I couldn't resist picking up _Secrets of the Maya_, with its intriguing title and the mysterious frieze decorating its cover. It turned out to be far from perfect, but well worth reading.

The book is a collection of articles about the Maya published in Archaeology magazine during the past fifteen years. The virtue of this format is that the articles provide a kind of play-by-play review of many of the major advances and changes that have taken place in our understanding of the Mayan world during this time. The major disadvantage is that a collection of articles reporting on a wide range of topics and spanning 15 years makes it very hard to piece together a coherent overview. A brief introduction by T. Patrick Culbert, emeritus professor of archaeology at the University of Arizona, helps a bit, but more was needed. Separate introductions to each of the four sections: Politics, War and Survival, Arts, Religion & Culture, Reading the Maya Past, and An Endangered History would have made a big difference, as would some kind of summation to tie it all together.

Probably the greatest advance described in the book is the breaking of the code of the intricate glyphs that cover columns and facades throughout the Mayan world. It's obvious that the task is far from complete, with scholars still arguing over interpretations. But it's equally clear that Mayan scholars have made a great deal of progress in assembling a meaningful history of the Maya based on their written records. Other major advances include the realization that the Maya were not, as was thought earlier, a peaceful society run by otherworldly theocrats. Instead (not all that surprisingly) they emerge as a dynamic, ever-changing grab-bag of city-states. They forged and broke alliances, warred with each other, exploited, changed and eventually degraded their environment, and, like the Aztecs, had their own set of strange and bloody customs. More recently, we learn, archaeologists and governments have had to try to deal with the ravages of widespread looting, and archaeologists have been attacked by armed bands intent on keeping the ruins to themselves. To their credit, at least a few Mayan scholars have begun to collaborate with Mayans living today, not just to help find or excavate sites, but to help the researchers understand and interpret what they find, as guides into the Mayan worldview, and to tap into their traditional knowledge of the medicinal properties of more than 200 species of plants.

Secrets of the Maya does have one glaring flaw--its almost total lack of illustrations. The book contains some small maps, one or two photos of archaeologists, and just nine other fairly unimpressive plates. When I have toured Maya sites, I've been overwhelmed by the impact of the massive structures, the power of the carvings, and the sheer beauty of the settings. I can't understand why the editors of this book decided not to include more pictures and better pictures. They could have brought what the authors were often laboring to describe to life.

The articles seemed to me to get better with time. I thought the best was near the end, a chapter by Tom Gidwitz featuring joint work by Culbert and two NASA scientists who used a variety of high- and low-tech approaches to surveying the swampy Mayan lowlands. They've been able to demonstrate that the ancient Maya performed enormous engineering feats to turn vast swamps into the productive farmland that was needed to support a huge population. The chapter also presents an intriguing and largely convincing history of over-exploitation of these wetlands by the Maya which may have contributed to the devastating 200-year drought that struck the entire region around 800 AD, and which clearly left the Mayan civilization extremely vulnerable to that drought.

The book has its strengths and weaknesses, but it certainly whetted my appetite for some of the books in its "further reading" list. I'm eager to find out what secrets of the Maya remain to be revealed.

Robert Adler, author of Science Firsts: From the Creation of Science to the Science of Creation (John Wiley & Sons, Sept. 2002).

Compiled by the editorial staff of Archaeology Magazine, Secrets Of The Maya is an enthralling look into all that modern archaeology can tell us about the Mayan civilization, how they lived, who they were, their wars, their cruelties, and their incredible scientific achievements. Collecting twenty-nine informed and informative essays drawn from a variety of learned and scholarly authors, Secrets Of The Maya paints a vivid and amazing picture of a grand Native American civilization of antiquity. Enhanced with a section of color photography, Secrets Of The Maya is a very highly recommended contribution to any personal, professional, academic, or community library Native American Studies or Central American Archaeology reference collection or supplemental reading list.

I'm an armchair archaeologist and this book provided a very good, solid introduction to Mayan culture and history. Some of the information was new to me, particularly the chapter on Mayan medicine. It's a beautiful book and would make a great gift for anyone with an interest in the Mayans.

The book has two distinct sections. The first 100 pages is a report on the Mellon family lifestyle, and how a rich maverick Mellon got to Haiti. The rest of the book details Dr. and Mrs. Mellon's founding of a hospital and civil engineering projects in central Haiti.
An important finding is that the Mellon's hospital was founded on the humanitarian premise, "Reverence for life." Taken from Dr. Sweitzer's work in Africa, life refers not only to human life, but also plant and animal. This little detail is critical to understanding the book. Many missions to Haiti are Christian, while Dr. Mellon's hospital is distinctly humanistic primarily as presented in the book.
As all books on Haiti fairly present, doing anything in Haiti is hard, and without American financial support, very little work done lasts. The hospital Dr. Mellon founded did well as long as he provided two of the four million dollars needed to run it. His civil engineering projects, in which he was much more interested than medicine (he actually only practiced medicine 3 years), all crumbled when turned over to the Haitians. Many other cottage industries met the same fate.
The book thus captures the Haitian dilemna, how to serve in Haiti and lift up the Haitians to be self sufficient. If Dr. Mellon's millions couldn't do it, how can any of us with less money at our disposal. Never the less, we go to Haiti because we cannot not go, nor can we not go back after going once.
An excellent book about how a real rich guy did his best to follow his heart, not his accountant's advice, and another book about how a strong wife really does the grunt work while her husband plays with big boy's toys.

The life of William Larimer Mellon is an example of the life Americans should dream for themselves and those they love dearly. For one who majored in biology and gave it up for 18 years in auditing the paralells to Mellon's change of career and motivations struck me deeply. On witnessing the WTC disaster personally (a few hundred yards away) man should strive for something in life and go for it. Barry Paris well written account of a life inspired by Dr. Schweitzer is highly recommended to all readers committed to God and American morals and values. If readers have a noble vision the price of this book is totally insiginificant to the highest rewards you will gather from reading it.

Song of Haiti is an absolutely awesome book! As a nurse who has done mission work in Haiti, I found this book authentic, a true inspiration, as well as a compelling, indepth view of the lives of many dedicated and compassionate people. Barry Paris' work describes the country and the people in beautiful and fullfilling language. Oftentimes, I felt as if I were in Haiti again experiencing the amazing, hard-working and loving people of the country. I've never before read a biography with such griping prose. I looked forward to my time to read because I became more and more interested in the life of every person described - be it Dr. Mellon and Gwen or Albert Schweitzer, or the nurses and doctors and friends with whom they shared their lives. I believe this is the way that biographical work should be written. Song of Haiti is thorough in that it covers the entirety of Dr. Mellon's life, touching on his downfalls as well as his high acheivements. I found that the realism with which the story is told is excellent and believable. The many everyday encounters and adventures are interesting and mesmerizing - it makes a person want to travel and experience the third world for all of the beauty and intensity it offers. I recommend this book to everyone, regardless of your interest in medicine, mission work, or biography. It is amazing.

Although it is a fast, exciting read, Montejo's Testimony is an extremely powerful, raw book. It realistically depicts the genocide occurring in Guatemala between 1980-82. He is brutally graphic, but touches one in such a manner that one is compelled to pursue the subject. This personal, heart-wrenching story is a moving experience for anyone, especially those interested in Guatemala and Central America.

TESTIMONY: DEATH OF A GUATEMALAN VILLAGE is an eyewitness account by a Guatemalan primary school teacher detailing one instance of violent conflict between the indigenous Maya people and the army. An accidental clash between the village's "civil patrol" and a Guatemalan army troop leads to the execution or imprisonment of many villagers. Written in clear, direct prose, this account reads like an adventure story while conveying an historical reality.

"Victor Montejo writes vividly, with a translator of distinction, about another Latin American reality." --The Guardian

"Montejo has first-hand involvement with the violence that Didion both mystifies and, in a morbid way, romanticizes. He conveys a rare sense of the lived reality in Central America, in a clear storytelling voice that makes it chillingly human."
--San Francisco Sun

A poignant message to those who will see. Using his own words (translated from his Mayan dialect), Victor Montejo paints a picture of endurance, pain, and hopelessness for the Mayans of his homeland--Guatemala. His ability to endure and survive the abuses of the Kaibiles (Mayan soldiers hell bent on destruction and murder) allows a ray of hope to pierce the seeming hopelessness. Separated from his family, friends, and students, Victor maintains a Christian ethic--he does not believe in murder. In fact, he faces his oppressors with dignity and responds with kindness even when it seems all is lost. To discover the outcome of Victor's painful trials--you must read this suspense-filled, non-fiction book.

Shortly after the American Civil War, John Muir, a 29-year-old budding naturalist, set out on an epic journey across the eastern United States. Starting in Louisville, Kentucky on September 2, 1867, he walked southward through Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina and Georgia, where he was delayed in Savannah. After crossing through Florida he finally reached the Gulf, but, unfortunately, his desire to continue on toward South America was hindered by an illness. Not fully recovered, he eventually made for Cuba, but went no further. Muir returned home only to set out for California a short while later. During his journey, he kept a journal in which he recorded his experiences and observations of the flora and fauna he came across. This journal, along with an article written in 1872 and a letter that he wrote while in California, constitute A Thousand-Mile Walk to the Gulf, which was originally published in 1916, two years following Muir's death. Although there are a few instances when the author reveals himself to be a man of his times, his observations of a natural world which in many instances have long since been destroyed, are priceless.

As the human population expands the natural world around us disappears. This is a fact we mostly ignore as we go about our daily life. One day, you wake up, and discover that within your own lifetime things have been permanently altered.

When John Muir made his "Thousand-Mile Walk to the Gulf" the U.S. was not as heavily populated as it is today, although much had changed from the time when European settlers first moved through the area he explored -- a path that stretched from Indianapolis Indiana to the Gulf just north of what is Tampa Florida today.

Muir moved South in the aftermath of the Civil War, so he encountered much unrest, unhappiness, and destruction along the way. He describes not only the flora and fauna he found but the condition of humans as they struggled to rebuild their lives.

He says, "My plan was to simply to push on in a general southward direction by the wildest leafiest, and least trodden way I could find, promising the greatest extent of virgin forest." To a great extent, he was able to do that, however, he could not escape some of the realities of the world around him. For example, in Georgia, he encountered the graves of the dead, whom he says lay under a "common single roof, supported on four posts as the cover of a well, as if rain and sunshine were not regarded as blessings." A bit further he says, "I wandered wearily from dune to dune sinking ankle deep in the sand, searching for a place to sleep beneath the tall flowers, free from the insects and snakes, and above all my fellow man."

Muir wonders at the teachings of those who call themselves God's emissaries, who fail to ask about God's intentions for nature. He says, "It never seems to occur to these far-seeing teachers that Natures's object in making animals and plants might possibly be first of all the happiness of each one of them, not the creation of all for the happiness of one. Why should man value himself as more that a small part of the one great unit of creation? And what creature of all that the Lord has taken the pains to make is not essential to the completeness of the unit--the cosmos?"

Partly as a result of his writing, and the writing of other Naturalists, the National Park System came into being, and today, more trees grow on the East coast than grew in the late 1700s (American Revolution). The fight is not over, however, it has only begun. Many of those trees are "harvested" every year. Sometimes, even within National Forests they are all felled at the same time through a process called clear cutting. The lovely large oaks that Muir beheld are mostly long gone and have been replaced by Pine.

This is one of John Muir's best books (the other being _First Summer in the Sierra_). It's Muir's slightly-edited diary of his 1000-mile trip through the Southern U.S. to Florida, then Cuba. He traveled on foot observing nature and the people. The book holds your interest as it's written on the spot through the enthusistic eyes of a young man. It reminds me a little of Mark Twain's book _Roughin' It_, another story through the eye's of a young man latter to become famous (about working on antebellum riverboats).

The Tortilla Quilt is a well told story of how a little girl came to make a quilt. She not only learned the mechanics of quilt making, but found out why quilts are so special as she and her friend cut pieces of fabric from the dresses they had outgrown. She loved the quilt so much when it was done, that she wanted to share that love with her grandmother and gave her the quilt as a gift. Through her generosity she learned that a quilt can bring you even more joy when you share it.

The folk-art illustrations by Jane Tenorio-Coscarelli are as delightful as her quilting. At the end of the book there is a recipe for her grandmother's tortillas and a pattern for the nine-piece quilt that appeared in the story. Also, scattered throughout the story are Spanish interpretations - not for the whole story, but for random words.

I have seen Jane Tenorio-Coscarelli read the Tortilla Quilt toelementary school children and they love her and the book. She hasothers: The Tamale Quilt, and the newest, The Pinata Quilt.

The Tortilla Quilt is a wonderful story about a young girl and her dream to make a quilt like her best friend. Her grandmother helps her dream come true by providing feed sacks to start the quilt. Then her best friend helps by getting more fabric from their old outgrown dresses. Many of us can relate to this story because we grew up in families where our mothers or grandmothers made quilts from our outgrown clothes. I know as a little girl my first dream of sewing was making a quilt. I would cut rectangles from every red and black piece of fabric I could get my hands on. The smell of food cooking was also a big part of our lives. I was raised in cold Minneasota and our lives were much the same as Mariah's. I loved the way the story had the girls working together plus getting the cooperation from the mother and grandmother. The special time spent working on the quilt while on the quilt frame was especially heartwarming. The story makes you want to make a quilt with your child or grandchild so you can have that special time with them now. You also hope that they too will want to hand the quilt down to future generations and share the story of the time when the two of you made the quilt. Great way to get back to family time and values. This book is a great learning tool as the quilt instructions are very easy to follow. You don't have to know how to sew to make this quilt. I found that boys really get into making this quilt. It is fun to see someone with such artistic talent put it all together and be successful with such a wonderful book. We need more stories like this not only to read to our children and grandchildren but also to do a project with them such as the quilt or making tortillas.

I purchased this book for someone else, but I'm going to keep it and get him another copy. Set on black pages with white writing, this book covers mountains, oceans, forests, valleys, and some very ethnic, old-world inhabitants of Columbia. It's large and very heavy; a definite coffee table kind of book. I'm very happy with my purchase; my only regret is that I didn't pick one with Columbia's cities in it also.

What a beautiful book. I got it for my husband and I am truly happy that that means it will not leave the house.
The fotografs are super, half pages, full or often double. The first chapter is about the sea and underwater animals, later come mountains and people. And to remind us that the world as beautiful as Aldo Brando can show it to us is not save at all the last chapter shows the destruction people can do to our poor planet.
The black background pages give the book a special look, paper and print are perfect.
I am really happy with this, a wonderful view of the tropics!

Well, I must say I bought this book based on reviews I`d read here. And I do not regret it.
"Tropic" is absolutely wonderfull. At 12 x 9½ inches and 4 pounds, it`s a huge book which isn`t appropriate for long journeys but it makes an excellent coffee table book.
In fact, I think it`s the most incredible achievement ever done to portray the nature of one country. Printed on black, very fine paper, it`s a nice book looking through.
The book is divided into the following sections : Seas, Islands & Littorals, Forests & Savannahs, Mountains & Inhabitants(which are actually a vertical journey through the land, from the bottom of the sea to the tops of the Andes). The vertical views of the colombian coast are absolutely gorgeous and awe-inspiring. There are also many majestic, almost poster-like pictures of pelicans flying towards the sky, inside caves and above the surface of the water. The closeups of many fishes are also a feast for the eyes, as are the beautifull flowers of the rainforest. The fantastic views of the Andes makes anyone wish they were there. And the first picture of the book on bromelias with the blue clouds and the sun melting down in the horizon will open more "wow" and "aahh"`s than fireworks of the millenium.
This book may be expensive, but if you come across a copy, do not hesitate to take it - it`s worth the money, I promise you that.

I would just add a few more points to the review that was already written on this book.

Most books that attempt to portray a history of British Columbia will undoubtedly be contrasted against Margaret Ormsby's 1958 "B.C.: A History". Barman's book is no different. I agree that it does provide an excellent regional history of this province (thus making it a staple textbook for many university classes), yet it can also be viewed in the context of the changing historiography of British Columbia. Barman has chosen to focus on the many social aspects of B.C.'s history that may have been neglected in past works. The previously mentioned work by Ormsby would be a case in point - "B.C.: A History" spent a disproportionate ammount of time on BC's pre-confederation, colonial past. Where Ormsby's emphasis was put on individual accomplishment - usually by white men - to the detriment of other facets of society (such as Natives, Women, Immigrants, etc. . . ), Barman, and the new generation of historians since the 1950s, have sought to write a more inculsive history. And this is what "The West Beyond The West" is. Unfortunately, I believe it has gone to far.

This is a similar point that has been made by Robin Fischer (another BC historian) on a variety of other occasions; that the emphasis on "social" history in this province has come at the expense of a greater understanding of "political" history. If you are thus going to be reading "The West Beyond The West" to try and find a deeper understanding of BC's political tradition you are going to be hard pressed to find it in this book.

Up until I read this book I did not understand BC politics or Native issues. The early workings of the political parties are uncovered along with their philosophies. Barman graphically describes British Columbia over the century capturing the spirit of what it means to be a British Columbian.

This is one of the best regional histories that this reviewer has ever read. The book imparts a real flavor of the overall history of the Province of British Columbia.

British Columbia, Canada's most western province, is part of the Pacific rim with Chile, Peru, California, Oregon, Washington, Alaska, Japan, China, South East Asia and Indonesia. As such, British Columbia tends to share with more history with those areas that it does with the more easterly parts of Canada and the United States.

Until recently the western regions of the United States and Canada have suffered from a lack of adequate regional histories. Barman's book neatly fills this void in regards to British Columbia and brings the reader right up to the present with the resignation of Michael Harcourt as the premier of the New Democratic Party government in 1996. The charts in the Appendix of the book add a great deal to the historian's appreciation of this book.

The book takes a completely different view of our nation's history from the late 1800's through the late 19000's than the average history text book most of us read in high school. Side bars and tid bits add anecdotal highlights to the information covered in that section or chapter which keep it relevant and interesting. It was very refreshing to see things from the bottom up. i.e. What was happening with this or that wave of immigration that caused the City's and Urban areas to change in this way, that caused the political and religious environment to change in that way, that caused this person to be elected, that caused this law to be passed, that caused this backlash, that led to this conflict, that led to this resolution. Instead of - this war was faught and this official was elected and this country won. It is biased towards labor and labor's role in building this country, so if you want traditional conservative history, this isn't the book for you. But if you like to read some of the stuff they don't tell you in high-school history 101, this is it. I'll never look at labor disputes or the immigration question the same way again. I came away from the book with a greater understanding and retained more of how we got to the 21st century in America from the 19th century.

When I saw this book, I bought it straightaway, because labor history gets short-shrift in American society. I'm sorry to see it's out-of-stock, but am unsurprised.

While this book is fairly mainstream in its orientation, it is very readable and thorough, covering the struggle of working people through the late 1800s to the early 1990s.

I consider this book a good starting point for people interested in working people's history. What makes it especially rich is the narrative flow and personal stories that appear throughout it, and the sidebars with songs and other miscellaneous information. This is the way a history book should be written.

Who Built America? Is an excellent look at US history in the 20th century from the foundation up. The authors provide relevant and insightful information about immigration, the working class, unions, and the political and military events that shaped our country. The events are thoroughly discussed in terms of cause and effect, and followed through with anecdotal side bars and highilights. Because the text follows a contextual historical line, the information is readily understood and retained. Who Built America? was used as the assigned text in a US History class I took. While I read it willingly as assigned in the class, it is a book I have returned to on numerous occasions since. I highly recommend Who Built America? for everyone and anyone who would like to know not just who was elected when, and what wars were fought with whom, but why and how it effects every one of us.

A very good reference and field guide to snakes from Texas to North Dakota eastwards, aimed at enthusiasts and accessible to the average reader. It builds on Tennant's earlier books on Texas and Florida snakes (which were excellent), and in fact the text of the species accounts is often lifted more or less directly from those books. This makes this book less than original, but the detail -- over 600 pages worth -- is very good. Lots of photos, though each are a little small. This book is thicker, more thorough and generally stronger than the companion western volume (Snakes of North America: Western Region). It also has a good bibliography. One quibble, though -- the range maps often do not extend into Canada (though the Canadian ranges of the relevant snakes are discussed in the text), which reduces the usefulness of this book for Canadian readers. Recommended.

Overall I thought this book was well written, very comprehensive, and quite easy to use. The copy I purchased has a problem with some of the pages being out of order. The Western guide I have has the range maps for the hognoses reversed. These may be a function of the printing company's sloppiness. However, I believe this book is an important addition to any serious amateur or professional herpetologist or budding herpetoculturist.

This book has the most comprehensive and up to date data down to sub-specific detail I've seen in a field guide, or any publication for that matter. This book is informative and easy to read. As a field guide it tries to group the animals by their appearance, which is occasionally annoying, but for a novice trying to identify something it is logical. The collection of pictures is quite complete, however, unusual color morphs of some species are depicted where it would be better to show clearer pictures of typical specimens(especially because it is a field guide).

The author provides a contemporary read of many key events in the American Revolution. Highly readable for someone who needs a refresher in the American Revolution but doesn't want to dive into the conventional histories. It IS readable and occasionally jabs with some unexpected wit. Wright takes fresh and vivid looks at the Boston Massacre, Saratoga, Valley Forge, Thomas Jefferson and George Washington that puts events in their place and reminds us of our humanity. The format does jump around in time quite a bit but the Revolution is a complex canvas. Thank him for following our revolutionary personalities to their passings, an especially moving chapter. The book is warm and honest. You get to be the judge of the legend and reality. Like a small bag of potato chips, you are left wanting more on many key events, but you get the feeling Wright did his best. We were just lousy historians while we were fighting for our independence. There are some great tidbits and pointers for those of military interest (See the description of the Battle of Cowpens). Thanks to Mr. Wright for a lively revisit to the American Revolution

A fun read that breathes life into all the old stories and characters. Gathers information from a voluminous amount of sources, and clarifies various bits of detailed information that was only hinted at before. The book also de-bunks some of the ongoing myths about the war. The only problem I had with it, was that there were a few chronological jumps that were disorienting. All in all, an easy read for all. I couldn't put it down.

This book is a series of essays on parts of history that are skipped over in the schoolbooks. He repeats the claim that only "one third" wanted to separate from Britain (p.xii). Can this ever be true then or now? I would estimate that about 3 out of 4 would be a more realistic figure (from what I read about other countries). John Adams history of the Revolution was flawed by his notoriously bad memory (p.293). Or the way he wanted to remember it?

It tells how the Stamp Act resulted in the colonies forming a Congress and asking for its repeal, a direct tax. Americans did not have the gold and silver to pay the stamp duty (p.30). They raised their own food, and bartered; they could not print paper money.

On p.60 he says there is no "Butcher's Hall" on the site of the Boston Massacre (as depicted in Paul Revere's engraving)! Isn't that a symbol for the British barracks?

On p.64 he claims that a "guinea" is a pound (it is 21 shillings), and only worth about $1.35! That's way too low! Compare the price of homes, wages, etc. to find out its worth then. Page 82 repeats this mistake in currency evaluation ("$81"). Page 101 tells of Tom Paine's suggested old age pension of "ten pounds a year"; that would make their pound worth about $1000. He also mentions a great increase in the poor before the revolution, but doesn't go into the cause.

Tradition tells of suffering, starvation, and death at Valley Forge (p.205). A National Park Service survey in the 1970s claimed differently; each month the 10,000 man army received a million pounds of flour, and a million pounds of meat and fish (3 pounds each a day). Surely the tradition is correct, and not the paper figures. But the winters in Morristown NJ were worse.

He notes that 18th century usage of words differs from the 20th century meanings. I read that "well-regulated" then meant "well-trained" or "well-practiced".

Chapter 8 discusses the East India Company's near bankruptcy in 1771. It got a government monopoly in the American market; no one could buy from any other source. This resulted in a 50% rise in price! Americans refused to buy it; in New York and Charleston they threw the tea into the river, and the bay in Boston. This led to hoarding weapons and gunpowder in the country, and the Battles of Lexington and Concord when the British tried to seize these weapons (a violation of their Bill of Rights).

Another factor was the Quebec Act, which extended Canada's southern boundary to the Ohio River. Forbidding emigration west of the Allegheny Mountains would prevent veterans of the French and Indian War from gaining their promised lands.

But the closing of the port of Boston resulted in uniting the colonies; they sent food to Boston. Committees of Correspondence were created to communicate between the colonies. Then the First Continental Congress met in Philadelphia; we know the rest.

The author tells how the military trainers had to explain the purpose of the actions (the big picture). And how one of the most important military skills taught was bayonet drill. Is this still true today?