Baby Grape and Huskey Review

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(More customer reviews)It is 1845 as this engaging young adult novel by Thom Rodgers opens with a scene too familiar to both children and adults. Bullying has always been a problem and for young Toby the morning conflict is with an older boy known to terrorize the other kids that work in the area shops. He isn't about to let the older boy steal his pocket knife--- the same pocket knife his father gave him. Using a bull whip for maximum effectiveness, Toby manages to get his pocket knife back as well as teach the older boy a lesson he will never forget.
At age 14, Toby has experienced a lot and is supporting the family by working as an apprentice to Abe in a local workshop. They are almost finished making a large whiskey still Toby's main job has been to get inside the still and hold the buck hammer against the rivets while Abe pounds them into place from the outside. It is noisy work but Toby is glad to have work in the workshop his father once worked in.
But, change is about to upheave Toby's young life yet again. Just days after his father died, Toby is wanted by the police for the well-deserved whipping he gave that boy, and is going to have to leave his Pittsburg home. The shop owner, Mr. Rodgers, is going to help Toby by sending him with a guy named Lew to deliver the still he has been working on to the new owner up in Sligo. Going north for a hundred miles and back will take weeks and hopeful by the time Toby gets back everything will be sorted out. Toby is not sure Lew is anybody he wants to be with based on what he remembers his father saying about the man, but with the cops and a judge looking for him, he does not have much of a choice.
What follows is a very enjoyable tale featuring Toby and the perils of his road trip to deliver the still and come back home. The perils are many, the friends few, and the young man is tested in ways he never saw coming. This is the tale of a young man who finds himself while discovering not only his inner resources but when to listen to others and follow their lead. Told from his viewpoint, the author skillfully shows the challenges he faces and the young man begins to head into a maturity one would not have thought possible at the beginning of this very good tale.
Well written, the tale features plenty of action and suspense along with the beginnings of a first romance. Toby is a character that many, especially young boys, will relate to and shows increasing maturity throughout the work. A grand adventure that is sure to please not only the intended audience but the adults in their lives this book would also work well in the classroom as it imparts history at the same time it entertains.
First in the series, this young adult novel is an adventure that is hard to put down. It is followed by "Baby Grape And The River Folk."Review copy was a PDF provided by the author in exchange for my objective review.Kevin R. Tipple (c)2011



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Jesse Buxton Review

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(More customer reviews)I thoroughly enjoyed reading Jesse Buxton. L.L. Layman certainly has the knack for writing excellent stories about the old west and creating very believable heroes. Each of his books just keep getting better and his characters are so well developed that they draw you into the tale and you live it right along with them.


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...He and I made eye contact at the same time, it was Robert Myers.
With one arm he swept the hired lady out of the way, with the other up was coming a pistol. He shouted, "It's him!"
Those were his last words as I was out with my pistol and just a blazing away. My left hand was reaching for its pistol before the right hand gun clicked an empty chamber. The other two men had also produced pistols and they died for the effort. In less than five seconds three men died, Robert's only round missed, I had no idea where it went. I had emptied both handguns, and from the distance of less than six feet I believe every shot scored a hit.
I hit the door running as a stout red headed man was coming in. I had the momentum and knocked him back out the door. He landed flat on his back and slid off the porch. I ran past him giving him no never mind, grabbed up Jesus Christ's reins and we were off at a sprint. Jesus Christ, he could run.

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WHITESTONE: The Second Nebraska Cavalry Review

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(More customer reviews)This was a great little book about the 1863 Battle of Whitestone Hill. Jack Botts is a former UNL journalism professor turned writer who put together a well researched historical novel about the 2nd Nebraska cavalry. The author utilized historical documentation and letters to draw the primary characters, Colonel Robert Furnas and General Alfred Sully. He succeeded in creating vivid realistic assessments of both men.
The story line follows the line of march from the Second Cavalry's base in Sioux City to the White Stone Hills by the James River in Dakota Territory. The purpose of the campaign was to pacify renegade Sioux Indians after the bloody Minnesota uprisings that had occurred over the previous year. The author does a good job of giving the reader a background in the complex political situation of America's territorial frontier during the Civil War. The men of the Second Nebraska, however, remain his focus. The book is told entirely from the soldier's point of view and so persons wanting to gain insight into the motives and tactics of the Santee Sioux should look elsewhere.
Still the work is a fantastic addition to Nebraska historical fiction and many persons should note that this campaign was a teenage Luther North's first military experience

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During the Civil War, after Santee Sioux killed several hundred settlers in the fall of 1862, residents of Nebraska and Iowa feared for their lives. Washington supplied encouragement, enough supplies to muster a volunteer regiment of cavalry from each state, and a general to lead them against the Indians. This is the story of that long summer campaign by untrained Nebraska soldiers-mostly boys between seventeen and twenty-enduring extremes of weather and shortages of provisions before finding and defeating a large encampment of renegade Indians at Whitestone Hill.

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Spearhead: A Complete History of Merrill's Marauder Rangers Review

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(More customer reviews)This is an extremely well written, detailed unit history of Merrill's Marauders that I highly recommend. Both the author and the collaborator were members of the unit and bring great authenticity to the book. The author was the battalion surgeon for the 3rd Bn and the collaborator was an intelligence officer. Their sources include first hand accounts, unit records ( what little there were ), and official documents and publications.The book covers the entire time period that the 5307th Composite Unit ( Provisional ) was on active status and encompasses recruitment, training and combat. One of the best sections of the book is the description of the siege of Nphum Ga. The authors descripted, detailed, day by day and unit by unit account of this little known horrific battle is the best I've ever read. The author also gives an excellant record of the medical support ( or lack of ),for the unit, ( which is to be expected considering the source ). He discusses the various health concerns the Marauders had to deal with, such as scrub typhus, malaria, dysentery and of course getting shot at.All in all this is a great book that not only informs but does it in a way that keeps you interested. This book is well worth the read.

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One Time: Adventures of Sarah Review

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(More customer reviews)This book is a great, easy read for all ages. The story centers around one smart little Southern country girl, who is no "belle" by any stretch of the imagination. Sarah gets into scrapes, engages in hilarious high-jinx and comes of age in the 1940s South with the help of her part-time nemisis/part-time icollaborator, her brother. Highly recommended "beach read" or Book Club pick. It had me laughing out loud!

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Story of a young girls experiences growing up in the south in the early 20th century. A little bit of autobiography and fiction mixed.

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The Prospector's Voyage Review

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(More customer reviews)This is a good, old-fashioned yarn which has a little bit of everything: high adventure, star-crossed lovers, an unexpected friendship, dastardly villains and enough suspense near the end to tie a tight knot in one's stomach. With his knowledge of wilderness survival skills, author Jim Ballou has fashioned an engrossing and entertaining story about a young prospector's journey from unexpected defeat and despair to his discovery of what really matters in life.


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Extraordinary circumstances await a young farm hand from Missouri when he leaves behind all that he's ever known, and sets out for California's Sierra Nevada Mountain with gold fever and little else. Roughly two decades after the California Gold Rush, Nathan Clayburn arrives with his own ambitious vision. But he encounters a whole lot more than he bargained for. A beautiful young lady, vicious outlaws, and a perilous wilderness soon turn his quest for riches into a desperate struggle for survival, and give his incredible journey a completely new purpose.

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A Dance Around the Desert Review

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(More customer reviews)The author sure knows how to put the reader in the setting. I don't own or ride horses, but could feel what these two gals were experiencing---the thirst, dust, worry and sweat as they wandered around in the desert heat, trying to find their way home. Marijuana, adultery, and murder add to the suspense. The book is definitely an exciting read.

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Buffalo Gordon on The Plains Review

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(More customer reviews)Bravo! I did not want this book to end!
I laughed out loud and at times was so deeply moved, I cried.
While I loved the romance between Nate and Cara, I found the descriptive encounters between Nate and the Plains Indians especially interesting and rousing - I felt as though I was sitting among them in the tipi. Rich in historical detail, this story is engaging and thought provoking.
The author has certainly left this reader anxiously awaiting the next installment of this powerful saga.
Cheers to J. P. Lewis!

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Wolves at Our Door Review

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(More customer reviews)This is a real Western, the kind movies are made of with stars like Paul Newman or Lee Marvin who, by the way, acted in the movie Pocket Money made from Brown's earlier book Jim Kane. Wolves at Our Door is a strong, fast paced, tough story of cowboys today living in a cowman's world surrounded by the real dangers of drug wars on both sides of the US Mexico border. Characters from Jim Kane and The Forests of the Night continue in this new book in a tough and thrilling story. In my mind I can see Clint Eastwood playing the lead in a movie version of this book. It is a better story than Cormac McCarthy's Blood Meridian: Or the Evening Redness in the West (Modern Library) or All the Pretty Horses.

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Along the border of southern Arizona and northern Mexico, a close-knit group of Anglo and Hispanic families struggle to keep their ranches alive amidst the depredations of drug lords and smugglers. Here, age-old values collide with gangs of hardened border criminals in a raw tale of action, adventure, and justice.
J. P. S. Brown opens a window onto a part of the world that few have seen and even fewer have understood, offering a view of the world of cattle ranching in an area where homes are still without electricity or plumbing, where ranches are reachable only by plane or horseback, and where neighbors are family or deadly foes.

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Through the Brazilian Wilderness Or My Voyage Along the River of Doubt Review

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(More customer reviews)I just wanted to warn people that the Wilder Publications paperback version has no maps!

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After losing his bid for the United States Presidency as a third party candidate, Theodore Roosevelt decided to take on the most dangerous adventure left on earth. He and his son, Kermit, accepted Candido Mariano da Silva Rondon's invitation to help him plot the course of the River of Doubt. The River of Doubt could just as easily have been named the River of Death. The river's rapids turned out to be much more ferocious than expected, cannibalistic natives dogged the group through most of the journey, and Murphy was their constant companion. The expedition lost men, supplies, and canoes. At one point, Roosevelt contracted a flesh-eating bacteria and became so weak that he urged his son to leave him behind to die. Ultimately Teddy and Kermit emerged from the wilderness triumphantly. Here is their story in Theodore Roosevelt's own words.

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First Footsteps in East Africa or an Exploration of Harar Review

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(More customer reviews)Sir Richard F Burton is one of the most famous of unread authors. Nearly everyone can tell you about his scandalous doings with native women, his marriage to an ultra-Catholic Englishwoman, and the latter's destruction of the author's private papers after his death.
Ever since I read Fawn Brodie's excellent biography, THE DEVIL DRIVES, I have collected some 20 different Burton books and read most of them. If you make allowances for Burton's diabolical thoroughness (involved footnotes, appendices, foreign language quotes, tables, etc.) and his Victorian circumlocutions in dealing with taboo subjects, he is a truly wonderful read.
Although FIRST FOOTSTEPS is not his most famous book, it is probably the best one to start with. The action is not only more focussed, but Burton did feel he needed quite so much of a scholarly carapace to report back to the scholarly organizations back in Britain. And it finishes up with a stirring postscript about an attack on Burton's camp by Somalis in which the author barely escaped with his life.
Perhaps this is a book that Presidents Bush and Clinton should have read before committing U.S. troops to the region: Burton shows us that not much has changed in the region in 150 years. He was in constant danger, and survived only because his knowledge and guts were more than an a match for his enemies.
This is an exciting book and deserves to be better known.

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Subjects: Horn of Africa -- Description and travelNotes: This is an OCR reprint. There may be numerous typos or missing text. There are no illustrations or indexes.When you buy the General Books edition of this book you get free trial access to Million-Books.com where you can select from more than a million books for free. You can also preview the book there.--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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The Oregon Trail (Penguin American Library) Review

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(More customer reviews)Before his death in the early 1890's, Francis Parkman would be hailed by many as North America's greatest historian. One of his first major works, The Oregon Trail, illustrates why. Written in 1847, the book chronicles an extensive journey by the youthful Parkman and his loyal friend Quincy Shaw the previous spring and summer. Parkman's express purpose was to see the "real" American West and live among "real" American Indians before their way of life passed forever. A vigorous young man, possessed of a keen intellect and observant eye, and already blessed with a rare and masterful prose style, Parkman chronicles his journey from St. Louis into the heart of the largely "unknown" American Plains. Peopled then by only a few white traders, trappers and ruffians, slowly pushing their way into the domain of the Pawnee, Comanche, Arapaho, Dakota, "Shienne", Snakes and Crows, the West was a truly wild and dangerous place - and Parkman revels in it, providing meticulous descriptions of the landscape, people, and struggle for life and lifeways that would soon be no more.
Along the way Parkman introduces you to the men of Fort Laramie (established and maintained by traders, long before soldiers came to the territory), lives amongst a Dakota band, hunts buffalo, weathers awe-inspiring Plains' thunderstorms and periods of drought, explores the Black Hills, the Rocky Mountains, and New Mexico. His journey takes him up the Missouri River, the Platte, the Arkansas and more. And far more than describe fascinating places and events, Parkman charms with full renderings of the characters he meets along the way: redoubtable hunter and guide Henry Chatillion, muleteer and cook Delorier, the dolorous Raymond and Reynal, jester Tete Rouge, hundreds of loathesome "pioneers", Indians Mene-Seela, Smoke, Whirlwind, Hail Storm, Big Crow and more. All characters worthy of Mark Twain. Plus, we are made witness to Parkman and Shaw's slow transformation from adventurous young Bostonian scholars to worthy "plainsmen".
Even before finishing his college studies, Parkman declared that his ambition was to chronicle the "struggle for the continent". He achieved his goal in glorious measure. Parkman's works on the founding of "New France", LaSalle's explorations, the French/Indian Wars, Pontiac's conspiracy, Montcalm and Wolfe, etc., remain standards today, rich source material for authors from DeVoto to Eckert.
His brilliance lies in the fact that Parkman was no "arm chair" historian. His research was not limited to books and papers found in libraries from Boston to London and Paris. He personally visited nearly every town, battlefield, and waterway he wrote about. Parkman was also deeply committed to understanding the effects of the English/French/American struggles for the continent on the hundreds of North American tribes that were caught in the middle. To wit, the "Oregon Trail" trip to the Plains of the 1840s was designed to assist the historian's mind in understanding what was lost by eastern tribes decimated during the wars and land-lust of the preceding century. Even then Parkman foresaw a similar misfortune for western tribes: loss of free roaming on their ancestral lands; extinction of the buffalo; the ravaging effects of disease, whiskey and other evils of white contact. But Parkman was no romantic. He refers to the various tribes and some individuals (both white and red) as "savages", revealing a touch of his mid-1800s Bostonian elitism, yet by no means can Parkman be considered a closed-minded misanthrope. His life's work, starting with The Oregon Trail, reveals far too much sensitivity and fairness of thought for that label to stick. Read this, then dive into Parkman's later work on the history of Canada and early America. It is astonishingly good stuff!

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Horses, Hitches, and Rocky Trails Review

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(More customer reviews)This is a repurchase of an old friend. Years ago my career and life took me to Wyoming. Like many, I fell in love with the high country and soon realized that the only way to get to the best of it was with horses. As a relative greenhorn, however, I had a lot to learn about getting to and living in the high country, with or without horses. A friend gave me Joe Back's book Horses, Hitches and Rocky Trails. Somewhere along the way, I misplaced it. I'm glad to have it back.
This book is more than informative. It delivers all its name suggests, telling all I needed to know about the tack, rigging and techniques of handling horses in a pack string. By simply following his advice, I found myself not only able to do it, but do it without embarassing myself in the company of real mountain men.
Beyond that, Joe's earthy narrative and humorous, but informative, illustrations make the book a joy to read. Even after you read it cover to cover, you'll want to spend some time looking at the illustrations and re-reading the tidbits of wisdom. If you have an interest or plan to go into the primitive areas of the mountain West, I encourage you to read this even if you never intend to pack a horse yourself.

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"Horses, Hitches and Rocky Trails" is oftenreferred to as the packer's bible. Written in the language of theWest, it is a complete and often humorous presentation of the methodof packing horses into the wilderness. Amplified by the brilliantdrawings of artist Joe back, the book is for both the amateur andprofessional packer.

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The Curse of Satan's Collar Review

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(More customer reviews)The Curse of Satan's Collar
This is a wonderful book written in mountian delect when you open it and start reading it you are imediately impressed with the story .
The story starts with the Revolutionary war and a family member getting hung for stealing King Gold.
It talks about a young man going off to war and coming back with a drinking problem .
This mother loved her son a lot to do this she tied him to a tree to sober him up it worked what a story what a book .
The neighbors thought she was wierd but he got he's life back this book is wonderful entertaining in places and funny in others sad .

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Callie's Choice Review

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(More customer reviews)Callie's Choiceby Emilee Hines is a page-turner romance in the traditional sense of love at first sight, but outward resistance because of internal conflicts. Though forces and foes unite them for self-defense, yet they fear the intimacy of true unity. A good tale for a cozy armchair or a quick trip.

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Callie Spencer's first choice was born of a survival instinct: her need to escape her stepfather and his plans for her. Her mission is to make it to New Orleans and her Aunt Rachel, who she hopes will recognize her by her late mother's ring. But the road from western Virginia to southern Louisiana is treacherous, especially in 1814: thieves, Kaintucks and British troops are just a few of the dangers Callie faces, and a battle is coming that will endanger them all.When she meets Andrew Logan, Callie is drawn to his strength and bravery. But Andrew has his own ambitions... and his own secrets. Now Callie must make another choice: can she trust him?

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Abraham's Battle: A Novel of Gettysburg Review

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(More customer reviews)Abraham's Battle, by Sara Harrell Banks, is about the Civil War, more specifically, The Battle of Gettysburg. But that is only skin deep, it is a novel about equality, about hate, and about love. The story centers around a white northern girl, Ladybird, and a runaway slave man, Abraham, the best of friends, despite the time in which they are living, which may frown on such friendships. They are perfectly happy together, and enjoy walking with the mule, Charity. But their simple existence is complicated when a soldier for the south arrives at the farm, asking for food. Abraham, despite himself takes a liking to this homesick young man and is almost sorry when they part at the end of the day. Later on, Abraham saves his life. Throughout the entire book, Banks is constantly reinforcing the message that all men are created equally but in such delicate and subtle methods that the flow of the story is never once interrupted. For example: Ladysmith's friendship with Abraham, Abraham saving a man fighting on the opposite side in the war, and Abrahams conversation with the president that shares his name. Abraham's Battle is a flowing and poignant tale that is subtle and yet a still powerful narrative that should be enjoyed for generations to come.

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The War Mountains (Signet Military Novels) Review

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(More customer reviews)We haven't seen a novel like this in years. John Mannock explores WW II in Yugoslavia. So we have a special SS Muslim Division going after Jews, Christians and most people they do not like.
We have communist partisans under Tito's direction fighting a losing battle as the SS pushes a relentless advance through the mountains.
You get an insight in Churchill, Bill Donovan and others as they plot and counterplot, moving spies around like pieces on a chess board.
There are betrayals, daring feats and odd characters. This reminded me of Alistair Maclean's books about WOrld War II.
This was a superior effort!

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