5 comments about The Many Faces of Mata Ortiz.

1. Almost 40 years ago Juan Quesada from the village of Mata Ortiz in Chihuahua singlehandedly revived Casa Grande style pottery. This book is a beautifully illustrated account of his success, along with the other artists of the village who learned from him. Becoming familiar with these artists should lay to rest the notion held by many Americans that Mexican imports are second class. These paper-thin pots are as beautiful as any you will ever see. This book has color photographs of many of the potters from Mata Ortiz as well as pictures of their pots. There is information on how the pots are made-- they are all built by hand from native materials, painted with brushes made from the artists' children's hair and fired over cow dung.

   The book has a lot of interesting details-- for instance, when the Pope visited Mexico a few years ago, he was given three of these magnificent pots. Another fascinating tidbit is that one of every seven citizens of this village makes these pots. They have gone from doing manual labor to creating works of art.

   Owning this book is the next best thing to owning a Mata Ortiz pot.




2. A wonderful collection of photographs combined with dialoge about this remote village in Mexico. It describes the journey to get there, then details the lives of the talented people who live there. The photogtaphy is outstanding. A must for any person collecting or thinking of collecting pottery from this village.



3. This is a great book for all that are curious about Mata Ortiz pottery and the people who make it. If you want to start collecting, it's a great book to have for a reference source. All artists mentioned in this book are of high caliber, as good, some even better than the Native American potters of the Southwest. At this time, these wares are also less expensive and affordable to most people. Hopefully they will be a good investment for the future.
   
   Susan Moesch



4. "The Many Faces of Mata Ortiz" is a treasure trove of information about the treasures that are the Mata Ortiz people and pottery. It is well laid-out, well written, and well...wonderful!! The only thing that would make my copy better are autographs by Juan Quezada himself and every other potter in the book.
   
   Unfortunately for whatever reason, Juan's son Alvaro is not featured in the book. He is indeed an exceptional artist.
   
   I was able to meet Alvaro and Juan Quezada in Nov 2006 in their family gallery in Mata Ortiz and found them and their entire family to be humble friendly and genuinely thrilled that people love their wonderful creations.
   
   If you have not had the opportunity to visit Mata Ortiz, "The Many Faces of Mata Ortiz" will inspire you to go. If you have, it will make you pine for it and it's people.



5. We just visited Mata Ortiz, and it is great to be able to connect all the faces and stories with the beautiful objects these humble artists create.

2 comments about A Sense of Place, a Sense of Time.

1. J.B. Jackson's reflections drawn from his many years' work in landscape architecture make a wonderful read for any interested in the burgeoning category of 'place' studies. Free of postmodernese yet relevant to contemporary sensibilities, his book 'A Sense of Place, A Sense of Time' is an informative, warm and welcome survey of issues he's encountered in a life in the profession.



2. the book arrived quiclky and I'm happy with it nevertheless it as some underlined sentences (used books are usually like this) but it's quite ok.

5 comments about Lonely Planet Costa Rica.

1. My friend said he has loaned this book to six people, all of whom have returned from Costa Rica, ecstatic and safe. This book is good luck... I said write to the author to tell him, and he said, "No, this is a really popular book, he gets hundreds of emails every week." I thought I'd try anyway.



2. Once again, Lonely Planet delivers a thorough guide for travellers heading into an unknown destination. The book covers popular destinations as well as providing the history of the country and highlighting wildlife that is unique to the region. The book is broken up by region so it is easy to reference as you travel throughout the country. The restaurant guide is so thorough it included a bakery that we saw at a remote village in the jungle only accessible by boat. And the review was right on! I will definitely keep this for my next trip and look to Lonely Planet when venturing somewhere new.



3. Although the overall impression of the book is positive (so the 3 stars...) I could not find ANY hotel still close to the price range listed for them, not to say that some of them are now defunct (restaurants included). But what I found worse were the low-planning content of the proposed routes (I eventually started one of them and had to remodel it on-the-fly for the loss of time it would cause me) and the misguided information on some attractions (take Las Baulas National Park for example: it has NO touristic structure besides the beach itself, being mostly a scientific facility for the preservation of turtles, but is currently being sold - in a unethical way, with thousand of unfulfilled promises - by local guides who in fact make you pay USD28 for just a night on the beach. The books says something about dozens of turtles coming EVERY NIGHT to the beach, which is totally false if not impossible, providing free-but-wrong advertising for those unethical guides and not helping at all the buyer of the book).



4. This is a great book and highly useful if you are travelling throughout Costa Rica. Much of the information is highly accurate and the guides for day trips, etc are practical.



5. I found Paige Penland's version of Lonely Planet's Costa Rica Guide to be better than the more recent version. Her writing is always such a good read - she's the Queen of Travel Writing!

5 comments about Live Better South Of The Border In Mexico: Practical Advice For Living And Working (Live Better South of the Border in Mexico).

1. Please, if you are moving to Mexico just to take advantage of cheaper costs...Reality might hit you in the face. Also, there is still a lot of prejudices against Americans. The book does a good job in describing the conditions of living and the infrastructure, but don't get too excited about actually living there and building a sustainable investment. The way the laws are set up do not favor foreigners. The best advice: stay in America



2. Mike's subtitle says it all. The book really is chock full of practical advice for living and working in Mexico. It's not a "Come on down, you'll just love it," tempter. He gets very specific about the subjects those considering relocating are and should be interested in.
   In addition to being knowledgeable and accurate, this is a 'fun' read.



3. If anyone was thinking of moving to mexico, unless you were homeless, this book is dispicable. What a downer.



4. Usefull information about living and traveling in Mexico,entertaining and informative



5. The information in this book is succinct and very helpful for people who are considering relocating to Mexico. I like it so much that I give it away as gifts.

5 comments about Kingbird Highway: The Biggest Year in the Life of an Extreme Birder.

1. Kenn Kaufman began birding at an early age, and as a young teenager he hid his "geeky" habit from his friends. Eventually, as he became older, he realized that there was a birding fraternity and he began to bird with others who loved it as much as he did. At 16, with his parents' blessing, he dropped out of school and began doing cross-country birding by hitchiking around the country. His knowledge of birds grew and his contacts with other birders increased. In 1973 he decided to go for a Big Year, that is a year in which he attempted to break the record for most birds seen in a year. The pace of Kaufman's quest was amazing and he relates his adventures in an interesting and down-to-earth style. Towards the end of his Big Year, Kaufman begins to question his own motives for building up his list and his introspection brings a new maturity to him and his methods of birding. This is a great book for any bird enthusiast.



2. This is a good book, but not what I expected. It's about a specific time in birding and America. This makes Kenn Kaufman's experience unique. This was during the "early days" of birding and bird listers. There was not the instantaneous information of the location of rare species we have now. If you are interested in birding, the search for rare bird species, or the effort to see bird species out of their normal range, I would recommend this book.



3. Written many years after the fact, this book is well worth reading many years after the fact. Kingbird Highway is an autobiography, a travelogue, and a `where-to-bird' guide for 1973. It is a tale of life, liberty, and the pursuit of birds. Kingbird, alias Kenn Kaufman drops out of high school to pursue his dream (obsession) of seeing more birds in a single year than anyone had ever seen before. There are several catches to his liberty and pursuit of birds. He must see the birds north of Mexico, a technicality that affects his dream. He has almost no money, so he does cheapest Big Year ever with the lowest dollar to bird ratio ever. He spends only about $1000 by hitchhiking everywhere and living off Little Friskies in a can of cold soup for dinner. Kingbird Highway provides a wonderful map of where to bird even now over forty years later. For example, the Brownville Texas Municipal dump is still the place to see Tamaulipas crows. Read in conjunction with a field guide, Kingbird Highway opens a world of birds, their habits, and habitats that might otherwise escape notice.



4. As a birder, I empathized with Kaufman's desire to see rare birds in Aleutians, explore the unknown, and experience the American wilderness through the binocular lens. For those of us who might be apprehensive about dropping out of high school and hitchhiking around the country pursuing our dreams, Kaufman makes it easy. He does it for us.
   
   This is the story of a young kid who was obsessed with birds. He left behind a life in small-town American in pursuit of his dreams (meaning to see new birds), and made a niche for himself in the then budding birdwatching sub-culture. On virtually no budget, he managed to navigate his way all around the United States, learning and growing as he traveled, making new friends and seeing wildlife all the while.
   
   His writing is gripping. The excitement that he feels in seeing each new bird, meeting Roger Tory Peterson, or having a car stop to pick him up after having walked for hours on a roadside is very real to the reader. This journey transcends the birds that define it, and background discussion make this book accessible to birder and non-birder alike.
   
   Perhaps most importantly, Kaufman provides an unconventional model for success. Not everyone has to go through the motions of securing a college degree, going to graduate school, or finding an entry level position someplace and begin climbing the corporate ladder. I wouldn't condone abandoning education, but think that Kaufman's case is useful in that it shows that self-education outside of the classroom can be just as (or more) informative and fulfilling.
   
   Kaufman's journey takes him through the full range of human emotion, introduces him to people from all walks of life, and opens up a natural world that a young, lonely kid in Kansas could only dream about. Mixing in some self-deprecating humor, Kaufman's book is both thrilling, and relaxing.



5. Kingbird Highway is a must read for every birder. It is a real adventure story; complete with life and death struggles! If Kenn Kaufman's life work wasn't birding - he could easily be a writer. Do yourself a favor and read this book.Kingbird Highway: The Biggest Year in the Life of an Extreme Birder

5 comments about The Grand: The Colorado River in the Grand Canyon a Photo Journey.

1. This book has page after page of remarkable, vibrant photographs. From the extraordinary landscape, to the animals that inhabit the surroundings, to people running wild rapids--this book offers more than just a glimpse into the Grand Canyon. An absolute must-have for everyone-- be it nature lovers, river runners, or if you just want to admire the scenery, I can highly recommend this book!



2. What a treat it is to read this book! Page after page of glorious photographs beckon with their beauty. The pictures capture a wide range of scenes--from the river to its vegetation, animals and canyons. A thoroughly enjoyable book to be read and reread.



3. This is a book I highly recommend to all my friends who are contemplating a trip down the Colorado in the Grand Canyon. After spending two weeks on a raft trip in the Grand Canyon, this is one of the best guides I have seen about the trip, complete with pictures.



4. I recently purchased this book for my boss who when white water rafting in the Grand Canyon. He loved the book, he related to alot of the pictures and was happy to relive the moment again.



5. Wonderful photos and descriptions. I felt that I had visually rafted the Grand Canyon and since I'm going to do just that in June of '08 I'm more pumped up having seen some of the sights I'll see in person and so lets go rafting.

2 comments about Carreteras de Mexico (Mexico Tourist Map by Guia Roji).

1. Excellent map...used it to navigate over 2,600 miles in Mexico...and very pleased it was accurate and easy to read.



2. It came when they said it would, in perfect condition. We will be using it to travel aroung Mexico this fall!!!! Very easy to read.

No comments about Santa Fe-Taos Hiking Guide.

No comments about Spanish All Talk Basic Language Course (4 Hour/4 Cds): Learn to Understand and Speak Spanish with Linguaphone Language Programs (All Talk) (All Talk).

3 comments about Canyon.

1. The author carefully weaves his own experiences as a Grand Canyon river guide with the history of the Canyon. This book will keep you enthralled right up to the last page.

   I would heartily recommend this narrative to all who enjoy adventure books. This classic should be on the bookshelves of everyone who enjoyes whitewater rafting.




2. This book is full of interesting information about the Colorado River going through the Grand Canyon. The author has included all aspects of this great place. He tells the history of the river and canyon, including the geolgy, the first residents, the first settlers, the daming and problems with the daming, the many people who have tried to make the trip, and the history of the wildlife. I found it to be a great read with a lot if great insight into the Grand Canyon. I couldn't put it down and I look forward to reading it again before I take the pluge and float this great river.



3. Well written narrative that provides good information about the Colorado River at higher levels. Decent adventure story and also captures some of the magic or running the river in this magnificent canyon.