Top Of The Heap (Hard Case Crime)

Customer Reviews:

fairly decent addition to this series........2007-08-27

I cant say enough good things about the 'hard case crime' series of books. Just about every one is a masterpiece lost to time. Its great that aficionado's of the genre have taken the initiative to re-publish these books.

'Top of the Heap' was not the best of the books that I have read in this series, however it was satisfying none-the-less. More than any other book in this series I kept thinking of Bogart and his 'Maltese Falcon', 'Big Sleep' films. If you are a fan of these films, this book will take you to that place and give you a great read.

As I am sure most of you know, Erle Stanley Gardner was a giant of his time. He must have written well over a hundred books, half of which were of the 'Perry Mason' series. The other half cover a gambit of styles rooted in the genre tradition. I read in another review that this was the 13th of 29 books in the series. However one thing is for sure and that is you needn't have read any of the others to fully enjoy this story.

The detective agency of Cool and Lam are approached by a rich young man who wants an alibi set up for a particular evening. However as Lam investigates, he finds that the alibi he uncovers is fake and this sets him off on a course to uncover the truth of the matter. Basically the story is of Lam uncovering layers of truths and fictions. The story and plot are very well conceived. Often you will stumble across a story where clues fall into the protagonists lap. Here, you watch as Lam cleverly solves one small mystery and then another, nothing comes too easy and thus you are given a very satisfying story.

I would suggest this book if you have read some of the other 'Hard Case' books. If you haven't I might say that you try one of the others first. Anything that was not published for the first time here. The one fault of the series is that they are also publishing first time stories and so far I have only encountered disasters.

Spare, fast prose; complications galore.......2006-11-07

Other reviewers have noted that "Top of the Heap" is one of 29 mystery novels featuring Donald Lam and Bertha Cool. Twenty-seven of the novels are told from Lam's first-person point of view; two are told from Bertha Cool's point of view, but in third person. The novels are not really "hard-boiled": they're a blend of the hard-boiled and "puzzle" genres. Typically, they begin with what appears to be a simple assignment; Lam notes a loose thread, begins pulling it, and then spends the rest of the novel unraveling the entire fabric of the overall scheme. Lam is usually about half a step ahead of the police and/or the bad guys. Part of the fun is seeing him skate adroitly through varied complications. Much of the fun is in the crisp prose, especially the dialogue. "Top of the Heap" is probably not the best of the lot (I think that "Spill the Jackpot" may be the best), but its speed, its complicated plot, and its clean prose make it a fine introduction to this outstanding series.

Lam Tours Frisco.......2005-09-23

The 'Foreword' is dedicated to Okey L. Patterson, Governor of West Virginia. Warden Orel J. Skeen felt that a condemned prisoner was not guilty and called the "Court of Last Resort". Robert B. Bailey was convicted of murder by an eyewitness even while he was arrested drunk several miles away. The Governor commuted Bailey's sentence and called for a new investigation of this case. Not every governor would give up a few hours of his holiday to review the evidence on a closed case.

John Carver Billings II visits the Cool & Lam agency. He first danced with Morrie, then was dumped by her. He then spent the night with Sylvia and Millie. Morrie has gone missing, and Billings II wants them to find Sylvia and Millie to establish his alibi. Lam sees problems in his story, Cool only sees his money. But who is John Carver Billings II? So Lam starts his investigation to track two unknowns on behalf of another unknown. And he succeeds, so the client is happy. But Lam know this "paper trail" was left for him to find! So Lam goes back to the motor court to re-investigate, and finds a clue that brings him to San Francisco, and he finds out more about that night, and more about the Billings. Then Lam finds information about a hit-and-run accident. Also about the discovery of the body of Morrie (Maurine Auburn), shot twice in the back.

Lam warns Millie about her life-style choice (Chapter 4). It won't work in the long run, she's only "a cog in the economic and social machine". Millie craves action, variety, and luxury. In Chapter 11 Lam reads about a wealthy mining man who has gone missing, and goes to interview his wife. Lam learns something about George Bishop, the first link to the Billings. He gives advice to Mrs. Bishop. Lam surmises the connection between Billings II and the need for an alibi. Billings I tells Lam of the mysterious mining operations of George Bishop (Chapter 12). And so we find out about the puzzle of the body in the yacht - it isn't there! Lam tells about a test for bloodstains. Would there be bloodstains if the carpet was brand new? Then Lam gets information from the accountant (Chapter 14). More facts are discovered by Lam in talking to Mrs. Bishop.

The police search of the crime scene found the murder weapon and the fingerprints of Billings (Chapter 16). Lam describes "The Green Door" and its adjoining shops. Lam investigates to uncover more facts, only to be trapped and threatened for a while. A phone call to "George Granby" serves as a deus ex machina to end his predicament. And so this puzzle is solved in the police station (Chapter 19). The Billings are freed. Lam's return to the home office is played out for its comedic value. Note the modern touches here (college basketball). The bonanza in the gold mine stock sounds like insider trading. [Gardner did a better job than Hammett or Chandler in describing civic corruption.]

Well, it starts off hardboiled...anyway..........2005-08-04

...and then bogs down something awful. Great start--snappy dialogue (and pieces of that snap are scattered throughout the book so you know the guy's smart).

But the problem is that after a rock solid hardboiled start, things get way too complicated to really make this hardboiled pulp fiction. It winds up being a puzzle mystery, NOT a tough crime novel--puzzle mysteries are the kind that all those smart mystery writers wrote, and still write. They're in their own league--not hardboiled, not cozy. Smart, but the novels always start with a murder and then some genius woman or man figures out how all the pieces fit together.

So, yes, there is a murder. There are a couple of babes. But they don't count for much in the story; they're a diversion that the author seems to have thrown in to try to make this appear to be a hardboiled novel. Didn't work.

Hardboiled fiction is about base instincts and while that is certainly the motivating factors for the events in the novel, in no way could this be considered hardboiled fiction because the delivery is just too cerebral. Hardboiled fiction is about base instinct, but delivered in a style that matches those instincts--that's pulp. And just because something's called pulp doesn't mean it's bad. Not at all. Good pulp is great reading. For example, read Dan Marlowe for GREAT hardboiled fiction. Or Dashiell Hammett, especially Red Harvest which remains one of my absolute favorite hardboiled novels, written in 1929!!

Top of the Heap, as one reviewer pointed out here, has a title that is completely obscure. There's no way of figuring out what it refers to. The cover blurb says something about "She made her way to the top...", or something, but no woman in the novel is a main character. That honor belongs to Donald Lam, half of the Lam and Cool Detective Agency; the other half is a blustering, ultra-tough woman, Bertha Cool, who cusses out her partner Lam for blowing money.

By the time the reader gets to the end of the novel, the last 15 pages or so are pure explication and go on and on and on about how this person did this and that person did that and so on, and so forth, neatly fitting all the pieces of the puzzle together. To be blunt, this was a real drag to read.

I recommend The Name of the Game is Death by Dan Marlowe, the aforementioned Red Harvest by Hammett, and a whole lot of stuff by Jim Thompson, David Goodis, and a few other guys--as well as Ride the Pink Horse by Dorothy Hughes, one of the best hardboiled novels ever. But Top of the Heap is just too smart for its own good to be counted as hardboiled.

Hard Case Crime is putting out a brand new original novel by Stephen King in October 2005. Here's hoping that will be more hardboiled than this one.

Not the best of the bunch.......2005-05-12

Donald Lam, private investigator for the Lam/Cool Detective Agency, is hired by John Billings to find two women with whom he had been partying several nights before in a Los Angeles nightclub. It takes Lam less than a day to follow the "paper trail" from Los Angeles to San Francisco, find one of the girls, and realize that Billings has set the whole thing up to give himself an alibi. But an alibi for what--the murder of a wealthy mining tycoon, the abduction of Maurine Auburn, girlfriend of mobster "Gabby" Garvanza, or something else?

Originally published in 1952, Top of the Heap has recently been reissued by Hard Case Crime. Twenty-nine books in this series were written and published under the pseudonym A.A.Fair, most at the same time Erle Stanley Gardner was also writing his more well-known Perry Mason series. The Lam/Cool books are fun, fast reads and fairly typical of classic hardboiled fare. However, these books are not all created equally, and Top of the Heap is not the best of the bunch.

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Top of the Heap
A. A. (Earl Stanley Gardner) Fair
Manufacturer: Dell Publishing 772
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000KBCPG6

Top of the Heap: A Donald Lam-Bertha Cool Mystery

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Top of the Heap: A Donald Lam-Bertha Cool Mystery
Erle Stanley Gardner , and A.A. Fair
Manufacturer: NY Dell #309 1959.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000LTPSKM

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Top of the Heap: A Yankees Collection

Manufacturer: Houghton Mifflin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Essays & Writings | Baseball | Sports | Subjects | Books

General | Baseball | Sports | Subjects | Books

General | Sports | Subjects | Books

Pride of October: What it Was to Be Young and a Yankee

ASIN: 0618303995

Book Description

Perhaps more has been written about the New York Yankees than about any other sports team. And the magic that has played out on the field over the years has been rivaled only by baseball scribes' prowess on the page. Excellence breeds excellence, and for 100 years some of the best writers in America have chronicled the New York Yankees, taking a single swing or game and somehow making it singular. This brand-new anthology from the series editor of The Best American Sports Writing and author of Yankees Century collects the best writing about the Yankees over the course of their long history. Published to coincide with the team's centenary celebration, this is a must-have volume for fans the world over who claim the New York Yankees as their own.

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Top Of The Heap

Manufacturer: Dell
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000HWEL3I

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Top of the Heap
A. A. Fair
Manufacturer: Dell
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000RTF4P0

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Top of the Heap
Erle Stanley (A. A. Fair) Gardner
Manufacturer: Dell Publishing Company, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000VWFDP4

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Top of the Heap
A.A. Fair
Manufacturer: William Morrow
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Suspense | Thrillers | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 9997511816

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Lam Tours Frisco

Top of the Heap

Manufacturer: A Dell Book/ Dell Publishing Co Inc
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000H69XUU

Customer Reviews:

Lam Tours Frisco.......2006-08-15

The 'Foreword' is dedicated to Okey L. Patterson, Governor of West Virginia. Warden Orel J. Skeen felt that a condemned prisoner was not guilty and called the "Court of Last Resort". Robert B. Bailey was convicted of murder by an eyewitness even while he was arrested drunk several miles away. The Governor commuted Bailey's sentence and called for a new investigation of this case. Not every governor would give up a few hours of his holiday to review the evidence on a closed case.

John Carver Billings II visits the Cool & Lam agency. He first danced with Morrie, then was dumped by her. He then spent the night with Sylvia and Millie. Morrie has gone missing, and Billings II wants them to find Sylvia and Millie to establish his alibi. Lam sees problems in his story, Cool only sees his money. But who is John Carver Billings II? So Lam starts his investigation to track two unknowns on behalf of another unknown. And he succeeds, so the client is happy. But Lam know his "paper trail" was left for him to find! So Lam goes back to the motor court to re-investigate, and finds a clue that brings him to San Francisco, and he finds out more about that night, and more about the Billings. Then Lam finds information about a hit-and-run accident. Also about the discovery of the body of Morrie (Maurine Auburn), shot twice in the back.

Lam warns Millie about her life-style choice (Chapter 4). It won't work in the long run, she's only "a cog in the economic and social machine". Millie cranes action, variety, and luxury. In Chapter 11 Lam reads about a wealthy mining man who has gone missing, and goes to interview his wife. Lam learns something about George Bishop, the first link to the Billings. He gives advice to Mrs. Bishop. Lam surmises the connection between Billings II and the need for an alibi. Billings I tells Lam of the mysterious mining operations of George Bishop (Chapter 12). And so we find out about the puzzle of the body in the yacht - it isn't there! Lam tells about a test for bloodstains. Would there be bloodstains if the carpet was brand new? Then Lam gets information from the accountant (Chapter 14). More facts are discovered by Lam in talking to Mrs. Bishop.

The police search of the crime scene found the murder weapon and the fingerprints of Billings (Chapter 16). Lam describes "The Green Door" and its adjoining shops. Lam investigates to uncover more facts, only to be trapped and threatened for a while. A phone call to "George Granby" serves as a deus ex machina to end his predicament. And so this puzzle is solved in the police station (Chapter 19). The Billings are freed. Lam's return to the home office is played out for its comedic value. Note the modern touches here (college basketball). The bonanza in the gold mine stock sounds like insider trading. [Gardner did a better job than Hammett or Chandler in describing civic corruption.]

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Top of the Heap
A.A. Fair
Manufacturer: Dell
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000GSM4GE

Book Description

With People of the Mist, the Gears take us to the Chesapeake Bay of six hundred years ago, when the unprovoked and brutal murder of a young woman on the eve of her wedding threatens to turn the entire Algonquin Nation against itself in a brutal war that could destroy them as a people.No ordinary woman, Red Knot was the heir to the Greenstone clan and the future leader of the independent villages. Her death has shattered all alliances and left a power void which several ambitious clan chiefs see as their destiny to fill. The very air vibrates with the drums and war cries of the rallying warriors.Into the eye of this brewing storm steps the bitter old man they call The Panther. Feared as a sorcerer, The Panther is the only one with the power to demand to be heard by all. But as he digs deeper into the ever-thickening web of lies surrounding the murder, and uncovers darker, more deeply rooted secrets, he fears there may be no words to stop the impending bloodshed.

Customer Reviews:

One of their best........2007-09-11

This is one of their best novels, a gripping mystery with lots of character development. A very swift read.

one of the better People books.......2006-07-21

I love the Panther, and I love that the heroine is a plain-looking, initially immature girl who grows up and shows her true potential for greatness. Much more well-rounded a character than in most of the People books (and I don't mean anatomically!). Most of the characters here are less two-dimensional, in fact, than in a lot of the Gear's later books. Nobody is flat-out evil, not even Copper Thunder. While the Panther sometimes comes off sounding a little too didactic and like some mind-reading master of all human psychology, he overall is a lot of fun to follow.

another good book by the gear's.......2006-03-15

this is a decsent gear book it is a murder mistry. the problem with it is while investegating the murder the old dreamer does the same thing over and over every day but somehow still finds out how did it. but there is a big surprise at the very end that make it a good read.

It Weaves Together to Form a Plot That Will Suprise You!.......2006-03-09

This story took place around the Chesapeake Bay which I grew up around so the location of the story intrigued my curiousity. I have read all of the Gear's books in order and I have watched their artistic historical stories unfold and grow in so many ways. Their first couple of stories seemed to be repetitive but beginning with the 3rd of the series the Gear's have found so many ways to manipulate the story into twists and turns that leaves any reader fascinated and wanting more. It weaves some of the older stories into their current stories and this one was just as great. I had never suspected the ending and I was astonished at how well the story came together. The research is always breathtaking as well and I will continue to be a faithful Gear's reader.

Really A Murder Mystery Set In Pre-Columbian Maryland 700 Years Ago.......2005-09-17

It seems like in every single volume of the "First Americans" series the Gears write, a new genre is explored. In one book it is a quest, in another the tale is one of requested intervention of supernatural forces, still another is a cautionary fable concerning ecology. And in this case, it is a very fine murder mystery. This novel is set around the Chesapeake Bay region roughly a half-dozen generations before Columbus's voyage. It covers the culture of the Algonquians down to the smallest detail and does a fine job of contrasting their value system to that of other aboriginal groups (such as the more pastoral southeastern tribes) and also with showing us a people who dwelled in a region of such remarkable natural plenty that life could be sustained with very little effort.

In this bounteous landscape a murder has been committed. A beautiful teenaged daughter of a powerful chieftain has been found beaten to death in the forest near her home. She had sneaked out in the night for a rendezvous of some sort and never made it back. Amid the descriptions of Algonquin life, funerary and religious rites and crime and punishment, the story weaves outward, until a hermit-like old man, much feared and respected by the villagers, is welcomed into their midst to use his towering intellect to solve the murder of the young woman and prevent the catastrophic consequences her death might have on her people's immediate future.

This is one of the two best books in the First Americans series and even devoid the bonus of its wealth of information on tribal life, it is a spectacular mystery that remains unsolved to the very end of this novel's pages.

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"A tip-top yarn"
STILL ANOTHER WONDERFUL PAGE-TURNER FROM H. RIDER HAGGARD
An absolute MUST READ
Best of Haggard
Sweeps you away to strange lands, and rivets you there!

The People of the Mist
H. Rider Haggard
Manufacturer: Waking Lion Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Action & Adventure | Genre Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 1600963463
Release Date: 2006-07-17

Book Description

A penniless British adventurer seeks untold wealth in the wilds of the "Dark Continent" after losing his family lands and estates in this thrilling novel of romance, adventure, and lost peoples. An intensely engrossing tale.

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The January afternoon was passing into night, the air was cold and still, so still that not a single twig of the naked beech-trees stirred; on the grass of the meadows lay a thin white rime, half frost, half snow; the firs stood out blackly against a steel-hued sky, and over the tallest of them hung a single star. Past these bordering firs there ran a road, on which, in this evening of the opening of our story, a young man stood irresolute, glancing now to the right and now to the left.

Customer Reviews:

"A tip-top yarn".......2006-11-28

- - That was C. S. Lewis's verdict.

Having read about twenty of Haggard's novels, I thought this one was unusual in having a bickering couple for the love interest, fairly frequent references to Leonard or Juanna being annoyed, etc. The happy ending is rather muted. Also, while Leonard is basically in the usual Haggard mold of physically strong hero, for quite a lot of the book he is passive, reacting to events. A third difference is that the book is almost free of the spiritualistic musings that one finds in many of Haggard's books. There's virtually no supernatural element here, too.

In the second half, things maybe drag just a leetle, but I have to say that Haggard pays us off well with that amazingly cinematic climax!

Ballantine reprinted a few Haggard novels in the Seventies (two in its Adult Fantasy series -- this one and The World's Desire, which I don't remember very well); it is much better than When the World Shook, which has pages of talk -- which was obviously much easier to write than the narration and description that are lavishly deployed here.

STILL ANOTHER WONDERFUL PAGE-TURNER FROM H. RIDER HAGGARD.......2005-07-13

Sir Henry Rider Haggard, the so-called "Father of the Lost Race Novel," didn't write such stories featuring only Allan Quatermain and Ayesha, She Who Must Be Obeyed. For example, his 17th novel, "The People of the Mist" (1894), is a smashing, wonderfully exciting, stand-alone lost-race tale featuring all-new characters. But the first third of the novel is hardly a lost-race story at all, but rather one of hard-bitten African adventure. In it, we meet Leonard Outram, a penniless British adventurer who is seeking wealth in the wilds of the "Dark Continent" after losing his family lands and estates (through no fault of his own, it should be added). He becomes involved in the rescue of a young Portuguese woman from the largest slaving camp in Africa, and this thrilling and quite suspenseful section of the book offers more entertainment value than most entire novels. But it is only after Leonard and Otter (his four-foot-tall Zulu sidekick) rescue Juanna Rodd that the book really takes off, and the hunt for the People of the Mist, and their legendary jewel horde, begins. Once the lost race has been discovered, Leonard & Co. become embroiled in a plot involving the impersonation of gods and priest vs. king politics, and Haggard throws in some violent sacrifices, a giant crocodile god, a "toboggan" escape along a precipitous glacier, some romances and a good deal of humor (thanks to that wonderful Otter character) to keep the reader consistently amused. The theology of this lost race is nicely detailed and, as is fortunately common in a Haggard tale, the author offers many commentaries on the side regarding his philosophies of life. For those readers who have enjoyed other tales by Sir Henry (I've read 30 or so at this point; the man CAN prove addictive!), "The People of the Mist" will resonate all over the place, bringing to mind both earlier and later Haggard works. For example, the character of Soa (Juanna's insanely jealous nursemaid) is similar to Hendrika the Baboon Woman in "Allan's Wife" (1889). Otter himself is a precursor of Quatermain's Hottentot sidekick Hans, especially when he attempts to fight the giant crocodile god, much as Hans would later fight the monstrous snake god in "The Ivory Child" (1916). (These giant animal gods, it should be noted, are likely inspirations for all those similar monstrosities in the tales of Robert E. Howard, just as Hendrika was a likely inspiration for Edgar Rice Burroughs' Tarzan.) But there is no way in the world that a reader--even one familiar with the author--will guess how things turn out for our intrepid explorers, in this continuously engrossing tale. That said, it should be noted that Haggard is guilty of a few slips in the course of the book. A huge gem of the crocodile god is carved from a sapphire; several hundred pages later, it has become a ruby. The motto of Leonard's family is said to be "For Heart, Home and Honour"; later on, that motto is said to be "For Home, Honour and Heart." But these are minor matters that only the sharpest-eyed readers will notice (my personal curse, I suppose). The overwhelming majority of readers, I feel, will be so busy being thrilled and entertained that they will never notice these little goofs. The bottom line is that "The People of the Mist" is still another wonderful page-turner from H. Rider Haggard. Now, when is some respectful filmmaker going to spend $200 million to bring THIS ONE to the big screen?

An absolute MUST READ.......2003-04-23

A beautiful masterpiece, truly Haggard at his best. It depicts an English youth, who lost his fortune and his fiancee's hand. Swearing with his brother to win back their home, he ends up in Africa, trying to make a fortune. It is only afterwards that he rescues a maid from a slave-dealer (for payment, of course!) falls in love with her, and ends up in a place no one has ever heard of. Narrow escape, love, intrigue, and more make this book great! It's worth every penny!

Best of Haggard.......2001-06-05

Although not of the Allan Quartermain storyline, which has some great novels, and not one of Haggard's more famous novels, I view "People of the Mist" as the best novel that Haggard ever wrote. I have read it several times and it is still fresh and exciting.

Sweeps you away to strange lands, and rivets you there!.......1999-06-09

This is an incredible adventure, complete with terror, tears and laughs! After a brief introduction into the scenario, the pace and mystery picks-up to a 'can't-put-it-down' pace! After lending my tattered copy to someone years ago, forgetting who, and searching for a copy ever since, I've FINALLY FOUND IT!!! Thanks,AMAZON!!!!!!!!

Mist Over the Mountains: Appalachia and Its People

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Review of Mist Over the Mountains

Mist Over the Mountains: Appalachia and Its People
Raymond Bial
Manufacturer: Houghton Mifflin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | History & Historical Fiction | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

General | Ages 9-12 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0395735696

Book Description

The idea of Appalachia is elusive - is it a people, a place? It's actually both and more, a mountain region of remarkable beauty inhabited by people whose past was formed by its hills and hollows. Pioneer days in harsh and often isolated mountain homesteads demanded determination and ingenuity, and early Appalachians rose to the challenge, doggedly carving lives for themselves out of the forests and farming the thin mountain soil. Their spirit survives in traditions handed down through the generations and in crafts still proudly practiced today.

Customer Reviews:

Review of Mist Over the Mountains.......2002-10-31

I really enjoyed this book and it was an easy read. I would highly recommend it to people who enjoy Southern Literature of the United States. It is one of the most refreshing books in its genre and comes highly recommended by Booklist, Kirkus REview and the New York Times Book Review List.
Four stars!

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The People of the Mist
H. Rider Haggard
Manufacturer: Longmans, Green & Co.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
ASIN: B0000EF0SN

7 Titles Gears' First North American Series - People of the Wolf - Fire - River - Sea - Silence - Mist - Masks

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7 Titles Gears' First North American Series - People of the Wolf - Fire - River - Sea - Silence - Mist - Masks
W. Michael Gear and Kathleen O'Neal Gear
Manufacturer: various
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

Product Description

7 Titles Gears' First North American Series - People of the Wolf - People of the Fire - People of the River - People of the Sea - People of the Silence - People of the Mist - People of the Masks

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Africa: Through the Mists of Time
Brenda Sullivan
Manufacturer: Covos Day
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Africa | History | Subjects | Books

South Africa | Africa | History | Subjects | Books

General | World | History | Subjects | Books

General | Nature & Ecology | Science | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1919874186

Book Description

Who were "The Strange Ones"? In this fascinating study of heritage, Brenda Sullivan expands on her investigation of a "pre-San" race from her first book, "Spirit of the Rocks." She dismisses the theory that all rock art is the work of the Bushmen, based on her research that the San married outside their clans and thus roamed throughout sub-Saharan Africa for millennia.

The San refer to rock engravings as the work of their ancestors. Brenda Sullivan launches into a compelling study of the San bloodlines based on evidence of their wanderings and the knowledge that Africa was circumnavigated for the second time as early as 470 BCE at the request of the Carthaginian king, Xerxes.

Book Description

In 1200, what is now southwest China--Guizhou, Yunnan, and the southern portion of Sichuan was home to an assortment of strikingly diverse cultures and ruled by a multitude of political entities. By 1750, China's military, political, sociocultural, and economic institutions were firmly in control of the region, and many of the area's cultures were rapidly becoming extinct. One purpose of this book is to examine how China's three late imperial dynasties--the Yuan, Ming, and Qing--conquered, colonized, and assumed control of the southwest. Another objective is to highlight the indigenous response to China's colonization of the southwest, particularly that of the Nasu Yi people of western Guizhou and eastern Yunnan, the only group to leave an extensive written record.

Creatures in the Mist: Little People, Wild Men and Spirit Beings around the World, A Study in Comparative Mythology (HC)

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Creatures in the Mist: Little People, Wild Men and Spirit Beings around the World, A Study in Comparative Mythology (HC)
Gary, R. Varner
Manufacturer: Algora Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Book Description

Bringing together a medley of stories, myths, and folklore Gary Varner shares a fascination and respect for humankind's early and contemporary cultures and wonders at similarities across the board. Here, he focuses on "Little People" and giants, animals and were-creatures, and the odd, helpful or threatening ways imputed to our earthly companions including dogs and cats, bats and spiders, and the stories people have told each other about them since time immemorial. Gary Varner has performed a valuable service in these books. [Presenting] lore from about the world, a collector's hoard of traditions rich and strange, ... Varner shows there really are obvious and puzzling similarities between widely separated cultures. Gary Varner has pointed the way to some important cross-cultural readings in the ageless themes of stone and water. - Jeremy Harte, Curator of the Bourne Hall Museum, Surrey, England, in Northern Earth magazine, #103, 2005 Menhirs, Dolmen and Circles of Stone is an excellent guide to large-scale magical stones and stone magic. This book is a must for anyone interested in megalithic sites. Most highly recommended. -PanGaia Magazine, United States As with other books by the same author, this is a book based upon broad research into the subject, stretching across the world. What results is a fascinating weave of stories and images, descriptions of sites and associated tales, that leaves a sense of a thousand deities whispering in the air. Because it is so broad a sweep, the positive outcome is an overreaching perspective of the patterns and commonalities held between human communities - our ancestors - all around the world. The book is a sound overview and provocation to research more deeply ourselves, to find alternative visions, tales and interpretations, to find out more about the sacred currents, their depths and importance - both to our ancestors and to ourselves. The author's notations are comprehensive, allowing us easily to follow the clues. A valuable piece of work. -The Druid Network, England * Gary R. Varner is a lecturer and writer on folklore and early religions. He is author of several popular books comparing legends and beliefs around the world, including The Mythic Forest, the Green Man & the Spirit of Nature (Algora 2006); Menhirs, Dolmen and Circles of Stone: The Folklore and Magic of Sacred Stone (Algora 2005); and Sacred Wells: A Study in the History, Meaning, and Mythology of Holy Wells. His approach incorporates details from ancient cultures and from Native American, UK and European, Asian, South Pacific and African folklore. Varner is a member of the American Folklore Society.

Emerging From The Mist: Studies In Northwest Coast Culture History (Pacific Rim Archaeology)

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Emerging From The Mist: Studies In Northwest Coast Culture History (Pacific Rim Archaeology)

Manufacturer: UBC Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
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Peoples of the Northwest Coast: Their Archaeology and Prehistory

ASIN: 0774809825

Book Description

Ethnographic, ethnohistoric, and archaeological understanding of the pre-contact nature of the Northwest Coast has changed dramatically over the last twenty years. The ethnography of this area, which describes the most prominent examples of socially-complex hunters and gatherers, is known and studied across the globe but its archaeology is much less well known.

Emerging from the Mist expands and updates our understanding of the nature and evolution of pre-contact Northwest Coast society. Addressing a wide range of topics, including original and penetrating analyses of the fur trade, pre-contact metallurgy and architecture, and migration, the collection makes a significant contribution to our understanding of the Northwest Coast. Scholars and students of archaeology and anthropology, and those with an interest in pre-contact Northwest Coast history will find this volume especially rewarding. This volume carries on the intellectual traditions of Wayne Suttles' grounded and empirical approach, and that of Donald H. Mitchell, who more than any other researcher integrated archaeology, ethnography and ethnohistory into his own research.

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Indigenous and tribal peoples: Gathering mist and new horizon
B. K Roy Burman
Manufacturer: Mittal Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

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ASIN: 8170995760

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