DWD's Reviews

Well-researched and thorough Published in 1995 by Free Press As the title clearly tells us, Between Two Fires: American Indians in the Civil War is (primarily) about the contributions of the American Indian to the American Civil War. It starts the reader with some of the early atrocities and misunderstandings that have characterized Indian and White interactions throughout American history. Some are the same things you will read about in any decent high school history text, and some are new for those that are not Indian history "buffs", such as myself. For example, I was not aware of the cruel and deliberate destruction of the Indian populations in California during the Gold Rush of 1849 until I read about it here. The book discusses Indian participation on both sides of the war and their various motivations for joining in the fight. These motivations range from genuine patriotism to wanting to suck up to the government (be it Union or Confederate) for favors to wanting ...

Not as good as the others in the series Published in 2001. William Bernhardt has a whole collection of books he has written concerning small-time lawyer Ben Kincaid and his (mis)adventures and legal maneuverings. Most of the books feature Ben and his ragtag office staff going against well-funded corporate lawyers or the District Attorney's office and somehow coming up with a win. Murder One is no different, except that it is not as good a book as the others he has written. In fact, I would not have reviewed this book for this forum at all except for the review quote on the cover that says, "...You never see the end coming." In today's over-hyped marketplace I've seen a lot of quotes like this, but this time it was true. I did not see it coming and that (and the accurate quote) deserves recognition. This book, however, only rates a "3 stars" from me - it did not stay true to the strong character development that was present in the other books and I...