1 comments about Appalachian Trail Guide to Central Virginia (Appalachian Trail Guides).

1. Appalachian Trail Guide to Central Virginia is a good general guide which consist of a 4 X 6 inches packable book and three maps in a waterproof bag. The maps are double-sided and give adequate detail of the covered areas. The book starts out with general information which I found fairly basic. Most of this info was of little value to me, but a green hiker might find it useful.The actual meat of the trail descriptions is very good, giving mile by mile directions as to what to expect and where to turn. An interesting feature of this book is the small horizon sketches which show different mountain peaks and valley with their names. I don't think I have every seen this done before, but I can't wait to see if it will actual help me locate and identify the surrounding landscape. This is a series of books so the complete collection (11 books)would weigh down a thru hiker. For the weekend ender or week long hiker, this book and maps should be worth it's weight in his pack.

2 comments about Alaska: Images of the Country (Sierra Club Books Publication).

1. "Alaska" is one of those books that, after teh first few pages lets you forget the world around you and fly to other places. His pictures are breathtaking, and it is true : a picture sas more than a thousand words; rowell manages it to tell you more about Alaska with a couple of photographs than 100 professors could tell you. He shows the reader that there is still some pure wilderness out there and that it is worth to preserve it. rowell is someone who loves the wilderness and the beauty of nature and he makes you love it too.



2. Galen Rowell was one of the great outdoor photographers and most of his books are full of spectacular pictures of mountain scenery. But if you are expecting a normal picture book about Alaska, this isn't it. Instead this is a look at a place that is full of ambiguity.

   The book is structured around John McPhee's book "Coming into the Country". In that book McPhee gives an insightful description of Alaska as a place, and its inhabitants. The Alaskans seem torn between preserving the wilderness and developing it and the extracts contained in this volume capture that spirit. For example, McPhee provides admiring character studies of a number of people who came to Alaska because they just didn't fit in back in the lower 48 states. Even his descriptions of travels in the wilderness have an overlay of the politics of the state, where the federal government, which once owned most of the land, is distrusted by most citizens.

   Rowell decided that he wanted to take McPhee's writing and illustrate it with his own pictures. The preface makes clear that McPhee didn't offer a lot of cooperation. In fact he warned Rowell not to overprint his verbal pictures with Rowell's. The text selection was made by Rowell and the pictures included are not directly related to the words but have a close connection to their spirit.

   As I noted, this is not any ordinary Rowell book (if there is such a thing). There are far more pictures of human beings and their artifacts then one usually finds in such a book, and I sometimes felt that the pictures were gritty and dark. At first I thought that this was a shortcoming of the photographs but then I realized that Rowell had specifically selected these pictures because he believed that they reflected the spirit of McPhee's words. Oh, there are some grand landscapes like a picture of snow-covered Mount McKinley across isolated Nugget Pond, but there is also a picture of the same snow-covered peak taken across a dark, intruding asphalt highway into the wilderness.

   The final pages capture the essence of this book. McPhee describes the role of the 55 gallon steel drum in the Alaskan landscape, and tells how his view has gone from considering them ugly to finding them almost blooming. Opposite these words Rowell has placed a picture of a long line of rusty drums curving sinuously out of the frame into the Arctic Ocean.

   This book is more than 20 years old and the McPhee book almost 40 years old. Alaska may have changed since then, although everything I've read about it recently makes me believe that the same forces are still at work out on this frontier. But for a person interested in Alaska this book provides a feeling for the place and its people that has the ring of authenticity.

   If you want to see Alaska as a work of art, then I would recommend Art Wolfe's recent book of photographs "Alaska". But if you want to understand how a bright place can still have a dark soul, "Images of the Country" is a good place to start.

No comments about Seattle (Eyewitness Top 10 Travel Guide).

No comments about Gulf Coast Birds: An Introduction to Familiar Species.

5 comments about The Oxford Companion to the Wines of North America.

1. "Waiting on Petite Sirah hoping for elegance is like marrying a stripper in the hope of witty conversation in old age."

   This is the wonderful kind of wit that you find throughout this book. Bruce Cass, Jancis Robinson and the other fine wine writers who are responsible for the book's substance all appear to have a tremendous love of wine but don't need to deify it. I laughed out loud several times as I read descriptions of wines and wine characters.

   The Wisdom is even more amazing. There is a wealth of factual information and interpretation. Just open up the book to any page and start to read. Within 45 seconds, you will utter, "Wow, I didn't know that."

   This is the best book on wines written in a long time.




2. The Oxford Companion To The Wines Of North America is the definitive guide for wine connoisseurs, weaving the knowledge of 21 wine academics and writers from all over American into a set of compelling introductory essays. The comprehensive 302-page compendium includes an A-to-Z survey of North American vineyards and wine terminology. The informative, "reader friendly" text is further enhanced with superb color photography, twenty maps, and an exhaustive index. The Oxford Companion To The Wines Of North America is an invaluable, fundamental reference for all wine enthusiasts and would make an excellent Memorial Fund acquisition selection for community library collections.



3. I bought this book for our public library's reference collection. Reviews indicated that this book would be an excellent source of information about wine. It falls far short of that. One example: I needed it for a definition of "syrah" (which they refer to in an article) - neither the alphabetical arrangement of the book nor the index yielded anything. This is a coffee table book and nothing more.



4. The "Oxford Companion to Wine", edited by Jancis Robinson, is the definitive modern reference on wine. Not intended to be read as a book, the entries nevertheless make compelling reading and following the cross-referenced entries can easily consume a pleasurable evening. This "supplement" doesn't live up to the original in terms of quality, comprehensiveness or value. If you were expecting a version of the companion tuned to American wines, you'll be sorely disappointed. On the other hand, if you can't get enough of the original and long for more information on California growers, this isn't a bad start. We can always hope for a revised, expanded, second edition.

   For the North American supplement, Jancis Robinson served only as a "consulting editor". She apparently corrected the editor's English usage (see the preface), but she didn't write any of the entries. She did write two throwaway pieces in the beginning of the book on "How Good are North American Wines?" and "Commentators and the Wine Media". There are roughly 60 pages worth of introduction to North American Wine, most of which I did not find deep enough to be particularly informative.

   Almost all of the cross-references on vinification, wine-making, cellaring, tasting, defects, grapes, etc. are in the "Oxford Companion", making it essentially impossible to use the North American guide alone.

   Compared to the "Oxford Companion", the entries are relatively breezy. The font is larger, the margins are wider, and the book is much shorter. Like the "Oxford Companion", the maps are truly horrendous; you'll remember them from coloring assignments in grade school. Invest in Hugh Johnson's and Jancis Robinson's wonderful new "World Atlas of Wine" for maps. The Atlas's coverage of North American wine styles, grapes and regions isn't half bad, either.




5. Given some of the less than stellar reviews of this book, I was expecting far less. This is a collection of excellent information specific to North American winemaking, wineries, producers, etc., that can't - to my knowledge at least - be found anywhere else "under the same roof". There are also some good introductory articles that are educational, especially for the neophyte.
   
   True, the maps in the back of the book are fairly useless. They display towns, highways, mountain ranges, elevation, but no AVAs. That left me dumbfounded. I now know that Hwy 101 can take you from LA to Ventura and further north into Washington State, but - so what? I already knew that, and I live in Illinois. If you're going to include maps in a book like this, they need to be specific and informative.
   
   Still, as I said, the fact that there is excellent information in the A-Z section, and that in the text of that section references are directly made to the Oxford Companion to Wine if the reader wants more information, makes this a very good reference.

5 comments about Rand McNally The Road Atlas: US, Canada, Mexico (Rand Mcnally Road Atlas: United States, Canada, Mexico).

1. This isn't your father's road atlas! This one has RADICAL streets, AWESOME rivers, and COOOOL lakes represented in TOTALLY TUBULAR drop-down 2-D! I should warn you that you may LITERALLY BURST INTO FLAMES when you note the 6 - 6!!!! - main thoroughfares out of Gettysburg, PA. That is but one moment of potential spontaneous human combustion in the Northeast. Do not look at panel A-4 on the Vermont map, WHATEVER YOU DO!!!!
   
   The perfect size to place in your rucksack in your cross-country trek, the Rand McNally Road Atlas will give you much "G Love". By which I mean that you will be grody to the max and will blind multiple people with science. Science. The sweet science of geography.



2. You won't need to worry about getting lost with this in your car!! Wonderful detail. We went from NH to Florida and back without any problems!



3. Best map of USA I have ever seen. Very up-to-date. Tons of information. This map is a must have for USA trips...



4. This is a road atlas that has everything I was looking for. I'm glad I bought it and know I will use it for years to come.



5. great for the price and wow very fast shipping very easy to use. If you travel alot get this atlas.

1 comments about Native Peoples of the Northwest: A Traveler's Guide to Land, Art and Culture.

1. Native Peoples Of The Northwest is a beautiful guide to land, art and culture, just as titled. Enriched by color photos of beautiful artworks, and color coded foldout maps, it covers the Northwest. Organized by geographic region, it lists major sites, art sources and museums as well as suggested cultural tours and activities of Northwestern Native Americans. All information presented is written with the help of members of Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians, a coalition of 54 tribes from Southeast Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Northern California, Idaho and Western Montana. In a foreword, the author team refers to themselves as "full bloods" (Jan Halliday is Scots-Irish and Gail Chehak is Klamath Indian) nicknamed Coyote and Raven. With all the cleverness and subtlety of both their namesakes, they have indeed put together a most useful guide book studded with breathtaking photos of art works. This book is well worth the price for the art photos alone! The Native Peoples Of The Northwest also contains history nuggets and suggestions in appendices on powwow etiquette, sacred sites and buying Native art. There is even a calendar of cultural and artistic events in the areas covered. In addition to suggestions and tips to buyers and collectors of Native American art, there are suggested reading resources with brief thumbnail sketches set in the margins. The wonderful thing about this book is it is a part of promoting, protecting and extending Native American art, culture, and history. An example is in the preface is the realization of the dream of coauthor Gail Chehak to establish a large Northwestern Indian Art Festival. Now in Portland there is an annual festival Memorial Day Weekend called Indian Art Northwest - in its third year. This is wonderful news for everyone for we are all enriched by this vast and colorful heritage. The authors endorse Indian-guided tours and Indian-owned museums because the point of view is so different from the non-Native perspective. For example, did you know the Lilijet Feast House in Vancouver is the only truly Native restaurant in the region? Decorated and presented in the traditional Longhouse style, the Native American owner presents entrees such as alder smoked salmon, prawns, venison, wild rice, steamed ferns and bannock bread. This is a beautiful book, much more than a guide book. It encourages you to sample a rich diversity of Native American heritage. It makes one long to explore the area. Perhaps a similar book on "Native Americans of the Southwest" is forthcoming? One can only hope. Nancy Lorraine, Reviewer

No comments about Rand McNally 97 Road Atlas, United States, Canada, Mexico (Rand Mcnally Road Atlas: United States, Canada, Mexico).

5 comments about Sexy New York: The Essential Guide to Everything Erotic in the Big Apple (Discover New York).

1. Essentially a compilation based on other sources, Sexy New York is not particularly sexy, nor does it give readers much insight into the establishments it describes. It works best as a directory, leaving it up to the consumer to find out for himself what is truly sexy in the Big Apple.



2. While there are other books that cover the same topic, Sexy New York City is the first to put it together in a user-friendly style with quick references. While it would be nice if they actually rated each of the places on a scale, their informative and funny descriptions give you a good sense of each establishment.



3. This book was my new york bible. I used it to find some of the most amazing swing clubs I have ever seen.....if I say any more Amazon will not print this review



4. This tiny volume is filled with tantalizing tidbits -- from corset shops to strip shows to S&M schools. Hailing from a tiny town in Wyoming, I was surprised to learn about all of the *LEGAL* fun that can be had in the Big Apple! I've already tried several of the places recommended, and plan to visit many more in the near future.



5. Not bad as a directory, this book fails to deliver any heat whatsoever. You just don't get a sense of what really goes on at these places and the reviews are so perfunctory and generally fluffy. We need a real insider's guide to sex in the city. Hopefully somebody will do one soon.

1 comments about Adventure Guide to Nevada.

1. The print edition of this book is 210 pages. It's a guide to every corner of Nevada - what to see and do, where to stay, the best places to eat, the ghost towns, the mountains, the lakes the towns and the cities - with an accent on enjoying the great outdoors. The author details the best places for hiking, mountain biking, jeeping, boating and fishing, with info on all the outfitters and guides. There are 22 state parks in the state, plus 14 national recreation areas, 14 wildlife refuges and a sliver of the newest national park, Death Valley. He covers them all - what to see and do, how to get there, how to get around. Lake Tahoe and Lake Mead are covered as well. While everybody else heads for the Strip, with its faux Sphinx, plastic volcano and campy lounge acts, you can head out to the Great Basin, with this book on your laptop, where you will have the whole wild and naturally amazing state almost to yourself.