The Forest Indians in the Western Great Lakes. Robert E. Ritzenthaler and Pat Ritzenthaler. Prosper Heights, IL: Waveland Press, Inc. 1993. 154 pp. In each of the ten chapters that make up this book, the authors address important features of the Woodland Indian lifestyle that ensure their survival. They address important questions such as how they find enough food to survive and what exactly they eat to survive; as well as delving into topics such as their religious beliefs, traditional ceremonies, their beliefs regarding shamanism and healing techniques, their material culture, games, music and folklore that are important to them and influence who they are as a people. Throughout the book, each of these themes is explored at length as distinctive aspects attributed to the woodland region and are clearly and detailedly defined as they pertain to different periods of human history in North America. This book details the history and life of the Woodland Indians, particularly in the Western Great Lakes region, the authors provide important facts that identify important attributes of this North American tribe. First of all, these people live in an area that sees a large environmental subdivision, composed of both forests and prairies. To survive, they must lead a semi-nomadic lifestyle that involves hunting, fishing and gathering wild foods. They also eventually begin to rely on basic agriculture, and their main food source is corn, beans, and squash. There are specific traditions and beliefs that they practice in terms of lifestyle. In terms of social organization, kinship is very important in this classless egalitarian society, divided into numerous clans. Although their material culture may not seem very impressive compared to other Native American groups in North America, the simplicity of their work in areas such as clothing, construction, quill and bead making, weaving, wickerwork and silverware, is remarkable. actually quite remarkable considering the time and effort needed to carry out the basic tasks to ensure their survival. Despite this, religious and ceremonial life was a very important and unique aspect to the Forest Indians, and was an important part of these people's lives. They held dances such as medicine, courage, and drum dance, each of which had special spiritual connotations that they believed had a significant impact on their lives. They also practiced the use of peyote and performed tobacco rituals for religious purposes.