Barry Books

Highway to Heaven, by Barry Cunningham, is an excellent guide for teens. Highly recommended!

When I first saw this book I had to wonder if we really needed another guide to hiking in the Sierras. These are some of the most popular mountains in the United States. During a recent backpack trip along the Rae Lakes Loop in Kings Canyon National Park, I spent the night with some 60 people at Woods Creek Crossing. Later, at the junction between the John Muir Trail, Kersage Pass Trail, and the cutoff to Charlotte Lake I met about a dozen people; one person there suggested the Park Service install a traffic light. Still, Barry Parr's guide is a worthy addition to the numerous guidebooks covering the region, in part because by following his routes you can get to highly scenic but little known destinations all over the range.

Barry Parr divides the Sierras into ten distinct regions. Two of these, the north and south Gold Country (foothill regions) have received little coverage in other guides. Because of this, and the foothill hikes he mentions in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, this guide to Sierras includes more off-season hiking than most guidebooks. But even in regions that do receive a lot of coverage, notably Yosemite and trailheads in and around the Owens Valley, Parr manages to find some wonderful hikes where one can avoid the crowds.

In all, the book describes 140 walks. 106 of the trails receive extended coverage, with nice topographical maps and detailed directions. The remaining 36 are shorter hikes with easy to find trailheads. He includes these as "honorable mentions." Most of the trails described are dayhikes. Some are short enough for families with small children, but most are fairly extensive and moderately strenuous. At least 1/2 the hikes in this guide will require you to be in good physical condition. Parr also throws in a few backpack trips so that hikers can explore some of the fabulous backcountry in this region. Some "classic" hikes (often found elsewhere) are included: the climb of Mt. Tallac in Tahoe and the Yosemite Falls trail come to mind. But for the most part, the routes described here are not that common and you will not face the crowds. The Rockefeller Grove of Sugar Pines in Yosemite, for example, is an easy to get to but a relatively isolated destination, even on crowded summer weekends. The Deadman Canyon backpack trip in the backcountry of Sequoia and Kings Canyon is also wonderful with far fewer crowds than other backcountry destinations. Finally, it should be noted that Parr includes a few cross country rambles through rough terrain. Isolation abounds on routes like these, but you will need to be an experienced hiker to attempt them.

On the whole, this is an excellent book, and Parr is to be commended for his good work. The diversity of hikes means people of all abilities, interests, and fitness levels will be able to find one or more walks in each region suited to them. Full of natural and local history, listing the major long distance trail routes in the Sierra, and describing lesser known trailheads, this book is a gem. Hikers who want to explore the truly wild side of the Sierras should be sure to get this book.

I lived through the challenging Muldoon and Rowling years in New Zealand, so I was pleased to be able to get this book to learn what really happened behind the scenes. The author has done an excellent job of capturing the essence of Muldoon and his government team in writing and photographs. This is a book that I had trouble putting down and would recommend it to those wanting to know about NZ retail politics of the period 1970-1990 and how good and bad government decisions are really made.

I've read many books on Jazz, but none have surpassed Ulanov's thorough yet very readable account of American Jazz history. They layout of the book from the opening chapter entitled "What is Jazz?" through the last chapter entitled "Evaluation" is full of seminal Jazz figures, listed in a cohesive chronological manner. Ulanov not only provides the reader with an evenly tempered insight on the subject of American Jazz, but the book contains a vast array of many of the artists triumphs, tragedies, and other interesting information. Written in 1952 it covers American Jazz from its inception through the beginnings of Cool Jazz. If you really want to improve your understanding of American Jazz and its history. This is the place to start.

"Magnificent in appearance, majestic in movement, and menacing in disposition".

That's how a contemporary described the Tribal Class destroyers of the Second World War, and Gough's book is a fitting tribute to the world's last remaining example. I recommend this book to anyone with an interest in naval history; it is a detailed yet readable telling of the Haida's varied career. From the Murmansk run, to the battles in the Channel leading up to D-Day, to train busting in the Korean War, Haida's story has involved many nations and shouldn't be interesting only to Canadians.

The book includes some good drawings of Haida, as well as a large number of clearly reproduced wartime photos of ship and crew. There is also a lot of contemporary artwork, of special interest are the beautiful drawings of Grant Macdonald showing the everyday activities of the crew during the Second World War.

There is an appendix with short bios of the other 26 Tribals, which served in the navies of Canada, Britain and Australia.

Chalofsky draws on his 25 years of working in (New Jeresy) to help his readers learn to avoid the variety of environmental pitfalls of real estatet purchases that he skillfully highlights. Chalofsky provides an interesting read that...may help you to rest easier (in your decision).

If you like to try your hand at making goodies at home, this book is for you! The authors give you recipes for making your own liqueurs, flavored vodkas, jellies, jams, cheeses, seasoning mixes, sauces, specialty mustards, exotic desserts, gourmet meats--the list is almost endless!

The recipes are generally easy to follow and use ingredients that are readily available. If special ingredients or equipment are needed, there's a handy guide in the back on where to order these things. And there are explanations that make sense for the more complicated procedures, such as cheese-making and brewing spirits. You're not left to wonder what some term or procedure means!

I've used this book for several years to make Christmas gifts. My friends expect the cordials and liqueurs, as well as the gourmet jams and relishes now! And I've given this book to friends the world over, as well. No one has been disappointed yet by this book. It is a true treasure on my cookbook shelf and shows the splatters of many successful uses.

Honor Clean, written by a Korean War Marine veteran, delivers the reality of daily life in combat hell. Based on the experiences of the then 19 year old Marine and his buddies, the story challenges the alleged atrocities committed by GIs as reported by newspaper journalists who were not even born when the Marines fought for their lives. Explicit descriptions of the battle scenes in the frozen mountains and what these young Marines found, and why some died will shock and numb the senses. Throughout their experience, loyalty to each other held them together during unimaginable horror. Honor Clean is must reading for veterans of all wars and for citizens who need some reality before sending more 19 year olds into combat hell.

Barry Gott provides the fun cartoon cover and black and white occasional drawings to spice Horace Splattly: Terror Of Pink Dodo Balloons, a story of the 'cupcaked crusader', who finds himself in trouble when pink flamingo balloons overtake the town. Horace eats his sister super-power cupcakes to turn himself into a Cupcaked Crusader but now he's in trouble with the police in this whimsical, zany adventure.

This is an excellent catalog. It has 24 pages and is full color with stapled binding. There were only 500 copies of this catalog produced.There is an early McGee interview and all of the photos in the catalog were supplied by McGee. Very cool and high quality Catalog. AAAAA+