California Books

The word artificial originally meant "artful, crafty." That's an apt description of ARTIFICIAL IMAGINATION, which blends art, craft, and wit into a narrative that teaches us life lessons that we did not knew we knew.
-- Richard Lederer, author of Anguished English

Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R3MNQP39J0TE6R Great book, will make you laugh, smile, giggle, chuckle, giggle, crack up, guffaw and generally have a good time. Extremely nice photos. And it is actually very thoughtful, one can quickly see through the pretended thoughtlessness. Here are some posters and calendars with the high resolution versions of the book:
Scenic City and Boat Photo Poster
University of Washington Photo Poster
Seattle Secenic Sunset Photograph
San Francisco Scenic Union Square Photo Poster
Nashville Tug Boat on Cumberland River Photo Poster
Pike Place Market Photo Print
"Playing Guitar" Photo Poster
San Diego Scenic Waterfront Poster

Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R27056TEI8N6A9 his book transcends genre -- it's a good collection of memoirs, entertaining style, nice splash of humor, an extremely detailed travelogue with beautiful photographs, a good description of technology, a touch of Science Fiction (since it is purportedly written by a Artificial Imagination program) and suffused with philosophical musings.

Even though it's obviously written by a Technologist, the book is very human. It is primarily about the immigrant experience, but Kalpanik is extremely observant and has an eye to look for the unusual, notice what stands out and build humorous side of people, places and his own life.

Wonderful! one can feel a touch of his bitter-sweet experiences but one is encouraged by his ability to find humor everywhere.

Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R3HI11PJUYIZVJ Kalpanik's writing is down to earth, funny, witty and smart. He chronicles his journey of self-discovery with an amazing detail and humor. His coverage of the various places he has been to--UC Davis, San Francisco, San Diego, Seattle and Nashville-- was informative and enjoyable, and so were his jokes around them. I recommend this book to anyone looking for light reading, specially busy professionals who do not have time to read a whole book in one straight session but want to read one entertaining a chapter at a time.

Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R2K9BD305H2ISE Very entertaining and engaging. Author is able to take a relatively mundane topic and make it interesting. Excellent for busy professionals looking for light reading since you can read it a chapter at a time and not lose the thread.

This book has everything a casual offroader or overlander would want (this book does not cover the hardcore break stuff, tear up your rig trails). Great descriptions of the trails and the road surface you be riding on. Great turn bu turn directions to each trail with GPS coordinates! Also explains some of the history and highlights of the trail and rates all trails for remoteness and beauty. Interesting book just to read for fun. There is no better off road book available!

I bought this, and another book about place to go off-roading in so-cal. This book is like the bible of southern California.
Not only does it have extensive trail location and info, it is a virtual encyclopedia of So-Cals towns, cities, how they got their start. In addition it has extensive info on native species, of plants and animals, important founders of California, and much more. I would definitely recommend it.

I've been using this book for close to a couple years now. While I don't consider myself a novice to off-roading, I definitely don't fall into the rock-crawling group, preferring to use my 4x4 to simply get me to new and out-of-the-way places when time permits. Thus far it has proven to be an excellent resource for quick weekend off-roading getaways and for reading up on new trails to explore. In fact, I've enjoyed this book so much I wound up buying two others as gifts for family and friends. The photos and overviews of each trail definitely help give a good feel for what to expect. If you're a techno-geek like me, being able to plot a computer-generated map using the detailed GPS coordinates will prove highly invaluable (though I have discovered a few critical--though easily identifiable and correctable--errors in the coordinates), and with a handheld GPS I don't need to worry about the often-unusual orientation of the printed maps. For those of us who love exploring, this book will make a fantastic resource.

After being transplanted to Southern California from the Northwest, I felt hemmed in, separated from all things natural. Backcountry Adventures has helped to change that. It's a wonderful guide to exploring the region.

The hefty book begins with a historical, botanical and geographic guide to the region, highlighting Southern California's explorers, settlers, missionaries, bandits, flora, fauna and more. It then moves into the individual descriptions of off road routes.

The book is geared towards exploring Southern California's outdoors with a 4WD and might disappoint the Glamas crowd who is focused doing awesome things in their trucks. But, for those of us looking to justify the excess of our SUV's with some exploration, it's perfect.

Each route guide begins with a simple rating guide which rates the trail on a number of qualities like driving difficulty and remoteness, then moves into a description of its history and the history of the region it explores. Next comes a description of the route itself, and then a detailed turn by turn guide with GPS coordinates.

The only real complaint I have with this book is that sometimes routes can be difficult to find without reading through the entire guide. It does contain a few "20 most scenic routes" and whatnot lists, but includes no way to find, say, the most remote routes in the book.

The other thing I'd suggest to improve the book is an accompanying website with downloadable GPS coordinates and user comments. Typing in the coordinates for a route is needlessly time consuming, and being able to download them from the internets would be wonderful. Hearing feedback from other drivers would also be great.

All in all, this book has helped to liberate me from the urban sprawl of Southern California, and for that I'm very grateful.

Tons of info, loads of great photos show you clearly what to expect on each trail. I'll be buying the Northern Cali book next.

I LOVE the Fox News channel. Especially their weekend programming. I purchased this book after catching Rita Crosby's interview. I hope Fox News adds a book review time slot to their wonderful line up!

This book was hard to put down! With every turn of a page, there was something new and exciting going on with the characters. I wished there was more! I would love to see more from this author.

Perfect book for an afternoon at the pool or beach. Interesting and fun... highly recommend; can't go wrong with this one!!

I really enjoyed this book. I had to laugh at times...the characters actions are so crazy and wild. I would recommend this book if you are curious as to how the elite really live.

I really enjoyed this book. Time flew as I became engrossed in this fascinating tale of life in Los Angeles. I am really lucky and happy that I decided to take a chance on a book that was lying on my kid sister's cabinet. I look forward to reading more of this author's work.

Okay, so I was on a tight budget and needed a new book...found this in hardcover at the local superstore on the bargain table...what a find! Frances Norris tells a wonderful story of a character coming to grips with the loss of her family, both recently and in the past. The characters are very believable and Norris gives a true feeling of setting without drowning the reader in description. I read this quickly, but still felt satisfied. Very enjoyable read.

Love and food are two of my favorite subjects, so how could I resist this book? I was not disappointed. The loss element keeps the story subtantive so that its not just another piece of fluff. The book has hilarious characters (including an overbearing narcissist in an amoeba jumper), but the author treats all with compassion enough to make them full and true. The food styling scenes bring together Hollywood fakery with a delicious disgustingness (photographing motor oil poured on macshed potatoes to resemble a sundae). You can't help cheering on narrator Julia as she navigates the crazies and searches out her soul in a soul-less city. Buy this book right away and enjoy!

I loved Julia's story. She finds her inner spark by overcoming her pain, loss, and depression and finding love and forgiveness in unusual ways. The characters are well portrayed and do not lack depth, even the obviously obnoxious figures are seen with irony and compassion at the same time. Highly recommended.

Dear Francie:

I just finished your book. What a wonderful story, full of feeling, wisdom, beauty and hope. I really enjoyed the characters, not to mention that you are an incredibly gifted writer style-wise. I lived the whole trip to Sedona as if I was there. And the end is so sexy, yummy, I love it!! All I can say is, keep writing, girl! And like I said, some day we may see the movie "Blue Plate Special", very attractive title to my ears. Thank you for your gift to the world of readers,

The only reason that I got this book was because the author went to my high school - so I have to admit that my expectations were not that high. But I really, really enjoyed this book, for the reasons stated so eloquently by other reviewers. It was gripping though sad.

What a fascinating read. I thought I knew a lot about mental illness but this family went the extra mile in their efforts to help a gravely disabled daughter. What dedication and love this family provided. A real page turner and so insightful.

For loved ones with any sort of mental abnormalities within the family this is a wonderful story of dedication, love, and tireless patience. I was amazed at these two parents and how they stretched themselves in every direction to help their suffering daughter.

BROKEN GLASS: A FAMILY'S JOURNEY THROUGH MENTAL ILLNESS tells of an unhappy child who grows up to have a serious personality disorder. Elene reached her teens in the middle of the counterculture years: her professor father here shares his story of the family's struggles with Elene's ongoing mental health issues, charting hospital and doctor snafus and interactions, family adjustments, and ups and downs which eventually led to helping her raise her own children. An eye-opening story evolves with plenty of lessons for other families struggling with mental illness.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

I have read "Broken Glass" and found it extremely good.
I notice one of your reviewers calls it a novel. I can understand that
because it reads like a novel, a real page-turner. But it really is
not fiction but what the author says, a heartfelt account of a
father's relations with his daughter. Being a parent to a beautiful daughter, this book makes me realize that I should always support my daughter as Dr Hine always did.
I assume Dr Hine is right in saying everything is told as it was.
I have friends who can be called mentally ill, and reading
this book has helped me enormously in my feelings toward them.
Dr Hine is thoughtful, kind, and generous, and he understands and
explains all the paraphernalia of the mental health world. I completely agree with the W. Los Angeles reviewer, this book should be a must for people majoring in Health and Human Studies. A high recommend.

Dr Hine thanks for the beautiful, very descriptive and magic way of your writing, I also enjoyed your "Second Sight" book very much (a must) !!
I guess I'm an avid fun !!

This helpful book is aimed at parents who struggle everyday with their mentally ill children. The author, Robert Hine, not only helps the reader understand mental illness in children, but also provides the tools and resources to help assist parents deal with such a challenge. Parents play an important role in the first line offense of mental illness in children. In being able to identify the early warning symptoms, it is the author's hope that we can reduce the stigma and improve the quality of life for such children.

This book should definitely be a required text for those majoring in Health and Human Studies. It is also a great resource for practicing mental health services providers such as, social workers, psychologists, nurses, etc. Needless to say, law enforcement officers and law practitioners are not immune to the type of problems parents and mental health providers encounter because they also assist individuals with severe mental and emotional problems.

The focus of the book is on communication and patience and its approach is humanitarian, emphasizing empathy in dealing with the child welfare system and the juvenile justice system, as well as practical in suggesting guideliness for dealing with specific situations. Elene is among the few fortunate children whose parents never give up on them and support them in all aspects trying to figure out what's in their children's best interest. Broken Glass is the type of book you will want to read to the end. It is a remarkable story about Mr. and Mrs. Hine's strength and determination to travel in any direction on any road at any given time, just so that they could provide their daughter with the tools to achieve self sufficiency.

Dr. Hine, thank you so much for sharing your beautiful story of heartache and triumph. Your unbreakable spirit shines throughout this book.

excellent preparatory for dmv test in california. the # of sample tests

and the repetition practically guarantee a high score, leave a buffer for

errors so a pass is likely

I'm going to study in California next year and I don't have a drivers license yet. But thanks of this book I am sure I will get it easily!!!

....By which I mean that if you buy this book and work through [ sorry about that, I _am_ English :-)) ] the test papers you will gain much valuable knowledge about driving in the USA. This means that you are more able to enjoy your holiday as you will know so much more about the rules and regulations that there are in the USA and so, hopefully(!), not fall foul of them! By the time I'd worked through the first two papers and read the detailed information towards the back of the book even I was getting 30+ correct answers! So, I'd definitely recommend this book to any fellow "Brit" who wants to be less of a hazard when driving in the USA. Finally, Alice herself was _most_ helpful when I emailed her with a query I had regarding the DMV in California. So not only a most helpful book, but also excellent feedback direct from the author herself. Do yourself a favour/favor(!!) and buy it :-)

Alice Syman's book is wonderful -- full of useful tips and clear explanations of the California laws. You WILL pass the written test if you study this book. Highly recommended!

I purchased the original "Califonia Drivers Test Made Easy" several years ago when I took my first CA driving test and again 5 years ago when my wife came down from Canada. In both cases it was an essential tool to make sure that we were ready for the test. Alice updates her book constantly and this is really needed because the CA driving laws change all the time.

Having scored well in the book tests gives you a really good level of confidence since practically 100% of the questions you will be asked are in the book.

So when I decided to take a CA Motorcycle test last year (which is a mix of regular driving test questions and motorcycle related questions) I went back and obtained the latest copy of Alice's book. Of course again, that was the right thing to do.

Bottom line: Alice book is a MUST for anyone that wants to take the CA Drivers test examination with the confidence needed to pass it.

I highly recommend Alice's book.

"For anyone who cares about what they eat when they are on the road, this is the book. It has it all from restaurants, to farmer's markets, to places to walk and see. Don't leave home without it. I can't wait for the complimentary copies on the other areas of California to come out."
C. Fels - Educational Consultant - Tai Chi for Health Instructor
www.earthwalktaichi.com

I just used Patricia's California Healthy, as I was driving down to Los Angeles. Even though I've driven the route all my life, I can tell this book is going to change how I travel up and down the state. This time, instead of just pulling into the first or second eatery that "looked okay," we followed the book's clear map to a healthy cafe destination. Comparing a couple of the book's reviews beforehand was fun, as we narrowed down our choice. Had we not consulted California Healthy, we would have had typical, high-calorie road food, but instead we had a tasty (fresh, seasoned, mouth-watering) affordable meal.

The book's color photos add note-worthy identification to the destinations' descriptions. Not only does the book guide you to restaurants, but farmers' and whole food markets, local attractions, and wineries. The recipes in the back are another "bonus" of the book, adding to the authenticity of its message: eat delicious food at home and/or on the road. Neither time-crunches nor unfamiliar environs are an excuse to treat your body poorly. The recipes are easy and quick; the directions to the food purveyors will get you in and out quickly.

We are lucky to be in California when we're traveling because we can take advantage of so many healthy-minded food enterprises. With a little direction from California Healthy, we can proudly boast of delicious, healthy choices, whenever we hit the road.

This is a wonderful book, well researched and informative. I refer to it frequently. And I have just purchased another copy for a friend.

California Healthy, Southern California Edition (America Healthy) (America Healthy)
I REALLY LOVE THIS BOOK!!! IT'S LIKE BEING IN CALIFORNIA AGAIN.
This is a beautiful book with tons of pictures, mouth watering recipes (I liked the broccoli saute' the best) and lots of safe places for me and my dogs to go walking. You can't miss with this book. What an education I got just from reading it. I'll have my trip all planned out before I even get to California. Wa Hoo. Thanks to Patricia for making such a great book.

California Healthy: The Adventurer's Guide to Local Delicacies, Fine Wine, Great Walks and the Good Life is a guide for California residents as well as vacationers. What distinguishes California Healthy is its close attention to the healthy food and fitness-promoting activities. County-by-county listings give the address, telephone number, and open numbers of everything from restaurants with healthful cuisine to parks ideal for walks to art galleries, botanical gardens, artisan's markets, colleges, special holiday celebrations and much more. Full-color maps and photographs on almost every page add a splendid visual touch to this high-quality guide for anyone in the Southern California area seeking to stay in shape.

California Sizzles is a must-have cookbook. It has a wide range of dishes and contains suggestions for food combos for a variety of events. I've found that the menus produce quality results without those "oops" that you find with recipes in some cookbooks. It makes a great gift.

My husband and I both like to cook. We have quite a varied collection of cookbooks, and this is still the best all around source for reliable, tasty meals. We make notes on the pages, recording dates we tried things, and ways we may have tweaked something. Now when I give a copy to anyone (I think I am on #10), I add my own notes of favorites. Recipes are not complicated, but sure to impress. From appetizers to desserts, you will not be disappointed.

Love the balboa broccoli salad and carrot cake made with baby food! great if you don't like shredding carrots! Lots of great recipes

California Sizzles provides excellent recipes that are devoid of the blood-sweat-and tears with which many of us are too familiar.
I learned of this book at a lunch where one of the cookbook's praiseworthy recipes was served. There was almost a stunned silence when the group learned I didn't have it on my bookshelf. Well, I do now and don't regret it for a minute. American cuisine has long been extremely underrated.

Collecting and using new cookbooks has been a thiry-five year hobby. "Sizzles" is truly the book that I consult first whether I'm planning an event or a family meal. At least one half of the recipes have been tried and have become favorites at our house. I am ordering another copy of this today as a gift for a friend....this makes four that I've purchased.

A well composed photographic book. One of few books of it's kind which highlights Southern California's ever present but, often over-looked mountain ranges. If you have never visited your local mountains, this book will make you want to.

Olander's book is a fantastic coffee table book and at the same time a tour guide and history book. I thoroughly enjoy this book each time I open it- which is often. I have often explored and hiked these mountains and have visited many if not most of the places shown in Ms. Olanders' book. It has motivated me to seek out places I haven't been and to re-visit others with new knowledge and history guiding me. I highly recommend this book to all who enjoy nature.

This book is filled with both stunning photography and graceful prose. Call of the Mountains spans an 18 month period in which the Olanders explored their local mountain ranges. It chronicles the people that they meet along the way and the stories that the ancient mountains hold. The book concludes with the desire that these treasured mountains be preserved for future generations.

This is much more than a book with great pictures. Ann & Farley Olander show the rest of us how we can enjoy the quiet beauty and simple pleasures of the wilderness next door. Unassuming and inspiring, this book is a roadmap for nature lovers and urbanites alike.
It is truly a collection of quiet visual poetry that rhymes with wilderness.

Benoit & Kathryn Gendron, New York City

Thank you Ann and Farley Olander. My husband and I have always enjoyed the mountains, and the San Gabriel Mountains hold a special place in our hearts. It is so nice seeing California mountains so lushly photographed with important prose. Our friends pick it up to look at the photos, but always end up reading it as well. It is truly an inspired partnership that created this work or art.

Great pictures and information in an easy to carry guide. The author is worth listening too, if you get an opportunity.

This is really a great little book on a specialized but interesting area of insect identification. Although considered primitive insects (since they undergo incomplete metamorphosis) dragonflies are just cool because they're so big and conspicuous and such strong fliers, and can maneuver at lightning speed, almost like hummingbirds. During the Carboniferous period or Coal Age 340 million years ago, there were dragonflies with 3 foot wingspans, according to the fossil evidence.

They also know how to "play the game." I've watched them many times patrolling the edge of ponds since they know that's "where the action is," during their hunts for prey.

This is an excellent book on indentifying these important insects. If I remember right, 30 or 40 species get covered, which is a good number, and the photos and descriptions are excellent. I found it an excellent guide to learn from and to improve my knowledge of this area, my main interest being in botany, and in identifying flowers, trees, and fungi. This is the best book I've seen on this specialized topic.

As a beginner in the study of these fascinating and beautiful creatures, I found this book clear, concise, and easy to understand and use. The text is simple and complete, and the illustrations are excellent. The small size of the volume makes it fit easily into your pocket for quick reference. Anyone interested in dragonflies will find the book an absolute MUST!

This is really nice field guide to have. The photographs are great. Each entry is succint and includes one or two photographs together with a bold line the length of the dragonfly and printed in one of the dominant colors of the dragonfly. There is a checklist in the back so that you can keep track of what you see, and the introductory information in the front of the book is well-written. Though I bought this book for myself, I think that it also would make a great field guide for a child since the book is small, easy to use, and the photos are clear and attractive. It is well worth the price.

Common Dragonflies of California is an uncommon book. Full of sound advice and chock full of excellent color photos, this book will be of great interest to any California nature lover. I am the kind of person who loves to know the name of every tree, shrub, flower, reptile, bird and fish that I see. Now that I have this little jewel, I'm going to learn how to identify the dragonflies too. The more we learn about nature, the more enjoyment we get from it. I highly recommend this fine book! I expect it would make a great present too, for the right person. Tom Ogren, author of Allergy-Free Gardening