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Abenaki Joseph Bruchac and Navajo Shonto Begay combine their talents to tell the tragic story of how, in the 1860s, U.S. soldiers forced thousands of Navajos to march to a desolate reservation 400 miles from their homeland in an effort to “civilize” them. Hundreds died along the way; those who survived found unspeakable living conditions at their destination. When word of the Indians’s plight finally gained public attention, President Andrew Johnson sent a Peace Commission to investigate. The resulting treaty allowed the Navajos to return to their homeland, and ho’zho—harmony—was restored. The Navajos prospered and have lived in peace with the U.S. government ever since while preserving their own proud culture.

Customer Reviews (4)

Navajo Long Walk
Navajo Long Walk is a brief book that is well worth the money and time to read it. The Long Walk was a tragic event in the life of the Navajo people similar to the Cherokee Trail of Tears. However, unlike the Cherokee the Navajos were allowed to return to most of their homeland after internment and the adoption of peaceful ways. The "Navajo Long Walk" tells the stories of Navajos who participated and forms them into an historical narrative. Of significant interest is the subsequent impact the event has had on Navajo (Dene) socio-political culture ever since, an impact similar to that of memory of the South and its lost Confederacy.

Satisfied Customer
I waited a few extra days, but the book was delivered. It is in good condition.Thank you.

Navajo Long Walk : Tragic Story Of A Proud Peoples Forced March From Homeland
Excellent Research Book.Help make clearer how them like other tribes had to leave there homeland and travel someplace else.I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in a nations struggle for survival.

Thayer's book review
Navajo Long Walk is an exciting book about an Indian family who is forced to go to camps and live the white sholdiers' way. The main characters are Kee, Hasba, Gentle Woman, the mother, Strong Man, the father, and Wise One, the grandfather. This family, like all the other Navajo families, have to move to different for-away camps that are called forts. Some of the forts they go to are Fort Defiance and Fort Summer.

Kee learns that you can be friends with white soldiers like when he neets a white soldier, his horse and his son.

The reader will enjoy this book becasue it is very detailed and you can picture every word in your mind. You will have a great experience reading about the Navajo way of life. ... Read more

Product Description
In 1906, Jack London set out from San Francisco with his wife and two crewmembers on a voyage across the Pacific. Newspaper readers were horrified by the proposed trip, which was inspired by Joshua Slocum’s Sailing Alone Around the World. London knew little about navigation, and his schooner, the Snark, possessed numerous defects, including a tendency to leak.

London’s account of this extraordinary trip is charming and fascinating by turns, and a wonderful display of his eye for poetic and ironic details. Navigating more by feel than by skill, London visited Hawaii, the Marquesas, Tahiti, and the Solomon Islands. For the most part, the voyagers were greeted with South Seas hospitality, though the trip had its dangers—including head-hunting natives. London claimed that sailing the Snark gave him his greatest sense of personal accomplishment, and The Cruise of the Snark is saturated with his enthusiasm and sheer love of adventure.

An exciting new volume in the Adventure Classics series, this edition includes a new National Geographic map and excerpts from his wife Charmian’s out-of-print account of the expedition, offering new insights into London’s personality, and into his remarkable voyage. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

A Traveler @ HeartEnjoyed Sailing w/Jack & His Crew (s)
I have sailed a few times in S.F. Bay being from the Bay area and I truely related to this story and since the Snark was being built by Jack London right before the 1906 quake. It amazed me and invariably he got taken advantage of by the various builders which led to some precarious sailing manuevers since they measured wrong on one side.Which Jack London didn't find out until out at sea.I could picture all the island stops and so enjoyed the old photos that were put into the Snark truly an interesting journey.It was interesting to me hearing of the staph infections were attacking the individuals when the crew would cut themselves and then end up with these sores they knew nothing about and how they had to heal themselves with virtually no medicines on board. This book is a captain's log which he wrote in daily.If your a sailor you'll love it or even if you've been exposed as I have you'll enjoy it, especially if you happen to be from the Bay area.I recommend it as an interesting and enjoyable read though at times I did feel he was just writing to keep his checks coming in to pay for his journey.

Sebastopolian Reader

Mixed Emotions, and By The Way It Is Not a Novel.
I have a lot of mixed emotions about this book. I thought his book "Call of the Wild" was one of the best ever works by an American writer. That novel was the peak of the Jack London's career.

Just so we are clear, this is not a novel. It is a collection of related short stories. London wrote everyday for a few hours each morning during a two year sea voyage. He did this to make money to pay for the boat trip. He wrote and sent off a number of different short stories during the trip to different magazines and each chapter was published separately. Then later, he took some of the stories and simply arranged them in chronological order to make the present book.

The book and the trip grew out of London's romance with yachting, and his idea that he wanted to sail around the world in a boat that he made himself. He wanted a large boat - about 50' - that he could sail himself helped by a small crew including his second wife. There is a lot of optimism here, and less practical experience than what one might consider to be wise, and London made a number of errors. London did not actually make the boat. He hired contractors. In any case, we hear how London made the boat and then sailed it across the Pacific, finally stopping near Australia. His motivation was based on dreams from his youth plus the romantic inspiration from prior writers such as Melville, Rudyard Kipling, Frank Norris, and Joseph Conrad, to name a few.

We read what we assume to be is a non-fiction account of how he built the boat, and then the trip itself in pieces along with trips to various islands.

Overall, the writing is good, but some parts are a lot more interesting than others so the book has a slightly uneven feel. I found a few of the chapeters to be boring.

Interesting read, but not as good as I had hoped:4 stars.

first time reading "The....Snark"
Even though I consider myself a London fan (starting when I read "The Call of the Wild" and "The Cruise of the Dazzler" as a boy), I have never felt the urge to read "The Cruise of the Snark"...until now.I must admit that is one easy, enjoyable read yet there are a couple of chapters which in my opinion seem to be "filler" material, possibly created when Jack was sick and do not seem to fit the adventure billing (Beche De Mer English for example).Regardless, most of this book is very enjoyable and you get a few chuckles when Jack interjects some of his dry, sarcastic humor into the reading (when he mentioned that the Snark was actually shorter than expected and suggested that "the builder was not on speaking terms with the tape-line").Jack's life was an adventure and this was the culmination of an adventurous soul.It's a wonderful story and a prime example of Murphy's Law.

The best story is the one he lived
It has been said that the best story Jack London ever conceived is the one he lived.You need look no further than THE CRUISE OF THE SNARK to confirm that.In this book, all of London's passions come together: action, experience, sailing, foreign travel, writing and reading.It is a "real adventure" tale, a travelogue and above all a well-crafted book full of London's personal voice and vibrant outlook on life.One may say it is also full of his ego, but he earns the self-satisfaction by putting action and hard work behind his beliefs and words.He is fearless.He is the first to get the irony in a situation and the first to laugh, especially at himself.

In 1908, London and six others, including his wife Charmian, sailed out of the San Francisco Bay into the open waters of the Pacific on what was to be a lengthy circumnavigation of the world.They were leaving over a year later than originally planned due to hold-ups in the construction of London's "perfect" boat, "The Snark," which ate $30,000 dollars before they left harbor. It isn't long before leaks, sea-sickness and other banana peels come their way, and it takes 27 days to make Hawaii.In due course, London learns to surf, they visit the top of a volcano, hang out at a leper colony, and then head further south to the land of Melville's "Typee" and the scary Solomon Islands.The various captains hired for the trip all seem to lack the navigation gene, so London teaches himself and gets it down to a science.London, first by necessity and then overtaken by the intoxication of success, becomes a self-taught dentist, and thus his crew's savior and worst nightmare.He and the crew suffer a nasty list of maladies, as well.It is a testimony of the man's indefatigable spirit, that even when his own health puts an end to the "round the world" scheme, that he never characterizes the voyage and anything that did not go as planned as a crushing failure or disappointment.He just heads straight to Plan B.

London's voice is wholly engaging, his profiles of crewmates and people encountered are delightful.One only wishes that some of his perceptions of other cultures were more enlightened, though they were liberal for their time.The Penguin Classics critical edition is an excellent balance of original text, a non-spoiling critical introduction, and a selection of 4 other short pieces, including accounts of the voyage by crewmate Martin Johnson and wife Charmian, and two unrelatedmaritime essays by London that enrich the overall experience of the book.

Stand in a shower tearing up 100 dollar bills instead
I've recently arrived back in the USA from Suva and Nadi in Fiji, one of Jack's stopping points.

However, what he describes about the South Pacific is no more.

London's South Pacific was affected by European trade and commerce. For one thing, disease, in an era when its prevention was primitive, was rife and the inhabitants of the islands he visited were dropping like flies. Today, of course, the very same network has brought modern medicine and the major health threat to natives in the South Pacific is obesity: the only restaurant on Victoria Parade in Suva, allowed Sunday hours, was McDonald's, while Singh's Curry Shop had to close (I recommend the latter, around the corner from McDonald's on Gordon Street: try the goat curry).

London's natives were partly pagan. Today, ordinary people in Oceania are mostly fundamentalist Christian, and, in Suva, there is also a streak of Islam, petering out far to the west of Indonesia but echoing in the afternoon call of the Muezzin in Suva.

The fundamentalism means that the yachtsman is well-advised on shore to dress modestly. Of course, London and his wife did this naturally, long ago. I actually saw an Australian man warn a woman in shorts in Suva to put knickers on lest one of the local Methodists or Moslems be offended.

But any myth of escape has been so commodified in the South Pacific by tavern owners and tourist companies as to be sour and bitter to the taste.

London, while asserting his property rights thoughtlessly at Oakland's wharf, and while assuming he had the right to hire men to work on his boat and judge their hard work in print, also assumed, in the South Pacific, his right to wander at will.

Today, as the Rough Guide to Fiji advises the tourist, 85% of the land in Fiji is owned fee simple by chiefs. Sir Arthur Gordon decided not to repeat America's dispossession of the Indians and covenanted with the lads in Fiji in such a way that today, the natives form a land-owning aristocracy.

Their fair-mindedness (as on display from Steve Rabuka who backed down from being a military dictator) means that other lads from other mobs have rough civic equality.

London was the prototype, however, of the colonialist as rugged individual whose humanity is based on the unconscious deprivation of others' humanity.

London was the prototype of the soured Yank who when a lad thought the best of people, without a dime to his name, who now has everything, and thinks the worst of people.

London with a grin repeats texts from the hundreds of letters he received from individuals who wanted to sign on to the Snark and so escape their own lives of quiet desparation in an America already unbearable for the average city-dweller. Like him they yearned for a clean-limbed life but unlike London they lacked cash.

London essentially uses their texts to pad out a book that was obviously written not from the heart but to raise cash for a silly boat.

Any yachtsman knows in his heart of hearts that if the landlubber wants his experience, he has only to stand in a cold shower tearing up 100 dollar bills. The Snark was an expensive lark and, like modern yachts, unconsciously offensive at both its sharp end (where were the natives, giving London gifts and dying like flies) and its blunt end (where were the American laborers whose work London disrespects because it was not finished on his schedule).

The South Seas are overrun, today, by people who really ought to be paying more taxes back home. I traveled out there to work at global rates and learned much more about the REAL South Seas than any tourist might, and I'm afraid that Joe Conrad, who also worked for a living, in The Heart of Darkness is more reliable on the tropics than old Jack London.

I'm afraid that London saw, what he wanted to see: the Gilded Age struggle of man against man. However, as Hannah Arendt points out in The Origins of Totalitarianism, this defines rather a culture of hatred out of which were form racialist identities. London was for the most part free of any special form of racism but he did believe that Socialism was impossible because Alpha males (like Wolf Larsen) would take what they need.

Well, they might, and they do. Nonetheless, in the South Seas and elsewhere, Beta males and women continue some how to achieve more, and of more lasting value, by working in groups. Sir Arthur Gordon is forgotten save in Suva, because unlike Cecil Rhodes he failed to mind his own press-agentry but it appears he did lasting good with his land-tenure scheme.

London never learned the limits of his world view and his darkest book, Alcoholic Memories, is a testament to London's limitations.

My favorite yachtsman remains good old Tristan Jones, a British sailor who was trained in the Royal Navy and who paid his dues. Tristan would like me arrive back, from the back of beyond, without a dime and go willingly to work while living willingly in a doss-house. Tristan dragged his own boat across the Mato Grosso and talked back to tinpot Fascists in Stroessner's Paraguay.

In my experience it is relatively easy to learn the mechanics of a sailing boat but what is hard is endurance, not only of Nature but the Other. London endured Nature but has a tendency to be impatient in print with others, as shown by his insenstive near-mockery of applicants for service on his boat. Jones, on the other hand, mocks only people who deserve it, like customs agents in Paraguay.

We lack Tristan Jones' spirit in America with the result that the Third World is overrun with the worst of us, whining yachtsmen and CIA agents and their trophy wives. London I fear was despite his genuine greatness of soul a prototype for the worse that came later. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (1)

Lots of good historic photographs but a disappointing text
This book tells the human story of the Central Brooks Range in Alaska, the core of which makes up Gates of the Arctic National Park.It combines a fairly dry narrative with a remarkable number of historic photographs from various collections around the country.It includes some *historic* maps but, annoyingly, never gives us a modern map of the region at a useful scale.As a result, the geographic relations between many settlements (some of which no longer exist) remain unclear.

The first chapters of book tell the story of pre-contact Alaskan natives and the European explorers who first met them. The narrative here is dry, and presented without context.

Brown is clearly most interested in the material in the middle chapters, when Euro-Americans and Native Alaskans make fuller contact and begin to live and work together.Now the facts become a real narrative, and Brown begins to tell the story of Alaska in a wider context.

The final chapters briefly cover the years since statehood, culminating in creation of the national park.Brown focuses on what Natives have lost from this process, which makes their participation in the process a bit mysterious.I would have liked to see more coverage of national park management and challenges (given my other interests) but this received only a couple of pages.

Overall, the text of this book only gets two stars from me.In contrast, the historic photographs are first rate - - if that's what you're looking for, you'll enjoy the book.All the photos are in black and white, of course.I would have appreciated a series of color plates in the middle of the book in order to show the full beauty of the region. ... Read more

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A rousing history of the good old U.S.A.

Since he first appeared in the 1800's, Uncle Sam has inspired our nation. A symbol of patriotic duty and national pride, Uncle Sam has witnessed our history, from the victory over the British in the War of 1812, to the struggle of the Great Depression, to the efforts of the civil rights movement. This eloquent book recounts America's past through Uncle Sam's eyes, celebrating the fortitude and ingenuity that are the hallmarks of this national symbol. With illustrations that incorporate postage stamps and antique images from each era, as well as portraits of famous Americans whose actions changed history, and back matter about the people in the book, this is a timeless tribute to Uncle Sam -- an icon whose spirit embodies the American dream. ... Read more

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Eastern North Carolina boasts some of the oldest and most distinctive architecture in the state, from colonial churches and antebellum plantation houses to the imperiled lighthouses of the late nineteenth century. The more recent history of this predominantly agricultural region includes landscapes of small farmsteads, country churches, factories, tobacco barns, quiet maritime villages, and market towns. In their guide to this rich and diverse architectural heritage, Catherine Bishir and Michael Southern introduce readers to more than 1,700 buildings in forty-one counties from the coast to Interstate 95. Written for travelers and residents alike, the book emphasizes buildings visible from the road and indicates which sites are open to the public.

Featuring more than 400 photographs and 30 maps, the guide is organized by counties, which are grouped geographically. Sections typically begin with the county seat and work outward with concise entries that treat notable buildings, neighborhoods, and communities. The text highlights key architectural features and trends and relates buildings to the local and regional histories they represent.

A project of the North Carolina State Historic Preservation Office of the Division of Archives and History, the book reflects more than twenty-five years of fieldwork and research in the agency's statewide architectural survey and National Register of Historic Places programs. Two future volumes will cover western and piedmont North Carolina. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Superb
This book is exactly what its title suggests:It's a survey of HISTORIC architecture in eastern North Carolina, one of the richest concentrations of colonial, federal, and early Romantic architecture in the country.Eastern North Carolina is a feast for anyone who enjoys small coastal towns packed with historic churches and houses, small regional cities that aspired to metropoli but failed and are now preserved gems of early 20th century urban architecture, and rural plantations off the beaten path just waiting for that late afternoon thunderstorm.This book, along with its two equally good companion volumes covering the Piedmont and West, is a joy to simply browse for a quick daydream or a resource to pour over as part of a larger research project.They're really that good.

In the world of architectural surveys, the variation in standards can be frustrating.Some are generally excellent, complete and (relatively) objective, while some are grossly incomplete or out of date.Some are packed with structures that have otherwise been demolished or destroyed (what's the point?).Some are so overstuffed with editorial political correctness and arcane archi-speak that they can't be enjoyed for the art itself.Also, some like to use what I call "iconoclastic postdating."That's the process by which an expert tells you the gorgeous old plantation house you thought was built in 1785 was REALLY built mostly after World War 2.It allows that expert to express the fact that he or she knows far more than you (and the general public) about such matters.If you've ever seen Antiques Roadshow, you know what I mean.

This guide, miraculously, resists ALL of these flaws.It is of the highest scholarly and editorial quality.There are no significant omissions to reveal the author's political or aesthetic bias.The summaries are concise and well researched.The coverage is truly exhaustive.The photographs are largely functional rather than artistic, but are well chosen to reveal the structures in entirety.

If you're a fan of architectural surveys, these are among the very best and every bit as good as Oxford's BUILDINGS OF AMERICA series.If you're a fan of rural and small-town historical architecture, these books are representative of the genre.Buy all three and you can carry historic North Carolina around with you in your briefcase or backpack. ... Read more

Product Description
An environmental study of the world's first national park examines Yellowstone's history and its current place in the world and recounts the ongoing debate over what the real purpose of the park should be."Amazon.com Review
In 1997 Yellowstone celebrated its 125th anniversary as anational park, the keystone in the federal system of reserved andprotected places. The celebration was somewhat marred by debates overwolf reintroduction, road improvement, resort building, and"bioprospecting," the search for economically useful plantmaterials. Paul Schullery, a longtime resident and student of thepark, tells us that such debates are not new. In his deeply personalyet sweeping history of Yellowstone, he shows that the place knownfrom the start as "Wonderland" has always been the subjectof pro- and anti-development forces, has always been seen throughsometimes bitterly contrasting points of view. With balance and grace,Schullery weaves his narrative through countless such arguments,noting that "Today's parks, for all the press of humanity linedup to get in, still seem short of friends, or at least lacking in justthe right combination of friends to ensure adequate budgets andreasonable protection." His fine book may help widenYellowstone's circle of champions. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

A balanced history and a wonderful read
This book presents itself as a history of Yellowstone.However, it's also an extended reflection on the park by someone who loves it dearly, someone who has worked for the National Park Service in Yellowstone for years and is very knowledgeable about the park.Schullery writes very well, and the book is a pleasure to read.

The most striking characteristic of this book, in comparison with others, is how remarkably even-handed it is.Schullery takes controversial issues such as fire management, elk shooting, wolf reintroduction, and brucellosis-infected bison and presents them in an even-handed way, sympathetic to both sides.He recognizes that most people go to Yellowstone to see Old Faithful and the Grand Canyon, eat, and go shopping; that's not what he likes to do, but he isn't critical.Yet, somehow, he manages to cock an eyebrow here and there and make you rethink a position that you had previously held quite firmly.

This would be a great book to read before a visit to Yellowstone, or as something to put in your pack while you're there.Highly recommended.

Readers with affection for Yellowstone will find these early encounters riveting.
Combine history, scholarship, and a survey of nature and ecological issues and you have an uncommon history of Yellowstone that examines the political and cultural influences on the park's development and management over the decades. SEARCHING FOR YELLOWSTONE: ECOLOGY AND WONDER IN THE LAST WILDERNESS offers up chapters packed with true stories of environmental encounters and wonders. Readers with affection for Yellowstone will find these early encounters riveting.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

Searching for Yellowstone
This is a review of Yellowstone history from a system-wide and ecological perspective.It is well written and provides a great deal of factual information.It presents well thought out conclusions.It is balanced; not overly slanted toward the National Park Service, but not overly critical.The book is extremely well researched.The stories of historical characters and events add much to the book.The universe of Yellowstone experts hold several differing views on the proper wildlife numbers that should be allowed in Yellowstone.Schullery fits into the group that favors using historical stocking as a baseline.Those inclined to an agronomy baseline will question some of the conclusions drawn.One of the other reviewers called this book an "easy pre-read."I disagree; it is not difficult to read, but it does deserve study.

Yellowstone 101
`Highly recommended reading for anyone interested in knowing the "Yellowstone story" at a deeper level than the interpretive signs or tourist pamphlets.This would be excellent (and easy) "pre-reading" for anyone contemplating a first trip to Yellowstone....but it is also a fascinating and sometimes surprising eye-opener for someone (like me) who was somewhat familiar with Yellowstone already.From the perspective only a former Yellowstone employee and prolific writer/researcher could bring, Schullery persuasively argues-not unlike the "new western historians" in their iconoclastic reassessment of the American west and its history)-that Yellowstone is not so much a place as a process...a process of how we as Americans define a national park.Schullery's measured tour through this process provides a sobering reminder to inveterate tree-huggers like me that a national park is not a wilderness area, as much as I might like it to be in terms of "hands off" preservation.Schullery's approach is matter-of-fact, methodically researched (I actually enjoyed reading the copious "notes" section separately after having finished the book) and myth-busting at times (e.g. that surprisingly, the total number of developed acres in Yellowstone has actually decreased during the last 40 years rather than increased).He doesn't even spare himself, needling enthusiastic fly-fishers like himself with the sad-but-true fact that if we treated the ungulates of Yellowstone the same way fishermen do a Yellowstone trout (which was probably introduced in the first place rather than native), we would be cited for abusing the wildlife.A very readable and important book.

Best book about Yellowstone NP so far
I read this book in a week and was quite impressed with the breadth of history covered in 260 something pages, not counting notes.I was glad to see that this historical account began with an "anthropological" perspective by recounting the known presence of Native American tribes prior to the EuroAmerican "discovery" of the place and the manner in which they were extricated from the ecosystem.I was also impressed with the historical information relating the misuse, management practices and policies that affected the life of the park once it was established and what changes have been implemented in recent years. The notes following the text were very helpful in leading me to other books and records that I would like to examine.A fine book that I purchased after reading the library copy! ... Read more

Product Description
Do you wonder what it would have been like to travel the Santa Fe Trail in the mid-nineteenth century? If so, sign on with twenty-seven-year-old Richard Lush Wilson in the spring of 1842 and head out from Independence, Missouri, to Santa Fe, New Mexico, with the Solomon Houch wagon train. Wilson's copious notes describing Indians, trappers, wild life, weather, and other encounters were given to his friend and colleague, Benjamin F. Taylor. He created Short Ravelings from a Long Yarn, which was published as an illustrated pamphlet in 1847. This pamphlet was reprinted as a limited-edition fine-arts book in 1936. In 2008 Pilgrims Process re-issued this rare publication in order to make it available to modern readers.Short Ravelings is a vivid, first-hand account of Wilson's life-changing journey into the wild West. Filled with colorful descriptions and thought-provoking observations, it's a fascinating read. If you are interested in Western history or real adventure travel, this is the book for you. ... Read more

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Historic pioneer trails serve as some of the most fascinating links to our nation’s past and retracing them can be an exhilarating and educational experience. Following the Santa Fe Trail is aimed at assisting modern travelers to enlarge their understanding of the trail and increase the enjoyment that comes from following in the wagon tracks of pioneers.

Originating in Franklin, Missouri, the Santa Fe Trail was the first and most exotic of America’s great trans-Mississippi pathways to the west. Although the era of the trail ceased, its glory-days are still part of the collective imagination of America.

Complete with directions, maps, anecdotes, and historical information, Following the Santa Fe Trail takes the traveler on an authentic historic journey. Modern paved highways now parallel much of the old wagon route and with this guide a modern adventurer can retrace large sections of the trail.

Since Following the Santa Fe Trail first appeared in 1984, the trail was designated a National Historic Trail under the National Park Service and public interest has mushroomed.

This completely revised third edition now updates all directions and clarifies the changes that have taken place in the last 15 years. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Excellent travelers guide to the SF Trail today

All those planning on exploring the Santa Fe Trail should have this book with them. It is an excellent guide, filled with detailed maps, very specific driving instructions, and a great deal of background information on the sites referred to. The book begins with a brief introduction, which includes information on general histories, other guidebooks, trail ruts, various markers and the groups that placed them, and a bibliography. Then Simmons gets into the specifics of the trail, beginning at Franklin, MO, proceeding through Kansas, and covering both the Mountain Branch and the Cimarron Cut-Off separately before continuing through New Mexico to Santa Fe (with brief side trips to Taos and Albuquerque included).

Simmons is interested in all remnants and markings of the trail and pinpoints even the most forlorn DAR marker. But it's his willingness to expose just about all that can be noted by the modern traveler (even sites on private property, though he is careful about warning against trespassing) that makes this guide book so valuable. This is the Second edition, published in 1986 after a careful note-taking retracing of the trail in 1985; probably a new edition is needed to update further changes made during the last 20 years (if it hasn't been done already). Highly recommended.

With directions, maps, anecdotes, historical information
Now in a revised and updated third edition, Marc Simmons and Hal Jackson's Following The Santa Fe Trail: A Guide For Modern Travelers is written specifically to assist modern travelers who enjoy following the wagon tracks of pioneers. Following The Santa Fe Trail is packed with directions, maps, anecdotes, historical information, and everything else necessary to follow the trail of history. Now that the Santa Fe Trail has been designated a National Historic Trail under the National Park Service,it is bringing more public interest than ever to this fascinating pathway that transcends the generations. If the Santa Fe Trail perks your interest to, then Following The Santa Fe Trail is a must-read!

Santa Fe Trail Redux
Marc Simmons is the pre-eminent author on Santa Fe Trail lore and this updated version of his "Following the Trail" is better than ever! He has captured those significant, visible elements of the SFT that make it impossible to follow the Trail without this book. The pictures and maps are explicit and easy to follow. His stories and anecdotes bring the Trail to life.
If you're an SFT buff be sure to also read his book: "The Old Santa Fe Trail", a collection of essays; and his new book: "Spanish Pathways" on the history of Hispanic New Mexico.
Jim Ryan

The Almost Handy Guide to the Santa Fe Trail
Don't count on AAA or Fodor's to guide you to the wagon wheel ruts, remnants of watering wholes, or Indian ambush points along the Santa Fe Trail.On one had I was pleased to see that the noted Santa Fe Trail historian had put together a guide to the location of the remnants of the trail.Unfortunately I found details lacking, particularly when it came to local observances and current road and off-road access to the location. I was particularly disappointed by the lack of detail for the Raton, NM area of the trail. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Great book about the prehistoric inhabitants ofBandelier.
I first discovered ruins of the Anasasi Indians in 1972 during a trip to Mesa Verde National Monument. Since then I have spent many hours exploring Anasasi sites including Bandelier, Canyon De Chelly, Chaco Canyon andscores of less known sites. I have read several books trying to understandwho these people were, why the left their homes, and what happened to them.All of these books have been informative, but most have left me stillconfused. Now I have found a great book, "The Magic of Bandelier"by David E. Stuart. Mr. Stuart has written an interesting and detailed bookabout the Anasasi Indians who lived in and around Bandelier NationalMonument. He paints a clear picture of where these prehistoric people camefrom, what their daily lives would have been like, and why they migratedbetween the deserts, mesas and river valleys of the Southwest. He has takencomplicated information, and presented it in a clear and concise manner."The Magic of Bandelier" explains why and when different type ofliving shelters were developed, from pit houses to cliff dwellings to thehuge stone and mud pueblos found in most of the national monuments. It alsocontains excellent information about the pottery made by these people, theremaining shards of which can still be seen at most sites. I think that laypersons, as well as those searching for scholarly information about theAnasasi Indians, will find "The Magic of Bandelier" to be bothinformative and stimulating. Now if I can only find my back pack and thetime to explore more of these magical sites.

laymen, read this one
I would recommend this small book to anyone who is interested in southwest archaeology. Written by an archaeologist, itresonates with solid science. Butequally as notable is its readability.You laymen looking intosouthwest archaeology should enjoy this. Also those travelling in the areawill appreciate all of the background provided in so few words . ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (3)

One of the best books on the West ever published

This book represents a major achievement in the annals of western exploration, and deserves a prominent spot on anyone's American history shelf. In 1810, Robert Stuart, a partner with John Jacob Astor, shipped to the mouth of the Columbia River, where he helped establish Astoria. But troubles at the post with the British during the War of 1812 impelled Stuart with six other men to make an overland winter journey over the Rockies to St. Louis. Throughout the journey Stuart kept a journal, in which he recorded everything encountered along the way: the precise route taken, various Indian tribes, flora and fauna, perspective trapping grounds - and their own personal hardships, which included, near starvation, freezing weather, and hostile Indians. He gave the journal to Astor, who sent it to President James Madison. Stuart then wrote a more formal version of the journey, which was published in France. The original journal made its way back to the Stuart family, where it remained forgotten until it was discovered in a cupboard and finally published in 1935.

This book publishes both the original journal and the French rewrite, known as the "Traveling Memoranda." Both are meticulously edited by Philip Ashton Rollins, which is the key that makes this edition not only definitive but a masterwork. With Rollin's notes it's possible to follow Stuart's route precisely. He is especially detailed where the men crossed South Pass, the first known whites to do so, though their "discovery" would go unrecognized (Jedediah Smith is credited with making the first "recorded" crossing of the Pass in 1824.) In addition to these works, there is a 70-page Forward that summarizes events and puts the Narratives into perspective and a detailed Biographical Note on Stuart's family history.

The book indeed is a major accomplishment. Anyone interested in the early exploration of the West must read this book. Highly recommended.

An epic adventure of extraordinary proportions
This is an excellent first hand account of the original discovery of what was to be the Oregon Trail (in reverse).Robert Stuart originally left New York on the ship the Tonquin, funded by John Jacob Astor, and sailed around the tip of South America and then eventually up to the mouth of the Columbia River in Oregon to establish a trading post.Stuart then proceeded to head back eastto report to Astor about the state of affairs of the trading fort.With only a handful of men, they went by canoe, horseback and mostly by foot, from the mouth of the Columbia to St. Louis, then eventually to New York.This historical narrative is beyond words.They faced the hardships of hunger, fatigue, Indians, weather, and about everything else one can think of.It is truly a fascinating portrayal of day to day survival in the 1812 wilderness written from the hand of the man who was there.What I also enjoyed about the book was the Appendix on Wilson Price Hunt who, also working for Astor, took an expedition by land from St. Louis to Oregon at about the same time. His written account is also mind-blowing and puts the whole book into perspective. There is also an excellent forward by Rollins which gives you a background on what you are about to read.

Courage and Determination
Robert Stuart, a partner of John Jacob Astor, was sent by ship to Oregon on company business, and returned cross country by horseback, canoe and foot.Along the way he kept a journal, written in berry juice, which isreprinted here.Washington Irving also wrote "Astoria" based onthis journal.

Our whole country should be grateful to Robert Stuart forhis discovery of the Oregon Trail and his courage against unbelievable oddsin making such a tortuous journey. This book was first printed in 1935 andthe original copies are scarce and valuable.So I was thrilled to discoverthat Amazon not only sold it but that it was now in paperback!When theword gets around to the rest of his descendants, we will have this book onthe best seller list, where it belongs. So take that, Lewis & Clark! ... Read more

Product Description
'Runte focuses on the debate over the management of the natural resources of the park, deftly addressing delicate questions of the balance between preservation and use...His work is alive, and even more than his fine research and clear writing, his passion accounts for the wide readership his work enjoys' - "Environmental History Review". 'An angry book ...firmly grounded in scholarship ...[and placing] in historical perspective the decisions that ...[resulted in] overdevelopment and pollution...Read the book. Get angry. Write your congressman!' - "Southern California Quarterly".'The history of Yosemite is symbolic of the environmental history of America itself. Those who read this fine study will come to understand that' - "Utah Historical Quarterly". 'A major work that has application beyond the Yosemite experience. Today, America's national parks are being destroyed by the unrestrained commercialism that Runte chronicles so effectively. His work is stimulating, thought-provoking, and valuable for its insights' - "Nevada Historical Society Quarterly".'A powerful and important book, a critical contribution to Yosemite historiography and ideology at a time when the politicizing of the National Park Service and the vast hordes of visitors pose genuine threats...to the natural environment of Yosemite' - "Western American Literature". 'This analysis is applicable to every park, wilderness, and national treasure; it is a warning for every conservationist to be on guard against the pressures for development' - "Naturalist Review". Alfred Runte, an environmental historian based in Seattle, is the author of "National Parks: The American Experience" (1979; rev. ed., 1987), also published by the University of Nebraska Press. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

A good history of Yosemite written for elitist backpackers
This book provides a history of Yosemite National Park with a particular focus - Runte's ongoing complaints about activities in the park that can be done elsewhere.These would include `resort" activities in Yosemite Valley such as swimming pools or bike and raft rentals, skiing at Badger Pass, or golfing at Wawona.He takes a strongly preservationist position, and emphasizes protection of wildlife.

I'm sympathetic to all those positions but in Runte's hands it all comes across as elitist.Unlike Joseph Sax's "Mountains without Handrails," Runte does not try to make the principled argument about why camping is good while swimming pools are bad; instead, he simply asserts this repeatedly.

This material in his narrative is valuable, and you'll learn a lot about this park even if you already know quite a bit.If you like your RV, this book will annoy you; if you're a backpacker, you'll agree with most of his complaints.The overall argument would have been more persuasive if he'd provided a stronger foundation for his value judgments.

NPS needs to learn a science lesson
Alfred Runte, a renowned environmental historian, argues in this volume that no other national park more dramatically reflects the United States' alleged failures to reconcile nature protection with the demands of a visiting public. The volume does not trace the entire history of Yosemite National Park, but instead focuses on the environmental aspects of the park's history. The book, gratefully, does not repeat familiar themes like the Hetch Hetchy Dam controversy. The author notes in the introduction that he wants to break new ground.

Yosemite, being the first land set aside for preservation by the U.S. government, has become the longest-running evidence of the tension between preservation and use and the symbol of the National Park idea at its finest and worst (7). One of its less-than-stellar moments came in 1868, only four years after its designation, when the House of Representatives passed legislation that would have given two Yosemite Valley squatters clear title two their land claims. Luckily, the bill did not carry in the Senate and the park was spared a move that would have greatly undermined the original Yosemite grant. In this presentation of early park history, Runte retreads territory established in his previous volume, National Parks: The American Experience, arguing that Yosemite is the real birthplace of the national park idea because it had been established, publicized, challenged and upheld before Congress designated Yellowstone in 1872.

Much of the volume discusses in detail how the major foundation of the national park experiment is a contradiction. For example, individuals, such as the 1868 Yosemite squatters, could profit by promoting development in parks; they simply could not acquire the attractions themselves (27). The presence of development in Yosemite Valley, in effect, broadcast that no natural resource was distinctive enough to merit unswerving protection (219). Runte's narrative argues that the doctrine of visitor accommodation is too firmly entrenched in park management. Administration of natural resources, which has always taken a backseat to tourism, has been reformed in Yosemite usually only after heavy public outcry or scandal. The author makes a compelling case that the NPS, throughout its history, has shown it is too prone to making quick, emotional decisions instead of educated decisions made on the basis of sound scientific research.

Runte presents problems of park service management and also offers a few possible solutions. He advocates public transportation in national parks, something that Yosemite management instituted in the Eastern third of Yosemite Valley in the 1970s because of traffic gridlock and lack of adequate parking space and what Zion National Park embraced in 2000 to control congestion in its most popular stretch of road, Zion Canyon. He also encourages non-profit foundations taking over park concessions, arguing that such a move would be more compatible with preservation, education and cooperation (223).

Runte's narrative, while insightful, is somewhat dated. A second edition would be a welcome addition to a story that uses Yosemite as a lens to show the bigger picture, that NPS management needs to encourage scientifically based resource management to ensure the national parks are preserved for the enjoyment of posterity.
... Read more

Product Description
This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process.We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide.We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

Product Description
For two decades Shirley Fong-Torres has guided 20,000 visitors a year through San Francisco¿s Chinatown. This book shows why so many keep coming back for more. It¿s Chinese-American history with a bottomless appetite for quirky anecdotes, respected traditions and exquisite dumplings.

"I love Shirley Fong-Torres. Her effervescence and passion make herirresistible. If she writes a book I¿ll buy it, if she hosts a tour, I¿ll take it, if sherecommends a restaurant I¿ll eat there."¿Gene Burns, KGO, San Francisco

"Shirley Fong-Torres knows San Francisco¿s Chinatown better than anyone¿She¿s downloaded a chunk of what she knows in this book, filled with great information and a touching account of her family history."¿Michael Bauer, San Francisco Chronicle

"I thought I knew San Francisco Chinatown, that is, until I met Shirley."¿Martin Yan, YAN CAN COOK

"Shirley Fong-Torres has a contagious love of life, people, place and food¿I am rapt by her stories, energized by her passion and touched by her spirit."¿Joey Altman, BAY CAF

"This is Shirley Fong-Torres, a very bossy woman. But if you want to do business in San Francisco Chinatown you have to deal with her. She knows everybody and everything."¿Comedian Martin Clune ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Oh my gosh! This is a GREAT book for a non-Chinese family!!!!
Oh my gosh... this is such a great little book to introduce to one's east coast family members; especially for the sisters who love to learn more about their brothers's passion for the culture, the history and the food of San Francisco's Chinatown. I saw Shirley on a KRON4 episode and fell in love with her. And being a "tigerman" who loves exploring Chinatown AND China, I went on my own odyssey of eating & seeing my way through San Francisco's famed landmarks! I sincerely recommend this book and Shirley's tours to the novice and novice-hearted. It's a great way to learn about the culture by "eating one's way" through it! And the book is also a priceless addition to anyone's library. ENJOY!!! ~BMH

THE WOMAN WHO ATE CHINATOWN
As a frequent visitor to San Francisco,I have often frequented Chinatown. Shirley Fong-Torres has opened a whole undiscoveredworld to me.I highly recommend both her Chinatown tours and her book.THE WOMAN WHO ATE CHINATOWN is a great read about a fascinating culture and its history in San Francisco.

Ann Terry Hill,publisherwww.travelsavvynews.com ... Read more

Product Description
This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

Product Description

What was it like to be a pilgrim child in 17th-century Massachusetts? This charming picture book takes young readers back in time to see. For one thing, pilgrim children didn’t go to school. Instead, they helped their parents with chores and played games such as marbles. There were no convenient grocery stores. Pilgrims had to hunt and gather food, then cook their meals on an open fire or in an outdoor oven. Dramatic photos of historical reenactments combine with lively text to give today’s children a vivid sense of daily life in Plymouth colony. Here is a great book for fostering an early interest in history!

Customer Reviews (2)

Great book for young readers
I got this for my 4 year old son. He really enjoys and he learns about Thanksgiving. WE live outside the US (but are American) so its nice share the history with him

Good place to start
I use this book in my second grade class to introduce Thanksgiving and our study of the Pilgrims and Wampanoag people.The book is published by National Geographic and has stunning photographs taken at the Plimouth Living History Museum.It has simple text (great for 1-3) and gives a nice overview of pilgrim life.My students find this book fascinating... they're intrigued by the pictures and descriptions of a life so different from theirs.One caveat: if you're looking for a book about the "First Thanksgiving" this is not it.Its primary focus is on everyday pilgrim life.Try 1621: A New Look at Thanksgiving, instead. ... Read more

Product Description

America's last best place

The West Boulder valley lies nestled in the Montana Rockies, and when acclaimed travel writer John Heminway first laid eyes on the dilapidated Bar 20 Ranch he knew he was home. "Any sensible person would have walked away," he writes, "but for me the Bar 20 was perfection." In this eloquent book, at once a personal memoir and a vivid portrait of a classic American landscape, its people, and its history, he summons the frontier spirit that still draws men and women to the remote corners of our country where the Old West still flourishes in a unique mix of fierce independence and neighborly welcome. With a sure sense of place, Heminway evokes this spectacular wilderness and the colorful characters who have callled it home, from the trappers and prospectors who haunted the Montana hills more than a century ago to the modern ranchers who are their heirs. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Yonder: A Place in Montana

This is the biography of a place. John Heminway and his sister, in search of a western Montana fishing cabin for their family, purchase a run-down cabin that had once been part of a 2,000-acre ranch called the Bar 20. This book is about Heminway's experiences there and, mostly, about the history he discovers of the people who had been there before. It is the story of Montana as a place of dreams and disappointments and of vivid yearning memory.

Reprehensible
John Heminway's hippie-commune-turned-subdivision is an environmental and community tragedy, but he and his trust fund find it a paradise. This book is instructive for its unintentional exposition of the hypocrisy, condescension, and self-absorbtion that the super-rich bring to "their" Montana. But if you know anything about the state, it's truly painful to read.

Not just in need of the most basic proofreader, the book contains dozens of factual errors. (I was particularly surprised that National Geographic would place the Missouri River in Fargo.) Not only does Heminway blandly repeat the same old stories, but in getting them wrong (not only does he botch the story of Charlie Russell's painting "Waiting for a Chinook," he even inflates its alternate title from "Last of the 5,000" to "Last of the 10,000") he does a tremendous disservice to anyone who would find this representative of Montana.

Avoid this book! If you want to read about this region, read Mark Spragg's "Where Rivers Change Direction" -- not only a more accurate book, but a truly eloquent memoir.

Montanamania
"Yonder" (subtitled "A Place in Montana") by John Hemingway is an untidy book, but one I still recommend to readers interested in the west. Hemingway is an expert on Africa, a producer of documentary films for PBS, a writer, and a Montana "hobby rancher". Noel Perrin used the phrase "hobby farmer" to identify people who buy farms in Vermont in order to feel connected with the soil and the hardy Yankee yoemen who till it, but who continue to derive most of their income from some other source. The book relates Hemingway's experiences after he and members of his family purchase first a ranch in central Montana and then a 36-acre mountain retreat, named the Bar 20, north of Yellowstone Park. He interweaves events and observations from his own life in Montana with his search for information about the previous owners of the Bar 20.

One of the pleasures of the book is Hemingway's gift for vivid word snapshots of people he encounters in Montana. His filmaker's eye rests briefly on organic rancher Tom Elliott, BLM archeologist Michael Kyte, outfitter Larry Lahren, horse whisperer Ray Hunt, ranch foreman Floyd Cowles, teepee manufacturer Don Ellis, and his motley neighbors in the Boulder River valley. The sketches are illuminations of ordinary lives rather than (a la Annie Proulx) a lepidopterological display of "characters". The book's other strength is the mini-biography of Stanley and Bab Cox, easterners like Hemingway, who owned the Bar 20 from 1933 to 1951 and who, unlike Hemingway, resided there continuously except for the war years. Hemingway's determined and ingenious research has unearthed a story worthy of a novel.

"Yonder", published by the National Geographic Society Adventure Press, is the worst-edited book I have encountered in some time. It is rife with typos: missing quotation marks, uncapitalized proper names, "souh" for "south", "there's" for "theirs", "Yate's" for "Yates'", "shooting match" for "shouting match", and a missing negative that turns a sentence about organic farming into nonsense. It is also guilty of dubious or incorrect word usage. Examples: three sheets of paper become in the next paragraph three sheaves of paper; a hinged bookcase hiding a door is called "trompe l'oeil". And what is one to make of this sentence? "While grounds for abandoning a six-year-old child seem inconceivable, we can speculate he justified his decision because, perhaps, he felt rejected by the Hydes, who clearly had never warmed to a man they regarded as a diffident provider, husband, and father."

Hemingway grafts a couple of self-contained essays (previously published articles?) onto the stalk of his narrative. They deal with native American activities in other parts of the state and artist Winold Reiss. These are interesting in their own right, but anti-climatictic after the drama of the Cox research.

"Yonder" will save future owners of the Bar 20 the trouble of playing detective in order to find out what John Hemingway was doing and thinking during his days in Montana.

A story of finding that which is "yonder"...
I loved Yonder. It is thestory of John Heminway'ssearch to uncover the history of a ranch in a beautiful Montana valley. John and his sister, Hilary, bought the ranch soon after they had found it with the help of a knowledgeable agent. As Yonder unfolds I fell under its enchantment and could not put it down until I found out what John had discovered through his searchfor its past owners. However, Yonder is more than apaean to Montana as moving as Ivan Doig's This House of Skyor Rick Bass's Seven Mile Wolves.It is also the story of the author's search for peace and joy.This is heartfelt book should fascinate those who enjoy interesting people and unique places. ... Read more

Product Description
From the colonial era to the present, Marcie Cohen Ferris examines the expressive power of food throughout southern Jewish history. She demonstrates with delight and detail how southern Jews reinvented culinary traditions as they adapted to the customs, landscape, and racial codes of the American South. Richly illustrated, this culinary tour of the historic Jewish South is an evocative mixture of history and foodways, including more than thirty recipes to try at home. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (10)

Wonderful Surprise
My fiancé and I are Jews from Louisiana, and got this book as a gift. At first, we thought that it was a cookbook, but it is a history book with recipes.

Pleasantly surprised! Love it!

Lots of research, not many insights
This was a wonderful topic for a book -- how Southernness and Jewishness came together in the Jewish kitchen. Cohen Ferris, herself a Jewish woman from a small town in Arkansas, has done exhaustive research, no doubt a labor of love, and has perpetuated many people's memories.

The problem with the book is that it is quite repetitious. Ferris Cohen correctly points out that the culture and history of Atlanta, New Orleans, the Mississippi Delta, and so on are all distinct from each other. Then, however, she spends much of her time recounting menus of long-ago occasions and concluding, over and over again, that the balance between kosher and non-kosher food and between European and American Southern delicacies was important and hard to navigate, because food is so important in daily life.

It is not so much a question of Ferris Cohen's writing style but of the fact that she seemed compelled to put on paper all of the results of her painstaking interviews. Perhaps a more insightful historian could have made more of Ferris Cohen's material, but this book just seemed too long.

Matzo balls and memories
As a Deep South Jewish expatriate, I can't say enough about how thoroughly Marcie Cohen Ferris did her research.There is no doubt that she has covered the differences-and similarities-of the various southern states with great heart and accuracy!The sheer volume of names of those she got family information from is more than admirable.The book belongs in every Jewish household-northern and southern!And non-Jewish readers will get a wonderful picture of the influence food had in Southern Jewish homes-part of American culinary history.

Okay book
Good book if your into a history lesson but I was looking for more receipies.

Outstanding & interesting
This book is a wonderful compilation of Jewish history of the South and Jewish food of the South. Fascinating reading about the history and excellent eating. Enjoy! ... Read more

Product Description
When the Louisiana Purchase of 1803 added a vast and unmapped wilderness area to the fledgling United States, President Thomas Jefferson persuaded Congress to fund a "Corps of Discovery" to explore these lands, and he picked a young man by the name of Meriwether Lewis to lead the way. Lewis and his co-command, Captain William Clark, kept journals of the expedition, and what they found amazed the world: three hundred new species of plants and animals, as well as wilderness prairie and mountains previously undescribed.

This book is the first guide to contemporary recreational adventures along the route of America's most famous pioneer expedition. It includes abundant natural history, as well as profiles of the many state and national parks to be found in Lewis and Clark country. Author Elizabeth Grossman divides the trail into six sections and recommends ten "explorations" in each, along with many side trips. She offers suggestions for the best day hiking, backpacking, canoeing, kayaking, biking, and wildlife viewing--as well as short, easy walks and car trips to interpretive centers, Native American villages, and scenic vistas. Information on the Corps of Discovery's original campsites is also included, along with excerpts from Lewis and Clark's journals. Though much of the wild lands described in the journals is now gone, travelers can still recognize some of the terrain from these two hundred-year-old descriptions.

The present-day adventurer along the Lewis and Clark Trail will doubtless feel a powerful connection with the remaining natural glories that bridge the time from then to now, and will appreciate the opportunity to see this land through the lens of its dramatic history. ... Read more