Average customer rating:
- What a book!
- rates a second reading
- A waste of my time.
- Family Dysfunction at Its Best
- WOW
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Back Roads (Oprah's Book Club)
Tawni O'Dell
Manufacturer: Viking Adult
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
 Contemporary
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ASIN: 0670894184
Release Date: 2000-03-28 |
Amazon.com
Oprah Book Club® Selection, March 2000: Not since S.E. Hinton (The Outsiders) has a female novelist penned such a tough and titillating portrait of lower-class, crime-ridden manhood. Set in "beautiful, ruined" western Pennsylvania, amid Eat n' Parks and Lick n' Putts, Tawni O'Dell's Back Roads follows Harley Altmyer as he walks a raging, self-conscious line between crime and innocence. Why is he being held by the authorities, and what's he so mad about? In the recent past, it's his mother, who murdered his father and went to jail for life. In the far past, it's Dad himself: an abusive, hopeless man. In the present, it's the responsibility for his three younger sisters, which makes him fantasize about smashing their faces in until they "spit up bloody macaroni and cheese."
But Harley still has a conscience--barely. He doesn't strike his sisters; he's been trying to protect them. The oldest is sassy Amber, 16, who's having sex on the living-room couch with townies who abuse her; next is frighteningly stoic 12-year-old Misty, with eyes "a glazed brown like a medicine bottle"; the youngest is adorable Jody, who at 6 pens to-do lists with items such as "PRAY FOR DADDYS SOWL." Overburdened with the practicalities of life, and the ever-mounting losses, Harley has started seeing his own words floating in the air in front of his face. "CLOSURE. TRUTH. MOST GUYS."
This first novel opens well. O'Dell does an impeccable job of making Harley both brutal and forgivable. Here, for instance, he retreats to his basement room: "I lay there until dawn, thinking about Dad, and feeling the same useless frustration I had felt the first time I had seen him piss on a sparkling white drift of pure new snow."
But that delicacy is soon lost, and Back Roads risks becoming an overabundant affair, pitched high, with a roller-coaster trajectory. Harley's anger metamorphoses into an almost bloodthirsty lust for his sexy, middle-aged neighbor, which stirs up myriad forbidden family secrets. Misty, it turns out, has been hiding something. Amber revolts. And even Jody's scribbles turn malevolent. While the writing is good throughout, the tension and plotting assume an unpleasant adolescent posture--bodice-ripping passion and mordant gloom combined. Nonetheless, O'Dell's assured and touching portrait of her protagonist emerges unscathed. You will likely remember luckless, fated Harley Altmyer long after his tsunamic tale has receded. And no matter what the judge decides, you will understand why this impoverished, angry young man was probably the most innocent one of all. --Jean Lenihan
Book Description
An intense, vibrant debut novel set among the back roads of Pennsylvania's mining country
Harley Altmyer should be in college drinking Rolling Rock and chasing girls. He should be freed from his closed-minded, stricken coal town, with its lack of jobs and no sense of humor. Instead, he's constantly reminded of just how messed up his life is.
With his mother in jail for killing his abusive father, Harley is an orphan with the responsibilities of an adult and the fiery, aggressive libido of a teenager. Just nineteen years old, he's marooned in the Pennsylvania backwoods caring for his three younger sisters, whose feelings about him range from stifling dependence to loathing. And once he develops an obsession with the sexy, melancholic mother of two living down the road, those Victoria's Secret catalogs just won't do the trick anymore. He wants Callie Mercer so badly he fears he will explode. But it's the family secrets, the lies, and the unspoken truths that light the fuse and erupt into a series of staggering surprises, leaving what's left of his family in tatters. Through every ordeal, the unforgettable Harley could never know that his endearing humor, his love for his sisters, and his bumbling heroics would redeem them all.
Funny and heartbreaking, O'Dell's pitch-perfect characters capture the maddening confusion of adolescence and the prickly nature of family with irony and unerring honesty. Back Roads is a riveting novel by a formidable new talent.
Download Description
"""One day you're that guy who's happy he managed to survive high school and get that almighty piece of paper, and you're thinking you might try to get a job at Redi-Mix concrete where your dad's worked since the beginning of time. And at least you've got a family you can stand even if they are all sisters. One day you're that guy, and the next day you're assigned to a social worker and a therapist and given the choice of either being a LEGAL ADULT with three DEPENDENTS or an ORPHAN with NOBODY."" --From Back Roads Harley Altmyer should be in college drinking Rolling Rock and chasing girls. He should be freed from his closed-minded, stricken coal town, with its lack of jobs and no sense of humor. Instead, he's constantly reminded of just how messed up his life is. With his mother in jail for killing his abusive father, Harley is an orphan with the responsibilities of an adult and the fiery, aggressive libido of a teenager. Just nineteen years old, he's marooned in the Pennsylvania backwoods caring for his three younger sisters, whose feelings about him range from stifling dependence to loathing. And once he develops an obsession with the sexy, melancholic mother of two living down the road, those Victoria's Secret catalogs just won't do the trick anymore. He wants Callie Mercer so badly he fears he will explode. But it's the family secrets, the lies, and the unspoken truths that light the fuse and erupt into a series of staggering surprises, leaving what's left of his family in tatters. Through every ordeal, the unforgettable Harley could never know that his endearing humor, his love for his sisters, and his bumbling heroics would redeem them all. Funny and heartbreaking, Tawni O'Dell's pitch-perfect characters capture the maddening confusion of adolescence and the prickly nature of family with irony and unerring honesty. Back Roads is a riveting novel by a formidable new talent."
Customer Reviews:
What a book!.......2007-10-04
This is quite a book. I'm in a book club, otherwise I wouldn't have chosen to read it, but I'm glad I did. Once you're into it you can't put it down. Because I worked for the Dept.of Welfare for 34 years, the story didn't shock me, but it made me uneasy as it should anyone who reads it. I thought I had the ending figured out, but I didn't see this one coming! A great read for people with an open mind to the real world.
rates a second reading.......2007-09-22
I read this book twice, and that puts it in a category that includes "To Kill a Mockingbird" and "The Grapes of Wrath".
If you have difficulty relating to hard-core dysfunction or are squeamish about humanity's less attractive flaws, you probably will find the book difficult to enjoy. It is definitely not a "feel good" book.
For me, however, it made several indelible points; closure is a crock, people often behave the way they do because circumstances place them in situations where they must behave the way they do in order to survive, and there is no limit to the complexity of human sexuality and the fragility of the human psyche.
O'Dell's fiction may be limited geographically and by the socio-economic strata with which she is familiar, but her knowledge of the human heart is infinite.
I recommend this book highly.
A waste of my time........2007-09-05
I bought this book to take with me to the beach. It held my attention and I read it in just a few days, but I was very disappointed when I finished it. The whole story and the characters seemed very unrealistic.
Family Dysfunction at Its Best.......2007-08-27
O'Dell's story captures all the facets of an extremely dysfunctional family with raw, shocking realism - outright physical and verbal abuse, insinuated sexual abuse, incest and murder. As the novel unfolds, it becomes obvious that the male narrator is mentally disturbed but it's nearly impossible not to sympathize with his situation. O'Dell also does an excellent job of portraying his sexual frustrations, not to mention the overall confusion and desperation of a young man who has had too much responsibility thrust upon him. I highly recommend this novel. It is compulsively readable and well written.
WOW.......2007-08-06
I read this in one day. Just could not put it down. Gorgeous writing - Ms O'Dell is some author. Can't wait to read her next book. I highly recommend this book.
Product Description
The 14 Book Beany Malone Set includes: Meet the Malones; Beany Malone; Leave It to Beany; Beany and the Beckoning Road; Beany Has a Secret Life; Make a Wish for Me; Happy Birthday, Dear Beany; The More the Merrier; A Bright Star Falls; Welcome Stranger; Pick a New Dream; Tarry Awhile; Something Borrowed, Something Blue; Come Back, Wherever You Are. The Malones of Denver, Colorado are a warm open-hearted family with a welcoming home, open to friends and all others in need of physical and emotional nourishment. The series has the warmth and sense of solidarity intrinsic of wartimes and the post-war era. There is a general feeling of peace and simplicity. When the series opens, the Malone children are motherless, as Mary Malone has been dead for three years. The father, Martie Malone, is often absent due to his duties as editor of the Denver Call. Three of the four Malone children, Mary Fred, Johnny and Beany, live at home. The oldest Malone daughter, the beautiful, loving Elizabeth, has been married to Lieutenant Donald McCallin for one year. The Malones live on Barberry Street in a large, wide-bosomed gray stone home. Their surrounding neighbors are Mrs. Morrison Adams (known as Mrs. Socially-prominent Adams) in her red brick home with immaculate white trim and frilly curtains in the windows, and the imposing and stately home of the Judge Buell family.
Customer Reviews:
AMAZING SERIES!! IS A MUST READ!.......2006-06-24
I got the entire series this past Christmas. I had read the first 2 because although my library had more, they didn't have all of them, and they didn't have the 3rd and I don't like to read things out of order so I was really sad. So then I was soo happy to find out they were being republished by Image Cascading!!!
So yea I read them all and they all rock!!! It's nice seeing what teenagers did back in the 50's. And it was also nice how different people's relationships were with their family's, I wish it were more like that today. And they are also way more responsible and mature then we are now. Making their own money, not having to depend on their parents for everything. And their parents respect and trust them more too! And they definatly treat their parents with much respect which is ALOT more then I can say about kids of today.
The first book is about Beany's older sister, Mary Fred. It is in MF's junior year of highschool, when Beany is in 8th grade. The rest of the books are all about Beany, in highschool, college, and then when she gets married. And let me just say I LOVE who she ends up with. They are SOOO cute!!!
Everyone should read these books they are amazing and are definatly one of my favorite books ever!
Average customer rating:
- Good book
- Even better than "All Quiet"
- Much harder than surviving the war
- This could be a book about P.T.S.D.
- Remarque nailed it early on...
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The Road Back
Erich Maria Remarque
Manufacturer: Ballantine Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Classics
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| Literature & Fiction
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Contemporary
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Literary
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German
| World Literature
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Similar Items:
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Three Comrades
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Arch of Triumph
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The Night in Lisbon
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All Quiet on the Western Front
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Shadows in Paradise
ASIN: 0449912469
Release Date: 1998-01-27 |
Book Description
THE ROAD BACK
After four grueling years the Great War has finally ended. Now Ernst and the few men left from his company cannot help wondering what will become of them. The town they departed as eager young men seems colder, their homes smaller, the reasons their comrades had to die even more inexplicable.
For Ernst and his friends, the road back to peace is more treacherous than they ever imagined. Suffering food shortages, political unrest, and a broken heart, Ernst undergoes a crisis that teaches him what there is to live for--and what he has that no one can ever take away.
Customer Reviews:
Good book.......2007-07-24
"The Road Back" is Remarque's sequel to the famous "Alls Quiet on the Western Front". It is an excellent work, dealing with a difficult subject - Germany's WWI veterans and their return home (which, I might add, is probably poorly understood in the US).
This book is not, however, the equivalent of Alls Quiet. The theme is more complicated, of course, but it also does not quite have Remarque's "from the gut" or "from the heart" simplicity writing that shines so well in Alls Quiet. The Road Back seems to me to be more of a 'deliberate' effort. It has more characters, and more themes. Some of these, like the conflict between Weil and Lt Heel (a Jewish soldier and a German officer, respectively) do not go in depth as far as post war anti-Semitism...I suppose that could be just Remarque's style.
The timelines and people can also be difficult to follow: for example Ernst seems to be a student when he is called up, presumably after Paul Baumer's grade class ("form"), but on his return they enter a Teacher's College as though they were previously enrolled there...Was he Paul's contemporary (same age?) or a later recruit to the same Company? There seemed to be other timeline inconsistencies, to readers who notice such.
The reader must also know a lot more about the German politics of the time to truly understand some of the overall plot. This puts it at odds with the more basic human themes of Alls Quiet, in my view. But perhaps that is what Remarque wanted - to introduce the new complications to their lives as opposed to the simple survival efforts of Paul Baumer. Unfortunately, I believe Remarque fell short of fully developing this idea, if that was his intention. The book is too short for that.
Though I'm not certain why, I get an uneasy feeling Remarque was almost deliberately writing The Road Back to be sold, perhaps due to the success of Alls Quiet ?? It would take an examination of his life, the time he wrote the book and all that to verify or refute this.
I still loved the book !
As an aside, Remarque himself is a bit of an enigma - his war service has been studied and questioned (he did not spend much time at the front) and he's been described as something of a fantasist, who misrepresented his own war experiences. If true, this may bear on his writing.
Even better than "All Quiet".......2006-12-21
I read this book for a course on Inter-war Europe and I absolutely devoured this book. Admittedly, you need to have a basic grasp on German history during the first few years after World War I, but I think that this would be a useful book for creating a better understanding of those who return home from war. As much as "All Quiet" was great for it's strong anti-war messages, "The Road Back" really hits home because it is about life after and away from war. It is about families and friendship and estrangement. It is a book about life. And life, in the confines of this book, is excruciatingly beautiful. Well worth a read.
Much harder than surviving the war.......2006-06-23
"Yes, things were much simpler at the Front; there, so long as a man was still alive, all was well."
The sequel to "All Quiet on the Western Front," this novel explores the lives of the surviving members of Paul Baumer's regiment, as they attempt to integrate back into society in postwar Germany. Peace has come at last, yet the "road back" to civilization is a hard, arduous journey that countless ex-soldiers lose their way. Although the war has ended, the youth whose lives were ever changed are still soldiers at heart, trained to kill. The years in the trenches have rendered the soldiers hollow and incapable of recovering their former innocence. Whereas life in the trenches taught comradeship and survival, life back at home is a tedious, mind-numbing process of seemingly petty trifles and inconveniences.
No members from the original novel, save for Tjaden, appear, but there are references made to the original gang (who were killed, of course). The novel is told in the first person by Ernst Birkholz, and 18-year old student who returns home after the armistice. In style and form, Remarque delivers a novel similar to the original. In a terse and direct style, Remarque paints a portrait of Ernst as he struggles with disillusionment and fear, for the battle back in civilization is far more arduous and heart-wrenching than the trenches.
Throughout the novel, Ernst attempts to recapture his youth, for it is his youth that was taken from him. Although he has survived the war, he was irrevocably damaged psychologically. Everything has changed. Even the simple pleasures of a pre-war existence have vanished, although they may physically be the same. For, once a boy becomes a soldier, he can never recapture his youth.
Yet, for all the broken soldiers, Remarque does deliver hope. Not all of his comrades have fallen victim to the ravages of war. Tjaden, Arthur, and Bruno show that one can find happiness back in society. In the midst of the chaos of the Weimar Revolution, there can be found peace and contentment. Although he fails to find it until the very end, it seems as if Ernst has discovered the secret to navigating the "road back."
I must say that I am surprised this novel hasn't generated more interest on Amazon, as I am only the 9th reviewer. Although the novel doesn't have quite the edge of the first one, which is a war novel afterall, it does deliver a poignant image of struggle and redemption. And the novel is not totally devoid of war scenes, for flashbacks occur periodically, particularly the haunting image of the English captain whose legs were blown off by Ernst's grenade. This is a superb book and is a brilliant sequel to the original.
This could be a book about P.T.S.D........2005-02-01
This is an excellent story about a group of young men who try to to put some semblance of normality back into their lives after experiencing the horrors of war. One cannot help feeling sympathetic for these men. Perhaps they were the enemy, perhaps they were on the "other side". But for the most part they were ordinary young men, generally decent and not so different from men in the U.S., Britain or Canada. They went to war with the same ideals of patriotism and duty as allied soldiers, and came back scarred physically and emotionally. As well as feeling disillusioned to find that their sacrifices had been for nothing, the people at home seem to be almost indifferent and have no understanding of what they went through. What they experienced then, seems to be very similar to what soldiers of today are experiencing. Post traumatic stress disorder.
Remarque nailed it early on..........2002-11-08
There seems to be a plethora of both novels and non-fiction books now about the ravages of war and its aftermath, describing both the physical and emotional scars, now that the world has gone through World War II, Vietnam, and scores of other wars. However, when Remarque was writing, there was very little literature of this sort. He nailed it early on, when the Allies were still celebrating their triumphs after the War to End All Wars, and no one outside Germany really cared what happened there. In the West, even today, we have been conditioned to think of Germany during the World Wars as an army of emotionless automatons who blindly followed orders and suffered no moral apprehension. This novel, and others by Remarque, show this to be untrue. The Germans died, cried, loved, lost, and suffered, both physically and emotionally, as much as any soldier of any army. This is the fitting sequel to "All Quiet on the Western Front" (Paul Baumer even gets a passing mention as the protagonists remember lost comrades), and while it lacks the grit and guts of Remarque's wartime novel, it shows the sense of loss, grief, and hopelessness felt by many on both sides after the Great War, and other wars as well.
Amazon.com
Is there any dish more American than pie? Seeking to determine its unique place in our cultural and culinary life, journalist Pascale Le Draoulec's American Pie: Slices of Life (and Pie) from America's Back Roads chronicles the author's cross-country pie hunt. Her search by car--from San Francisco to New York--uncovers every native pie variety, from Montana huckleberry to Pennsylvania shoofly; it also reveals, perhaps predictably, an America of towns with 60 churches for 2,500 inhabitants and "white-haired women with calloused rolling pin palms," a breed sadly in decline, as is pie making, which takes time we don't seem to have. Still, pie makers like Oklahoma's Leoda Mueller (coconut cream) and Minnesota's Lola Nebel (raspberry pear) are out there, and for many of them fixing pies remains a link to the past, present, and self. Le Draoulec's journey is also a personal one. Besides learning that we're a land that often likes its pie crusts purchased pre-made, or prepared with butter-flavored Crisco (how quickly we embrace industrial foods!), Le Draoulec completes a pie-bracketed journey of her own, from an unsettled West Coast life to domesticity and an impending marriage in the East. There she plans to bake a marriage pie, "huckleberry and peach, like the one [she] loved at the Spruce Café in Montana." If Le Draoulec doesn't usually manage to get under her characters' skin, and if her narrative lacks conclusiveness, she nonetheless provides an arresting look at an iconic food whose place is both entrenched and precarious. The book includes photos and 25 recipes from the pie makers, such as Mildred Snook's Sour Cream Raisin Pie, Bufford's Dad's Buttermilk Pie, and Mamma Millsap's Open-Faced Apple Pie. --Arthur Boehm
Book Description
Crossing class and color lines, and spanning the nation (Montana has its huckleberry, Pennsylvania its shoofly, and Mississippi its sweet potato), pie -- real, homemade pie -- has meaning for all of us. But in today's treadmill, take-out world -- our fast-food nation -- does pie still have a place?
As she traveled across the United States in an old Volvo named Betty, Pascale Le Draoulec discovered how merely mentioning homemade pie to strangers made faces soften, shoulders relax, and memories come wafting back. Rambling from town to town with Le Draoulec, you'll meet the famous, and sometimes infamous, pie makers who share their stories and recipes, and find out how a quest for pie can lead to something else entirely.
Customer Reviews:
A Gastronomic Journey Across America.......2006-11-20
Pascale Le Draoulec a West Coast food editor who has never tasted American pie has taken a job on the East Coast. She decides drive from California to the new job in Connecticut and use the trip to experience American pies. Le Draoulec tells of adventures and scenery and people she meets along the way. And she also describes regional pie favorites. Several recipes are included.
This is a must read for someone craving light reading and a good slice of pie!
Inspirational.......2006-08-30
I could not put this down. I too can relate to moving from the west to the east therefore much of the allure of this book was reading about all the places I have been. The stories are charming. Wonderful, easy read.
Yummy! Loved It!!.......2006-06-23
I got this book at a library sale and had no idea what a treat I was in for. Great stories mixed with fun pie recipies. It's the type of book you can "dip into" when you want, or read it all in one sitting. I did make a great pie after reading this; guess I was inspired. Great gift as well; young and old...bakers and non-bakers will appreciate the easy to read narrative and tales from around the States.
EAT Pie, don't READ about it! .......2005-11-27
...or at least don't read THIS book about it. What a mess. This is one of the most nastily-written books that I can think of, and how can you be nasty when writing about something as delicious as PIE? I agree with the other reviewer who didn't dare donate this book to the charity book sale! Directly into the trash bin!
Thelma and Louise go for pie.......2004-11-09
This books combines the perspectives of the roadtrip, the female "buddy adventure," and a food book all in one, as author Le Draoulec and two different female friends go on two different roadtrips to explore the world of pie. In her search for pie, the author encounters interesting characters and snapshots of America and Americana.
A downside is that the author's engagement is somewhat... superficial. By her own admission, her choosing of pie as the theme for her roadtrip is arbitrary. As a journalist always looking for a story, she is constantly on the lookout for certain tidbits, soundbites, and events of interest, and this renders a certain self-consciouness to the proceedings.
For example: In Memphis, an old man mentions a pie stop that local people go to after church: "I was glad he brought church up," the writer says, "because Kris and I had a hankering for some live, soul-searing spirituals." She goes on to describe their morning adventure as two 30-something white yuppie women in an all-black southern church. How phony, opportunistic, whitebread and contrived can you get? That, and a few too many predictable self-deprecatory "to hell with our waistlines -- we're eating more pie" jokes of the "Cathy" comicstrip sensibility -- wears thin after awhile.
Some of those aspects may be pet peeves on my part. But a very real problem with the book is a significant loss of momentum between sections (between her first and second pie trips) that makes it read almost like two different books.
All that said, this is a fun and entertaining book. It will make you excited about pie, and for cooks there are probably some great recipes. Despite some superficiality, there are some compassionate and interesting portraits of the people they encounter. And in the end, the author digs a bit deeper into herself, and finally connects with her subject matter. I found the concluding two pages to be moving and memorable.
Book Description
Do you like small towns, places off the beaten path, trips down memory lane? Ever wonder if old-fashioned values are still alive in America? Then kick back, unwind, and hop onboard with travel writer Bill Graves as he takes you
On the Back Roads. Graves has a knack for finding the quirky, the offbeat in some of the most obscure, yet fascinating, small towns on the map. Among the places and faces he discovers: a town where it's against the law not to own a gun, a town famous for its split pea soup, the wise 83-year-old Emmy who camps alone in the dessert, and a man who hunts live ants for a living. The list goes on! Retired and free to roam in his motorhome, the “RV Author,” Bill Graves, logs 40,000 miles through the western states of California, Arizona, Utah, Nevada, Oregon and Wyoming.
Customer Reviews:
Disappointed!.......2003-02-26
I was disappointed.
A collection of very short tales from the author's travels... Really not much of a theme running through it. I'm not sure what the author's objective was in writing it, other than to be able to tell people that he's writing a book. If you want to read about small town America, try Dayton Duncan's "Miles from Nowhere" or Jonathan Raban's "Bad Land."
Discover Small Towns: Discover Yourself.......2001-09-18
I got this book so I could write a small synopsis for an RV publication and read it with some skepticism. Could Graves possibly engage my interest about towns I'm sure I'll never visit? As I scanned the chapters, as I so often do with this sort of book, I had to stop and read deeper. He wasn't writing strickly in support of tourism, but about getting to know oneself, to be in the moment, to not let life pass you by. While sharing some of his past, we're able to watch Graves' internal struggle to find peace, and traveling back roads with Rusty gave him the opportunity to do just that. Although the author often talks about his mode of travel, the motorhome was merely a conduit -- although a comfortable one -- to make this journey. I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves travel, introspection, humor and good fun.
This isn't travel, but a vacation........2000-07-22
Looking on the back cover of this book when I got it, I was lt down. In small print on the upper-left corner it says "Travel". But in big print, upper-middle, it refers to the auther and the "R.V. Author" (something like that). I come from the philosophy that one cannot truly experience the magic and wonders of the backroads in an RV. I bought the book hoping to "meet" some wonderful people from Small Town, USA. I was hoping to hear about interesting sights hidden from most Interstate travellers. I was hoping to read about the new wisdom and insight which comes from travelling alone in unfamiliar places. Bill Graves does none of this. He usually spends about 2 largely-printed pages on one town and all of the people in it. Sometimes, he only writes a half of a page. He takes the interstate when he can, and he complains about the heat. This book is also edited poorly. There are several cases where he will introduce someone with one name and have it spelled differently two or three lines down. Jessy, Jessie, and Jesse describes the same small boy who rides in his dad's truck. I do get a small smile every now and again from reading this book, which is why I didn't give it 1 star. But if you want a real travel book, read William Least Heat-Moon. Not this.
Excellent book........2000-04-02
A most entertaining book. I had trouble putting it down. Graves has an easy style which is always humble, insightful, and extremely well researched. It makes you want to hit the road today!
Disappointed.......2000-03-30
This particular book does not cover "America," but only California, Nevada, Arizona, Utah, Wyoming, Colorado and New Mexico. When I have the opportunity to travel to these states, I think it will be somewhat helpful. I was dissapointed more of the U.S. was not covered.
Average customer rating:
- Nice, large, LAMINATED maps!
- Dimensions? What dimensions!
- Don't waste your money
- These maps are not laminated!
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Back to School Us/World Map (Economy Line Wall Maps United States and World 2 for 1)
Manufacturer: American Map Corporation
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Map
World
| Atlases & Maps
| Reference
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Reference
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| Books
General
| Travel
| Subjects
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ASIN: 0841621772 |
Book Description
This Colorprint wall map is accurate, informative and ideal for sales executives, travel agents and school teachers. Our quality United States and World Maps are packed together at one very economical price. The United States map shows time zones, major highways, state capitals, national parks and monuments, and insets of major cities. The World map shows time zones, national boundaries, national capitals, major cities and towns, and flags of the nations. The heavy duty laminated surface protects from wear and tear and can be marked with a grease pencil, crayon or erasable marker, then wiped clean with a damp cloth. Suitable for framing and available in a variety of mounting styles.
Customer Reviews:
Nice, large, LAMINATED maps!.......2006-12-09
These maps arrived yesterday in a giant box. They are quite nice, and perfect for our use - a child's bedroom wall. They are laminated, as stated.
The package says, "Laminated. 2 Maps for the Price of 1. Regularly $39.90 Now only $19.95. Separate maps. Each 50" x 38""
I was afraid to order these because of the bad reviews, but it's exactly what we needed.
Dimensions? What dimensions!.......2005-09-29
I was looking for a smaller maps. The 38" is correct, however the 2.0" listed is not a mistaken 20" width. The 38" is the width...! Beware, it is more expensive to send back than they are worth.
These may be a wonderful maps, if you have the wall to post it on.
Don't waste your money.......2005-08-27
These maps are junk. First, the dimension of 38x2x2 is wrong. Most importantly, they are not only not laminated, but they are on extremely flimsy material.
Since it came in a giant tube, I am sure sending them back will cost more than the refund.
What a waste!
These maps are not laminated!.......2005-05-26
Perhaps I was sent the wrong package, but these 2 maps are not laminated. Also, the package says "Incredible Value! Regularly $13.90, now only $6.95". Amazon shipped the maps in a HUGE box, so it would probably cost me more to ship it back to them than I originally paid for the two maps. Very disappointing.
Average customer rating:
- They Just Don't Make Missionaries Like They Used To
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On the Back Road to Mandalay
Robert, G Johnson
Manufacturer: Xulon Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
General
| Christian Living
| Christianity
| Religion & Spirituality
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| Books
General
| Religion & Spirituality
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ASIN: 1600347355 |
Book Description
"On the Back Road to Mandalay" is the story of twenty years of life and work in the mountains of western Burma. To advance the Christian faith, they had an adventurous life raising their children, running schools, training men and women for ministry, translating the Bible, building churches, producing Christian literature and Sunday school material, and promoting health and education.
Customer Reviews:
They Just Don't Make Missionaries Like They Used To.......2007-04-13
On the Back Road to Mandalay was written by the father of a friend of mine. That's why I bought the book and read it, but I enjoyed it so much, I'm passing it along to other friends of mine.
The title for this book is a take off from the title of a poem by Rudyard Kipling, "On the Road to Mandalay." The author of this book had distinctly different ideas in mind than Kipling did when he wrote his poem.
Mandalay is a city in Myanmar, a country in south east Asia formerly called Burma. On the Back Road to Mandalay is a missionary autobiography, a delightful adventure story about the growth of the Christian church in a mountainous region of the country called the Chin Hills. The author, now 91 years old, lived and worked with his wife and kids in a village called Haka in the years from 1946-1966 with a group called the American Baptist mission. He and his wife were "general" missionaries, not specialists, and did everything from evangelism to Bible translation to medical work to printing Christian literature to drawing plans for a huge church building--all without electricity. This family would have stayed and worked longer except the government kicked them, and all other missionaries, out. But, they hardly needed to stay, for there remains to this day a healthy church in a strongly Buddhist country.
I was impressed with the work for Christ kingdom, no doubt. But I was really interested in his stories of "making do" with what he had to accomplished amazing things. I loved the stories about homemade washing machines, home built saws for cutting stones, building a house with rammed earth, making roofing shingles by dipping cardboard into melted tar, and my favorite, cutting glass with his wife's engagement ring.
I also learned about a vehicle called a Farm-o-Road and about a pre-calculator called an Add-o-Meter.
After reading this book I'm seeing some insights into my friend, like why she likes rice so much, which she likes things neat and in order, and why she's interested in the translation of the Bible into vernacular languages. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree.
I did find a few typos, and one place where a story was repeated. But I probably won't mention that to my friend. :)
Book Description
Sensible, capable, and always in control, Leigh Mitchell is the local sheriff of her sleepy Indiana home town. But Leigh is turning thirty and feeling restless. Something needs to change. She needs to change. So when a sexy stranger asks her to ride the Ferris wheel one moonlit night, she takes a leap of faith-and falls for Will Scott, dangerous secrets and all. By turns passionate and tender, Will reveals little about his past and less about his future, even when the town suspects him of committing a terrible crime. Now on the uncertain back roads of life, take-charge Leigh must learn to let go...and trust not only the cold dictates of the law but the hot-blooded demands of her heart.
Customer Reviews:
GREAT first book.......2005-10-07
I really enjoyed this book. It kept my interest all the way through the book. I ordered her other books but I am not that big of a fan for sequel books. But we shall see. Leigh was a 3D character, that you found yourself holding your breath that she would come out on top. Same with Will Scott. I believe that you will enjoy this book.
A wonderful debut.......2004-10-02
Back Roads is an amazing debut novel by Susan Crandall.
Sheriff Leigh Mitchell has always been the good girl, never veering from the straight and narrow path. A milestone birthday is approaching and she feels edgy. A sexy outsider comes to her small town and set her world on fire.
Will Scott has returned to a place that had brought him happiness as a child. He is just passing through until he sees Leigh. Will has secrets he cannot share but finds himself wanting to share everything with Leigh.
A crime is committed and the new man in town is the target of the gossip. Leigh is torn between what her heart knows and her job.
Back Roads tells a tale of fighting for what you believe in and taking a stand. You can really feel the conflict and the passions that these characters are dealing with all through the book. It's a must read.
An Entertaining Debut Novel.......2004-02-16
Leigh Mitchell, the sheriff in Glens Crossing, Indiana, is fast approaching her thirtieth birthday. She would like to make changes in her life before it passes her by. She is not sure how to make those changes though until she meets Will Scott, a stranger passing through town. She meets him at the festival talking to Brittany Wilson, a town teenager. Leigh and Will ride the Ferris Wheel together then afterwards head to the local bar where they dance together, creating a scene for the townsfolk. Leigh believes Will could be the answer to her discovering a new self. A few days later when tragedy strikes the small town and Will is the prime suspect Leigh is torn between believing her heart and her experience in law enforcement.
Back Roads was a good book. This debut novel by Susan Crandall was well written with an excellent storyline and very believable characters. The story moves along at a good pace (with the exception of a few parts) and keeps teasing you until the end. Just when you think you know who Will Scott is Ms. Crandall throws you off course with suspicion.
I was pleased with the detail in this book. Even though it is a work of fiction the author included some "true" details. She talks of Bloomington, IN and the Hoosier National Forrest. Also included was the mention of the tv station from Indianapolis, channel 6. These details being included made the story more authentic, especially to someone from Indiana.
All in all this was a good story to read. It has romance and suspense well blended to make a very entertaining read. With more books like Back Roads this author is well on her way to being a well-known bestseller.
Great book, terrific characterization.......2004-01-04
I simply loved this book and will keep watching for other books by this author. Her characterizations and plot were great, spiced with a sense of humor.
Excellent Read! Couldn't tell it was a debut.......2003-12-20
I read this in one sitting. Will Scott. Leigh Mitchell. Both were very believable characters. Sub-characters were lacking, but not enough to detract from the beauty of the story.
Will is on the run. He is hurting. He is real. He chooses the right, based on the information that he has.
Leigh is on the verge of becoming. She is good, solid, and mature.
They are good for each other. Strong enough to love, protect, and support one another. Mature enough to stand alone when need be.
I will definitely read Ms. Crandall's next offering: The Road Home.
Book Description
Going Back to Central -- On the Road in Search of the Past in Michigan's Upper Peninsula is a journey of discovery --connecting the present with the history of Cornish copper miners in the region. Although the purpose of the author's trip was to honor and celebrate the lives of his Cornish ancestors who came to Central Mine in the 1800s, along the way he savors the autumn splendors of a beautiful and rugged part of the north country and listens for tales of its unique and sturdy residents.
Includes 31 full color photos; 21 b/w historic photographs
Going Back to Central -- On the Road in Search of the Past in Michigan's Upper Peninsula has been selected as a Michigan Notable Book for 2004 by the Library of Michigan.
Customer Reviews:
Enchanted Peninsula.......2005-06-19
If you have spent any time in the Upper Pensinsula of Michigan, you will really appreciate this book. It's a splended blend of history and geography and the author's humor and insight are perfect! I have read the book 3 times - it is a pretty easy read - and it still transports me in spirit to this beautiful midwest area.
A combination travelogue and personal journey.......2003-05-22
Written by Lon L. Emeric (a fifth-generation descendant of Cornish copper miners), Going Back To Central: On The Road In Search Of The Past In Michigan's Upper Peninsula impressively presents a combination travelogue and personal journey through Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Colorful characters, breathtaking landscapes, and memorable pieces of folklore are all retold in captivating detail. Going Back To Central is especially commended to the attention of anyone with an interest in American History in general, and the Upper Peninsula country of Michigan in particular.
Amazon.com
Commuters, here's some food for thought: collectively, Americans spend more than 8 billion hours each year stuck in traffic. This is just one of the horrifying statistics mentioned in Jane Holtz Kay's Asphalt Nation, an eye-opening look at the relationship between Americans and their cars. Kay asserts that the automobile is destroying our communities, our environment, and our economic competitiveness, and her supporting arguments are pretty persuasive. In addition to the billions of hours wasted in gridlock, Kay notes that our daily drives are becoming longer and more frequent, and that increased mileage has nullified any advances in emission controls. Asphalt Nation is comprised of three parts: the first, "Car Glut: A Nation in Lifelock," examines the impact of the automobile culture on life in the United States today. "Car Tracks: The Machine That Made the Land" traces the history of cars from Henry Ford to the present, while "Car Free: From Dead End to Exit" imagines a happier future without automobile dependency.
What makes Asphalt Nation far more interesting than the typical anti-auto diatribe is Kay's discussion of the cultural mores that helped create America's current car glut--namely, our attitudes toward land use and growth management; her comparisons between American and European practices in these areas are particularly interesting. Others have written about the American love affair with the automobile, but Holtz revisits the discussion with lively writing and a dramatic narrative.
Book Description
Asphalt Nation is a powerful examination of how the automobile has ravaged America's cities and landscape over the past 100 years together with a compelling strategy for reversing our automobile dependency. Jane Holtz Kay provides a history of the rapid spread of the automobile and documents the huge subsidies commanded by the highway lobby, to the detriment of once-efficient forms of mass transportation. Demonstrating that there are economic, political, architectural, and personal solutions to the problem, she shows that radical change is entirely possible. This book is essential reading for everyone interested in the history of our relationship with the car, and in the prospect of returning to a world of human mobility.
Customer Reviews:
A Muddled Mess.......2005-12-01
Let me first say that I completely agree with Kay's main point: Our car culture has huge costs, costs which are way out of whack with their benefits.
Having said that, this book fails to convince the skeptic, which ought to be her intended audience. It's a long series of disjointed arguments and statistics and bizarre examples of planning mistakes carefully picked from history with 20/20 hindsight. Far from its other "Nation" namesakes (Suburban Nation, for example, seriously changed my outlook on how we build cities), it fails to follow some narrow trends or examples, and instead in every chapter tells the same story over and over. This book has great potential, but it feels like the sentences got all mixed up in the publisher's word processor so that no coherent story is told.
If you're a fanatic, it's worth a read, but the skeptic will walk away confused and will not be inclined to buy the downtown row house Kay might admire.
A little more of this, a little less of that..........2004-09-04
Less a book than a book-length sort of reportage, Asphalt Nation builds the case against the automobile to almost absurd heights. After reading the first half of the book, you wonder why cars are even legal in this country! Cars pollute, pollution is toxic, OK, we get that. Enough already.
I was more taken with the second part, where Kay reports the history of how automobiles, and specifically traffic planners, conspired to create the sprawling, pedestrian-hostile multilane disaster we call the modern American city. This portion of the book was fascinating, and I would have liked twice as much of it.
At the end of the day, however, I was hoping the author would have a more nuanced and thoughtful point of view than, "Cars are bad, walking is good." I already knew that. Still and all, a great book if you're inclined to think that maybe what your city needs is NOT one or two more left-turn lanes.
A worthy thesis, well presented.......2004-06-20
I've noticed how much design caters to car traffic for some time now. Not only are bus systems left behind in plans, but it is also difficult to walk anywhere these days. I'm not crazy about her ideas like raising gas prices, or anything that raises the misery factor for low income people struggling to keep their jalopy running (like harsh smog test requirements) but the idea of making alternative transportation easier and more attractive is good.
There could have been a little more attention to using the already in place car infrastructure for alternative fuel vehicles. But that doesn't take away from the basic idea behind the book.
Loss of Economic Competitiveness.......2004-01-16
No wonder our American jobs are being outsourced oversees - we demand more money from our employers so that we can drive farther from our home to work and spend, spend, spend on our cars to do this. We think buying a cheaper house in the 'sububs' saves money, but we spend more money on our cars and gas bills in the long term than we initially bargained for. Living closer to where we work maybe the solution - or telecommuiting (whatever happened to that idea?) but that's not really the point of the book, just an unstated theme throughout. I thought I could live in the county and work from home, but now I spend $500 a month on driving into the city and wasting precious time trapped in a car. Live and Learn - and think about reading this book (or at least the reviews...)
should be in every cardealers showroom.......2004-01-15
They should put up a stand in front of every cardealer's showroom to preach the message. Though some of your writers said Kay's message was nothing new, it clearly makes a polemic that carries more weight and more solid and elegantly put information than Fastfood Nation. Actually, it replaces or supplements that book by saying if we moved more...we'd be healthy, wealthy and wiser, never mind saving the planet's diversity and co2 emissions.
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