Directories Books

We purchased the '07 edition of this book last winter and my husband, daughter and I have used it several times a week ever since. The new edition ('08) is just as thorough with the expected updates. It is sensibly organized and contains pertinent factual information we need for preliminary research. We particularly like the quickly accessible stats listed in the margin. Friends have looked at our book and find it more useful than the others they have purchased.

This book is a wonderful resource for anyone -- teachers, parents, community officials -- who wants to make this world a better place for our children. It provides solid, in-depth information on several different organizations and national programs. It educates and illuminates, but never preaches or provokes one into feeling guilty about not being able to do everything. It's a great guide for individuals and groups alike! -- Laura Klotz, author of "Saving the World in Your Spare Time"

52 Great Florida Golf Getaways by Florida golfing expert Ed Schmidt Jr. is a handy, "user friendly" guide to some of Florida's most vibrant, well-run, and enjoyable golf courses. Yet the golf courses selected are particularly special in that each one of them has access to numerous other recreational opportunities nearby - boutiques, water parks, museums, kids' activities, sailing, tennis, fishing, and more - for the non-golfers in the family. Straightforward descriptions, contact information, and black-and-white photographs form the heart of this solid reference which is especially recommended for mixed golfer and non-golfer families in the Florida area. If you are golfer and taking a trip to Florida, begin your itinerary planning with a thorough browsing through Ed Schmidt's 52 Great Florida Golf Getaways!

I would recommend this book to anyone who is trying to obtain your MCSE or just needs a book for a good reference.

The old saying "You can't judge a book by its cover" simply does not apply to this new edition of '75 Hikes' by John R. Soares. Indeed, the cover photo of Mt. Lassen reflected in the pristine waters of Lake Helen is almost worth the price of the book itself. If that photo doesn't sell you on the joys of the southern Cascade range, nothing will. As soon as I saw the cover, I was already dreaming about another visit.

Just as Mt. Lassen dominates the cover of this book, trails in and around Mt. Lassen Volcanic National Park dominate the text. Although the book has 5 chapters, each corresponding to a specific area, the first two make up almost 2/3 of the hikes described here. This is as it should be. Mt. Lassen is probably the most accessible of the major peaks in the Cascades. The rest of the park is also heavily geared towards hikers: numerous lakes, peaks, meadows, cinder cones, waterfalls, and thermal features invite hikers to linger in this remarkable place and Soares does an excellent job of describing short and long hiking opportunities for these destinations. Most of the routes he suggests make for pleasant day hikes but he also includes numerous backpacking options.

The material for Mt. Shasta and Lava Beds National Monument is understandably more limited. The main thing I got out of this section is that if I want to climb Mt. Shasta I should sign up with a guided expedition. I have lots of hiking and backpacking experience at high elevations, but none with ice axes and crampons on glaciers. Judging by Soares's descriptions, this is an absolute necessity for a successful climb on Shasta. Soares does list several options for hikers not intent on bagging the summit.

On the whole, this is an excellent guidebook. If you are interested in hiking northeastern California, '75 Hikes' is a good starting point. All the classics are included: Burney Falls, Captain Jack's Stronghold, Bumpass Hell Themal Works in Lassen Park, and many others. Nice black and white photos accompany the text which is well written and moderately humorous in places. In all, this book is a worthy investment for any vacation in the region.

I've used these annual books since 1994; of several reference works to locate great B&Bs, this is the best.

I just finished Abomans book and must say it was very informative. My wife and I plan on traveling and believe me, this will be the most important book we bring with us. He gives all the information you need from the wherabouts of the schools, the qualification of the teacher, the price of the school, and the expected techniques and skills obtained. I recommend this book to anyone interested in expanding their outdoor survival skills.

Great book, if you are eager to make your web searching more productive this is the book for you.

I thought I was pretty good when it came to getting around
on the Internet, but was I ever pleasantly surprised to learn
that I could still learn a great deal . . . and did by reading
THE ABOUT.COM GUIDE TO ONLINE RESEARCH by Wendy Boswell.

You'll also learn, too, regardless of your level of computer
sophistication . . . the material is very readable and
oh-so-informative . . . for example, to find the weather for
where you live, just go to the google website and type-in
weather: then your five-digit zip code . . . you immediately are
taken to a very visual listing that will provide all the information
you need by just looking at it (and not having to click further).

You'll get many tips that I've never seen elsewhere; e.g., this one
deals with how to deal with bibliographies:

There's EasyBib. a free automatic bibliography
composer; Cornell University Library's excellent in-depth article on how
to prepare an annotated bibliography; and writer Diana Hacker's informative how-to tutorial . . . all the specific web citations can be found in the book.

And you'll also find websites galore on such topics as finding crime
statistics, weird news, comparison shopping, job hunting, specific
diseases, and everybody's favorite, time wasting.

Lastly, if such terms as "blogs" and "RSS feeds" still throw you,
you'll no longer need to fear them if you just spend a little
time this most informative guide . . . I'd tell you more, but
it would take away from the time that I still want to spend
on trying just some of the things I've learned from Boswell's book.

A very useful book and a starting point for art research. This book is
a must for anyone reserching artworks and should be in all serious art collectors' libraries.

Need to find Web sites having to do with alternative medicine? With getting great travel information? With parenting, shopping, music or anything else? Then get this great guide from Access Magazine. There are almost 1,000 reviews of the best sites on the Net. I keep it by my computer all the time, and instead of spending needless time at a search engine, I use this handy guide. A must for anyone who wants to get the most out of the Web.