Pacific

This is a beautiful book and very interesting view of the Missions...

It is wonderful if you are interested in California Missions.

Father Tupa's paintings provide a unique view of the missions and chart the physical and spiritual pilgrimage to the California missions. His works are presented here with over twenty oil paintings and over 40 watercolors interpreting California's past and the history of each mission. An Uncommon Mission accompanies a traveling exhibition of the same name.

This guide is packed with great information to get whatever it is you're looking for in San Francisco. I found the book to be user friendly, down to earth, and honest. Since I am a vinyl junkie, I was thrilled to look in the index and find the heading for "Record Stores". This guide was extremely useful when exploring "The Haight", my favorite area of The City. Bravo to the contributors, and to the Manic D production team, for this great Second Edition!

This guidebook is a wonderfull resource if you're just visiting or planing to stay awhile. Each section is written by a different person, with different interests and perspectives (bars, thrift stores, piercing, poetry readings, bookstores, etc.) It also has useful sections on Oakland and Berkeley. If you're thinking of moving to the "Bay Area", there are handy guides to housing and employment. It's a great book, and worth every penny!

In his two volume work on the UP, Klein devotes the first volume to the building of the railroad and the second volume to the operations and expansion - basically the next hundred years. There are a number of good books out there about the building of the UP. Klein is much better than any of the others that I have read in describing the finances of the railroad and particularly the ambiguities of the financial structure. Credit Mobilier was certainly not a straightforward vehicle for looting profits from an ongoing corporation a la Kozlowski or Ken Lay. These people took enormous risks; many of them ended up losing all their money. None of the people on the UP side (as opposed to the Central Pacific side) ended up making enormous fortunes.
Whereas Vol. 1 covers familiar territory well, Vol. 2 explores totally new ground. Operating the railroad for the first 25 years after it was "completed" (it actually didn't stop adding track until well into the 20th Century; not until the 1990s if you count mergers) was at least as difficult and impressive as was building the initial road. The difficulties of making this a profitable enterprise despite legal problems and government interference were enormous. These issues and the personalities of the leaders of the road are explained superbly. I wish there were more books like this about corporate growth and operation.

I found Klein's fantastic first volume on the history of the Union Pacific in the library of a neighboring town. Klein's history covers both the difficulties encountered in building the railroad and the financial/political scheming that went on back east in New York and Washington. After reading Klein's book, particularly with respect to the fraud and politicing, that one fully understands why railroads were feared and government regulation instituted. I strongly recommend this book to anyone interested in the building of the Transcontinental Railroad and/or early US railroad history. (PS: I also found Volume II to be an excellent continuation of Klein's work.)

Professor Klein deals with the turbulent early years with a grace and style not often seen in business history. I had the unique experiance of reading these books in the reverse order, ten years apart, but nothing was lacking in Volume One. Particularly sensitive treatment of the Gould years, and a very cohesive and in depth analysis of the Credit Mobilier fiasco. Klein writes very well; a strong point when dealing with high finance. Great book.

George has done an excellent job of photographing the entire UP roster for fans to enjoy. It also serves has a historical guide to Fallen Flag railroads consumed by UP through mergers.

George's main focus with this book has been to provide the reader with a photographic representation of every Union Pacific locomotive type that was on the roster in 1990. He used not only action and ground level shots to give a pictorial review but also down on roof top details that for a modler are simply gold. Since the view of most model trains is down on as they run on the layout you would think that magazine and book publishers would provide easy access to this information. Unfortunately most favor the 3/4 "wedgie" which does not show the horn, air conditioner, fan placement, etc. This book provides a very much needed remedy for those who model Union Pacific.

Roy G. Nielsen, uses a wealth of photographic images from The Pacific National Bank, photo collection and put's these images to words, the history of the original four sections of land, that would eventually become Seattle's-University District. Having grown-up in the University District in the late 1950's & early '60's, this book brings back several of the structures, that once used to line the "Ave" and other "U"-District arterials and side streets, including the house-I grew up in! The "U"-District will always be near and dear to me!

Author-Roy G. Nielsen, does a superb job of assembling a book, one of which is a pictorial history of the University District-neighborhood(formerly-Brooklyn)of Seattle, Washington-from the late 1800's to the 1970's; to one of a factual written history- from it's original platting of two sections of land, The Business district, to the number of properties that were razed,improved and or occupied and built upon by the University of Washington, beginning when the original campus moved from the Metropolitan tract-located in downtown Seattle in the 1860's, to it's new campus in 1890. Covers the Alaskan Yukon Pacific Exposition-held on the campus grounds of the University of Washington in 1909, of which a couple of original AYPE structures still exist! Very detailed in every respect, with many seldom seen photographs, derived from personal, archived business and museum collections. A must have!-if your an interested Seattle native or a University of Washington history buff!

This is a picturesque work which contains priceless photos
of the migrating Caribou, Musk Oxen and other rare animals.
There are spellbinding sites; such as, the Hubbard Glacier and
the Melt Water Pond. This work is "a must" for outdoor
enthusiasts and campers.

If you are a nature photographer and seeking inspiration this is the book to buy. If you are a traveler looking to visit alaska and need to know where to go this is a great book. Incredible photography that is really jaw dropping.

I would reccomend this book without hesitation.

This is a great book. I grew up in this area and spent many happy hours on these beaches. It truly is a great present to share with friends overseas and with family.

Nobody alive on earth today can adequately describe the magic that is the Waitakere Ranges -- a unique place on this planet, unrivaled in beauty anywhere at any price. Travel around the Ranges, either on foot or by automobile, and you will be enchanted, spellbound.

Because words are horribly inadequate tools to describe beauty, the Waitakere Ranges must be experienced to be believed. However, _Untamed Coast_ comes about as close as possible to doing this place justice.

A magical book, for a magical place.

This work is a splendid example of the new emphasis of the publisher on producing comprehensive works in a handy cheap format compared with the earlier broad brush treatments which covered too much in too little detail.
The new emphasis is on sets covering various national armed forces in as much detail as is available, consistent with the current purpose of the works in the series, which have evolved from an original emphasis on serving the military miniature maker market into works intended to enlighten the general reader in enough detail to satisfy the merely curious and to point the way to further reading.
Most of us, including myself, have little need for, or the patience to read, voluminous studies, often in foreign languages, covering many eras and nations. My main interest is in the US forces, their allies and their enemies in the twentieth century.
That said, these works should be purchased as presented, in sets within the series. Since they are produced as a set, the volumes cover only relevent parts of the general history and the clothing and individual equipment is covered as it appears in each period. The French Army, US Army, British Army, and Italian Army series all have three volumes, covering the major theatres and time periods of the war. The German set has five.
If you want more detail on Army clothing then see Shelby Stanton's World War II work reviewed on this site. Unfortunatly I have yet to find a comprehensive study of US individual equipment which is not riddled with errors of omission, misidentification, and unproved speculation. Though a great exception is Scott Meadow's work on holsters which is more than most want to know and is expensive to boot. Not for the general reader.
If you want an introduction to the fascinating variety of clothing and equipment of the forces covered, this set is for you.

This book is part of a set covering the US Army of WW II. The set covers the clothing, individual equipment, small and heavy arms, vehicles, and campaigns.
Of course, much more detailed information can be found in other works such as Shelby Stanton's definitive work on clothing but a complete collection covering these items would cost several hundred dollars at least and still not cover everything in detail.
Compared to the earlier volumes published by Osprey, it is an A compared to a D. The other volumes were superficial and suffered either from trying to cover too much or too long a period or written by authors who simply were not familiar enough with the period covered.
This is written by a knowledgable author and is superbly illustrated by the magnificent Mike Chappell. Drawing on multitudinous sources, these three volumes will satisfy those who want to know what grandaddy looked like in the war and give a useful overview for those not needing more detailed knowledge.
As a long time specialist in the period, I learned things and recommend this highly.
See my reviews of the other two volumes in this set.

I just love this book. I stumbled on to it while browsing the library shelf and knew I had to own it. The recipes are great, the pictures are beautiful, and the book is well laid out by country. I've been to SE Asia, and now every time I prepare a meal from this book, I look at the pictures while cooking, and enjoy the wonderful memories of Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand, where I first sampled many of the dishes. This book would make a perfect gift for someone who has traveled SE Asia and loves the food. It was my gift to me.

I lived in Bangkok for 3 years and have tried every Thai cookbook in print--this is the BEST. Easy easy easy and authentic, with beautiful illustrations and descriptions of food from Thailand, Burma, Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia, this makes a great gift. You will use this cookbook all the time.

Each story reaches out to the reader to feel and see the experiences of the enlisted man and his shipmates. After reading this book, and each enlisted man's story, the reader can't help but feel a sense of pride and awe at the bravery and heroism of these men. Each chapter is written with an individual's experiences and memories accompanied by historical material to compliment their story. A must read for any WWII or naval history enthusiast.

This compilation of experiences opens a door that has been almost closed. You will read and share the experiences of enlisted men who smelled the cordite and blood. Related in a manner that dispels any notion that they are seeking an egoists desire for recognition. These men were there and they are telling it, "Like it was."