The Debt Squeeze: How Your Family Can Become Financially Free

Book Description

An estimated one-third of all combat actions in the American Revolution took place in South Carolina. From the partisan clashes of the backcountry's war for the hearts and minds of settlers to bloody encounters with Native Americans on the frontier, more battles were fought in South Carolina than any other of the original thirteen states. The state also had more than its share of pitched battles between Continental troops and British regulars. In South Carolina and the American Revolution: A Battlefield History, John W. Gordon illustrates how these encounters, fought between 1775 and 1783, were critical to winning the struggle that secured Americas independence from Great Britain.According to Gordon, when the war reached stalemate in other zones and the South became its final theater, South Carolina was the decisive battleground. Recounting the clashes in the state, Gordon identifies three sources of attack: the powerful British fleet and seaborne forces of the British regulars; the Cherokees in the west; and, internally, a loyalist population numerous enough to support British efforts towards reconquest. From the successful defense of Fort Sullivan (the palmetto-log fort at the mouth of Charleston harbor), capture and occupation of Charleston in 1780, to later battles at King's Mountain and Cowpens, this chronicle reveals how troops in South Carolina frustrated a campaign for restoration of royal authority and set British troops on the road to ultimate defeat at Yorktown. Despite their successes in 1780 and 1781, the British found themselves with a difficult military problem--having to wage a conventional war against American regular forces while also mounting a counterinsurgency against the partisan bands of Francis Marion, Andrew Pickens, and Thomas Sumter. In this comprehensive assessment of one southern state's battlegrounds, Gordon examines how military policy in its strategic, operational, and tactical dimensions set the stage for American success in the Revolution.

Customer Reviews:

An interesting read that is worth your time.......2007-06-13

I found Dr. Gordon's account of the South Carolina campaign to be well written and a pleasure to read (unlike some military histories). I've had an occasion to study military operational art under Dr. Gordon at the Marine Corps Command and Staff College this past year. He has an keen intellect and a command of military subjects that is rare these days. Not only a scholar, Colonel Gordon is a combat veteran who brings several decades of experience as a Marine Corps officer to the table.

Of course none of this would be particularly relevant if this book were the poorly written "breezy account" that a previous reviewer suggested it was. As a military officer I've read more than my fair share of military histories over the past few decades, and I can tell you this is one of the better books I've read.

I found Dr. Gordon's assertions that "South Carolina was more a civil war than the one formally called that eighty years later" and "it was fought also to settle old scores or to best rivals" to be of particular interest given our current involvement abroad (every generation likes to think it is facing unprecedented challenges.)

Dr. Gordon's account of the Cherokee involvement on the British side and the long term damage it did to the loyalist cause was especially informative. It showed the dangers of making common cause with the wrong allies and the importance of perception when waging a counter-insurgency.

My advice - if you are looking for an interesting book on the part played by South Carolina during the revolution...don't skip it.

A Closer Study of the Southern Campaign.......2006-11-04

Despite having its' origin in Massachusetts, its first major victory in New York (along with numerous defeats), the many traipses across New Jersey, and its conclusion in Virginia, more Revolutionary combat actions occurred in South Carolina than in any other state. Often, when Americans think of the Revolution, visions of minute men at Lexington and Concord, Washington crossing the Delaware, or even the first victory at Saratoga come to mind. With his book, SOUTH CAROLINA AND THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION, John W. Gordon seeks to change all that and bring to the forefront, the importance of the campaigns and skirmishes that kept South Carolina in turmoil for nearly eight years.

Even in the southern campaign, knowledge is often limited to the major events such as Cowpens and the siege of Charleston. Gordon lends meticulous insight and detail to countless lesser known events of the south. Closely examined here are details concerning the three fronts of attack in South Carolina; British Naval forces in the east, Cherokee Indians in the west, and Tory loyalists throughout the state.

If you are a southern campaign enthusiast, I believe this book gives the best overall insight to the South Carolina battles of all the endless array of books previously written on the subject. Gordon writes with a fluidity often missing from battlefield narratives. The book flows extremely well and even learned students of the southern campaign will gain an abundance of information from this fine work.

This is far more than simply a reference guide to South Carolina battles, though it serves that purpose well also. Gordon goes on to present his arguments in rich detail and substantiate those arguments with well defined critical factual elements. As you would expect from a book of this magnitude, there is also a wonderful bibliography and footnotes for enhanced further study.

Monty Rainey
[...]

Five Star History Book.......2005-11-21

Five Star Plus Rating: This is a classic book about one of the most pivotal components of America's Revolutionary War victory. The author's style and knowledge of his subject and Carolina geography makes this one of those books you will find hard to put down before reading it from cover to cover
A "hard cover" book, beautifully stitched and bound with gold embossed spine.
The 16 illustrations, and 17 maps aid in making this a book you will want to have with you if and when you have an opportunity to visit and travel to Charleston or to the many other South Carolina Revolutionary battle sites. The 13 page Introduction delivers an insight into the mighty British Navy as well as the background and organization of our early militia. The author also provides excellent coverage and content of the naval and maritime operations which played such a key role in the British capture of Charleston by the British in 1780
This history moves in a fast-paced, flowing, linear time-line, pulling the reader forward in anticipation of the next page, or next battle-and there are many.
Mr. Gordon provides a wealth of interesting facts related to the many individual battles he so meticulously describes. One little known fact to look for is-- which field commander lost every battle he fought -- but won the war in South Carolina setting the stage for the British defeat and surrender at Yorktown. This is a Five Star Book. !

Poor.......2004-10-16

This is a breezy, poorly-written account that over-emphasizes SC's importance during the late stages of the war, at the expense of Naval affairs and the Yorktown campaign. VERY little original research done for this book (if any) and author resorts to all sorts of fables and myths that have been debunked years ago.
Advice: skip it.

Excellent Book.......2003-09-20

This book is an excellent source for anyone who likes to study the Revolution in general and the war in South Carolina in Specifics.

He covers all major and many smaller battles that occurred from 1775-1783. He also mentions loyalists and shows that they were more than a small force in the state. Which is gratifying for us who study Loyalists as the main focus.

Customer Reviews:

The Main Battleground of the American Revolution.......2004-10-06

In my humble opinion, Barbour has written a good account of Revoutionary War sites in South Carolina, the main battleground of the war.

While the book is not nearly as comprehensive as Boatner's book, at least the directions and photographs are current. Admittingly, the state has not preserved the Revolutionary War sites as well as some states (Virginia, Tennessee, Mississippi, etc.) have for their Civil War sites. Admittingly, the Civil War was larger-scale and probably has more private funding available for memoralizing sites. Therefore, I have to have some sympathy for the author.

While an earlier reviewer was critical of the book, I must give the title a 4-star rating since another similar and updated title does not apparently exist.

Recommended as a quick and easy guide to South Carolina Revolutionary Sites.

- Extremely Modest Effort -.......2004-04-22

The author deserves credit for what he has begun here. Apart from Boatner's excellent 'Landmarks of the American Revolution' amd Sol Stember's 'Bicentennial Guide' (vol. 3), both of which have been out of print for decades, there are no guide books to Rev War battle sites, certainly not for the southern states. Barbour's little paperback fills a niche of sorts, but his effort falls far short of the need. Each clash is summarized in a very few paragraphs and is accompanied by a directional map showing contemporary access roads. However, troop positions and movements are absent, as are natural or man-made landmarks relevant to the site.

The shortcomings are three-fold: the SCOPE is far too limited to do the subject decent justice, the MAPS are less than adequate, and there is a woeful lack of BIBLIOGRAPHY which might lead to further research. Thus Mr. Barbour's effort appears amatuerish, and the overall impression is given that his work is that of neophyte historian with just one summer and a modest South Carolina Highway Dept. grant to justify him making what effort he does make.

In short, this result is far too modest, even given is limited SCOPE, to rate more than a couple of stars. The limitation to South Carolina is extremely arbitrary, as the southern campaigns of Lincoln, Prevost, Clinton, Cornwallis, and Greene as well as the activities of leaders like Ferguson, Tareleton, Sumter, Pickens, Marion, and Lee were not confined to solely to South Carolina nor for that matter is the modern highway system. For whatever reason, the author limits himself to the Palmetto State, leading to the surmise that a grant from the SC state tourist board or highway department was behind the effort.

Given Mr. Barbour's arbitrary limitation of scope, to have made the guide really useful the book should have included all relevant Rev War sites, such as Cheraws, Round O, Monck's Corner, Winnsboro, Camden, Georgetown, Charles Town, as well as identifying the relevant mills, home sites, and ferry crossings mentioned repeatedly in the histories of the southern campaigns, not merely an enumeration of battle sites and descriptions lifted from Boatner. The extra effort would have greatly served public awareness of local Rev War history and the needs of enthusiasts who may only have limted opportunity and time to visit the region.

The sole inexplicable exception to the rule of including only battle sites in the work is a final section describing Francis Marion's gravesite, but unfortunately like many others in the book, it is unaccompanied by an adequate map, so that during a recent trip to the area, I was unable to find the site and pay my respects. Having included the grave of Marion, why does Barbour omit the gravesites of other notables, and their homesites, such as Sumter and Pickens, or those of lesser known leaders on both sides? Especially helpful would have been a section on those remaining living history sites dedicated to the period, not only the great plantations, like Drayton Hall, but the lesser dwellings of ordinary settlers.

South Carolina is especially rich in architectural and natural sites related to the Rev War and deserves a more thorough survey. The subject, even if Georgia and North Carolina sites are arbitrarily (and unjustifiably) omitted, is certainly worthy of greater scholarship that Mr. Barbour evinces.

The MAPS, though useful, should have been better. Little more than amateur sketches, they do not conform to a uniform scale, indeed they lack any indication of scale whatsoever. They are not uniformly oriented to north, causing unnecessary confusion and difficulty to the user. A number of battle sites are not accompanied by maps at all. Furthermore, the maps fail to include any information regarding the identity, initial positions, or subsequent movements of opposing units making them far less informative than one might have expected, given the price. The author would have done well to have examined the superb 'Civil War Battlefield Guide' (Kennedy ed. - 1998) for a standard on how to do this sort of thing. The superficiality of the author's efforts in this regard is probably the guide's primary failing.

The lack of BIBLIOGRAPHY regarding each action is severely damning, suggesting that that the author did not do his homework. All of the description couls have been gleaned from Boatner's two works or Christoper Ward's two volume history.

Although each section begins with indications of each side's commander, and of the approximate numbers involved as well as casualty estimates, there are no orders of battle listing the regiments, officers, or militia companies involved, which would have made the this little book a good deal more valuable.

Anyone with a more than slight interest in the period who orders the book sight unseen will be disappointed. At the end of my five days in South Carolina, I was happy to be able to return it to the book dealer, for it wasn't worth the price.

The subject awaits a definitive work. Stember and Boatner have already covered this ground. This book is a little lesson in what NOT to do, but again, Barbour deserves a star for putting into print a guide, however limited, of this sort. Pity he didn't deign to include the other Carolina and the handful of sites in Georgia, which would have made it worthwhile, despite its other shortcomings.

Best Book on American Revolutionary War Sites in SC.......2002-03-11

This is a succinct book complete with maps, pictures and directions on historical sites relating to the American Revolution in South Carolina (almost 50 entries). The author rightly asserts South Carolina's preeminence in having the most battles during the war, and the important contributions of her patriotic sons, such as Generals Sumter and Marion-without whom there would have been no victory. The war may have started in New England, but it ended here in the South-particularly SC. By reading this book one can gather a quick understanding of the beginning and ending of the conflict as all entries are arranged in chronological order, and the pictures show the actual monuments as they exist today, thus preventing any great expectations of park-like settings if there is none. The directions are very easy to follow, even to the more obscure sites, and it lets the reader know if the site is on private land or not. An excellent source to draw on by South Carolinians and a must for anyone interested in visiting any of these sites while touring South Carolina.

SOUTH CAROLINA AND THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION: A BATTLEFIELD HISTORY. Foreword by John Keegan

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SOUTH CAROLINA AND THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION: A BATTLEFIELD HISTORY. Foreword by John Keegan
John W. Gordon
Manufacturer: Univ. of South Carolina Press,
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000PSZ0VQ

Book Description

What kinds of intellectual practices are influential in the making and remaking of nations? How do literary texts shape nation-making? When are intellectuals most and least relevant to developing the nation? How do liberal, socialist, and nationalist intellectuals shape national ideologies?

One of the principal debates in the study of nations concerns the relative significance of elites, specifically intellectuals, in inventing the nation. Intellectuals and the Articulation of the Nation delimits the capacities of intellectuals for shaping nations, as well as the ways in which the development of nations shapes intellectual practices. The introductory chapter presents the principal debates around nation-making and the identity and practices of intellectuals. Contributors from anthropology, history, literature, political science and sociology then explore the capacities and limits of intellectuals in the formation and restructuring of national identities in general, and in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union in particular.

Each essay is followed by a brief intellectual autobiography in which the author's own relationship to nations is explored. The editors conclude the volume by developing a general theory of national intellectual practice.

The principal focus of this book--the mutual articulation of intellectuals and nations--is a key subject for students and scholars of history, cultural studies, political science, anthropology, and sociology.

Ronald Grigor Suny is Professor of Political Science, University of Chicago. Michael D. Kennedy is Associate Professor of Sociology, University of Michigan.

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Gripping tales of life and death

An Engaging Account of Raptor Life

Short, informational stories that are quite entertaining

A Modern Fable

The Wind Masters: The Lives of North American Birds of Prey
Peter Dunne
Manufacturer: Mariner Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Birdwatching | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books
Reference | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books
Ornithology | Zoology | Biological Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0618340726

Book Description

Even people with little interest in birds will stop in their tracks at the sight of a hawk soaring overhead or a falcon perched on a window ledge. Birds of prey have an aura that few other creatures have. In the acclaimed Hawks in Flight, Pete Dunne showed what birds of prey look like. In The Wind Masters, he shows what it is like to be a bird of prey. He takes us inside the lives and minds of all thirty-four species of diurnal raptors found in North America--hawks, falcons, eagles, vultures, the osprey, and the harrier--and shows us how each bird sees the world, hunts its prey, finds and courts its mate, rears its young, grows up, grows old, and dies. Vividly written, and beautifully illustrated by David Sibley, The Wind Masters is a brilliant work of narrative natural history in the tradition of Peter Matthiessen's The Wind Birds and Barry Lopez's Of Wolves and Men.

Customer Reviews:

Gripping tales of life and death.......2007-02-18

Thirty-three birds of prey - one to a chapter - star in this book that is a blend of natural history, fast-paced adventure, and reflections on life and death. In "The Wind Masters," Pete Dunne introduces each of North America's diurnal raptors by telling a story in the life of an individual bird (from the author's imagination, of course, but biologically accurate). So vivid are these introductions that they will not soon be forgotten.

I was shocked by the gruesome, painful details described in some of the stories. Many do not have happy endings. A sharp-shinned hawk, pursuing a sparrow, slams into a glass window, and the chapter ends with her on the verge of succumbing to a brain haemorrhage. A young osprey sinks her talons into a huge fish that pulls her under the water to her death. A golden eagle slowly succumbs to lead poisoning, struggling to eat but finding her digestive system paralyzed, and choking as her stomach fills with rotten food.

But, the lives of raptors abound in exhilarating moments too, and it is these upon which Dunne focuses most of all. An arctic Gyrfalcon searches the moonlit landscape to find his mate who, he knows by instinct, has just returned from migration. A common black-hawk hunts in a stream by dangling her wing-tip in the water, attracting fish who think it is a struggling insect. A peregrine falcon successfully defends her nest from a marauding wolverine. And a group of broad-winged hawks ride thermals to travel over two hundred miles without a flapping a wing. Dunne highlights the adaptations of each raptor that make it perfectly suited to its life in the air, hence the title "The Wind Masters."

The woodcuts by David Allen Sibley are superb. Each chapter contains a head portrait of the bird on the title page, as well as a full-page illustration of the bird in its habitat later in the chapter. That's 66 illustrations in all!

I greatly enjoyed this book, and its striking images will stay with me for a long time. The only reason I withheld the fifth star is that I found some elements of the writing a bit awkward in places - such as anthropomorphism that felt strained, or long parenthetical facts that interrupted the flow of the story. Overall, though, Dunne has succeeded admirably at blending biological detail with fast-paced narrative. This is a unique and beautiful book that I would recommend to anyone who enjoys natural history.

An Engaging Account of Raptor Life.......2006-10-03

The Wind Masters, by Pete Dunne, is a delightfully charming little book. His central conceit is unique--he wants to blend storytelling with didacticism, conveying dry fact of hawk existence with emotional anecdote.

In this, he succeeds admirably.

In each of the short stories in The Wind Masters--one for each resident raptor species in the United States--Dunne manages to convey pertinent factual information about the story as a whole, while still telling tales of the trials and tribulations of individual birds. He marries science and fiction with admirable skill; I certainly feel as if I know more about the birds after reading these stories.

However, the quality of the stories as stand alone works of fiction suffers from this. Though there are innumerable moments of literary magic, Dunne's prose is at times clunky and heavy-handed, and sometimes his desire to include the information interrupts the otherwise smooth narrative flow of the story. The reader cannot forget that one of the primary purposes of this book is to inform, not just enchant. Taken out of the context of the book as a whole, these would seem much poorer for their scientific fact.

Of course, these stories aren't meant to be taken out of context, and considering their purpose, they are often truly are astounding. Dunne's anthropormorphization of these birds--the translation of their behavior into human thought, human motive--is interesting at the worst and truly breathtaking at the best. He shies away from no topic in the course of his book, and every aspect of raptor life is covered, from birth to death. In fact, death is not glossed over at all; Dunne is not afraid to remind the reader that yes, most young animals die, and yes, many raptor deaths are caused, in some way, by humans. Some of his most moving stories are the ones highlighting a bird's death.

Dunne also does an excellent job in exemplifying the similarities and differences that tie together the various raptor species. We see what traits they share and learn what characteristics set them apart.

All in all, though, and especially considering his purpose in writing it, Dunne's book is excellent. It does exactly what it set out to do, and does it with grace and style. I would heartily recommend this to anyone who is a fan of birds of prey, or simply interested in getting into the heads of these fascinating, intelligent creatures. Believe me, you won't get another opportunity like this one, short of going out and working with the birds themselves.

Short, informational stories that are quite entertaining.......2005-08-19

The Wind Masters is a collection of 34 short stories (most only about 3-5 pages) that are meant to inform the reader about the habit and behavior of the North American birds of prey (Hawks, Eagles, Falcons, Vultures, etc..).

I was very pleasantly suprised to discover how well Dunne managed to include so much information while telling an entertaining vignette. It seems like this would be a very good book for beginning birders to learn about raptors before reading something more substantial. It offers very basic information (range, eating habits, simple ID characteristics) that you could get elsewhere but would not be able to absorb the information as well.

Highly Recommended.

A Modern Fable.......2003-07-16

Dunne's unusual book hovers in a crosswind. Parts natural history and literate essay; parts short fiction and pure fable, The Wind Masters imagines a new way into the minds of North American raptors. Through a series of brief narratives, one for each native species, Dunne introduces the birds of prey as individuals - moreover, as beings of thought, emotion and opinion. For a falconer prone to think of some birds as persons, it is a familiar yet still startling flight of fancy.

To Dunne's eye, the Northern Goshawk fairly gloats atop her recent kill, a snowshoe hare. She feels a satisfaction any hunter might in the successful execution of her skill and power, and in the anticipation of a good meal; as the author notes, "Who can say this isn't so?" A hunter himself, and a long-time student of raptors in the wild, Dunne's gripping portrait of a master assassin bears truth.

Were each of his subjects equally or solely lauded for their hunting prowess, Dunne's work might comprise a long cliché or worse, a sort of book-length perpetuation of negative raptor stereotypes. But it does neither. What Dunne finds worth noting of each species reflects a careful sifting of scientific fact and personal observation; he tries to find the essence of each bird and how each uniquely suits its niche. He attempts, through the form of the short story, to capture a similar holistic image of our predatory birds that was the focus of his earlier, more utilitarian Hawks in Flight. This might be a hopeless conceit for a writer of lesser skill, but Dunne manages it well and often beautifully.

"The Gray Hawk remained until just before dark and then departed - a hungry gray shadow flying swiftly and directly to roost. It wasn't lack of skill that had defeated his efforts to feed. It was the temperatures that had turned his reptilian prey to stone and sent the birds to early roosts. It was circumstance and bad luck - the luck of a raptor."

Every facet of a raptor's life, from the struggle to escape the egg to the peril of migration and the battle for breeding rights finds illustration through the individual stories. No single account hopes to convey every part of that bird's natural history; rather the commonalities between all raptors' lives are distributed throughout the balance of the book. Fittingly, the many ways our raptors die receive as much notice as do the ways they live. Sometimes a death provides the focus for the story.

"The eagle managed to stand until the raven completed his retreat. Then, surrendering to gravity, she slumped to her booted tarsi and fell forward until her emaciated keel touched the earth. Only the opened wings, spread like stabilizing outriggers, prevented the bird from falling to her side."

Rarely do Dunne's descriptions approach simple sentimentality or fall prey to the temptation of polemics. Each chapter can stand alone as a work of good craftsmanship and a careful exposition of story; in each a fair and informed picture appears of a raptor as an individual and a species unique. But the implication of man's effects, mostly negative, finds expression everywhere. In the oldest tradition of the fable, Dunne artfully imbues his narratives with cautionary, sometimes pointed details illustrating the harm our actions (and inaction) may bring. Whether or not the reader finds these details an intrusion or an obstruction, they are certainly part of every raptor's life and of the truth Dunne hopes to reveal.

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One of the references that you'll actually use

A great book from one of the best!

An Excellent Book

Excellent!!

Accessible Species Accounts, a basic not to be without

Lives of North American Birds
Kenn Kaufman
Manufacturer: Houghton Mifflin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Nature & Ecology | Science | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0618159886

Book Description

This is the book that goes beyond the field guides: not a guide for naming the birds, but a reference for understanding them -- a complete, handy, one-volume encyclopedia on the fascinating lives of our birds. * Includes information about more than 900 birds: complete life histories for 680 species that occur regularly in North America and shorter accounts for more than 230 others that visit occasionally, with more than 600 beautiful photographs and more than 600 range maps. * Gives every important detail about the lives of birds: what they eat, where they build their nests, how many eggs they lay, what habitat they choose, when they migrate, what their current conservation status is, and much more.

Customer Reviews:

One of the references that you'll actually use .......2007-04-28

Of all my birding books this is one of them that I reach for often especially when I see an unusual species or when I'm planning a trip to a different part of the country. As mentioned previously this is not a field guide, it's a good resource on the biology of birds found north of the Mexican border.

This book is not the most thorough of reference books but it is organized well and is easy to access all the species accounts. There are good quality photos of almost all the species of North America. Each species account starts with a general interest paragraph about some of the unique habits of the birds or of their populations. There are then sections on habitat, feeding, migration, and conservation. Maps show color shaded areas for breeding, winter, and year around resident ranges.

I didn't give the book a five star rating because of the following reasons. The maps only depict Canada and the United States. Mexico is part of North America (as well as Central America technically) but there are no wintering ranges shown there. For example it looks like the Vermillion Flycather has an all season range along the Mexican border in Arizona, New Mexico and Texas but the lack of extended range into Mexico looks strange, abrupt, and graphically demonstrates the lack of information on the species range. This information is usually shown in most field guides. There is also a lack of information on the wintering range of neotropical migrants in the text. Many of the accounts do not mention the country the birds winter in for most of the year.

Despite the lack of wintering range information this is still a good handy book to pull off the shelf to refresh your memory on migration and habits of the birds found in the US and Canada.

A great book from one of the best!.......2004-12-08

There are so many books about birds one wonders which are the best .There is no answer to that question.I have over 1000 'bird books' and I felt this one was worth buying.It is written by one of the most knowledgeable and dedicated birders in North America today.
His 'Birds of North America'is one of the best field guides for a birder to buy to carry with him to help learn about and identify birds.He particularly had the non-expert in mind when he wrote it.
His 'Kingbird Highway' is one of the best books around about his experiences as a 16 year old trying to beat the record of seeing the most species in North America in one year.
His 'Advanced Birding' was written for expert birders having difficulty sorting some of the toughest birds to identify.
Now he gives us a book filled with much more detailed information on each bird. He covers habitat,feeding,behavior,nesting,migration and the conservation status.He has also included up-to date range maps.He has written all this material in a very easy to understand manner.
One would not probably want to buy this as their first or only bird book;but it would be a great book to buy after having an identification book.It's a great book for any birder whether just getting started or been birding for some time.It is too large to take with you in the field (birding);but excellent to have at home for reference.

An Excellent Book.......2004-04-09

A lot of you that may see this book and it's dimensions and may think, a coffee table book. Or a book to put on a shelf and collect dust with. I'm here to say that that is definitely NOT the case. I have this book myself, of course, and I have suprisingly find myself reading this book merely for entertainment. I have learned a LOT from this book. You should see the marks and stains I have on mine. The Author, a great man with a great history (check his autobiography Kingbird Highway)
Must have done a LOT of research on all these birds and knows alot of them personally, to create this book with all the info on a single bird and well laid out with all the info you may need
on it (Except for the birds call, but I'm not holding him back on it.) For instance you have a picture of the bird in nature, a map of where it is red for summer, blue in winter and purple all year round resident. It has an intro on the bird, it's habitat, feeding, hunting behavior, nest, how many eggs, migration info and at last but not least, Conservation status. The book also shows info on foreign birds that occasionally enter the US from afar, but does not have all the info on an american bird, and doesn't have a picture. But still, there is a lot of information in this book. And if you ask why someone would make a book on how birds live, well, he has a very good reason. Read Kingbird Highway. I promise you won't be disappointed.

Excellent!!.......2003-11-23

Great book to have onhand. I also have Sibley's book, The Sibley Guide to Bird Life and Behavior and I love them both - they're very different and while they may overlap to some degree, they're definitely different. Lives of N. Amer. Birds has great photographs of the birds, each bird entry has an intro paragragh about the bird, then is followed by habitat they prefer/can be found in, Feeding to include diet as well as how the bird finds/hunts for food, Nesting to include typical nest sites, how they're built, number of eggs and what they look like, care oft he young. There is also a section on each bird that talks to conservation issues for the bird. Latin names are also provided. I think this is a great reference book. I like to augment my reading with the Sibley guide as well as some ofthe stokes books on bird behavior.

Accessible Species Accounts, a basic not to be without.......1999-04-26

The real advantage of Kenn Kaufman's book is its accessibility. Next to the Birder's Handbook, which tried several funky organizational and icongraphic systems at once, Kaufman is pure readability. The attractive, intelligent presentation here is immediately appealing. This serves double duty as a coffee table book and reference.

I read both this and the Birder's Handbook when I see something new. Kaufman gives you a solid account of each bird, but he's limited to individual species. (There are brief family introductions, written about at the level of the family intros in a field guide.) The essays in Birder's Handbook are very pleasing to browse into; in Kaufman, once you've read a species, you're on to another species. Kaufman has nothing to say, for example, about mobbing behavior. Birder's Handbook has a long essay, naming several species and discussing the state of research on the subject.

Kaufman is also less clear about what's missing about a bird. Birder's Handbook is held to its schematic approach, so you immediately know when there's a question mark in a location that's usually got a little symbol. Kaufman occasionally mentions that something isn't well known, but you have to read into the essay to find that.

Book Description

Louis Bird has spent the last three decades documenting Cree oral traditions and sharing his stories with audiences in Canada, the United States, and Europe. In The Spirit Lives in the Mind the renowned storyteller and historian of the Omushkego shares teachings and stories of the Swampy Cree people that have been passed down from generation to generation as part of a rich oral tradition. Cree spiritual beliefs revolve around the sacred places and rich landscape of the Hudson Bay lowlands. The beautiful narratives in The Spirit Lives in the Mind illuminate the meaning and value of spiritual maturity and power, the parallels between Omushkego morality and Roman Catholic teachings, and the importance of maintaining the traditional stories. Bird also offers explanations of shamanism and demonstrates how Catholicism affected Cree tradition. Bird collaborated with Susan Elaine Gray, who worked from many years of learning about and teaching Omushkegowak culture and traditions in compiling his narratives and personal testament for The Spirit Lives in the Mind. It is a remarkable evocation of aboriginal storytelling about the Cree peoples, their landscape, and their places in the sky

Live-trapping North American upland game birds (Special scientific report--wildlife)

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Live-trapping North American upland game birds (Special scientific report--wildlife)
Sanford R Wilbur
Manufacturer: U.S. Dept. of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
ASIN: B0007FM6B4

Lives of North American Birds. (book reviews): An article from: Wilson Bulletin

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Lives of North American Birds. (book reviews): An article from: Wilson Bulletin
Paul J. Baicich
Manufacturer: Wilson Ornithological Society
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

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Book Description

This digital document is an article from Wilson Bulletin, published by Wilson Ornithological Society on June 1, 1998. The length of the article is 998 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Lives of North American Birds. (book reviews)
Author: Paul J. Baicich
Publication: Wilson Bulletin (Refereed)
Date: June 1, 1998
Publisher: Wilson Ornithological Society
Volume: v110 Issue: n2 Page: p299(2)

Article Type: Book Review

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