Nevada Books

I am a Las Vegas native familiar with Kim Thomas' capacity with the Metropolitan Police Dept. While crime genre is of particular interest to me, I admit I read this book because I felt akin to it. I imagine it is a safe and overall general and accurate account of his tenure with the LVMPD. In the absence of specifics indicative to "Sin City", one can conclude crime is crime, regardless the venue. It moves quickly,easily and is a well-narrated first endeavor. I did however, find it spackled with editing errors.

One Cop's Journey takes you to the real world of law enforcement and the life of one special dedicated cop with the right values and work ethics.
I do own the book and have met Kim Thomas on two occasions. He is energetic and has the right outlook on law enforcement. I found the book one that could be read more than once and look forward to his second book.
He is an excellent speaker, witty and very very interesting. I highly recommend One Cop's Journey for both genders.

If you've never gone on a ride-along--I have twice--this book is the next best thing. It's one cop's journey, but even better, it's a journey for the reader. Ride along and learn of the tedium and the excitement police officers experience in their day-to-day grind. Learn of the perseverance involved, and how heroic efforts lead to exhilarating conclusions--or crushing disappointment. You've seen the tv show "Cops," but that's just the busting part of an officer's job. This book takes you from the squad car to the locker room to the captain's office, where politics and red tape and personal grievances sometimes make it almost impossible to do the job a good cop wants to do.

Cam, the likeable leading man in this book, takes you through police academy, police romance, police boozing, and police commiserating, from novice cop to detective. You may not agree with everything he does, but you'll understand his motivation and you can't help rooting for him.

Cam escorts you through the back streets of one of America's most intriguing cities. He speeds you up and down the Las Vegas Strip on his bicycle, through the back doors of casinos, and into Vegas's famous video surveillance control centers. In his squad car, he drives you through gangland, hookerville, and drug city. Yes, Las Vegas has much more than 24-hour neon and 32-ounce margaritas in souvenir glasses. The city has its share of miscreants, not to mention visitors-behaving-badly.

My ride-alongs many years ago gave me a life-long appreciation for law enforcement officers and the jobs they do. I watched the cops I rode with pat down drunks soaked in vomit and urine. I watched them politely take abuse at the front doors of strangers in the midst of domestic disturbances. I saw them chase down vandals and robbers with twenty or more pounds of equipment strapped on them. This book is a ride-along with a back story. An easy read, a page-turner, and an eye-opener. I highly recommend it.

This book is so amazing. My boyfriend is going to be a law enforcement officer in Las Vegas, and it's so awesome to read about a police officers day-to-day. After being a skeptical girlfriend, worrying about this profession, I am very excited for him and look foward to hearing his stories.

This is a GREAT book! One of the best I've read.

I am a former law enforcement officer from Las Vegas, NV , although I do not know Kim Thomas personally, I could certainly relate to the places, the smells, the heat and the situations that his charcter endures throughout the book.

I felt like I was riding in the passenger seat as I read the book.

Thanks for a good read and I hope to see more.

I am proud to have this among my collection of books and Burning Man memorabilia. Jessica has done a beautiful job of capturing the spirit of the playa. You can see the love and dedication she put into each photograph. I love this book, and no I do not personally know the author.

Any book about Burning Man is fun, but I would enjoy more pictures less jabber.Anyone who has been there doesn't need the talk to describe it. It's a sensory event. Words only trivialize it.
OK, if you haven't been, this book might be more interesting.
If you are thinking of going, definitely just do it. It's the best thing I've ever done.

It is an experience that cannot be described. But this book does an excellent job of trying. By including people the the Tuna Guys (and not just the craziness), you get a glimpse of what makes the place magic.

I went to several Burning Mans, since 1992, and once met Michael Michael, from San Francisco Cacophony, when he visited the Los Angeles chapter. So Bruder's account brought back much nostalgia. As she relates, the growth of Burning Man has also led to ever more intricate theme camps and art installations. Several depicted in the photos, I saw. Including the huge ball of ice, containing scores of clocks, that fell off as the ball melted. Or the archway of cattle bones. Along with sundry corporate parodies.

Her accounts of summer desert rainstorms is also quite accurate. Especially for 1995. When the ground turned to a thick mud, and walking was labourious. She shows a nice photo of a rainbox over the campsite. Those of us who were there in 95 remember the winds and rain quite well. Along with the sandstorms that caused visibility to fall to a meter or less.

Art cars are shown in several photos. Fantastically decorated. Surprisingly, Bruder doesn't seem to mention that the art car "movement" was centred around Portland Cacophony. She is from Portland and undoubtedly knows many in that chapter. Granted, art cars now come from all over, and perhaps Portland no longer dominates that scene.

In 1996, the book describes how there were 2 tragic events, that caused later Burning Mans to have tighter safety rules. One event was a motorcycle rider who died on the playa. Another was a vehicle colliding deliberately into a tent and hitting 3 sleeping people, crippling one of them. Unfortunately, there is little elaboration about the events. A reader new to Burning Man might be interested in more information.

One strength of the narrative is the extensive coverage of the first Burning Mans held on a San Francisco beach. Photos of those events are also nice. If you've never heard of Burning Man, you might not notice anything unusual about this. But other histories of Burning Man typically give cursory mention of the SF events, and usually have few or no photos.

The book also covers some other different ground from others on Burning Man. For example, it explains the assorted group of workers who spend several weeks there, doing prep and cleanup. A thankless task, for which they get very little money. Their experience is quite different from the few days that most revelers spend there. Bruder alludes to an esprit de corps amongst the cleanup crew. But that's scarcely universal. Some arrive and are simply overwhelmed by the stark conditions. And it is possible to be cynical about this espirit. Seeing it as a means of garnering cheap labour by the Burning Man organisation.

There is nothing out there that captures the experience of Burning Man better
than this book. With its inventive graphics and many pictures, and a very well written account by the author, it seems this book was created for both veterans and the merely curious.

This book is a refeince to the people in the ceative field of art wethere by music or art I think that Walter was showing the toment and agony of what the artistic people go though. Most of the world is in the mathmatical world; it is reffesing to read a book that discribes the artistic world. (I am a runner, and I enjoyed the track phase that he went through.)

When my now fiance handed me this book and said to read it, I really didn't know anything about it. Now that I've read it, I'm rather shocked that this book isn't better known. I really don't know how it's managed to stay obscure for so long. While reading it, I found myself traveling through the world I've always wanted America to be. The only book I've ever found to be comparable in even the most basic way is J.D. Salinger's Franny and Zooey.
If you have the chance, buy this book. You will read this again and again.

While a resident of Reno, NV (1971-1980), I read the "City of Trembling Leaves" The book is a wonderfully nostalgic record of Reno, Nevada and the surrounding mountain and desert environs during the period of time that Clark lived there (i.e. 1920-1940's).

The author paints a colorful and accurate description of the "Biggest Little City in the World" when it actually fit that definition. Today, Reno is a rapidly expanding, land-gobbling monster of massive traffic jams, casinos, commercial strips, malls and ticky-tacky,cluttered housing developments much like Las Vegas (which is nothing more than another Los Angeles with slot machines).

I have lost my original copy, but am buying the new edition so that I can once again enjoy the life of a young, callow fellow and his friends growing up in a beautiful, small, friendly western town during simpler times.

Having grown up around Reno, Nevada, I have a built-in bias toward this book, despite the fact that it is an example of a treacly genre (the obligatory semi-autobiographical novel) that most authors wisely leave in manuscript in their desk drawers. However, Clark is a powerful writer (see "The Track of the Cat" and "The Ox-Bow Incident") and he does a very good job of evoking time and place, especially the 20's and 30's, which are written as Fitzgerald might have done if Gatsby had grown up in Reno. The latter part of the book contains descriptions of artistic troubled souls loose in the American West that will be familiar to readers of the novels of the Beat Generation (Kerouac's "The Dharma Bums" comes to mind). There is also a Steinbeckian flavor to the book, especially the relationships, possibly because they are etched against that larger-than-life Western sky.

The author, born in 1909, was in his mid-30s when this novel was published in 1945, and he writes about being young with remarkable maturity. There is a melancholy and nostalgia, as if the story were told by someone twice his age. In its leisurely and intense unfolding of time, place, mood and character, it brings to mind Thomas Wolfe's "Look Homeward, Angel" and Tennessee Williams' "The Glass Menagerie."

Modern-day readers will find themselves making a big adjustment to the pace of this long novel. Its central story could be told in 250 pages: a sensitive boy grows up in a modest family in Reno, Nevada, befriends a girl who lives near him and a boy and girl whose parents are wealthy and live across town, falls deeply in love with one of the girls while in high school, and begins a career as a composer and musician, eventually marrying and finding himself as an artist. But Clark has much more to tell, immersing the reader in richly detailed incidents that can expand into 20 and 30 pages - a horse race, a high school party, a tennis match, a climb up a mountain, a gathering of locals at a bar.

While the story takes place in the 1920s and 30s, there are only passing references to historical events and period detail. Much of the story is internal, psychological, emotional. And much of the story has to do with the timelessness of place and the cycle of seasons. There is a celebration of the city of Reno (as a hometown, not a destination for gambling and easy divorce), its trees, the surrounding mountains, and nearby Pyramid Lake and Lake Tahoe. Emotions and landscape are intricately interwoven. Clark's descriptions of places are infused with moods that shift and change like passing cloud shadows.

And finally, it's a story of the difficulties of becoming an artist, finding one's own voice and vision, developing one's talent, the personal costs and the struggle against discouragement and compromise, the social isolation and the impact on personal relationships. Part of Clark's achievement in this novel is the ability to take the reader with only words into the mind of a musician and composer. I recommend reading this book with an open map of Reno and western Nevada, and look online for pictures of Pyramid Lake and Lake Tahoe. Both will enrich the experience of this fine novel.

Loaded with helpful info for planning a family trip. Maps, phone numbers, drive times, etc.

If it had pictures I would have given it a 5.

I really liked the book, and the only reason I gave it 4 stars is because a good part of the book talks about hotel accomadations and booking flights, etc. and I had already done that by the time I bought the book. So half of the book was of no use to me, but the book had good recommendations.

This book really helped us decide what to do in Las Vegas. We do not gamble so we wanted "other" things to do. What we found is Las Vegas is not "family" friendly and you have to take your children into the gaming areas of most casinos to see the attractions. The book did offer suggestions that we did find helpful. Like how to avoid certain crowds and what shows are appropriate for kids. Much better than some of the other books out there.

This is an incredibly detailed book that has a huge amount of information on what to do, see, and avoid in Vegas if you are traveling with children. The section on which restaurants and buffets to eat at for families that are on a budget is more than worth the price of this book. This book, along with "The Unofficial Guide to Las Vegas" by Bob Sehlinger will make planning your trip to Vegas fun and informative. Both are highly recommended!!

I highly recommend this book to anyone headed for Las Vegas with the kids in tow. It paints a very complete picture of the city and answers questions you'd never even think to ask.

This book was published just as we were planning a trip that includes a stop in Las Vegas. Our three kids (ages 10, 8, 6) love to travel, but we have learned that you can never do enough research when it comes to planning a trip with kids.

Having been to Vegas more than a few times without the kids, we have a pretty good feel for the place. Even so, a vacation with the kids along needs to be a very different type of trip, so we still found ourselves with many questions. Happily, this book answers them all!

Very specific information on everything from hotels, restaurants, and attractions (including which places are NOT kid-friendly). Also includes info on side trips, shopping, etc. Everything is broken down into price categories (from very expensive to inexpensive and everything between). Definitely written by someone who understands that kids are not just miniature adults.

I only wish I could get hold of such complete information for all our destinations!

This book is a great guide to Virginia City Ghosts. If you are planning to visit Virginia City and interested in ghost, I highly recommend this book. This book tells you the history of Virginia City and the Hotels name and room numbers in witch to stay in that has been known for hunting's. It's exactly what the title say it is a Ghosthunters Guide To Virginia City.
A+++ & 5 * * * * *

Janice Oberding writes the first ever published book on Nevada's most haunted city: Virginia City.

She is an expert on Nevada hauntings.

Superb pictures- highly researched.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

I found this book to be very fun to read and easy to follow. Lots of interesting pictures. History lessons are very informative.

I have visited Virginia City a lot of times. When I saw this book at the book store last month I thought it was just another book about ghosts. I was wrong. This is about the best book I ever read about Virginia Citys ghosts. There were lots of places I didnt even know had ghosts in them. I would recomend it to anyone.

Books of this genre are always fun. Seldom are they so informative. We have been going to Virginia City for a number of years. Never really knew so much about the city until I read this book. Glad I purchased it.

Bought this for a colleague moving to NV. Good photos showing the diversity of the state; from arid desert to garish casino lights to pristine alpine meadows.

The photography is top-notch and covers the desert, cities, and old buildings from the early mining days. Where the book fails is its treatment of the high mountain scenery. Where are the photos of the alpine regions high up on the many lofty peaks? They are not there.

This book is the most lovely pictoral tribute to the Great State of Nevada that I have ever seen. It exemplifies the rich physical and social geography as well as the cultural, institutional and entrepenurial spirit that this state holds so dear. Truly beautiful.

This is a beautiful book.

However, Jon Christensen' s essay 'Basin and Range' really caught my attention. It turns out that this region is quite special, rich in unique species and lessons about evolution. Christensen compares the 'Great Basin sky islands' with the more famous islands of the Galapagos.

This book is the perfect combination of big color photographs and four well-written essays. The Graphic Arts Center Publishing Company of Portland did a fine job.

"Nevada" has been sitting on my coffee table for about a year now - and it's served well. I've come home many days after being enmeshed in our modern world for 10 or more hours and been reminded of the expansiveness and beauty of the natural world that's only a 4 hour drive away from me. This is a well-written and beautifully photographed book. I have to admit that I'm fascinated with Nevada. With the great otherness and open space that is the Silver State.

I learned quite a bit and was entertained by the essays that divide the sections of photos with chapters including: "The Meaning of Nevada", "People and the Land", Basin and Range", and "Prospect and Chance." There is good history here about Nevada's people and it's geography, helped by quotes from the likes of John Muir, Mark Twain and authors of other Nevada oriented books as well as regular folks who like their home state.

However the real draw is in the photos. Scenic, evocative, large, well footnoted, just plain beautiful. I really felt like this is a book crafted by people with a love and appreciation of the place that is Nevada. As though they wanted to share their passion and knowledge with me. I also like the simplicity of the look and feel of the book. There's a frankness and openness that's reminiscent of the state of Nevada itself.

Enjoy!

This book was rated as used...I could see NO signs that anyone had even opened it! I would have bought it at twice the price asked! The description was incredible, and I would buy from this seller again anytime!

Lots of great old pictures. It covers all of Nevada so it is not very detailed on specific sites.

Lots of great pictures. Gave it 4 stars because information of ghost towns is not very detailed.

Lots of great pictures. Gave it 4 stars because information of ghost towns is not very detailed.

For anyone who loves the history and romance of the west, this is an outstanding book that will help you understand more about the where & when of boomtowns in the OLD & the NEW west. It was mining that drove development in the western United States not the cowboy. The products of Nevada's mines was what held together the North during the Civil War, and it helped to sustain development of the west and the United States after the war.

Get lost with this book on a road trip through the dusty corners of Nevada! You will love it.

A fairly exhaustive set of monographs on ghost towns in Nevada. Read the background material by Dan DeQuille, Mark Twain and others to get a bigger picture.

Could make a great vacation theme with kids! Read them some of Twain's work!

NO CELL PHONE OR SERVICE AT MANY SITES COME PREPPARED!

I agree with the other reviews in that this is a nice book to put on your coffee table and flip through. The photos are pretty nice, and the text descriptions make for a pretty entertaining read. However, if you are looking for a book with detailed logistics and good makes that will make for a practical companion on your hikes, this is NOT it. The maps are lacking (maps of the actual trails are decent, but there are no regional maps that aid you in finding the trail in the first place). Also, while the glossy paper makes for pretty photos, it's far too heavy for a practical guidebook that you'll want to carry with you.

This is an exceptionally well-designed book for hikers across the spectrum. Whether you're a neophyte or have climbed Denali, this book contains all the essential information you need to tackle the hikes listed. The photos are all in color and are breathtaking! You really get a sense of what each hike will look like before you undertake it. Every hike also has a color map to accompany the text description. The maps are easy to follow and instructive.

Equally pleasing is that the authors take the time to describe each hike in extensive detail, though they are never wordy. They list the elevation gains, give succinct but necessary directions to each trailhead and provide ample analysis of the strengths/weaknesses of each trek. The book is small and light enough to carry in your backpack, if you feel the need to consult it while on the trail.

I have over 50 hiking books in my library and it would be hard to imagine a more complete, more photographically stunning or better written guide. I enthusiastically recommend this gem!

I love this book. The photographs make me want to visit every place and hike every trail. I have several hiking books, and I enjoy them all, but I love this one. I am hoping that John and Mark Soares are working on hiking books for Oregon!

I just got this book. It is the most beautiful hiking guide I've ever seen. There are nearly a hundred full-color photos, and even the maps are creatively colored. We leave it on our coffee table for easy perusal. It's an updated edition of 100 Hikes in Northern California, and it has thorough descriptions of all my favorite hikes, and many others my wife and I are planning to do this winter (in the Bay Area) and next summer (in the Sierra Nevada and maybe in the Trinity Alps). We have two other hiking books on Northern California, but this one is definitely our favorite. If you are only getting one hiking guide for the north state, this is it.

This is a good "inspirational" book to look through, with great full-color photographs on at least every other page. It's great for planning a vacation around because it gives you a taste of what many different areas look like. The written information is equally good, with lots of great hikes with short, concise descriptions. With this and a local topo map, you're all set.

"The Master of Monterey" is coming in April 2004. You can pre-order it now.

This book has won the fiction category for the year 2000.

I thought the author did a wonderful job of developing his characters. My only dissapointment is that the ending felt a bit rushed, especially given the thorough treatment of events throughout the rest of the novel.

I enjoyed this book so much! Couldn't put it down. I felt like I completely understood the characters, feeling the emotions right along with them. Anxiously awaiting another Lawrence Coates novel!

Reading The Blossom Festival is almost meditative. It is niether exciting nor sad, but un-put-down-ably interesting in its characterization, historical content and detail. L. Coates is a remarkable technician.

As an avid So Cal diver, I'm familiar with California's important urchin fishery. I've also lived and traveled over much of the state. As such, this was an interesting read.

That said, the book is very simply written, occasionally repetitive, and could have been more tightly edited. The book is somewhat autobiographical, and was a bit slower as a result. However, the author's Farallone experience and tales of Ron Elliot were standouts.

If I had the option, I would've given the book 3 1/2 stars, 4 was generous. I'd say if you're particularly interested in the subject matter, you'll probably enjoy this book. Otherwise, it's not the most compelling read. I'd recommend The Devil's Teeth by Susan Casey.

This book was an excellent journey through one mans life lived on and off the California coast, diving for urchins. It is a story about a simple life that centered around tides, weather, water conditions and other unseen hazards. It is a life that although is hard work, may prove envious to many (especially those whose daily trials and tribulations centers around traffic, spreadsheets, middle managers and sales quotas).

It is also telling of the way the California urchin (and fishing) industry has changed as a whole, from single owners and family owned businesses to the large commercial companies. From the days of no restrictions and limitless limits to the present day regulations that are needed to keep people from expiring the very items that provide them with a livelihood. It is also telling of the transformation of the person in the industry from someone who is mostly carefree and just works and surfs, to that of family man, to that of someone who has responsibilities and others that depend on them, to someone who has become jaded by the business aspect and competition of the industry, to finally someone that has come to grips with their own mortality through the deaths of those he respected and cared for. Mixed in are great characters, good stories and memorable adventures to virgin coast lines and reefs.

This book does not sound like an exciting book, but it was a book that I looked forward to reading. It is the type of book that is good to read if you want to clear your head and take a trip without going anywhere. Finally, it is a very good book that centers around the ocean.

After reading excerpts in The Surfer's Journal and hearing friends in the West Coast water world rave about this gem of a book, I bought it and devoured it a weekend. This is a terrific read, at once an honest, deeply personal memoir and an entertaining swash-buckling tale of adventure. Kendrick writes in a clear, deceptively easy style that grabs you off the dock on the first page and the next thing you know, you're down 85 feet deep on a big money dive in the gin clear waters of a virgin reef by the Channel Islands. And it doesn't let up.

Kendrick was a member of the Santa Barbara, California-based sea urchin divers who pioneered this offbeat fishery, reaping its rewards and facing lethal dangers, opening new waters in Northern California, even--and this is insane--harvesting urchins at the Farallon Islands, the stalking ground of the Great White Shark. There are some great stories here, moments of danger and reward, death and laughter, all told with great insight. This is a memorable book that deserves to be in the book collection of anyone who loves the ocean and the lore of the sea.
Rumor has it that the author has been hired to write a screenplay adaptation. This book is an absolute natural for the big screen. Highest recommendation.
John Grissim, author, Pure Stoke and The Lost Treasure of the Concepcion

As the last reviewer said, if your heart is in any way connected to the ocean, be it through surfing, boating, diving, fishing, or just spending time around the beach, you'll have a profound appreciation for this book.

Tom is an amazing story teller and Bluewater Gold Rush is an wonderful mix of adventure, friends, love, and loss. I often find myself retelling Tom's stories to friends, recounting them while I'm diving, or using new terms that I picked up from the book like "white buffalo". There are stories in the book that are laugh-out-loud funny and stories where you can't help but share the loss along with Tom when bad things happen to good people.

My one regret was purchasing the book in the middle of a particularly harsh work week. My job kept me really busy during the days and the book keep me up most of the nights. I simply couldn't put it down. I made it through the book by the end of the week but sleep deprivation almost did me in!

I had the opportunity to visit one the main settings in the book after I read it and I felt compelled to send Tom an email afterwards. I would like to close by sharing this email.

------

I found myself in Santa Barbara for work a few weeks ago. I had some spare time one evening so I went down to the dock and stood there with a few dozen other spectators as the urchin boats unloaded. I couldn't help but wonder if any of the characters that I read about in your book were right there in front of me. I had a tremendous appreciation for the whole process after reading your book and found myself telling my coworkers tales from the book later that night at dinner.

The next night I managed to drag 3 of my buddies over to Brophy Bro's Bar. We went upstairs and I showed everyone the picture of Wiener. I volunteered to buy the drinks that night on the condition that they listen to a few stories first. I told them a little about your book and some of the adventures that you guys had. I told them about Wiener and how he got his nickname. I also told them about the shark. Of all of the things that you said about Wiener in your book and during your talk, the one that I always remember first was that he was the kind of guy would go up to his friends and give them a big hug and tell them that he loved them. We enjoyed our shots of tequila with the toast, "To Weiner - a man who wasn't afraid to tell his friends that he loved them!". It was a neat experience!

Picked this up from the author at a party recently. We had met for the first time & we found that we had quite a few similar experiences. Set about to read this book immediately it and finished it today.

Reading this book was a nostalgic experience for me. His writing style is friendly, accurate and fast. His years in the Urchin harvesting business were heady-times and he loved those years intensely; it comes across in many ways and makes this book a joy to read.

His take on things is not polished, gender neutral or politically correct which is absolutely refreshing. This is not a dull, chronological report of the evolution of a commercial diver, but a fast paced, personal account that will hold your interest and provide an education regarding one of the most interesting activities on the west coast in the last 50 years.

If you like diving, surfing, boats, fishing, interesting coastal stories or you just like to go out to the coast every once in a while, this is a book that I highly recommend.