Away

Away From Home: American Indian Boarding School Experiences is a magnificent collection of writings, poems, photographs, and paintings and illustrations that document American Indian boarding school experiences in the U. S. between 1879-2000. It was collected as a part of a display on exhibit at the Heard Museum until 2005. From the beautiful but sad painting on the cover (Untitled oil on canvas by Angel de Cora, Winnebago) to the dozens of historical photographs within of different aspects of the various Native American boarding school histories, to the poignant letters, poems, and memories of the many contributors, Away From Home is a revelation of repressed racial memories that underlines the need for dialogue specifically with Native voices in order to accept responsibility as well as to encompass and "enrich our view of America's past, present and future (Page 135, Brenda Child)." Away From Home presents a rich assortment of written and pictured memories from such boarding schools as Carlisle Indian School of Pennsylvania, Sherman Indian School, Riverside, California, and Flandreau Indian School, South Dakota. Both the many negative and some surprising positive aspects of boarding school existence are explored. The shattering impact on family and ethnic identification of the boarding school student is not avoided. The notion that perhaps an apology is owed to present day survivors' descendants is actually obliquely presented in a referent to the "Sorry Day" movement of Aboriginal people in Australia. At least the impact of exhibits and books such as Away From Home contain the impetus to a needed dialogue that has yet to be fully heard. Away From Home is a rich collection, filled with many voices and bitter experiences that were braided into strengths. It is a treasure and a measure of the many colors of beauty in the human spirit.

This was one of the best books I have ever read! Even though it was a little old it was great. I think I liked it even more because it was true and I had been to the places described and could follow it on the map. This was a great book that I would read over again and again!

Sally is a young girl living in a busy New England household (filled with lots of aunts and uncles) between the American Revolution and the War of 1812. In this first book (of a series of 5 all slated to be reprinted by Bethlehem Books in the near future), Uncle Joseph has to come up with a clever scheme to convince his sister to resettle in Maine. Their adventures involve traveling in a little house pulled on skis by a huge team of oxen.

It's sometimes hard to find fun, worthwhile stories for young readers (especially the 7-9 year old crowd) that aren't too long or too intimidating. I was delighted to find that this book fits the bill nicely. It also makes a good read-aloud for even younger children and offers a gentle introduction to life in a different time.

This is the book that got me through the horrors of middle school!This is one of my favorites right up with Shakespears "The Taming of the Shrew" and Jane Austens "Pride and Prejudice"

This is a great book, written just after the Chicago fire happened. The author, Edward Payson Roe, visited the city while it was still smouldering, and talked to many of the people who had been through the fire. However, the book is not only historically interesting, but wonderful as a novel as well. It is a purely fictional story, but based on fact. I guess you could call it a romance novel, but it is not a mushy romance. It deals with the life of a young man who has to earn his living in the city to support his family after his father dies, and all the trouble he had with the snobby "upper class", who view him as beneath their notice. Then the fire hits, and they are all 'leveled', so to speak. One thing I appreciate about Mr. Roe is that in all his novels he winds his story around very good research, taking time to interview people, and makes sure that even the medical aspects of his stories are plausable. I would also highly reccommend Mr. Roes other books, particularly "Knight of the 19th Century", "He Fell in Love With his Wife", "A Face Illumined", and "An Origional Belle".

My students really loved the story about how they should help clean up and put away their toys. Thanks for the added help Stan & Jan.

Sukenick's mind-blowing narrative experimentation is the perfect vehicle for expressing the fragmented and constructed world of Hollywood movie-making. The novel looks at how aspiring actress Cathy June becomes entangled in the L.A. scene as the bottom-feeding director Drackenstein and the avenging fortune teller Ccrab make insidious demands on her voluptuous body and what remains of her mind. Thanks to Plotz, the spurned screenwriter who can't survive his own scripts, Cathy June becomes Clover Bottom, the hottest indie starlet in the country. As Ccrab, desperate to keep Cathy June in his life, literally splits his personality to inhabit Drackenstein, so are Sukenick's readers thrown into visions and re-visions of characterization, novelization, and exploitation. An incredibly engaging and ultimately disturbing work, Blown Away accomplishes a criticism of both movie-making and fiction writing equalled only by West's Day of the Locust.

Agoston's piece is surely one of the best recounting of WWII history -- an entertaining and educational read.

Students of navy history in the age of fighting sail are in for a feast! This is the BEST book I've read to date on the firearms of the sea service. From muskets, pistols, volley guns, carronades, grenades and other incinderaries, Gilkerson does an outstanding job with the subject. By the time I was finished with this one, I was ready to strap on a cutlass and a brace of pistols!

This moving story about 4 young men coming to age in bloomington indiana is one of the greatest written. Set in the background of the Little 500 Bicycle Race, it is a wonderful story of growing up.