Maryland Books

New to the Baltimore area....had been struggling to find good day hikes...looked online, etc. -could find references to parks, etc. but couldn't find a good source to tell me which places had trails and if they had trails which ones were the good ones. This book clearly explains what is out there and gives clear descriptions & directions.

I think both reviews above are correct. The book has absolutely inspired me to explore my own region. It's really changed my outlook and my health. However, there are times when the author's instructions are hard to grasp (especially when they seem to conflict with trail maps and signs -- and I think the map for the hike I took yesterday was just plain wrong.) I have already recommended (or bought) this book for several friends and all have been excited to know about it.

While this book does outline quite a few hikes around and in Baltimore, it is hard to follow the author's instructions. Too much narrative mixed in with the directions and turns. Would be nice for an outline of turn by turn directions without all the descriptions and narratives. Not so user friendly when trying to find your way.

First, I love the book 60 Hikes within 60 Miles of Washington DC and would highly recommend it. Based on my experience with that book, written by a different author, I was looking forward to trying out the hikes in this one. After trying out a few of the hikes, I must say that I cannot be more disappointed. The writers instructions for the hikes left out many critical details. One of the hikes I picked at random, was #55 in Patapsco Valley State Park. This hike, like the others, left out critical details to complete the hike as described successfully. My friends and I ended up forging our own path because of the uselessness of what the author wrote. Furthermore, hike #55 has the hikers cross not just one, but two bridges which are unsafe for pedestrians to cross. The description of hike #55 even uses the, unfortunately, accurate phrase 'admittedly, it isn't very pleasant' to describe one part of the hike. It is my opinion that if one has to use a phrase like this, that one should rethink the hike entirely as hikes are supposed to be pleasant.

Please, save your money and avoid this book.

Whether you like to take scenic strolls with your toddler or hike with the true pioneer spirit of the rugged individualist, 60 Hikes within 60 Miles: Baltimore, by Evan Balkan, is your new must-have pocket guide. From his first-hand hiking experiences, Balkan's guide offers a comprehensive compilation of short essays that lead the hiker down paths of delightful discovery through the widly trampled trails and hidden treasures found in and adjacent to "Charm City."

For all Maryland Terps, past and present, the 2001-2002 basketball season was a magical one to follow. It marked the culmination of years of hard work and overcoming almost insurmountable odds by both coach Gary Williams and star guard Juan Dixon. "Sweet Redemption" tells the tale of the separate, yet similar, journeys these two men took, along with the Maryland basketball program, to overcome tremendous hardships and reach the summit of excellence with the 2002 NCAA National Title. Gary Williams came from a broken home to become hard driven coach and successful coach at the expense of his own marriage and estrangement from his daughter. Williams returned to his alma mater, University of Maryland, to coach the men's basketball team in 1989, just in time for all the bad blood of Len Bias' death from cocaine and subsequent recruiting violations to cripple the Terrapin program in a way that made it impossible to win (or even get fan and university support) in those first few years. Juan Dixon came from a harsher background. His parents, while bright and intelligent people, were caught in the vice grip of heroin addiction. They were in and out of prison through most of Juan's young life and he was shuttled from family member to family member to be cared for (a role that mostly fell to his older brother Phil). Though his parents finally cleaned up, the damage was done and they died from HIV-related complications brought about by using dirty heroin needles. Prior to his death, Juan's father made saw to his that his brother looked after Juan and made sure he got his education. Basketball was an escape for both Juan Dixon and Gary Williams. So, it would make sense that the two would come together and help each other achieve the highest level of success possible.

"Sweet Redemption" does give some details into backgrounds of Williams and Dixon, but, at 252 pages, it is understandably superficial in its overall treatment of the subject. Additionally, the progress of the Maryland basketball program from a being nearly dismantled to winning the National Title over 13 seasons is given a perfunctory treatment. All things considered, though, this deficiency does not detract from the overall impact of the book. There is a list of sources in the back of the book that give reference to more in-depth material on which this book is based. "Sweet Redemption" is designed to be a quick study and companion piece of the championship season for fans to ready and enjoy while they get re-energized for the upcoming season.

i rated this four out of five becouse i
didn't fully grssed the intoto of your information
about the issue bein discussed there from ma point of view
as a reader.

Sweet Redemption is the well-told story of how a very good and very dedicated coach and some very good and very dedicated players -- whom most other schools overlooked -- finally brought the NCAA Division I men's basketball championship to the University of Maryland. Like the movie Hoosiers, it should be of interest to all basketball fans -- indeed all sports fans. But it will be a special treasure to supporters of Maryland basketball who for years watched their generally quite good teams suffer one frustration after another. Maryland's 2002 basketball championship was indeed sweet redemption which all true sports fans should be able to savor.

Anyone who loves the underdog has to love Gary Williams. He has bounced back time and again over the course of his career and faced tremendous odds. Winning the National Championship was truly Sweet Redemption for him.

However, this is quite possibly one of THE WORST BOOKS I HAVE EVER READ. As a voracious sports biography reader, this book falls short of the mark made by even the lesser sports books out there. Vise did a TERRIBLE job of accounting the situation. This book is DEVOID of any passion on his part. It reads as if a high school journalism student slapped it together using a simple writing formula : "Here is what happened", , "Review what I just told you again."

You could get the ENTIRE contents of this book by reading newspaper clippings from Gary's career. That's basically all this book is, one big newspaper clipping.

Gary Williams deserves a much better book than this one.

This is the story behind the 2002 University of Maryland basketball championship season and also serves as mini-biographies of Gary Williams, Juan Dixon, and the University of Maryland basketball program. Very well written and organized, it will be interesting for sports fans, even those not U. of Maryland fans. The many tragedies suffered by the institution and individuals associated with the program are heart rending and compelling.

The Maryland championship season is a real life triumph over tragedy story. Regardless of where one's rooting interests lie, I dare say nobody can read Juan Dixon's story and not marvel at his perseverance and leadership. A true, shining example of heart and courage.

this book was very interesting in that one could explore the eIvertyday goings on of a time that we're so far removed from.I would like to have seen many more photos. You can identify much more with the characters in this way. from a historical point of view it was quite enlightening to see how black americans took a hand in their own destiny what with all the odds staked against them. we can see the format that is used even to this day. another interesting point is that there is noting new under the sun. It seems some of the everyday occurencess still prevail today under different circumstances. Though at times the letters were a little boring and written without prpoer punctuation, it helped to bring out the true personality of the writer. All in all for me it was a trip back into time.

Farah Griffin, editor of last year's "A Stranger in the Village: Two Centuries of African-American Travel Writing" has done it again with "Beloved Sisters and Loving Friends." This wonderful collection of letters between Rebecca Primus and Addie Brown allows readers to enter the world of nineteenth-century black American life. Through the correspondence of these "ordinary" women, the reader gains invaluable perspective on the social, political,economic and religious concerns of blacks around the time of the Civil War. In addition, the correspondence between these two loving friends is a welcome addition to all the historical collections of letters, diaries, etc. that document so well the white American experience while neglecting the experiences of black Americans and others. This collection is important and timely and I applaud Professor Griffin's achievement of giving voice to these two women and the world in which they lived.

Very disappointing book. This is not "co"-respondence--it's two separate sets of letters that don't speak to each other; thus there's no dialogue. Further, the editor did not do her job of cleaning out the underbrush, so the letters are unflaggingly boring in their ungrammatical microdomesticity. Only now and then is there a flash of insight into the broader historical/sociological picture. This book is merely an assemblage of transcriptions interspersed with short bursts of mostly redundant editorial comment. With maps, historical timelines, sidebars, and incisive editing, this book could have been much more. As it is, it reads and feels like no more than a senior high school term paper. Shame on all concerned.

Baltimore is a hard city to get your hands around. It's the quintessential image of urban decay; poor, crime-ridden, but also surprisingly hospitable and absolutely crammed with exceptional historical architecture. Poverty, in this case, has proved to be the best preserver, and most of Baltimore's lovely old churches and public buildings are still with us in their somewhat decrepit state. Despite the public image, any enthusiast of American architectural history has to love Baltimore.

This book summarizes the history and significance of these sites. It largely ingores Baltimore's modern structures (Myerhoff, Harborplace, Eisenhower Library, etc...), and there are even some conspicuous gaps in the presentation of the historic ensemble. The Lyric Opera House, for example, is completely absent. Pimlico, ditto. Memorial Stadium? Also, this book was published in 1997, which makes it rather dated and downright ancient in the world of architectural surveys. Time for a new edition. And fill in those holes!

Those issues aside, this book is better than the vast majority of the urban architectural surveys out there. It includes a photograph of every structure, along with a concise essay describing its history and distinguishing features. It includes biographies of important Baltimore architects and and nice introductory chapter to set the historical context. It's well done.

Excellent, accessible book filled with quality information

This book has some significant gaps in its coverage of modern buildings in Baltimore. A partner in our firm (an FAIA) was going to visit the city, and had me call up the local AIA for some recommendations, particularly good recent projects and arts-related buildings. It didn't seem like that much had been going on recently in Baltimore, so they suggested I get this book. Imagine my surprise when I couldn't find any mention of the Lyric Theater or the Meyerhoff Symphony Hall anywhere! From what the AIA and some research on the web told me, these are major public buildings, worth seeing based on their architectural merit. One is older with some new work, the other 20 years old, so it's not as though they're too new to be included. Is it simply that the various authors of this book didn't like those buildings? If so, why couldn't they have included them, but with a critique so that others could make up their own minds? What other notable buildings were left out? The truly flabbergasting part was locating, on the maps provided, where the Lyric and Meyerhoff are, in blank areas among all kinds of churches and old houses. History is great, but it keeps going.

Aside from that, the information for those buildings included in this guide seemed thorough, and the designer bios at the back were a nice touch.

This is way more interesting than most history books. It's great for research or just a good read. Highly recommended.

General Trimble merits a biography. He's a fascinating man. The author's efforts though reads more like a thesis written to submit both to the history and psychology departments rather than a biography meant for the reading public. I would've enjoyed more personal anecdotes relating to the General and would've liked to have see the constant references to Maslow's hierarchy of needs jettisoned completely. It seemed like an artificial appendage added to the book, and its insertion ranged from distracting to downright annoying. It made for a dull, pedantic read.

Almost 60 years old when the Civil War began, Isaac Trimble was still a major force as a Confederate commander, participating in a number of campaigns in the eastern theatre, being severely wounded twice, and becoming a favorite of Stonewall Jackson's. Tucker's biography is scholarly and academic, which might discourage some readers; but I didn't find it numbingly so.

Trimble was born in 1802 in Pennsylvania. A West Point graduate, he served in the army until 1832, when he resigned to become superintendent of a number of East Coast railroads. Siding with the South at the outbreak of the war, he destroyed railroad bridges around Baltimore. He saw action at Winchester and Cross Keys during Jackson's Valley campaign, and was wounded severely at Second Bull Run. He recuperated in time to participate in the Gettysburg campaign, leading forces up the Cumberland Valley (this account by Tucker interested me the most). He lost a leg at Gettysburg and was captured; he remained a prisoner of war until 1865. After the war he was an engineer in Baltimore and died in 1888.

Tucker's biography is not written for a general audience; the book's very few illustrations might be the biggest clue to this fact. Tucker's style is also rudimentary. His annotations are excellent, however, and as I said earlier I didn't find his scholarly approach to be overwhelming. The biography is informative and straightforward, and not particularly stylistic. Civil War buffs will find much to appreciate here.

We recently bought our first free standing home on 1/4 acre in the Maryland suburbs of Washington. My original plan was to 'garden every inch', but I soon realized that was not a 'plan'. After going through several volumes and magazines in the library, I came across this book.

Its beauty lies in the fact that it helps the begginer to PLAN. The gorgeous pictures helped me decide which plants I like visually; the icons let me know immediately which plants do well in shade, sun or both; which are drought tolerant, which attract bees, which are scented, which are native; the list seemed endless. I also like the fact that the book includes water plants, trees, grasses and shrubs with the usual fare because we are fortunate enough to have dogwoods in our yards and now I know how to take care of them.

The reference guide includes contact information for area garden centers, including one about 15 minutes from where we live.

I hope readers can find a guide like this specific to the areas in which they live.

The best recommendation of all: after 3 renewals from the library, I finally decided to BUY the book - I'm definitely going to use it this spring and always.

Aside from providing a list and pictures of popular local plants, this book provides little useful information about individual species and their cultivation. Much of each one-page species description is pure boilerplate providing generic information on planting that is repeated over and over again throughout the book, rather than being stated once in a section on cultivation. Truly disappointing.

I like that this book is specifically about the area in which I live. There's lots of good info here. I wish there had been more flowers listed, though. I wanted to find a smorgasbord of pretty, interesting and different flowers from which to choose. (I'm not looking to plant trees, so I just skipped over that section.) I think this book is a pretty good resource for neophyte or relatively new gardeners in the Mid-Atlantic.

I was hopeful that this book might add a different aspect to my other quilting books. There are no instructions for the patterns...though any quilter with any experience could easily put the designs together. Also, the patterns are not to size, that is unless you prefere miniature quilts. All of the designs are sketched on a page, some have 2 to a page, and are all in black and white. There are no pictures of any of the completed designs. If you plan to use this book for quilting it would make for a complicated quilting motif.

Here is what I will probably do with it:
1. Make a copy of a design so that I can use colored pencils to help me visualize the pattern I want to make. (Keep the book clean!)
2. Make an enlarged copy (or 2) to make freezer paper templates to use in the applique design.

Someone only interested in the designs could also use them to make cards, embroidery, quilting motifs, and possibly decorate other artful crafts.

Having said that, had I seen this book in the store I would most likely NOT have purchased it but since I have I will make the most out of it. This is definitely not for a beginner quilter who would need and appreciate directions and guidance on putting the designs together. However, I think that it will be a helpful aid in the future.

This book is a great addition to the Baltimore Album style patterns you already have. There are no instructions just blocks showing the patterns. I enlarged them to fit my block size and many of them I have not seen any where else. There are also border ideas shown toward the back. I think this is a good book and a wonderful asset to any quilter's library.

I must say I respectfully disagree with the previous reviewer's comment that the information here is all available on the Internet and isn't specific enough to be really helpful. If you actually read the couple of pages devoted to each campground, you'll find details that definitely are NOT covered on the DNR Website or in any other readily available source.

On every camping trip, I take notes and annotate my map in preparation for our next trip. But each trip, I like to try a new place, so my notes don't always help! The info in this book is exactly the kind of information I would like to have before I go: what amenities are there, best loops, advantages and disadvantages of each area, and--most useful--the exact site numbers of sites that are especially good or especially avoidable (and why). I've found a number of very precise tidbits that have, IMO, been worth the purchase price.

Unfortunately, the author does little more than compile data that is otherwise easily available on the internet into one centralized place. While that does have some utility (hence the two stars instead of one), he does very little more than that; thus, the book offers little in the way of orginality or direction.

The book's title suggests that he's going to pare down all of Maryland's camping options into, gee, "the best" ones. But there are 50 listed in the book (ok, conveniently by region) and he doesn't go much further to opinionate (it's OK to have an opinion!) what the best choices are. For example, which would be, say, the top five for families with young children? For avid hikers? For sheer beauty, scenery, history, or isolation? While he uses a "star-rating" system that covers five sub-categories, it ends up being useless because he awards most of the camping sites either four or five stars in each category, thereby providing little meaningful distinction among them all. Also, does five stars really mean "can't miss" or is that just a level relative to Maryland?

He sometimes recommends a few campgrounds within each site, which is certainly on the right track to helping us out, but offers few concrete details and suggestions on anything else; for example, food options, maps, photos, itineraries, etc.

All in all, a wasted opportunity to cut through the chaffe to write a book that tent campers could really use.

The book provides practical advice and suggestions. I found the comprehensive check list of all the things that must be considered prior to startup quite useful. Also helpful are the phone numbers and addresses for various MD, VA, and DC government and economic development offices.

The book is a great resource relative to making sure that you don't overlook things that could be critical to your business. For example, I found the section of hiring and firing enlightening relative to potential impact on a new company's unemployment compensation rate. Who would know that the IRS would make your company chargeable for the unemployment claims of an ex-employee who voluntarily leaves for another job and gets fired after a few weeks.

I would highly recommend the book to anyone starting a small business. It is well organized and a quick read. It helps you know what questions to ask and who to ask. It is not intended as an in-depth resource book.

This has good basic business startup information, but about 1% of it is specific to va,dc and md.

This book provides a good chronicle of the events leading to and immediately following the Len Bias tragedy. Where it falls short is in its glowing portrayal of a certain University Chancellor, who prior to the tragedy knew full well what was going on in the Athletic Department, but after the tragedy pinned all responsibilty on others. This has come to light in the years following the publication of this book. In this respect the book missed the mark.

This story was a great account of the turning point of college basketball, in which the view began to shift more towards the personal and academic side of the athlete as opposed to the athletic side. I would read it all over again.