Ray Park Books

I first watched this movie with a group of my guy friends from work and soon it was clear we couldn't make it through a day without quoting a line from it! Norm McDonald at his funniest!

i love norm macdonald and this is the dumbest movie of all time

if your into dumb humor...or watching artie lang trying to act in a PG 13 arena....this is a good buy

If I could have rated this movie 0 stars I would have. It is terrible, save your money.

OK, this film bombed at the theaters and I am guessing it was panned by the critics. HOWEVER, it has some of the funniest lines and scenes in movie history. Artie and Norm work beautifully together. MOREOEVR, there is one scene in this movie that makes me literally cry because it is so funny, no change that, because it is so ridiculous.

I first watched this movie with a group of my guy friends from work and soon it was clear we couldn't make it through a day without quoting a line from it! Norm McDonald at his funniest!

i love norm macdonald and this is the dumbest movie of all time

if your into dumb humor...or watching artie lang trying to act in a PG 13 arena....this is a good buy

If I could have rated this movie 0 stars I would have. It is terrible, save your money.

OK, this film bombed at the theaters and I am guessing it was panned by the critics. HOWEVER, it has some of the funniest lines and scenes in movie history. Artie and Norm work beautifully together. MOREOEVR, there is one scene in this movie that makes me literally cry because it is so funny, no change that, because it is so ridiculous.

Ray Djuff's continuing efforts on the history of the Waterton Lakes area have hit pay dirt with his newest book, High On A Windy Hill. The book details how the Prince of Wales Hotel, a majestic wooden structure modelled on Swiss alpine architecture, came to sit atop a promontory above the scenic lakes area straddling the Alberta-Montana border. Djuff, a Calgary, AB newspaper editor, describes in great detail how Louis Warren Hill, head of the Minnesota-based Great Northern Railway, needed a Canadian hotel in the early century to match his significant tourism accommodations in Montana's Glacier National Park.

Because Prohibition was still in effect, Hill envisioned well-to-do eastern Americans travelling by train west to his Montana hotels taking a short trip north to imbibe in a drink while on vacation. Hill's power of persuasion, coupled with a subtle but determined continent-wide public relations effort on Canadian authorities, a nearby Mormon teetotalling community and American tourists, eventually made his dream a reality.

Djuff's meticulous research captures the drama in the rushed construction of the 90-room, $370,000 Prince of Wales, locally referred to as the POW. Devastating weather and countless design revisions vexed the local contractors prior to the July 1927 opening and the book is chockfull of period photos and anecdotes describing the ordeal.

Ironically, the halcyon days Hill foresaw lasted only until America's 1933 repeal of Prohibition and the onslaught of the Depression.

Twice in the ensuing decade, Great Northern closed the hotel due to lack of visitors. By the 1960s and 70s, rail traffic had given way to vacationers in cars and the company finally sold the hotel.

The Prince of Wales is now owned by Viad Corporation of Phoenix, AZ and is open through the summer months.

Djuff draws on his experience as a waiter and bartender at the POW in the 1970s to chronicle the hotel staff's dedication to service, regardless of the business's financial straits. He ably describes the culture of the community both outside and inside the resort.

Perhaps most importantly, High On a Windy Hill is a story of how the raison d'etre behind such a grand edifice evolves over time through the visions of those who built and staffed it.

For that alone, Djuff's book is worth the read.

Ray Djuff's initial description of the lobby of the Prince of Wales Hotel is superb, and his collection of photos is second to none. Yet while he manages to capture the ititial impression of one entering the hotel lobby, the rest of this book is a disappointing visit, sort of like entering a great hotel and finding the rooms small and unimaginative. You will always tell how you visited there once, but you never go back again, at least as a hotel guest. Maybe you visit every few years or so - just in the lobby - just to remind yourself that you were really there.

This hotel presents a stunning view of a seven-mile long lake straddling the Canada-US border and the fact that it was even buuilt is one of those stories that gets better as time goes on. Buffeted by fierce winter winds and a National Park administered from thousands of miles away, the Prince has managed to maintain its dignity and its importance both as a landmark and a monument to civilization in the midst of an overwhelming wilderness.

Perhaps it is because my boys are the same ages as Raymie and his brothers in this story, but we found it very humorous. Any family with boys in it should be able to relate to the antics of these brothers as they go through their day. The artwork adds to the story as the illustrator has captured well the expressions on the faces. I recommend it to fun-loving families of sons. Those who wish to bring up genteel, cultured children may prefer to stick with more proper literature.

If Romano weren't famous,this book would have never made it to print. Lacking in almost every element of a good story, it is a great example to use if you are teaching people how to write children's books--how NOT to do it, that is. I imagine it sold a bazillion copies. Oh well.

I picked this up at the bookstore I work at and read it on my break one afternoon. Having been delighted in the past by Raymond, I expected a lot more from him. This truly was one of the worst children's books I've read. The Borders I work at is huge, filled with talented artists and writers whose children's picture books will continue to go unnoticed. However, a celebrity can write anything and get full recognition for it. This book plays out merely as a remembrance of a day he took at a family outing. No redeeming quality or sense of entertainment to keep a child's interest in here. Just randomness of a charicature of his childhood that had potential of being interesting, yet fell very short of being just that. Stick with Sendak, Rey, Yolen, or Eric Carle if you want something that will peak interest.

I love EVERYBODY LOVES RAYMOND, so this book really made me laugh. My sons found it funny but some of the drier humor went over their head. Still, a very funny book.

It was during a trip to my local bookstore that I first encountered this literary waste pile. Romano, along with two other hardly mentioned brothers, recount a fictitious and very 'mild' trip to a theme park. The trio's day goes along quite predictably, with the brothers anticipating the trip, naturally and, upon getting to the park, having to ride annoyingly named 'kiddie rides' with the youngest of the three. C'mon people, 'Chuckie the Choo-Choo'?

The rest of the day, chock-full of wedgies, noogies, and farts, goes on with Ray, called Raymie (pl-ease!), and the other one, Dickie, maybe?, finally going on 'The Vomitizer'. So much for a climax, eh?

Finally the family goes home and...I forgot the rest. But I'm telling you, this book is terrible. No joke. Lacking even a mild plotline, among other thing, the title doesn't even make sense. Raymie, Dickie, and the Bean: Why I Love and Hate My Brothers. If Ray is the narrator, then why does he refer to himself as Raymie and not simply 'Me' or 'I'. Oh wait, I know; because then his name wouldn't be first.

Oh, and the illustrations; why is it that every book written by a comedian, or in Jason Alexander's case, a guy in a funny show, seem to have the same illustrations. Jerry Seinfeld, Jay Leno, the aforementioned Jason Alexander. All feature the same caricature-like illustrations in their books. What's up with that!?

R, your friendly neighborhood reviewer.

The item was correct & came in good condition, but DON'T believe Amazon's shipping info. Instead of picking the free shipping this product was eligible for (which said could take anywhere from 3-14 business days, I paid for Standard Shipping (since Amazon said it took 3-5 business days). By the 6th business day I STILL hadn't received the book & called customer service where they basically said even though their shipping policy clearly states 3-5 business days that that is not always when you get it?!? I received my book on the 12th business day! Had I known their shipping info was basically a lie, I would have paid for Express or Overnight shipping. So if you need a product by a certain day, don't count on Amazon's shipping policies.

Decent text, helpful images...

I bought this book for a microbiology class-- note to future students: just buy an older edition. they don't change too much and spending $$$ on a new hardcover current edition for ONE semester of college isn't worth it.

i ordered this item with expediated service so i could get this quickly, instead they waited a whole four days before they sent it and i never received my item, i was very disappointed in there lack of service, i dont understand why your going to charge extra for quicker delivery charge and then dont send it out at all, they told me to check the usps website to see if it was delivered, i could not get any information from them, i have yet to receive my book, i purchased my book at the school store because i had a big test coming up and i had to cram study because of this, i will never purchase anything from this carrier again

I've used the Hidden series before and liked them but this one is not up to speed. I found the pages to be light on information and the places that they recommended were where all the tourists go. In other words, "Hidden" was misleading. Better books are on the market.

I recently took this book on a trip to the Big Island. While it was definitely better than not having a guidebook at all, this book provides only basic information. In fact, we referred to the free magazines from the rental car company at least as much as we referred to this book. The writing style is dull, and the book is not organized in a way that makes it easy to find information. Zero photographs other than the one on the cover. In addition, I found some of the recommended restaurants less than satisfactory. If I had a suggestion for the publishers of this book, it would be to add some specific discussion on seeing the lava flows. I think a lot of the visitors to the big island are there because they want to see the lava, but it's not always possible. When we were there, the volcano wasn't doing much and there was nothing to see. A month or so later, they had such a big flow that the Park Service had to shut down part of the park. Seeing the lava is a hit and miss thing, as I found out. I still enjoyed the island immensely, but only after adjusting my expectations.