California Books

Melody Ermachild Chavis' book has proved to me that one person CAN make a difference. This story stayed with me, and I can't wait to read "Finding Freedom" by Jarvis Masters, the Death Row inmate Melody befrinds in "Altars." Chavis tells the story of a crumbling South Berkeley neighborhood with realistic hard-edged truths, taking the reader along with her as she struggles to fight back against the drug wars and violence taking over her community. You'll find yourself sharing her pain, joy and frustration with every page you turn. I recommend this book to anyone with an inkling for the possibility of social change. To those who are skeptics, I say give "Altars in the Street" a chance to change your mind--and your life--forever. Bravo to Melody. I just hope she continues to publish her work.

Melody Ermachild Chavis writes a thoughtful and compelling account of her commitment to an inner-city neighborhood. Weaving family, community, and personal stories, Melody recounts the joys, triumphs, and struggles she encountered in this Berkely neighborhood. Interspersed are the beginnings of her Buddhist faith which provide the graceful style of her writing. This is one of those books that will remain floating around in my brain for quite some time. It was required reading for a senior Social Work class, but I found that it speaks to all of us who find ourselves in neighborhoods or communities. We all face challenges of living closely together and this is a testament that these difficulties can be overcome in a harmonious fashion.

Alters in the Street slices through the jaded, bunker-mentality of urban life by seeping us in the war zone, giving a poignant face to the brutalized and brutalizing who are our neighbors, and delivering renewed committment and a path to making peace and quality of life right where we are. I experienced the whole range of emotions, cried while reading every chapter but ended up wanting to extend myself further into my community. I almost wanted to become a Buddhist! A moving example of travelling through discord, through the elements that separate us from ourselves and our community to reach a more integrated, whole and hopeful self.

As owner of GAIA Bookstore in Berkeley, I read many books and I'm often being asked to read many more, as you can imagine. So when ALTARS IN THE STREET arrived at GAIA, I packed it along with many books to take on a weekend trip. Thinking I might read a few pages, I was immediately engrossed by this beautifully written book, rich in detail yet capturing the essence of human struggles and resourcefulness. Melody portrays the horrors of life where drugs and violence are daily visitors. Yet rather than feeling depressed or overwhelmed by the problems, I was filled with hope, learning how much there is that we can do when we engage our hearts and face the suffering courageously and creatively. The actions she and her neighbors took were heroic, but things any of us can do to solve community problems, to improve the quality of life where we live, to restore kindness to our streets, to provide our children with a future to look forward to. PATRICE WYNNE, Owner of GAIA Bookstor

I love Kate Delafield! It s not too often when a dectective series starring a woman can hold it's own book after book. Kate's character is fully formed and not at all one dimensional. You see how she struggles to remain tough in what was definetly a ma's job in the 1980's. You also see her struggle with her sexuality and how it affects those around her. Thank you Katherine V. Forrest for a great series.

Where have I been all these years? I missed Katherine Forrest, I missed Kate Delafield -and now that I've found them both, this is it - I want them all!! What a marvelous read! Thank goodness its summer and I can read all I want, so here goes. I'm buying all I see, reading all I can. Forrest is an excellent author, I'd read other things, just not the Delafield series. I'm the biggest fan these days.
VERY contemporary, don't let the date throw you. Its very NOW and hot.
Read read read!

If I'd read the Delafield series in order, I'd have given this a higher ranking, but Nightwood and Malibu are better. Great start for the series though. Good mystery story, and nice portrayal of the "love story."

If you haven't read the Kate Delafield books, now is the time to start! Ms. Forrest puts more effort into character development than any other author I've read, bar none. Each book in the series is chock full of intriguing, plausible suspects, and the returning characters change and grow throughout the series. Great work! As for the who-dun-it aspect, I've solved only a couple before the final secret's revealed. I figure most mysteries out around the half-way mark.

This is the first book in a remarkable series. Women, lesbians and mystery-holics are bound to enjoy it... as is any intelligent mind.

This book provides an excellent overview of the history of the dust bowl Okies and the culture they (we) have created in central California. Gregory explores the religion, music, and politics well in clear language. The book is short enough to be enjoyable and while goes into some depth on a few issues, it is not so filled with unimportant details as to be muddled. Gregory sprinkles the text with brief excerpts of the many interviews he conducted with the Okies.

James Gregory has put together a outstanding history of the migration and culture of the dust bowl migrants who settled in California. I have probably read Grapes of Wrath four or five times since first reading it in high school, but after reading Gregory's description of the way these poor south-westerners struggled with poverty and at the same time maintained family unity and cultural pride, Steinbeck's book takes on a whole new meaning. Gregory goes step by step to show what motivated many to move, and then what motivated them to stay even though they suffered great privations and predjudice. I especially enjoyed learning about the influences of country music not just upon the migrants, but on the entire nation. A must read to make Grapes more clear!

Overall a good study of the last great westward folk migration in American history. I would add that many of their predecessors in the "classic" frontier period were just as broke and hungry as these migrants, but there was little mass media around to record them. An interesting, well-done slice of folk Americana.

I thought that this was a good book. I read it for a history course on the Great Depression and it was definately worth reading. It can get a little bogged down in detail or a little dull ocassionally, but overall it is a good view of "okie culture". It really helped be to understand the diversity and impact of the migration. And it contains a few interesting personal stories as well!

If you have time to read only one book on Immigration in the Trans-Mississippi West this classic by Stewart is the one. Filled with characters and anecdotes it started me on a long and large collection of books on the Old West. Many published in small numbers have been excellent investments.

Stewart tells us a splendid story. In 1840, California was there to be settled, but how to cross the deserts and mountains to reach it? Beginning with the Bartelson Party in 1841, pioneers blazed ever-better trails that avoided deserts, followed water, and crossed the mountains, especially the forbidding peaks of the Sierras. But even though trails improved, they were still treacherous, as shown by the doomed Donner Party in 1846. We get a fascinating picture of the West, and Stewart even takes on a trip along the California Trail, from Independence, Missouri to Sacramento via Fort Laramie, Wyoming's South Pass, Nevada's Humboldt River, and over Donner Pass. If you enjoy travel or American history, you can spend many, pleasant hours with this book.

The old West is a subject that has been poorly served by Hollywood and the current crop of academic writers eager to show that the US is a rogue nation fit only for extinction. Reading Stewart's book will change all that.

In 1957 I talked with a 96 year-old gentleman in Golden, CO, who was then living in a rooming house next to one of my college buddies. He claimed to have been the sheriff of Central City (CO) in the 1880s, which I later found to have been true. He talked about how the "fanners" (gunmen who fanned the hammers of their pistols with their non-gun hand) held no danger for him. He simply took careful aim with his pistol and shot them dead. He also favored using a shotgun in close quarters, and always shot first if his opponent started to draw his pistol. Myths like those he debunked and others like Indians circling wagon trains and shooting from horseback at men under cover need to be refuted.

This book is a reprint of the 1962 edition, and author Stewart, who also wrote the fine novels "Fire" and "Storm", writes in a style that seems somewhat enthusiastic to contemporary readers. Nor does he compare the subject period of 1840 to 1858 to current times and moralize against Bush, imperialism or the emmigrants' treatment of Indians. If you want to find fault with America, this book is not for you, but conversely, if you want to know what made America great, this is required reading.

There are many heroes here in Stewart's presentation, all with flaws, but most with outstanding physical and moral courage. American democracy was at its best in the emmigrant parties, who expected no help of any kind from their government and whose loyalties descending from family to friend to party to others in the same endeavor were evident to all. Indeed, these parties had no backing from government, corporations, or any other organizations, and the free enterprise ethic presented in such stark definition will be almost unrecognizable by those raised on improving the governmental nanny-state, or requiring free education, tenure, social security, unemployment, disability and health insurance (and cell phones) to make it through another day.

When decisions were made in the emmigrant parties the most risky option was usually chosen, and it needs to be emphasized that the lives of the decision-makers were what was at risk. This led to amazing feats and great suffering, experiences almost universally remembered by the participants as much less difficult than was actually the case, and even exciting and pleasant. Where was post-traumatic stress syndrome? Relief parties were organized by men sometimes at great expense and their own peril, yet expecting no reward or payment of any kind. It is sometimes said that adversity brings out the best in people -- if so, it was here in abundance.

Although the Donner party figures prominently in this book, it is only one of many parties whose experiences are presented in detail, and the only one that came to grief in the Sierras. The reader is treated to other epics such as Chiles's return to Missouri in 1842 starting from present-day Sacramento in April, crossing the Sierras through Tejon Pass north of Los Angeles, then up the east side of the Sierras to the Humbolt sink in Nevada, then east to Fort Hall in Idaho and Fort Bridger in Wyoming, south through Colorado to Santa Fe, and finally east to Independence, arriving on September 9th. One would search far and wide to find this story in an American history book. It must be remembered that history is not what happened, but what was recorded and how it is presented by writers and teachers who often change history to fit their own predilections. There is none of that here in Stewart.

A trek of 2,000 miles in a single season over a wilderness with few trails and without information on conditions ahead by unoutfitted parties was essentially a unique feat in the annals of mankind. The questions naturally become: "Who were they, why did they do it, how did they do it, and what enabled them to do it?"

Stewart answers all these questions, and his treatise should be read by all who would like to understand Americans and their basic ideas on self-reliance and freedom rather than change them.

Because my family also migrated to California (albiet in 1993) I have been interested in the history of the settling of the American west. This book was wonderfully informative but also very compelling reading. It chronicles the annual human migrations from the Missouri to California, including the ill-fated Donner party (in 1845)and the famous "49ers". The author did a very good job comparing the immigrants mode of travel, unique difficulties faced during each of these migration years, route finding and heroes and villans, and the sweat and tears progress which lead to the wider opening and settlement of the west.

I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in the history of the settlement of the west or anyone who just wants to read a good old-fashioned adventure story based in historical fact.

If you want to have a complete picture of Baja California's interesting herpetological communicty; this is a splendid book. Written by someone who has spend years in this area studying these animals and therefor knows what he is writing about with a lot of personal information. No one else could have written this standard piece of work for this area. Excellent photographs make this book a must have and makes me want to go bakc there every time I take it off the shelf.

If you're in to herp's at all, you will love this book. I personally have a passion for Rosy Boas (Lichanura trivirgata), so having data and photo's of obscure locality specimens is very exciting for me. I also contacted Lee via email, and he was very diligent with replies and candid details about rosys. This book took 25 years of his life to put together, and it shows. The level of detail and representation of every specie and subspecies indigenous to the peninsula is awesome. The quality of the photographs and the portrait that each paint is outstanding. There are even photos of the variable habitats that occur on the peninsula too. I have never seen the natural habitat that my captive born Baja rosys come from, but this book has inspired me to do so. I highly recommend this book. It will make you want to discover Baja in person.

Jerry Hartley
Northern Nevada

First, let me say that I have known Lee Grismer for many years and I know the passion he has for the Baja Peninsula and its natural wonders. I have been waiting a long, long time for this book. When I received it, I scanned the book and planned to read it cover to cover when I had the time. In the last weeks, I made the time and have nearly finished this tome.
Dr. Grismer has put his heart and soul into making this book the best herpetological reference on Baja California, bar none. Baja is a mysterious place with many influences flowing into it from the Pacific, the Colorado Desert and mainland México. In this book, Dr. Grismer takes great pains to delineate the geological influences which have helped to shape this strange land and the effects on the herpetology of this 1,000 km long peninsula.
I marvel at the time he has put in studying the many organisms extant on the peninsula and his obviously meticulous note taking. I am in awe of the relationships he has built up with local ranchers and fishermen over the last quarter century. Local people are a great source of information and Lee has used their knowledge and consciousness to build a reference source the likes of which has never before been devoted to a similar chunk of land.
I would love to write more but I feel that the book will speak for itself. It is a great read and not nearly as tedious as other scientific works I have read. Just for its reference value, this book deserves to be on the shelf of any serious student of herpetology.
Now, all we need is Field Guide!

Excellent! Grismer not only has a lengthy description of each animal, he includes and section on the animal's status in the wild and local beliefs, which in all cases are very interesting. The style of of photograpy for title pages is very creative, with the animal in a bottom corner, and the Baja scenery in the background. (He does have macro photographs where the animal is centered for species documentaion.) I highly recommend it for it's wonderful photography and interesting text.

Having read a number of books in recent months on Egpyt, Canaan, and Israel, I decided that I needed to go to the source to see for myself what the many partially quoted Egyptian texts actually say. Miriam Lichtheim's "Ancient Egyptian Literature - Volume I: The Old and Middle Kingdoms" was my starting point.

The customer reviews recommended it - and what other customers have to say about a book is usually an important factor as to whether I will buy it. In this case, I was cautious and only bought the first volume. I enjoyed it immensely.

Professor Lichtheim's aim was to provide an up-to-date translation of a representative selection of Egyptian Literature, and in preparing these she states that she has made full use of existing translations and studies. I found her introductory survey on the development of Egyptian literature and her detailed explanation and notes of each text to be most useful in helping me understand what I was reading.

This first volume includes translations of about 50 texts dating from the 5th dynasty of the Old Kingdom to the 14th Dynasty of the Middle kingdom - which covers the period c 2450BCE to c 1650BCE. The texts include tomb inscriptions, selected "Utterances" from the Pyramid texts, Didactic Instructions, Songs and Hymns, as well as three amusing and interesting prose tales - The Tale of the Shipwrecked Sailor, ThreeTales of Wonder, and The Story of Sinuhe.

The Didactic literature is also very interesting, generally being instructions from kings to sons on how to properly rule the kingdom after his death. But they also include such texts as "The Dispute between a Man and his Ba", "The Eloquent Peasant", "The Satire of the Trades", and the much (partially) quoted and often misquoted "Admonitions of Ipuwer".

The book was worth buying for the this last item alone, since this text has often been described as providing textual evidence of events leading up to the Exodus of the Israelites from Egypt. According to Professor Lichtheim, the only surviving text is on a 19th Dynasty Payprus comprising 17 pages of about 14 lines with lacunae in various places, and she provides the complete translation of all that is still legible. In her explanation of the text, she discusses at some length whether the text is "a direct response to a calamity" or an "historical romance". Her conclusion is that "The Admonitions of Ipuwer has not only no bearing whatever on the long past First Intermediate Period, it also does not derive from any other historical situation" She believes it to be "the last, fullest, most exaggerated, and hence least successful composition of the theme 'order versus chaos'" Even if you have already decided that Ipuwer IS describing events leading to the Exodus, it is worth buying this book to read the translation of the full text by a scholar who has provided a most cogent explanation of its provenance

I know this is going to be one of those books which I shall read time and time again. I thoroughly recommend it to other readers, and I certainly intend to obtain Volumes II and III.

This is an excellent corpus of translations from an authoritative hand, including from simple "funeral" and "biographical" inscriptions from the Old Kingdom upto nice and good renderings of all the major "tales" and "stories" from the MIddle Kingdom: The Tale of Sinuhe, The Dialogue between a Man and His Soul, the Tale of Kheops and the magicians, and many other paramount titles of the ancient Egyptian literature dated to the aforesaid periods. Each piece contains an introductory notes with the "history" of the documents and end-notes full of interesting comments as for the translation's details and plenty of bilbiography. Most recommended, both for the beginners and the trained readers.

Miriam Lichtheim's "Ancient Egyptian Literature, Vol. 1" is a very good translation of a wide range of texts from Old and Middle Kingdom Egypt. It contains a representative sampling of Pyramid and Coffin texts, monumental inscriptions, didactic and wisdom literature,including the famous "Dispute Between a Man and His Ba", a few hymns, and prose selections, including "The Story of Sinuhe", "Three Wonder Tales", and "The Shipwrecked Sailor". For me the clincher in deciding to purchase this particular volume over its competitors was Ms. Lichtheim's decision to leave the words "ka", "ba", and selected other terms untranslated rather than giving anachronistic, supposed modern equivalents, to these complex words, as other recent translators have done. There are, additionally, excellent introductions and notes.

When I was learning to read Middle Egyptian, it was Lichtheim who kept me on track. She has a wonderful gift for translation. Her translations, while very close to literal, somehow manage to carry the atmosphere of the original without sounding as bizarre as a literal translation would.

I would recommend this gem of a book to American Anglophiles.

I found this wonderful volume when I was shuffling through a used bookstore in Raleigh, NC, while my soon to be ex was pouring over the gardening section. I came upon "The Annals of London: A Year-by-Year Record of a Thousand Years of History" just by chance. I sat down and opened it up. I was transfixed for the next two hours. It is very compelling.

This book reads like a slow-motion history of English civilization: Every page (it's organized like a newspaper) has a tidbit.

It is a gripping tale. The inevitability of the English political system is striking. The people of London ignore their leaders with a very satisfying frequency.

Interesting tidbits: Henry VIII's coffin exploded while laying in Westminster, and his remains were eaten by dogs; an article on the demolition of the Globe and a less than popular playwright; lots of flatulent monarchs and mayors; and a glimpse at the origins of the English socialist movement that is still very influential today. This book is an incredible archive, and I would recommend it to any fellow American who has a fascination for mother England.

A bit wordy and condescending in that British sort of way, but like any good newspaper, you can skip the parts that don't interest you.

This is the perfect bathroom book. Short, concise vignettes. Pick it up. Put it down. Never lose your place. I'm mere pages from finishing, and I've been reading it for 2 1/2 years.

If you're interested in London history, this book is a great way to strengthen your understanding of that great city without burying yourself in a huge tome.

So why only 4 stars? (I'd have done 3.5 if it was an option.) The author slants very heavily toward two subjects. London theatrical history and architectural history. The former is mind-numbingly ubiquitous. The latter is much more integral to understanding London as it stands today. Both subjects are important and relevant, but in some parts of the book they seem to be the only topics covered at all.

Have this book on hand anytime you are reading history of London or books set in London. I have just read London: the Biography by Peter Ackroyd and London: the Novel by Edward Rutherford and am tempted to re-read both 1000 page books so that I can follow along in The Annals. Fascinating material!

At first glance, this book with its lists of events might appear a little dry, but as you begin reading the events' descriptions, you'll soon discover pages filled with interesting historical anecdotes.

Among the events covered are institutional foundings (such as churches, hospitals, schools, theatres and newspapers), technical and medical achievements, the various floodings and freezings of the Thames, bridge and tunnel collapses, executions, assassinations, hangings, murders, fires, and more.

Even the smallest events have interesting details... such as the blowing down of Fairlop Oak in Hainault Forest in 1820. The tree is described as having branches that spread 116 ft and it is noted: "Around it took place the annual Fairlop Fair -- an event which helped to shorten the tree's life, because visitors would use the inside of the trunk to light fires for cooking."

Another entry that appears earlier in 1741 mentions the opening of St. George's Chapel in Curzon Street by a Reverend Alexander Keith who "scandalized the clergy by his readiness to perform marriages without too many questions."

Many event descriptions run for a few paragraphs and some have illustrations. My only gripe with this book is that the font size for the print is very small. (The print would be much easier to read if it was just another 2 points larger.) Aside from that, I'm sure this book will appeal to anyone with an interest in London history.

This book provides a wonderful doorway into the art of ant identification. The keys are well tested and current. The photographs of a representative ant from each genus are stunning. The lists of North American genera and species are very useful as is the list of literature for identifying species. I wish I had had this book 30 years ago when I first started learning to identify ants! This is a must have book for everyone who studies North American ants. It should also be in the libraries of all field stations and any institution of higher learning that teaches classes in the natural sciences.

I am a myrmecologist, and this is definitely the most helpful (and portable) ant key I have come across.

It is full of excellent illustrations and intuitive couplets, but aving said that, this book deals only with genera found in the USA, not whole North America.

The first part of the book is the dichotomous key, whereas the second part describes each genus in detail (ecology, morphological characteristics, the most recent literature dealing with that genus, etc.)

The authors have even managed to squeeze in a couple of (ant) jokes and funny anecdotes into this part of the text.
The last part of the book contains the list of all known species in North America.

The authors have made one mistake that I am aware of, and that is on page 111, where they state that genus Monomorium has 11 antennal segmnents while they actually have 12.

Ants are one of the groups of organisms that I found fascinating from an early age. I finally settled on spiders, but ants were always in the back of my mind on the numerous field trips on which I went to pursue my eight-legged quarry. However, guides to ants were few and far between and when I was given a copy of Creighton's "The Ants of North America" I was almost as confused as I was before. While the illustrations were good, the descriptions and keys were a bit difficult and of course even by the time I was given the book, it was quite dated.

We have long needed a book such as Brian Fisher and Stefan Cover have produced in "Ants of North America: A Guide to the Genera". Among other things the photos of actual specimens are a great help in determining the genera (and in some cases sub-genera) that anyone might encounter in a backyard or in the wild. The keys are both very good and well illustrated. A good hand lens will be sufficient with many, but the size of some requires a good binocular dissecting microscope (one reason that ants are less popular than butterflies, dragonflies or even moths). Still both professional entomologists and serious amateurs will find this book very useful as a first step in the identification of the ant fauna.

Because I am a professional biologist and an entomologist I found that, although I do not know the authors, I do know at least six of the people listed in the acknowledgements - such is the small size of the entomological community.

I recommend this book highly and only wish that something like it was available when I was becoming interested in the tiny life around us.

"Ants of North America: A Guide to the Genera" by Brian Fisher and Stefan Cover is quite simply the best identification guide (down to the genus level) available for these fascinating insects.

Combining straightforward identification keys that contain excellent line drawings of pertinent ant features with April Nobile's detailed automontage pictures, this publication functions both as a "working book" and a page-by-page display of the true beauty and diversity of these ants.

The alphabetical method of ordering the genera descriptions is also to be saluted. As the subfamily level gets re-shuffled over the years, the alphabet stays the same, and so provides a user-friendly way to thumb through the genera.

All of the genus listings contain both a head-on and lateral picture of the ant, along with diagnostic remarks and brief distribution and ecological information.

This book belongs on the bookshelf and lab workbench of every myrmecologist, and certainly any ecologist that works within the conservation field performing biodiversity surveys. It has been said that you cannot begin to understand the species you are trying to preserve if you cannot identify them, and so this book will allow any ecologist with basic entomology skills the ability to identify, as E.O. Wilson describes ants, the "little things that run the world."

When I first started to explore Anza-Borrego, it was with obscure stories that were loosely related to even more obscure maps. It was extremely difficult to find a book with good and concise information about this wonderful place without having to read a novel-like book. This book has cross-referencing so you will never miss a thing. Places, people and occurrences are listed alphabetically and contain great stories along with location information. Definitely a must if you are exploring Anza-Borrego and care to do more than simply rip around in the dust.

This book is exceptional! It is so clearly written and interesting. I didn't realize there was soooo much I didn't know about Borrego! I just love it!

Anyone who has ever had any contact with the Anza-Borrego region, or anyone who might even have an interest in going there someday, will enjoy Anza-Borrego A to Z. Diana Lindsay has compiled an encyclopedia of information on the area that will be the standard reference work for many years to come. Only through years of contact and relationship building with a region can someone produce a book like this.

Lindsay has arranged her book alphabetically in the form of an encyclopedia. To look up information, turn to the subject and there it is. Cross-references at the end of each entry direct the reader to other related entries and an extensive index also aids in the discovery process.

However, the book is more than just an encyclopedia. Lindsay's prose makes the history of the desert come to life. As in her 1973 book "Our Historic Desert", hard to find facts and local historical gems are interwoven to form an intimate look at one of the most historically significant regions of the Southwest. Written as a companion to the guidebook "The Anza-Borrego Desert Region", co-authored with her husband Lowell, the Lindsay's now have compiled the most up to date information on the Colorado Desert regions of eastern San Diego County. When you hold these books in your hand, you're actually holding a historian and knowledgeable tour guide wrapped up in between the covers.

I had anticipated the publication of this book for quite a while, and when I finally had my copy, I came home and sat on the couch, planning to simply skim the book and get a feel for it. Several hours later, I discovered that I'd simply been reading through the book, page by page. This is definitely not your average compendium of encyclopedic facts!

Anza-Borrego A to Z is both an interesting and informative book on the Anza-Borrego desert area. I especially liked the organizational format used by the author. Lindsay's Introduction gives an overall historic summary of the area followed by an alphabetically listing of people, places and things relevant to the Anza-Borrego Desert. The author's encyclopedic entries with links to related entries will meet the needs of both the average reader and those interested in a more "in depth" study of the area.

Anza-Borrego A to Z contains a wealth of information and will be especially helpful for: readers who would like more in-depth information about the area, guides who lead hikes in the Anza-Borrego Desert, people who love the desert environment and those who have just been introduced to the beauty and wonders of Anza-Borrego.

Lindsay substantiates her dedication to Anza-Borrego by her pledge to donate all author royalties to the Anza-Borrego Foundation!

I live in the town of Borrego in the Anza Borrego desert. This book shows exactly what we see all the time. It is beautiful!!! I have a friend that had to move away for medical reasons and this book is a gift for her Birthday and a "get well" present. I hope it will make her happy.

IN the April 6th Sunday LA TImes Vani Rongachar reviewed the book. Rongachar writes: "No question, Anza Borrego is glorious in wildflower season, but true desert rats such as Ernie Cowan see the glory of the 600,000-plus-acre state park in all its seasonal moods. Cowan's new book "Anza Borrego: A Photographic Journey," celebrates the Southern California desert park in images - through close-ups of mating beetles, the patterned geologic oddities in Tule Wash and of course blossoms, brittlebush and ocotillo among others. The photos are evidence of a labor of love by Cowan, a photojournalist, former mayor of Escondido and a founder of the Anza Borrego Desert Natural History Association. At the end of its 96 pages, I found myself wishing for trail maps to go see for myself." Another book reviewer in the San Diego Tribune wrote that it should be a book kept permanently on the back seat of your car along with a map. The pictures and information found inside will never be outdated. A true classic! The San Diego North County Times also gave rave reviews. If you like me thought that the desert is nothing but sand, rocks and dried up old vegetation, think again. This phenomenal book filled with breathtakingly beautiful pictures will show you a side of the desert you never knew was there.

As a person fortunate to live in San Diego County and to have camped often at Bow Willow, in the southern part of Anza-Borrego State Park, I approached this book with eager anticipation, and found rewards greater than I had imagined. The book is a beautiful evocation of the immense pleasures of this very special park, in its various moods, and the text is appropriately complementary and reverent. I would anticipate this book to be a classic on this area.

It is wonderful in this critical time of enviromental concern to have photographer, Ernie Cowan, remind us this
beautiful area does still exist. The photos are truly
breathtaking. In the desert night sky you feel you could
almost reach out and touch those glowing stars and put one in your pocket. It is an outstanding work of art -- well
worth the read for every nature lover.