this good is so good. it's about a 16 year old girl name Kitty- Lee Carter who needs money, so she gets a summer job at DQ. Kitty Lee lives in a small not wealthy town and when a man w/ a nice car pulls up and askes for her to baby sit his 3 kids b/c the mother is ill. Kitty- Lee doesn't want to leave her friend but when he offers her dubble what she gets @ DQ she takes it. Then she finds out he likes her!! well u gotta read the book for the rest but it's so good!

This was the cutest book I have ever read! The author did a marvelous job at writing the story! It made me wanna keep on reading and readin! I thought this was a great book!!!!!!! The ending was really nice and I like the way the book was foreshadowing! I thought the cutest part was the love part at the end!

The novel The Brightest Light was a heartwarming book. It had its sad times like when Kitty's (main character) grandma was talking to her about how her mother died in a car accident.I love how the author kept me hanging at the end of each chapter. It made me want to read the book all at once. The author did an excellent job in describing the characters' feelings. This is a great love story. I recomend this book big time.

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.

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.

A fine book, evoking a lot more than just thoughts of fiddles. It brings back a lot of memories. There's endless stories winding on late into the night and square dances at the fire station with bright lights and cake walks. It's playing rhythm guitar while sitting on the porch hypnotized by the "play of the fiddle", playing those simple little tunes over and over and over, breathing life into them till they break loose and come alive. Reading Jerry's book was like stumbling into an attic full of memories.

There's something hypnotic about the sound of a fiddle, and Jerry weaves his own spell. All those countless, nameless, fiddle players were drawn to it and just couldn't ever get away. Way back "up the holler". It seems like the devil got hold of them & wouldn't let go. It's like sitting around a campfire, deep in the woods, listening to the baying of the hounds and just wondering what's really out there. Lot's of mystery up in the mountains and those old fiddle players felt it and made it sing out. Jerry really loves his fiddle music, but I think he really loves the spell of the mountains even more. Seems to come out best in the sound of a fiddle, played on the front porch, all alone, nothing but that fiddle sound, a full moon, and the deep silence of the endless woods. That fiddle music just floats in the silence. The hills don't care, they just sit there, and the fiddler plays on, just hearing that sound, going on and on and on...

Yep, it's a pretty good tale.

Gerry Milnes knows more about the tradtional music of West Virginia than probably any other writer on the subject.

This book presents a delightful look at the history of West Virginia fiddling, profiles of the players, and the culture in which this music thrived. It is well researched and presented in a very engaging style. Of particular interest to me were his profiles of some of the musical families of the state. In addition to his look at fiddlers, other folk music traditions are covered as well, including a look at the fretted dulcimer players and builders of the region. There are many helpful and interesting photographs as well.

Also recommended: "Fiddles, Snakes, & Dog Days," Milnes documentary film on the same subject which features the playing of many traditonal West Virginia musicians.

I really enjoyed reading this book. Milnes provides good descriptions of the history and the cultural contexts for fiddling in West Virginia. He provides especially good descriptions of dances. My favorite part of the book dealt with some of the traditional beliefs and practices associated with fiddling. There are fascinating traditions that fiddlers continue to use, and there is a wealth of folklore associated with the instrument. Milnes also provides a fine history of dulcimer music in Appalachia, and his work provides a corrective perspective about this instrument as he challenges the degree of purism and perhaps "snootiness" that is associated with fiddling.

This is a marvelous book. Readers in other states will come away from it with new or changed views of West Virginia and its history. Author Fawn Valentine recognizes quilts as historic documents and is most persuasive in explaining and using material culture methodology to prove this. Yes, West Virginia quilters live primarily in rural areas, and many needed quilts as warm bedcovers. However, they also produced elegant silk quilts as examples of fine, decorative needlework.

As a quilt researcher in the adjacent state of Ohio I am fascinated by the similarities and differences between quilts in our two states, and Valentine's convincing explanations for them. Most of the quilts documented by the West Virginia Heritage Quilt Search-even the oldest ones-were found near the places where they were made. The reason, she explains, is that West Virginians didn't move around much; they love place and family. They also had a strong desire to maintain traditional skills, which are "family ways."

Some quilt patterns were found only in discrete regions of West Virginia. Others (crazy quilts, for instance) continued to be made much later than was true in other states. Through extensive interviews with quiltmakers, the WVHQS learned of quilt pattern names and quilt-related language not found elsewhere. Through their oral interviews they also learned of a system of "barter economy" West Virginia quiltmakers used.

Most intriguing is Valentine's discovery of different quilting style, aesthetics, and designs associated with the quiltmakers' ethnic backgrounds: German-American, British, Scotch-Irish and Welsh. She presents this information early in the book, preparing the reader to recognize and identify the ethnicity of quiltmakers whose work is included later.

A series of appendices, including a summary of data and an extremely important timeline are helpful, as are the state maps included with almost every quilt, clearly identifying the counties where the quilts were made. As we discovered in the Ohio Quilt Research Project, Ohio is also a county-conscious state, so I felt right at home in West Virginia!

This book provides a wonderful history of quilting and quiltmakers and is also inspirational for quilt design ideas. It is well-written and engaging, making a quilt documentation project very interesting to others. I highly recommend this book and it makes a perfect gift for any quilters.

The quilt scholar as well as the passionate amateur quilt historian will not be disappointed in this new release. Destined to be a classic reference for the future on the same scale as other books related to state quilt documentation projects. The information gathered and documented in "West Virginia Quilts and Quiltmakers" is extremely well documented and thoroughly covered. I have to say I am partial to applique quilts and this book did not disappoint! Some new patterns I have never seen in previously published books. I actually found a clue to a dead-end puzzle I had been researching! To sum it up...By far the best book published in recent years from a state quilt documentation project. Well worth the investment!

If you have any interest in photography, natural history or West Virginia then this book is a welcome addition to you library. Jim has a unique ability to capture in words and images the experience of actually being in the Allegheny Highlands. I know because after I read the book it inspired me to go there.

The images are very well done from an artistic perspective. The words in Jim's own hand make the book an experience to enjoy again and again.

I purchased this book as a Christmas gift for my father, sight unseen, based on the description here at amazon.com. After he opened this gift, I had a chance to see it. I could not have been more pleased. The photography is amazing. It truly depicts the beauty of West Virginia. I liked the book so much that I have now ordered a copy for myself, which will be on display in my home in Washington, D.C.

"West Virginia: The Allegheny Highlands" is an absolutely resplendent volume. Nature photographer and biologist Jim Clark masterfully captures the colors, features, and animal life in the wildest and most remote region in the Appalachian Mountains. Clark takes us through four seasons in the Alleghenies. His 100 full-color pictures are as winningly composed as they are iridescently rendered. Clark is one of those rare photographers who can truly give you a sense of grandeur in his work. In "New River Bridge, Fayette County," he doesn't just capture the forminable span of the bridge. He includes the giant (yet tiny!) boulders in the river below, so that you can get an almost stunning sense of the reach and height of this engineering marvel. But Clark is just as adept with smaller scenes. Witness "Maple Leaves in a Stream" and the almost paint-like "Reflections, Branch of the Potomac River, Grant County." And Clark's prose is nearly as penetrating as his photographs. Of a winterstorm, he writes: "The first thing I notice about the snowstorm is how still it is. Nothing is moving; the only sound I hear is the wind whispering through the trees." Don't miss this rich and captivating work.

"There's a land of rolling mountains, where the sky is blue above." After coming to West Virginia four years ago for college, I not only became attached to "Country Roads" and being a Mountaineer, but I truly fell in love with the state and everything wholesome its heritage represents. Just as I enjoy waking up every morning to turn a new page in my Bed and Breakfast daily calendar, or curling up on a snowy evening with a cup of hot cocoa and a book on family owned gourmet restaurants, I've enjoyed leafing through the pages of "55 West Virginias", full of state history and statistics. A perfect book for those as in love with the state as I, the weekend traveler, or the world traveler, I think you, too, will find E. Lee North's Guide to West Virginia's State Counties as charming as you will the state itself.

By the author, E. Lee North (north444@aol.com).... West Virginians are the friendliest people in the country, and it was a pleasure interviewing and dealing with Mountaineers. This is my third book on West Virginia and it really is an incredible state. Just think --Wheeling is the only city to have been the capital of two different states and not now a capital of any; it was also the site of the last battle of the Amer. Revolution (Ft. Henry). These facts are well covered in "The 55."

Part of WV is N of part of NY state, part is W of Pt. Huron, Michigan, part S of Richmond, and it extends E to within 39 mi of Wash., DC. So it might be called a northern, midwestern, southern, or eastern state! (And has been.)We present just about everything you'd want to know about the Mountain State, including tables showing each county's percentage of women, minorities, income, home values, etc., and "Notables" for each county. There's a map of the whole state, and maps of every county.Actually, this book is probably the first popular history of all the counties of a state.

The Notables are quite interesting -- from Governor Cecil Underwood (imagine, elected WV's youngest governor in 1956, and her oldest in 1996) and Senators like Robert Byrd, Jay Rockefeller, and Jennings Randolph to sports stars like Jerry West and Sam Snead, writers Pearl Buck, Alberta Hannum, and Mary Lee Settle; military leaders Stonewall Jackson, Jesse Reno (Nevada's city of Reno is named for him)... well I'm just scratching the surface here. We do have a comprehensive index...

I owe a lot to our wonderful relatives down in Wheeling, and to Ye Olde Alpha tavern, our perennial gathering trough. And to the good folks at West Virginia University Press and Library.

WVU Press has re-issued this book in 1998, an expanded history with latest information on every county's vital stats -- pct minorities, ages, income, et al. Very complete, even listing several "notable persons" for each county. Complete with maps and photos.

There's plenty about Putnam County, including the map showing Hurricane and the home area of Jack Whitaker, who won the biggest one-winner Powerball prize on Christmas Day 2002 ($314.9 million)... just the tax on Whitaker's winnings paid off one-third of the Mountain State debt for that year.

"The Fifty-Five"is the bible for West Virginia's counties.

Recently, I visited Monongahela on vacation with my wife. What a truly fabulous place, rich in flora and fauna. And we used this book to guide us through. Each trail description (choose from 30 day hikes and 10 overnight) offers commentary on scenery, trail condition, difficulty, accessibility for children and solitude.

West Virginia's Monongahela National Forest is the mid-Atlantic's best kept secret. Sure, there are a few popular destinations, like the Dolly Sods, but there are so many other places to go in the "Mon". But with over a million acres of land, it's hard to figure out exactly where to go. That's where Mr. Molloy's new book comes in. It has there and back day hikes and overnight loops. It rates each hike and then gives a running narrative of the trail you are on. What is really nice, in my opinion are the concise directions to each trailhead, saving time and getting me to where I really want to be, and that is on the trail.

I just got back from a hiking/camping experience I'll never forget. I'd never been to the Monongahela, or "Mon," as it is known, but when I saw this new hiking book I thought I would give it a try. The first hike, to Rohrbaugh Overlook, in the Dolly Sods, stunned me. Have you ever just known you were in the right place at the right time? That's how I felt, while looking over the Red Creek Valley surrounded by rock outcrops jutting from green forests. After a little national forest camping, I headed down to the Cranberry Wilderness, enjoying Molloy's Middle Fork overnight backpacking loop. The Middle Fork Cranberry River flowed clear beneath stately yellow birch trees and when I got up to the highcountry, the scent of spruce trees provided an aromatic backdrop for a night beneath the stars. Unfortunately the work bell rang and I had to return to Pittsburgh, but with 31 other day hikes and nine overnight backpacking loops in this book I shall return to the "Mon" many more times. This is a very useful and interesting book... perfect for anyone considering hiking in this area!

I bought this book for my mother for Christmas and she has not been able to lay it down since she started reading it. She loves it and I am sure that I will be reading it when she gets finished. My mother lived in Page, WV during her teenage years and has been able to relate to the area that she is reading about which only made the book more interesting, I'm sure. She lived there during the great flood of 1932 and this is discussed in the book. She would like to see more by this author and I can hardly wait to get started.

What a wonderful story. Only a poet with a heart as big as our mountains, the keen insight of a storyteller and a love of family that is burned into her soul could do justice to this story in the manner of Rebecca Cale Camhi.
This book grabbed me on the first page and never turned me loose, I don't think I have ever gone through so many emotions while reading a book as I did with this one. The Characters were so real I had to keep reminding myself that it was a story. I kept hearing echoes of my Father, my Mother, my Grandma, my Grandpa, my Uncles and my Kin.
There is a unique mystique about being a West Virginian that few who have not been born and raised here understand. It is so hard to describe or explain, because it is spiritual. Rebecca has captured it and woven it throughout her book. It starts where her story starts and ends, well it don't end, it is still here in these hills and in our hearts.
If you have not read this book you are robbing yourself of one of life's good experiences.
I sure hope there is more where this came from.

As I turned the first page of "Deepwater Mountain", I was completely taken aback as the novel instantly involved and engrossed me. As I met Willa May and her family for the first time, I found myself caring deeply about each family member. As Willa May experienced joys and sorrows, the tears would stream freely down my cheeks (An experience that has not happened to me since "The Bridges of Madison County"). This was quite honestly, a book I could not put down. My only regret upon reaching the last page was that the story did not continue and I sincerely hope author Rebecca Camhi will consider writing a sequel. This novel, focusing on the strong Willa May will capture any woman's heart. It should be seriously considered as a selection for Oprah's Book Club.

I enjoyed this book because of it's detailed accounts of Marx toys that I grew up with. The price guide is also handy when I'm out looking for Marx items for my sisters' collections. History of a manufacturer is always interesting and the photographs help define the pieces I'm searching for. I appreciate a good book that shows great effort extended in presenting the information. I would recommend this book to the serious toy buyer and to new seekers of antique Marx toys. Kudos to the author!

I found this to be an ideal route to fond memories of my childhood. Many of the toys in this book were basis of several Christmas dreams. As a baby boomer, I have been collecting the dollhouses and furniture with the hope that my granddaughter will appreciate them, too! This is a good reference guide to have!

This book would be a great companion book. Most Marx toys collectors would benefit from information on part numbers, years of production and viewing the wonderful selection of photographs featured in the book. The book covers about 30 years worth of knowledge on toys produced at the Glen Dale plant site. There is even a partial price listing on items that Ms. Smith and Mr. Whipkey were familiar with. All in all. A good book.