District of Columbia Books

I should know... I was the assistant editor on the book...seriously, it is a fine book and the publishers should update and re-issue this handsome,informative and witty guide to one of the worlds most intriguing cities.

This book has some great photos of DC. I loved looking at the photos of the places I love visiting.

This is a great book because it is more comprehensive than many others I looked at. It doesn't just tell you how to form your company - you also get what you need to know about employment law, your tax-payment and bookeeping systems, insurance coverage needs, website issues, etc., etc. When specifc forms or procedures are involved, the focus is on DC, MD and VA reqirements. Still, lots of common sense, nuts-and-bolts information for entrepreneurs out there in any state!

I just moved to DC, and I was really lost here until I picked up this thing. The reviewers selected great activities, restaurants, places, etc. Each one I have tried has been worth my time, if not really outstanding. I've asked long-time locals about some of the highly recommended but low-profile places, and they have agreed that those are hot spots. The maps are very nice, and the style is extremely readable. If you need one guide to the city, this is as good a choice as any.

"Undercover Washington" is unlike any other travel guide I've seen. It covers all of the places in Washington, D.C. and surrounding suburbs in Maryland and Virginia where spies lived, loved, worked, and defected. The book covers spies and espionage throughout history from George Washington to current events. This is a fun book for locals and tourists.

This book takes an unusual approach to chronicling the 20th century history of Washington, DC, viewing it through the prism of the lives of three prominent families-the Cafritzes, real estate developers and philanthropists; the Boggses, politicians, lobbyists, and reporters; and the Hobsons, civil rights leaders and activists, both outside and inside "the system." Solomon had access to members of all three families, but the portraits are nonetheless critical, showing "warts and all" as well as intra-family disputes in the case of the Cafritz and Hobson families.

To some extent, this is a book written for Washington "insiders." That is, as I read the book, I wondered whether it would appeal to audiences who are less familiar with the District of Columbia and its environs. (I have lived in the Washington metropolitan area for 25 years and worked in D.C. for 12 years.) The Boggs family portrayal (including Hale and Lindy Boggs, both prominent members of the House of Representatives; Cokie and Steve Roberts, both nationally known reporters; and Tommy Boggs, an influential federal-level lobbyist) is apt to be of interest to the "outside the Beltway" audience, but the depictions of the Cafritz and Hobson families, whose sphere of influence has primarily been "inside the Beltway," may be less interesting to audiences less familiar with local history and geography.

Solomon has truly mined an impressive lode of documents and interviews in assembling this book, which has considerable "human interest" appeal. I found the book so captivating and well written that I had difficulty putting it down, and completed it in three days over the Christmas holiday. It is both well-written and compelling. It presents a useful chronicle of a number of developments-including the decline of bipartisan cooperation, the growing importance of money in Washington politics, and the decline of the middle class as a residential group inside the Beltway.

I spend a LOT of time in DC - five weeks between March and June 2008 alone. I have seen every map brand known to mankind, and believe me, this is THE best DC map out there, bar NONE.

[The same is true of their other maps as well. I've purchased (8) Borch city maps, plus their US Interstate map so far and am completely impressed! I have several colleagues who agree their Manhattan and NY maps are also the best available. It's pretty much unanimous.]

Note also that these are "soft laminated" maps - VERY easy to handle, and unlike the typical "hard" products, you can fold and "press" the Borch maps.

Ideal for planing your trip to Washington, D.C., Virginia, West Virignia, Maryland and Delaware , Delawer. You will have several routs to explore this part of the country. Tips, Maps and Photographs that give you a very good picture of your trip. This will help you to don't miss any of the important places of the road. Ideal for visiting the historic places of DC area

The illustrations are pretty plain, being that they're black and white, and the story even a little lame, but the "chorus" of the book ("Hundreds of cats, Thousands of cats, Millions and billions and trillions of cats"), is what makes the book a standout for me.

After we had learned to read fairly well in grade school we were taken to the school library to pick out a book. I checked out Millions of Cats as the first book I wanted to read. I recently bought a copy here at Amazon and was amazed how well I remembered the story...in some cases almost word for word...and it has been 35 years since I read it. *S*.It will always hold fond memories for me.
Best wishes,
Donald Ryles PhD, CH
Author of Hidden Secrets of Many, But One

One of my most treasured childhood books, this was one of the first purchases I've made for a new niece and nephew. A wonderful story line, which likely played a part in my love for and respect of all things great and small.

This book is not for all people, as noted by some reviews. In this case, since it is a children's book, it is all a gamble. For some children, they will look upon it either fondly, horrified or simply confused. It is later will their views either change or stay the same.
My personal experience was fondness. Looking back on it now, I am still fond of it. Some children will simply find it interesting. I was one of those. I liked cats and I loved the little cat at the end. As an adult, I see its morals quite clearly. I also am fine with it. It all depends on a person's response to morbidity. If one comes to like things like Edward Gorey, Roman Dirge or Tim Burton... The bat of an eye seems less plausible. This book is as safe as the original takes on fairy tales - you know, before Disney.

Anyway, for parents who are leery, there is a lesson to learn in this story.

Moral: Vanity can lead to one's downfall. Be humble and practical and good things (hopefully) will come in reward.

As noted, there were some issues with how things were done. The following will have spoilers.

Vanity is displayed through most of the book. It led to the downfall of both the old man and the millions of billions of cats. The old man mainly cared for a good looking cat. One always looked better than the other to him. He needed to keep what the true goal was in mind. He should have only looked for what cat could serve the purpose he and his wife were looking for. In the end, he took all and in turn took on a task beyond his control.
The cats were more or less fine until near the end. The wife, upon seeing the many cats, reminds the old man of the true purpose of his quest. They thus can only keep one. In turn, all the cats that were wrong for the couple in the beginning brought upon their own downfall for being too proud. They only cared for their own gain in the matter. They were superficial and in the end none were left to gain the "prize".
The moral shines through in the end though when the couple does find the right cat for them.

Perhaps one will find that too psychological for a child to grasp, but as noted, for a child to understand... well, you either have to go into great explanation or hope your child applies the same understanding of most original fairy tales to this book - they simply find it amusing and don't ask questions.

If they do, just give them the story at its value.

"If I am pretty, will I be eaten up?"
No. The kitten in the end ended up being very pretty and he was never eaten up. What it is saying is, if you are beautiful on the outside, be beautiful on the inside as well. The cat in the end displayed that.

"What if I say I am the prettiest to someone?"
That would be rude. It can hurt feelings. Like in the book, the little kitten did not say a word. It thought it was no better than anyone. The other cats became angry with each other because none of them wanted to feel less important than another, when in truth they were all equal.

"Why did they eat each other?"
They let their hatred eat at themselves and in turn destroyed each other through that. (It is pretty difficult to go into metaphors of greed and vanity consuming a person being displayed in blatant eating an opponent physically.)

The list can go on.

There is also another faint moral. Treat others kindly and good things can happen for you and that person. The kitten was small, scrawny and unloved. The old man likely never would have given it a second thought, as the cat believed. With it being the only one left and after they witnessed the terribleness of the physically beautiful cats, they decided to take care of it. By being given kindness and love, the kitten grew to be a fine cat and both it and the couple were happy. Again, vanity plays in. Look beyond the book cover, and all.

Therefore, this story could be pretty much ANYTHING to a child. In the end, you must be the judge.

A tale of a man who, looking for a cat, finds too many. For any animal-lover, this is a secret dream, an embarrassment of riches. Millions of Cats sends that dream to the glue factory. The laws of nature state that, when a population becomes larger than available resources can support, conflict ensues. In a scene reminiscent of the enormous slaughter at Verdun, acres upon acres of fuzzy, fuzzy kitties flip out switchblade claws and tear each other apart. All for a chance to enter an exclusive Shangri-La: the happy home of the peasant farmer and his sturdy wife. The sole survivor is found hiding under a bush, the last of his race. He is an inverted Jesus, an unblemished lamb for whose sake all of his kind must die. A kitty Anti-Christ, if you will. Who, through his cunning feint, has gained dominion over the feline earth.

And where are the corpses of the slain? How can that hapless peasant keep his shoes dry as he surveys the site of the recent battle? The truth is clear to the careful reader: the Omega Cat has eaten the bodies and drank from the blood. A demonic Eucharist to profane the very soil, the anointing feast for a Dark Prince of Cats. The unwitting peasant knows not what evil he welcomes into his home. And yet, the final scene of domestic bliss offers hope to a world wracked with bloody regional wars: even after death on an incomprehensible scale, life goes on.

Great Christmas gift for your little ones. Goes great with a new puppy.

It appears that this book is superseded by the Hiking from Here to Wow North Cascades book. The only problem is that later has only half the hikes and does not have the authors 4 rating based recommendation (Premier, Outstanding, Worthwhile, Don't do). This rating is extremely useful for casual hikers like me who constantly have to choose one or two best hikes from the 100s of our there. So your only resort is probably get this book from Library or by second hand just for that ratings!

This book looks old and less sophisticated compared to WOW book and doesn't have color photographs but I still thing this is the best around. I like the overview map that clearly shows boundaries of North Cascades which always confuses people new to area. Also the book has very good introductory prep on what to take, weather, mice, lightnings, wild life and other little things important to know when hiking/camping in Cascades.

I would recommend buying WOW book which is essentially new edition of this book (minus 50 hikes) and somehow get the list of hikes by ratings from this book to get best of both books.

My wife and I are day-hikers which means, of course, we have a perspective that would be different from long-distance hikers and backpackers. There are recommendations for all types of visitors but I think day-hikers would get the most use out of the book.

We found the guide to be excellent for our needs. Since we live on the East Coast, our time in the Pacific Northwest is limited. The title of the book, "Don't Waste Your Time in the North Cascades," sums it up. We've used it for two trips to northern Washington state and think it's really handy. The book's rating of trails and hikes allows the reader to get right to the best spots. A numbered map and rating-chart make it easy to narrow the choices down to what best suits your needs for a particular day, including "shoulder season" recommendations. As any good hiker's guide should, the distances and elevation gains are noted, as are directions on how to get to the trail-heads.

Of course everyone has an opinion about what's the most scenic or worthwhile hike. One contributor here mentioned off-trail destinations. That's fine for one or two people to explore but I don't think we want hordes of visitors breaking trail and damaging the fragile environment. The paths that have already been worn through the mountains should provide enough recreation and adventure for the vast majority of us. All guidebook suggestions are a matter of opinion. It's up to the users to determine whether they agree or not. For one, I think the authors did an excellent job.

It obviously took years of effort and a passion for the area to put this guide together. The respect the authors have for the North Cascades is a wonderful contribution to what we need to know to make for an enjoyable trip. The research had to have been conducted by actually "walking the walk" and, of course, there's no substitute for firsthand experience.

Again, as an outsider, I greatly appreciated this quick, easy-to-navigate instruction on one of America's most fantastic wilderness recreation areas. Those who live in Washington state might not feel there's enough detail or that it lacks coverage of the entire region (which would be a daunting task). For someone who wants to make the most of a short vacation (which I suspect applies to most visitors), the book is definitely worth the price.

Great little book with multiple good hike ideas. gives good directions to wonderful places in the pacific northwest
get out there
enjoy Gods Blessings

With limited time to explore the North Cascades I needed some guidance. I own this book, as well as what I suspect is the most popular hiking book for this area - 100 Hikes in the North Cascades. Though that book does provide color pictures, better maps, and some other features missing from Don't Waste Your Time, it just can't compare. If I only had that book, I would be left scratching my head on a sunny summer day, wondering where to head to. Instead, I strike out with confidence knowing that each "Premier" or "Outstanding" hike will leave me with stunning images etched into my memory for a lifetime.

Don't Waste Your Time In The North Cascades has been priceless in my opinion. I've set a goal to do all the "Premier" dayhikes and haven't been disappointed yet. What's more, the introduction to each hike is written so well that anytime I started getting cabin fever during the winter I'd pull out this book and read some hike reviews. It always left me excited for the coming good weather and marvelous hikes. The lack of good maps hasn't been a problem, as their written instructions have always gotten me to the viewpoint without getting lost. I love the fact that the book has a shoulder season section, and am using that section a lot right now as I wait for the high viewpoints to melt out. This book really combines the best of three guidebooks into one, with it's dayhiking, backpacking, and shoulder season sections.

Overall, I feel like this book along with adopting a dog are the best investments I've made since moving to the North Cascades.

I have used many, many guide books for hiking in various regions. I loved this book about the north cascades better than any I have used. The authors rating system was right on the money. We did four of the hikes listed as premier and they delivered everything promised. If I was going to spend more time in the north cascades, I would use this book exclusively. I particularly found this author's reviews of the hikes we did to be much more useful than the other guides published and available through Amazon. This author is honest in every way. I wanted to send a thank you note, given our marvelous experience, but I figured that this review was worth even more.