General-account

When we think of people migrating westward in the 19th century, we tend to think of covered wagons rolling along the Oregon trail. What many of us don't realize is that many people made the trek by handcart--small, wooden carts that they themselves pulled all the way west. These carts, though they had to be pulled by hand, were often able to make the trip in substantially less time than were covered wagons--and at a fraction of the cost.

Under the direction of the Mormon church, ten caravans of these carts crossed the plains into Utah. Two of them met with disaster as a result of poor planning among the companies' leadership, but for the most part this form of migration was a successful one.

In this book, Hafen gives details about each of the ten companies, including charts showing mileage and number of immigrants. Though the book is tailored to an LDS audience, it's scope is broad, and it should be of interest to anyone wanting to study the colonization of the American West.

Iran had always fascinated me, and this book only adds to the intrigue. It is a fascinating case of how dictators (in this case the Shah) are an interesting mix of ignorant, cruel, coward, confused, appeasing and corrupt. Also, a good case of how people in their desperation to get away from one evil don't think twice about accepting the other evil.

I have seen several of Shah's family (in exile) on TV imploring their case to "serve their country". While I used to feel sympathy for them earlier, this book helped me understand why millions turned against their tyrannical rule.

The author claims that the Shah defrauded the State exchequer worth hundreds of millions of dollars by forcing banks to give him (and his family) huge loans (which remained unpaid), by running virtually all major corporations of Iran as personal business, and foolishly thinking of taking Iran back to its past glory.

This is also a telling tale of how the CIA virtually ran Iran during the Shah's reign. I would have liked a little more info on the Iran-Iraq war, but found it interesting to note that it was started by Shah's foolishness in dismissing Saddam, as incapable of taking him on.

Since this book was written only after 3 years of the Shah's departure, the author tends to have deep bias against him, and even some sympathy for the Islamicists led by Khomeini. It would be interesting to come across a book on Iran where there is a comparison between Shah's rule and the Islamic rule. However, it is a great starting point to learn the modern history of a country with tremendous potential to be a world leader.

You have mispelled the author's first name.

Correct spelling:

Laurence

This is a reprint of two seperate works concering the French and Indian War and Pontiac's Rebellion.

The first is a collection of the journals of Major Robert Rogers, the founder and leader of the frontier fighting force known to history as Roger's Rangers, a elite group of American frontier soliders who are most famous for their daring and bloody campaign against the Abnaki Indians during the French and Indian War. Roger's journals give insight into the mind of a truly revolutionary fighter and the many hardships and triumphs he and his men face over the course of the war.

The second work is "An Historical Account of the Expedition Against the Ohio Indians in 1764". Originally published in Philadelphia in 1765, this recounts the little-known events surrounding the military campaign led by Swiss-born Colonel Henry Bouquet against the Shawnee, Wyandot, Mingo, and Delaware Indians in the Ohio Country during the closing days of Pontiac's Rebellion. After the Ottawa chief Pontiac laid seige to the English forts on the western frontier following France's defeat in the Seven Years War, Col. Bouquet was sent with Lt. Col. John Bradstreet on a dangerous two-pronged campaign to punish and break the Indians, thus forcing them into submission and the acceptance of English rule. Bradstreet's march into northern Ohio and Michigan was a farce, ending with Bradstreet disobeying his orders in an attempt to make a name for himself by "single-handedly" ending the Rebellion. Despite this, Bouquet marched from Fort Pitt, and after a desperate council with the hostile tribes at the forks of the Muskingum River near Coshocton, secured their allegiance of peace. The outcome of this peace was the handing over of all white prisoners from the war, a heart-rending affair for many as the captives had been adopted into the tribes and many young children, and even some adults, were forcibily removed from their adoptive Indian families to be returned to white society. Again, a little-known but fascinating adventure.

This 260 page book is unique, a combination textbook and story-book. Its six main chapters are all written by different authors who seek to share their experiences of fieldwork. "All of the authors write of being beginners in one fashion or another; most were beginning a senior thesis or doctoral dissertation. They show us how individuals learned to be researchers in the process of carrying out their projects" (2). Each chapter seeks to share personal experience that might prove helpful to the next generation of beginning ethnographers. In this sense "Journeys" reads like a story. Each chapter is a self contained tale of the author's adventures. Each tale, however, is written to share wisdom gained, and in this sense, it is a textbook. There is a helpful bibliography, as well as an index and short biographical paragraphs on each of the contributors. Each chapter is also begun with an introduction to the author, his/her work, and information about the published ethnography that the chapter is based on.

Since each chapter is the story of a different project and a different researcher, each chapter has its own unique lesson to share. The two chapters that I found to be the most exciting and helpful were chapters one and three. Chapter one is a reprint of what William F. Whyte wrote as an appendix to his study "Street Corner Society." It tells of his struggles to choose a topic and get started on this ethnography. He also shares the difficulties he had in separating the friendships he developed from the research he was conducting. Through the telling of his experience, Whyte touches on theoretical topics such as ethics, data collection, and data organization. But, the strongest lesson learned from this chapter is how to enter a community as a researcher without being ostracized. Chapter three, "On the Making of Ain't No Makin' It" by Jay Macleod, is strikingly similar to the study done by Whyte. Both studies focused on the city "slums" of their day. Both studies looked at the gang relationships within these societies and the relationship of the smaller slum society to the greater surroundings. Like Whyte, Macleod talks about ethical decisions that he ran into, the difficulties of data collection, uncooperative interviewees, and the struggles to separate friendship from research.

The greatest asset of this book is the diversity of authors. It is a valuable thing in any field to gain an overall perspective on who the professionals are in that particular field. This book is a great introduction for students to become familiar with a few anthropologists and the ethnographies they have done.

"Journeys" is fun to read and helpful for beginning anthropology students. It would be a valuable discussion starter for an introductory class. It is not intended to replace an anthropology textbook, however, and should only be used to supplement. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in case studies with a different twist.

If you're a Mormon or otherwise familiar with the first part of "The Book of Mormon," the subject matter here will be instantly recognizable. However, the catch is that this book is the same story, but written from Laman's point of view! This book is hillarious!

Magic Shots represents an excellent (though somewhat dated) discussion of the evolution of immunization. The historical details are fascinating. The book is especially necessary to counterbalance the recent spate of misinformation, in both books and on the Internet, dealing with problems (mostly perceived and misconstrued) about immunization. The chapters on smallpox, polio, and yellow fever are especially well done, and readers are urged to put the details of how vaccines were discovered and tested into historical context -- the author does this well. This is an excellent book for anyone who seriously wants to explore what the process of immunization has meant for the human race.

If you are looking for a workbook on securing corporate deals and managing corporate accounts, this book takes you on a step-by-step journey on a case or two. In particular, the book is easy to read and the short-sharp contents are well organised for impatient people like me.

But the book could have a stronger emphasis on consultative selling to help consultants (or readers) to understand and manifest the value of "solution" sales i.e. what truly brings in deals beyond the "Six Figure" as suggested on the book's title...unless I interpreted the book's title wrongly.

This is one of the most astounding sea stories I've read. Captain Barnard's narrative is direct, simple and powerful. It really tells the story of a triple marooning--the only one I know. The introduction by Professor Dodge is a "must skip"--it is poorly written and dull. But once you get into Barnard's historic narrative, it is a compelling read. Captain Barnard's narrative begins just prior to the first days of the War of 1812. They set out upon a sealing expedition to the Falkland Islands. The Barnard family (his father is with him--also a sealing captain) is Quaker, and live a ways up the Hudson River. Once upon the Falkland Island, they set up operations (itself a remarkably interesting procedure). In the first few months of the expedition (it is supposed to last about a year or so) they see signal fires from a strange ship. It turns out to be a British ship bound from Australia to England. It has run aground on the Falklands. The Barnard family goes to the British ship's aid, knowing full well the United States is at war with the British. After the rescue (the British shipis ruined) Captain Barnard--in private--informs the British captain (there are British Marines on board) that their two countries are at war. Though they agree to neutrality during their difficulties, the Brits reneg! The British take the Barnard party prisoner--seize their ship and smaller boats, and in turn maroon Captain Barnard with two ordinary seamen on the Falkland Islands. Since few ships went to those islands then, their marooning was essentially a death sentence. The harsh winter was ahead of them. This outstanding narrative is of that marooning--and from this original marooning, things become even more complex. This is a unique read--a little known historic niche. Captain Barnard's narrative is impressive for its detail, composure and--a testimony to masterful seamanship plus mental and spiritual discipline. A must, must read.

I read this book years ago. It was all too brief. I wanted to know more, much more about Cabeza de Vaca. Henry Miller offers an amusing introduction to this short work.