1 comments about Adventuring Along the Southeast Coast: The Low Country, Beaches, and Barrier Islands of North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia (Adventuring Along the Southeast Coast).

1. The first third of this Sierra Club book was put to use on our Outer Banks vacation. This is a good book that covers every part of the coast, not just the barrier islands. I liked the historical and cultural background presented on each area. I expected there to be a great deal of information on the local flora and fauna since it is a Sierra Club book, and there was. It provides a wonderful listing of birds and animals to keep your eyes out for. There are also good explanations of the geology behind the coast in the introduction. I would have liked a little more information about each area (there is no info on lodging, food, etc.) and some of it was outdated. The book is appealing because it covers the entire southeastern coast, so I know I will use it in the future!

3 comments about What Sucks About South Florida: The Travel-To, Move-To Guide.

1. Once I heard about this book, I really had to read it. What a great concept. I love a travel guide that intends to tell it like it is, rather than present a glossy, tourist center advertisement to dupe you into visiting.

   However, the information did not meet my expectations (based on the title). The "SUCKS" award was issued too infrequently throughout the book (e.g., only a few listed restaurants were dis-honored). The ranting (e.g., Boca, driving) was good and should have been used more often and effectively to demonstrate SUCK-ness.

   Great commentary, in parts, but too infrequent. Too much space wasted on "practical" information, such as TV cable company listings. More useful would be an explanation (rant) of why utilities, schools, etc., do or do not suck and how to best avoid the bad ones.

   Since the sub-title is "Strategies for Survival," I expected to see some. I did not, other than the listing of selected bad neighborhoods. "Do not go west of XYZ after dark" or "avoid moving to ABC at all costs" examples should have been more prevalent.

   I was surprised that Calle Ocho was not, and that Mount Trashmore was barely, mentioned. Several places I enjoy or do not like were not mentioned, but I tried to view the book as entertainment rather than a true reference.

   Overall, the book was entertaining but full of wasted potential. Can't wait for the sequel...




2. Great work; the author has strong opinions and isn't afraid to share them. If you're thinking about moving to Miami or Fort Lauderdale, you should definitely buy this book; it will prove an invaluable resource.

   The only book I've seen about the area where you can find anything other than tourist board jingoism.




3. I purchased the book primarily because of the hard-hitting title, I wanted to read something realistic and not just a bunch of hot air. I have to say that, at least in part, the book had a realistic tone to it. Unfortunatly the author dropped the ball and filled most of the pages with dry statistics and a lot of personal preferences and opinions. I can't say the book is a wast of time, but it is a slacker! To put it another way, I felt the book was probably 20% of full potential. After reading the book I was left with the feeling that the whole purpose of the writing was to keep people from moving to Florida.

No comments about National Geographic Guide Map New York State: New York State (National Geographic GuideMaps).

No comments about Artwise Boston Museum Map - Laminated Museum Map of Boston, Massachusetts - Streetwise Maps (Artwise).

1 comments about Covered Wagon Days: From the Private Journals of Albert Jerome Dickson.

1. Albert Jerome Dickson was a fourteen-year old youth when taking these notes of his 1864 journey westward to Montana. In later years his son Arthur compiled all his father's notes, journals and papers into this narrative. Young Albert was enthusiastic, sharp-eyed and keen in his observations.
   Not only do we read of day to day travel on the trail, but also Indian uprisings and intimidations of the early 1860's; road agents, thieves and murderers and how vigilante groups confronted this behavior; life in early Montana mining communities; the reality of making ends meet while homesteading; establishment of territorial laws; character analysis of such men as Jim Bridger, J. M. Bozeman, military figures, the notorious Jack Slade and many others.
   An enjoyable and historical timepiece.

No comments about A Synoptic Edition of the Log of Columbus's First Voyage. (Repertorium Columbianum, Volume 6).

4 comments about The Frozen Echo: Greenland and the Exploration of North America, Ca. A.D. 1000-1500.

1. The story of Norse Greenland, the settlement at the end of the earth, and its disappearance, has fascinated scholars and laypeople for 500 years.

   Kirsten Seaver has produced the best and most readable work on the subject in 50 years, incorporating the large amount of very recent study being done in the field with acute insight and a clear narrative.

   (Although it means there is not much point in me writing my book on the subject :( )




2. Was it the Thule Eskimos attacking the Norse Greenland colonies which cause these groups of hardy descendants of Vikings to fall off the map of the North Atlantic after 1408? Was it changes in climate that caused them to move? Where then did they go? Was it the fishing vessels of unfriendly foreign powers or neglect from the homeland which cause these settlements to fail? This well-written scholarly work is difficult to put down as it traces the Greenland colonies from their establishment through their explorations of North America until their existance was "forgotten" by the Western World. Drawing on the latest works in archeology, medieval studies, and related scientific fields, this book provides illuminating insight into a unique culture on the edge of the known world and its final destiny.



3. Author Seaver seems to have ramsacked the archives of Iceland and Norway to compile a thorough history of five centuries of Norse settlement in Greenland, including the famous and ill-fated Norse effort to establish a colony in North America about 1000 AD. There are enough Olafs and Sigrids here to people Lake Wobegone. The author is apparently Scandinavian -- or speaks Icelandic and medieval Norwegian -- and is thus able to dig deeper than most authors on this topic. She presents her findings in dry professorial prose that may tell some readers more than they really want to know about the internal politics of the North Atlantic back in medieval times.
   
   The great mystery is, of course, why did the Norse colonies in Greenland disappear and when? A worsening climate, Innuit attacks, inbreeding, and isolation have all been cited as reasons. I won't reveal the author's conclusion except to say that she theorizes the Norse survived longer in Greenland -- perhaps after 1500 -- than most scholars believe. The most interesting and original part of the book for me was her examination of the important role of traders and cod fisherman from the English port of Bristol in the exploration of the North Atlantic in the 15th century. She makes a good case that these sailors might have reached the New World a few years before Columbus -- but like good fishermen everywhere kept their favorite fishing holes secret.
   
   All in all, this is a well-researched scholarly history with just enough learned speculation to keep a history and exploration buff reading on. It's the kind of book that -- if you're really, really a fanatic -- you could read a second time and benefit from many small points you missed on the first reading.
   
   Smallchief



4. This is a very well-written intellectual piece tracing Greenland colonies from establishment, to explorations of North America, and subsequently, their disappearance.
   
   The author portrays a history of over five centuries and has made discoveries that other researchers have missed. The author's conclusions are solid, however rather than sticking to solely historical facts, she speculates slightly on political issues. Nevertheless, the bulk of the book is thoroughly researched and well presented. An interesting read and a great way to learn some history as it is a book that is difficult to put down once you start.

1 comments about Fort Laramie in 1876: Chronicle of a Frontier Post at War.

1. Frontier historians have long been appreciative of the importance of Fort Laramie, at the confluence of the North Platte and Laramie rivers in present-day Wyoming, as a frontier outpost. Established in 1834 to support the fur trade, the fort had become by the 1850s a key post in the U. S. Army's logistical system and an important center for the orderly movement of settlers on the frontier. The troops at the post were involved in most of the major campaigns fought against the Indians of the northern Great Plains, until the post's inactivation in 1890.
   
   Paul L. Hedren, superintendent of the Fort Union Trading Post National Historic Site here presents an impressive study of the role of Fort Laramie in the Sioux Indian War of 1876-1877, as the episode that broke the back of the Plains Indians. Using Fort Laramie as the backdrop from which to discuss this important episode in American history, Hedren analyzes in lively fashion the Big Horn, Yellowstone, and Powder River expeditions against the Sioux conducted by Gen. George Crook. There is also comment on Custer's defeat at the Little Bighorn, the gold rush into the Black Hills, and the general discord of the Indians at the various agencies.
   
   But "Fort Laramie in 1876" is more than a recitation of the events of the Sioux Indian War. Many other historians have told that story over the years, and if Hedren had limited his book to the war I would have questioned the necessity of its publication. Instead, Hedren recognizes the army post for what it was, the most important installation on the northern plains and the critical site from which the army's campaign against the Sioux was both orchestrated and supplied. While the author's narrative ranges from Omaha, the headquarters ox the army's Department of the Platte, to the campaigns in Montana and the escape of some of the Sioux into Canada. Hedren's focus is always on Fort Laramie and its contributions to the war in terms of personnel, equipment, commanders, communications, and logistics.
   
   Hedren is the first to draw on the large body of material relating to the operation ox the post contained in the National Archives, particularly Record Group 393; the extensive collection of primary materials at the U.S. Army Military History Institute, Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania; and documents at the U.S. Military Academy Library at West Point. The result is impressive. Fort Laramie in 1876 captures the essence of the military outpost at war. It is an excellent companion volume and deserves a place on the shelf of all serious students of the American West and the Indian wars.

No comments about Guide to Prehistoric Ruins of the Southwest.

No comments about Camp the U.S. for $5 or Less: Western States.