Donovan joins N Troop, not really wanting to become an experienced calvaryman but would rather serve out his enlistment on the safer side of any combat. however, Trooper Donovan will see plenty of action throughout this book. This is a pretty good read, smooth but stimulating as are all of the RODERUS books.

"Trooper Donovan" illustrates the timelessness of some themes. Though thoroughly grounded historically in the Indian fighting army of the immediate post-Civil War era, the experiences of a young army recruit thrust into a military unit are ones with which many of us Twentieth Century warriors can identify. Roderus skillfully blends the minor, almost insignificant, details of daily life with the 7th Cavalry's mission to give a realistic portrayal of one man's experiences.

Frank Roderus brings us another exceptional western in TROOPER DONOVAN. From the very first day John Donovan arrives at Camp Horan to his final decision at the end, you find yourself pulling for TROOPER DONOVAN. It is evident from the start that this is a very well researched book. Unlike other western fiction about the cavalary that tend to glorify being a horse soldier, TROOPER DONOVAN gives us an excellent window into what life must have really been like being a cavalry trooper in the old west. VERY WELL DONE FRANK!

My husband and I were given this audio cassette and guide material for our honeymoon in Italy. We had a nice time. I probably would not have bought such a non-traditional tour guide before. But it turned out to be a discrete and fun way to visit the city.

I just got back from my first visit to Rome and Venice. It was fantastic and the Cicerone tours were really different and fun.

Next year we are planning to see France and I hope that you will have something for Paris by then.

What a great way to see the city! So easy to listen and look where you are going instead of trying to read a guidebook. In fact I learned things I had not seen in my guide book. If your time is short you can be sure that you will not miss the important sites and with the minimum of effort. The guide will also give you info about where to stop for a snack and find the all important toilet! When I came back the map helped me identify the pictures I took. I recommend it highly.

This American poet writer delivers songs in sentences and has a singular voice that calls out to you long after the book is lost on the shelf. His words don't just stay with you, but the spirit of a decent man does too. An engaging, funny, reflective, lyrical read.

Luis writes from his soul; he is a wonderful person and it shows in his work. Kirkus doesn't know what he/she's talking about...Luis is one of the world's greatest writers, and one of my favorite people. I hope he's happy and well. I am, Nicolina

I knew Luis and the other half of this "troubled marriage" (Kirkus Review) that ended. She left, he fell apart, she fell apart. But that was seven years ago! He's remarried and she has a two year-old by someone else! This is one of the great writers of our time; surely he can find something more interesting to think and write about. P.S. where do you want me to send your dad's records???

I found Book 6 of The Kent Family Chronicles-" The Warriors", to be the best so far.The Civil War is in its closing months and Jeremiah Kent, second son of Jephta, walks hundreds of miles to Georgia, following his promise to his dying commander,Captain Rose who is worried about the fates of his wife and daughter when the Union Army seizes his plantation.Serena Rose, the captains daughter, is an evil vindictive young woman who drives Jeremiah to such a state of madness that she virtually forces him to shoot her to save his life.Realising that this act has put him beyond the pale, he changes his name and joins forces with an Indian.The pair become buffalo hunters and eventually outlaws. Michael Boyle, former protege of Amanda Kent, joins the crew of a company building the Union Pacific railway, where he meets Hannah, the daughter of a whisky selling pedlar. They marry,move to her home state and proceed to build a successful business. Gideon, blinded in one eye, works in a railway yard but soon sees the injustices perpetrated on the workers who are frequently injured and is determined to begin a union. Loius Kent is heavily involved in fraudulent stockmarket manipulations and comes to his just desserts.

keep going, they get even better....

John Jakes continues the series with another great one. Rich characters, great dialogue, and an interesting history lesson. He is consistently excellent.

Without doubt, the best "Colored" pictures and information one could ask for!!

After moving to the Tahoe National Forest in California, we knew we needed a book to identify the wildlife, flora, trees and insects.This is simply the most perfect book. Clearly written, beautiful photos and well organized. We use it all of the time!Karyn Lepley

this guide, as well as the others in this series, are an excellent first book or primary reference for those living or travelling in the areas they cover.

one of best points is that they are not exhaustive in their coverage. instead they focus on the most commonly seen species. so instead of flipping through endless pages of references to rare or seldom seen species, one can quickly find the specific plant or animal they encounter.

if one becomes more focused in study of a given type of plant or animal one can turn to more exhaustive and detailed texts -- such as audobon's own guides to birds, trees, mammals, etc.

i have found that this series is an excellent gift for those who are not specifically focused on nature studies. my parents enjoyed their gift copy -- as it enabled them to identify the trees and animals in their own back yard.

the specific entries are informative and interesting. the production values (photos, indexes) are excellent. and the opening essays are a special treat; they well written and well worth reading. they can inspire one to pay a bit more attention to the natural landscape even if all they do is drive through it.

This is an excellent book, both for reading and as a resource. Hulse gives an incredible amount of information in an easy to understand format. This book is invaluable in helping to understand the connections between various cultures and their methods.

This book and its companion: "The Eastern Mysteries" provide a wonderful compendium of cross-cultural and multi-disciplinary information. They make it possible to understand the deep connections between all peoples of the world.

Definitely a "must-have," whether novice or expert.

Basic Review

I was told to read the way west as a highschool [kid]. I'm glad I did! I havn't read The Big Sky the first in the series I only knew that is was a series after I read the way west but I still eaisly followed. Guthrie is an author that convey feelings and messages is little words a compelling gift. He also has a way with discription and makes understand the characters personality and way of thinking completely. I have long since been interested in the Oregon Trail and life of the pioneers and will gladly read the whole series. This book tells the harsh truth but without sentiment meaning it didn't bring tears to my eyes but made me stop and think. By the end of the book I was thankful for modern times though it made me reflect on modern families.

About the Book

The book starts out telling the story of Lije and Becky Evans and son Brownie after they get "the fever". They decide to go west to Willamette Valley Oregon to help settle the territory for America (joining a wagon train with people of different backgrounds and storys). Dick Summers and ex-mountain man agrees to go along and piot the train it encreasingly becomes his story. He falls in love with the mountains and old trails once more they don't understand it is part of him and at first envy how he knows and can do everything with little. If it were not for him the train would of gone through more trials and hardships than it did. He becomes best friends with them and there is a sence of loss when the mountains reclaim him. I want to know what happens the Evans family Guthrie wrote it that way and I was amazed I would like and appreciate a book written in 1950. I recomend this to everyone and history buffs finding it hard to get good books on the Oregon Trail before 1850+. The Way West had found a place in my heart and I declare it a classic by my standards for teens to adults. I know that everyone will approve and enjoy this book. It took me a while to read but once I got started I couldn't put it down!

This book changed the way I read novels. I used to read mostly fast-paced books with lots of excitement, "page-turners" that propel you towards the ending. Although The Way West has a good story line, it did not develop in the way I expected. I kept waiting for the Indian attacks and shoot-outs, standard fare for a novel about a wagon train, but they never quite came. In the meantime I started to appreciate the way the author got into the minds of the characters, how well he described their lives and journeys.
This book is not so much about telling a story about a wagon train as telling the individual stories of the people in it. The book describes their day-to-day lives, their attitudes and motivations, and gives insight into the times in which they lived. The landscapes of the early west are painted beautifully. Guthrie does all of this in a writing style which is very readable.
Most novels today use techniques to keep you on the edge of your seat, so that when you finish a chapter you want to dive into the next. They manipulate the reader and compel you forward to the finish line and - if the author is crafty enough - to the next book in the series. This is much more about selling books than creating art.
I found that when I reached the end of a chapter in The Way West, I was often inclined to return to the start of the chapter and read it again. After reading this book, I started looking for books of greater substance, that create lasting images. Guthrie's other books fit the bill nicely.
The Way West is a beautifully written book. Slow down and enjoy it.

This sequel to The Big Sky continues the story of Dick Summers. It would be very beneficial to first read The Big Sky. I actually found The Big Sky more interesting and if possible, better-written, than The Way West. Both books are extremely interesting and hard to put down. The Way West tells the story of a wagon train on its way to Oregon. Dick Summers, an experienced mountain man, agrees to lead the group to Oregon. This takes place in the early days of the Oregon Trail when men were still working out the exact route they would take. There are six Big Sky novels of which The Way West is the second. I am currently reading the third book in the series, Fair Land, Fair Land. It is every bit as good as the first two. All of these books are historically accurate and, once again, very hard to put down. I highly recommend The Way West!! Enjoy!!

the book is a wonderful primer for those just delving into the world of medieval history for the first time such as myself...
Tierney has given many humorous accounts of the characters and events which i did not feel took anything away from the credibility of the facts.

I couldn't help but laugh when envisioning King Edward climbing up a windmill to watch the fighting at the Battle of Crecy. During one raid of a castle, the Frech mined a hole under the defensive wall. The English found out, started a hole on the other side, and the two eventually met...The hole was too small for heavy fighting so "two men poked swords at one another. As it was impossible for knights to in armor to hurt each other in this way, it was a thoroughly enjoyable affair."

His irony and humor well emphasize the degragation of some of leaders during the middle ages....I had a feeling that this time period was filled with much intrigue, murder, rape, plunder, and complete ludicrousy....the book did not fail in conveying that...Most topics were lightly breezed over: the crusades, pilgrimages, chivaly, the plague, the art and architecture, heresy, troubadours, and peasant society.......but not too much was needed to whet my interest...from there, i'm off buying books that are more detailed on these topics.....

the book is layed out in general sections: end of the roman empire, the beginning, middle, and late middle ages. within each section it's further broken down into to the main topics of each period: politics, economy, society, religion...these topics are repeated in each section; however there is often a gap of 100 pages or so between the same topic in different periods. (ex. religion in the 10th century and religion in 13th century)...

for me, at least, it was hard to remember all that went on in religion 100 pages ago.....there's just such an onslaught of information in between ...it's impossible to keep it all straight....so maybe it would have been better for him to keep all the topics together--seperate sections on religion, culture, politics, etc...or maybe i just have short term memory.....Tierney's point undoubtedly was for the reader to get a "feel" for each period and all that it incompased.....it was just hard to remember
everything from one period to the next....but ok.....it was a fine book overall......and it would be wise to jot down notes on the subjects that interest you so can pursue them once you exit this jam-packed cornicopia of information....

Hello. I have used this book as a textbook for two courses at the University of California. It proved to be the most 'edutaining' of texts I've so far read. Tierney and his co-author do a brilliant job of retelling Medieval history as it happened in Western Europe. The first chapter of the book delivers a romantic summary of Europe under the hegemony of Greece and Rome up until Late Antiquity. The authors then take the reader through early Medieval France, Germany, northern Italy, and England. The chapters can be read by themselves and are not organized chronologically, but by themes and places. The only issue I have with the book is that it focuses sharply on Franco-English history. Germany is center but not part of the core in the book, so the reader is not submerged in the same depth as France and England run. Tierney devotes some subchapters to the periphery of Western Europe, but what is lacking is the same in-depth coverage as France and England. If the reader wants to find only introductory knowledge to Byzantium, Spain, Central, and Eastern Europe he/she will be satisfied with the light coverage Tierney gives: the important details of people and places. The periphary of Europe has not heavily influenced Western civilization, but should never be overlooked; Spain is only mentioned during the Inquisition and Moorish conquest. It is more worthy of note than what Tierney says of it. The book is still a pleasure to read and understand even with its emphasis on France and Britain.

Salutations all. I have used this book as a text for two courses covering the Early and Late Middle Ages while as a student at UC Riverside. Tierney and his co-author do a laudable job of presenting Western Medieval Europe to readers. The book is organized thematically and in each theme the material is presented chonologically. The reader may choose any chapter and read with little prior knowledege. That said, it starts by summarizing Classical Antiquity and moves onto Frankish history. Indeed, Franco-British history is the core of the book and that makes reading somewhat frustrating: gobs of legal and parliamentary history are scattered throughout the pages. However, dry as it is, Tierney makes the history and conception of the Western nation-state interesting and provocative with his theories of English parliament and monarchial constitution. And the papal monarchy illustrates the shrewdness and Machiavellian politics of the period: Medieval Europeans were highly civilized and intelligent as the Papacy shows. Those bonuses come at the expense of he periphery of Europe: Byzantium, Spain, and the Frontier East. To be sure, Tierney does not neglect them, but the pages he devotes serve as springboards for the reader to investigate by him/herself. And for its even-handedness, the book is worth reading for pleasure or academic learning.

I noticed that the writing on the front flap of the book jacket claimed that the images are large format panographs. After taking a close look at the first few images on pages 1-10, I came to the conclusion that these are panographs taken in 135 format not the medium format of the 120 or 220 types. Everton's notes of camera and film on page 7 confirmed my assessment. It is interesting that he departed from the usual practice of his peers by choosing the colour negative film Fuji NHG II rather than its sibling, the transparency film, Fuji Velvia 50. Though it does not have the punchy colours and high contrast of Velvia, NHG II gives softer colours in highlights and more shadow details. With negative films, mastery in controlling exposure is only half of the accomplishment, mastery in making prints is essential for bringing the final image to the masses. Everton said he developed his prints in a rental lab. If so, his craft is well done. The contrast control of each image is good with no lost of colour saturation and shadow details, even for heavily overcast landscape such as the one on Lemhi Pass (p56). About half of the images was taken at a time when a storm was approaching. Some even have a clearly visible rain curtain (p33,49,62). The panograph of the Great Sand Dune Monument (p62) is a real visual treat. The land and sky were connected by a rain pillar over the sand dune on the right, illuminated by the emerging light. The highlighted strip of the desert floor formed the visual anchor for the reader, guiding my eyes to start the journey from the lower left-hand side of the image then wander into the distant storm-covered horizon. The smoothness of the dunes form a visual contrast to the roughness of the storm clouds above. It is rare to see a rainstorm in a sandy desert let alone under such magical lighting. Capturing fleeing moments like this calls for great patience and skill on the photographer's part. The panograph of Lower Geyser Basin is my second favourite (p49). The steam pillar jetted out of the geyser is the force within the deep earth whereas the heaven is owned by the menacing storm dumping torrents of rain from above. I couldn't stop asking if this image was taken on Planet Earth or near Mount Doom of Middle Earth in Tokkien's fantasy. My other favourite is the panograph of the Lower Calf Creek Falls (p72). Here stillness and transquility was interrupted by the gushing waterfall. The branches of the two trees at the foreground formed a perfect arch that frames the waterfall. This is a stage built by Nature where we are invited to sit in front and be immersed in the sound of moving waters.
The map next to Everton's preface showed not only the places where the images were taken but confirmed the warning that American wilderness is an endangered specie. The rest of the writings is simply an eloquent elaboration of this urgent issue. This book is another quality publication from Abrams Inc. I give it four out of five stars.

This book deserves more than five stars for the unmatched color panoramas of the most picturesque horizons in the western United States.

You could visit these sites for twenty years and not see actual scenes as luscious as these. Whether you know the West or think you would like to, I suggest that you start with this remarkable book. This is the West as you've never seen it . . . but could. The wonderful photography is nicely complemented by the essays that provide geological and historical perspectives on the scenes portrayed here.

The photography is all done in 148 or 150 degree large format color panoramas. This perspective approximates what the human eyes can see, including peripheral vision. As a result, these images give you a remarkable sense of being present that is almost impossible to obtain in a book.

The reproduction quality is amazingly good, and the lighting and tones vary wonderfully from one outstanding photograph to the next. Almost all are displayed over an entire wide panorama-sized page, and many extend over parts of two such pages.

The feeling is so ethereal that it evokes the same sense of natural wonder that looking at paintings by the Hudson River School creates. There are in fact some parallels, as a few scenes include tiny people or animals in the foreground.

The book is divided into sections showing the Great Plains, the Rocky Mountains, the Colorado Plateau, the Cascade range, the Pacific Northwest, and California. Although I have traveled extensively in the West for over 40 years, more than half of these scenes were new to me. I can see that I have many wonderful trips ahead of me to visit these locales, now that I know how gorgeous they are.

Here is a list of the sites:

Sand Hills, Nebraska

Badlands National Park, South Dakota

Theodore Roosevelt National Park

Montana Prairie

Breaks of the Missouri

Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

Waterton/Glacier International Peace Park, Montana

Lemhi Pass, Montana

Mores Creek, Idaho

Aspen, Colorado

Great Sand Dunes National Monument, Colorado

Grand Canyon, Arizona

Grand Staircase -- Escalante National Monument, Utah

Ghost Ranch, New Mexico

Painted Desert and Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona

Monument Valley Tribal Park, Arizona/Utah

Wupatki National National Monument, Arizona

Mount St. Helens

Crater Lake, Oregon

Mount Shasta, California

Oregon Coast

Big Sur, California

Santa Catalina, California

Yosemite, California

Mono Lake, California

Joshua Tree National Park, California

Death Valley, California

The text connects these boundless images to "a West of unlimited horizons" and the work of Turner in developing his frontier theory of the role of the West in stimulating American imagination and initiative. Even today, the book argues that the "unconstrained Western horizon" is important to our sense of taking on the new challenges of modern society.

Everyone who sees these photographs will agree that it would be horrible if these sights were ever to be spoiled. We are fortunate that government policy began to preserve these lands beginning in the 19th century. With today's challenges of pollution and visitors, perhaps even more will have to be done.

Reading and looking at this book is a spiritual journey, not unlike a peaceful meditation. If your spirit is troubled at all, I suggest this book as a balm that you can always use to ease your discomfort.

Live with beauty!

Wow. What a wonderful book that amazes me, everytime I open the cover. Everton seems to have complete control over the dynamics range in all of his photographs. Dark clouds yield to lighter, fluffy clouds, down to a light horizon, and a rich, dark lower 1/3 of these exposures. Add to this control his use of a tool that has limitations, at Noblex 150 panoramic camera.

Everton also captures locations that have already been widely photographed before, but with his own signature. He adds a new face to Calf Creek Falls in Utah. A must have book for your table.

I keep this book on my shelf as a reference to poetry techniques. It is the best book I have found on the art of writing poetry. The examples are great.

I can't go on enough about how great a poetry manual this is. It's not stuffy, and it is fun to read. Especially chapters 7 and 8, which are on sound in the English language. And they should be read out loud. Also pay special attention to chapter 13 which discusses making sense in poetry. The examples and exercises are helpful. This is the best poetry introduction I've seen. The anthology carries Mason's flair, but you could supplement this manual with R.S. Gwynn's Longman anthology.

Can a book about writing poetry be instructive AND poetic?? A few months ago I wouldn't have known quite how to answer since my experience with poetry manuals had been more in the vein of "this is good for my craft therefore I...must...continue...reading." It seems poetry and books about writing poetry often chafe on each other. Western Wind has proven the antidote to that outlook. It's the most accessible and deeply dug volume on poem-making I've found. I enjoyed it like a good novel and my work is clearly better for it.

P.S. The book "In The Palm of Your Hand" fits up against this one nicely.