5 comments about The Gentleman's Guide to Passages South.

1. Generally good advice for the first timer out there making their way south and always a good reference guide as you go back and forth.
   
   Just take the personal opinions in fun. He is not all there like he thinks he is. When you bump into him you will know what I mean.
   
   Overall, worth the salt!



2. Bruce Van Sant may be opinionated about the best way to take a cruising boat down the "Thorny Path," but those opinions are based on years of experience. Not everyone agrees with everything he's written, but even those who disagree (typically on one detail or another) will tell you that in general Van Sant's methods are based on sound principles. He gives you strategies if not a way of life that has worked for him for decades. Best of all, when you get to Luperon in the Dominican Republic you can look him up and tell him how the trip has gone so far.



3. I had a chance to have a beer and talk to Bruce in January in Luperon, D.R. where Bruce lives with his wife. Bruce is very articulate, intelligent , well read and a wealth of sea knowlege. He is also facing some quite debilitating health issues which has pretty much ended his sea going years. His books are filled with great nuggets on weather windows, island hopping and beating the battle with the wind seas. His experience cannot be challenged. Get the book and read it with a highliter !



4. This is a must have guide for a first time crusier as we are if your going to ventured south saftley.



5. Bruce Van Sant is more than a little over-bearing in his style. Smug and self-congratulatory are his middle names. That said, the man has written an excellent,excellent book chock-full of insights, caveats, how-to's,and how-NOT to's, right down to a great but simple recipe for beer bread! There are at least a dozen good books you should have on board when you depart Fort Lauderdale for the Islands and boy, this is ONE of them for sure. Buy it! You will read it again and again.

5 comments about Top Maui Restaurants 2008 From Thrifty to Four Star: Indispensable Advice from Experts Who Live, Play & Eat on Maui.

1. great reviews of maui restaurants. we've been fooled in the past and valued this guide.



2. MY HUSBAND AND I ARE PLANNING A TRIP TO MAUI THIS COMING NOVEMBER, AND I ALWAYS LOOK FORWARD TO THE FOOD. JUST READING THROUGH THIS BOOK IS FUN, AND FULL OF INFORMATION THAT ONLY SOMEONE WHO REALLY KNOWS MAUI'S GOOD, BAD, EXCELLENT PLACES TO EAT WOULD BE ABLE TO SHARE. I APPRECIATE HOW THEY BREAK THE RESTAURANTS DOWN TO AREA, MAKES IT EVEN EASIER TO PLAN.
   
   CAN'T WAIT TO TRY ALEXANDERS FISH AND CHIPS!!!!



3. We bought this book in early 2008 in anticipation of our 4 week trip to Maui in August. We've visited Maui twice in the past and could have used the book back then. We read the entire book before the trip, it was a fun read and got us really excited! We highlighted places we were interested in trying and we did not have one disappointing meal.
   
   We cooked quite a few meals in our condo but the places we went to in between for breakfast, lunch and dinner were all good to sensational: Sansei (went 3 times, incredible food), Flatbread Company (best pizza we've ever had!), Cilantro Fresh Mexican Grill (we had the wonderful roasted chicken twice and the fish tacos), Seawatch for breakfast (very impressive and not too expensive, average $10 for breakfast but warning - watch out for the add-ons. Our son's $8.00 french toast turned into a $30 breakfast with extra sausage, strawberries and 2 glasses of juice. We did go back a second time and advised him not to say yes every time the server suggested something else to go with his meal.
   
   Kihei Caffe (first morning upon arrival we woke up and checked the book for a breakfast suggestion. We were very happy and ended up going there twice, lots of food for excellent prices), Cafe Mambo - we tried the duck fajitas, thank you for recommending them, they were marvelous! Ma'alaea Waterfront Restaurant (fantastic dinner, wonderful view, superb service).
   
   The book is organized alphabetically with the option at the front to search by different categories. Sometimes we wanted to look for a place by area such as Kihei or Kahalui and sometimes we'd just search for best breakfast, dinner, steak etc. It was extremely handy to have the address, phone number and hours of business listed at the end of each write-up. We didn't need to go searching in the phonebook! The updated PDF file of the book is a very thoughtful idea for customers.
   
   We have recommended this book to several of our friends and we will be taking it with us on our next trip to Maui. It made our trip more relaxing not having to stress about finding places to eat and wondering if it's good or not. Plus the recommendations to try certain dishes were very helpful.
   Great job James & Molly!



4. There are lots of good restaurants on Maui. But this book gives a great selection of the best ones, whether they are casual, local places or the priciest places on the island. With purchase of the book, you also have free access to the latest edition of their monthly updated website, so that you can check out any current changes.



5. Top Maui Restaurants 2008 From Thrifty to Four Star: Indispensable Advice from Experts Who Live, Play & Eat on Maui
   
   James and Molly Jacobson are a pair of well-heeled restaurant reviewers who don't want you to miss a four-star restaurant or bargain dive that serves great food. They make sure your visit is packed with options for great food broken down by location. They will direct you to the very best of places to eat on the island. Don't plan a trip to Maui without first reading this book.

5 comments about Hebrew in 10 Minutes a Day® (10 Minutes a Day).

1. Its a great product, although I would have liked to include cursive hebrew. There are a few times when it tests you, although its mostly just practice. So far anyways, I'm about a 1/4 the way through.



2. The book is great. It is helping me to learn the language in a fun manner and it is relatively simple to understand.



3. I really enjoyed working my way through this book. It was a lot of fun, and a good start for someone familiar with the Hebrew Aleph-Bet ( say from Hebrew school ), but otherwise starting from the beginning...especially if planning a trip to Israel! Only serves as an introduction in terms of verbs.



4. The Kershul method of learning is a great way to learn a new language. I took this method of language learning to help me learn Russian well over twenty years ago and I still remember much of the course curriculum. I would recommend this method of learning as a supplement to actual immersion training for everyone.



5. I own several books on learning Hebrew - and I didn't find this one very helpful (read: waste of money). If you want to really learn the language well and quickly, try ALEPH ISN'T TOUGH, by Linda Motzkin. It is in workbook format, will teach you how to write cursive AND script, and uses biblical phrases to teach the language. The book also offers and excellent chart on all of the letters (both cursive and script), as well as vowels - well worth keeping long after you complete the book for later reference. This book is a great primer, preparing the student to move on to studying either biblical OR contemporary Hebrew. It allowed me to skip a first level Hebrew class and go straight into level 2. Strongly recommended.

No comments about Fodor's Chile, 4th Edition: Including Argentine Patagonia (Fodor's Gold Guides).

5 comments about Roadside Geology of Northern and Central California.

1. As an owner of the original 1975 edition, I was both impressed and dissapointed by the scope of this edition. In the expanded text, modern geologic theory is covered in plain-English in a manner that makes this a must-have for any geology student or enthusiast. An incredible amount of information lies within the covers in easy to digest segments.
   The new road maps themselves however suffer from trying to cover too many miles in too few pages. Compared to the 1st edition, the geologic "points of interest" are fewer and farther between and many notable geologic features are missed or ignored. (It's almost as if Alt and Hyndman rushed a couple of weekend trips along various highways while dictating notes as they whizzed by obvious rock formations.)
   Still, it's an excellent reference that does a credible job of covering a 100,000+ square mile area full of some of the most varied and complex geology on the planet.
   Good reading both at home and on the road and perfect by itself for the casually curious. Students, teachers and rockhounds will find it to be a valuable "companion book" to more detailed texts as this volume presents only "the big picture" as viewed from the roadside.



2. Begins with an accessible description of the major processes that worked to form the diverse and dramatic geology of Northern California. It is a good introductory discussion and introduces most of the concepts referred to in the rest of the book. The roadside guides identify appropriate points of interest and do a good job describing their significance. My only major complaint typifies each of the offerings in this series. The geologic maps (which I believe are the most helpful tool in Geologic synthesis) are in red, black and white are not very clear at all but there are a number of other helpful diagrams that make the text more readable. The text might be a bit of a slog for someone without a Geology background but would not be impossible and should be fairly accessible with just a little initiation. And, after all, Northern California's geology is too sublime for it to just be a bunch of rocks we drive by.



3. This is an updated version of the book and is an improvement over the previous one. It's intended for use by casual readers and does a very fine job of it.



4. This is definitely a good book. I have already taken it on a few road trips, and have had a good time learning about the geology of the area I was at. It has also been updated with more info about the bay area (compared to the older prints).



5. I've used this book many times over the years on trips up and down the state of California. Driving up interstate 5, it can turn an otherwise boring trip up the central valley into something actually fun. For example, the author explains that the low moutains that parallel much of I-5 to the west in the central and north valley are known as the Central Valley Sequence, and mark the subduction zone for the Pacific and north American plates. Very cool. I'd been driving by those mountains for twenty years before I brought Alt's book on one trip and discovered that.
   
   Clearly and concisely written, it's an interesting guide to the observable geological features of much of California. Although not for real rock hounds or petrologists, it still dispenses a great deal of interesting and useful information, and will be especially helpful to fans of natural history who lack formal training in geology but who want to learn something about it for their state.

3 comments about Frommer's Chile & Easter Island, 1st Edition (Frommer's Complete).

1. I just went guidebook hunting at the local bookstore, and I settled on Frommer's Chile & Easter Island.. It's the most recently updated, and that makes a big difference. Santiago is in the midst of finishing (and beginning) some very big infrastructure projects. For example, Santiago has a new modern (but very confusing) bus system, and the metro more than doubled in miles over the past year. This Frommers guide has a great color map with metro stops in the front cover.
   
   The info in the Lonely Planet and other guidebooks is a couple years old. Plus the Frommers book seems to have the best information about private tour operators.
   
   Other bonuses include a chapter on Ushuaia, Argentina.



2. As the author of the newly-revised "Complete Guide to Easter Island" I believe I can say with some authority that I am qualified to comment on the Easter Island portion of this book and I might not feel so strongly about doing so if the title of the book didn't include "Easter Island".
   
   With the release of its first edition of "Chile and Easter Island", Frommer's has joined the community of guidebook publishers to offer coverage of, duh, Chile and Easter Island, though in keeping with many such guidebooks -- Moon Handbooks and Lonely Planet among them -- there is an inexplicably inadequate and disproportionate percentage of space devoted to Easter Island despite the fact that "Easter Island" shares half the book's title. (Note, by the way, that this review focuses on the Easter Island portion of the book and does not address the coverage of Chile in general -- so please keep that in mind before turning on Flame Mode.) As for the coverage here, 12.5 pages out of 483 are devoted to Easter Island, which represents only 2.6%. Compare this with Moon Handbooks Chile and Easter Island at 3% and Lonely Planet's Chile and Easter Island at 3.7% and it doesn't seem too out of line. However, there's more to coverage than the number of pages. Moreover, and interestingly enough, despite the absence of "Easter Island" in the title of Moon Handbooks South Pacific or Moon Handbooks Tahiti or even Insight's Chile, the number of pages devoted to Easter Island in these works is much more generous at 21, 23, and 21 pages, respectively. Even looking at more than half a dozen major recent guidebooks by number of pages shows that Frommer's is below the 17.4 page average.
   
   As a new entry in guidebooks with Easter Island coverage I'm inclined to be more forgiving, except that it seems evident the authors failed to learn from earlier and better works on the subject, such by David Stanley or Wayne Bernhardson -- authors who seem to have a handle on what Easter Island is about, not just what it is to visit the place. Thus, what is particularly damning about this first Frommer's edition is the relative absence of anything about the people of Easter Island; it is informational about a visit, perhaps even a bit abstract, but little more. Still, the text is reasonably well written and informative and appears to be fairly up-to-date, except for a few gaffes (they pluralize some Rapanui words like "moai" by erroneously using an "s" -- Rapanui has no such letter in its alphabet); they make the same stupid statement many authors ignorantly make about Ahu Akivi being the "only ahu facing out to sea" (when in fact it, like all other ahu, face inland to ceremonial centers); there is an inane reference to the Te Pito te Kura stone as being magnetic, which is sensational at best because much of the geology of island has magnetic properties; and they employ the usual blather about the stonework at Vinapu giving rise to theories about South American connections to Easter Island (but without explaining why such theories are not only incorrect but have been abandoned).
   
   The authors wisely recommend that visitors rent a vehicle to get the most out of the island rather than relying solely on local guide services, though they appropriately heap high praise on Ramon Edmunds and Josie Nahoe Mulloy of Haumaka Archaeological Tours -- and they rightfully observe that even four days is barely enough time to see what the island has to offer. They also note that one can and should walk the streets of Hanga Roa rather than having to rely on other transportation, but oddly enough they devote virtually no space to shopping for souvenirs, checking out the feria, or mentioning why one should experience the island's church on Sunday mornings. Neither do they devote much coverage to "night life" but that may be just as well given the sedate contrast between the restaurants and the raging intensity of the discos on the weekends.
   
   As with other, similar guidebooks, this one divides accommodations by price range, though departing from their own convention, they do not divide dining this way, despite the fact that there are big differences from, say, Merahi Ra'a (which is modest and relatively inexpensive) and Te Moana (which is fancy and expensive). As is typical with many tour books about Easter Island, they rave about La Taverne du Pêcheur probably because it has become chic to do so rather than acknowledge the banal truth about its pricey food, its pathetically slow service, and its needlessly surly owner. (With alternatives like the recently-opened Au Bout du Monde, La Taverne hardly has a monopoly on French cuisine on the island and the quality of food and service at the former could very well run the latter out of business.) The book also sub-divides the island into South Coast, North of Hanga Roa, South of Hanga Roa, and Northeast Coast, with routine if woefully brief information as to what's available to see in these regions, and, with only a single page devoted to rudimentary maps of the island and Hanga Roa, one hopes the visitor will have another guidebook or other resources to turn to before planning a trip to or arriving on the island. There is brief mention of the Biblioteca William Mulloy, MAPSE, and outdoor activities like horseback riding and scuba/snorkeling, though the statement that, because vehicular access to places like Terevaka has been prohibited, "some locals still sneak up" to Terevaka "in a 4×4" is irresponsible to mention, as if it were a tacit encouragement to violate this prohibition.
   
   In short, this first venture by Frommer's barely meets the minimum standards for coverage of Easter Island, despite such high billing in the title of the work. Since there are many other, better works available, and since the authors apparently didn't see fit to turn to them to make their own guidebook better, to say nothing of the question of just how much time they spent on the island itself (because it doesn't appear to have made it onto the pages of the book), it seems they merely wish to compete with guidebooks using similar names -- but the similarly shallow depth of information contained in this guidebook will ultimately make for a disappointing visit by anyone solely relying on it for a visit to our favorite little island.



3. We are planning a trip to Chile and the information in this guide nicely compliments our other guide to Chile by Insight Guide. We recommend both; one is great for pictures and the Frommer's Guide is packed with valuable travel recommendations.

3 comments about The Conde Nast Traveler Book of Unforgettable Journeys: Great Writers on Great Places.

1. I was disappointed in this book because the stories are so lifeless. There are a lot of facts about each destination but it falls extremely short of inspiring travel. I think the people who wrote the chapters need a little excitement in their lives...but I'm not sure where they'll get it if Greece, Italy, England and South America don't evoke enough emotion for them. Maybe Cleveland.



2. I was looking forward to sinking myself into this book and finding myself dying to go to some of the places mentioned in the book. The book did not give me this feeling. Some of the essays were very good at convincing me not to travel to these places, i.e. Pico Iyer's Ethiopia for one. Others were just blah.. Only a few inspired.



3. The previous two reviewers both gave this two stars only. I think the arrangement of the articles, alphabetically by country, detracts from the power of the best entries here. The magazine obviously can attract top authors to contribute, yet the selections vary widely in length, focus, and inherent interest. While there are eight or ten fine pieces, too many others trudge along dutifully and make you wonder why, except for the commission from their publisher, the author bothered at all.
   
   There's not much in the way of editorial guidance. A skimpy introduction, and while each entry does have appended a relevant supplement that appears to be lifted from what would have accompanied the original article, there's no byline to verify or deny this. These "service addenda" are credited only in a list ending the acknowledgements. So, I'm not sure who wrote each one; only two of the authors appear here in this endnote. These suggested itineraries, reading lists, or travel tips, as with the original entries, veer all over the place in quality. From two decades, if these are the best 21 articles from "eighteen eminent contributors," then I'm glad I did not have to read the rest of the magazine's articles that didn't make the cut.
   
   Gregor von Rezzori floats down the Romanian Danube but fails to make us want to follow; Russell Banks did the same for me in the Everglades. Jan Morris on the Big Island of Hawai'i, Nik Cohn in Savannah, Edna O'Brien at Bath, and Patricia Storace in Provence all provide serviceable reports, but none of these grabbed my interest enough. Nicole Krauss enters Japanese gardens in Kyoto, and she does conjure up if you're curious why they cast their spell. Shirley Hazzard tells where to go on Capri, and again the appeal may lure those so inclined. Robert Hughes on Barcelona-- he wrote a long book on the city-- falls into masses of detail beyond the scope of a short essay. Philip Gourevitch uses his experience as an African reporter well, and if you're more curious about safaris than I am, it's a helpful primer. But, despite the noble attempts at ecological journalism by Suketu Mehta from along the endangered Himalayas, his contribution's tonally out of place among the more personal approach of the other entries. I liked better Edmund White's discussion of Petra's natural beauty and eerie remains. Simon Winchester dares to hike up volcanic Mount Mayon in the Philippines and you feel his pain.
   
   My favorite essays? Pico Iyer's visits to Iceland and Ethiopia both reveal, in a very religious vs. a rather secular locale, a poignant sense of the primeval beauty and terror that seem to have endured before mankind's arrival. Francine Prose in tracing Kafka through Prague certainly follows a well-worn path, but her knack for the uncanny makes her essay succeed: she ends it with a vignette of walking along as the streetlights blink out, rather than timed on, at her approach. William Dalrymple finds along his own pilgrim's trail to Compostella a vigorous counter to the pieties and predictabilities of a familiar traveller's tale. These three writers manage to show us what we may already know, as they do, while keeping an eye out for the happenstance. They mix the historical and the recent well, and do not descend into a potted recital of guidebook lore or hackneyed glimpses of quirky local color.
   
   Patricia Storace shows how invisible the reality of Athens is in its ruins and its legends that persist amidst a gossipy, noisy, and frank exchange of daily routine among its bustling and busybody natives. Similarly, Robert Hughes enters the funereal remnants of ghostly Etruria to plumb sarcophagi where the natural and the man-made appear to have exchanged places, such is their decay into the caves beneath the glare.
   
   Finally a couple of places I had no interest in going to, but whose narratives kept me eager to find out what happens next to the writer. James Truman drolly does this in Iran to elegant effect. John Julius Norwich elbows us through the Vatican; it's accompanied by a very detailed insider's walking tour of how to navigate the labyrinthine museums. Whoever wrote this skillful guide on what to see and what to miss amidst the Roman throngs deserves extra editorial credit.

5 comments about Boston (Eyewitness Travel Guides).

1. My family and I took a trip to Boston in July 2006. This guide was incredibly helpful. We used this little book our whole trip. There is a great section on Boston on a budget and a wonderful map in the back.



2. Used this book for a 2 day trip. I like the pictures and images and history, but it's a bit light on other things. It didn't do as good of a job helping to prioritize. I'd buy them again, but only as a supplement to other bigger guides, not as my primary.



3. I spent a week in Boston and this book was great in helping me plan that trip. It offers lots of suggestions by region of the city which was a great way to plan. The restaurant recommendations were excellent and it is always fun to see what they recommend as the regional dishes. For those looking to soak up the history, culture and fun of Boston this is a great book to use in planning that trip.



4. As with all Eyewitness Travel Guides - you can't do better. Great breakdowns by area, highlights of top tourist places and lots of other items of interest, also a great brief history. The book brought out lots of special interest info that the guides didn't even talk about.



5. I purchased this guide and the new england guide as a package deal from Amazon.
   This was a mistake since the boston chapter in the new england book gives the same info as this one.
   
   aside from this, the book is great as any of the Eyewitness books I purchased so far.

5 comments about Butterfly: An Erotic Odyssey - Thailand, Cambodia, Philippines (Sex in Southeast Asia).

1. I've gone to these places and did some of the things Steven did. I only wish I did more of them. This book is the best accounting of a s ex trip. I take alot of them and would reccomend this book as a guide book to anyone who wants to do the same.
   
   Jim Clarey
   Hoboken NJ



2. This book had some good moments and believable characters but became very tedious and repetitive as it basically documents the "notches" on the author's bedpost. Although the author seems to think he's a star in between the sheets, the low level descriptive language and the lack of variation makes for a very dull read.



3. This is one of the most entertaining and exciting reads I've come across in a long time. I came across this book by chance, in a used bookstore, but was impressed enough by the first chapter that I bought it and what a read it is!! If you're the kind of person who feels that anyone who goes to Thailand and has great times with working girls is evil, this is not the book for you. If your mind is more open, then this book is certainly worth a read.



4. I think butterfly is a great book I have been to southeast asia a few times. And a lot of the places he mentions in the book. The gogo bars in soi cowboy and nana plaza the bars in pattaya are all places Ive been before. He does a great job describing all these places and the beautiful women. He makes me miss it. I want to go back. Anyway if you have been to southeast asia before or you are planning on going I highly recommend this book.



5. This is a great book. Keeps the reader turning page. finished the book in one sitting. well written book and great topic.

4 comments about Poor Man's Provence: Finding Myself in Cajun Louisiana.

1. All ethnic groups have their on distinct qualities and because of this most are completely misunderstood. Cajuns are no exception. I know when I was a kid I wanted be black. I truly didn't understand why then, but over the years thinking back I know it was because of the sense of pride that most of my black friends had. Ms. Johnson has tapped in to the Cajun pride. She conveys with humor and humility the love they have for their land and family, as well for others not of their ethnicity. Her love for them shines brightly. I love this book and highly recommend it to all.



2. Somewhat like the wonderful nonfiction works of Least Heat Moon's "Blue Highways" and Raban's "Passage to Juneau", only better, much better. Like those two travel novels, "Poor Man's Provence", entertains with unique true anecdotes and historical facts about the down home exotic people and places of the Acadiana ("Cajun") Country, Louisiana. Woven into the colorful quilt of her writing, Rheta Grimsley Johnson also gives us wicked irony, Twain like humor and a little subtle, sincere, simple human philosophy. Unlike "Blue Highways" and "Passage to Juneau", "Poor Man's Provence" is not a travelogue, but instead represents ten years of learning and loving the gentle folks of Cajun Louisiana. It's a great book to read if you think that you will ever want to see this part of the American South, and it's still plenty entertaining even if you just want to get to know the natives vicariously. If there is any justice in such things, this must read book should win lots of awards.



3. Poor Man's Provence: - Having a fair amount of familiarity with the area and people, I'd say Mrs. Grimsley wrote as good of a memoir of this part of Louisiana as any. Whether one is familiar with the area of not, it would be worth reading it ahead of time to get the most of the visit to Cajun Country. From beginning to end I felt like I knew the central figures in this non-fictional memoir, Johnelle & Jennette, and they didn't disapoint. The place is crawling with people like them and it'll please and even surprise them all to know a transplant appreciates them for just being themselves. Whether the writer, Miss Rheta(as locals would call her), intended it or not, she and Don are now a part of Cajun's lives forever and we're all grateful for her memoir and presence.



4. In 1996, after having covered the South for over three decades as a newspaper reporter and columnist, Rheta Grimsley Johnson., with her husband Don, journeyed from their home in Iuka, Miss., to the shores of the vast Atchafalaya Swamp.
   
   They purchased the Green Queen, a gawky one-room houseboat, and soon bought a cottage in the nearby town of Henderson, which "may well be the funkiest little town in Louisiana." There she fell in love with the people, traditions and culture of Acadiana.
   
   A marvelous prose stylist, Johnson delivers a glowing encomium of the Cajuns--their music, food, occupations and celebrations--a people bubbling with joie de vivre and having an unselfish commitment to family and friends--"the salt of the earth"--who will literally give you the shirt off their back.
   
   For the past decade, Rheta and Don have made their second home in Henderson, where they enjoy authentic Cajun culture. In Poor Man's Provence, she debunks the myth that "all Cajuns are illiterate hicks, backwards bumpkins."
   
   Poor Man's Provence reveals a warm humanity and is a fun book to read.
   
   Rheta Grimsely Johnson's reporting has won awards including the Ernie Pyle Memorial Award for human interest reporting (1983), the Headliner Award for commentary (1985), and the American Society of Newspaper Editors' Distinguished Writing Award for commentary (1982). In 1986 she was inducted into the Scripps Howard Newspapers Editorial Hall of Fame, and in 1991 Johnson was one of three finalists for the Pulitzer Prize for commentary. Syndicated today by King Features, Johnson's column appears in about fifty papers nationwide. She is the author of several books, including America's Faces (1987) and Good Grief: The Story of Charles M. Schulz (1989). A native of Colquitt, Georgia, Johnson grew up in Montgomery, Alabama, studied journalism at Auburn University and has lived and worked in the South all of her career. She and her husband Don Grierson live with three dogs and two cats in Iuka, Mississippi, and Henderson, Louisiana.