No comments about Rock Climbing New Mexico (Regional Rock Climbing Series).

No comments about Mexico in Focus: A Guide to the People, Politics, and Culture (In Focus Guides).

1 comments about 49 Trout Streams of New Mexico.

1. This book is a very nice University Press book that conveys the essence of NM trout streams and its high quality trout fishing. Not a fish pic book, it emphasizes the experience of angling in beautiful places. Highly recommended.

5 comments about The Doors of San Miguel De Allende.

1. If you are looking for information about San Miguel, this book does NOT provide it! Very little written...too many door photos!



2. If you are looking for rustic colonial or American Southwest doors then this book is a must buy. - jim



3. This book was purchased as a gift for me. I am a subscriber to International Living, and San Miguel is a long-time favorite of theirs.
   
   I mentioned this, and the way the city had piqued my interest, to a family member. She then promptly went online and ordered this book for me.
   
   It is for this reason that I issue the following warning: the title should be taken LITERALLY, not figuratively.
   
   It could be read either way, but this book is NOT about opening the metaphorical doors to life in San Miguel. You will not look in these pages and then find the metaphorical doors to San Miguel thrown open to your understanding and appreciation. You will not learn about expat or local life in this historical city. And you will not find yourself frequently referring back here as you plan your trip or your move.
   
   What you WILL find, seriously, is heaps about the actual physical doorways on buildings in San Miguel.
   
   If you WANT the world's premiere photo-essay collection about the doorways in San Miguel, then this is a five-star tome all the way. Look all you want, you won't find better. If you want info about the city and culture of this red-hot expat community, look elsewhere.



4. but if not, you'll be bored senseless.



5. There is no doubt that this book contains fine photography of a very interesting subject. I just wish, however, I paid more attention to the product description: Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 6.3 x 0.5 inches. This is not a coffee table book, and each photograph is 4.25 x 6.5 inches. So don't expect a book of the dimension that usually does justice to these types of photos. Let's just say that I wish I had a much larger format with which to enjoy the author's work.
   
   That said and out of the way, the author/photographer hits the mark exactly with a very intriguing facet of Old Mexico and the charming colonial city of San Miguel de Allende. Cities like this have an ancient patina to them, something that only history and time can impart. Like most art, you either get it or you don't, and this author gets it.
   
   The book isn't a metaphor to life inside the city, it is exactly what the title states - a collection of beautifully photographed handcrafted doors. But there is more; even if you have not made the journey to Old Mexico, you begin to know it by the faces of these doors. Much like human faces, there is embedded in each a perspective of a life lived and served, and serving, such that the reader/observer begins to wonder about the depths of the soul of each residence.
   
   I have been to San Miguel de Allende on one of several motorcyle journeys through Mexico. It is a land of enchantment, wonderful history, lively tradtions, excellent food, and most of all, a rich culture and some of the most vibrant, friendly people in all the world. They literally open their hearts - and doors - to all who travel and visit with humility and respect.
   
   This book deserves a larger footprint to display the author's work. But since it does not, I hope it serves as a teaser to those who have never been to San Miguel, or Guanajuato, or Zacatecas and the like - to go and see, and open, doors both literally and figuratively to a world so close yet so far away. Viva Old Mexico!

4 comments about A Canyon Voyage: The Narrative of the Second Powell Expedition down the Green-Colorado River from Wyoming, and the Explorations on Land, in the Years 1871 and 1872.

1. This is an exceptionally well written account of a wonderful adventure through the canyons of the Colorado River. For anyone who loves the West's wildness, and writing most sensitive and humorous, this is a "must read". This book is illustrated with many fine original photographs and etchings.



2. At the time of the 2nd voyage down the Colorado, Dellenbaugh was on about 19 years old. He didn't write the book until many years later. What a wonderful/spellbinding look at the most beautiful place in North America (The Colorado Plateau). Not only that but I found it extremely hunorous as well. Great Great book!!!



3. Love and respect for the Green and Colorado Rivers is greatly enhanced by Dellenbaugh's narritive of the 2nd Powell expadition. Well written, accurate history, and spell binding from start to finish. An adventure that can only be partially accomplished today is TOTALLY available in "A Canyon Voyage!"



4. Frederick Dellaenbaugh was a young man when John Wesley Powell tapped him to participate in Powell's second trip down the Colorado River. Powell had made the journey already a few years before, so the second voyage was less pure exploration and more science; the crew included Almon Harris Thompson (called affectionately "Prof." throughout), a professional geographer who also happened to be Powell's brother-in-law. With several boats and men of widely varying experience, the expedition sailed the Green river (thought at that time to be the upper Colorado) to its junction with the Colorado, and the Colorado itself as far as the middle of the Grand Canyon. Swirling rapids, maggotty food, blistering heat, sudden blizzards beset the adventurers, who still though it all made their geographical, geological, and ethnographical observations which resulted in (among other things) the first maps of the four corners region and the Grand Canyon (reproduced in the book).
   While wild adventure, humor, and a real sense of the Old West permeate the book, there is a certain sadness, too. The Native Americans whom Dellenbaugh encounters are people clearly already defeated -- fearful, distrusting, sad. We catch glimpses of the Navaho trying to accommodate themselves to the new reality of white (especially Mormon) settlement, creating new networks of trade focused on growing frontier towns. But the seeds of the end are planted already in the irrigated fields of the Mormon settlers, and sometimes it seems as if the natives knew this too. Also, the topography through which the explorers travelled has now partly vanished behind the dams that have ruined Glen Canyon and other stretches of white water and canyon scenery. No one can now do what Dellenbaugh and his companions did; the sense of loss hovers unintentionally about every page.
   Dellenbaugh was a keen observer (though perhaps a bit naive) with a talent for making even the monotony of running rapid after rapid spellbinding. One does feel that he may have veiled some of the conflicts that must have arisen in two (non-continuous) years of isolation, though if so this trait is refreshing in a world where we now expect everyone to tattle on everyone else. Every now and then just a shimmer of impatience with one of the crew seeps through. But the real hero who emerges from this book, somewhat surprisingly, is not the leader Powell -- the young Dellenbaugh seems never to have gotten close to him -- but rather the Prof., who rises to every challenge with decency and humaneness, and of whom Dellenbaugh seems to have been genuinely, and for good reason, in awe. Like Powell he is buried in Arlington Cemetery. He deserved that honor, but where he lives is in the pages of this book.

5 comments about Rand Mcnally 2007 Deluxe Midsize Road Atlas: U.S./ Canada/ Mexico (Rand Mcnally Deluxe Road Atlas Mid Size).

1. Bought this Atlas for my fathers birthday. He had a pitiful atlas in his car that he'd received free, but he liked the size. I found this one in the size he liked. It's more manageable with the ring binder and in addition to great city maps it has all kinds of additional information including things to see and do. He LOVES it and claimed it as his favorite gift this year.



2. I think they should substitute "Small" for "Midsize" in the description of this item. I just returned it because it was too small. Entire states are on one letter-size page and only major roads are shown. I bought it because the Large Scale Atlas is not available in spiral bound except for the one with the Travel Guide which makes it too big and heavy. I have now ordered the Travel Guide version and intend to tear out the Travel Guide section.



3. This book is much more than an atlasRand McNally 2007 Road Atlas: United States-Large Scale (Rand Mcnally Large Scale Road Atlas USA)



4. I was so happy to find an Atlas with the features I've been looking for so I bought two of them, one for each vehicle.
   
   The book size is nice, it fits perfectly underneath my seats. No more Atlas with ruined covers from being stuck between the seat and the console!
   
   Speaking of the cover, this version has a cover made from heavier stock thus can take a bit of a beating.
   
   The spiral-bound books are a necessity in my opinion. I don't know why there are still Road Atlas's being released that aren't spiral-bound! It's so nice to have the book opened flat without having to crease pages.
   
   The only Con I found with this book is really the most important function of a book - the content. I expected that many of the smaller roads would be unable to fit in the smaller size however several recent trips have left me extremely frustrated when even state highways and large secondary routes were missing. There are also many towns missing, some of them larger towns with reasonably sized junctions.
   
   I love the features (size, spiral-bound, cover) but without the content these features are pointless. I have two brand new copies if anyone needs an Atlas showing nothing but Interstates!
   
   Release this book with better content in the next publish and it gets 5 stars. IMO, until then, put your money elsewhere.



5. My husband and I did a cross country road trip from Seattle, WA to Atlanta, GA this past summer. This atlas was our bible on the entire trip. It served us true except in Las Vegas and Atlanta. Some of those directions were incorrect. However, the other 5587 miles, it served us well. :-)

1 comments about Travellers' Wildlife Guides Southern Mexico: The Cancun Region, Yucatan Peninsula, Oaxaca, Chiapas, and Tabasco (Travellers' Wildlife Guides).

1. I have a couple of excellent portable regional field guides, such as the Audubon guide to the Southwest. While this book contains some good information it loses marks for lack of portability.
   
   The book includes common amphibians & reptiles, birds, mammals and the coral reef. It has sections on the different habitats in the region and describes places to visit.
   
   While I find this is useful to prepare for my trip I will not be using it as a field guide because it is bulkier than I had expected. It seems to have been designed more as an armchair reference: the paper is exceptionally heavyweight and there are essays on a range of ecological issues such as the exotic pet trade.
   
   The art work for the birds is very beautiful and printed quite large. But other than very short descriptions on the bird's physical features, habitat and range, most of the information is on family profiles that give a general ecological overview rather than providing information about specific species.
   
   The section on fishes and other inhabitants of the coral reef seems to be an excellent field guide: each description concisely describes what you will need to notice to identify the species and provides a few facts that will make observing it more interesting. If I decide to carry the book around on my trip it will be for the sake of this section.
   
   Although the book was published in 2007, I think it is probably the same as the book 'Southern Mexico' published several years ago. At one point the text states "as of writing of this book, in 1998...'

2 comments about The National Parks of Northern Mexico : A Complete Guidebook to Mexico'sCopper Canyon, Sea of Cortez, Baja, Sierra Del Carmens, etc..

1. In the mid 1980s I bought the first edition of this book. It was a much smaller yet still beautiful edition. When the new edition came out in '94 I was quick to pick that one up. This new version is much expanded and elaborated. So what is this book? It is a combination of a travel guide, an ethno-historical book and a book on local botany, Indians and geology sprinkled heavily with gorgeous photographs. Richard Fisher has put decades of his life into making this flawless account of the area. Whether you are visiting the national parks of Mexico by road, off-road or railroad, you will need this book. I have used this book many times to research an area before going there. The book will take you to lost mission churches, huge waterfalls, off-world looking landscapes and everywhere in between.



2. This book is fine for the coffee table but its drawn-out prose and hand-made maps render it useless for travel or trip planning for Northern Mexico.

No comments about Downstream: Encounters with the Colorado River.

4 comments about Best Hikes With Children in New Mexico (Best Hikes With Children).

1. My family loves this reference tool! We plan trips for our 5 children using this book as a guide. Even our baby can be included because the book rates the difficulty and distance of the various sites. We wouldn't hike without it!



2. This is a great book that really makes my camping trips. I have children and with this we are able to find the hikes that we can do with them so that everyone has a great time, a must for the New Mexico Hiker with kids.



3. I was recommended this book about 9 years ago...it is one of our most used reference books. The hikes described are quite accurate, with good driving directions. There are plenty of hikes listed throughout the state. I often give a copy of this book to families new to the area and they find it an invaluable resource, too. If you want to get out and about the Land of enchanment and turn your kids on, too...this is the book for you!



4. This is a great resource. It is very accurate when it rates difficulty and terrain of a hike. We have found it to be right on target. It also points out some interesting sites you might see on the hike, such as large pieces of obsidian, interesting plants, etc.