California Books

What an excellent book!

Great characters, pitch-perfect dialogue and a fascinating plot that keeps you guessing until the last chapter. Straw has the nuances and attitudes of modern Hollywood down cold and describes Los Angeles with a lovingly jaded eye that LA residents (like me) will really appreciate.

So if you're in the mood for a great read, some belly laughs and a peek into the twisted funhouse that is Hollywood, look no further and pull the trigger on "The Trigger Episode!"

I really enjoyed The Trigger Episode. First of all, I love the genre and have a sense that only the best make it look easy. Tom Straw does that with great style. Nothing came out the way I thought (or feared) It would,i was completely at the mercy of the storyteller. A good mystery is a joy to read most particularly when the author draws interesting characters, which Tom Straw does, but they are also FUNNY. I laughed aloud, not something I do in a book very often, The social commentary is priceless and the TV world is accurately represented (it is an area I am well accustomed to) and there is a lot of fun to be had there as well. Straw is a terrific up and comer in the novel field, his sit-com training had served him well. I can't wait to see what's next. I hope it will be Hardwick and Meredith teaming up again.

At times The Trigger Episode reminded me of Carl Hiaasen's books, but the action in this one takes place in and around Hollywood and not South Florida. Also, in my opinion Mr. Straw is funnier. There are many very funny passages, but there are also some that are very "oh, man, what's going to happen next!?" Tom Straw is a Hollywood veteran, so it's no surprise that he has that milieu cold. The dialogue definitely rings true... and did I mention that it's funny?

Sure Tom Straw is a veteran TV writer; and now he's an accomplished mystery writer. This book will appeal to all readers of both mystery and general fiction. The story is laser-focussed, the dialogue is spot-on authentic and the overall experience of reading this book is a sense of time well spent. A satisfying and accomplished book that will turn you into a fan and make you hungry for Mr. Straw's next book.

I just finished this book while on vacation. I couldn't put it down. This guy can really write. I always buy books by Micheal Connelly, James Ellroy, Jonathan Kellerman, and I am putting Tom Straw on that list. Hardwicke is a hardboiled character with a twist. characters are great, the writing is top notch, and it kept me guessing until the end. i am hoping for a sequel soon.
Put this one on your list, summer reading or whatever.

For anybody going on bike tours this is a humbling book to read, and hard to put down. You can't help but root for two 18 year old boys who don't know enough not to make the trip. It also has special meaning for anyone who has ever driven all or parts of I-5 from San Francisco to Seattle. In 1909 it was possible to stay on the best road between California and Washington, and still get lost. Finally you get a feel for what life was like when my grandfather was alive. The postcards the two boys sent to their parents show buildings still standing today, but life was so much different. A good read.

If you enjoy reading about cycling and living this is a great book. I've read every touring and cycling book you can imagine, but this is the best! It really gives you a new perspective on how we ride today when you look at what these two boys had to endure at the turn of the century when roads did not exists as we know today. A truly well written adventure, great venacular dialogue, credible and yet an incredible story.

This book is an amazingly well-written story of the adventures of two young men bicycling from Santa Rosa, California to the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition in Seattle in 1909. You are drawn into the narrative until, before you know it, you find yourself riding along with them on their trip, tasting the dust, feeling their occasional pain, and even enjoying a piece of pie with them... and then you realize that, like an Ansel Adams photograph, you have been drawn into an illusion of a reality long past. And, smiling, you dive back into the book and continue pedaling.

I bought this book thinking it would be an interesting adventure tale. It is that but so much more. The writing is poetic and heart warming. An absolutely wonderful little book!!

I first bought the book because of its Vashon Island connection, being a lifelong islander myself. But I quickly decided it's one of the best bicycle touring stories in my library -- the boys come alive in the writing, no dreary list of statistics and mileposts, just two boys becoming men on their ride north to Seattle. Puts a whole new perspective on that ride for anyone who has cycled the Pacific Coast route in modern times.

no matter how experienced a person can be in sex, we all must read this book. it not only gives basic understanding of sexual behavior and act, it also goes over other ares like understanding transvestites, fetish, sexual diseases, etc...

This is a great textbook. It's clearly written, and it's actually enjoyable to read. The author appears to have had a good time writing it, and included many limericks, engaging examples, and other items that make this textbook anything but dry.

I had to buy this book for a class and expected it to be very dry and... well.. a textbook. However, I was pleasantly surprised to find humor from the authors of this book, allowing me to actually enjoy a required reading. The book is written in an easy to understand language that doesnt boggle the mind and overwhelm. Great book!

The textbook is well organized and informative. A wealth of information that is not only informative but very enlighten. With the addition of the CD-ROM and PowerWeb it becomes an excellent well rounded textbook.

This was the text used in my Human Sexuality course at Western Michigan University in the fall of 2007. I enjoyed reading it, very thorough and indepth, covering a wide range of sexual topics. The authors, who are also educators, use humor at times in the text, as well as paying respect to the seriousness of the topic. Very fair and unbiased in my opinion on it's take of sexual pathways taken in life. It includes a CD-ROM which has additional information from each chapter in the form of discussions and interviews the student can watch. A text that is user friendly, and incorporates a wide variety of psychological patheways and perspectives, without endorsing one as "correct." I would recommend it to any Professor teaching the course.

I loved reading Phyllis's story; it provoked every emotion in me.

She tells her story of separation from her family and living in a strange country with strange people in a very insightful manner with perceptions very mature for a young girl. Throughout her ordeal she grows through lifes' stages well adjusted and content despite experiencing dire circumstances. The love that stretched across the miles held her steady to refute bitter scars and rebellion.

The thoughtful retelling of her youth made me laugh as I had recalled similar attitudes growing up but in much different circumstances.
Her spunk as a teen in San Francisco is high spirited and joyful. The written teasing with her father, so many miles away, .... is truely endearing and inspiring. Her deep love and longing for family back in Europe emanates from the pages. And the answers to her life long questions made me sob.

Phyllis writes her wonderful story of courage and inspiration. Young and adult readers will enjoy her heartfelt story.

Imagine yourself in an old attic. A dusty trunk beckons from the corner and you crawl over to it, aware that the attic and the trunk don't belong to you. But your curiosity overpowers your propriety and you open it to discover it brimming with intimate letters and photographs of a family from a time and place foreign to your own. Such is the wealth of experience awaiting you in Phyllis Mattson's memoir of her childhood surviving the Nazi holocaust.
She sets the scene - Vienna just before Nazi takeover - and introduces us to her humble, but proud Jewish family. As a child she witnesses the march of Nazis into Vienna and hears the "Christkiller" chants. A dark cloud of fear settles over her family and friends as parents begin desperate efforts to get their children out of Austria on a Kindertransport - to the safety of Britain or the US. Through letters and photographs, we wake with Phyllis to the terrors of Kristallnacht, as her family is dragged from their apartment by Hitler's SS. When her father is taken to prison the real horror starts. Her mother frantically pleads with relatives in San Francisco to take Phyllis in and, when they agree, mother and daughter part at the train station, never to see each other again. Phyllis arrives in New York and struggles to learn a new name, a new language, a new country, leaving behind all her traditions. Five days alone on a train, unable to communicate to anyone, finally brings her to San Francisco.
Only letters bind this extended family across oceans and time and Phyllis makes you eager to turn the page, read the next words from father, mother, friends and relatives, and her own letters. In a quiet child's voice you hear the resilience of the human spirit, to not just survive, but to thrive in a new home of challenges.
With a teacher's objectivity, Phyllis recalls world-shattering political events through her own ten year-old eyes. She frequently admits her adult memories either clash with her own written words as a child, or don't exist at all. Her own awareness that she has psychologically buried memories makes the child's letters even more poignant.
I strongly recommend this book to any student of WWII, but I believe all freedom-loving people would be touched by this story of survival and the bond of family.

As we celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Liberation of Auswitz and Buchanwald, remembering those who perished and survived the Holocaust, Phyllis Mattson's memior becomes all the more important. This book is a must-read for our youth, who need to learn about the atrocities of WW II, not from a dull history text, but from the memories of a girl their own age, in her own voice. History comes alive in Mattson's personal story of separation, loss and survival. A compelling read for adults, also, this book not only offers a poignant personal war story, but also serves as a larger symbol of the personal effects of war on the innocent. I can see this book being used in high school and college history classes across the country.

I have known Phyllis for about a year, have heard her speak to middle and high school students several times, and thought I knew what would be in the book.

I was wrong.

This is a story of a young girl growing up in the most unstable of times. It is written with truth and honesty, and makes Phyllis a three-dimensional person to the reader. I highly recommend it!

You wouldn't expect a war story to leave you smiling, but that is what Phyllis Mattson's "War Orphan in San Francisco" does. It is a surprisingly upbeat story of 10-year-old "stateless" Felicitas Finkel sent to safety in the U.S. by her parents in Austria in WWII. It is drawn from letters and a few photos kept for years in a box in the garage, a box like many of us probably have in a corner somewhere, with stories too sad or scary to bring out very often--but when we do, we find stories of adventure, bravery, growth, dreams, and all the joys of life mixed in with the sad, scary parts.

As an English teacher, I am interested in letters. They record events and feelings and reflect our growth. They catalog our special story and place us in the world. They are evidence that we lived.

As I sit at my computer writing email that is delivered instantly, I appreciate the time and effort people spent writing letters to maintain ties. They wrote during war when paper and pencil were difficult to get, going from edge to edge on pages of thin paper, knowing that the messages might take weeks or months to arrive, and might arrive with pieces cut out, or not arrive at all. They wrote because the connections were important to them. And they are important today because they record the world as it was, with the dailiness and details of how people survived, and suggest where we might go next.

Felicitas / Phyllis's mother told her not to cry, to be brave, and to "write to me and Papa weekly, giving all the details." Phyllis's letter writing started in 1940, when she arrived in San Francisco, and continued through 1946, when her father was finally able to join her in San Francisco. Her mother's letters stopped in 1942, and the reader feels 12-year-old Phyllis avoiding the obvious conclusion, stepping around the larger-world facts, and continuing to write to her Papa, "giving all the details," while avoiding the big picture.

Reflections by the adult Phyllis are wonderfully insightful. The adult wonders why she and her father never mentioned the lack of letters from her mother. Even years later, things hinted in the letters remained unresolved. Sometimes the letters give the bare bones of what was happening, and details are filled in by Phyllis today; sometimes, there is nothing beyond the letter. In her first year, Phyllis went from speaking no English to speaking, reading, and writing English and her mother, in a letter, implored her to not forget her German. Today, Phyllis has published articles and a technical book in English yet had to get a German translator for her treasured letters written in German.

The family always signed their letters with endearments--love, hugs, lots of kisses, millions and millions of hugs; yet other everyday feelings are side-by-side in the letters, as when her father wrote:
"... Much as I like reading your letters, however there is always something in it that I do not like. For instance in today's letter the language used by you ... is shocking... All my love and heaps of kisses from your Daddy."

Interaction at a distance is not perfect but as the saying goes, it beats the alternative. Letters were better than nothing at all. They buoyed the young girl alone in San Francisco as she moved in and out of foster homes. As the adult Phyllis observes, her early success in moving on alone led her eventually to new experiences all over the world. "War Orphan in San Francisco" is a reflection of and tribute to the human spirit finding and upholding values in life, building bridges in hard times, through one of mankind's oldest ways of communication. It will make you want to sit right down and write a letter.

Like Mr. Klein, I too grew up in Southern California and am familiar with the many locations, in their present incarnation, in which this wonderful story takes place. The book raised a curtain on the past and allowed me to step into the Southern California where my grandparents stepped off the train from Boston, full of excitement and anxious to make a new life in this promising paradise at the edge of America.

Even if you are not a native Californian, you'll enjoy this book which, in addition to the well researched historical insight, is a great yarn.

Well done Mr. Klein and thank you!

Think of Fitzgerald's economy of language combined with the folk wit of Twain and you have a hint of the fresh, clear writing of RE Klein. This well-researched novel is about the Los Angeles area from 1892 to 1959--specifically the birth and death of two of the most famous family recreation spots: Mt. Lowe and the Venice Canals. But, it's the characters that make our hearts ache for the musical grace of those times. Lyman Bright ages from ten to seventy-seven with an enthusiasm for adventure, providing a narrative filled with images so tight and lyrical they make each page spin. Through him we meet his family, friends and locals. From the mystical Luana and bossy Emmaline to the comic boogey man, Dratch, terrorizing Lyman with tall tales of villainous deeds-along with Tung Fisher, who always holds both ends of the conversation in a Bronx dialect--everyone is grand company. For this reason, I keep Mt. Lowe on my bedside reading table to visit again and again.

The Way to Mount Lowe was a wonderful and intriguing read -- I literally could not put it down. And, I was so disappointed when I turned the last page. I yearned for more. This epic tale of a young boy's journey through adulthood, and the adventures he encounters while growning up in the beginnings of the southern Californian metropolis really intrigued my whole being as an adventurer and southern California native. I learned so much about the places I grew up near and around, and never knew that much about. Some of this is pure fiction -- and I loved every minute of it! Not to spoil the tale, but the whole imagery created by Klein with the mere thought of someone coming up with a "tar suit," which would enable one to permeate the depths of this gooey wonderland at La Brea is fantastic (one of my favorite sections.) And the Venice Canals -- ahhhh, the Venice Canals - again, wonderful fictional/historical imagery. Thank you for this tantalizing creation. A must read for all southern Californias and those who would like to grasp a more through understanding of the place we call home. Bravo!!!

Having read and enjoyed THE HISTORY OF OUR WORLD BEYOND THE WAVE, I decided to look into R. E. Klein's other novel, THE WAY TO MT. LOWE. What I found was a charming history of Southern California from the 1890s through the 1950s seen from the point of view of one Lyman Bright.

A native of Indiana, Bright moves to Los Angeles with his family in 1892. As a 10-year-old, he was astounded by a new trolley line ascending thousands of feet to Mount Lowe, where there were hotels, restaurants, and other tourist amenities -- not to mention a phenomenal view in those pre-smog days extending south and west toward the Pacific and offshore to Santa Catalina Island.

Bright, his family, and friends exemplify the boom days and bust days of L.A. After the Mt. Lowe project ended in bankruptcy, Bright's attention was drawn by the canals of Venice, a community developed by Abbot Kinney, after whom a street in present-day Venice has been named.

Although I have not climbed Mt. Lowe myself -- though I could tell that Mr. Klein has -- I have frequently walked along what remains of those same Venice canals, now being re-gentrified after decades of neglect. As a native of Southern California, Klein saw it all, registers all the joys and disappointments, only to come to this summary of the whole experience in the last chapter: "A flawless record of stupendous achievements ending in extinction."

As Lyman ages and the chapters toward the end of the book get shorter and shorter, he takes to the famous Red Cars that once connected the outlying towns of the Los Angeles area, only to be killed off by the automobile. He aimlessly travels from place to place, soaking in what's left of what he loved.

If you do not know or care much about Los Angeles, this book will probably not do much for you. You will lack the frame of reference required to see where everything takes place. (There is, however, a handy map on the back of the paperback edition.)

But if you know and love Los Angeles as I do, having lived here for over 40 years myself, it is easy to be swept away by author's enthusiasm. His characters are lightly sketched in, but then the main character is Los Angeles itself, especially in its moments of glory represented by Mt. Lowe, Venice, and the Red cars. Lyman and his friends represent the city in its spectacular growth and, at times, disappointing deterioration.

Mister Klein presents us with a strange book. It is a book to read twice straight away: once for entertainment and the the second time to indulge in thought.
It is more than an autobiography of our narrator, Lyman Bright, who takes us on a tour of southern California, and in particular, Los Angeles from 1892 to 1959, it is a description of how a community can eat itself and the people within it and still come shining through.
This book - a most readable volume in short chapters - comprises so many facets: California history, and for those readers who have never been there it is a superb introduction; mini-biographies of the famous - not least Professor Lowe; the supernatural and fantasy are here as well as religion (mainstream and otherwise); love, relationships, life and death compound the story while friendships are important to Lyman; this is the story of a community growing perhaps too quickly - even the movie industry seems to outpace itself!
But throughout, the magnetism of Mount Lowe draws Lyman Bright to its heights - even in his old age.
There are fascinating insights into Los Angeleno life: why, for instance, fifty years ago was the public transport system so good and no so poor?
One thing that non-Californians wil be surprised about is Lyman's descriptions of the weather thereabout - doesn't the sun always shine in California???!!!
And running throughout the book is the malevolent seam of anthracite that is DRATCH.
Read! Enjoy!

Far Hills has joined the list of my all time favorite books. If you're looking for romance, spirituality, adventure, and suspense, this is the novel for you. With well-crafted characters that stay with you long after reading the final word on the last page, and an uplifting testimony to God's grace, mercy, and love, Ms. Noble has written a moving and gripping story, one that I will read again and again.

I first read Diane Noble's writing when I read Promise Me the Dawn under the name of Amanda MacLean. Ms. Noble is an excellent author. She does an excellent job of finding new areas to write Christian Fiction about. I enjoyed this book's characters and their search for the love that God has for them. This book has an excellent message of waiting upon God's timing, even if difficult situations. I look forward to the next two sequels and seeing what lays ahead for the characters.

Diane Noble is quickly becoming my favorite author due to this recent book "When the Far Hills Bloom." I found it to be a book that holds your attention and you don't want to put it down. The emphasis on committment was very uplifting. I am eagerly awaiting the next book in the series.

What a wonderful story. It has so many twists and turns and is full of adventure. I couldn't put it down once I started it. It's a story you hate to see come to a close. I am looking forward to the next book in the series. IT'S GREAT! Great work Diane.

It's 1860s California and the Byrne family is about to lose their home, Rancho de la Paloma because they have had to use all available finances to fight to prove its boundaries. Aislin Byrne has been friends with Jamie Dearbourne from the neighboring rancho all her life and it was always believe they would marry, so when he asks for her hand just before he leaves to go fight in the Civil War, no one is surprised. But when word comes of Jamie's death, it seems it will be necessary for Aislin to marry Jamie's brother, Spence, in order to help save both their ranchos. Then, when word comes that Jamie might not be dead after all, Aislin joins in the search and will be honor-bound to marry him even though she has found it is Spence she really loves. Aislin's father doesn't realize that his supposed friend, Hugh Dearbourne, father to Jamie and Spence is actually sabotaging his efforts to save his home and everything he has worked so hard to achieve. Jamie and Spence soon join forces to break and deliver wild mustangs to the army in order to save the rancho and in doing so, attempt to find out the truth about Jamie as well.

This is an outstanding novel, superbly crafted and richly textured with may surprising twists and turns. Published by Bantam's Christian/Inspirational imprint, Waterbrook Press, this novel will appeal to historical romance readers everywhere. Although the character's beliefs are quite evident, they never overpower the story, and simply help motivate Aislin, Spence, and others to keep going even though the going gets tough. Diane Noble is one of the best writers of "inspirational" romance today. Her thoroughly researched, compelling stories are worthy of a wider audience than they will receive simply marketed as "inspirational" novels. This book shouldn't simply be read by the "Christian" audience as the beliefs expressed by the characters are universal. I understand its the first of a trilogy, but this one certainly stands on its own.

It was a used book but was in good shape.
the book was send really fast.

Read this book before you read "Rain of Gold". "Wild Steps of Heaven" is a short read and actually the paternal part of the family story. I wish Villasenor had included the info in Wild Steps of Heaven" in "Rain of Gold". Both books are a wonderful patchwork of history,and genuine family integrity. Excellent summer read!

In times of hardship heroes are needed and none moreso than in Mexico as revolution rages. The Villasenor family patriarch, an exiled red-haired Spaniard, has married an Indian woman. The first ten years of the marriage are a time of great love and passion, and the children born first are fair and favor Don Juan Villasenor. Later children are dark like their mother. One of the dark ones, Jose, from age 12 must live in the barn because he defied his father and gentled a stallion to rescue his baby brother holding onto the leg rather than shoot the horse. In his exile and solitude a hero begins his training with Grandfather Don Pio Castro who knows Jose understands the power of love and gentleness. This will be the son who defends la familia during the revolution from the soldiers who time and again attach the village. The colonel commanding the troops more particularly desires Jose's true love Mariposa and destroys her. Ultimately, the younger brother Juan (author Villasenor's father) begins to show heroic tendencies himself and will be the one to defend his mother and the remaining family against the colonel. Villasenor moves the tale along with a powerful, songlike cadence. Notable characters are the giant cousins, Basilio and Agustin, who strip naked and race the lightning and then Halley's comet on January 17, 1910, a night of magic and love, the day before el colonel begins shooting up the home village, el paraiso de Los Altos de Jalisco. Each chapter begins with epigrams featuring "Great Father Sun" that provide a sense of power from above, as in "the heavens smile . . . as all around him the gods and serpents did battle." When the final epigram tells us "and out of these children of the earth and of the stars would now come a glorious new gente in all their wonder and fire," we realize that while we have been traveling through an exciting story with more twists and turns than fiction, we also have been participating in something approximating a creation myth. Highly recommended is Villasenor's first tale of the family Villasenor, Rain of Gold.

I first read "Wild Steps of Heaven" while I was in college. I have never been one who was able to finish a full book, but I couldn't get enough of this one. And once I was through with it I had to go out and find more books by Victor Villaseñor. He makes everything seem magical but at the same time believeable. It is like the ultimate adult fairy tale. Each character has so much life. The story is one that you just want to follow, you want it to keep going. Even the sad and painful stories shine with beauty as Villaseñor tells them. This is my absolute favorite book and I highly recommend it. You won't understand until you read it.

This is a wonderful book. This book is about a family living during the Mexican Revolution.His writing just takes into this magical world and even though you know that he has made a little piece of history into this great big piece of fiction, he does it so as a matter-of -fact that you just can't believe that it's not true.

This is a very enjoyable book. The main character, Kylie, is charming, cute and funny and being that she just moved to the U.S. from Australia, she has a lot to learn about how things work, which leads to moments of hilarity. I especially enjoyed Julia Roberts, the cat. She is Kylie's companion in the book and is just as much of a character as everyone else. The people that surround Kylie are entertaining in their own way and well developed. The love story just begins to develop near the end of the novel and I can only imagine it's going to steam up in the rest of the series. I am anxiously awaiting to read the rest of them and absolutely recommend this one. I immediately liked the main character, I laughed a lot and I like Claire McNab's writing style.

Claire finally got it in this one. As one of her frequent readers I really enjoyed the latest of her novels. Here she combined action with character and love interest. The love interest should be still more developed since it came too late in this novel (last page), but at least Claire McNab has touched that topic in her latest novel and did not leave it out like in all the Carol Ashton or Denise Cleever novels. Way to go Claire, that looks like a good mix. Continue!

"The Womabat Strategy" is the first Kylie Kendall mystery by Claire McNab. I had never read any of Ms. McNab's other novels, so this novel was a treat for me. Kylie Kendall from Australia has inherited from her father 51% of his detective agency in Los Angeles, California. Her partner, Ariana Creeling wants to buy Kylie out, but Kylie intends to stay in LA and become a private eye. Kylie is gay and is very attracted to Ariana but is not sure of Ariana's orientation. The agency gets a major case when Dr. Dave Deer, a shrink to the stars, hires them to investigate the theft of patient records of 2 Hollywood personalities. After the thefts one of the patients, producer Jarrod Perkins, is found dead of an apparent suicide, but Kylie feels that he has been murdered. Kylie helps crack the case, but her life may be in danger when she is confronted by the killer. This mystery is very original and there are many comic moments as Kylie adapts to America. This fine mystery novel is highly recommended.

What a Hoot!

I loved the Los Angeles locales. The Humor made this novel work.

A fun story, absolutely perfect to bring to the beach. 28 year old Kylie is a unique character.

If you liked this book you will want to look for the other books in the series -

Kookaburra Gambit
Dingo Dilemma
The Quokka Question

I enjoyed this book a lot. I thought it was fun and exciting.

This book is very informational. It is a summary of the history of woman in the wine industry, specifically wine making. It describes the Old and New Worlds of wine and their influence on each other.

This book comes amidst wine's impressive surge in popularity in recent years. It's a candid look at the inner-workings of the wine industry and the previously unrecognized emergence of women as major role-players. Matasar has fittingly chosen to tell this story through very personal recollections of a veritable who's who of the pre-eminent women in wine in the world today.
A fascinating read.

As a business woman and wine enthusiast, I found "Women of Wine" a facinating, insightful, thought-provoking examination of women in the wine industry. Ann Matasar respectfully presents their stories, identifies the obstacles they have had to overcome, and highlights their achievements and contributions. She takes a global perspective which makes the book all the more interesting and comprehensive. With the holidays upon us, "Women of Wine" makes a great gift for men and women who appreciate wine.

Women of Wine is well-written, informative, and witty. Ann Matsar has undertaken to tell the story of how women impact the male-dominated wine industry. In her introduction, Matsar says that people are astonished to discover a unique woman who has conquered age-old prejudices in order to become an exemplary winemaker, winery owner, or a sommelier. But this book is not about that one woman, rather, it pays homage to a growing number of women who wield power and influence within the wine industry. If you love wine - or even if you don't - you will love this book. I highly recommend it.

I'm no wine connoisseur, but after reading Women of Wine, I have a much better understanding of the industry and the people who shape it. This book provides excellent dinner conversation.

This book tells the story of my wife's cousin, William Swain. Swain witnessed over a hundred cholera victims, alive a day earlier, now buried in the sand banks of the Mississippi River. Bodies strewn along the Nevada trail, he viewed the tragedy. Ships, valued in the millions, he viewed abandoned in San Francisco bay.

As family members, we have John Holliday to thank. Moreover, I was thrilled with each page of Holliday's book. The 1849 Gold Rush extracted more from its participants, due to gold fever, than they got in return from the California mines. That's exactly what happened to William, who, in May of 1848, left his lovely wife, Sabrina, a newborn daughter, his brother George, and his farm residence in Youngstown, NY. William, in his heart, knew he would make it big in California country. At least he must try. And, Sabrina, not knowing the hardships and penniless outcome, gave her loving agreement. Along the way William witnessed death and deprivation, loneliness and hunger. He arrived hopeful in gold country, plied his efforts, and came away luckily with the skin on his back. He differed from most in one important way: William kept a journal. And, Sabrina and William wrote and saved their letters, from which Holliday made one of America's finest narratives. William, weighted with introspective highlight, wrote to George, "If you're thinking of coming out here, for [Gosh] sakes, do not!" William pleaded. Prospectors and miners everywhere, food scarce, prices high, California gold fields deluded nearly all. "And no one I know has gotten rich," William offered. William, beaten in his quest, longed to be with Sabrina and brother George. Ready to return, he had saved $400. He longed to bring it all home, to hand to Sabrina. But, think of it, did you ever try to get from Sacramento to Niagara Falls in 1850, while tired and broke? Yikes. No train. William would have to walk the same way home he came, over that horrible trail. He couldn't face that prospect. So, William scraped his pockets clean, and purchased passage on a ship, via Panama. Just one catch: There was no Panama Canal. That happened 60 years later. William made his way to San Francisco bay. He boarded ship. He endured sea sickness. He ate crummy food. He arrived at Panama, shaken. Next, he and all passengers traversed the 50 mile overland eastward trek with a guide. Threatened with abandonment in the jungle, he paid double. Weak, he arrived at the east side of the Isthmus, broke. William struggled on board ship. It traveled north, taking forever, to arrive at New York City. There, George, who knew to meet him from William's earlier letter, stood waiting at the gangplank. William, broke and sick, 25 pounds skinnier, staggered into his brother's arms. George helped William toward home, finally past beloved Niagara Falls, north to Youngstown. There, adoring, relieved, Sabrina faithfully nursed William back to health. Asked late in life if it was worth it, William avoided answering. He merely declared he loved his Youngstown. Can you read between the lines on that one? 'Nuff said.

Thank heavens for people like William Swain who took the time to record their personal stories and let it become, in a sense, a first-person history tale to people in the 21st century. Swain goes into great detail about his trials and tribulations and you begin to care so much about him, it almost becomes a novel. It accidentally sets the reader up for disappointment in the end by Swain reaching home and the story suddenly stopping. You'll find yourself asking, how did Eliza greet her papa? What did Swain do with the meager amount of money he made? What was Sabrina and her husband's first words to each other after an almost two-year absence? Of course, it's not Swain's fault for ending his diary at home. He merely kept the journal to update his family on his journey; not give readers 150 years later an autobiography. Holliday can not answer these final questions either and rightfully so, he does not try. You are left to ponder how it ended and hopefully, after reading so many emotional passages from William and Sabrina, you can use your imagination to answer the homecoming questions.

Holliday blends the information together wonderfully by arranging each chapter into three sections:

1. an overall historical account

2. Swain's diary

3. A Back Home section in which letters written to Swain from wife Sabrina and brother George are included.

The format works splendidly for the reader and keeps everything in a proper time frame. Holliday also includes scaled-down regional maps for every chapter which lets the reader follow along on a microcosm/macrocosm scope of the total journey. Holliday has also laboriously researched hundreds of other personal diaries and includes passages from them when Swain leaves gaps or when a quirky story can be added to intrigue the reader further. The World Rushed In is a fast read and I recommend it to anyone who is interested in Western US history or is just looking for a great story.

"The World Rushed In" is a gold rush history must read. Holliday's approach to telling the 49ers tale was a seamless stitching together of William Swain's journal and letters home with other facts and general information surrounding the rush. It is a personal approach. It is an accurate approach to what being a 49er meant to those who chased the elephant.

Holliday's interpretations and prose keep the story flowing, but do not add extraneous information. Nor does Holliday attempt to explain feelings or jump to conclusions. The ease with which this book flows and the personal feelings expressed by William and Sabrina Swain make this book hard to put down. The reader feels the fear of cholera and the aches at the end of the day.
This book describes the rush mentality of the 49ers extremely well. These young, eager, adventurers truly believed they would easily find their fortunes and soon be back home. Swain himself, who was apparently better read and prepared for the trip than many, believed he would be home much sooner than he was. Unlike many others, his decision to return home from California was easier. He had a farm, a family and a life to return to that did not require any wealth. Many of the rushers had nothing to return east to.

As a native upstate New York farmer who has traveled along most of the major westward trails, albeit via car or railroad, I completely understood Swain's descriptions of praise or denigration of the land he passed through. I empathized with his homesickness. There was irony in the travails Swain survived and many of my own one hundred and fifty years later. We both went west to find our fortunes. We both adapted. He was able to return home in twenty- two months. Seven years later, I am still hoping.

My favorite paragraph in the book is a journal entry describing the Black Rock Desert in Northern Nevada. The paragraph ends with "where the hell is California?" I have crisscrossed Nevada in every direction. It is desolate, harsh and will lead even the most proper person to exclaim, "Where the hell is anything!" I can't imagine crossing this state walking beside an ox team.

Holliday artfully tells the big story of the emigration in conjunction with Swain's individual view. Swain had no idea how many people were ahead of or behind him. Swain mentions problems in other companies, but had no idea the extent of discontent among some of the trains. Holliday draws from other sources to compare Swain's adventures with the experiences of others. This approach gives a broader spectrum of the emigration. Swain's crossing was relatively uneventful and trouble free. He was taken ill a few times, but did not die from cholera as so many did. He was fortunate in selecting trustworthy traveling companions. He found decent passage home. Swain made it home.

"The World Rushed In" is a must read for anyone interested in the human side of the gold rush. Other works contain all the facts, figures and dates one could want. This book reveals the personal and social side of 'going to see the elephant.'

This is a superb, gripping and very personal account of one man's experience travelling to and from the California gold rush. The fact that Holliday had access to virtually all the letters sent from him and to him on the trail makes this book even more enticing. It made me feel that I was taking every step with William Swain on his journey, sharing in his joys and sorrows and those of his brother and wife back home. I thoroughly recommend this book, I couldn't put it down.

My wife and I recently visited California for the first time. In a U.S. Forest Service bookstore, I saw this book. Since we planned to return to California and tour the Gold Rush areas, I bought the book. I made a good choice! The use of William Swain's actual diary and letters made me feel almost like I was there, the descriptions were so detailed and vivid. It was an incredible journey that tens of thousands of men, women, and children made across the west. Many of these people thought that they could simply pick up gold nuggets for a few days and be rich. In fact, gold mining was brutally hard work, and few of the 49ers ever got rich. The author does a fantastic job of describing the California Gold Rush in human terms.

If you only read one book about the California Gold Rush, "The World Rushed In" would be a great choice.