Customer Reviews:
Flashman in the American West.......2007-05-26
A great delight of the Flashman series is to watch George MacDonald Fraser place Harry Flashman, his ubiquitous anti-hero, in great historical events and then to see this loathsome yet endearing character emerge as a hero. In FLASHMAN AND THE REDSKINS, Fraser achieves this daunting feat twice, once in each novella that makes up this fine book.
In the first novella, "The Forty-Niner", Fraser shows Flashman escaping from New Orleans, where there is a warrant for his arrest (See, FLASH FOR FREEDOM!) and traveling on the Santa Fe Trail during the 1849 gold rush. Then, in "The Seventy-Sixer", Fraser shows Flashman's adventure in the Dacotah Territory and his amazing escape from the Battle--a skirmish, really, the soldier Flash repeatedly says--of the Little Bighorn.
Flashman fans who look to these novels for striking descriptions of events as they might have occurred will not be disappointed in this book. In "The Forty-Niner", Fraser captures the danger and innocence of wagon train travel, as well as the brutal fringes of early western American life, where massacre was a risk faced by all. And in "The Seventy-Sixer," Fraser paints a plausible (and historically accurate) picture of Custer, while showing the aggressive blunders that led to the destruction of his Seventh Cavalry. (How many of you know that Custer was actually attacking a small city of Sioux?)
In my opinion, Fraser also does a great job with his Indians in both novellas, communicating lots of information about the Indian way of life, especially among the Apache and Sioux. Here, thanks for these eye-opening portrayals goes to the disillusioned Flashman, who sees Fraser's Indian characters and tribes without sentimentality or hatred. There's good and bad (as well as a drive to survive) in us all, Flashman might say.
I must declare, however, that the connection between these novellas--a dastardly act by Flashy in "The Forty-Niners" that produces its equivalent reciprocating act in "The Seventy-Sixers"--was a wee bit farfetched. But, who cares? The novellas in FLASHMAN AND THE REDSKINS were a delight throughout. Highly recommended!
More of Fraser's history and humor.......2005-06-27
_Flashman and the Redskins_ is essentially two stories, tied together with the common thread of the American West. As Harry Flashman - cad, womanizer, cheat, theif and coward (and also a Knight of the Bath, recipient of the Congressional Medal of Honor and Victoria Cross) - winds his way through the West, readers are treated to a veritable "Who's Who" of the time.
The first half of the book is about the "opening of the West," as Harry travels the Oregon and Santa Fe trails to California as a '49er. Along the way he makes the acquaintance of such larger-than-life personalities as Kit Carson, Gallatin, Mangas Colorado and Geronimo. The second half of the book Harry returns West, to meet the likes of Geo. Custer, Spotted Tail, Crazy Horse, Anson Mills, Wild Bill Hickock (and a surprise for both Flashman and the reader.)
The history, of course, is impeccable. Fraser takes readers across the West from Independence, MO to Santa Fe, north to Ft. Laramie, from Ft. Robinson, the Little Big Horn, and finally, Deadwood. Quite an adventure, indeed. In the middle of it all is Harry Flashman, ever the scoundrel; and this book will not disappoint, as Harry is more devilish than usual. It was a pretty involved and lengthy read, but with so much material (and so many personalities) to cover, it was very much worthwhile.
The best of the bunch.......2003-12-11
I have read this book over fifty times and each time I find something new and interesting. The author writes with real understanding and love of his material, particularly the Indians and both their views and how they were viewed, his characters especially the female ones, seem to have real personalities and insights, and his hero, Harry Flashman, while cynical and manipulative, starts to develop into maturity, and becomes less a "pantaloon" himself .
Flashman in America.......2003-11-08
Harry Flashman, Victorian England's unlikely hero, the unknown "ace of cads," is up to his old tricks. He travels to the American west with a traveling bordello, goes on a scalp-hunting party, marries an Apache chief's daughter and rides out with Kit Carson in '49. Then it's back to the West in '79 so he can attend the massacre at Little Bighorn and almost be scalped by Frank Standing Bear, who turns out to have a very reasonable grudge against our anti-hero. Whew! As always, Fraser is a raconteur of humor and wit and a historian of astonishing erudition. His depth of research is commendable, and would be even if he didn't use it to make every nuance of historical events more human and understandable. This book, while light reading, is hilarious and instructive: it's a towering achievement.
It's difficult to do serious reviews on Flashman.......2003-09-18
He's good history submerged in laughter. By now you are hooked. Buy it. You can't fight it.
Book Description
THE ALPINE ADVOCATE SCOOPS A MURDER
Emma Lord, the Advocate's editor, finds the body in the facial room of Stella's Styling Salon *anonymous under a mud pack, throat slashed.
The victim turns out to be the sister-in-law of Sheriff Dodge's girlfriend, who had initially made the appointment for herself. Perhaps she was the killer's intended target. After all, no one in Alpine really knew the dead woman personally. Then rumors begin to fly, shady strangers turn up in town, and a young woman disappears into thin air. What looks like the story of the year is fast developing, and Emma means to have it *or die trying . . .
Customer Reviews:
Murder With That Facial?.......2004-05-14
Emma Lord, owner and editor of the Alpine Advocate was just going to Stell's Styling Salon to get her hair cut. The last thing she expected was to open the wrong door in the Salon and discover a woman laying on a table with her throat cut.
This happens in the first pages of the book.
Emma is even more stunned when shop assistant Laurie Marshall tells her the person on the table who was supposed to be getting her facial was Ms. Whitman.
Honoria Whitman, who was in a wheelchair after being thrown down the stairs by her abusive husband who was then shot dead by her brother, had been the Sheriff, Milo Dodge's on again / off again girlfriend for almost five years.
It was a relief when Emma found out it wasn't Honoria, but Kay Whitman, her sister-in-law who was visiting with her husband Trevor, who had just been released from prison for the killing of Honoria's husband and their mother.
But who would want to kill someone who is perfect stranger in Alpine. And was the fact that she had taken Honoria's appointment at the last minute mean that it was actually Honoria who was targeted?
Emma's finds a lot of suspects. Stella Magruder, owner of the shop seems more upset over what people will say than the fact that someone was murdered in her salon.
Becca Wolfe, who was doing the facial and who later mysteriously disappears.
Laurie Marshall, shop assistant who is a very dim bulb and her mother Jane are both acting suspicious as if they're trying to hide something.
And why is a billionaire, Toby Popp building a new multi-million dollar house near Alpine?
This is the best book in the series so far. It takes all the history you have already learned and the people you have come to care for and throws it all into the wind. Nothing is as it seems.
Highlights:
Emma and Milo having dinner at her house, bumping heads as they lean over to pick something up and end up rolling around on the floor for a few moments, before his cell phone rings and he becomes Super Sheriff again.
Ginny Burmeister, the office manager is on her honeymoon in Hawaii with Rick Erlandson's, so Emma is trying to do her job as well as her own.
Carla as usual cannot be trusted with the simplest task which is why the picture she took of the bereaved family has a caption naming Honoria brother Trevor as Walt Whitman.
Leo, the ad manager has turned into a good friend for Emma and Ed Bronsky wants her to ghost write his biography.
I can't write about the best thing that happens in this book. Except that I'm very happy with a turn of events that has been dogging this storyline.
This book had some very funny moments and the ending totally surprised me. I never saw any of it coming.
Can't wait to start the next book.
Quirky characters in a fun mystery!.......2000-08-09
I really enjoy Mary Daheim's Alpine series. I love the characters, who are all a little quirky. This was one of the best. If you want to read a fun mystery series this would be the one! I'm anxious to read the rest of the books.
Good characters;draggy plot.......2000-03-03
I really enjoyed the characters and setting in this book. I like the main character and would be willing to try earlier books in the series before the author started padding the book to make it 300 pages instead of 200. Three hundred is simply too long. Many scenes repeated themselves without further revealing character or advancing the plot. I feel it's the publishers who want the books to be longer so that they can charge more for them. Let's tighten up these mysteries and cut to the chase.
Fantastic!.......1996-12-28
I really enjoy Mary Daheim's Alpine series. The characters are like real people. Sitting down with Emma, Vida and Milo is like sitting down with old friends for a guaranteed good time. Not only is there a good mystery, but the people are more than just words and descriptions. I look forward to each one of her Alpine books. Each one keeps getting better, and finally Milo and Emma are progressing
Average customer rating:
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The Alpine Hero
Mary Daheim
Manufacturer: Ballantine
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000GLO4Z0 |
Average customer rating:
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The Alpine Hero
Mary Daheim
Manufacturer: Ballantine Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000ND12ZQ |
Product Description
Ste in turn of the century vermont here is a shocking timeless novel of obsessive love one womans fierce abandonment to her dreams and passions
Book Description
For the true aficionado, nothing’s more exciting than a one-of-a-kind, beautiful bead—be it a flameworked glass orb or a glistening cut gemstone. But what can the obsessed beader do with all those amazing collectables that never fail to catch the eye? They can make these 30 spectacular pieces of jewelry, all dedicated to showcasing the most exquisite beads available! Even newcomers can achieve success, thanks to a thorough basics section with enough hand-holding for the most intimidated beginner. The instructions cover it all, from fashioning a simple ear wire to enlarging the bead’s hole. Create a lariat with one large, stunning bead on each end. Coil silver wire around a purchased chain, and add carved wooden beads. Loop candy-colored resin beads onto stretchy elastic cords for bold, slip-on bangles. They’re fun to make and to wear!
A Selection of the Crafters Choice Book Club.
Customer Reviews:
Not really what I was looking for but OK if that is what you like..........2007-07-16
Spends the first 30 pages going over the basics which most people would already know before buying this book. Then a few more pages talking about bead artists. For me, this was a waste of 30+ pages. For other people, it may not be which is why I rated it at least a 3. Once they do get into the designs, which I can only say simply that some are downright ugly, they are for more extravagant bead design wearers. Nothing I would wear out in public. Sorry, but this book wasn't that great for me...maybe someone else.
Book Description
Nose reconstructions have been common in India for centuries. South Korea, Brazil, and Israel have become international centers for procedures ranging from eyelid restructuring to buttock lifts and tummy tucks. Argentina has the highest rate of silicone implants in the world. Around the globe, aesthetic surgery has become a cultural and medical fixture. Sander Gilman seeks to explain why by presenting the first systematic world history and cultural theory of aesthetic surgery. Touching on subjects as diverse as getting a "nose job" as a sweet-sixteen birthday present and the removal of male breasts in seventh-century Alexandria, Gilman argues that aesthetic surgery has such universal appeal because it helps people to "pass," to be seen as a member of a group with which they want to or need to identify.
Gilman begins by addressing basic questions about the history of aesthetic surgery. What surgical procedures have been performed? Which are considered aesthetic and why? Who are the patients? What is the place of aesthetic surgery in modern culture? He then turns his attention to that focus of countless human anxieties: the nose. Gilman discusses how people have reshaped their noses to repair the ravages of war and disease (principally syphilis), to match prevailing ideas of beauty, and to avoid association with negative images of the "Jew," the "Irish," the "Oriental," or the "Black." He examines how we have used aesthetic surgery on almost every conceivable part of the body to try to pass as younger, stronger, thinner, and more erotic. Gilman also explores some of the extremes of surgery as personal transformation, discussing transgender surgery, adult circumcision and foreskin restoration, the enhancement of dueling scars, and even a performance artist who had herself altered to resemble the Mona Lisa.
The book draws on an extraordinary range of sources. Gilman is as comfortable discussing Nietzsche, Yeats, and Darwin as he is grisly medical details, Michael Jackson, and Barbra Streisand's decision to keep her own nose. The book contains dozens of arresting images of people before, during, and after surgery. This is a profound, provocative, and engaging study of how humans have sought to change their lives by transforming their bodies.
Customer Reviews:
Hardly Dead.......2004-05-20
The other critic seems to suggest that historical research has no value--only the voices of the present are of use to him. His loss--Gilman is an amazing historian and insightful interpreter of social customs and texts--and there is much to be learned from any book he writes.
Great idea but no cigar!.......2000-02-20
Sander Gilman makes a good start on a great topic, but after a couple of chapters he falters and seems to loose his grip. Starting with some great tid-bits about plastic surgery ranging from buttock lifts to nose replacement, he wanders into an extended and boring research about Jewish hooked. Not satisfied, he adds an additional chapter about social history of the Jewish nose--perhaps interesting to some, but not what was promised in the title. From there the book is nothing but speculation from dead reaserch.
Two types of research are available for a writer: Live research and dead research. Live research consists mostly of interviews, discussions and question asking. Gilman will have none of it. His is dead research from cover to cover, finding his material mostly in the musty records of the 19th century. Even his photos and illustrations are from 100 years ago. To make matters worse, the publisher printed all the graphics ordinary book paper making them very blurry and almost impossible to decipher.
Most irritating of all is his habit of repeating his thesis on almost most every page as if he feels compelled to shove it down our throats. He tells us at least fifty times that people get plastic surgery in order to "pass" and feel happy. Come on Sander, enough is enough.
In sum: Sander Gilman, like Bill Clinton, starts with great promise but then proceeds to make a real mess of things.
Book Description
This digital document is an article from The Antioch Review, published by Antioch Review, Inc. on March 22, 2002. The length of the article is 508 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.
Citation Details
Title: Creating Beauty to Cure the Soul: Race and Psychology in the Shaping of Aesthetic Surgery & Making the Body Beautiful: A Cultural History of Aesthetic Surgery. (Books).(Brief Article)
Author: Erika Bourguignon
Publication:
The Antioch Review (Refereed)
Date: March 22, 2002
Publisher: Antioch Review, Inc.
Volume: 60
Issue: 2
Page: 342(1)
Article Type: Book Review, Brief Article
Distributed by Thomson Gale
Book Description
This digital document is an article from Canadian Journal of History, published by University of Saskatchewan on August 1, 2001. The length of the article is 1095 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.
Citation Details
Title: Making the Body Beautiful: A Cultural History of Aesthetic Surgery.(Review)
Author: Margaret Homberger
Publication:
Canadian Journal of History (Refereed)
Date: August 1, 2001
Publisher: University of Saskatchewan
Volume: 36
Issue: 2
Page: 417
Article Type: Book Review
Distributed by Thomson Gale
Book Description
This digital document is an article from Parachute: Contemporary Art Magazine, published by Parachute Contemporary Art on July 1, 2000. The length of the article is 311 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.
Citation Details
Title: Making the body beautiful: a cultural history of aesthetic surgery.
Publication:
Parachute: Contemporary Art Magazine (Magazine/Journal)
Date: July 1, 2000
Publisher: Parachute Contemporary Art
Issue: 99
Page: 63-4
Article Type: Book Review
Distributed by Thomson Gale
Book Description
This digital document is an article from Parachute: Contemporary Art Magazine, published by Parachute Contemporary Art on July 1, 1999. The length of the article is 311 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.
Citation Details
Title: Making the body beautiful: a cultural history of aesthetic surgery.
Publication:
Parachute: Contemporary Art Magazine (Magazine/Journal)
Date: July 1, 1999
Publisher: Parachute Contemporary Art
Issue: 99
Page: 63-4
Article Type: Book Review
Distributed by Thomson Gale
Average customer rating:
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Short is beautiful: so why are we making kids grow tall?: An article from: The Futurist
Thomas T. Samaras
Manufacturer: World Future Society
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital
 Nonfiction
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ASIN: B00093H5E2
Release Date: 2005-07-28 |
Book Description
This digital document is an article from The Futurist, published by World Future Society on January 1, 1995. The length of the article is 3295 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.
From the supplier: Tall people have many social advantages over short people. They are paid higher, are deemed to be more talented and have the edge in the field of sports. Ecologically, however, the presence of too many tall people will require the higher consumption of resources.
Citation Details
Title: Short is beautiful: so why are we making kids grow tall?
Author: Thomas T. Samaras
Publication:
The Futurist (Magazine/Journal)
Date: January 1, 1995
Publisher: World Future Society
Volume: v29
Issue: n1
Page: p26(4)
Distributed by Thomson Gale
Books:
- Flashman and the Tiger
- Flyy Girl
- God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater
- Hammerhead Ranch Motel
- Havana Red
- History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
- In the Shadow of the Law: A Novel
- Isle of Palms
- Kane and Abel
- Lara: Book One Of The World Of Hetar (World of Hetar)
Books Index
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