No comments about Insiders' Guide to Columbus, Ohio, 2nd (Insiders' Guide Series).

1 comments about Best Easy Day Hikes Grand Teton, 2nd (Best Easy Day Hikes Series).

1. I used this book when my friends and I hiked in the Grand Teton National Park. It was such a good guide to let us know where to find the trailheads and what to expect on the hikes. We all had a good time!

1 comments about Walt Disney World & Orlando For Dummies 2008 (Walt Disney World and Orlando for Dummies).

1. Compared to my other five disney world books that I have purchased pre-vacation, this one is my least favorite. It does give a lot of information, but I do not like how it is layed out in the book. The text layout is just not enjoyable to read.

5 comments about Going Back to Bisbee.

1. What fun we had tracing Richard Shelton's steps (and drive) through the Arizona desert. He's personal stories throughout this book are great. The information on the flora and fauna are very detailed. The history on this desert area itself is fascinating.



2. This is a terrific book. I live in Arizona and learned so much from reading it. It is never boring and is full of information and fun stuff.
   I even learned a few new words for things that happen in Arizona.
   I would highly recommend this book.



3. Others have already heaped praise on Mr. Shelton and this book, so I can't improve on that. But you must also try his 2007 book "Crossing the Yard". It is every bit as good, if not better,Crossing the Yard: Thirty Years as a Prison Volunteer than "Going back to Bisbee"



4. "And I'm going back to Bisbee, not really knowing why. Perhaps it is because two years of my life were left there, put behind me, and now I have reached an age at which I cannot afford to forget even two years out of those allotted to me. Perhaps I am looking for the spirit of a mountain I never knew, a mountain which became a crater on whose edge I lived for two years, happily, while the landscape and earth around me was being destroyed. Or perhaps it is just nostalgia. I was happy there, while the destruction went on for twenty-four hours a day, and now I want to go back" (pp. 21-22).
   
   Richard Shelton is an Arizona writer and poet. His 1992 memoir Going Back to Bisbee won the Western States Book Award for Creative Nonfiction in 1992 and was selected for the 2007 One Book Arizona program. It is his love song to Bisbee, a desert city with a European feel located 82 miles southeast of Tucson in the mile-high mountains of southern Arizona. With his poet's eye for detail, Shelton immerses his reader in the landscape, flora, and fauna of the Sonoran desert as he makes his nostalgic journey (in the temperamental van he proudly calls "Blue Boy") from Tucson to Bisbee, where he taught English in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Along the way, he not only revisits the natural history of southeastern Arizona, but he reveals the beauty of the Sonoran desert, even capturing in words the scent of the desert when it smells like rain. Ultimately, Shelton's highly-recommended memoir reveals that Bisbee is as much a state of mind as a place. I should know. I have Bisbee dust in my blood. I was born and raised there. And like Shelton, I was happy there. I say read the book, and then experience Bisbee for yourself.
   
   G. Merritt



5. GOING BACK TO BISBEE is essentially a memoir augmented by plenty of history, both natural and human. It won an award in 1992 for "creative nonfiction" and I can understand why. The conceit of the book, which is taken up by the title, is a drive by the author Richard Shelton from his current hometown of Tucson to Bisbee, Arizona, where he had spent two years of his life, newly married and a fledgling teacher, fresh out of the military, about thirty years earlier. He intersperses his account of his half-day-long, 100-mile drive with recollections of his personal life in Southern Arizona, stories of the history of the area (for example, the Apaches, the U.S. Army, and a century of mining), and sidebars on the flora, fauna, and geography of the region. The book ends with Shelton back in Bisbee, having dinner with an old friend and grande dame of the former mining town re-invented as a center for the arts.
   
   For my taste, the "going back to Bisbee" conceit is a little too artificial and forced, and the anthropomorphism to which Shelton is prone becomes mildly annoying, especially when repeatedly used with reference to the van, "Blue Boy," in which he makes his trip. But on the whole, the book is very engaging. It certainly is a much more entertaining way of learning about Colorado river toads, Perry's agave, coyotes, mesquite, and many similar subjects than the typical natural history guide. At the same time one learns much about the destruction of the landscape by the Anglo invasion and their cattle-ranching and mining without undue preaching, and one is treated to a number of interesting personal anecdotes, some of which are genuinely funny.
   
   Hence, GOING BACK TO BISBEE can be recommended on a number of levels, but it would be especially appreciated, I think, by those interested in the Sonoran desert and the mountains of Southern Arizona.

5 comments about Hollywood Then and Now (Then & Now).

1. I was given this book by a friend because he knows I was raised in Hollywood and love the history of the area. The archival photographs are quite nicely reproduced, however, the current photographs are very poor. I enjoy digital photography and was in Hollywood a few weeks ago and visited the same historic scenes from this book. I quite easily found the angle of the original shots found in this book.. why this book showed those same shots but taken from different angles than the original photos is beyond me. The modern photos in this book are also very unflattering, out of focus and even amateur in appearance... not much more than snapshots.

   The worst thing about this book are the many obvious mistakes in locations and historic details. What a shame.




2. I had been so impressed with the quality and accuracy of Rosemary Lord's book LOS ANGELES THEN AND NOW that I was delighted to find this new book HOLLYWOOD THEN AND NOW. It is brilliant and fascinating. This is an impressive, informative history of Hollywood. I worked in the Hollywood Motion Picture Industry during much of this time and Lord has captured the world I remember so well. I was pleased to see this book on the L.A. Times Bestseller List in January when it first came out and have bought several copies as they make great gifts. I look forward to her next book.



3. I had been so impressed with the quality and accuracy of Rosemary Lord's book LOS ANGELES THEN AND NOW that I was delighted to find her new book HOLLYWOOD THEN AND NOW. It is brilliant and fascinating. This is an impressive, informative history of Hollywood. I worked in the Hollywood Motion Picture Industry during much of this time and Lord has captured the world I remember so well. I was pleased to see this book on the L.A. Times Bestseller List in January when it first came out and have bought several copies as they make wonderful classy gifts. I look forward to her next book.



4. Great book if you have ever been to Hollywood. Bought this after visiting Hollywood and enjoyed relating the sites I saw to how they looked originally



5. 
   As my title said, (in 50 words or less) this book is a "photographic display of HOLLYWOOD, -- then and in the early 2000's".
   
   I found the book highly informative and enjoyable. Yes, the photos are in black and white, however, I believe the author did this to show continuum.
   
   The book is filled with (mostly) large photos of Hollywood, before and after time had changed the topography and architectural styles of the area.

1 comments about Frontier.

1. In this book he has written a series of essays that whet your appetite for more information on and history of the peoples who settled America. He broadens our mindset of what "frontier" means in regards to America's settlement, in both timeframe and area of the country. For him, all of America was once a frontier - not just our usual limited concept of "the west". Any fan of L'Amour will like this book. As usual, he leaves you satisfied, and at the same time wanting just a little more, just like any good storyteller.The breathtaking, awesome photography makes you want to leave home and go discover the places photographed for yourself.

4 comments about Haunted Hikes of New Hampshire.

1. I moved to California 15 years ago after being a life-long resident of New England. In her book, O'Connnor manages to give us the gift of a bird's eye view of the haunted places and hikes associated with them in New Hampshire in both a charming and a little scary way. I can't wait to get back there to try some of the hikes. I especially like the way she rates them according to difficulty, awarding "ghost" icons to each description. Especially helpful are her very detailed directions on how to get to the beginning of each hike, and overall what to expect. As I am an elementary school teacher, I would love to take my class on some of these hikes. Her recounts of the scary stuff are enthralling. I found myself able to transport myself back in time to the misty, spectral past of New Hampshire, and imagine that the people in these stories really lived.



2. What a treat this book is. It is perfect to set the stage for group hikes with kids. The excitement about the history of the mountain and the tales of mysterious encounters really get the kids geared up to hike. They actually like it more and forget the difficulty. They find themselves atop the mountain with big smiles. Thanks for book, I will use it often.



3. One thing about hiking is that kids often need a little extra motivation to want to do the hike. O'Connor has added the "haunted" aspect, which provides that extra motivation. The hike descriptions are easy to follow and the stories of the "hauntings" are well written and engaging.



4. Haunted Hikes of New Hampshire is a hiking trail guide with a difference. From ghost towns of Monson Center and Indian Arrowhead Forest, to the UFO of Indian Head, to tales of Satan at Devil's Den Mountain, each hike is presented with a black-and-white map, and a scary story of its history. A handful of black-and-white photographs intersperse this spooky delight enthusiastically recommended for hikers in search of not just natural splendor, but also the unexplained majesty of the preternatural.

1 comments about Hiking Colorado's Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness.

1. This book has been one of the best hiking books I've purchased so far. The hikes it has for the Aspen and Maroon Bells area are phenomenal! It also includes some great hikes in the Collegiate peaks area. The only drawback is that about one-third of the hikes in the book require high clearance or 4 wheel drive vehicles to get to.

4 comments about Arizona's 144 Best Campgrounds.

1. Author/photographer James Tallon has divided Arizona into eight regions, then included charts and maps, information on fishing sites, climate and more to make this an extremely comprehensive guide to the state'e public campgrounds. It is illustrated with page after page of full-color photographs, contained in a conveniently compact 8 3/4 x 5-inch format.
   Tallon admits that the campgrounds selected were his own choices for "ambiance, pulchritude and serenity." He says:
   "At each of the campgrounds in this book, depending on the amenities available, I tried to consider the broad spectrum of campers, from those who need nothing more than a ground cloth and a sleeping bag to those at the top of the comfort chain in bus-size motorhomes with two bedrooms and 1 1/2 baths. A common ground for campers within these extremes is an appreciation of scenery, wildlife, natural and historic wonders, and outdoor recreation--including fishing, hiking, hunting, biking and bird-watching."
   Tallon has roamed, written about and photographed Arizona's backcountry for over 30 years. While researching this book, he visited more than 215 campgrounds.



2. Using this book will give you the ultimate camping experience in Arizona. Slight changes compared to previous editions, especially in opening and closing dates of the campground.



3. This is an outstanding book with nice pictures and accurate directions.



4. I am a HUGE fan of Jim Tallon's. This book is a must have!

1 comments about Hiking Utah's High Uintas: 99 Day and Overnight Hikes (Regional Hiking Series).

1. This is a great resource for utah trails. Descriptions and trail information are perfect to help hikers find the right path for an adventure.