| DANGEROUS DIFFERENCES |
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| The book is set in Colonial North Carolina and Virginia. It is the tale of a young Saponi Indian, son of a chief, who, instead of becoming a traditional warrior, makes a perilous trek to the College of William and Mary at the Virginia governor’s invitation. There he will learn English and become a “go-between,” an interpreter. On his trek to Williamsburg he meets and is smitten by a beautiful young Indian maiden from another tribe but must leave her and journey on. While he struggles with the strange world of the English, she is captured and traded to another tribe in the wilds of the Blue Ridge Mountains. “Dangerous Differences” goes on to describe his hazardous role in peacemaking between white settlers and Indians, and his quest to reunite with the lovely young woman. Advance reviewers have praised Laird’s novel. Dr. John Conlee, professor of English at William and Mary and author of King Arthur young-adult novels, said, “A terrific book. Vivid writing of outdoor and wilderness scenes. A pleasure to read.” Katherine Fournier, a Williamsburg author, wrote, “This is a beautiful story that tells us so much about the tragedy of the dangerous differences and the inability of either side to cope. A passionate, lyrical, searing story of the American heritage.” Sally Stiles, author, poet and creative writing instructor, writes "An exciting story, beautifully told. Laird's historically accurate novel offers the reader an opportunity to fully engage in the poignant struggles between the pre-revolutionary colonists and the native Americans who they so brutally displaced. Kadomico is as enchanting and charismatic a character as you will find in historical fiction." Aleck Loker, retired physicist, author, and lecturer on colonial and pre-colonial life in Virginia, writes, "Wonderful descriptions of life among the Indian tribes, the wilderness, and Indian/settler conflicts." Dr. Alastair Connell, physician, author, teacher, and lecturer, wrote, "...this [Laird's] novel is quite beautiful….a love story there with such dignity yet with such constrained desire…order and sense of respect for cultural norms that has been largely lost on our frenetic society.... it makes a refreshing reading." ABOUT THE AUTHOR Mac Laird left his life on a small farm in the Louisiana Kitsatchi National Forest and joined the Navy in 1944. He served in Asiatic Pacific and Philippine war zones as a radioman in the amphibious forces. After a career in telecommunications with the U.S. Navy, taking a degree in business from University of Maryland and doing graduate work in business management at George Mason in Washington, D.C., Mac Laird found his niche in America’s Eastern Woodlands and began to build with the natural materials from the land in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. In time, he started writing about that land and the people. His first book, "Quail High Above the Shenandoah” (2007) gives a vivid account of building with logs. His second, “Dangerous Differences” leads the reader through the wonders of the mountains, rivers, and forests of Virginia and North Carolina and introduces the troubling differences between the frontier Indians and settlers of the new world. |
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