In 1860, at the age of fourteen, Susan Louisa Moir left England for British Columbia. After settling initially at Hope, she lived briefly in both Victoria and New Westminster, then B.C.'s two most important settlements. Returning to Hope, she helped her mother open the community's first school, and in 1868 she married John Fall Allison, riding on her honeymoon over the Allison Trail into the unsettled Similkameen Valley. Her record of the voyage, of Victoria, New Westminster, and Hope as they were in the 1860s, and her memories of the isolated but fulfilling life she, her husband, and their fourteen children led in the Similkameen and Okanagan Valleys provide a unique view of the pioneer mind and spirit.

Folklorists and lovers of folk songs will delight in this collection of the lyrics of songs sung by settlers of western New York in the middle of the nineteenth century. The manuscript on which this book is based is the most important collection of traditional song-texts, British and American in origin, to survive from its period. Discovered in the 1930s in the attic of Harry S. Douglass in Arcade, New York, it was written by Julia S. and Volney O. Stevens, who transcribed nearly ninety of the songs with which their father, Artemas Stevens, so often entertained them. The Stevens family had come to Wyoming County, New York, from New England in 1836, bringing with them traditional songs and ballads. The Stevens-Douglass manuscript contains the texts of 89 songs. In A Pioneer Songster, these are organized first by their origins (36 are from the British Isles; 53 were composed in America) and then according to themes and subjects, including love, history, politics, the pioneering life, politics, murder and shipwrecks, minstrel songs, spirituals, Indian legends, temperance, and satire. The book features a general introduction and shorter introductions to each themed section. In addition, each song is accompanied by an informative headnote detailing its history, meaning, and significance. A Pioneer Songster has been edited for the enjoyment of the general reader, but in their annotation, the editors have aimed at assisting students and scholars of folklore, musicology, and American history. While preserving the manuscript's original punctuation and spelling, they have succeeded in creating a resource that will be of interest to all who care for the American folk tradition and the history of New York State.

Felicity was far too delicate to be pioneering to Oregon Territory! Ironically, it was her parents who died en route, leaving her with her Uncle Jon and that infuriating tease Arne, also orphaned, who jeered at the ailing, self-pitying Missy Flissy. And Seattle turned out nothing like a southern plantation with sunshine and slaves: it was dense rainy forest with six houses, Indians and wild animals. Surprisingly, the challenge suited her. Slowly she made friends with the Indians and discovered a love of animals. Chief Seattle befriended and encouraged her to make 'strong shining thoughts'. She cut off her limp colorless plaits, tamed feral cats, learned to cook and housekeep-and to tease Arne back! They had almost become friends, when Uncle Jon's family arrived-including the beautiful, charming, golden-haired and genteel Adelaide who had always reduced Felicity to sullen inferiority. And she was loudly horrified to find Felicity tanned, sturdy, crop-curled, barefoot, cooking in a log cabin, on friendly terms with Indians and skunks. She was also too refined, delicate and ladylike to do anything at all. And to make it worse, Arne fell heels over head for her charm and beauty. But Felicity had the last word, after all.

Between 1927 and 1934, the Philadelphia Royal Giants embarked on several goodwill tours across the Pacific-to Japan, Korea, the Philippines and the Hawaiian Territories. As African-Americans, they were relegated to second-class citizenship in the U.S., but abroad they were treated like kings. Unlike the previous tours of major league stars who ridiculed their opponents through embarrassing defeats, the Royal Giants made the games competitive, dignified and enjoyable for opposing players. In Gentle Black Giants: A History of Negro Leaguers in Japan, Kazuo Sayama and Bill Staples, Jr. chronicle the tours of the Royal Giants and demonstrate that without the skill and humanity displayed by the Negro Leaguers, Japanese ballplayers might have become discouraged and lost their love for the game. Instead, the experience of sharing the field with these "gentle, black giants" kept their spirits high and nurtured the seeds for professional baseball to flourish in Japan.