Park Books

If you like to visit the National Parks or just want to know more about them, this is a great source of information. All National Parks, Monuments, Wildlife Refuges and some National Forests are covered. It is full of pictures and maps that look great. Nice all in one book.

We originally owned an older edition of this book and just purchased this to replace it. We have been to many National Parks over the years and have found this guide to be the best one out there. The drives as listed are fantastic... you won't miss anything if you have this book along with you!

This is an excellent book to use as a planning guide for trips to any of the National Parks in the US. I have been to many of the parks, and without exception the book's advice about how to get there, when to go, what to look for, etc., is excellent in every way. The book is filled with excellent color photography, and accompanying explanatory text with detailed entrance information that is particularly useful in some of the busier parks. There is also some good introductory safety information presented, but as always, it is a good idea to talk to local authorities when arriving (this is especially a good idea in the Alaska parks, many of which are veritably full of bears.)

All the parks are worth seeing, and this book gives a good introduction to them. Among the favorites that I have been to and particularly recommend are Denali National Park, an easy drive from Anchorage, Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, on the island of Hawaii (the "Big Island"), Zion National park in Utah, home of some of the most spectacular desert landscape in the world, and Badlands National Park in South Dakota, featuring not only spectacular landscapes, but amazing animals in abundance.

This book is a great place to start; now get going and enjoy the beautiful National Parks!

I obtained the first edition of this book over ten years ago, and have kept that along with the latest edition in my book collection ever since. At that time I had never been to a national park, but this little book insipired me to visit 35 of them, volunteer in two, and work seasonally as a ranger at one.

This book is packed with useful and interesting information about each of the parks, and it is a pleasure to read even when not planning a trip. I highly recommend it.

We recently purchased this book just before our four-national-parks tour. The book not only gives you an overview of the parks, practical information such as how to get there, and nearby lodging etc., it has very good recommendation of must-see stops, and different levels of hikes you can take and what to expect. We used the book at every park and it helped us effectively use our time and it is a joy to read even without going to the parks.

Ayane Yamano's work is always top noth quality. Interesting stories, beautiful drawings. The only reason why I gave this book 4 stars instead of 5 is that only a half of this manga is devoted to the Finder series. The rest are bonus stories that have nothing in common with the main story. They are very good themselves but I would have prefered less bonus, more main material :(

This book is a MUST have for any true yaoi fan. Beautifully erotic, dramatic, and action-packed. Ayano Yamane churns out believable, sexy characters and a plot that will have you begging for more. I loved it!!! Totally worth the buy!

The whole series of Finders books are hot, beautifully drawn, and have good story. The sex scenes are really quality. The creator knows how to give you just enough build-up, romantic tension, and character development before diving into quality sexing that gives your tummy flip-flops because of the tense character intrigue!

The art is meticulous, perfect! Thats why so many artists imitate her. I don't think there's a better manga artist out there in my opinion.

I completely love this series, but it's not for anyone who does not enjoy the prospect of explicit sexual scenes of men with other men. Everyone else can enjoy to the fullest! Truly lovely. Your eyes are drawn back and forth over the dark, stoic Asami and the shiny new penny Akihito. The play between them is palatable.

Akihito is a tabloid photographer, and Asami is a mob boss. Akihito is caught taking compromising pictures of a politician, and Asami and his goons corner him on a rooftop. They begin to interrogate the photographer, and none too nicely. Luckily Akihito daringly escapes before they could discover his source. Akihito even taunts the Yakuza as he clings to the side of the building he jumped from to elude them. Despite a warning from his source, a cop (and apparently father figure) named Yamazaki, Akihito goes on yet another assignment. Possibly one that Yamazaki has set Akihito up on. This gets him snagged by Asami and his men. It's a trap. Akihito had no idea, until Asami stares directly at his camera just as he takes a shot. (A lovely knowing smile on Asami's face in that shot!) What follows is the kidnaping and seriously hot debauching of poor Akihito. Lucky for Akhito, Asami seems to have done this once or twice. (Scoff!) He dances expertly on the line between cruelty and kindness. He teases Akihito with several things, the best among them was taunting him with his own camera by taking some choice shots of his very naked and vulnerable body. There are times when Asami's even quite tender, but he is always in complete control. He makes sure that Akihito enjoys himself very well in the end. Can you say "screaming orgasm"? I knew you could.

The morning after finds Akihito reflecting on the previous night. Attempting to retrieve the equipment left behind during his kidnapping, he stumbles upon a deal between another mob boss and his friend Yamazaki. Akihito waits until the Yakuza leave, then tells Yamazaki that he's ok with him dealing with the mob, that he trusts him and his judgement as a policemen. Stunned at being found out, Yamazaki draws his gun and aims for Akihito shakily. Asami steps out of the shadows. He's been there the whole time. He pushes Akihito out of the line of fire to the floor, stepping into that line himself to kill Yamazaki. The cops are called, and the scene is left with Akihito sitting on the dock crying and feeling used. Asami comes back and consoles Akihito. Angry that Asami has used him too, Akihito tells Asami that he will find out his weakness and use it to his advantage. Asami grinning cooly and smoking a cigarette says he looks forward to being in Akihito's viewvinder, and looking forward to having Akihito watching him.

There is more. It gets even better, (Wait 'till you see Fei Long!) but if this hasn't hooked you nothing that follows will. The artwork is full of excellent detail, and the expressions are beautiful and believable. Asami is sexy and sleek in his tailored and neat business suits, his eyes are part of a well controlled mask. They show just a little emotion, but the satisfaction is completely evident when he's with Akihito. I'd even say he can't quite help himself. Akihito's beauty is his youth and his innocence. His expressions are wild and uncontrolled. He wears the uniform of the young: jeans, t-shirts, hooded sweatshirts, layers that do little to hide his lithe masculine frame. There is no doubt by the end of the manga that Akihito is craving Asami's calculated cruelty every bit as much as Asami craves Akihito's crumbling resistance.

This is my first real yaoi. It's really good but very short for my taste. When it arrived I have thought: good, it's really thick, so I have a lot to read. But of 200 pages, less than 100 are about Akihito and Asami, the two main characters, and the other are all short stories by the same author (some really interesting, like Love Lesson).

Akihito is a young photoreporter; he captures the attention of Asami, a business man who probably is engaged in a drug traffic and with the mafia. Asami kidnaps Akihito and during a night of passion and non consensual sex, marks Akihito as his property. When he frees the boy the next day, Akihito knows he could never forget this domineering man. Everytime he meets him, he can't deny the passion he feels.

And Akihito lets the guy fly away everytime, knowing that he will return back to him. But he will do also everything to protect him from his enemies that could use Akihito as a pawn to draw him in a trap.

Akihito is really young. Maybe not in age, but in experience. But he has a strong wit and Asami is fascinating by his free spirit. And he is really possessive: Akihito could be free, but not free to fly in the arms of another man.

In this graphic novel Akihito is not ready to admit his desires for another man, above all a man with a not so clear past. If I had not yet ordered the next two books in this series I would be a lot disappointed in not knowing if ours two characters will continue their game of love.

I had never heard of Cash Peters before. I was browsing Amazon looking for books that I can't get in the UK and one of them was Gullible's Travels. It sounded like my type of thing so I thought why not? I'm so glad I did. Its one of those books that is so enjoyable I don't want to get to the end.

Bill Bryson is my favourite author and the only one who can make me laugh out loud and I would rate Cash Peters to be as funny and readable as Bill. So, I have a few pages to go but I know this will be a book I will keep re-reading - it is highly entertaining.

This is a genius of book. Picture his TV Show on Travel Channel with some bite. He goes over many things as he travel the byways of not just travel, But lifes quirks. In all his travel semgments he goes over the eleations, and the pitfalls. Like the hearfelt moment about his guide in Memphis, or the rude treatment he got in a B&B in Boston. The book will help, or hinder your appreciation of tourist traps. For a nice laugh at, or with Cash Peters --- buy the book!

I discovered Cash Peters' Travel Channel show over the summer (where he's dropped off in some strange land--he has no idea where--with no money whatsoever and has to convince locals to feed and shelter him for a day) and was given this book over the weekend as an early birthday present. I am glad to report that Gullible's Travels is even wittier and more fun than his TV show! Peters visits and writes about a number of cities and tourist traps, as well as some of the oddest, most tasteless and inane destinations imaginable. Not only are the locations themselves simply brilliant, but Cash Peters' running commentary on these places would crack up a 1692 Salem Puritan. Sure you can learn a thing or two and maybe get an idea about where to go when you make your own vacation plans, but the real attraction here is Peters' himself and his goofy way of perceving everything. I suppose one could ask for a more serious guide thru these "bad taste" sites but it'd be hard to come up with one who was more bizarre. Peters is a likable bloke and while I'm not sure I'd let him crash in my house should his Travel Channel producers ever drop him off to film an episode in Mason, Ohio, I'd love to hear his comments about my home town. I can only imagine the things he'd say...

In a nutshell: I don't have to buy books because I live in Salt Lake City, which has, arguably, the greatest public library in the country if not the world. So I got "Gullible's Travels" (I think I saw an ad in The New Yorker) and, it's a good thing I have a great library because I can't afford to buy books anyway, but guess what, I'm going to buy this one. Several copies of this one, for gifts. Not even Xmas gifts, just gifts for people who need a good laugh and appreciate real wit. It's that good. I hope a lot of people buy "Gullible's" and I hope Cash Peters laughs all the way to the bank.

In usual Cash Peters style, this book is just what the title of this review says it is: Manic, Zany and TONS of Fun! Cash documents and comments on his journeys and experiences as a travel writer. Hilarious comments and insights by Cash. If you like him on the Travel Channel, you'll LOVE this book. A great laugh and a must read!

Let me first of all say that Rick Ridgeway is one of my favorite adventure writers. This book is focused on the area around Kilimanjaro and the current state of the conservation movement. Rick does a wonderful job of describing the area as he makes his way on foot from Kilimanjaro to the East coast of Africa.

One of my favorite aspects of this book is that Rick includes all the books he has used in his research to gain a better understanding of the history of East Africa.

If you love a well written adventure, with enough meat to make you want to dig deeper in understanding Africa - this is your book.

Author Ridgeway writes a well-paced narrative that smoothly ties together his personal adventure in eastern Africa with the area's history and culture, particularly in terms of its ecology, with focus on elephants as the defining megafauna of the area.

Ridgeway provokes thought on the future of Africa's large animals, the past fate of those large mammals that have already disappeared, and how we humans tie into all of this. His primary sources are the people who have shaped and continue to shape Kenya's game and wildlife policies; these sources give his writing the distinct tinge of veracity.

Recommended for any interested in travel, African history, or ecology.

Rick Ridgeway has written a very informative and entertaining account of his 300 mile hike West to East across southern Kenya in 1997. The walk was metaphorically in THE SHADOW OF KILIMANJARO beginning on the summit of that great mountain and spanning the different ecological zones of mountain moraine, foothills, savannah, scrub, desert, and finally tropical white sand beaches of the Indian Ocean coast near Malindi. More significantly Ridgeway writes about his journey in the shadow of others who have written famously on Kenya, most significantly Hemingway, Dinesen, and Blixen. At yet another level this story is set in the shadow of Kenya's colonial history and its current struggles as a developing nation trying to make its way in the modern world.

Ridgeway deals with all the relevant issues - ecology and the environment, conservation, domestic politics, the economy, tourism, the romantic literary images, the colonial legacy, the Mau Mau uprisings, cultural, ethnic, and social issues. And he deals with them in the way good travel writing should. Simply present the facts as you get them and let others speak their truths. No moralizing and very little contextualizing and therefore very refreshing.

The image of Kenya that emerges is that of a real country. Not too much of the fantasy and gloss of a romantic wilderness nor the equally unreal vision of warring tribes at THE ENDS OF THE EARTH. Just reality. Strengths, weaknesses, beauty, blemishes, issues, agendas, and concerns. All the things that face a people making their way on a rapidly globalizing planet. Although Ridgeway's Kenya is a very different place than the country I knew in the 1960's when I lived there in my youth, it's still as rich and as alive as I remember it and Ridgeway has done an excellent job of bringing it home.

I was so disappointed by this book I could not get through more than a couple of chapters. The author may know about mountaineering, but he seems to know very little about Kenya. Moreover, I found the writing to be ethnocentric and quite boring.

Combining moments of danger with moments of profound introspection, mountaineer/explorer Ridgeway details his journey from the top of Mount Kilimanjaro through the Tsavo game reserves to Mombasa, a month-long journey on foot, which allows him to experience man's primal relationships with the environment. Traveling with an experienced guide, two members of the Kenya Park and Wildlife Service, and two sharpshooters (in case of life-threatening danger), Ridgeway follows dry riverbeds across the savanna, seeking "tactile knowledge of Africa's wildlands and wild animals."

Far more than a search for thrills, the journey offers Ridgeway an opportunity to observe breath-taking vistas and the full panoply of wildlife, from the elephant to the tiniest of birds, paying equal attention to all. Mourning the absence of once-plentiful animals from the bushlands near Kilimanjaro, and the decline of species elsewhere, Ridgeway contemplates the long-term effects of colonialism, big game hunting, poaching, traditional tribal values, climatic changes, and tourism, as well as man's seemingly innate tendency to kill certain species into extinction.

Ridgeway, long a hunter himself, is an engaging author, both observant and thoughtful. A great admirer of hunter-turned-game-park-adminstrator Bill Woodley, whose two sons from the Park and Wildlife Service are on the journey, he provides a sensitive and impartial treatment of conservation issues. Extolling the work of elephant researchers Cynthia Moss and Joyce Poole, the latter of whom joins the group for part of the journey, he points out that they have acquired through study a kind of knowledge not available to hunters. Without preaching, he conveys "the big picture," making a compelling case for the fact that to preserve Africa's large mammals one must "fight fiercely not only to preserve, but even to expand, their wild habitat." Mary Whipple

It's been several days since I've finished this amazing book, and only now, as I begin it again, can I begin to sing its praises. This is one of those rare books that one becomes lost among-- yes, we're talking missed bus stops, phone calls going unanswered, lunch hours long over-extended, and sitting in the car reading when one should be in the office doing something. J.G. Hayes is a writer whose work seems to go directly into one-- so often, even with other superlative artists, one is still aware that one is reading. But with Hayes' work, one is there, one loses the sense that one is reading-- there is no middle man. I can count on one hand the authors who have down that to me.
By no means does one have to be a GLBT person to appreciate and love this book-- I'm not-- just as one does not have to be Native American to weep at Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, or Asian-American to get Amy Tan. Hayes' work transcends genre, if indeed he can be called a genre writer (which I'm sure he would resent.) And his verbal pyrotechnics are astonishing: "It was deep in the green tangle of June when it happened..." or "lost as we were, traversing the Timbuktu of 11-year old boy dreams..."
And, with the creation of Petey Harding, Hayes has given us a Green Man Everyman for the next century-- innocent, cynical, world-weary, joyous, subliminal, despairing and child-like and ancient, all at the same time.
Anyway...gush gush gush. Just buy this book. Then prepare to be late for things until you finish.

Hayes, J.G. "A Map of the Harbor Islands", Harrington Park Press, 2006.

Mapping the Heart

Amos Lassen and Literary Pride

For the sheer pleasure of reading and the beauty of the English language, "A Map of the Harbor Islands" is the book to read. Here is such a beautiful story that literally had me weeping as I read. J.G. Hayes has written a book that just happens to be gay as he deals with the friendship between two friends--one gay and one straight.
Danny and Petey are the best of friends even though they come from very different parts of Boston and very different ways of life. Petey is the ideal boy, everyone adores him--he is prize student and star athlete. His world is changed forever during a basketball game but what caused the change I will leave to you to read the book and find out for yourselves. Anyone who has ever had a best friend will love his book. The childhood friendship of the Danny and Petey continues as they reach adulthood even though one is gay and one is straight. Through ups and downs, periods of non-communication and some rough periods, their love for each other matures and mutates but they remain true to each other. Written beautifully, the book has humor in the middle of trouble and the heart is rendered as the friends and nature are described.
It is only fair to say that this is not just a work of gay fiction--it is a wonderful addition to literature at large. Here is a book that must be read and appreciated for the beautiful tome that it is. But I digress--I cannot help but relay my praise.
Looking back at Danny and Petey--they have been friends since kindergarten and the book concentrates on their lives from the seventh grade forward. In Boston there are unwritten codes of behavioral conduct and high on that unspoken list is that there are no gay boys in south Boston. This does not affect the friendship of the two but it did require a great deal of decoding on Danny's part, especially in understanding Petey as the boys stand on the threshold of adulthood.
The core of the narrative is a study of what friendship is and the power it holds. As you read the book, you realize that, for you, Danny and Petey are not just characters on a page of a book but are real and vibrant.
When Petey comes out to Danny, Danny arranges a date for him with a woman and the results were not only disastrous but traumatic for both boys. Danny realizes later that perhaps he is also gay and in order to check himself he enlists in the Armed Services so that he can gain some perspective on his own life. This only adds more confusion and complication to the nature of the relationship.
The plot is a roller coaster ride through the entire gamut of human emotion. When in the last chapter, Danny reflects on his friendship with Petey, we see that despite their differences in sexuality, their friendship is strong and true.
This is not an easy read because of several parts written in the "stream of consciousness" but this is one of the best reads you will ever have. The language and style are intense and pack with emotion. The enchanting friendship of the two boys and the fact that they can openly speak about their own character flaws makes this book monumental. There is no let down anywhere in the book--it begins to cast its spell with the first sentence where it grabs you and holds you until the last sentence.
I felt fulfilled and so much of a better person having read this beautiful book and I am sure you will feel the same.

Quite simply I have to say this is the best published book, gay or otherwise, that I have read in quite some time. I did not want to put it down. I was quite moved by the story throughout the book and was so appreciative of the depth and spirituality of the ending I cried which I do not do easily!
Joe writes like people in South Boston talk and this takes a little getting used to at first but once the cadence is achieved it is smooth sailing (no pun intended) from then on. It is a story of love, hurt, redemption, acceptance, self awareness, friendship and life interwoven with a person's grappling with self and societal homophobia. Joe is a master of creativity dand storytelling. You will NOT be disappointed!

Hayes, J.G. "A Map of the Harbor Islands", Harrington Park Press, 2006.

Mapping the Heart

Amos Lassen and Literary Pride

For the sheer pleasure of reading and the beauty of the English language, "A Map of the Harbor Islands" is the book to read. Here is such a beautiful story that literally had me weeping as I read. J.G. Hayes has written a book that just happens to be gay as he deals with the friendship between two friends--one gay and one straight.
Danny and Petey are the best of friends even though they come from very different parts of Boston and very different ways of life. Petey is the ideal boy, everyone adores him--he is prize student and star athlete. His world is changed forever during a basketball game but what caused the change I will leave to you to read the book and find out for yourselves. Anyone who has ever had a best friend will love his book. The childhood friendship of the Danny and Petey continues as they reach adulthood even though one is gay and one is straight. Through ups and downs, periods of non-communication and some rough periods, their love for each other matures and mutates but they remain true to each other. Written beautifully, the book has humor in the middle of trouble and the heart is rendered as the friends and nature are described.
It is only fair to say that this is not just a work of gay fiction--it is a wonderful addition to literature at large. Here is a book that must be read and appreciated for the beautiful tome that it is. But I digress--I cannot help but relay my praise.
Looking back at Danny and Petey--they have been friends since kindergarten and the book concentrates on their lives from the seventh grade forward. In Boston there are unwritten codes of behavioral conduct and high on that unspoken list is that there are no gay boys in south Boston. This does not affect the friendship of the two but it did require a great deal of decoding on Danny's part, especially in understanding Petey as the boys stand on the threshold of adulthood.
The core of the narrative is a study of what friendship is and the power it holds. As you read the book, you realize that, for you, Danny and Petey are not just characters on a page of a book but are real and vibrant.
When Petey comes out to Danny, Danny arranges a date for him with a woman and the results were not only disastrous but traumatic for both boys. Danny realizes later that perhaps he is also gay and in order to check himself he enlists in the Armed Services so that he can gain some perspective on his own life. This only adds more confusion and complication to the nature of the relationship.
The plot is a roller coaster ride through the entire gamut of human emotion. When in the last chapter, Danny reflects on his friendship with Petey, we see that despite their differences in sexuality, their friendship is strong and true.
This is not an easy read because of several parts written in the "stream of consciousness" but this is one of the best reads you will ever have. The language and style are intense and pack with emotion. The enchanting friendship of the two boys and the fact that they can openly speak about their own character flaws makes this book monumental. There is no let down anywhere in the book--it begins to cast its spell with the first sentence where it grabs you and holds you until the last sentence.
I felt fulfilled and so much of a better person having read this beautiful book and I am sure you will feel the same.

Many reviewers have rehashed the plot so I won't go over any plot points in here. In my opinion JG Hayes has produced a classic of gay themed fiction here. I almost wish it did not have to be lumped in with gay fiction because I think so many people of any persuasion would be incredibly touched by the love and the friendship shown in these pages. The success of the book is the putting into words the feelings of unconditional love. With only one minor exception - near the end of the book - he never once uses the melodramatic tv movie of the week prose/storytelling that so many other writers have resorted too to tell stories of friendship.

Love it or hate it the dialougue is fresh and exciting. In the character of Petey he gives us a free thinker whose capacity for learning and loving seem endless. Teaching by example, Petey becomes the shining light that changes forever the lives of those around him.

While the book is very wordy, with many segues to the characters random thoughts - you must read every word! There are so many pearls buried in there. I found myself gasping out loud at some of turns of phrase he uses in telling this compelling story. Prepare be surprised - prepare to enjoy and prepare to meet a gifted writer who will turn your world on its head. Few books have left me this moved.

I was hesitant to read this book despite the recommendation of a friend and despite the accolades written here. How foolish. Reading this book was like sinking into a great mattress. I was near hypnotized by the beauty of the text which simply flowed. At times I was so overcome that I had to put the book down, the sadness of it all is wrenching. But never is the book depressing or is it hateful while describing the hate that people so easily engender. This is an extraordinary work.

This book was a gift to me from someone who knows my love of the Irish and of writers from that country. I began it hesitantly, not sure of the country I was entering, until I got perhaps ten pages into the book. The protagonist was describing how his mother sliced bread:

"..She did it in a trice. In the sewing of a wren's mitten."

I never looked back. His writing is brilliant, evocative, heartbreaking.

The Irish have always been known as great storytellers, but now they're all turning into great writers as well, and it seems they're coming out of the woodwork. Sebastian Barry's The Whereabouts of Eneas McNulty places the protagonist in the small village of Sligo where he is an innocent among angry partisans. When he chooses to alleviate his problems of employment by taking a job with the Royal Irish Constabulary, the British-led police force, he irrevocably alters his life - as you might imagine! With beautiful language and ethereal descriptive passages, Barry allows readers to follow Eneas' travels and travails - all of us hoping for a happy ending.

So good that after I had read a library copy, I purchased my own so I could read it all over. This novel takes on indirectly (as in his more recent "A Long, Long Way From Home") Barry's own family's experience as Irish divided between serving the British and aiding those who rebelled against the King. The other reviewers here cover much of the plot, but I might add that a touch of magic realism near the explosive climax makes for a nice touch, and the tension between truth-telling and perceived loyalty moves the story of the modern-day Aeneas along his wanderings efficiently and poignantly.

Barry, also a poet and best known--at least before this novel--as a playwright, brings to his fictional characters a narrative style somewhat at odds with what one might expect. He's not Joyce, that is, striving for a correlative voice to match his character's interior musings. Rather, he takes the rich legacy of Joyce and makes it impel his own telling of the interior life of those that Barry finds empathy with, and whose inner as well as outer itineraries this author feels, you sense, he must tell. This impelling of a writer to find release through his creations makes for a very effective novel, indeed.

...and sure, Mark Twain would likely love the hero of this wonderful book. Eneas is truly an innocent - he never shies from hard work, he loves his family dearly, and (his gift and his damnation) he has no neither mind nor care at all, at all for the politicks. He's not really a simpleton, merely a simple man. Born in 1900, he comes of age with the Irish struggle for independence so vividly painted by events such as the Easter uprising of 1916. When his mates - especially his best boyhood friend, Jonno Lynch - are enlisting in the fight to throw off the British oppression, Eneas, finding it difficult to locate gainful employment, enlists first in the British Merchant Navy (which in itself might have been forgiven by those who deemed themselves his judges later), then in the Royal Irish Constabulary. The RIC being mainly a police force, Eneas couldn't see the harm in lending a hand in that quarter - but as the fight for independence grew more fierce and factional, the RIC was tied too closely in the eyes of some to the hated Tans, who were responsible for some right bloody work. Eneas, finding himself on a blacklist kept by those calling themselves patriots, is given a choice - get close to and kill the much-hated and feared Reprisal Man of the Tans, or suffer the consequences of a death sentence. Our hero cannot bring himself to kill a man, so he refuses - and when he sees that those who have threatened him with extinction mean just what they say, sees no other choice than to flee his beloved Sligo and his native Ireland altogether.

Thus his adventures and travels begin. He signs on with a merchant vessel and winds up in Galveston, Texas. He enlists with the British Army for World War II in order to save France (a country for whom he bears a great love, of unknown origins) from Hitler. After being shell-shocked on the beach at Dunkirk and lodging with a French farmer for a growing and harvesting season, he makes his way back to England, pays a quick visit to Ireland, then winds up in Nigeria, digging a canal for a British company. He finds the best friend of his life in the person of Harcourt, a Nigerian national he first meets on a boat heading to Ireland, then again in Nigeria. Harcourt's friendship becomes one of the true treasures of Eneas' life - and a lifelong friendship it is.

Barry's language and prose capture his characters, the setting and their story perfectly. The reader can't help but feel a great empathy for Eneas, and for others in the book as well. Through the story of one man - and a very believable story it is indeed - Barry lays bare the pain through which Ireland has passed in its journey to find itself. There's a lot of sadness to be found here - but there's a lot of joy as well, so.

Read this book - and read Barry's novel ANNIE DUNNE as well (even better, I think, but that's me...).

My 4 and 5 year olds love Junie B. Jones. This is the first chapter book on cd we have purchased and they love it! They listen to it while they are going to bed at night. They even tell me which chapter they were on when they fell asleep:) Great buy!

Junie B., First Grader: Dumb Bunny (A Stepping Stone Book(TM))

I love all of Barbara Parks books about Junie B. Jones. I think they should make a movie of this book. I think this is the funniest of all the Junie B.books. If you have a little girl who loves to read or be read to, I cannot recommend all of the Junie B. books enough.

Would make a great addition to any Easter basket! This book is a little better than cheater pants!

My daughter has the whole collection she love keeping up with Junie B. I have not read a book in it's entire but from what I've read she is a very curious, funny little girl. I recommend this book and all the others also. My daughter was hooked after the 1st Barbara Parks books and althought she is older now she still cracks up laughing when reading. Totaling entertaining!

After more than 25 books, Barbara Park's series about a very loquacious first grader with a vocabulary far beyond her age (and the writing ability to go with it) is still going strong. So I suspended my disbelief and read JUNIE B., FIRST GRADER: DUMB BUNNY to my six-year-old.

In this adventure, the rich girl in class, Lucille, invites everyone over to her mansion to participate in an over-the-top Easter Egg Hunt that will result in a play date in Lucille's heated indoor swimming pool. Lucille wants her boyfriend Sheldon to win, but Junie B. and her arch-nemesis May (the original "dumb bunny" in the title until Junie B. gets something of a comeuppance later on) are ready to pounce, pound and scrabble their opponents in order to get a dip in that grand pool.

There is a lot of falling down and Batman-type expletives (WHOOSH! SMASH!), and the kids are none too nice to each other until Junie B., in a sudden acknowledgment of good judgment, makes a quick and well-appreciated sacrifice to save the day. We laughed at some of the pratfalls, and Lucille's annoyed Nanna character was amusing as well. Junie B. shares the stage with a lot of different people, but she is clearly the star of the show, the story told from her point of view.

Whether humiliated in a pink bunny suit or gloating over her lack of selfishness, Junie B. thinks in capital letters with lots of exclamation points and writes in her journal about what she has learned. The journal entries are cute and engaging, and spell out the moral of the story without being too pointed, which we appreciated.

If this is your first Junie B. foray, it might be helpful to go back and read some of the earlier books first to relax into her strange environment. Otherwise, DUMB BUNNY certainly will offer fans of the series more of what they have come to expect from this little girl and her friends.

--- Reviewed by Jana Siciliano

My daughter love this series. It's a little hard for me to read due to the poor grammar and name calling. Let's face it though most first graders have poor grammar. There are worse things that she could be reading. We have all of these books and they are well loved.

I can't "gush" enough about this book. It truly is a feel good read. Kluger's vivid descriptions of the characters make you feel as if you intimately know them. And Hucky! Makes you want to adopt him yourself. The only way to improve this book is to see it made into a movie. I loved this book so much I'm ordering all of Steve Kluger's books. I just love the way he writes. The chapter layout (each character's perspective and e-mail) is brilliant. I am anxiously awaiting Kluger's next book

I just finished this book and I have to say it was one of the best I have ever read emotionally. And every emotion is positive! If I counted every time I "awed" or felt teary during the story I would be sure to be in the hundreds.
A story about a diary, an unconventional family, baseballs, musicals and love of all kinds I highly recommend this to anyone age 0-122 (look up Jeanne Calment)

I honestly didn't think he could top "Last Days of Summer" until I read "Almost Like Being in Love," and considered it an even match. But "My Most Excellent Year" is in another category altogether because it speaks directly to the heart. While the other two novels encompass a variety of issues, "My Most Excellent Year" reminds us so specifically about the real-life day-to-day magic we somehow stop seeing when we grow up that the irresistible plot is almost secondary. And this is the most captivating cast of characters Kluger has yet come up with. (In fact, Augie Hwong may well turn out to be the 21st Century's response to Tom Sawyer.)

I don't know why they list the novel under Young Adult fiction, since--like "Last Days"--it has a lot more to say to grownups than to kids. I just know that when I finished it I felt a lot younger than I did when I started it.

Last Days of Summer is one of my favorite books. I think this author might consider the Harper Lee dignified act. If he can't equal it, stop imitating it. Enjoyable, but not memorable.

I love this book. It is a fresh point of view! I totally feel in love with the characters!

I must say that I really enjoy this book. It is well written and provides alot of very good information. It is a good resource book to keep in your RV. I am planning to go full time RVing in the next couple of months and this book helped me to make that important decision. Read and enjoy folks!

We found this book a very valuable resource for planning on our eventual fulltiming phase of life. It is a very easy read, but it also has the information you need. It's very well laid out! Thanks for a great book!

Support Your RV Lifestyle: An Insider's Guide to Working on the Road (Second Edition)
is a wonderful resource -- it's well-written, filled with great information, and is inspirational and encouraging, as well. Jaimie Hall is knowledgeable and enthusiastic about her topic. It's obvious that she's a seasoned traveler -- and has been both working on the road and talking to many other RVers who have worked while enjoying their travels.

The book summarizes over 350 jobs (in categories like work at rv parks and resorts, christmas tree farms, state parks and national forest areas, concessions, seasonal jobs, sales of rv related products, crafts, writing and consulting). Details like how to handle resumes, long-distance job interviews, contact information and communication while traveling, and the right questions to ask about jobs are also covered. In addition to the many options it lists, it points out possible problems and challenges one may encounter on the road while trying to find a job or while working.

If you (like us) are thinking about traveling in an RV, this is the book to have in the planning stage -- and I assume it will also be helpful when on the road.
Also check out the author's website and enewsletter.

My husband was intrigued by the idea of full-timing in an RV. This book gives you ideas of working while moving around in your RV. Maybe working a seasonal job in a theme park or with a tour group, on a guest ranch or in a national park appeals to you. Some jobs offer free campsites.
Ultimately I chickened out on the idea, but if you think the open road is for you and want to make some money along the way, be sure to read this book.
It includes a ton of info in the appendix: including contact information for state tourist bureaus, state parks, state revenue offices and state motor vehicle and licensing bureaus and more, plus an additional 32 pages of resources.

Many people who contemplate living the RV lifestyle probably equate it with a leisurely retirement. But what if you combine RVing with a lucrative work life? You may discover that you can hit the road at a younger age and reap more rewards.
Support Your RV Lifestyle spells out in great detail exactly how to live this dream life. Jaimie Hall speaks from her own experience and culls information from a wealth of other sources to create a comprehensive tool for planning to live and work on the road.
Just as you wouldn't set out on a trip without a road map, you would be miles ahead by consulting this guide before embarking on this life journey. There's a lot more to consider than where to park your vehicle each night. Don't assume you'll just "find a job" when you reach your destination. There are many considerations, from tying your marketable skills to a job on the road, to balancing work and fun, to tax implications. Because Ms. Hall is so thorough with her guidance, you will be well-equipped to make decisions about how to combine work with pleasure.
It is likely that some of her 100-plus pages of worksheets and resource lists would assist travelers in general, not only those traveling and working out of an RV. You'll recoup the price of this travel guide many times if you choose to follow its course for living and working on the road

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I was looking for a program to use to set up my goals. I had already read "Goals" by Brian Tracy and it was nice, but didn't give me the best starting point. After reading, "What to Say When You Talk to Yourself", which was also a great book, I decided to read this one. It gave me exactly what I was looking for. The first part of the book was on self-talk, which I was familiar with after reading Helmstetters other book. The second part was on goals, which I was very easily able to apply, and I am currently using this program for all of my goal setting. The third part discusses having a personal coach. Highly recommended!!

A lot of the other reviews about this book have said that the author, Shad Helmstetter, has clearly done it again. I agree -- only this time, even more so! He's done it! I not only love this book -- I receommend it to everyone.

This book goes beyone the self-help books I have read or reviewed in the past. First there were other great authors like Napolean Hill, Maxwell Maltz, Dr. Peale, and Dale Carnegie. Meanwhile, Shad Helmstetter was doing research in the field of personal growth and motivation and writing great books on what he found. When Dr. Helmstetter wrote "What To Say When You Talk To Your Self" he wrote a classic (which I still highly recommend), and with that book he entered the rarified field of exceptional authors in personal growth.

After reading the next ten books he wrote, when I learned Dr. Helmstetter had released a new book, I was personally hoping for his "final answer". The new book, "Who Are You And What Do You Want?" not only met my expections, it blew me away. I have never read a book on personal or business growth that is more practical and to the point.

In "Who Are You Really And What Do You Want?" he brings the best personal growth ideas together, for the first time. You'll find that it makes so much sense that you'll be trying out the ideas while you're reading the book. I was amazed at what I found out about myself, and about what I wanted to do next.

One of the things that surprised me about this book is how simple Dr. Helmstetter makes his case for what to do next, regardless of where you are now, or what the problems is, or what the goal is. There is not one line of pop-psychogy jargon in the entire book. True to his writing style in his previous books, you get the feeling when you're reading that he's talking to you as a friend who's been there.

As someone who reads and reviews a lot of books in this field, I tend to get skeptical. But after reading the first few pages of this book, I knew I was reading another classic book in personal growth. I read on the cover of the book that Dr. Helmstetter's books are published in 65 countries. This one should make it worldwide.

A number of years ago, when I first read "What To Say When You Talk To Your Self" I thought that was a book that could not be topped. But "Who Are You Really And What Do You Want?" rises above even that. This one gets five stars plus! If you want to get your personal life or your buisness life figured out, and get the clearest picture you may ever read of what to do next, written by someone who you know, in every word, cares about you, get this and read it. It is thiry years of discovery in self-help and personal growth written plainly in two evenings of reading. Wherever your are in your life, or whatever your challenges or what you want to do next, this is one of the most clear and helpful self-help books I have ever read. I agree.
Whether it's becoming more successful in your career, making your family work, or losing the next ten pounds, this one can actually help.

Out of five gold stars, I agree with the other people who have reviewed "Who Are You Really And What Do You Want?" This book gets ten.

A lot of the other reviews about this book have said that the author, Shad Helmstetter, has clearly done it again. I agree -- only this time, even more so! He's done it! I not only love this book -- I receommend it to everyone.

This book goes beyone the self-help books I have read or reviewed in the past. First there were other great authors like Napolean Hill, Maxwell Maltz, Dr. Peale, and Dale Carnegie. Meanwhile, Shad Helmstetter was doing research in the field of personal growth and motivation and writing great books on what he found. When Dr. Helmstetter wrote "What To Say When You Talk To Your Self" he wrote a classic (which I still highly recommend), and with that book he entered the rarified field of exceptional authors in personal growth.

After reading the next ten books he wrote, when I learned Dr. Helmstetter had released a new book, I was personally hoping for his "final answer". The new book, "Who Are You And What Do You Want?" not only met my expections, it blew me away. I have never read a book on personal or business growth that is more practical and to the point.

In "Who Are You Really And What Do You Want?" he brings the best personal growth ideas together, for the first time. You'll find that it makes so much sense that you'll be trying out the ideas while you're reading the book. I was amazed at what I found out about myself, and about what I wanted to do next.

One of the things that surprised me about this book is how simple Dr. Helmstetter makes his case for what to do next, regardless of where you are now, or what the problems is, or what the goal is. There is not one line of pop-psychogy jargon in the entire book. True to his writing style in his previous books, you get the feeling when you're reading that he's talking to you as a friend who's been there.

As someone who reads and reviews a lot of books in this field, I tend to get skeptical. But after reading the first few pages of this book, I knew I was reading another classic book in personal growth. I read on the cover of the book that Dr. Helmstetter's books are published in 65 countries. This one should make it worldwide.

A number of years ago, when I first read "What To Say When You Talk To Your Self" I thought that was a book that could not be topped. But "Who Are You Really And What Do You Want?" rises above even that. This one gets five stars plus! If you want to get your personal life or your buisness life figured out, and get the clearest picture you may ever read of what to do next, written by someone who you know, in every word, cares about you, get this and read it. It is thiry years of discovery in self-help and personal growth written plainly in two evenings of reading. Wherever your are in your life, or whatever your challenges or what you want to do next, this is one of the most clear and helpful self-help books I have ever read.

Whether it's becoming more successful in your career, making your family work, or losing the next ten pounds, this one can actually help. Out of five gold stars, I agree with the other people who have reviewed "Who Are You Really And What Do You Want?" This book gets ten gold stars. It will change the life, in a positive way, of everyone who reads it.

Helmstetter identifies "three breakthrough concepts in the world of personal growth" that he shares in the book:

Breakthrough #1: If you want to do your best, get a coach. Self-help works better when you have help.

Breakthrough #2: Change your Self-Talk and you will change your life.

Breakthrough #3: Successful goal-setting has to be implemented and tracked in the right way.

Helmstetter divides the book into three parts, one for each breakthrough or recommendation. The first recommendation---to find yourself a personal coach--takes the book out of the realm of self-help. It struck me as odd that Helmstetter included this section. In any case, if you're going to hire your own personal coach, you probably won't be needing this book.

The second recommendation---to change Self-Talk---is excellent. But in this book Helmstetter devotes only 70 pages to it. A better reference here is Helmstetter's own classic, "What to Say When You Talk to Your Self."

The author's third and final piece of advice---to set and track goals---is sound. But his eight-step system is too cumbersome in some ways (eight steps are a lot to take for each and every goal you set) and too superficial in others (Helmstetter assumes that the *identification* of goals is nonproblematic, which it isn't for a lot of people). A better work on goal-setting, one which is systematic, thorough, and practical, is Barbara Sher's "Wishcraft."

All in all, not a bad book, but not Helmstetter's best.

This book is one of those exceptional new books that actually makes a difference. After reviewing several of Dr. Helmstetter's previous books, (most notably, "What To Say When You Talk To Your Self") I was hoping for the best, but wasn't sure what to expect. His new book "Who Are You Really And What Do You Want?" not only surprised me, as a totally helpful book with new insight, it blew me away. This is the stuff to which all good self-help books should aspire.

No matter how many previous books I had read by Dr. Helmstetter, it is true that he had kept coming up with more of the basic "truths" of "getting better." So in reading this book I was hoping for more of the same (new truths) but not expecting anything life-changing. (After all, how many new "paths to personal success" can there be?) But that is why I was so impressed with this one. What he wrote in this book, for most readers, chould be life-changing.

After studying human behavior and personal motivation for thirty years, in "Who Are You Really And What Do You Want?," Dr. Helmstetter made the great choice to give his readers, in one, very simply easy-to-read book, the best -- and the most practical personal growth steps he has learned in his many years of studying what makes things works for us, and what stops us. In this book he delivers what I suspect may be his final answer.

Instead of a rehash on how and why "success" works, (and Dr. Helmstetter makes it clear early on that this is NOT about just financial success), instead of reading another self-help book, I found myself sitting at the arm of someone who has not only been there, but who talks to the reader as someone who knows you, and someone who has been there. The message he delivers, clearly and simply written, would be a great "life plan" or "daily plan" for anyone who wants to get past the "distractions of every day living," as he calls it, and get on with their lives - and actually DO something with every day that we wake up.

The substance of this book has to do with what Dr. Helmstetter has found to be the "key players" in an average individual's life success. Those are such things as a very different kind of goal-setting, changing our old mental programs with Self-Talk, and, what I believe may be a major breakthrough from the earlier self-help books we have read, "taking the 'self' out of self-help."

What impressed me most about Dr. Helmstetter's solutions to each of these self-help challenges, is that, instead of just telling us to work at the problem, be positive, and get better, (the theme of a lot of other books I have reviewed), he gives the reader steps that are so practical, that I was convinved, even early in the book, that anyone could do them, on an average day, without anyone having to make life-changing choices to try them out.

We've had some very astute self-help authors enlighten and help us during the past two or three decades -- Napolean Hill, Maxwell Maltz, Norman Vincent Peale, and Dale Carnegie to name a few. Unfortunately, though they are no longer with us, their books, and what they taught us stays with us. As someone who has reviewed and recommended their books, I am happy that the torch has been passed. Dr. Helmstetter continues to explore the outer reaches of our potential, and in spite of the scientific side of his research into human potential, continues to write books that bring the best of what he has learned home to all of us. Fortunately, as a tribute to his writing, and the ease of reading this book, (I read it in two evenings), Dr. Helmstetter understands real people. His entire book could was read -- and understood -- by my teenage son.

This book is going to change a lot of lives -- for the better. It is also a great tribute to someone who could have just written another "self-help" book, but he didn't. In "Who Are You Really And What Do You Want?" Dr. Helmstetter gives us an exceptional insight into the world of personal growth, brings us up to date, and gives us the most practical solutions that he has found. Whether you're working with losing weight, getting your family right, or launching a new career, this book gives you a path to follow.

I've read the other reviews about "Who Are You Really And What Do You Want?" on Amazon.com and they all look good. They should. This is one book you cannot miss. Better than every other five star book this author has written. This one is five stars or better.