Blair Books

This guide is fantastic for navigating your way through the many wonderful small restaurants that are hidden away throughout Virginia. It is too bad that updates to this book are not made more often since restaurants open, close, rename, or relocate so frequently. Virginia is a beautiful state, and a great way to top off a drive through its scenic countryside is with a visit to one of the great restaurants recommended by this guide. I have tried several new places solely based on this book's recommendations and I have never been disappointed. The book divides Virginia into five regions and then lists stellar restaurants for various towns in each of those regions. The guide tells you about the style, cost, atmosphere, etc. so that you will not be unpleasantly surprised. The guide even lists the special dishes for which particular restaurants are noted. One note of caution- some of the restaurants, particularly in the northern Virginia section, are not at all in rural areas. For example, Chantilly and Herndon are in the midst of very congested suburban areas. If you are already there you might as well try the recommended restaurants, but don't travel to these places expecting a dose of small town charm any greater than you would expect to receive in northern New Jersey.

Now in an updated and expanded second edition, Small-Town Restaurants In Virginia by regional writer Joanne M. Anderson features 240 restaurants in almost 150 small towns and villages throughout Virginian and ranging from Abingdon in the Blue Ridge country, to Leesburg near Washington, D.C., and from Monterey on the western edge of the Shenandoah Valley, to Williamsburg and Chincoteague in the eastern area of the state. Each restaurant is provided with basic information included price ranges, meals served, styles of cuisine, local history, dining atmosphere, decor, and variety of foods offered. Whether a local gourmet in search of regionally authentic, or the family out on a day trim, or passing through vacationers and business travelers, Small-Town Restaurants In Virginia is a wonderfully recommended resource for itinerary planning purposes. It would also serve as an ideal template upon which other state restaurant guides could be developed.

This book was recommended to me by a co-worker. We love this book. My family goes driving around Virginia on the weekends and then we pull out the book for a local small town restaurant experience. We have not been disappointed. Ever! We have gone to over 50 places and everyone was a dining experience. We leave the book in our car for spur of the moment expeditions. We usually try the "recommend specials" that are listed in the book. It's a fun adventure!

Though a fun book to refer to, I would advise anyone to call ahead to make sure the restaurant still exists. In the 1998 edition there were several restaurants that had closed down, so I was eager to see what the newest edition contains. As I reviewed the new edition's table of contents, I noticed that some of these same closed restaurants were still listed (for example, Fiddler's Green in The Plains has been gone for years, and in it's place is Just Breakfast/Just Lunch. Magpie's in Middleburg has also closed; Maxwells has replaced it); I'm surprised the editors did not make quick phone calls prior to reprinting to see if restaurants were still operating. Also, I was interested in the quality of the restaurants that were listed; I noticed that quirky, fun, local restaurants were sometimes bypassed in favor of a restaurant that lacks atmosphere or appears trendy. That said, I still found the 1998 edition loads of fun, and take it with me whenever I go on Virginia road trips. I'm also looking forward do the 2000 edition.

As a fan of small town eateries, I applaud the author of this valuable guide to the Old Dominion. Highly rated!

Delightful collection of three stories. The destressful delima of the "valentine bride" by Catherine Blair is especially charming and witty.

"A Valentine Coursthip" by Donna Bell. Widow Miranda Sinclair and Adam Hunter, the Earl of Marsden, have been best friends forever. It is a shock when Adam asks Miranda's help in finding a bride before his 30th birthday. Miranda realizes she loves Adam and begins to woo him with anonymous valentines. A lovely tale about the growth of a relationship, from comfortable friends to exciting romantics.

"The Valentine Bride" by Catherine Blair. Family friend Austin Bourke was left to console his best friend's fiance, Margaret Fitzpatrick, his own true love, when she was jilted on her wedding day. Not as well done as Bell's contribution. Maggie's feelings appear shallow when she so easily turns from her fiance to Austin in one day.

"The Ruby Heart" by Lynn Collum. Family tradition dictates that Lord Justin Andrew give the Crossley Ruby Heart to the woman he loves at the Valentine's Day ball given by his mother, the Duchess of Crossley. Hoyden Lorissa Mathis loved Justin, but how could she compete with London beauties when her all male family raised her like a boy? The development in Lorissa from tomboy to beauty was realistically done. There is magic between Lorissa and Justin.

Delightful collection of three stories. The destressful delima of the "valentine bride" by Catherine Blair is especially charming and witty.

What a fun read! The theme running through is love blooming through friendship, and each of the stories is heartwarming and fun. It wasn't the best, but it was very good, and with the added fun of valentine's day, it's a keeper to pull out every year.

My copy of this book arrived just before I came down with a wicked case of the flu - and it turned out to be a lifesaver during that miserable day I spent curled up in bed under a heap of blankets! There are three delightful short stories all based around a theme of discovering true love with an old friend. All three have light, well-crafted story lines with a good comedy element present throughout. The first story by Donna Bell has the heroine secretly courting her best friend when he decides that it is time for him to to settle down and take a wife. The second story by Catherine Blair is my favourite - where the heroine is jilted on her wedding day only to discover that her heart lies safe in the keeping of her close childhood friend. The last by Lynn Collum concerns a young nobleman who has to choose a wife by St. Valentine's day and remains undecided until he realises that an old childhood playmate is the only one for him. Buy this book for yourself and any of your close friends that would appreciate a romantic read on Valentine's Day!

John Blair does something in this book that I had thought impossible: he handles over 600 years of history quickly and easily. Well under 100 pages, this book is not only "very short" but very understandable.

Blair begins with some background on Roman-occupied Britain, but the story begins in earnest with the Roman withdrawal and the invasions of the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes from mainland Europe. From there Blair describes the development of Anglo-Saxon government and culture, giving lots of time to the Viking invasions and English attempts to fight back.

Overall, this book is a very good, fast-paced (only 75 pages!) guide to the Anglo-Saxon age. Blair covers all the major topics and even has some time for cultural development, including describing the impact of the English outside of England. The book tends to focus more on the later Anglo-Saxon era, from Alfred the Great to the Norman conquest, but this is really more of a matter of how sparsely documented the early years of the period are.

Recommended to anyone hoping for a quick guide to Anglo-Saxon England.

I am a big fan of the idea behind the Very Short Introduction series, and the way in which they provide information in an easily accessible manner. John Blair's "The Anglo-Saxon Age", while not the best example in the series, is certainly up there.

The book is set out in roughly chronological fashion, tracing the political development of England from the earliest settlements in c.450 through to that famous date of English history, 1066. Where it becomes appropriate, Blair takes the opportunity to bring in developments in society, religious culture, and trade and the economy - and it must be said that this structure works very well. The book contains plenty of illustrations to give flavour to the information. There is a list of suggested further reading at the back, which is commendable, although it could be more extensive considering the size of the subject concerned. Similarly, although there are maps to provide context, just two isn't quite enough to show the complex political and territorial changes.

To cover the entire Anglo-Saxon period - a whole six centuries - in just 90 pages (only 75 of which are the main text) was always going to be a tall order. Compare this with "The Crusades: A Very Short Introduction", which weighs in at 150 pages, a better length which allows for a more in-depth study of the subject matter. As a result "The Anglo-Saxon Age" remains only an overview of the subject, although a very respectable one. It is more easily digestible and certainly less daunting than one of the standard histories, such as "Anglo-Saxon England" by Frank Stenton (although that might be more useful for a student of medieval history). It might be worth also considering James Campbell's "The Anglo-Saxons", or Michael Wood's "In Search of the Dark Ages" as good places to start.

At the price this book is being offered by Amazon, it is nonetheless a good buy for the casual reader or for someone encountering the Anglo-Sazon period for the first time. Recommended.

With the main text being only 75 pages, this is a very short Very Short Introduction, but an excellent one nonetheless. It covers the years 450 to 1066, but with just a cursory glance at events before 600. It is fact-packed and readable, with good illustrations, including two very useful maps. You should certainly read Roman Britain: A Very Short Introduction before this, and ideally, The Celts: A very Short Introduction, before that. This particular book leaves the reader with a strong sense of how much the Anglo-Saxon age shaped England's landscape and culture. If you want a broad overview of British history, this may be all you need for this period. If you intend to delve deeper into the era, this is a great place to start.

This very short introduction may have been a little too short. But I did learn quite a bit - I'll just have to supplement it with other reading.

As other reviewers have noted, a good book of A&C furniture plans. For example, it has a plan for a Stickley bench, that I haven't found elsewhere. But, some of the finer details needed more explanation. For example, on the Stickley bench, there is a drawing of what the through tendon should look like, but it needed a close-up picture instead.

There is just a mention in the book of using house hold ammonia to fume in color, I'm going to try that on some scrap and see how it works out.

A minor nit - the author's wood choices are just plain bad. If you are going to make items like this, go spend a few more bucks and buy quarter sawn white oak. Better yet, make the entire piece from wood of one tree.

A good book, good plans with almost enough details. Worth your time to take a look.

This book has some good ideas and nice pictures but the plans are not as detailed as I thought they would be. If you are just looking to add to your book collection this would be an interesting filler.

This is a nice presentation of fifteen projects in the Arts & Crafts style. Designed from pictures in old catalogs, the problems in construction are solved by Blair Howard as he guides you through each project. The first chapters deal with the designers, their furniture, construction techniques, finish techniques, and materials. The remaining chapters are devoted to the actual pieces. Accomplished woodworkers might find the detailed instructions excessive, but beginners will appreciate the explanations. An excellent beginner's book for Arts & Crafts reproduction at home, with a few designs not seen elsewhere.

I enjoyed Blair Howard's writing style and as a beginning woodworker, appreaciated his completeness and that he went over the techniques he used for every single project, rather than leaving it up to the reader to decide which techniques to use. The book focuses a lot on mortise+tenon joinery, which I appreciate, and does go over the various ways of creating mortises and tenons with machines, though it does not do any more than mention how one would go about making mortises and tenons with hand tools. The projects are rather unique and I am interested in making virtually every one. I appreciated the variety of designers, instead of only presenting Stickley pieces.

Wilmington, North Carolina, and its history came alive when I walked its streets recently. The river front, Lattimore House, the old cemeteries, Ann Street, Market Street and the beautiful trees captured the beauty of this old town.

But as I walked the streets, the scenes from Philip Gerard's novel, CAPE FEAR RISING, flashed across my memory: These old streets filled with white racists. The secret societies sneaking to meetings to plan the deaths of hundreds of black leaders. The wild militia men in red shirts ready to kill "black birds."

Yes, Wilmington's history from 1898 can still be felt on its streets and in its gorgeous historical buildings. That such a monumental racial atrocity of killing and burning had taken place here just over 100 years ago seems impossible. But it did.

This book of fiction based on factual research, even though awkwardly written at times, is a must read.

by Larry Rochelle, author of the mysteries Bourbon and Bliss, The Mephisto Diary and Ten Mile Creek

This book was excellent! In the beginning things seemed a little dry to me but it was not long before the story takes hold of you and you cannot put this book down! It is definitely sad to see how people were in the past, but nevertheless an excellent story to learn from.

This book is a prime example of how major events in history can go overlooked. These riots in Wilmington did not only affect the city but whole nation in dealing with race realtions. With the emergence of Jim Crow in America these riots just reaffirmed the old doctrine of white supremacy. The novel also shows how major a city Wilmington was at the turn of the century. Gerard sums of the events that took place in 1898 in a quote by Edmund Burke in 1789, "An event has happened, upon which it is difficult to speak, and impossible to be silent." This is true about a lot of American history. Check this book out you might come away with more than you bargain for.

This is one of those books that blows your mind by opening a new door on history. I wondered while reading of the incredible events chronicled in this book why my education had failed to teach of this. (There's an obvious reason: it's a shameful page in America's history.) The novel that surrounds the history is good, solid, but not superb. However, the book is worth reading for the history alone. You will not be disappointed. It will change you.

Very interesting to read about the sites that are still haunted by Revolutionary War ghosts. After reading this book I definitely want to go on the tour!

I AM PLANNING MY 3RD TRIP TO COLONIAL WILLIAMSBURG SO I READ THIS BOOK AS PART OF MY READING PREPARATION. I TRULY ENJOYED THIS BOOK ESPECIALLY BEING FAMILIAR WITH THE BUILDINGS, STREETS, HOMES, AND THE CHURCH AND CEMETERY. IT WOULD BE AN EXCELLENT INTRODUCTON TO COLONIAL WILLIAMSBURG.

The author of this book runs a ghost walk tour in historic Williamsburg and I would imagine that if her tour is half as interesting as this book then it must be a great success. She has gathered ghosts stories from not only Williamsburg but also several of the other communities in the area and has chosen the stories that make up this book with great care. With all of the historic figures that have at one time or another passed through this area it must have been tempting to spice things up by adding a few old unsubstantiated legends that have the ghosts of a Washington, Jefferson or Lee haunting the area. Tempting though it must have been, this author kept to the high ground and stuck with stories that she could back up with first person eyewitness accounts or that she had experienced herself.

This is not to say that the stories that are included in this book are dull or lack flare for the ghosts that roam the " historic triangle" are an interesting lot indeed. This book is filled with specters that date from the very founding of English America and as with any good book about Southern ghosts there are a number of Civil War ghosts wandering through the pages of these pages. Be warned however that Ms. Behrend gives a decidedly Southern slant to her Civil War stories. Of course to my way of thinking this is a good thing.

This book contains all of the elements that make for a good ghost book. First, there is a basic history of the haunted location and then a history of the person who is thought to be haunting the location. Once the background is firmly established the author adds testimony from modern day people who have witnessed the haunting and has in some cases found old diary entries that attest to experiences that closely parallel the testimony of the modern witness. At the end of each story the author gives directions to the location discussed in that chapter and tells the reader if the place is open to the public and if there is a touring fee.

If all of this weren't enough, the author manages a fairly high chill factor in her stories. Having read dozens and dozens of these books I long ago became fairly immune to the chill bumps that these books raise on some people. I must admit however that while reading this book I found myself pausing and looking around at the least little noise. "In Cold Blood" was the last book to do that to me so even the most jaded and skeptical reader can expect at least a few goose bumps while reading this book. My recommendation is that you read it during the day but whatever you do don't miss this book.

This book was about a bunch of mystifing stories from the past. It really spooked me out. I highly recomend this book for thrill seekers of all ages.

Jamie Farr makes a statement in this book that with really great actors a part of them always shines through no matter what part they are playing. As you read this book, you'll find it's true, a part of Jamie shines through each part he plays, from Blackboard Jungle to M*A*S*H to Guys and Dolls.

The biggest problem with the book is that he appears so excited to tell you as much as he can, he forgets things, such as the birth of his daughter, though he tells us about the birth of Jonas. His enthusiasm is evident from the first page. He takes you from his initial desire to become an actor, though moving to California and the tough, "hungry" times, meeting his wife and the adventure of their honeymoon (I laughed so hard I cried when he mentioned the "deafening sound of my pajamas") to 1994, when the book was published.

If you're looking for a tell-all, you won't find it. While he does tell stories about the people he's worked with, he is not writing a gossip rag. By the end of the book, through the laughter and tears (his encounters with Joey Bishop of Rat Pack fame were not plesant ones), you come to understand that Jamie values the friendships he's made over the years--especially with the cast of M*A*S*H--and treasures his family above all. He starts out the book with wife, Joy, telling him he's Lucky...I'd say he's not Lucky, but blessed.

Having enjoyed Jamie Farr for years in M*A*S*H ... then just a few years later at The Showboat Dinner Theater in St. Petersburg, Florida I was thrilled when I found "Just Farr Fun." I was not disappointed. Just as Mr. Farr's theatrical performance in "South Pacific" (at The Showboat) was one of the best I had ever witnessed, so was his wacky inside look at sit-com television. I cannot recommend strongly enough this fine book --- a knee-slapping, must-read, fun-filled autobiography that, at times, brings tears to the eyes.

I hate it when publishers allow celebrities to write their own memoirs. (Robert B. Kaiser appears to have been no help whatsoever in penning this disaster.) The celebs never seem to realize that what we find interesting about them is what they're best-known for. In this case, Farr is best-known for M*A*S*H, yet he barely even touches on the show until two-thirds of the way through the book, then he charges ahead without giving us much insight into the show, the actors, or the creators, then rambles on about his life after M*A*S*H (without touching upon the sequel to his hit show, AfterM*A*S*H).

Jamie Farr cannot write, which is not his fault, he's a comedian, not a book writer. The publisher should have stepped in and at least had the thing PROOFREAD! Missing periods and commas throughout, typos rampant. The writing is atrocious. No pacing whatsoever. No transitions between paragraphs. And not enough M*A*S*H. The only celeb memoir worse than this one is Carroll O'Connor's I THINK I'M OUTTA HERE. It makes me cry to think that even one tree was killed to print that insult to writing.

I would have given the book one star, yet I like Farr and loved the show, so I added a star to spare his rating.

This is one of the best ways of getting the most complete behind the scenes look of the life of one of televisions funniest characters and also of televisions greatest sit-com/drama's, (M*A*S*H).This book is a must for anyone who loves the wacky comedy of Jamie Farr and the splendor of M*A*S*H. Makes a great gift!

I've played this once in a group of skilled roleplayers and the GM who had experience with pretty much every game system under the sun.

It is hands down, one of the best games to play with a group mature and skilled enough to bring the story to life. I say mature enough because some of the gameplay topics are definately harder to handle. The common response for most people when they hit that level of uncomfort is to attempt at bringing humor in to help them get past it. If you can work through this point though it will scare you and make you think.

I don't recall what we did that particular night in game, but I rememeber it involved a playground, an a county fair, clowns, and me driving home with the dome light on in my car afterwards.

I'm rather glad this game never made it mainstream it makes it all that more interesting when you pull it out in a group of gamers who've never seen it. One recommendation if you're running a game: Bring a box of random assorted toys for people to play with for about 30-60 minutes before starting and while creating their character. It really helps set the mood and puts people in the right mindset.

I think also, just recently having had a child, that it will really change the way you view the game when you play. It plays both on the childs fear and the parents fear.

This is a wonderful, yet mechanically speaking, very simple role-playing game that should be much better known than it is. The premise is simple- you're a child whose terrors are real and live in a place called Closetland. The monsters of Closetland want your innocence, your soul, and sometimes your body, and the only thing that can stop them is belief in items that are very important to you.

The game, unfortunately, is out of print and very expensive. However, if you can get your hands on it, it's fantastic. I recommend it. It's one of the best role playing games I've ever seen.

I'm a big fan of RPG's, and I tend to like them the darker the better. And boy, this is one of the darkest RPG's I've ever seen. It's one of the best written books I've seen, next to Nobilis. It's /truly/ creepy to read and the fiction that starts the book literally made me cry. Not a book to read at night on your lonesome.
The basic theme of the game is that as we age we forget that the things that scared us as children were actually real. The Bogeyman, monsters in the closet, things under the bed. They were all real and all vicious and murderous. Children dissappear every day and sometimes they go to Closetland, where the monsters are to become slaves of the monsters or worse. You play a child, and you have to fight back against those monsers and what they want to do to you and your friends.
The authors pull no punches. One of the monsters is a pedophile. Another keeps her immortal beauty by bathing in the blood of children. There's definately glimpses of humor and cuteness in the game, but only to play up the depths of horror.
I have to admit I haven't actually played the game, mostly because other people who read the book are too weirded out to try. But from what I've seen of the game mechanics they look pretty viable if simplistic. It's more a game about atmosphere than hack and slash.

Since the beginning, role playing games have been primarily about one thing; wish fulfillment. Basically it's about people becoming what they could never really be, doing what they could never really do, and reaping rewards they could never really have. The horror RPG genre turns this dynamic on its head, generally casting the heroes as normal folk facing odds they cannot overcome with brute force. "Little Fears" takes this one step further. Here the players are facing overwhelming odds, but they don't even have the strength or influence of a grown-up to face them with! Power-gamers will turn up their noses at such a prospect, but for those of us who truly enjoy a role-playing challenge "Little Fears" is a must-get.

The premise is that all the nightmares of childhood; the Boogeyman, the monster-in-the-closet, monsters from the movies and a host of other villians that children can't even conceive of but their parents have been conditioned by sensationalist media to dread, all live in a parellel world called "Closetland." The monsters of Closetland seek to steal children's innocence and sanity, and whenever possible the children as well. Adults, having grown out of innocence cannot perceive the creatures of Closetland, so the children are on their own to protect themselves from these menaces.

The system uses only six-sided dice. The characters have five primary stats; muscle, feet, smarts, hands and spirit. Game play revolves around using a single die to either roll under a stat for success (i.e. a "quiz") or rolling over an opponent's stat when an action is opposed (i.e. a "test"). The author gives descriptions for some monsters, particularly the "leaders." Details about what the "rank-and-file" monsters are like and what they can do are vague. This allows the GM to create customized creatures that only s/he knows about. Any GM who has been frustrated by "Call of Cthulhu" players who just happen to own a copy of the rulebook will appreciate this, although it does mean a lot of work.

Overlaying the premise of supernatural monsters stalking children, is the very real threat of child abduction. Although it is billed as the game of "childhood terror," the author often blurs the distinction between the fears of children and the fears of their parents. Thus the rules contain references to eating disorders, cannibalism and other scenes of horror that some readers may find difficult to read, and even harder to place in a workable game. Only the most mature of players, for example, should even consider writing a scenerio involving the "king of lust," whom, the rules describe in chilling detail. As a result, even some fans of horror gaming may be tempted to avoid "Little Fears" as being just too much to take.

Again, I thoroughly enjoyed reading and playing "Little Fears." Its unique premise makes it a powerful and compelling break from other games. But even as a devoted fan I cannot play it too often, and do not begrudge those who would not play it at all. "Little Fears" is a five star game, but it is not for everyone.

While 15-year-old Molly Witherspoon's mother is away on business in Japan for three months, Molly and her four sisters (Lizzie, Emma, Ralph, and Clementine) are left to run the house on their own, with the occasional supervision from their absentminded father. During this time, Molly is busy working on her Today's Family class presentation. She intends to film her siblings in their everyday lives, hoping to shed some light on her misunderstood family, especially since one of her sisters (Emma, the eccentric 16-year-old who is interested in the occult) is the laughingstock at their high school. In addition to that, Molly has accepted a bet with Candy Carlisle (her arch rival since the second grade), that whomever gets a lower grade on their class presentation has to publicly praise the other's work. Yet this last matter isn't entirely wrapped up by the end of the book. (...)

On occasion, the Witherspoon family is chaotic and weird, but, surprisingly, Molly and her four sisters get along very well. They're like the mirror image of the March sisters in Louisa May Alcott's "Little Women". In that respect, they are quite unusual. Still, "Molly and the Great American Family" is a heartwarming story of family/sister bonds, and their ability to solve everyday problems together is exemplary. This is a decent book for preteen and older girls, especially ones that can relate to the Witherspoon household.

This book was teriffic! It showed how a family that may seen a bit odd to everybody elese is a fun family to live with. It shows how the "typical" american family is more boring than the family that is diffrent and does diffrent things than other familes. I loved this book and you should defintly buy it!

This was an extremely good book. I read the comments from another reader, and I totally disagree with their remark. Some of the characters may seem annoying at times, but that is the way they are meant to be. I think it would be the worst thing to read a book in which all the characters were nice and goody-goodys. Then it's boring! Molly and the Great American Family was well-written and there was always a clear explanation of each situation. I never once felt like I did not know what was going on. The best quality of this family I thought was their loyalty to one another. That's very uncommon. I think that this book is fit for any age, but particularly for teens because it relates most to them.

It's like a candy apple read. YOu don't read it for substance, you read it for fun. I didn't like all of the characters, a good number of them were annoying. I've read better. I considered giving this 2 stars but that seemed too harsh. Basically, 2 and a half out of five.

There is an old saying that when the student is ready, the teacher will appear. In Fred First's case, when he was ready to learn new lessons, he let Nature be his teacher.

What he discovered about himself and his connection to his new home in the Blue Ridge Mountains will strike a familiar chord in everyone who has reached the point in life where our goals leave us unfulfilled.

In Fred's book, Slow Road Home, he discusses finding himself with no purpose in life after he left his position as Physical Therapist.

His wife, Ann, had a job and was supporting them both, and he faced the challenge that many face in these changing times, that of creating an existence which includes a means of earning a living and at the same time discovering a worthwhile purpose.

It becomes apparent as you read this fascinating book, that Fred develops a philosophy for his life as he discovers himself.

It is an account of how he set out to find wonder and meaning in the myriad details of life in his valley and in the long string of apparently random events that led them to this place they call, "Here's Home".

His weblog journal, Fragments from Floyd, becomes a tapestry of his days chronicling his angsts, his sometimes humorous efforts to overcome them, and his epiphanies.

He applies his considerable analytical abilities to the problems he faces, his discoveries about life in the valley along Goose Creek and the bliss he finds observing the infinite details of life on a calm summer day.

He takes us through several turning of the seasons, the loss of a beloved canine companion, and the tenderly funny incidents that make up married life on Goose Creek. At the very least, this book could be considered a record of his love for the place he and Ann call home.

For the rest of us, the greatest value in Fred's book may lie in the example he sets in so many ways of observing life closely, working to understand what he has observed, while discovering in himself the strength to persevere and share his discoveries with others.

Inspiring, evocative, and moving, with many moments of dry humor. This book satisfies in many ways.

Today for lunch I joined a friend I've never met. We walked along a creek with no name under hemlocks in a valley I've never seen. We passed a barn I've only envisioned in painted light upon my screen. The sun I couldn't see glistened on grasses in the field to dry the dew I did not feel. I wasn't there, and yet I was, visiting with Fred on Goose Creek in the mountains of Floyd County.

I'll go there again tomorrow for lunch as I revisit a "Slow Road Home". Won't you come along? We'll visit Ann's Falls, we'll sit a spell under the white pines, we'll wave at the neighbors from the front porch. We'll while away the time as we discuss the important issues of the day, the bumblebees at play, and the hawks upon the wing. We can discuss anything at all as we visit there on the creek with no name along that "Slow Road Home".

A visit to Fred thru a "Slow Road Home" always slows the day, sets the pace to another time, and takes you to another place. The place you've longed for since childhood, a place that brings back the memories of grandparents and more. A time when the constant companion was a single word...Why? Walk a while and listen to another's whys, you may discover the child you left a long time ago, far, far away.
Where else can you feel free to laze in a summer rain, loll in an open field at night to watch the fireflies rise and stars fall, or chase spiders as they glide by? There is a maple on the cover that shelters a house that seems to have been there forever. The house is nestled up to the ridge like you shelter in the covers of a bed. How do I know this? I have seen this house thru the eyes of someone who loves it, and the tree, and the ridge and all it encompasses. You can see it too. Come walk the pages of Fred First's "Slow Road Home"...You never know, we may meet along the road.

again and again as i read, i went back to my bookshelf to compare this work with that of annie dillard. fred expresses a similar wisdom tinged with amazed gratitude at finding himself alone and content to record the measure of his days along the winding valleys and hilltops of the blue ridge in floyd county, virginia. my only worry is that others will attempt to literally follow him there with less awareness of the fragility of this remote ecosystem, and so i recommend reading the book and not necessarily visiting (!) in order to experience the beauty of that place, whose remoteness and inaccessibility is intrinsic to its survival.

fred first takes us on a path of his own discovery that parallels the similar paths of others who have explored voluntary simplicity and introspection, leading us toward a closer connection with everyday experiences, finding the joy in shared experiences with a cherished companion, and the quiet peace that comes from solitude in natural surroundings. through images and words fred brings us with him, and we can truly partake of that same wonder, gratitude, and compassion, and recognize the value in simple reflection on nature's bounty, which truly is all around us.

thank you fred, for sharing with us your heartfelt account of your personal geography. may you continue to bring us the same at [...]

In Slow Road Home, VA resident Fred First invites us to join him on his journey to discover his home. I'm not talking about a quest of epic proportions here. I'm talking about Fred getting to know his 40 acres, 1 tree at a time. With a naturalist's eye, he writes of symphonies of fireflies in his meadow, and the honor of the wood that shades him from the sun as it lives, and heats his home on its death.

Fred lives the life I aspire to; busy, but not hurried. There are lessons for all of us in his journey. The world, even our suburban backyards, are wondrous places, if only we would slow down to see it.