Weekend Driver San Diego: Day Drives in and Around San Diego County Review

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(More customer reviews)As avid "get out of the house and take a drive" San Diegan's we thought we already knew all the great drives in and around San Diego. Wrong. But Jack Brandais does! We have driven several of the suggested routes and found each to be outstanding! His directions are easy to follow, the outings are pleasurable from both the driver's and passenger's point of view, and the history and points of interest he includes adds to fun. His drives are definately worth the gasoline!!
We highly recommend this book to both locals and visitors alike as a great way to explore the diversity San Diego offers.

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"Weekend Driver" columnist Jack Brandais has put his favorite drives together in a "must have" collection that will allow everyone from newcomers to natives to explore our diverse county and its intriguing environs. From Point Loma to Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, from Baja CaliforniaÂ's Guadalupe Valley to Huntington Beach, Brandais has found some of the best roads—paved and unpaved, twisty and straight. A true driving enthusiast, he really knows his stuff, whether it is the best type of vehicle for each drive, the type of scenery to expect, or about how long it will take to complete. Many of these drives originally appeared in the San Diego Union-TribuneÂ's "Weekend Driver" column. TheyÂ've been updated and expanded; each drive in the book includes complete directions, a map, photos, and tips for things to see and explore along the way.

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Everything Family Guide to New England: Where to eat, play, and stay in America's scenic and historic Northeast (Everything Series) Review

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(More customer reviews)I'm planning a 2008 trip to New England for my family which includes my wife, and my 9-, 13-, and 17-year-old children. The book is written as a state-by-state guide showcasing must-see activities for each state, then laying out recommended attractions, places to eat and stay, and other miscellaneous items by region within the state. I would guess over 95% of the items in the book include web addresses where one can do more research. This book was my primary tool for creating our itinerary while Frommer's encyclopedia-like approach and Insight Guides' many pictures provided additional reference information. The only slight knock I have is that not all items found in the book are listed in the index, so sometimes you have to recall where it's at and hunt it down via page-flipping. However, the book isn't overly large and the type is easy to read, so this isn't difficult. If you're planning a trip for your family, I can't recommend it enough. It was just updated for 2008.

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New England is the perfect destination for families looking for fun and adventure! From Plimoth Plantation and Sturbridge to the Mystic Aquarium and New Hampshire's Polar Caves, it's the ultimate living classroom. But don't tell your kids! After all, New England has something for everyone-beautiful beaches, majestic mountains, bustling cities, and quaint small towns. This take-along guide offers lots of exciting places to go and things to see in all six New England states, including:
Lobster festivals in coastal Maine
Beaches on Cape Cod, Massachusetts
Mansion tours in Newport, Rhode Island
Pick-your-own apple farms in Connecticut
Hiking in the White Mountains of New Hampshire
Maple sugaring in Vermont
With new listings, updated information, and revised maps of Boston's "new" downtown, The Everything Family Guide to New England, 2nd Edition is all you need to plan a vacation your family will always remember.

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The Staffords, Earls of Stafford and Dukes of Buckingham: 1394-1521 (Cambridge Studies in Medieval Life and Thought: Third Series) Review

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(More customer reviews)As one of the wealthiest and most powerful landed families in 15th century England, the Staffords played an important political role (as students of Yorkist history have reason to know). Influence was tied directly to land and Rawcliffe examines the unique Stafford family archives in this study of estate and finance management and the patronage it enabled. The composition and work of the ducal council is also explained, since the council was made up of the duke's senior administrators and lawyers, upon whom the family relied heavily. The Staffords also used litigation rather than combat as their preferred means to an end. Moreover, they were instrumental in causing the crown to change its attitudes toward the nobility as a whole. A somewhat technical historical study in Cambridge's "Studies in Medieval Life and Thought" series, but definitely worth the investment of effort.

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As one of the richest and most powerful land-owning families in later medieval England, the Staffords played their leading part in the politics of their time. This book traces the often complex relations between the three Stafford Dukes of Buckingham and the Crown. In doing so it casts light upon the attitude of successive English kings towards the nobility as a whole, and reassessed the political and military strength of the ruling class. The Staffords derived most of their influence from the ownership of land. Because of the survival of a widely scattered but unique family archive, Dr Rawcliffe has been able to study in unusually close detail the management of their estates and the deployment of their finances, as well as the reorganization of their household, which changed over the fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries from a large peripatetic body to a smaller resident establishment where the third Duke of Buckingham could indulge his taste for cultural pursuits.

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Adventures Around Cincinnati Review

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(More customer reviews)For over five years two Cincinnati moms have taken their kids on adventures every Tuesday during the summers. Luck for us they kept a detailed notes as they visited over 80 places within two hours of downtown Cincinnati.
Adventures Around Cincinnati offers a wealth of ideas and information perfect for any southern Ohio parent, grandparent, teacher, newcomer, or tourist. I've lived in the area for over 16 years and discovered gems I had never heard of listed in this book.
The charts and maps included in this book make it super easy to find any particular place of interest. I have already mapped out our spring break stay-cation using this book and look forward to creating our own family adventures.

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Create memories to last a lifetime! Give your kids the gift of memories by exploring Greater Cincinnati together. This guide contains detailed listings on over 80 places to visit and helps you be intentional about creating adventures and starting new traditions with your family. You will refer to this guide again and again! In this guide, you will discover: * Over 80 kid-tested destinations within a 2-hour drive of Cincinnati, including many in Dayton * Detailed information on every listing including age recommendations, stroller-friendliness, and the length of a typical visit * Easy-to-read maps * Practical considerations that moms and dads need to know * Category table including everything from archeology to trains to hiking * Many free and low-cost attractions * Encouragement and tips to start creating family traditions * Sample summer and year-round itineraries * Mom-tested advice on how to travel locally with kids of all ages * The many benefits your family will experience "This is an invaluable collection of experiences; open the book, pick an adventure and go. The best advice comes from veteran family travelers and these adventures are tried and true. Every page is a winner - my only suggestions are to pack it all in and bring your camera." -Ed McMasters, Marketing Manager and father of two, Cincinnati USA Regional Tourism Network, CincinnatiUSA.com "Love the firsthand accounts of favorite family adventures around Cincinnati. This book provides a thorough review, from a mom's perspective, of the region's well-known places as well as its hidden gems." -Karen Gutierrez, Former Managing Editor, CincyMomsLikeMe.com

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Blowin' Hot and Cool: Jazz and Its Critics Review

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(More customer reviews)Thelonius Monk once said that writing about music is like dancing about architecture. If you nevertheless enjoy reading about jazz as much as listening to it, this is a great read. On the other hand, if you think jazz critics are a bunch of navel-gazing wannabes who use music as a platform to expound their pet social or political views, you may yet find this book interesting. It's not a breezy book by any means, but Gennari succeeds in not getting caught up in academic discourse-speak. "Liminal" appears only once, books and magazines aren't "texts," and they're read, not "interrogated." Whew!
Gennari starts with Leonard Feather and John Hammond, two critics with serious conflict of interest issues, both from a business perspective and from the standpoint of their strong social beliefs. Feather largely overcame his, while Hammond gave in to his temptation to judge a record by whether its label allowed unions in its pressing plants. Genneri spends much of his book focusing on the post WWII critics: Martin Williams, Nat Hentoff, Ralph Gleason, Gene Lees, Whitney Balliett and Marshall Sterns. He devotes a chapter to the radicals Amiri Baraka and Frank Kofsky and closes out with the new kids, Stanley Crouch, Gary Giddins and Albert Murray. There are some odd digressions: the cult of the (mostly British) record collectors; the Newport Jazz festival; Dial records producer and author Ross Russell's posthumous obsession with Charlie Parker.
There is something of a leftward slant. While the radical leftists such as Baraka and Kofsky are dismissed when they eventually wander away from music criticism for pure politics, Baraka is taken seriously for his work up to about 1964-65. On the other hand, hard conservatives such as Richard Sudhalter and James Lincoln Collier simply get the back of the hand. Gennari doesn't wear his politics on his sleeve, however; up to the last chapter you really have to read between the lines to get a sense of his drift. There is, however, a blast near the end when he slams the conservatives for their assertion that jazz historians have inflated the role of black musicians and ignored whites.
As I said above, this is a fascinating book for anyone who enjoys reading about jazz and an indispensable item for those interested in the history of jazz literature.


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In the illustrious and richly documented history of American jazz, no figure has been more controversial than the jazz critic. Jazz critics can be revered or reviled—often both—but they should not be ignored. And while the tradition of jazz has been covered from seemingly every angle, nobody has ever turned the pen back on itself to chronicle the many writers who have helped define how we listen to and how we understand jazz. That is, of course, until now.In Blowin' Hot and Cool, John Gennari provides a definitive history of jazz criticism from the 1920s to the present. The music itself is prominent in his account, as are the musicians—from Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington to Charlie Parker, John Coltrane, Roscoe Mitchell, and beyond. But the work takes its shape from fascinating stories of the tradition's key critics—Leonard Feather, Martin Williams, Whitney Balliett, Dan Morgenstern, Gary Giddins, and Stanley Crouch, among many others. Gennari is the first to show the many ways these critics have mediated the relationship between the musicians and the audience—not merely as writers, but in many cases as producers, broadcasters, concert organizers, and public intellectuals as well.For Gennari, the jazz tradition is not so much a collection of recordings and performances as it is a rancorous debate—the dissonant noise clamoring in response to the sounds of jazz. Against the backdrop of racial strife, class and gender issues, war, and protest that has defined the past seventy-five years in America, Blowin' Hot and Cool brings to the fore jazz's most vital critics and the role they have played not only in defining the history of jazz but also in shaping jazz's significance in American culture and life.

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J/Boats: Sailing to Success Review

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(More customer reviews)J/Boats is a good example of what happens when things go right. I teach a college course to Business Majors called Advanced Management Problems and use case studies to have the students decide what direction the company should go in the future. Very few people know that J Boats do not actually make the boats but subcontract the work. This was a great decision by management in the early years of J/Boats. Photos are excellent!

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In 1975 Rod Johnstone finally decided to build the boat he'd been planning since completing design correspondence school 10 years earlier. Thirty years later, the J/24, the boat based on that first garage-built vessel is the most popular recreational offshore keelboat in the world. The story of J/Boats' success, as inspiring as it is unlikely, unfolds for the first time in this illustrated history, which tells how Rod and his brother Bob turned one homebuilt boat and a $20,000 investment into the company that dominates the performance-oriented sailboat market today.

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Building the Mosquito Fleet: The U.S. Navy's First Torpedo Boats (RI) Review

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(More customer reviews)The building of the Mosquito fleet began with a blind man and his mechanically minded brother. These two men, John Brown and Nathanael Greene Herreshoff both boat lovers began their careers when John Brown was commissioned to build a yacht for Thomas Clapham. John Brown would dictate the design to his brother who would then turn the drawings into a model. John would then go over the model with his hands to feel for defects and actually design the full size boat based upon his minds eye and his touch. Thus the Herreshoff Manufacturing Company was born, a name synonymous with many a successful America's Cup defender.
Building the Mosquito fleet was a most enjoyable book to read. It's filled from cover to cover with original black and white photos, drawings, and first hand accounts. The pictures truly add a touch of class to this work and allow the reader to fully understand what took place during the building process. The picture of the 1893 Herreshoff steam engine on page 11 shows the simplicity yet durability of design and the side bar states that it?s still in operation 109 years later. As you traverse your way through this book you will also appreciate the amount of research that the author put forth and it shows in his well-organized Bibliography. One story to note is of Ens. Irving V. Gillis and his capture of a Spanish Schwartzkopf torpedo in 1898. The story is fascinating and after reading you can actually go to the Naval War College Museum, at Newport's Naval Education and Training Center and ask to see the very same torpedo.
As it stands, this is a well written and researched work on the United States Navy's First Torpedo Boats and the author has done a beautiful job in putting the material together in such an interesting manner. I highly recommend this book to fellow enthusiasts and Naval Buffs alike.

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In 1877, the U.S. Navy purchased the fast steam yacht Stiletto from the Herreshoff Manufacturing Company of Bristol, Rhode Island, for "automobile" torpedo experiments in Narragansett Bay. The submarine service was in its infancy, and interest in the self-propelled torpedo as an undersea weapon flourished. Herreshoff's fast, steam-powered boats were the first of the delivery platforms accepted by the U.S. Navy Department for experiments at the Newport Naval Torpedo Station and service during the Spanish-American War. Dating from the Civil War, the torpedo station on Goat Island in Newport Harbor was the first torpedo armory in the United States, specializing in research, development, and manufacture.Building the Mosquito Fleet: The U.S. Navy's First Torpedo Boats traces the important and often dramatic history of the involvement between the U.S. Navy and the Herreshoff brothers' marine yards over a period of more than thirty years. It is a story of enterprise, naval development, and marine manufacturing during a time of experimentation and evolution.Included are dramatic stories of the men who built and tested these dangerous new vessels. This fascinating volume preserves under one cover a concise history of the torpedo boats built by the Herreshoff Manufacturing Company. It describes design and construction innovations introduced by the Herreshoffs and traces the events that led the major navies of the world to take notice of the Herreshoffs' work.

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Frommer's Wonderful Weekends from New York City, Fifth Edition Review

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(More customer reviews)We have been using Marilyn Wood's Wonderful Weekends Copyright 1984, 1987 and enjoyed it very, very much. Right from the first trip, we knew we had a winner. The paperback is dog earred, paperclipped, underlined in red and there are pencil and ink notes in all the margins. It is a truly wonderful book but needed updating.
We purchased the "All New Fourth Edition!" of Wonderful Weekends thinking it would have the best of the previous edition, plus new places to explore minus the places that are no longer there.
Not so! Several of the areas that we looked up included restaurants that have not been there in 2 or 3 years. One of the B&B's has had new owners for years and the listing shows the old owners' story and names.
We will stick with our original 1984-l987 version and use the new one for backup with each trip. Hopefully, there will be some New information in this Fourth Edition.
This was a lesson to me that when I look for updates for books of this type, it would be a good idea to find out the date of the update before making a purchase.

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A Time for Planting: The First Migration, 1654-1820 (The Jewish People in America) (Volume 1) Review

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(More customer reviews)A great history of an ethnic group includes a great general history. In this book, the reader learns about the Inquisition in Spain and Portugal; Jewish life in Brazil and Barbados; the struggle for religious liberty in America; and how Jewish life in America differed from Jewish life in Barbados, Holland and even England. This book is about all of America, and every American should read it.
In this book, historian Eli Faber discusses the diverse origins of the earliest Jewish settlers in America. Faber describes the innovative response of Jewish-Americans to the unusual political and social circumstances of colonial America. These first Jewish-Americans, Faber informs us, established community life based on voluntary association, in a free and an open country. More striking than the changes Jewish-Americans made of necessity, however, are the many remarkable adapatations that Jewish-Americans made voluntarily. Faber describes an innovative community of pioneering Jews.
Faber is a scholar who has done considerable research. However objectively written, this story is unavoidably compelling. You will love the people and the country described in this book. The optimism of the Americans in this book is contagious.
Teachers will, and should, recommend this book to high school and college students. Therefore, I hesitate to divulge too many details. So many stories and so many individuals in this book make the book worth reading. The lives of Jewish-Americans in colonial and revolutionary America, and the lives of the non-Jews who were their compatriots, make a story worth reading and telling.
Other books on the origin and establishment of immigrant communities in colonial America include David Hackett Fischer's "Albion's Seed," a history of four large regional cultures established in colonial British North America; and Richard S. Dunn's "Sugar and Slaves," about the establishment of planter culture and servant and slave life in the British West Indies. "A New World Gentry," by Richard Waterhouse, and a chapter in "The Quest for Power: The Lower Houses of Assembly in the Southern Royal Colonies," by Jack P. Greene, tell the story of the merchant-planter class in South South Carolina, while "Rice and Slaves," by Daniel C. Littlefield, tells of the origin of many of their slaves.

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Volume I: A Time for Planting: The First Migration, 1654-1820In the autumn of 1654, twenty-three Jews aboard the barkSainte Catherine landed at the town of New Amsterdam to establish the first permanent Jewish settlement in North America. InA Time for Planting, Eli Faber recounts these earliest days of Jewish life in America, as Jews from Lisbon to Amsterdam to London extended the wanderings of their centuries-old diaspora.

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Teaser (Hallie Ahern Mysteries) Review

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(More customer reviews)Hallie Ahern has grown a lot since Brogan's first book, but her character is still compelling and fun to follow as she jumps on each new lead in an investigation. Hallie's driving ambition as a newspaper reporter has always come with a price, but this time around she is more conscious of the damage she may leave in her wake. Still, that doesn't stop her from taking risks or pursuing the heart of a story. Brogan is a terrific writer who manages to build in suspense, engaging characters, and realistic settings in a fast-paced read. The focus on chat rooms and the dangers teenagers face online is a timely and important issue.
"Teaser" is perfect for mystery fans but also for anyone who's looking for a great story that captures the pressures of the newsroom and the hidden lives of teenagers.

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Mary of Carisbrooke: The Girl Who Would Not Betray Her King Review

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(More customer reviews)A beautifully written tale blending sweetness and sadness.
Mary is a quiet girl of 17 with a sunny disposition and a helpful nature. Her father is the Sergeant of the Guard at Carisbrooke Castle on the Isle of Wight. Mary helps her Aunt Druscilla who is the housekeeper of the small household. Although they have to deal with the soldiers who came recently from London, the political struggles between the Cromwellian Parliament and King Charles I mean little to Mary and the other Islanders.
Mary's quite life changes when the King, with several faithful retainers, escapes from Hampton Court, and seeks refuge at Carisbrooke Castle. Although the King and his supporters thought he was being granted sanctuary, the Governor is a staunch "servant of Parliament" who promptly sends word to Parliament for instructions on how to handle the King's `visit.'
The story portrays Mary's dedication, gentleness, caring nature and quiet courage. She serves the King with dignity not only as a laundress but also by becoming involved with the intrigue of passing secret letters, planning and helping with escape attempts. Unfortunately, poor planning, problems and betrayal beset the escape efforts and one by one the King's friends are removed from him. Mary becomes a source of comfort listening to his distress and trying to encourage him.
All of the King's men, old and young, find Mary's innocence and steadfastness to be charming. Mary blossoms into womanhood responding to the warm friendship of Harry Firebrace, the Groom of the Bedchamber. One of the other servants of the King, Richard Osborne, who has a bit of a reputation, tries to warn Mary to protect her heart. Meanwhile Mary is threatened by the unwanted attentions of the leering Captain Rolph who is fiercely ambitious and opposed to the King.
The author does a wonderful job setting the tone as I felt a sense of sadness and tragedy even though I did not know how the King's story would end. The characters are developed with unique depths that make them very real, whether likeable or detestable. Some of the characters are caught in the political machinations and their ambivalence is conveyed as they are caught between official duty and private feelings.
The book started a bit slowly but I think that is part of the somber ambiance. It soon picked up and the intrigue, dangers, and personal relationships kept me engaged and wanting to know what happened to the King and to Mary. There are plenty of rich details creating a vivid picture of the Isle and Castle. These enhance the smooth flow of the story. If you enjoy historical fiction don't miss this tender story.

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"Margaret Campbell Barnes has been one of the most reliable of England's historical novelists." -Chicago Tribune

A Girl, A King, and the castle that changed them both Forever...

Charles I, king of England, thought that Carisbrooke Castle would be safe, an Isle of Wight refuge far from the madding crowd of Cromwell. But Charles ran straight into the arms of betrayal, his retreat morphing to prison and his allies few and far between. Mary, a quiet servant girl in awe of her king and country, vaults into intrigue and danger as she helps to plot the king's escape. A moving story of royal hopes and misfortunes, Mary of Carisbrooke is at its heart the tale of a charming girl who is as romantic and alluring as she is smart and bold. Loyal to herself and to the Crown, Mary's brush with history reveals just how quickly fate can shift the paths of power.

Praise for Margaret Campbell Barnes "Barnes vividly depicts Anne's hopes and fears in an age where royal marriages were brokered like a cattle fair, and beheading could befall even a Queen." -Publishers Weekly on Brief Gaudy Hour

"Rich in detail and flows beautifully, letting readers escape into Anne's court and country life. It is a must read for those who love exploring the dynamic relationships of Henry VIII and his wives." -Historical Novels Review on My Lady of Cleves

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Revolutionaries, Rebels and Rogues of Rhode Island Review

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(More customer reviews)This is a must read for any Rhode Islander with a yen for the state's storied history and for anyone else interested in why the smallest state has such a big, colorful, and sometimes tarnished past.

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Rhode Island may be the smallest state, but it has the tallest tales. It's home to many larger-than-life men with exciting stories of mutiny, revolt and daring. Horror writer H.P. Lovecraft tries to escape the grasp of the demonic "Night-Gaunts" that haunt him. Captain William Kidd, convicted of piracy and murder, is hanged and left to rot as a warning for others pursuing a similar career path. And Samuel Slater, Father of the Industrial Revolution, may be a revolutionary in our eyes, but he is considered a treasonous rogue by the English. Travel with M.E. Reilly-McGreen as she follows up her book Witches, Wenches and Wild Women of Rhode Island with tales of the best and worst men the Ocean State has to offer.

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Rainbow Quest: The Folk Music Revival and American Society, 1940-1970 (Culture, Politics, and Cold War) Review

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(More customer reviews)Rainbow Quest: The Folk Music Revival & American Society, 1940-1970 by Ronald D. Cohen (Professor of History, Indiana University Northwest) is a remarkably informative historical survey and commentary of the phenomena of folk music's mass audience appeal as represented by concerts and album sales from such luminaries as Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, Peter, Paul and Mary, Burl Ives, Woody Guthrie, The Kingston Trio, The Weavers, and scores of others. Originally centered in New York's Greenwich Village and sustained by a robust record industry, this revival of folk music through the 1950s and culminating in the mid-1960s when it was overtaken by "The British Invasion" and the dominence of Rock 'n Roll. Still, those glory years of folk music popularity have left an astonishing musical legacy that still reverberates within the American culture. Rainbow Quest is a seminal, core addition to any 20th Century American Music History reference collection and supplemental reading list.

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For a brief period from the late 1950s to the mid-1960s, folk music captured a mass audience in the United States, as college students and others swarmed to concerts by the likes of Peter, Paul & Mary, Joan Baez, and Bob Dylan. In this comprehensive study, Ronald D. Cohen reconstructs the history of this singular cultural moment, tracing its origins to the early decades of the twentieth century.Drawing on scores of interviews and numerous manuscript collections, as well as his own extensive files, Cohen shows how a broad range of traditions -- from hillbilly, gospel, blues, and sea shanties to cowboy, ethnic, and political protest music -- all contributed to the genre known as folk. He documents the crucial work of John Lomax and other collectors who, with the assistance of recording companies, preserved and distributed folk music in the 1920s. During the 1930s and 1940s, the emergence of left-wing politics and the rise of the commercial music marketplace helped to stimulate wider interest in folk music. Stars emerged, such as Woody Guthrie, Leadbelly, Pete Seeger, Burl Ives, and Josh White. With the success of the Weavers and the Kingston Trio in the 1950s, the stage was set for the full-blown "folk revival" of the early 1960s.Centered in New York's Greenwich Village and sustained by a flourishing record industry, the revival spread to college campuses and communities across the country. It included a wide array of performers and a supporting cast of journalists, club owners, record company executives, political activists, managers, and organizers. By 1965 the boom had passed its peak, as rock and roll came to dominate the marketplace, but the folk revival left an enduring musical legacy in American culture.--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Unwelcome Americans: Living on the Margin in Early New England (Early American Studies) Review

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(More customer reviews)Dr. Herndon has produced a magnificent collection of narratives that have been derived from a variety of primary source documents. Her book is a must for any serious student of colonial history, and would be quite useful for someone doing genealogical research.
The author has done a commendable job of balancing research and art; unlike many books from this genre, the book is both academically challenging and eminently readable.
Dr. Herndon has given life to voices who would have otherwise remained silent for eternity. The individuals and families in the narratives had a story to tell, and the author has provided a magnificent vehicle for these compelling micro-histories.

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Journey to Jamestown (My Side of the Story) Review

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(More customer reviews)Have you ever wondered about the other side of the story? Have you ever wondered about how a secondary character feels and thinks? If you have, Journey to Jamestown is the book for you! When Elias Ridpath leaves his home in England for Jamestown, Virginia, he is hardly excited. He will be an apprentice to a barber surgeon, and the sight of blood makes him faint. Not only that, but he finds out Jamestown is in the middle of the starving time. Elias finds his strength when a young indian girl from the village through the woods tells him that he "sees through the third eye." Sacahocan is a half-indian, half-english. She doesn't fit in in her mother's community or her father's, but all that changes when she meets Elias, one of the enemy settlers who have stolen indian land. When King James of England wants to crown Sacahocan's leader a prince of England, the indian chief is not amused. When battles separate their people, Elias and Sacahocan find ways to make their voices heard. My favorite event was when one of the two women of Jamestown found a way to make food without having to fish, hunt wild animals, or farm. The only small problem is when one of the men of the village finds that his prized horse is "missing." Another memorable event was when Elias first met Quangartask and befriended the young and friendless boy.
The first story you'll read revolves around Elias Ridpath, a thirteen year old settler. He is an apprentice to the settlement's barber surgeon, and helps to save many lies. Elias is clever, honest, and he quickly becomes a brother to Quangartask, a developmentally delayed and sickly indian boy who comes to the settlement by accident one day. Elias is my favorite character because of his good sense of humor and his honesty. The next story you'll read is about Sacahocan, a half-indian girl who feels that she doesn't fit in. Sacahocan is a knowledgeable medicine girl who knows all the plants of the forest and their healing properties. In the midst of a fight with the white boy she meets named Elias, she finds out that her young brother with an unknown illness, Quangartask, is to be sacrificed to the gods. The gods require a boy who is `unblemished' or who has never had stitches. Can Sacahocan find a way to forgive Elias, make her people understand that the white men mean no harm, and save her brother at the same time?
All in all, Journey to Jamestown was a very good book. I liked this historical fiction story because of its exciting plot and well-developed characters. I would rate this book about an eight on a scale of one to ten because at some points it was hard to follow but it was exciting. When I picked up this book, I entered Elias's and Sacahocan's completely different worlds. This book draws the reader in and makes them choose which side of the story they like. If you're looking for an exciting read, read Journey to Jamestown!

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Apprenticed to a barber-surgeon, Elias sets sail for a new life in the Jamestown Colony where he discovers that he has a knack for healing. He meets Sacahocan, a Pamunkee Indian girl who is training to be a medicine woman and dream reader. Though their leaders are at war, Elias and Sacahocan forge a friendship by sharing their medical knowledge.

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Poet in America: Winfield Townley Scott Review

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(More customer reviews)What a joy to discover that Scott Donaldson's masterful biography of Winfield Townley Scott, POET IN AMERICA, is available again! Scott was never considered more than a second-rank poet in his lifetime, and today is entirely forgotten; and yet, ever since discovering his poems "O Lyric Love" and "Five for the Grace of Man" in the landmark anthology THE VOICE THAT IS GREAT WITHIN US back in my Peace Corps days, he has been one of my favorites. (Readers new to Scott's work should begin, I think, with CHANGE OF WEATHER or NEW AND SELECTED POEMS.) The real delight is that Donaldson has provided us with a biography fully worthy of Scott, sympathetic but unflinching. The opening pages--set on the last day of Scott's life--are among the most powerful and moving I have ever read in a biography. Indeed, POET IN AMERICA should be required reading for anyone venturing into the field of literary biography--it is a beautifully balanced and memorable piece of work.
Now, if only Scott's own poetry could be brought back into print!

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As James Dickey observed, Winfield Scotts story is truer of the typical destruction of an American poet than the accounts of all the Poets, Hart Cranes, and other excessives put together.

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A Century Under Sail (Maritime) Review

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(More customer reviews)Great photos and text from the Rosenfelds, photographers extrordinaire of the 20th century! Awesome in every way. Classic wooden boats, both large and small. Long live the Dorade!

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