Pacific

I was also 18 years old when I was sent to the Pacific and found everything that Sy Kahn wrote. Now at 71 years old I never thougth I was to find so realistic book and brought back so painful and glorius memories. This is my first war book I read and I do not regreted. I did realy enjoy it.

I am the daughter of one of the book's character's (Rafael "Sancho" Sanchez). It was so interesting to read about not only my father's exploits, but the others in the company as well. It brought back many memories of the many stories my father use to tell me about his war experiences. It also brought a real perspective of the trials of war to someone who was born eleven years after it ended. Thank you Sy for bringing me and my family a part of my father we never would have known if you had not told your story.

I have reviewed the 5th Edition of "Bicycle Rides in Orange County," published January 2001, by Don and Sharron Brundidge. I can't think of a better guide for all types of riders. There is a complete description of each ride along with maps and contour plots. Rides are rated by many criteria: difficulty, scenery, distance workout, elevation workout, bike route quality (exclusive bike trail, separated striped bike lane, signed non-separated bike lane, and none of the above), sight-seeing attractions, and nature trails. This guide added 16 rides to the 1988 edition, making a total of 58. The guides also indicate parks, restrooms, water, special points of interest, and occasional eateries. I did all but the Orange County Century in the 1988 edition and so far have done 10 of the 16 new rides in the 2001 edition. Also I noticed that some of the original 42 rides have had revisions that I want to try also.

I have checked the distances and elevation gains with my own GPS and Avocet vertical gain watch and found the guides to be quite accurate. Options are described for shortening certain rides. Another feature I liked was the description of the connectivity between near-by rides for those riders who want to do multiple rides in a day's outing. I can't think of a more complete guide. When I finish the 16 added rides in Orange County, I want to start on the additional rides in the latest revision to "Bicycle Rides in Los Angeles County."

The book provides 51 on-road trip descriptions (58 total rides) in Orange County. Rides vary from those for short-length family trips on separated bike paths, many longer exploratory and workout trips for more experienced riders on various quality bike routes, and a few "gut-buster" tours for the most physically fit and motivated bikers. There are over 800 one-way miles of biking described. Included are the Orange County "Grandaddy" and a county century ride. Trip domains include cities, beaches, parks, canyons, valleys, mountains, rivers, harbors and lakes.
Included is a master map to show ride locations within the county and a master matrix that identifies ride location, level of difficulty, route composition (percentage of route on bike trail, signed bike lanes or open roadway) and a general trip characterization (i.e., Is the trip scenic? Is it in a natural setting? Are there landmarks and/or sightseeing attractions along the way? Is this a mileage and/or elevation workout?).
Each trip description contains a detailed trip map and elevation-distance profile and scenic or character-interest photographs are scattered throughout the book. The route maps note the location of water sources, landmarks, sightseeing attractions and campsites among other points of interest.
Condensed Table of Contents:
Introduction
How to Use This Book
Trip Organization
Trip Description/Terminology
General Biking Considerations
Orange County Trips
-- The Coast (16 trips)

-- River Trails (Rivers/Creeks) (4 trips)
-- Inland (12 trips)
-- The "Big Guys" (Long-distance Rides) (3 trips)
-- New Trips (16 Trips)
Index

Having managed to track down a copy of Big Fish and Blue Water on the internet - my hopes were dashed when I was told "Will not ship internationally" - one of the problems of living in England I suppose!

This is the definitive book on this subject by an author with wide-ranging first hand knowledge. Extremely well researched, with many years of interviews covering historical fishing in the Pacific. The photographs are spectacular!!

The correct title is, Black Ducks and Salmon Bellies: An Ethnography of Old Harbor and Ouzinkie, Alaska.

This book is available now! The exclusive distributor is not the Donning Company but the Alutiiq Museum & Archaeological Repository, 215 Mission Road, Suite 101, Kodiak, Alaska 99615. 907-486-7004. e-mail: katie@alutiiqmuseum.com

Lynn Schooler is destined for greatness. Anyone who enjoys reading will love this book. It's a dark horse sleeper out of the naturalist/adventure genre and Schooler is yet to be a well known author, but The Blue Bear has 'best seller' written all over and inside of it.
The people he guided are a lucky lot because this book is going to change all that.

I picked up a copy of Lynn Schooler's book after skimming over the back cover, where the words "Alaska", "outdoors" and "Michio Hoshino" grabbed my attention. As a working photographer who grew up in Alaska (my present location is in Maine) I didn't hesitate to buy this book on the spot, even though I had never heard of it. I'm glad I bought it, for this is one of the best books I've read in awhile on ANY subject, and I do read a lot.

Yes, the book is about living Alaska, communing with nature, and wildlife photography, all of which interest me a great deal. But "The Blue Bear" is about a great deal more than that, touching on themes of friendship and heartbreaking loss, grieving and healing, insecurity and inspiration, hard work and personal reward...in short, an exceptional story of a man trying to find his way in the world and to understand his place in it. It is so well written and vividly presented that it goes beyond merely making you feel as though you were there; I think Lynn Schooler's gift (one of many, apparently) is making people feel almost as if they have met the people he writes about, visited the places he describes, and experienced along with him some of the joy and awe of nature, as well as the periods of pain, loneliness and isolation he so openly discusses in a quietly melancholic way.

The book is an interesting mixture of all of those aforementioned elements, sprinkled with interesting forays in Alaskan biology, history, culture, oceanography, the ups and downs of running a guide service, and the challenges, rewards, and hardships inherent with living in a place like Alaska. "The Blue Bear" is a book that defies categorization in many ways because it seems to be about so many different things, but Lynn Schooler writes with a clarity and depth of perspective which prevents the book from seeming trivial or glossed over. Some people are not patient with books which plunge into a section or chapter that may or may not relate directly to the underlying narrative thread. I for one do not mind these "offshoot branches" in books, so long as they hold my interest, as is the case with this book. A casual reader might think for a moment that Schooler is merely grandstanding and showing off his vast knowledge of his subjects, flexing his outdoor experience and intellect....but look just a bit deeper.... it becomes readily apparent that this is a writer who is unafraid of questioning himself or freely admitting that he is not always correct, who openly acknowledges and discusses his own faults (and we all have them) in a candid and refreshing way.

Reading this book also made me wish that I had the opportunity to meet Michio Hoshino, the late wildlife photographer whose work is respected worldwide. This is another testament to Lynn Schooler's writing. In all probability, my trails may have intersected with Michio's at different times during my years in Fairbanks while attending UAF and working on photography symposiums as a volunteer, but sadly, I never had the chance to meet the man whose work I admire very much, and worse yet, I never will. Here again, Lynn Schooler succeeds in relating his personal accounts and anecdotes of his time spent with Michio, a man who seemingly befriended just about everyone he ever met while bringing out the best in people and setting an inspiring example of living life to the fullest.

If you are even remotely interested in any of the topics or issues I have touched upon in this review, don't hesitate to buy a copy of this book. I'm betting that something in "The Blue Bear" will stay with you long after you have finished reading it.

I was at the Anchorage International Airport on my way back from Kotzebue, Alaska and I saw this book. The cover caught my eye; the contents were impressive. This book gives a lot of useful hints and details for building log homes. I liked it so much I bought one and sent a friend a copy. Thanks for a well-written book!

I have read at least a dozen of the latest log cabin building books. Unfortunately, most of them do not go into enough detail on the scribe-fit building technique. This one, however, is the first that really does. This book includes many USEFUL pictures and doesn't ramble on about unimportant subjects. This book is focused, to-the-point, and in the amount of detail that is necessary. As a result, this is a good companion to any other log cabin building books that you may already have, since it fills in the missing details that the other books seem to overlook. I definitely recommend it.

I first came across these books traveling to Europe and I own almost 20 of these guides. This is a massive 630 page guide suitable to the large State of California, a state that has many places to explore and visit.

It has a comprehensive description of almost every area of California. An alternate book to consider is something like the Frommer guide that is about 700 pages. I prefer this book. Both have excellent maps and guides including street maps of San Francisco. They give lots of local information.

But many guides including the Frommer guide are a disappointment because they have almost no photographs. A picture is worth a 1000 words. So if you are buying just one book, then buy this book.

The photos are in bright stunning color and leap from the pages. There are history time lines, references to historical and political development, architecture, museums, surfing, culture, restaurants, places to stay. Very complete. Just a great book.

Highly recommend and makes for a good souvenir.

Jack in Toronto

I am never the type of hard working traveller who would dig into lengthy travel books to find out everything. I found this book very useful for me. It's all in color (so, it's a pleasure to read, though that makes it heavy), and it has great maps which highlights all attractions in addition to detailed maps in the end of the book. That keeps me focus on what I want in a very easy way, instead of searching for where that particular attraction is.

I went to San Francisco, and places as far as 3 hours driving to north, and 4 hours driving to south. For San Francisco part, this book even included different architecture style, which greatly enhanced my experience. As for others, most of the places they describe, they include pictures also. This helps me to know what to expect.

Though I don't like it to be so heavy, it's my favorite among my collection.

This book has beautiful photography with clear, concise information and descriptions of California's very best wineries. These are the wineries that are not only known for the high quality of their wines but for their beautiful gardens, architecture, tours, tastings, and art exhibits. The format is easy to follow. It features the counties of Napa, Sonoma, and the undiscovered but notable wine country of Mendocino, showing each winery alphabetically. Additional sidebars give phone numbers, driving directions, web sites, hours of operation, and a quick-reference of each facility's wine varieties and specialties. The mix of wineries makes for a unique wine country holiday. Small family-owned cellars are listed as well as the familiar national brands. It's the best book of its kind that I've seen and the only such book found in hardcover. Travel guides don't get much better than this.

We recently visited the lovely Napa and Sonoma valleys in Northern
California to do some wine tasting. With limited time to spend at each winery, we turned to this new hardcover guide to plan an itinerary. The book's images of each winery by master photographer Robert Holmes are striking; the information and maps are extremely helpful and accurate. Each winery is profiled within a two page spread and includes a convenient sidebar of facts about their specialty wines, tasting fees, tour and special event information, driving directions, and nearby attractions, Armed with winery phone numbers and websites we were able to call ahead to arrange for private, behind-the-scene tours. The book reads like an insiders' guide to this spectacular region. It not only lists the big "must see" destination wineries like Robert Mondavi, Beringer and Chateau St. Jean Winery but also directs readers to numerous little-known and charming family operations-like Raymond Burr Vineyards and Benziger Family Winery-that are well worth a visit. The unifying theme here is that all of the wineries profiled in this book are both recognized for making some of the world's finest wines and for being exceptional visitor destinations. Whether you're planning a trip to Northern California's wine country, as we did, or you just have a love for colorful and unique travel guides, I highly recommend this book. Even after returning home, we continue to use it as a reference of our wonderful trip to the Golden State.

There are directions and other info for finding and visiting lighthouses. They do not always show all lights for a given area. The photos are all color. I own 3 of these books. There are not many other guide books out there so if you are looking for guide books these are good to have...

I am a lighthouse lover and this book is the best refence book for lighthouses of California. It leaves very little out and is quick and easy to read. Perfect for the coffe table or bedside table. I recommend this whole line of lighthouse books to everyone.

A marvellous book, which is a terrific companion to more wordy books about the social and economic history of southern California in particular.

I was given this by an LA friend on a recent visit. I had read Mike Davis and Norman Klein and a slew of LA noir fiction. This book puts into pictorial splendour the boosterism that made sunny CA the honeypot it was/is.

The reproductions of posters are of marvellous quality in a book so affordable. It makes a great souvenir, different to much of the coffee table books or mass produced souvenirs. It is a thoughtful collection that would also delight any serious student of California's social history.

As the short introduction says 'Rarely has one geographic region been the focus of such intense visual interest as the state of California' This well produced (and inexpensive) paperback manages to capture the feel of the new Eden. The pictorial material is mainly from the 1930s to 1950s and includes a wide range of printed ephemera (a Sunkist orange wrapper to NBC Radio City, Hollywood, Studio Tour brochure for example) and I liked the nine examples of three-dimensional maps, unfortunately shown too small to really appreciate the detail. All the favorites of the State have a showing, the Giant Redwoods, Death Valley, Hollywood, Dude Ranches, San Francisco etc. The images are illustrative rather than photographic and this is why I think the book works so well, you can see how commercial artists have been allowed portray California as big, bold and bright.