Indian Books

A page-turner this book is NOT! I found this book neither "thrilling" nor "absorbing" as some reviews have called it. I read this book only because Cynthia Ann Parker is the niece of my 4g-grandfather, and I have an insatiable thirst to learn more of my ancestry. It took me approximately six weeks to wade through this book. I was totally unable to muster any empathy or sympathy for the Comanche people. I found their brutality beyond any area of redemption whatsoever.
In a book of this sort, perhaps it is difficult to distinguish the protagonists from the antagonists. So it was with me. Neither side garnered much of my respect.
Also, the situation with Cynthia Ann was difficult to accept. Was this a classic example of a person being brainwashed? Was she a textbook case of Stockholm Syndrome? Or was it "merely" a matter of a child who gave up all hope of rescue and embraced the new life in an attempt at survival? We will never know.
I found Robson's explicit detail of the sexual experiences totally unnecessary to the story itself. They reminded me of poorly-written romance novels which I tend to avoid.
By the end of the book, I was totally unsympathetic with the Rangers, the military, and the Comanches. I found the book mostly disgusting, revolting, and repulsive. Even at the end, I did not sympathize with Quanah. "What goes around, comes around!" And PLEASE tell me that at the end when Quanah says, "It is finished," that Robson is NOT making an analogy to Christ on the cross when HE said the same thing.
People say that a good book should elicit some sort of feelings from the reader. This book did that. Robson definitely elicited respect for her thorough research into Texas history. I think her "knowledge" of the Comanche and their love lives is, however, at best, a stretch.
This is not a book that will grace the shelves of my home library.

I am a long time Plains Indian lover..of their culture.
I read this book at least 10 years ago and then passed it
on to one friend.
SHE loved it also...and passed it on to another coworker....one
who had never been interested in anything Native American at all.
That gal loved this story as well.
Just the other day she asked me if I still had this book because
she'd like to read it again .

It is an unforgettable saga....a great romance , too.
The best part is this is based on historical facts.

Once I picked up Ride the Wind I did not put it down. I read this book whenever and as often as I can. This is an incredible story, the tragedy of watching your family and friends die around you, to becoming one of the "People" all the lessons of what life throws at us. I love everything about this book, I wish they would make a movie that follows the book down to the last detail. Cynthia Ann, Nocona,and the many others mentioned are so strong in history and knowing that Quanah goes on to be such a historic, amazing part of this makes the book more worth reading.
I challenge anyone who reads Ride the Wind to look up some history.

This compelling, meticulously-researched novel is fascinating, thrilling and heartbreaking. I only demoted it to four stars (I would have given it four and a half if I'd had the option) because, like most mass-market paperbacks, it is first-rate story telling but only second-rate writing. That's OK with me, though, a novel doesn't have to be beautifully written to be worth reading.

I enjoyed this book very much but as a mother I feel I must warn anyone who's sensitive that it is very difficult to read in places. In this account of the last years of the Comanche, babies and children are regularly placed in peril, and many of them die. They die from disease and from the elements but most of them are brutally tortured and murdered. The atrocities are committed not just by whites (in fact the whites seem to commit fewer atrocities against women and children overall) but by the Comanche and the other tribes, who don't seem to have any moral rules against torturing and murdering children. I often wondered how much of what I was reading was based on fact and how much was exaggerated, and when researching the question discovered that many of these accounts were taken directly from history.

That is why I found this book so surprising. If you are looking for a romanticized version of Plains Indian life ala "Dances With Wolves," you will not find it here. The Comanche culture was beautiful in many ways, and it was far kinder to nature than European culture will ever be, but the Comanches were a culture of warfare. They did not believe in mercy. When they could, they tortured their enemies, and were not above burning women and children alive, mutilating and raping them. I was fascinated by the detail of the Comanche world but I found it hard to feel any sympathy for many of the characters in this book, on either side, since nearly everyone condoned that kind of warfare and it was difficult for me to relate to them. I can't imagine how anyone who exists in a society where murder and torture is no longer a part of our moral fabric could really feel much sympathy for someone who murdered a child.

Having said that, this is a wonderful book for students of American history, or for anyone who is interested in the Plains Indians. The author has meticulously detailed almost every aspect of Comanche life, from building a lodge to making pemmican. I particularly recommend this book as a balanced look at the conflict between the Plains Indians and white settlers. This was indeed a clash of two cultures who would never be able to peacefully co-exist, and like in any war, there were heroes and villains on both sides.

One of the most extraordinary novels I have ever read. Very well researched. I loved how the author told both sides of the story and was not one sided as you see both sides of the conflict; Red and White.
Cynthia Ann Parker witnessed the terrible massacre of her family yet she grows to understand why the Comanche tribe did what they did. She sees first hand the terrible injustice that her own race has caused the Comanche Nation. Cynthia looks passed their skin color and comes to love her captors as they grow to love and accept her. They renamed her Nadua which translate She who keeps warm with us.
In reality Cynthia never told anyone about her life among the Comanches however she showed the world of her love for her Comanche family and her Comanche husband. I would like to think that Ms. Robson's version of the romance was how it happened.
This is a very emotional and fascinating story that every American should read. However this novel does contain descriptive brutality but I am glad that the author included it because it helps the reader understand the intensity of the war. It is also a heart wrencher. As I stood beside Cynthia's grave side I could not help but shed tears as this sorrowful legend was etched in my mind. Her story left me broken hearted and will never be forgotten. I also recommend Where the Broken Heart still Beats and Killing Cynthia Ann.

It was a really good book.My favorite part was when she finally becomes friends with the indians.Although recommend it to older kids becuase of the violence.

INDIANS EVERY WERE





Catty gets kidnapped by Indians,
Thomas gets sick,
Will Catty marry Snow Hunter?



In the book, Standing in the Light Catty's family respects the Indians.
They leave their doors unlocked and windows open to show the Indians
They are not afraid. But one night the Indians swoop throw the window
And kidnap Catty and Thomas.

My favorite part is when Catty's Indian Grandmother tells her
Indian mother that Catty and snow hunter are probley going to get
Married. I like this part because it is sweet and unsuspecting and
Catty is so surprised

I think the authors main idea is you can go from HOME to HOME
And will always be loved.

I would recommend this because it is surprising and you won't want
To stop!!!!!
By:Lauren

Standing in the Light was an excellent book. Caty and her brother Thomas are kidnapped by the Lenape on their way home from school. At first Caty feels they'll be killed but instead they return to the Lenape village where she and her brother are separated and giving to two new families. This was the first time I'd ever heard of the Lenape and the author painted a vivid picture of what these Native Americans were like. I loved the transformation as Caty goes from fearing her captives, to loving them especially one in particular Snow Hunter.

I absolutly loved this book. It made my stomach have butterflies. It feels like you are actually in the book. It was interesting and sad. I almost cried for some parts. LOL I would recomend this book to any kid who loves excitement, and history.

I love reading books in diary form and the "Dear America" series of books for younger readers are not only beautifully bound, but each individual story is truly engaging, transporting readers into a bygone era with its entailing adventures.

The heroines are typically young girls who find themselves in extraordinary circumstances - and having to display immense courage in trying times. "Standing in the Light" is the diary of Catharine Carey Logan, a Quaker who lived in the Delaware Valley in Pennsylvania c 1763. Her diary is an account of her experiences growing up in the valley and also about her capture by the Lenape Indians. It is a sad yet very engrossing read.

Another highlight of the book is the author's historical note on life in America during the time [1763] - there are also illustrations and drawings of Quakers and Lenape Indians engaged in their respective pursuits, and highlights the cultural differences between the two groups. In conclusion - an engaging historical read!

I simply could not put this book down - read it in a day. Bruce Olson's non-traditional method of missions is not one I would recommend to anybody who does not have the fortitude and faith, or who is not willing to give up their life and/or their sanity. Bruce demonstrates the mission principle that whether you go to the field backed by a mission society or on your own, the greatest support one needs is to know without a doubt that God has called you to this purpose.

Another principle in this book is that missionaries should listen first, pray and act later. Bruce made his share of mistakes on the field, but his commitment not to force the Motilone Indians into a cookie cutter western mold of Christianity is a model of missions for missionaries in other cultures as well.

Basically, a terrific read. Lots of suspense and true life human drama. Forgive my sexism, but this is not a girl's book as some consider missionary biographies to be. Even the roughest of men will find themselves wrapped up in this true life adventure.

This book is such a great example of how Jesus provides for us even when we're down. I love this book! I ask myself after each chapter, "is this really true?" and every time i remember that it is, I go ballistically crazy for God. A great Christian book. READ IT. I read it at school and now I want to buy it so that I can read it again and again. Rich reading. Amazing, AMAZING story. Made me cry for joy and for sorrow. Grossed out in some parts.
THE VERY BEST
BEST
BEST
BEST
Book in the world! READ THIS BOOK AND YOU WILL WANT TO BUY IT, SO YOU MIGHT AS WELL BUY IT!

This is an interesting missionary biography. Everyone I know that has read it (people of all ages), has enjoyed it.

Amazon.com sent me an ad for the book Bruchko two days before one of my best friends flew to the high jungle of Columbia to be a missionary with the Motilone people. She had never seen the book and can use her computor once a day by generator electricity so I typed it out for her a chapter at a time. Within a week she hiked the Andes Mountain where Bruce Olson resides with the Motilone, had a wonderful visit with him and received from him personally her own copy. She hiked the mountain barefoot just like the Motilone people do. Bruce Olson was 19 when he went, my friend, a devoted Christian, is 67. This book would be very interesting to anyone who likes to hear about modern day missionaries and the work they do. I loved it.

This is not a good book. This Bruchko character ruined the Motilones Indians lives in Colombia to build up his own ego under the guise of helping spread Christianity. Maybe he thought he was doing a good thing, but really all he did was try and assimilate a people in a culture they wanted nothing to do with. He should have left them alone. My Grandmother, a Motilon Indian, and I do not recommend this book except to show how European explorers, and missionaries have helped to ruin countless cultures by trying to "help" them to not be "savages".

There are two sides to every story, and Regina Leininger experienced the conflicts between Indians and white settlers from both perspectives. In I am Regina (Philomel Books, 1991), author Sally M. Keehn presents a fictionalized account of one girl's Indian captivity based on the true story of Regina Leininger. Ten-year-old Regina's journey begins on her family farm in Pennsylvania in 1755. She lives a comfortable life, but the threat of attacking Indians constantly looms in Regina's mind. She takes comfort in the safety and security offered by her family, by the big Bible that Father reads from, and by the hymns Mother sings. Then one day, two Indians come to the family's home. The Indians kill Regina's father and one of her brothers and take Regina and her sister, Barbara, as prisoners. Regina is soon parted from her sister, but finds companionship in another prisoner, a toddler she names Sarah. Taking on the role of parent to the little girl, Regina sings Mother's hymns and tells stories from Father's Bible to the little girl during their hard journey to Ohio. Their Indian captor, Tiger Claw, takes them to his village, where both girls are adopted into the community and into Tiger Claw's family. Living is hard in the Indian village, but as the years pass, Regina adjusts to her new way of life. As conditions worsen for her Indian community, Regina's loyalties are torn between the life she once knew and the community of Indian villagers she has come to appreciate.

Told in beautifully descriptive language, I am Regina paints a portrait of life among white settlers and Native Americans that portrays kindness and cruelty on both sides. Regina reaches no easy conclusions about her dual citizenship in the two cultures. I am Regina is the story of one girl's struggles to fit in to a new culture without losing her identity, but it is also the story of the demise of one native community in the rise of a new country.

German immigrant Regina and her family have settled into Pennsylvania in 1755 in Sally M. Keehn's, I Am Regina. Regina finds herself orphaned after Indians attack and kill her brother and father after her mother and other brother have gone to the mill. She and her sister, Barbara are kidnapped from their home, along with the other children from their village, so that the Indians can adopt them. The two sisters are separated and Regina, along with a little girl she has named Sarah, are forced to follow the cruel Tiger Claw to his village. Once there, the girls are reassigned new names and punished if they act in a way in what the tribe views as white. Regina, now referred to as "Tskinnak", and Sarah, who becomes "Quetit," slowly become a part of their tribe until one day the lines become blurred, and Tskinnak can no longer remember who she once was.

Though Regina's father and brother are killed within the opening scenes of the novel, the story is a bit slow to start as Regina merely recounts the events in a journalistic fashion. Rough transitions from flashback to present once they are captured also hinder the flow of the story, but everything picks up a fourth of the way into the novel when Barbara attempts to save everyone. A few of the important events are also glossed over, such as Regina becoming fluent in a new language and Regina's emotions after her father and brother's deaths reads almost mechanical.

Readers interested in Native American culture will be particularly impressed with this novel, as Keehn has done her research and manages to present both sides of the struggle between the Indians and the English. Ultimately, I am Regina is about a young girl who loses her identity, gains a new one in a different culture, and is then forced to reclaim her childhood, which all makes for an engaging story.

I Am Regina by Sally M. Keehn (Puffin, 1991) begins in 1755 Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania, where young Regina is a happy, normal girl living with her sister, brothers, mother and father. Her world is turned upside down when Indians enter their home and kill her brother and father. The Indians kidnap Regina and her sister Barbara. Only her brother John and her mother are safe, for they have gone off to town. They are soon separated, and Regina is dragged off to an impoverished Indian camp. At first, Regina resists, angry and full of hatred for the people who killed her father and brother. Regina is renamed Tskinnak and treated like a slave. She struggles to hold on to her memories of home and forget the gruesome murders of her father and brother. As she becomes more accustomed to the Indian ways, she must force herself to remember passages from the Bible. Eventually, Tskinnak can no longer recall her past life or speak English. She is an Indian, a daughter to an Indian woman and a sister to Quetit, a young girl kidnapped at the same time she was. So, when the French Indian war ends and they are taken back to meet their families, Tskinnak is torn between her Indian family and a mother she can barely remember from her past. Who will Tskinnak chose?

Based on the true story of 10-year-old Regina Leininger, this book is historically accurate and sensitive. It makes great reading material for middle-schoolers interested in history. Although the novel can be slow at times, getting to the end is worth the wait, as Tskinnak's story is completed and the reader will be satisfied with the conclusion.

I picked up this book when I was 12/13 (for some reason I want to say I was younger) on one of my family's trips to Barnes and Noble. Once a week I'd pick out a new book to read and from the time I picked up this book it has been one of my all time favorites. I'm 21 now and still love it, I have reread it numerous times. Some of the other reviewers on here seem to think it's increadibly graphic for the age group but when most families live in different rooms with each a tv I think I would much rather have my child read a book with an inspiring storyline than a gory cop show or playing shootem up video games! Most young adult novels now adays share adult themes. When I was 15 I watched the Grapes of Wrath in a History class and I KNOW that is an adult book. People need to give their children more credit and realize that reading this book is just preparing their children for reading mature intelligent books.

In I am Regina, Sally M. Keehn tells the story of a ten-year-old girl who is taken captive by Native Americans after they brutally kill her brother and father. In their village, Regina is given a new name, Tskinnak, and slowly adapts her new way of life. This young adult novel is well-crafted in terms of structure; it has a sound arc of conflict sustained by a strong narrator and cast of fascinating supporting characters that all possess individual goals and desires. Keehn masterfully juxtaposes Native American culture and the ways of the "white man" through the eyes of Regina/Tskinnak, her innocent narrator. As time progresses in the book, so does Regina/Tskinnak's understanding and acceptance of Native American culture. Though this transformation occurs slowly, the soul of her very being is forever altered. She is able to see the war amongst white men and Native Americans from both sides, and finds herself questioning where she truly belongs, a question that resonates in the minds of children and young adults of today. The only inconsistency in the book occurs during shifts in time. Keehn shifts in "moons" and at times it is confusing to judge how much or how little time has passed since the last scene. Keehn began the story using short choppy sentences, but as the book progresses, it outgrows this simplistic structure and evolves into a well-written text. I am Regina is a powerful and moving story that will captivate readers right down to the final sentence.

The story itself was riveting. However I have my doubts as to historical accuracy. Eckert stated that Chief Blue Jacket was a white boy named Marmeduke Van Swearingen who was adopted into the Shawnee tribe. This was proved false through DNA testing of the Van Swearingen and Blue jackets blood line. This may have been an easy fact for Eckert to miss since there may have been a story to this fact handed down the Van Swearingen family line. The Shawnee tribes, through readings I've done, state that Blue Jacket didn't go by that name until the 1780's. Prior to that he was called big rabbit. However in another part he discusses Kenton, in 1779, having a fight with a young man approximately his age. This man Eckert claims is Andrew Jackson. He even goes on to mention Jackson courting Rachael Donelson. Kenton was born in 1755, and Jackson in 1767. Jackson would have been 12 years old at the time. In addition Jackson didn't Court Rachael until 1788, and she was married to Capt. Lewis Robard. This I see as a blatant fabrication in a novel that Eckert claims is historically accurate. The story is good but I don't trust Eckerts version of history!

You can almost feel the fire of fervor pulled back from across the eons on page 279 as the young frontiersman from which much of the story revolves around returns home at last after being considered dead for over a dozen years. Those years had been filled with more living than most people see in ten lifetimes. It certainly was not a "fear-based" lifestyle, that's for certain. Danger,Death, broken promises, promises kept only to be thwarted by others, to the victor are the spoils. These brave, often dangerous men straddled the complex line between conscience (if they were one of the few that possessed a good one) and practicality, friendship and opposing duty. It would usually start out as the Great Escape from something, but would rapidly progress to something much more for most of them. The Promised Land, open for the taking, rich, fertile land wanting and waiting only for hard work, dedication, and new families to settle it. Few other thoughts than that were uppermost in the mind of the unknown territory seeker - the restless breed of men who could never be still or content within boundaries. Yet strangely enough in their enigmatic ways, they were the risk takers, those who were blazing the trail, the pathfinders that would bring "civilization" to the yet wild, but untaken, unsettled wilderness. The bringing anew of those same "boundaries" to everyone.

On the other hand, some believed that the Great Land was already taken, had been taken for thousands of years and "boundaries" already established to defend among themselves - the tribes of natives. On page 228, the inquisitive mind of the emerging great Chief, Tecumseh is sketched with poignancy, depth of feeling and asks again the unanswered question that has plagued humanity throughout time: Why? Who establishes the traditions that can never be broken though they obviously are not suitable for the times or the people? Common sense, whether from native peoples or white settler, must stand aside when placed side by side with these traditions and beliefs, those established by others, some without sufficient logic long before present time, of never having been seen but strictly followed because it had always been done. There was never meant to be a sustainable answer to this indigenous malady of the mind of mankind, so it is not surprising that there was none then.

This historical narrative is truly a splendid accounting of the fledgling beginnings of "The Way West", one that brings it all to the reader, vividly, objectively, and is truly deserving of it's awards. Now and again, the same story we read parts of in our history books but failed to appreciate at the time can be retold with renewed vigor and interest, and this book is one of that kind.

To name just two other wonderful books along the same order even though they were written long ago are "The Oregon Trail and the Conspiracy of Pontiac", by Francis Parkman and "William Bartram, Travels and Other Writings". Both are Library of America Selections. Anything by John Bakeless also stands out among the historians, in my view.

Eckert's "Frontiersman" is a masterpiece of historical literature on the settlement of Ohio, Kentucky and neighboring states during the late 1700's and early 1800's.
Centered around the pioneering life and adventures of Simon Kenton and numerous Indian individuals such as Blue Jacket and Tecumseh, this is very readable history. Somewhat like reading a movie due to its visual writing style.

With America's initial westward push over the Alleghenys and Appalachian Mountains, native resistance was immediately sparked into a fury. Kenton was one of the first to penetrate this country now known as Kentucky and the Ohio Valley. With Indian violence escalating nearly everyday, Kenton was the pivot man for many of the frontiersmen and settlers in the region.

We hear and read about such men as George Rogers Clark, Daniel Boone, General Anthony Wayne and William Henry Harrison to mention a few, along with the countless numbers of Native Americans all battling for decades to retain this land.

Although an extremely lengthy read, it nevertheless is an absorbing, lively interpretation of frontier life and the clashing of cultures. Excellent.

While looking to see if one of my favorite historical authors (James Alexander Thom) had a new novel out, I came across the books of Allan W. Eckert on of those "If You Like This Book, You'll Like This Too" lists. I had never heard of Eckert before, but based upon the GREAT reviews of this book I decided to give it a try. What a suprise! All of the positive reviews aren't lying. I can't put the book down! It just pulls you in until you feel like you're roaming the Ohio Valley with Kenton and all the other brave folks (White and Indian). The 588 LARGE pages make it extra special for folks like myself who fly through books quickly. I would highly recommend the book and can't wait to start another one by him.

P.S. The books by James Alexander Thom are equally well written for those who are looking for a simular type author.

I have read this book 3x in my life (mid life now). All his books are good, but this one is great. Well worth your time and money.

The title says it all. My wife and mother-in law have been looking for good Cuban recipes and this book fits the bill. All the tradition Cuban dishes are here with some common variations.

This is another outstanding cookbook. I loved the information about cuban culture, and now that I'm developing a "feel" for this style of food preparation the recipes are keeping my table full of exciting meals! Although there are no pictures of the finished meals, it is still a fantastic investment.

This book is such a treasure. I go to this book time and time again for authentic and delicious cuban recipes. I'm so glad I found this book! As a real foodie with over 30 cookbooks, this is one of the cookbooks I use the most.

The entire transaction was perfect. Book arrived quickly and was in great condition. Very satisfied.

For those of you who love to collect great cookbooks, this is an awesome Cuban cookbook. All the recipes invoke memories of Mama and Abuela cooking in the kitchen. They are authentic recipes and the stories are worth reading. Many of them will bring sweet memories to Cuban refugees who have adopted the U.S.A as our new home. This is a must-have book in the kitchen!

I both read the book and listened to it. The book carries you through the four seasons during 1849 with a young Ojibwe and her family. This book is fascinating, the history and descriptions for chores is fantastic. There is hardship and work and joy and aggravation. It's a regular family. That's what it is so easily relatable to children.

I preferred to have the book read to me through the audio book, this audio book is read by Nicole Littrell. I think this is a great book to read aloud. Once you have finished this one pick up the Game of Silence where we can continue to journey with Omakayas read by Anna Fields, the Porcupine year has not been released to audiobook as of October 2008.

After reading so many praises from young adult readers, I'd like to make a suggestion for adult readers of historical fiction. I read this book, not so that I could instill a love of reading for my children, but rather, for my own pleasure in reading young adult fiction. The books may not involve many subplots, intrigues, and thickly woven characterizations, but certain ones can immerse you into their world of historical make-believe and even lead you to tears. I for one cried when reading this book. The way Louise Erdrich handles the coping of virulent illness and death through the eyes of a child is incredible. Not only does she paint this glorious heroine from a late 1800s Ojibwa girl, but she makes me dwell on the delicate vitality of the human soul and the subtle interconnectedness of each other. Yes, this book describes accurately the lives of the Ojibwa people of that time, but more importantly, above the cultural/historical lesson, the most prominent lesson from Erdrich's storytelling is her unveiling of human transformation into maturity clothed in the culture of the Ojibwa girl, Omakayas. Her auspicious past, her gifts with animals, her perseverance in caring for her family during the smallpox epidemic, and her coping with her brother's death -- for readers to feel that the book has a slow start, Erdrich more than likely chose to portray Omakayas' life in that way because that was exactly the pace it was. Meaning to say, it's not always violence and passion every minute, every chapter. The life of Ojibwas had a steady rhythm that followed the course of nature and only when the white settlers introduced themselves did that rhythm falter. For people who'd like an exciting quick read having to do with Native American history, I can't think of any. But for people who want to see life through a young girl's eyes -- life that involved hard work, sacrifice, love, death and living with what nature has provided, then this book is an excellent choice. Otherwise, there are a lot of old western novels that involve Native Americans (inaccurately of course) that would provide more of a thrill ride, if thrills are what you seek.

I purchased this book for my daughter who is attending CSUN. It arrived in a week and was in good condition, just like the description said.
Very happy with this purchase and many others.

This sweet, tender, sometimes humorous book, chronicles a year in the life of Omakayas, a seven year old girl who lives with her tribe on an island near Lake Superior. The book is divided into four main sections, each relating to a season of the year, just as the Native America daily life is based. Through Omakayas, children learn as they read about how she helps build a birch bark house, how she does her chores, and many other important details of Native American life. This makes the book especially invaluable for the fifth grade Social Studies curriculum. Many Native American words are used throughout this book, but this is done in a manner which makes their meaning apparent. There is even a glossary for these words in the back of the book. Children will love this book as Omakayas makes friends with animals and deals with feelings about her family, loss, fear, happiness, and contentment, as well as other feelings familiar to the young reader.

Generations of American children have grown up reading Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder. I'm in one of those generations. These stories gave us a view into settlers moving into formerly Indian territories and the hardships of breaking new lands to the plow, fighting weather, droughts, floods, and illness. These stories are our stories of conquering the prairie West. But there's another story that needs to be told and this story is of the Indians we died of disease and starvation and were moved off the lands so that white settlers could build farms and towns.

Laura Ingalls Wilder told the only stories she could tell - one dimensional tales of white people in a white nation. Louise Erdrich tells the story she is equipped to tell - one of a rich group of people living together in the Northern prairie lands. In this story Omakayas is a young Ojibwe girl living with her family, but the characters aren't all Indian. There's Albert LaPautre, a Frenchman who bumbles through trades and wild visions. There's Omakayas' father who works to pay off his yearly debt to the trading post and knows how to play chess so well that he can sometimes win enough food to help his family through hard times. There's Old Tallow, a medicine woman with a pack of angry dogs who teaches kind lessons through harsh examples.

For Omakayas and her family life is both hard and wonderful. There's enough sadness in the book to make you cry and enough happiness to make a child play-act the parts. The one thing I love about native storytelling is the respect shown to animals and plants that are needed to survive. Ms. Erdrich tells of this relationship with the skill of a master storyteller.

This book is richer and more complete than Little House on the Prairie. It's a responsible book and deserves more accolades and a greater following than that earlier work. It's brilliant and sensitive and fun. Everyday life never made me feel so fully. Please let all children in your life read this beautiful book.

- CV Rick, May 2008

Absolutely fantastic book. Mrs Rogers is a wonderful writer who captures your imagination and compassion.

I read this book over thirty years ago and still love it. It is one of the best novels ever written. Gayle Rogers is a master storyteller. Although the romance between the two main characters is not as intense for me as when I first read it (keep in mind I am alot older now), the book is as fresh and appealing as ever. A tender, haunting, and beautifully written love story.

I, too, read Nakoa's Woman in the early seventies and could never get it out of my mind. I rate is as my all-time favorite and had wondered for many years why there were no other books, I feared she would never write another. I even wrote Dell to inquire about the release date on the proposed movie but they sent me a form letter instead, stating they were glutted with manuscripts. As an author myself, it only strengthened my belief they never really look at manuscripts before throwing letters into slush piles. In December 2004, I learned she had more books out and have since corresponded with her and now own all five of her books. She is a very sweet lady and we've emailed back and forth. Her new publisher is Sojourner Publishers Inc.

From the first time I read Nakoa's Woman at age 15 it has not ceased to live in my heart. The story is hauntingly beautiful, the characters are endearing and come alive to the reader. My whole family have read this book and have loved it as much as I have. I recommend it to anyone who loves to read, men and women alike. I look forward to reading the authors other books, of which I just became aware.

This is a book that is hard to put down once you pick it up. I enjoyed the historical aspect that reflected on the
comparison of the indian way and the white man's way, and how the lives and priorities reflect in very different ways.
The indian people took Maria in and taught her about the circle of life and how we all grow through this circle. As you walk with Maria and Nakoa through this journey you will become engrossed in their lives and will be able to feel their emotions.
I would highly recommend this book to anyone who likes to read love stories, historical books, novels for entertainment, or a book that keeps interested.

Luana Kennedy
Marysville WA

Not one of the better Indian cookbooks I've worked with. There's only a couple of things in it I think are pretty good. It lacks pizazz and some directions can be vague for a beginner. But I suppose it's not a bad purchase for chefs who don't want to spend a lot of money investing in spices.

I bought this book because:
1. I like Indian Food
2. I don't know many recipes
3. I already had those 5 spices in my spice cabinet
4. The cover recipe looked really yummy
5. There were lots of pictures

I really liked this book! I haven't tried everything yet, but I everything I tried as been yummy. And easy to make.

I usually don't follow recipes, and use cookbooks to get ideas for new combos of ingredients. Here I followed the recipes, and thought everything worked well as presented.

I have added the cabbage stirfry to my 2X monthly repertoire since it is an awesome way to have more cabbage, really fast and really tasty. I also love there are so many good vegetarian recipes! (I am a meat eater, but trying to be more green by going veggie more often!)

Highly recommended book to add easy to prepare Indian dishes to your menus!

This cookbook is really written well. The recipes taste great, and they are easy to make even if you are inexperienced like me. Invite some people over and use this book to cook a dish; you will most definitely impress. The book also has great pictures.

We have made about 10 dishes out of this book. By keeping a clear goal and by giving you some basic principles to apply universally, this book has made it possible to create great meals that are easy enough to fit in the work week. I've had better Indian food before, but only at restaurants where the time investment was staggering. Had I imagined it was so easily accessible, and the value of the quality of meal you get for your time investment, I would have been cooking Indian every week, which is just about what we do now.

Thanks for this great book! I think it's a must-have, especially for couples and bachelors.

I don't consider myself a good cook at all, but this book is about as easy as it gets. I think I've made the spicy seared shrimp in my wok about 15 times already. It is SO delicious. I can't believe I actually made something so tasty. Just learning how to make that is worth the price of the book.

I read this book, probably 24 years ago, so this one, I purchased for a friend, but this book had a radical impact upon my life and I'm forever grateful for the life and ministry of Elizabeth Elliot. Dian

This is an incredible story about following Jesus and seeking to reach tribal people for Him. This book contains extensive journal entries from the five men involved, so provides a rich amount of detail. Most of the book is comprised of these entries, with Elliot mostly providing background information and transitions between entires. She doesn't fully express herself until the Epilogues, which are very powerful. This book is sure to have a profound impact on all who read it. Highly recommended.

I loved this book, it is definitely one to keep in my collection. Although I noticed that the type is very small and therefore a bit difficult to read ( and I have good eyesight ). Also I think something should be mentioned co: the pictures in the book, I knew it was tribal but I was not aware that there were photos. I still would have bought the book but I would definitely give it a PG rating.

If you are a Christian - this is a must read. If you are not a Christian - this is a must read.

Great book. Poor presentation in this current printing. Words and pictures are small. Paper and physical book itself is low quality.