Follow the River

Rating:
Summary: Amazing
Review: This is one of the best books of fiction I have ever read. If you can stand to get through the massacre scene at the beginning,( which is extremely violent, graphic and involves the murder of a baby),and read about the journey of this woman, you will be amazed. I cried and prayed for a woman who was long dead before I was ever born. The sheer strength of will, and spirit of survival is enough to put those of us living our comfortable lives to shame. Read this book, then read "Tecumseh; Panther in the sky" by Thom. Great books, teaching history, sociology, and geography while entertaining.

Rating:
Summary: Most Excellent
Review: I would like to say that this is an all time favorite of mine. I thought that this book was so well written and suspenseful that i thought i was actually the one in the story! This book is so hard to believe, and makes you think that when you you do not know if you have the strength to go on that this woman did. I have passed this book to my grandma and her sister and they thought it was great! MUST READ

Rating:
Summary: Good read
Review: This is an excellent story that is supposedly based on fact (parts of it seem to be just too much to be true--read and see). However, there are times when it drags on with the suspense needing to level off and the reader needing a breather. Otherwise the book represents a true white-knuckled thriller that needs to be read to be believed.

Rating:
Summary: good, good, good
Review: This is one of the very best books I have ever read and I read a lot. My husband does not read much but he started this and could not put it down. To think that this woman survived this ordeal and lived to tell about it is amazing. We have motored through the VA and WVA hills where she walked and could not believe the hardships she must have endured. A splendid read for anybody.

Rating:
Summary: An Amazing Tale...
Review: I have rafted parts of the New River and have witnessed how unforgiving the terrain can be. I have also hiked areas similiar to those described as part of Mrs. Ingles' journey. I know how challenging hiking in region can be with the proper modern equiptment, maps and adequate food. The author's descriptions of the wilderness were very accurate. I felt as if I were walking right along with Mary. It may sound like a cliche but I could feel her pain. The author used many vivid images that may not be for the faint of heart but for anyone who love stories about the true strength of the human spirit. This book is definitely for you.

Rating:
Summary: I USUALLY DON'T LIKE HISTORY BOOKS, BUT....
Review: I usually don't like history books, they bore me to death. My sister suggested this book to me, and at first I didn't think anything of it. She's a book worm, and I'm not, so I thought I wouldn't be interested. Once I read the first page, I couldn't put it down! Thom caught my attention and held it throughout the whole book! He has very vivid details that make me feel like I am with the character, suffering with them, fearing with them, and crying with them. After I read this book, I read all of Thom's books. And every time I would hear about one of the characters in History class, it amazed me at how much I thought I knew the character personally! Thom also caught my attention because he writes about Native Americans in a respectful way, and I LOVE Native Americans!!!! They are sooo interesting to me!! I want to learn how to speak one of the languages sometime. I loved how Thom made them sound like humans because I hate it when books talk about all the bad things that Native Americans did, and not all of the amazing things they did! He also uses a lot of their words, and made you learn the language along with the character. Thom is amazing to me. He can make you feel the pain that the characters are going through! Even though it would be discusting to read and imagine, Thom wants you to know how serious it was in real life, and how real this is! It's reality! --not just a fairy tale. Thom tells about REAL thoughts that people have. Usually books tell the characters thoughts, but they don't go into detail, they don't tell everything that people REALLY think. I would LOVE to talk to ANYONE about this book, whether or not you liked it. PLEASE E-MAIL ME and chat!!! (about ANY of Thom's books!!) :o)

Rating:
Summary: A true survival story with history and major flavor.
Review: This book is an inspiration to all. You think you have gone through a lot, read this book and realize how meaningless the events in everyday life are. The story is gripping and the pages eminate a tale to give you hope and the realization that you can do anything you set your mind to.

Rating:
Summary: ALMOST UNBELIEVABLE
Review: I was introduced to this book a few years ago.The vivid details and the courage of these women have since stayed with me.I would recommend this book to anyone.The experiences that they endured are so humbling that it makes one wonder if,in our modern times,would one have the ability and determination to survive the fate that was given these women.

Rating:
Summary: Enthralling.....Fascinating......A have to read
Review: Being a lover of history, this was definately a fabulous book. Sometimes writers try to sugar coat our country's history, as if it was a perfect time; But it was not! James Alexander Thom does not sugar coat the truth, which makes the story all the more better.

Rating:
Summary: This is the best book I have ever read!!!
Review: One of my best friends gave me this book to read several years ago, I loved to read but never allowed myself the time to do so. She told me I'd love the book but also advised the book had to be read by the end of the summer as she had checked it out of the school library and it was due back when school started. I thought what a challenge this would be for me to complete this book in a couple of months. Once I started I never stopped. I loved it!! It was the first book that ever enabled me to really vision just what the main characters were seeing and feeling. A month or so later I found myself in the southern part of WV near the New River (I lived in WV at the time) and saw the immense beauty of that part of the state as discribed by the author. It was late summer or early fall and the mountains were spectacular. They were just as discribed by Mary. Needless to say I finished the book in plenty of time and have been reading non stop ever since. I think of this book often and tell people about it all the time. I'd like to see any of us modern day folk follow in Mary Ingles footsteps, I dare say we'd never survive. You really walk away with a different outlook on life after reading this!