Nevada Books

This 1992 edition is still a wonderful guide to the large area covered. My wife and I recently used the book to greatly enhance our touring, camping, and hiking experience during a trip to the Kern Plateau.

. . . and as another reviewer notes, this is the only detailed guide to the area. Ruby Jenkins passed away last year, so this 1994 edition is likely to be the last ever. And there have been changes--for example, the 2000 Manter Meadow wildfire destroyed most of the Domeland Wilderness Area, focus of several trips in the book, so readers are advised to avoid Domeland hikes.

I have found that members of the Kern River Valley Hiking Club, a group founded by Ruby Jenkins and accessible on a certain website, regularly take trips described in the book and respond to questions about current conditions, obscure directions and the like with good humor.

In his brief life, Jim Jenkins mapped out much of the Southern Sierra, including the Pacific Crest Trail in the region, and wrote two detailed guidebooks. Since his death in 1979 at the age of 27 his mother, Ruby Jenkins, has continued his work and updated his books on the region.

This book is loaded with information on the geology, flora and fauna of the Southern Sierra. It also includes an excellent map of the region which is almost worth the price of the book. But the heart of the book is the descriptions of 150 trips in the Southern Sierra, and it is this part that is difficult to use. Unlike most guidebooks, trail descriptions and directions to the trailhead are in separate parts of the book. This necessitates a lot of flipping through the book. And, while the trips described by the book are broken down geographically, they are not separated by type. I would prefer to see climbs, drives, and bike routes in a separate section of the book than hikes. Still, this is the most comprehensive guide to the area, and very informative. Hopefully ease of use will improve in the next edition.

This is an excelent guide book. I was impressed with the milage markers for locating sites accuracy. Some of the sites would have been very difficult if not impossible to find as they were in remote areas.

This is a good guide but not as good as Rockhounding Nevada. Sites are similar somewhat but directions not as clear as the other one.

Really like this guide. Made use of it when an out-of state relative came for a visit. Found a site close to home and had a wonderful afternoon. Directions are clear and accurate. A must for all rockhounders.

The Skinners still dream of grape vineyards and California weather, but find themselves with a restaurant to run and friends to help in Goldfield, NV. Their very poor friends the Rokkers are featured heavily in this book, starting when Elias goes off on a goose chase for gold after spending all his paycheck for a useless map. O.T. and Fergus have a harrowing adventure looking for the lost Elias and son in a horrible blowing dust storm. Just after the Rokker family takes refuge in the cafe, a mysterious explosion causes a sinkhole to open up and swallow their entire house and all their meager possessions.

Dola Skinner is featured heavily in this book. Though still young and pretty, she is feeling old and ugly. Her physical stamina is tested in hard work, her Bible teaching and mothering skills are challenged in the town she hates. Twelve year old Rita is feeling her hormones with a new hired hand and hates working alongside the sixteen year old, shapely new hired girl. A suspenseful hunt occurs when ten old Corrie is lost for a complete day. A major surprise awaits the Rokker family. Famous visitors drop by to see the Skinners.

Dreams of California and grapevines seem a long way off, especially when the Skinners are thankful they finally have jobs, plenty of food and a sturdy roof over their heads. In addition, there are so many people to help out in the wild, greedy, lustful town of Goldfield, NV.

Book three, "Picture Rock" is bound to be a winner!

The Skinners do not want to be in Goldfield, Nevada. The weather's harsh. Greed is rampant. Spiritual sensitivity is scarce. And kids can grow up with sand in their eyes and gold fever in their bones. But the Skinners can't leave yet. O. T.'s friend and a child are missing in the desert and a desperate family is clinging to them and their faith to survive. Wholesome inspiration that will lift your spirit!

I did welcome the Christian emphasis in "Hidden Treasure," the sequel to "Fool's Gold." The Skinner family, who the book evolves around, is very conscious of confessing sin and walking humbly with Christ.

You definitely want to read "Fools Gold" to get a sympathetic perception of the Skinners plight of persisting in Goldfield, Nevada.

Though Bly does hold talent, some of what he pens gets on my nerves as it could never correspond to factual life. I was made ill over the Skinner baby's recorded message, "My mommy's pretty." It played over and over throughout the book till the concluding lines when Dola Skinner finally admitted she was pretty.

In this postlude the family has moved out of their tent and Dola Skinner is running a reputable restaurant with the family residing on the second floor. Though her husband O.T. has acquired a job, he is always absent from it chasing down Elias Rokker.

Elias and Nellie Rokker upset normal life in this novel, not being on the predictable side in any fashion. Unfortunately, Bly does not hold to any true pattern concerning their personalities and habits. In "Fool's Gold," Elias stayed fat while his family starved. In the happy conclusion, he repented and acquired a true concern for his family after his wife fell short of death. Conversely, in this sequel, he is flighty as a hen and not watchful of his family. It is as if the finale of "Fool's Gold" vanished.

There was over concern placed on Dola Skinners constant disgust over her figure and appearance, especially in light of the fact that her husband O.T. never put her down and always built her up.

I could not say I would recommend the book, but the characters do secure smiles at various times throughout the yarn.

BORING. Not scary at all. Mildly amusing if you have some time to waste.

Do you like short stories? I love them. Sometimes you just can't invest the emotional time in a full-length novel, whereas a short story is exactly right. Besides, I think it's fun to see what a favorite book author can do with the shorter, more restrictive form, and then, sometimes--an additional bonus--one can find new authors well worth pursuing from reading a good anthology. The Malice Domestic series of original traditional, mostly cozy stories is usually top-notch, and this tenth edition is quite possibly the best they've done yet, in my opinion. Three stories alone--of the fourteen included--justify the cost of buying the book. Simon Brett's "A Note of Notes" about 'a £10 note with attitude' is scrumptious, while M. D. Lake, in a wry, world-weary voice, explores the alphabet in "A. B. C. D. E. A. T. H.", providing chuckles galore in this tale of two couples, unhappily married.

Anne Perry, the much-lauded author of two Victorian-set mystery series, has turned away from that time and place to produce a wonderfully humorous, charming story about a group of neighborhood detectives. Word has it that these creatures are based on her own menagerie of dogs and cats and other critters. This is, I believe, the third such episode featuring Daisy, a canine whose lineage is never quite defined, but who possesses immense common sense. In "Daisy and the Christmas Goose" she doesn't let the fact that she's not quite certain of just what is a goose slow down the hunt for one that is missing.

Frankly, I wish some enterprising publisher would produce an entire book of short stories about Daisy and her cohorts, both canine and feline, and other-ines as well. The voicing of these critters is impeccable, sort of an 'All Creatures Great and Small' but in reverse. They're nothing short of wonderful!

All the stories in this collection are eminently readable. Too bad they can't do more than one such anthology a year. Or else a bigger book, with more stories.

The fourteen stories that make up the latest Malice Domestic collection stick to the common theme of everyday people doing "criminal" things they ordinarily would not do. As seems to be the case with this ten-year old series, every contribution fits the main topic while all are also well written and entertaining cozies. Barring none, this is one of the better groups of authors, who demonstrate the need of providing motives rather quickly and believably for their lead characters to act out of the norm. Each author succeeds with a wonderful tale worth reading by anthology fans and cozy advocates.

Harriet Klausner

Having read both reviews prior to my purchase, I was somewhat apprehensive. However, as a novice history buff, I have thoroughly enjoyed using the maps to assist in scouting one day trips from Vegas. The photos are dated, but add an interesting comparison when viewed today. True the ghost towns mentioned are not as they appeared in the original printing, however, the landscape provides interesting backdrop as one travels back and tries to live or view the past as it once was. A Gps does help in trying to locate some of the towns or mines especially over gravel roads. Trips should be planned with adequate gas and water.

This is the companion volume to Paher's Atlas of ghost towns in northern Nevada. Again, there are numerous very good and detailed maps, many excellent if dated photos (they seem to have been largely shot in the 1950s or later, but not recently), and very little text. As such, these atlases are themselves companions to Paher's larger book on ghost towns, and the maps themselves include page references to where to find more information in the larger book on a given town.

Visitors to Vegas expecting to trip all over nearby ghost towns will be disappointed; there are fewer decent and interesting sites in the south than in the north. Still, the interested reader needs both atlases and Paher's full study as well.

Compared to its sister volume, which covers the northern half of the state, this atlas is a disappointment. I've spent quite a bit of time plotting all of the ghost town and mining camp sites from both atlases onto DeLorme topo maps, and felt I was really able to pinpoint sites in the northern book, whereas in this one there just wasn't as detailed enough information to confidently do the same. Distances, for example, were given in the northern book, but are missing here; likewise other identifying features like canyon names and smaller streams. It's still an excellent source, and the two atlases together locate all the sites detailed in Paher's classic NEVADA GHOST TOWNS AND MINING CAMPS. The atlases also contain quite a few photographs.

To know something about long distance hiking, is to know Henry Stark is accurate when he presents the scenario between himself and his partners in Sierra Story. What was it in their personalities that attracted them to each other in the first place, and why such unspoken animosity and rancor that leads to the dissolution of their friendship? Mr. Stark's assessment of national park policy on black bear management, is also an interesting read. They have turned what is instinctively a shy and solitary species, into a scrap food dependent, pack traveling, harassing animal. You will enjoy reading Sierra Story. The author's lessons on adapting can be applied to a new job, new home, or nature's environment. Long distance hikers speak of a "brain drain" during their trek. Their mind clears of all it's material encumbrances, focusing only on the essentials. Mr. Stark's epiphany, on a pine scrub precipice in the Sierras, was enough to so change his life that the details are clear over twenty years later.

To know something about long distance hiking, is to know Henry Stark is accurate when he presents the scenario between himself and his partners in Sierra Story. What was it in their personalities that attracted them to each other in the first place, and why such unspoken animosity and rancor that leads to the dissolution of their friendship? Mr. Stark's assessment of national park policy on black bear management, is also an interesting read. They have turned what is instinctively a shy and solitary species, into a scrap food dependent, pack traveling, harassing animal. You will enjoy reading Sierra Story. The author's lessons on adapting can be applied to a new job, new home, or nature's environment. Long distance hikers speak of a "brain drain" during their trek. Their mind clears of all it's material encumbrances, focusing only on the essentials. Mr. Stark's epiphany, on a pine scrub precipice in the Sierras, was enough to so change his life that the details are clear over twenty years later.

I really enjoyed this book, right from the opening paragraph which hooked me and left me wanting more. There is an exciting mix of adventure and history as Stark and two acquaintances set off on an expedition to the rugged Sierra Nevada mountain range in California. The initial plan of a routine hiking holiday is soon disrupted as the three inexperienced friends face a series of hazardous events, both animal and environmental, in an extremely remote area. Before long, it's a quest for survival, of self- preservation of both body and mind.

Intertwined with the thrilling adventure narrative are the author's personal thoughts and feelings on the foundations of friendships (which are certainly put to the test on the trip) and marriage, of the environment and its preservation. Alone in the wilderness, he has time to reflect. This makes very interesting reading and certainly made me assess situations in my own life.

The subject matter will be of interest to a wide range of readers. Stark's picturesque descriptions of nature are appealing to all ages. There is plenty of background on the places visited to feed the historian. Conservationists will empathise with the plight of areas of natural beauty which have stood untouched for generations but which are now threatened by commercialism. Also, expeditioners beware: the three friends made certain errors in preparation for their trip which novice hikers would be advised to take note of!

All in all, a gripping tale with plenty of food for thought. The narrative is illustrated with some nice stills which give you a good feel for the events over the course of the trip; although I thought that they would be even better in colour.

I am going to keep this short because I do not have the text with me, and I am not prepared to write a thorough review. I read Straight White Male a couple weeks ago, and while I was initially digging it in its entirety, it began to wear by the end. Leroy is an interesting character, and the life he leads lends itself well to showing a world that I have no experience with: the poor white population of California. While this text allows for someone to sympathize with another person, a reason we read fiction, the lack of fault in Leroy begins to grow stale rather quickly. Leroy is just too ideal. His only fault was a ten year old infidelity that is also not a fault, merely a stumbling block in which he grew; it is used to show how pure the man truly is because he can not overcome the fact that he has cheated on his wife, a woman that slept around. His only other fault may be his lack of trusting his wife because of her own past, but he even overcomes that.

It is a quick read. read it; disagree with me.

What a treat to read a book with so much great dialogue, complex relationships, and spanning 50 years. I love books that give me a fresh or altogether new perspective on something as mundane (and sad) as growing old. Leroy Upton is an unforgettable character - someone you want to know, because he is so genuine and normal, yet who faces incredible challenges with wit and insight. As an only child who takes care of his aging and infirm parents, while balancing marriage and 3 grown kids, Leroy Shows us that age-old lesson: make the most of everyday, be kind and generous to your loved ones as life is short.

I have read every book Mr.Haslam has written. This one, his first novel, is more than a good read; This is a deeply moving book. Anyone who grew up in the section of the Southern Central California Valley, especially on the 'other side of the bridge,' of which this story treats, is bound to connect, perhaps even in ways they had not yet identified. A must for Haslam fans.

I keep this in my car at all times. It encompasses a state-wide map, along with city & street maps for every major city (and not so major cities) in California. I was always forgetting to bring my fold-out maps when I would travel, and now I don't have to. So, instead of needing 50 fold out maps, everything is in one simple book.

This is a must-have for anybody who enjoys a quick road trip or a real vacation.

I bought this atlas at Costco and ended up returning it. Since the page size is only 8 1/2 by 11, it is next to impossible to see enough detail to be useful. You would be better collecting a half dozen fold-out regional California maps. The city maps are somewhat better, but still small.

I too, bought my 1st copy of this map book at Costco, now I am purchasing more as gifts. To anyone who loves and/or lives in California, this is a must have. Want to get out and have no idea where to go? Know where you need to go, but don't quite know how to get there? It is all in here and then some....Gather up your California road map/atlas, get in your car and let your inner child out to play. It lists campgrounds, State Parks and little known places just begging for you to enjoy. California is a place for all types to recharge their batteries and this is the perfect book to help you find the places that can do just that! You just can't get this detailed of info. in any fold out map.....

It is not often, in my experience, one has the opportunity to say, "I read the most sharply fascinating book about cows this past weekend." Not that I said this sort of thing after reading this book, but I could have. Barney Nelson performs at minimum two premier services for her readers. First, she reopens the cow case, teasing into gray complexity the traditional assignation of cows to the realm of domestic beasts. Second, Nelson continues a rehabilitation of fame for the early twentieth century writer of the West, Mary Austin.(This rehabilitation comes at the expense of John Muir over the issue of sheep herding and lambing.) Truly, after reading this book I think it is curious that the remarkable Austin is in need of reputation refurbishment in American letters.

The glory continues with the author adding a raucously noble essay on her own life. Nelson also contributes a fine essay on Ed Abbey's reading and suggested usage of Mary Austin's desert book. At last, I mention the political concerns churned up by Nelson's hearty ploughing. Much about land management, grazing rights, and habitat change finds sensible reappraisal. I do not have the expertise or experience to evaluate the suggestions of the author on this matter, but I find her suggestion of interest, that the government policies based on the research programs of some scientists are quite possibly informed by an erring sense of healthy land use and a mistaken foundational origin for the data they interpret. Overall, this book of essays wafts thoughtful chips into the air with relatively little theoretical marsh.

This voice is loving if you're a horse, sheep, cow, dog, antelope, sheepherder, or cowperson. But, Goddess help you if you're a mountaineer, hiker, camper, easterner, urbanite, or Sierra Clubber. Perhaps John Muir does need some dethroning, but blame him for the industrialization of Yosemite National Park? Come now.

Nelson is a creative thinker and fresh voice injecting new ways of looking at the environment, women's place in nature, and ultimately how to reconcile our dependence upon domestic livestock. By delving into works of Thoreau, John Muir, Jack London, Ed Abbey, and the lone female voice of Mary Austin, Nelson shows how our thinking about the wild, the domestic environment, and the place of men and women in both has been shaped by assumptions that are not true. I enjoyed this book very much--there are lots of new ideas to consider, as well as plenty of research to back up Nelson's points. She writes clearly and smoothly, and is not afraid to tackle ideas that westerners have misunderstood for too long, livestock grazing for one. I was not at all familiar with the work of Mary Austin, but thanks to Nelson I can see that she should be widely studied for her environmental writings, particularly pertaining to women's role. All women, all environmentalists, all westerners, should read Nelson's book, it will be the basis for many conversations, if not debates.

Having worked in a prison for almost two decades, Jimmy was dead on with his description of characters one would meet in correction institutions. Jimmy has a wry, sharp, and dark wit. His narratives (which I believe were really written by him and not a ghost writer) had the timing and delivery of a true comic. Sadly, I feel he wrote that one book each of us has inside ourselves because this memoir was born of tragedy and Jimmy had to reach deep inside himself to find the humor or go crazy.
That being said, I found this the funniest memoir I've ever read and found myself reaching for it again and again when I needed a little dark humor to pull me through frustrating times. I lent this book to several colleagues who teach in public schools that have the same wiff of craziness as Jimmy's institution and they, too, bought their own copies. Which makes me think we all have a little Jimmy Lerner in us: finding the lighter side of crazy situations to survive. Kudos, Jimmy, but I don't think you've really stopped being an alcoholic. The best line in the book...And Jesus wept.

I thought this book was great. The prison world is one full of hopelessness and despair, yet here's a man who did his time holding onto his sense of humor and himself. There is a great deal of emphasis on the prison lingo that was used while he was on the inside. This had me in stitches.

Is it all true? The disclaimer at the beginning of the book says it is not. This did not make it any less worthwhile to read.

i bought this book on the strength of the user reviews, and the fact that this book is supposedly a biography/true story of the author's time in prison.

ok, in places it's an engaging piece of writing, but as i read along, more and more holes in the (less and less believable) story popped up. anyone can tell that many of the characters are part truth and a big part fantasy, down to the full on 'cape fear'-styled pursuit at the end; it also seemed to me that the stories were probably enhanced a bit to make the author seem tougher or badder.

so i sure wasn't surprised to find in the author's foreward, an admission that his credibility was called into question in the years after the publication of the book, and all kinds of uncomfortable excuses and apologies as to how the 'emotional truth' gave him the permission to change not only events and characters, but also the factual truth.

hey, i'm sure he spent time in prison and there are some amusing stories about day-to-day prison life, but the credibility issue damages this as a 'memoir' and it's not otherwise really compelling; overall there's not much to take away from the book.