1 comments about Rail Ventures: The Comprehensive Guide to Train Travel in North America (Rail Ventures).

1. I found Rail Ventures to be extremely informative and helpful. However I need more copies for myself. Are &th edition copies available anywhere? When is it going to be published again?

5 comments about Road Angels: Searching For Home On America's Coast of Dreams.

1. I just heard this author read in Ashland, Oregon. I did not know of him but his intelligence intrigued me so I bought the book. I think anyone who has ever relocated or contemplated a change in life should read this book. It is not only a wonderful read but a very profound examination of home and place. I will definitely recommend it to my most discriminating friends.



2. I read this book twice. It is either very confused or very brilliant. On the second reading I decided it was brilliant. This is a very penetrating analysis of some very big issues about what it means to be an American. Very poetic, too. Elusive and hard to categorize. Kind of travel, kind of cultural criticism. Weird religious overtones. This is a good writer, maybe a great one.



3. Kent Nerburn's latest book is not only a road trip but a mind trip. It was a genuine pleasure to join Kent on his trek of re-discovery, and such are his descriptive and narrative talents, that the reader feels like a traveling companion -- as if Kent were telling you the story while you rode along in his car, or hoofed a trail beside him. His insights into American culture, human nature, and spirituality are keen and rewarding. This is a well-crafted book by an author who knows readers.



4. A great read -- one of those one sitting books.

   Nerburn lives in Minnesota but in mid-life gets a hankering to re-explore the west coast he remembers from his college years.

   Some similarities to "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance".

   Makes me want to read some of the other things he's written.




5. This was my first introduction to Kent Nerburn and I was fascinated by this fellow Minnesotan who calls himself a guerilla theologian. Unlike some of Nerburn's work, this is a direct narrative. Yet it touches on profound issues for those of us who grew up in the 'Fifties and came of age in the 'Sixties. The paradox is that one must leave home to find Home, and this can only be found within the depths of one's soul. Nerburn's account of his California quest makes this point in a good story well told.

4 comments about National Geographic's Guide to Small Town Escapes.

1. For anyone who enjoys the out-of-the-way small towns and villages, this guide book is a must. It is so well-written that the unique feeling you get about each place compells you to make an actual visit there. A perfect example is the story about Cutchogue, Long Island, New York. After reading so much about the movie stars, the Clintons and other glitterati in the Hamptons on the South Fork of L.I., I was utterly amazed that there is such a small undisturbed rural paradise (at least until this Guide was published)on the North Fork across Great Peconic Bay. The wineries, farm stands, historic sites and great seafood restaurants made our brief weekend visit a true delight. The Guide gave just enough data to locate Cutchogue and its environs to make the drive easy. The Cutchogue residents we encountered were amazingly friendly and helpful in giving directions to a few haunts of the locals that made this a definite "come again" destination. I trust the other places listed in the Guide are equally as wonderful as the one we experienced.



2. Are you one of those people who hates crowded, commercialized destinations? My idea of a vacation is NOT fighting traffic and waiting in lines and seeing row upon row of tacky giftshops that are all the same.

   If you want to get off the beaten track a bit (but not totally away from civilization), this is the perfect book to help you plan your family vacation! It lists 77 towns - the maps are great of course, the pictures are captivating, and they tell you what's so great about the town, where to stay, where to eat, and even where to shop, if you're so inclined.

   I can speak for only two of the destinations listed in the book, but both of them are fantastic. We've been to Ephraim, Wisconsin (in Door County) twice now and we're going back too! The other town we've been to is Ouray, Colorado. Even though we were just passing through there, and only got to stop for lunch, I can see where this town is a great destination all its own.

   Get this book, pick a location, and pack up the car and you'll have a great vacation!

   Happy traveling!




3. Escape for a Season or So
   
   Every so often someone comes along who tells me that if they won "the Lottery" one of the things they would like to do is travel. Well, I would, too, except that I want to
   do more than just pay a visit, I want to stay a while... perhaps a season or so.

   This book just whets my appetitie for such travel. I have been to a number of the towns in this book. Just for one example, Eureka Springs, Arkansas, is as good as it gets. If you visit Eureka Springs in the Autumn, the trees of the Ozarks are gorgeous. Coming in from the west, you might even see a cloud in the one of the valleys below. You'll probably pass by Thorncrown Chapel which is one like no other. Once in Eureka you'll find the Eureka Springs and North Arkansas Railway and the only church in the world through which you will enter through the bell tower, St Elizabeth's. Ripley's Believe It or Not once mentioned this story. You'll want to stay for more than a visit
   to Eureka Springs because nearby is the Pea Ridge Civil War Battlefield just to mention one.

   This book is about places like this one from one coast to the other. I have visited some of them and they are all just as fascinating. I wish that I could see them all.




4. This was one of our "most valuable" books when we took our year long adventure around the USA. The towns they describe are really worth exploring -- they are the way towns used to be in this country. We came back from our adventure and wrote "Live Your Road Trip Dream" to help other road trippers actually get move from the dreaming to the doing for their trip of a lifetime.

No comments about Stories from the Country of Lost Borders (American Women Writers Series).

1 comments about We Came Naked and Barefoot: The Journey of Cabeza de Vaca across North America (Texas Archaeology and Ethnohistory Series).

1. The Spanish explorer Cabeza de Vaca and three companions survived eight years (1528-1536) among the Indians of North America and made the first overland crossing of the continent. Cabeza de Vaca's route across the U.S and Mexico has been the subject of many impassioned scholarly examinations. Alex and Margery Krieger's is one of the best.
   
   The book consists of a forward, an updated version of Alex Krieger's 1955 dissertation on Cabeza de Vaca's route, an afterword, and translations of the two accounts of the journey, one by CDV himself and the second by a 16th century historian. Thus, in this one not-overly-formidable tome is the complete story of Cabeza de Vaca.
   
   The controversy about CDV is whether he followed a northern route primarily through Texas or a southern route primarily through Mexico in his wanderings from the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of California. Sorry Texas! Krieger persuades me that the evidence in favor of the Mexican route is overwhelming.
   
   CDV's narrative is important because it is among the first -- and sometimes the only -- description of Indian societies in Florida, Texas, and Mexico. Most of his time was spent among the primitive hunting-gathering Coahuiltecan Indians of the Texas and Mexican coast. These people have disappeared from history with hardly a trace, destroyed by disease and Spanish conquest. Another interesting and important part of the narrative is CDVs account of Spanish slave-hunters in northern Mexico. We have very few accounts of the North American Indians before their cultures and societies were destroyed by Europeans. Cabeza de Vaca's is one of the most important and informative.
   
   Smallchief

1 comments about Alaska: The Cruise Lover's Guide.

1. Now in a newly revised, updated, and expanded third edition, Alaska: The Cruise-Lover's Guide by Paul and Audrey Grescoe continues to be a simply terrific and "user friendly" supplementary resource to enjoying the best that an Alaskan cruise has to offer, from sightseeing wildlife to observing or participating in exciting sports and events. Gorgeous color photographs enhance this exceptionally practical and nicely organized travel guide written for both the casual as well as the enthusiastically active tourist or vacationer.

2 comments about Travelers' Tales American Southwest.

1. This is just a fabulous book. It will bring the Southwest to life for all discerning readers.



2. The Travelers' Tales series is a set of anthologies of short pieces, typically 5-20 pages each, assembled around a particular theme. Many of the volumes are dedicated to a particular travel destination (e.g., the Southwest, Thailand, Italy), while some are thematically organized (Food, Spiritual Gifts of Travel, Women on the Road, etc).
   
   The collections run from the passable to the magnificent: reading them reminds of how terrific writing becomes when inspired by an exotic, memorable place. The best of these volumes bring back the flavors, the smells, and the breezes of distant places with an immediacy that your vacation photo album can't by itself match.
   
   This southwest volume is probably one of the better ones in the series, owing largely to the fantastic quality of the region. I consider myself a fairly experienced world traveler, and for my money the unspoiled beauty of the landscape in this part of America is unsurpassed anywhere in the world. (I haven't yet seen New Zealand, the Alaskan wild, or the Himalayas, so I'm still reserving an absolute final judgment.)
   
   I am a lover of desert landscapes, but I've come to understand that I don't love all deserts equally: I've seen deserts ranging from the Gobi to the Sahara, but have found nothing quite like the American southwest, with its canyons, its hoodoos, its towering red rock formations like so many giant goblins, its endless views, its rock labyrinths, its lizards, the peaceful shade of its cliffs, its scents of juniper, sage and pinion. The introduction to this book compares a journey into the desert southwest to a breath of fresh air in the soul, and that certainly fits.
   
   With such inspiring material, a collection of pieces by skilled writers could hardly miss, and this one delivers. The best piece in here is probably the excerpt "Water" from "Desert Solitaire," by the incomparable and curmudgeonly Edward Abbey. This piece is, however, closely rivaled by the also-magnificent "Bridge Over the Wind," a tribute to Landscape Arch in Arches National Park, vividly capturing not only the gorgeous improbability of that particular arch, but also the feel of a hike through Devil's Garden to reach it.
   
   Other fine pieces in the collection explore the hidden treasures of the Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument, the fascinations of Navajo country, and activities ranging from flying solo over Monument Valley, to hunting for obscure pictographs.
   
   It's not a flawless collection: there are a few too many New Age-y pieces for my taste. The southwest seems to draw a fair number of spiritualist pilgrims, so for every Edward Abbey withdrawing to the wilderness to see himself and the society around him more starkly, there are plenty of folks who luxuriate in reducing Native American culture to a collection of comforting but absurd talismans and superstitions. A reader with a perfectly healthy respect and appreciation for Native American cultures might well come away, as I did, annoyed at some of the insipid romanticization of their folkways.
   
   But, in a sense, it is what it is; this phenomenon is definitely part of the southwestern cultural landscape, and it's therefore appropriate that it be reflected in this book.
   
   The collection is a pleasant read throughout, and will inspire both real and armchair travelers to direct their attention to this most beautiful of American places.

5 comments about Trails of the Angeles: 100 Hikes in the San Gabriels (Hiking & Biking).

1. This book is just filled with great trails. It includes a detailed map, only drawback is the map is not laminated (waterproof) but all inall i never leave home without this



2. John W Robinson's experience and unique historical perspective set this guide apart. It is a simple, no-nonsense guide. There are no fancy Icons, or detail maps (a great separate topo style map is included). I own a few guides which feature some hikes in Angeles National Forest. This is the only guide which focuses solely on the San Gabriels (with a couple in the nearby San Bernadinos). I "Trails" religously. My copy is worn out, taped up, coffee stained, and full of tape flags. I have read and re-read each hike inumerably. If you plan on hiking the San Gabriels, this is the only book you need.



3. My wife has discovered the benefits of exercise. First, there was (and still is) the Y, where she spends 2-3 hours a day with step classes, cross trainers, and weights. The sick thing is, she loves it. (I go perhaps 3-4 hours per week, but only because I know it's good for me. I'd much rather sit with a good book, cheeseburger, and fries.) In any case, she's now discovered walking/hiking. She speed walks 10 miles every Saturday morning with a like-minded group of fanatics. They're planning to hike to the bowels of the Grand Canyon, and back up, in 2008; I'll be the one on the rim drinking iced tea.
   
   TRAILS OF THE ANGELES describes 100 hikes into the San Gabriel Mountains north of Los Angeles. (It doesn't include the Verdugo Mountains immediately to the south of the San Gabriels or the San Bernardino Mountains further east, in case you're wondering.) I thought my wife and her walking chums would find it useful for getting into trekking shape.
   
   The 2-3 pages dedicated to each of the hundred hikes includes "Features" and "Description", as well as a heading noting the hike's length, difficulty, and season. Perhaps two-thirds include a single black and white photo of something interesting to be seen nowadays or some structure of the past now represented only by ruins. Additionally, the volume contains separate brief chapters: "The San Gabriel Mountains" (geology, fauna, vegetation), "Humans in the San Gabriels" (a history of human influence on the area, recreational hiking being a major pastime between 1895-1938 before paved roads invaded the wilderness), "Hiking Hints" (including "hiker ethics"), and "Using This Book".
   
   TRAILS OF THE ANGELES ends with a "Summary of Hikes", which lists all 100 according to difficulty (easy to strenuous), length (1 to 28 miles), and trip (round trip, one way, or loop).
   
   The key ingredients of any guide of this sort are the directions given to the trailhead, and the route to be followed once boots hit the ground. Author John Robinson seems to do reasonably well at this though, mind you, I haven't had to put the acquired knowledge to practical use - yet. Directions to the various trailheads follow the same general tone as the following (Angeles Forest Highway to Big Tujunga Narrows, Hike #53):
   
   "Drive up the Angeles Crest Highway to Clear Creek Junction, then left on the Angeles Forest Highway (L.A. County Road N3) to an unmarked parking area shaded by a lone incense-cedar on your right, 15.5 miles from La Canada. If you reach the Narrows Bridge, you've driven 0.3 miles too far." What happens if some prankster chops down that cedar tree in the dead of night and hauls it away for firewood?
   
   Once on the chosen path, Robinson's directions are exact (as for Eaton Saddle to Markham Saddle, San Gabriel Peak, Hike #32):
   
   "Walk past the locked gate and across the rugged south face of San Gabriel Peak via the Mt. Lowe fire road 0.5 mile to Markham Saddle. At the saddle, just beyond the water tank, turn sharp right (north) and pick up a brushy, unmarked trail leading up the mountainside. Follow the trail up one switchback, then across the west slope of San Gabriel Peak to the high saddle between Mt. Disappointment and San Gabriel Peak, about 0.75 mile. Part of this pathway is eroded where it crosses the steep slope, so watch your step. At the saddle, turn right (east) and follow a steep climbers' trail up the ridge to the top." Hmm, do you suppose they could replace the water tank with a coke machine?
   
   A picture, so to speak, is worth a thousand words. And it's here that TRAILS OF THE ANGELS falls a bit short, in my opinion. Whereas in the hiking guides authored by Robert Stone (e.g. DAY HIKES AROUND LOS ANGELES and DAY HIKES ON THE CALIFORNIA SOUTHERN COAST) where each route is illustrated with a very detailed map within the book itself, TRAILS OF THE ANGELS attempts to accomplish the same with a separate, but included, 38" x 19" recreational map of the region. One side is a small scale rendering of the entire San Gabriel range, the other "zooms-in" on individual locales (Liebre Mountain Area, Crystal Lake Area, Big Tujunga Area, North of Pasadena, and Mount Baldy Area). On both sides, the trails are drawn in red with the corresponding hike number (1-100) from the book noted alongside. Now, while this seems acceptable, and is probably perfectly adequate, I would personally prefer the relatively large scale rendering of each trail in the Stone books and not have to unfold an unwieldy map every time I needed visual reinforcement. What if the unfolded map blows away in a sudden gust? I guess it's a matter of individual preference and experience (the latter of which I have none - yet).
   
   My wife has been closely studying TRAILS OF THE ANGELS, visually evaluating my physical constitution with a critical eye, and verbally sampling my willingness to be a trekking buddy. She's already gone and purchased hiking boots. Oh Lord, I've created a monster. I could've gotten her the GUIDE TO L.A. COMFORT FOOD EMPORIUMS instead, but no!



4. The descriptions are nice, but unlike the San Bernardino mountain version of this book, there are no GPS coordinates of the trailhead. I hope the next version includes them.



5. This book is the go to source for hiking in the San Gabriel mountains.
   I have earlier editions, and was pleased to see many hikes updated and revisited and new ones added.
   All previously closed or open hikes now revisited and updated.
   author is handing off this book to writer of a younger generation who embraces the same spirit and style of the excellent ealier editions.
   nicely done.
   glad I updated my copy.
   Also comes with a great water proof-tear proof map.
   buy this book.

No comments about American Indian Archival Material: A Guide to Holdings in the Southeast.

No comments about Wanderings of an Artist Among the Indians of North America.