someone will miss. On her way to town she comes upon a high school classmate and the two of them make their way to the devastation that was once the town of Poetry.

Even though her only medical experience has been assisting the local veterinarian, Jenilee bravely steps in and does what she needs to aide both the physically wounded and the emotionally wounded residents at the armory that has become a makeshift hospital. Many of the people she helps have known all her life but who always thought of her as 'white trash' and the victim of who-knows-what-abuse at the hands of her alcoholic father. One by one, the townspeople see that they have been wrong about Jenilee. After she has done all she can helping the wounded, Jenilee remembers her bag of photos. She posts them on the walls of the armory ' and in seeing pieces of the things they thought they had lost, the townspeople begin to have hope for the future.

It's a story of hope and of second chances 'for a 21-year-old woman and the elderly woman who becomes her unlikely friend, a middle-aged doctor who has lost the will to care, an elderly man who has harbored a big secret for nearly six decades, and a young couple who has become victim of the baggage the man brought into their relationship.

It's a quick read and so uplifting I needed to wipe the tears from my eyes several times. I loved it so much I am off to order this author's first book, TENDING ROSES.

In a time when most novels read like hard-bound screenplays, Sernovitz has written a masterpiece that stands out as original, hysterically funny, and insightful.

I just found out this author is my cousin! Small world, isn't it?

This is a completely unassuming novel that starts off in recognizable First Novel Country (the overwriting, the portentousness, the effort) and winds up as one of the most insightful, charming, and lovely books about the Midwest I've ever read. It reminded me a bit of Room Temperature by Nicholson Baker and a little of Martin Amis and a little bit of David Foster Wallace. Sernovitz is terrifically funny (one of his more uptight characters "worships at the First Church of the Holy Necktie") and he handles character startlingly well for such a young guy, though I am only assuming he is young. This book is a real find in today's climate, and should be loved by everyone Midwestern or who feels Midwestern. Once you read this, you'll know what that means. Messrs Joel and Ethan Coen, please buy the rights to this--it's so clearly your next film.

ME GUSTARIA SABER COMO CONSEGUIR LOS LIBROS DE METAFISICA LOS LEO DESDE PUERTO RICO Y EN CHICAGO NO ENCUENTRO SITIO DONDE LOS VENDAN O COMO PUEDO HACER PARA COMPRAR POR INTERNET

me gusto mucho lo que lei.......ahunque es la primera vez que leo acerca de Angeles...me interesa mucho el tema......porque en ocaciones que he pasado por realmente malos momentos en mi vida...he sentido la presencia de alguien muy cerca de mi..lo he sentido en mi hombro, cerca de mi oido,.......y siempre habia pensado que era Dios... pero no sabia que Dios nos a designado un Angel especial para cada persona....yo no voy a ninguna iglesia....pero siempre he sentido a Dios muy cerca de mi....y ahora se que es el Angel que el me envio para cuidarme...quisiera saber como comunicarme con el y verlo........siempre me he sentido diferente a las demas mujeres..no se si sea mi imaginacion..pero hay muchas preguntas que quisiera que alguien me contestara...si ustedes me pueden ayudar.....se los agradeceria toda mi vida.......Gracias.

Yo he leido este libro muchas veces y lo he recomendado a muchas personas. Hay tambien un otro libro de ellas que se llama El Devocionario De Su Angel De La Guarda, lo cual es tambien fantastica. Las autoras, Barbara y Trudy, contestan tantas cuestiones practicas sobre la estrecha relacion que tenemos con los angeles. A mi me gusto el libro porque me ayuda a manifestar lo que quiero en mi vida con mas facilidad. !Se lo sugiero fuertemente!

IF YOU ARE GOING TO BUY A BOOK ON LA HABANA THIS IS IT !!!!!!! IT IS MOST INFORMATIVE AND THE PHOTOS ARE THE BEST. BEING CUBAN I HAVE BOUGHT ALMOST EVERY BOOK WRITTEN ABOUT CUBA AND THIS ONE IS MY FAVORITE - THE BEST.

Unlike other reviewers, I have no link with Cuba and I have never been to Havana, but this book made me want to go there. It was given to me as a present. Since then, I have bought two copies for friends. The photographs are as beautiful as the writing. A really special book.

Truly a unique and memorable book. I own many books on Cuba, but this book is exceptional. As Maria Luisa's book provides us with in-depth historical and architectural background accompanied by impressive photography, she also delights us with her memories of sound, sight, smell and far away world of her childhood which comes alive for all readers, but specially those who lived in the beautiful island of Cuba. It is a treasure for our Cuban heritage and a beautiful addition to anyone's library. A friend, relative and admirer from Miami, Florida

I really enjoyed this book because the little kitten thinks that she has lost her purr but she has really not. In the book she also goes to all of the farm animals and asks them if they have it and at the end she finds out she has it all along and her mother shows her. I hope when you read it you will enjoy it just as much as i did.

I just loved this book. The illustrations were bright and very eye catching. The kitten was just adorable. I liked how the kitten went to all of the different animals looking for its purr. This book would help kids learn all of the different sounds that animals make. It was a very cute book.

This is a wonderful story about a kitten who is in search of her purr. She explores the entire barnyard and asks all of its inhabitants but has no success. Finally when she's ready to give up, she curls up with her mom and discovers that her purr was with her the whole time.
The illustrations in this book are bright and bold and the story line is adorable. Every child will be able to relate to that wonderful feeling of curling up with someone they love.

Set in a vivid and dramatic landscape, this memoir tells a story filled with honesty, humor, and courage. Allen observes with a keen eye. She takes on one of the great challenges for a writer, giving us not just the surface of the moments of a relationship but the deep undercurrents, both real and imagined, and succeeds with a grace that seems effortless. Allen's inner journey blends perfectly with the wild spaces, the free spirited horses, and the quirky human world, which is at once familiar, weird, and sobering.

Allen is an engaging guide and companion. We can only hope she shares more of her journey with us.

I was very taken by this wonderful real-life novel. Even if the reality level is relatively high, the author manages to turn it into something that transcends the documentary, the journalistic. By mixing many atfirst sight totally unrelated elements, in the end it turns out to be a novel about spirituality in daily life, or about how to see meaning in it.
The location of the American North-West is much more than just an
impressive backdrop. The scenery in the broadest sense of the word, including the population, is subject and metaphor at the same time.
Penny Allen seems to focus on the "outside" of things, but interprets the "inside". All elements come together towards the very end, not only in a literary way, but in the way things sometimes do, in real life.

I read this book with a lot of pleasure and satisfaction. It is
introspective, but at the same time describes mundane and sometimes gruesome events that happen in the real world. And it's funny, if you share the author's sense of humor.

Memoirs are the current hot genre. Often they depend on one big event for their oomph, or they putter along in a very interior manner. Penny Allen, a radical bohemian filmmaker now living in Paris, caretook a horse ranch in eastern Oregon, which would provide enough gist for most memoirist's mills. Perhaps Allen is lucky, perhaps she draws intense people and events to her, perhaps her filmmaker's gaze sees and frames life as most of us do not--certainly most of us wouldn't have emerged with such an amazing quilt of interlocking stories. Thoreau observed that most people lead lives of quiet desperation, and Allen's time on the high desert proves no exception. She finds these desperate lives and recounts them brilliantly, but after the regular weird folks come the hardcore character actors: the cult of Rajneeshpuram, the Vietnam vet "on patrol," the ghost, and more. With the constitution of a war journalist, she never averts her eyes, and she is willing to tell us exactly what she saw. --Hollis Taylor, Sydney, Australia

This book is one of the funniest ever! Years ago, when I drove my latency-aged children across country, we had the book in the car, and to avoid sibling conflict on the long road trip, I had my daughter read it aloud. It's one of my most treasured memories. It has everything: Treasure, bad guys, good guys (Indians), clever kids who win the day. The publisher needs to get its head examined for not keeping it in print.

Arizona Slim tells the story as if he's chatting to you, and the misspellings help a lot. While reading you feel like you're in the book, with him. All the characters make you seem very close to them, and they are hilarios in their ways, language and actions. Their names are enough! For people who dont like long, slow moving book this is the one. Fast moving, interesting, original and above all funny. The book has a quality that you can't describe, it's so good. Really, whoever you are, you MUST read it.

As with the other two people who have reviewed this book, I was introduced to it by my father. I very much enjoyed listening to this story. In the 20 years since, I have read this book several times - my copy is now ragged! I have also enjoyed reading this book to young people while working as a day care provider. There is enough mischief and mayhem, enough sneaky twists, and enough action to keep your attention. The language is, at times, poetic, at other times just plain funny. It is truly a crime that this book is not in print. I want to send a copy to my eleven year old half-sister, but don't want to give mine up!

I found Hawaii For Dummies very informative. I purchased the 1st edition in November in order to start planning our trip to Maui in June. One of the reasons I purchased this book (in addition to "Frommer's Maui") was because the cover of the book states "Updates at dummies.com". So, I figure this meant that up to date information would be provided on that website (as far as Hotel recommendations, restaurants, activities..etc..). Well, after reading the book and making many notes, I went to the website and perused the ENTIRE site..went to the travel section...located the book but could not find any reference to any "updates". All that was there was information on ordering books. So, I wrote 2 emails to them asking about the "updates" and have not received one word in response. So, has anyone out there actually been successful in getting updates or does this simply mean that we have the opportunity to purchase the 2nd and 3rd editions of Hawaii for Dummies online at dummies.com? The book is worth purchasing...but better if you can get it on sale...and forget any updates.

This book was incredibly helpful for my first trip: I used it as a starting point for research. This book is easy and fast to read but very informative, which is exactly what I wanted.

The book gives summary descriptions and helps you decide between the islands first, then goes more in depth on all each island has to offer. Add the internet to this to flesh out the author's information a bit more and you will be set. The maps were good here too for Waikiki: I never got lost as I drove around, amazingly enough, even though my Hawaiian born friend and her friends did!! The hardest part was just trying to decide between all the attractions/entertainment Hawaii had to offer: the author is thorough, and there was nothing I hadn't already been introduced to by the author when I got to the islands.

When my wife and I were planning for our "once in a lifetime" trip to Hawaii last summer, we looked at perhaps 15 different tranvel books on the islands. They all had a little of something, but Hawaii For Dummies had a lot of everything. Save yourself some time and just buy this book. Perhaps after you read it you might want to get a book on a specialty topic, but this is the "Hawaii Travel 101" class textbook to read to get a great start on the topic. Nuff said.