I visited the Charleston Historic District a few years ago and this CD brought it all back to me. The amount of detail is amazing, including both pictures and text. Would also be a great tool for planning a trip.

In short, there is no better reference available. It has got to have ten times the amount of info in any book and is much more fun.

The depth of this product is absolutely incredible. Every single address in the historic district has at least one photo and a written description. Even though the amount of information is astounding, I found it easy to get into because of the guided tours and the clickable maps. My favorite tour is the now and then tour which shows current photos and old photos of the same places.

I particularly enjoyed the Treasure Hunt game. It led me through parts of the city I would not have otherwise visited and had a great graphic at the end.

My only complaint: some of the photos are not lit well but that is rare and the best photos are breathtaking.

This product truely conveys what it is like, and must have been like in the past, to "be there".

I bought one of these in a gift store in Charleston, and camehere to see what other titles this company has. This CD gives you the ability to walk around the city streets of Charleston, and shows you images, panoramas, antiques photos of each building, house , etc, and tells the history of each place. It also has a ton of tours you can take where the narrator guides you around the historic district to specific sites. I'd be willing to bet that this thing took years to put together - it's HUGE. If you like architecture and history (and I do!), and if you love Charleston or are planning a visit, I'd highly recommend this product.

The title of this book should be "Mulatto Masters." Is is dishonest to pretend that these people were "black." Once you recognize the ethnic and racial separation, the actions of mulatto elite slaveholders are not difficult to understand. One of the grandsons of this family even served in the Confederate Army - as WHITE of course (despite officers' knowledge of his mixed ancestry). There were no "black" Confederate soldiers.

A great read. I am a history major and was very pleased with the content of this book. It makes it known that there are exceptions to all popular history. If you like the comfort of being told the generic old history of the South than I do not suggest this work. It is as provocative as it is interesting. It also an enjoyable read following the modern trend of being understandable and fun yet informative at the same time.

This was the first book (aside from narratives by Booker T. Washington, Frederick Douglass & etc) I read concerning antebellum black and bi-racial history. It was so interesting I have since read a dozen others. As the authors state in the Introduction, this book really focuses on biracial persons of white/black ancestry. However, because, presently, persons who tend to be dark complected often consider themselves (and are considered by others) to be black and because the laws of antebellum South Carolina clearly differentiated between whites and free persons who did not fall into the white category (including pure blacks and biracial persons), the authors used the term BLACK MASTERS in the title.

The book is generally about William "April" Ellison, born a slave but well treated, trained in mechanical skills and then freed as a young man. Because of this, the authors believe him to be the biracial son of the white planter Robert or William Ellison. Once freed, April officially had his name changed to William Ellison and moved to Statsburg, a wealthy suburb away from his previous owner. He slowly amassed a fair amount of wealth; although, unlike many of the more aristocratic planters of South Carolina, William "April" Ellison worked his own fields and, in his role as a mechanic, had to walk a fine line between independence and not overstepping the bounds permitted to a free person of color. His was the only family not considered white by his fellow South Carolinans who was able to sit in the church on the ground floor in the pews reserved for well-off whites and wealthy planters.

William Ellison's family interacted with and married into some of the better off free families of color in Charleston. He became a member of the BROWN FELLOWSHIP and FRIENDLY MORALIST SOCIETIES which was generally limited to biracial persons (in fact, one biracial person was expelled from one of the societies because he maintained close ties to free persons who appear to have been of pure African-American heritage, leading the society to decide he was socially a black rather than a biracial person). FPCs who were apparently of pure African ancestry also had their own societies (and owned slaves) as, of course, did persons considered to be of pure European ancestry.

Much of the book focuses on the curious position of biracial persons in South Carolina: many wealthy whites wanted to re-enslave free blacks (which, in their minds, included anyone of African extraction) while many poor whites wanted to prevent anyone of African ancestry (free or enslaved) from being able to hold any skilled positions (thus effectively opening many areas employment to themselves). In the wake of the slave rebellion led by the well-off free black named Denmark Vessy, these views gained much support and many laws on education and etc were temporarily enforced with enthusiasm, only to be narrowly defeated.

The Ellisons supported the Democratic Party and the Confederacy, even though William's sons were not allowed to enlist in the military. William's grandson, who (according to the authors)had noticable "black" features also attempted to enlist and was accepted even though the officers knew his family and ancestry - apparently the question as to whether or not he was black never came up! During the Civil War, Wisdom Hall and the other dwellings on the Ellison estate barely avoided being destroyed, but the Ellisons began to lose their wealth and as their old white friends died or moved away, the family began to be considered, even by their neighbors, as simply another black family.

I couldn't believe everyone else has rated this book 5 stars!
I thought the plot weak and not well thought out at all. All-in-all very dissapointing. Don't waste your time with this one.

A review by Heather
This story is about a woman named Molly who writes woman's mysteries. Her parents told her when she was young that she was adopted, and that they didn't know who her parents were. So Molly always accepted this and went on with life, when one day a man named Charles shows up at her work and says that she is identical to the woman that he was engaged to who lives down in Charleston, south Carolina on a huge plantation. So Molly goes with him and meets her twin sister Amelia and some other interesting characters who seem to not want her their. Then Molly finds out about a family murder, and about her dad that had a heart attack, and about her being stolen as a baby, and she is intrigued to figure out all of it.

Molly in this story is very curios, and very trusting. Molly would always believe what everyone else would say. When her crazy mother took her in the middle of the night Molly believed that she was going to take her somewhere nice, but she didn't. And even after that Molly trusted her when she took her backstage of an old theatre. This book is a good mystery, but Molly didn't really know what was going on so the reader doesn't know either. Most of the excitement happened when she was in the theatre at the end of the book. But the book isn't very exciting in the middle and beginning. The author doesn't give you that much information about the deaths, so it can be boring.

I would recommend this book for people who like mysteries without a lot of action. This is mostly a mystery book that makes you think about what happened and you have to examine the events in the book carefully to completely understand it.

WOMAN WITHOUT A PAST takes place in Charleston, South Carolina, where the heroine of the book, Molly Hunt, finds out about her past. Molly was given away for adoption as an infant, and has only known her adoptive parents. However, sheer chance brings her into contact with the man who is about to marry her twin sister, whom she never knew to exist. Filled with doubt, Molly follows Charles Landry to South Carolina to meet the family she never knew.

As the story progresses, Molly learns about her biological family, and finds that there are some deep secrets that may have eventually led to her adoption years ago. The big shocking secret is that her adoption may have been a result of a kidnapping, and for some reason the family seems to know about the crime but refuses to shed light on it.

As she learns about these family secrets, her life starts to take a turn for the worse, as she finds herself in danger and a target for murder.

I really enjoyed this novel by Phyllis Whitney. I've been a fan of hers for over 20 years now, and her novels still have the same impact they had on me way back when. She hasn't lost her touch. Ms Whitney knows how to write a good romance mystery and is probably the best in the genre.

This is the type of amateurish map that is given away by visitor's bureaus or chambers of commerce in most cities. Someone's making money off this minimal effort. It's better than nothing, but we've pulled better maps out of the back of other Charleston guide books.

This map is helpful when it comes to weeding out the attractions, restaurants, hotels and stores. It makes good suggestions for dining, but there have been additions to some places (such as starbucks) that are not listed on the map. Looks like it should be updated. The map is NOT helpful when leaving downtown Charleston. We actually got lost using this map to find the plantations north of the city. The best approach is to use this map for downtown only, and make sure you visit the Charleston visitors center for more background information and pamphlets.

This is the best map I have ever used! Out of the dozen travel books that we brought on our trip, this turned out to be the most resourceful and accurate map of them all.

There were some moments that reminded me of Little House on the Prairie - how could so much tragedy happen to one person? But it was fun to see the main character traced through the roaring twenties in Charleston, New York, and parts of Europe.

This book takes place a few years after Charleston, it concerns an "ugly", unwanted girl named Garden Tradd and her life and times. This book incoporates real life history into the novel, Garden watches Chalres Lindbergh's transatlantic flight, see Isadora Duncan die, and weeps over the death of the LIndbergh baby. My only complaint is that Elizabeth Cooper who was a strong voice in the novel charleston is reduced to doing nothing but holding Garden's hand evrytime she cries.

If you've ever wondered what it would be like to have more money than you knew what to do with and you thought that the idea sounded incredibly satisfying, then you should read this fast-paced, eventful novel. You just might change your mind. This novel follows the life of a Charleston debutante who began her life in rags and eventually fell into riches by marrying one of America's most eligible bachelors. Travel with lovable, naive Garden Tradd from her dirt poor beginnings in a slave settlement, through her adolescence in Charleston when she becomes a true belle, and then onto to New York, London, and Paris for a wild, sometimes disturbing ride through the early twenty-first century. I guarantee you won't be able to put this book down!

I was on my way out the door to a conference in downtown Charleston, and I realized that I knew absolutely nothing about the town. So, I quickly logged onto Amazon.com, and searched in the e-Books section, since I didn't have time to have the book shipped to me. I'm glad that I did.

This e-Doc was exactly what I was looking for. It told me the best restaurants and tourist attractions to hit while I was there, as well as if reservations were required, and what kind of attire was required.

While in town, I had nothing but fantastic meals, and really feel like I got a great taste of Charleston. I invite you to try this for yourself if you are looking for a quick guide.

One gripe -- I wish it would provide the Top 10 walks, jogs, gyms, etc. For travellers, many people would like a map or two with some quick routes. I managed to find a great jog down along the waterfront, but I wish this e-Doc would have had that in it.

I HAVE BEEN DELIGHTED WITH THIS BOOK. ALTHOUGH I HAVEN'T USED A PATTERN TO STITCH YET I HAVE READ THE BOOK FROM COVER TO COVER BECAUSE ITS LIKE A VISIT TO THE ARTISTS AND WRITERS THAT STIRRED UP THE IMAGINATION OF THE FIRST YEARS OF THE 2OTH CENTURY. IT SEEMS TO PICK UP WITH THE END OF THE ARTS AND CRAFTS MOVEMENT OF WILLIAM MORRIS' WHICH IS ENJOYING SUCH POPULARITY RIGHT NOW. THIS IS JUST AS INTERESTING

Anytime you can find a cookbook that has been reprinted as many times as this one, you know that you have found something special. As diverse as the city itself, CHARLESTON RECEIPTS has a unique blend of regional recipes, kitchen hints and ideas, and practical shortcuts. The offerings range from the everyday (Turkey Tetrazzini) to the sublime (Hampton Polonaise...a luscious cake from 1865).This cookbook has been handed down from one good cook to another since 1950, and with good reason. It is well suited for the modern cook as well as the kitchen veteran.

This is a much updated version of the original which my wife and I purchased when we lived there 40 years ago. It contains the wonderful low country recipes which should not be forgotten but adds more to our current way of an easier cooking without sacrificing what Charleston is all about.

If you want some excellent photography of several great homes in the South, you will enjoy this book. It will make an attractive addition to anyone's coffee table. If you want a good collection of recipes from the south, then look elsewhere. The quantity of recipes is limited; and the ones that are there are found, for the most part, in dozens of other cookbooks. Save your money.

The recipes in this book are excellent, as is the photography. However, I could do without Mr. Taylor's somewhat elitist comments throughout the book, such as what "self-respecting" Charlestonians do and don't do. I learned to cook in Charleston, from many people who certainly consider themselves "self-respecting", and who were born and raised in Charleston (unlike Mr. Taylor), and they cook in many different ways, using many different recipes and ingredients to prepare the same dish! Also, the repeated plugging of products sold in his store downtown is somewhat self-serving. But like I said, the recipes are worth it, and I use them frequently.

Beautiful book with great photography and local insights. Taylor has my respect.