Product Description
Mark Twain once famously said "there was but one solitary thing about the past worth remembering, and that was the fact that it is past and can't be restored."Ê Well, over recent years, The British Library, working with Microsoft has embarked on an ambitious programme to digitise its collection of 19th century books.

There are now 65,000Ê titles availableÊ (that's an incredible 25 million pages) of material ranging from works by famous names such asÊ Dickens, Trollope and Hardy as well as many forgotten literary gems , all of which can now be printed on demand and purchased right here on Amazon.

Further information on The British Library and its digitisation programme can be found on The British Library website. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

From Back Cover
FREE LANCERS - ALIEN STARS VOLUME IV

THREE TOP AUTHORS
THREE SHORT NOVELS
NEVER BEFORE IN PRINT


ORSON SCOTT CARD : A one man army leads the survivors of an anti-Mormon pogrom cross-country to Utah.By the author of Ender's Game.

DAVID DRAKE: A new "Hammer's Slammers" adventure! Paradise Port advertised everything for the soldier on leave - but some who went hunting for pleasure found death instead.


LOIS McMASTER BUJOLD: Miles Naismith Vorkosigan, hero of The Warrior's Apprentice, trapped in a prison camp? The situation looks hopeless... but never underestimate Miles.

... Read more

Product Description
This scarce antiquarian book is a selection from Kessinger Publishings Legacy Reprint Series. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment to protecting, preserving, and promoting the worlds literature. Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone! ... Read more

Product Description
This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Very happy.
It came bound by plastic against a large piece of cardboard so it wont bend during shipment.Very happy. ... Read more

Product Description
A biography of the first American saint, focusing on her deeds and contributions to American Catholicism. ... Read more

Product Description
ow in paperback, reporter Elizabeth Mitchell introduces her readers to the mysterious, mercurial world of horse racing in a book that's as fast-paced and colorful as a day at the track. Focusing on the 1999 Derby winner Charismatic, Mitchell traces this horse's amazing and ultimately tragic story, from the birth of a foal through its surprising rise to fame. Mitchell also follows the major players in Charismatic's life, including the family who bred him, the trainer, the owners, and the famed jockey Chris Antley, whose own story is more tragic than that of his horse. Through these interlocking stories a sense of familiarity with the key players in the industry evolves, as well as a greater understanding of the heart and soul of a sport that has fascinated human beings for centuries.Amazon.com Review
The day of the 20th century's final Kentucky Derby was perfectly brilliant, with a clear blue sky and pleasant, intoxicating heat. More magical than the weather, though, were the moments the Derby synthesized: the surprise victory of underdogs Charismatic and Chris Antley, and an unexpected love of racing for author Elizabeth Mitchell and her cancer-stricken companion, Chuck. The inspiration for Mitchell's engrossing Three Strides Before the Wire lies in those moments, when the couple's world was suddenly buoyed by the spectacular comeback of the talented but tormented jockey and the "tubby" chestnut saddled with the third-worst odds of any winner in Derby history.

Newly awakened to the mysterious forces at play in the sport of thoroughbred racing, journalist Mitchell retraces Charismatic's ascension from a well-bred underachiever draining his owners' bank account to a legitimate contender for the 1999 Triple Crown, a trajectory that ended with injury at the Belmont Stakes. Such a tale in horseracing is not without its personalities, and Mitchell deftly portrays the tough-as-nails trainer D. Wayne Lukas, the impassioned owners Bob and Beverly Lewis, and the gifted but drug-addled Antley, who felt an affinity for the stout colt because the first six letters of his name spelled "Chris A." Three Strides Before the Wire skillfully grafts history and anecdote in a rich narrative revealing both the pure glory and tough-luck hardships of thoroughbred racing, casting compassionate light on Antley's jagged path of fantastic success, drug abuse, and depression. Mitchell's astute observations of the industry's miraculous but destructive elements and the irresistible trickery of chance--which delighted her and Chuck that poignant day at the Derby--coalesce in an engaging, heart-wrenching read. --Rebecca Robinson ... Read more

Customer Reviews (45)

Shows beauty and darkness at its best.
A GREAT buy that I just stumbled across. Very informative and detailed! Puts you back on the rail at Churchill Downs watching Charismatic storm home. Horse-racing shown at its best.

Excellent story, very well written.........highly recommended
I STRONGLY disagree with any negative comments other reviewers wrote about this book.I thoroughly enjoyed it, and I am in the process of re-reading many of the sentences I underlined throughout.This story should be made into a movie.The chapters about Chris Antley were very compelling and informative. Ms. Mitchell captured a stellar timeframe in 1999 when Charasmatic almost won the Triple Crown.She provided the historical background leading up to each race as she wove her personal involvement in the events of that year.In my opinion, she wrote an excellent book, especially for people who want to know about the back scenes of a jockey's life.

A Haunting Story Of Life And Death
Wow, this was a haunting story.Technically, it's about the 1999 Kentucky Derby winner Charismatic and the people around him, the horse racing business in general and a personal account of the author's dying friend.Really, it's a book about life and death.

The book not only is a good place for novice horse racing fans to learn about the sport but offers some very insightful tidbits to long-time race fans.

I really got caught up in the story of Charismatic's jockey Chris Antley. I just can't get over Antley's incredible ups-and-downs ofhis cut short-career.It made me just appreciate all the more the sacrifice and dedication of jockeys, the most amazing athletes, perhaps, in professional sports.

To me, Antley's story is the highlight of this book.His story takes up more pages than the rest, and that was a good move by the author Elizabeth Mitchell as her account of the famous jockey is just fascinating.Readers expecting nothing but horse racing throughout the book are going to get put off with several chapters, but skip them if don't want to read those things.

I think fellow Amazon reviewer Jim Pettyjohn summed it up best when he wrote; "This is a book of love lived and love lost; of poverty and wealth; of mental illness and addiction; of the highest highs and the lowest lows; of incredible joy and overwhelming pain; of journeys realized and journeys lost."

Almost everyone in this story experienced several of the above, but Antley experienced all of them.For that, I appreciated the telling of his story.

A Story of Love and Commitment

Three Strides Before the Wire: The Dark and Beautiful World of Horse Racing, by Elizabeth Mitchell

This wonderful effort of non-fiction is more than a great book about horse racing; it is a great book period!! The author's passion for the subject burns like the sun - and for good reason -- her husband is dying of cancer.The story begins with one of their last trips together; culminating with a vision and an improbable bet on a former claiming horse to win the Kentucky Derby. Their winning ticket helps finance and long and extended vacation together and eventually brings the couple face-to-face with the horse and his connections.

After her husband's death the author finds healing through tracing the lives of their Derby horse and people who so deeply entered their lives that fateful First Saturday In May. What a story she weaves!!!!!! (And who cares about some relatively meaningless errors)

As her own story unfolds, she mixes in the many segments of the lives of the horse and his people. Most notable is gifted jockey Chris Antley, an intuitive who can calm and sometimes cure horses through his gentle communication; a jockey who is as much as a genius trading in the stock market as he is on the track; a jockey whose gentle hands and kind nature built treatment facilities for addicts; a jockey that was so open to the vagrancies of the universe that they threaten to swallow him up in the shadow of every turn; and a jockey who saved the life of the greatest horse he every rode just strides before the wire in the last leg of their quest for the Triple Crown.

This is a book of love lived and love lost; of poverty and wealth; of mental illness and addiction; of the highest highs and the lowest lows; of incredible joy and overwhelming pain; of journeys realized and journeys lost.

In the end, the story unfolds in shrouds of mystery and murder that will never be solved. God's precious gift created and destroyed; the knife cut both ways. Yet, in the end, the book must be seen as a story of love and commitment.

(I do agree with one reviewer, however: the Jan Mooney Story, My Racing Heart is excellent!!!!!!!!!!)

Horse Racing is the Setting, Not the Story
This is a sports book that beautifully manages to weave racing, a self-destructive life and personal tragedy into a tale of triumph and tragedy.The author's introduction to racing came about through a trip to the Kentucky Derby with her terminally-ill lover.The winner of the race was the long-shot Charismatic ridden by a brilliant but ill-fated jockey.She uses drama surrounding the Derby and her personal tragedy as a basis to follow the lives of the jockey, the trainer, the owners, a cast of bit players and, of course, Charismatic.For me, however, the impact of the book is the life and death of jockey Chris Antley.Mr. Antley was a tragic figure in the truest sense.He is portrayed as asensitive, kind-hearted and brilliant (both with horses and finances) who is unable to handle his many talents and successes.The portrait of Mr. Antley appears to be well-researched andbalanced told, in large part, through the words of his friends, colleagues, and family.I was drawn to him and moved by his struggles and finally, his death under mysterious circumstances in Pasadena.I put down the book feeling as if I knew Mr. Antley and felt the loss and frustration felt by those around him.His story is all the more moving when told in the context of Charismatic's unlikely Derby and Preakness wins and his life-threatening injury in failing to complete the Triple Crown by winning the Belmont.The image that will remain with me is that of Antley, disregarding his own safety, struggling to hold up Charimatic's injured leg in a successful effort to prevent further injury.This act is at the same time redemptive and signals the beginning of Antley's fatal spiral.

I have to confess that I am a racing fan and own interests in several horses.As a "primer" on racing, this book is passable but, as some other reviews note, hardly complete or authoritative.However, this book's worth lies in an allegoric-like use of racing to tell a very human story. ... Read more

Product Description
In this witty and poignant comedy of early-Victorian life in a country town, Elizabeth Gaskell describes the uneventful lives of the lady-like inhabitants so as to offer an ironic commentary on the diverse experiences of men and women. This edition has detailed notes and a new introduction which discusses the originality and subtlety of the book's angle on women's experience.Also included in this edition is the sequel to Cranford, The Cage at Cranford, and a unique appendix of related writing. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (39)

Cranford
This was a birthday gift for my younger granddaughter. I was very pleased with the item and the shipping. She was delighted to receive the book. I will shop first at Amazon for everything I am wanting to purchase.

After several hours of research...
...I came to the conclusion that this printing of Cranford has the CUTEST cover (i.e. a pretty teacup and a great font), therefore I bought it.

My wife agreed.

Mission accomplished hubbie.Mission accomplished.

But seriously, if you or your wife are into Jane Austen(ish) stuff like my wife, Cranford is a MUST have.And of all the printed versions, this one is by far the cutest looking, which apparently is somewhat important to wives who like Jane Austen and her crowd of Victorian/Regency era authors.If you're a husband looking for a gift for your wife, this is a great one.

And definitely buy her the DVD bundle of Cranfod and return to Cranford.

And definitely buy her the DVD first few seasons of "Lark Rise to Candleford".

Believe me...it's worth the money.

She'll feel like you understand her a little bit...and she'll have some of her friends over for a "girl night" where they watch their DVDs and drink tea and dream about living in mid nineteenth century Britain, and you'll be able to work on the car/the yard/whatever without feeling like you're neglecting your wife because she'll be having way more fun than you.

That's worth any price.

Cranford
delivery time and price of book where great, I just wish the deliveries to Australia werent so high!

Mrs. Gaskell's Mini Hit
A lovely book about a lovely village of lovely people. The inspiration for BBC/Masterpiece Classic's Cranford and Return to Cranford. I read this book in only a few nights and enjoyed it thoroughly. The glossary/notes regarding material culture (clothing, terminology, expressions) are not always correct (based on my own research and experience as an historic interpreter), but most of the information was new to me and referred to books and events of which I was unaware. I'm glad I watched the tv series first, including "The Making of Cranford," before reading the book; it made clear how and why the series was created as it was. That being said, the book is charming and should be read by all high school students, especially female students, to understand that they are not so very different after all.

A Classic in Cranford
Inspired to grab a copy of the book after seeing the PBS series, I am very pleased with this version of Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell.With several options to choose from, I am very happy with the aesthetics of this book. In particular I truly enjoy the "tea cup" cover and the simplistic and easy to read layout of the interior. And it's always good to have a nice book to look at on the shelf when you're done with reading it.

After being impressed with this book I also checked out the other books tagged with cricket house and their other offerings are as equally impressive.

This version of Cranford is definitely worth it's price. ... Read more

Product Description
Including Sketches Of The Following Families Armstrong, Coldwell, Donnell, Levering, Mervine, Mitchell, Newton, Northcott, Odell, Randolph, Robertson, Shepherd, Stephenson, Tabb. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Fite that is upset
My last name is Fite and I ordered this book because it is a Genealogical record of my ancestry.But I was very upset to find that the Publisher had failed to put pages 22 and 23 in the book.This just happens to be the pages that list my lineage from my grandfather back to Johann Pieter Fite. ... Read more

Product Description

Does the thought of mistletoe give you hives?
Does the sound of jingling bells
instill fear in your heart?
Do you hide under the covers from the day after
Thanksgiving till New Year's Day?
And even if you love Christmas, do the
hyperconsumerism, overindulgence, and
tinsel-covered everything make you crazy?

Customer Reviews (12)

Worst Noel - Funny
I enjoyed the stories very much especially the one by Cynthia Kaplan.Almost choked I was laughing so hard when I read it.

Wish I could give it Zero Stars!
I agree with all of the 1-star reviews above. I rarely write reviews but this book was so bad I felt compelled to write.I am so glad I didn't waste any money on this book- I think I got it at a garage sale- from someone else who obviously were duped into thinking they were going to be reading a clever well-written book.Hah!This was nothing but a collection of boring stories oddly written by mostly Jewish authors (?!!) who couldn't handle their angst/guilt over celebrating Christmas and the fact that they really didn't want to celebrate Hannukah.Not funny or amusing.I was going to pass it on to a Jewish friend but the more I read I decided it belongs in the trash instead.Oh, yeah- when the authors aren't whining about their spoiled non-Christian Christmasses, there are also a few jabs at Republicans here and there.I was waiting for one of the stories to blame Bush for their ruined non-Hannukah Christmas!This is just a stupid annoying book.Save your money and buy something else!!!!!

Relatively amusing stories of Christmases gone wrong
This is a collection of true stories from various authors sharing some of their worst Christmas memories ever.Most of the stories, while they may have seemed sad and tragic at the time, are cast in distinctly humourous light, from "Donner is Dead," about the misfortune of a car hitting a deer, to "Birthdays," Ann Patchett's lament about those unfortunate ones who, like herself, celebrate their birthdays in December.A few of the offerings, however, are more serious and more poignant, such as Anne Giardini's "Christmas 2001," in which she describes her family's last Christmas with her mother, who is dying of cancer.

One odd thing about this book was that a good number of the stories actually feature Jews celebrating Christmas.Although a few of these are quite amusing--most notably, "The Jew Who Cooked a Ham for Christmas," about one man's quest to cook the perfect Christmas ham--they seem somewhat out-of-place in a book about Christmas stories, even bad ones.My favorite story in the book was Binnie Kirshenbaum's "The Gift of the Magi Redux," a tale of two young lovers who don't quite succeed at holiday gift-giving.

If you like the idea of this book, I recommend Maeve Binchy's fictional This Year It Will Be Different, a more compilation of fictional less-than-perfect Christmas stories.

Christmas!!?? Oy vey!!
Yes, as you might guess from the title, this book is mildly amusing in spots. But then a leopard is coal black in spots, too.

Most of the essays are written by Jewish females who tend to be too arch and clever by half for their own good, and who seem to think that cynicism and pseudo-sophistication are funny in and of themselves. Often, they're not.

Do the essays capture some of the frustrations and imperfections that accompan our biggest holiday? Yes, definitely. But do they, as a whole, also show the beauty and majesty of the Christmas season, of what The Day is really all about? I think not. All too often the writing sounds like the whining of spoiled suburban kids who have had far too much handed to them free gratis in their lives.

If many of the writers are from families who found themselves caught awkwardly between their Jewish heritage and the national peer pressure to participate in the Yuletide -- well, it's part of the fate of minorities to sometimes feel out of step. Get over it.

Jewish Christmas?
FIrst off, let me say that I am Jewish myself and grew up in a Catholic neighborhod, where my family was one of the only Jewish families around. So I know plenty about being the "odd girl out" during the holiday season, with many of my own humorous tales.

However, I think it is wildly misleading to label a story collection "The Worst Noel" and then have more than half the stories about Jews who either are celebrating a bogus Christmas they clearly don't believe in (for the parties and gifts) or angsting because they are stuck with the incredibly lame Festival of Hannukah, the poor stepchild of Christmas. There is certainly a place for the assimilated (or unassimilated) Jewish writers to pour forth their anguish or glee or awkwardness, but it is NOT in a book glaringly mislabeled "The Worst Noel". Maybe it's in a book that could be called "The Worst Hannukah" or "The Worst Chrismukkah".

Anyone even nominally Christian, or even non-sectarian, who picks up this book hoping to read actual funny stories about CHRISTIANS celebrating THE MOST IMPORTANT HOLIDAY OF THE YEAR is going to feel wildly cheated. After all, Jews make up roughly 1.5% of the US population (although disproportionately more of the book buying public). It would make more sense to write about a Muslim's outlook on Christmas or a Hindu's or even an atheist's.

Maybe the publisher thought a story collection called "Dysfunctional Jews At Christmastime" wouldn't sell. But this book is a cheat and misleading. While about 1/3 of the stories are genuinely funny (although collected here inappropriately), the rest are often whiny and betray an insulated sense of privilege, as they are entirely about wealthy, educated intellectuals whose idea of how to celebrate the holidays bumps up against Southerners, low-lifes, non-intellectuals and peope with -- GASP! -- bad taste.

I guess therefore that "bad taste" is the ultimate sin against Christmas. I don't read any ringing indictments of tasteful, Martha Stewart/Pottery Barn celebrations.

HINT: buying this for a Christian friend or family member as a holiday gift would be a huge mistake. ... Read more

Product Description
Commentary (music and lyrics not included).Chapters: You Are My Little Bird, Catch the Moon, You Are My Sunshine, You Are My Flower, Liz and Lisa - Days Were Different. Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 17. Not illustrated. Free updates online. Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: eMusic (Amy Davis) You Are My Little Bird is an album by Elizabeth Mitchell, released in 2006 by Smithsonian Folkways Recordings. The album is a collection of children's music played in a folk music style. In addition to versions of folk tunes, it features covers of a variety of songs by other artists, among them "What Goes On" by The Velvet Underground, Neil Young's "Little Wing", and "Three Little Birds" by Bob Marley. On most of the songs, Mitchell is accompanied by family members. The liner notes include personal stories from the artist, but no lyrics. Warren Truit with School Library Journal called the album "a superb and eclectic group of songs performed uniquely, yet flawlessly." ...http://booksllc.net/?id=9875078 ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (2)

excellent balance of information
i'm a msiv going into em, and this book has been the perfect balance of practical management and "less practical facts a med student always gets pimped on." the chapters usu are short - anywhere btwn 5-13 pages - which are great for my short attn span/limited time, and is organized by case scenario, intro, history, history/diagnostic eval/phys exam, differential, management, dispo, and _then_ pathophys.

i feel like i always get bogged down in the pathophys in int med txtbks and am too tired to read about management by the time i finish all the discussion of obscure cytokines, receptors, etc. this txbook gets you thinking up front as to what you need to focus on, what you need to keep inthe back of your mind, and what you need to do about the situation.

if you're rusty/coming back after a year off, i'd also recommend SOAP for emergency medicine to get you up and running in a few days.also grab a copy of the tarascon pocket emergency medicine so you can look up all those evidence-based criteria for PE/DVTs, etc. it's also got a really rough visual chart in there (better than nothing!).folks also like case files, emergency medicine, which has several contributors from highland general hospital in oakland.

note, this is a black & white text/diagrams, so don't go looking for glossy pics.but hey, one less distraction for me.i just need the basic info to take good care of my patients ;)

Intro to EM review
Emergency physicians and editors, Mitchell and Medzon, from the Boston U School of Medicine have organized an excellent introductory text for medical students interested in emergency medicine.Not only does their book cover all the key topics in the field, but it does so in an engaging and learner-friendly manner.Many of the authors are recognized experts with decades of experience in their subject areas.

Although the book is designed for medical students, others working in emergency departments will find it useful as well.It's a "good read," well-referenced, comprehensive and user-friendly.In short, Intro to EM is a great addition to the emergency medicine literature. ... Read more

Product Description
If you toured Mammoth Cave in Kentucky around the year 1838, you would have been led by candlelight through miles of dark windingtunnels, to the edge of a terrifying bottomless pit, and curiously, a church built underground. Your tour guide would have been seventeen-year-old Stephen Bishop, an African American, and a slave. Bishop had a job he found truly thrilling--exploring and recording every inch of his exciting adventures at Mammoth Cave and escorting tourists to show them his discoveries. Luckily, by being so successful in this job, Bishop was able to avoid the grueling labor most slaves endured.

Full of adventure and fascinating details about cave exploration Journey to the Bottomless Pit is the first book for young readers ever written about Stephen Bishop. Through Stephen Bishop's story, author Betsy Mitchell takes readers on a tour unlike anything they've experienced. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Come follow follow follow follow follow follow me
Let's say you hear about a historical figure that strikes you as so interesting that you'd like to write a book about them.A book for children, say.When you make the decision to write such a book, two possible ways of proceeding are open to you.You can make your book a fascinating work of non-fiction that adheres strictly to the facts of the case.Or, you can take the already existing facts and use fictional dialogue to cushion the details of this person's life, thereby making it more interesting to your intended audience.Now, if you decide to go with the latter you've placed your book in a peculiar position.On the one hand, your story is about a real person who really existed.On the other hand, because you made up dialogue and situations that may never have happened in the way you've described them, your book is doomed to the fiction shelves of the library.Author Elizabeth Mitchell, when she learned the details of explorer Stephen Bishop's life, decided to go the fiction route.Personally, I feel that this was bad decision to make on her part.For while this book contains a multitude of wonderful details and facts about a fascinating man, Mitchell has couched her book in stilted dialogue and poor writing.She would have done better to stick to the facts.

Stephen Bishop was born a slave in the state of Kentucky in 1821.His owner Frank Gorin, owned the Mammoth Caves and needed a tour guide to schlep tourists in the busy summer months.Enter Stephen.Fascinated with the caves, Stephen proceeded to explore beyond the usual paths.As he did so, he would find more and more beautiful areas and hidden passages.He discovered blind cave fish (never before seen), huge gypsum caverns, and miles and miles of caves stretching under the land of Kentucky.He even created maps of the areas he had found that helped others explore as well.Though he died a short time after he was freed (at the young age of thirty-six), Bishop is remembered as being the first and most important guide of the impressive Mammoth Caves today.

The story is, as Elizabeth Mitchell rightly says, captivating.Cleverly, she has included Stephen's maps on the front and endpapers of the book.Mitchell also tells the reader, right off the bat, that she has reproduced his life with as much accuracy as possible and that the dialogue, "is not reproduced from any source".I commend Mitchell for her choice of subject.Stephen Bishop, rightly, deserves to be remembered for his great life and magnificent accomplishments.I personally believe, however, that an entirely factual book of this fellow would not have been out of place.Consider similar books about other people who lived in the 1800s.There is the book, "Phineas Gage", by John Fleischman.Here we have a beautiful non-fiction text with color photographs and engravings that is the perfect way to tell the story of a 19th century life.Think how wonderful, "Journey to the Bottomless Pit" would have been, had it been done in a similar format.When you read this book, you hear about eyeless fish and beautiful stalactites.Wouldn't it be great to see beautiful color photographs of them as well?Instead, you must rely on illustrator Kelynn Alder's black and white drawings.These pictures are nice, no question, but you can't help but wish that you could see the caves for yourself in a far more lively format.

You might argue that good non-fiction subjects have been given a similar fictional treatment to Stephen Bishop and that those books have been good.This is true, of course.There's just one small problem.Mitchell, for all that she is great at choosing the best details to highlight in her story, is not a good writer.Her language is stilted and cloying.Though the book is ostensibly written for kids between the ages of 9-12, the tone of voice taken here would be better for a seven-year-old reader.Stephen constantly is describes as being grateful to his master, proud that he has been chosen, and hoping that he'll do a good job.The wry sense of humor that Stephen had is mentioned here, but Mitchell's not adept enough to give us a taste of it.Worse, there are some truly unbelievable moments that are written solely to spell things out to child readers.Take this for example: "When he first heard the name `Underground Railroad,' Stephen wondered what kind of train could run for so many miles below ground".Mitchell doesn't seem to give Stephen much credit, and his abject gratitude and innocence makes him seem a very different person from the intelligent guide described by his contemporaries.Had Mitchell been a talented enough writer to pull off the additional passages in this text, the book might have worked brilliantly.As it stands, I yearn for the beautiful glossy-paged non-fiction text this could have been.

Will kids read this book?Not without some prodding.It's a fine story and a good adventure tale at times, but children will only ask for this if urged to do so.There is great potential in this material.I can only hope that a future author sees it and capitalizes on it themselves.A great story in a mediocre package.

Mammoth Review
I thoroughly enjoyed this wonderful book for people of all ages.Stephen Bishop was a great American explorer that most people have never even heard of.His adventures and discoveries deep in Mammoth cave are vividly described in a manner that will captivate the young readers of this book.This is a story of a man born into slavery who deserves the recognition he finally receives in this finely written story of his brief life.The detailed descriptions of Stephen Bishop, Mammoth cave and the turbulent pre-civil war era are enhanced by the excitement of his underground exploits and his quest for knowledge. Two thumbs up!

FL Booklover
... Read more