North America Books

This is our first family field guide that we picked up at a used book sale. It is not comprehensive, but covers more than the basics well. The color illustrations are great and we have learned much from the book so far in the year that we've owned it.

Our family uses this book for identification of North American Wildlife -Animals - all the time. We live on a farm with a lake and have many different waterfowl, fox, beavers, deer and other animals visit our farm and we really enjoy looking up the animals to learn its' name, habitat and food requirements. Also as an artist I personally use the beautiful color drawings of the animals as a reference guide to correctly paint them.

My dad would occasionally bring me a book or two, saying "Kathy, I think you would enjoy this." He's been gone for 21 years now, and I have had to reglue sections of pages back onto the spine with PVA glue, but this little book remains the most valuable of all my huge collection of field guides. It has so many entries, and indexed by both common and scientific names; most importantly, the listings for each grouping are organized in a logical way, clustering similar species together so that you can easily find what you are looking for. One of my big gripes about some otherwise-helpful field guides is that there seems to be so little logic in their organization. This one is my favorite because it's not exhaustingly bulky. but so well-researched, that most of what you are likely to come across in your field wanderings will be found here - or you will at least have clues to locating it in a more detailed field guide in your library. They have illustrations of 34 native orchids, again, not comprehensive, but such a good representative sampling of the most-frequently found, and so well and carefully illustrated, that, again, I can give my full recommendation for this fine book. Thanks, Dad! : )

This book has the best fact-filled text and color portraits of any I have read. It includes over 2,000 plants and animals of all types. It is easy to read and research because each section is color tabed. If you wont to exolore Wildlife you need this Book!!

This is the best resource book I have found on the subject matter. All illustrations are done beautifully in color. The following are a few of the specific identification aids used: check marks for physical feature identifiers, symbols identifing habitat, maps displaying geographic location. The book is indexed by common and scientific names, is compact, easy to handle, an excellent reference tool and is good for leisure reading

You cannot put a price on how many hours this book will save you! Has every possible side street. You will never get lost!

This guidebook's title is right on: it's not for tourists. It's for those of us who are moving to Boston and need good maps, information on T-stops and bus lines (very helpful, as no other guidebook I've seen shows bus lines), restaurants, bars, etc. We don't need information on fancy hotels and the Freedom Trail- for that, a different guidebook might do. But this is the one worth buying and keeping tucked in your purse or bag when you're out and about in the city.

I first picked up the NFT guide for New York City in May of 2006 when I was looking for a tourbook for a long weekend trip I had planned. I now have the Chicago and Boston books as well.

These books are the ultimate guide to a city and are not just for people new to the cities. They provide EXCELLENT coverage of the public transportation systems and numbered nieghborhood maps. As well as the locations of resturants, coffe shops, bookstores, edcuational instutions, hospitals, shopping and more.

The design of the books; compact with a black elastic band to either hold your place in the text or to keep items secure within the book, easy to read, and somewhat sarcastic demeanor; is a joy.

If you like to travel, these books are a must.

I bought this book off Amazon and was a little ticked off when it came because:
A) It was so small
B) Half of it was maps

However I have come to love this little book for precisely those reasons. It's the ultimate walking around the city book. It's small enough to fit in your pocket, yet the maps are detailed enough to show every street. The authors accomplish this two ways: there are a lot of map pages, and the guide doesn't try to cover too large an area. If you live in Medford or Arlington, you're out of luck. Somerville is as far north as the guide goes.

Since each map page covers such a small area, you have to turn pages fairly often, but this is not a big deal because:
A) The authors let the map pages overlap considerably, so it's easy to orient yourself on the new page.
B) The maps cover neighborhoods, using logical boundaries. For example, one map page will stop at the charles river, and the next will pick up on the other side.

By devoting three map pages to each neighbourhood (essentials, entertainment, and transportation), the book can convey a lot of information without being cluttered.

Since it fits in your back pocket, this guide is best suited to those taking public transportation. It covers probably ~85% of the T's network (some outlying areas are excluded) and also includes bus routes.

I have been using Rand McNally's street guide boston when I drive around. It's great in the suburban areas. Since its pages are big and is spiral bound, I can keep one page open in the passenger seat. However since it uses a grid system, the positioning of the page boundaries is arbitrary. Since there is no overlap between the pages, navigating around the page boundaries can be a pain.

If you move to Boston, you will need some type of map. There is no rhyme or reason to the streets here.

As a new Bostonian this book has saves me a million times already. If you are newly moved to Boston, this book is a definite must have. There is no rhyme or reason to the streets of the city. Boston was made before the grid pattern existed. Streets constantly change names and directions. Half of the time there is no street sign, and if there is it is microscopic. This perfect compact book fits nicely in your purse or pocket so it is extremely portable and easy to carry with you. It is filled with maps of all areas of Boston and also includes some surrounding areas. It is mostly a map book but also lists entertainment, nightlife, schools, liquor stores, grocery stores, restaurants, banks, etc. Has multiple maps of each area including a public transportation map and a key map. Maps are very user friendly and easy to read. I have gotten lost multiple times and this book has always helped me find my way. There is a street index in the back and an elastic band that you can use to hold the page you need. A small price to pay for your sanity while navigating the city!

This guide continues it's tradition of being an excellent resource of current pricing and point identification. The pictures and identification of the points are worth the price alone.

This is a very good book. Full of good illustrations and info.

Very helpfull,easy to understand.

This is a complete reference and price guide for anyone interested in Indian Point design and collecting with current retail pricing. It contains good photographs of the known Indian Points. You will find page after page of photo's to compare your points to and assist you in point identification. If you only buy one book on Indian Point collecting this is "The Book" that every collector and dealer will recomend that you buy. Back editions contain articles that are always interesting reading so always keep your back editions in your collection.

This paperback is chock full of useful information about collecting and estimating the value of the pieces in your collection written in plain English.

Great book whether you are from Texas or not. The author's artwork is superb and gives you the real feelings of these "old Texas friends". The stories are right out of history and very entertaining. Whether you are young or old, the past is always a great place to visit and Mr. Morgan's book is a wonderful time machine with which to travel there. Highly recommended.

The prose is remarkably uplifting and allows one to look at history in a unique fashion. The stories are interesting and some local people with firsthand knowledge about one particular story told me the article was correct to the letter. The drawings are amazingly accurate to the finest detail. An excellent gift for the upcoming holidays. Your friends or relatives would greatly appreciate this book.

This book provides an entertaining historical account of the grand old courthouses of Texas. The author takes you back to days when the county seat was the center of activity and the letter of the law was a bit dusty. The drawings are spectacular in detail as are the tall tales of Texas lore. It is an excellent gift book and very reasonably priced.

Very good book.Lots of Texas history. Well written. I enjoyed the tales of Texas lore.Superb art work with excellent details.A great book to have in your library. B.

This is a fascinating work on a fairly esoteric topic. Although I usually don't usually encounter such works unless I am looking up specific information, I came across this book and had a difficult time putting it down. The illustrations are a magical blend of art and fact. When I have visited the courthouses, I felt as if I had been there - from both the prose and the drawings. If this topic (Texas history and culture) sounds interesting, get the book - you'll love it. If you are not sure, get the book - you'll love it. This will make a wonderful gift.

Very good guide to all the photogenic spots in the entire PA as opposed to only specific parts of PA. There is very in depth suggestions for the serious photographers (of which I am not) that "point and shoot" photographers are really not going to use, but can at least use his recommendations for site location for the scene. I found the rating system very useful to help me decide which hikes were worth my time seeing on limited time.

I've owned this book for just a week and already have corners folded and details highlighted. Inclusion of Mr. Brown's photos from these vistas just whets the appetite to experience the scene in person. Anyone who has ever tried to convey the beauty of a valley or mountaintop on film knows that even the most perfect shots don't convey the true experience unless you have been there yourself. This book will travel the state with me, year round. How long will it take me to experience each of these fantastic mountainscapes in all four seasons?

This book is very well organized and thorough. Directions and descriptions of sites are complete and easy to understand. A great tool for anyone who wants to hike to overlooks in Pennsylvania.

Scott Brown's earlier book, Pennsylvania Waterfalls, was an exceptional guidebook to rare and beautiful locations in PA, and this book is the same. There are so many wonderful vistas in Pennsylvania that no book could possibly cover them all, but Brown cherry-picked the best ones for inclusion in this work. His outstanding pictures are a joy to behold, and his photographic instruction will be useful to novice and accomplished photgraphers alike.

I've spent lots of time researching Pennsylvania vistas and overlooks, and I've even created a web site to document them. This book certainly aided my research. I've visited a number of vistas included in this work, and Brown does a great job describing the hikes, the views, and how to capture them on film. Other information about each location, such as the field of view, elevation, and GPS coordinates are icing on the cake.

My job takes me around the state on occasion, and I'm definitely going to make it a point to seek out the vistas highlighted in this book. I highly reccomend this work to anyone who's into viewing or phtographing the beautiful mountains of the Keystone state.

Just like in his 2004 offering "Pennsylvania Waterfalls," here Scott E. Brown has created a great resource for both hikers and outdoor photographers. However, in that earlier book Brown mainly focused on natural attractions that are easily reached by car or via short leisurely rambles. In contrast, here he has created special hiking routes to natural overlooks that are often quite difficult to reach without serious hiking. That's because Pennsylvania's surprisingly rugged topography creates many great vistas but most of them require real foot power to reach. So in his quest for the most photogenic mountain vistas, Brown has created a guide that includes in-depth hiking information as well as technical specifications for the professional or aspiring photographer. This results in an exceptional guide that will inspire hikers to visit many previously unappreciated vistas with or without their cameras, while shutterbugs will appreciate the rewards of hiking and a love for nature while en route to incredible shots.

There are also a few surprises in Brown's recommendations to photographers, and by extension, hikers. For each vista, Brown includes the best times of day for the ultimate shot, which is often sunrise or sunset. Thus, there is some incredibly useful advice for hiking at night. There is also some good advice on winter hiking and the consequent care for photographic equipment, because winter nature photography has its own unique rewards. In general, Brown offers very specific technical advice for getting the best shots in each selected location, surely with the goal of training photographers to challenge his own works. And those shots by Brown are the best aspect of this book, with great examples throughout. Highlights include several snowy landscapes, glowing fog over a barn, a moonrise, and a stupendous panoramic composition of Pine Creek Gorge. This informative and visually attractive book will inspire anyone with an interest in hiking or photography, or both, to explore the best of Pennsylvania's surprising outdoor wonders. [~doomsdayer520~]

I bought Mammals field guide 4th ed. to upgrade from my 3rd. ed. The 4th ed. has 80 plates while the 3rd ed. has only 32 plates. The 4th ed. also has much more text under individual species and genera descriptions. With having more plates and text the 4th ed. is about three times the weight of the previous 3rd ed. The increase of weight makes The Field Guide to Mammals 4th ed. impractical for use in the field. Which is why I give this book 4.5 stars.

A really complete,exact and interesting guide to the observation of the North American Mammals.Very nice.

A thorough guide to North American animals. Lot's of color plates and informative. It even covers animals in their stages like a fox in winter and midsummer and how their coats change color.

To put it simply you won't be disappointed.

Fiona Reid has created a tour-de-force in The new Peterson Field Guide to Mammals of North America, the first update of the Peterson series on mammals in thirty years. This is the best Peterson Field guide ever, the ideal gift or stocking stuffer and a must have for anyone who loves environment, natural history, the outdoors and wildlife, from your budding naturalist eight-year old to your birder grandmother in Wisconsin.

The new guide combines all the best features of recent ground-breaking field guides in a completely new book. It is both encyclopeadic and accessible, beautiful to hold in the hand and, as has always been the case with the Peterson series, the perfect size to take to the field. It will also look very good on your window sill and be handy next time that bear or ermine comes to the feeder.

A revision was of Peterson's Mammal Guide was long overdue and Fiona Reid has gone about it masterfully. In comparing the new and the old guide, one need only look at the new paintings to realize how much we needed this brand new treatment of North American mammals and to see how beautiful a book this is. Our knowledge has advanced tremendously, even for better known groups such as the carnivores; but it is when you spend some time with groups such as the bats and the chipmunks that you begin to realize just how far we have come since the last edition in our understanding of the mammalian diversity we see around us. Brilliant author-biologist-artist Fiona Reid has captured the traditional basics of a field guide with astounding plates and just the right amount of detail on ranges, biology, morphology, and even environmental threats.

This is the new gold-standard of field guides.

This new guide is hands down the best mammal guide for North America currently available. An impressive volume and effort by the author. The artwork is superb, the photography crisp, and the phylogeny and other science accurate and up to date.

This little book is enormously helpful in identifying birds' nests and eggs. It is an easy read and very informative. Would recommend to all who are interested in birds and birding.

This is a highly recommended book for identifying bird's nests. It's amazing to see all the different types of nests that birds make. These creatures have true workmanship. It must have been a great challenge for the photographer(s) to find and photograph all the different nests throughout this fascinating book. You don't see many books out there on the market like this, so I recommend it.

I was giving a class on monitoring bluebird boxes and I needed to show people the nests of predators and other birds that use the bluebird boxes. I wanted people to be able to see the difference between the nests built by bluebirds as compared to house sparrows, for instance. Also, I needed to show the different colors of eggs.

This book was absolutely essential for this. Once examining the photos in the book and reading the text, people were easily able to identify the different kinds of nests that had been built in the boxes we were monitoring.

I discovered this book while doing coursework at a teacher institute in northern Wisconsin. Like many amateur naturalists, finding an egg that has fallen from a nest is a momentous event, but I wasn't always sure of the bird that laid that egg. While I still might need to actually connect the actual bird with the egg visually, this guide goes a long way toward narrowing my choices.

A list of characteristics, such as oval, long and short pyriform shape, is clearly illustrated in a chart on the endpaper, accompanied by a ruler for measuring in the field. Most incredible to me are the photographs of bird nests in site containing typical egg clutches. Anyone who is a birder knows that these nests are very often difficult to access, as high as 80 feet up a tree! For the photographers to have not only located, but photographed, all these nests is nothing short of remarkable--and helpful. Detailed descriptions accompany the photos. The book is arranged in taxonomic order, making it easy for those of us used to this arrangement.

The average birdwatcher will probably be happy with a basic field guide to identify birds by sight. For those of us who always need "just one more field guide," this guide to nests is a unique addition to that ever-growing library.

We used this book as part of a homeschool/4H project to identify nests that we had found on our property. Using the detailed nest descriptions, photographs of the nests, and sketches of the birds (along with our pocket guide to Wisconsin birds) we had a great time identifying our nest collection. The book's organization makes it easy to narrow down the identification possibilities.

This book is full of examples of brutally racial crimes that go un reported or underreported ONLY because it's Black on White. When you look at all the coverage of the Sean Bell case, the Rodney King case, the Duke "fake rape" case, the Tawna Brawley case, the Imus debacle, etc. you wonder why none of these horrible cases never became common knowledge. People like me KNOW why, but "progressives" always come up with excuses.

This is one of the most disturbing books I've read in a long time.

Some of the essays are chilling, and all are informative, well-written and compelling. There is little here in which one can take comfort.

A must-read for whites and open-minded blacks as well.

This was great book. The chapters always kept my attention. It provides great insight into a lot of different areas. This book seems to be comprised of logic and clear thinking.

Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R3HL090FZUAIMM Hi Bernard Chapin reviewing another great book. Why do I cherish so many that I review? Selection bias...as I wouldn't spend the cash if I didn't think I'd love them.

If Horowitz and the other Neo Cons are going to rightly criticize non-whites for playing the Race Card, then they need to stop playing the anti-semite and holocaust cards themselves and stop their knee jerk lobbying for an affirmative action monstrousity like Israel.

Wendy Lawton's ability to paint vivid pictures with words is a rare ability and this is Wendy's best example so far. I have read 3 of the 4 books written by Ms. Lawton. Ransom's Mark is easy to read and interesting. Wendy's writing keeps adults and children alike interested in the story. After reading this book I wanted to do more research into Olive Oatman's life. Like Wendy's other books this one paints a picture of herstory(women in history) not often covered in the classroom.

Olive Oatman is thirteen years old in the fall of 1850 when her father decides the family will leave their Illinois farm and go west to California. Olive, her parents, and her six siblings join a wagon train west, but have trouble from the start. Their leader turns out to be unreliable, and changes their destination. The wagon train splits several times, until the Oatmans eventually end up on their own in dangerous Indian territory, because her father is unwilling to wait at the safety of a village for another wagon train to join. Olive fears the worst will happen, and she is right. Renegade Indians attack the Oatmans and massacre most of the family, sparing only Olive and her seven-year-old sister, Mary Ann, who they take captive. Olive struggles to keep up hope during her captivity and to adjust to her difficult new life, all the while trying her best to protect frail Mary Ann.

This was an excellent historical novel for young readers that brought to life the true story of Olive Oatman. Readers who enjoy historical fiction, particularly those who have an interest in this time period or in Indian captive stories, are sure to enjoy this book.

Title: RANSOM'S MARK
Author: Wendy Lawton
Reviewer: Peggy Phifer
Publisher: Moody Publishers
ISBN: 0-8024-3638-2 / [money amount]
Genre: Children/Youth Fiction

When Olive Oatman's pa gets the urge to move west to California, he packs his family and belongings into a covered wagon and they leave their home in Fulton, Illinois. Olive is the third oldest child of six, with baby number seven due along the way. Olive and her brothers and sisters dream of the coming adventure and excitement. But there was no way they could have imagined what the journey would really be like on the Santa Fe Trail.

Trouble begins early when the wagon-master starts to change the plans all had agreed on when they signed up. Eventually, the train splits in two, and Olive's wagon goes with a smaller group to continue on the Santa Fe Trail. Gradually, other wagons drop off at the towns along the way, until only the Oatman wagon is left to continue on. Then, a renegade band of Yavapai Indians attacks the lone wagon, and Olive and her little sister Mary Ann are captured.

Olive and her sister are eventually ransomed from the Yavapai by the beautiful daughter of the chief of a Mohave tribe, but her life is still hard. Branded with a Mohave tattoo, Olive struggles to understand. How can this be a mark of God's love?

This true story of Olive Oatman is one of the most inspiring stories of courage I've read in a long time. Wendy Lawton has treated this story with great discretion and sensitivity to make it readable for her target age-group of 8-12-year olds. Yet she has managed to bring out the stark reality of the dangers the westward pioneers faced.

Like the other three books in this series, "Courage to Run" [Harriet Tubman], "The Tinker's Daughter" [Mary Bunyan, daughter of John Bunyan], and "Almost Home," [Mary Chilton, of the Mayflower], in "Ransom's Mark" Wendy Lawton has written another classic story of "Daughters of the Faith." I highly recommend these books.

Peggy Phifer ©2003

The reading horizon just got brighter because Wendy Lawton has brought history to light again. In ýRansonýs Marký author Wendy Lawton adds to her ýDaughters of the Faithý Series by illuminating the life of Olive Oatman, pioneer of the 1850s.

Olive Oatman at thirteen embodied the strength and perseverance needed for days of the Santa Fe Trail. Driven by elusive dreams, men left it all and placed families at the mercy of the elements as well as renegade Indian tribes just to gain gold and adventure. Olive Oatman was a member of one such family. ýRansomýs Marký is a vivid portrayal of poor choices and Godýs ability to use whomever He chooses to redeem the consequences.

Lawtonýs writing is defined by careful research, strong story line, and vivid snapshots. The author complements her historical scenes with a glossary that further acquaints the reader with the vocabulary of the time. Olive Oatmanýs legacy breathes again under the influence of Wendy Lawtonýs pen.

One cannot refuse this writing. Handing the reader a strong but rich cup of coffee, Lawton encourages you to linger for another long sip. Savor ýRansomýs Mark,ý another unforgettable drink from the cup of history and ýDaughters of the Faithý Series.

This story is filled with details about pioneers, Indians, and the geography of the land and yet it doesn't overbalance the tale of young Olive. This is so well written the reader doesn't realize all the information the writer is pouring into her head. I was so caught up in the story that I found myself crying through the last pages. It is rare that I find a book I like so much. It is going on my gift list for all birthdays and holidays this upcoming year. I have lots of young friends to share this with.

This book goes a long way in explaining why there was so much written about the Wild West and why so much embellishment took place.Throughout history there has been all kinds of spins put on the people involved and what really occurred.Why would anyone expect anything different during the expansion of the West,particularly after the Civil War? In dramatic times of history,be it the Wild West,WW2,Crime in Chicago etc.people are craving for an understanding of events as well entertainment,and that is what we are given by the writers and the media.
Personally,I enjoy both the factual as well as the fictional
aspect of these times.
One character who often appears in books is Ned Buntline.He was a real person by the name of Edward Zane Carroll Judson,and this book does a pretty good job of telling us who he was and some of the things he did.Somebody must have written a book on him;it would be a good read.

This book was a welcome source of information on the Carson & Miller families whose genealogy I have been researching. Michael Wallace did an excellent job of getting his historical facts straight and offered some additional resources for my search for family history.

The easy style presented an engrossing story of a family moving through history from the 1850's to the 1930's and adjusting (not always easily) to the changing moores of society.

My father was a cousin of the Miller Bros. and told us children stories of his childhood in Oklahoma and attending the shows at the 101. My sister & I recently visited the old 101 ranch site and were sad to see that little is left. The Miller house in Winfield, Kansas is still standing in beautiful condition and is a private residence.

Michael Wallace is an excellent storyteller. The book gave life to my genealogy and made me feel in touch with the characters and the times. Anyone with an interest in western history would enjoy this story of a dynamic family who helped shape our images of the old west.

One terrific book -- a majestic recreation of the figures that helped define the old west and western entertainment.

Readers lacking a sense of irony may be dismayed to discover that the Real Wild West was only loosely hitched to reality. Spurred by the imaginations of Charles Miller and his three sons, our perception of what is the west sports the distinct brand of the 101. Take heart, though, because on the Miller Brothers' 101, the west was most certainly wild.

Possibly outlaws and certainly mavericks, the Millers rounded up some legendary talent to work their ranch and perform in their touring shows. The 101 herd of entertainers included Geronimo, Will Rogers, champion cowgirl Lucille Mulhall, Annie Oakley rival Princess Wenona, and such film legends as Tom Mix, Buck Jones, Ken Maynard, Yakima Canutt and Hoot Gibson. Black cowboy, Bill Pickett, famed for inventing the rodeo event steer wrestling spent a long career at the 101, and Buffalo Bill Cody spent his final year with the outfit.

While tooling a longstanding image of the west with their Wild West productions, the Millers also saddled up to motion pictures, oil production and an outstanding crop and livestock operation. Their story is a rodeo itself, made all the more interesting by the hints that white hats did not cover the heads of all of the 101 cowboys and cowgirls.

When the last little doggie was wrangled on the 101, the Miller Brothers' legacy did not ride off into the sunset, but continues to stampede through the dreams of would-be cowpokes everywhere. I'm not a regular patron of movie theatres, but I cannot wait until this saga makes it to the big screen!

If you like history and the stories of the old west, buy this book. I really enjoyed it.