Ernestine Hill visited Australia's Northern Territory in the 1940s and her text from those years is still of significant value today. Whether the old characters she met in those days are gone or not (they are not all gone - it's still possible to find some of them out in the mulga), the stories she tells about them and this extraordinary land are still worth reading, perhaps more than ever. The Territory is still off the beaten track (except perhaps for Darwin and Kakadu) and the colour you get from a book written forty or fifty years ago is still vivid and impressive. At the time she wrote it (if memory serves me, she was a journalist working in Sydney or Melbourne, who was taking time off to travel Australia), the outback was still extremely remote and unknown even to most Australians. She was criticised by some of the people she wrote about, as having no idea what the place "was really like" and for being "a Southerner" who knew nothing about the north. Yet I for one, who lived for four years in the Top End, appreciated her text very much and I think we can be extremely happy today that she managed to get it published. It will take you back to a world, much of which is gone forever. Yet if you get the chance to stop a bit in the north, you'll be surprised what you find, and Hill's book might just put you on the trail of discovery.

Ernestine Hill wrote a number of books about northern Australia, one other of which I've read. "Australian Frontier" is her story of a trip around the coast from Perth to Darwin in the 40s and it is also well worth reading. In particular she tells some stories of the pearling days in Broome and Darwin, which are worth having a look at. I just hope books like these won't remain out of print forever.

Professor Crenshaw writes about her recognized area of area of expertise: terrorism and the pshycological and political motivations behind it. Crenshaw shows how this illegitimate vehicle of power and political will fits into the modern political system. A wonderful introduction for students of international politics as well as a solid text of general interest

This is an amazing book on public health of Native Americans which nobody else but a Native American could have written. It introduces the reader to the complexity of health, environment, spirituality and survival of one of the most disadvanted people living on Mother Earth. Breast cancer among women, we assume, is a lifestyle disease among affluent westernized women. Lori Colomeda tells a different, a frightening story from the Arctic Circle. Remember? Fresh, clean air, fresh water, fresh seafood? Forget about it. Colomeda leads you into an area of human and medical ecology you wouldn't have thought it existed. The Circumpolar regions are currently the regions of the world with one of the highest prevalences of cancer, and of breast cancer among women in particular. Why? Well, one of the causes is the fallout of pollution hitting these areas via climate and atmospheric streams. We may not inhale the pollutants in New York City or London, because they travel up North. "Through the Northern Looking Glass" leaves us pretty ugly people destroying the fundaments of our life and most of all: Mother Earth. This is an excellent study on environment, public health and culture. If you only want to read one book shaking up your westernized mind as regards public health, why don't you try Lori Colomeda. This is strong medicine.

Far too much history today is mired in ideological or methodological disputation. Here is a book that proves it is still possible to do first class work in spite of it all. Well-written, insightful, and analytical. One hopes for more work like it from this author.

In A Time Of War: A Northern Chronicle Of The Civil War, Stuart Murray draws upon Berkshire County, Massachusetts diaries, letters, newspapers, military reports, church journals, and gravestones to tell the stories of the black Union soldiers drawn from New England factories and farms, and comprising the 54th Regiment whose exploits and ultimate fate were vividly portrayed in the film "Glory". Here the reader will encounter Medal of Honor winners, Confederate generals, women volunteers, prisoners of war, leading abolitionists, pacifists, shopkeepers, poets, writers, artists, politicians, and a host of others, all contributing to a vivid portraits of the horrors and glories of the Civil War. A Time Of War is an outstanding contribution to the growing library of Civil War literature and a "must" for all dedicated Civil War buffs.

This is yet another excellent title in the New York Landmarks Conservancy's series of brief but comprehensive guides to some of New York City's most important historic districts.

Thanks to the generosity of the American Express Company, this beautifully produced volume is that rarest of commodities in today's book industry: a genuine bargain.

The entire text is printed on glossy stock, providing excellent definition for the book's many period photographs and line drawings.

Dolkart, the author of several other highly regarded New York City guidebooks, and Sorin have provided extremely insightful essays which trace, in brief, Harlem's evolution as a black metropolis. Their discussion of David King's Model Houses and Striver's Row is an exemplary integration of architectural, social, and cultural history in a nutshell.

The authors cast their net widely in only 138 pages, though perhaps not widely enough in a few cases. Thus, for instance, one can visit the home of Vertner Tandy, best remembered as the architect of Villa Lewaro, the Hudson River estate of Madame C. J. Walker. Yet, inexplicably, there is not a mention of her daughter A'lelia's mansion at 108-110 West 136th St., immortalized as the "Dark Tower" in some of the literature of the Harlem Renaissance. Perhaps the twin brownstones no longer exist.

The numerous and well-chosen historic photographs of outstanding Harlem buildings and personalities are extremely enlightening. But they may leave some readers wishing for a few contemporary views short of actually visiting the sites in person.

These are minor criticisms, however, when set next to the considerable achievements of this handsome, elegant, and easy-to-use introduction to a neighborhood known to all Americans but quite likely visited by too few.

Very good boo

You can read this book out loud to kids or you can take it to bed with a cup of tea and get lost in the magic of these new almost-fairy tales about lost souls who find their way home. The first story about a man who can understand the language of animals is a take off on the first tale of Arabian Nights. The last story is a funny version on a very old bedtime story we all recognize. In between a miser meets his match, an angel rescues a grieving mother and children save the village, all long, long ago.

I really liked this book for its brutal honestly about plant habits - which trees & shrubs will die back in Zone 4, which need protected sites, which sucker, which are not that attractive. It has an extensive list of cultivars for species - I just wish I knew where to find some of them! My only disappointment is the lesser number of pictures in this edition as opposed to the original.

This is one of the most important books written about Northern Ireland politics. The book attempts to analyze the political and military strategies of Sinn Fein and the Provisional IRA during the last fourty years. O'Doherty's analysis is both astute and comprehensive.He describes this book as an attempt "... to unpick some of the mythology of republicanism." He concludes that IRA strategies have prevented agreement among the major parites, and have closed off options for settling constitutional problems and bringing peace. Essentially these strategies have depended upon the use or threatened use of violence. To O'Doherty these "guns" mean that "...you have to give the benefit of the doubt, over and over again, to the people that hold them."

His principal objection to IRA strategy is obvious. It relies on violence or the threat of violence for its effectiveness.However his analysis of IRA strategy is broad and comprehensive, allowing him to skillfully argue that the republican position is neither solely reactive or defensive, but is shrewd, violent and calculating. The importance he attaches to "picking the myths" becomes apparent. The myths are the means by which paramilitary organizations justify strategies of violence and cloak their patent immorality in doctrines of historical necessity. The end is real, the violence is only part of an ongoing struggle.

Whether expressly articulated or not, the book implores the reader to realize that in a humane society all strategies must be judged by the effect they have on those they are imposed upon. The author's conclusion is that IRA strategy has not served the interests of any community in Northern Ireland. His reasoning is formidable and begs a reply.