Park Books

Sometimes we only have a few moments to read when on camp-outs. It needs to be handy, packable, and satisfying. This little companion book is packed with helpful hints, fun poems, and short stories - to read alone or to share with others. You don't need a bookmark, because they're all a joy to re-visit. I started mine on a trip, then came home to finish the book by reading a few pages every night. Enjoyable for any age.

Sometimes we only have a few moments to read when on camp-outs. It needs to be handy, pack-able, and satisfying. This little companion book is packed with helpful hints, fun poems, and short stories - to read alone or to share with others. You don't need a bookmark, because they're all a joy to re-visit. I started mine on a trip, then came home to finish the book by reading a few pages every night! Enjoyable for any age

I borrowed this book from the Library and after reading it, just had to have it. It has so much information contained in it, that I want to spend more time delving into all that it has.
So many wonderful listings of websites pertaining to everything you could possibly think of in regards to camping, Rving, and all that pertains to that.
YOU WILL LIKE THIS BOOK AND THINK IT INDESPENSIBLE AFTER YOU READ IT. I highly suggest getting this for what seems to be almost all the information you would every need for camping and all that is related to it.

There is no more concise summary and guidebook for the internet user...on the road in an RV or off the road at home. It is extremely clear, well-organized and a "quick learn" for those who want to try out further exporation of the internet. In its relatively small format it explains everything from types of computers, hardware, software, terminology, to those mysterious "letters" related to computing we wonder about. Camping On the Internet by Eyrich is an absolute must for those who are full-timers in their RVs. Whether you just want to learn from scratch or whether you want to build your own website for pleasure or business, this is THE book. The author, Loren Eyrich, has spent many years traveling in an RV and publishing a small newspaper "on the road", using his computer. This is a user-friendly book. As a fairly competent computer user, I found it wonderfully refreshing and highly useful; it also helped me build my own web site.

Tony Hill's Canadian Politics: Riding by Riding is a travel book, a demographic study and a recent political history of Canada all in one. After extensive travels through Canada, the result is a unique perspective explaining not only broad cultural, historical, and social changes but specifics- car factory locations in Quebec, apple valleys in Nova Scotia, deserts in British Columbia, the Tomato Capital of Canada, and the Polar Bear Capital of the World, etc. Often he provides personal ancedotes or very wry observations which spice up the prose.

The demographic information is important as possibly no other democratic country has been more affected by immigration over the past generation as has Canada. Riding by Riding identifies Chinese, South Asian (Indian and Pakistani), Chinese, French, British,Scandinavian, and other enclaves within country.

An up-to-date political history of each province is in the book's front and the introduction contains a more comprehensive 25-year history of the five federal political parties. Most helpful is the What Is Politics? section: a readible primer of Canadian political terms and fundemental political differences between Canada and the United States.

But the real political history is contained with each riding description. For example, the Mount Royal riding contains a brief description of its longtime MP, Pierre Trudeau. However, sometimes the history is in an unexpected place. A discussion of the 1983 Progressive Conservative leadership review convention which ultimately led to the Prime Ministership of Brian Mulroney is in the Winnipeg Centre section as this was the actual location of the convention.

By going through the country, riding by riding, we learn about the country's movers and shakers as well as the backbenchers and we learn about how national electorial sweeps in 1984 and 1993 went through the political landscape like a tsunami. Mr. Hill's conclusion: Canadians tend to vote governments out, rather than vote governments in. As a result, he is very cautious in predicting future elections or events.

In all, Canadian Politics: Riding by Riding takes its subject and peels away its many layers. Mr. Hill appreciates Canada's complexities and writes about them with affection and understanding. He is one American too knowledgable to be interviewed on "Talking to Americans".

As someone who is active in politics and has lived or visited all parts of Canada, I can honestly say that Tony Hill gives a fair, well balanced, and complete analysis of Canada's 301 electoral districts. This analysis does not only include historical information, but also social and economic demographic information in a very qualitative fashion. This is a must read for anyone interested in Canadian politics!

CANYONLANDS contains 26 panoramic photographs. These can be folded out to a length of 90 centimeters. The following is my review of a smaller version of this book, by the same author. The smaller book, also called CANYONLANDS, contains photos selected from the larger book.

The photographer, Reiner Sahm, was careful to take the pictures at a time of day that works best for desert landscapes, namely, near sunset. Also, the photographer was careful to exclude tourists from most of the photos.

The great virtue of this book is that it contains scenery that is not much known or not much published. For example, we see Goblin Valley in Utah. Goblin Valley is easy to reach by way of a newly paved road. The road leads right up to a parking lot, and from the lot one can amble down into the valley and mingle among the "goblins." Various parts of Goblin Valley can be seen in the comedic science fiction movie, VISION QUEST. One criticism for the book under review, is that the picture does not show a representative goblin. In other words, from Reiner Sahm's photograph, the reader cannot really tell what is unique about this park. Goblin Valley is reasonably close to Moab. As long as you are visiting Goblin Valley, one should stop at nearby Hanksville, and go inside a supermarket carved out of the inside of a mountain.

Another example of little known, but yet amazing, scenery is Kash-Katuwe Tent Rocks. This park contains black conical things, similar to those found in Crater Lake National Park in Oregon. The black things, chimneys about 30 feet tall, have black cones or hats made of stone.

Yet another little known and little photographed scene is Vermilion Cliffs (Pariah Canyon, the Wave). Although the scene is one of the most unique and amazing in America, you must hike around ten miles to get to it. Moreover, this area was only recently discovered, apparently in the early 1990s.

Reiner Sahm continues his excursion into scenes that are little published--we see Chesler Park. The image of Chesler Park is shown from the meadow side. Colorful spires rise directly from a grassy meadow. The hike from Elephant Hill to Chesler Park is one of the greatest in America. To provide some perspective, the single greatest hike in America is the eleven mile Kalalau Trail on Kauai.

Of course, Reiner Sahm could not resist Monument Valley. And so, this book does contains a photo of Monument Valley. Fortunately, we are spared the usual image of The Mittens, and instead we are shown a more remote part of Monument Valley (Hunts Mesa).

I am greatful for Reiner Sahm's hard work in seeking out a number of awesome spots, e.g., Vermilion Cliffs, Chesler Park, Goblin Valley, and Kasha-Katuwe, that have generally been ignored by other photographers.

This book contains thirteen panoramic photographs, each 20 inches long, and spanning the "gutter" of the book. The photographer, Reiner Sahm, was careful to take the pictures at a time of day that works best for desert landscapes, namely, near sunset. Also, the photographer was careful to exclude tourists from most of the photos.

The great virtue of this book is that it contains scenery that is not much known or not much published. For example, we see Goblin Valley in Utah. Goblin Valley is easy to reach by way of a newly paved road. The road leads right up to a parking lot, and from the lot one can amble down into the valley and mingle among the "goblins." Various parts of Goblin Valley can be seen in the comedic science fiction movie, VISION QUEST. One criticism for the book under review, is that the picture does not show a representative goblin. In other words, from Reiner Sahm's photograph, the reader cannot really tell what is unique about this park. Goblin Valley is reasonably close to Moab. As long as you are visiting Goblin Valley, one should stop at nearby Hanksville, and go inside a supermarket carved out of the inside of a mountain.

Another example of little known, but yet amazing, scenery is Kash-Katuwe Tent Rocks. This park contains black conical things, similar to those found in Crater Lake National Park in Oregon. The black things, chimneys about 30 feet tall, have black cones or hats made of stone.

Yet another little known and little photographed scene is Vermilion Cliffs (Pariah Canyon, the Wave). Although the scene is one of the most unique and amazing in America, you must hike around ten miles to get to it. Moreover, this area was only recently discovered, apparently in the early 1990s.

Reiner Sahm continues his excursion into scenes that are little published--we see Chesler Park. The image of Chesler Park is shown from the meadow side. Colorful spires rise directly from a grassy meadow. The hike from Elephant Hill to Chesler Park is one of the greatest in America. To provide some perspective, the single greatest hike in America is the eleven mile Kalalau Trail on Kauai.

Of course, Reiner Sahm could not resist Monument Valley. And so, this book does contains a photo of Monument Valley. Fortunately, we are spared the usual image of The Mittens, and instead we are shown a more remote part of Monument Valley (Hunts Mesa).

This book is a smaller version of another, larger book by Reiner Sahm. The larger book contains prints that, when folded out, are 90 cm long. The larger book contains 26 images in all, including all of those in the book being reviewed. Thus, anyone with a few extra dollars to spare should buy the larger book, called CANYONLANDS PANORAMIC PHOTOGRAPHY.

I am greatful for Reiner Sahm's hard work in seeking out a number of awesome spots, e.g., Vermilion Cliffs, Chesler Park, Goblin Valley, and Kasha-Katuwe, that have generally been ignored by other photographers.

One can only concur with Jane Goodall when she says that this book is "both beautiful and profoundly disturbing"--partly, because it is, and partly because animals, in themselves, are "both beautiful and profoundly disturbing." Not only are we not altogether certain what it means to be human, but also we are not altogether certain what it means to be animal.

Frank Noelker is an associate professor of art at the University of Connecticut. His photographs of animals in zoos have been widely exhibited in both group and solo exhibitions. The design of the book is simple and straightforward. It says nothing about cameras, lenses, photographic techniques or f-stops. As well, it says almost nothing about Frank. The Forward by Jane Goodall and the Introduction by Nigel Rothfels provide its only text. Each of the fifty photographs bears a simple caption like this one: "Leopard, Tulsa, 2002."

What is most striking, from cover to cover, is the atmosphere of isolation. Nearly every photo shows a single animal in the very center of the picture. One gets the unmistakable feeling that the artist is relentlessly transgressing a fundamental rule of photography. Of course, there are a few exceptions; "Hippopotamus, Washington D.C., 1997" is one.

In this photograph, we see a hippopotamus on the left side of the picture, moving toward the center. In the center, we see a small, narrow and empty rectangle. Despite its great size, the Hippo does not compete with this diminutive symbol of emptiness; rather, he seems to be descending into the depths it represents.

The penguin photograph is another exception. In this photo, we see a penguin slightly off center. In the center, a vertical line, a stain, extends from top to bottom, from heaven to earth (or vice versa). The crucified penguin stands close to this mark, this stain, this hieratic symbol of mystery and sacrifice.

Even the photographs that include more than one animal exude a sense of unalleviated isolation. The two antelopes (the epitome of dignity and resignation) look as if they are quietly waiting for Godot. The baboon mother with its two babies might as well be sitting on the moon. The young baboon walking off to the left already knows everything there is to know about its world.

If, as Ortega y Gasset said, living consists in "having always to do something in order to bear oneself up" in the midst of circumstance, these photos show us something else. Can this be called `living'-when circumstance has been virtually nullified? Where is the "dynamic intricacy binding all things together...the system of relations in which all things are implanted...the "unity by co-implication?" ('Jose Ortega y Gasset's Metaphysical Innovation,' by Antonio Rodriquez Huescar) These animals have no projects and precious little circumstance. Their system of relations is vestigial at best.

Nigel Rothfels writes an excellent introductory essay on the subject of "Animals and Zoos and History." Even though this essay is valuable and well written, one should study the photos first. One should read the text only after an extensive contemplation of these beautiful but unsettling images.

In his essay, Rothfells quotes from a poem by Rainer Maria Rilke: `The Panther: Jardin des Plantes, Paris': "The bars which pass and strike across his gaze/ have stunned his sight: the eyes have lost their hold./ To him it seems there are a thousand bars./ a thousand bars and nothing else. No world."

Well put, Mr. Rilke: "No world!"-and "no dynamic intricacy binding all things together."

The book is sub-titled, `Zoo Portraits.' Nevertheless, these photographs are more than that: they are also portraits of us; they are portraits of human values and human awareness--or the sad lack thereof. There is much to learn from these quiet and unassuming photographs; and much that will be missed-partly because our vision and perception are limited, and partly because life is forever inexhaustible.

And, this wonderful inexhaustibility is the very essence of art.

I was surprised at how captivated I was once I opened the book. in the past, I've don't remember many photographs touching me except for those of Ansel Adams and Gordon Parks, whose images from a half century ago touch me in the new millenium. However Frank Noelker's portraits of zoo animals generated great sadness in me for these animals while at the same time instilling a greater appreciation for the freedoms we humans have, and at this time of desperation both here and abroad, seem too willing to sacrifice. I envy Frank Noelker for his courage. I imagine that to have spent ten years photographing animals at 300 zoos across the world must wear on his soul as well as his soles.

I bought this book for myself when I owned a house that was built in 1930. I have since sold the house but the book was so helpful I now plan to give it as a gift.

Upon completing an historic preservation workshop at Thomas Jefferson's Poplar Forest in Virginia this fall, a staff member recommended this book to me. It been a tremendous resource to me in my restoration of the Peter Elliott House.

IT'S A GREAT BOOK. THE PICTURES ARE VERY TRUE TO LIFE AND NOT STAGED. I LOVE IT.

My name is Jeff Baxter, my daughter and I are pictured in this book, We love it and cut me and see BLUE.

This is a wonderful book, and very much worthy of the series. I'd like to point out just one small error, though. The Rachael Robinson Elmer postcard reproduced on p. 71 does not show any part of Central Park; in fact the site it depicts is one and a half cross-town blocks away from the Park. The postcard shows the staircase at the southeast corner of _Morningside_ Park, just north of the northwest intersection of Manhattan Avenue with 110th Street. The Ninth Avenue Elevated ran along 110th Street at this point and thus was visible from this staircase. The staircase is still there and instantly recognizable from Elmer's painting. The only Central Park staircase that afforded a view of the Elevated (though it was an angled view, not straight on as in Elmer's postcard), the one at the northwest corner of Central Park just across from where the Elevated curved north from 110th Street into 8th Avenue, also still exists and is of a very different construction from the one Elmer painted. At least two postcards exist that show that view from Central Park, but Elmer's is not one of them.

Bob Hymes
Columbia University

If you are interested in old photographs of New York, the history of Central Park, or postcards and paper collectibles this book is for you! It is a pictorial essay of the history of Central Park from its inception to the present and can serve as a wonderfully rich guided tour!! There's something here for park lovers as well as those visiting from out-of-town! Enjoy the journey!!

Absorbing, thought-provoking, informative, well-written! Wish it was longer -- with more details about the author's experience with the gorillas in Rwanda and well as more pictures of the Primate Panorama and Cenzoo's daily activities. I've put a visit to the zoo on my travel list.

This is a must have book for anyone who loves gorillas. It chronicles the heartwarming story of a baby gorilla & his family as they travel to their new home showing how they adapt to their new environment.The book starts off with the tale of Cenzoo, the baby gorilla, who was abandoned & near dead. It details his and his families (him & mother, another female, & a silverback male) airplane adventure to their new home in a Denver zoo. The story continues to follow the lives of the gorilla family as they acclimate to their new home. There are many observations about how a gorilla's behavior differs in captivity versus in the wild. I really like how each gorilla's personality traits were described. I truly felt as if I got to know each of the gorillas. Lots of time is also given the plight of the vanishing gorillas & what is being done to help.

Tim Rawson has written an engaging and beautifully researched book exploring the saga of wolf control in Denali National Park. He also documents this controversial issue outside that park, both in Alaska and throughout the country. It is an unthinking oversight, however, that the publisher neglected--either in the subtitle or in the Library of congress catalog info--to mention the fascinating character who resides in these pages: Adolph Murie. This lesser known brother of Olaus Murie was largely responsible for our modern day understanding that wolves are an essential part of the ecosystem. Pre Adolph Murie it was popular to think of wolves as vermin in need of extermination. Adolph's life work, as it unfolds in Rawson's pages, turns this scholarly history into compelling biography. Even if you haven't read Barry Lopez' OF WOLVES AND MEN (or if you have any interest in wolves in general), CHANGING TRACKS is a true classic.

Alaska residents and students of national parks issues will find Changing Tracks involving: it details the events which shaped both Mt. McKinley Park and the national policy on dealing with predators in national parks in general, outlining the decisions and actions which have influenced park service policies throughout the country. A variety of experiences, from game managers to conservationists, are presented in this scholarly, involving survey.