California Books

I read this book as part of a research project that I'm doing. Mr. McKenna did an outstanding job of presenting historical facts, bibliographic material and his own opinions. I highly recommend this book to anyone wanting to further understand the Southern Philippines and the growing strength of the Muslim movement.

Dr. McKenna has obviously spent a great deal of time and study in the southern Philippines. His insights are thought-provoking. I highly recommend this book.

This volume gives us an interesting ethnography of an impoverished slum in Cotabato City called Campo Muslim. The author protracts his study of the slum to encompass anthropological contributions to understanding Gramscian hegemony, nationalism, colonial histories, formation of new, post-traditional elites, and subaltern resistance. Most useful in this book is the account of the construction of Muslim national identity and the account of the elections in the late 80s wherein the Muslim and Islamist participants made an unexpectedly poor showing giving most of the victories to Christian candidates. Parts of the book are uneven; however, the account is consistent to his methodology from the outside and he allows the information to lead him--always be circumspect that ideology or presuppositions don't lead his interpretations by the nose at least in matters of peasant politics. In other words, the peasant remains an autonomous political actor that doesn't merely parrot and conform to the requests of the socially more advantaged.

The most glaring flaw in the book was what I personally found to be an over-identification with Muslim Filippinos over and against Christian Filippinos. Armed separatist movements are portrayed sympathetically, whereas 'Christian' efforts, whether in terms of national integration, militant attemtps to stop succession, and even charity are treated as all being pernicious acts directed against Muslims. One example was the characterization of Mother Theresa's charity for children in the city as being 'perverse' without any such acerbic criticisms for the vicious effects of separatism movement and the deaths it caused given. The same goes for foreign actors. In the work, American actions in the Philippines are sinister and undermine Philippine Muslim identity; whereas, Libyan, Saudi Arabian, and Egyptian interference are merely catalysts for social change.

I'd been flying to and from Cotabato City, the site of Mckenna's research, almost every month for last few months. I'm a Catholic, but the fact is, if you are on business in Cotabato City, you talk to and deal with Muslims. The Muslims I met, Maguindanaons for the most part, were personable and likeable. They're nothing like the vagabond bad guys I heard about from my elders in the 70s, my growing up years and the years of the war in Mindanao.

I also have Catholic relatives who've been there since the 1930s. In one of the early chapters of his book, McKenna wrote that many Christians in Cotabato City knew next to nothing about how Muslims really live and what Muslims really are because they choose not to know.

I believe he's correct since what my Christian cousins and friends say, which is sometimes patronizing and not at all complimentary, do not seem to mesh with what I know of the Muslims I've met in the course of work. In my conversations with my Muslim associates, they eagerly welcome inquiries about what Islam is all about but they are not about to insist that you convert to Islam.

But then again, my cousins and friends been living there for years on end so they should know what they're talking about, right? These days, Cotabato City is a city unlike any I've been to in the Philippines, even among the bigger cities in Mindanao. There is an almost equal number of Christians and Muslims and the physical features of the city reflect this.

I have yet to test this theory, but I think McKenna's book might prove provocative to Muslims who espouse separatism or federalism (as a "softer" form of separatism). McKenna traces the beginnings of a separate Muslim identity to gentle tending by American educators of young Muslim minds who went on to become national leaders and local datus.

I'll be sending a copy of the book to a conservative Muslim Maguindanaon who had some harsh words to say about the 1898 Treaty of Paris and the Americans who governed Mindanao thereafter. It would be interesting to find out what he thinks after reading Mckenna, who wrote mostly of his people, the Maguindanaons.

On another level, I believe this book should be required reading for all Filipinos. Our required history courses concentrate too much on Philippine history in Luzon and the Visayas. We Christian Filipinos hardly know anything about Mindanao except that our national hero, Jose Rizal, was exiled in Dapitan in Zamboanga. (Now, what we know is that Basilan, also in Western Mindanao is the site of the Balikatan activities of American and Filipino soldiers against the Abu Sayyaf, and that Zamboanga is the city center for the Americans.)

The reasons for the rebellion of Christian Filipinos against Spanish and American rule are analyzed to death in our history books and even given symbolic parallels to the Passion of Christ. But no narration even of the Mindanao rebellion against colonial rule is part of our required reading in Philippine history.

During one visit to Cotabato City, an old Maguindanaoan lady proudly told me, a Filipina Catholic from Luzon with a Spanish name and an American education, that her people had never been colonized unlike my forebears. I had nothing to say. But I would be honored if she considered me her countrywoman in spite of everything.

Just the other night, I watched a documentary feature of a battle fought to the death by Maranaos, another Muslim group, against the Americans in 1902 in the town of Bayang in Lanao del Sur. After the battle, only five Maranao men were left alive. Even women and children were killed, their bodies dumped in the trenches. Around 10 American soldiers were killed. American sources tell the story that towards the end of the battle, a white flag was flown outside the fort in Bayang. Thus, they say, the Maranaos surrendered. Actually, among Muslims, a white flag is flown to indicate a death.

Desperate times call for desperate measures, so the saying goes. But what if, in your desperation, you are alone, with nothing but the clothes on your back? And, then, what if you lose those clothes, too? Such are the desperate times of 24-year-old Rita Jackson, who finds herself homeless on the streets of San Francisco, trying to avoid heroin and prostituting herself for money for booze, cigarettes and cheap motel rooms. Rita is the sad, lonely and unforgettable protagonist of Kim Addonizio's new novel, MY DREAMS OUT IN THE STREET.

After a nasty fight, Rita's husband, the dashing and only slightly less dysfunctional Jimmy, storms out of their apartment. By the time we meet them a year later, they have lost each other in the city. Rita circles the city, visiting the places they frequented together. She has lost everything in the previous year, starting with her husband, until she is homeless and strung out --- with no money, no ID and eventually no clothes. She is haunted by her past --- a childhood filled with abandonment, rape, abuse and even murder. Without Jimmy (and even with him), she drinks to numb herself but feels guilty and ashamed of her actions and even for the things done against her.

Jimmy is looking for Rita, but with less intensity as Rita's search for him. He is working as a waiter in a fancy restaurant and has an apartment where he can listen to his blues records. He hangs out in bars with friends, trying (mostly unsuccessfully) to stay out of trouble. He gets a tattoo with Rita's name under a heart, but twice he sees her, disheveled and alone on the street, and doesn't go to her. He, too, is overcome with guilt and shame.

After Rita witnesses a crime in the hallway of a scummy motel, she meets Gary Shepard, a private investigator assigned to the case. Charming and strong, Gary at first feels like a safe presence for Rita. But his attraction to her becomes too intense, and she's still in love with Jimmy. Soon, Rita's life is spiraling down faster than ever. She and Gary end up together in a motel with no belongings and very little money, and a killer is after her because of what she saw in the motel hallway. After leaving Gary, she becomes vulnerable to the madman's clutches; still, she seeks Jimmy and holds on to the hope of their reunion.

MY DREAMS OUT IN THE STREET is intense and gritty. Rita, Jimmy, Gary and the other shadowy characters are all damaged and depressed, violent to themselves and to others. But this is also a love story. Jimmy and Rita seem, in the traditional literary sense, destined to be together --- it's just a matter of finding their way to each other again. We are not given a concrete conclusion but are left feeling hopeful for the couple in the near future (although to contemplate their long-term success doesn't engender much hope at all).

Addonizio's prose is light and forthright --- a realism verging on lyricism, without sentimentality but not lacking beauty. MY DREAMS OUT IN THE STREET is short but doesn't feel sparse at all, and in fact readers may be left wanting more. This is a dark and disturbing, yet oddly romantic, summer tale worth checking out.

--- Reviewed by Sarah Rachel Egelman

Well, this is an amazing book. I've known Addonizio was a phenomenal poet (my personal favorite), but now it seems she is a fantastic fiction writer as well. This book has easily made my list of favorites. It's a tragic love story that picks up where her book of poems, Jimmy & Rita, leaves off. It's a quest that these two young people have in finding each other and the pitfalls that life places in their way. I look forward to more from Addonizio.

I have been a fan of Kim Addonizio's work for several years now. I own and have read almost all of her poetry and fiction. Her latest novel "My Dreams Out in the Street" amplifies her versatility as a poet and fiction writer. She is an inspiration to any woman who seeks to write vivid and honest stories or poems.
I finished this book in three days and later felt bad for going through it so fast, but it was that compelling. The pictures she paints of Jimmy and Rita's lives are gritty and beautiful at the same time. The reader feels every thing that they feel with Addonizio's precise, descriptive language. I highly recommend this book as well as her other works. She'll have you hooked.

Kim Addonizio is a marvelous original. She writes like a divine union of Flannery O'Conner and Virginia Woolf, William Faulkner and Raymond Chandler. She's one of the most unadorned, artful spiritual writers I know.

My Dreams Out in the Street has everything I look for in a contemporary novel.

Rita, its lead character, is compelling. Alternately sexy, mysterious, stupid, resourceful, and inept, She moves through San Francisco's underbelly with unflagging desperation. Struggling to survive, Rita is one of those people who never got an even break. She wants to climb out of the hole she's in to a better life, but doesn't know how. She's hungry to get right with God, who appeared to her once in a childhood vision but has been woefully absent since, and she wants to find Jimmy, her husband who left their apartment one night after an argument and disappeared. Along the way, she sees something she shouldn't, is hunted by a psychotic deadbeat, and hooks up with a married private investigator who helps her and promises to find Jimmy.

The story alternates between these three points of view, and Addonizio does a masterful job of interweaving the characters' separate-yet-parallel stories, especially through the last third of the book as the plot quickens and various elements come together in surprising, satisfying ways. Without giving away everything, I can tell you that I lost two good nights' sleep fearing that Rita would soon be murdered.

All through the narrative, Addonizio's eye for nuance, description, and detail is a gifted poet's eye. Her depictions of homelessness and desperate urban street life are achingly poignant and scary. And yet, and yet! She believes in grace, in spiritual integrity:

"The streetlights came on all together. Lights began flaring in windows up and down the block, where people were returning to families or friends, looking forward to the holiday; soon they would give thanks, grateful to spend a few hours with those they had chosen or been given to love, those they had gathered around them to help them live."

I wish I'd written that! Reward yourself for any little or big thing and spend some time with this book. If you're paying attention, if you've got a pulse, you can't help but fall in love with these characters and their creator.

--Robert McDowell, the Poetry Mentor & author of Poetry as Spiritual Practice, which is coming (July, 2008) from Free Press/Simon & Schuster.

I could not put My Peaceful Forest by Elaine Breen down until I had read the entire book! Whether you're a resident of Pacific Grove, California, or not, Elaine's insight and humor will keep you turning the pages. My Peaceful Forest will make you smile, will tug at your heart a little but mainly is a simple tale of life and it's ups and downs from a Mother's, Grandmother's, and Wife's perspective.

Elaine's writing makes you laugh and cry and wish you were sitting with her in the park! I had to put the book down so I wouldn't finish the whole book the first day!

"My Peaceful Forest" is hilarious! Give yourself a treat and turn off that computer and cell phone for an hour, and I guarantee you will smile all the way through this refreshing book. If we all viewed life through the eyes of this author, society would be stress-free indeed! It's easy to relate to the lighthearted memoirs of this REAL family. Elaine Breen epitomizes the phrase, "stop and smell the roses".

I loved "My Peaceful Forest"! Elaine has such a refreshing writing style. I just came in from shoveling a foot of snow, and I curled up to a warm fire, a cup of tea and got lost in this book. It's best to read it when you want to get away from it all after a tough day. 105 pages of delight. It makes you want to visit the village of Pacific Grove, have a piece of apple pie at Toasties or sitting on the park bench watching the seals and otters swimming near the beach (but not together). I share Elaine's love of cows and Snickers bars. I wonder if you sprinkle chocolate chips on a cow, will you get chocolate milk? (you have to read the book to understand that). Anyway, great job once again Elaine! May God be with you when you bring your '82 Volvo in for its 500,000 mile checkup....I can't wait for your next book.

book came in excellent condition, on time, as expected.

The Nan Jing is a fundamental book in the study of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM).
A lot of books of TSM were translated, but often the translation is not correct or definitively wrong or bizarre.
In this case we have a monumental work with a unique coincidence of positive situations.
The author of the revision is Paul Unshuld, a giant of the study of TCM.
Absolutely no doubt on the knowledge of the language and the understanding of the text.
The original text is present in the book and Paul added the main commentary at the text written by the most famous studious of TCM of all ages.
If you love TCM and you want to understand all subtle questions of this fine art, this is a book you must have.
A concentrate of Chinese TCM, language and culture like no other book.

Unschuld is a scholar, a genuine translator that doesn't leave much to the imagination. His understanding of the cultural contexts (as there are many) in which TCM grew are un-matched in terms of written text. Get his books, if not for the honest look he takes at TCM, but for the fact that his works are the bread and butter of TCM. The gross ignorance of the classics among so called "Doctors of TCM" in the western world is amazing. Don't guess about TCM, either learn to read Chinese or get good translations of the classics. Not pocket translations at a American grade five reading level. If we expect people to view us as Doctors, we should study like one.

If your professors don't quote the classics, they don't understand TCM. If you haven't read them you're really limiting your potential.

This book is the most profound, deep work that has ever been done on this book. As practitioners of Chinese medicine we allways read and give attention to the two books of the Huang Ti Nei Ching,the Su Wen and the Ling Shu. The nan Ching is a must for every Chinese Medicine practitioner. This book gives many aspects that made me think again on theories and practical aspects that I use every day as teacher and practitioner.
It is pointless to mention the vast knowledge and contribution that Pro. Unsculd bring to the field, saying that it is allways has been great to read his books.

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.

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 have found the National Geographic Traveler books to be ideal when planning a visit to a city. The San Francisco book seems up to the usual standards. These books cover the more interesting attractions, including some great photos, and are organized by area, which makes it easier to select what you want to see and plan your days. Another feature which should not be overlooked is the section in the back, which recommends some excellent restaurants.

If you plan to buy a Guide for San Fransisco,you really owe it to yourself to check out this one.It covers everything you want in a guide and does a supurb job in all respects.First of all the construction is excellent. Nat.Geo.publish a Guide to Birds of North America,and make them so good that they are able to take a phenomenal amount of use and even abuse.Birders get daily use of them for years and I have never seen or heard of one coming apart.If anything,they are built too good-a rare thing today.If one were to use this guide every day,you would still be using it a year later.The paper,printing,color,etc.could not be better.Most travel guides are pretty ratty after a short time and you will be amazed ,that this book will stay in great shape.The detail of information could not be better.It is full of excellent photos,maps,directions,and organized very well.Of course it is excellent as a travel guide,but it will serve as well as an excellent resource to keep handy whenever you want to find information on any historical or other points of interest in the city.There are a lot of great drawings of the interior of buildings,such as the Sutro Baths,museums,Alcatraz,Early History and many neighborhoods and personalities.There is also a section on excursions,The Peninsula & Silicon Valley,Monteray Peninsula,Carmel-by-the-Sea,Berkley,Oakland,Marin County,Napa Valley,Sonoma Valley,Yosemite National Park and Lake Tahoe.And of course lots of info on travel,accomodations,shopping,dining,and just about anything you'd want to know about one of the most enjoyable cities in North America.Not only will it serve you well when visiting San Francisco,but will also serve as a great way to remember it all.

This is one of the best guidebooks I have encountered that covers San Francisco as a whole. First of all, the layout is excellent (as one would hope for from National Geographic). The sections for each neighborhood are color-coded for easy access and each neighborhood features a great map that not only highlights attractions, but a feature that shows you where that neighborhood is located within the city--this is enormously helpful in putting the pieces of the city together into a coherent whole, and should be a feature in every city guidebook.

Second, the guidebook includes all major attractions and a number of the minor ones. Descriptions are brief, but adequate. The guidebook excels at giving great tidbits about SF history and of the changing character and culture of its neighborhoods (though be warned that they are slightly racy at times).

Third, the photographs are fabulous and do a great job of highlighting some of San Francisco's sights that must be 'seen'. This is particurarly well-done as the guidebook covers a lot of ground (dedicating space to all major parts of SF, not just the ones most visited) and uses photos to achieve maximum efficiency to convey information to the reader.

My complaints with the guide are few. The hotel and restaurant descriptions are included in their own section in the back. This allows each neighborhood section to be more compact (and accessible) but probably requires a bit more flipping to find a lunch when in a given neighborhood. In addition, the guidebook uses a price coding system that makes it more difficult to figure out how much hotels and restaurants cost (though, in their defense, they do repeat the key to the coding system every other page unlike most guidebooks that hide it somewhere in the introduction).

The other complaints I had were that the section on excursions outside of San Francisco was too rudimentary to be of much use--if you plan to go elsewhere in the Bay Area, you should compliment this book with one that has a better focus on Bay Area attractions. Finally the transit map on the back cover is not helpful. National Geographic tries to represent bus lines as being akin to the London Underground (with no attention to geographic realities)--this representation won't help you catch a bus. Get a Muni transit map once you get to San Francisco.

That being said, if you want a solid guide to the city of San Francisco itself--this guidebook from National Geographic is a good bet.

This guide has beautiful photographs and interesting maps of the various sections of the city and would have been perfectly adequate alone, but my wife and I also had Eyewitness Travel Guides'San Francisco and Northern California. I found the information in Eyewitness more relevant and helpful. The real surprise is that the maps provided by Eyewitness were better than the vaunted Geographic!

I read this book for an introductory cultural anthropology course I took for personal enrichment. Although it does not at all explore the conflict between Israelis & Palestinians, it did give me some astounding insights into why conflicts in that region of the world seem so intractable to Westerners. It reveals how personal and political identities are created in societies and cultures that are tribal and oral. It challenges easy assumptions that writing things down is simple and desirable, and that talking produces political peace.

This book is a scholarly ethnography with the footnotes and discussion of theory and methodology requried in such books, and it is not a leisurely, easy read. But the diligent reader is rewarded with some eye-popping realizations about a culture that is very different from ours, some beautifully evocative tales from the Bedouin tradition, and even some flashes of perhaps unintended humor in Shryock's accounts of his present-day efforts to track down the 'truth' in a setting that makes the American red-state/blue-state rift blur into a pale shade of lilac.

I am an admitted egghead who enjoys academic writing more than the average person, but I intend to read this book again now that I am beyond the requirements of the college course that first brought it to my attention. Perhaps Sec. of State Rice might also enjoy it?

The author does an excellent job of skirting the volatile plausibility of transcribing oral histories to the written word. For anyone wanting to understand both the intricacies and basic histories of the Jordanian Balga Bedouin, it is a fascinating read. Having a Jordanian father and a Palestinian mother, I especially enjoyed Shryock's investigation into their age-old rivalries. Tribalism is alive and well, as Shryock adeptly shows, and he brings it to us in clear and cunning detail.

Andrew Shryock is the oldest of five boys. All the brothers are very close and that is why I, his youngest brother, am very proud of his work. All the brothers will be home for Christmas and will anticipate reading his work of art. Andrew is a great writer as well as a great person. Number Five, Benjamin Shryock.

Andrew Shryock captures the fragmented nature of oral histories among the Bedouin tribes of a Jordanian region known as the Balga. This text, which is actually an ethnography, brings into relief greater concepts of history that are often not obvious. The histories that Andrew collects have never been written, except a few segments in travelogues. This brings to mind questions about the unsubstantiated faith in written historical texts. Andrew illustrates that it is possible to interrogate the oral histories in the same way other historians interrogate archival data. Questions of the source of the document, the identity of the author, the comparison of data with other sources creates a "complete reality" of history. While Andrew flirts with this definition of history in chapter one when he compares the data he retrieves from oral histories to data found in archives, he also opens several other issues entirely. The oral histories of the Balga tribes are by their very nature fragmentary and disjointed. They do not lend themselves to a uniform, linear universal whole history. Instead, they provide only highlights. This brings to mind a question of validity for so-called modern history. How much is filled in like the archeologist filling in the gaps in crumbled structures? Is it possible that the Balga tribes' oral histories, untouched by the pressure of conformity, be closer to historical truth than the modern version whose rough edges have been hewn squarely into a proper line? Andrew also illustrates the uses that are not directly historical. Oral histories contribute a part to building political clout and are propagated because of political clout. Moreover, the oral histories play a part in identity forming for young members of the tribes. They relate to their place in the universe, not only in the tribe, but also in relation to other tribes, Jordanian politics and the world at large, based on how they see themselves in relation to the oral histories. For these two purposes, the non-textual aspect of the oral histories is part of their significance, part of their social power. It brings into question classic historical texts all over the world. Exactly how historically accurate is everything we call history? An excellent piece of work, it's easy to see why it won scholastic awards.

I liked this book from the start-the Introduction asks: "Where is Big Sur?". Big Sur is an area in California but also a state of mind." The book's only fault are the maps.Figures 1 and 2 of the California coastline
are incomplete. They show no local towns for an out of state visitor to reference as you drive the Coast highway #1. Luckily I have driven that area but I still needed my Rand McNally road Atlas to guess where the Towns of Cambria(near San Simeon) and Carmel would be on the maps. This is a fault of the authors since they describe Big Sur as "the stretch of rugged coastline between Carmel and San Simeon" in the text page 1, yet don't correlate their maps with their text.

With both sensitivity and scientific acumen, the authors systematically describe every animal and plant within Big Sur, and the geological and metereological environments in which they live. The book also gives a temporal and human history of Big Sur. It is also notable for a wonderful review of the various hikes within the area; any person choosing or planning a hike in the Ventana Wilderness or any of the state parks along the Big Sur coast will find this guide a tremendous help. The book also includes over 200 exquisite black-and-white illustrations. I always love to read natural history guides before visiting an area; I must say that I found this one singularly comprehensive and informative. Highly recommended!

A completely thorough guide to the the floral and fauna of Big Sur. The author captures much of the majesty and diversity of the Big Sur region. I use it as a constant reference when hiking the region. A minor suggested improvement would be slightly better organization of the topics.

I've been up and down the PCH several times, but as a midwesterner, most of the flora and lots of the fauna were unfamiliar to me. On my next motorcycle ride through Big Sur, I'll see the place with new eyes thanks to this wonderful guide. Now I know those yellow flowers that splash color over the cliffs in mid-July are lizard tail. What were formerly just "rocks" and "birds" and "trees" now have names and personalities. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to better understand the amazing place that is Big Sur.

I received this book as a gift, and read it quickly, almost as a travelogue, wondering what it would be like to live in this vividly described area. Later, I visited Sonoma County and used the book as a guide. I visited a cheese factory, two farmers' markets, a small winery and an artisanal herb garden, led to each location by the informative guide with which I had been gifted. I used several of the clear, easy to follow-and execute-recipes with food bought from the sources suggested in The Cook's Tour. After returning home, I contine to read the book to remind myself of the glorious visit to Sonoma County, and as an inspiration for food purchases and discoveries I would normally have never attempted.

I had my eyes opened when I purchased the original Cook's Tour many years ago. Being a native of Sonoma County, I was fascinated by all the things I didn't know about my home county. Michele gave a face to things I had passed by blindly for years...farms, cheesemakers, gourmet stores, festivals. In the new edition of Cook's Tour she presents us with an ever richer trip through the wonders of Sonoma. She teaches us about the wine appellations and what crops thrive right along with the grapes of that region. She includes political information that supports the farmer and sustainable agriculture. She updates us on new cheesemakers, new purveyors and celebrates the staying power of the old. Once again Michele gives a face to Sonoma County, but this time she introduces us by name and helps us start a conversation. Her recipes are wonderful, making use of all the bounty that is available locally. I feel the circle of belonging to a place close as I drive through the country she writes of with such affection and then buy produce and ingredients, ultimately cooking dishes that are truly local in origin and taste. "The New Cook's Tour of Sonoma" makes me grateful that I live in this magic place. Thanks to Ms Jordan for opening my eyes even wider.

Sonoma County, California is a very special place. From the Pacific ocean on the west to the ridgeline east of the Valley of the Moon, Sonoma County almost has it all.

Michele Anna Jordan helps bring this special place alive with this book. She's an extraordinary writer who infuses her stories and recipes with great commentary.

This particular cookbook is among my favorites -- because it's so much more than just a cookbook. The sidebar commentaries about places in Sonoma County help bring the area to life in my mind's eye.

Highly recommended!

The New Cook's Tour Of Sonoma showcases the rich culinary history and cuisine of Sonoma County, California, a 1,560 square mile agricultural and viticultural country. Featuring 150 recipes illustrated with sixteen pages of superbly presented color photographs, From Mexican Cheese Bread, Potato Gnocchi with Duck Ragout, and Butterflied Leg of Lamb with Garlic, to Oven-Roasted Peppers, Grilled Salmon Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette, and Russian River Vineyards Cheesecake with Green Valley Blueberry Sauce, The New Cook's Tour Of Sonoma is a highly recommended combination food history and cookbook that will grace any household cookbook collection.

With a gift for lean, driven prose, during his lifetime Joseph Hansen (1923-2004) was regarded as one the finest authors working within the classic California private eye genre. His best-known works are a series of twelve novels written between 1970 and 1992 that feature insurance claims investigator Dave Brandstetter, a tough, no-nonsense detective--who also happens to be homosexual and is utterly unconcerned about that fact.

Originally published in 1984, NIGHTWORK finds Brandstetter employed to investigate the death of Paul Meyers, an independent trucker whose firey death was first deemed an accidental crash but now looks very much like murder. Assisted by his lover and sometimes-associate Cecil, who is still recovering from bullet wounds received in the previous GRAVEDIGGER, Brandsetter is quickly involved in an unexpected array of witnesses and suspects: a faithless wife, an eccentric who spends his time watching his neighbors from a Victorian mansion, a black minister whose efforts at reaching out to gang members proves a miss-fire--and most particularly a mysterious woman known only as "Duchess" and a questionable detective named Smithers, who may or may not be involved in illegal toxic waste dumping.

At one time The Los Angels Times described Hasen as "the most exciting and effective writer of the classic California private-eye novel working today"--and NIGHTWORK bears the statement out. Hansen's prose is lean but never sparse, his characters flawlessly created, his plots often a bit too plausible for comfort. He is also noted for his talent in evoking Los Angeles and its surrounding communities, and no where is that gift more beautifully on display than in this particular work. A strong-arm page turner indeed.

GFT, Amazon Reviewer

I'm reading Night Work for the second time and loving it. Hansen's tale reveals a rare and authentic knowledge of Los Angeles and Southern California. He writes well about Dave Brandstetter, a rich, rich gay detective; Cecil Harris, Dave's young African-American lover; and all the aspects of L.A. that I love, including the cars, the rain, the slums, the food, and the people. This story, published in 1984, concerns the coverup of toxic waste dumping in the canyons, which really happened. How could anyone be so vile as to poison our awesome mountains?

In the frame of a murder investigation, Hansen gives life to his characters -- real people, some of which you may recognize in their natural habitat. There are cameo appearances by the suave Jaguar salesman and the sweaty Culver City used-car peddler. Here are some people, too, that I hope you've never met -- the odd ones and the bad guys.

You'll find, too, a few, I don't like this word, but here it is, subplots. A lot's going on and it's all intriguingly tied together. Good people, some almost saintly, live on these pages along with the other kind, who are driven by their fears or their greed. And did I mention the yummy food and the tempting drinks?

Instead of hot babes, this mystery presents us with hot dudes, such as a young Irish ne'er-do-well and a suave, beautiful Latino detective. The only thing I don't like about Brandstetter is that in middle age, he feels old and worn out. What's that about, Joseph? We Californians stay young forever, don't we?

"Nightwork" is the seventh Dave Brandstetter mystery by Joseph Hansen. The series is set in and around Los Angeles. Dave, a death-claims investigator is looking into the death of Paul Meyers, a truck driver. Someone placed a bomb under the truck and it blew up with him one night. Dave learns that Meyers had been doing nightwork to make extra money. Who killed Paul Meyers? Was it Silencio Ruiz, a gang leader who was sent to jail on Paul's testimony, and who vowed to kill him when he got out of prison? Was it Bruce Kilgore, a teacher, with whom Paul's wife Angela was having an affair? Does it have anything to do with Paul's nightwork? The plot and the characters are strong. Hansen is an excellent mystery writer. It's just too bad that there were only 12 of the Dave Brandstetter mysteries written.

Book seven in the Brandstetter series finds David comfortably settled with a still-fragile Cecil, and looking into the death of a trucker; a trucker who was on the wrong road at the wrong time of night--with a bomb taped to his rig. Hansen writes classic hard-boiled PI novels which start out in prosaic fashion, but weave and wind to brutal and surprising conclusions. The writing is always spare and vivid, with shrewd characterization, snappy dialog, and 'atmosphere' you can smell, touch, and taste. One of the few writers who actually merits comparisons to Chandler and MacDonald, Hansen also set the gold standard for the sub-genre of 'gay mystery.' NIGHTWORK is one of my favorites for the interaction between Dave and Cecil, and the chiaroscuro of Dave's private life and the grim world he works in.