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Tales from Wide Ruins: Jean and Bill Cousins, Traders
Jean Cousins , and
Bill Cousins
Manufacturer: Texas Tech University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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Wide Ruins: Memories from a Navajo Trading Post
ASIN: 0896723682 |
Customer Reviews:
Tales From Wide Ruins.......2001-10-28
A wonderful and tender love story. A true accounting of the life of an Indian Trader on the Navajo Reservation and surrounding communities. Great history of the famous "Wide Ruins" rugs and how they came into being. A fast & easy read, well worth the price.
Customer Reviews:
Strangers in Blood.......2006-06-11
This book has a high "fog factor" and is difficult to read. It uses academic jargon and long sentences. The structure is complex and confusing. That is not to say that the book is inconsequential; indeed, the subject matter is quite important. It is simply difficult to access it through this book.
The back cover accurately describes the book as looking systematically at the families and offspring of the upper echelon of the Hudson Bay Company and the North West Company. Unfortunately, this was a male-dominated business and a male-dominated period in history. Men kept the written records. The author of "Strangers in Blood" relies heavily on anecdotal accounts of individuals, complete with many direct quotes. Thus, this is a book that follows the men of the fur trade. Their wives and offspring become adjuncts. The book partially compensates for this by providing information on societal pressures within the fur trade, as well as in Canada and England at the time. It also addresses the policies of the fur companies relative to dependents.
The book characterizes and contrasts family connections in the Hudson Bay Company and the Northwest Company. The presentation is roughly chronological from the late 1700 to the mid 1800s. The 1821 merger of the two companies is a focal point. Chapters and subchapters move back and forth between the two companies; as well as between various topics of gender and types of family relationships. The focus is on individuals, with every page containing a confusing array of proper names. The names of key individuals (men) reappear constantly until the reader longs for a wall chart to keep them straight. The author has even provided a few small pieces of such a chart and they are helpful.
One comes away with the feeling that the men of the fur trade took more responsibility for their families than one might expect. They usually tried to place their offspring, both male and female, in a position to start a life of their own. That included at least some education; an apprenticeship for men, and marriage for women. Fewer men stayed committed to the mothers of their children but some of the relationships were life-long.
From the early 1820s on, one man, George Simpson, had great influence over the fur trade and the people involved with it. He directed the Hudson Bay Company through the merger with the Northwest Company and for forty years afterward. He influenced the tenor of the fur trade and everything connected with it. Ms Brown shows his impact to be more negative than positive. Simpson, the clergy, and English women all arrived on the scene at about the same time. The result was increased racism, emphasis on class, and moral disapproval of "country marriages." These semi-formal unions with Indians and mixed-bloods were prevalent in the fur trade up until that time. The problems of integrating the descendents of the fur traders into society continue in Canada today.
Finally, I even want to complain about the title. "Strangers in Blood" is an English legal term for relationships that exist "in blood" but the law refuses to admit as legitimate. This book is about a much broader range of relationships. The author recognizes the problem in the final chapter. Someone in the publishing process should have insisted on a better title.
Customer Reviews:
Former Student.......2006-10-21
I have not read this book. I had Dr. Bowne for cultural anthropology at Ole Miss, and he was an excellent instructor. Buy this book.
Book Description
History can be exciting if you are THERE. Relive history as Carl and the eagle help save and preserve the ancient Unangan culture of the Aleutian Islands. Join Carl, a 12-year-old boy living in Unalaska, Alaska, as he is caught in a severe storm and washed up on a small deserted island and is saved by Altug. Carl comes face to face with his ancestors and discovers he is a Unangan like the very first people to come the islands, centuries before. Altug tells him stories about his ancestors and their struggle to survive the harsh environment of the islands and about the exploitation of otters and seals, for their fur, that ripped apart the Unangan culture. Altug inspires Carl to help unite the culture of the ancient world with his world today, and Carl is eager to tell people about his adventure.
Customer Reviews:
Fascinating book.......2007-01-02
I bought this book for the interesting title and to my great surprise it is a very interesting read. I have read many books on the "mountain men" and trail riders but the women in song, movie and story are left following behind. This book give an interesting description of what it was really like the good, the bad and the ugly. It has some very nice photos and pictures of the native women and well indexed and footnoted.
This book is probably more of a "girl" read but anyone who loves western history will find it interesting and the names there..what the personal life of the westward man was.
Book Description
On March 13, 1711, an article appeared in The Spectator about Thomas Inkle, a young and aspiring English trader cast ashore in the Americas, who is saved from violent death by Yarico, a beautiful Indian maiden. When he and Yarico become lovers, Inkle promises to clothe her in silks and transport her in carriages when he returns with her to England. Some months later, they are picked up after Yarico succeeds in signaling a passing English ship. But upon reaching Barbados, Inkle immediately sells Yarico into slavery -- raising the price he demands when he learns that Yarico is pregnant with his child.
Based on a real life account in Richard Ligon's History of Barbados published half a century earlier, the Spectator story caused a sensation as debate intensified over slavery in the British colonies -- and it would be told and retold for decades as perhaps the most compelling "folk epic" of its age. In English Trader, Indian Maid, Frank Felsenstein has assembled the main English versions of this once-famous story, including a newly rediscovered poetical epistle by Charles James Fox, one of the leading parliamentary promoters of the cause of abolition. As well as George Colman the Younger's still vibrant comic opera -- considered by some the earliest English social problem play -- the book contains tantalizing retellings from the Caribbean and from America, where the story has close affinities with the tale of Pocahontas.
Also present are notable works by English women writers, such as Frances Seymour and Anna Maria Porter, and freshly attributed English renditions by Stephen Duck, the Wiltshire "thresher poet," and by "Peter Pindar" (John Wolcot). Felsenstein also suggests an intriguing link with William Wordsworth, who may have had the story in mind while composing his Lyrical Ballads. This edition restores the story of Inkle and Yarico to its rightful place as a focal narrative in cultural and historical debate of issues of gender, race, and colonialism.
"In Inkle and Yarico we have that rare entity, a perfect example of an intertextual discourse that reflects so much of the diversity and contradictions of the age that fostered it... Its diverse handling of issues of gender and race makes it a lively and highly topical discussion piece in the classroom. Equally, given the regrettable (and actually surprising) shortfall of prominent eighteenth-century literary texts that treat of the subject of slavery, Inkle and Yarico fills a highly significant gap." -- from the Introduction [p.43]
Book Description
Pierre, the 14-year-old hero of The Broken Blade, spends a winter with the North West Company in the wilderness of French Canada. The canoe-men build a camp beside an Ojibwa village, and Pierre learns the deep-winter survival skills and secrets of the fur traders and trappers. Surviving in close quarters with the repulsive bowman Beloit is a challenge, but friendship with an Ojibwa brave opens up a rich new world to Pierre.
Customer Reviews:
A must read book for any age.......2005-11-10
This book is about a thirteen year old boy named Pierre who becomes a voyeger and spends two years in northern Wisconsin, Michigan, and Canada. He works for the North West Company with a good friends La Pettite, Beliot a sheer chatter box, louie a new comer to the company like Pierre was two years ago. They build a trading post in an indian village. Pierre expeirences many crazy and wild adventures wile with his crewmembers in the northern woods.
This book is filled with courage trust and most of all friendship. A perfect book an adventure loving person who likes the outdoors.
A Great Story.......2002-02-12
I normally don't like when books are assigned in school, but this one turned out to be a great story. Lots of adventure, exitement, and good description. I'd recommend it to everyone.
An ok book...not that interesting.......2002-01-12
Wintering is about Pierre, a thirthteen-year-old boy, boy spends the summer of 1800 paddling and portaging a canoe twenty-four hundred miles into the French Canadian wilderness. When He is fourteen-year-old he becomes an hivernant who traps and trades furs with a crew in the North. He had to spend months in closed quaters with a teasing bowman and his leader that trys to push pierre into reading in english. Pierre becomes really close friends with an Ojibwe, who welcomes Pierre La Page into the his family.
If you like French and understand French, adventure, love the wild, and like Indians then Wintering is the book for you.
Wintering is another fine adventure!.......2001-12-07
In contrast to The Broken Blade, the most gripping parts of Wintering take place within Pierre La Page, fourteen-year-old and hivernaut. As Pierre grapples with grief he makes many decisions about the sort of man he will become. His friendship with Red Loon, his view of himself as a scholar, and his dawning understanding that people may be more than they seem all point to the path ahead, should Durbin continue it. There is less trader lore, but in its place is a glimpse into the daily routines of Native Americans of the North.
This is such a fine adventure that it has even received rave reviews from my fussiest middle school readers.
A Must Read.......2000-01-01
Wintering is a must read book for anyone who loves tales of wilderness adventure and growing up. Though I would recommend reading The Broken Blade first, this story works perfectly well as a stand-alone tale, too. The setting and the characters--especially the evil Beloit, who grows remarkably in depth from Durbin's first book--are depicted with vivid realism. Adults will enjoy this story as much as younger readers will.
Book Description
As a clerk at Forts Berthold and the Union, Kurz, a noted Swiss artist, came to know well Indians, fur traders, and officers, and to understand the conditions of life in the region. He aimed "to give from my own observation a sincere portrayal of the American Indian in his romantic mode of life, a true representation of the larger fur-bearing animals, native forests and prairies." The volume, which includes 93 drawings, was originally published as Bulletin 115 of the Bureau of American Ethnology.
Customer Reviews:
The upper Missouri fur trade in historical context.......2005-07-25
This book is best read in conjunction with Larpenteur's FORTY YEARS A FUR TRADER,and Denig's FIVE INDIAN TRIBES OF THE UPPER MISSOURI,& ASSINABOINE to fully appreciate the cultural specifics & interrelationships between white traders,Indians,& Metis peoples in mid 19th century Dakota & Montana territories.Unlike present day politically correct/"sensitive" accounts, Kurz was a Swiss artist who lived with & sketched the Indian tribes of the upper & lower Missouri River from 1846-1852 as he found them. Dispite overall sympathy for the plight of their rapidly changing cultures,he depicts various tribes in brutally accurate & often unflattering accounts. History with all its bumps & warts is a phenomena sadly lacking today particularly with regard to Native American/White relations on the frontier. It's a humanizing account-acknowledging the endemic savage violence Indians were capable of directing toward each other. The lethal depridations of Smallpox,Influenza, & Cholera, on native populations are also described with disturbing directness. I would recommend this & the other titles mentioned for any reader who is interested in historical accuracy with often upsetting bluntness.
Average customer rating:
- A Pretty Good Bird Reference Book
- Tremendous Value and Information
- Birds of North America by Fred J. Alsop lll
- Birds of North America
- If you love birds -- don't hesitate! Get this book!
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Birds of North America: Life Histories of More Than 930 Species
Fred J. Alsop
Manufacturer: DK ADULT
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
Wildlife
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Reference
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ASIN: 0789480018 |
Book Description
Published in association with America's preeminent authority, the Smithsonian Institution. This comprehensive reference to the birds of North America includes full-page profiles of more than 930 species -- all the birds known to breed in the United States or Canada, as well as regular visitors and vagrants to the continent. Smithsonian Birds of North America provides essential identification tips for each species together with fascinating information on feeding and behavior, breeding, and nesting habits. Identification. Full-page species profiles combine a precise description and annotated photographs to highlight the key field marks of the adult male. Other plumages are portrayed with photographs or artworks if they differ significantly. Species similar to the one profiled are shown with a brief summary of the key differences. An explanation of the typical flight pattern of each species includes both schematic artworks and a verbal description. Life histories. Knowledge of behavior can be critical to differentiate between similar species, and an understanding of life histories enhances the total birding experience. Each profile includes a description of the typical vocalizations, feeding behavior, breeding, nesting, population, and conservation concerns. A range map shows each bird's occurrence in North America during summer, winder, and on migration.
Customer Reviews:
A Pretty Good Bird Reference Book.......2003-02-27
If you love birds, you may want to add this book to your collection. Clearly it is not a field guide: too heavy and bulky. It does, however, contain a great deal of information that will help in the never ending quest to find and identify another bird. Each bird listed has a section on song, behavior, breeding habits, nesting, population, and conservation. Flight patterns, nest identification, and habitat are also described iconically. Good range maps are included. The "photos" will not help much in identifying birds, but a complementary guide such as Sibley's can fill in the gap nicely. Place this book on your coffee table, open it often to learn another tidbit about one of those birds you haven't yet seen, and I don't think it will be disappointing.
Tremendous Value and Information.......2003-02-03
This book has more information than any other book I own. You will find birds listed here that you won't find elsewhere and the information offered is second to none. Considering the cost of this book, the value is tremendous. You will find common names, scientific names, very specific identification notes and interesting facts on all the birds listed. In the upper right hand corner of each page is a diagram showing the relative size of the bird to the size of this book and this is very helpful. You'll also find information on breeding, nesting and basic behavioral aspects of each listing. I personally recommend this book to any casual or enthusiastic birder.
Birds of North America by Fred J. Alsop lll.......2002-12-19
This is a great addition to any home or collection. This book has the family, species(latin name),length, wingspan, plumage habitat, weight, nesting, and more for over 930 species of North American birds on over 1000 pages.
Birds of North America.......2002-12-02
Birds of North America written by Fred J. Alsop is one of the most complete books on birds of North America that I've seen.
The contents of this book is comprehensive and has a very well-written introduction and a how the book works section, this describes how the books pages are set-up for easy indentification of the birds you find in the wild. The guide to visual references helps again to further refine your classification and a identifing of the bird you've found.
There is an anatomy, topography, and variations sections; also a how to identify birds, birds in flight and by silhouette, but to further hone your indentifing of your birds, there is a behavior, abundance and distribution; classification and how to watch birds in the backyard, along with those in the field.
There is a very fine glossary and index with this book to get the birder to the species you've found. this book classifies birds by species... this I found is the best and fastest way to find and classify to birds you're looking for.
I highly recommend this book for those who really need a book for their birding experience. Along the outside margins of the pages, there is a place for a date, time and location on the page for you when you spot a bird species.
All in all, this is by far, one of the best bird book that I've seen. Excellent choice for a gift for the birder in your family or to get the children involved in what is around them while the are with you on walks through the woods.
If you love birds -- don't hesitate! Get this book!.......2002-07-13
Just got home from B&N, where I saw this book -- I spent a LOT of time flipping through it ... talk about lust! I must have this book ... must must must. After this review I'll buy it now at [...]. I knew [...] would have it at a discount (no discount on it at B&N), plus this tome is very heavy ... and I already had a stack of books (seriously discounted) that I couldn't part with. I'm not even a serious birder, but I love birds and keep track of those that visit my Brooklyn patio (you'd be amazed at the variety!). Can't wait 'til it shows up ... this is truly a handsome book, chock full of terrific photos and info. Splurge and treat yourself!
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