As someone who likes the Santa Fe and Fred Harvey, this book added a new dimension to my knowledge. I applaud Ms. Poling-Kempes' research, and I truly think the oral form she used was the correct way to bring the memories of former Harvey Girls to life. I believe this book could be used as suggested reading in an American History class, as it shows one facet of the development of the west. Also, it shows in places, the goodness of these largely unsung women (and even a few Harvey officials who were men), the goodness this country is rightly proud. I would recommend this book to anyone who has even a passing interest in this era of the West, railroads, and even of fine food service. I tip my cap to Ms. Poling-Kempes for a very worthwhile bood.

This is a wonderful history book disguised as a fast-moving novel.I had no knowledge of Fred Harvey's enterprises,or of the Harvey Girls,and how they affected the settling of the West along the routes of the Sante Fe Railroad. I've read extensively about the settling of the American West, but why have these people not been recognized before now? Lesley Poling-Kempes has done this country a great service by doing her extensive research on the subject of these gutsy ladies who had the courage to hop a train and set out on their own, into the uncertain world of the old West.If you enjoy reading about strong women, the settling of the American West,American entrepeneurship, or the power of the role of the railroads in shaping America, you'll enjoy this fast-paced read.It's something totally fresh and new for history buffs.

From the 1880's to the 1950's, the Harvey Girls went west to work in Fred Harvey's restaurants along the Santa Fe railway--from Chicago to Los Angeles.

At a time when there were "no ladies west of Dodge City and no women west of Albuquerque", they came as waitresses, but many stayed and settled, founding the struggling cattle and mining towns that dotted the region.

Poling-Kempes has created the gold standard for writing and reporting on women in the west. Aside from 10 years research, archival studies, photo retrieval, the author contacted in person and by telephone and correspondence some eighty former employees that once totaled 100,00.

This unique, unduplicated history is alive with color and original narrative. Major reviews by the NY Times, American Heritage, Parade. Writing in the Washington Post Book World Jonathon Yardley sums it up

"A story that seems to have completely vanished from the national memory; for giving it new life, Poling-Kempes deserves gratitude and praise."

Poling-Kempes has other titles on this theme:Far From Home--West By Rail With The Harvey Girls and The Golden Era--West by Rail With the Harvey Girls. Illustrations for this paper doll history are by famous fashion illustrator Lynette C. Ross. Books available from Texas Tech University Press 1-800-832-4042.

Her novel, Canyon Of Remembering and Valley of Shining of Stone-The Story of Abiquiu explore the rich and at times, mysterious, life of the Southwest.

Dr. Klinenberg helps us as readers, citizens, and media-watchers reconceptualize heat waves as meterological disasters to social ones. He argues that such a reconceptualization allows us to understand that society is responsible and SHOULD be responsible for deaths. The brillant part of his book is that he does not pin the blame on any one person, one entity, or one organization. He shows how residents of neighborhoods, the spatial organizations of neighborhoods, politicians, local and national governments, the media, and even history play a role in why these deaths occurred and why the numbers were as significant as they are. Thus, we are all responsible!

The book looks at the phenomenon through more than just through the lens of statistics. His ethnographic work helps to look at the lives and qualitative nuances of the numbers. We hear the explanations and the critiques of the residents in the neighborhoods that were hit the hardest by the heat wave deaths. In addition, KLinenberg places their voices in conversation with reporters at the time, insiders of the Daly regime, public health officials, and even police officers. Therefore, we see the phenomenon from both the "official" and "unofficial" sources.

Anyone who is an activist, an academic, or a citizen of any American city should read this book. It will change your perspective on how urban areas really operate and SHOULD operate.

This book will make Dr. Klinenberg one of the foremost scholars of our time.

What weather phenomenon kills the most people in America? Hurricanes? Tornadoes? Floods? Add those up and they will still not total the deaths attributed to the real killer: heat waves. The other phenomena yield good pictures, and that is one reason you don't hear much about heat deaths. But according to Eric Klinenberg, an assistant professor of sociology at New York University, there is another, more subtle reason. Victims of a heat wave "are primarily social outcasts - the elderly, the poor, and the isolated - from whom we customarily turn away." In _Heat Wave: A Social Autopsy of Disaster in Chicago_ (University of Chicago Press), Klinenberg has looked at the week-long heat wave of July 1995, which killed over 700 people. (Another comparison: the famous Chicago fire of 1871 killed about three hundred.) In Chicago, the heat hit up to 106 degrees, with a heat index over 120. Cars broke down in the streets, and bridges, rails, and roads buckled. Even with the windows open, brick homes could heat up to 120 degrees. The heat killed, but it did not just kill randomly. In clear, objective, but often biting pages, Klinenberg shows the patterns of urban life that brought death to certain regions and certain social groups.

One group was the elderly, clearly disproportionately killed by the heat. This might be attributed simply to their bodies having fewer physiological resources to protect them. Indeed, the government of Chicago tried to explain the deaths of elders this way; the heat only culled those who were going to be dying soon anyway. There is no medical evidence that this was the case; they simply were unconnected with society, and when they died alone in their rooms, it was long before absences were noticed. Klinenberg argues forcefully that the Chicago government, at different levels, did not respond to the disaster as it would have a big fire or a train wreck. When deaths mounted, Mayor Daley was able to frame the issue as a "debate" about the rising number of deaths, when there was no scientific controversy about the matter. Human Services Commissioner Daniel Alvarez did a classic move of blaming the victim, saying, "We're talking about people who die because they neglect themselves. We did everything possible. But some people didn't want to even open their doors to us." The media also come in for criticism. They took up the artificial controversy generated by the mayor about whether the heat deaths were "real" or not. There was little analysis about which regions were being the most affected and why, and the official city version of how little could be done against an act of God was repeatedly parroted. By the time the reporters did a comprehensive story, it was "old news" and didn't run.

No one was more forgotten than forty-one victims whose bodies no one claimed or cared about. They languished in the county morgue until August, when they were buried in a huge common trench in a potter's field. Visiting the site in preparation for the book, Klinenberg learned that a few reporters had come now and then to see it, but no Chicagoans and no family members. Social and governmental forces can't control the heat, he reminds us, but they can make deaths easy to overlook and forget. His book is a pointed effort to keep that from happening.

Eric Klinenberg's new book "Heat Wave" gives readers a tremendous insight into the Chicago heat wave of 1995. He approaches this tragedy from several fronts. He begins with an account of what happened during the several days of stifling heat and continues with a look at the social impact of living and dying alone, why certain neighborhoods lost more people than others and exposes a city ill-prepared to handle the mounting number of deaths. Klinenberg continues with an assault on the politics of Chicago, the response of the mayor and those around him and finishes with an adept look at the media's role and response to the deaths of over 700 people.

Although at times the author writes in a dry style he nonetheless portrays the Chicago heat wave as a catastrophic failure on many levels. Klinenberg gets down to the root of some socio-economic problems that beset Chicago and tells us the "whys" of their causes. Many things stood out as I read this important and often scary book, but one thing kept coming through....although heat waves are discriminating killers the solutions are there if right decisions are made at the right times, by governments and citizens alike.

A sad and ironic end to "Heat Wave" is told in the form of a senior editor at The Chicago Tribune who decided to relate this tragedy from both a human and social side. As Chicago cooled down his work went on. Unfortunately, only a small part of the story was ever printed as the paper decided that in the chill of November few readers would be interested in a story that had occurred during the blistering heat only a few months before.

I highly recommend this book. It is a service to help us understand what happened during July of that year. As the author points out, this could happen again.

As with most 2nd editions the authors have enhanced their publication. Route descriptions are more concise and easier to follow. Plus, they have added a multitude of new photos which help you navigate your way to the Colorado summit. The addition of Broomfield County was a nice addition since it has just become a county.

The 1st edition was a landmark production and the 2nd edition is just that much better. A must purchase for anyone who is serious about hiking/climbing to the highest point of each Colorado county.

As someone who has summitted the 100 highest peaks in the lower 48 states, including the 200 highest peaks in Colorado, as well as the 50 state highpoints, I recognize the value and importance of a good guidebook. It is imperative to have John & Dave's book while pursuing yet another list of hiking goals.

This book contains important information not available elsewhere. The information is arranged in a practical and useful manner. I found the driving and hiking maps to be invaluable (many county highpoints are in very obscure locations).

If you want to see parts of Colorado that you may not have visited before, this is a fun guide to use.

The information available in this book, whether you are an experienced hiker/climber or new to the sport, is outstanding. Mitchler and Covill have put together an excellent, meticulously researched guidebook (including specific no-fail directions ) for anyone wanting to hike Colorado's county highpoints. In a delightful addition to that, the book also provides detailed information about the towns, counties, and often the history surrounding each highpoint. This is an excellent book whether you want to actually go out on the trail, or just read about these Colorado scenes. Excellent photos complete this book. You won't be disappointed!

A well researched and well written guide. Readers like pictures and this book has lots of bright and colorful pictures with descriptions and information. The book gives insight into Mr. Laughlin and his pottery. I recommend this book to all collectors of Homer Laughlin.

This is a must have for Homer Laughlin collectors. Get a feel for the life,times and area that produced the largest American manufacturer of dinnerware. This book is packed with information that you just can't digest in one setting. I'm constantly referring to it and learning something new everytime.

This book is indispensable for indentifying the older pieces of Homer Laughlin. While not a price guide per se it does give the reader an idea of the value of older pottery shapes.

A great book, one perhaps destined for cultdom. I love this guy's writing--clear, lucid prose, very spare and virtually poetic in many instances--and he deserves to be far better known and read than he is.

These days, Kenta-Ke remains a symbol of the first "Far West," a New World Eden that sparked mass migrations through the Cumberland Gap and down the Ohio and, ultimately, creation of the Union's fifteenth state. In Twentieth Century Fox's 1991 version of The Last of the Mohicans, when Nathaniel "Hawkeye" Poe declares that he is "heading west, to Kenta-Ke," he's speaking for all Americans seeking elbow-room. In reality, Hawkeye, like Kenta-Ke, are metaphors for two centuries interpreted and reinterpreted in a literary glut tantamount to a cottage industry.
It would be hard to write about all of this with a fresh eye, but Ted Franklin Belue, in this his fourth and newest release, The Hunters of Kentucky: A Narrative History of America's First Far West 1750-1792, manages to do just that. And artfully so.
The Hunters of Kentucky is unlike any Kentucky book ever before written-a bold statement, considering the number of books out there on the Commonwealth, Daniel Boone, Simon Kenton, Long Knives and longhunters. Belue's Hunters opens with a dark, brooding, Iliad-like prologue describing the Ohio Valley's first inhabitants and the land's despoliation during the brutal era of the Beaver Wars and ends with the Treaty of Lancaster (1744), setting the stage for exploration and settlement.
Then, seeking to restore a balance lacking in most histories, mainly that Daniel Boone was far from being the only capable woodsman roaming Kentucky, The Hunters of Kentucky tells of the sweep of humantide infiltrating the Middle Ground via an anthology of sagas, narratives and themes with overlapping shifts in chronology and voice. Its focus rests upon the lives and deeds of mostly unheralded men-like George Bedinger, Nicholas Cresswell, James Nourse, Daniel Trance, Spencer and Laban Records, James Estill, James Smith-and a few famous ones, like Thomas Walker, Christopher Gist, Capt. Thomas Bullitt and his Fincastle surveyors, the infamous Girty and the legendary Boone.
Dialogue appearing in The Hunters of Kentucky was ferreted out from the Draper Manuscripts and other primary sources. Frontier slang (like "jumed" for zoomed, "tuckeyho" for Virginian) abounds, as do insights into the day's political, social and religious fabric, all part of a common man's life. Appendix A presents perhaps the finest Kentucky chronology ever compiled. Appendix B details Fort Pitt trader George Croghan's inventories of goods, c. mid-1750s, in all, sixteen full pages set in reduced font.
Allan W. Eckert, Emmy-award winning writer, seven-time Pulitzer Prize nominee and author of 39 books, including The Frontiersmen also received an advanced copy of the book's page proofs and comments, "In The Hunters of Kentucky, Ted Franklin Belue has produced what is probably one of the most remarkable and important works on Kentucky history that has ever been penned . . . It is a joy to read and I recommend it most highly."

Not since Alan Eckert's "The Frontiersmen" have I found a book about the American frontier so scholarly, well researched yet readable and thoroughly engaging. Belue's fresh eye and distinct voice tell the story of a vanished frontier with a remarkable clarity so lacking in the glut of Kenta-Ke lore. I wanted to rush through and read it all, but I found myself sipping it like fine wine, trying to make it last. The breath of Belue's understanding of the complex forces that shaped the people and land of that dark and tumultuous age is vast. His presentation of characters too long overlooked complete a rich, textured narrative of the westward expansion. Read it!

I gave this to my wife as a gift before our recent trip to New Orleans, and she carried this book everywhere. While any book like this is a bit out-of-date as soon as it is published, it was still very useful for finding all the sites and giving us good background information. One important note though is that Anne Rice is selling off her doll collection and the orphanage, so there is no longer any tour. That was really a disappointment.

If you're going to New Orleans largely because you're a fan of Anne Rice's Vampire and Mayfair Witches novels, then this is an essential.

I used it on my first trip to New Orleans. It includes self-guided tours of the French Quarter and Garden District that include Vampire Chronicle and Mayfair sites respectively without leaving out the must-see unrelated sites and experiences. The only caveat is that zoo fans should be aware that the Audobon is one of the best in the country.

Three types of sites are covered - those related to Anne Rice herself, those used in - or speculated to have inspired locations in - the books, and those where parts of "Interview" were filmed.

With chapters on guided plantation, swamp and cemetary tours, as well as restaurants and hotels (the last including descriptions of ambviance that helped me considerably in my choice of hotel), you'll have everything you need to plan your trip and not miss anything like the Ursuline convent where Louis found Claudia and the Gardiner House that inspired the home that Lestat, Louis and Claudia shared.

Best of all, Ms. Dickinson wants us all to be careful out there in a city that can become ominous if you go too far off the beaten track sans tour group - especially at night. As she wittily reminds us, we're not all as indestructable as Lestat, and if an area - even one that contains an Anne Rice site - is unsafe, she doesn't hesitate to tell us so. Following her advice, you'll see everything you want to see and get home safe and sound.

Last year, for Christmas 97 we had to go to New Orleans to see my father's family, I was having a a horrible time because of the weather. (We went the year before for Mardi Gras, the weather makes my hair go afro-y; it doesn't help to use your normal hair-care products.) We went to the French Quarter the day we were leaving and pow there was this cool book. I had to get it, I've read all of the Mayfair Witches books. I recommend it to anyone that's ever wondered about where their favorite characters lived.

Arthur Quinn treats with respect both perspcetives of one the Modoc War. The extreme brutality of both the American Government and the Modoc Warriors is reflected in a suprisingly unbiased manner.

This book is very, very good for anybody interested in 1870 era American Indian conflicts, especially in Northern California. Story easy to follow, no unecessary words, facts etc., unless they're relevant to the story.
Reads as if it were a movie, but is all true, as judged on what I know of California frontier history.
Book is worth getting.

During the height of the Indian conflicts on the plains a smaller,but no less deadly campaign was being waged against the Modocs of the Northwest. Like the Cheyenne after them, the Modocs were a small band whose numbers had already been reduced by warfare and desease. They were willing to live peacefully, only they wanted to live in their own homeland. And as with the Cheyenne, the military wasted much time money, and worst of all lives in order to bring these people to their knees. This is a concise and well-written account of that war.

Quinn is one of those historians who makes broad use of dialogue in his work. While many scholars take a scant view of this method, I think it works well, if done carefully. Certainly we can question how Quinn could possibly know exactly what was said, when there was no one there to record it. However, memoirs and journals often paraphrase, and if the writer has researched the characters and the times well enough, I think it is fair to allow him to make certain assumptions, especially as it brings such dimension to the characters.

Quinn's depiction of events is very exciting without crossing over into sensationalism. And though any story of Americans' treatment of the Indians invites a certain amount of moralizing, he does not go overboard, nor does he portray the Modocs as saints. He also does an excellent job of incorprating the landscape into the story. Quinn's depiction of the lava beds the Modocs called home makes it even more wondrous that the Americans found it so important for them to leave.

This was definitely a story that deserved to be told, and Quinn does a very good job of it.

This book was very helpful and exciting! Two days after I recieved the book, me and a friend went out to find Nogales Canyon, NM. We had ALOT of fun and we found it with no problems. The book was extremly helpful and without it we would have never even known about this dwelling.

This book opens doors to whole new worlds of true adventure and hiking pleasure, with just the right amount of history and humor thrown in. The hikes to ancient ruins are relatively easy to find using this book, yet they lead you to places that very very few people have ever seen. I was surprised that within minutes from Phoenix or Tucson, there were such easily accessible and unknown Indian Ruins of such spectacular appearance. I would recommend this book to any novice, intermediate, or advanced hiker who is looking for an exciting and unique experience anywhere in the Arizona, Southern Utah, or New Mexico region. Excellent Book. A rare find!

"Ruins Seldom Seen" is one of the most interesting and original hiking guides I've ever read. The pueblos, cliff dwellings and rock art sites described in the book are fascinating, and the interpretive information answers all of the basic questions hikers may have about them. Just as important, the book leads hikers into many obscure wilderness areas, making it a "must" for adventurous types who yearn to get off the popular trails -- sometimes off trails altogether -- and truly explore in the Southwest. Finally, contrary to what some people think, books like this help educate the public and increase appreciation of Native Americans ruins, resulting in less theft and vandalism at archaeological sites. Many critics also fail to realize that people who destroy Indian ruins tend to be ignorant, have no interest in learning about Native Americans, and sure as heck will not pay (price) for a book about archaeology. So I give "Ruins Seldom Seen" a big thumbs-up!

Nice story about a boy's imagination but not much else to the story. GREAT pictures, as usual by Mark Teague.

Enjoyable and worth purchasing (used in good condition) anyway - as I did.

It has it all--a wild story, vivid drawings, great sense of humor. What an imagination!

This book IS perfect for starting off the school year! Teague is outstanding! When will the guy win a Caldecott? Every book he does is filled with magnificent illustrations and incredible stories! I met him a few years ago in California...what a gentleman...ALL CLASS!