Cheryl Gittens-Jones captures the essence of colonialism and all of its insidious effects in her first novel. The Cleansing is an important read for anyone interested in a deeper understanding of the effects of international hegemony on the family; the metaphoric microcosm. Gittens-Jones reveals the truth that is rarely told, as seen through the eyes of a deeply perceptive Unis MonteClaire. I was fortunate enough to have attended a reading in which Gittens-Jones brought her chapter heading poems to life in the lyrical and emotional Bajan dialect. I highly recommend The Cleansing, or anything else written by this young, passionate writer who writes from the soul.

This book is a must read!!! The author gave first reading at Odyssey bookstore, South Hadley on May 03, 2003. The poems in THE CLEANSING
were performed by the author and I was blown away!!! Impressive and awe inspiring work. This new Caribbean Woman Writer is going places. I highly recommend this work. It is profound. THE CLEANSING will give major insight about the system of colonialism and how it can have a negative impact generation after generation if not acknowledged.

Cheryl Gittens-Jones first Novel "The Cleansing" is a dynamic and vital addition to the carribean woman's writing genre. Her examination of the legacies of racisms, sexism, and colonialism on the Barbadian family is a must read!

This is a great mix of old photos, new photos, and history. It makes a great companion piece to the more popular "Colorado 1870 - 2000" and in some ways it is superior to that book. For one thing, "Colorado Yesterday and Today" costs half as much as the Jackson/Fielder book. Also, Collier takes the time to talk about each and every place that is featured in his collection of photographs, something which is sorely missing in the other book.

Collier's re-shoots are right on the money, and when they are not, he tells us (access issues pop up from time to time). The connection to his great-great-grandfather is touching. Most importantly, this is a book that you can read and enjoy. It is not a ponderous 'picture book' that won't fit in your bookcase.

Although most people who live in Colorado have a vague idea of how much the state has changed in the past century, to see it shown so starkly in beautiful photographs like this is fascinating. Grant Collier has created an amazing testimonial to the march of history and the turbulent growth of the Centennial State. Collier's love of his subject is obvious on every page and the reader can't help but be drawn into a story, not only of Colorado, but of Collier's search to understand his stoic great-grandfather, the famous pioneer photographer Joseph Collier. Buy it!

Colorado: Yesterday & Today is a truly compelling look at Colorado through the eyes of one of our state's pioneer photographers and his great-great-grandson, Grant Collier. Everything about this book is first-rate, from the then-and-now photos and the text to the very impressive leather cover. I highly recommend this book to anyone who lives in, or enjoys visiting, Colorado.

I am going to visit Santa Fe for a few days and to do a job interview there. I wanted a book that would give me all the information I needed about Santa Fe and the surroundings so that I could come up with a list of places I wanted to visit, restaurants I wanted to eat at, and so on. I definitely recommend this book for those who want to be able to have a clear picture of where they want to go once they reach Santa Fe!

I love Santa Fe and have been there numerous times. I'm always looking for new aspects of the city to see. I like this guide book because it is not mearly a list of places to stay and eat. I agree with the places recommended as some of the highlights of the city. I look forward to my next trip to enjoy some of the new things I've read to do in Santa Fe and the surrounding areas.

We just got back from Santa Fe. This book was wonderful! It has history, what to see (museums, ruins, architecture), where to eat (an interesting list -- we didn't particularly use it because we had personal referrals). It had great tips -- like buy the 5-museum pass for slightly more than a one-museum, one-day pass. I was very pleased I'd read it BEFORE I went and it was very useful while we were there.

My husband and I read "The Complete Wilderness Paddler" before we went on a three week canoe trip north of the Great Slave Lake in Canada's Northwest Territories. It contained exactly what we needed to learn. We even ended up singing the authors' "Little Black Flies" song a few times ourselves--see Chapter Nineteen, "A Disquisition on Some (Justly) Unsung Creatures of the Woods." This chapter not only contains the black flies song ("Black flies, little black flies/ Rum bum umble dum little black flies...") but also charts a technique for unobtrusively shagging your black flies off onto an unsuspecting decoy, e.g. your husband or the guide. Priceless. This is the kind of stuff you really need to know if you're planning any kind of camp-out north of Indiana.

The authors had to portage around thirty-two sets of rapids (not easy with a canoe balanced on your head) on their trip down the entire length of Labrador's Moisie River. They include invaluable information on trail-finding (if there is a trail) and bushwack portages, accomplished with "compass, map, and horse-sense." (Nowadays, one might also use a GPS device). One of the suggestions if you happen to be looking for the next lake across the watershed, is to head for the point on the horizon where the trees dip the lowest, "but not if the topo shows it to be the Dismal Swamp."

Just remember that you may be bushwacking the next body of paddleable water with the center thwart of a canoe across your shoulders. You won't have a lot of energy for sight-seeing.

If you are going to traverse a well-known river, you might not have to read the chapters on "Scouting" and "Lining." However, it might still be a good idea to know the information they contain, just in case your 'well-known' river is running high or very low.

Jim, Rug, Joe, and Peach (the 'wilderness paddlers') also spend a great deal of time demonstrating via diagrams and text, the tactics and strokes for handling all conditions of still and wild water--the Moise River had them all--not to mention ice, haystacks, eddy lines, souse holes, curlers, and roosters.

There is also advice on bailing techniques, and how to recover when your canoe capsizes.

This book is 'the' classic for anyone who wants to take off into the Wilderness and do some heavy-duty paddling. It's authoritative, extremely detailed, and also enormously fun to read.

I first read this book over 15 years ago and the wisdom it contains is as timely as ever. Not only is the book a thorough education in wilderness exploration and paddling, it provides entertaining look into the distinct personalities of two enthusiasts. If you like to laugh while you learn, this book is for you.

I gave a copy to my fiance before we went on our first river adventure last year and would reccomend it to anyone who is trying to prepare for a canoe trip. The book coverse everything from basic wilderness orientation and safety to paddling techniques and scouting. While the equipment available to canoeists has dramatically improved in the 30 (?) years since this book was written, the techniques and advice they provide are timeless. Even the experienced paddler will enjoy this quick and entertaining read.

A wonderful story. The title is wrong; this is not an instruction manual. This is a true story of four young men who find the headwaters of the Moisie River and then canoe its entire length. But it is a story written with wit and sensitivity, from the finding of the Coke bottle in the wilderness of Labrador to the final shoot to the St. Lawrence. Get it. Don't hesitate. you'll love it.

Conch Shell Murder keeps you guessing from start to finish. Marvelous characters jump right off the page. The author's great sense of place makes you feel you are there, pulling for Katie Hassworth to solve the murder of Alexa Chitting a colorful, controversial Key West figure. A suspenseful, fun read.

This is a fast-paced read with a real-life
main character. Former teacher-turned-detective
Katie Hasworth must overcome inexperience,
adversity, and even a romance! And what's
not to love about the glamorous backdrop of
Key West, Florida? Unlike too many of the
haunted, super-human sleuths of today's whodunnits,
Katie is someone we can all relate to -- and cheer for.

Though she has partnered with former Miami cop Mac McCartel for two years, former schoolteacher Katie Hasworth has been bonded and licensed as a private detective for a few months. Her confidence is limited so she is hesitant to take on a murder investigation especially with her mentor out of town even though her landlady and friend Diane Dade asks her to look into the death of her mother Alexa Chitting. Reluctantly Katie agrees to investigate the homicide ruled a robbery gone bad by the Key West police and concurred with by Mac.

Katie begins her inquiries at the scene of the crime, Alexa's office, where the culprit killed the victim using a conch shell that ironically symbolizes birth. Katie finds an obscure bullet that the cops overlooked and believes more than just a robbery occurred as Alexa was changing her will. However, she wonders who were the losers if Alexa had signed her revised will and would one of them kill to keep his or her inheritance? Katie learns the answer as she becomes a target when she gets too close.

This engaging private investigative tale hooks readers because the heroine lacks confidence yet courageously seeks to solve the homicide against staggering professional odds. The story line reads more like an amateur sleuth cozy as the violence is left off the pages and Katie is learning on the job. Katie is a delightful individual and the support cast enables the audience to understand her, especially her fears, much better even when they fail to cooperate. Fans will enjoy Dorothy Francis' straightforward Florida (no major whackos) mystery.

Harriet Klausner

An excellent rendition of how western law had transformend the American West into a land for humans, filled with dam after dam. Wild salmon have no where to go. Laws seem to be more powerful than Nature!

A very scholarly, but accessible, history of the development of the West and the social/political/economic structures that shaped land, water and resource rights there. In particular, Wilkinson is addressing the notorious Hardrock Mining Act of 1872 (still in effect), the distribution of land and grazing rights, the fisheries of the Pacific Northwest, and the timber industry. His analysis of the Lords of Yesterday - his term for the antiquated statutes that govern those industries - is very convincing. The book's only weakness is that this is a 1992 text (presumably researched in the decade previous) that doesn't reflect changes in the laws and political pressures over the past decade. It would benefit from a new edition.

Wilkinson offers a balanced account of the forces that created the law and policy of the American West, and also of the forces that keep those outdated policies active in a very different West. As a native of Colorado, it was apparent that Wilkenson has spent a great deal of time in the American West and truly understands the complex issues that the region faces today. Very well researched, very easy to read.

Cuba And The Coming American Revolution by author and political activist Jack Barnes, is a provocative and forcefully worded examination of the history and the future of American and Cuban politics. Ranging from the utter disaster that was the Bay of Pigs to predicting a socialist revolution in American policy and a counterrevolution in Cuba, this is an informed and informative account of class struggle. Barnes especially underscores the ways in which the American working class has been steamrolled and the consequent incentives that call for change. Cuba And The Coming American Revolution is a thought-provoking look at where two nations mights well be headed and a very welcome contribution to Cuban History and Socialist Studies academic reference collections and supplemental reading lists.

Jack Barnes, the author of this boook, points out: "The greatest obstacle to the line of march of the toilers is the tendency, perpetuated by the exploiting classes, for working people to underestimate ourselves, to underestimate what we can accomplish, to doubt our own worth." This book proves that like the Cubans the working class in the United States has the capacity to win political power. Barnes explains how after a visit to Cuba in 1960 he and other student activists defended Cuba during the Bay of Pigs invasion. They stood up to both campus administrators and right-wing thugs and won the the right not only to speak out but to become the makers of history, like the Cubans. Barnes explains how the Cubans as a people demonstrated remarkable courage and determination in standing up to an imperialist terror campaign, arms in hand, while continueing their revolutionary work, which included a literacy campaign the likes of which has not been seen before or since. IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR A BOLD SOCIAL VISION, I RECOMMEND THIS BOOK TO YOU!

If you think, or rather I should say believe, that the "market" is the best of all possible systems, this the best of all possible countries, in the best of all possible worlds, then this is not the book for you.But if you are serious about doing something effective about meaningful social change in the "new millenium", then you owe it to yourself to buy this book.The author begins with the efforts of a small band of young people at a small Midwestern college to oppose the Yankee empire's efforts to overthrow the Cuban Revolution at the Bay of Pigs in 1961, and during the "Missile Crisis" in 1962. He shows you how and why the Cuban people then, and still today, were willing to fight and die to defend their nation and revolution, and how those everyday ordinary working people changed themselves into better humans in the process.He then explains that the only way to rid the earth of war, racism, discrimination against women, enviromental catastrophe,etc., is to do what the Cubans did, here in the "belly of the beast" --make a revolution. The alternative, he affirms, is fascism and a new world war. Finally he points to a concrete program to unify working people here and now,at home and abroad, necessary to fight back against the economic catastrophe looming before us to anyone with eyes to see.

If you are serious about making a human world, buy this book ! And pass it on to others.

This excellent book not only saved us time and money...it told us about wonderful things to see & do that neither my travel agent or freqent visitors knew about. It's easy reading, funny, and very informative. I've given copies for gifts to people planning a trip to Las Vegas. Our copy has dog ears, many yellow highlighted areas, worn pages which proves it's well worth reading and re-reading. DON'T LEAVE HOME FOR VEGAS WITHOUT IT !

Las Vegas is one of the most visited cities in America, and this book is a great reference. I got this book right after I went to Las Vegas for the first time and planned all my future trips around it. Admittedly, everything in Las Vegas changes every six months, but there are a lot of websites and references to find more information at the end of this book. The subjects covered in this book include how to get there, where to stay, where to eat and drink, basic gambling, and most importantly, where to shop. They do a lot of categorizing of hotels and entertainment which is good, for example, telling you which activities are good for children and which are fun for wild party people in their 20s. This book also hits on some of the lesser known attractions, and gives you a good idea of what kind of things you'll enjoy seeing (and what things will be a waste of your time). There is also a lot of invaluable advice found in these pages. Despite the "idiot" title, this a smartly written and well put together book that will appeal to a variety of people. Don't leave for Las Vegas without it.

I had never been to Vegas before, and a friend of mine loaned me this exact book. My dread of this vacation soon became one of excitment. I took the book with me, and we did tours (Hoover Dam and two city tours) that we wouldn't have without it. The book was a great, great help! It is easy to read, fun to follow, and I even read parts that didn't apply to me. I enjoyed the trip very much and plan to go back next year. It tells you when to go to save money, what the weather is like, what each hotel is like---it was much better than the tour agency I counted on to book the trip for me. There is plenty to do there besides gamble!!!! I had a strict budget for my companion and myself and we didn't even spend that, we were so busy. Take the recommondations to heart and have fun paging threw this to learn and enjoy before you go. Then write me! I found myself at ease when there and I would be glad to answer any questions you have! I was not a believer before I went, and now I want to make it an anual trip! Get this book and GO!

This book is a great book. It is in wonderful detail of the mid 1800's and the western trails. I definitely recommend this book, but this book is more for older readers. If you love history and things about the westward trails you will love this book. These letters and diaries are great to read if you love history and geography like me.

I have read all 11 books in this series over and over, and I would recomend them all. It is like looking over the shoulder of the rugged pioneer women as they took time, almost every day, to document what would probably be the most important event in their lives. Tired,wet, and sometimes hungry, they brought stability to the west. I have also traveled and seen many sights that still remain as evidence of the Oregon Trail. We can't travel back in time, but this is the next best thing!

I got this book yesterday in the mail and it is already read. This book takes letters, diaries and other correspondence of women who shaped the frontier and gives the reader an insight into the hardships that their families faced making the long western crossing to the hope of a better future in Oregon and California.
The author has tapped many sources in libraries all across the west to get this information together. He makes a point in the introduction that this is information compiled nowhere else. He deals with lesser known narratives except he does include a journal from Virginia Reed a child travelling with the Donner Party and Tabitha Brown one of the top 10 figures in shaping Oregon history.
Very informative and educational! Can't wait to start the next book in the series.