Average customer rating:
- Not "Gentle"
- A good mix of sleep strategies
- not worth it
- Not much help for younger babies
- It's okay
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Good Night, Sleep Tight: The Sleep Lady's Gentle Guide to Helping Your Child Go to Sleep , Stay Asleep, And Wake Up Happy
Kim West , and
Joanne Kenen
Manufacturer: CDS Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
 General | Babies & Toddlers | Parenting | Parenting & Families | Subjects | Books
Child Care | Parenting | Parenting & Families | Subjects | Books
General | Parenting | Parenting & Families | Subjects | Books
General | Parenting & Families | Subjects | Books
Sleep | Children's Health | Personal Health | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
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Book Description
Getting a young child to go to sleep and stay asleep is one of the most challenging aspects of parenting. Yet many parents resign themselves to enduring years of exhaustion. Practical help is not easy to find, and much of the available advice stresses letting even very young babies "cry it out," an option that is not comfortable for many parents. Kim West, known to her clients as The Sleep Lady®, has developed an alternative and effective approach that is gentler on both parent and child. West emphasizes that sleep is a learned skill and explains how parents can teach children to sleep, even at an early age. She starts with newborns, showing parents how to avoid sleep problems from the beginning. And she has solutions for older babies and children who have developed poor bedtime, nighttime, or nap time habits. The Sleep Lady method—including a gentle, practical, step-by-step program called The Sleep Lady Shuffle—has proven effective for hundreds of families. West has spent more than a decade successfully teaching parents how to help their children sleep soundly and independently through the night. She provides specific, achievable guidelines that work, while also taking into account the values, lifestyles, and parenting styles unique to each family. Most parents who adopt The Sleep Lady Shuffle see dramatic improvements in a few weeks, if not days. Good Night, Sleep Tight contains age-specific chapters from birth through five years old, in which West succinctly outlines what action to take; discusses important developmental changes; provides sample waking, feeding, and napping schedules; advises how to use The Sleep Lady Shuffle; and lays out common problems and solutions. Included throughout are real-life testimonies and anecdotes from parents West has assisted. Good Night, Sleep Tight also discusses co-sleeping, bedtime strategies for twins and siblings, and dealing with nightmares and illnesses. West even offers tips on how to minimize sleep disruption when families travel or experience other breaks in routine. Essential reading for any tired parent, or any expectant parent who wants to avoid the pitfalls of sleeplessness, Good Night, Sleep Tight offers a practical, gentle, easy-to-follow remedy that will work for all families in need of nights of peaceful slumber.
Customer Reviews:
Not "Gentle".......2007-10-10
I was told that this was an alternative to the CIO method but it really isn't. You just stay in the room while they scream instead of leaving. It even suggests you keep a towel handy because your child may get so upset that he/she throws up, but if that happens you are still not supposed to pick them up. I don't consider that "gentle".
A good mix of sleep strategies.......2007-09-21
I first read Babywise, which a friend had given me. We started on a flexible schedule with feedings about every three hours. This was very helpful and a good start, but after reading some negative things about the book, I wanted to read some others. There are so many different theories on sleeping and feeding! I found Good Night, Sleep Tight and really liked it because it seemed to be a good mix of the different theories. There are a few main components that almost every sleep book I've read recommends, including having a bedtime routine, putting the baby down drowsy but awake, and creating a sleep friendly environment. This book begins with those basic components and gives you additional information and resources. I like that it gives some guidance as to what a typical schedule might be like, what you might expect, etc. It's also nice to see that what you're experiencing is very normal and that there are things you can do about it. My son started sleeping through the night at about 3 months. Naps are still a little difficult to settle him down for and I just pulled the book out again to get some advice on making naps a little easier. There is a whole section of suggestions. I don't think this is a cry it out book. She creates a middle ground between letting your baby cry and responding immediately. Although we didn't need to do the "Sleep Lady Shuffle" she suggests, so I can't comment on that. You will drive yourself crazy trying to find the "right" way to do things. Read what you can and do what feels right.
not worth it.......2007-08-25
This is essentially a "cry it out" book, except she recommends staying in the room for the crying part. There is no new information I could find. So utterly not worth it. It seems that this book was written to generate sales for her individual consultation service. If you've read "No Cry Sleep Solution" and "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" you do not need this book. Just meet the ideas in the middle and realize there will be some uncomfortable nights, then spend your money on something worthwhile.
Not much help for younger babies.......2007-08-24
We bought this book when our daughter was four months old (and had it shipped overnight--we were getting desperate!). It wasn't very helpful, as it turns out. Her advice for babies this age essentially boils down to letting them cry it out, but staying in the room with them. Not particularly helpful, especially since our daughter was more hysterical when we stayed in the room with her than when we left her alone. We ended up doing more of a Ferber approach. No fun for anyone involved, but it worked.
When she was seven months old, we went on a trip, and her sleep schedule got all messed up. We got the book out again, and this time read the chapter on six- to seven-month-olds. This is the age where West introduces her Sleep Lady Shuffle. The idea is that you stay near their crib and "shh-shh-shh" at them, pat their back, whatever. It's a pretty good approach, and it seems to work for our older baby. So if you're looking for advice on how to get your six-month-old to sleep, you'll probably get some good information here. If your baby is three months old, get another book.
It's okay.......2007-08-21
I needed something to tell me how much my baby should be sleeping and to give some direction on how to help that happen. If you want to or need to impose a schedule on your baby, this book is the least dogmatic I've read. It's also okay if what you want is some general baby sleep information.
Amazon.com
Rebecca Wells's Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood is rivaled by a fictional sibling: Michael Lee West's Crazy Ladies. West's tale of wild women down South is faster and snappier than Wells's thick bayou prose gumbo, but it has some of the same virtues--a cast of wacky characters, lively regional dialogue, and a satisfying multigenerational time frame. The scene shifts from 1932 to 1972, and from Crystal Falls, Tennessee, to New Orleans to hippie Frisco and L.A., though it's mostly rooted in Tennessee, where sunflower gardens contain deep secrets and kids can light up whole summers with lightning bugs in a jar.
The crazy lady who starts the story is Gussie, vexed by her ornery first daughter, Dorothy. When Dorothy's kid sister, Clancy Jane, comes of age, the real ruckus begins, thanks partly to Gussie's helpless preference for sweet Clancy Jane over dour Dorothy, who calls Gussie "Mother Dear" from age 6 on. Sweet Clancy Jane turns out to be headstrong, too--she runs off in a poodle skirt with Hart, who works on oil rigs, Esso stands, and the odd Cajun girl on the side. And then the '60s hit, bringing on Gussie's grandkids, Bitsy and Violet, plus some jolting social changes reminiscent of Lisa Alther's Kinflicks. Though it's spiced with horror (rape, crib death, one character buried alive), the dominant tone is breezy humor. At one point, the sister with "thighs that could break a man's neck" catches her husband and her shapelier sister "wrapped around each other like stripes on a candy cane." Not a magisterial novel, but a really good read. --Tim Appelo
Book Description
From the author of
Mad Girls in Love comes this lively multigenerational tale of six charming, unforgettable Southern women -- a novel of love and laughter, pain and redemption.
Though she was born in Tennessee, Miss Gussie is no country fool. A woman who can handle any situation, she has her hands full with two headstrong daughters who happen to be complete opposites -- dour Dorothy and sweet Clancy Jane. Hoping money will heal childhood wounds, Dorothy marries the owner of a five-and-dime, while Clancy Jane gets into a mess of trouble, running off with a randy tomcat who pumps gas at the Esso stand. And then there are Gussie's granddaughters, the smart but plain Violet and fancy-talking Bitsy -- a new generation whose lives will reflect a nation's tumultuous times. From Tennessee to New Orleans, from psychedelic San Francisco to a remote Southwestern desert ranch, this funny, poignant novel spans more than four decades as it vividly recounts the universal loves, sorrows, and joys of women's lives.
Customer Reviews:
Strong women.......2006-12-14
A shocking incident in the early days of her marriage in the 1930's, forces Miss Gussie along a certain path in life, where she does what she has to in order to protect herself and her family. The story then follows the lives of her daughters and two more generations after that. We meet the plain ones, the pretty ones, the jealous and the open hearted in a story which connects the generations in a very real way which I enjoyed enormously and would thoroughly recommend to anyone looking for a light, entertaining read about women with strong character, for better or worse. This is M/s West's first novel so I look forward to finding more recent ones.
Good story.......2006-11-26
I enjoyed "Crazy Ladies". It was written in a style I like. Different characters get a chance to narrate so you are able to get other points of view on certain events.Also I like novels that extend through the years. You get to see how characters grow up and what happens to them later on in life.
The hippie stuff and anti-Vietnam was a little overdone, but other than that, I really liked this book.
She's right on the money!.......2006-10-02
This is my first MLW book and I'll hunt for more. I just moved from TN (a 30 yr native!) this summer to Chicago. I wanted to read something that reminded me of home and I got it. This book has everything and I laughed outloud several times. I could perfectly envision her characters. You'll love this book whether you're from the south or not. It's a genuinely good book. Your "hunger" for a good book will be satisfied after reading this one.
CRAZY, WONDERFUL, FANTASTIC READ!!!!!!!!.......2006-08-09
If you have not yet treated yourself to a Michael Lee West novel, then you are in for a surprise and delight! All of her books are THE BEST. This is the first one I found and I was hooked on the first page.
Crazy is what this book is! It is rich with a great story line, full of fun and surprises. The people are "true" people who you will fall in love with. The old Southern charm rings true here.
I hated to see this one end. Check out the rest of Ms. West's books; they are pure gold.
CRAZY LADIES would also make a great movie. The only problem with this book was that it ended. For me, it could have gone on and on and on ----------
Do yourself a favor and read this one. You will be glad you did.
Hated to see this book end! .......2006-06-26
"Crazy Ladies" had me temporarily rearranging my priorities and putting other things aside in order to get back to this book every chance I got. Not like me, but I don't regret a minute of it. The only downside is that now I'm finished with it and I don't want to be!
The very best thing about this book is the natural voices of the characters. I should know - I grew up and live in the same area where this story and its characters live. Not surprisingly, since Ms. West was living in this area too when she wrote "Crazy Ladies", the dialect is perfect -- genuinely colorful without being pretentious or overbearing. How refreshing!
Normally, for reasons I've never figured out, I don't like stories told in first person. This one is told in the voices of six first persons, and I loved it, probably because each one tells her part/side of the story without pontificating or rambling. Instead the story is woven together like 6 colors into one tapestry. It makes the story move along which is part of what kept me hooked.
This book has a Fannie Flagg feeling to it, but with a little less escapism and a little more real life. If you like Fannie Flagg's work, though, I can't imagine your not liking "Crazy Ladies".
From the beginning, you'll be swept up into the events of the characters' individual and collective lives, through developments banal and dramatic. Ms. West's development of her characters and the settings is phenomenal, and I'm delighted to learn she's written more including what is apparently a sequel to "Crazy Ladies". As soon as I finish this review, I'm going to order that one, and probably more!
Book Description
How to Raise a Lady is an invaluable resource for parents who hope their little girls will grow up to be the kind of women who know which fork to use, how to treat others, and will generally make their parents proud.
How to Raise a Lady focuses on real-life topics such as sleepovers; sex, religion, and politics; and saying "please" and "thank you." The book includes:
- Personal stories pertaining to each topic
- Suggestions for the age at which parents should introduce a child to certain rules
- Helpful ideas in easy-to-remember phrases
- And suggestions that parents can follow to "teach by example"
Customer Reviews:
Common sense...I was looking for more........2007-06-27
I was looking for true, refined etiquette here. This book was only stating the obvious. It is for someone who is starting from ground zero (don't run around yelling on an airplane, don't talk with your mouth full, say please and thank you.)I started to doubt the entire book once I read something like "a lady spits out her gum before she goes into the theatre" or something of that sort.
A true lady does not chew gum in the first place, it is considered crass. This book didn't even know that. I was disappointed.
Outstanding.......2006-11-16
It pointed out a lot of great manners and discipline in a way that's not ordinarily easy to explain, and it's great for all ages.
basic, but some items were "wake up" calls for me........2006-10-11
I grew up in a average middle class home 40 years ago and found most of this information to be common sense. The book did offer some suggestions on how to deal with specific issues, that I found helpfull. My daughter is grown. But my boyfriend has 2 small kids. I benifited most from points such as; teaching kids how to act when they invite a friend over (while the info was, to me, common sense, the book made me realize that I actually have to teach this stuff). I also liked all the reminders of how adult behavior impacts kids (if you want kids to show respect to adults or people in positions of authority is it smart for you to be disrespectful to our political leaders that you feel are doing a bad job?I know I often bad mouth them). This book helped me to think about what I want to teach (respect, honesty, caring) and how my daily actions can be seen by young minds.
Do the World a Favor: Raise a Lady.......2006-06-17
We can't all be graduates or send the young girls in our lives to Miss Porter's School or luxurious finishing schools in Europe, but since children model their parents until they establish their own identity .... a few good manners is all it takes. A great book to help anyone with a young girl in their life be a positive role model and mentor. Being a lady opens alot of doors throughout one's life.
Book Description
In 1872, Isabella Bird, daughter of a clergyman, set off alone to the Antipodes 'in search of health' and found she had embarked on a life of adventurous travel. In 1873, wearing Hawaiian riding dress, she rode her horse through the American Wild West, a terrain only newly opened to pioneer settlement. The letters that make up this volume were first published in 1879. They tell of magnificent, unspoiled landscapes and abundant wildlife, of encounters with rattlesnakes, wolves, pumas and grizzly bears, and her reactions to the volatile passions of the miners and pioneer settlers. A classic account of a truly astounding journey.
Customer Reviews:
very good review.......2007-03-23
This book arrived in top condition and in time. In a college book store this book cost a lot more, so I am very pleased to be able to buy it from this seller.
descriptive.......2006-11-03
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and the descriptive way the author wrote. I have been through Colorado and have seen the beauty she described. Also enjoyed the story because there wasn't a lot of violence and if there was any sex, it was only in our imagination which is the greatest kind. I was amazed at how the lady rode for miles in rugged wilderness without seeming to get lost. The fact that she could subsist on meager food was also interesting.
Well-written account of an incredible Rocky Mountain experience!.......2006-09-03
I bought this book while visiting Estes Park, CO...hungry for books about life in the West that may not be so readily available here in NJ. I found it to be one of the most enjoyable books I have ever read! Isabella's descriptions of the Rocky Mountains and the climate through which she travelled are vivid and gripping. But more than that, she gives a detailed and honest account of what life was like for settlers on the frontier. How she managed to ride thru the mountains where the only "trails" were tracks of wagons or animals, when often those were covered with the seemingly constant snow, boggles the mind. Her love for Colorado sings out in every word she writes. I too was deeply touched by its beauty, and hope to return again, this time with an enriched appreciation due to this wonderful recounting of Isabella Bird's journey.
Don't overlook this.......2006-08-08
For many years I saw this book in National Park bookstores and passed it by thinking it would be an example of the overwritten, rather tedious journals of other Victorian travelers. When I finally found it at a used bookstore and rather reluctantly bought it, I was surprised to find out how exciting and relevant her story was.
Because I live in Colorado, I recoginize and travel through many of the places she describes. Just this weekend as we traveled along Highway 67, my husband and I remarked on the likelihood, that this was the same route she'd taken out of Colorado Springs.
Her accounts lend life to the grey, weatherbeaten cabins, abandoned roads and rusting rails that we see. Even though many parts of Europe and the US were relatively modern at the time of her adventures, it is surprising to read just how primitive and precarious was the life of many Colorado settlers.
Even if you aren't from Colorado, read this book to become aquainted with a Victorian woman who found a way to live life fully. Read it to learn about life in the west. Read it just because it's a good read.
Free Bird.......2005-08-25
Did you ever read any of the BEANY MALONE novels by Lenora Mattingly Weber? In them I first read about Isabella Bird and her remarkable life in the American West. Beany's older brother, Johnny Malone, is a teenager when the series begins, a young Denver boy with a remarkable passion for unearthing the memoirs and daguerrotypes of Colorado pioneers and taking notes on the old-timers who settled the state. Their colorful lives make his ordinary life seem rather pastel, so he often sinks into a nostalgia of the past, while his family members tease him about the dreamy look in his eyes. He helps a veteran journalist, Emerson Worth, complete his magnum opus, OUR CITY HAS DEEP ROOTS. And among the pioneers Johnny obsessed about was none other than Isabella Bird, so when I found this book on a recent trip to Boulder, I added it to my rucksack.
If you are reading on horseback, as Isabella Bird did, this is perhaps the ideal book to carry with you. She was a woman used to the English-style horse with its Ascot breeding and high carriage. What she found in Colorado were, naturally, the horses of the West, more perfectly adapted to the mile-high atmospheres, but slung somewhat lower than anything she's been used to and slightly swaybacked. Bird adapted quickly, and the fun of her autobiography is to see her taking in her stride a series of calamities and hardships that would have Job complaining bitterly! No matter if it's an insect infestation or tumbling right through a sheet of ice into zero degree river chills, for Isabella Bird it's all part of a day's fun. Travel writing in the 19th century was, of course, the leading genre of prose. From no other source were English-speaking readers able to find out more about other people's lives, and the curiosity was immense.
You'll like Isabella, and her crazy love affair with Colorado. She remains very much a lady, but will challenge your preconceived notions of what a lady is and isn't. Most of all you will thrill to follow the course of her journeys up and down the mountains through which, now, there are some better trails but still the same amazing sunrises which she describes with the thrill of one for whom every day's an adventure.
Product Description
Two seductive novels of the passionate American frontier.
Customer Reviews:
Good... but also not so good..........2006-08-01
Both stories were very good, and I agree that they should've been put in order. I loved Angel Creek, but I wasn't very fond of Lady of the West. What kept this from being a four or five star read was the fact that in Lady of the West, the main hero hits the heroine and accuses her of trying to pass her first husband's baby as his, when it really was his. What made me even madder was the fact that he believed a [...] word more than his own wife's word. Men like Jake just irritates me. But other than that, I loved Victoria, Emma, and Celia. This story was so heartbreaking. I also loved Emma's little story that was included in A Lady of the West. Another problem with the book is that they use one of the same characters in Angel Creek and he told something that ruined Lady of the West for me.
Reverse order?!.......2003-03-22
I really liked both stories...but then I am a devoted reader of Linda Howard. They only reason I will not give this a 5 star rating is the fact that the editor put the stories out of order. Read Lady of the West FIRST. Since there is a character that first appears here and then again later in time in Angel Creek.
Both stories are quick and totally engrossing reads. Once you start it is hard to put them down.
Enjoy!
Average customer rating:
- The end is so boring...
- Soooo disappointing
- A Lady of the West
- A Great Western
- A fast paced and sizzling western romance
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A Lady of the West
Linda Howard
Manufacturer: Pocket
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
General | Romance | Subjects | Books
General | Howard, Linda | ( H ) | Authors, A-Z | Romance | Subjects | Books
Paperback | Howard, Linda | ( H ) | Authors, A-Z | Romance | Subjects | Books
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Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books
General | Howard, Linda | ( H ) | Authors, A-Z | Romance | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books
Paperback | Howard, Linda | ( H ) | Authors, A-Z | Romance | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books
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ASIN: 0671019732 |
Book Description
New York Times bestselling author Linda Howard sets a tale of power, suspense, and passion in the savage New Mexico Territory.
Only true love could redeem....
Victoria Waverly, noble daughter of the war-ruined South, is sold in marriage to a ruthless rancher. Honor and pride help her endure life as a wife in name only but nothing can quench her forbidden desire for hired gunman Jake Roper. His gaze is hard, but tenderness he can't hide promises to unveil to Victoria the mysteries of love.
Only true love can destroy....
Jake curses his burning need for Victoria, for he wants nothing to stand in the way of his drive to reclaim Sarratt's Kingdom -- the ranch that is his legacy and obsession. But ancient wrongs and blazing passions will bind together the aristocratic beauty and the powerful cowboy. In a bloody land war, they will fight for Jake's birthright...and seize at all costs the love that is their destiny.
Customer Reviews:
The end is so boring..........2007-05-02
As many times that happened to me I read first the sequel "Angel Creek" before this one. This time that was perfect because if I had read this one before I'd never read "Angel Creek".
The book's first part was fairly good. But as the love story goes on the book gets boring. What I didn't understand is why one of the girls had to die, that part was just pathetic.
Soooo disappointing.......2007-02-25
If this was the first Linda Howard book I ever read, I would not have read another. If forced and abusive sex turns you on, this is the book for you. I read it to the end to give it a chance, but was completely disappointed.
A Lady of the West.......2007-02-24
This is my favorite of all of Linda's books. A very naughty bit of literature, but I like it! Pretty hot though, so be careful.
A Great Western .......2007-01-29
This is the first time I have written a review. I may be doing it wrong, so forgive me if the way I wrote it is wrong.
I loved this book so much. I read it in 5 hours. I have worn out every book. That I now own three copies. You can actually visualize the whole thing. It is as if you are apart of the story. I wished it could have gone on forever I sure did not want it to end. The book starts out fast paced and keeps you spell bound until the end. I wish that there had been a book about the younger brother. I highly recommend this book. It is defiantly worth keeping.
A fast paced and sizzling western romance.......2006-04-17
Ever since the night he saw his parents murdered and he and his brother almost killed, Jake Sarratt has patiently plotted, planned and waited until the day he can return to Sarratt Kingdom to claim back his birthright. Now after twenty years, he can finally savor the taste of victory so close to him, that of claiming back their land and killing the men responsible for his parents' murder. But in all his careful planning, never did he expect the complication that a woman would bring to his plans.
When her family suffers the devastation of the Civil War, Victoria Waverly makes the ultimate sacrifice by marrying a vulgar, but rich, rancher who pays her parents for the honor. With her younger sister and cousin in tow, she heads to the New Mexican ranch and marries Frank McLain. But what Victoria doesn't realize is that her new husband's property was stolen from the Sarratts years ago, and that one of her husband's gunmen, Jake Roper, the man she can't help but be drawn to, is actually the rightful owner of the ranch. And after Jake fulfills his vow for revenge, Victoria is in for a tougher ride when he tries to convince her to marry him.
I couldn't wait to read A LADY OF THE WEST as I enjoyed reading ANGEL CREEK, which is another one of Howard's western novels. Jake and Victoria's story is actually a darker romance and there are also more action scenes in this book. Jake is your typical gunslinger, brave and ruthless, while Victoria, despite her Southern and aristocratic upbringing and seeming gentleness, is a woman of quiet strength and determination. I liked how Jake takes the risk when he makes it his responsibility to protect Victoria and her very vulnerable sister Celia. Although there is a part when he acts like a total jerk, you have to keep an open mind and think of his past and how much hate has consumed him after losing his parents as a kid. In the end, he more than makes up for this by the way he atones for his mistakes.
With its fast-paced, engrossing and sizzling sensuality, this book is a very enjoyable read that also features a secondary romance that is quite poignant. Just a warning to those who gets the volume that contains both ANGEL CREEK and A LADY OF THE WEST, read this first to give you a better background on Luis Fronteras, the secondary character.
Book Description
When Agnes Morley Cleaveland was born on a New Mexico cattle ranch in 1874, the term "Wild West" was a reality, not a cliché. In those days cowboys didn't know they were picturesque, horse rustlers were to be handled as seemed best on the occasion, and young ladies thought nothing of punching cows and hunting grizzlies in between school terms.
Customer Reviews:
The Wild West.......2006-11-10
I live seven miles from Datil, NM whereof Ms. Morley writes. Not only does she write about her life but also about how the family, her mother, brother and sister, came move out here. She writes about the early cowboys and Native Americans. She writes about the Penitentes.
Unmatched for its subject.......2005-08-01
Agnes Morley was the daughter of a Civil War vet who went home to Iowa and got an engineering degree that led to his becoming a premier engineer for the Santa Fe R.R. He was there when the race took place to be first over Raton Pass and also through the Royal Gorge (where Bat Masterson organized a posse that unsuccessfully held off the Denver and Rio Grande RR as I recall with members of the Dodge City fraternity that included Doc Holliday, Ben Thompson and other notable gunfighers and even Eddie Foy, later a great comedian, who went along for the excitement)all typical of the early days of railroading in the West. Morley was also an associate of the New Mexico participants in the Colfax County War in New Mexico, a parallel to the Lincoln County War that made Billy the Kid famous. Equally famous was Clay Allison, a wild man of the West who was a principal character of the War, which was centered in the vicinity of Cimarron, New Mexico. Agnes's father died in Mexico while pushing the railroad from Benson, Arizona to Guamas, Mexico. He was either accidentally shot in taking a rifle from his buggie, or as his grandon thought, was murdered as part of a plot relating to railroad competition. After his death his strong wife took over the rearing of their children. She managed the Cimarron newspaper that irritated Clay Allison, and he burned it out one night. In the aftermath he learned that a widdy woman ran it, helped set it back up, stating that he didn't make war on women. She later settled on the large range that her husband had aquired north of the present small town of Datil. The adventures there of her family are classics of Western experience that are not exactly things of the past. Read about her and her brother (who went to college and is in the football hall of fame) as they walk down the top rail of their corral with a pet bear cub, a rooster, a goat and sundry other animals following along on the ground. Read how, when she was away to school her brother wrote of the mountain lion that raided the place, killed their bitch hound who defended her pup and generally wrought havoc. Her brother wrote her the information and told her, "You should have been here, there was a hellacious fuss." which she read to her horrified teachers and class, not realizing it was anything out of the ordinary. She knew outlaws and lawmen, such as Elfego Baca, who Disney immortalized in a movie. When he defended her neighbor in a self-defense killing, she recommended to Elfego that he forget the fancy arguments and just tell the truth. He said, "The truth! The truth! This is a murder case. We lie. They lie. Everybody lies." As I recall the killer was convicted on his first trial. He told Agnes, "Elfego took my cattle on the first trial and when he got me off on appeal, he took my ranch." Elfego lived until 1946 as a fixture in Albuquerque. His type are by no means gone. You can go to Datil and vicinity today and see the old west exactly as it was then, with the bark off. The last big cattle drive took place just to the east on the San Augustin Plains. Moderns drive rapidly by and console themselves that the violent old west is dead. If so, the body is keeping damn well. The sheriff of Catron County which encompasses the old Morley ranch requires all heads of households to own and keep handy a gun. Good idea, too. I used to roam that country with my five dogs, camping out in my specially designed pickup which everyone called "the teahouse of the August Moon," due to its resemblance to that edifice. Agnes also tells of such characters as Montague Stevens, an Englishman who lost one arm in a hunting accident, who was a famous bear hunter. I'm writing this substantially from memory but it's close enough. Go see for yourself. And if you only read one book about New Mexico this would do. Another dandy is "Land of Enchantment."
Home, Sweet Home.......2000-12-16
I work for a school that just purchased 600 acres of the ranch described in this book. The area IS as beautiful as she describes, is as rugged and the people are just as hard-working and caring.
I found the book to be a great story. She says she is just a story-teller, but what a good one! It makes the past come alive. My husband and I read parts of it out loud, while camping in the very ranch she describes.
WARNING! Once you start, it is hard to put down.
A classic in women's history.......2000-01-22
The title is misleading, as she truly must have been a great lady. This is a classic memoir by a woman who grew up in 19th-century New Mexico, and worked and rode side-by-side with the men, taking the full responsibilities and knocks of a hard life and keeping a great sense of humor through it all. The only concession to her gender is that she apparently rode sidesaddle, remarkably enough!
The REAL "old west".......1999-10-09
I am from the part of New Mexico that Agnes Morley writes about. My parents live in a canyon approximately 30 miles from the Morley homestead. This book tells it like it was and anyone living in Magdalena, Datil, or Pietown today can tell you so. Morley conveys a deep affection for the land and an independence of spirit that still holds true in the area today. It made me proud of my community to read her book. It was also fun reading some of the local history from a first-hand account. I particularly enjoyed Morley's portrayal of the lawyer Elfego Baca, who is a legendary figure in Socorro County. His reputation suffers quite a bit at her hands! The only aspect of local history that I found conspicuously absent from her book was any discussion of the local mining industry. Mining played as great a role in the area as ranching did at the time. I suppose it indicates that the miners and ranchers didn't mix much. Still, it seems odd that she doesn't even mention it.
Book Description
The harrowing tale of Erin of Elliath, warrior and healer, continues in this episode of the battle between good and evil. When Erin rejects her position as Lady Sara, wife to the First Servant of the Dark Heart, she escapes from her husband’s realm with the help of Darin, the Patriarch of Culverne and the last of his line. After combining forces with the deposed prince of Marantine and a mysterious old man—who has magic skills that neither Erin or Darin can identify—the foursome hatch a plan to wrestle control of the usurped kingdom of Marantine away from the priests of the Dark Heart. Meanwhile, Erin continues to struggle with her part in the betrayal of her people, the deaths of her most beloved friends, as well as her feelings for the man who doomed them for her sake.
Customer Reviews:
Lady of Mercy. . . A Misnomer?.......2006-11-20
Really, I would rate this book to be 3.5 stars. Lady of Mercy is the 3rd book in Michelle Sagara West's Sundered Series. The first was excellent; the second was still very good. The third is ok. Why the not so enthusiastic review? Well, Ms. West did a terrific job making me care about Erin and Stefanos, the two protagonists in the first book. The second, although less focused on their relationship, contained the necessary plot developments meant to further the story; furthermore, the ending of the 2nd book made it all worth while. That said, the 3rd book, based upon just the literary merits, is still a good read but caused apprehension because of what is happening with Erin. WARNING: SPOILER to follow if you haven't read the 1st and 2nd books!
Now that Erin is on the run while discovering remaining allies of the Light in unexpected places, she must come to terms with the betrayal of her kin at the hands of her husband and love, Stefanos. The third book really grapples with the difficulties in reconciling the love she feels for Stefanos, or Lord Darclan :), yet the hatred/pain from knowing that she indirectly betrayed her kin. It's a tough question (Can love survive something like this?) and most of the book describes her wavering feelings. But one thing is for sure...mercy is missing in her calculations...which is understandable considering the events.
I felt ambivalent about this 3rd book because of Erin's state of mind since, despite the incompatibility between the Light and the Darkness, I had hoped that Erin and Stefanos could overcome those difference with their love (too sentimental, I guess!). Other than my slight unhappiness with what is going on with Erin, the actual book itself is still very well-written, developing the events that will lead to the imminent insurrection against the Dark. I think the fact that I was so affected by what was occuring shows that Ms. West is truly a talented writer. I am very much looking forward to the 4th book, Chains of Darkness, Chains of Light.
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- Hannibal Rising
- Happy Accidents: Serendipity in Modern Medical Breakthroughs
- His Princess: Love Letters from Your King (His Princess)
- History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
- History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
- History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
- History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
- Hot Chocolate: 50 Heavenly Cups of Comfort
- How I Turned $1,000 into Five Million in Real Estate in My Spare Time
- How to Read a Book (A Touchstone Book)
Books Index
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