1 comments about The Rites of Autumn: A Falconer's Journey Across the American West.

1. If you are interested in falconry at all, this is a MUST READ! The story takes you from the hack site to the beaches of Texas. I ordered this book for my boyfriend (now husband!) many years ago based on a review that I read in Sports Illustrated. I recently read it again and it was better the second time around (maybe because I know more about falcons, falconry and especially falconers than I did before!). It is a great story, it wont take you long to read and anyone who has ever loved a bird and let it go will really appreciate it!

2 comments about The Four Corners: Timeless Lands of the Southwest.

1. The Four Corners, Timeless Lands of the Southwest is another visually perfect offering by Northland Publishing in their travel series. Having lived in Northern Arizona and made several pilgrimages to the Four Corners area, I have always felt that no book could ever capture the intensity and energy that comes from this amazing real estate. I am delighted to share that this book does just that. The photography is breathtaking and it will haunt you into visiting there. Author, Kathleen Bryant, gives the reader a diverse sampling of the four corners areas as well as the culture, arts and flavor of all that call this special landscape home; truly as the subtitle states, "A Visual Tour of Hopi and Navajo Homelands." This softbound, coffee table size book is most affordable at under $10.00 and you will want to keep it within easy reach when you want to escape to this wonderous place.



2. The Four Corners - where Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah come together - is itself a desolate place simply consisting of a large marker surrounded by a number of native American vendors. The predominant nearby attraction is Monument Valley, about 60 miles away. Bryant, however, provides just a few photos of that area, and instead goes hundreds of miles further, including eg. photos from the Flagstaff, AZ. area and the Grand Canyon - omitting much closer Antelope Canyon and Horseshoe Bend (Page, AZ.), Natural Bridges National Monument (Utah), etc. Also, there was too much printed material, and not enough photos, and NO photo of the Four Corners Monument.

2 comments about Shipwrecks in the Americas.

1. This is not a book for the casual reader -- the text on underwater archaeology can be somewhat dense and technical, and the listings of shipwrecks are encyclopedic, not narrative. However, if you are a wreck diver, shipwreck enthusiast or archaeologist, this is a useful reference volume. Marx's knowledge of the subject matter is obvious, though put to more enjoyable use in his books on the underwater excavation of Port Royal.



2. Mr. Marx has written a wonderful book, which should be of value to anyone interested in sunken treasure. It is a labor of love, by a man who has lived an exciting life searching successfully for both treasure and historic material.

   The book begins with a wonderful and very detailed history of the Spanish treasure fleets - and their impact on Europe, based on extensive research by the author. This is a most impressive and detailed scholarly effort, and alone justifies a read by anyone interested in the conquest of the New World and the effects of this newfound wealth on Old Europe.

   The book then discusses modern salvage techniques and provides the would-be treasure hunter with helpful advice on how to conduct a search. I believe that anyone considering actually conducting an operation would be well advised to read this material and follow Mr. Marx's excellent advice.

   The rest of the book consists of an index of known shipwrecks off the coasts and islands of the Americas, by location, and a brief history of each.

   Many brave souls are asleep in the deep, and Marx has created a wonderful testament to them.

No comments about The Difinitive Journals of Lewis & Clark, Vol. 2: From the Ohio to the Vermillion.

No comments about Great Natural Areas in Eastern Pennsylvania.

No comments about Hammond International South America: North (International Series).

4 comments about Waterfalls of Minnesota's North Shore: A Guide for Sightseers, Hikers & Romantics.

1. I recently spent 3-4 days on the North Shore hiking to some of the waterfalls that Eve and Gary had listed as their favorites in this book.
   
   Their descriptions of each waterfall seemed right on. Directions were easy to follow, their rating of the hike difficulty seemed accurate, and they certainly had a good sense of what made a 5 star vs. a 2 star waterfall.
   
   I am a photographer, and so the only thing I would have liked to see added was a little more commentary on how 'accessable' a particular falls was - i.e. if I could only see it from a pre-built deck, or if with waders I could get in the river and approach it from other angles.
   
   However, without this book I certainly would not have had the time to find many of the falls that I did. It is a wonderful resource - I'd call it essential for anyone planning a sightseeing / hiking trip along the North Shore and will recommend it to my friends and fellow photographers.



2. As someone who once lived about half a block from one of these waterfalls and visited about a dozen of the others, I must say that the descriptions are accurate, detailed, and helpful. I believe, however, that the Wallingas' estimations (on a one-star to five-star scale) of each waterfall's beauty are slightly inflated. I never saw a five-star waterfall on Minnesota's North Shore. That designation should be reserved for Gullfoss, Niagara, or the like. The falls that the Wallingas rank three or four, I would rank two or three -- and some things that they call waterfalls are just one-star rapids. But this is not a criticism, just an expression of difference of opinion.
   
   My only real criticism is that the photos should be in color, not black-and-white, with many more full-page bleeds.



3. There are numerous books about Minnesota's North Shore, but this new book manages to offer something not previously available. It concentrates exclusively on the waterfalls along the Minnesota North Shore, and I don't think there has been such a book before with this kind of information all in one place. Most importantly it includes literally every falls there is including many you won't read about elsewhere. Good directions and trail comments are included - I know we would have had found more difficulty finding some falls without it.
   
   This book is very well written as well. Avoiding both dry commentary and flowery prose, the Wallingas write in an engaging conversational tone, that is nevertheless carefully constructed. It is a pleasure for me to pick up anytime and read at random.
   
   If you love Lake Superior, I recommend this book very highly as one you should consider owning, rather than borrowing.



4. If you plan to visit the Northshore of Lake Superior, take this excellent book with you. It describes and rates on a five-star scale all the many waterfalls of the Northshore, helping you to plan your trip.
   
   Cascade River State Park, Gooseberry Falls State Park, and Tettegouche State Park are must-see destinations, but there are more.

5 comments about A Walk in the Woods.

1. Bill Bryson is hillarious. The first few chapters contained bits and pieces that had me laughing out loud, which is not something I come across often in literature.
   
   The book details a hike that Bryson and his friend (an out-of-shape character's character!) took on the Appalachian Trail. Both "older" gentleman aren't exactly in the best of shape... neither is a very experienced outdoorsman. Yet they both appreciate the signifigance of the trail, and are able to hike a good bit of it without mishap.
   
   The way that Bryson writes is just invigorating. He's just so funny, and describes people in the most beautiful way. He's also managed to get quite a bit of back-story on the Appalachian Trail into this text, so the book is not only entertaining, but also somewhat educational. It made me want to jump on a plane and start hiking the trail!
   
   After reading this book, I'm definitely going to search for more of Bryson's work. He's a good author, and this is a good story.



2. This is actually a review of two books, one old and one new. Both are nonfiction, and both are intended for grown-ups. There's nothing in them that kids will find objectionable, but they may find them boring. I found them to be funny, poignant at times, and thought-provoking.
   
   The first is called A Walk in the Woods, by Bill Bryson, published in 1997. The second is called Scout's Honor, by Peter Applebome, published in 2003. Bryson is a writer and journalist who decided to walk the Appalachian Trail at around age 50, and Walk is the story of his adventures on the AT. Applebome is a writer and a journalist who decided to become a Boy Scout dad at around age 50, and Honor is the story of his adventures with his son's Boy Scout troop and with Scouting in general.
   
   I read Walk several years ago, and just discovered Honor last week. Reading Honor reminded me of Walk, so much so that I couldn't review the former without talking about the latter.
   
   Bryson and a friend decided, almost on a lark, to hike the AT which they had heard so much about, but Bryson was so inexperienced a hiker that he couldn't tell a Nalgene from a North Face. In fact, his introduction to backpacking and hiking occurred in a sporting goods store. He and his friend started at the southern end of the AT, in Georgia, on a snowy autumn day, and ended, with a few breaks, at the northern end in Maine several years later.
   
   Bryson's writing is self-deprecating and intentionally funny. He plays for laughs, and he gets them. By poking fun at himself, he gives himself license to give all the other characters on the trail the same treatment he gives himself in his writing. The book is funny throughout. But just as Mark Twain and Will Rogers gave us lots of food for thought in the middle of their humor, so Bryson writes a series of thoughtful essays between the lines of his funny stories: lessons about people's character and behavior, about greed and status, about environmental awareness and social responsibility, and about what Thoreau called "the need for wilderness" or something like that. (Yes, Thoreau talked about it before John Muir did.)
   
   When you finish Bryson's book, you will be as satisfied with the conclusion as he was with the end of the hike. You may also come away with a renewed appreciation for wild places and with an awareness of the personality flaws that make you similar to the characters Bryson writes about. It's definitely a book I would read again.
   
   Applebome, like Bryson, knew nothing about hiking, camping and backpacking, until he moved his family from Atlanta to Chappaqua, New York, and his son wanted to join the Boy Scouts. He was reluctant to get into the hiking and the canoeing, the knot-tying and the sleeping outside on the hard ground surrounded by rain, snow, wind and critters. He had hoped that his son would express an interest in Little League baseball instead, but, wishing to score some Good Dad points with his son, he went along with him to the Boy Scout meetings and outings.
   
   Even before he started, Applebome had anti-Boy-Scout leanings -- but as he became more involved with his son's troop, that changed. Interweaved with the funny and poignant story of his own adventures with his son's troop, Applebome tells a balanced, thoughtful, well-researched and honest story about the history of Scouting and its founders, its awkward attempts to adapt to social change, and the recent controversies surrounding it. The book isn't all narrative -- it includes a lot of reporting, exposition and editorializing -- but it's definitely worth reading.
   
   Applebome comes the end of his book grateful for having been able to share the experience with his son, the troop leaders, and the other Scouts and their dads. He himself grows considerably through his experiences, and he faces a huge crisis of conscience when the Boy Scouts win the Supreme Court judgement in their favor with respect to gays in Scouting. The crisis of conscience occurs because he feels that the corporate organization that is the Boy Scouts of America is dead wrong on at least one of the "three G" issues (gays, God, and girls) and not faithful to the wishes of Scouting's founders, and yet he sees that the local organizations of Scouting, the councils and troops, are a powerful force for good in their communities and are getting a raw deal by both BSA headquarters and the left-wing liberals who get all over Scouting's case because of the three Gs.
   
   Being a reporter and a problem-solver at heart, he takes a long, hard look at what Scouting could be (and should be), compares it to what it is, and makes several really good recommendations for fixing Scouting. One of the most interesting things he says is that the Scout Oath and the Scout Law, the moral foundations for Scouting (in the U.S.A.), are rock-solid and it woud be a very good thing if all boys (and men!) lived by those tenets. He also says (either himself, or quoting someone) that the Boy Scout Handbook, any edition, is just the kind of "advice to boys" that people have been longing to give to boys today.
   
   Unfortunately, Scouting is increasingly irrelevant in a society which competes so heavily (and so much more effectively) for boys' attention with sports, video games, and so on. Applebome laments this turn of events, and yet he asserts, with his primary evidence being the members of his own son, that Scouting appeals to a certain group of boys who really don't care if other people think it's uncool, and that Scouting (practiced the way it should be) really is a Good Thing in the boys' lives and is a major influence in turning them into the kind of men this world needs. (Those are my words, not his. He said it differently.)
   
   Scout's Honor is written to and for three groups of people: former Boy Scouts who are now adults; current and former Boy Scouts; and current and former Boy Scout leaders. It's high-energy food for thought for all three groups.
   
   A Walk in the Woods is written for everyone, and will be especially enjoyed by those who love or hate hiking, backpacking, camping, wilderness and the fools they find there. Although it contains more mental junk food than food for thought, it will open your mind and is definitely worth reading.



3. This book is hilarious!
   
   Bryson's sense of humor and his sense of adventure is very funny. Even a couch potato would love this book.
   
   My husband and I plan to thru-hike the Appalachian Trail in 2010, and I bought this book as research for our hike. I couldn't put the book down!



4. I had a long history as a streetwalker. Yes, a streetwalker. But, I never had even spent the night outdoors. However, when I read Bill Bryson's book I immediately decided I wanted to thru-hike the entire 2,175 mile trail.
   
   There is a lot of criticism on the AT about Bryson's book, but one thing is undeniable. With his mass following and inimitable humor, he inspired legions of previous hiking virgins to attempt the AT. And that can only be good, as this mountainous wilderness trail holds wonders that your average American can only dream about. I definitely rate it as one of the top experiences in my life.
   
   Better yet, it inspired me to write a book myself, called Skywalker. There is only one Bill Bryson when it comes to writing. However, it was easy to dissect his success. He wrote a book that appealed to the non-hiker, as much as the hiker. Further, he avoided the plague of so many trail narratives that get trapped in the day-to-day diary format, written by experts, for other experts, in a narrow "hikerese." Rather, he told a tale that is at once earthy, serious, lighthearted, but informative.
   
   It may not be a classic, but it has increased the population of hikers on the AT, and in this day and age of anxiety and hyper-materialism that can only be to the good.
   
   Skywalker '05 author Skywalker--Close Encounters on the Appalachian Trail billwalker52@hotmail.com



5. There are 2 parts to this book. Part 1 is awesome! It is a great story of 2 men hiking part of the Appalachian Trail and the ups and downs they had doing it. It's funny, witty and well written. Part 2 however lags a bit. The author drives part of the trail and walk parts of it in day trips, not nearly as exciting as part 1. The only thing in my opinion that save part 2 is the history and facts the author talks about. Especially about Pennsylvania and the Delaware Water Gap. Overall I gave it 4 stars. It could have been so much better if he hiked the whole thing, but overall was still a very good read.

No comments about Bushy Run Battlefield: Pennsylvania Trail of History Guide (Pennsylvania Trail of History Guides).

No comments about North Carolina (America Series - Mini).