2 comments about London's War: A Traveler's Guide to World War II.

1. Well first off, it's TWENTY walks not eight! Either way, I can't rave enough about this book. I bought it as a Mother's Day gift, and was leafing through it waiting for the mircrowave to bing, and have now read it cover to cover TWICE: first for the little boxed tidbitty things on each page, all the human interest details, and then for the rest of it, which turned out to be ALL human interest stuff. It's written about things you'd really want to KNOW, like how people felt and how they survived and how things are pronounced, and where the bathrooms are. It made me think how much dignity Londoners had, and how brave they were. I wasn't even planning to go to London and I still found the book fascinating. I guess that'd be my only complaint, actually. Now I want to go but I can't afford to! I'm writing this review because I just signed on to amazon to buy a copy for myself (not as a gift this time!), and thought I'd spread the word. Enjoy!!



2. I took this book w/ me to London last summer and spent time on some of the walks the author suggests. I wish I had had time to do them all as I found her guidebook to be an excellent source, highly enjoyable, lots of side notes and comments, with good maps.
   
   When I returned I recommended it to a professor who was going over to teach for the fall semester. He reported that he and his wife thoroughly enjoyed it as well. So, if you're a history buff, WW II or not, you'll enjoy this guide.

2 comments about Martha's Vineyard Houses and Gardens.

1. MARTHA'S VINEYARD: HOUSES AND GARDENS ALLOWS THE READER TO EFFORTLESSLY VIEW A MOST UNIQUE ISLAND. THE WELL THOUGHT OUT TEXT COMPLIMENTS AND HELPS ONE ENJOY EVEN MORE THE BEAUTY OF MARTHA'S VINEYARD. LISL DENNIS'S PHPOTOGRAPHS CIRCUMNAVIGATE THE ISLAND IN PICTORIAL SPLENDOR. THE AUTHORS OF THIS WORK SHOULD BE COMMENDED FOR THEIR ABILITY TO CAPTURE THE BEAUTY AND ESSENCE OF A VERY SPECIAL PLACE CALLED MARTHA'S VINEYARD.



2. This was the most beautifully written and photgraphed decorating book I have seen. I own dozens of such books, and I seldom read all of the text, but I read this one from cover to cover. It made me want to lounge in the gardens and explore the house. I highly recommend this book for lovers of home decorating and gardening books. It is exquisitely warm and funny!

4 comments about Time and Tide: A Walk Through Nantucket (Crown Journeys).

1. I'm one of the author's three sons, so I won't pretend to be unbiased. But listen, this book is great, empirically speaking. Dad light-heartedly provides a fun and fascinating window into the small island so many of us love.



2. Frank Conroy speaks from the heart. Nantucket Island has gone through some dramatic changes in
   the last 30 years, most not for the better. For some of us that still live here, it`s wonderful to be able to read and remember those times when the Island felt like a place of sanctuary from all else. The stories give the reader the felling that the Grey Lady`s Skirt has been torn but her sole has not been touched.
   Thank you Mr. Conroy
   A Chef from the Rock



3. I just started this book this morning and am almost done. It made me nostalgic for my old home, the way it used to be, yes, but for those of us who have had to leave Nantucket for one reason or another, it will always be a wonderful place. Reading it I feel like I am on a wonderful visit home. It's one of those books you don't want to end but at the same time can't put down!



4. Quite coincidentally, the second consecutive book I've read by an author with the last name of Conroy, the first the overstuffed The Prince of Tides by Pat Conroy. This is one of a series of slim books on the micro-geography of famous places:
   
   Hallowed Ground: A Walk at Gettysburg (Crown Journeys)
   Washington Schlepped Here: Walking in the Nation's Capital (Crown Journeys)
   
   that I've read and reviewed that are not exhaustive or encyclopedic, but instead personal and intimate.
   
   Conroy describes the small and shrinking (literally and figuratively) Nantucket Island on which he has spent some time as a near-native year-round resident, and where he still owns property.

No comments about Maine Mountains Trail Map 1: Baxter State Park-Katahdin/Rangeley-Stratton/Gulf Hagas.

No comments about Maine Places, Maine Faces.

2 comments about 50 Hikes in the Ozarks: Walks, Hikes and Backpacks in the Mountains, Wildernesses and Geological Wonders of Arkansas and Missouri (50 Hikes).

1. Good rough location map. Good spreadsheet on hikes. 1 for Mo and 1 for AR but I added page numbers to find the hike rather than use his hike numbers. I only checked some AK hikes but the MO hikes are of the same caliber. The hikes are in the north west part of AR in a tight cluster so you can stay at a central location. They range from 1 to 12 miles. Entering the state you can pick up flyers for the more public state park hikes further south. Directions to trailheads are good but sometimes you may have to ask for help. This is a function of location and nothing to do with lack of detail. GPS Coordinates are listed for each place. The hikes appear to be at more remote locations tnen are mentioned in some other MO and AR hiking books. Each hike has a black and white picture of a feature found on the hike.
   This is a worthwhile book to have and is in the same style and detail as his other books.



2. This is a very handy little book to own if you are into the hiking thing at any level. I say this, but always remember that not any one book can meet all needs. I certainly would not use this book, and this book alone to plan my entire book. I have hiked many of the trails; both in Missouri and Arkansas over the years, and can say for certain that the information in this volume is pretty accurate. That being said.....
   
   As the title would indicate, this is a book dealing with 50 hiking trails located in the Missouri and Arkansas Ozarks. It should be noted that a few of these trails are outside the area that traditionally are known as the Ozarks, some of those located in Eastern Missouri being the most notable. Each of the trails is given an entire chapter and one black and white photo to represent some aspect of the trail. The author has included total distances, hiking time, vertical rise, rating (easy, mild, difficult, etc.), and maps with GPS coordinates. The author has done a pretty good job of describing the trail, identifying and specific difficulties and letting the hiker know the nature of the facilities at each location. It should be noted here that the author's distances will differ somewhat from government and local literature. I would highly recommend that you go by the author's figures rather than the government figures as they are much more accurate. I would also recommend that you pick up local literature at the site of the trail before you begin the hike, ignoring the distances, but paying close attention to other trail tips and camp locations, if applicable.
   
   Some of the location directions of some of these trails are a bit general and I do recommend you purchase a map of the local area, or at least a good, detailed state map. The author's directions are very accurate, but due to the nature of Arkansas and Missouri roads, it is good to have all the information available possible.
   
   All in all, this is a useful book to have around if you are contemplating hiking the area. Most of these hikes are an absolute delight. Do keep in mind that some are quite difficult and you should take heed to the author's comments concerning these difficulties. Other trails are quite easy...all, easy or difficult are worth the effort. I am giving this one four stars as I feel some of the directions as to actually getting to the location of the trail are a bit confusing. Also, I have some mild issues with the author's opinion as to what constitutes the difference between "difficult, easy, moderate, etc." This is a pretty subjective area. Other than that, this is a fine book.

1 comments about New England Birds (Pocket Naturalist - Waterford Press).

1. A very handy size and has great pictures for identification when you are out backpacking or just a walk in the woods or fields.
   \

5 comments about A Knight in Shining Armor.

1. Abandoned by her lover, Dougless Montgomery find herself alone in an old English church asking God to send her a Knight in Shining Armor, suddenly a sixteenth century knight appears and Dougless' life is never the same. I loved this book. I had it sitting around for a couple of years not wanting to read it because A) it was a romance and B) it involved time travel. Boy was I wrong. A wonderful story that has you laughing and sighing all the way through.



2. I try to stick with a book unless it's absolutely horrendous so I stuck with this one, and at the end I was sorry I did.
   I couldn't identify with Dougless, the heroine because she, first of all, stuck with her bad boyfriend so long, then second, she even *thought* of going back to him! Lastly, I was SO disappointed at the ending. Everyone said this was her best book? I probably won't read the others then!



3. This is the first romance novel I've read that involved time travel and other impossible things.
   
   I read this when i was 13...16 years ago. I still remember the scenes (like Dougless performing Broadway tunes for the Lady/Earl's mother) and showering in the fountain... or Nicholas traipsing around the english countryside in his armor. I must have read it more than 10 times. Its truly riveting!
   
   Some people were harsh in judging this book... i like to think that Deveraux is a realist with her characterizations, plots and devices, and in the end, a big sappy romantic. She even believes in souls meeting forward, backwards and reincarnation.
   
   The best part is, she made me believe it too! :) LOVE CONQUERS ALL!!!!!!
   
   If you can only read 5 romance novels in your life, this has GOT TO BE one of them.



4. I laughed the whole way through this book. I wish it were made into a movie. But then again, the movie world would destroy it. A must read, you wont regret it. Thank you Jude Deveraux!



5. I read this novel after I read "Legend" and I fell in love with it. After reading Legend, I almost thought I'd be disappointed with Deveraux's next novel because Legend was so amazing. But I was far from it. " A knight in Shining Armor" keeps you on your toes, you do not want to put the book down. You fall in love with th characters and you root for good things to happen to them. You absolutely learn to hate Robert with all your being.
   Thats good writing in my book, if you can feel like you know the characters. I also like how Deveraux has this way of tying all the characters and plot together. You are brillant Jude Deveraux and a major inspiration to me.

5 comments about Maine: The Seasons.

1. I recently purchased this book as I am about to move to New England and I am a working photographer. I must say, Mr. Lester's photographs are wonderful and the writing accompanies the images very well, making this a very nice book indeed. I am continually amazed at the quality (and variety) of light in Mr. Lester's photographs - I think I'm going to like this place. I like this book and would recommend it to others who are interested in travel/photo books related to the Pine Tree State. If I had any criticism at all regarding this book, it might be with the title itself. There seems to be a heavy emphasis on images from Deer Island and Stonington and surrounding environs. The title of the book , "Maine: The Seasons" might suggest a broader area of coverage. Maine is a big state - and it's great to see a photographer working in his own backyard, so to speak, but a more specific title reference may have been appropriate as many areas of Maine do not make appearances here. But this point is minor, and I digress.... overall I found this to be a fine book and a solid purchase. Cheers!



2. On the recommendation of a friend, my wife and I stumbled into a photo gallery in Deer Isle, Maine, last week during our vacation (we are from New York) to see the work of Terrell Lester, not even aware Knopf had recently published this book. We were, in short, completely blown away by his photos, all of which, and more, are collected in this remarkable book, along with four essays of varying interest. Lester's photos are like fine art, to be specific, like the best of the Hudson River School of painters back in the 1800s who created such vivid landscapes, saturated with reds and blues and yellow (and that's just in the sky). His photos of islands, mountains, rocks, lakes, surf, trees and spectacular blueberry fields blazing red in autumn are rich with emotion. They deserve to be, and in fact are, on museum walls. For the most part, they are reproduced well in "Maine: The Seasons," but in this case, you can't tell a book by its cover-- a wonderful (but rather too typical for a Maine book) photo of a father and a son heading off to work in their lobster boat. You won't be disappointed.



3. While the photography is great, it was limited to only a couple areas of Maine. I was hoping for more small town, quaint images. The only town featured was one that's not even on the map.



4. Stunning photographs and poetic/romantic writing. Makes me wish I had gone to Maine (during the summer of course!) while I was in college in New Jersey. This is a special book and it left me wanting more.



5. The photography exhibited here is quite good - several vibrant images of the landscape of coastal Maine in each of its seasons. What I didn't like is, as another reviewer pointed out, it is limited in that it only explores a few areas of Maine (namely Stonington, Acadia National Park, and Deer Isle). What about Western Maine and Portland area? Not covered. Overall not a bad concept (the writing is average) but could have been a lot better.

1 comments about The London Scene: Six Essays on London Life.

1. I enjoy reading about London and this book just fit the bill.