The California Missions (First Books

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Very Interesting - Easy Reading.......2007-06-03

I enjoyed reading about the founding of the CA Missions. It is easy to read & understand. Great for all ages.

California Missions - History and Model Building Ideas for Children

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A history lover....
California Missions - History and Model Building Ideas for C

California Missions - History and Model Building Ideas for Children
Frederick V. Carpenter , David Graham , and Don J. Baxter
Manufacturer: J. Stevenson Publisher
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1885852134

Book Description

Covering a history of California missions dating back to the first Franciscan Padres' mission chain in 1769, this book offers illustrations of these missions from the 1880s, and model building ideas with layouts of the foundations for each mission. (Roman Catholic)

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Here is a complete a history of the chain of California's Franciscan missions. Starting with the first Padres' mission in 1769. This book offers a background to the development of the mission chain with several pages of the unique history of each individual mission. Illustrations of these missions are from the 1880s, and David Graham provides model building ideas. Layouts of the foundations for each mission are provided.

Customer Reviews:

A history lover...........2003-05-02

This book has all sorts of information I had not see before - for example the important African-American entrepreneur in old San Francisco, Leidersdorf, is buried at Mission Dolores in San Francisco. This book has very helpful background information for students for each mission. The model section has layouts for all of the missions and ideas for making a model which come from actual models created by a parent, using styrofoam.

California Missions - History and Model Building Ideas for C.......2003-03-03

The book was poorly written.The model building idea was half-baked. The book is a dissappointment.

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MISSION CL
Roger Kennedy
Manufacturer: Houghton Mifflin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0395634164

The Archaeology of Alta California (Spanish Borderlands Sourcebooks, Vol. 15)

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The Archaeology of Alta California (Spanish Borderlands Sourcebooks, Vol. 15)
Leo R. Barker
Manufacturer: Routledge
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Mission: The History and Architecture of the Missions of North America.

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Mission: The History and Architecture of the Missions of North America.
Roger G. Kennedy
Manufacturer: Houghton Mifflin.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000U826IG

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This creative guide to fashioning a hand-carved wooden nativity scene includes 15 patterns for every character present in the traditional Christmas story from the holy family and the three kings to shepherds and barnyard animals. An overview of tools, sharpening techniques, wood selection, and basic carving cuts is provided. The figurines of Joseph, Mary, and baby Jesus are included with step-by-step instructions from the first to the final cut.

Customer Reviews:

Good Book.......2006-12-08

Have carved several of the figures and am getting better with each one. The instructions are easy to follow. Only drawback is there are only instructions for Joseph, Mary and baby Jesus. Some of the other figures can be made by following Josephs instructions Overall the book is worth the money

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William Smythe, a Southern California booster, was not alone when in 1900 he expressed his hope that "the great brown waste which lies on the borders of two republics... will some time be as densely populated as the lands of the Nile, as rich in industry as the Kingdom of Holland."

A century later, the coastal desert of Southern California has indeed become a rich and populous place. The interior desert, however, along the U.S.-Mexico border, is as empty and poor as ever. Historian William deBuys and photographer Joan Myers explore that country, its virtual capital the salt-choked Salton Sea, in the pages of this fine book, which offers a deeply learned but readable study of the politics of water and land use in the arid Southwest. DeBuys remarks that for Europeans and Americans the land has always seemed a geographic tabula rasa, subject to making and remaking, a landscape in which dreams can come true--one of them being to remake an unforgiving desert into an agricultural treasure house. Those dreams, however, can turn into nightmares, as speculations fail and dunes reclaim what is rightfully theirs--for, as deBuys notes, "in low places consequences collect." Desert rats and students of California history will find many rewards in these pages. --Gregory McNamee

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In low places consequences collect, and in all North America you cannot get much lower than the Imperial Valley of southern California, where one town, 186 feet below sea level, calls itself the Lowest Down City in the Western Hemisphere, and where the waters of the Colorado River sustain a billion-dollar agricultural industry. The consequences of that industry drain from the valley into the accidentally man-made Salton Sea, California's largest lake and a vital stopping place for migratory waterfowl. Today the Salton Sea is in desperate environmental trouble.

A second river also ends in the Salton Sea. It is a river of dreams, the remains of which may be seen in the failed real estate developments that sprawl beside the sea. As the ending point of both the real Colorado and this river of dreams, the Salton Sea has become emblematic of much of the history of the American West. Its troubling story is masterfully told here in William deBuys's narrative and Joan Myers's austerely beautiful photographs.

The story of Southern California is fundamentally a story about the control of nature. Beginning with the Yuman-speaking tribes encountered by the Spanish in the sixteenth century, deBuys traces the subsequent exploration and development of the region through the Gold Rush of 1849, the government-sponsored surveys that followed, and the inept tinkering with the river by an assortment of irrigation and development interests that resulted in the floods that formed the Salton Sea nearly a century ago. He introduces us to a gallery of rogues and dreamers who saw a great future for this arid wilderness but could never refrain from interference with the forces of nature.

The floods that produced the Salton Sea created a vast desert oasis, but the agricultural exploitation of the region, combined with evaporation, poisoned that paradise. The stark beauty of the desert, the engineering feats that have transformed the landscape, and the eerie spectacle of Salton City and its ruined beaches and abandoned yacht club are the subject of Myers's photographs, made over a period of more than ten years. In the last section of Salt Dreams, deBuys acquaints us with the human and avian denizens of the region, all struggling for survival as the twentieth century draws to a close. The history of chicanery and greed recounted in deBuys's narrative and his empathy with the desert dwellers he and Myers have come to know—hardworking laborers and entrepreneurs who live on both sides of the Mexicali border, eccentrics hiding out in the Salton Desert, pelicans dying of avian botulism—are crucial to an understanding of the border issues of today and the impassioned environmental debate on whether—and how—to save the Salton Sea.

http://www.joanmyers.com/Saltbk.htm

A history of the Salton Sea, which has become a prophetic story of mounting environmental crises that impinge on the water supply of southern California's sixteen million people.

Customer Reviews:

A Tale of a Magnificent Disaster.......2003-03-11

I visited the Salton Sea to photograph birds and found it impossible to describe, telling friends they had to go there themselves to experience the place and the people. Now I tell them to read this book. From the creation of the Sea to the creation of Salvation Mountain, deBuys tells it's colorful history in a prose that fills you with the sounds and smells and people of the Sea and Imperial Valley. Anyone with an interest in man's unlimited folly, vision, corruption, and the coming environmental train-wreck in southern California needs to read this book.

What Every Member of Congress Should Know..........2002-01-28

Bravo! Salt Dreams is the first of its kind to wrap up all of the issues surrounding the Salton Sea and Colorado River delta in one volume. The best since Cadillac Desert in its cinematic portrayal of a complicated host of issues. Awesome writing on the heroism of US Fish and Wildlife staff. My only criticism is that Congressman George Brown is slighted; Sonny Bono often called him "Mr. Salton Sea". Certainly, a book Mr. Brown would have loved.

Reclamation/Folly in the Desert.......2001-07-10

Superlative read revealing the vast natural beauty of the desert and its inhabitants and man's irreversable errors in judging it as a fallen Eden. Together with Cadillac Desert it ranks as a southwest water classic. Beautiful writing and stunning photographs.

Yet another award for SALT DREAMS.......2001-01-18

*Winner of the 2000 Norris and Carol Hundley Award from The Pacific Coast Branch of the American Historical Association.

SALT DREAMS wins major awards.......2001-01-17

*Winner of the 1999 Western States Book Award for Creative Non-Fiction. *Winner of the 1999 Clements Prize for the Best Non-Fiction Book on Southwestern America.

Customer Reviews:

Too much like a textbook, a bit condescending.......2006-12-04

I know about Los Sumpermachos from having been born and raised in Mexico, living there during the sixties and seventies. Imagine 'Doonesbury' and in Mexico, forty - fifty years ago. Due to the relatively low literacy rate among Mexican adults, one of the main mediums for adult reading in Mexico is comic books. They even print comic books with photographs as a soap opera genre.
Some of these can get quite sophisticated and abstract.
'Los Supermachos' was created by Rius. His drawings are excellent, and his writing is brilliant, acerbic, and ruthless against the insanities of Life in Mexico: corruption, the hypcricies and joys of the culture. One of my favorite characters is 'Calzoncn' (Underpants-Guy), who walks around his town clothed in an electric blanket (with the electric cord and plug trailing behind him) donated by some drifter gringo. There is a corrupt cop that looks like a cross between Jos Feliciano and Pancho Villa.
I am not certain of Rius' history, but I believe that somehow 'Someone Official' took over Los Supermachos. It became a very tame cute publication and I am pretty sure Rius was forced into exile in Cuba. He's since written many more volumes, such as Cuba for Beginners, Uncle O(USA)MA, The Unending Conquest of Mexico, 500 Years Screwed, but Christian, Mashed Potatoes, the History of the Papacy, (the words for potato and pope are homonyms) etc... Just to give you an idea of his themes.
However, I have found those books to be much more on the preachy, didactic, tirading side of writing. I miss the bite of the carefully-crafted stinging humor. Because of the high level of language play (puns and slang abound), I recommend these comic books only to those who have a high literacy level in vernacular Mexican Spanish. Be prepared to howl with laughter and rage. if I weren't an overworked, but satisfied teacher, I would try to get these translated. Rius is right up there with Aristophenes, and the world should know about him.

Platon para principiantes (Principiantes)

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Platon para principiantes (Principiantes)
Robert J. Cavalier , and Eric Lurio
Manufacturer: Errepar
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Filosofia Para Principiantes : De Platon Hace Rato (In Spanish)

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Filosofia Para Principiantes : De Platon Hace Rato (In Spanish)
EDUARDO RIUS DEL RIO
Manufacturer: Grijalbo
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OT26NQ

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"BIRDIE" is the true story of Birdie Bomar, Delta's spunky first in-air stewardess. Her 1930's hardships, the thrill of early flight, her hilarious wedding to Eastern pilot, Dick Bomar, and much more provide a delightful page-turner, a real "fun read".

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Exercises and activities to help children awaken to the majesty and mystery of life.

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When William Freehling's Prelude to Civil War first appeared in 1965 it was immediately hailed as a brilliant and incisive study of the origins of the Civil War. Book Week called it "fresh, exciting, and convincing," while The Virginia Quarterly Review praised it as, quite simply, "history at its best." It was equally well-received by historical societies, garnering the Allan Nevins History Prize as well as a Bancroft Prize, the most prestigious history award of all. Now once again available, Prelude to Civil War is still the definitive work on the subject, and one of the most important in ante-bellum studies. It tells the story of the Nullification Controversy in South Carolina, describing how from 1816 to 1836 aristocratic planters of the Palmetto State tumbled from a contented and prosperous life of elegant balls and fine Madeira wines to a world rife with economic distress, guilt over slavery, and apprehension of slave rebellion. It shows in compelling detail how this reversal of fortune led the political leaders of South Carolina down the path to ever more radical states rights doctrines: in 1832 they were seeking to nullify federal law by refusing to obey it; four years later some of them were considering secession. As the story unfolds, we meet a colorful and skillfully drawn cast of characters, among them John C. Calhoun, who hoped nullifcation would save both his highest priority, slavery, and his next priority, union; President Andrew Jackson, who threatened to hang Calhoun and lead federal troops into South Carolina; Denmark Vesey, who organized and nearly brought off a slave conspiracy; and Martin Van Buren, the "Little Magician," who plotted craftily to replace Calhoun in Jackson's esteem. These and other important figures come to life in these pages, and help to tell a tale--often in their own words--central to an understanding of the war which eventually engulfed the United States. Demonstrating how a profound sensitivity to the still-shadowy slavery issue--not serious economic problems alone--led to the Nullification Controversy, Freehling revises many theories previously held by historians. He describes how fear of abolitionists and their lobbying power in Congress prompted South Carolina's leaders to ban virtually any public discussion of the South's "peculiar institution," and shows that while the Civil War had many beginnings, none was more significant than this single, passionate controversy. Written in a lively and eminently readable style, Prelude to Civil War is must reading for anyone trying to discover the roots of the conflict that soon would tear the Union apart.

Customer Reviews:

Early Stages of the Civil War.......2007-06-02

It is impossible in history to set a definite time for the beginning or ending of an event large or small. Many 19th century historians believe the Civil War began around 1776. Dr. Freehling is of this opinion but in this book he brings us closer to the main event for a start.
Why is this book important? First, it is written by the foremost historian of 19th century America. Second, while giving credence to the economic issues that covered the real causes of war, Dr. Freehling decimates the theory that the war was mainly a struggle over two unique economies and the support of states' rights. He shows clearly the real issue at hand was the threatened squeeze on the future of slavery. Third and most important the book gives us much to rethink in our evaluations and conceptions, offered in scholarly but very readable prose for which the author has become famous.
Put simply, if anyone is interested in American history and knows the author this book is a must have. No one who reads William W. Freehling wastes time or energy reading his work.

Slow but excellent read.......2004-06-28

For the Civil War and Age of Jackson aficionado, this is an excellent book to read. One will not be able to fly through the 360 pages, but it is very enjoyable and full of great information about the Ante Bellum south as well as the country's political landscape in that era. We know little today about how close South Carolina came to seceding from the Union. The Nullification Crisis, while a mind-numbing subject in high school and college, is brought to life here in a way that is easy to understand and follow. Freehling did an excellent job of researching and explaining the many dynamics involved in the South Carolina society in determining who was for or against nullification, secession, preserving the union and protecting slavery and why. The interplay was fascinating and, though I couldn't recite it back to you, I obtained a lot of knowledge I had never been exposed to before.

With Ronald Reagan's passing, discussions turned again to our "best" or "great" presidents. Andrew Jackson's name is frequently included among our Top Ten by most historians, yet very few of us could say why he deserves to be so highly regarded. In books like this, we can see why. He is not what I would consider to be a likable man and definitely comes across as somewhat tyrannical (not just in this book), but one has to admit after reading this book that he handled the Nullification Crisis and its aftermath very deftly with a clear vision and objective: that allegiance to the Union comes first and preservation of the Union is paramount. He laid the groundwork for Lincoln's management of the Civil War, some 25-30 years later.

The book is well-annotated and, though more than 35 years old is still relevant in its ideas and also in the sources it directs us to for further reading.

Fantastic.......2002-08-20

With the possible exception of David M. Potter's classic "The Impending Crisis," William Freehling's "Prelude to Civil War: The Nullification Controversy in South Carolina, 1816-1836" is perhaps the best book written on antebellum America in the past 50 years. Originally published in 1965 and a recipient of the prestigious Bancroft Prize, Freehling's work is a beautifully written and persuasively argued case that the conventional wisdom about the nullification crisis of 1832 is grossly oversimplified and, in the end, fundamentally incorrect.

Two points are central to Freehling's thesis: 1) growing anxiety over slavery and the nascent abolitionist movement - especially acute in the low country - was as important a factor in driving the aggressive states rights posture taken during the nullification crisis as was reaction to the tariff; and 2) South Carolinians themselves were as much to blame for their economic woes during the 1820s and 1830s as the "Tariff of Abominations."

Freehling notes that you can often tell a lot about a society by disproportionate reactions to perceived threats. In this case, the South Carolinian response to the first faint rumblings of abolitionist agitation was far in excess to the actual threat posed in the 1820s and early 30s, according to the author. However, the extremely dense slave population in the South Carolina low country (in some areas slaves out numbered whites 5 to 1), the experience of the Denmark Vesey conspiracy in 1822, the mysterious arsonist fires in Charleston, the constant presence of Yankee peddlers and free black British seamen mixing with the slave population, and the slow but ultimately successful abolition campaign of William Wilberforce in England all conspired to create an environment of fear and doom among the South Carolina gentry.

The traditional interpretation of the tariff's adverse impact in South Carolina was that the local planters were forced to trade their raw goods (in this case cotton) on the international open market but buy their end goods in a protected domestic market. Freehling concedes that there is some basis of truth to this claim, but only for a certain segment of the population. Some of the most ardent nullifiers were low country rice planters whose economic condition was relatively unaffected by the tariff and whose prices remained stable. The issue that welded the low country elite to an issue whose consequences were really absorbed by the up country was (in addition to inter marriage, school days at South Carolina College, etc.) the latter's growing fear of the abolitionists. Moreover, Freehling argues, gross absentee mismanagement of plantations, combined with a poor state financial infrastructure and a penchant to dramatically overspend for luxury items (the much needed specie often flowing outside of the state) were nearly as important in explaining the economic depression that gripped the region for over a decade as the tariff.

Freehling makes his case eloquently and convincingly. For those with a serious interest in early 19th century American history - especially those interested in economic development, states rights doctrine, or the impact of abolitionism - this book cannot be more highly recommended.

History at its best..........2000-05-07

If you become interested in the American Civil War you will find yourself going back further and further into our history seeking the roots of this conflict. If you don't choose to return to the Constitutional debates and compromises Freehling's book is one of the best places to begin your attempts to understand just what happened.

This book is an engrossing history of the revolt of South Carolina against the tariffs and trade rules imposed by the general government in Washington D.C. It has a fabulous cast of characters beginning with John C. Calhoun and running down through the South Carolina planters and politicians who ultimately did so much to break up the Union. Andrew Jackson, as president, puts an end to what almost became an armed revolt and could have caused gunfire to errupt in Charleston Bay decades before the showdown came at Fort Sumter.

I loved this book, as I did Mr. Freehling's "Road to Disunion", and only regret that the second volume of that work never did appear as promised.

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Prelude to the Civil War: The Nullification Controversy in South Carolina, 1816-1836
William W. Freehling
Manufacturer: Harper & Row
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
ASIN: B0000CNAIY

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Prelude to Civil War: The Nullification Controversy in South Carolina, 1816-1836
William W. Freehling
Manufacturer: Harper & Row
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: 0060500522

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Prelude to Civil War: The Nullification Controversy in South Carolina, 1816-1836
William W. Freehling
Manufacturer: Harper & Row
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000LB9QVW

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Prelude to Civil War: The Nullification Controversy in South Carolina, 1816-1836
William W. Freehling
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OKGJY2

Book Description

A social history within a political and cultural framework, The West in the World looks at the development of western civilization within the context of the rest of the world. Rather than treating the evolution of western civilization as an isolated event, Sherman and Salisbury examine how the west evolved in time with--and often, as a response to--the events that shaped civilizations around the globe. In addition to setting the history of western civilization in context, this groundbreaking new text distinguishes itself from standard survey texts by being the first to fully integrate visual history with traditional narrative style. Readers glimpse the true craft of the historian through integrated discussions of the visual program in the book; throughout the text, the authors address how the paintings, sculpture, and other art of the times serve as primary sources in informing the reader about that period in history. In addition to drawing the art program into the text, The West in the World includes visual learning tools such as Thinking about Geography maps with guiding questions, and timelines at the beginning and end of each chapter. The West in the World also offers complete coverage of western civilization in a midsize book--this unique length provides more detailed and comprehensive coverage than brief books, but is not as exhaustive and unmanageable as larger survey texts.

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This resource manual for college-level science instructors reevaluates the role of testing in their curricula and describes innovative techniques pioneered by other teachers. part I examines the effects of the following on lower-division courses: changes in exam content, format, and environment; revisions in grading practices; student response; colleague reaction' the sharing of new practices with other interested professionals, and more. The book includes a comprehensive introduction, faculty-composed narratives, commentaries by well-known science educators, and a visual index to 100 more refined innovations.

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