Park Books

As the book's narrator, a Seminole Indian storyteller, poles a canoe filled with children, he begins by saying, "It's a story about a river... this river, the miraculous Everglades of Florida." In language rich in texture and color and metaphor (Lake Okeechobee was "a slow river that gleamed like quicksilver"), he tells the history of the Everglades from pristine past to precarious present. And while there is no denying the environmental focus of the book - illustrations and text both point to the impending destruction of the priceless habitat - the narrative never falls to sermonizing; it instead fosters genuine respect for the Everglades, and empowers its young readers to preserve and conserve.

Equal to the text, and at times surpassing it, Wendall Minor's rich and detailed paintings speak volumes in this beautifully illustrated book: Minor has taken a page from Audubon, carefully studying his subjects, and rendering them with fine attention to detail, all the while making it look effortless. Ultimately, this carefully choreographed dance between illustration and story gives readers, young and old, hope that they are the key to saving the Everglades for future generations. A truly beautiful book.

Jean Craighead George has done it again! What a wonderful perspective and simple telling of the history of the Everglades. As told by a Seminole Indian to the children, this story (and wonderful illustrations) produces a profound respect for the "River of Grass" and its future. As a teacher in Florida, this book was a fantastic read-aloud to my students during our unit on the Everglades. I also used George's other ecological mystery, Missing Gator of Gumbo Limbo, to study Florida's ecology.

Another spectacular picture book from one of today's greatest writing/illustrating teams, EVERGLADES isn't just a story--it's an epic, one begun thousands of years ago, when water carved this spectacular ecosystem in Florida. Jean Craighead George, author of over eighty remarkable nature books for young readers, lends awe-inspiring power to the pages of the book, while Wendell Minor's lush, colorful illustrations beautifully depict this environment, full of wildlife and vitality. The book, like Ms. George's many others, also has an important lesson to tell. In JULIE OF THE WOLVES, we see the importance of Alaska's North Slope to the animals that inhabit this seemingly bleak, barren landscape (this area is now in danger of more oil line construction). In FRIGHTFUL'S MOUNTAIN (third in the MY SIDE OF THE MOUNTAIN trilogy), we come to know the threatened peregrine falcon, and the many threats humans have posed to it. In EVERGLADES, one feels a strong admiration toward this magnificent, but, sadly, endangered environment, and those who, like me, have never visited it, will surely long to see it for themselves. The narration is moving and fascinating, as a Seminole Indian describes to a group of children the evolution of the Florida Everglades, and inspires them to fight to help it survive. When one visits the Everglades, they will want to see the alligators, wetlands, and panthers of Mr. Minor's paintings. If you enjoy EVERGLADES, you'll fall in love with other spectacular George/ Minor collaborations, such as ARCTIC SON, the story of Ms. George's grandson who lives at the northernmost point in Alaska. As he grows up, he learns about the Inupiat Eskimos who make their home there and the tundra land around him. Mr. Minor's illustrations are quite lovely, and there's as much snow and ice in ARCTIC SON as there was grass and water in EVERGLADES. There's also MORNING, NOON, AND NIGHT, which focuses on the day-to-day lives of different animals throughout the U.S. The text it written very poetically, and Mr. Minor's illustrations of raccoons, seals, antelope, and birds are full of warmth and inspiration. And next year, a new book entitled LONESOME GEORGE will be published. This is about the famous, oldest Galapagos tortoise. Ms. George has also written a new young adult book about the Okefenokee Swamp, which is sure to be as full of environmental splendor as EVERGLADES. I can't wait to see them.

We just finished reading EVERGLADES by Jean Craighead George. The storyteller was a great idea. His words really caught our attention. This book, even though it was about real life, read like a fictional story. We especially liked the way Ms. Craighead George used various synonyms to express just how many creatures were in the Everglades in the beginning. In addition to the colorful language, the incredible illustrations by Wendell Miner made the book come to life. Above all, we learned we should respect nature. A great reading experience!

Buruma has the key to a door I, a newbie Nipponophile, use: cinema. His own personality leaks tastefully into his blend of experience and academics. Just the levels I like! Some of the articles are a little outside my area of interest, but he managed to hook me into finishing them.

I found Buruma's collection very absorbing, especially helpful to someone living out East (Hong Kong and Singapore), as I was in the late 90's. The Singapore essay, "The Nanny State of Asia," is an extremely perceptive look behind the official facade of Harry Lee Kuan Yew's police state. If you plan to visit/live in S'pore, the things the locals won't dare discuss with you (out of fear) are dealt with here. Even if you're just travelling from the armchair, this is a well-written and (again) extremely absorbing read.

As someone who lived out East I rank this up with Christopher Lingle's Singapore's Authoritarian Capitalism and Stan Sesser's The Land of Charm and Cruelty (another great essay collection on various Asian countries) as books helpful to the Westerner trying to learn about the region. Buruma's God's Dust has more essays on Asia, including S'pore. For Singapore, I also recomend Francis Seow's A Prisoner in Lee Kuan Yew's Singapore, and Paul Theroux's Saint Jack (a Singapore novel set in the Seventies but (I found) remarkably up to date in the attitudes it records of both locals and expats).

Very well documented essays about the East, although most of the articles are treating already out-of-date items. Still they will continue to be essential reading for historians.

In his ironic style, he unveils the lies and double-talk of political and industrial leaders. E.g. Sony's Akio Morita's statement that 'today's Japanese do not think in terms of privilege', while he almost disowned his son, when he wanted to marry a popular singer.
Other targets are Benazir Bhutto, Cory Aquino, Imelda Marcos and most of all the imperious leader of Singapore Lee Kuan Yew.

I recommend nevertheless the autobiography of Yew 'From first world to third', because it is an essential read in order to understand what's happening in China today. Lee Kuan Yew is Jiang Zeming's best friend.

Buruma is a very perceptive observer and reader. His analyses of writers like Yuhio Moshima, Mircea Eliade or Junichiro Tanizaki, or movie directors like Nagisa Oshima or Sayajit Ray are brilliant.
This book is to be put on the same high level as the works of Simon Leys on China.

Sceptical of all talk of "asian values" (profound "culture differences" used to justify the denial of human rights), Buruma is a clear-sighted observer of the East. Buruma describes the phases that Western visitors to Japan tend to go through; an initial phase of delight oft succeeded by rage, and ultimately leading to a sort of near manic-depressing rapidly-alternating hatred/love of the East. Buruma, while obviously retaining a great love and respect for Eastern culture combined with a deep scepticism about "asian values", is unseduced by either extreme. The book opens with essays on individual figures, such as Yukio Mishima (it is impossible to take Paul Schrader's 'Mishima' seriously after Buruma's curt dismissal of its portentious bombast) and Wilfred Thesiger (again, one sees this oft-romanticised figure anew, as a misogynistic, rather sinister worshipper of racially pure noble savages) It closes with a section of essays devoted to Japan, on topics as diverse as Michael Crichton's Black Rain, the Hiroshima peace industry, the treatment of black American baseball players in Japan and the continuing echoes of Pearl Harbor.

This is one of R.L Stines best books.This mini saga is about the fear street curse,and the youngest of the Fear family Robin Fear.He stumbles upon his ancestry relizing that his family knows how to use dark magics.On the other side of the story its about a girl whos father is goin to build an amusment park right on the fear street woods(which robins father owns).Robins father finds out and wants to close down the construction site but the mayor and city board think it would help the town make money if they had an amusment park.And thats were the killing starts.............

This one book has three wonderful books full of mystery and wonder. I could not put it down. You have to get this book.

This one book has three wonderful books full of mystery and wonder. I could not put it down. You have to get this book.

This one book has three wonderful books full of mystery and wonder. I could not put it down. You have to get this book.

Loosely based on the author's life and that of his charming and lovable partner, Ted, this is the tale of Adam Hunter and Tony Marchak. The author begins with the "official versions," then makes the reader privy to "recollections of whispers, faint murmurs behind almost closed doors, snatches of conversations no one knew he was overhearing." What emerges from these whispers and conversations is a story of two very different families, each of which is traced back several generations.

Adam, the middle child of three, grows up in Texas with a handsome, gregarious father who has difficulty holding down a job, thus necessitating many moves. His mother is a somewhat frail woman who in childhood had to stay in bed for a year because of "Scarlet Fever, Rheumatic Fever, maybe even Tuberculosis." Nobody knows for sure.

Tony, on the other hand, is the youngest of seven children and grows up on a potato farm on Long Island. His parents are both new immigrants from Russia. What are the relationships Adam and Tony have with each set of parents and how do they change over the years? How do these two young men from such diverse backgrounds meet and subsequently weave their lives together? In his simple and direct style Robert Taylor reveals the answers to these questions.

This book is a page turner and a joy to read.

Eva Greenberg
Oberlin, Ohio

Much has been said of this book by the previous reviewers. I was captured by the writer's marvelous prose from page 1 and found myself glued to the story until the end. The writer has given us a captivating story of being gay through the decades, from fearful self denial to the wild sexual abandonment in the 1970s, to the terror of AIDS and to the contemporay tolerance of gay couples. All this is revealed through Adam's eyes as he finds his one true love in Tony and together live proudly as an openly gay couple overcoming infidelity and heartaches along the way and accepting monogamy as they love each other deeply.
Their ties with their parents is warmly told. It is most heartening to read of parents who quietly accept the couple's relationship even if they do not comprehend it. But this is much more than a gay romance. The couple's family histories, Adam's pain as a Vietnam veteran, Tony's previous marriage which ended tragically, the couple living in their first home among their African American friends, the gradual wedge between Adam's parents and the final 16 pages which have me holding my breathe.. all these are wonderfully expressed and told with such clarity.
Ultimately this story is a celebration of gay love as we rejoice with Adam and Tony living proudly as a gay couple. Kudos to this amazing writer and if this is a partial autobiography I am most happy for Adam and Tony.

Taylor, Robert. "A Few Clews and Hints", Harrington Park Press,
2007.

Two Men in Love

Amos Lassen and Cinema Pride

We are all shaped by what we have experienced and how those experiences affect us. Robert Taylor in his beautiful new book, "A Few Clews and Hints" shows how the past as well as personal experiences help two lovers, Adam and Tony, make their way through life.
Coming out and coming of age novels have flooded book shelves lately and we have reached a point where basically there has not been a lot new to say or a way to say it. Then we have Robert Taylor who manages to do just that. He tells a wonderful growing up and coming out story in a way we have not previously heard.
To use the past, Taylor goes back several generations and gives insight into the families of the lovers and by doing so produces a beautiful and endearing love story about two men. The novel is written in true Southern gothic style as only Southern writers can do. This is a complex story. As we read of the lives of the two men's families and their experiences through the range of the history of America, we see how it was to be gay during different periods of our history. We go back to the 40's and the 50's and feel the pain and confusion. We feel the liberation of Stonewall. We again are imbued with the horror of the AIDS epidemic and we withstand it all. The plot is like a layer cake, with each layer adding more to the story. The emotions are high as we sense happiness and remorse, sadness and elation, and religious pangs. What could have been the most simple story comes across as a beautiful look at two men who are deeply in love with each other. By looking at them we are forced to look at ourselves. We cheer for Tony and Adam when they can finally, in the 21st century, show their love for each other to the world.
Once I started to read, I kept reading and when I finished the book. I turned to the first page and started to read it again (and I probably would still be reading it if the dog did not demand a walk and were there not papers to be graded). It is absolutely amazing to read about two men--each with his own religion and each with his own attitude grow to love each other so completely. Adam and Tony are not the kind of men we usually read about in gay fiction. They are products of America who know and feel the history of their country and they are proof that there have always been gay people here.
Taylor's prose is eloquent yet smooth and simple to read. There are some truly beautiful passages in the book especially those dealing with the emotional lives of our main characters. Above all, this is a ROMANTIC novel. Tony and Adam's love for one another is so pure and so beautiful that it is hard not to smile when reading about it. Taylor's sense of detail is strong; his characterization is very, very real. When I finally put the book aside, I wanted to raise a glass to love. I think that Taylor is one of the few people who can actually put a definition to the word.

Coming of age, and coming out, in a small Southern town. It's been done many times by many authors, but never with such background, depth, detail and emotion as in Taylor's latest novel.



Plain and simple, "A Few Hints And Clews" is the love story of Adam and Tony, told in flashbacks starting at a time way before they met in their mid-20's. They had a very different upbringing, with their parents, grandparents and siblings, through their life experiences as children, Adam's military stint in VietNam, the evolution of the dating scene during the early days of gay liberation, the uncertainty and fear when the AIDS epidemic was first revealed, having to make the transition from the "do what you feel" 1970's to the responsibilities of monogamy. We get to witness their first fight, their first house, dealing with aging and often difficult parents, financial choices, career pressures and changes, and a terrifying medical diagnosis. Throughout it all, the couple manage to focus on the task of redefining and strengthening their love and devotion to each other, making everything else in their lives ultimately more bearable.



One review mentioned that the novel is somewhat autobiographical with regard to the author and his longtime lover, and it shows in the heartfelt, emotionally-rich telling of the tale. Reads almost like an old Southern gothic novel, but flows smoothly and engages the reader thanks to the talent of the author. Much recommended, five stars out of five.

This book is great - an array of fun and memorable science lessons.

When I found Flash! Bang! Pop! Fizz! I was finally impressed with a children's book of science experiments. My judgment was validated when a friend told me the following story that showed its magic.

Clients of hers recently moved into a new home. Their oldest boy was to do a science fair project in school and the family, still partially unpacked, could not put their hands on any books or materials that might prove helpful. A trip to the library left the young student totally bored and disinterested.

My friend offered her own copy of Flash! Bang! Pop! Fizz! to the distraught mother. The mother called the next day, incredulous and excited. Her son loved the books and picked out a project. The situation turned from grim to enthusiastic.

The boy is the oldest of three children and the ecstatic mother said she was going to go out and buy three copies of the book since they would be needing them for the next seven years of science!

I recommend the book to all!

To keep it brief: Flash, Bang, Pop, Fiz! is a genuine improvement over virtually ever other science book directed at kids under, say, age 16. This is because it focuses on the scientific process and the discipline of science rather than just "activities." While the experiments are certainly entertaining and worthwhile in their own right, they actually earn the name "experiment." This book is ideal for any parent or teacher who hopes to interest their kids in doing "serious" science down the line. It also happens to be a ton of fun.

If Janet Chahrour's, "Flash! Bang! Pop! Fizz!" had been around when I was a kid in school, I'm sure my chemistry and physics grades would have been much higher. Who knows? I may have been the next Einstein!

This is a wonderful book for students to learn how to appreciate the physical sciences and have a whole lot of fun while doing so. Chahrour drew from her many years experience as a science teacher to compile 25 different activities and experiments that children can perform using everyday household items.

With amusing titles such as "Whirligig Rocketry," "Pop Can Pedestal," "Portable Alarm," "Fabulous Play Goop," and "Your Dear Friend, Egbert," children learn the basics about air pressure, density, chemical reactions, liquids, gases, gravity, motion and many other scientific concepts. In addition to clear, step-by-step instructions for each experiment, the book provides vocabulary lists and easy to understand explanations of the scientific principle under study.

The book is an easy to read large format paperback, profusely illustrated in color, and contains guidelines for parents and teachers.

Even though, I've been out of school much longer than I care to admit, I found Chahrour's book to be fascinating and fun. Although written for children from grades 5 to 9, it definitely appeals to children of all ages.

Amazing photos...shows what the Miami/Coconut Grove area really looked like...this book is used by the Barnacle as part of their tour of Monroe's home.

Arva Moore Parks, the distinguished American that she is, simply does it again! For her fans or those that have never read her work, neither will be disappointed and both will definitely find it formidable!

I'm seeing here people offering this book for sale for $66. Folks, if you're having a hard time finding this book, there's a chance that you can still get a copy directly from THE BARNACLE HISTORIC STATE PARK, located in Coconut Grove, Florida. If you're not familiar with it, that's the site of Ralph Munroe's house. Just do a google search for the park and I'm sure their number will come up. Believe me, there were a few cases of the book there at one point. I know, I used to work there. If they're currently out of stock, I'm very sure they'll help you find a way to get one.

The book itself is a wonderful revision of the original Forgotten Frontier. The book is now landscape, as opposed to the original's portrait format. This means the photographs aren't cropped as before. You'll find great photographs of South Florida before the railroad came through around 1896. I believe Ralph generally stopped taking photographs around this time. He loved the natural beauty of South Florida.

If you ever go by the park, admission is only $1.00. They're usually open Fridays through Mondays, from 9am until 4pm. Cheers!

For those who love Miami and love history, this is an amazing collection of photographs of an unspoiled, undeveloped wilderness. Photographer Ralph Middleton Munroe captures Miami of more than a century ago--frontier living at its most authentic. Historian Arva Parks tells the story of the pioneers as they tamed nature to build their lives. This visually stunning book offers a remarkable step into the past.

This year has been sad with the passing of Phil Frank, one of the 'Greats' of the comic strip meduim. "Fur and Loafing in Yosemite" is a collection of almost 200 of Phil's cartoons that are about his wonderful Yosemite-based Bears. With Bruinhilda, Alphonse, Franklin, Floyd and Olaf, the subject matter ranges from Trash-Can Dining to a crazy camping lady with a vacuum cleaner fetish.

I have seen a few bears in my day, {and I have drawn a couple as well} but Phil Frank drew the Greatest and Funniest Bears of all. These are about the finest Bruins in the Business, and they are very, very funny.
I cannot recommend this book enough...Yosemite, Bears, Phil Frank.
It doesn't get better than this, some of the Greatest cartoons of our time are right here in this wonderful collection of: "Fur and Loafing."
FIVE STARS !!!

I've travelled cross country six times in the last ten years to visit Yosemite. I laughed till my sides hurt reading this book. I really enjoyed the Bear Clan poking fun at the park Vistors "Your Space? I was born here, you smarmy little yuppie!"

Thank you, Mr. Frank! This book helped keep me going thorough a very busy and complicated week. And it will help me again. Very funny -- and like the best humor, based on fact.

As a lifelong fan of the San Francisco Chronicle in general and "Farley" in particular (as well as a total Yosemite freak!), each summer I look forward to the inevitable installments involving Phil Frank's bear trio (proprietors of "The Fog City Dumpster" restaurant in SF) and neatnik camper Mrs. Melmac (who immediately sets off bug bombs in the area around her massive RV when she arrives for the summer) in Yosemite Valley. So you can imagine my delight when I found that all those terrific strips were put in one magnificent collection!

Every summer the bears and Mrs. Melmac take off for Yosemite - Mrs. Melmac in her RV, the bears whichever way they can (one year they hijacked a SF Muni bus) and the fun begins! It's great to be able to relive these moments over and over. Two thumbs up!

I think Tony the Tiger put it best "It's Great! "

This book is truly a delight - it opens the eyes to the magic that Coney Island possesses, and forces you to see it in a completely new light. Told from the viewpoint of a man with strong Coney ancestry, this is really the "inside story" - from the Island's tawdry beginnings, through its turn-of-the-century glory days, the zany "nickel empire" of the 1920's, all the way into the 1950's. I wish it could go on further, but no need for complaint - that's practically where Charles Denson picks up with his marvelous book on Coney - but that's another review altogether.

Here, Edo McCullough talks honestly about Coney's glories, as well as its seamy underbelly - nothing is left out, and it isn't necessarily a "sentimental journey", after all. But all the better - the seamy side is half the fun, after all. From shifty politics, prostitution, crime and carnies, to the glories of Luna Park, Dreamland, and Steeplechase - the reader is in for a truly fascinating experience.

But be warned - once you pick the book up, you'll have a hard time putting it down. Despite it's being packed with solid history, it's a very quick read - which, I think, is a very good sign. Enjoyable education - who could ask for more?

For too many people--Brooklynites included--Coney Island is nothing but the ruins of an amusement park that only exists in choppy silent movie clips. Edo McCullough's "Good Old Coney Island: A Sentimental Journey into the Past: The Most Rambunctious, Scandalous, Rapscallion, Splendiferous, Pugnacious, Spectacular, Illustrious, Prodigious" debunks that view in an educating and enjoyable style.

What McCullough makes more than clear is that this five-mile strip of beachfront is as rich in its history as Cape Cod, perhaps moreso. From the early Indian villages to the Dutch settlers to the developers who saw in it a gold mine (once mass transit made the place accessible), Coney Island is a place of a million and one stories and histories. It was a place, as McCullough describes, wherein everything went: recreation, vice, entertainment (high and low), graft and sports. It was The Five Points and Fifth Avenue on a beach. In this sense, it could have only grown in New York because it was so much like it. However, it did offer one thing; fresh seaside air. Funny as it may seem, when the place first became popular, most New Yorkers didn't know how to swim--where could they swim, after all? In the polluted East or Hudson Rivers? By the time the rides and attractions, Dreamland and Luna Park arrived, Coney Island already earned its superelative, surreal reputation for escapism.

What I find interesting is McCullough's choice of the phrase "A Sentimental Journey" in the book's subtitle. Considering the book describes Coney Island warts and all, the sentimentality is often underplayed. And, finally, there is a nice sprinkling of illustrations throughout that helps to bring the now-faded playground of the masses back to life. Everyone will enjoy this book.

Rocco Dormarunno
author of The Five Points

This book was given to me as a gift by a dear friend who knew I had a deep interest in the communities of Gravesend and Coney Island being that I was born in Gravesend. The book is a paperback time machine. It starts at the humble beginnigs of the farming village of Gravesend in the 1600's and its founder Lady Moody and goes on to tell of the history of Coney Island, its land owners and people. This is not boring history lesson but an amazing recount of the highs and lows of the era. What's described within its pages can't fully be expressed within the small confines of this space. Its is a part of Americana as much as the Battle of Bunker Hill is. I whole-heartedly recommend this book to anyone who is curious how evil and how spirit lifting one place could be.

Bernie Bridges tells the story in #13 of the Rotten School series by R.L. Stine. A 4th grader in this co-ed boarding school, Bernie wants to win Most Popular Student and have his photo printed in the yearbook. The cake has to do with the birthday party he tries to get his friends to hold for him (even though it is not his birthday). You won't have to do much promoting to get this series of books in the hands of your (especially boy) students. The print is large and enticing, the chapters are short and filled with situations that are everyday occurrences for kids (The Stomp Game), characters with names like Leif Blower, April-May June and Mr. Pupipantz, and the eyeball-rolling gross humor that keeps kids hooked. Absolutely essential are the B&W drawings of Trip Park, which interpret the text to the nth degree. Let your students chow down on perfect English, grammar, punctuation and writing style without torture. For a change they'll be reading (and getting what's good for them) for fun.

RL Stine has done it again with this book series. Rotten School books are an excellent choice for all kids. Especially if you are trying to get them interested in chapter books. My kids love this!!

My son, 10 y.o., will read if necessary, when he has to. Until we stumbled upon the "Rotten School" series by R.L. Stine (16 books)- now he will read, just to read! Finally, he has learned the joy of reading (I'm a reader) that I have tried to instill in him from the day he was born. He has read excerpts from the book to me and I can understand why he likes them, they hit his funnybone and make him laugh - but at least he's reading! We bought the whole series at once after he was only half way through one book. He would also recommend "Diary of a Whimpy Kid" - there are 2 books out now, a third is to be release later this year.

My son is almost 10 years old and "devours" the Rotten School series. He can't wait for # 16 to be published in January 08. I pay a fortune in shipping charges to order them from Lebanon, but it's (he's) worth it.

This is an excellent starter for your search on important facts about hemp and its commercial uses. There are some medical notes in this for those interested. I had the money to purchase a million copies I would give them away. Ho hum. No mun! Please take the facts in this book real serious. No joking. This is a must read for all even you smart ass stoners.

Very insightful,I had only learned the negative effects in school and growing up. This plant could really could really help heal our planet.

This is one of the most Informative works on the subject of Hemp that I have read in 20 years. I have been researching Hemp & Marijuana for over 40 years. To date this is one of the most educational compilations of information on the subject that I have found. If everyone in America were made aware of the information in this book, the insanity of the Hemp/marijuana war being waged in this country by overzealot/misinformed
Law Makers and Enforcers would end. Then we could begin building a Billion dollar industry that will save the countries farmers and the world would be a better place.

"The Great Book of Hemp" has been selected for listing in "Religion and Psychoactive Sacraments: An Entheogen Chrestomathy." http://www.csp.org/chrestomathy