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I read Amy Stewart's fine book, From the Ground Up, last week on a very long plane ride home to California from Indianapolis, Indiana. I'd been to Indianapolis to speak to the Indiana Arborists' Association convention, as I am a garden writer myself (Allergy-free Gardening, Safe Sex in the Garden, etc.). My flight was delayed due to a snowstorm in Detroit but the extra long trip was made more than okay because I had this delightful book to read.
I'd received From the Ground Up as a present from my Mom. It is the story of one lady's first attempt at gardening, and as one who taught horticulture for 20 years, and who has gardened for almost 50 years, it was remarkable fun for me to see all the little mistakes she made, the discoveries she uncovered, the personal disasters and achievements that accompanied her quest to create a wonderful garden.
Really great gardens don't just happen, not at all. They are created with huge effort, smarts, learning, help and advice from other gardeners, with tips from garden books, and most of all by the vision of the gardener in charge.
There exists within the wide range of garden writing a host of some rather fabulously good writing. These are the books that combine solid garden advice with a large dose of very personal observance and experience. Although From the Ground Up is a first book, it reads as though written by someone who had been writing for many years, someone who had honed and polished her writing so that every line sparkled. I would expect that this book would appeal most to those who love to garden, but because the level of writing is so unusually excellent, I'd guess almost anyone who appreciates literate writing would enjoy it.
If you're one who is new to gardening you'll find a wealth of useful tips here, interspersed with some darn good recipes too for making gourmet meals of all that extra fresh produce you'll eventually have. I really can't say enough about this marvelous book. Reading it was pure pleasure.

Amy Stewart captures the essence of gardening and living in Santa Cruz, CA. This is a gentle and graceful book that will make you want to run to your local garden center and buy everything, then go home and spend the whole weekend getting dirty. You will greatly enjoy this book regardless of the size or state of your garden or yard. A wonderful read, very well written, almost poetic at times...you will love it.

This lovely book is a definate "must-read" for anyone starting out on the daunting task of a first garden or if you find yourself needing a reminder as to why you dug up all that ground in the first place! Tips and helpful info at the end of each chapter will give even the most experienced gardener a bit of a hand, and the writing style is at once elegant and funny.

I never thought a book could capture my spirit and talk to me heart to heart like this one. It's like she was sitting across from me leading me down a new pathway that has been closed to me for so long as a Drama Therapist. This book has found the hidden key!

I liked the book overall. It is written in plain simple terms that are easy to understand. If you want to start a business, Therapy or otherwise, and want to do business with your local State and Federal Government....this book points you in the right direction. Lot's of great tips.

I like the book, and the chapter titles. I think it is a good book for those that have no idea on how to get started in starting any type of business. It has good solid resources, and advice. I've spent fifteen bucks on a lot worse, and have gotten nothing but disappointment...but not here.

I've just purchased this book and I'm more than *delighted*! The photographs are ultimately enthralling, and the narration is so honest. I work for a non-profit striving to protect more public lands in Washington permenantly as Wilderness, and books like these that reach a large public audience and tell it like it is help us along our path to success... I love to hike and I love to see the areas that I hike in stay put! It's nice to be able to see which areas are protected and which are not before even exploring on one's own. BUY IT!

Sure, Harvey's opinionated, but it's excellent stuff. Nice, quick background on these amazing places, why they are still wild and protected, and just enough detail to get you in and out without giving away all the surprises. The best guide out there.

The interesting thing about the 100 Hikes series is how well it integrates with Fred Beckey's books. Ira and Harvey get you to the base of the peak; Fred gets you up it. The series go hand-in-hand. Some of the most valuable information in the whole series comes in the form of the forewards and introductions. While opinionated, the views expressed are those of someone who has spent a lifetime exploring, protecting and enjoying the areas treated by the books. The route descriptions are accurate (more or less), and the small maps are clear and understandable. If you don't have this book, go get it. You would do well, in fact, to get the whole series. NOTE: hikes 10, 14, 33, 70, and 79 are awesome.

The Mountain Valley War was first published (paper) back in 5/78. I bought my copy published 2/79. As always I read the book with-in the next day or so. so it's been about 23 yrs. gone by. I always write a short note in the book describing my opinions. It seems as if I was overjoyed with the book as I wrote "what a fabulous story", or was it, I'd been dreaming and placing myself in the lead character's shoes, something I do often. Louis's books are fabulous. If you don't find that to be so you might not like any westerns.

The second of the three novels about Lance Kilkenny, a man with an unwanted reputation as a gunfighter, now he's got himself a small piece of land, a few head of cattle and has hung up his guns. A good novel, though personally I favour the other two Kilkenny novels ("The Rider of Lost Creek" and "Kilkenny") but this one is not far behind. It's obvious that L'Amour knows his characters well, like all good writers for any medium should. Here Kilkenny finds he has to defend his land, and organise his neighbours, in a small war against a power mad cattle baron.

I have read over 80 of L'Amour's books, and this one was terrific! If you've read (and liked) Kilkenny, then you'll love this one, too. Kilkenny is a fascinating character in this book, and L'Amour has given him quite the brain to defeat the Hale gang. A must read!!!

Tim Rawson has written an engaging and beautifully researched book exploring the saga of wolf control in Denali National Park. He also documents this controversial issue outside that park, both in Alaska and throughout the country. It is an unthinking oversight, however, that the publisher neglected--either in the subtitle or in the Library of congress catalog info--to mention the fascinating character who resides in these pages: Adolph Murie. This lesser known brother of Olaus Murie was largely responsible for our modern day understanding that wolves are an essential part of the ecosystem. Pre Adolph Murie it was popular to think of wolves as vermin in need of extermination. Adolph's life work, as it unfolds in Rawson's pages, turns this scholarly history into compelling biography. Even if you haven't read Barry Lopez' OF WOLVES AND MEN (or if you have any interest in wolves in general), CHANGING TRACKS is a true classic.

Alaska residents and students of national parks issues will find Changing Tracks involving: it details the events which shaped both Mt. McKinley Park and the national policy on dealing with predators in national parks in general, outlining the decisions and actions which have influenced park service policies throughout the country. A variety of experiences, from game managers to conservationists, are presented in this scholarly, involving survey.

Absoultely stunning aerial shots of Mt. McKinley and Denali National Park. Breathtaking views of snow-capped mountain peaks. The rugged beauty of Alaska is beautifully realized in Coonrad's photos.

I love these postcard photos so much, I had to get two copies so that I could keep one copy for myself. I didn't want to part with them! If you are fascinated by Alaska, Coonrad's bird's eye view will delight you no end. Absolutely fantastic vistas take you there. I keep buying extras because they make handy gifts, too.

No word can ever describe the emotions you will live in the reading of this book. It is sad that no one cared to mention that John Stevens,(the author) is himself a Marathon Monk. (I finished translating this book into French, in 1991)

Aucun mot ne peut décrire les émotions que vous vivrez à la lecture de ce livre. Il est triste que nul n'a fait mention que John Stevens, (l'auteur) est lui-même un moine du marathon. (J'ai terminé la traduction de ce livre, en français, en 1991)

This book will shock and amaze!

These monks are so inspirational any person facing hardship should read this book to give some perspective to life.

After running for 2 years you finally get to wear your rain hat-- if a monk fails to finish his run-- he is supposed to kill himself.

no nike cross-trainers.. they run in straw sandals--

I must read for any martial artist

If you're planning a trip to Mount Whitney, you need this book. It contains the most comprehensive trail guide on the market, with detailed descriptions and photos to help you visualize the hike. There are also many other helpful chapters, such as: Bears, Wildlife, Weather, Your Success Factors (hints for mental and physical preparation), and background history of the trail.
Furthermore, this book carries a guarantee by the authors: "If you feel this book doesn't prepare you for a summit attempt, we'll refund your money." Written by the owner of the Whitney Portal Store, it's a gold mine of information and advice!

Before hiking Mount Whitney, I browsed a few books on the topic. This book was the most informative and interesting to read. Not only are there interesting anecdotes about the hike, including some of the messages left in the guestbook at the top, the book is well organized and readable. The book divides the hike into parts, making it easy to envision before attempting a hike to the summit. This is a wonderful book written by the owner of the Whitney Store.

I really enjoy this book because it is well written and exiting.

This is a good book and it tells you a lot about mythogical creatures. It tells about a long and adventures zoo that they come to. They find a lot of weird creatures and think it is pretty cool. His dad becames the manager after a while and they get to take a little lizard with them. There sister Oliva is in charge of the babies and they Mom writes brochures to schools to come and see the zoo. The first two zoos that there father picks out are duds and then the last one is a hit. It is in a winding road and up a couple of hills and they didn't think they found it at the bigining

I gave this book four stars because it is a great book for children dealing with questions about Santa Claus. Papa Bear answers all these questions with a simple answer, "Christmas is such a special time of year that very special, almost magical things can happen. And the most magical thing of all is Santa Bear."

This book is about how the cubs start wanting their presents for Christmas. Brother bear wants just a couple of things and makes a small Christmas list, while sister bear makes a really long one. Sister gets thiknking and she realizes she's being greedy.

I reccomend this book to any child who is havinbg a want problem. The point of this story is don't be greedy. This is for children 5-8 yrs. of age.

Plot: The family arrives at the mall, with the parents worried about the cubs' reaction to all the excitement of Christmas rolling around. Papa tries to assure Mama they're calm cubs... until they see them fired up in front of the new toy store, and then Sister gets even more fired up when Brother points out that Santa Bear is coming.

Eventually, Sister gets a little too carried away and makes her Christmas list a mile long. Brother explains that Santa's probably gonna think she's greedy. Sister worries about that and the times she hasn't been good. She then learns from Brother and the parents that Santa doesn't expects kids/cubs to be perfect. Then Brother tells her that presents for parents is the kids' jobs. So they get out their money and Sister shortens her list.

While visiting Santa and buying presents for their parents, Sister can't help but wonder... what Calvin wonders about Santa in "Calvin and Hobbes". By the end, Sister (and the readers) learns the true meaning of Christmas.

Bloopers and Plot Holes: I guess Stan and Jan had the artists make names for the bear-hug teddy, the pink pony, and the RC robot.

Just curious... shouldn't Papa look a little embarressed when Mama says "Calm and sensible, eh?"

Hey, how much did those gifts cost?