Park Books

I just started getting really involved with hiking and the North Bay of the Bay Area has some great parks, but I needed an introduction to get me started and prepared before I hike each park. This book details each and every hike from trailhead and distance to what to look out for on each trail. If you live in the North Bay, I highly recommend this as a primer.

This is a very well written and well-researched book. Very easy to follow - as we know trails are often hard to follow with questionable signage - but this book has never failed me. I have been on a dozen or so of it's hikes and have never had a serious problem as it is a most reliable reference.

Well Done Mr. Weintraub!

I found North Bay Trails and the author's previous work, East Bay Trails, to be excellent. It provides great direction and is written from a hiker's perspective without confusing and unclear information that haunts so many guidebooks. The maps are always accurate and as fine as a bound format allows while the excellent photos help us choose where to go. The historical background is fascinating and the information on wildlife and flora keep me and my child going from discovery to discovery along the trail. This book has guided us to wonderful places we would not have thought or known to hike rather than take us to the often hiked Mt. Tam and Pt. Reyes areas (although his picks in these areas are jewels). This is a must-have if you want to hike the glorious North Bay - now, if Weintraub could just pack our lunch...

David Weintraub's North Bay Trails will please California residents who want to locate hiking areas north of San Francisco. This is the first comprehensive guide to cross county lines to include Marin, Napa and Sonoma Countries, exploring scenic routes and trails for both avid hikers and casual walkers. An excellent reference promising lasting value.

Reviewed by Matthew Feliciano (age 7) for Reader Views (3/08)

This book, "Now For My Next Number!" is a lot of fun. It teaches you how to multiply by using skip counting. It starts with twos and goes up to twelves. Each song tells a story to help the numbers make sense. The twos talk about shoes, the threes are witches, and there are animals in some of the other songs.

The CD for this book was amazing! I liked how it sang the song because that made it easier to read the book. The songs also fit the pictures really well. Take track 8 for example: the story was in a dark haunted night and when I listened to the music for it, it fit because there were bells ringing in an old church and bats in the picture and it all fit really good.

I think this book is a great way to help kids my age and higher start to learn how to multiply. The songs are easy to sing and stick in your head and it works best with you listen to the CD at the same time as reading the book. Once you learn the songs, you can sing them to yourself to help you keep learning your times tables. I really liked "Now For My Next Number."

Now... For My Next Number! Songs for Multiplying Fun is a picturebook introduction to multiplication for young readers. Whimsical rhymes and colorful illustrations walk the reader through counting the first twelve multiples of numbers two through twelve. An accompanying singsong audio CD of the text enhances this delightful and educational book, recommended especially for young people in elementary school and children's library collections. "Oh, Sinbad sailed the Seven Seas / In a gold galleon on a gentle breeze / He left early one morning without saying a word / With his telescope and his secretary bird / Listen if you want to know what Sinbad saw / As he sailed the seas from shore to shore // He saw / 7 frogmen / 14 mermaids preen / 21 flying fish run / 28 penguins skate // He saw / 35 submarines dive / 42 whales turn blue // 49 pelicans dine / 56 dragon chicks // He saw / 63 sailors see / 70 pirates flee // 77motors revin' / 84 oysters snore // Oh Sinbad sailed from / Shore to shore / From shore to shore / Until there wasn't any more."

What a fun and beautifully illustrated book full of animals, witches, shoes and fleas to name a few. My students really enjoy singing the songs and rhymes as they look at the pictures over and over again. The book is constantly surrounded by a group of kids. Math can be fun! Frances Stryk, preschool teacher, elementary substitute teacher and mother.

Now...for My Next Number! Songs for Multiplying Fun. There are 10 catchy and imaginative tunes that include counting in multiples in this book. The words on the pages really come to life when you listen to the songs on the CD. For example, in Doing the Happy Dance (Counting by 4) there are "4 camels knobby knees a-knocking, 8 turtle legs tilting and a-rocking, 12 donkey legs kick up their hooves, 16 cat paws doing soft-shoe moves". The pictures are a detailed, dark, and quirky. This is an enjoyable book to help anyone learn his or her multiplication tables. Karen Woodworth-Roman, www.libarians.info.

I started readind this a long way back. The first vol. for some people can be a slow start but the artwork is breath-taking. Throughout the the NOW books the art gets better and better.

The "Now" series is the only Manga I've read by Sung-woo Park but reading this series has made me want to read all the other manga he's done. Sung-woo Park sensai has the ability to realy bring a story alive. The detail per every frame is increadible, and the action's almost non stop. I think all age groups will enjoy this series very much.

It's Awesome!!!! The artwork is cool, the comic is action-packed and there's a sweet storyline. Not to mention the characters are beyond hip and there is no sesnuality or any of that CRAP. there is, however, lots of cussing and blood. but, overall I'll give it 5 stars.

Wow, this is the best manga i've ever read,(Demon Dairy is still cool) anyway the art is somthing awe! Rin, Bi Ryu and everyone else are so COOL!! its somthing you should REALLY buy. (Bi Ryu is sooo hot!) ::ahem:: anyway, you should buy, its somthing worth you time.
~Kouran

Just so you know, I ordered this book from Amazon. Great book, but it did not arrive with the keychain. I didn't buy it for the keychain, so I'm not that upset, but I did want to inform everyone.

I have read just about every babysitting manual on the market and this is the best one! I think this is a must for every babysitter. One of the things in this book I really liked was the babysitter's backpack. None of the other books I've read have a list of cool stuff to bring on a job, like balloons, Bible, videos, art supplies, and more! I also really like all the awesome recipes. The "First Fruits Ices" and "Baby Jesus Salad" were terrific! And I loved the Bible themes which included songs and games to go along with the Bible story. It is a great book and all babysitters must read it!

I bought one for my kids' sitter and she loved it. I wanted to make sure she knew what to do in case of an emergency and be equipped for the job. Everything is included in this guidebook. Its a must-have!

I suggest all parents get one for their child care worker or sitter. It has lots of information and things to do with the kids, instead of parking them in front of the television.

I have a couple of babysitting manuals and I think this is the BEST one. It gives great advice on any subject of babysitting. It has EVERYTHING: changing diapers, interviewing parents and most important games and songs to make babysitting more fun for you and the kids! Be sure to grab a copy of this book for all of you Christian babysitters to be "Christ Mentors!" GOOD LUCK!!!

Richard Parks is one of the best current fantasists at work today. But there's more to his stories than sense of wonder and mind-blowing extrapolation. His work is often of the highest literary quality one can -- and should -- expect from a writer of his caliber and standing within the fantasy field. Parks never bothers with re-hashed themes and concepts in his literature. He takes you by the hand, yes, as the story unfolds, but one is always aware of the slight grin of madness on his lips as he gives the story a delicious twist or imbues it with his own inestimable wry humor. A good, broad collection of his work. Fantasy lovers should jump on this book.

--Kenneth Mark Hoover

This is a fantastic book, in every sense of that word. I've seen Parks' stories in a lot of magazines, and while I always remembered the story, I didn't always realize that the guy who wrote it was the same guy who wrote that =other= story I liked--and that other one, and that other one... "Oh, wow, that was him too?" Finally, here's a collection of his works all in one place, side by side. This is like buffet night at your favorite restaurant. Yum!

Anyone who's enjoyed the Datlow/Windling fairytale-retellings series should pick up this book. But there's a lot more going on here than just the Grimms reimagined. Fairy tales can take many forms. There are ghost stories here and science fiction stories and stories that defy genrification. Parks draws from a variety of world cultures and mythologies ... all the diverse manifestations of the collective unconscious. Looking back over the collection after I read it, I was surprised that the individual stories weren't longer--each one packs a lot of punch into an economical space. They're completely readable--and rereadable. And the sense of wonder ... I don't know how Parks manages to be so profound and down-to-earth at the same time. It's quite a gift.

For some reason I'm reminded of Andy Duncan and Michael Bishop. Maybe that's not so strange; all three of them are writers with unique sensibilities and styles, difficult to categorize, wide-ranging in subject matter, and generally brilliant. Or maybe it's a geographical association in my mind. Still, it might be useful information, so I recommend Parks to any other Bishop and Duncan fans out there, too.

If you thrilled to The Brothers Grimm when you were twelve this collection is for you. This short story collection is exceptional and I am sure you will enjoy it. The stories range from fairy tales - not for children - to science fiction to supernatural and all retain a nice distictive style that should leave you with a "Oh Yeah" feeling.

Judgement Day is God's monolog and you just have to read it to see where the author takes you. Doing Time In the Wild Hunt says a lot about husbands and wives in a small space and might make you think about picking up some flowers on the way home. Then sit down and read aloud to her, or him, The Orges Wife; the best read-aloud story I have read in a long time. Doppels touches on the same husband/wife theme but in a science fiction setting. All the other stories are great. A fine collection. If you are a short story fan pick it up, you''ll be pleased.

I finished this easily one afternoon and evening, taking time out between each story to do small chores and odd jobs. The stories are so readable that one is tempted to gobble them like popcorn, and they're too good to be treated that way. You have to let each one sink in before going on to the next. Also, they're all so different in style and content that it's best to come to each one after a short intermission, ready for a different experience. A really fine collection. I'd like to read more by him.

This book provides an incredible example of an agency failing to follow its own mandate as well as ignoring the will of the public. For several decades, the National Park Service (NPS) not only allowed, but encouraged, loggers to cut down old-growth forest inside Olympic National Park. It also fought to reduce the boundaries of that park to increase the amount of timber available to the local logging industry. Even when found out, important people in the NPS remained determined to cut down the old-growth timber in the park wherever it thought local sawmills would benefit, and on any land that the NPS didn't want in the first place.

When I had first heard this story, it was presented as a couple of loose cannons getting away with tree murder. However, Lien's book provides so many smoking guns - - or should I say, "smoking chainsaws" - - that there is an obvious policy problem here.

Lien's ultimate explanation of this history remains somewhat unsatisfactory to me. He argues that the NPS has a weak management culture and unclear mandate (both true) and that it is also eager to compromise with anyone who makes demands on it - - including loggers looking for old-growth timber. I'm not sure that wimpy acquiescence is the dominant NPS norm, since it does resist certain types of demands, such as those of horse outfitters, hunters, and in some parks, mountaineers. The case of hunters is particularly interesting, since elk hunting in Yellowstone and Rocky Mountain, bison hunting in Yellowstone, and deer hunting in many eastern battlefield parks would solve a number of other policy problems, and there *is* public demand for such hunting. So, the NPS doesn't simply acquiesce to everybody, and that part of Lien's argument can't be right.

Lien grounds this story in a brief history of the U.S. Forest Service and the NPS, and how Pinchot's "conservation" eventually alienated preservationists such as John Muir and public opinion more generally. These chapters provide, at best, an unconventional history of the USFS and NPS in the Progressive era. I think Lien overstates the preservationist element of public opinion, and is too eager to see preservationism even among the elites of the Theodore Roosevelt era.

Criticisms aside, this is one of the most remarkable national park histories out there.

A rare and wonderful animal(not extinct after all), that holds secrets to cures, anti-venoms and facts behind unsolved mysteries has reappeared! Not long ago I encountered and purchased "Olympic Battleground" at a rare book store. It was out of print. No longer. It took but the first few pages to have me swallowing bile and bouncing hard objects off walls. So inflaming was the tale that it awakened an activism in me I had not felt since the Viet Nam War days. I sought out and interviewed the author who assured me that it had taken almost thirty years to write. Battleground is destined to become the definitive source in four areas: 1) It is a complete history of Olympic National Park(and indeed the founding of all National Parks),beginning in 1895 and now updated to today. Sound dull? Uh uh, not with the kind of intrigue, fraud, scheming and plotting that underlay the movements to keep the old growth timber OUT of the Park, ventures often aided and abetted by the very public servants whose jobs were to PROTECT it. It should be mentioned that the entire book is documented with painstaking primary sources. What happened and how it happened is inarguable; the barrels are smoking. WE BEEN ROBBED! Yo, to the tune of billions and billions of dollars of assets. 2) There is a treatise here of decades of activism. But for the lifelong battling of a core of three people;fighting against power and unrelenting greed, this book convinces us that there would not be one tree left standing. It is the definitive tale, the tangible proof of just how mighty is 'the power of the pen'. No advocate person or group should have a bookshelf without this book on it. 3) Were there any congressional investigative committees with the bajoongas to take on the timber companies,local politicians and even the Park Service itself, Mr. Lein's book would be the place to start. Inditements lie there in wait! 4) Fail not to hear the warning: ye who would protect and preserve our national Parks, wilderness areas, monuments and wildlife reserves. Pass over this book at peril to their future existence. Beware by learning how boundaries shift in the night and legal wording gets shuffled and forests vanish with the turn of a phrase and promise . The very words are in place in even the newest documents of our "roadless areas" and "forest reserves". For anyone with 'green' agendas, in fact, any kind of activist intentions, this book is an absolute must.

I read this book shortly after spending several months on Washington's Olympic Peninsula and hiking in the Olympic Mountains of Olympic National Park in 1993. I own the first edition when it was published by Sierra Club Books. In my opinion Olympic Battleground is one of the most important works relative to the environemntal movement, on par with "Silent Spring" and "A Sand County Almanac," though it is relatively unknown.

Lien tells the story of the Olympic Peninsula and how it was systematically logged by people of European descent in the late 19th century, through the creation of ONP in 1937, and the management of ONP through the 1950s (when Lien was there as a seasonal ranger) and beyond. Tells the story of how one overzealous development minded ONP manager named Fred Overly enthusiastically allowed LOGGING in the park. And not just salvaging downed trees off trails and roads, but systematically cutting the largest old-growth Douglas-fir trees that could be found! Later talking to a ranger at ONP, I learned that Overly also coached the supervisor of Mount Rainier National Park on how to get the cut out of that park as well. There is correspondance on record of this happening.

Olympic Battleground demonstrates that we can never be complacent, that the only way we will be able to preserve our most significant natural areas is through eternal vigilance. Lien's book recounts that during WW II, "patriotic" timber barons attempted to log ONP to "aid the war effort." Thankfully that initiative was thwarted. Olympic Batleground should be read by everyone interested in preserving National Park land, National Forest land, federal Wilderness Areas, etc. We should know our history.

Mr. Lien's book is one of the most thoroughly researched works on the state of national parks in America. His experience working at Olympic National Park, and serving as a sort of intern with Mrs. Edge gives us a rare insight into many of the personalities that shaped - and continue to influence - the fate of OLYM. Mr. Lien's documentation is highly impressive. However, I'm concerned that his passion for the park - and his apparently wholesale mistrust of the National Park Service - has lead to some critical mistakes.
For example, Stephen Mather was chosen "on the personal whim" of Secretary Franklin Lane. Lane knew more about Mather than Lien claims. Mather should hardly be remembered as "Saint Stephen" as so many in the NPS are anxious to do, but to dismiss him as someone chosen so cavalierly as Lien suggests is a dangerous underestimation of the man.
Second, it is unfair of Lien to put former NPS Director Newton Drury in essentially the same category as Fred Overly. Drury's tenure was that of a caretaker, and though his legislative skills were nil and his administrative abilities only slightly better, his focus and his integrity are things for which we should all be grateful. Drury was an outsider and he fought the good ol' boys: Overly, Albright and Wirth, to bring some measure of scientific integrity and conservation ethic to a deeply troubled park service.
Lien's breadth of scholarship is impressive. Unfortunately, his passion - while inspiring and insightful at times - has clouded his interpretation of early NPS history, and of the role of Newton Drury, a devoted, if sometimes uninspiring, conservationist.

A study in the perserverance and dedication of a group of people to bring the wolf back to its own enviroment in the wildernesses of Yellowstone Montanna. Full of information this book will elate you as well as sadden you, but the winner here of course is the wolf who once more runs free on his land.

Jim Brandenberg always brings the wolf into our homes vividly and with great skill through his photographs, and in this book, these exquisite photos are paired up with the informative writing of Stephen Swinburne. Swinburne covers an excellent range of topics in this short (but highly-informative) book, including the history of the wolf's extermination in this country, early conservationists, wolf behavior and social structure, myth-busting, the Yellowstone project, and the wolf's future prospects.

He brings in quotes and information from Leopold, Mech, Bangs, Askins, and many other notable figures in the wolf conservation movement to give correct facts and information. I wouldn't call this a book for younger children; it's written at perhaps a teenager's level, and younger children might find the statistics and assorted other information boring. However, Swinburne does cover the bittersweet story of wolves Numbers Nine and Ten, which personalizes the struggles wolves today face.

Swinburne manages to succinctly cover most of the important issues in this relatively brief book (about a half hour's read, perhaps 45 minutes,) and it's a great way to educate yourself or someone else on the basics of wolf conservation. Highly-recommended!

I just took a look at this book and was so impressed. The subject is fascinating, of course, but I'm especially taken with the clear, cogent writing, the terrific quotes, and the truly remarkable photographs. I definitely recommend this for any kid (or adult, for that matter) with an interest in wildlife.

My 7 year old and I read this book together recently and I think that I learned as much as she did.

I knew about reintroduction of wild wolves into Yellowstone but this book told the whole story. Get ready to be impressed with personal sagas of determination and bravery on the part of people who care about wild things.

In 1973, while on a field trip in Jasper Park, Alberta, I saw two wild wolves (a white and a black) bounding and romping in the snow. I will never forget the wildness of that sight. This book is richly illustrated with photographs of wolves that give you a glimpse of that wildness.

Get this book and read it with a child to share what Rachel Carson called that "sense of wonder" that children have. Be prepared to explain why we systematically exterminated the wolf from its range throughout the United States and why we paid people to kill wolf puppies.

This book is a moving, thoughtful lesson in ecology for children of all ages.

This was a great book about the first day at the Reds new ballpark, Great American Ball Park. Unfortunately, I thought it would be a book about the financing, architecture, details of the construction, etc. Although an opening chapter does hit on these topics - I was hoping for a little more.

I do have some other complaints. Some of the photos in the book look a little dark and fuzzy. Also, I was hoping more of the book would have been devoted to the players and their reactions to the ballpark.

So why give it 4 stars?

Though the book wasn't necassarily what I expected, it was still really interesting. There were great photos from inside the clubhouse, the restaurants, fans, the parade and even the implosion of Cinergy Field - as well as neat tidbits about the whole day. I have it sitting in my living room, and its the first thing our guests pick up. Though a little pricey, its surely worth it to any Reds fan.

Opening Day At Great American Ball Park by Cincinnati Reds baseball enthusiast Dann Stupp is an exciting celebration of Cincinnati's Great American Ball Park openeing day. Dazzling colorful photography and a sprinkling insightful asides fill the pages of this visual celebration of the grand sport of baseball, as well as the athletes who strive to excel, and the fans who love the thrill of watching teams compete to be the very best they can. Opening Day At Great American Ball Park is very highly recommended for baseball buffs in general, and Cincinnati Reds fans in particular!

I first heard about this book during an in game advertisment in the ballpark late in the season. Like so many others, I paid an arm and a leg for my tickets for Opening Day at on an online auction site. And like so many others, I thought it was totally worth the cost. Although the Reds had a terrible season because of injuries and an embarrassing ownership group, the team did "go all out" for the Opening Day festivities.

For those of you expecting a detailed history of the tax increase, the ballpark construction and the companies involved -- this isn't exactly that type of book. Although it has a chapter on the buildingof the ballpark, most of it's devoted just to Opening Day.

I really wish this book had some sample pages on amazon so that other people could see the type of photography in this book. There are some great shots of Barry Larkin, former President Bush, Marty and Joe, panoramic shots of the ballpark, etc.

I attended opening day this season in the Reds new ballpark. It was a great event and a big celebration for the city. This book has a ton of great photos that span from the Findley Market parade to the closing of the ballpark after the game. The photos are fantastic, and the captions provide plenty of information about some of the cool features in the ballpark like the Pepsi Power Stacks, the Big Red Machine Bar and a lot of the history elements found throughout the ballpark.

I plan to give a copy to all my friends who are Reds fans for the holidays.

I ordered Volumes I and II of the audiotape version of The Island Story (history of Britain from mythology through Queen Elizabeth I) and listened to it with my boys aged 10 and 12 before we went to England this spring. We all really enjoyed it. While written for children, the history and color (eg tie ins to words/expressions we use today) were fascinating for me too. The book was written in the early 1900's which makes a few of the references to Britain's current day "empire" amusing but no less interesting. I will be saving this set of tapes for my grandchildren!

I read this aloud last spring to my 3 boys, ages 10, 12, and 13. They all really enjoyed it and I enjoyed reading it.
The only (small) negative I could give it is that there are several spelling mistakes-mostly a missing letter in a word. I corrected that as we went along for the next time I read it aloud. It really wasn't a problem but I just thought I should point that out.
We are now reading the sequel about our own country (America) called "This Country of Ours" and enjoying that one as well. I can highly recommend both books, as well as "Fifty Famous Stories Retold" which is usually bought along with these two. That one is especially easy to narrate from as the stories are very short-often just 2 pages.

This is a such a fun history of England. My children love reading this book. We read a couple of chapters aloud each week. We have just started our second time through.

The chapters are relatively short. For the most part, the book is organized chronologically by King (or Queen). Each chapter (or sometimes several chapters) hits the high points of each King or Queen's reign.

Make history come alive for your children by reading this book to them.

This is a nice softcover edition. Check out the publishers other books. You can pretty much assume it is going to be interesting to your children if they have published it. I have several of their books and every one has been a hit with our family.

We have been reading about one a week for over a year. My girls love these stories! One of our rabbits ended up with the name "Boudacia" after we read her story.
At the beginning they might be more folklore than fact, but none the less they are wonderful. There are some great moral lessons to be learned from many of the stories.
After I bought the Yesterday's Classics I found an old hardback with great color pictures. It cost a bit, but what a treasure!
Highly recommend.

I was provided with the opportunity to read this book and was surprised in the fact that this was the first I had heard another individual speak to the issue that electronic information should be deemed the master and paper should be considered transitory.
I am creating retention schedules that state exactly that. electronic information should be deemed the master and paper should be considered transitory
I like the fact that there are less reasons to keep records around than there are not using paper for managing information. This book is being passed around our office for others which I thought was an excellent idea for others to share as well.
I found it to be a very easy read and took it home on the weekend to peruse and take notes.
The statement that rang so true for me was that "employees must be trained to be accountable for their records"
I feel that in the government today not everyone truly believes that statement.
I like your inclusion of the websites for reference. I feel you and your company has done an excellent job with the research and you've captured the essence of future planning with electronic information. My biggest issue with this book is the price $$I feel for the amount of information that is in the book I would think that your company would be able to take 1/2 the cost and still be able to have a lucratic business and bring in business knowing full well of your success.

I was reluctant at first to start reading this book, when I did however I found it to be easy reading and interesting. I honestly wanted to keep reading.

I like it first because it is in a plain simple language that any one can follow. It provides an easy to follow step by step process to make electronic records master. The book lays out the plan for the skeptics' who believe nothing can replace paper. I like the examples, the comparison of the dirt road crossings and the information highway. I love the summary tips at the end of each chapter, which of course I had to write down. By the time I finished reading Paper Trails I was excited about electronic records, erms, and ecm. Why? Because now I have a clearer understanding of what they are how they work.

Concise, highly readable and immediately relevant are my top of mind reactions to Beelby and Roy's offering to the information overloaded, time starved records and information management professional. The business case for the wholesale adoption of electronic records management is expertly outlined and has the force of tried and true records management practice. A must-have title for anyone seeking the efficiencies of electronic records management and streamlined corporate compliance.

The many stories and examples made the book very readable and accessible. It led me through the very complex area of document management and presented a step by step guide to identifying information management problems and implementing solutions. I particularly appreciated the insight that having an information management strategy will provide corporate peace of mind as well as a rapid return on investment.

This book made me aware that every document created, whether paper or electronic, might be considered a record and that every document must be filed in a system or deleted. It helped me to see the importance of making staff responsible for the documents they create, and that there must be a plan in place for saving, accessing and deleting documents. The authors explained the implications of current legislation and the costs and consequences of not managing information the right way.

I would recommend this book to any organization, large or small, that is considering improving the way it handles information or that is concerned with compliance issues.