Travel Books

Don't know the author, don't know the pilot. Simply an easy to read, very entertaining and informative book that, like day old lazagne, was much enjoyed even the second time around.

The book is an accurate account of an unusual pioneer. I knew Andy, back in 1952, and have ridden in the Wien Norseman, with Andy piloting. If there is any fault to be found with his story, it is that it is understated.
Typically reserved, his account does not linger on the incredible cold and loneliness that was his lot on many of his journeys. His willingness to go to the rescue of lost and injured miners and trappers, at great risk to his own life and safety, testify to his own character.
Andy, and the pilots of his time, benefitted from the experience of his friend and mentor, Noel Wien. The pilots of today fly the routes that Andy pioneered.
I recommend the book, "Arctic Bush Pilot" to any who hunger for a taste of how it used to be, in the remote Arctic Circle regions of Alaska.

Excellent book, fast shipping, great packaging. Thank you. Also I might add I received 3 more books from you which I was notified that they might arrive here by the 23rd, they arrived yesterday, the 12th. Super service. Thanks again.

I bought this book expecting it to read about Bush flying. There is a fair bit about bush flying however I was expecting a bit more.

The book is actually a biography of the authors experiences as a bush pilot in the Alaskan wilderness. As such it deals mostly with the authors experiences with the people and environment of northern Alaska. This was still very interesting and I enjoyed reading the book.

This is a FANTASTIC book!! I simply could not put it down!! I bought it on the day I departed on my 4th trip to Alaska...the flight passed so quickly as I read page after page!!

I read with great interest the section about Jules Thibedeau, my First Cousin who was a bush pilot from Barrow, AK in the 50's and 60's...his comments about Jules, "The Walking Pilot" brought back memories of the stories I heard as a child about my cousin who would fly anywhere, at anytime, to help anyone in Alaska...a guy who was truely a "tough-luck, no-money" pilot who cared more for the people he helped than he did his own well-being many times.

Anderson's comments came back to life for me during that trip as I visitied Barrow for the first time...only to have an 80+ year-old Eskimo woman tell me how my cousin had saved her son when he was young kid...Jules had flown out in a blizzard to bring her sick child back to Barrow...

Bravo to Mr. Anderson on a "must read" book!!

I come back to 'As Far as the Eye Can See' year after year. It's absolutely brilliant. Well written, honest, insightful. David Brill conveys his experiences on the AT better than any other through-hiker book I've ever read. Too many books make it seem if hiking the Appalachian Trail is man vs. trail but Mr. Brill brings the truth to the forefront, hiking the AT is hiker vs. him/herself. If you've ever thought of putting foot to the trail and walking from Georgia to Maine or simply enjoy day hiking in the beauty of the woods this book is for you.

Anyone interested in the AT, or just backpacking in general, should read this book. It's a great read. I liked it better than Bryson's "A Walk in the Woods" and I recommend it to everyone.

Mr Brill's book was the first of several I have read on hiking the AT, and it is, so far, still my favorite. He tell's about the hardships without moaning and groaning, and also lists the good things. You can get a good idea of what to expect about the AT from reading this book.

In his book, "As Far Aas the Eye Can See", David Brill takes the reader on a soul-sirring adventure along the rooftop of eastern America. He tugs at heart strings as he overcomes the grueling day-to-day trials and tribulations that plague long distance backpackers, and he lifts the reader's spirit as his soul soars to lofty heights as the beauty of Nature's bounty unfolds. Couch-bound? Not to worry. Mr. Brill evokes pictures with his dynamic and descriptive prose that carries the reader alongside, step by step. A must-read! J.R. "Model-T" Tate, author of "Walkin' on the Happy Side of Misery"

It's hard to write a review about this book. Why? It's so good. Why is it good, and what makes it different?

First, it tells of the trail and the people he met in 1979. I doubt you'd find some of these folks along the AT today. For example, the rednecks who came a'drinkin' and a'shootin' at a Georgia shelter, the mountain woman who showed him how to hunt ramps, and the strange and funny account of the rednecks with their "bullet trick" at the tavern in Erwin. Most of these type folks have probably faded into the era from which they came, now extinct by the pervasive eroding effect of the media and its pressure for everyone to conform to American McCulture, not to mention the effect of a constant stream of AT thru-hikers through a previously much more isolated mountain culture and communities.

He writes very well of the changes the trail had on himself, and the transition from feeling like a visitor in the woods to a resident of the woods. He goes from being deathly afraid of thunderstorms in gaps in Georgia when he started, to enjoying them later on. And the change in personal values his hike had on him.

Another big difference is this book is written by subjects, not chronologically like the numerous journal-type AT books. Chapters are on "Fear," "Seasons," "Our Community," "Bad Company," "Critters," and so forth. I find this a refreshing break from those books that generally read something like: "I got up at 6 am, cooked pop tarts, walked X miles up a MFer of a hill, saw curly joe and moe, stayed at X shelter, cooked slop tarts, tossed and turned under a leaky roof, got up at 6 am and started again."

Don't know else to say. Read it.

I like to travel and to observe the cities, landscapes, the plants and animals and the human inhabitants of the countries I go to. So does Levy-Strauss, and he is a fantastic observer, much more sharp-eyed than I could ever hope to be, and a highly entertaining writer. In this classic he talks about a wide range of observations from a number of corners of the world, but mainly about South America.
The book deals with Levi-Strauss' time as a teacher in Brazil and his trips into the South American hinterland; his escape from Nazi-occupied France; His later expeditions to visit remote tribes in the Amazon; and an assortment of observations about such diverse topics as the frustration of the traveler to never encounter the true, pristine state of a culture, the Indian caste system and the division of public and private space in different parts of the world. The book is full of fascinating anecdotes: My favorite one is how a native chief from observing Levy-Strauss grasped the social importance of writing, but not its role in information storage and transmission. He bluffed to impress his underlings and drew freshly invented line configurations on a paper. This leads Levy-Strauss to observe that from the invention of writing to its universal knowledge a few millennia passed, during which it did not serve to liberate the masses, but to control them. Such wide-ranging philosophical associations are frequent and were very enjoyable to me. The book is, however, definitely not only a collection of anecdotes, but in parts a very detailed description of the life of some of the native tribes he visited in the Amazon. Drawings of artifacts, patterns used in body-painting and photographs supplement the text. We are given both anthropological descriptions of the lifes of these peoples, their social organization, attitudes and material culture, as well as Levy-Strauss' personal experiences when living among them, sometimes his friendships with members of these tribes. Of course these people were strongly affected by the contact with European civilization, often to the worse. We also learn about these developments. There isn't really much direct explanation about his theoretical approaches to anthropology. This is the kind of book which made me wish that I could have been an expedition member of Levy-Strauss' team. Highly recommended.

I often review works which I have read long ago. Upon beginning to write about them I invariably discover how much time I gave to something which seemed so worthwhile at the time, and which I have almost completely forgotten. I then ordinarily do some catch- up learning about the book. And my review becomes an amalgalm of distant past and most recent present impression. And meanwhile the heart of the book is forever unknown to me and lost. And my review is only a minor tracing an impression both of the book itself and what of my mind knew when reading through it.
This certainly applies to my reading of this particular work, ,the one work of Levi- Strauss which I remember reading with any degree of real understanding and pleasure. His making of a life and career as an anthropologist which are a good part of the first part of the work interested me then.
The long travelogue and explorations into Amerindian society and mind, interested me less.
I understand though that the real voyage is into and along with the mind of Levi- Strauss itself, a mind much more complicated than I was ordinarily used to meeting and ingesting .
I do remember however the somewhat majestic tone, the tone of restrained sadness of quiet mourning which seemed to go through the work as Levi- Strauss met with worlds being lost and deterorating , in part through their meetings with the very kind of Western mind he himself exemplified. It is the mind destroying the object in the process of knowing it , as the Western explorers of these tribal societies transformed them out of their own natural state by meeting with them.
For Levi- Strauss and this I remember, the ' primitive mind' is not ' primitive at all' and may be in its linguistic complexity and social structure far more intricate than the ' civilized ' as it were sophisticated worlds we believe we live in.
I read this work as a way of being acquainted with a great mind, a mind which to my mind proved to be quite elusive and even distant.
But clearly the exploration made by Levi- Strauss of his own inner and external worlds is one which calls to the curious human mind and heart in its quest for understanding ' of the other'
Montaigne took a trip in the Brazilian jungle in the twentieth
century, looked in the mirror and saw the face of Levi- Strauss.

One way to gauge who's in among fashionable academics is to read the catalog for the "Writers and Readers' Documentary Comic Book" series. Sartre has an entry, and so does Derrida, and Lacan. Thirty years ago, you would have expected to find an entry in this index for Claude Levi-Strauss. No more. Translations of his principal works appear to persist in print, but the sales numbers are look low, and he seems almost to have disappeared from the trendy book reviews and such. This is perhaps a matter for at least idle curiosity: Levi-Strauss is surely no more abstruse than his magisterial contemporaries - but no less so; one is perfectly willing to be relieved the obligation of ever picking him up again.

With one exception. In style and temperament, Tristes Tropiques is so different from almost everything else Levi-Strauss wrote that it is hard to believe it is written by the same man. Oh, the primitive tribes are there, and a brief personal intellectual history, that offers a bow to Freud, and Bergeson, and Saussure. In my own copy, which I first read about 1980, I even have a pencilled notation "structuralism" - this at page 375 (Pocket Books edition, 1977). But there is almost none of the portentous vacuity that you had to cope with in the so-called "serious" works.

What you get instead is Levi Strauss the raconteur, full of travelers' tales. He dines on roasted parrot, flamed with whisky. The termites make the earth rumble. Virgins are made to spit in pots of corn, to provoke fermentation - but "as the delicious drink, at once nutritious and refreshing, was consumed that very evening, the process of fermentation was not very advanced." You almost expect the anthropophagi and the men whose heads grow beneath their shoulders, that you meet in the Voyages of Sir John Mandeville, Knight.

Laced through it all, you get a kind of austere sadness which is either (a) a tragic view of life; or (b) a kind of self-indulgent posturing, depending on your temperament for skepticism. "Every effort to understand," he says, "destroys the object studied in favor of another object of a different nature." Or: "Anthropology could with advantage be changed into 'entropology', as the name of the discipline concerned with the study of the highest manifestations of [a] process of disintegration."

Well, call me anything the like, they say, as long as you call me for dinner. It might even be an elaborate con. But so, for that matter, might the stories of Herodotus were you get the same mix of the eclectic and the tolerant, the surreal and the sly. Herodotus, we may note, is one of the first great works of Western literature. Let's hope that Levi-Strauss is not one of the last.

This is Levi-Strauss most readable book, and it is a fantastic introduction to the "why" behind his interest in structuralism. There are hints of the various methods and approaches that he uses in later works, but this book shows why he was to develop structuralism in later works. The writing is clever and eloquent, and various conclusions he made about cultural diversity address contemporary concerns in a highly articulate and responsible manner. Read this book before delving into the other writings of one of the 20th Century's most important anthropologists.

Tristes Tropiques, surely one of the great books of the twentieth century, is Levi-Strauss at his intoxicating, idea-overloaded best and an elegy for a world that colonialism and then globalisation have doen their rational best to annihilate.

Levi-Strauss, like most thinkers who come up with new ways of describing the world-- those who Richard Rorty calls "inventors of philosophical vocabularies"-- has of course been mis-read and his ideas mis-applied, as we see with the much-hyped "creation" and then "demise" of "structural anthropology." The real pleasure of this book, which mixes fascinating accounts of Levi-Strauss' travels in Brazil in the '30s with autobiography, and adds chapters on the Maya and ancient Hindu (Indian) civilisations, is in its sheer mass of artfully arranged detail and its endless, provocative play of ideas.

Levi-Strauss stays conversational, descriptive and straightforward, avoiding academic jargon and obscure references. He assumes you know the basics about people like Freud, Marx, Darwin and the Buddha, and then shows you a trip through largely non-industrial societies which unfolds from anthropological description into deep philosophical speculation on the meaning of society and life.

In Brazil, Levi-Strauss watches an illiterate but canny chieftain use his anthropological fieldnotes to intimidate his illiterate tribesmen subordinates, and speculates on the parallel origins of writing and slavery. In Matto Grosso, he meets a butcher fascinated with elephants, since "he could not imagine so much meat in one place." On the banks of the Amazon, a non-industrial tribe is dying, hypnotically lost in the symbolic intricacies of an ancient social system that makes its citizens inbreed. In India, Levi-Strauss watches Islam and Hinduism-- the "locker room" and "mother" religions-- wage symbolic and then real war post-Independence.

The book starts as anthropology, turns into philosophy, and ultimately becomes a critique of the West, driven by "reason" and technology to shake off what Levi-Strauss calls the "thick blanket of dreams" with which non-industrial civilisation arranges the Universe into Meaning, which remains for the industrialised world the greatest and unanswered question.

But Levi-Strauss does not idealise the primitive. His point is that through the study of those and that which are different, a kind of "ideal model" of society-- one which will never exist-- can be built in the imagination, and people can evaluate their world by reference to this community of mind.

This is a remarkable book-- easy to read, engrossing, and endlessly thought-provoking.

I won't rehash how good this book is, you have all 9 other reviews to do it. Just a note of caution, make sure you buy the latest edition (from 2006). Amazon still lists the one from 2002 first in the search results.

I like the GPS coordinates, and the fact that it gives directions and mileage for each trail in both directions. So you have a lot more flexibility on how you plan your outing.

this series is extremely useful. covers offroading options from beginner level to seriously advanced. each option is rated for difficulty, accompanied by maps and directions and, importantly, gps coordinates at each key junction on the route. hence one could make the trip without road signs using a gps if absolutely necessary. great photographs and good history regarding each trip make this a stimulating and priceless resource.

We have two other 4-wheel drive books for northern California, but neither one comes close to this! The color pages, descriptions, and added history and nature lessons are great. We enjoy the eastern Sierra and were glad to find so many trips for that area in this book. We can't wait for the snow to melt so we can try some trips out!

This is the top dog for off road books. I've driven several of these courses in my stock Chevrolet truck with zero problems. Beautiful lay-out, great descriptions and GPS coordinates. Get this book!

I have read several other map books for off road trails, etc. and this one is by far the most comprehensive and accurate. My wife and I have used this book on a couple of trips now and the accuracy of the directions is uncanny. I also apprciate the GPS coordinates and the maps in the book itself. The fact that this book is all color is awesome too. I would definitely buy this book if you're in the market.

This is the real Christina Skye I know and I have learnt to love...(I mean her books of course). Not the dreadful Code Name series with the stupid cyborg agents and more action then romance. The Draycott Abbey series is the best series by Christina Skye and I really hope she will continue it and Bride of The Mist is, in my opinon, the best in the whole series..

We have Kara who is a pyschic and Lord Duncan MacKinnon who happens to live in Scottish castle. After a series of adventures Kara ends up with Duncan in his castle and the real adventure starts there. Kara starts to experience a psychic connection with a ghost... she begins to dream strange dreams of a far away past. These dreams always leave her very shaken. Their is also mystery and danger in this book so you will never find a dull moment. I love romances set in Scotland and pyschic heroines..it adds a kind of magic to the whole book.

As I said, the other books in the series are also great. Christina Skye at her best. My personal appeal...PLEASE WRITE MORE OF THIS SERIES...and dump the Code Name one...

Hey now... this one was different. I was actually able to stay focused.... which has been impossible for me lately. Basically, this was a good vs. evil story & a good (sometimes very HOT) romance to go with it. It involved a psychic that could touch things & see visions (not giving anything away) & had a continually unfolding side story that took place 600 yrs ago. This book kept moving (well, mostly... it did drag just a tad a couple of times - but that didn't last long) & the characters were very likable; even though there was some problems to work through, they weren't absolute jerks about it. It had some good suspense in it that, although not chilling, at least made me hold my breath a couple of times. I also enjoyed the descriptions of Scotland... sometimes authors either can't make me get a good picture in my mind, or they go completely overboard & bore me to tears.... not so with this one. It even had it's own Scottish guardian ghost (complete with cat!) & a couple of fun Scottish legends. I'd recommend it to most all romance readers. I've been reading up & there are a series of these called the Draycott Abbey series. I'll definitely being trying out another one!

Bride of the Mist is a quick-reading, suspense-filled, erotic love story set amongst the majesty of the English and Scottish countryside. Overflowing with lush descriptions, second-sight, a ghost and a cat, this is a page-turning, heart-stomping tale of a love between man and woman that endured throughout time.

Although primarily a contemporary romance, the story is mirrored by a tale of long ago between a beautiful mute girl, a Crusade-worn knight, and his evil brother. Their tale and destiny are to be re-lived by their contemporary counterparts, the beautiful American Kara Fitzgerald and the rugged Scots laird, Duncan MacKinnon.

They are thrown together because of her gift of second sight - through touch she can see and feel events and emotions. Skeptical at first, Duncan accepts her gift and they begin a dangerous adventure that could bind them together, in life or in death, if Duncan's evil (and supposedly dead) brother has his way.

The magical mysticism of Scotland adds unique flavor to this tale. Because of his heritage, Duncan also knows a thing or two about "the sight". He and Kara believe they are fighting against a destiny doomed to destroy him, and, as heroes are wont to do, he would push her away to protect her. Kara, on the other hand, believes that her gift is what has cost her love in the past, for she believes no man would want to share himself as totally and completely as would occur with her.

Their healing of each other, as is usual in romantic fiction, is quite unique due to the nature of Kara's gifts. It is Duncan's task to restore her confidence as a woman. Because of their unique connection with each other, Kara can see in her mind and feel in her being Duncan's desire for her and the things he would do with her - it sure is getting hot in here, isn't it?. Their intimacy is wet, hot, and very sexy.

As they work together, first to protect their inner selves from each other, than to save each other, it is easy to get caught up in their adventure. In general I have found that romances 400 pages in length are padded by 40 to 60 pages of unneeded verbiage. This book is not padded. Each page allows Kara and Duncan's relationship to build as both the past and future unfold. Each page is filled with the the flavors of danger, suspense, and the connectedness of these two people.

Wow - what a good book!

TTFN, Laurie Likes Books

Publisher, All About Romance

This is the 2nd Christina Skye novel of the Draycott Abbey series that I have read (Hour of the Rose - my first) and I really love this gal's writing and stories. The first had an english Lord coupled with an American gifted with second sight. This book - Bride of the Mist - gives you a Scottish Lord - cousin to the Earl of Draycott Abbey and tossed together with another American who has an even stronger psychic connection to days past at Draycott Abbey and Dunraven Castle.

One thing, the story does not lack though is an unstopable pace that has you racing to finish the story holding your breath with each turn of the page! An exciting plot, with breathtaking descriptions of the castles, the abbey and the beautiful landscapes of England and Scotland. And one shouldn't forget the extremely sensual romantic and descriptive love play! Oh yes, this one is hot, hot, hot! - Could this be why I stay up half the night getting to all these juicy good parts?

Wonderful and exciting writing. I love the guardian ghost, Adrian and his cat Gideon - these stories make me yearn for the British Isles to see if I can find these sexy male heroes! - Dont' breathe a word to my husband though!

Definitely a keeper book and a MUST BUY for this author!

THIS WAS THE FIRST OF HER BOOKS THAT I HAVE READ AND I JUST COULD NOT PUT IT DOWN. THE CHARACTERS ARE UNFORGETTABLE AND ARE FULL OF HOPE,PASSION, AND HONOR, BUT DON'T FORGET PRIDE. I ONLY READ BOOKS ABOUT SCOTLAND AND I HAVE FOUND A FAVORITE AUTHOR. CHRISTINA SKYE WEAVES AN UNFORGETTABLE STORY ABOUT TWO PEOPLE FROM DIFFERENT WORLDS THAT ARE BROUGHT TOGETHER BY AN ANCIENT CASTLE AND AN ANCIENT PROPHECY. KARA FITZGERALD AND DUNCAN MACKINNON ARE UNFORGETTABLE AND VERY PASSIONATE. THE CAT FROM THE DRAYCOTT ABBEY IS KNOWN AS GIDEON AND I LOVED HIM SO MUCH ALSO THAT I NAMED A KITTEN AFTER HIM. I GIVE THIS BOOK 5 + STARS AND RECOMMEND IT TO ANY NEW ADULT ROMANCE READERS AND IT MAKES THE PERFECT GIFT FOR THE WIFE WHO LOVES HISTORICAL ROMANCES.

All the information you need to explore new rivers. Giving it as a gift to all our paddling freinds and family.

It would be nice if it were easy to scout out a river before driving to an access point and paddling it. This book does it for you. The directions to access points and places to park are very detailed and good. The maps are excellent and very clear. There are written notes on the problems or special circumstances you will encounter, which are very intelligent and accurate. I checked the rivers I have paddled and read the remarks, and they are just what you need to know, and they are true. The author really knows what he is writing about, this is not a book thrown together by someone who hasn't actually been on the river. If you want to know which Michigan rivers are in this book, here is a list:

Lower Peninsula:
Au Sable
Au Sable South Branch
Betsie
Black
Boardman
Cass
Chippewa
Dowagiac
Flat
Huron
Jordan
Kalamazoo
Little Manistee
Little Muskegon
Mansitee
Muskegon
Ocqueoc
Pere Marquette
Pigeon
Pine
Platte
Rifle
Shiawassee
Sturgeon
Thornapple
Thunder Bay
White

Upper Peninsula:
Black
Brule
Escanaba
Ford
Fox
Indian
Manisique
Michigamme
Montreal
Ontonagon (East Branch, Mainstream, Middle Branch, South Branch)
Paint
Presque Isle
Sturgeon
Two Hearted
Whitefish

What a great book! I am a beginner kayaker having never kayaked a river before - and was nervous even thinking about it. This book was very descriptive and informative. We did the Platte River from Loon Lake to Lake Michigan and it was a blast. Very relaxing. The maps of the rivers were great as was the description of the landings and portages. Looking forward to my next river, and this book will help decide which one!

This book is really good to have in the car or for planning a trip. It is really handy having the maps next to the description. Good accurate maps and great insight.

The people who wrote this book definately did their homework. I've gone down a few of the rivers in the lower peninsula and this book was an impeccable guide. Now, Lower Peninsula rivers aren't exactly the meanest or fastest, but there are enough twists and turns to keep your attention and to want a book like this aroud, if only to know what's all out there. There was also good attention paid to campsites and drop off points gone through in great detail. I once tried a dropoff point agains the recommendation of this book and paid for it dearly.

The problem about getting hardcovers of natural wonders like rivers is that all too often the data becomes obsolete after a couple years. For this case is seems that it's still pretty to date, but check on the web anyways just in case conditions change.

Carnival at Candlelight is an awesome book. It takes place in Venice, Italy, 260 years ago on the night of the annual Carnival celebration. It starts out when Jack and Annie recieve a note from Merlin that says they have to save the Grand Lady of the Lagoon from a terrible disaster!

When Jack and Annie get to Venice, they travel to the Carnival in a gondola. Then they walk around and get into trouble from guards and go up flights of stairs, look at maps, and see statues, all the while thinking about their crazy mission. It isn't making any sense!

They go out into Saint Mark's Square and look in their research book for help. The note from Merlin says to find a tower with two men and a bell, climb it, and get on a king of a jungle. Wandering in the crowd, they spot the tower and race up it. Then they spot the lion and use one of their magic rhymes to make the lion come to life. Then they go out over the sea to spot Neptune, the god of the sea.

They learn that the Grand Lady of the Lagoon is Venice, Italy, and they have to save it from a flood. They spot Neptune and tell him to stop the flood. He does and their mission is over.

I am just a kid, but I recomend this book for any fans od the Magic Tree House series. I got this book for Easter of 2005 and read it that day and enjoyed it.

Magic Tree House #33: Carnival at Candlelight is the book for young readers.

I think the author, Mary Pope Osborne, states things clearly in her books and the pictures explain them better. Mary Pope Osborne, in my opinion, is the best author in the world.

Want to hear a book that's really cool? Well, the book Magic Tree House Carnival at the Candle Light will do the trick! This book is amazing. It's about two Aencheris kids Jack and Annie who goes to Venice to save a mysterious person the Grand Lady of the lagoon. But, once they found out about that person it wasn't what they had expected! Jack and Annie figured that this job was getting harder and harder.

Jack and Annie have some wild stuff happening in this wacky book. That's why I'm telling you to read this book! What I most really like about this book is when Jack and Annie said a spell and got to ride on a Golden, shinning, flying, lion. That part was Awesome!

I would recommend this book to someone who loves and who totally enjoys mysteries, because this book has spells, a mystery, and Magic stuff. Well, that's all. I hope you will adore this book.

Mission: to save the Grand Lady of the Lagoon. Place: Venice Italy. When: 260 years back in time on the night of 'Carnival'.

Jack and Annie of Frog Creek are off again on a new mission in the Merlin Series #33. Odds of surviving a dungeon: Fair to Good... i.e., if the 'book of magic' has something to help them, and Merlin's apprentices Kathleen and Teddy, too.

Mary Pope Osborne never fails to create magic in her stories, with backgrounds of historical places, and supporting the suspense that follows Annie and Jack as they follow the instructions in a letter from Merlin -- "...When waters rise beneath the moon,/Visit the Grand Lady of the Lagoon." The heroes meet grouchy guards, a son of a famous painter, climb the Giants' Stairs, fly the sky on a Golden Lion, and meet Neptune.

Osborne visited Venice and of the city she writes: "...no photographs can truly do Venice justice. No notes or diagrams can truly capture her. Venice lives best in memory, stirring the deep waters of the imagination."

Other Recommendation: Night of the New Magicians by Mary Pope Osborne

Carnival at Candlelight is a funfilled book. It all starts when Jack and Annie of FrogCreek has the same dreams. (Which was sent by Teddy and kethleen). They decide to go to the TreeHouse
and finds teddy and kethleen fast asleep. 'Then later they wake up and they said that they will not be going with them on their adventure.' 'Oh No!' Said Annie 'But what if we need your magic?' Teddy Said 'Morgon thinks that you are ready to use magic your own.''Really?' said Jack 'Yep'. Said Teddy 'But we don't know any magic.' said Annie 'Remember what I said if we work together we can do anything.' said Teddy 'Anything is possible but you just said you were'nt coming with us'. said Annie 'Thats true thats why we give you this Wow a 10 magic rhymes book!' said Jack 'Yes,they are ment to last for your four journeys.' said teddy 'Each line is in Teddy's language, and one in mine the language of the seal people.' said kethleen. my opinion is that this is a fantastic adventures book.

"Carnival at Candlelight" by Mary Pope Osborne was a delight to read. I generally don't like the fantasy genre but I absolutely love the "Magic Tree House" series. One of the things that I love about this series of books is the author's ability to blend factual knowledge with adventure and excitement. As a teacher I appreciate this ability because I believe that students will learn a lot of facts from these books plus they will be enjoying a grand adventure too.
"Carnival at Candlelight" is the fifth book in a group of Magic Tree House books called the "Merlin Missions." Jack and Annie (the main characters) have a fantasy adventure in real places in real times. In this book they travel to the city of Venice, Italy. There they discover the mystery and magic of Venice.
This book is filled with factual informations such as, "Instead of roads, Venice has waterways called canals. People glide along the canals in shallow boats called gondolas."
Not only is this book filled with adventure and factual knowledge but it also has great illustrations. The illustrations in this book make the story come alive. The illustrations really give you an idea of how Jack and Annie feel during key moments in the story.
This is a great book for second graders as a read-aloud. Third graders could read it by themselves.

Wonderful pictures of some of the most famous & picturesque castles in the world. Mostly in Europe. Some history; brief history for most of the featured castles with very general area maps to locate them. Generally one pic per castle and no floorplans or diagrams (another reviewer said diagrams probably meaning the map diagrams). Great book for planning a castle sightseeing trip to Europe.

I would also recommend 'The Medieval Fortress - Castles, Forts and Walled Cities of the Middle Ages'. It has a ton of pics, history and floorplans; 10 times better than Sidney Toy's book on Castles.

This is one of my favorite "coffee table" books. To begin with, it's huge. The cover is an outstanding photo of the breathtaking Neuschwanstein (there's an even better one on page 96). The first few chapters give an illustrated (via hand drawings as well as awesome photos) history of the castle, its many functions, and its evolution. Chapters 3 through 6 focus on the castles of Great Britain, Ireland, France, Spain, Italy, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Northern Europe, Eastern Europe, and the Crusader Regions. The last chapter details more modern castles, walled towns, and palaces; with even more focus on the castle's architectural evolution. Included here among others are the Casa Loma (North America's largest), the Hearst Castle in San Simeon, even the Cinderella Castle at Disney World. If you're a fan of history, architecture, and/or photography, you will not be disapointed with this book.

This is a wonderful and beautiful book that shows off the medieval castles we always dreamed about as children. The variety of castles, all shown in beatiful color photographs, present to the reader the various architectures and designs from different countries in Europe, and short written commentary give this book a five star rating. You can enjoy this book if you are in the age range of 3 to 103. This is the best photo book out there that shows off the medieval castles and fortresses of old.

Tour guide to history and spotlight examples throughout the world, including Europe, and modern works in North America along with palaces and walled towns.

Incredible to eye these rising fortresses into the sky, out of rivers and on top of mountains, they are living monuments of protection and engineering and dungeons, etc.

Makes for great reading and viewing.

Covered with large colour photographs from cover to cover, this book is bound to turn any reader into a castle lover.
Whilst this book contains great photographs, this alone is not its only content. The book does in fact contain pages of historical information on the origin of castles, historical overviews of the castle building eras, the different styles, architectures and functions of castles and even an overview of siege engines and castle attack and defence strategies. This book can therefore easily perform the dual function of a coffee table book and a reference book.
Definitely one of my favourite books.

Great descriptions, unbelievable quality photos; compact. Never having visited Italy befoe, we wanted to travel in teh countryside, in Tuscany and the Lake District. We used the 'Editor's Choices'. Our first stay at Villa Simplicitas near Lake Como was perfect, like we were visiting friends, fabulous service and food, locally made aperitifs. It was inexpensive and fabulous. Just perfect. It set the tone for the trip, and what a relief to find, after driving from Milano and flying in from California. We stayed at other places and were perfectly informed by this guide. There's nothing as valuable as relief from worry when traveling in a foreign city, without speaking the language well.

Great descriptions, unbelievable quality photos; compact. Never having visited Italy befoe, we wanted to travel in teh countryside, in Tuscany and the Lake District. We used the 'Editor's Choices'. Our first stay at Villa Simplicitas near Lake Como was perfect, like we were visiting friends, fabulous service and food, locally made aperitifs. It was inexpensive and fabulous. Just perfect. It set the tone for the trip, and what a relief to find, after driving from Milano and flying in from California. We stayed at other places and were perfectly informed by this guide. There's nothing as valuable as relief from worry when traveling in a foreign city, without speaking the language well.

Great descriptions, unbelievable quality photos; compact. Never having visited Italy befoe, we wanted to travel in teh countryside, in Tuscany and the Lake District. We used the 'Editor's Choices'. Our first stay at Villa Simplicitas near Lake Como was perfect, like we were visiting friends, fabulous service and food, locally made aperitifs. It was inexpensive and fabulous. Just perfect. It set the tone for the trip, and what a relief to find, after driving from Milano and flying in from California. We stayed at other places and were perfectly informed by this guide. There's nothing as valuable as relief from worry when traveling in a foreign city, without speaking the language well.

This can be a very helpful starting point for your travel planning, containing useful information about many attractive, special places in Italy. In this modern era, however, it is also important for the reader to leap to the Internet for additional information before making those reservations.

That done, you will discover that there are several potentially disappointing errors in this book, most notably the transposition of the photos for the magnificent Villa San Michele (Fiesole; attributed to Michelangelo) with the Hotel San Michele in Cortona. The former is one of the most beautiful and expensive hotels in Tuscany, standing atop a hillside overlooking Florence. The Cortona San Michele (while quite nice) is a more modest, affordable hotel, on a steep, narrow city street. One can only imagine the dismay for the visitors who arrive in Cortona, expecting the first, and found themselves at the latter! "Certainly doesn't look like its photo, now does it?"

Tighter editing--- and diligent reader investigation-- is essential. But all totalled, a recommended starting point for travel planning, especially if you recall that ancient Roman admonition, "Caveat Emptor!"

Great descriptions, unbelievable quality photos; compact. Never having visited Italy befoe, we wanted to travel in teh countryside, in Tuscany and the Lake District. We used the 'Editor's Choices'. Our first stay at Villa Simplicitas near Lake Como was perfect, like we were visiting friends, fabulous service and food, locally made aperitifs. It was inexpensive and fabulous. Just perfect. It set the tone for the trip, and what a relief to find, after driving from Milano and flying in from California. We stayed at other places and were perfectly informed by this guide. There's nothing as valuable as relief from worry when traveling in a foreign city, without speaking the language well.

An absolutely beautiful book. The binding is gorgeous and the photography outstanding. Very interesting to read. Obviously a country and people with 1000s of years of history can only be perceived in a glimpse in just one book, but what a beautiful glimpse this book gives the reader! And more than just beautiful photos it contains very interesting history. A great overview of such a vast and interesting country.

This book has beautiful pictures and good writing. I got one for my 5th grader, and another as a gift for a friend. Unfortunately, both copies were somewhat damaged (one copy had a crease in the front, and the other copy has a slit in the middle). I think the production/ manufacture of this book is not perfect. What a shame as it is truly a beautiful book to be treasured.

Stunningly beautiful photos ... well-organized chapters ... plenty of information on many aspects of Chinese culture. I gave this book to my 11-year-old nephew for Christmas, so he will begin to appreciate that China is very much more than a supplier for Wal-Mart!

Taoism is the heart of Chinese culture. This is what makes Chinese different from Westerners. One cannot understand Chinese culture and Chinese elite without understanding Taoism. ---By the author of Warren Buffett and Tao Te Ching: A Modern Investor and an Age-Old Philosophy

I visited China earlier this year on business, so I was intrigued when I came across this book. When I opened it, I was not disappointed. This book celebrates China and its variety of culture, art, landscapes and rich history with beautiful photography and educational text.

The beginning section of the book draws you in with page after page of beautiful photographs of different landscapes in China, sprinkled with verses from Chinese poetry (translated to English, of course). It makes the reader aware of the varied landscapes (snow to desert, mountains to plans, forest to fields) that make up the vast country of China. Truly a treasury of photos!

The next section explains Chinese history, complete with a timeline. The information is provided in titled short paragraphs and articles so it is easy for the reader to get a glimpse of the history and read quick pieces for more detail. Small articles include items such as "The Grand Canal" and "The Boxer Uprising". All are sprinkled with old photographs and pictures of paintings and artifacts.

The most delightful section of the book is "A Day in the Life" which is a collection of stories about daily life of particular people in different areas of China. There's the life of a student in Shaanxi, a Chinese herbalist, a Buddist Monk, a Cricket Seller, and a farmer, just to name a few. The photos and text provide a window into the lives of the people of China to let the reader see life from their eyes.

There is also a section on Chinese Culture, which includes articles on philosphy and religion, painting, literature and Chinese opera.

The last segment of the book is entitled "Architecture" and contains pieces on various types of building styles, both old and new. From modern buildings such as the 88-story Jin Mao Tower in Shanghai to an old Buddist Monastery in Hebei, this chapter contains a wealth of information and beautiful photography. The Jin Mao Tower is truly stunning inside (I wish I had gone to see it while I was there!). The Couple's Garden is typical of the gardens in Suzhou that I visited while there. One of the most beautiful places shown in called the "Temple of Heaven" with colorful painted decor and detailed stonework.

I really enjoyed this book and recommend it to anyone wanting to learn about China and its culture. It is not only informative, but makes a beautiful "coffee table book"!