California Books

My son received this book as a birthday present when he was five years old. He was fascinated by the story and beautiful pictures. Since we live in the wine country, and watch the "grapes grow sweet" in real life, it was wonderful to have such a wonderful book to read. Now that he is eleven, he reads it to my grandson who is equally enchanted, and asks us to read it each time he visits.

As a resident of northern California I enjoy reading "The Grapes Grow Sweet" to my daughter, which describes a fall grape harvest from the perspective of a young boy growing up in a family vineyard. I am also a school teacher and use the book in my classroom. Many of my students have family members who are farm workers so they have background knowledge of life in a vineyard and can relate to the story being told. We spend a few days in my class each fall completing an integrated thematic unit that includes reading, descriptive writing and art. We finish the unit by bringing in different foods made with grapes that we can eat in class. Typically we have grape juice, grape jelly, raisins, grapes, etc. It is easily adaptable to the state standards and has amazing water color art that inspires the children to create their own works of art! The text offers descriptive writing samples to students by describing the pale green leaves, rattling, roaring tractor, shiny bunch of grapes, bouncing jackrabbit and sunbathing lizard. I look forward to fall each year and the opportunity to read "The Grapes Grow Sweet" with a new group of students.

"The Grapes Grow Sweet" is well-summarized in the other reviews, so I won't go into that. My four-year old and I really enjoyed this book he received as a present. The pictures are copy an Impressionist-era style (nice for adults) but have a lot going on in them, from the bees that constantly hover over the sweet grapes to the grape pickers rushing to fill the gondolas. I love the fact that the author doesn't talk down to her audience, she talks about gondolas instead of "big trucks" and grape cutting knives instead of "cutters." Every character has a different voice, and the aspects of family life, community pride, migrant farming, and the life of a four-year old are all highlighted without the author shoving it in your face.

I highly recommend this book to children 4-8 and their parents.

Lynne Tuft is a fabulous artist. I think she should win an Emmy award for the best artwork of the year!!The story hooks you from the start, and she gives you such description that you can practically taste the grapes in your mouth and feel the summer heat and the years that Julian has waited to work in the fields! I would recommend this book to everyone because of the wonderful story as well as the incredible art.

This narrative proves that us kids and our parents are safe around wine despite what others may think! Lynne teaches us about the way it is when the grapes, which are made into wine, jelly, or jam, remember this book and all the hard work, long years, and effort put into it. If you read this book, I can guarantee many readings of pure enjoyment!! Estelle Wagner, Age 10, grade 6

I bought this book not knowing anything about it for my nephew who lives in a large city so he could have a book about what I do out in the country. I was VERY pleasantly surprised by just how nice a book it is. The story is great and the pictures are wonderful. It now tops my list for baby/childrens presents.

When I found this book, I was first of all amazed that this author would be able to write her experience in the fullness she could, to reach inside and be able to describe what torture and pain "felt" like. I had dicovered my own torture at the age of 18, and even though I had been seeing a Psychologist for a year, I found strength and compassion for myself and others who have had to experience such a personal crime. Teresa helped me find within myself a new pathway of healing. Her abilities of expression in writing, as well as her description of the torture and what it did to her, were frightening, yet she caused me to go on, instead of turn inside.

A picture of her own healing is portrayed, giving others the strength to go on. A book that turned my entire life around, and even though the journey is not easy by all means, it gave me determination and a resource to view when I wanted to quit.
Thank you to this author, her beautiful ability to write, and to write about a subject many would turn away due to their own fear.

This nation, as well as the world, need to realize these types of events happen each day and many either go on, or if help is not found, commit suicide, due to the lack of society to understand or for them to close their eyes to the evils of some in the societies of our world.

A must read for not only those of rape, violence, and torture, but as well, for clinicians who practice Psychology in helping survivors heal.

I would like to meet Teresa Lauer. I would like to give her a big hug and thank her for having the extraordinary bravery to write about her intensely painful journey.

I actually came across this book by doing a search on people's experience with therapy. And it *is* a fascinating account of Teresa's experience with her wonderful therapist, Gary. However, it ended up being so, so much more.

I could not read this this book in one sitting...or five. Not because it wasn't compelling enough to do so - it truly was. But Teresa is such a gifted writer that she literally brings you into the house with her where she survived such a horrible ordeal. There were times when her words took my breath away and overwhelmed me with sadness. But she also made me want to be with her in that house...and I absolutely needed to stay with her until she made it out.

This book will make you think...and it will *definitely* make you feel. When Teresa goes through the equally devastating ordeal of losing her baby and her boyfriend, Rob, reveals his secret to her, I gasped so loudly that my husband came running from several rooms away to make sure I was okay. I was so shocked, saddened and ultimately enraged that I truly thought I would be ill. So, yes, this book will make you feel.

If you are a survivor of such an assault, or you know someone who is a survivor, you should buy this book. It will not be easy to get through...but in honor of Teresa...and in honor of all of us who have been through a similar situation, it should be read. And Ms. Lauer should be commended for her tremendous bravery and incredible human spirit.

Thank you, Teresa.

Teresa continues to inspire me, this is the second time I read this book, and I am nothing short of amazed at her courage and strength. This book outlines and details some of the most traumatic
experiences anyone should never have to endure and yet she is blessed with a hopefullness that we can only aspire to. Teresa, your gift are your words.

In this book, Teresa Lauer shares the story of her brutal rape and torture, the aftermath of struggling with PTSD, and her struggle to achieve some kind of peace and equanimity in her life. The fact that she eventually triumphs over the horrific violence she experienced is inspiring, and a testament to the strength of the human spirit. Teresa's honesty about her feelings and struggles will be especially reassuring to other rape survivors - as a victim of sexual assault myself, I highly recommend this book to anyone with a similar experience, or to anyone who wants to know the real truth about rape, and the toll it takes on a woman's life.

I bought this book for my girlfriend to help her find ways to recover from a very brutual attack that occurred when she was much younger.

This book was very effective for her because it paralleled her experience: a prolonged assault involving extensive contact with her attacker. In addition, it addressed the Post Tramautic Stress Disorder (PTSD) problems she has been encountering as a result of the attack.

If someone you love has suffered from an attack, books like this can help both you and them understand what has happened and how they might be feeling. My girlfriend had trouble articulating her feelings about the attack and this book (and others) helped her overcome her difficulties and express herself.

I ordered this book because I loved the first edition so much and I needed updated information on the restaurants. When I received it, I tossed my first edition. That was a mistake. This new book doesn't have as many of the classics, it doesn't have a list of late-night and all-night places, and its writers are trying to be hip in the places they review at the expense of practicality. I hope they go back to their roots on the 4th edition. Until then, buy a used copy of the first edition.

If you live in L.A. or are going to visit this is a must have guide.

I picked up this book after the color caught my eye, and it has come in handy much more than expected! It's got some great places that I would never have found on my own. The reviews give all the info you'd need before deciding on a place to eat, and although it doesnt cover EVERY restaurant in the city like Zagat, it gives good suggestions for every neighborhood. I highly reccommend it.

I love LA and I love these books. They're quirky, fun, and really really honest. I couldn't wait for the new edition to come out and was just about to eamil the publishers when I saw that this came out. Since I am (or try to be) a vegetarian, this book's the best yet because it has a huge selection of veggie friendly/vegan places. It also seems like they expanded their coverage of the beaches and westerly areas.

I loved the earlier editions of this food guide when I lived in the city, but now that I'm down at the beach, the older versions just didn't cut it--so I e-mailed the editors and the listened. The new Hungry?, which I just picked up today, has a TON of listings for the beaches, south bay and Torrance area which, unfortunately, I now must frequent. This book is a total must if you live in LA--forget the other guides!

I agree with the earlier reviews but I'd like to provide some details about this book's strengths.
First, Payne places the people who made the Mississippi movement at the center the story. He tells the story of both the original local leaders who made it possible for the civil rights movement to happen in Mississippi and the activists who followed their lead in the 1960s.
Second, he extends the time span of the civil rights movement, showing that it would not have been possible without the "organizing tradition" referred to in the subtitle. Payne expertly traces the relationships and linkages between different generations of heroic troublemakers in Mississippi.
Third, he shows that the original radicals, and I mean those who wanted to change Mississippi from its roots, were those who had already challenged the system to achieve personal gain. "Bourgeois" blacks in Mississippi weren't uniformly complacent or fearful. Wisely, Payne does not use this fact to justify any notion of a "talented tenth" that ought to lead the masses.
Fourth, the chapter on Ella Baker is a stunning and riveting account of one heroic troublemaker who didn't receive enough recognition for her efforts.
Fifth, when Payne writes about what we typically consider the civil rights movement, he places you in the midst of the activists and makes you feel their exhileration, exhaustion, frustration, fear, and courage. Scholarly books never have this quality. At the same time, he does this in a historical context and with a critical eye which absolutely illuminate the raw material in a way that first-person and journalistic treatments rarely approach.
For these reasons, and many more, this is clearly the best of many excellent books on the civil rights movement. Some could fault Payne for placing less emphasis on the national and institutional dimensions of the freedom struggle. But, in the case of the black American struggle for freedom, Payne shows us the story begins with, and is carried by, people who tried to change their communities, not their nation.

Two years ago the author taught a short course at my college on the Mississippi civil rights movemement. He used this book, and I've been recommending it to people ever since. His style and content are both amazing, and I feel really lucky to have had an opportunity to read this book in a course structured around it. _I've Got the Light of Freedom_ offers a new perspective on the way history is taught and remembered. Organizing and people's history are emphasized in what happens to be one of the best movement books out there. It's everything scholarly writing should be. Kudos to Charles Payne.

The real history of the civil rights movement. Who really made the difference in a day to day way on the front lines. Not only that, a description of how to organize from a working class, feminist perspective in the context of the African-American freedom struggle. A must read for anyone who is trying to build the movement we need today to make a world free of oppression.

I'd pair the book with a more nationally-oriented one, such as the Taylor Branch trilogy, which give a better sense of national politics, but Payne's book is both profound and profoundly moving in its depiction of local communities and Ella Baker's "Organizing Tradition", which turns a number of assumptions about the movement on their head. I've read the book a few times with students and never fail to be personally engaged and to have invigorating classes with students. Great, great stuff!

As a history major, I have various interests. One of my favorite things to study is the civil rights movement. Of all the books that I have seen, few match the caliber of this book. It takes the state of Mississippi (which may be the book's greatest irony)and shows how powerful a grassroots movement such as the civil rights movement can be with the proper forms of leadership. I urge anyone who is interested in learning about the civil rights movement should start with this book!

Insightful. From someone who knows. I don't ordinarily go for poetry (with a few exceptions: Charles Bukowski, Pleasant Gehman, Bill Shields, Dan Fante, Jim Northrup, Jack Micheline, etc.) so it's rare for me to spend money on a poetry book--but when I do, it's usually something worthwhile--and this certainly is that: a gem of a book. I'd like to see Suzanne Lummis write more. The lady has paid her dues and it shows. I don't recommend everything I read--but this is certainly a book I would recommend. Too bad it's such a slim volume. There's an old saying, though: good things come in small packages--and Suzanne Loomis' IN DANGER is certainly one of those good things. I had to give it five stars. Also, that was a moving obit the lady wrote in the L.A. Times a few years back when the late great Charles Bukowski passed on. The piece was so well done that I had to cut it out and frame it. I don't know, I'm sure others have felt this way, but there they were: tears rolling down my face when I heard that Buk was no longer with us. Thank you, Suzanne Lummis.

suzanne lummis take the femme fatale sterotype and inverts it, and as a result, witty and evocative poems are born out of her experience in los angeles; especially the dirty parts that no one wants to know about. the poems should be read while drinking a stiff one or listening to tom waits...astonishing....

Can't add much to David St. Johns' rave intro, but simply put, these poems live up to this bold title in ways intriguing, charming and stark. Though they're indelibly fringe Hollywood, they penetrate mysteries that have no address. In other words, these poems are excellent. You'll love discovering every one.

Two lines to give you a taste: "City of sirens and lowdown ways, neons wincing like nerve ends, see what you've done?" and "You were the B-movie I just had to sit through again." Equally touching and jolting, these poems are one part earthquake and two parts heartache.

Usually in Raymond Chandler (the writer whose noir Los Angeles world leaps to mind when you're reading In Danger), the women are darkly lit and shot slightly out of focus-they're alluring, risky, always our of reach. Suzanne Lummis has turned the tables. She gets inside these shadowy creatures; she's the femme whose got her weapon trained on Marlowe, a guy who's not such a prince after all. It's a brilliant conceit, and it sustains itself throughout this fascinating collection. Like her heroines, Lummis' poetry skirts an edge; it's breathless, chancy, full of juice. If only more poets wrote this way.

Outstanding!! A simply awesome book about one of the gnarliest spots. Five stars hands down. Buy it now!

A first-class trio has come together to create the latest and greatest on the big green monster that is Mavericks. The format here is a collection of intimate perspectives by an ensemble of the knights-errant who have made it their business to ride these coldwater giants. The book is nicely split between the paddlers and the tow-surfers, with narratives collected by editors Bruce Jenkins (sports communist for the San Francisco Chronicle and author of The North Shore Chronicles) and Grant Washburn (surfer and documentary filmmaker) that paint a full, satisfying, and pretty scary picture of what goes in this marine no-man's land formerly known as Jeff Clark's private playground.
Contributors to this volume include Surfing mag editor and big-wave hound dog Evan Slater, paddle-surf advocate Dr. Mark Renneker, and a host of other giant killers including Josh Loya, Zach Wormhoudt, Peter Mel, Kenny Collins, Shawn Rhodes, and still more hugely talented riders, all of whom know how to spin a good yarn.
In addition to his editing duties, Jenkins offers up a trio of quality profiles and a neat piece on "going left" at this predominantly right-hander. For his part, coeditor Washburn, himself one of the great Mavs surfers, contributes an excellent reflective essay on the historic death of Mark Foo here in 1994.
But for me the big story in this book is the tremendous portfolio of legendary Bay Area shooter Doug Acton, who's been chronicling the Mavericks scene since the early 1990s. Acton has captured it all - from the biggest swells and the gapingest pits to nervous pre-session huddles and crux moments to the serene overviews and majestic lineups. With action shots bolstered by lots of images reflecting the mix of local and international camaraderie and lifestyle in and around this Half Moon Bay, California, phenomenon, this is beautifully-paced the book of classic proportions.
- Drew Kampion for The Surfer's Path [www.surferspath.com]

Inside Maverick's is an outstanding mix of excellent photos, writing and story telling. The book captures amazing stories from the unique mix of surfers that ride Maverick's. No extreme sport enthusiast's coffee table or bookshelf is complete without this book.

The stunning photos alone make this book worthwhile, but the surfing commentary is topnotch as well. A great companion to the DVD "Riding Giants", and you will recognize many of the people from the DVD in the book.

If you are in to any adventure sports or just an armchair surfer, this book is for you.

"Are you KIDDING ME???"

Those are usually the first words out of anyone's mouth when they see this book on my coffee table. And then, usually I have to throw in "Riding Giants" and change any conversation we may have been having.

The photography and story telling present by Grant and team in top notch. Grant alone has spent more than a decade chronicling the history of the world's heaviest big wave, and it comes through in an amazing presentation that anyone who could possible comprehend what these guys do will appreciate.

But then again, comprehending just exactly what these guys are doing is pretty much impossible.

This is essential reading for anyone interested in conservation and those who simply love nature writing. I read this book before reading "The Wild Muir". In comparison, this one is obviously a more thorough overview of Muir's life. Reading this book first makes "Wild Muir" more enjoyable....kinda like reading a novel before watching a movie based on it.

This Autobiography of John Muir was a look at the life of an amazing man. He was the type of writer that could take you to the place where he was living and make you feel like you were right there with him. His childhood experiences in Scotland and the farm life of Wisconsin formed the basis for how he viewed and related to the rest of his life and those around him. He was a world traveler who looked through the eyes of creation to observe ecology and invention. As a world traveler I also observe through the eyes of creation and as a native Californian I have had extensive experience hiking and camping in the Sierra Nevada's. John Muir's writing style took me back to the places I have loved and remembered.

A great writer writing about great things - you'll feel like you're in the middle of the Sierra yourself. Endlessly enjoyable.

"American forests! the glory of the world!"
- John Muir, 1901

Of all the extraordinary men and women that have made our nation great, one stands above all others for his dedication to preserving its unequaled natural beauty: John Muir. Founder of The Sierra Club, this lover of the western forests' legacy to our generation is the National Park system, through which millions of acres of unique ecosystems have been set aside for everyone's enjoyment.

"Muir: Nature Writings" is a collection of the writings of this Scottish expatriate who first stepped foot in America in 1849 as an eleven year old brawler and budding naturalist. Blessed with a childhood mastery of Latin and Greek as well as a discerning and disciplined eye, the learned boy possessed a poet's heart, a scientist's mind, and a theologian's soul. A genius, who as a teen whittled precision wooden scientific instruments, Muir used his diverse skills to vividly portray nature's life and death struggles on his family's Wisconsin farm in "My Boyhood & Youth." Here we find Muir learning to swim by observing frogs or recollecting the mindless slaughter of the Earth's most numerous bird, the now-extinct passenger pigeon, a forlorn tale that foreshadows the conservationist he was to become.

While in college polishing his mechanical skills, Muir was detoured into studying botany. Dropping out to make powered tools for factories, an accident left him rethinking that detour; he forsook the factory and walked across America. His journey led him to the Sierra Mountains, chronicled in "My First Summer in the Sierra." Now working as a shepherd, Muir drove his flock through Yosemite while making detailed nature studies. Marveling at the natural beauty of the land he would eventually champion as one of the first National Parks, Muir wrote: "We are now in the mountains and they are in us, kindling enthusiasm, making every nerve quiver, filling every pore and cell of us. Our flesh-and-bone tabernacle seems transparent as glass to the beauty about us, as if truly an inseparable part of it, thrilling with the air and trees, streams and rocks, in the waves of the sun, - a part of all nature, neither old nor young, sick nor well, but immortal."

Muir's writings here run the gamut from analytical to thrilling. In "Stickeen", the author and a canine companion cheat death while stranded mid-storm between crevasses of an Alaskan glacier. (A self-taught authority on glaciers, Muir would eventually have one in Alaska bear his name.) "The Mountains of California" is an in-depth look at the geologic formations, plants, and animals of the region. In this piece, he tells of being stuck on the side of volcanic Mt. Shasta, staying warm in the bitter cold by nestling up to steam vents. Muir also laments the loss of the vast meadows of the San Joaquin Valley as he discusses how to make a living post-Gold Rush by raising bees for honey.

What makes Muir so unique when compared with today's environmentalists is this belief that we can live in harmony with Creation if we take simple steps to prevent despoiling it. In "The American Forests" he wrote: "No place is too good for good men, and there is still room.... Every place is made better by them. Let them be as free to pick gold and gems from the hills, to cut and hew, dig and plant, for homes and bread...." Muir's balanced view of Man's place in the wilderness overwhelmingly reflects his Christian faith, for he never fails to stand in awe of each living thing God has made. That our government leaders were so swayed by Muir's writing attests to the power of his "holy" persuasion. All of us are indebted to John Muir's single-minded devotion to America's wilderness.

("Muir: Nature Writings" is part of the Library of America series. This diverse collection of the writings of great Americans ranges from sermons of early American preachers to analysis of the Vietnam War. The works of Abraham Lincoln, Mark Twain, Ulysses S. Grant, Flannery O'Connor, and James Thurber are but a few that comprise the series. An invaluable lookingglass into the heart and soul of our nation, this collection is essential reading for anyone who longs to know what makes America unique.)

John Muir was one of the founders of the early 20th century conservation movement and godfather to today's environmentalism. This collection of three books and shorter works demonstrates the reason. Muir's description of the natural world is at times scientific, at others spiritual. Here nature is not some remote thing but the living manifestation of God's love. This is not a religious book as such and yet he finds that all parts of the natural creation from rocks and mountains to trees and animals have inherent within them a life force which makes them precious. Humans are neither removed from nor a "higher" part of nature. Muir shows that we are part of this larger whole - a radical concept when he proposed it and radical still. Muir set the standard in calling for preservation of the natural world. He was a genius as an inventor and scientist and, in addition, is one of our finest writers ever. These collected Nature Writings are simply beautiful and wonderfully presented in this Library of America edition.

Molly Fisk's volume of poetry, Listening to Winter, is candid, clear and understated as her stories unfold. And the reader, at the end of each line, wishes for blurred focus, hopes the next line will not confirm what has just been read. Themes of survival, abandonment, and truth-telling are interwoven with a rich pictoral landscape. I took away immense strength and admiration for Fisk's facility with language. A must read for students of life, language and women.

Molly plunges you into the terror and humiliation of the greatest personal harm, the most intimate human betrayal, with raw courage and boldness, with the keenest understanding, the clearest, most vivid images, with exquisite, painful, beauty. She tells the truth of it. This is a gift beyond measure. Finally, you're not alone anymore. The closet door has been flung wide open and love becomes possible once more. She makes it so. Molly Fisk is a fine poet. I can't recommend her work highly enough.

"Listening to Winter" is full of wonderful poetry, the poem containing the title line "Hunter's Moon" is so evocative of my youth that I gobbled the rest of the book in an orgy of reading and feelings. Then, hungry for more, read each line again slowly, as if sipping great wine.

"Sugar & Salt" let me FEEL what before I'd only glimpsed. "Couples" made me cry out in pain, yearning to talk to my long dead father. "Veterans" renewed the thrill of having lived when so many didn't, made me rejoice I came back whole enough to be healed by my loving wife. This wonderful book reafirmed my joy of being alive, of being part of this lovely world and in love.

If you love great poetry, buy this book!

Bright Blessing on you Molly, where-ever you are. Thank you.

If you have ever cared for a woman, buy this book.

Thank you Ms. Fisk for your terrifying but wonder insights into the word of pain, shame & humiliation shared by all incest survivors. It is heartening & frightening to realize both that we ALL, all men can & could be betrayers and abusers of trust. Users and abusers of those either in our power or under our protection if we just follow our desires. We could be but are not, are not because we chose to be better than the potential beast within. We are better men because we make conscious choices to be the best we can be instead of taking the easy path of choosing to have all the pleasure we can take, regardless of the pain and damage caused.

Your poetry, your pain ennobles us. It helps us to be the men we should be by showing so clearly the horrible damage caused and pain inflicted by being like your father.

Thank you. For all us us I thank you.

"Listening to Winter" perfectly illustrates the axiom that: "Hearing is a biological function - listening is a conscious decision." Molly's choice to listen is difficult and it is sometimes hard to stand beside her with open ears and hear what she hears. But her courage supports and sustains us, allowing us to follow a thread of exquisitely delineated detail into the darkest secrets of the heart and safely out again into the light. We are well rewarded for listening: the lyric voice that leads us sings in perfect pitch. Both as woman and poet Molly Fisk models integrity with grace and humor. Over and over again in her poems, she chooses life.

Gumprecht's _Los Angeles River_ is a well-written history of the Los Angeles River, from Native American and Spanish/Mexican pueblo days to the present.

Looking at the concrete-lined flood control channel that the LA River has become, it is hard to believe that the LA River once was the main water supply for the City of Los Angeles. As the city grew, though, its water needs outpaced what the river could supply. An alternate source (which turned out to be the infamous Aqueduct), was eventually developed. With all the Owens Valley water coming into the city, the river became simply a dumping ground for wastewater and other undesirable things.

The LA River, more or less also determined the expansion of the city. Since farmers in the San Fernando Valley had no rights to the LA River water (it all belonged to the city), eventually, the San Fernando Valley had to join the City of Los Angeles to access any water.

The river was also known for flooding and changing its course unpredictably. These floods became more and more of a concern as areas near the river developed, first with agriculture, later with residences. After a particularly devastating flood in 1934, officials called on the Army Corps of Engineers to help with flood control. This led to the concrete channelization of the river.

After that, no one thought much of the river. Occasionally, the concrete channel inspired uses such as movie shoots and vehicular uses. It looked so much like a road, that several people proposed making the riverbed into a freeway.

Meanwhile, the river was starting to get some attention. Lewis McAdams founded the Friends of the La River, which is trying to get the river restored to its natural state. They have run into opposition by the Army Corps of Engineers, and other parties concerned about flood control issues. The future of the river becoming more than it is now (a paved channel with a trickle of water in it most of the time) remains in question.

The book started its life as a masters' thesis, but the prose is accessible, not overly academic. Recommended for anyone interested in the history of Los Angeles.

I first saw the Los Angeles River in TV shows and movies like Terminator 2 and have ever since been interested in learning more about this strange, concrete encased urban waterway. Blake Gumprecht's book does a great job of providing the history of the Los Angeles River from its pristine condition two centuries ago into the modern era as a "Freeway for Water" in the book "The Los Angeles River."

The author balances his coverage of the river and fairly represents both sides of the struggle to restore it back to a more natural appearance versus the need to provide flood control protection with concrete fortifications.

The book is extremely well researched and documented. Extensive maps and photos shed light on the topic and make the historical changes easier to follow.

My only wish is that a future edition will include color photos.

If you've ever wondered why Los Angeles is in the middle of a desert (hint: it wasn't always), what the river looked like before there was a city, and why the river was buried in concrete, this is the book. An excellent description of the origins of the river and the city, with insights into the modern revitalization movement.

Among the things I learned:
--The river starts in the San Fernando Valley, but the city of Los Angeles has claimed the water as its own since at least 1810, a claim eventually known as the Pueblo Water Right.
--Not all of those concrete beds in L.A. are technically the L.A. river, which starts along the south edge of the San Fernando Valley, dodges a number of movie studios, and makes a right turn through downtown before heading for the Pacific. The others are creeks and washes that feed (fed) the river.
--The area's light rainfall was sufficient to keep the river flowing year-round until suburbia took over. Concrete and asphalt reduced the water that soaked into the ground to be released slowly into the river. Now, the primary source of flowing river water is the what's been reclaimed from sewage treatment plants.

Worth the read for all Angelenos or anyone who is interested in Los Angeles.

Reading this book was an assignement for a geography course I was taking in college. My first thoughts were "A book on the L.A. River? How can they write an entire book on a river that flows a couple of days per year?" My indifference to the subject was quickly dismissed after the first few pages. This book is very insightful! It gives a detailed history on L.A., from it's foundation as a tiny pueblo to the sprawling metropolis it is today, with the river & water in Southern California being the central themes. I always wondered why L.A. was built in the area it's in & Mr. Gumprecht answers that in fine detail along with many other interesting facts regarding the annexation of neighboring cities, water rights, deadly floods and ultimately the concrete channel built to contain this unpredictable river.
Whoever is interested in the histroy of this region will no doubt greatly enjoy this superb book!

This fascinating book is packed with information about the history of Los Angeles. Not many present-day Angelenos would know that the location for the city was chosen because of the once-abundant flow of the Rio de Porciuncula, or Los Angeles River. Blake Gumprecht pulls an amazing feat in researching the River's many incarnations alongside the history of the growth of Los Angeles. In addition to providing detailed reports of the River's former courses, and devastating accounts of some of the River's infamous catastrophic floods, Mr. Gumprecht explains the River's role in shaping the course of Los Angeles city politics in greater detail than any previous study.

Once an ample stream that sustained all of the city's water needs for over 100 years, the Los Angeles River was then pumped dry, smothered in concrete, and almost pushed out of the city's consciousness. Incredible photographs appear throughout the book; many of these photos will make nature-loving Angelenos yearn for the Los Angeles River of yesteryear, with its bubbling, meandering stream, and its banks lined with willows and sycamores.

Long before you approach the end of this book, you realize that, in an over-zealous attempt to control flooding, the Los Angeles River was essentially raped, depleted, and buried. The fact that, at present, most of its 51 miles are cement is a shame -- especially in a city with so little park space. Amazingly, the River still provides up to 15% of L.A.'s drinking water, albeit from subterannean pumps that tap the River's flow before it ever reaches the surface. And millions of gallons of River water were diverted to the Silver Lake reservoir.

People who never knew that there was a Los Angeles River should go see the few surviving River greenbelts in the Glendale Narrows and the Sepulveda Dam Recreation Area to appreciate our city's River as it used to be.

P.S. - I encourage other Los Angeles River buffs to look at Kevin Roderick's book "San Fernando Valley: America's Suburb" to see other beautiful pictures of the River in its natural state, before the concrete obscured it.

Do you know someone who works in downtown San Francisco? Do you need to get him or her a Christmans gift? Look no further! Gail Todd has provided the perfect gift with her snazzy guide to lunchtime walks in the downtown SF area. A real treat for anyone looking to make good use of his or her lunch hour. A Great way to get to know the greatest city on earth.

As a 20-year resident of San Francisco, I'm pretty jaded when it comes to guidebooks about my city, but this book is a real treat! The author's fresh approach and clear, concise information makes this book a pleasure to read. Buy two and give one to a friend.

I just moved to San Francisco, and received Gail Todd's book as a Christmas present. It was the best present I've ever received. I had no idea downtown San Francisco was so beautiful, and I would have found the prospect of discovering it on my own daunting without this excellent guide. I recommend this book for anyone who lives or works in San Francisco. I also know from experience that it is a great gift to give to someone who lives in "The City."

Now that Spring is here, Gail Todd's walking guide to San Francisco is indispensible for anyone living in the City and looking for a new way to explore it. Beautiful pictures, detailed maps, tons of great ideas for lunchtime walks -- this guide has it all.

I would make one small addition to the other reviews. Lunchtime Walks in San Francisco, Gail Todd, is as useful for tourists as is it for residents! It became a permanent addition to our library after we were able to flip through a copy at the Rand McNally Store in San Francisco. For those not having the opportunity to peek first, this is a wonderful resource for trip planning. The walks aren't too long (about an hour for most), are centrally located, and a handy map is included with each. Information is provided on the history and the architecture of the area, shops, restaurants, picnic areas (yes, even in San Francisco there are areas for relaxing and enjoying your lunch in the great outdoors), and gorgeous views. Perfect for the visitor wanting to take some delightful jaunts including the 'must see' sites in a city that is made for walking. We've already book marked several of the 33 walks for our next visit to the city by the bay.