California Books

More Than a Mutt hits the spot for anyone who loves dogs. Roger did a great job of humanizing a very special dog's personality. Our whole family enjoyed the book and we highly recommend it.

Having been a neighbor for many years, I observed his love for animals. Not being an animal lover, the book touched me deeply and made me think differently about my feelings. Reading this book brought proof that a dog can be man's best friend. Rusty's antics were memorable.

The book makes me happy in the sense that a mutt can make himself a part of a family, actually an indispensable part so naturally. The phrases used in the book are best chosen so that it is easy to read and feel the real emotion in it.

Rusty just had so many things to make you love him. It paints a true picture of some of the bad times along with all the antics he took part in. I'd recommend it to readers of all ages.

More Than A Mutt is an exceptionally good book, filled with good humor. One can sense the love, appreciation and joy this dog gave to Roger and his family. This is a story that all pet lovers can relate to.

Mosaic's style of church is not just an "L.A. thing" but all across the country as leaders of churches from almost all denominations and hundreds of younger adults starting new churches look to the ministry of pastor Erwin McManus and Mosaic as their North Star. The church grew while experimenting with new structures for congregational ministry and engaging diversity, pluralism, and urbanization.

Other books covering related topics include: Hollywood Faith: Holiness, Prosperity, and Ambition in a Los Angeles Church about a vibrant church meeting in a converted movie theater in the center of Hollywood. A new, practical book on megachurches based on good scholarship is Beyond Megachurch Myths: What We Can Learn from America's Largest Churches (J-B Leadership Network Series). And, an in-depth look at the influence of evangelical megachurches on mainline denominations is The Megachurch and the Mainline: Remaking Religious Tradition in the Twenty-first Century.

This book is an artform. The work is an in-depth glimpse of the inner-workings of the emerging church that many philosophize and prophesize about, yet never have the opportunity to live within. The care and balance that Marti brought to the project as a pastor and scholar was obvious and reassuring. I am confident that Gerardo's work will provide a methodological basis that provides others with the courage to do the same. This book is timely as the denominational form of Christianity continues to slide into oblivion in the U.S. However, it is a refreshing testament to the fact that God has something more in mind. He's not done with Christianity in the U.S. just yet. He is the God of MORE...much more. Marti's book is a refreshing, uplifting testament to the fact that He is alive and working diligently in our world...He just needs some disciples to hear Him and "Follow Me." Clearly, the finished work spawns more questions and opportunities for additional research, as any substantial research endeavor should.

Looking under the conventional labels used to depict religious believers, ethnographers and cultural historians are uncovering some unexpected findings. We know, for example, that religious conservatives are likely to vote Republican, but what, exactly, does it mean to be a religious conservative? If the scholarship of historians like R. Marie Griffith or sociologists like Gerardo Marti is any indication, it does not necessarily mean turning one's back on the modern world. [...] Marti's 'A Mosaic of Believers: Diversity and Innovation in a Multiethnic Church,' to be published next month, offers a case study of a Los Angeles-based church that is at one and the same time Southern Baptist in affiliation and conservative theologically and attractive to a young, primarily single Hollywood clientele working at cutting-edge cultural jobs in the entertainment industry. As such books illustrate, the ethnographic trend overlaps with interest in the complexities of religion and American culture and their intersection. While religion has certainly done its share to shape American culture, it is also the case that American culture shapes religion, and in very powerful ways.

-- From Alan Wolfe, "Scholars Infuse Religion With Cultural Light," The Chronicle of Higher Education

Detailed Table of Contents

Acknowledgements
Introduction
   Mosaic Havens: Dual Movement of Escape and Refuge
   Max Weber and the Dynamic Nature of Ethnicity
   Overview

Chapter 1: Multi-Ethnic Churches, Mosaic, and Social Change
   Significance of Multi-ethnic Churches
   Significance of Mosaic
   A Glimpse Into the Future

Chapter 2: Describing Mosaic
   An Oral History
   Unique Aspects of This Congregation

Chapter 3: History, Agency, and the Evangelical Faith: A Reconstruction of Ideology
   Exploring Mosaic's Theological Haven
   Catalytic Preaching and the Shaping of a Congregation
   A Theology of Mission
   The Apostolic Community and the Movement of History

Chapter 4: The Hollywood Connection and the Management of Artistic Talent: A Reconstruction of Involvement
   Exploring Mosaic's Artistic Haven
   Parallels between Mosaic and the Entertainment Industry
   Mobilization as the Core Activity at Mosaic

Chapter 5: Innovation and the Cultivation of Catalytic Leaders: A Reconstruction of Imperative
   Exploring Mosaic's Innovator Haven
   Discovery, Development, and Deployment of Leaders
   Diversification and Innovation through Catalytic Leaders

Chapter 6: Mosaic and the Emerging American Culture: A Reconstruction of an Institution
   Exploring Mosaic's Age Haven
   Reversing the Age Hierarchy
   Cultural Appeal to the Coming Century

Chapter 7: Becoming Mosaic: A Reconstruction of Identity
   Exploring Mosaic's Ethnic Haven
   Charismatic Authority and the Strategic Management of Ethnic Identity
   Charismatic Re-orientation of Ethnic Identity

Conclusion
   Innovation and Diversification in Pursuit of Mission
   Popular Culture, Younger Generations, and the Rejection of Modernity
   Capturing a Movement in Action

Bibliography

Appendix: Methodological Considerations from a Religious Insider
   Qualitative Research and the Dilemma of Researcher Involvement
   Seeking Validity for This Researcher in Studying This Congregation
   Guidelines Offered in Hindsight

Appendix: Women and Leadership at Mosaic

-- Quoted from CHOICE Reviews by K. D. Lyon (Jones County Junior College), January 2006.

"Through careful ethnography and masterful application of sociological theory, Marti (sociology, Davidson College) provides a rewarding and insightful study of one of the nation's largest multiethnic churches, Los Angeles's Mosaic."

"Principally, Marti attributes Mosaic's remarkable success to five "havens" of inclusion/involvement within the church that allow transcendence of ethnic separateness in favor of spiritual commonalty. The "theological" haven offers a purposeful ideology of evangelical mission that animates other havens, while the haven of "artistic creativity" harnesses a wealth of Hollywood talent and integrates myriad artistic forms into worship. Analyzing the "innovator" haven, Marti explains how congregants viewed as deviant in organizationally conservative churches frequently become "catalytic leadership" within Mosaic. The "age" haven attracts and empowers young people, especially those fleeing "entrapment" in their parents' monoethnic subcultures."

"A superb chapter explores "ethnic" haven in terms of the fluidity, subjectivity, and situational construction of ethnic identity, allowing emphasis, reconfiguration or muting of ethnicity within Mosaic's context and missiology. Engagingly and accessibly written, this excellent book deserves wide readership among everyone interested in US religion, ethnicity, organizations and urban culture."

"Summing Up: Highly recommended. All levels/libraries."

-- Quoted from Journal for Scientific Study of Religion by Elaine Howard Ecklund (University of Buffalo, SUNY, and Rice University), September 2006 (Vol 45/No 3), pp. 467-468.

"Mosaic of Believers is a highly readable volume, following in the footsteps of other congregational ethnographies within the sociology of religion (e.g. works by Nancy Ammerman, Brenda Brasher, and R. Stephen Warner)."

"He shows that Mosaic retains its unique mission, in part, by rewarding change-agents, providing a haven for self-starters and leaders."

"Carefully walking the line between overindulgent navel-gazing and unquestioned objectivism, Marti writes an engaging methodological appendix.... Throughout the volume, he implicitly pushes forward a dialogue on the different roles that insiders and outsiders to a religious community have in ethnographic accounts of such settings."

"Overall, this is a strong volume and I look forward to reading Marti's future work."

-- Quoted from "Multiethnic Mix: A Model of Congregational Diversity?" by R. Stephen Warner (University of Illinois at Chicago), The Christian Century, July 26, 2005 (Vol 122/No 15), pp. 26-29.

"As Marti sees it, the key to building a congregation of people from diverse, often alienated ethnic backgrounds is to appeal to them in ways that trump their differences."

"Marti stresses the malleability of identities and the way that being a follower of Jesus Christ at Mosaic "transcends" ethnicity. In so doing he offers an appealing vision of a church that builds on the dynamism of demography and popular culture to overcome the scandal of religious segregation (as well as the specter of civic balkanization)."

"Clearly, Mosaic is spiritually compelling. Its members are on fire with their faith, eager to share it with everyone in Los Angeles. Its leaders take risks that most pastors would not dare."

"His book will be on the syllabus the next time I teach a course on race, ethnicity and gender in American religion."

-- Quoted from Sociology of Religion: A Quarterly Review by Kathleen Garces-Foley (Cal State Northridge and Marymount University), Fall 2006.

"Marti's analysis is a well-crafted mix of first-person accounts and sociological theory."

"As an assistant pastor at Mosaic during the course of his research, he straddles the religoius insider/outsider tension with ease and precision, and the methodological appendix offers insightful advice for other scholars in this position."

"It also offers valueable insights into the postmodern church movement, and I found the discussion of Mosaic's theological position with regard to premillenialism particularly helpful."

This book does a masterful job of piecing apart Mosaic, how it is structured and how it operates. It provides facts and unique insights behind the scenes and gives the reader what he needs to understand diversity in a local church that is impacting the world.

I am truly enjoying this book. I grew up in Mountain View and I remember a few of the images in the photos, but there are quite a number of them that are astounding, esp. the very early photographs. I've shared this book with my mother who loves looking at the pictures as much as I do. She too remembers some of the old Castro street buildings and El Camnino Real sites. It's great to see my old high school mentioned, Chester F. Awalt High School and even saw a friend pictured in a photo. Thank you for sharing the history of this beautiful town. I've learned so much more about the town I grew up in. An invaluable book to have.

I bought this book for my husband, we are both from Mtn.View, which has changed over the years dramatically. So, to see all these old photos of when we grew up in the 50's and 60's in Mtn View was pure delight. All of the photo's in the book speak a million words, taking us way back to when life was simpler, less hectic, and the valley was covered with cherry, apricot, and peach orchards!

This book is awesome! Very amazing photographs of Mt. View before it became Silicon Valley...Hopefully the talented author will do Mt. View (STORIES of America)!!!

I love any opportunity to get my hands on local history; so I have several titles from this series. I just want to report that this specific one, on Mountain View, is especially well done! Where it shows is the care given to the researching of the photo captions. Eg, the captions in this volume detail which way the camera is facing. (This is something I do not universally find in local photo collections.) Also, the photos cover a satisfyingly broad spectrum.

If you are a collector of history of Mountain View, then you might have reason to already own the excellent book "Milestones" by Mary Jo Ignoffo. If you do, then get this one too: the coverage does not overlap.

Paging through this book is like revisiting my young adulthood spent in Mountain View, my favorite city in what is now Silicon Valley. This book is a collection of photos from circa 1900 (old houses) to the 1990s (Shoreline Amphitheater). If you were there in the 1970s - 1990s, paging through this book will bring back a million memories. Look, it's the Mountain Bay Plaza (being built from the TOP DOWN!)! Look, it's the old Emporium! The Old Mill! The hangars at Moffett Field! The garbage dump that became Shoreline! Castro street over many years! Isn't that bank now a bar?! Fantastic! (I don't know if it's profound, but it's FUN!)

Murder by Tradition is an excellent title with multiple shades of meaning. The plot is believable and well executed. The characters have behaviours and beliefs that correspond. A Super Read ,it is indeed.

Katherine V. Forrest, in her Kate Delafield series manages to present a tight, taut mystery along with a political statement, which she doesn't present in a heavy-handed manner. The two just seem to blend seemlessly and if you want to ignore the message (if you can), then you can simply enjoy the mystery. Kate and her dullard partner, Ed Taylor, investigate the murder of Teddie Crawford, a very "out" gay man. In fact, even he calls himself a queen. Teddie was stabbed about 40 times, which indicates to Kate that it was more than just a simple robbery. The first half of the book describes Kate and Ed cornering the killer. The fact that the killer, himself, was hurt badly is a big help to Kate as well as the description given by one of Teddie friends, Gloria. Watching Kate using her interrogative skills to trap this man is very tense, especially since she knows that without a confession all they have is circumstantial evidence. As good as the "law" part of the story is, the "order" part is really more fascinating and suspenseful. Kate has found out that the killer's attorney is someone she knows slightly but someone who knows her secret. Throughout the trial, she wonders how he will try to bring it out and taint her testimony. Sadly, no matter what the outcome of this fictional trial, Forrest shows that gaybashing is alive and well in these United States.

I read this book in one afternoon. I was drawn in by the emotion of the killing as well as the trial. I found this book to display the court system at it's weakest and loved the heroine, Kate.

I loved this book. I just found the Kate Delafield series and can't wait to read all the books in this series.

In the Delafield series, this book ranks as one of the most, if not the most, meaningful stories. It didn't have the love scenes I so deeply enjoy reading but the story line more than made up for that. Excellent reading!

_Murder by Tradition_ is an excellent fictionalized account of an actual, brutal, premeditated murder of a gay man, for no reason other than the fact that he was gay. The story is very well told and I didn't want to put the book down from beginning to end.

The first half is devoted to the discovery of the facts of the case and of the identity of the killer. The second half the story of the trial. The suspense is not in discovering the identity of the gaybasher, but in whether or not he will escape punishment.

The victim was stabbed 39 times and bled to death, but the killer has deep wounds on his own hands and claims he was defending himself from a gay man who tried to force him to have sex. There were no witnesses. Can Detective Kate Delafield discover the clues that will convince a jury of what really happened?

This is the first book I would recommend to anyone wanting to understand (1) the agenda of Muslim extremist groups, and (2) what draws people to their "cause".

Kepel argues that the extremist groups have been around since the departure of the European imperialist powers, seeking to create a "pan-Muslim" state as an alternative to the secular nation-states that occupy the region today. Naiive, groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood were easily subverted, repressed and generally thought of as harmless until the assassination of Anwar Sadat.

Citing the poverty, lack of opportunity and political repression as the fertile ground that created these groups, Kepel sympathetically goes on to discuss their agenda - essentially that "secular" "nation-states" are alien and counter to the history and culture of the Islamic world. Truly and outstanding book.

This is the work that made the now imminent French scholar of Islamism famous. Kepel was more or less the first scholar to frame "Muslim Extremism" as 1) an extremist phenomenon and 2) a real political threat to the region in such an explicit fashion. As such, this work has been much debated and criticized; however, it still remains a classic in the field.

Ideally, Kepel's work should be read in tandem with Mitchell's work on the Muslim Brothers as Kepel himself seemed to see this work as the follow-up to Mitchell's groundbreaking work. Mitchell's work stopped at the incarceration of the Brotherhood after the Free Officers now longer found their support politically desirable or expedient, and basically, Kepel's picks up at that point-the inhumanity of the prisons, the gallows, and the torture rooms.

Unlike Mitchell's work, however, Kepel's study is not confined to a study of the Muslim Brotherhood but is a study of the radicalization of the Islamic trend in Egypt which splinter into many factional, competing parts-at times as a result of state initiatives as under Sadat. The differing policies of the Nasser and Sadat regime are compared, the influence of Sayyid Qutb emphasized, the moderation and political compromise of the Muslim Brotherhood emphasized, and the desperation and impoverishment of the violent groups such as al-Jama'at al-Islamiyyah and Takfir wa-l-Hijrah are cited as their sources. These all became classic themes in the field. Kepel's work demonstrates that the sources of political Islam are as varied as its social manifestations.

This is one of the most comprehensive and well-documented study and analyses of the islamic fundamentalist groups in modern Egypt that has seen the light up to the present. I read it from start-to-end in a run, so involving is the matter it researches as the way in which it is written. An authoritative essay and a source of information on one of the most shocking issues of the last (and present) century, focused on one of the less known areas about religious terrorism. The translation from the French edition is accurate and confiable. A title you can not miss if you are engaged in studying the subject or merely in knowing more about it. Highly recommended!

This book was written over 20 years ago, long before anyone focused on the possible consequences of a growing menace to humanity in the guise of Islamic fanatics calling the masses back to the founding tenants of Islam. Kepel lived in Egypt and spent a lot of time researching and reading what was happening in the 70's and 80's as well as examining the causes and consequences of Islamic calls to jihad and having Muslims continue their conquest of the earth in the name of Allah.
This book shows how Egypt's experiment with socialism resulted in a corrupt, dishonest, and totally failed state. Kepel points out the costs of this experiment by showing that the state created a horrific perfect storm, using the establishment of Israel as the ultimate bogeyman to deflect the masses attention away from the failures of socialism. Essentially the Egyptians were no different than the other kleptocracies in the Middle East and held the hand puppet of Israel as the focus of attention while the other hand deprived the general population of any semblance of a decent standard of living. Kepel's insights into the assassination of Sadat because of his overtures to Israel were most enlightening, essentially showing that Sadat was killed by forces he had nourished with years of hatred toward modernity. Carter and his advisors probably still do not understand to this day what damage they did in the Camp David accords when Sadat traded Soviet handouts for American ones. The view held by the vast majority of Muslims in the Middle East of the American-Zionist plot to overtake the Middle East was cemented and fermented in the accord. It took another generation for it to come to fruition in 9/11, but it all started there. Kepel was not aware of Carter's funding of the Mujahadeen in Afghanistan in the 70's at the same time so is not able to link the beginnings of bin Laden's lunatic fringe groups as well. Another interesting observation by Kepel, which is now becoming more apparent is that the Islamic social code of the separation of the sexes lends itself to sexual frustration on the part of the massive numbers of young and horny Muslims so that the lure of 72 virgins may well be the primary recruiting tool for the jihadists to get them to be a "martyr" by committing suicide and getting the sex they cannot get in their own societies.
Having traveled throughout Egypt many times myself, I can say that the classic "jelly bean" theory has come to pass. Feed the bear a jelly bean to ward him off will only work as long as you still have jelly beans. When you run out, be prepared to be the next meal of the bear.
A great book, especially given its date of publication. It was far ahead of its time. If only the idiots in the US State Department, CIA, or FBI had read it, the prime instigator of the first attack on the World Trade Center would have been banned from the US instead of being allowed entry after the Egyptians arrested him for his terrorist activities in the 1980's.

This is without a doubt one of the best and most readable texts on the subject of the rise of Islamist movements in Egypt. It also works as a fitting sequel to Doanld Mitchell's groundbreaking volume - the only one of its kind ever translated into Arabic - on the Ikhwan al-Muslimin, the Muslim Brotherhood written almost two decades earlier. The book describes the social, historical and economic context behind the Islamist movements neither resorting to apologetic arguments or righteous accusations. Kepel shows that Egyptian Islamist organizations have adopted a variety of approaches that are, more often than not, peaceful such as to effectively constitute what may be civil society in Egypt. Indeed, such organizations as the Islamic Brotherhood in Egypt have recently shown that some compromise is possible with the representatives of the status-quo as well as with rival factions by participating in national elections, such as to avoid a civil war scenario. The Muslim Brotherhood of Egypt now opposes government policy from a legal and regulated official position but it faces pressure from more radical Islamist groups.
Nonetheless, intractable socio-economic problems have made it ever more difficult to contain unrest. The continuing reduction of the public sector since the late '70s and the failure to stimulate private economic enterprise has made it even harder for Egypt to sustain the precarious economic conditions that stimulate Islamist unrest. Although the Egypt achieved significant development in the '50s and '60s, it has pursued misguided economic policies that have fallen short of their potential. The benefits of the oil boom after 1973 and the Sadat-Mubarak economic liberalization policies that followed were mismanaged. Economic liberalization was primarily directed in the speculative construction and real estate sectors and failed to attract foreign investment in other labor intensive and professional areas. Unemployment persisted as the State reduced spending in conformance to IMF debt re-structuring that by 1986 brought about a gradual erosion of the human development achievements of the '50s and '70s. The series of economic reforms benefited the already wealthy. Islamist organizations have also gained popularity by absorbing the void left by the declining State.
Support and membership for such organizations has cut across class and income barriers and is representative of the frustration of a large portion of society, and youth in particular, with the current political establishment in Egypt. The government has not offered viable solutions to problems of unemployment, housing shortages, deteriorating municipal services or the poor quality of health care and education. Kepel also shows that Islamist organizations have solved problems that the government has been unable or unwilling to confront. Unlike government and private banks, the Islamic Brotherhood has operated Islamic Investment Companies (IIC) since the mid-'70s that have provided a real positive rate of interest. Ultimately, in view of chronic economic difficulties and the Government of Egypt's inability to adopt serious reform and tackle the problems of poverty and unemployment seriously makes Egypt very vulnerable to the zeal and violence of militant Islam.

Grab this book while you can. The NAKED LONDON book is out of print already.

This book taps into the deepest part of human curiosity, namely what does everybody around you look like with their clothes off. It's like ordering the x-ray glasses from the back of the comic book and having them really work! When I got this book I sat for hours with a couple of friends fighting over which page to look at, making comments on this photo or that one, engaged in discussions of whether tattooed people where more likely to want to take their clothes off, etc. It is a very honest and straightforward look at people's most intimate side and very well shot. Definitely worth buying.

Besides what may be its voyeur value for some, "NAKED LOS ANGELES" also shows what it is to be real and unvarnished. The naked self that many of us see in the morning before we dress for the day, though many of us are at times loathe to embrace and accept it. Friedler, through this book, shows us people who are brave and honest enough to throw off pretense and bare themselves unabashedly. Well done! Take heart when reading this book and be proud of your naked self, too.

A lot of people would think this is quite a boring book, but I found it fascinating to see how much clothing changes someone's appearance. It just reinforces the idea that we're all naked under our clothes.

Both Naked NY and Naked LA are wonderful human studies and are highly recommended. The contrast between the New Yorkers and Anglinos is facinating.

Frankly, this book cost more than I usually pay for a bottle of wine. If this book were a bottle of wine, I would buy a case of it and share it with my very best friends. After savoring this classy book the wine you experience will never be the same.

Even though Steven Rothfeld's photographs of the Napa Valley and Chef Michael Chiarello's gorgeous presentation of some outstanding cuisine are very pleasing to the eye, the most impressive thing about this book is the history of Napa Valley that unfolds between the photographs.

This book is a beautiful seminar on how amazing it is that you can actually buy so many good bottles of wine. Although I have been to Napa Valley on several occasions and have taken more than a few tours through the various wineries, I did not fully appreciate all that is involved in making a good vintage.

The history of this famous valley and the many trials and tribulations of the wine makers along with the fickle role of Nature that goes into that bottle of wine you just uncorked will make that first sip a lot more meaningful.

This book is amazing. The stories told by the families are so rich and real that one truly begins to understand why the Napa Valley is so special. Michael Chiarello really does such a nice job with the families in the style and respect he shows (just as I have seen in his Tra Vigne Cookbook, and his PBS shows - Season by Season, and Michael Chiarello's Napa). The photography really brings one right into parts of the Napa Valley that have only been known previously by the people that live there. The recipes are so special too, as they come from the kitchens of these families and from Chiarello. This is simply the best book ever on this very special and beautiful place...America's Tuscany.

Put it this way folks...if it has Michael's name anyway affiliated with it, you can do no wrong by picking it up. Be it his cookbooks, product lines, restaurant, etc. Same holds true with this, lesser known (sadly), work. It is simply a gorgeous, gorgeous treatise to Napa Valley, and as a San Francisco native now living far away from home, I treasure this book. I find that I probably cannot muster together the adequate words to do it justice, but at this price (Bargain priced now), definitely get it. You will not regret it.

This book is an absolute delight. The sheer intimacy of the stories make you feel like an insider, and it provides an insight to the pioneering spirit that has created an industry. I was completely (and very pleasantly) unprepared for how much I enjoyed this book. It is truly a treasure.

The perfect compliment to a great Zin! Passionate and personal accounts of what moved some of the most interesting vintners to create great wines and how they celebrated their accomplishments. Unlike any book I've seen on the Napa Valley, and Michael brings alive the stories and traditions that make this place unique!

I was lucky enough to spend three days in the Napa Valley twenty years ago and I've always wished that my family and I had spent more time there than in San Francisco. But now, thanks to Charles Feil and Ernest Rose, I can go back to Napa again and again and again.

Stunning is the only adjective that accurately describes the photographs in this wonderful coffee table book. From "a churning sea of fog (that) floods the landscape" to hot air balloon drifting over the Valley and the delightful changes of the seasons, Napa Valley---A View from Above takes viewers on their own little vacation to paradise!

Wine lovers, artists, nature lovers and everyone in between will enjoy the small inscription of the seven regions and the many wineries that make California a top-notch competitor for wines, romance, climate and sheer beauty with the most enviable regions of France and Italy.

Come, put your feet up, and take a mini-vacation right there on your couch and enjoy the fabulous views of Napa Valley!

Napa Valley: A View From Above By Charles Feil And Ernest Rose is a full-color photographic celebration of the renowned wine-making Napa Valley of California. Sweeping aerial views dominate the lavish expanse of this remarkable book; few captions interrupt the majesty of the images themselves. Napa Valley: A View From Above is an enthusiastically recommended sky-high feast for the eyes of Napa Valley's natural and cultivated wonders.

Stunning photographs of America's number one wine region. Every page of this masterpiece is a feast for the eyes.

If you have no idea where the Napa Valley is, or that it is an exquisite little Eden, & if you like the wines that come to you from this delightful part of California, then A VIEW FROM ABOVE NAPA VALLEY will be a grand adventure.

Come fly with Charles Feil in his gyroplane, & see the mists over the patchworks of vineyards, the rows of vines as they undulate over rolling hillsides, the startling & poignant blends of water, trees, roads & fields; catch glimpses of the elegant architecture of the wineries, hot airballoons over sunset fogs.

Perhaps the most telling feature, as we glide above this inspiring landscape, is that all the things we human have made are foursquare & angled, whereas all the vines nurtured & groomed, are in flowing patterns following the contours of the earth.

There are so many photos that take my breath away & the fabric of corduroy often came to mind.

A great gift idea!

Not to brag, but I have personally seen California's famed Napa Valley, the foremost wine-growing region in America, from above - courtesy of a half-hour glider tour I took some years ago. Of course the sights I saw from that airborne vantage point have faded from memory, so I was pleased to receive this lovely book that provides much of the same experience to the general reader (without requiring you to strap into a fiberglass flying machine). A number of towns, well-known vineyards, and geographic features such as the Napa hills and Lake Berryessa are all seen here from the expert eagle's-eye view. This book is one in a series from veteran high-flying photographer Charles Feil; through his lens you can also look down on Maine, Massachusetts, Vermont, and Key West. If you want to get the lay of the land before planning a trip to Napa, this volume provides a spectacular overview. - D. Patrick Miller for the FEARLESS REVIEWS

Ms. Gunn definitely put her heart and soul into Nowhere to Run. From the very first sentence the reader is catapulted into the world of Cassie Lee and Solomon. With a sharp eye for detail and the ability to write beautiful imagery, she really delivers! In a time when African Americans had absolutely no rights as human beings, her characters showed the kind of strength and resilience worthy of hero worship. Yes, Nowhere to Run is romantic and sensual (for you diehard romance readers). However the author displayed the kind of depth we've come to expect from so-called 'serious' reads, the kind that top the New York Times Bestseller lists. I've seen books that make that list which truly don't live up to the honor. Nowhere to Run should have been there when it debuted. But perhaps you, the reader, can get the word out now: THIS BOOK IS A MUST READ!!! 'Nuff said?

I saw this book in the store for the longest time. The cover kind of turned me away from it. One day I read what the book was about and thought that this would be an intresting novel and it was. This book was the bomb, Cassie Lee was such a strong heroin to me she over came many obstacles and let's not mention Solomon what a man. This wasn't your typical romance book.

The old west was s very important time in history and it is truly wonderful to finally see more black western love story emerging. I loved Cassie Lee and Solomon story and I hated to see the book end. Well done, and I hope to see more historically western black love stories in the future.

The story of Cassie Lee and Solomon Hawk will make you laugh and make you cry. It is a strong story of love, of family and forever.

The character of Cassie Lee captured me at the beginning and carried me through the entire book! Cassie Lee was a slave whose dream was to become free and rich. She was purchashed to become the wife of a powerful and rich black man. I know you're thinking..."Now, If she has all of the right ingredients, then there is no way that her dreams could not have been acheived!" WRONG! Choosing not to accept the conditions and treatment that she was given, she left with NOWHERE TO RUN!

She was no longer a slave, but she was still poor. Continuing with half of her goals accomplished, she remained honest and hardworking throughout her many trials.

In the end, not only did she become rich and free, she did it CASSIE LEE's way!! YOU GO GIRL!

I found this book in the middle of nowhere at Barnes & Noble and I am SO glad that I found it. This might be the best book I have ever read.

This is a wonderful book; staring with the beginning and going all they way through till the present day. The forward is written by Nolan Ryan; my favorite Player of all time; I have such vivid memories of Ryan on the Angels, from His 4th No Hitter against the Baltimore Orioles on June 1st 1975 angels 1 Baltimore 0), which I listened to on a bright and sunny Saturday on KMPC 710 AM in cali with Dick Enburg and Don Drysdale announcing; to his near no hitters, to all the strikeouts, to the 79 Playoff game; what great excitement. I was so sorry to see the Angels make a big mistake and let him go to Houston. I also enjoyed the introduction; where Goldman talks to Leroy Stanton. What memories this all brings back. I have been an Angels fan for a long long time and the first game that I got to go to was early in the 1975 season, It was against the White Sox and Leroy Stanton Hit a Walk off game Winning Home run in the 10th and the (California) Angel's won 4-3. I can still remember the starting line up that day some of whom were; Dave Chalk, Joe Lahoud, Jerry Remy (Rem-dog), John Balaz, Rudy Maeoli, Elli Rodriguez, Mickey Rivers, Morris Nettles, Dick Lange and Tommy Harper. What Winsome and Wonderful memories. The Book is centered around 10 interviews with 10 great Angles players; Rod Carew, Jim Fregosi, Don Baylor, Nolan Ryan, Dean Chance, Albie Pearson, Alex Johnson, Reggie Jackson, and Jim Abbott; and about there individual Angels teams the personality's on those teams on and off the filed. Goodman covers there whole History from the beginnings to today and he does it though the players, coaches, and fans eyes. He really centers on there character and what Characters some of them were and are. Some of this history I know, but I am leaning so much I did not know and am grateful for the education. Goodman, who was a bat boy for the Angels in the mid 70's, has done a great job hear, he covers the good, bad and the ugly and the championship (2002) and this is a MUST READ for every angels fan.

This book covers the history of the Angels from the earliest days at Wrigley Field in West Los Angeles to the world championship team of 2002 and beyond. Lots of memories, not just from the main interviews with Angel greats like Carew, Abbott and Fregosi, but with the lesser known players that make the history really come alive. If you like the Angels, this book is a definite must. Reading this brought back a lot of memories of sitting in the cheap seats ($2.00 general admission!) for the '79 division championship. Jimmie Reese will never die!!

This is like no other baseball book I've ever read in my life. Whether you're an Angels fans or just a baseball junky like me, you'll love reading this book. It's written from the point of view of some of the greatest players of the game and will give you unique insights about what it was really like to be a member of the Angels - from the club's expansion year until they became world champions in 2002. I read this book over a weekend and was really impressed by Mr. Goldman's excellent writing and the specific, never before told details about each player's special contributions to the game and to life. If you're a fan of baseball, how can you NOT be interested in knowing more than the usual 15 second soundbites on Sportscenter about Rod Carew, Reggie Jackson or Nolan Ryan? If you're looking at buying a baseball book stop your search right now and pick up a copy of Once They Were Angels. It's a must read for true fans of America's pastime. You'll love it, just like I did!

I had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Goldman at the annual PCL Reunion show last month and purchased this book for a friend who is a lifelong Angels fan. As I looked over the book that weekend, my only regret was not buying a signed copy for myself.

This is one outstanding book and a must-have if you're an Angels fan. The anecdotes and interviews from former Angels past and present are all here and include names such as Bo Belinsky, Dean Chance, Jim Fregosi, Nolan Ryan, Rod Carew, Reggie Jackson, etc. All in all, this is one helluva great read.