California Books

The details within "Reynolds Remembers" paint a vivid and entertaining picture of what life was like for a struggling and then reborn NBA franchise. It was filled with anecdotes and humorous observations of true events. I enjoyed it very much.

Although, I wish there had been more than a single page describing Jerry's "the Carly Simon period." Maybe we'll hear more in a sequel.

Remember that? This is a must read/item for those that have lived the history. If you've been part of the ride, then you know the story. But Jerry Reynolds has filled in the blanks with information that you could only get from... well, from Jerry Reynolds: The front office background on the Terry Tyler and Derek Smith trades; Bobby Hurley's potential and toughness; the head coach candidates; actual Bill Russell conversations (apparently he could talk... and laugh). What? We could have "stole" Detlef Schrempf!?!? The book even helped explain my "unique" encounter with Jawann Oldham on the day he was cut loose by the Kings.

Aside from all the great Kings gems that have been unearthed, there is some foreground on Jerry himself as well as documentation of his "rise" up the organization. Like everyone else, I would have liked for the book to be longer--182 pages for 20 years is just not enough. Oh well, Reynolds Remembers is a great and easy read, but to the Kings fan, it's truly great literature--the man did minor in English after all.

Jerry Reynolds and Don Drysdale's Reynolds Remembers: 25 Years With The Sacramento Kings is for any interested in the evolution of a shortstring operation which couldn't compete to a model NBA franchise. The Kings are celebrating their 20th season in Sacramento, California - and Jerry Reynolds was part of them before their rise to fame. His memoir celebrates their growth and provides a powerful leader's first-person experiences.

I have been a Kings fan my whole life and I truly enjoyed reliving the past 20 years with Reynolds. It is amazing on how fast we forget the early teams and players and how soon we get used to 50 win seasons. Reynolds uses the same humor and great one-liners in the book that he uses in his telecasts. I just wish the book contained more personal stories and memories and I can only hope that a sequel is in the works. Here's to another great 20 years of Reynolds and to another book.

A riveting read. I could not put this book down. A truly must read for all Sacramento Kings fans. A book any real NBA fan should enjoy. Being able to learn some of the inner thoughts of a real NBA insider is rare.

If only there had been more amusing stories and anecdotes Reynolds is so well known for. These reflecting the personalities of NBA players few of us fans ever see. Maybe this will be in Reynolds next book "Reynolds Remembers More" ?? We can only hope!!

Birtcher's Mike Travis is one of the most refreshing and engaging tough-guy detectives I've found in a very long time. The setting is mostly Avalon (Catalina Island) and Los Angeles, and the plot is full of bizarre twists and turns, not the least of which involves Doors' front man Jim Morrison.

Very inventive and original.

I came to this book after a book store friend of mine turned me on to Birtcher's newest, RUBY TUESDAY. I read that one in one sittng, and had to read ROADHOUSE BLUES. The plot is highly orginal -- a link to the seventies music scene via the always interesting/controversial Jim Morrison, and extremely well written. Birtcher has the ability not only to make characters come alive, but to bring you right into the locale. You can feel the sand in your toes when you stand at the crime scene under the pier at Venice Beach, and feel the pouring rain during the climactic chase scene in Avalon. I loved this book, and felt the same about Ruby. Together, these are TWO OF THE BEST HARDBOILED NOVELS I'VE READ ALL YEAR.

As a mystery writer with my debut novel in its initial release, I salute Baron Birtcher on his first Mike Travis novel. The mystery begins routinely enough with Travis, a former cop, coming out of retirement because of the recent murder of a woman whom he suspects is the victim of a serial killer who got away when Travis was still on the force. From that seemingly routine launch, the plot moves swiftly and unexpectedly. Birtcher writes tough prose and captures the essence of a tough world. ROADHOUSE BLUES is contemporary noir at its best.

Alright, I'll admit it, I bought this book because out of support and curiosity. The author is a family friend and neighbor from my childhood who I haven't seen in 20+ years. But that isn't what kept me riveted. Once I started reading I couldn't put it down! I really like the characters and am excited to see that this is the first in a series - I'm looking forward to the next one. The Southern California settings are familiar and realistic. I've put in an Amazon alert for future works. Baron, congratulations on writing such a great book. Cheers!

I read about this new writer and Roadhouse Blues in the L.A.Times. It is the first in a series about Ex-LA honicide detective, Mike Travis. Being a series reader including all the books by Robert Crais, Dennis Lehane, Lawrence Block, and Steve Hamilton, gave me a base of reference from which to judge. I think that Roadhouse Blues is one of the best books of 2001 and I am surprised that it did not get consideration for the Best First Novel for the Edgars. It's just that good!
Thanks Baron for the Excellent read. Please Keep up the good work.

I have found this book to be very informative, and completely reliable! It makes trip planning very easy, and I highly recommend it to anyone who is planning a trip to southern california. It is my only guidebook to this place!

Being a former San Diego City resident, I found this book very interesting. It was fun to see all the changes in this beautiful city in the past 25 years since we have moved...it will be very helpful on our next vacation. The book is both informative and entertaining.

San Diego & Tijuana: Great Destinations: A Complete Guide (Great Destinations)This is a particularly good choice for families planning a vacation in San Diego or for local families to have on hand for weekend adventures. Moving beyond the area's acknowledged world-famous attractions, Hardin offers information on kayaking and kite-flying classes, whale-watching trips, and roar & snore sleepovers. Her dining suggestions offer more detail than most guides and include such local favorites as MooTime, Miguel's Cocina, Point Loma Seafoods, Cafe Chloe, Tony's Jacal, and the Chicken Pie Shop. Hardin covers a welcome variety of options for accommodations, restaurants, and activities for all ages and in all price ranges. Excellent travel guide.

Though I have lived in San Diego over 15 years, I love to eat out and get ideas of places to see and do locally so I am always looking out for a new publication with some interesting ideas. This guide is the best I've seen for San Diego. It is written in an interesting style so that I even enjoy reading about the places that I have frequented for years. The comments on the various locations are insightful and personal so that I know the author has been there and been able to get a true feel for the location. I have also used the guide to provoke explorations of new places that I have missed and found that it has led me to a few new gems. It is the first guide I hand to the various visitors who drop by from out of town. Highly recommended!

Great!! Traveled to San Diego for the first time with my 2 children. This book was so helpful. Gave such useful info on so many places.

Other reviewers have already been descriptive. My opinion...the food is delicious. It is also what I call "clean" and "architectural"...it isn't covered with gloppy sauces. It is arranged on the plate clearly and attractively. We "eat" with our eyes and nose before our taste buds. You will be happy to have it in your library AND your purchase is supporting a good cause...a win/win situation. Rare in this era!

These recipes are for elegant, delicious dishes to serve your friends and family. They all reflect the ethnic and culinary influences that make up California cuisine, including tips from such people as Arnold Wong and Alice Waters. All of the food is fancy, but not everything is complicated: the Cambazola Apricots are an easy-to-make appetizer, while the Blueberry French Toast can be whipped up the night before for brunch. This is a must-own for anyone who loves food or who loves San Francisco.

Best cook book I ever used. it so easy to follow, you just prepare the incredients as directed and followed the directions. you can't go wrong. I tried using other cook books but only get frustrated trying to follow the instruction, but this book has simple and clrear instruction, anyone can follow it. one thing lacking limited pictures of what you are cooking, but not important.

I've had this book for over 2 years and have loved every recipe I've made from it, many of which have become standards in our house. Try the delicious and easy apple cake with hot caramel sauce, the chicken breasts with wild mushrooms and balsamic vinegar and the awesome chicken pot pie with sage biscuit topping. Easy to follow directions and nice tips from the chefs who submitted the recipes.

I concur with the other reviews on this site. This is my favorite cookbook, and I have quite a collection. The recipes are well-written, good cooking and preparation techniques are given in conjunction with the recipes, and the results always earn me kudos! Can't ask for too much more.

I have given this cookbook as a gift several times and have recommended it to my friends who love to cook.

I was first introduced to Amichai's poetry through this collection. He is a first-rate poet in any language; the translations by Chana Block and Stephen Mitchell are wonderful.

Amichai was born in Germany in 1924, but immigrated to Israel as a boy of 12; he began writing poetry early, especially in the exuberant atmosphere of the newly proclaimed Israel in 1948. Amichai continued to write poetry throughout the twentieth century (he died in 2000), winning national and international prizes and recognition as one of the greatest poets of the age, not only of Hebrew, but internationally. As modern Hebrew is a language still emerging from the shadows of its ancient-but-still-used predecessor, Amichai was a major figure in developing the poetic nuances of the language that helped to expand the limits of meaning in words and usage.

Amichai's poetry represented here spans most of his productive life. The first part includes poems from his collections from 1955 to 1968, from the birth of the state of Israel to the aftermath of the 1967 war. One poem, 'Jerusalem 1967', is a long and majestic play on emotions and images -- Jerusalem here is likened to Sodom and Pompeii, as well as revered as the universal city that it is; Amichai's personal experience floods the historical events he witnessed with emotion that conjures up ancient memories.

The second part includes poems from writings 1971 to 1985. The maturity of Amichai's passions and writing style match the development of world affairs, into a post-war situation, with tentative amblings toward peace. Still there are tragedies and problems, and these make appearances in Amichai's poems. The weariness of the modern world is highlighted in his poem, 'Jerusalem is full of used Jews' -- worn out by history, Amichai wrote. Still there are hopeful signs, as love in its many faces is always the centre of Amichai's world. Amichai is a patriot of sorts, in that he celebrates the place and culture of Israel, but is not blind to the problems there, and by no means a 'death to the enemy' kind of writer -- a bit ironic, given that his poetry is popular among the soldier-citizenry of Israel.

Some poems have decided biblical and religious connections, even if they are not religious in tone or direct meaning. 'Jacob and the Angel' obviously takes its title from the early story in Genesis, but beyond that, the context and content is very different. Some show the international character of modern Israeli experience. Many poems, while decidedly Amichai, could have been written anywhere, and the situations and feelings of love are universal.

Stunning poetry!

I recently bought this on a whim at the book store and was pleased at it turning out to be one of my best purchases. Instantly one of my favorites, Amichai writes with the perfect mixture of narrative and metaphor, balancing his poetry perfectly on the line between clarity and obscurity. His metaphors are original, concise, and leave you thinking. At the same time, Amichai's poetry is not inaccesible. His writing is simple enough to grasp the first time through, but also complex enough for you to peel away the layers of meaning as you read again and again.

While some of the poetry is political or cultural in nature (Amichai is an Israeli and Jew), don't let that discourage you from thinking it doesn't have any application to your life. Like Chaim Potok, Amichai breathes a life into his words that enlightens you toward life's simplicities, regardless of your background. Top notch stuff.

I have other translations of Amichai's poetry but love this book, translated by Chana Bloch and Stephen Mitchell, the best.

To read Yehuda Amichai in English is to sojourn, yes, in Jerusalem, more, in Amichai's denuded heart -- but to see it all with a crick in my neck, able only to look out the left-hand side of the bus. In this translation of his Selected Poetry, the scenes pass: stone and sand architecture; crowds of workers, soldiers, family members; heaped goods and quiet meals; long loves and fleeting notice. Reading these poems is to sustain explosions of new sense memories, to be consumed with fresh details -- reading the poems in English is to know they harbor still more beauty. Not knowing Hebrew, I can't turn my head to see what incomparable, heartbreaking balance of truth and wish lies out that window.

Amichai's voice is calm, colloquial, casual. The way one might say, "Pardon me, you've dropped your pen," Amichai will say, "And in the big cities, protestors blocked the roads like / a blocked heart, whose master will die..."

So I wonder what I'm not hearing. How must one who makes easy fantastical connections, who sets single nouns and entire memory constructs equal, also play with homonym, rhythm, internal rhyme, with invented words, cousins of ancient words? This is, after all, Amichai--a poet credited with revivification, with re-knitting the bones of Hebrew vernacular. His poetry gave a country a new map into its old language.

Here's Amichai: "At the end of summer I breathe this air / that is burnt and pained. My thoughts have / the stillness of many closed books: / many crowded books, with most of their pages / stuck together like eyelids in the morning."

And Amichai, to a woman: "You had a laughter of grapes: / many round green laughs. / Your body is full of lizards. / All of them love the sun."

In these poems, the acts of watching and describing become one intention, one result. Amichai systematizes little, responds much; sees, and does not sneer; judges, not to dispose but to know. His poems are not slices of life, but core samples.

If you want to learn something about how to love a city and yet not pretend its horrors do not exist, how to cherish a person, yet not omit flawed relationship, read Yehuda Amichai. If you want to read not a declaration of love, but a proof of love, read Amichai. For to observe without flinching, whatever terrors of truth or beauty may appear, and remain steadfast, observing, is a proof of love. "I see everything about you," Amichai says to the city, the seasons, the soldiers, his woman, his father, his God, "and here I am still."

Amichai is not frightened away. He thereby makes it safe for us to look on a terrible world complete.

I suspect that in Hebrew, the one difficulty of these poems would dissipate. In weight, in flavor, the poems are like a rare, nutritive honey -- not a condiment but a dietary staple, heavy, dependable. I suspect that in Hebrew the tone dances, that the phrases don't share a single, though delicious, viscosity, as in English. But who am I to complain of manna?

What survives translation is not the full tour, not a map to Hebrew vernacular. What survives is a map through Amichai. We can navigate by these lines and points, read the poems like the knots of a safety rope -- here -- we descend into the technical truths of war, of loss, and of heretofore unimaginable love.

Amichai is the most popular and beloved poet of Israel. His language is at once understandable , and clear, deep and suggestive. He learned from American poetry the colloquial voice and he speaks to his reader in a kind of down-to- earth language which is nonetheless rich with knowledge of Hebrew traditional texts, most prominently the Bible. Amichai writes of the great themes , love and war, and he writes out of his own experience. He writes with reverence and irony both in relation to the people close to him and to the land of Israel. His connection with Jerusalem is special and he presents the many layers of its complex history and identity through his own personal daily meanderings in the city.
He is a humane and profound poetry who while confronting the most painful realities nonetheless presents a voice strongly affirming the value of life.

"FIVE STARS: For Sideways in Neverland, a collection of engaging essays on the Santa Ynez Valley by gifted wordsmith Bill Etling...covers everything from the Hollywood invasion to an eerie hike to the fog-shrouded lighthouse at the tip of Point Conception. Sideways in Neverland is perfect bedtime reading, for you, or even better, to your children."

SIDEWAYS IN NEVERLAND: LIFE IN THE SANTA YNEZ VALLEY, CA depicts life and culture in a part of California which typically receives rare mention - the Santa Ynez Valley, midway between Los Angeles and Santa Barbara. In a series of essays Etling describes life as an extra on the 'Sideways' set, gathering up his bi-weekly editorial treatments of life in the Valley, blending memoir with travel and social insights. A lively series of personal and social vignettes evolves in a fun survey of stars and casual people alike.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

After Michael Jackson was arraigned in a Santa Maria courtroom, the King of Weird invited hoards of strangers to party at his sprawling Santa Ynez ranch. As Etling describes it: "Middle-aged white men like myself were as unusual as the three-foot-tall gentleman walking beside me as we approached the first of an extensive network of ponds and waterfalls, including four geysers, shooting thirty feet in the air."
It gets weirder. And, fortunately, Etling (brother of Bert Etling, who edits the Cambrian, a Tribune weekly) has a keen eye for detail.
In a series of essays, Etling deftly describes life as an extra on the "Sideways" set (he was promoted from "bathroom walker" to "diner," though instructed not to eat the food), the chilly waters of Jalama Beach and the pitfalls of being a Realtor. ("I'm a Realtor. Mind-numbing boredom is my life.") The career might be boring, but some of his funniest writing is about people's reactions to housing prices in a market gone berserk.
Patrick S. Pemberton

Etling has lived in "the West of legend, with Danish pastry" since 1966; these columns from the Santa Barbara News-Press have nothing to do with wine, little to do with movies and everything to do with an enchanting landscape and its residents, past and present.

Michael Jackson, Fess Parker, Ronald Reagan and Matt LeBlanc are among those residents, but surfers, cowboys, artists, veterans and settlers get the most affectionate treatment. Etling takes us not only to Jackson's fantasy estate and the sets of "Sideways" and "Seabiscuit," but to Highway 246 on California Cleanup Day, a university lecture on gophers and numerous local festivals.

Though this is not truly a guidebook, Etling tips readers to wildflower fields, surfing spots, cave paintings and museums. Readers will forget "Sideways" and head south to eat with cowboys and celebrities at the Longhorn Cafe, watch a missile launch at Vandenberg Air Force Base and ski on Figueroa Mountain.

What the professional reviewers are saying about Sideways in Neverland:

The collected "Santa Ynez Notebook" of a Santa Barbara News-Press writer.
Etling's delightful bi-weekly editorial dishes on all things Santa Ynez Valley, an area of tiny towns near Santa Barbara, Calif.

This compilation of almost three years of work covers a wide variety of topics, including community events, regional history, locals both famous (Michael Jackson, anyone?) and not-so, and the author's personal life.

The column's buoyant tone and warm voice make for a charming read-"I still love the beach. If I had a tail, I'd wag it when I'm near the water." As a teenager, Etling moved to the area with his family, and it's clear that he has adored the area ever since.

More than just a love letter to his hometown, however, Sideways provides affecting reading for all-Etling is all over the board, from what happens when a small town kid goes to war to the peril of navigating a highway crossed frequently by deer to a Hollywood invasion, when suddenly everyone's an extra on the set of Seabiscuit.

Fruitful subject matter, a likable host and evocative writing make for an enjoyable guide to this nook of California.
-Kirkus Discoveries

Brett Edward Stout has come up with an intriguing story. While I read it, I kept hating the fact that I needed to put it down and do other things, the story, characters, and the flow of the chapters makes this book very difficult to put down. Learning about Brad and how he must deal with whatever is thrown at him because of his decision to spend more time with Ron is very entertaining.

I found myself laughing out loud on a few occasions, and many of the scenes had me thinking that the story was being written about me or someone I knew. The characters are very real, and are fun to follow and seeing them react to different things is sometimes funny and occasionally sad.

I can't wait for the next one! Bravo!

When I first picked up Sugar Baby Bridge, I did not know what to expect. I certainly hoped it would not be the typical gay fiction affair. Thankfully, it is not. Mr. Stout creates an accessible world of vivid detail that makes the protagonist's unique and unpredictable experiences come alive with astonishing clarity and focus through the eyes of an incomparable character who does not fit any stereotype. Sugar Baby Bridge is truly a work not to be missed no matter whether you are gay, a marine, or neither.

Brad is a 22 years old guy just out of 4 years of service in the Marine Corps. Stationed in Hawaii, he decided to take a break and visit San Francisco, believing the city the righ place to go for a gay man. Probably Brad hoped to find answers in the city and instead finds only other questions: who he is, who he wants to be?

One night in a club, Brad is searching one more man to spend the night and maybe have also a free dinner, since he is living in a very tight budge. Brad is not digging for money, he will not hook up with the first man with a heavy wallet. Ron is slightly older, 32 years older and a bit strange. He doesn't speak much, but he is gentle in his way, and when he asks Brad to go home with him, the young man agrees.

Comes out that Ron is a very wealth man, living a life only few could afford: night snack at the Fairmont, buying a new Mercedes only to take a few days break in a cabin on Lake Tahoe, having lunch in yacth clubs all around California. After a night of joyous and careless sex, Ron drags Brad in an impromptu short travel, but more far they go from San Francisco, more cold Ron becomes, and more Brad is regretting to have postponed his fly back to Hawaii.

Brad is a young man who wants to find his place in the world. He probably believes that finding a man, a partner, will help him to find an anchor in this world. And so he is ready to fall for Ron, but Ron is not the right man to give stability to Brad. Ron himself has trouble to decide what he wants to be; he is not a bad guy, but he has never had the chance to deal with real life. He is ready to spend heavy money for dressing Brad up with shirts and shorts embroidered with Yacht Club logo, but then he questioned on buying socks and boxers. He is cool and aloof around his family, almost if he is ashamed of Brad, but then he kisses the boy having a nightmare.

Ron doesn't drive back Brad but neither does something to prevent him to go away; and Brad needs to be need, he needs to accepted, he wants for the first time in his life to be open and comfortable in his skin, and being the "best friend" of Ron is not enough.

The book has all the right elements: young and handsome characters, one of whom a Marine (the fascination of a man in uniform, even if retired); dreaming world setting, where money, work and every day life are not a problem; a possible Cinderfella ending, even if the shoe fitting scene is deferred to another book. Brad is a character you could fall for, he so clearly needs to be loved, with his polite behavior and puppy eyes look. Probably Ron is not the man for him, for the two to work, Brad should take the reins of their relationship, and even if he is not the one with money, he should be the one in command... I'm quite interested in seeing how this relationship will move on...

I had the opportunity to read this novel before it had a wider audience, and on each reread, it doesn't fail to blow me away. It is poignant; both of the main characters are clearly flawed, and yet both have vulnerable sides that make them human and likable. It is also funny. Brad's neuroses (especially when he's in the gas station, trying to figure out which drink will make him look the best) are hilarious, but also portray his rampant insecurities.

Sugar Baby Bridge is also unique, as it is a novel published for the national market, rather than a group of people. Most novels of this kind explore "coming out" and admitting homosexuality. Brad is comfortable with his sexuality, and it shows. It's refreshing to see a novel where being gay is not about heartache and pain and loneliness.

It's compelling and inspiring. Read it!

Enjoyed this book immensely- a knowing, insightful take on the twists and turns life can take. Looking forward to much more from Mr. Stout.

The beauty of this book is that so many letters, reviews, interviews etc. about/by so many artists are conveniently gathered in one place. On the whole, there isn't anything in here that you can't find elsewhere, such as in biographies of the individual artists. For example the letters contained in the opening section on "Post-Impressionism" from both Cezanne and Van Gogh are included in just about every biography on them.

The over-riding reason for buying this book is that so many are collected together. So, even for an artist that you might not like enough to go out and buy their biography, atleast you get an insight in to their thoughts/motives etc. In some cases this may spark your interest in a previously less favoured artist and appreciate their works from a new perspective.

Chipp covers all the main "isms" of modern art from Post-Impressionism (Cezanne) onwards. Each movement opens with a treatise detailing the main theories/artists/concepts/techniques that made it unique. This is followed by a comprehensive selection of articles/letters/interviews etc. concerning the main players i.e. the section of Expressionism includes writings from Nolde, Kandinsky, Kokoschka, Kirchner, Marc, Klee and Beckmann. One of my favourite pieces is by Stuart Davis. He's responding to a critic's recent review..."in your review you speak of your enthusiasm for my work and call me a "swell American painter". This attitude on your part I heartily approve, but you further state that my style is French and that if Picasso had never lived I would have had to think out a style of my own. Now is that nice Mr. McBride?" and off Davis goes in his defence. Superb.

Rather than reading about these various "isms" via the well meaning but often biased views of a expert art historian, here you get the views from the artists themselves.

For any art historians dealing with the modern art period this book has to be essential. And for general appreciators of art, as well as artists themselves, this book contains a wealth of information, and pays dividends to both intense study or just random browsing.

Since it's first publication in 1968 this book has formed the foundation of any respectable art library. I just checked the bibliography of more recent books on art history - this book is referenced extensively. In my opinion, if anyone is looking for an interesting and enjoyable introduction to the world of "Modern Art" they could do a lot worse than start here. And given the way that any one "ism" owes it's existence to the "isms" that came before it*, this almost reads like a novel.

*Regardless of Dali's utterances about Surrealism being a unique movement, unfounded by anything that came before, just go and have a look at the works of Hieronymous Bosch to see that wasn't the case.

Recommended!

Even if you are not interested in the arts but simply in thought process- I think you will find this book very interesting. You could say this is the history of modern art without pictures (although there are some pictures)- bringing the reader facinating insights into how different types of artists came to their philosophies of art, and of course, the world. Documented through personal letters, manifestos, and articles, the varity of different thoughts and beliefs catapolts just what art can be. To me it shows that art is a never ending universe of ideas- all connecting but all very individual just the same.

I just wanted to respond to the person before me. It sounds like contemporary art is way over your head. Please do not waist our time with long reviews about things you clearly do not understand.

Not only educational, but inspiring. I not only learned about each artist and what when on during their time of certain artworks, but I was able to get inside their head. The words of the artist's in their letters were captivating. I was caught up in the reading. I especially enjoyed Matisse and Kandinsky. Kandinsky is very spiritual about his writing and gives a deep explanation of colors. Anyway, it is a great read. It was required for my history course, but I enjoyed it. Not very many in my class could understand what they were reading. I guess you not only need intellect, but sophistication. I liked it!

How often had I looked at a painting of Van Gough and wondered what exactly was this great man thinking when he conceived and painted such a picture. Now by reading thru this excellent book, I can claw into the mind of artists themselves.

I thought this book was extremely enjoyable. Women are often neglected in the historical narrative. So, it was nice to read a book that told the story of these women of the gold rush through their own words and through a colorful narrative by Jo Ann Levy. My only criticism is that minority women are rarely mentioned in this book, which gives an incomplete picture of the history of California women during the gold rush.

In her book, They Saw the Elephant: Women in the California Gold Rush, Jo Ann Levy weaves letters and journal entries into a picture of the lives of women during the California gold rush.
Coming by covered wagons or ships these women wrote about their journeys' across mountains, deserts, oceans, and jungles. The excitement of an adventure and the beauty of the land was not the whole story however; misery and death joined them on their journey. Inadequate provisions, brutal storms and sickness were common themes. And once these women reached the promise land of San Francisco, the streets were not paved in gold as they dreamed, but littered with trash.
The belief that there were only prostitutes or actresses was also not true; many women ran boarding houses or mined for gold. Some left after the gold ran out, but many women stayed in the cities that they helped create.
Though this book it is not organized in to one story, it is an insight into the women who came to California during the gold rush. You will be amazed by their bravery as they left their comfortable lives and uprooted their families for adventures unknown.

This book is great!
A person wouldn't even need to be interested in history of the gold rush days to thoroughly enjoy reading this book. I don't have alot of free time to read, so when I pick a book it has to be worth my while. This certainly was. And it's an easy book for reading a few pages at a time, like I do just before going to bed. I love how it organizes the accounts and groups the stories into chapters of a particular theme. Fascinating!

In They Saw The Elephant, Jo Ann Levy has combined women's journals and letters with newspaper articles of the gold rush era into an articulate, shining gem of historical writing. Her purpose was to dispel many of the common assumptions and general characterizations made in earlier histories about the women who participated in the California gold rush. A number of the early twentieth century histories of this monumental American event imply there were few women in California, and that a majority of those women were of questionable social standing. Levy's placement of her chapter on prostitution is wisely situated in the second half of her work. She admits there is little written record concerning the lives of these women, particularly those of Chilean and Chinese descent who came to the gold fields. The author does not fill in the blanks with supposition or fiction. By the time the reader gets to the chapter on prostitution, it is already clear that women were contributing far more to the Gold Rush than physical pleasure for males.

The Oregon Trail opened in 1847. Levy includes some of the women's stories from this trek even if their final destination was not the gold fields. This is a plus. The reader understands that women had started emigrating west for reasons other than gold and the journals and letters used to demonstrate life on the trail were vivid.

The variety of women discussed in this book was a cross section of society at the time. I laughed out loud while reading about how some of the highbrow, educated women reacted to the primitive society of San Francisco. These women adapted, and most made a good living as boarding house keepers and cooks.
Levy does an excellent job showing us the ingenuity of the women who went west. Living aboard abandoned ships in the bay, renting out rooms in, and using wood and goods from those ships are details about day-to-day life often lost in the telling of the human experience of the gold rush.

Perhaps the strongest statement Levy makes in her book is found in the Postscript. Women who went west during the gold rush continued their lives long after the three- year bonanza. Most didn't stay in San Francisco. Most didn't even stay in California. Their toil was but another blip on the radar screen of their lives. They didn't crawl back east to their families as broken women. They had seen the elephant, but had no desire to own the circus.

Several of the accounts made me chuckle and realize how little life has changed. One letter describes how quickly houses were being built in San Francisco. It goes on to describe the shoddy workmanship including gaps in the walls large enough to see through. I live in the fastest growing metropolitan area in the country. Houses go up over night here, literally. We joke about housing developments growing as quickly as mushrooms in the forest. The only reason the cracks in the walls don't allow light in now is chicken wire and stucco. Little has changed in the last 150 years.

Women civilized the wild California gold rush society. Some used the money they had made from the miners and started churches, schools, and hospitals. Others became heavily involved in various societies. In general, they went west with their husbands, to support their husbands in search of a better life, and they brought their civilized mindset with them.

This is an excellent book, appropriate for all audiences. It flows well, and contains a great deal of authentic information

As a writer of both fiction and non-fiction, I found tremendous value in "They Saw The Elephant." For the general reader of non-fiction, this book reads like a novel! The stories of these valiant women grab the reader and never let go. You feel that you are with them, as they face the unknown perils and triumphs of the Gold Rush in California of the mid-19th Century. The words of these wonderful women have the special ring of Truth to them. I cannot overstate my admiration for the author and her work in presenting this important book.

Although it's been a number of years since I read it, The Thousand Mile Summer captured my imagination like very few other books. Colin Fletcher was that very rare hiker / backpacker who was not only technically skilled, but keenly observant AND could write interestingly about what he observed and experienced ... and he observed better than most!

The Thousand Mile Summer is about (for virtually of us) the outlandish initiative to walk the lengh of Califoria, from South to North, just for the experience. His descriptions about the desert, seemingly merely hot, dry and inert, but in reality completely alive with activity, especially at night, are vivid, exciting, and very memorable. I'll never think of the desert the same way again.

Fletcher seems to me somewhat like Bill Bryson at his best, but this one's distinctly better than any of Bryson's that I've read to date. Highly recommended for all who 'live' in the city but who are 'alive' when in nature ... especially for when you can't be there!

What I remember about this compelling narrative, read thirty years ago one hot Southern California summer, is a simple scene. Hiking towards Death Valley across the Mojave desert, Fletcher's hat blows off. You can imagine the terror he felt from this loss. I'll leave it to you to find out more. It's an example, one of many, of the intriguing vignettes scattered through this account, from a time when backpacking (the journey takes place in the early 1960s) lacked so much of the hi-tech GPS, lightweight fibers and metals, and the advantages that allow many today, even if they do not dare to follow so far in his footsteps, to take more of our life into the empty places. The same places where Fletcher sought to escape the full places where most of us live.

This book reminded me of John Muir, a century earlier, when it entered into the Sierras; Fletcher's northbound journey, of course, takes him from Mexican to Canadian borders. The sylvan settings, however, became for me more muted in memory as compared to the evocative, harsh, and unforgiving sandy stretches that captured more of my imagination in recalling the power of this engaging narrative. It might not have gained the amount of acclaim (compare the number of Amazon reviews) that worthy books that came later, like Edward Abbey's "Desert Solitaire" earned, but the late Fletcher preferred to stay away from the spotlight, one senses from this early account of the walks that later made him a pioneer among those today who seek solitude in deserts and mountains across America.

Fletcher may have prefigured a bit the countercultural movement. Perhaps he missed out on the big-name recognition, but he gained respect among those who also preferred retreat rather than spotlights. But if you read of his own wish to escape the routine and do what back then far fewer would have even known how to do, you see his prescience. Like Abbey and Muir and Thoreau, Fletcher reminds us how much of America waits beyond the sodium-strip mall and the big-box chain store and the red-tiled roofs of the subdivisions-- even as these continue into what once were quieter forests and chaparral where Fletcher once walked alone.

While living in the Seattle area during the 90's, I ended up reading Fletchers 1000 Mile Summer. Each Winter to avoid depression, I found myself re-reading this book. One question kept coming to my mind, "why in 1956 would anybody walk through California when they had cars back then?" Thinking and hoping that I may be able to contact Colin and find the answer, against all the naysayers and friends it was not possible. I attempted to contact Colin Fletcher. That in itself was a two year adventure.

Finally, one day he returned my call, and thus started a series of questions and answers that to this day I am still fascinated with.

The quick answer to my question "who would walk?" is really found by walking the length of California, not in reading his book. So in 1999, while everyone was packing for the end of the world, I was packing for "my" 1000 mile Summer walk through California. I now have the answer to my question.

I have read all of Fletchers books, most articles written about him and have spoken with him several times both in letters and in phone conversations. What a fascinating character!

Though he and I disagreed with life and our purposes in it, I certainly found a kindred spirit. I wish him the best wherever Death's travels take him.

Also, "The Man From The Cave," was in my opinion one of his best books and would recommend reading it as well.

Was a sad day for me when I read he had passed, walking "his 1000 mile walk" was life changing for me and hoping one day YOU will be writing a review about MY book when it is published.
Hersh

Colin Fletcher managed to escape civilization with a simple plan. He would walk the length of California, including the Mojave Desert. The Ranger in Death Valley worried a great deal about him, but Fletcher's knowledge and understanding of the environment kept him safe and alive. In fact he enjoyed the "walk". Colin Fletcher is an excellent writer and this book is, in my opinin, is one of his best. I think I have read them all. He notices and describes details in vivid language. The clouds, the wind, the color of the valley, the trout, even the beetles and spiders don't miss his eye or nose.
He also describes the details of his hardships and joys, equipment failures and successes. He makes you feel as if you are with him on the trip, and often you may wish you were there. Some very well composed pictures are included. The trip took exactly 6 months. In the end he says "Then I walked down through the trees toward the road that would take me back to San Francisco and everything the city now offered."

I recommend the book to anyone. It is a good story, great adventure, and written by an unusual person. (He would like being called "unusual", I think.)

Colin Fletcher had a simple solution to the tedium of civilized live. He simply decided to walk the length of California from south to north. Including the Mojave Desert and Death Valley. He doesn't miss anything. He recorded the signts, sounds, people and his successes, failures and fears in wonderful detail. He found the purpose of the walk as he went along. The desert revealed its secrets to this man who took the time to experience the place on foot. Fishing in a creek, or climbing a mountain, or sleeping under the stars, Fletcher makes you feel as if you were there with him. A great writer and explorer, Fletcher is a joy to read. I have read most if not all of his books and this is perhaps the best. Whether you wander on foot or in you mind, you will, I think, love this book.