California Books

I liked this book, and I think you should get it - but watch out - there's a big surprise waiting!

Finding Jesus, Discovering Self is a buffet table sort of a book, a collection of Bible stories about Jesus, first person stories from the authors, poems and quotes from writers famous and otherwise, and directions to help the reader reflect, react and respond to the ideas presented in the stories. Ok so far, the bible stories are familiar, the personal reflections engaging and interesting, the poems and quotes enlightening and easy to read. It's like a long dinner table conversation with those smart, compassionate, well read friends you always wished you could spend more time with. There's a magic bookshelf that pops out the perfect quote, the poem, the literary example at just the right time.

As the evening goes on, though, something a little disturbing starts to happen. The talk turns to you (me!) and the friends start to tell their stories in a more intimate way, revealing not just the easy morals or the funny parts, but how they fell short, were disappointed, didn't act right, learned a hard lesson the hard way. Something about the way they tell their story makes it impossible for you to stay silent, and you find yourself talking, thinking, feeling in ways you hadn't expected. It gets tougher - the friends use challenging words like "imagine it differently...", "ask yourself what the other person is feeling.." or "name your unfinished business."

Caren Goldman is a friend, and in the interest of full disclosure, when I read this book I could imagine her at our dinner table, telling these stories, running to the bookshelf for the Rilke poem that put the idea just right, fixing me with that look when I'm less than honest with myself.

Bill Dols I've never met, but I know things about him from these stories, and I've let him sit at my dinner table, too. Both Caren and Bill present Jesus in a new way, too - not the Gospel of Certainty but the Gospel of Questions - love embodied in the unanswered far more than the answers. These old, familiar stories that Jesus told or that were told about Jesus are presented like a familiar stone, or a picture we've seen forever. They ask us to turn it a little, hold it in a different light, look from closer in. I read the Good Samaritan story, then they asked me to imagine that I was the priest who walked on by, or the robbers who stripped and beat him! Their questions for reflection take the story all the way home... "look around you", "Who do you pass by every day". They quote the Talmud, Milan Kundera and poet Derek Wolcott.

I get up from the banquet, the dinner conversation, the engagement that this book invites a little tired. It's not an easy self-help affirmation, this book. It's hard. The Jesus I thought I knew is different from the one I meet in this book. So is the "self." This book asks us to look at the beauty, the ease, the love - but also the anger, the selfishness, the disappointment. Smell the flowers, of course, but smell the funk too, acknowledge the rest of the picture, live with the tough questions.

It's not easy - I stopped a couple of times. I thought, "I don't really need this," and "I don't really have time, and " I'm not sure what they believe and if they believe the way I do". In the end, I found it immensely helpful, a powerful experience. Living the questions raised in this way - the questions about Jesus, the questions about myself - is a better way to live. It's like the way I feel getting up from that dinner table - challenged, alive, full, energized - and ready for more!

Caren says that it's her hope that "the questions...will ...remain a welcome signpost on your journey to healing and wholeness." Bill says it's "exchanging the insatiable search for meaning in the Bible for the opportunity to read sacred narratives as life's drama around and within me." Around the middle of the book there's a little TS Eliot poem that summarizes the genius of this book for me.

"We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time."

The authors have provided me "food for the journey."This outstanding book is most helpful for a fifteen minute quiet time in the middle of a busy day, as well as for a contemplative read to begin or end the day. Bill Dols is creator and Editor of Bible Workbench and Caren Goldman is an Associate Editor of this 52 week program that is a valuable resource that provides a life-changing process for us to engage scripturre in the same way the authors have done in this book: Scripture, Questions, Stories, and Poetry that reflect the relevancy of the Biblical text to our lives today.

Finding Jesus, Discovering Self by Caren Goldman and William Dols is a book about passages to healing and wholeness, using passages about Jesus's life from the Bible as meditations and illustrations for handling daily problems. The book is written by the unlikely team of Goldman, a Jewish journalist, and Dols, and Episcopal priest. They are excellent writers and bring two different perspectives to each scripture and add guided meditations and questions to answer about your perspective and insights gained. The book is an excellent study, no matter what stage your spiritual development is.

Caron Goldman and Bill Dols invite us to explore the Jesus story and our personal stories from fresh, new, sometimes challenging perspectives. To help us, they generously share their own stories, struggles, joys and questions in "Reflections." They invite us to go deeper with more questions and creative imaginings in "Wonderings and Wanderings." Then they hold up "Mirrors" for us to catch another glimpse of the Jesus story and our own with poetry and prose from many sources. In the process of "living" the questions about Jesus and his story, as well as our own stories, one discovers universal life connections and truths. This book is one all seekers will want to own and keep close for guidance on the path. The more I found about Jesus the more I discovered about self and life.

This remarkable book gave me that rare gift, an inventively presented opportunity to see old ideas in new ways; to turn off the philosophical autopilot and reconsider long-held values and operating principles; to realize yet again that I don't necessarily know what I think I know. I took advantage of the authors' permission to skip the exercises this time through, because I'm getting ready to move and don't have time to engage at that level. In some future peaceful season I'll be back, to consider their questions. Great quotes from a lineup that includes a range of talent from Oscar Wilde to the Thomas of that other gospel, combined with the authors' personal experiences that relate to the stories of the life of a wise Jewish man from Nazareth, provoked enough thought this time through.

This is one of the very best all round books you can own. It has unit break downs, ranks, what regiments are in what divisions, dog tag information, research information, just about anything you would need to know to research most any unit or someone in the family. All the information in it, for the price, is one heck of a deal. All the books I've ever seen by Jonathan Gawne are outstanding, especially his 'Spearheading D-Day' book. This book 'Finding Your Father's War' is outstanding.

Ever ask 'What did you do in the War, daddy?' Ever wonder what all those patches, medals, etc represented? Ever wish you still had them???

I could never get my dad to talk about his experiences while in the US Army during WWII, outside of a comical happening or two. All I knew was that he had served in the retaking of the Philippines and briefly in the occupation of Japan. I'm proud of what my dad/the USA did during the War and very interested in what he did or went thru. Are you in the same situation?

Then this is the book that you need!!!!

Most importantly, it gives the places to search for & to obtain information and how to read the documents.

But wait! That's not all!! (as they say in infomercials on TV. LOL)

It gives an excellent breakdown of the units and their sub-units in size and organization (T/O) and the associated abbreviations for each. As a military history buff, I thought I knew how the Army was organized but boy did I learn a lot more about it.

This book covers campaign dates, T/O, how to identify a vehicle's assignment, badges and just about everything else you could want to know and I highly recommend it. Even if you're just a WWII history buff.

The only thing I've not been able to find in this book is a breakdown on how to read the ribbon bar(s).

"Finding Your Father's War" is a fantastic reference guide! For relatives of U.S. Army veterans, it is a straight forward guide to the resouces you'll need.

This is an amazing resource on the composition and structure of the US Army during WWII. There is detailed information on how the Army was organized at the time, including an appendix on the Army Air Force. There is no information on the Navy or Marine Corps: the focus is fixed on the Army. The book is packed with photos and illustrations of insignia, badges and medals worn or awarded during the war. What this book is not is a reference on the armament, equipment or gear of the period; nor does it discuss battles or unit losses.

Contents

Introduction

The War in a Nutshell

Section 1: Introduction to Army Units
Background information on the composition of the World War II US Army

Section 2: Individual Records
The various Army records pertaining to an individual soldier

Section 3: Organizational Records
The Army's record of what a man did during the war

Section 4: Finding Records
Places around the country where you can find records of your soldier's service

Section 5: Introduction to Army Units
Identifying what you may already have and what it can tell you about your relative's service

Appendices

Appendix A: The Infantry and Airborne Divisions in World War II

Appendix B: The Armored and Cavalry Divisions in World War II

Appendix C: Army Groups, Armies, and Corps in World War II

Appendix D: Major Army Commands of World War II

Appendix E: The Army Air Forces in World War II

Appendix F: Vehicle Markings in World War II

Appendix G: The Campaigns of World War II

Appendix H: Official Abbreviations Used in World War II

Appendix I: The Green Books and Select Bibliography

This is an outstanding book! It brings together information on so many aspects of a search for WWII information it has become invaluable to me. I found the most helpful aspects included the many full color pictures, the charts of organization, and the explanations of the many documents I found in my father's papers. Some of the sample documents and forms were small reproductions and did require a magnifying glass to see clearly but the information was so helpful, I didn't mind. The book also gives clear information on where various documents are located and how best to access those sources. Having this book months ago would have saved me hours of time.

My only disappointment is that there is no index. When I go back to the book to refresh myself on a topic, it is not always easy to find what I am looking for through the Table of Contents. I would hope any future editions would include a good index. That one complaint aside, I think this is an excellent book and I would recommend it highly for anyone searching for records.

This memoir comes unvarnished, a raw but beautifully written account of life in an era characterized by inspired and truly inventive energy alongside desperation and despair. I was in awe of the artistic risks taken by members of the Angels of Light and loved reading about the unfolding dramas involved in creating each production. This was a group that knew how to push every limit, producing moments of brilliance and courage and genuine fun. Adrian Brooks captures the intensity of these moments and portrays the stunning assortment of those involved in vivid detail. The Angels clearly had a hell of a good time.

But in the end I came away feeling saddened by the fact that this group that had such creative energy was ultimately unable to get it together to protect its members--even its children--from danger. Angels watched each other abuse themselves and abuse others, but few seemed to step up to demonstrate responsibility or even much kindness.

Brooks portrays these incongruities in all their inspiring and troubling detail. He writes with psychological insight so that the characters ring true, but he refrains from wholesale judgments. As part of the action, he does not shy away from giving us a clear picture of his own struggles as well as triumphs. I came away appreciating the complexity of the intersection of time, place and characters that stayed with me long after I had finished reading the book--a reflection, to me, of its quality and value.

Flights of Angels held me from the start, and that includes the gorgeous cover art too. It is truly a wonderful memoir of an era that impressed so many of us and Adrian Brooks has portrayed it perfectly. What Adrian has captured here is more than a memory though, it is also the feeling, the very heart of the times, and he carries us through it with grace. Thank you Adrian Brooks!
Nikki Lastreto

I was an 'Angel of Light' from 1973 and I love this book. It is beautiful. It is honest. And it is real. It also expresses
the group's belief in peace and art and the spirit of free theater.

Adrian praises geniuses and the Light but shows the ugly Dark side too. He had to. If not, this would be a coverup
but he is fair about a scene that only a few people ever saw from the inside. I was one. And he was too. After 1974,
he was one of the big stars and a tremendous positive offstage influence offstage.

San Francisco was the world capital of Gay Revolution in the 1970s and the 'Angels' were shamans. As a performer
and scriptwriter, Adrian helped the group out of anarchy and helped channel our greatest triumphs that were political,
gutsy, funny, transforming and beautiful. All done in a spirit of love and celebration.

The era comes alive as Adrian also shares his poems for the first time since the Seventies. They are as wonderful
as his other writing. If anyone wants to know the inside story about the art vanguard in San Francisco before AIDS
they should read this book. I salute it. And I'm as proud to be in it as I was to be an Angel of Light.

Tony Angel
San Francisco

Let me be as candid as author Adrian Brooks is in this amazingly layered snapshot of San Francisco during some of its most culture-creating years (1973-1981), and admit that I was strongly biased to pick up this book and love it. And I did both.

My bias: I have co-published one of Adrian's novels, Roulette, and I'm giddy to publish another, Black and White (and red all over), in the fall of 2008.

But why I loved Flights of Angels was not simply a knee-jerk "I love anything Adrian Brooks" writes response.

Yes, Adrian is an author who knows how to create an authorial voice--all the while juggling those of many characters--and work it. In other words, he can tell one hell of a story. And yes, there are parallels between the wild bunches of misfits making incredible communities in both Roulette and Black and White (and red all over) and what the Angels of Light were trying to create on- and off-stage in San Francisco. And yes, there are over-the-top antics in all three books--though fact is way wilder than fiction. But what really makes this memoir so much more than just a tell-all of a zany troupe of artists and activists and now and then a lot of drag queens or even of San Francisco itself, is the relentless and often ruthless scrutiny with which Adrian Brooks looks at himself and from there, the events and the times around him.

In fact, when I finished Flights of Angels, this memoir was no longer a memoir to me. It was a piercing first-person look at San Francisco during a time where much of the good, the bad, and the ugly there was a refraction of what was going on and what was to come on the larger national and world stages. And San Francisco from the mid 1960s on was not for the faint of heart, or art. It was more like a social and cultural particle accelerator--where tiny specs of energy smashed together on the stage, on the streets, and in the sheets to make incredible explosions of light and energy-- surrounded all around by shadows and the dark. And all of that is here in this book. And perhaps all this messy complexity is best wrapped up in the tragic story of the little boy Sham, the group's living mascot and totem, whose beauty and pain comes to embody the best to the worst of both the Angels' and the greater seventies peace, love, and happiness visions and their crashing failures.

But as ponderous as I'm making the book sound, it's incredibly readable and enjoyable because we come to it through Adrian's wild ride from scion of a Mainline Philadelphia family to bohemian black sheep to a world-traveled artist with a ramrod-straight spiritual spine who looks back unflinchingly at the times he and his fellow angels looked the other way so they and their bedazzled audiences could only see beauty--fleeting but transformative--onstage.

And I have to add that nothing enhances that very real beauty like the photos of Dan Nicoletta. His collaboration with Adrian makes this book an amazing time capsule for those of who could not be there (I was a tween in Tulsa, Oklahoma myself).

Finally, as a writer, I really appreciated how Adrian Brooks contextualizes the creation of each poem in the post-epilogue section of the book. It was a fascinating way to add yet another layer to this study of San Francisco's art--from its more measured fits and starts in the poetry scene to its most brazen soaring and crashing with the Angels.

As a fellow "survivor" of the Drugs, Rock 'n Roll, and the San Francisco free-spirited Gay Sexual Revolution of the 70's....I feel we are very fortunate that Adrian Brooks has the insight, awareness, and writing talents to document the Beauty, Madness and Theatrics of the phenomenon called "The Angels of Light"! Not only was Adrian a keen-sighted observer...he was also an integral participant who had the first-hand opportunity to enter and exit the very vortex of this creative cyclone.
His book ""Flights of Angels" is a tell-all...good-bad...beautiful-horrific...that is a "must read" for any one truly interested in this "once-in-a-lifetime" exotic living theater troupe. Adrian's unflinching portrayal of those involved(including himself)shows his brutally honest approach to this entertaining and mystifying cast of characters. If he stepped on some HIGH-heeled toes...or ruffled some of the gaudy plumage..SO BE IT! His end result in this Book is both very entertaining and A JOB WELL DONE!!!

ps For some good laughs...read his book "Roulette". And...for an erotic book...read one of his earliest works "The Glass Arcade" (an intriguing creation of book that is highly erotic...yet devoid of blatant sex scenes).

I would reccommend this book to anyone concerned about the environment, both physical and socio-economic. It is eye-opening. What is especially valuable is that the book empowers the reader.

I read this book because I am a fan of David Rippe's writing, and I was told this would be a good book for me to read, because right now I am living an "upside down" life. I'm not much into reading self help books, which I thought this book was but I thought I would give it a try. I personally don't think this is a self help book. This is a book that doesn't tell you what you have to do to change your world, it is a book that gives you choices on how you can change your world. You can either to choose to live in a world where everything is chaotic and out of control. You can choose to continue to walk through life as a robot settling for what you have or have been given, or you can choose to change those things and live in a more harmonious life and making decisions...choices for yourself.

This book takes you through everything from your thinking, emotions, entertainment, the way we eat and the medications we take, politics, war, religion etc....In every chapter there are several interviews with well known celebrities, leaders, writers, investment advisors, doctor's and so forth. Also you are given those choices you can make to live in an up-right world.

After reading this book I have chosen to flip my life around and live in an up-right world and will take what I have learned from the book to make that happen. It might not happen over night but it will happen. I definitely recommend this book to anyone living in and upside down world. You will not regret it. In fact you will want to thank both David Rippe and Jared Rosen for helping to change your life.

I found this book to be one of the best I've read. It puts so many things into perspective as we go through these changing times.

I'm buying this for my mom and sisters!

Again, it's awesome!!!!

Kathy
Spokane, WA

Like a friend who says, "Let's go for a walk," this engaging book persuades with a conversational ease, inviting you to walk through gardens you think you know so well. You are given simple facts and numbers, without any strident rhetoric. And you are startled by the leaves and petals you just now really see, in such clear light.

THE FLIP persuades because it resonates with what you know deep within to be true, but unrealized because you think them distant, perhaps irrelevant.

Before you know it, you have traversed from your little room, explored issues such as the sustainability of our world, and returned to face the metaphysical questions of your life and values- and all these, while on an easy stroll with a new friend.

As you move from garden to garden, THE FLIP stops at bridges where you meet fascinating people who tell you of their choices. The book has a spare, consistent chapter layout, giving you a web link to explore the topic yourself, and offering a quick list of practical actions.

What do you do with those precious six free hours you have of the daily twenty-four? Look at a leaf, and you see the world. Look at the choices made, and you see the values held.

This book begins, and leaves you with a softly spoken challenge: what choices do you make?

THE FLIP provides visionary wisdom for a new world, offering a chatty guide which rebels against materialism and offers 'Flip Tips' for making spiritual, physical and environment-sustaining changes for work, home life, entertainment and more. If you wish to follow a 'greener' route, THE FLIP is for you, offering insights from a range of disciplines and writers, from political and social change to flipping channels, burgers, values and more.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

This is one of those must have items when you're facing a trip with your grandkids (that's TWO generations away from your own days on any wild ride) and I must say this guide to the park was enormously helpful even before we got there. Thanks a lot! Our trip was a huge success and Ms. Wiley's book gets a lot of the credit.

I first read an earlier version of this book several years ago, and Kim's sound advice has stayed with me, several trips on.

If you want to learn which rides to stay away from with young children, and what the must sees are, this is the book to read. And don't ignore Kim's most important tip of all. If you're travelling to Disney World with children, make sure you take that afternoon nap.

Catherine Noble
Webmaster
www.mywdwtrip.com

This is a really useful book, tons of tips, saved me a lot $$ and time. The most valuable thing I learn is to rent a multi-family vacation house with my friends, 16 people for $199 a day. We all enjoy the stay at a luxury emerald island resort. check this out: http://www.cyberrentals.com/index.cfm/property/126687

I purchased this book as a guide to help plan a 5 day trip to WDW with my family. We just got back and let me tell you this book saved us a lot of waiting time for the rides, helped us know what to see and where and how to focus our energy. Ms. Wiley is right on the mark in her descriptions of the attractions and her tips about getting around the parks. The book was so helpful, I tore out the sections about each park and took it with us into the park. This version is missing info that wasn't available at the time of printing about some of the newer shows Disney has put in for its 50th anniversary celebration. The Cinderellabration show is wonderful especially if you have a princess lover in your family and the Wishes fireworks display over the castle in the Magic Kingdom. I would highly recommend this book even if you've been to WDW before.

This book is a must read before and during your trip. It has great money saving ideas and is easy to understand. The scare factors are extremely useful if you have children under 10.

Dr. Rothenberg is one of most famous doctor in anti-agind medicine. His presentation at medical conference is very interesting and understandable. So many physicians attend his lecture evry time. This book is very organized, so it is very helpful to study preventive medicine such as nutrition, exercise and stress reduction for medical doctors in various fields and also it can be a exellent guide book for people's daily life. I reccomend it for everyone who want to live longer and more healthily. MAKOTO MD JAPAN

Forever Ageless: Advanced Edition - Review

Chef Rothenberg and company have successfully cooked up the most up-to-date and artfully presented "tomato sauce" of Preventive and Regenerative Medicine to date. Whether it's a quick, nuts and bolts reference for patient education and treatment algorithms (the CD power points are great for patient ed) or a thorough, in depth, peer review supported guide to complex, multi-factorial, treatment decisions...from history, evaluation and testing, treatments, exercise, diet, clinical and legal implications, supportive abstracts and references, "It's in there!" The book is written, depicted and organized in a practical, user friendly manner for both patients and "in the trenches" practitioners. This state of the art opus breaks a complex area of medicine down and puts it back together, an ingredient at a time, in an understandable, common sense, open-minded fashion that is hugely educational and an enjoyable read. Forever Ageless: Advanced Edition is destined to be a top seller and deserves a place in everyone's personal library. Help your patients and lengthen your own "Healthspan". Get this book...read it...live it ... and "live long, healthy and prosper"!

Ed Zimmerman,MD Private Practice, Cosmetic Surgery, Las Vegas, Nevada

This book can serve a a textbook for physicians in the field of regenerative medicine yet is understandable enough for any interested person. It is a milestone for this new field.


Michael D. Berger, MD

This is an amazing threatise on antiaging. It is a MUST for patients contemplating any antiaging treatment. In addition,for physicians practicing antiaging medicine it is a great resource. I recommened this book whole heartedly to anyone in the antiaging field and to those considering adding this scope of medicine to their practice.

As a practicing physician I have used this book many times as a reference. It has proven to be very helpful with all my HRT problem solving needs and it is also loaded with references which support the science of antiaging.

Dr. Lionel Bissoon
Author, The Cellulite CureThe Cellulite Cure (TM)

Dr. Rothenberg's most recent book "Forever Ageless", Advanced Edition is an updated overview of Anti-Aging Medicine that has no peer. This rapidly emerging field of medicine provides the answer to the inadequacies of traditional western medicine. The treatise is versatile enough to provide a Reader's Digest overview of selected topics while also providing references from the medical literature that in turn provides the scientific basis for this new approach to health care. The format explores the impact of various lifestyle modifications as well as the more recent additions to our armamentarium, supplements and hormone replacement. Theory is brought alive with specific algorithms understandable to both the physician and the patient. Specific information is provided on daily requirements of various food groups, supplements, ect. Dr. Rothenberg is truly a proven leader in this field that will eventually change the way we practice medicine. I highly recommend this valuable resource to the layman as well as the healthcare professional. James F. Lineback MD

My husband and I recently heard a taped interview with Father Boyle that aired on NPR. We were very interested in learning more about his unique outreach efforts with LA Gang members. This book is excellent.

"G-Dog and the Homeboys" shows how Father Greg Boyle and a select few adults, including the author, completely changed the lives of teens in East LA. Greg opened the homies' and his followers' eyes to the world outside of their lives in their little neighborhood. Many kids would not think past selling drugs to earn a little extra cash, or firing off a couple of rounds of bullets in order to simply stay alive. Boyle changed all of this.
In actuality, the homies were not violent, cruel, or evil kids at heart. Many had rotten home lives and joined gangs to find love. Others joined for protection. Gangs offered support if they were ever in serious danger.
Father Greg understood and felt for these teens. Greg lent them helping hand in any way he could. He gave them money for school, jobs, even a roof over their heads. However, the best gift he gave the homies was his love and caring for them.
As one follows the stories of numerous homies, one realizes how much of an impact one man, Father Greg, had on their lives. This story is touching, at times frightening, and over all, enlightening. It is highly recommended that you read "G-Dog and the Homeboys". Your eyes, too, will be opened to the world around you.

Although I have not read this book, I did watch a lecture by Father Boyle given at Regis University. It is amazing what he has accomplished in LA with these gang members. It is a true testament to what God can do if given the chance!

This book is quite unlike any other that I have read on crime or gangs, both in style and in substance.

The style is very simple. Fremon makes no attempt to be objective. She makes no effort to put the story into any larger context. She does not come across like a professional writer of any kind. Her ego is absent from the work. Instead, she tells a story, a simple, moving story.

The subject of her story is extraordinary. John Paul II liked to say that there are many more saints around us then we recognize. This story is another example of that. Father Greg Boyle is a normal suburban white guy who became a priest, and was sent to East LA. He found himself surrounded by gang violence. Nothing unusual in the story so far.

But his reaction was extraordinary. He responded to the situation in a radically Christian manner. He did not get into any of the usual left wing politics or posturing. Instead, he offered the gang members uncondititional love, just as the Gospel teaches. He spent time with them. He visited them in jail. He visited them in the hospital. Whenever the guns went off, he was there trying to bring peace. In one extraordinary incident, he put himself between two gangs who were starting a fire fight, and told them that if they wanted to kill each other, they would have to kill him. He was risking his life doing this, and the gang members knew it. They did not shoot; his Christian witness brought them back from their madness.

It took time, but the gang members responded to Father Greg's ministry with tremendous enthusiasm and love. It is an incredibly inspiring story. It reminds us of why we are Christians. It shows us the transforming power of Christian love.

I would like to be able to draw some political conclusions from all of this. I would like to somehow replace our current approach to gangs with Father Greg's approach. I do not know how to do that. I can not see how to make his saintly approach work in ordinary political or police work. But I do know that we are all better people with someone like him among us. If we had more like him, the world would be healed.

A wonderful read that can be shared with reluctant readers to bring them face to face with their place in modern literature. A book that should be shared with more teenagers. A look at gang life/ prisons in our urban world through the eyes of someone on a shared journey. I shared this book and another series that Celeste wrote in LA Weekly (2005) with my students as a combination class: experience of life literature and morality. Father Boyle is a master at understanding humanity and our call to larger social responsibility. We are not permitted to dismiss the world around us after reading this book that tugs at the corners of your heart. Greg gives hope where it is needed the most - to everyone. If the opportunity to hear Father Greg Boyle speak presents itself, do yourself a favor and go.

I neede to buy this book for a class/trip I am taking over spring break. I was very surprised that it was not a dry text book , but a very readable information guide to the entire area. Great book if your interested in the geology of the area.

I read it after I came back from a trip to Owens Valley, so I can't speak on using it for directions, but it is a great book. I began reading to find a few facts to label my trip photos with but found myself reading the entire Owens Valley half, even the places I didn't see. There are some crazy things in Owens Valley! A gravity deficit, piles of rock in neat columns, lava cooling into glass, water issues with Owens Lake... I couldn't stop reading even though I had work to do - bad bad, but so good!

The chapters on each location are longer and geologic feature are more detailed than your average guide book, so you understand the background and science, but there's no technical jargon, so it's very easy to understand. Very clear simple writing by people who obviously have a genuine appreciation for what they're writing about.

Most years we vacation in Mammoth. This book describes a number of convenient and interesting side trips to take with the family. We wander around, sometimes visiting the same features, sometimes visiting a new site. Always appreciating more & more of the world around us. My children have a much better feel for geological processes and their impact on the landscape than do their peers.

The book starts with a five page description of Eastern California's geological history, then jumps into 30 sites of interest, nearly evenly distributed between Death Valley & vicinity and the Eastern Sierra & vicinity. A glossary, "Sources of Supplementary Information," and an index round out the book.

Each site receives its own chapter, replete with photographs, maps, geological diagrams, and even driving directions, as needed. I'm not a serious geologist, but landscape features fascinate me. The explanations that the authors give work well for me: I can understand them well enough to explain them to children.

If you're interested in how the land has been shaped, if you're willing to turn off the tube & make contact with the natural world, then this book is for you. One of the best "field guides" to geology I own. One of my favorites, too. (The companion volume, GEOLOGY UNDERFOOT SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA, is also an excellent book).

Great to take along any drive through the area. Have your passenger read as you go, stop along the way for a closer look. Easy to read, not too "intellectual". This was my favorite guide to the area when I moved here (and still is)!

The southwest United States is a geomorphologist's dream... There's not a lot of green stuff covering up the beautiful geology! This book details the geologic features of Death and Owens Valley, CA. It gives the geologic history of features while succinctly describing the details of the processes that brought about these features. The Tufa Pinnacles in Searles Valley, the alluvial fans in Death Valley, the interesting history and development of Gower Gulch, the mysterious ascent of desert pavement, the glacial morraines and routes of the Tahoe and Tioga Stade glaciers at Convict Lake, the Mono Craters (Domes), Fossil Falls, the Alabama Hills and more. You'll even get the heebee jeebees when you read about the monstrous explosion of Ubehebe Crater! Certainly one of the most interesting and pleasurable books I've read in ages! Highly recommended for ANYONE who plans a trip to California's awe-inspiring Death Valley and environs! A must have!

Clark Howard's goal is to show you how to "save more, spend less, and avoid getting ripped off." This book is very effective in helping readers to achieve that. He offers a wide range of advice on insurance, investing, real estate, car repair/purchasing, travel planning, and common scams. If you have any decisions pending in any of these areas it is well worth consulting his advice in this book.

Clark Howard should be regarded as a scholar and classified as "required reading" for everyone after the 10th grade. I don't always agree with everything he says and he does come off as a little goofy sometimes as well as unnecessarily cheap (at a salary of over $2M a year, Clark, you can "Super Size" your lunch- it's okay!) but the man knows how to make money and- most importantly- keep money.

Unlike most other wealthy business-savvy professionals, Clark's not pretentious and does not mind sharing his beliefs, experiences, and advice for the rest of us. The man has experiences in just about all areas of consumerism- he knows his stuff and these books are more like reference books than "nighttime reading". I always refer to Clark when beginning a financial transaction and have been very thankful I have more than once!

This book is awesome. It should be required reading for consumers prior to considering autos, homes, investing, insurance, warranties, long distance, cell phones, travel and many other topics. This is the kind of information a parent would want their child to be armed with before leaving home and learning the hard way. I feel like I owe the author more money because the price of the book was so low compared to the thousands of dollars I will save in the upcoming years. Would make a great gift for any friend and especially someone who struggles with finances.

Without a doubt this is the best consumer information book on the bookshelf today. Clark Howard presents a no nonsense, straight to the point look at what everybody should already know before you go out into the marketplace. I sincerely wish that I had this book before I left my parents house to start out on my own. If universities were really interested in informing the average student, this book would be a required class at schools across America. PLEASE GIVE THIS BOOK TO ANY RELATIVE WHO IS GRADUATING HIGH SCHOOL. IT WOULD BE THE BEST PRESENT THEY COULD GET

I've been listening to this guy for a couple weeks on his talk radio show. I have to say that the common principles of personal finance and consumer rights presented in this book are invaluable lessons that we were never taught in high school or college (at least I wasn't). So, if you 're interested at all, check it out--you won't be dissapointed.

Authored by the popular team of Myrna and Harvey Frommer, this a wonderful collection of anecdotal history. It covers momentous events and intimate moments spanning decades of Jewish-American thinking from every sector of the country. Its richness is doled out in small, poignant bites of personal history frequently focusing on a fading European past and compromises and dilemmas with a gentile world. There is heartbreak but also a grand humor.

"Childhood memories of Jewish men and women of all ages from across the country. They describe their urban and suburban experiences and discuss long-held traditions and religious rituals. Presents a kaleidoscopic view of twentieth-century life from immigrant and minority perspectives."

"IF YOU SOMEHOW MISSED THIS BOOK WHEN HARCOURT BRACE FIRST PUBLISHED IT IN 1995, HERE'S ANOTHER CHANCE. IF YOU GREW UP JEWISH IN AMERICA, IT WILL ENLIGHTEN YOU AND MAKE YOU REMEMBER. IT'S A WARM, WONDERFUL MEMORY BOOK OF LIFE AS IT USED TO BE -- ALL OVER AMERICA -- IN A MUCH LESS COMPLICATED TIME. . . BITTERSWEET IN PLACES, IT IS A DELIGHT."

The book provides a fascinating look at Jewish life. We learn about families, school activities, religious life, and anything else the people felt like discussing. All areas of the country are represented as well as all aspects of Judaism. Hundreds of personal photos add much to to the histories. A good glossary explains the various Yiddish terms used throughout."

===Growing up Jewish IN AMERICA

THIS IS a fine book for goyim. Being gentile, as far as I know, I can say that.

One never knows exactly what one's roots might include. As Leon Toubin comments on a Texas community in this entertaining oral history, "We were probably all Jewish once, but we're Lutheran now." The complexities of American life make this book fun and often pure poetry. Some vital turning points come to life in a just few sentences. Zipporah Marans, whose father was an Orthodox rabbi in Raleigh, N.C., during World War II, recalls G.I.s "would have three days' leave before being shipped overseas. Their girlfriends would come down, and my father would marry them in our living room. My mother, sister, a soldier friend and I would each hold a corner of the chuppa, the wedding canopy."

St. Louis Jews - really, all Jews west of the Appalachians - might feel a bit slighted in this study. David Bisno talks about the divide between Jews of German and Russian descent in St. Louis, but he doesn't offer many details. Ansaie Sokoloff recalls his family leaving St. Louis for Cheyenne, Wyo. Other communities in the chapter about the Midwest and West include Detroit, Duluth, Omaha, Pittsburgh and San Fernando. It reminded me of a gas station attendant in New Jersey who noticed my Missouri plates and said, "I have a cousin who went to school in South Dakota." New York and environs get the bulk of attention here. That's fine, but what I find particularly fascinating are more detailed accounts of unique or remote communities and families struggling to maintain traditions.

The Frommers' book has many moments, too, where one senses the effort necessary to maintain tradition and faith in our time. Though no characters develop in this text, one hears many fragments of fascinating memories, which together present an insightful portrait of vibrant communities and individuals.