Park Books

The good Professor is one funny guy. This book will have you rolling on the floor laughing out loud. And it will do so while educating you on the debacle/scandal that was and is the Clinton Years. From the bimbo eruptions to the servicing intern, it covers it all. If you want to indulge in the lighter side of "historical analysis," this is the book for you. Enjoy!

The good Professor is one funny guy. This book will have you rolling on the floor laughing out loud. And it will do so while educating you on the debacle/scandal that was and is the Clinton Years. From the bimbo eruptions to the servicing intern, it covers it all. If you want to indulge in the lighter side of "historical analysis," this is the book for you. Enjoy!

Think of Dave Barry's humor gone Gonzo and interested in Politics. Mix that with the Impeachment of Bill Clinton and what came out would look an awful lot like this book. This was a truly refreshing and funny read. I laughed so hard a few times that I thought I was going to hurt myself.

The good Professor is one funny guy. This book will have you rolling on the floor laughing out loud. And it will do so while educating you on the debacle/scandal that was and is the Clinton Years. From the bimbo eruptions to the servicing intern, it covers it all. If you want to indulge in the lighter side of "historical analysis," this is the book for you. Enjoy!

Professor Jerry Mander's tounge-in-cheek 'review' of President Clinton's approach to President of The United States is an entertaining and enlightening view of today's politics. Very right-winged, the book is chock full of tidbits from the controversial Starr Report as well as pertinent stories, facts, and related conjecture. Not for the faint-of-heart or liberal minded or those others in opposition to the Vast Right-Winged Conspiracy.

Craig Mathews' brief but detailed writings for each water is just great and stating plain facts. It's simply fun to read. Also, his store "Blue Ribbon Flies" is probably the best in West Yellowstone. Fly-fishing guides are very experienced and the store has lots of fly-tying material in high grades. I also recommend to review Craig's other book "Fly Fishing the Madison". That's also well-written with his smooth and detailed explanation. SY

Craig Matthews gives you great information and helps the reader pick and choose where to fish in YNP. With Matthews knowledge of the Park and insect activity it's hard to go wrong with this book. Great information on hatches,locations and whether the hike is worthwhile to take make this a great book. If you are planning on fishing YNP you need this book. I would also purchase his dvd on fishing Yellowstone National Park and on fishing the Madison.

This guide provides very detailed information on the rivers, streams and lakes in Yellowstone National Park, the fly hatches and terrestrials found on each (by month of year) and the best patterns to fish with. It also shows which fishing areas can be accessed by car and which require a long hike. I found it invaluable for planning a fly fishing trip to Yellowstone.

The "Go to Book" for fishing in the Park. Has all the information one needs to find "backcountry waters" as well as the "hotspots". I've fished Montanna for the last 7 years, but have never fished in the Park until last year. This book cut the learning curve by a considerable margin. Not only does he unleash his considerable knowledge of the "spots". He is very complete in informing the angler of the certain flies and times of the year to use them. I read this book practically every time I sit down to the flybench. Just to jog my memory on what to prepare for the coming trip. I wsih I had bought this years ago and fished the park alot earlier in my years. Could have cut alot of corners! Thanks Craig---great job!

This book is easy to use and extreamly useful. It splits the park up into four regions, tells you where (or not to) fish, and where to start looking in your flybox. I have used it the last 3 or 4 years and will use it as long as I vacation in Yellowstone. I have looked at several books on fishing in Yellowstone and this is by far the best that I have found.

Thought this was the best of the Yosemite guides I previewed. Great mini typo maps covering different areas of the park. My only complaint is that the maps are not oriented with North at the top, so it took some time to get the orientation correct. Other than that, the book is great.

This guidebook was perfect. It included all the information you would want to know visiting Yosemite. The pictures are beautiful and give you a great idea of what is to come. I think his descriptions of the trails were very accurate and helped make my trip to Yosemite perfect. I am going to buy all his books!!

A great general information/guide book for Yosemite.

I highly recommend this book for everyone. If you haven't been to Yosemite before, you get high quality photos of what is to come and some great general trail information to help plan your trip. If you have been, it is still a good buy as it is more than just a trail guide. The first 100 pages provide history and geology of the area and are a quick but fun read. In my opinion, it is just a great overall book to own. I plan to purchase the author's books about other National Parks in the future.

I also purchased the Moon book for Yosemite. It has more details on hikes, but for the average vacationer, I think this book is better.

Bought this book back in March for a trip in early May. At the time, there was only one review, but I bought it anyway as it was the most recently published guide available.

Wow - the day it arrived, I sat down and read it front to back. The history of the park, the geology, the history of the Native Americans who lived on the land ... I was so impressed that it was more than just a "camp here" and "eat here" kind of guide.

What this book has over the others out there:
- The most gorgeous photos. It made me giddy with excitement to go and see those places for myself!
- a small but helpful section with pictures of the most common wildlife and plantlife that you encounter in the park (ended more than one debate about "what flower is this?!")
- Information about the native tribes' names and legends for the features in the park, or other important history of a particular place, highlighted in boxes set off from the main text.
- A sizeable section on the High Sierra Camps and hikes around them. Absolutely made me want to do the whole circuit (maybe next year...)
- This guidebook was clearly a labor of love for the author. This wasn't compiled from a bunch of staff travel writers ... it was written by someone who obviously knows the park extremely well and has chosen to highlight only the best parts, to give readers the best experience in Yosemite.

Why this might not be the book for you:
- There are no compass markings on the detailed mini-maps. This bothered others in my group more than me.
- Very few details on lodging. Not a problem for me, as I already had accomodations booked, and the lodging choices in the park are few anyhow, but this book is better for planning your TRIP, not your STAY.
- The descriptions of the hikes are kind of vague. If you are going to Yosemite to back-country hike, this isn't the book for you. If you want the best day (or 2-day) hikes, he hits the great ones. I was relieved to see how well-marked they are once you're on the trail.

I thought this guidebook was absolutely cream of the crop. So did my mother and sister-in-law - they each wanted to steal it from me and keep it as a coffee table book! (I bought them each a copy once we returned home)

I purchased several books on Yosemite and found this one to be the
easiest to read and most useful.

Genre: Travel

Title: 31 Months in Japan: The Building of a Theme Park

Author: Larry K. and Lorna Collins

How do you prepare a traditional Thanksgiving dinner in Japan? Every step is a challenge, from procuring the turkey to making the pumpkin pie. But Larry and Lorna Collins of California thrive on such adventures, and they've written an enthralling account of the joys and frustrations of their "31 Months in Japan."

Larry worked as an engineer on a major theme park project in Osaka. He writes about topics such as unexpected engineering challenges involving dinosaurs and sharks, field-testing the park's rides (and restaurants!), surfing Japanese-style, and the bureaucratic hassles of buying a car. Meanwhile Lorna delighted in the people they met, and she writes with warmth and enthusiasm of cross-cultural experiences shared with new friends. She also devotes a chapter to typhoons and another, perhaps even scarier, to driving in Japan.

This is a super book that radiates joie de vivre. You'll be inspired as you read of life-enriching episodes, and a little overwhelmed as you learn about the many small misunderstandings and irritations of expatriate living. At times humorous, surprising, and moving, "31 Months in Japan" is a must-read for all travelers, armchair and otherwise.


Highly Recommended by Reviewer: Julie Falkner, Allbooks Reviews.

This book accurately captures the experience of the working expat in Japan - coping with culture clashes in the office as well as adjustment pains in a foreign land. Larry and Lorna Collins tell the story of their trip to build Universal Studios Japan - the preparation, the work, the life in Japan and then the return.

As a reader with similar experiences, there were many, "The same thing happened to me" moments as they peeled the onion of Japanese culture, encountering and then digging through stereotypes. The book also provided quite a few "I wish I knew that back then" lessons. The old Japanese hand will also note the odd ironic event here and there, for example, being complimented on using chopsticks is a universal experience.

The mix of good nature and naive wonder experienced by Larry and Lorna come through strong. Perhaps the sincerity is why they made so many connections. Of course the cultural cynic won't be able to finish the book.

Worth the read, and makes me want to return to Japan.

I was utterly charmed by the experiences related from the viewpoint of the author husband and author wife. Not only were the glimpses of the Japanese culture intriguting and fascinating, but I was also awed by the descriptions of the different places visited by the authors. The insights into the actual building of a theme park in a foreign land kept me turning pages.

Having had the opportunity to see the authors at the recent Epicon made it even more interesting as I could imagine them as I read their words.

This is definitely a book for anyone who likes to read about new places and learn more about a different culture from first hand sources.

Thank you for many pleasant reading hours.

Marilyn Meredith, author of Wingbeat, latest in the Deputy Tempe Crabtree mystery series.

From the very first chapter, "31 Months in Japan : The Building of a Theme Park" by Larry K. and Lorna Collins, immerses the reader in a fascinating discovery of Japanese culture and the ingenious secrets that make the magic of a theme park real. This detailed and personal account of the trials and surprises involved in creating Universal Studios Japan is told in a warm familiar voice that many times had me musing that I would have reacted the same way as the narrators.

The Collins embark on their adventure with enthusiasm and open hearts, and this attitude enables them to make meaningful contact with their Japanese hosts, not just in the workplace where they face the challenges of turning dreams of an exciting theme park into smoothly-functioning reality, but also on the busy and often confusing streets of Osaka. If you wish to experience a view of another culture that goes beyond rapid tourist impressions or the surface veneer of international negotiations, this book is for you.

Another wonderful layer of the book is the intriguing behind-the-scenes perspective of the complicated mechanics that make all the parts of a major theme park mesh together to form a magical world of imagination come to life. I was spellbound by the innovative solutions that the team of engineers used to solve the complex problems involved in making giant mechanical dinosaurs and sharks interact with an artificial landscape and waterscape to produce a living theater capable of thrilling visitors again and again.

By the time you finish "31 Months in Japan" you will know the Collins well, and will appreciate having joined them on their rich journey to Japan and back. The theme park they helped create is a testament to how drawing on the strength and vision of many individuals and even different cultures can take a project to admirable and unexpected heights. I strongly recommend this outstanding book.

Reviewed by Kelli Glesige for Reader Views (3/06)

Co-author Larry K. Collins was a project engineer assigned to the construction of the amusement park Universal Studios Japan, and Lorna, his wife was in Document Control. For 31 months, Larry and Lorna lived in Japan during the building of Universal Studios Japan, moving to Osaka in August 1998 from their permanent home in Dana Point, California until the park opened on March 31, 2001. "31 Months in Japan" is the story of the culture shocks the Collins encountered, the wonderful friends they made, and the sharing of their many interesting challenges and adventures, beginning with the first obstacle in May 1998 when they learned their building site was contaminated and the subsequent 18 month clean-up.

"31 Months in Japan" will entice those curious about traveling to or possibly living in Japan. The behind the scenes work that goes on during the construction of a theme park is also covered, so if you are enthralled with all the plans that go into building a theme park from the obtaining of the land until the gates are opened to the public, you will be entertained.

The book is written like a journal, Larry writing about his encounters as a project engineer, working on the Jurassic Park and JAWS water rides, along with the Water World show, then Lorna sharing her experiences with obtaining housing, cooking and working in Japan. They cover the gamut in telling us about Japanese fashions, home furnishings, festivals, holidays, weather, roadways, maps, parking, waste removal system, communal bathing, golf, rituals, work ethic, appropriate social behavior, and obtaining and preparing familiar food.

At the beginning of each chapter, a new Japanese word is introduced with its pronunciation and meaning, and we are then told a story of how that Japanese word relates to an encounter shared by the Collins. By the end of the book, we should have a few Japanese words in our memory.

The differences between America and Japan were eye opening. Larry experienced driving with only ½" between his left front tire and a three foot ditch running along the side of the road. When passing another vehicle, Larry relates there would be only a scant 1/4" space between the two vehicles door-to-door. Also, before purchasing a car in Japan, the Collins learned one must first have an assigned place to park it. A final random thought I found interesting was that American pizza in Japan has corn atop, is drizzled with mayonnaise, and has toppings of seafood and seaweed.

The Collins eagerly and enthusiastically share with us their experiences of Japan. They tell us about Jurassic Mark, Raouf Iskander, the Nihon Cowboy, their Japanese "daughter" Yasuko and Jurassic Jack. The Collins came back changed individuals but only for the better. It is obvious of the great love they felt for the many special friendships solidified by their times in Japan. The Collin's book is a tribute to the great number of colorful personalities that came together to make the building of Universal Studios Japan a success!

Used alongside a more comprehensive trail guide, this book kept my wife and me busy for the entire two weeks we were there. It offers an excellent insider's perspective, with a fresh view of the major tourist attractions and a lot of tip-offs to hidden gems.

Get a trail map and a hiking guide, though. Acadia Revealed contains some great ideas for cool hikes, but it's not so hot for showing you the actual trails. Thomas A. St. Germain's "A Walk in the Park" (incorrectly listed here as out of print) is an excellent guide to the trails. It's available on Mt. Desert Island at the Port in a Storm bookstore, Somesville.

Jay Kaiser has done a wonderful job writting a comprehensive, interesting and helpful travel guide to Acadia. The book has information for any sort of trip: Whether you're interested in adventure (camping and rugged hikes) or relaxation (staying at an inn and finding great restaurants), this book will take you where you want to go. Lots of lovely pictures, helpful maps and lively comentary. I'm so glad to have had this book with me throughout my recent trip to Acadia to make it clear what sights I couldn't miss. I can't wait to return because there is so much left to discover!

For the type of person who needs to know the intimate details surrounding your destination, this book is a must. It touches on history, geography, geology of the region in a concise, logical manner, while offering an encompassing view of the activities, layout, and surrounding area. Pictures and detailed maps are scattered throughout the book providing a sense of place and are a trip planner's dream. PLUS, Mr. Kaiser includes an overview of the Maine lobster including eating instructions. Talk about covering all your bases! All in all, a very informative, detailed covering of Acadia and its surrounding area with an insider's take to avoiding crowds and hitting little known spots.

This guide is beautifully prepared & informative. Color photographs decorate nearly every glossy page; maps are large and easy to read. Whether you are looking for a B&B, a place to eat, historical information, a driving tour, or challenging hikes, the author takes care of you. My only caveat is that the book is rather expensive if all you want is to hike or drive the island for an afternoon. The park provides helpful maps for this purpose. Still, if you can find an inexpensive used guide , I'd recommend it even for a one-day trip.

This book is a must have for those who have experienced the beauty or have the desire to experience the beauty and offerings of Acadia National Park. Mr. Kaiser has finally produced the guide to do Acadia justice. You'll learn all the side trips, cool lunch spots, etc. to enjoy on a Saturday afternoon hike with a buddy, and you'll also have the memory of your journey when you get home through Jay's pictures!

Have you ever seen one of those miniature villages, with a miniature train track, set up under a Christmas tree? Have you ever wondered what it would be like to live in a "Christmas" village like that? Well, "Christmasville" takes us on a magical journey through such a village. The characters "come to life" in the story. But, one character, Mary Jane Higgins, realizes things just aren't "right" in Christmasville.

It reminds me a bit of the movie "Groundhog Day". In that movie, the main character kept waking up to the same song on the same day, as he couldn't get himself out of the loop. In this story, the town's calendar goes only from November 1 to December 31. Instead of the year starting over on January 1st, after New Year's Eve, the characters begin their "new year" on November 1, year after year. No one seems to think this is odd, except for Mary Jane Higgins.

It's a great story concept - - a figurine in a miniature Christmas town finds her way into the "real" world. However, in my opinion, the story is longer than it needs to be. It seemed to take an awful long time for the main character to find her way. And, the text is riddled with typos and incorrect punctuation. As a writer and an editor, I found it constantly distracting; I wanted to take a blue pencil and correct all the mistakes rather than just read through the story!

I give the book 3 stars: I just can't justify a higher rating than that with all the typos.

I found the story fascinating and creative. I loved the idea of Mary Jane always waking up in December and being the only one who notices that her entire town (in fact, a Christmas village) has been rearranged, and struggling to make the best use of her time to unravel the mystery before the cycle repeats.
The print in this first edition is pretty small and this makes it a bit of work to read, but stick it out!

This was a magical book that brought out incredible childhood memories as each page was explored. I believe it will find it's way to Hollywood for a wonderful holiday movie release. ( Ron Howard material) Can't wait for the next book by Michael Dutton for more magic on the written page! Great to read with the Jim Brickman-Homecoming holiday CD in the backround.

My mom got me a signed copy of Christmasville at the Courthouse Center for the Arts show in Kingston, RI. I started reading it on December 23rd and just finished this morning, December 26th, and enjoyed it immensely! The absolutely magical concept of a 2-month year, moving buildings, and the same year repeated over and over again is grounded in such detailed, realistic description that the whole thing is at the same time totally implausible and totally convincing. Mary Jane is a fascinating, compelling character, but for me the real star of the story is the world of Christmasville itself, so quirky-but-consistent and so lovingly imagined.
A great book for anyone who is interested in looking at the magic of the quaint and ordinary in a new light.

This is destined to become a Christmas Classic. As a life long model and garden railroader, trains and Christmas Villages have been a part of Christmass for as long as I can remember! I am sure I am not the only person who has rested on the floor and watched the train circle the Christmas Village and imagined what it would be like to live(and love)there and begin to give names to the figures and buildings under the tree. Christmasville brings this concept to life!
The book is like a box of choclates that you just want to savor and last forever. Alas, you know that it won't so you just hope that the last piece will satisfy as much as what came before and Christmasville does this and more.
When it will be made into a movie?
If there's any "downside", and this is not the author's fault, the print is a bit small for these 50+ year old eyes to read. Bigger type and PERHAPS a map of the "current" Christmasville would have made the experience even that more sweeter!
I now find myself looking forward to the sequel where Mary Jane Higgins tries to....... well I'll let you read Christmasville and let YOU discover what the next book is about!

My daughter and I really like this colorful and thorough guide.
It has lots of information and feels like a Field Guide we can take anywhere.

My 4 years old son is a dino lover, and enjoyed the book very much. Especially, he favored the attached mini poster with small images of many dino species.

My 5 & 6 year olds who have been obsessed with dinosaurs for the last 3 years, love this book. They sit and read for HOURS and have learned all the specs on their favorite dinosaurs. As a parent, I think this book has a lot of great information and is simple enough for my 5 year old to read. Hope this helps!

I have a 5 and 7 year old. We all think this book is great! It's colorful and informative and Up-To-Date! One feature I enjoy pointing out to my kids is the little images which compare the dinosaurs size to a human child's size. That way we get an even better idea how big the creatures were.

Promising high interest and educational quality alike is this dinosaur 'field guide' for all ages, which packs in museum-quality dinosaur illustrations, expertise by two paleontologist authors, and details on dinosaur digs and places to see fossils in the field. Web sites, museums, and bibliographies are also included in this highly visual, appealing guide.

Powerful is the word that comes to mind. The writing, the plot and the dialogue. The character of Carrie is as different from me as night and day and yet when she needed to be strong she totally came through for herself. I didn't agree with many of the choices she made yet by the end of the novel I was rooting for her like she was a best friend.

The husband is truly irredeemable and I am glad to say I have not in my lifetime been around anyone so domineering, condescending, insufferable and without self-awareness. In fact, his whole life revolved around him, he can't grasp why everyone around him wasn't focused at all times on his needs. Loathsome. The author does a terrific job of making him so real that you hope never to cross paths with him.

I absolutely adored Val. I could totally see why Carrie was drawn to her. I loved the way Val was written as so very strong and unique yet not without flaws.

This is a book that will stay with you forever.

I was quite disappointed in this book - it was the first fiction of its kind I have ever read and sadly it lived up to all the negative stereotypes. The husband character in the book is such a cardboard-cut out villian the lesbian lover is a virtual saint. However the author has a real talent for making sex scenes erotic. Definitely a book for flicking through ...

Katherine has done it again, with her usual finesse, she's brought characters to life with writing so clear and descriptive it was as if I had been scooped up by some force and surreally planted in the midst of the events of EMERGENCE. I am in awe! I only wish there were some sort of epilogue, to give me some sense of closure to Val and Carrie's relationship, and especially to the evil that befalls Paul (Carrie's ex-husband). No complaints; just wishes. Truly remarkable!!

I began reading Katherine V Forrest's mystery novels and I hate to admit... but I wasn't terribly impressed. Yet so many of my friends said she was one of their favorite authors. So I finally picked up "An Emergence of Green" and now she is also one of my favorite authors.
This is a wonderfully touching story of how the friendship between two women blossom into something more. I highly recommend this book to anyone, gay or straight.
It reads very fast, and I was on the edge of my seat through many chapters not wanting to wait to find out what happens next. The setting is a bit dated, but the story refreshing. You won't be disappointed

Alice Street Editions has released a new edition of this 1986 novel by author Katherine V. Forrest, originally published by Naiad Press. If you read this novel long ago, it is worth the purchase price just to read the foreword from the author and the afterword written by Victoria A. Brownworth. But the book is worth rereading for its own merits.
Set in 1984 in Los Angeles against the backdrop of the Olympics and the presidential campaign involving the first (and only) woman candidate for vice president, the novel is not dated at all by this, nor is it dated by its subject matter. It is as fresh and nuanced and topical as if it had been written today.
The point is made in the afterword that Ms. Forrest writes about lesbians for lesbians. In this novel, among the first in a new genre of lesbian fiction, Ms. Forrest carefully and skillfully presents the male character, the antagonist, as fully drawn and as sympathetically as one could, a man trapped by his upbringing and his past and the social mores of his time. One may not feel sympathy for him, given the inevitable and violent denouement, but we can certainly understand him.
In fact, a reader might even begin to feel less sympathy and more impatient with the main character Carolyn Blake than perhaps might be expected. She is a trophy wife, married at nineteen to a man ten years older who is already well established in his corporate career track. She sublimates her own education and career to his, leaving jobs to move with his transfers, seemingly accepting without question that her career is less important. A friendship with the woman next door, Val Hunter, a divorced artist with a son, allows Carolyn, and the reader, to begin to draw comparisons.
One of the most interesting things about this novel is how close we get to all three main characters. We see Val through Carolyn's admiring eyes and growing affection, and also through Paul's growing resentment and jealousy as he comes to understand she is his rival. We see Carolyn both through her husband's idealistic view as a possession of which he inordinately proud, and as Val comes to know her, a vibrant woman who has spent far too much time acquiescing to Paul's idea of the perfect wife. Carolyn struggles to continue to believe her husband's possessiveness is a product of his impoverished childhood, the early loss of his mother, and his love for her, which she believes is genuine. Val sees a grown man who is domineering and arrogant in his presumptive male superiority. She instinctively feels there is something infantile about Paul's need for Carolyn, and Carolyn herself often refers to her husband as a little boy. Once she thought of this as an endearing trait, but she begins to feel his need to have her with him as clinging, suffocating, and ultimately controlling.
The tug of war that ensues between husband and friend for the heart and mind of Carolyn Blake slowly escalates as the sexual tension and awareness between the two women increases.
For those who haven't read this book before, a few words of caution. The nature of sex itself is at the heart of this novel. There are no pulled punches here. Ms. Forrest is not shy about delineating the intimate sexual details of a marriage and, exquisitely, the sexual and very sensual relationship between the two women. Nor does she back away from the same attention to the excruciating unraveling of Paul Blake and his eventual recourse to violence as the familiar world he has created starts to crumble.
I once had the pleasure of meeting Ms. Forrest, and found myself peppered with questions about this book, then yet to be released by Alice Street. On the eve of the release of her thirteenth book, the eighth in the Kate Delafield detective series, she wanted to know about a book she had written almost twenty years ago, as nervous as a first time author. Perhaps recalling the critical reviews of many years ago, she asked whether the main character, Carolyn Blake, was too weak.
The answer then and now is an emphatic no. Many women may recognize themselves in Carolyn, guided by the accepted precepts of her time, who believed that in placing their husbands' lives and careers first, they were perhaps doing the hard work often assigned women, that of balancing the cementing of family and home against their own sometimes unspoken desires; to be a woman meant doing what had to be done, and then doing more, if one wanted to also have a career. It takes some time for Carolyn Blake to realize her own needs and to leave behind the conventions to which she adhered but in which she found no rewards for her loyalty, no comfort or room for herself.
The afterword properly places this novel, and Katherine V. Forrest's body of work, firmly in the history of a genre she helped to create, both as an author of great skill, and as senior editor at Naiad Press for ten years.

Excellent book...as a avid backpacker i was very impressed with the hiking/trail descriptions included...there a TONS of them...very good educational information about the dunes and the surrounding areas as well...I highly recommend this book to anyone wanting to get a little more out of there dunes trip than a trip to the visitors center...while your there try and catch a sunset from atop the dunes!

This is an excellent guidebook. Most importantly, the maps and descriptions are very accurate yet still entertaining to read.

The guidebook encompasses short family appropriate hikes such as the Visitor Center Interpretive trail (.5 miles) to the more strenuous bushwhacking ascent of Carbonate Mountain (9.2 miles and 4,580 feet). A resource guide at the back of the book summarizes hikes by destination, difficulty, distance, and duration.

I have to not only recommend the guidebook, but the Great Sand Dunes area as well. I have spent many days hiking in Colorado (as well as other states and countries), and the Sand Dunes is truly a wonderful place for its unique beauty and ruggedness.

Last July 4th weekend, I hiked up Tijeras Peak which rises to 13,600 feet. The trail took me trough alpine meadows to an open expanse of lakes surrounded by peaks up a steep snow chute and eventually to the summit of Tijeras with awesome views that truly have to be experienced to be understood. And I had the summit all to myself.

I look forward to many more days in the Sand Dunes with this guidebook.

Although the Great San Dunes National Park is the draw, the San Luis Valley has much more to offer than a slide down the dunes or wade in Medano Creek, and the Wingers tell you where to go and how to get there. They also give you the cultural and historical context, flora, fauna and place name translations. Well written and beautifully photographed, this guide is essential for those who come to experience the place as well as the sand. They even suggest renting the classic Japanese film, Woman in the Dunes. Thanks, Charlie and Diane!

This new guidebook covers ALL aspects of the Great Sand Dunes. There is something for everyone interested in this beautiful, unique ecosystem in Colorado: natural and cultural history, hiking and climbing and other recreational activities, and local events and attractions . . . this book has it all. Want to know about the eolian (wind) geology that formed the dunes? Want to know which picnic spots are the best? Want to know what rock pro you can leave at home when climbing The Prow route on Kit Carson Mountain? The Wingers seem to provide information and resources about everything! Their easy, conversational style draws you into the delights of the dunes and echoes the small-town friendliness of the surrounding area. And this is a guidebook that can travel with you - its quality binding and sturdy pages will hold up to frequent use, which is inevitable once you experience this special area of Colorado.

Charlie & Diane have surprised the hiking public once again with their great new guide to the Sand Dunes. Soon to be declared a National Park, this full color book is set up in easy to understand color-coded sections, a first that I have seen. It is focused on a small area, so understandably goes into great detail, something many guidebooks can not do as they pretend to cover a huge aray of peaks, or trails, or entire state or regional hiking concepts. If you like getting every last bit of info on a cool place like Sand Dunes, well, this is your book. You will probably wake up with some grit in your teeth, but that's OK, sand is the name of the game here.

If you've ever kept a scrapbook of old photographs, you'll understand the fascination of this collection. Instead of grandmothers, aged aunts or toddler cousins, this book reveals life from the dimmest past. With photographs and drawings, Briggs and his colleagues have restored to view rare animals that lived in ancient seas. These are our earliest forebears, and for that reason alone, this book is worth repeated scrutiny. The images, with their stories of discovery and restoration, are offered in a spirit of shared discovery. These are very special creatures and it behooves us all to understand their value.

Although the book is targeted for professional paleontologists, the authors give us text nearly as illustrative as the images. They are part of the team who personally enticed many of these fossils from their lithic prison. Beginning with an account of Charles Woolcott's trek into the mountains of British Columbia, they go on to describe the environment in which these creatures lived. The significance of the Burgess Shale fossils, of course, is that they are images of soft body parts, usually lost as fossilization proceeds. At the time of the original find in 1909, such artifacts, especially ones of such ancient deposition were pricelessly rare. Woolcott himself understood their value to science, but never dedicated the necessary time to tease out their full secrets. It took Briggs and others, particularly Simon Conway Morris to apply the painstaking effort to recreate the body forms locked in the shale. In so doing, they overthrew a number of blithe assumptions made by a number of commentators, in particular Stephen J. Gould who had popularized the Shale finds, but sadly misinterpreted what they represent.

As you slowly turn over the pages of this book, reflect on the vast ages separating you from these creatures. The sea has always kept some bizarre secrets, but few can match the multi-spined Hallucegenia or mud-burrowing Ottoia. Haplophrentis might be mistaken for a Roman dagger lost in the sea until you read that its maximum length was but 30 millimetres long. A more formidable denizen of these waters is the Anomalocaris, with its hooked feelers and rasping mouth. Swimming in a sea with this half-meter long predator might not have been dangerous, but observing it might best be done from the beach.

This book is a clearly valuable contribution to our understanding of life's history and the process of evolution. It belongs on the shelf next to the other albums of family history. Take it down from time to time and simply open it at random. With half-closed eyes it isn't difficult to see these creatures in their daily lives, clutching rocks, swimming through the water, or burrowing into the bottom. They are your forebears, and deserve as much of your respect as does Aunt Matilda.

The Burgess Shale in the Canadian Rockies contains rarely preserved fossils of the soft body parts of animals, including many from the Cambrian. This reference provides good quality black and white photographs and illustrations of 85 of the 125 recognized genera of the Burgess Shale. Of interest, the proportion of the total Burgess Shale fossils a given specimen represents, is given.

This is a wonderful book. It is chock-full of photographs of Burgess shale fossils. The photographs are full page photographs and are accompanied by drawings that illustrate what the plant or animal probably looked like. The text is informative and easy to follow for a layperson.

"The Fossils of the Burgess Shale" written by Derek E.G. Briggs, Douglas H. Erwin, and Frederick J. Collier and photographs by Chip Clark is simply a marvelous book about early Cambrian life some 540 million years ago. We get a rare look into life's past and what makes the Burgess Shale such a significant part of life's mystery is that these fossils, in most cases, are soft- bodied fauna and flora.

"The Fossils of the Burgess Shale" is a snapshot into life's past and there are only a few locations (30) left that can afford such a look ( China, Central America, Greenland, Spain, Poland, and Southern Australia). Found in 1909 by Charles D. Walcott, high in the Rocky Mountains of Canada, now part of Yoho Park in British Columbia, who had a huge collection of these remarkable fossils shipped back to the Smithsonian Institution where he was Secretary. Today the Cambrian is among the most intensively studied intervals in the history of life, and the debate rages over what triggered the rapid appearance of most major groups of animals.

The photographs in this book are a major accomplishment as it affords the reader with an example of the fossil in question along with a line drawing of what this particular flora of fauna looked like. Thus, making the reader aware of what the authors are talking about.

If you've ever read "It's a Wonderful Life" by Stephen Jay Gould or "The Crucible of Creation" by Simon Conway-Morris "The Fossils of the Burgess Shale" will make a great companion book that explains some of the personalized conclusions that are found in these books and it makes it very clear as to what they are discussing. The preservation of soft-bodied animals is not evenly distributed through the fossil record. Thus, making this book all the more important concerning about what life was like.

The first few pages of the book explains where the Burgess Shale is and its significance and the major players in which have played an important part in the furthering the knowledge of these fossil remains, how fossilization probably occured.

The remainder of the book is devoted to the fossils of the Burgess Shale, with illustrations, discussions, full page photographs and reconstructions of 85 out of 125 recognized genra. The text accompanying the illustrations aims to provide an outline of the morphology, mode of life, and the affinities of the organism. There is ample identification of the sample fossils so the specialist can search for further data.

"The Fossils of the Burgess Shale" is rated a solid 5 stars and is one of the best books that I've found for life in the Cambrian. You will not be dissapointed with this book as it delivers in spades.

"The Fossils of the Burgess Shale," the non-geologist will find this book fascinating and understandable - yet the author did not "water down" the facts for those of us who have the technical background in the fields of geology and paleontology. The only drawback of the book was that some of the species listed in the back were not included in the pictorial portion of the book. I do understand that if Briggs had placed them all in the book the volume would have been over a 1,000 pages in length; however, several of the species not included are equally spectacular!

The first third of the book provides a brief history of the site and it's significance within Cambrian paleontology; the remaining two-third portion of the book provides clear photographs and line drawings of the animals entombed in this special location. I have used this book in teaching about the Cambrian explosion. Students were awed by the content of the book. If you are interested in invertebrate paleontology; this book is a must!