Books

The River Where America Began: A Journey Along the James

Average customer rating:

Reclaims your lack of American history knowledge
first democratic government in the USA was the House of Burgesses
The Most Readable Jamestown Book
The river flows

The River Where America Began: A Journey Along the James
Bob Deans
Manufacturer: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Similar Items:

Jamestown, the Buried Truth
The Jamestown Project
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The Summer of 1787: The Men Who Invented the Constitution
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ASIN: 0742551725

Book Description

In this engaging new book, Bob Deans introduces Americans to the James River, explaining its essential role in the shaping of modern America and helping readers to understand how much of who we are as a nation is rooted along its shores. iThe River Where America Begani takes readers on a journey along the James from the earliest days of civilization nearly 15,000 years ago through the English settlement at Jamestown and finishing with Lincoln's tour of the defeated capital of Richmond in 1865.

Customer Reviews:

Reclaims your lack of American history knowledge.......2007-06-10

If you didn't take or do well in early American history class, this book will go a long way to help. Bob Deans, informatively and entertainingly, chronicles the first foreign footprints on American soil. In doing so, he sympathetically gives the natives their due, while exploring with reportorial acumen, the inexorable march, good and bad, toward democracy, all of which started "along the James," in Dean's beloved state.

first democratic government in the USA was the House of Burgesses.......2007-05-26

And black slaves were in Jamestown before the Pilgrims landed in Mass.
Lively and instructive.
A fascinating book.

The Most Readable Jamestown Book.......2007-05-16

If you only have time to read one Jamestown book, read this one. Deans gives a thorough history of the founding of Jamestown, puts it into historical context, both in terms of the English and the Native Americans (and not too much later, the Africans, who were essential to the success of the Virginia colony) with a style that is both poetic and crisp. He has a great ability to step back to assess the historic significance of the quotidian tasks of building a society in the New World, while also getting up close and personal with the very real human beings who built it. He covers a lot of ground while including colorful detail and character studies of John Smith, Pocahantas, Powhatan, and others. If you're going to visit the Jamestown area, this book is the ideal companion, because Deans also covers the area's role in the American revolution (Patrick Henry and Thomas Jefferson both had their roots along the James) and the Civil War, from early slave revolts to the fall of of the Confederate capital at Richmond. All in all, a joy to read.
Stefania Pittaluga, Washingon, D.C.

The river flows.......2007-05-13

Very good summary of the start of the English settlements along the James River. I enjoyed two aspects particularly:
- Went all the way to the civil war and showed how Lincoln used the river to visit Richmond.
- Good details about the N. American Indians, and how it looked from their perspective.

Some of this book reads like a classic. The words are almost like poetry.
The best book I have read this year.

Average customer rating:

A Truly Spiritual Geography
A beautiful book.
Not for everyone, but I loved it.
must read for all dakotans and transplants to the midwest
To Read and Reread

Dakota: A Spiritual Geography
Kathleen Norris
Manufacturer: Mariner Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Similar Items:

The Cloister Walk
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Seeking God: The Way of St. Benedict (Second Edition)
The Virgin of Bennington

ASIN: 0618127240

Amazon.com

After 20 years of living in the "Great American Outback," as Newsweek magazine once designated the Dakotas, poet Kathleen Norris (The Cloister Walk) came to understand the fascinating ways that people become metaphors for the land they inhabit. When trying to understand the polarizing contradictions that exist in the Dakotas between "hospitality and insularity, change and inertia, stability and instability.... between hope and despair, between open hearts and closed minds," Norris draws a map. "We are at the point of transition between east and west in the United States," she explains, "geographically and psychically isolated from either coast, and unlike either the Midwest or the desert west."

Like Terry Tempest Williams (Refuge), Norris understands how the boundary between inner and outer scenery begins to blur when one is fully present in the landscape of their lives. As a result, she offers the geography lesson we all longed for in school. This is a poetic, noble, and often funny (see her discussion on the foreign concept of tofu) tribute to Dakota, including its Native Americans, Benedictine monks, ministers and churchgoers, wind-weathered farmers, and all its plain folks who live such complicated and simple lives. --Gail Hudson

Book Description

"A book of stories, a book of prayer, a book to be read meditatively and well," DAKOTA offers a timeless tribute to a place in the American landscape that is at once desolate and sublime, harsh and forgiving, steeped in history and myth. From the award-winning author of AMAZING GRACE, DAKOTA is Kathleen Norris at her most thoughtful, her most discerning, her best. She gives us, once again, a rare "gift of hope and balance, a place to begin" (Chicago Tribune) and assurance that wherever we go, we chart our own spiritual geography.

Customer Reviews:

A Truly Spiritual Geography.......2007-06-09

The key to this book is right there in the title. The Dakota of Kathleen Norris' experience, depiction, and understanding is a decidely spiritual state of being. Just as "deep calls unto deep," so the austere, high plains landscape both evokes and instructs Norris' interior world. Having traveled with Norris through her "Cloister Walk," and having learned her lexicon in "Amazing Grace," I was prepared to look around Dakota with her penetrating vision, to listen to the wind with her attentive hearing, to think deeply about what we were seeing together, and to let my heart grow still as she taught me. Now, though I've never yet been to the high plains, I have truly been to Kathleen Norris' unique and personal Dakota -- and is that not the best accolade for a travelogue, that the reader honestly feels that he's made the trip? I gave this book to a deep-souled friend who needed the time of quiet contemplation it provides, and I recommend it to you as well.

A beautiful book........2007-01-09

I read this book every couple of years and find it a fresh, new read everytime. I recently ordered an extra copy for some friends. To my parents, this was one of those books you love and give copies of to all you friends, siblings, and children. I think I will be doing the same thing.

Not for everyone, but I loved it........2006-11-07

Having moved from a large city to a small town in West Texas, I could totally identify with this book. I learned a lot about the dynamics of a small town, both good and bad. Spiritually, I came to the realization that I found my own desert. The insights that accompany that realization along with the prose of the book are definitely worth the time.

That having been said, this book is not for everyone. It is highly spiritual and insightful, but in an understated way.

must read for all dakotans and transplants to the midwest.......2006-09-26

Norris offers an insight-full monastically minded view into Dakota life, not just North and South Dakota, but the fascinating cultural differences between east and west of the Missouri river that divides So. Dakota. In what I consider a very telling paragraph (p129) she begins a dialogue on sacred space saying that those who ask what is sacred really are asking "What place is mine." Dakota seems to emanate from Norris' own coming to grips with place and aims to help others do the same. That love-hate relationship that many feel toward home is evident within. For those who know rural life in the midwest "Dakota" is penetrating and beautiful on one hand and so frustrating it made me want to move on the other. At times she portays a rural ghetto of resisting outside influence (p.62), exclusionary unity (p, 59) lower professional standards which she also claims to be part of the small town charm (p.55). It is both bitter and sweet but not from judgment, rather from her claiming this land as her own...this is where she belongs...this is where she planted and rooted.

Kathleen Norris has helped me to return to my roots, not in South Dakota, but Iowa. It has given me a new found appreciation of the land and culture which I was and still am planted in. For those in the midwest much of her insights will transfer to other contexts. And for those not from the midwest or small towns it will be an interesting read into how the other half live and will likely offer some fine opportunities to reflect on your location.

To Read and Reread.......2006-04-05

I loved Dakota. I've read it and reread it. It has so much to enjoy. First, Norris writes like a poet. Her words are beautiful. They pull you along. Second, her description of the Great Plains and the monasteries transports you. I've been wanting to visit Dakota ever since I read the book. Finally, there is the conversion that takes place in Norris herself as she is changed by the place. Dakota is slow reading, but it is not boring. This isn't a Tom Clancy book. However, a book on farmers, monks and poets should be slow. Norris reflects on herself and her environment. If you slow yourself down to keep pace with the book, you will find an appreciation for yourself and your own environment. If you get impatient, go read Clancy or Grisham, but come back to Dakota.

The Unquiet Grave : The FBI and the Struggle for the Soul of Indian Country

Average customer rating:

don't bother
What Did Andrew Jackson Do?
A great informative book!
Elegant writing seldom seen in non-fiction books
A sober look at The FBI policies

The Unquiet Grave : The FBI and the Struggle for the Soul of Indian Country
Steve Hendricks
Manufacturer: Thunder's Mouth Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Similar Items:

Eating Fire, Tasting Blood: An Anthology of the American Inidian Holocaust
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ASIN: 1560257350

Book Description

In 1976 the body of Anna Mae Aquash, an American Indian luminary, was found frozen in the Badlands of South Dakota—or so the FBI said. After a suspicious autopsy and a rushed burial, friends had Aquash exhumed and found a .32-caliber bullet in her skull.

Using this scandal as a point of departure, The Unquiet Grave opens a tunnel into the dark side of the FBI and its subversion of American Indian activists. But the book also discovers things the Indians would prefer to keep buried. What unfolds is a sinuous tale of conspiracy, murder, and cover-up that stretches from the plains of South Dakota to the polished corridors of Washington, D.C.

First-time author Steve Hendricks sued the FBI over several years to pry out thousands of unseen documents about the events. His work was supported by the prestigious Fund for Investigative Journalism. Hendricks, who has freelanced for The Nation, Boston Globe, Orion, and public radio, is one of those rare reporters whose investigative tenacity is accompanied by grace with the written word.

Customer Reviews:

don't bother.......2007-06-26

How this tome ever got past the editors and into print I will never know. What is the author trying to say? It is never clear. The first part of the book seemingly is about, among many, many, many other things (way too many if you ask me), the murder of Annie Mae Aquash - and great detail is included about the circumstances surrounding the discovery of her death. Abruptly at some point in the 2nd part of the book, we find ourselves at the trial of one of three people accused of her murder (none of whom were ever mentioned in part one, and, as to whom there is virtually no biographical detail included). At the same time, the book includes voluminous biographical detail and digression about many, many, many other individuals, for no particular reason it seems. I finished the book because I wanted to see if the author was going to bring this tangled mass of trivial and unimportant details together in some coherent way, but alas, all I got for the effort was high blood pressure. Among the book's many other flaws are these: the author reports on at least one trial, but seemingly has no grasp of trial tactics or evidentiary rules - he chastises lawyers for not bringing up details that (a) would have been irrelevant; and (2) would have been inadmissible; the author too often says things like "but we will never know . . . " about things that are perfecty checkable, things he could have fact-checked if he had chosen to; and, the author seems to believe in a big conspiracy or two that must explain all of the loose ends he leaves, but he never explains what those conspiracies were about and who was in them. Has he ever heard of topic sentences? I am astounded to read the other positive reviews posted here about this book. I consider it to have been an utter waste of my time, and a disservice to the topics he attempted to cover.

What Did Andrew Jackson Do?.......2007-05-27

Mr. Hendricks' book is burdened with the same dichotomy (Multiple Personality Disorder/schizophrenia) as the Euro-invaders' ever-shifting policy/pendulum on what to do about "the Indian problem." The first part of this book does a salutary job of explaining to the unfamiliar some historical bases of the white "Westward Ho!" "Manifest Destiny" expansion across the North American continent, its effect on Native Americans, and the rise ("AIM is good") of the American Indian Movement. But parts of the second part - the fall ("AIM is bad,") could pass for being ghost-written by nemesis J Edgar Hoover and his COINTELPRO'd FBI.

Though flawed in some "facts" and reporterage, Unquiet Grave is marketable and intelligible to the masses and it is important that wider cultures read this (in the Aretha Franklin sense to RESPECT the Native cultures, delight in diversity, and abhor forced "assimilation and "THINK") about what the US Government did - not only in the Miner's Canary sense (If the US Government so cavalierly abrogates/ignores its treaties with the First Nations before this Nation - what does that tell other sovereign nations with whom we seek to entreat?) but also the Santayana sense ("those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.")

For a fuller understanding of Wounded Knee I (1890); Wounded Knee II (1973,) and context, this reviewer recommends my List "The water's still running and the grass still growing, so .? " including

Custer Died for Your Sins: An Indian Manifesto (Civilization of the American Indian)
and
Robert Redford/Sundance Incident at Oglala: The Leonard Peltier Story

What did Bill Janklow do? /TundraVision, Amazon Reviewer "What do you mean 'illegal alien,' Pilgrims?"

A great informative book!.......2007-04-11

If you are looking for a book that gets right to the heart of government corruption in Native American history yesterday and today this is the book for you to read! The writer has done a wonderfull job researching and digging to get to facts that our inept and sickening government would like to turn a blind eye to. A must read for all people and definately for those who wish to enlighten themselves.

Elegant writing seldom seen in non-fiction books.......2007-02-01

The Unquiet Grave is written as a non-fiction book should be written--with verve, wit, and balance. The author, Hendricks, sifts through reams of information without imparting the pain of his research to the reader; with a novelist's ear and eye he makes every word count, every paragraph visual.

Throughout the book he weaves interviews, news accounts, court records, and censored FBI documents into a story you learn to care about. He does not shy from critical analysis of historical events or of the characters and parties involved, which is refreshing given the geography of most U.S. journalism today.

If you're concerned about the abuses of government powers (past and present), if you think injustice needs to be properly witnessed, then flip through The Unquiet Grave. It's a good read, a hopeful beacon in the fog and the darkness of the American political psyche. Support an investigative journalist working in the heartland of the U.S. empire--they are a dying breed on a punishing road.

A sober look at The FBI policies.......2007-01-09

Jack-booted and heavy-handed, self-important FBI agents abuse their authority, and continue to attempt destruction of the most noble race in America. Shame, shame. On them. And, on US for allowing this travesty. FBI investigations of rampant murders on "The Rez" are never solved. I spit on people I respect more than FBI Storm Troopers. Them, I wouldn't waste spit on.

Blackthorne

Insiders' Guide to South Dakota's Black Hills and Badlands, 4th (Insiders' Guide Series)

Average customer rating:

Poorly arranged
Great Resource

Insiders' Guide to South Dakota's Black Hills and Badlands, 4th (Insiders' Guide Series)
Thomas D. Griffith , and Dustin D. Floyd
Manufacturer: Globe Pequot
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Best Easy Day Hikes Black Hills Country (Best Easy Day Hikes Series)

ASIN: 0762741929

Book Description

Casinos, steakhouses, gold mines, historic landscapes, and the infamous town of Deadwood make South Dakota's Black Hills the perfect blend of history and entertainment. This guide points to the best places in the area for lodging, dining, shopping, and recreation, making it indispensable for any traveler to the Black Hills.

Customer Reviews:

Poorly arranged.......2007-06-26

We just got back from a week-long trip to the Black Hills using this guidebook, and while it was better than nothing, and the information was generally correct, it was very hard to use. Instead of being arranged by location, the attractions are arranged by category, with each category subdivided yet again. And the index is no use, since they're not indexed by location. This means that if you're sitting in your motel in (say) Deadwood, and wondering what to do in town, you literally have to thumb through the entire book to figure out! Very frustrating. And the book lacks detailed maps where they are needed (the Deadwood-Lead area, where the roads are rather confusing, or the area around Keystone, Mt. Rushmore, and Crazy Horse). The maps mention the Mickelson Trail, but it's not in the index, and we didn't find out what it was until we were actually there (hint: it's not a scenic highway). And the book needs to be more emphatic about the need to stay away from this whole region in early August because of the motorcycle madness.

Great Resource .......2007-02-23

We are planning a trip to the Badlands and Black Hills in September. Insider's Guide provides a wealth of information and I'm finding it a valuable asset. Combined with info from the internet, we will have a well organized trip with knowledge of this area's history.

Building a Straw Bale House: The Red Feather Construction Handbook

Average customer rating:

Good book
A great handbook for those considering straw bale construction
Inexpensive and Efficient Housing
More Than Just a Handbook
Great tips, humble, amidst process.

Building a Straw Bale House: The Red Feather Construction Handbook
Nathaniel Corum
Manufacturer: Princeton Architectural Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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The Straw Bale House (A Real Goods Independent Living Book)

ASIN: 1568985142

Book Description

"This book is a timely and important tool for the empowerment of communities facing housing deficits. The Red Feather project is extremely important; it is truly making a difference."—Jane Goodall

For more than a decade the Red Feather Development Group, a volunteer-based organization, has built and repaired straw bale houses for Native Americans. Somewhere along the way—and this was certainly not the plan—they created an architectural phenomenon: This inexpensive, environmentally sound, easily constructed, and downright beautiful form of building has, for good reason, caught the public's imagination. Here, Red Feather provides a step-by-step, easy-to-follow manual for would-be strawbale builders—indeed, they supply everything you'll need but time, energy, and lots and lots of straw. Informative sections on safety, design, tools, and materials, and case studies picked from over thirty-five Red Feather projects give a comprehensive overview to straw-bale building.

But this book is much more than a construction manual. It is also the inspiring story of Red Feather itself, a tale of community action and cooperation that suggests a can-do solution to the growing housing crisis on America's Native American reservations.

Customer Reviews:

Good book.......2007-05-20

This was really a good book and I would recommend it very much.

A great handbook for those considering straw bale construction.......2006-08-20

This book gives an over view of the process to build a home using straw bale construction that is used by the Red Feather Development Group. Modeled after Habitat for Humanity they help tribal members living on Indian reservations achieve home ownership. The book takes you through the building process with many photos and diagrams. There is also pictures and discriptions of straw bale homes that are still lived in after 80 years, showing that sustainable housing is not a passing fad.

Inexpensive and Efficient Housing.......2006-04-07

I first became aware of straw base houses when I visited friends who had built one high in the Colorado rockies. In spite of the bad winters in that location, they reported that they very rarely used any heating beyond opening the drapes on the south facing windows. I don't know what the R-value of a bale of straw might be, but it is high.

They also reported that in the few years they had lived there they had had virtually no maintenance. I had imagined little cracks in the exterior covering and furry little critters living in the walls. But they reported that nothing like this had occurred.

This book is put out by the Red Feather Development Group. They are a non-profit group chartered to provide low cost but efficient housing on indian reservations. They have been developing straw bale contruction for houses over many years, many buildings.

This handbook is not exactly a complete primer on building a straw bale house, to me it is an idea book. There's not much here, for instance on plumbing, heating, wiring and so on. Fair enough, those things are much the same for any house, and well understood by architects and contractors. What this book does is talk about building the house itself, the wall structure, supporting the roof, the things that are unique to building with Straw Bales. There are lots of pictures, illustrating lots of points that you wouldn't think of unless you had been there and done that.

Highly recommended!

More Than Just a Handbook.......2006-02-27

When Red Feather Development Group founded in 1994, its mission was to build and develop affordable and ecological sound straw bail houses for the American Indian community. In recent years, the work of the Red Feather Development Group has drawn interest as many environmental and green building groups have developed.

Due to the increase of interest, the group has released "Building a Straw Bale House: The Red Feather Construction Handbook".

The handbook is a great guide for anybody wanting to better understand the principles of straw bale construction. With step-by-step construction directions and wonderful illustrations, "Building a Straw Bale House" makes the topic approachable and simple to create similar versions of the building technique.

For example, the author provides the reader/builder with numeral step-by-step instructions for constructing the foundation, the correct mix for the interior finish coat, and radiant floor heating diagrams. Everything that may need to be known for constructing a straw house is available in its book, which that in itself is notable.

"Building a Straw Bale House" succeeds in bringing an interesting construction type into the limelight, but the principle of its origin is even more admirable - providing affordable and sustainable housing to individuals.

Great tips, humble, amidst process........2006-01-05

This is an honest assessment of a particular point in a learning curve. And I'd bet that point on the curve is well beyond most of us who've been researching straw bale building. Our troop of friends have taken a workshop put on by the Iron Straw group (ironstraw.org), and although it was informative, this book is a wonderful step ahead of what could be taught in a weekend workshop. Very useful construction handbook, and a worthy cause to be promoting by purchase.

I was the first to borrow this book from our local public library, and even as the borrowed library version is sitting on my desk, I'm buying at Amazon today.

Great photos, tips, and full upfront acknowledgement that the book is a moment in time/written from a particular point in the Red Feather program's evolution in straw bale building.

We'll be building our first straw bale residence the Fall of 2006 in Pend Oreille County in Ea. Washington state. You can bet this sturdy handbook will be on site, somewhere in the straw, and splattered with earthen plaster just like the happy soiling that goes on in when a cookbook is left open for reference in a real cook's kitchen.

Enjoy!

Keeping Heart on Pine Ridge: Family Ties, Warrior Culture, Commodity Foods, Rez Dogs and the Sacred

Average customer rating:

Keeping Heart On Pine Ridge:Family Ties, Warrior Culture, Commodity Foods, Rez Dogs and the Sacred
Keeping Heart
Telling it like it is
Keeping Heart on Pine Ridge
Real Life Moments

Keeping Heart on Pine Ridge: Family Ties, Warrior Culture, Commodity Foods, Rez Dogs and the Sacred
Vic Glover
Manufacturer: Native Voices
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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On the Rez
Pine Ridge Reservation (Images of America: South Dakota)
Standing in the Light: A Lakota Way of Seeing (American Indian Lives Series)
Sacred Fireplace (Oceti Wakan): Life and Teachings of a Lakota Medicine Man
The Lakota Way: Stories and Lessons for Living

ASIN: 1570671656

Book Description

This title was among the winners of the 2006 Skipping Stones Honor Awards for Multicultural & International Awareness Books. Keeping Heart on Pine Ridge is an intimate look at contemporary life with the Lakota people on Pine Ridge Indian Rerservation, near the Black Hills in South Dakota. Insightful stories of compassion, despair, humor, and spiritual growth are drawn from two years of daily life in a strong and tormented community. Firsthand accounts of sundances, commodity foods, sweat lodges, drunken driving, and the Sacred provide the fabric through which Glover weaves his incisive wit and wisdom on the social and political forces that have challenged his people and made them stronger.

Customer Reviews:

Keeping Heart On Pine Ridge:Family Ties, Warrior Culture, Commodity Foods, Rez Dogs and the Sacred.......2005-11-28

A group from our church has gone to Pine Ridge on Mission trips for the past three years and we have gotten to know quite a few people there. We always seem to have gained more than we have given during our week stay. This book tells it how it is for much of the population on the Pine Ridge Reservation. It is a very helpful book for the leaders of our Mission to share with others that are joining us. We love the people there. They focus on what really matters in life and brings us back to where we all need to live. Most of us are so far removed from nature, family, giving our all to each other. This book shows us how and points out how far removed we are. It really brings questions to the way that I am living my life. It points out just how differently I need to live to become apart of life as Jesus would want me to live it.
Thank you, Vic Glover. And thank you to our Native brothers and sisters.

Keeping Heart.......2005-02-01

This is a beautiful collection of short stories and is a real life account of living on in Indian reservation in todays modern times.
Vic Glover has an amazing talent and style of writing that 'just takes you right there'.
With much humour and sadness, Vic takes you on a journey, that whets the appetite, always leaving you wanting to read more.
This is a great read, I highly recommend it.

Telling it like it is.......2004-12-23

A moving glimpse into the everyday lives of the people that live on Pine Ridge. The blending of Lakota spirituality into the challenges of life in an impoverished society is outstanding!

Keeping Heart on Pine Ridge.......2004-12-12

A must read for anyone interested in what life on a western Rez is really about. BroVic captures the humor and pathos of daily life in a marvelously clear, straightforward way that simutaneously makes you wish you were there to share in it and glad that you're not.

Real Life Moments.......2004-12-11

I lived on a rez for 7 years, but I could never convey to others the texture of living there. Vic Glover can. This is a beautiful bouquet of real life vignettes, interwoven and told with an honest voice. Vic writes with nothing to hide, and that makes these stories so rich and visceral.

And it's damn cheap, like me. Perfect for Christmas presents. I'm gonna order some more copies.

The Dakotas Off the Beaten Path, 4th: A Guide to Unique Places

Average customer rating:

Light, good guidebook
Good but not much to compare
I learned a lot of new things about my home state

The Dakotas Off the Beaten Path, 4th: A Guide to Unique Places
Robin McMacken
Manufacturer: Globe Pequot
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Off the Beaten Path | Guidebook Series | Travel | Subjects | Books

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Mobil Travel Guide Northern Plains, 2005: Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming (Mobil Travel Guide Northern Plains (Mt, Nd, Sd, Wy))
Compass American Guides: South Dakota, 3rd Edition (Compass American Guides)

ASIN: 0762722126

Book Description

Uncover North Dakota and South Dakota's best-kept secrets, such as the Corn Palace in Mitchell (where thousands of bushels of corn, wheat, grain, and grasses are used to create beautifully decorated mosaics) or the Fort Seward Wagon Train--a one-week wagon train reenactment.

Customer Reviews:

Light, good guidebook .......2004-12-27

I used this guidebook for a visit to the Black Hills of South Dakota. If there's a more interesting place to visit than the Black Hills I haven't found it. The scenery is great, the wildlife abundant, and the history is fascinating. For example, the guidebook led me to the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation and the Red Cloud Heritage Center and Red Cloud's grave. (Red Cloud was a Dakota chief who defeated the U.S. army in 1868 and forced a withdrawal from Indian lands.) On a different level, the book also led me to Kevin Costner's casino and restaurant in Deadwood, as well as Will Bill Hickok's grave in the same town.

The guidebook divides the Dakotas into six regions and lists interesting places to stay, old-time restaurants, museums and art galleries, annual events, and assorted trivia. Sidebars recount tidbits of Dakota history, especially tales of its cowboys and Indians. This guidebook is light and small and well-organized and all you need to find your way to interesting spots, especially if you're the sort of person who's allergic to shopping malls and cooker-cutter hotels and restaurants

Smallchief

Good but not much to compare.......2002-07-30

My family was recently transferred to North Dakota with the Air Force. Before we moved we wanted to learn more about it, since we had never been here. It was very difficult to find ANYTHING in print about North Dakota. I finally found an older copy of this book in a book store in Anchorage, AK, and then went on-line and ordered the new edition.

While I think this book is pretty decent, I wish I could find a book with more pictures. While North Dakota is hardly considered a popular tourist destination, there IS some pretty scenery. I think this book would be better if they added some sections with pictures. Otherwise, the book is pretty good. I would recommend it to anyone considering travel in North Dakota (or South Dakota, it also has a section on that state), but then again I have not come across a single other book that focuses on North Dakota as much.

I learned a lot of new things about my home state.......2001-01-24

I really enjoyed reading all about the Dakotas. I plan on traveling to learn more about my roots. This book will really help me plan my travels.

The Dakotas Off the Beaten Path, 6th (Off the Beaten Path Series)

Average customer rating:

Dakota tips
Seeing the Dakotas

The Dakotas Off the Beaten Path, 6th (Off the Beaten Path Series)
Robin McMacken
Manufacturer: Globe Pequot
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Off the Beaten Path | Guidebook Series | Travel | Subjects | Books

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Similar Items:

Insiders' Guide to South Dakota's Black Hills and Badlands, 4th (Insiders' Guide Series)
South Dakota Atlas & Gazetteer
Wyoming Off the Beaten Path, 5th (Off the Beaten Path Series)
Montana Off the Beaten Path, 6th (Off the Beaten Path Series)
Black Hills Family Fun Guide: Explore the Black Hills, Badlands & Devils Tower

ASIN: 0762740515

Book Description

The Dakotas have been known to cast a spell on locals and visitors alike. Discover the magic of the Dakotas at an outdoor bandshell concert, with a visit to a museum dedicated to woodcarving, or by stopping at a showplace for Arabian horses.

Customer Reviews:

Dakota tips.......2007-04-02

Great source for additional possibilities when visiting the magical Dakotas. However, restaurants and lodging lean heavily to those who have plenty of money in their purse/wallet. For most of us, I would research these areas further. But it is outstanding for many possibilities to make a wonderful trip even better. Just don't expect it to cover much roadfood, wacky attractions or budget motels. VERY worthwhile still.

Seeing the Dakotas.......2007-01-13

Off the Beaten Path-rather a so-so account of "what to see/do" in the Dakotas. I personally like the Moon Travel Series better as the format is easier to read and more consistent.

Hiking the Black Hills Country, 2nd: A Guide to More Than 50 Hikes in South Dakota and Wyoming (Regional Hiking Series)

Average customer rating:

Good begining reference
Exploring South Dakota

Hiking the Black Hills Country, 2nd: A Guide to More Than 50 Hikes in South Dakota and Wyoming (Regional Hiking Series)
Bert Gildart , and Jane Gildart
Manufacturer: Falcon
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Best Easy Day Hikes Black Hills Country (Best Easy Day Hikes Series)
Exploring the Black Hills and Badlands: A Guide for Hikers, Cross-Country Skiers, & Mountain Bikers
Insiders' Guide to South Dakota's Black Hills and Badlands, 4th (Insiders' Guide Series)
Black Hills Family Fun Guide: Explore the Black Hills, Badlands & Devils Tower
Insiders' Guide to South Dakota's Black Hills & Badlands, 3rd (Insiders' Guide Series)

ASIN: 0762735473

Book Description

Native Americans call this country Paha Sapa, meaning "hills that are black." Hikers call the Black Hills "paradise." An area of 6,000 square miles with more than 500 miles of trails, the Black Hills have affected travelers through the ages-including Native American leaders Crazy Horse and Black Elk, Gen. George Armstrong Custer and sculptor Gutzon Borglum. Black Hills country is a land of pine forested hills surrounded by prairie, and oasis full of wildlife and striking rock formations, an area of religious and historic significance, and an area of magnificent hiking diversity. Hiking South Dakota's Black Hills Country covers nearly all the trails in the area from Devils Tower National Monument and Mount Rushmore National Memorial to Custer State Park and Wind Cave and Badlands National Parks. Detailed descriptions and maps will get you to the trailheads and help you plan your trip. This guide also includes tips on safety and hiking with children, elevation charts, photographs, no-trace camping information, and an equipment checklist. Whether you are a veteran or novice hiker, Hiking South Dakota's Black Hills Country will lead the way to outdoor adventure.

Customer Reviews:

Good begining reference.......2001-05-07

Good hiking reference if you're new to the BH and hiking in general. I've found the ratings to be more for beginners or folks without a lot of hiking skill (ie. a moderate trail listed as strenuous). Good to get you oriented to the area.

Exploring South Dakota.......2000-05-09

I live in the Black Hills and use this guide extensively. Itis well written and trails are accurately described. If you purchaseone hiking book for SD....make sure it is this one!...

Average customer rating:

Songs and dances of the Lakota
Ben Black Bear
Manufacturer: North Plains Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

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ASIN: B000734OZ2

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