A Time Before Crack

Book Description

"Deeply unpretentious and undistracted by the trendy new aesthetics or technologies, Mr. Shabazz is the best kind of photojournalist: one driven simply by curiosity about other human beings." (Ken Johnson, The New York Times) Once upon a time before crack, inner city communities were blighted by poverty and unemployment—but not by the drug wars that tore families apart, destroying lives with needless violence and mindless addiction. Once upon a time before crack, pride and style were as inseparable as a beatbox and mixtape, or as a pair of shoes and matching purse. Once upon a time before crack, Jamel Shabazz was on the scene, working the streets of New York City, capturing the faces and places of an era that have long since disappeared. Best known as hip hop's finest fashion photographer for his blockbuster best-selling monograph, Back in the Days (powerHouse Books, 2001), Shabazz revisited his archive and unearthed an extraordinary collection of never-before-published documentary photographs collected for his third powerHouse Books release, A Time Before Crack. A visual diary of the streets of New York City from the mid-seventies to the mid-eighties, Shabazz's distinctive photographs reveal the families, the poses, and the players who made this age extraordinary.

Customer Reviews:

Word Up!.......2006-04-13

Okay...I'm only 30 but I was a little kid during this time period and I grew up right in the Boogie Down Bronx (South Bronx). I remember going to the skate key, seeing my uncles rocking sheep skin coats, addidas with the fat laces, Gazelle glasses. Seeing the birth of the Rap/hip hop game right before my eyes...from Curtis Blow, Luv bug Starski, to Kool Herc. This book will bring back things to your memory that will bring a warm feeling to your heart. This was the best time of my life and I wish I could go back...but now I can by revisting the pages of my life in this book.

What we're gonna do is go back...way back, back into time.......2005-10-26

If you were born between 1965 and 1975, this book will take you back to many forgotten memories. It is all at once an ode to fashion, an ode to attitude, and an ode to hip hop culture in its original form.

Pictured here are the days when the budding hip hop culture was special. Hip hop fashion and style had yet to escape the boundaries of the hood, and here we see ourselves in all our "fresh" glory.

The Puma sneakers with fat laces. The black goose "bomber" jackets. The sheep dog coats. The safari Kangol caps. And of course the Cazals...in every color. Its all here. This is a trip down memory lane that will surely make you smile.

Jamel Shabazz was at the right place at the right time with his camera to capture the essence of hip hop culture in its infancy. This is as much a nostalgic book as a historical document to a time long gone. It was a time when being cool didn't necessarily mean being "thug", it was just...cool.

Shabazz is an absolute master at capturing the raw grittiness of urban life while still showing the fun side. "A Time before Crack" is a necessary testiment to cultural evolution and is a must have for anyone that came of age in the hood in the late seventies and early eighties.

Average customer rating:

Art and Ecology
Dark Arts
Challenges "tight" artworld; criticism of Western lifestyles
A promising collection of art dialogues disappoints...

Conversations Before the End of Time
Suzi Gablik
Manufacturer: Thames & Hudson
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0500278385

Customer Reviews:

Art and Ecology.......2006-07-23

Suzi Gablik's Conversations Before the End of Time is a collection of interviews with artists and others about the human caused ecological crisis currently taking place on this planet and in particular the reaction in the art and intellectual world to this crisis. It is not easy to talk about this subject, and some may find this book disturbing for that reason. Contemplating our own individual mortality is difficult enough, and that is done in a cultural context that supports the process and imbues it with meaning. A good deal of the meaning in personal mortality comes from the fact that there will be posterity. The End of Time postulated in Gablik's book is unthinkable because it precludes this meaning. The format of the book and Gablik's choice of subjects for her interviews carry out the purpose of the book beautifully. I found the interview with Christopher Manes on Homo-centrism of art to be particularly enlightening. How can we appreciate the magnitude of our destructive actions if all we talk about is ourselves?

Dark Arts.......2005-04-19

This book confirms an observation of mine; that contemporary art is the expression of a politically liberal world view, deeply pessimistic about humanity, and driven by an unwitting self-loathing. I'm sorry she and her friends see things this way. Much of our world is created by the way we view it. This Gablik creation is dark indeed. I would have much greater sympathy if it wasn't so self-inflicted. The world is what you make it.

Challenges "tight" artworld; criticism of Western lifestyles.......2002-03-22

I found her choices of who she interviewed to well-round her theme (Leo Castelli, The Guerrilla Girls, those who study human behavior, environmentalists, etc.) Leo Catelli developed his fame with avant-garde artists. Artists which could be labeled as aesthetic artists. Castelli discusses the 1993 Whitney Biennial as a change of guard between aesthetic art and a more social art. Sure there are gray areas. What is avant-garde today? Does it exist today? Are we borrowing from those before us more than ever?
In this book, thoughtful people explore questions that the comfortable and apathetic will not. Questions about squeezing everything out of everything.....art, the environment, community.... She brings out how most art is for only a select and priviledged few due to the way Western Cilvilization exists now.
Some of the views might seem a bit extreme, but after all, it is the extremists on both sides who shape the future. Suzi Gablik interjects that the strongest(industrial/polluting/rich) extremists might be winning today. I think this book suggests that some artists are saying we should care about each other by connecting more closely to each other and the resources we live with.
Kandinsky, Malevich, Mondrian, the Bauhaus school and many other thinkers stated these similar things some 90 years ago.
This book restates this modified theme today. This is a very important book.

A promising collection of art dialogues disappoints...
.......1998-04-01

Suzi Gablik promises a thoughtful collection of discussions with various artists and critics regarding the relationship of art with life and spirituality. Unfortunately, in each section (the book is written in dialogue form) she directs the conversation towards her own personal extreme apocolyptic environmental worldview.

In those dialogues where the participant agrees with her viewpoint, they happily conclude that a highly politicized, non-traditional art world is the desired aim. But in those conversations where the participant doesn't happen to see the Earth on the verge of environmental breakdown, the conversation seems to break down. Gablik seems so entrenched within this worldview that she is unable to understand other views.

In one instance, a critic used as an example the changes that we have undergone in the development from a society of hunter-gatherers to our present modern society. He made the seemingly obvious point that today our immediate survival is not as at risk now as it was when each day's food depended on that day's hunt.

Gablik seemed shocked that he did not see the Earth on the verge of an environmental apocalypse, meaning that she feels that our immediate survival is very much at risk.

This is not even a the classic liberal versus conservative argument regarding the role of art and aesthetics. That dialogue would have been productive. Rather, the author consistantly focuses on her own personal biases, leading to disappointing results.

Waiting for Aphrodite: Journeys into the Time Before Bones

Average customer rating:

Wonderful look at nature!
Invertebrates in All Their Glory!
Bug Lady of Maine
Invertebrates, and life, made easy
Scientific curiosity indulged, & presented with a fine touch

Waiting for Aphrodite: Journeys into the Time Before Bones
Sue Hubbell
Manufacturer: Houghton Mifflin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0395837030

Amazon.com

When Sue Hubbell moved from her longtime home on a farm in Missouri to a house perched on the rocky coast of Maine, the first thing she did was investigate the living things in her new environment to ease the loneliness of a new place. She peered under rocks, in dark crevices, and beneath mounds of leaves, looking for members of nature's secretive ruling class--the invertebrates.

In Waiting for Aphrodite, Hubbell first trains her microscopic gaze on camel crickets--"They grew a bright orange bump on the back of what we would like to call their necks but mustn't, because bugs don't have necks"--and sea cucumbers--"cool and leathery and limp, a little like a damp, deflated football." From there, she continues her tour with millipedes, sponges, periwinkles, corals, earthworms, horseshoe crabs, and other underappreciated earth-dwellers, describing each species in lushly metaphoric prose and a perfectly appropriate sense of wonder. These are strange beasts, and their ways are mysterious. Yet Hubbell seeks, and finds, common ground between invertebrates and humans. She writes that the first useful behavioral mandate for isopods such as pill bugs is "Walk toward shelter," a rule that applies easily to vulnerable humans as well.

The thing that binds all animals is the constant search for the necessities of life. And for Hubbell, a sense of place and knowledge of her neighbors is as crucial as food or shelter. Hence the heart of the book--her search for a glimpse of the elusive sea mouse, Aphrodite aculeata, a small, soft-bodied sea creature with a velvety, iridescent coat. While waiting for Aphrodite, she finds gorgeous bits of life all around her and begins to feel at home. --Therese Littleton

Book Description

In this wonderful new book Sue Hubbell takes us into the remarkable lives of the little-known creatures that really run the world: earthworms, corals, lightning bugs, pill bugs, millipedes, crickets, spiders, sea urchins, horseshoe crabs, and, most elusive and enigmatic of all, Aphrodite, the sea mouse. She also leads us on a journey through the mysteries of time -- geological, biological, and personal -- as she writes of the evolution of life on this planet and the evolution of her own life, from childhood next to a Michigan graveyard to beekeeping in the Ozarks and finally to a tower by the sea in Maine, where she waits and watches for Aphrodite.

Customer Reviews:

Wonderful look at nature!.......2003-11-22

I grew up in New England, on the water, so when I came across this book it particularly sparked my attention. I've always had a great fascination with horseshoe crabs adn there's a superb chapter on them in this book. There are lots of neat animals discussed in this book - sea life like sea urchins, horseshoe crabs, sea sponges etc. But also land dwellers like spiders, millipedes, crickets fireflies, etc. Like other books by Hubbel there are some technical aspects to the book but its woven in so nicely with other interesting facts, stories that its an enjoyable read. I also like that she provides additional references for further reading.

Invertebrates in All Their Glory!.......2003-08-01

Sue Hubbell's book, "Waiting for Aphrodite: Journeys into the Time Before Bones," is a treat for anyone interested in these fascinating creatures. Her coverage of earthworms, millipedes, fireflies, sponges, horseshoe crabs and the strange mouse-like worm, Aphrodita, is a joy to an invertebrate zoologist and should be a great read for laymen who are open to the strange world of so-called creepy-crawlies. I have studied these creatures for much of my life, but could find few errors in Hubbell's chapters. She did her research well. Her life on the Ozarks reminds me of a woman I once met at a scientific conference. She also came from the Ozarks, where her family had worried about her when she was a little girl because she liked to watch salamanders in the rain and spiders spinning their webs. Some of her mountain relatives were sure she was bewitched. I am sure that Sue Hubbell is also "bewitched" by the strange world of these strange creatures- weird enough to live on the planet Mars. I know I was!

Read this book if you are at all interested in the natural world around you. It will introduce you to the real masters of our planet.

Bug Lady of Maine.......2001-06-01

At first this book is interesting and sometimes amusing. Above all it is informative and then again it is informative. In the final analyses it is informative. Did I mention that the book is informative? The next time Mr. Spock says that he left a bad taste in the mouth of the alien being because of his copper based blood, you can say, "According to Sue Hubbell that is no big deal; as pill bugs have a copper based system. So there!"

Sue covers a variety of bugs that haven't got any backbone. And we all know what you think of creatures without backbone. I am not sure that she is too focused or too diverse? However she really covers them and it is so informative that you may find yourself falling to sleep.

Invertebrates, and life, made easy.......2000-11-09

Before reading this book I could never have foreseen myself wading through 232 pages on invertebrates. Sue Hubbell not only maps the journey, she makes it intoxicating and leavens her science with a generous smattering of life philosophy. Which could be tedious from a lesser person. Not from Hubbell, who presents the workings of a sharp intellect with such a light touch that her logic and opinions have a homespun tang. There is an unassailable rightness about many of her views, her argument for conservation for instance. But this isn't a platform for her ideals, it's a showcase for the kind of tiny animals few of us bother to notice unless they threaten us. From crickets to sea mice (the Aphrodite, or part of it, of the title) via spiders, woodlice, sea cucumbers, fireflies, horseshoe crabs, honeybees and many others, we're given just enough information to intrigue and inspire investigation into the generous "Further reading" list at the end of each chapter. It's difficult to make a book like this work. Go too deep, and you've scared-off the layman. Stay on the surface, and you're labelled a dilettante. For my money, Sue Hubbell compromises triumphantly. She puts her small animals centre stage and ensures you'll look on them with new and respectful eyes. But the real heroine of the book is Hubbell herself. Her love for her animals and for life itself blazes through the book and you close it thoroughly warmed through.

Scientific curiosity indulged, & presented with a fine touch.......1999-08-12

This is the third book I've enjoyed by Sue Hubbell. Her curiosity reminds me of my childhood days around my back yard creek when it seemed there was always something to be amazed at, and I took the time to be amazed. Some of the creatures she describes: well, you've always wondered about them; others: you've never heard of. In the background she is describing her sources and the characteristics of these creatures in a personal, straight forward, no axe-to-grind way. Then, she quietly slips in the best argument I've ever heard for trying not to eliminate any of our fellow creatures, regardless of how much or how little we think we understand about their value and their relationship to humans. It could be heavy - but it isn't. It could be trivial - but it isn't.

Before His Time: The Untold Story Of Harry T. Moore, America's First Civil Rights Martyr

Average customer rating:

Great book
A necessary and wonderful book
Another Whitewash for Civil Rights Icon Harry T. Moore
The story of a Civil Rights Pioneer
Green captures time, place, and mood

Before His Time: The Untold Story Of Harry T. Moore, America's First Civil Rights Martyr
Ben Green
Manufacturer: University Press of Florida
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 081302837X

Amazon.com

Before graduate student Mike King began using his given name, Martin Luther, before Detroit Red changed his name to Malcolm X, and before Medgar Evers joined the NAACP, civil rights activist Harry T. Moore was murdered. On Christmas night, 1951, an explosion ripped through his house, the bomb having been planted directly under his bed. His mother, visiting for the holidays, had been very concerned for Moore's safety. In the 1950s, in the Deep South, Moore's political activism had earned him plenty of enemies. "Every advancement comes by way of sacrifice," he told his mother before going to bed that night. "What I am doing is for the benefit of my race."

In the 1930s and '40s, Moore drove the roads of Florida, organizing the local NAACP, speaking quietly against Jim Crow laws, and urging blacks to register to vote. He also wrote elegantly argued letters to the governor and other public officials, protesting injustices and atrocities against blacks. Seen as a troublemaker, Moore became entangled with Willis McCall--whom author Ben Green calls "the prototype of the racist Southern sheriff." Green intertwines the biographies of these two very different men, drawing a picture of racial tension in an era before the issues reached national attention. Green is especially good at capturing the atmosphere of the events--dense fogs, sticky heat, clouds of biting insects--but goes slightly astray when listening to drunken former Klansmen, who are perhaps merely seeking their 15 minutes of fame and not unburdening their souls before they die, as they spout confessions about Moore's murder. Like many biographers, Green clearly admires his subject, which makes him write slightly purple prose. Moore's life, however, was clearly admirable and Green has written a moving tribute to this sadly forgotten man. --C.B. Delaney

Book Description

Fifty years ago -- before Martin Luther King, Jr., began to preach from his pulpit in Montgomery, Alabama, the landmark Brown v. Board of Education decision, or Rosa Parks's famous bus ride -- a man named Harry T. Moore toiled in Jim Crow Florida on behalf of the NAACP and the Progressive Voters' League. For seventeen years, in an era of official indifference and outright hostility, the soft-spoken but resolute Moore traveled the backroads of the state on a mission to educate, evangelize, and organize. But on Christmas night in 1951, in a small orange grove in tiny Mims, Florida, a bomb placed under a bed ended Harry Moore's life. Although his daughters, Peaches and Evangeline, survived, his wife, Harriette, died of her wounds a week later. Unjustly neglected until now, Moore's death stands as the first in what was to be a long and tragic line of assassinations in the civil rights movement.

It was Moore's defense of the Groveland Four -- black youths accused, under murky circumstances, of raping a white woman in Lake County -- that drew the wrath of the Ku Klux Klan and pitted him against one of the most feared and vilified sheriffs in the country. Two of the Groveland Four were shot -- one fatally -- in the custody of Sheriff Willis McCall, who despite fifty investigations and a litany of racial scandals would remain in office for nearly thirty years. Ben Green revisits the people and circumstances surrounding Harry Moore's death, and brings alive a cast of characters worthy of Harper Lee or Flannery O'Connor. But as we journey through time with Green, we see all too vividly that police beatings, suppressed evidence, complicit juries, and angry mobs comprise an unforgettable part of our recent past, and even our present.

The governor of Florida reopened the case of Harry Moore's murder in 1991. Although the investigation revealed for the first time that the Klan was almost certainly responsible for Moore's death, no one was put behind bars. Bringing a fresh eye to the newly available FBI files, Green offers a reckoning of the good and the bad, the villainous and the virtuous. His shocking book helps us to reclaim the past, as far as we are capable of knowing it, even when complete and final justice eludes us. It also offers a poignant testimony to all the unsung heroes who, like Harry Moore, were long-forgotten early martyrs to the cause of civil rights and racial justice.

Customer Reviews:

Great book.......2007-08-23

Beautifully written; a story that needed to be told. It was at times painful to read because of how horrible people were treated due to the color of their skin.

A necessary and wonderful book.......2004-04-05

I cannot overstate my admiration for Ben Green's Before His Time. As I read I felt I was traveling the roads with Harry Moore, fighting the fight with him (I should be so brave). I am fairly well read (PhD, English Lit) and have enjoyed many books, but very few have moved me as much Green's has. You need to know Harry T. Moore. Ben Green has given you the chance. Take it.

Another Whitewash for Civil Rights Icon Harry T. Moore.......2001-01-14

The author followed the FBI, the police, the Klan and Sherriff Willis McCall as if everything they said and did was ordered from the almighty and couldn't possibly be wrong. He bought the party line and didn't make any waves. He didn't do any in-depth investigating. This was an overview of a life of a man who should be honored by all the world as an icon for justice, for all men. It was a great let down that the author didn't follow the reporting that had been done previously and refrain from writing in such a mean spirited manner. At least maybe some more people will know what this brave man did and stood for. He should be likened to Nathan Hale who said "I'm sorry I have but one life to give for my country." The book didn't say it but let all citizens unite and Remember " Respectfully yours, HARRY T. MOORE." Could anything be more eloquent or brave thatn that signature?

The story of a Civil Rights Pioneer.......2000-07-24

Having moved to Brevard County in 1991, just when the Harry T. Moore murder case was back in the news, and the fact that I pass the Moore Justice Center every day, I was anxious to learn about Harry T. Moore and happily picked up a copy of this book.

Harry T. Moore and his wife Harriette were murdered on Christmas Day, 1951 when a bomb exploded beneath their bedroom at their home in Mims, Florida. At the time of his murder, Harry Moore was the Florida coordinator for the NAACP and a founder of the Progressive Voter's League. As the title of book implies, Harry Moore was before his time, including his murder. Remember this happen before Rosa Parks, before Medgar Evers, before Dr. Martin Luther King and before Brown vs. Board of Education. The murderer of the Moores has never been found.

Green traces the life of Harry Moore from childhood to teaching to his efforts in helping to lead the Civil Rights movement in Florida. Along the way Harry Moore instructed his students how to use the ballot, before African-Americans could vote and Harry Moore's efforts in the investigations of violence (re: lynching) and murders of African Americans in Florida.

The most famous case that Harry Moore investigated was the Groveland Incident. The case involved the conviction of three African-Americans in the rape of a 17-year-old woman and the subsequent killing of two of the suspects by the Sheriff of Lake County Florida, Willis McCall, in an escape attempt. All the while, Harry Moore was fighting with the NAACP national organization to retained his position in the organization.

Green's biography of Harry Moore is sparse, though a lot of it could be contributed to lack of documents related to Harry Moore's life. I felt the book would have been more complete with more details on Harry Moore's internal fight with the NAACP national office and why Harry Moore's place in the Civil Rights movement has been lost.

At the end of the book, Green spends too much time tracing down former Klan members who claimed they knew who murdered Harry Moore. However, all these statements were dead ends. Ben Green's book is a good starting point to learn about a true Civil Rights pioneer.

Green captures time, place, and mood.......1999-08-13

As a Florida native, I feel Green well captured Harry Moore's Florida. Before His Time is educational, enteraining, and most importantly disturbing. We need to know in detail not only what Moore did but what ws done to Moore - and why. Green tells us. Despite the many horrors depicted in the book - and there are many - the book is ultimately life affirming: it is good to know that there were (are?) some Harry T. Moore's who have walked among us. Bravo, Ben Green.

Average customer rating:

An Excellent and Effective ASTP Memoir
Not Popular But His Story
Hard to understand
Portrait of the Author as a 19 year old Rifleman
Good Read

Before Their Time: A Memoir
Robert Kotlowitz
Manufacturer: Anchor
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0385496036
Release Date: 1999-06-15

Amazon.com

In the summer of 1943, Robert Kotlowitz, an indifferent premed student at Johns Hopkins University, was drafted into the army. "I told myself," he writes in his affecting memoir of World War II, "that it was better than being blatantly tossed out of college." In any event, he continues, "part of me, at eighteen, was eager to suffer the hazards and humiliations of war."

Hazards and humiliations he found in abundance. He was assigned to a company led by an inept captain and put to work in a Browning Automatic Rifle unit. In combat school at Fort Benning he learned that, in battle, such units had a life expectancy of eleven seconds. "That is not hyperbole," he adds wryly. "It is scientific fact." But Kotlowitz lived through the war, fueled by his hatred, as a Jew, for the German enemy, and burning with the patriotic fervor of a young man. Both his hatred and his fervor diminished as he endured battle, living close to the bone and watching as his comrades fell.

Kotlowitz writes with skill and mordant humor of the infantryman's life, of the incredible instinct to survive, of "the sounds ... never before heard, swelling over the noise of small-arms and machine-gun fire, of men's voices calling for help or screaming in pain or terror--our own men's voices, unrecognizable at first, weird in pitch and timbre." His fine memoir belongs on readers' shelves alongside such books as Stephen Ambrose's Band of Brothers and Paul Fussell's Doing Battle, primary documents of a terrible time. --Gregory McNamee

Book Description

in this memoir of his experiences as a teenage infantryman in the US Third Army during World War II, Kotlowitz brings to life the harrowing story of the massacre of his platoon in northeastern France, in which he--by playing dead--was the only one to survive. 208 pp. 15,000 print.

From the Hardcover edition.

Customer Reviews:

An Excellent and Effective ASTP Memoir.......2007-09-27

"Before Their Time" by Robert Kotlowitz. Subtitled: "A Memoir".
Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. New York, 1997.

In 1943, Robert Kotlowitz was in the Army Specialized Training Program (ASTP) at the University of Maine when mounting casualties in the European Theater of Operation (ETO) required fresh men for the war. General George Marshall ordered the termination of ASTP program so as to release some 175,000 young soldiers to the battlefields of Europe. So, this young man from Baltimore found himself on the liner, "Argentina", at the city of Cherbourg, "...the old Norman city" in France. The soldiers of the 26th division, the old Yankee Division, had to climb down rope ladders, hanging on the hull of the ship, into Higgins boats below. The details of this relatively unimportant event... i.e. disembarkation, fill many pages in this small book of memories written many years after the war. In this small section, the recounts how his contemporaries reacted to the requirement of climbing down rope cargo nets into the boats below, and by so writing, analyzes those young men of the Yankee Division.

The author not only analyzes the men but also the 26th Division.
On page 8, he writes ...
"By 1944 there were no longer many true Yankees in the Yankee division. (O)ther ethnic and national groups had begun to infiltrate the roster:,, Italians, ... Armenians, Greeks" ... and so on. Then, Kotlowitz notes that there was "... a substantial cluster of despised WASPs, who didn't yet know that they were a symptom of the future, as well as a handful of isolated Jews, who were also despised; but the unlike the WASPs, the Jews were quite used to it".

The writing continues in this analytical tone until the day when his regiment, the 104th, was ordered to advance against the German lines. Almost everyone was killed or wounded. Kotlowitz was one of the few physically unharmed survivors; he spent the entire day under the sights of the Germans. He did not move and played dead. This affected his outlook on the war and on the army and on his future life. After this single day of terrible combat, where so many casualties were caused by incompetence, Private Kotlowitz was assigned to rear-echelon job. Safe for the duration. So, unlike many World War II memoirs, this book is not a bang-bang, shoot `em story. Rather, it is a sensitive and subtle analysis of the experiences of one American soldier.

Not Popular But His Story.......2007-07-12

For those of you considering this book, look past several of the one star ratings that others gave. I have been studying World War Two, with an emphasis on the European Theatre for well over 25 years. I have read tons of books written on the strategic and tactical level. I have read biographies and memoirs as well. Studs Turkell called this war "The Good War" and a book that he penned several years ago bears this same title, excellent book but not a good war by any stretch of the imagination.

As one of the victors of this global conflict we as Americans are so used to reading stories about a country gearing up for war, overcoming the odds and defeating the Axis powers and beating them back to within the borders of their own dark fascist countries. In the process of doing this, against popular belief, things did not always go well. Of the thousands of books available describing the chess game of men and machines that this war became, not many get deep into the platoon and squad levels or reveal the personalities and idiosyncrasies that existed. These subjects are often glossed over in favor of the "big picture". In the describing of strategic and tactical maneuverings of armies and equipment to achieve a planned objective the human element is usually absent.

What many readers don't understand is that the story that Robert Kotlowtiz describes to us is the experience that many a soldier had, especially replacement troops that were new to a theatre of operations. They went through training, landed on the continent and depending on which Division, Corps or Army they were to be attached to may have been slowly incorporated into the war. Many did not last long in combat when they did arrive. They were either killed, wounded or captured on their first day or week in action.

Unlike Dick Winters of the famed E Co., 506th P.I.R., 101st Airborne, Kotlowitz did not fight in Normandy or drop into Holland or endure the Ardennes or the Eagles Nest. He was in a green replacement division with no experience, and on his very first combat mission the world as he knew it came to an end. This story may seem tragic and unheard of and maybe a bit disappointing from a reader's point of view. But unless veterans like Robert Kotlowtiz tell their stories, we will never know what it was actually like. The official army "Green Back" histories although packed with detail and combat history writing do not describe the human emotion or personal mind-set of the individual combat soldier and the life that he had to endure.

I personally found the book riveting and could not put it down. Sure, since Kotlowitz eventually became a writer it reads well and in some areas may be a bit over some reader's heads. But these stories need to be told even if it's not to the sound of trumpets or victory parades. It's still a tale of personal victory.

Hard to understand.......2006-01-26

I never quite undestood what the author was trying to say. The more than half the book is about stateside training and meeting the other G.I.'s in his platoon but there is so little about combat. I was surprised that the time in combat was only about two or three days on the front line. I never did understand what happened to the author that took him out of combat. I understand there was some trauma from an intense day under fire. I never did figure out though why he was never sent back to the front. Many other G.I.'s went through days and weeks under fire and stayed up or returned to the front. I am compassionate to any front line soldier who fought in WWII but this book didn't seem to bring across to me what Mr. Kotlowitz went through.

Portrait of the Author as a 19 year old Rifleman.......2004-12-03

This is a strange book. The author later went on to write novels so it isn't too surprising that this book is not really a memoir but a psychoanalytic, stream of conciousness paean to the life shattering memory of the author's one and only day in combat. The last 50 pages or so describe his slow re-discovery of himself after the trauma. Do not expect a literal description of Army life or battle. While there are some stunningly concrete details in this book they are almost always used to anchor a mental state or emotion the author says he was feeling. I am somewhat skeptical of the ability to remember how one would have felt a half a century ago but then again I didn't live through World War Two. This book falls in the camp of "Crossing the Sauer" and "Roll Me Over'. A work for meditation and introspection on memory. loss and World War II.

Good Read.......2003-06-24

This is another book that I read only because I was made to in school. But I actualy enjoyed it. Kotlowitz has a great writting style. It gives you a good look into what war can be like.

Book Description

Discover the stories of a remarkable 109-year-old Eskimo woman who grew up on the Bering Sea in northwest Alaska.

Customer Reviews:

from an eskimo perspective.......2003-08-12

This is an easy read book which i enjoyed very much. I have recommended it to many people native and non native alike. It reminded me a lot of my "outdoor adventures" growing up in Western Alaska. The way the story is written gives insight into the life of Nederkook as it was back then, with no need for a lot of explination. Are there anymore stories narrated by Nederkook? i'd like to learn more about Nederkook's history.
Edna Wilder (whats her native name by the way) has done an excellent job.

Life in Alaska before the arrival of the Europeans.......2002-09-01

The is truly a fabulous book. When her mother Nedercook broke her hip at the remarkable age of 109, Edna Wilder took the opportunity to record stories and memories from her childhood. Years later, Wilder developed her notes into book format after attending a simple magazine article writing course at the University of Alaska.

The book documents what life was like when Nedercook was about ten years old and living the traditional Eskimo lifestyle that her people lived prior to direct contact with Europeans. Her people, who lived at Stoney Point near Nome, Alaska, led a difficult life, and survival depended on the availability of a number of species of animals, not to mention the weather, which at times would disrupt the general cycle of animal availability. Such a strong dependence on these two factors is a major element of Nedercook's recollections, but has harsh as life was, it was by no means miserable. There were many things for the young Nedercook to do, and when she was not assisting her mother with chores or accompanying her father when he went out to fish, she play or more importantly--as it was her duty to perpetuate the history and legends of her people--listening to her father or mother tell stories--stories which would have been long forgotten had it not been for this book.

Words cannot describe how much I enjoyed this book and how it has increased my understanding of First Nations culture. I urge everyone to read it.

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"A million years is a proper unit of political time."
no references, alas
Well....
a decent book on human prehistory
An extraordinary, awesome, stimulating read!

The TIME BEFORE HISTORY
Colin Tudge
Manufacturer: Touchstone
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0684830523

Customer Reviews:

"A million years is a proper unit of political time.".......2006-05-23

One million years: such a time frame can witness mountain-building and erosion, cycles of climate change due to changes in the earth's orbit and tilt, evolution and speciation, and the origin of Homo sapiens. For most people, anything that took place before written history is lumped together in a generic, expansive "prehistory." In The Time Before History, author Colin Tudge makes a compelling case to consider a million years as a viable, practical unit of political time. In such a world, Tudge argues, humans would see themselves in the light of their formative and evolutionary history, a history where small actions have long-term consequences. Living in a society where politicians often do not consider time in units longer than election terms, we are a present-obsessed culture. Arguing that this stems from a lack of context for our emergence as a capable, dominant species, Tudge sets about correcting that "truncated" sense of history.

To do this, he assumes that the reader is unfamiliar (or nearly so) with the long-term processes that accompanied and occasionally guided the evolution of hominids. To compensate, he spends the first half of the book addressing basic principles of geology, evolutionary biology, and climatology in order to frame the emergence of our species in ecological processes. He then follows these up with an overview of fellow mammals during this interval and some of the governing principles of animal biology. Readers without a science background will find these chapters informative, clear, and very accessible; Tudge is an excellent author, and walks the fine line between scholarship and anecdotal writing with an easy grace. More advanced readers will still find some value in these early chapters as a concise review, though the well-organized format makes it easy to skim or skip familiar topics.

Having established a common ground on which to proceed, Tudge then devotes a hefty segment to the emergence of humans, which he follows up with his speculation as to "what makes us so special?" (read: successful) as a species. He next addresses the beginning of farming as the turning point in human culture and the beginning of our (very early) impact on the earth. These are perhaps some of the most fascinating chapters in the book, and the author gives fair treatment to a number of different theories before offering his own, well-crafted ideas. My only complaint is that, having set up so much of the book with the appropriate background, Tudge hasn't left himself nearly enough time to devote to these fascinating topics. While I did not always agree with his conclusions, I found them to be thought-provoking; Colin Tudge is a very intelligent person with a varied background.

There are a couple of details that keep The Time Before History from being a five-star book, though they could easily be addressed should the author decide to publish a second edition. First, the lack of bibliography makes this less of a valuable resource, as Tudge draws from a wide range of disciplines and sources. Secondly, the inclusion of a glossary would be of use to readers unfamiliar with some of the jargon, and I would reccommend that readers create their own as they go along. Lastly, the subtitle is misleading; Tudge does not in fact address "five million years of human impact" explicitly, but rather gives context for human evolution in a chaginging world; the impact is implied. The author wants the reader to do a bit of critical thinking, rather than spoon-feeding facts and theories, and so in this case the geological and biological contexts set up in the first half of the book are just as important as the actual developments addressed later.

In a final section, Tudge projects human evolution and impact into the future, and his speculations and concerns are an execellent conclusion to a well-crafted, fascinating, and enjoyable work of non-fiction. The Time Before History is one of the most thought-provoking books on the subject I've read since Jared Diamond's Guns, Germs, and Steel, and indeed would make an excellent companion to that book, as it deals with subject matter that takes place before the emergence of advanced human societies. The book has much to offer both unfamiliar laypeople, students, and scholars. Anyone with an interest in anthropology, archaeology, sociology, environmental science, and evolution will find something of value in The Time Before History.

~Jacquelyn Gill

no references, alas.......2003-05-20

I liked part of this book, especially some of the new ideas he brings up, but I have been unable to find any references to the ones I have tried to pursue further (such as weather control projects in progress in Israel). This leads me to wonder if some of the parts that contain original and stimulating ideas are actually simply untrue or misrepresentations.

For example, he seemed to deliberately misrepresent (or misunderstand) the parallel evolution theory of human origins, so that he could re-present it in more convincing terms as his own original idea.

All in all, the fact checking seems weak, (eg, a change of 6 degrees centigrade is equivalent to a change of 36 degress farenheight !?!? Obviously someone with a pocket calculator mindlessly punched numbers into the temperature formula to get that one) and the lack of references for some of his assertions leaves me wondering about their accuracy. This is a real shame, because a few of his ideas are ones I had not encountered before (for example, exposed rock faces having a major effect on the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, and hence having a major impact on global climate), but I reluctantly have to say that I'm not sure he is a reliable source.

Well...........2002-06-30

I really wanted to love this book. I had just finished Jared Diamond's _Guns, Germs, and Steel_ (a must read BTW), and picked this one up because I thought it would discuss the period of time before Diamond's book really got into. I didn't really get what I expected.

If you read the book discription on the back cover, it gives the impression that the book would cover human and hominoid development from about 5 million years ago until recent history i.e. 10,000 years ago.

There are some good parts in this book. I particularly liked how he gave an overview on how evolution works. He explained things well and I was able to follow pretty easily despite being a complete novice regarding the specifics on the theory. I also liked the section on human evolution and how he explained the possible causes and effects of the spread of Homo sapiens. His discussion on the overkill hypothesis was top notch.

However, this book is not without its flaws. One major flaw for me was the fact that the main topic only takes up about half of the book. There is a long chapter on mammal development, and at times he just simply lists creatures haphazardly. It would've been nice to have a chart to identify the possible ancestors of animals that are alive today.

A glossary would have been nice as well. I got tired of trying to find the first time he mentioned poikilothermic animals just to name an example. Yeah I know, I could've written down the definition, but is it too much to ask an author to do what most other authors do? A bibliography would've been wonderful too. There didn't seem to be that many references in the text, and I would've liked to see others sources for further reading.

The final problem for me was the fact that the book wasn't really about what the description on the back cover says. For example, the first chapter is a detailed description on how the climate and atmosphere works on earth with a warning about excess CFC's and the depleting ozone. Next he describes the different types of mammals and proceeds to seemingly describe every one that lived in the past and present. There are so many names and descriptions that they kind of all blend together. There is a chart, but it isn't detailed enough for you to really follow the author. Finally, the last chapter is a plea for humanity to be careful and not kill off any more animal species.

Now before people start assuming that I am anti-conservationist let me clarify. I love animals as much [messed] up. However, reading about those topics is not why I bought this book. I bought it to read about the devlopment of Homo sapiens in the past, not a "save the ozone and don't kill the animals" plea, which really took up about a third of the book.

To summarize: If you're looking for a strict account on human evolution then I wouldn't buy this book. There is too many other topics that the author focuses on and really doesn't give that subject the just amount of pages in this book.

a decent book on human prehistory.......2001-03-02

Tudge has an interesting book with "The Time Before History." He spends a great deal of the book laying the groundwork for the appearence of the ancestors of humans, with detailed discussions of geology, climate, and the evolution of fauna and flora. The chapter on prehistoric creatures was pretty interesting, and considering the dearth of popular works on extinct mammals make this book a worthwhile read alone.

Tudge though is at his best when describing the various types of early humans and protohumans -from the various types of Australopithecines to Homo sapiens - and how they evolved, how they lived, and in some cases, how they spread. Useful are his discussion of ecomorphs and how the generalized ecomorphs of primates favored the development of bipedal, tool-using, intelligent protohumans, and his coverage of the diet of australopithecines and early humans and how this affected our evolution, as well as what we know of these beings. Tudge also provides a lot of interesting theories and information regarding the spread of not only Homo sapiens into the world but Homo erectus before him; also theories as to what happened to the Neanderthals and if they were a seperate species or not are detailed as well.

The Tudge book is not perfect though. I think he spends too much time on background prior to discussions of early man. Though interesting, they take up a sizeable section of the book. Some of the asides in the chapter on extinct mammals while interesting are controversial, though he does provide citations for those interested in checking on things. Examples include his mentioning of the theory that giant ground sloths may have been arboreal, that the mastodon genus Cuvieronius may have survived in Central America until several centuries after Christ, and that the dwarf mammoth of Wrangel Island (which survived into historic times, this has been well documented) is actually pictured on a pharaoh's tomb in Egypt, according to some having been illustrated when one was presented as a gift!

Still, I wouldn't let some of these controversial statements steer potential readers away from this book. It still provides decent coverage of extinct mammals, concepts in paleontology, and a good coverage of eartly man, his development, and spread around the globe.

An extraordinary, awesome, stimulating read!.......2001-01-04

Colin Tudge is a very concerned man. Here, he constructs one of the most complete pictures of human evolution's course. Drawing on geology, meteorology and biology in setting a framework, Tudge explains how and to what extent Homo sapiens emerged from Africa to override the planet. That's a hefty task, particularly in less than four hundred pages. Especially given that he allocates ten per cent of those pages to assessing the future. Tudge's concern about human impact on the environment is the theme of his other works, but this one rests on a solid foundation of evolutionary biology.

Tudge Dances Through Time in explaining the movements of continents and the impact of that mobility on life forms. Movement, an adventure life normally avoids, is forced by changes in environment. In seeking to stay with the familiar, life migrates in response to change. With environments continually shifting, life must adapt to survive. Humans have broken the pattern, invading the globe's many environments. We are the most adaptable species to emerge.

The price of our adaptation has been the extinction of many species, particularly large prey animals and birds. On every continent large birds and mammals ceased leaving fossil remains shortly after the appearance of Home Sapiens on the scene. The timing is too consistent to be purely coincidental and the ensuing patterns of human behaviour show we remain essentially ignorant of our impact on Nature's balance. We shouldn't be surprised at his finding. Today we face decimated cod and salmon populations. Whales remain under assault in the face of a 'moratorium' on their killing. The number of populations exterminated due to our occupation of their habitat is beyond counting. Tudge's concern is valid and it must be hoped infectious given the background he provides.

Those who grizzle about Tudge being "wordy" are misleading you. He's precise with words, although this book must set some kind of record for superlatives. New readers take note: Tudge has one disturbing habit. He will introduce a term [edentates, for example] and never find an alternative thereafter. When you encounter a term you don't know, make certain you understand it before continuing. This habit detracts neither from the worth, clarity of presentation nor value of this fine book. At first read the lack of a Bibliography seemed a flaw. Second thoughts showed that a suggested reading list would likely have doubled the size of the book. Build the bibliography yourself as you encounter authors and titles in the text. If the citations are unfamiliar to you, spend the energy. Tudge is too good an introduction to the topic to ignore.

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Y'Know, I'm Starting To Think The '90's Will Be Remembered As A Weird, Superficial Decade

The Aliens will have The Best of Times, not us.

Readable and interesting

Hard to put down

review of the 90's

The Best of Times: The Boom and Bust Years of America before and after Everything Changed
Haynes Johnson
Manufacturer: Harvest Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Sleepwalking Through History: America in the Reagan Years

The Age of Anxiety: McCarthyism to Terrorism

Morning in America: How Ronald Reagan Invented the 1980's (Politics and Society in Twentieth Century America)

America in the Seventies (Cultureamerica)

Major Problems in American History Since 1945: Documents and Essays (Major Problems in American History)

ASIN: 0156027011

Amazon.com

In The Best of Times, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Haynes Johnson follows his illuminating, bestselling overview of the Reagan years, Sleepwalking Through History, with a chronicle of America in the '90s, a time he finds both highly consequential and infuriatingly paradoxical.

Johnson divides his ambitious social history of an America at its "zenith" of power and influence into four intertwined sections. "Technotimes" opens with the Kasparov/Big Blue chess match, and quicksteps through the dizzying advances in computer science and bio-technology, including the Human Genome Project, cloning, and genetically modified crops. "Teletimes," easily the strongest and most disturbing section, uses the "scandalous spectacle" of the O.J. Simpson trial to illustrate the inescapable influence of the mass media and the metastasizing cult of celebrity. "Scandal Times" is primarily an extended retelling of the Monica Lewinsky affair and its squandering (in Johnson's eyes) effect on the Clinton presidency, while "Millennial Times," calling on polls and interviews with a crosscut of college students, is a statistical and personal- opinion snapshot of America in full end-of-century stride. Johnson juxtaposes narrative summary with capsule biographies of the famous (Bill Gates) and the obscure (Vannevar Bush and J.C.R. Licklider--visionaries of hypertext, the World Wide Web, and the Internet). Johnson's methodology is commendable. He inserts personal biases lightly (sometimes too tepidly), preferring to present many sides of issues and ask questions rather than opine. One serious weakness is the book's woefully inadequate endnotes.

Though The Best of Times has a tendency to overreach, sometimes scurrying past subjects rather than studying them, it is an informative, worthy, and accessible summary of contemporary American society. Johnson has created a literate time capsule, one whose value will increase greatly with each passing year. --H. O'Billovitch

Book Description

We were awash in money and spellbound by celebrity and scandal. It was a time of breathtaking strides in science and unprecedented possibility. A time of squandered opportunities and grave distraction. A time of tragic complacency and belief in our invulnerability.

In The Best of Times, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Haynes Johnson looks back on the decade that defied anyone's expectations, for better or worse. With a sharp eye for the quote or detail that perfectly captures a moment in time, Johnson tells the whole story, no holds barred, of the roller-coaster, self-indulgent nineties when America paid no attention to gathering foreign storms or looming economic collapse.

The product of four years of interviews with the decade's most influential players, this is in the best tradition of timeless social history--a memorable portrait of the entire wonderful yet woeful decade that ended in the cataclysmic flames of September 11.

A James H. Silberman Book
National Bestseller

Now with a New Foreword, Afterword, and Postscript

In offering this paperback edition of the bubble years, I hope the stories I tell of that newly old America will illuminate how in a few short years we went from the best of times to the worst of times. In my Afterword, I suggest what lessons we must learn from that experience to avoid further disasters and close the circle on some events that typified the period.
--Haynes Johnson
From the new Foreword

Customer Reviews:

Y'Know, I'm Starting To Think The '90's Will Be Remembered As A Weird, Superficial Decade.......2005-12-29

If one lived in the distant future and had no other source material with which to educate one's self about the 1990's, I shudder to think of the conclusions that might be drawn based on Johnson's selective reporting. I know few writers are so gifted as to become crystal clear channels of information, and that selecting a theme for a book is the typical practice, but why did Johnson lead the charge so far in the front, of making the 20th century's final decade out to be the land of scandal and fluff and easy money spawning shallow, sybaritic beings? If I believed what I read in this history of the last decade, I'd think nothing at all went on then except Presidential hedonism and TV tabloid coverage of salacious events. I'd get the impression the world was run by bloated mega-corporations that rose and fell in the space of hours along the information superhighway, each having the substance of a cumulus cloud. Give us some credit! The 1990's also saw the end of Communism in Europe, legislated racial barriers legally abolished in South Africa, the peaceful handover of Hong Kong by the British to the Chinese, and it witnessed (in contrast to the lurid tales of bloodshed in this book) the most drastic drop in US crime rates in generations. In the 1990's, Americans became more prosperous, more contented, and dwelled in relative peace. I suppose what I'm getting at is that both here and in his 1980's remembrance, Sleepwalking Thru History, Johnson confines his observations and explorations to a distressingly narrow field, and in so doing creates an impression of times as they truly were not. A perspicacious reader will find motivations to challenge a lot of what's given central importance in this book, and for those who might come later or who lived thru the 1990's and are led astray into condensing a dynamic ten-year period into a series of dot-com booms, domestic slayings and Oval Office trysts, I'd say if you need to balance this work with better and more serious sources.

The Aliens will have The Best of Times, not us........2004-06-06

The song goes, "The best of times is here." I know it was not written during the Clinton years as President of this fine country. The title of this book is deceptive (I think that Haynes Johnson did a bit of 'sleepwalking' himself through these turbulent years) as he admits later on that it was a time of lost opportunities. How then, could these have been the 'best of times.'

Far from the best, for some it was the worst. Take for instance the debacle of the OJ trial which kept me and thousands of others tuned in to Court TV instead of getting on with our lives. He tells in great detail starting with the stupidity played out with tv cameras showing the white Bronco merely going from one place to another. There was no race or attempt at escape. It was just dumb reporting. On hindsight, I think how stupid OJ was and the millions of his fans who tried to stand by him. I too was stupid to sit day after day to learn all the details, only to be deceived with all the coverup and the final payoff when he is let go scot free. What a country! How could this possibly be ever a good time, certainly not a 'best' time. It was a tragedy laid on the conscience of a country who should have let the man have his day in court without all the hoopla.

Why Mr. Johnson even included Clinton in the title is mind boggling as he tore down all the man's image and laid out the dirty laundry. Weren't we all told to keep one's sins to himself and not include innocent bystanders? He may be a university teacher, but I wonder if he has morals of his own.

He is trying to persuade us commoners that there has been a confirmation of the existence of extraterrestrial life somewhere out there. I'm not sure my son believes that anymore, as he once did when a grad student in astronomy at the University of Chicago. It seems we have enough intelligent life here on earth. Why brain wash the public when nothing is confirmed?

Who cares anyway whether we are alone in the vast universe? Maybe they are true (these rumors) but suffice it to say, they (whoever, whatever they are) will not be like us.

The Jet Propulsion Lab at Pasadena will not have the last word. If you believe in God, you know that He has us here for a reason -- to love one another and to help your fellow man -- not to spend enormous sums to determine if aliens exist. They are already here amongst us.

More power to Bill Clinton who did the best he could with what he had to work with. If these were the best of times, perhaps they were for him. He had a ball there in the White House. This commentator whom I have never heard or seen is clearly pro-Bush.

Readable and interesting.......2004-05-24

Had to read this for a History class-- it was totally interesting, highly readable. I hadn't closely followed the OJ trial, nor the Monica Lewinsky scandal, so this was fairly refreshing for me, to find out what those were all about. There was more to the book, though-- it was an interesting assesment of "our times".

Hard to put down.......2003-02-11

As a big fan of Bill Clinton, Johnson did justice in pointing out that Clinton had more potential. People who like Clinton will be reminded that he was human, and a politician that can be trapped by the office and power. It's not what he did, it's what he could have been. The Clinton years were good for me and this book reminded me that it's not what you are but what you could have been that gets under your skin. Bet we all wish we bought eBay on day 1.

review of the 90's.......2002-11-25

Interesting to revisit the 90's but I felt that the section on the Clinton Presidency was too long and that Johnson is somewhat biased. Very interesting sections on technology development and the youth of the 90's. I learned a lot of detail that I missed because I was too busy living!

A Time Before New Hampshire: The Story of a Land and Native Peoples

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NH from its beginnings

A Time Before New Hampshire: The Story of a Land and Native Peoples
Michael J. Caduto
Manufacturer: New Hampshire
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1584653361

Book Description

In this masterful and elegant book, Michael J. Caduto tells the complete story of the land of New Hampshire--starting with the formation of earth 4.6 billion years ago and continuing with changes to its peoples and the environment through the seventeenth century. Part I offers a comprehensive look at every aspect of the ancient natural world--including geology, glaciology, botany, climatology, ecology, zoology, and paleobotany. It describes the formation of the land hundreds of millions of years ago as a result of major movements in the tectonic plates; chronicles the rise and fall of reptiles, mammals, birds, and plants and other life forms stemming from climatic changes; and explores the arrival of human beings during and after the relatively recent ice age.

The rest of the volume immerses the reader in the history of the human populations in New Hampshire, beginning with the Paleoindian period of hunter gatherers over twelve thousand years ago and continuing through the arrival of horticulture among the Alnobak (Abenaki) and beyond. Caduto explores the Alnobak's day-to-day existence, culture, and traditional tales as preserved by archeologists, anthropologists, historians, and living cultures. Emphasizing the beliefs, cultures, and practices of these native people, Caduto details the Alnobak's relationship to the natural world as he tells the story of coevolution between the land and people through time.

Caduto takes the reader on an exploration through New Hampshire's rich and diverse history--using first-hand experiences, re-creations of natural and human environments, journeys through historical landscapes and visits with the families of ancient people--to present a thorough profile of the early beginnings of the Granite State.

The volume features an epilogue by Charlie True, Member of the Tribal Council, Abenaki Nation of New Hampshire, and nearly one hundred photographs, illustrations, and detailed maps depicting past peoples, historical trails, and indigenous cultures and environments of New Hampshire.

Customer Reviews:

NH from its beginnings.......2007-06-28

I feel lucky to have found this, and at such a great price! The book was perfect, and the arrival time more than prompt.

Time before History: The Archaeology of North Carolina

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Archaeology and Ancient History of Native North Carolinians

Time before History: The Archaeology of North Carolina
H. Trawick Ward
Manufacturer: The University of North Carolina Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0807824976
Release Date: 1999-09-01

Book Description

North Carolina's written history begins in the sixteenth century with the voyages of Sir Walter Raleigh and the founding of the ill-fated Lost Colony on Roanoke Island. But there is a deeper, unwritten past that predates the state's recorded history. The region we now know as North Carolina was settled more than 10,000 years ago, but because early inhabitants left no written record, their story must be painstakingly reconstructed from the fragmentary and fragile archaeological record they left behind.

Time before History is the first comprehensive account of the archaeology of North Carolina. Weaving together a wealth of information gleaned from archaeological excavations and surveys carried out across the state—from the mountains to the coast—it presents a fascinating, readable narrative of the state's native past across a vast sweep of time, from the Paleo-Indian period, when the first immigrants to North America crossed a land bridge that spanned the Bering Strait, through the arrival of European traders and settlers in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.

Customer Reviews:

Archaeology and Ancient History of Native North Carolinians.......2000-03-16

_______________

BRIEF REVIEW

TIME BEFORE HISTORY outlines what archaeologists know about native peoples in North Carolina from its earliest settlement some 12,000 years ago until the 18th century AD. Thorough and authoritative, well-written, well-illustrated, and at times provocative, this enjoyable book will serve as a significant reference and foundation for North Carolina archaeology for years to come. It makes a valuable scholarly contribution, and it is eminently accessible to any readers interested in native peoples of North America.

LONGER REVIEW

TIME BEFORE HISTORY reviews what archaeologists know about the ancient history of native North Carolina from the original settlement of its Appalachian mountain ranges, its Piedmont region, and its coastal provinces some twelve thousand years ago until the encounters between native peoples and European American explorers, traders, soldiers, and settlers from the 1500s through much of the 1700s. The photos of artifacts and scenes from archaeological fieldwork complement well its chapters about native cultures during different periods of the past. Maps and other line drawings are good contributions to the book. Certainly, the book will appeal to archaeologists and historians interested in native peoples of eastern North America. Meanwhile, its lively prose is accessible to any other readers interested in the culture and history of native peoples in North Carolina.

The first chapter outlines the major characteristics of architecture and other artifacts from North Carolina during different periods of the past, as they are currently understood by archaeologists. The authors then trace the history of North Carolina archaeology, from the late 19th century to current problems and prospects for the practice of prehistoric archaeology here at the end of the 20th century.

The second chapter reconstructs the lives of the groups to which archaeologists refer as Paleoindian people, the mobile bands of hunters and gatherers who settled North Carolina between 9500 and 7900 BC, and whose presence here is reflected primarily by certain kinds of stone spearheads. Just when the original North American settlers arrived and what their lives were like are currently very hot topics in archaeology, but it is clear that ten thousand years ago, native North Carolinians were living in colder and drier woodland environments than are here today.

The third chapter reviews what archaeologists know about what is called the Archaic period, from 8000 to 1000 BC, at the end of which native people began making clay pottery and began experimenting with gardening. During these centuries native North Carolinians tied their seasonal movements ever more closely to the seasonal cycles of the rich mast woodlands in which they lived, as the Eastern Woodlands of this continent became more and more like their current natural form.

The following chapters concentrate on the western, central, and eastern parts of North Carolina, respectively. These chapters trace native cultural history from the end of the Archaic period through the first several centuries of encounter and interaction between native groups and European colonists. A chapter about the southern Appalachians in western North Carolina traces the formation of carefully planned towns and villages of farming communities and the history of public architecture in the region, from earth lodges to earthen mounds to wooden council houses. A chapter about the Piedmont region of central North Carolina describes changes in the placement of settlements across the landscape due to farming practices and perhaps competition for choice farmland, and it describes the spatial layout of palisaded villages with houses and graves arranged around communal spaces. A chapter about the coast and coastal plain in eastern North Carolina concentrates on pottery traditions and the composition of shell heaps found at some sites, which preserve clues about architecture, mortuary practices, and foodways of coastal groups. Each of these chapters describes major archaeological sites and offers many written references for interested readers and specialists to pursue further if they would like.

The last chapter of the book outlines major trends in cultural persistence and change in native North Carolina during early interactions between Europeans and native peoples. Spanish explorers traveled through western North Carolina in the 1500s, several years before the English began their attempts to build colonies along the Middle Atlantic coast. English colonists were actively trading with native groups in central North Carolina in the 1600s, and this web of exchange and interaction spread to southern Appalachia and the Cherokee by the end of that century. Native groups of the Piedmont were ravaged by disease and cultural devastation due to the slave and deerskin trades in the 1600s, and they had become bound together as multiethnic communities much affected by the European presence at the dawn of the 1700s. European colonists along the coast battled the embittered Tuscarora in the early 1700s, and colonial militias conducted several raiding expeditions against the Cherokee in the middle and late 1700s. The history of these tumultuous years is best understood with an appreciation for the rich diversity and ancient history of native peoples in North Carolina before the arrival of different kinds of European colonists.

Written descriptions by early European American colonists of native North Carolinians are certainly valuable evidence about the history and culture of these native communities. TIME BEFORE HISTORY is unique for its comprehensive treatment of what archaeologists know about their history and culture for the ten thousand years before anything was written about them. The authors wrote the book to make such a summary available, and to offer their own interpretations of current archaeological evidence. They encourage further study and welcome perspectives other than their own interpretations, some of which chart new paths for archaeological study in different parts of the state.

The title is meant to underscore the richness of cultural traditions in what is now known as North Carolina long before anything was actually written about its many different native peoples. This very readable book is eminently accessible to any reader interested in native North Carolinians, and it will serve as a touchstone for further archaeological study in this part of North America for years to come.

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