Pacific

Living in Seattle we wanted to take advantage of all the fresh fish available, but we had no idea how to cook it. Everything we have tried out of this book has been easy and delicious. Most of the recipes give suggestions for side dishes which makes meal planning even easier. Whenever we get fish for dinner this is the cookbook we pull out!

This is a great reference for cooks at any level of ability. Fundimentals of buying, cutting up, basic techniques, and cooking safety. Easy to follow recipes which are not fussy and don't loose the flavor of the seafood in the sauces, yet can be quite sophisticated. Expanded information, definitions and seafood facts which can enlighten profesional chefs and intertain those who pick-up cookbooks for leasure reading. For example, what constitutes 'white fish',who are the grazers and the predators in the ocean, and how is caviar farmed.

This book is wonderful for cooks that use seafood comes from the California coast. The recipes do not take require the resume of a rocket-scientist and yet the finished courses look, taste and smell like fine cuisine from a highly rated restaurant.

Great recipes for every day or special entertaining occasions.

This book is absolutely one of the most beautifully illustrated children's books I have seen in a long time. The pictures capture the attention of both young children and adults alike. The clever story is also easy for kids to understand, while at the same time, educational. My kids love this book, and it would be a wonderful addition to your collection!

I just purchased this book after hearing the illustrator speak. The pictures are bright and soft, the text musical and sweet. It just won the 2002 Pacific Northwest Book Award. A beautiful addition to any picture book library.

I appreciate a change from the usual cast of children's books characters (cat, dog, cow, horse): this book features otters, bats, foxes, anemones, eagles, and so on. The poems are great: the author rounds out the lines without useless filler words such as "very," "really," and "quite." Soothing verses and gentle pictures make this an excellent children's book. If you're from the Pacific Northwest, you must add this to your collection; if you're from anywhere else, you'll want to.

This book is a great resource for anyone. The calendar of events makes it a breeze to find dates and times of your favorite things to do on the Monterey Peninsula.

This is the "ultimate" tour guide to beautiful Monterey County, CA (referred to by the locals as Paradise). It truly is invaluable as a resource for locals and tourists alike. I've lived here for 15 years and can't believe there are so many wonderful things to do and see...for FREE! Unlike any other tour guide.

The Ultimate Field Guide to Monterey County this beautifully organized book is a must for visitors and residents of central California's most acclaimed region. From the famous shoreline of the Monterey Peninsula to Steinbeck's Pastures of Heaven and the nation's great salad bowl in the Salinas Valley this edition covers it all. Easy to read, clearly indexed and well designed this book defines the phrase "essential reference" and I especially recommend it for families.

This is simply the best hiking books I've ever owned (and I own a lot!) A great selection of hikes, well written descriptions and directions, and excellent maps. I've been on over 30 of Sullivan's recommended hikes and enjoyed them enormously. The photos are beautiful. Get this book, get out and enjoy the wilderness!

I bought all three books that Mr. Sullivan has written about the Cascades, but I never got a chance to try out all the trails. I just moved from Eugene, and just before I left, at the end of the summer, I got a chance to go to Bryce Creek outside Cottage Grove. What a hidden secret. The area was beautiful, lots of small waterfalls, not too far from the main road, and I even took my little car up to Bohemia Mountain and had an incredible view! I am glad that one of my last activites in my home state was going to this place, all thanks to Mr. Sullivan! He knows what he is talking about, so buy this book and explore your state!

Hi -- This is the author, William Sullivan. I've completely updated this 100 Hikes guide to Oregon's Coast, with a dozen new or radically changed hikes, new photos, new maps, and up-to-date info. The new "100 Hikes/Travel Guide: Oregon Coast & Coast Range, 2nd Edition" is available in April, 2002 (ISBN #096778302X). I'm giving slide shows about the new book throughout Oregon -- for dates and times, please check my Web site at www.oregonhiking.com.

I have used extensively this book for traveling at the south oregon coast. The directions to the trail heads are very clear, the maps are well done and the hike descriptions are first rate. Sullivan is a wonderful writer. His other hiking books are also very well done. I recommend any book that he has written. His hiking books are the best that I have ever seen.

THis book is a great trail map for bars in Los Angeles. Mr. Mulvey is a truly likable man with a genuine interest in the semi-lost tradition of decent dives. The format of the book is convienent and has within it, a lot of interesting facts and anecdotes. If you are interested in bars, or if you aren't, this is the book for you. It will bring you up to speed about what's cool in LA.

This book gives all pertinent information regarding many bars in L.A. The descriptions of setting and atmosphere are accurate and it even provides history and interesting stories and facts about L.A. bars. It provides a variety of different bars in L.A., from the most trendy, hip places, to the divey hole-in-the-walls. I've been to most of these places and frequent some, but this book makes me want to try each bar mentioned!

Two of my favorite activities, reading good books and hiking good trails, merge in this Oregon Coast hiking guide. Bonnie Henderson was raised in Portland, and lives in Eugene now. Not only does she know these trails, but she is also savvy to all the flora and fauna along the way. Her guide is organized by hikes along Oregon's North Coast, North-Central Coast, Central Coast, South-Central Coast, and South Coast, and also includes interesting information about, among other things, puffins (pp. 40-41), skunk cabbage (p. 51), bald eagles (p. 62), estuaries (p. 73) and silverspot butterflies (pp. 76-77).

I spent a week hiking many of the trails in this guide, including most of Henderson's own recommended favorites (pp. 26, 57, 96): Indian Beach to Ecola Point, Seaside Beach, Crescent Beach, Haystack Rock, Hug Point, and the Yachats 804 Trail. I especially liked the Cape Falcon and Cooks Ridge-Gwynn Creek loop trails. Rocky beaches. Loud waves. Waterfalls. Mossy trees. Old-growth forests. Foggy days. Muddy trails. The Oregon Coast is a hiker's heaven, and Henderson's wise, old trail guide contains some of heaven's best-kept secrets.

G. Merritt

Bonnie Henderson's hiking books are consistently good. This one highlights some lesser-known hikes along the Oregon Coast. My parents live on the coast, and many of these hikes were pleasant surprises to them. Difficulty is accurately noted. The author, an Oregon resident, really hikes all the trails in her books. This book would be a great gift for anyone living or travelling the Oregon Coast.

No entertainment assistant should be without the Gayot L.A. Restaurant guide. All of the assistants in my office use it and keep it on their desks. We refer to it as the "bible." On a daily basis, we need to come up with the best restaurants for important breakfasts and power lunches. A major part of my job is arranging such meals, and the Gayot guide always provides us with reliable suggestions. Everyone's satisfaction with the food, ambiance, and service at a restaurant I send them to is very important. Knowing that Gayot sends food critics to review each restaurant gives us all peace of mind - which is often hard to find in our busy work environment. We live by it, we swear by it, and we'd be at a loss without it!

I appreciate the frank and witty reviews in LA RESTAURANTS, and take comfort in knowing this is the only guidebook available that actually sends profesional critics in to review the food. Zagat is unreliable, relying only on questionnaires, to make their judgements on a restaurant. It has been proven to me on a number of occasions while using a Zagat guide that surveys don't take the place of a through review by a critic. I have been able to avoid paying lots of money on bad meals ever since I switched from Zagat and bought Gayot's LA RESTAURANTS. I keep a copy in my car, home, and office.

A recent resident of Venice, California, I looked out to the Santa Monica mountains from my second story window and wondered where the running trails were. I've bounced around LA over the past few years, running in Griffith Park, Fryman Canyon, Porter Ranch, among other routes, but these new mountains drew me to them.

How to find my way? I ran one morning at Will Rogers Park and asked someone about the trails that lured me away from the traffic and the people. The runner said: "Get Stan Swartz' book!" Thus armed, I searched a book store and found it quickly. It was exactly what I was searching for, similar in style to the wonderful book I had purchased years earlier which depicted all the trail running possibilities within New York City.

Now, eight weeks after placing third in my ritualistic 10K at Descanso Gardens, I leaf through the book almost every morning, wondering which route I will take on the weekend, building up my confidence with each page turn.What I find fascinating is that the descriptions of the routes, the distances, and benchmarks, the terrain, ALL MATCH THE REALITY. I know I am on the right trail; I know when I am half way through; I know when to turn left or right; the topographical maps give me an idea of the ups and downs. Now that I have completed several of the runs alone among this spectacular landscape, I inhale the spiritual aspect of running imbued by George Sheehan and combine it with the practical information provided by this book.

I look forward to trying out as many of the runs as I can, venturing out even to the longest ones at 13 miles. When I can, I will join the other runners on Sunday mornings. The three authors have given me a great gift: the ability to explore historical terrain with the eyes of a contemporary "critter"...a trail runner who feels at one with the wondrous varieties of Nature described so completely by those who have gone before me. Thank you.

This book has excellent information for the novice or seasoned trail runner. With it's topography of the trails, the newest runner can pick a trail that is not too difficult. Beautiful photographs.

Most hiking guides are simply lists of trails with driving directions and trail descriptions. Anyone with a map can write one of those, and they're fine if you just want some exercise.
This book is interesting even if you're not looking for a trail. There is a lot of information about the natural (and political) history. The author clearly understands that you will have a richer experience if you hit the trail with some appreciation of what you'll see (and hopefully want to protect).
I liked the the invitation to try "off-trail" hiking. I really enjoyed the authors opinions on the Forest Service. I'm tired of guides that avoid controversy in the interest of sales. I was reminded of Harvey Manning.

With so many hiking guides out there that seem like recycled knockoffs of the old classics, it's good to see one written by someone who actually knows and cares about this area. Good to see that Mountaineers Books hiking guides still have a pro-environment point of view. The author clearly has opinions, and isn't afraid to state them. In the introduction section alone he manages to say more interesting things about the forests, fish and wildlife of the Cascades than you'll find in many entire books. And it's nice to finally have the whole of Hwy. 2 covered in just one book; hopefully they will manage to get it protected.