Richard Books

USEFUL FOR AN INEXPERIENCED INVESTOR. PRIMARY POINT IS TO FOCUS ON THE LONG TERM AND DO NOT RESPOND TO DAY TO DAY EVENTS COVERED IN THE MEDIA. SOME USEFUL INFORMATION ON WHICH STOCKS TO BUY AND WHEN. GOOD BUYS ARE FREQUENTLY NOT THE "BEST" STOCKS BUT RATHER THE ONES GETTTING THE LEAST ATTENTION FROM ANALYSTS AND THE MEDIA.

Another great book from Bernstein. This one is more accessible than Style Investing and has some great financial planning tips/exercises. After the last 2 years in the markets many investors should reasses their tolerance and goals and Bernstein gives a nice framework to do that within.

This is an outstanding book---the best I've read in 3 years. I particularly like the discussion of risk--how the general perception of risk differs form the investors point of view. And how the investor's perception of risk can be misinterpreted by the broker or financial consultant. A great discussion of value verses growth stocks and which do better under which circumstances. I learned alot by reading this book.

This is the best book I've read in several years. It is thought provoking and backed up by data to show which stocks do well and poorly over time. Alot of the information is counter-intuitive--i.e. shows how your gut instinct is often incorrect. I particularly like the book's discussion of risk, and how the conventional view of risk differs considerably for the average investors view of risk. I plan to reread this book soon.

This readable book explains very important concepts (risk/reward, asset allocation etc.) very well. Serious long-term investors would be well advised to navigate the noise (I would suggest shutting off CNBC as a start), read Richard's book, and then create a diversified portfolio that is expected to help them fund their long-term liabilities (education, retirement etc.) while matching their true risk tolerance.

huge,bottomless,overwhelming as the worlds oceans this awesome tome provides hours of mind blowing eye candy with great educational text.this book uses state of the art photography & excellent graphics.dk are the best when it comes to visual guides.

This book contains stunning pictures, interesting fact and information, information on the most spectacular beaches and ocean crated phenomena, tidal and wave phenomena, weather related phenomena, and information on many, many species of sharks, whales, jellyfish, fish, crabs, coral, etc. A must buy for any ocean/nature lovers, nonfiction coffee table book fans/collectors, or anyone who just love interesting facts and appreciates stunning photography.

This is a huge book packed with information and gorgeous photography. There is plenty of science contained in these glossy pages from how the planets in our solar system formed, to the breakup and movement of our land masses to their current day positions, ocean currents, weather, ecology, glacial periods, and so much more. Most of the first half of the book is devoted to these subjects. The second half of the book gets into ocean life, from the smallest to the largest, how they live, feed, defend themselves. The pictures are breathtaking. This is a great educational book for all family members. Trust me, this one won't just sit around on your coffee table.

This book is not a typical "coffee table" book. Although full of beautiful photographs, there is equal emphasis on educational text. Instead of being a book containing only full-page photos of ocean life, each page is a collage of wonderful photos and short articles that you will want to read. The publisher of this book (DK), offers a variety of books in this format (travel, etc), and the layout of this book is similar. That is not to knock the photos at all - they are great and some are full-page, but this book isn't page after page of full-page photos as some others are.

That said, this is an excellent educational text with so much interesting information to offer. (It made me want to read the book cover-to-cover, which would probably keep me busy for at least a few days!)

The four main sections of the book include:

Introduction
Ocean Environments
Ocean Life
Atlas of the Oceans

The Introduction section takes a scientific look at the earth. A sampling of the topics of this section include "The Evolution of the Oceans", "Tectonics and the Ocean Floor", "Hurricanes", and "El Nino and La Nina". Mixed in with the photos are a number of color drawings and graphs to help the reader understand the concepts.

The section on Ocean Environments includes articles on specific places like San Francisco Bay and Hardanger Fjord as well as general information on habitats such as Salt Marshes, Mangrove Swamps and Rocky Sea Beds. The pages are full of photos of the areas as well as typical species found there.

The largest section is on Ocean Life and focuses on the variety of creatures found in the sea. Exhibited within these pages are a number of amazing photos of plants and animals that I had not seen before (though I'm not an expert on this subject) including creatures such as the Glass Squid, the Blue-Ringed Octopus and the Goblin Shark. I thoroughly enjoyed the short paragraph articles describing unique aspects of the species shown as well as the longer texts on topics like "Echinoderms" that includes anatomy, reproduction, feeding and defense sub-articles.

The last section is Atlas of the Oceans and includes maps of the different oceans and text describing them.

Again, the focus of this book is learning, not just amazing photography, and it does an excellent job of offering a smorgasbord of articles on different topics. If you really want to learn about the ocean and its inhabitants while paging through fantastic photographs, you will thoroughly enjoy this book!

NOT 500 pages and if I had paused to read the item description properly I wouldn't have bought this book! Way too good a price to be true, it is not another edition of the wonderful Cousteau-forwarded book, but a perfectly respectable DK full-color children's book with many very nice color photos. Probably very worth $7.99 and I was just far too greedy to read the fine print.

I gave this book to my son-in-law for his birthday in 2001. He is a policeman locally and love the book so much. He had his wife to read the book because he says that every woman married to a policeman needs to read this book so they will understand what they go thru. Personally, I have the same condition that Richard Smith has which is Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy. I think its great that Richard wrote this book because living with pain all the time isn't that easy, but Richard shows us that we can do anything even though we have a disability.

After becoming disabled with PTSD, I went in search for others who might understand and be able to offer me some insight. That's when I found and purchased Richard's book, from the moment it arrived in the mail, I couldn't put it down. One Stands Alone not only met, but it exceeded all of my expectaions. Reading Richard's book helped me to understand that I wasn't the only one in the world who had been over exposed to situations and scenes while doing my job. Richard, describes scenes which bare his sole and must have been very difficult, yet he keeps such a positive attitude. That alone gave me faith and understanding, it doesn't matter who you are, this is a great read written by a very talented writer.

One Stands Alone is a book that I can very much relate too. Having been a special education teacher, I was able to relate to many of the events and episodes that Richard went through as a police officer. It really made me think back to the days as a teacher and the students that I worked with and how this world "really is " . I also became injured and got RSD through my job as a teacher by being injured by a student and how the system did NOT protect me but rather wanted to cover up things. There was humor, danger and a lot of dedication on Richards part that I was able to relate to. I think that that anyone who reads this has a better incite into what a "real/ dedicated" police officer goes through on a day to day basis. I thoroughly enjoyed the book and was not all bored with it. I learned much from it and everything was explained in terms that were easiliy understood. Watching "Cops" on television, is nothing compared to the life and dangers that are depicted in Richard's book. He tells it like it is.
Great Job Richard!!! I am just sorry that you had to end up with RSD!!!!

One Stands Alone is a spirited and honest account of a long, intense career in Law Enforcement. Richard A. Smith fearlessly describes his own learning process, his mistakes, accomplishments, and those of others in actual situations. He shows incredible respect for the needs of his readers, though respect was usually not what he received while on duty. Technical terms and situations are explained, often with humor, even at his own expense, in such a way that the author is never "talking down" to his audience.

The positive frame of mind that Richard maintains overall throughout the book is even more remarkable when you read about his harrowing and discouraging experiences and life-changing line-of-duty injuries. He shows that officers are not just uniforms with badges, but are real people who share all emotions and experiences of daily life with the rest of us.

I give a lot of credit to Richard for reliving incidents to give us a view of a very unbalanced and often frightening world that the police face daily on our behalf. I thank him for sharing such a great part of his life, and as importantly, for sacrificing so much of himself while "protecting and serving."

In the writing, Richard shares a number of nicknames he received throughout his career. With this book, he has earned yet another, that of "Master Storyteller." As I hear a siren or watch officers at work, I often reflect on things said in One Stands Alone. It is much easier now to understand that what appears to be happening is often very different from the actuality. I only hope that this book is the first of many from this gifted author.

Richard Smith lets us into his many years as a diligent
policeman,protecting the citizen's of Durham-Raleigh,N.C.
The long hours,working different shifts and seeing what
human's can do to one another. Especially, when they are
drunk or taking drugs.
After all the years, missing Holidays,common in police work,
Richard gets felled by serious health problems. Not a man to
complain, he likes his work and does it well. He starts to get
injuries that are work related.He has to take time off, for a
leg and wrist injury he sustained.
His Orthopedic Dr. did surgery on his leg tendons. It failed
to help so another Dr. a physiatritrist, diagnosed RSD.
Which means Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy, a disease that can
be treated but not cured.Richard remained on disability and
had ten spinal blocks to help him.
He described his pain like a combination of arthritis, muscular
dystrophy, and cancer. It crippled you like the first two ilnesses and spread through your body with excrutiating pain like the last. This is the sufferers excellent description.
Having to relie on others tested his perserverance. He was sent to a caring psychologist, who worked with him and told him he had Post-traumatic Syndrome Disorder, common among police from their type of work.
After 18 years on the police force and obtaining an Advanced Law Enforcement Certification, the highest level to acheive in this field of police work in North Carolina. Richard could have retired peacefully. But he continues help others in various ways. He has suffered the result of a chronic illness, few of
the cops he worked with stop by, but he is tutoring children and say's "I'm Never Standing Alone".

For anyone who has read Eckhardt Tolle's work or watched him on Oprah, you'd know about the hugely popular self-help movement that focuses on living in the present moment.
Richard Carlson's, You Can Feel Good Again, was written before A New Earth, and takes the same view as Tolle, but presents the material from a more practical and psychological perspective, rather than Tolle's spiritual one.
The book is an easy read (less than 200 pages) but Carlson's message is so clearly presented, that any extra chapters would simply be literary padding.
Carlson's aim is to divert reader's attention away from the constant chatter and judgment of their mind, and redirect their focus to their "Healthy Functioning System" - their inner place of peace. His advice is balanced, straightforward and simple to implement.
So if you're looking to take the theories of Tolle's A New Earth, and apply them to the everyday, I would highly recommend this book.




Zara Stevens
Boy Meets Girl: A Pocketful of Wedding Stories

This is a life changing book. It shows how our thoughts create our perception of life. Our perception of life is our experience of life. It doesn't go overboard and claim their is no objective reality outside our thoughts, as some new age teachings do. However, it does say that it's not the circumstances of our lives, but our reactions to them. It does repeat it's central ideas several times, but sometimes it takes a while for something to sink in. I really liked the chapter on wisdom. My only problem with this book is the subtitle, because I read this book when I wasn't depressed and still got tons out of it. It could be read by anyone who wants to think optimally and discover happiness in life. I am only writing this review, because I have the hope that someone might read it and get solid info about living a better life. Carlson is influenced in his writing by a school of psychology called Psychology of Mind. Psychology of Mind is based on the concepts originally presented by Sydney Banks. I think this is the most clearly written of the Psychology of Mind books. However, if you read this book and like it I would reccomend any of the books from the Psychology of Mind authors (e.g Wisdom Within by Roger Mills, Divorce Is Not The Answer by George Pransky). Also check out Sydney Banks website and books.

Dr Carlson has written many self-help books aimed at helping us to find the stable state of happiness that naturally exists within us all. He has now written this book specifically for those of us who suffer from depression. The book contains practical truths that are so obvious that most of us miss them or at least bypass them in the rush of our everyday lives. If you are suffering from depression this book will help immensely. Richard Carlson will show you how your state of depression is as much perpetuated by your own thinking as it is by any chemical imbalance that may or may not exist. I have read this book at the same time as receiving treatment with an SSRI anti-depressant (Cipralex). While I am unsure if the SSRI has benefited me at all after 6 weeks, I am certain that this book has changed my outlook completely after two weeks and that it continues to do so more and more with each re-reading. If I allow myself to slip back into my old ways of thinking, the severity of my depression rapidly returns. The good news is that it just as rapidly alleviates when I get back on track with my thinking. The book is simple to read and may seem repetitious. However, if you are one of Dr Carlson's target audience of sufferers from depression you should read this book and keep on re-reading it. You will find that on each re-reading something will leap out at you with greater meaning than it did before. I have highlighted many sentences so that I can rapidly re-read them, and have noted down the keywords on the title page. This way I can pull myself back on track quickly. The approach takes some work to put into practice but there is nothing as hard work as being in a depressed state. The hard work, by the way, is only in terms of changing your habitual modes of thinking, it does not involve making lists and analysing things as do many cognitive (i.e. thinking) approaches such as that found in Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy by David Burns. I have found Dr Burns's book to be of some use also, mainly because it has helped me to identify particular types of cognitive distortion that help perpetuate depressive illness. This enables me to more accurately recognise when I should dismiss my thoughts, as Dr Carlson recommends in his approach. If you are depressed, low, angry, resentful, dissatisfied, unfulfilled, stressed, hurried, fearful or just not happy most of the time then read this book and keep re-reading it. I only wish this book had been available when I was aged twenty rather than forty.

The first time I read this book, I read it straight through and it seemed to say the same thing over and over again: I began to wonder why on earth I bought it. I am now on my third reading, and I'm reading just a few sentences each and every day. However, although the basic message is still the same on each page, "Live in the Present", Mr Carlson constantly gives new aspects to the message so that it drip feeds sanity into my brain. I wish I'd had this book 50 years ago, and maybe it wouldn't have taken so long to do its work.

Never has something I've read had such an impact on my life as this book has. In fact, I would never have imagined that a book could have this much impact on my life!

This is the most complete book on The Valley of the Kings. It is so interesisng, and informative and has great pictures. It is well worth the money. Used but in very good shape just as advertised by the book seller. Before you go to Egypt , buy this book. I wish I had it in May 2008 when I went to Egypt.

I bought this for my daughter and she loved it. The pictures along with the writing made it very easy for her to understand, but not "babyish". I would heartily recommend this book for people that have a genuine interest in ancient Egypt.

Did you know that there are chambers in the bottom of many temples that are still 'uncharted"? Neither did I. This is a great book.

This is a truely comprehensive reference book of the Valley and like others in the Thames and Hudson series is a must for scholars of Ancient Egypt. Excellent!

Excellent book, if you are interest in ancient egypt, read this book, you'll learn a lot of interesting facts about the valley of the kings, the pharaohs, etc..

This book provides an excellent information source for people with epilepsy and offers vital information to help them control their seisures.

I bought this book back in 1995, and I still use it. It has chapters on foods and chemicals to avoid, exercises, relaxation... It is very helpful and my seizures have lessened. I cannot guarantee if they lessened due to this book, but I think so (o:

I have always had seizures since I was a small child. I had no idea I could do more for myself than take the pills I was given by my doctor. I no longer have seizures since reading this book. I have lost my drivers on occasion due to seizures!!!

The information in this book should be more available to everyone!!! Doctors should be telling people some of the information in this book during their visits. The nutrition section was extremely important to me.

I have a completely new life now after reading this book and Treating Epilepsy Naturally by Patricia A. Murphy. These two books have so changed my life that I can hardly believe it. I wish I would have had these books over 20 years ago. But now, I have them and am so grateful. After having a seizure every week I am almost beside myself now that it has been over 6 weeks. And I haven't even tried everything in these books. Just a few. I wish I could give a medal to the authors. I wish I could express my thanks properly. If you have epilepsy or know someone who does, you won't regret reading these books and applying their advice. They are an answered prayer.

In spite of no new edition for ten years, this book is still highly relevent. The information on medication is a bit dated but everything else seems to be timeless.

In a world full of medical miracles people often expect a simple solution to their medical problems; i.e., "take a pill and everything will be alright." With epilepsy that is often not the case. There is so much more to the condition than just seizures. There is so much more to treating the disease than just taking pills. Most physicians are so pressed for time because of managed care and too few specialty providers that they rarely have time during an appointment to discuss the many aspects of epilepsy let alone the finer points of treating it.

This book addresses the many facets of epilepsy and suggests ways that individuals can take control of their disease. Most of the ideas are backed up with anecdotal evidence, but the concepts are extremely cogent and intellectually appealing.

Rather than listing the contents of the book I think it is sufficient to say that the book advocates a holistic approach to the person with epilepsy. I heartily endorse that idea. It will be up to the individual and their family to make that happen. Physicians can help by directing people to resources outside of the traditional "just take your meds" approach. It is good to have a balanced approach to this condition.

I highly recommend this book. It is extremely well written and is a joy to read. Of all of the books I have read on epilepsy (so far), it more than any other paints a broad picture of the disease and advocates a balanced approach (between traditional medicine and alternative methods) to helping the person take control of their disease process.

The Eye of Odin is a very interesting first from writer Richard Larsson. It demands your full attention, with its many characters and their difficult names, but a very rewarding piece of saga. The vikings, the ancient gods,the trade, the raids on the Europeean continent and Britain.
Things that we know, have heard and read about could be repetitive and boring, her come alive in new light.
The characters are strong and laconically Norse, as in Njals' Saga and the Snorre Edda, big strong fellows who are as likely to suddenly cleave you with a sword as they are trying to drink you under the table on mead.

The scoundrels of the story are utterly evil and attack the Good with ever means possible, stopping at nothing.
Yet in the midst of this, the old Norse clan continously strike back at their enemy, keeping all skirmishes far from home, impossible to prove to the Althingi, the Icelandic parliament.

I dound the book enticing in it's description of viking life, which seems so real, so alive and so very plausible.
We know today that the vikings were no more savage than other folk at the time, skilled merchants and negotiators.

The discovery of the New Lands is described just as it may have occurred, much by chance, bu coincident.
Larsson writes meticulously, leaving no details forgotten, no stone unturned, which sometimes is a strength sometimes a weakness, making a vengeant mind like Bagnold's wait a hundred pages before striking, whereas in other parts of the book two sentences could mean a few years.
I strongly recommend this book as it is a brilliant Saga, an enxiting book and- most of all- a Very Good Read!

James Larson's writing style is fantastic! I am a huge fan of historic novels of the dark ages, and saga periods, and this is the most enjoyable read in the genre I have experienced to date.

The characters are familar, being drawn from history, but the telling is truly eloquent.

I am anxiously awaiting his second book!

If you're looking for high literature, you won't find it here, as Jim Larson is never going to be acclaimed as the greatest exponent of the English language. However, he is a master of the craft of yarn spinning. I found this novel of Viking times a genuine "couldn't put down". The characters come alive, and there is none of the confusion that one can find in some epic novels. What Nigel Tranter did for Scottish history in novel form, Jim Larson looks like being fully capable of for the Vikings. Superb first novel, great reading, and I can't wait until the next one, called "Wolfgar" is published. I'll be at the head of the queue to buy it.

It began with the murder of King Hakon's henchman, to avenge an insult to family honor. Thorvald is outlawed from Norway, forced to start a new life in Iceland. Grieving his banishmnet from his homeland, Thorvald has no idea the great destiny in store for his clan. Thus begins the complex chain of events that lead his descendants to explore and colonize North America and Greenland, ...as Thorvald's grandson is none other than Leif Erickson himself.
Written in a style reminiscent of the ancient Sagas, Eye Of Odin is a dark tale of feuds, rivalries, and armed conflict, all the elements of a proper Nordic epic. Mr. Larson gives us a story of a Norse family and their allies striving to succeed in new lands. Despite relocation to Iceland, Thorvald finds that his troubles are far from over, as he has purchased lands greatly desired by another. Enraged with envy at the frustration of his economic ambitions, Thorvald's new neighbor plots reprisals, and makes alliances to sabotage Thorvald and his people. So begins the cycle of rivalry and revenge which one expects in a Viking tale...

Eye of Odin is not only a novel, but a worthy source of cultural and historical insight to the greatest era of Scandinavian expansion and exploration. The uninitiated reader who has never read Viking history, will learn much within. There have been other Viking novels over the years, but the only previous book which I can compare in volume of research, is Franz Bengtson's "The Long Ships", written some fifty years before.

It's been a long time since I've let myself be swept into another time and place by an historical saga. And this novel, set in the tenth century in the time of the Vikings, is what I call a "delicious" read. Once I got into the book and the Norwegian names were no longer a challenge, the story moved fast, sweeping me up in this epic tale of adventure, plunder, murder and revenge. The characters were fully developed, the time and place authentic, and I learned a lot about the politics and history of the time.

The story begins in conflict as the Christian King of Norway is pitted against the old time religion of the people, who worship Odin and come together in an annual festival where they pray to Odin and ritually sacrifice animals. There is a murder which results in a prestigious family being banned from the land. Erik the Red is their teenage son and the reader watches him and his two good friends, go to sea, marry and develop trade. They also "go a Viking" which means they travel to various European countries, loot the valuables and takes slaves. Reading this is an interesting experience because by this time in the book I identified with them and liked them. Though their eyes, however, the plunder was just part of their culture and even though I personally was appalled at what a Viking raid really was, I couldn't help but understand where they were coming from.

There are also several other villains who plot our hero's demise. They are sketched so well that I could almost find myself "booing" them every time they came on the scene. This is not a book of subtleties. It's big and bold and every character is larger than life. There are good guys and bad guys and even the good guys are cruel sometimes. However, the author makes sure to let the reader know that the good guys' cruelty is justified.

The book moved quickly and swept me along in the adventure. If there was any weakness it was that I needed a little time to get the characters' names straight and, the author's use of words like "okay" made me wonder at first if the dialogue was going to be too modern. I needn't have worried though, because by the time I had finished the first fifty pages, I was so swept up in the story that I no longer noticed little details like that. By then, the characters had sprung to life and I felt I was right inside their heads, living their lives with them.

I loved this book. It was a perfect companion on a cold winter's night when I could hear the wind whistling outside my window and let myself be transported back a thousand years. When I finished all 481 pages, I wanted more. I understand the author is working on a sequel. I can't wait to read it.

Remodelling made easy with this visual book. I worked out some details on a remodel alongside my contractor using this great resource. The book is mainly illustrations of the various ways (right and wrong) to change your home without the use of an achitect.

A local Architect recommended that I get a copy of this book. I am staff to the local historic zoning commission and always can use assistance explaining architectural concepts to applicants. This book is a reasonable articulate resource that alows an applicant to see the problems he/she might be having with a design. This book is easy to read and it presents clear and useful solutions to the mistakes that many applicates and their architects seem to want to make. I have gotten copies for all of the Commissioners and I am working with the Library system to make sure all of our libraries have a copy.

A lot of work went into this book. The overall presentation and layout is friendly and easy to the eye. The illustrations are very effective and easy to understand. The language is simple and clear. What you get is a book that is very practical and that explains in great detail the dos and don't of design. While the focus is residential the principles can be applied to all types of buildings. Highly recommended.

The book provides extensive detail about the architectural detail of a TRADITIONAL house. It will not help much with a contemporary house. It has a ton of drawings to help make its points. It is basically all pictures and drawings -- very little narative.

I bought this book about a month or so ago. I have read through it once. While I will skim it again, from time to time, I'll be keeping it as an irreplaceable reference manual for home design or purchase.

The illustrations are gorgeous and pure genius. Most of them are NOT CAD drawings, but honest-to-goodness pencil illustrations, which all have a definite artistic flair to them.

The premise is simple: the Greeks and Romans got it right, and modern home designers try to ape their aesthetic without doing the requisite homework make awful looking houses. Once you read this book, you'll never be able to go into a rich new suburban development without easily being able to point out the painfully obvious design gaffes that abound. That's the downside--you're an instant architectural snob after one read. But the upside is that when it is time to YOU to buy or build, you'll know precisely what to look for and what to avoid.

Marianne Cusato has proven her genius with the "Katrina Cottage" design, which will probably set her for life financially. I hope it does, so she can focus all of her energies toward the classicist movement. I'd sure love to hire her to design my next home (if I could ever afford her now).

The modern architectural ethic of the last century, emphasizing a lack of details, machinelike designs, and a material driven ethos (steel, glass, and concrete) is absolutely put to shame by the Greek and Roman orders of proportion, balance, and detail. Hopefully, Ms. Cusato and her classicist colleagues can put the last few nails in that coffin. I could live the rest of my life quite well without having to view another gawd-awful building that looks like it was designed by Fisher Price.

This book is a masterpiece.

"And I'm going back to Bisbee, not really knowing why. Perhaps it is because two years of my life were left there, put behind me, and now I have reached an age at which I cannot afford to forget even two years out of those allotted to me. Perhaps I am looking for the spirit of a mountain I never knew, a mountain which became a crater on whose edge I lived for two years, happily, while the landscape and earth around me was being destroyed. Or perhaps it is just nostalgia. I was happy there, while the destruction went on for twenty-four hours a day, and now I want to go back" (pp. 21-22).

Richard Shelton is an Arizona writer and poet. His 1992 memoir Going Back to Bisbee won the Western States Book Award for Creative Nonfiction in 1992 and was selected for the 2007 One Book Arizona program. It is his love song to Bisbee, a desert city with a European feel located 82 miles southeast of Tucson in the mile-high mountains of southern Arizona. With his poet's eye for detail, Shelton immerses his reader in the landscape, flora, and fauna of the Sonoran desert as he makes his nostalgic journey (in the temperamental van he proudly calls "Blue Boy") from Tucson to Bisbee, where he taught English in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Along the way, he not only revisits the natural history of southeastern Arizona, but he reveals the beauty of the Sonoran desert, even capturing in words the scent of the desert when it smells like rain. Ultimately, Shelton's highly-recommended memoir reveals that Bisbee is as much a state of mind as a place. I should know. I have Bisbee dust in my blood. I was born and raised there. And like Shelton, I was happy there. I say read the book, and then experience Bisbee for yourself.

G. Merritt

This is a terrific book. I live in Arizona and learned so much from reading it. It is never boring and is full of information and fun stuff.
I even learned a few new words for things that happen in Arizona.
I would highly recommend this book.

GOING BACK TO BISBEE is essentially a memoir augmented by plenty of history, both natural and human. It won an award in 1992 for "creative nonfiction" and I can understand why. The conceit of the book, which is taken up by the title, is a drive by the author Richard Shelton from his current hometown of Tucson to Bisbee, Arizona, where he had spent two years of his life, newly married and a fledgling teacher, fresh out of the military, about thirty years earlier. He intersperses his account of his half-day-long, 100-mile drive with recollections of his personal life in Southern Arizona, stories of the history of the area (for example, the Apaches, the U.S. Army, and a century of mining), and sidebars on the flora, fauna, and geography of the region. The book ends with Shelton back in Bisbee, having dinner with an old friend and grande dame of the former mining town re-invented as a center for the arts.

For my taste, the "going back to Bisbee" conceit is a little too artificial and forced, and the anthropomorphism to which Shelton is prone becomes mildly annoying, especially when repeatedly used with reference to the van, "Blue Boy," in which he makes his trip. But on the whole, the book is very engaging. It certainly is a much more entertaining way of learning about Colorado river toads, Perry's agave, coyotes, mesquite, and many similar subjects than the typical natural history guide. At the same time one learns much about the destruction of the landscape by the Anglo invasion and their cattle-ranching and mining without undue preaching, and one is treated to a number of interesting personal anecdotes, some of which are genuinely funny.

Hence, GOING BACK TO BISBEE can be recommended on a number of levels, but it would be especially appreciated, I think, by those interested in the Sonoran desert and the mountains of Southern Arizona.

Others have already heaped praise on Mr. Shelton and this book, so I can't improve on that. But you must also try his 2007 book "Crossing the Yard". It is every bit as good, if not better,Crossing the Yard: Thirty Years as a Prison Volunteer than "Going back to Bisbee"

What fun we had tracing Richard Shelton's steps (and drive) through the Arizona desert. He's personal stories throughout this book are great. The information on the flora and fauna are very detailed. The history on this desert area itself is fascinating.

This is an incredible children's book! It is one of my all-time favorite (top 5)! It is about the 'true gift - the gift of self'. I occasionally give this gift to someone who serves others selflessly. I have also given this book to each of my children and to many close friends. It is a must-have!

Richard Paul Evans has written the most wonderful children's books. Your children will enjoy them so much.

Alexander would have never dreamth in his whole life that this day would come. After setting off to Noel to see the lighting of the christmas torch he encounters an old man lying in the snow shivering. Then he stops to help him and he would have never guessed as long as he lived that this day would come.

This story takes place in Noel many years in the past. Alexander really wants to light the christmas torch, but he has to have the best gift, so he just put's the thought of lighting it out of his mind and waits for someone else to light it. Little kids would like this book because it will teach them the true meaning of christmas and they might not grow up to be as selfish as they would have.

This book is amazing. Our family loves it! Our priest read it to the entire parish on Christmas Eve a few years ago -- truly reminds all of us the true meaning of Christmas. You won't be disappointed!

I have a tradition of purchasing a new Christmas book for my two boys each year, which I allow them to open on Christmas Eve to read. This was my book of choice for Christmas 2004, and I was certainly not disappointed. It is the story of a young boy who has a very difficult decision to make, especially for a child. He has to decide between taking part in a Christmas event that he looks forward to every year or listening to his heart and taking care of another important situation that he has come upon. He listens to his heart and is rewarded for it in the end. A story with a wonderful moral to share with your children.