In "Night Flying Woman, An Ojibway Narrative," Ignatia Broker tells the story of the forest people, the Ojibway. She shows how the white man's ways desecrated the rituals, laws and beliefs of the Native People, all but erasing their long culture. Classed as caricatures in a land that once honord them, Brokers shows how the Native People "faced bias, prejudice and active discrimination." The Ojibway philosophy for living, that of keeping in balance the purity of man and nature, is revived through Broker's telling of Oona's story, the story of many as seen through the "eyes cast down" of one. An insightful story that continues the Ojibway circle and gives us all the hope of the past for the future.

I sat and read this in one sitting. It was that good. An excellent lesson in not needing all the gadgetry this world offers in order to be happy. A great reminder for all of us that we need to care for each other in order we all can survive.

Ignatia Broker through the eyes of Oona engages the reader in a world of change. Oona learns to adapt to her environment and listens to her elders voices. This story engages the reader from the first page to the last. With beautiful drawings and a tale of survival the reader gains an indepth perspective into Oona's reality. It touched me on an emotional level and reminded me of a past which must be remembered.

With all due respect to hard-working surf journalists everywhere, author Bruce Jenkins contributes an overdue dose of world-class penmanship to one of the world's most profound human challenges-- Big Wave Surfing. As a professional sportswriter, Jenkins has covered events such as the Stanley Cup, PGA, Superbowl, and World Series. But his true love of surfing shines forth here. He captures the attitudes, lifestyles, and mystique of the world's legendary watermen, in their rightful environment: the North Shore of Oahu. I grew up surfing on Oahu, and I can attest that, for a sane person, North Shore surfing is first and foremost about conquering horrendous personal fear. Although beautiful, the waves there are huge, thick, fast, churning, and unforgiving. One must endure deathly wipeouts and end-of-the-world-type situations, and cultivate Herculean stamina to survive the hellish ocean conditions. Each surfer chronicled here has somehow overcome these odds to make it to the elite inner circle. They represent vastly different personalities, backgrounds, physical builds, but all possess one thing in common: Big Brass Ones, and the respect of the entire surf community. I especially enjoyed the interview with big-wave rider Tom Nellis and his opinions of the scene. Nellis is entertaining and forthright as he pays respectful homage to his legendary surf peers Michael Ho, Clyde Aikau, and Gerry Lopez. All in all, Jenkins does a marvelous job capturing the "Wild West" feel of the North Shore lifestyle. He's right: talk and posturing matter very little there-- in the end, it is ultimately about who has "sack" and who doesn't. The North Shore is truly a macho frontier, and in this book you'll understand why. You'll enjoy all the profiles-- Jenkins' selection of featured surfers is very well-balanced, deep, and lasting. Even if you've never surfed, get this book. You will be intrigued. And if you suspect that these wonderful tales seem somehow exaggerated or too mythic, try paddling out to a routine, Hawaiian-sized 10-foot (i.e., two-story-high) day at Sunset Beach. If by chance you live through it, thank the Lord and remember that these guys handle waves and ocean conditions SEVERAL TIMES that heavy. Hats off to Bruce Jenkins-- and I hope he writes another one!

great stories and great pictures! it gives a wonderful insight ito the most fearless men's lives, a must read!

north shore chronicals is a mind boggling book that will make you take a secound look at surfing in hawaii. With all the stories being true you will have a deep understanding for how the true hawaiian watermen live there lives.

Thomas Jefferson's " Notes on the State of Virginia" is a brilliant piece of history, sociology, law, geology, government,and science. This work, Jefferson's only book, shows his powerful, brilliant mind at it's best. Jefferson shows the depth of his knowledge, not just on his own beautiful state, but on human nature itself. Some of the gems in this work are his views on education, advocating free public education for all, free government, advocating a revisal of the defective original Virginia Constitution. His knowledge of slavery, and the Indian races before his eyes are from personal experience and observation. Although painted by the deconstuctionist left as a "racist" Jefferson was a dangerous radical to the Virginia gentry due to his advocacy of emacipation and deportation of slaves. His views on black inferiority are exaggerated since he placed them forth as a scientific hypothesis based on personal observation. Jefferson could not see a "multicultural" society in America made up of former masters and slaves with resentment and prejudice still in the hearts of both. Many of his predictions about race relations have come true: hate, resentment, power struggles, and a continuing obsession which he forsaw would destroy the America Republic.

The best edited version of the is Koch and Peden's edited on in "The Life and Selected Writings of Thomas Jefferson", but the full Notes is very good, but the reader must be prepared for numerous charts and tables. Overall a great book, and buy!

The book is written much like an epic poem- with lists of river, towns, economic conditions etc in 1780s. But also much more: His feeling on race. He obviously did not hate blacks, proposed a theory that they were less intelligent, had an aesthetic view of man akin to Gulliver's Travels and the horses. Theory of education is much akin to European model of today, much better than current theories in use. He opposed multiculturalism and opposed teaching children religion in schools or anyplace else, preferring Greek, Roman and European histories and philosophy for guidance of children. The difference between the America he wanted and the reality of today is striking. Which is better? Each must judge, but this is a must read book.

I recomend The book which was edited with an introduction and notes by William Peden. I have an orginal copy of "Notes on the State of Virginia" Second Amarican edition Printed in 1797, on loan to the Monticello, (of which I am welling to part with at the right price). This was a hard book to understand, once I read the one edited by William Peden, I had a much better understanding of what Mr. Jefferson wrote, as well as the history of Mr. Jefferson's efforts in acheaving it's final contents.

As the US government prepares for it's invasion of Iraq and the discussions and debates opposing the imperialist aggression increase, this new offering from Pathfinder stands out like a beacon.

The book details events surrounding what is widely known as the Cuba Missile Crisis, when the US administration led by President John. F. Kennedy pushed the world to the edge of nuclear war in an effort to overthrow Cuba's revolutionary government.

A year before the events in question, Cuban armed forces defeated an invasion by a counterrevolutionary force trained and armed to the teeth by Washington at the Bay of Pigs. Realising that direct US military invasion of Cuba was their only viable option, Washington began to lay the groundwork for such an action. In turn, Cuba began preparations to defend the first free territory of Americas, which included accepting a Soviet proposal to deploy missiles on the island.

After a period of negotiations between Washington and Moscow, Soviet Premier Nikita Khruschev agreed to withdraw the missiles without consulting the Cuban leadership. A week after the announcement Washington sent UN secretary general U Thant to Cuba demanding that UN "inspectors" be allowed to "supervise" the withdrawal of the missiles.

"Anyone who tries to inspect Cuba had better arrive in full combat gear!" was Fidel Castro the Cuban Prime Minister's reply.

As Cuban author Tomás Diez Acosta so amply illustrates throughout the book, there was no bluff in Castro's words. It was based in the confidence the Cuban leadership had in the hundreds of thousands Cuban workers and farmers in and out of uniform mobilised and trained - ready to defend their country.

As the book explains, this is the central reason why Washington was forced to back off from its invasion plans.

It wasn't the 'reasonableness" of the U.S. and Soviet governments that ended the "Cuban missile crisis" forty years ago.And it wasn't the "greatness" or "iron nerve" of the Kennedys and their imperial henchmen of both capitalist parties. It was the will to resist of the Cuban people, to defend to the death their nationhood and their socialist revolution.It was their political consciousness and confidence in themselves and in THEIR government and revolutionary leadership.In this book, besides the exciting blow by blow account of events that will leave you breathless, is a true picture of the "new human being" that Fidel Castro speaks of and that Che Guevara spoke so often of, in flesh and blood, facing down without a flinch the empire's threat to immolate them, and the world, in their mad desire to destroy the Cuban revolution's shining example of what we, the working people, can do if we decide to act in a revolutionary way and determine our own destiny. The Kennedys and their bipartisan Demo-Republican henchmen and their military thugs , when they realized that the Cuban people's resistance would cost them almost 20,000 casulties in the first TEN DAYS of an invasion, were forced to stand down their forces. The cowardice and duplicity of the Khrushchev Stalinist (NOT communist) bureaucrat leadership is well examined here too.Finally, first hand accounts of the equally unflinching actions of the U.S. Fair Play For Cuba Commitee , told by a leading socialist militant who with her co-fighters later helped lead the anti-Vietnam war movement, rounds the picture out. As Bush and the Democrats prepare the next in their series of wars to defend the Sacred Market System and the Almighty Dollar, fighters for fundamental social change young and old, workers, farmers, students, etc. here in the Belly of the Imperial Beast REQUIRE THIS BOOK ASAP.

Killingly funny and deadly serious at the same time. Reading this through the prism of the G7's latest drive to prepare the bombing of Baghdad is electrifying. These pages lay out so simply, so factually, that war was averted because the Cuban people faced down the world's most powerful government. As quotes from US government documents explain, fearing that, if left to its own devices, the Cuban revolution would become too popular to defeat, Washington manufactured hysterical propaganda out of whole cloth about the nuclear threat (sound familiar?) from Cuba. The Cubans, sandwiched between the Soviets' manoeuvrings and the US government's plans, behaved with such aplomb. The transcript of Castro's meeting with the UN secretary-general is priceless -- Castro is so flawlessly polite and so totally unbending in his determination that no UN personnel will inspect anything on Cuban soil and that he will address the Cuban people without delay to explain everything, that the poor diplomat is reduced to quivering about how his wife wants him to take more Sundays off. Read this to see what real politics is all about -- all the "negotiators" had to keep coming back to the one immutable, undeniable, glorious fact that the Cuban people were ready, willing and able to give invaders such a good fight, they didn't dare make the trip.

This book was put together really well. Everything had an order and only once or twice did you feel like you were jumping back and forth between years(which is what I think is the problem with most books on history). I really enjoyed the time the author took to describe things like the sidesaddles themselves or all the stages of syphlis. The Whitmans were portrayed in a completely different light than what most children are taught in school. In a time when the women were all but ignored; I find it amazing that this author could find so much information about them so that we could finally read about who they were beyond the wives of missionaries. Thank you Laurie Carlson for all the hard work you put into this one. It was worth your time and dedication.

Carlson has written an absorbing and poignant account of these brave ladies. In addition to giving readers a good sense of these women as real people--not simply stoic helpmates in a great historical drama perpetuated by their missionary husbands--Carlson provides many telling details about aspects of frontier life, such as feminine hygiene, childbearing and sanitary practices, that previous historical accounts have overlooked. This book is a wonderful example of history from a woman's point of view, and it does a fine job of bringing the past vividly to life. Highly recommended.--Paul Slimak, in The Bookcase, Victorian Decorating & Lifestyles, February, 1999.

The characters seemed quite real. I was drawn to them in spite of their obvious human frailties. They were much like modern peace corps workers, idealistic but not very practical. Dedication to their individual faiths gave them both motivation and courage. The depictions of the characters lives in New England before their journey were disturbing. The severity of their lives made it easy to understand why they would choose such a dangerous path. Depictions of the Indian tribes concerned were historically accurate, but possibly not politically correct. I greatly enjoyed this example of Mrs Carlson's work. I look forward to seeing further work by this author.

The work of landscape photographer Larry N. Olson easily rivals the best of his better-known peers like Art Wolfe and David Muench. Terms like "overpowering" and "awe-inspiring" accurately describe the scenes in OREGON RIVERS--but so do the words "elegant" and "exquisite." Olson neither "takes" nor "makes" photographs: his work gives us neither merely pretty pictures nor ego-obtrusive "studies." Instead, the union we see and feel is greater than either half. In Olson's photographs we experience true art which somehow, magically, lets nature luminesce through.

Larry N. Olson is most likely the best landscape photographer to come out of the Pacific Northwest EVER. His work speaks for itself. A truely fantastic book.

A beautifully reproduced book with very unique compositions

I just moved to San Francisco, and this book was extremely helpful. However, to those about to move, I urge you to skip the Movers section. I hired one of their recommended movers: One Big Man & One Big Truck. The book said they could move a 1 BR in 1 1/2 hours. HA!!! AFTER they tore up my $4,000 sofa, then tried to lie and say the hole had been there all along, it took them 3 hours to move HALF the apartment (and of course, only moved the lightest items first, even though we TOLD them we only needed help with the heavy objects), until my husband finally told them to take off. THEN the owner dared to insinuate that we were liars, his employees NEVER lie, etc., and to minimize our damage by saying "Hey, a $4,000 sofa is no big deal to me, I deal with them every day." We're still trying to resolve this mess a month later, and every time I look at the sofa, my blood boils. BEWARE.

This book is something everyone moving to San Francisco should have. It covers everything from descriptions of the neighborhoods to what to include in an earthquake kit. Internet addresses and phone numbers to banks, rental agencies, and just about anything else you can think of are included. I used the book a lot before I arrived and am using it just as much, if not more, after making the move. I highly recommend it.

This book has so much info. A good book to help you anticipate your move!

A study in the perserverance and dedication of a group of people to bring the wolf back to its own enviroment in the wildernesses of Yellowstone Montanna. Full of information this book will elate you as well as sadden you, but the winner here of course is the wolf who once more runs free on his land.

Jim Brandenberg always brings the wolf into our homes vividly and with great skill through his photographs, and in this book, these exquisite photos are paired up with the informative writing of Stephen Swinburne. Swinburne covers an excellent range of topics in this short (but highly-informative) book, including the history of the wolf's extermination in this country, early conservationists, wolf behavior and social structure, myth-busting, the Yellowstone project, and the wolf's future prospects.

He brings in quotes and information from Leopold, Mech, Bangs, Askins, and many other notable figures in the wolf conservation movement to give correct facts and information. I wouldn't call this a book for younger children; it's written at perhaps a teenager's level, and younger children might find the statistics and assorted other information boring. However, Swinburne does cover the bittersweet story of wolves Numbers Nine and Ten, which personalizes the struggles wolves today face.

Swinburne manages to succinctly cover most of the important issues in this relatively brief book (about a half hour's read, perhaps 45 minutes,) and it's a great way to educate yourself or someone else on the basics of wolf conservation. Highly-recommended!

I just took a look at this book and was so impressed. The subject is fascinating, of course, but I'm especially taken with the clear, cogent writing, the terrific quotes, and the truly remarkable photographs. I definitely recommend this for any kid (or adult, for that matter) with an interest in wildlife.

I picked up this book a few years ago while visiting a friend in Houston. There are so many good recipes in here, I don't even know where to begin! Lots of basic, easy to make Texas-style and Tex-mex recipes, plus a smattering of exotic wild game dishes. But it's not just the recipes that make this book -- the author, Linda West Eckhardt -- has filled the pages with humorous stories and factoids about the Texas lifestyle.

I had borrowed the book from my sister and found it to be just wonderful!! Being a Native Texan, I am always on the look-out for recipes that are "Texas". The recipes for Duck Gumbo, Crawfish Etouffee andFuzzy's Fantastic South Texas Road Meat Chili are among my favorite from the book. My sister is demanding her copy back, so, I am ordering my own!!

This is not only a cookbook but a collection of excellent short stories by Linda that give you an insight into Texas culture as well as cusine (recipes are good too).

This long awaited book promises to be just what the (zen0 doctor ordered. Richard Baker, roshi, has a gift for the use of language and clarity of thought that is rarely rivaled. His grasp of zen, which he inherits from many teachers as well as his own, has mostly been accessed through direct contact with him , Zen Mind Beginner's Mind, and through his public talks. This long awaited book promises to be a clear expression of practice, and of zen in general. ALthough an inheritor of the Soto Zen Lineage, this teacher has also had extensive contact with Rinzai teachers and has fashioned his own approach to zen. We are all awaiting the release of this book. Thank you for putting insight to paper, roshi.

Dogen Zenji would be proud of you, Richard. This "book" that is no book has managed to digitally slake the thirst of multitudes of grasping samsaric keyboards by holding up the electronic mirror and showing how futile our desire for Original Mind truly is. However, you're the cook and we're still waiting for the rice cakes.

Richard: I was in Kyoto in 1973 and met people who knew you. Trudi is a name I remember. A friend was in a monastary there and your name flew by on several saki occasions. You must be magnificent at this stage of life. Judy Hurley was another name. Colorado here if you need a rest spot. Michael Kelly