No comments about Great Smoky Mountains & Shenandoah National Parks.

5 comments about West Virginia Atlas & Gazetteer.

1. I bought the Atlas and Gazetter for WV and MD. These books are essential equipment for getting out and enjoying the back roads. The topo info tells you if it will be flat and sunny or hilly and shady. I am really impressed with the detail of the maps. If they could make it in a water proof edition it would be perfect.



2. I bought this West Virginia Map and Gazetteer in order to help my husband and I find our way through WV. We're most interested in the topography - elevations, rivers, creeks, etc. I would recommend using this book map in conjunction with a regular road map, because there isn't quite enough detail for smaller roads, but it's a great place to start.



3. This atlas fills a void because it gives a very clear picture of the terrain as well as roads. I like having these atlases along to give the context for hiking excursions, as well as showing the back road ways to get there. The section on special sights to see in WV is very helpful as well. There is no substitute for more detailed topographical maps for actual hiking trails, but this atlas is a necessart intermediate step between topos and road maps.



4. This book provides complete and thurough topographical maps for the entire state of West Virginia. If you enjoy hiking, fishing, camping, exploring in this great state, you need this atlas. At first I was surprised at the details provided in this book. I was able to find even the smallest of streams and geographical features. Now, after using it so many times, I would be surprised if a stream is not on this map.
   
   The bottom line is that you need this atlas if you enjoy the West Virginia outdoors.



5. Once again this series of maps has been outstanding. The ease in reading and applying the info to the road is way above par. And for railroad enthusiasts, this is the only map published with railroad details that are current and precise.

5 comments about Nature Guide to the Carolina Coast: Common Birds, Crabs, Shells, Fish, and Other Entities of the Coastal Environment.

1. For the past four years I have had a place at the beach. Dr. Meyer's book has become our bible. Using it, shells, shorebirds and seaside flora are easily identified by my family, friends and renters. Being an amateur photographer, I am in total awe of the skill of the other physician who took the pictures.



2. Overall an ok book for a beginner. If you come into this as a naturalist you will likely be disapointed. There are some other serious problems that I was able to spot straight out.

   Plate 40. "Auger Shells" One of the 'augers' is not only NOT an auger and it's not even from the Carolinas at all. It's the Common Vertagus (a certh) from the Indo-Pacific (likely from the Philippines).

   Plate 54. "Oyster Drills". Contains several Murexes in addition to the drills.

   Plate 59. Sundials. The figured Sundial is not The American Sundial (Architectonica nobilis) but rather the Clear Sundial (Architectonica perspectiva) also from the Indo-Pacific.

   The substitution of shells from the other side of the world really shows sloppy work in this guide. The other major problem I have with the book is that it just isn't complete enough; it only shows a small fraction of the plants and animals that one finds on Carolina coasts. The naturalist who trys to depend on this book will likely be frustrated and will find that they need other guides. As an introduction for a beginner it is ok, short the above noted plate problems.




3. Being a transplant from Michigan, I had little knowledge of coastal animals and plants. I purchased this book to satisfy my curiosity. I'm not knowledgeable enough as the other reviewer who found the inaccuracies in the book. I thoroughly enjoyed reading the book. The information is presented in a very interesting way and all the photographs are in color. I can't wait to spend more time on the coast and see some of the creatures myself. I'll definitely have this guide on hand. I also enjoyed the respect the author has for nature.



4. My goal in purchasing this book, which pulls together information about birds, shells, dune plants, and fish was to be able to pack one slim volume instead of the bag of field guides I usually took to the Outer Banks. After two trips to North Carolina in the last year, I have found that I still need to carry a couple of other references because this is not comprehensive in any one of its categories--and how could it be at 148 pages? However, Meyer's guide does manage to cover many of the specimens commonly found along the Carolina coast. Furthermore, it is written in a graceful voice that keeps you reading long after you've put a name to the beastie you found on the beach. It is not childish or simple at all, but it can be used by the entire family. It stirs wonder.



5. WE took this to the beach with us this year and my kids used it every day. WE had so much fun with it. The pictures in the book are great for identifying shells, fish, etc. at the SC and NC Coast. We found a lot of the things pictured in the book. Easy to understand descriptions! I recommend this book to anyone ... especially homeschooling families!!!

2 comments about The Cheap Bastard's Guide to Boston: Secrets of Living the Good Life--For Free! (Cheap Bastard).

1. Very informative, I recommend reading this book if you want to save some money.



2. The Cheap Bastard's Guide to Boston includes every free or very cheap thing to do in the Boston/Cambridge area that I've ever heard of, plus more. The author included almost anything you'd want to do in the city, including places to find live music, dance, and comedy for free. She also details non-shady methods to get in free to see films and live theatre. Other topics include book readings, wine tasting, free/cheap lunch, beauty services, housing, clothing, fitness, newspapers, pets, travel, museums and art galleries, and activities for kids. The book was extremely well researched and easy to use. Each venue has contact information, addresses, websites(if any), a short description of the activity, and details on when and under what circumstances you can get things for free, including any catches such as one-drink minimums and volunteer requirements (which are rare).
   The author also includes items that are extremely cheap (in the $1 to $5 range) and she keeps her promise on limiting these items to activities that are well worth a small amount of cash.
   This book is definitely something you'll want on-hand if you are visiting the city. There are so many entries, I'd suggest purchasing the book even if you are thrifty. It's more than worth the purchase price. As a dedicated cheapskate, I got this book from the library and will be purchasing it after reading it cover-to-cover.
   The only way this book could be better is if it encompassed areas outside the Boston/Cambridge area.

4 comments about Motorcycle Adventures in the Southern Appalachians: North Georgia, Western North Carolina, East Tennessee Book 1.

1. I first read about this book in an article in the Atlanta Journal/Constitution and had to buy a copy. It was a little hard to find. After reading and taking in many of the adventures listed in the book by Hawk Hagebak, I must say that it is the most insightful and intelligent Motorcycle Guidebook I've ever read. The author uses his experience as a former motorcycle cop to give practical (and humorous!) advice for everything between avoiding a ticket to handling a breakdown. He's really funny! The book is broken into 20+ chapters, each chapter is a ride. The rides include restaurant recommmendations, road descriptions, a map and often some interesting information about the area. My favorite quote from the book is on page 9 where the author is telling the reader how to embellish a "road lie". "I was riding Mile High and the abominable snowman came out of one of the scenic overlooks and chased me all the way into Robbinsville!" The author continues, "Lesson learned? Other than the obvious hazard of a slick road, there's an abominable snowman to contend with, and who wants that?" Another funny quote is in Ridge and Valley Chapter. That ride cuts through a town named, "Sublinga". The author pokes fun at the name by saying, "No, not the medical word- Doctor, my Sublinga is swollen!" The maps are great and they're next to written directions to the right of the maps. I found the rides easy to find and easy to follow. He even includes the mileage from point to point (you can reset your odometer at the start of the ride to keep up with the map mileage). If you are new to the area or have been living in the region for several years (myself for 7 years). I thought I knew all the mountain roads, I do know a lot of them, but not with the detail provided in the book. Very handy, if only the area for the book were larger..... Maybe he will put out another motorcycle guide book? A great buy, even if you are not a biker like me. Just stick your head out the window to act like you're on a bike.... Enjoy...I sure did.



2. Great book, well written, easy to read, good humor.
   Smart layout enables you to xerox the two facing pages to have a complete map and guide for each ride.
   The reference section at the end of the book gives you phone number and other info for hotels, restaurants, dealerships, chamber of commerce, etc.; very convenient.

   Highly recommended.




3. This is a great book for planning trips on a motorcycle or a car. The descriptions are detailed and there are bonuses listing restaurants and gas stations. The author goes into a lot of detail about each route. My only complaint is the book is a little thin for $15.00. There is a second book for the rest of North Carolina. It would have been better to combine the two books for $20 - $25. Don't let this comment keep you from getting the books though. The author does a great job.



4. I was looking for a book that covered motorcycle rides in No Ga and this is a great book for the Southern Applachians.

5 comments about Death in the Grizzly Maze: The Timothy Treadwell Story.

1. I had watched the film on Timothy Treadwell's life and was very interested in reading more about what happened. I ordered this book hoping to learn more, which I did. I would recommend it to anyone that is interested in both sides of the story. Very well written.



2. Although this book cannot be tagged the Anti-Treadwell story, it represents the viewpoints of many professional biologists employed by Alaska and/or the federal gov. It is important to know both sides, and well worth your while to read this account. It may even explain some of the influences on Treadwell's death, although I am sure no one intended that. It is almost a rationalization offered in place of an apology. Go ahead - read it.



3. This book is the best of all, so far. I am not finished with the others I ordered yet. I was interested in the author's point of view of Mr. Treadwell. I was at first tempted to defend him, but at the end I found I agreed with the author's evaluation of him. I like books where you start out with one opinion and the writer turns your whole thought process around by the end. The descriptions of Alaska were breathtaking. I almost want to go there. Almost. I mean, there are bears, after all.



4. I was very grateful that Mike Lapinski took the time to investigate and write this book. It's well worth reading. His research and conversations with so many key people help clear up alot of rumor, bias and speculation. There is alot of valuable details that help clarify a broader, balanced viewpoint on Treadwell's life and final days in Alaska.
   I also appreciated the info concerning Amie, Tim's girlfriend. In the end, I think this book gives a more complete picture, filling in alot of blank spots and helping bring closure to a tragic event.



5. This book was a well written and very honest take on Timothy Treadwell's tragic story. While the author has compassion for Treadwell and values him as a human being, he does not sugar coat his behavior and actions that ultimately contributed to his death. A great read for bear enthusiasts and those interested in Timothy Treadwell. He seemed like a sweet, likable, but misinformed and troubled individual. May he rest in peace, along with his girlfriend Amie.
   
   A very tragic story, perhaps others can learn from it.

5 comments about The Way of the Explorer: An Apollo Astronaut's Journey Through the Material and Mystical Worlds.

1. Apollo 14 was one of the few missions that I know litle about; simply because not enough time and attention has been dedicated to it! Dr. Ed Mitchell,Apollo 14 lunar module pilot, tells us in a very open way his inner-most feelings about the mission to The Moon, and how it altered his life,and inner ways of thinking; regarding life and the universe! Telling the reader that what he felt and saw: during, and mainly after his return to Earth; how our universe couldn't have just happened,but rather, has a special purpose and significance and a meaning to its existence! i believe in God, and have heard many pros and cons said about this book! Well let me say that as a true believer in CHRIST and GOD, I feel that Dr. Mitchell has a very open and well-educated mind as a scientist/explorer; and merely tells us that there is in fact a creator, and a purpose for the creation of the universe, and a reason for its being; relating science/religion together,which, to me, makes a whole lot of good sense.and purpose, to those of us that are real thinkers and have a real open mind to the things around us in the whole universe; not just planet Earth! Dr. Mitchell should know, hes been there (MOON) AND DONE THAT! i'M VERY RELIGIOUS INWARDLY, AND STILL THINK YOUR BOOK IS WELL DONE! Good job Dr. Mitchell! Your one of the few very open-minded/rational good thinkers of the century! If only more would have your intellect, mayby we wouldnt have the world problems we have today, and would have already had a base on Moon, and missions to Mars, already underway!



2. Dr. Mitchell asks the same questions as all seekers, and rightly connects the search for knowledge about self with the search for an understanding of the universe. He begins his book with a short personal history, bringing the reader up to a description of his incredible journey to the moon. As a US Apollo astronaut, he walked on the lumar surface. During the journey back to earth, he experienced a sudden insight about the nature of reality, an understanding that came from an unknown source. The experience most resembled the reports of mystics, who generally ascribe a religious meaning to it. Mitchell has spent the years since that journey searching for a way to understand the experience, a way to bring together the disparate ways of knowing, the way of science and the way of religion.

   While it is fascinating to read his descriptions of the view of earth from space and to know that seeing our beautiful mother earth from that vantage point could trigger such insights, what Mitchell describes is an experience many, many people have, as he later came to realize. It is the experience of "knowing without knowing how you know." Sometimes the knowing concerns the nature of reality, as when you get the sense of the unity of all things, and sometimes it is a psychic insight, as in knowing someone has just died. Sometimes it is the amazing synchronicities that happen when you cease to believe they cannot happen.

   This source of knowledge is real, so how does it work? There is no accepted scientific answer. At least there wasn't until Mitchell took on the task and gave us his dyadic theory of reality. It is an interesting explanation. The universe, in this view, evolved not just from energy but always incorporated intention. Consciousness is inherent in the universe and that is why, in the mystical experience, everything seems alive. There is no difference between the consciousness of my aloe plant on the windowsill, my cat who purrs beside me, and me. We use consciousness differently perhaps, but my plant grows better when I love it and want it to grow, I somehow know when my cat is outside the front door and wants to come in, and I use my consciousness to read books and learn more about my world. But the me that is sitting here looking out at everything else is victim of an illusion. It is only through working at techniques to shut out externals that it is possible to gain some realization of the unity, or to put it another way, to access the web that connects everything and that is the actual source of the knowledge that comes to us in these "mystical" experiences.

   Dr. Mitchell's book takes us into heavy material, not always easy to grasp, and sometimes possessing its own assumptions. He seems intent on eliminating religious metaphors completely, as if providing an explanation that "works" means there is no longer a use for the concept of God. I have to agree with him that the long-standing practice of representatives of religious organizations of dismissing anything without a scientific explanation as "a miracle of God" (or sometimes as "the work of the devil") has retarded our ability to scrutinize any actual process at work. Likewise, it isn't helpful when scientists simply dismiss anything that doesn't fit their current understanding of reality -- Uri Geller must be a fraud because science can't explain how he bends those spoons. And since Uri is not a saintly person, it must not be "a miracle."

   Because "God" is used to cover everything for which there is no scientific explanation does not invalidate the concept of a supreme presence, just as science is not useless even though it is intolerant of alternate explanations. It seems to me Mitchell neglects the idea of "purpose" just as he does not accept reincarnation, suggesting the past lives remembered are the result of accessing the universal web, the holographic record of everything (much like Edgar Cayce's "Akashic Record"). Could this be just a semantic difference, if we are all part of the same consciousness? While Mitchell's concepts "fit" the essentially religious experiences of those who believe in the immortality of the soul, it does not encompass the soul's purpose of perfecting itself through lifetimes of spiritual growth.

   As I read this book, I found Mitchell has read the same authors I've read, and he mentions the same cast of characters with whom seekers are familiar, whether they write from a research, mystical or physics point of view. His desire to reconcile science and religion is the same desire many of us share. The journey inward is as worthwhile as the journey to other planets. Our yearning to know who we are can only be satisfied when we truly achieve the synthesis Dr. Mitchell seeks. You'll have to read and decide if Mitchell, as an explorer extraordinaire, has found the answer.




3. What I admire most about Ed Mitchell isn't his voyage to the moon. While that extraordinary feat places him in one of history's most exclusive brotherhoods, it was only the beginning of an ongoing journey of questions and greater questions. Someone else in his position might have spent the remainder of his life resting on his laurels. Mitchell tackles huge questions with a scientist's rigor and a seeker's open heart.



4. I would tell anyone up front that this is a very in depth book. It covers a lot of truly amazing subject matter, from placing healers in scientific laboratory environments to understanding our place in the universe. I was impressed with not only the personal experiences told throughout but also with the differing aspects of how our cultures view the same experiences. It was fairly technical in parts, so be prepared to be challenged while reading it. I wasn't very familiar with many of the concepts discussed but the author did a good job of managing the information.



5. In February 1971 Apollo 14 astronaut Edgar Mitchell sensed the deliberate plan in the creation of the cosmos and space: for over thirty years he would explore the mystery of human consciousness, leaving NASA to form the Institute of Noetic Sciences and researching a theory that could explain consciousness and science alike. His memoir comes to life in THE WAY OF THE EXPLORER: AN APOLLO ASTRONAUT'S JOURNEY THROUGH THE MATERIAL AND MYSTICAL WORLDS, which appears in a revised edition to appeal to new audiences.

5 comments about Journey Into Mohawk Country.

1. The real diary of a 23-year-old 16th-century Dutch trader forms the basis for this ambitious, if ultimately disapointing, graphic experiment. The Dutchman and two companions were sent from the Dutch West India Company's outpost at Fort Orange (present day Albany) into the Mohawk nation (part of the Iroqouis federation). Their goal was to try and reinvigorate the dying beaver pelt trade that was apparently being siphoned off by French traders operating from Canada. This isn't exactly the most riveting of topics, and the Van der Bogaert's painfully dry diary entries don't bring much to the table. There's a whole lot of description of walking, what they ate, counting of longhouses at Indian settlements, and sitting around waiting for guides. Simply put, other than a few isolated tidbits, such as the description of healing ceremony involving vomiting on the ill, and a ceremonial battle, the 140 pages are dull as ditchwater. Which is too bad, because O'Connor's artwork and Hilary Sycamore's excellent colors do bring the place and time to life. One wishes that a writer had used the diaries for background research, and written a good story around it -- now that would have been worth reading.



2. This is a brightly colored illustrated book with cartoon like figures who tell the story of the Dutch's venture into the Americas. It is the Journal of a young traveler Harmen Van den Bogaret as he discovers the natives of the wilderness destined to become New York. The illustrations are very realistic and current to the time period so the history told comes alive to the reader.
   Since the illustrations of the people are somewhat comical and so colorful the story is told with humor and not with the dignity that should be awarded the natives who gave the settlers welcome.



3. When I first heard about this, I didn't know what to think. A graphic novel made from a 17th century journal. But it works. Wonderfully illustrated. A great way to learn about a moment in our country's history and have a good time doing it.



4. I recently learned about this book on NPR's The Leonard Lopate Show [...] and had to get a copy. It does not disappoint. A perfect way to read about history.



5. This account of the first encounters with Mohawks, from the diary of Dutch van end Bogaert, is a rare combination of compelling story, first-rate scholarship, and appealing presentation. Every kid, every adult should have a chance to read this record. It adds an important chapter to the early history of America.

4 comments about The Food Lover's Companion to the Napa Valley: Where to Eat, Cook, and Shop in the Wine Country Plus 50 Irresistible Recipes.

1. This is a must have for anyone visiting or living in the Napa Valley. Well organized and cleverly composed. I found it most useful for locating the rare-to-find places and foods that make the Napa Valley so unique. It makes a great gift for all the food lovers in your life.



2. As a regular visitor to the Napa Valley for the past 10 years, it's easy to think that one has 'seen it all.'
   
   This book really reminded me what a special place the Napa Valley is, and how much there is to discover. Visitors and locals alike will find something new and interesting that they simply must try.
   
   Take this book with you to the Valley, or read it before you go and find your new 'must try' discovery.



3. This book covers all the areas I was interested in learning about before our trip to Napa Valley. The reviews seem unbiased and thoughtful. We had visited Napa 18 years ago and while we already had a few ideas, reservations, etc., this guide gave us even more places to consider. I've "earmarked" so many pages and even took this guide with us. It also includes maps, addresses and phone numbers and/or websites. Some good recipes are in the back. A good companion guide.



4. Have been to Napa many times - but was unaware of the many gems this book uncovers - an incredible and fun resource for the food and wine lover! I will be seeking out these finds in the future! Highly recommended.

No comments about Zagat Walt Disney World Insider's Guide 2008/09 (Zagat Walt Disney World Insider's Guide).