California Books

i knew i was buying a used book so when it arived i wasn't suprised that it was a little musky. it didn't matter to me and i enjoyed every page. It was a really good read

I've read this book many times and I never get tired of the honesty and humor in it. Some books are not worth reading a second time, but I've found this one only gets better with repeated readings. Zesty...funny...hopeful...all those things.

loved the book. it reminded me alot of my own life

I read What It's Like To Live Now 2.5 years ago. I read it twice and some parts three times.

That time I was confused with my affectional orientation and wanted to know what gay and lesbians are like. I read books of social science research, gay Christian prayers, hate crime reporting, gay marriage, ethics and more.

This is the most inspiring for me. It teaches me what love is. A personal story tells much more than scientific research and theories.

Humorous look at life in the 90s from the point of view of a divorced mother trying to raise a family with her lover. Her insight was touching. At times she seemed a little self absorbed, but isn't that what autobiographies are all about. She has a story to tell and does it well. I eagerly await her next book.

As a person very interested in California history, I thoroughly enjoyed "When the Great Spirit Died" by William B. Secrest. It is the most informative and educational book I have read about the Native American Indian tribes of early California. Mr. Secrest's clear descriptions of the culture and way of life of California's first inhabits stirs the imagination. He vividly illustrates how cultures clashed with the arrival of the white settlers. He truly makes history come to life. I highly recommend this well-written book.

William Secrest has once again done an outstanding job of historical research. This book explores one of the most painful episodes of Euro-American history, and brings to light the attitudes and morays of early settlers whose goal was, indeed, to exterminate the Native American population. He offers irrefutable proof of a shameful period in our history, one that we need to recognize and deal with.
It is a factual and well-written documentary that every American should read, especially those of us whose roots go back to those settlers.

Len Wilcox
Author, Desert Dancing

This history deserves to be better known. They didn't teach this in school or college when I was growing up; and when traveling to the various historical sites and museums in the state you'll see few references to the many sorry episodes well told in this excellent book.

The book is broken into eighteen chapters. The first briefly sketches the history of the California Indians to 1850. The following chapters are each a regionally centered story of the one-sided conflicts during the period 1850-1860 that traditional histories refer to as Indian `troubles' or `wars'; but is no different from the genocides or ethnic cleansing of more recent times.

The author makes powerful use of newspaper accounts, diaries and similar sources to tell the stories of the brutal destruction of California's original inhabitants by Americans flooding in. As the settlers and miners spread throughout the state they took land and, more importantly, access to traditional sources of food away from the local Indians. And no matter whether the Indians resisted or cooperated the men, women and children were killed with impunity. Many children were sold into slavery; many women were kidnapped and raped or forced into prostitution. Treaties weren't honored. Assistance from the Federal Indian Department was diverted by corrupt officials. Even on the reservations the Indians starved and were ravaged by disease. It can be a difficult read.

The author acknowledges that he isn't an academic historian or anthropologist; and thankfully this book is free of 'theory', although it might have benefited from some additional context. It is nonetheless well referenced for those looking to check his facts and sources. And it is a history well worth knowing and thinking about.

As Jonathan Kirsch says in the March 2, 2002 LA Times Book Review section (p.R2), 'Secrest reminds us that the California dream was a nightmare for its original inhabitants... For anyone whose knowledge of California history derives from bland grade-school textbooks, Secrest's book will be nothing less than shocking." An important supplemental history to the usual tales of missions and the gold rush in California.

This history of the destruction of California's Indians covers a narrow time frame from 1850-1860, but documents a startling point in American history where Indians were slaughtered and hunted. When The Great Spirit Died probes the philosophy behind these killings, using source material references, previously unpublished material, and a host of vintage black and white photos to capture the terrible events. A 'must' for any Native American history collection from high schools through public libraries.

I thought this book covered some very practical ideas. A lot of the stories found in the book were a bit surprising. He truly made a turn around with some of these kids. He also admits that not everything worked.

At times I found myself getting a little caught up with his sense of an ego lingering through the pages. I almost felt as if there was a bit of bragging going on. Although I think he is a man who deserves to boast since he sacrificed a lot of time and money to help others, not mention often putting his life at risk for his kids.

I gained a couple of good ideas about how to get kids inspired to do things, to build up courage to do the right thing, to ask more of parents, and most of all to emphasize strong morals and values. I'm not talking about religious morals, he vaguely mentions them, I'm talking about being a good person and fighting for justice in your daily life.
He talked about sacrifice, work ethic, respect, integrity. I even learned some things about these values myself. It's what this nation educational system is lacking and I'm glad he brought up!

One thing I found faulty with his system: he had the option of kicking kids out of his schools if they chose not to comply with his standards. That is one very significant option teachers and parents usually don't have.

However, he emphasized parents roles in their children's lives. I would definitely recommend this to parents, because he acknowledges that more often than not bad behavior is caused by a weak structure at home, reading this would only help. He really brings these kids back from the dead as well as some families in the process. I'm glad someone finally acknowledged the growing problem of education systems: the lack of care or concern for these kids BEYOND the classroom.

Mr. White doesn't claim to have a system to cure all of the schools' ills but he certainly has a good start. He also makes the statement that today's kids aren't any worse than we were but just the boundaries aren't as well defined as we had back in the 50's and 60's.

Mr. White does admit to his failures, not every one has coming through his doors went out a better human being but many are able to shop where they want and get ahead instead of stuck in the same dependency cycle.

His rules are simple. He outlines them in the book and how he applies them. He told a story on the radio about a wealthy parent pulling her child out of an expensive private school to attend his charter school. The usual method of admission to his school, Mr. White jokes, is 2 felony convictions. The wealthy parent was impressed with how the kids behaved and were learning much more than at the expensive private school.

Now there is a caveat here, Mr. White's school is only 30 to 40 students with himself, a probation officer, and another teacher in a tough part of town. The teachers and the students spend the whole school day together talking about personal issues as well as the educational topics.

Mr. White has taught in regular schools and admits he has as many non-contract renewals as awards, so everything has not been a bed of roses. He says the biggest key is the administration backing up the teachers and principals. The parents need to talk with the teachers - so this isn't just a teacher working against the system but creating a support system for the students.

paul white has made it simple...just do what is already available to do..the kids will get there if we let them and encourage them. this is a must read for everyone...

i passed this book on to some teachers and adminstrators...they tell me there is a waiting list to read it.

well done

There's tendency as a veteran teacher of twenty-five years to think I have all the answers about how to run an effective classroom. White's Rules is a reminder that what is basic in life is also basic in the classroom. The classroom must provide more than academic instruction; it must be a place where teachers establish the primary values and morals that their students need to survive in the world outside the classroom. This book shows how teachers can demand bedrock solid values of their students and reap the rewards of mutual respect that such values create. White's Rules is not just a book for inner city teachers and their "incorrigibles" it is also a book for teachers like me in the suburbs with diverse middle class kids. The combination of strict consistent discipline and unconditional love is a formula that works. I recommend this book to anyone looking to find what's essential and what works in the classroom today.

I agree with the many points that White makes. Kids will naturally test limits and so clearly defined limits with significant consequences are necessary. But while enforcing rules that students must be punctual, not swear, and not dress like a gangster are worthwhile, the later half of the book is the most important. Teachers should not simply teach kids academics, they also need to teach morals, how to live right, to care for others, and to make a difference. While his rules might not be able to be enforced so strictly everywhere, I think they can be modified and adapated for most schools and other similar organizations. The book is motivational and encouraging, I recommend it to parents, educators, and anyone who works with groups of adolescents.

The conservative, european-american movement's declaration of the end of white supremacy in this country requires the kind of challenge offered by "Whitewashing Race". This book offers every fair-minded reader an opportunity to judge the realities that still persist as a consequence of 250 years of chattel slavery, 100 years of complete segregation, lynchings and restrictions on work and educational opportunities. The efforts needed to create a truly non-racialized culture in America are far from over.

It presents information in such a way that you are at the very least, forced to consider what they've presented. As a self-identified "African-American" who considers himself a conservative, I think this book does a great job of presenting the foundation of how the problem of race still exists and presents pragmatic ideas - however controversial - that are far better, in my view, than maintaining the status quo.

If those who on principle oppose these ideas (specifically, the conservatives this book spends a lot of time lambasting) would come out with substantive data to disprove what this book says, the race debate would become a lot clearer and would bring us closer to realizing a better America for all.

For anyone interested in how the politics of race are presented in today's world (affirmative action, prison sentencing, etc.), this book is a definite must-read. The authors analyze the conservative's overly-simplistic view of race as being based simply on whether a person exhibits overt prejudice while ignoring the larger implications of accumulated wealth and advantages enjoyed by whites from years of legal discrimination.

The authors poke holes in much of the misinformation coming from the conservative side of the aisle, and reveal just how sinister and permeating racial bias still is in America. Grab this book, a good cup of coffee, a high-lighter, and become updated on the dynamics of race in 2003 America.

I read this book hoping to find some ideas about the status of race in post civil rights America. Although I found the book helpful and infomative, I do remain highly concerned that the issues the book addresses seem static. The authors do offer a lot of statistics and concise ideas to help understand the problems concerning race in America.

The attack on the racial realists and conservitive views on race really caught my attention. I find the arguements in this book far more convincing. I struggled to articulate how the conditions of American culture create a negative experience for blacks, but this book articulates the message clearly. I find myself reading and hearing arguments about race with a new understanding.

Should one send political scientists to do a historian's job? That is the question one has to ask about this book compiled by a consortium of political scientists, in response to the "racial realism" of today's right-centrist consensus. This consensus, argued by such authors as Jim Sleeper, Tamara Jacoby, John McWhorter, The New Republic and the renowned historians of American immigration Stephen and Abigail Thernstrom, argue that racism is not really a problem in American life. To the extent that African-Americans are disadvantaged it is because of their own failings or, somewhat more tactfully, the failings of the black politicians and the guilty liberals they (overwhelmingly) support.

This book argues that this fundamentally optimistic view is wrong. They are right to say so and their book is very detailed and comprehensive (the Thernstroms in particular are repeatedly criticized). Still the book is not perfect. The book makes an error in numbering its footnotes in chapter five. It also incorrectly says that until recently there were no African-Americans elected from North Carolina since Reconstruction (one in fact was elected in 1898). The style is not very engaging, it consists mostly of summaries of papers in economics, political science, sociology and the other social sciences. The result is a certain dryness and abstract quality that could use more historical analysis (the treatment of unions is somewhat superficial). The discussion of racism is not the most thoughtful available (and little is said about Latinos). Nevertheless one should not ignore its points. "Racial realists" argue that racism is not a problem because only a handful of people would support racist attitudes in opinion polls. There are several problems with this argument. Aside from the fact that people do not necessarily volunteer their support of unpopular ideas, it turns the concept of racism and racist harm into a question of pure malice. If there is none (or if it somehow "rational") there is no racism. One might ask why showing discrimination should require showing malice, when other torts merely require showing negligence? Also it is a non-sequitur to argue that if whites are not malicious, blacks and/or liberals must have screwed up. Moreover, rephrasing the question can lead to rather different results: in a 1980 poll only 5% supported segregation, but only 40% supported a law stating that a homeowner could not refuse to sell because of race. The authors go on about how in the post-war period African-Americans were discriminated in social security legislation, GI bill benefits and housing segregation. We also relearn about the insufficiently notorious effects of urban renewal and automation.

What is best about the book are the statistics it provides showing consistent racial gaps, even when corrected for class, age, income or any other variable. For example 53% of mortgages in black Chicago middle-class neighbourhoods are from sub-prime lenders, whereas only 12% of mortgages in white neighbourhoods are. African-Americans are 25% less likely to get mammograpy screening, notwithstanding age or income, while a 1985 Massachusetts study showed that whites underwent significantly more corony surgery than blacks. 61% of basketball players were black in 1996-97, but 81.5 % of coaches were white; 52% of football players are black but in 2001 nearly 97% of head coaching positions were white. During the 1990s in Los Angeles, Latinos make up 41% of the population, but only 6% of the jurors. It is often said that spiralling illegitimacy is the key reason for persistent black poverty today, but the President's Council of Economic Advisers has noted that the poverty gap would have fallen by only a fifth had there been no changes in black family structure since 1967. Likewise the Thernstroms et al have argued that high black youth unemployment is the result of their demand for excessive wages. Yet studies have shown that their length of employment is not correlated with wage demands. The gap between black and white test scores has infuriated potential university students. But the correlation between scores and success is somewhat weaker for women and Asians. Another questionable use of data by "racial realists" is their concentration of Berkeley in the 1980s. There the white graduation rate within 6 years was 88% but only 59% for blacks. But in 28 other colleges the white average was 86% and the black average 75%. Might this not say more about the problems of particular universities than an inherent cultural failing of African-Americans?

We also learn about a third wave of criminology scholarship and we learn how only 26% of the gap between blacks and whites drug offences in Pennsylvania is the result of the higher arrest rate among blacks. Even after making every allowance Georgia blacks are five times more likely to get life sentences for drug offences than whites. We see at every stage of the arrest process, from scholars such as Madeline Wordes, George Bridges, and Michael Leiber, a clear bias against African-Americans. Although the prospect that somewhere, somehow affirmative action might hurt white men has haunted the conservative imagination, only 4% of 1990-94 sex/age discrimination suits were launched by white men, (yet they file three-quarters of age discrimination suits). Oddly enough, racial realists have blamed blacks for inadequate black representation. Supposedly they won't vote for whites. Yet in the past few decades only 0.5% of white majority districts elections have chosen a black representative. And whites have shown great reluctance or active hostility in voting for blacks in prominent elections in Chicago, Philadelphia and California. The authors conclude with sensible suggestions for reforms in education, stronger civil rights protection and an improved welfare state.

Very comprehensive and up to date. It fills a niche for the San Diego region.

Wow--this is a great book! It shows lots of wineries in Southern California and is a great reference tool to the wine novice and the connoisseur. Highly recommended for travelers to the San Diego and Southern California areas.

Reading this book on a cold, rainy day in winter had me dreaming of future sun-filled days spent touring these wineries with good friends and great picnic lunches. I especially liked the desciptions and photos of the wineries that gave me a feel for the experience ahead. It is nice to know what to expect, as anyone who has followed signs down dirt roads to basement wineries can attest. We will be taking a wine trip to San Diego soon! Kudos to the author for sharing her enthusiasm (and directions!) for these wineries.

We visited some of the wineries described in this book a number of years ago. After reading the book we realized that we missed quite a bit. We are not wine experts. This book gave us a lot of imformation on the wineries, the wine country in general, how to enjoy the wine tasting and how each winery handles wine tasting. We are planning to visit this area again, in the near future, and we will definitely take this book with us as a very useful guide.

This book is a very comprehensive and accurate book about the Temecula Wine Country. This I know because I have been living in the area for about 13 years and have limo toured the wine tasting areas many times. Make this one of your next purchases, immediately. It's great.

Here's another wine region which receives little attention in the typical wine books: an examination of Mexican wines - the first published in English. From a survey of the oldest winery in Baja California to newer ones springing up today, each winery receives a description review of products and size, and plenty of historical background. Tasting notes, reviews of Baja grapes and wine events, and supplemental travel details on accommodations and restaurants for those intending a visit make WINES OF BAJA CALIFORNIA: TOURING AND TASTING MEXICO'S UNDISCOVERED TREASURES a winner.

Diane C. Donovan, Editor
California Bookwatch

It may come as a surprise to many that Mexico produces fine wines. This is especially true on the northern Baja where the climate is ideal. Ralph Amey, an Angeleno who lives there part time, holds many awards from and positions in winemaking circles, evaluates many different vintners and their wines in the area near Ensenada, especially the Valle de Guadalupe and nearby valleys. The book opens with a history of winemaking in Mexico, then provides a detailed map of how to find the ones in the Northern Baja. The book is lavishly illustrated with black-and-white photos.
There are two different sorts of wineries in the area, Urban and Valley. Among the Urban are Bodegas de Santo Tomas and Cavas Valmar, both in Ensenada. The valley wineries are Casa Pedro Domecq, L. A. Cetto, Monte Xanic, Chateau Camou, Mogor-Badan, Vinos Bibayoff, Vina de Liceaga, Casa de Piedra, Adobe Guadalupe Vineyard, and Vinisterra S.A. de C.V. For each, Amey provides directions for getting there, telephone numbers in case you get lost or have been imbibing the wine rather than tasting it, fax and email addresses, their web pages, founding dates, owners, vintners, details on tour times, as well as their production capacities, and the acreage of their vineyards. He also lists the red and white wines produced at each, plus how each winery came into being.
In the event you're a novice and don't know Merlot from Mogen David, a later passage describes the history of each wine and its distinctive taste. The only criticism I would have of the volume is its inability to be held open to the page you want at the winery you're at. A spiral-bound book would have served both the amateur and the connoisseur much better.
There is no question that Ralph Amey knows wines, especially Mexican wines. He is a founding member of the Southern California Society of Wine Educators. This is an invaluable book. Salud!

The author is remarkably humble to our greatly improving vineyards while accurate to a pinpoint. So great a book about Baja North, Mexican wines (guadalupe Valley where I live) that I have given 16 copies, to date, to colleagues including one who lives in France and another in Germany.
Roberto Chantlos: Rosarito, Baja CA, Mexico.

This new book by Ralph Amey fills a real need for a description of the many fabulous wines of Baja, plus it provides an interesting history, and lots of discussion of locations and useful maps and guides. Everybody who likes to think of himself or herself as a wine connoisseur should have a copy of this book.

As you begin this book you know immediately that Ralph Amey enjoys wines and is an expert on the subject. Here he has set out to tell us about "Wines of Baja California," as his title states but it isn't only the wines that he enjoys and writes about. He obviously loves Baja, and so we hear a lot also about "touring and tasting Mexico's undiscovered treasures,"including practical tips for visitors to the area.

The book is a gracefully-written, detailed consideration of the history of winemaking in Mexico, how to get to the valleys where winemaking takes place, the history and ownership of the wineries, as well as the vintages and grapes. Finally there is a discussion of wine festivals and fiestas, places to stay and to eat, sources of more information, and a helpful glossary of wine-related terms.

What makes this book unique is not just Ralph Amey's experience as a connoisseur and judge of wines, but his habits of thought as a research chemist and teacher; he is interested in history and geography and weather and people and processes as they relate to his subject, and his experience as a researcher and teacher help him to know the value of details and how to explain in an interesting way. An especially helpful touch is his suggesting, again and again, what foods go well with what wines, for example: "Unico Gran Reserva. . .Try with osso buco or mushrooms in puff pastry."

There's a refreshing informal tone to the writing and to the beautiful design of the pages, enhanced by vintage photographs, maps, and circular pre-columbian Mexican motifs. Very inviting.

Think of country music and you think of the South automatically - but California too has been the source of many a notable country music artists, and here's Workin' Man Blues: Country Music In California by Gerald Haslam with the assistance of Alexandra Haslam Russell and Richard Chonto celebrates and highlights that fact. Chapters cover a range of artists who contributed to the genre, from early immigrants to California to later stars. Bob Wills, Gene Autry, Buck Owens and Dwight Yoakam: the lives of each famous contributor to the genre is linked with California musical history as a whole, creating a vivid interplay between musical history and biography. Outstanding.

Nobody doubts the importance of Texas and Tennessee in the development of country music, yet the substantial contribution of California to country music is often ignored. At first glance, this is understandable, since the Californian music scene is generally dominated by the major cities of Los Angeles and San Francisco. However, these two cities are several hundred miles apart and much of the territory in between is deeply rural, populated by people displaced from other states, who took their music with them when they migrated. In particular, Bakersfield and its surrounding area became a hotbed of country music. This is the area from which the author comes, but in this book he covers all aspects of the California country music scene including Hollywood's contribution.

Whole chapters are devoted to the Crockett family, Gene Autry, Bob Wills, Spade Cooley, Rose Maddox and her brothers, Buck Owens, Merle Haggard and Dwight Yoakam. These are clearly the artists that the author regards as the most important to the development of Californian country music and I'm certainly not going to argue with him. While very few people these days know about the Crockett family, they were California's first country stars even if (as it seems) their appeal did not extend beyond their home state.

Between the chapters devoted to individual artists, there are chapters devoted to particular decades. These chapters describe all the remaining significant artists. Early on, the author attempts to define country music but, as we all know, it is impossible to define. Being unable to clearly define the music, the author covers the music in all its aspects from traditional to contemporary singers but focuses mainly on tradition. Thus, Glen Campbell (born in Arkansas but who made his career in California) and Barbara Mandrell (born in Texas but raised in California from an early age) are given due coverage, their achievements being far too important to ignore. Although I love their music, I know as much as I want to from elsewhere. It is important that they are covered but they are not the reason to buy this book.

Apart from the chapters on the selected major traditional artists, this book serves as a reminder of many great but obscure performers such as Kate Wolf, who seemed set to make a major commercial breakthrough with her brand of folk-country music but died of leukaemia before she could capitalize on her growing popularity.

Country-rock is covered too - there is a page devoted to a family tree showing how various performers switched between various groups - the Byrds, the Eagles, the Flying Burrito Brothers, Buffalo Springfield, Crosby Stills and Nash, Poco and a few others. It's not complete (no Dillard and Clark Expedition, no Desert Rose Band) but it covers all the line-ups that most people are interested in. A truly comprehensive family tree would take too much space to make it easy to follow.

This book is a real treasure trove of information about country music in California but if it whets your appetite for more reading, there is a selected bibliography that runs to over twenty pages.

Every country music fan can learn much about the history of the music from this book, which proves that California has played a major role in the development of country music - maybe not quite as important as Tennessee and Texas, but far more important than most people realize.

Nashville has not always been the home of country music. Following migrations westward from the South and Dust Bowl states during the 1930s and 1940s, country music flourished in California, where it thrived in Hollywood, throughout the agricultural interior valleys and around the war-related industries in Los Angeles. And it continued in the post-war years, peaking in creative output one final time in the 1960s.

Author Gerald Haslam's history of country music in California tells a story full of rich appreciation for its many musical styles, from hillbilly (the Crockett Family, seen on the cover), to the singing cowboys (Gene Autry), to the heyday of western swing (Bob Wills and Spade Cooley), to Tennessee Ernie Ford, and the Bakersfield music scene, centered around Buck Owens in the 1960s. Haslam then tracks its story since those golden years in the careers of Californians who made it big in the Nashville years, such as Merle Haggard.

Haslam's sympathies are clearly with performers who have bucked the homogenizing trends of Nashville and the dominance of a music today that calls itself country but has largely lost contact with its roots. He praises the musical mavericks and outlaws who keep traditional and "hard" country alive in California, giving special attention to Dwight Yoakum, who stubbornly and fiercely chose Los Angeles as a base to launch a career that got national attention in the 1980s.

You may or may not love the author's blue-collar bias. He notes the frequent theme of discontent in traditional country music, characterizing it as the music of the hard-working men and women who labor not always successfully in pursuit of an American dream. Their yearning for simpler times and rural values is a sensibility mostly absent from today's country play lists, with only rare exceptions like Alan Jackson. It's a sentiment that finds its parallel in the traditionalist's dislike for the urban market-driven output of Nashville's lucrative music industry.

This is a highly readable book, with over 50 photographs of performers, and it's also a reference based on a good deal of scholarship. There's a 22-page bibliography and both a song title index and a subject index covering another 24 pages. Readers interested in western swing will especially appreciate the author's extensive study of this subject. As a companion volume, I'd also recommend "The Rough Guide to Country Music."

I simply can't recommend this book highly enough! It was the first scholarly work on Country Music that I read, and it really opened my eyes to country music as a serious field of study. Being a native Californian, I had always been aware of the pivotal role the CA scene played in Country Music history, I was exposed to the music of Haggard at an early age and became familiar with the music of Buck Owens through Hee Haw, but I didn't know too much about other important players such as Chester Smith, The Maddox Bros & Rose, Wynn Stewart Etc. This book inspired me to go out and discover the music of these pioneering artists. The author also discusses the way rock and roll influenced west coast country and vice versa. If you're a serious student of country music history, this book is a must read! It should be required reading in all CA schools :)

As one who was born and reared in California's Great Central Valley, and is old enough to remember the country music of the 30's and 40's, I very much enjoyed this book. Haslam not only brought back lots of memories, but he also skillfully told the story of the rise and fall of country music in California. Clearly, he's been there and he "talks the talk". As an admitted liberal, he unfortunately litters the landscape with some superfluous "social commentary". Nonethe less, it's a fine book, deserving of reading by all who like country music and/or the Central valley.

This is a heartfelt account of one man's struggle to overcome the archetpe of the "tough guy" and to soften into a realization of the power of love. R. Glendon Brunk, who could be one of the men in Pam Houston's "Cowboys are my Weakness" , shares his life with us in an engaging way -- sometimes sad, often funny, always keeping my attention. I wish that every man I know, from my brother and my father, to my cousins, to all my male friends would read it, too. Our world needs to find a new way, a way that isn't hung up onto the patriarchal ways of domination, the raw male energy that , undirected, may turn so quickly to violence and destruction. And here's a guy who was one of the toughest (he admits that that was the way he thought he should be) who openly shares his journey to become open and loving - therefore ultimately stronger. This is a great book about gender issues. Men and women alike should read it, discuss it, let it inspire new paths, and greater connected-ness with eachother and the world around us.

This is a heartfelt account of one man's struggle to overcome the archetpe of the "tough guy" and to soften into a realization of the power of love. R. Glendon Brunk, who could be one of the men in Pam Houston's "Cowboys are my Weakness" , shares his life with us in an engaging way -- sometimes sad, often funny, always keeping my attention. I wish that every man I know, from my brother and my father, to my cousins, to all my male friends would read it, too. Our world needs to find a new way, a way that isn't hung up onto the patriarchal ways of domination, the raw male energy that , undirected, may turn so quickly to violence and destruction. And here's a guy who was one of the toughest (he admits that that was the way he thought he should be) who openly shares his journey to become open and loving - therefore ultimately stronger. This is a great book about gender issues. Men and women alike should read it, discuss it, let it inspire new paths, and greater connected-ness with eachother and the world around us.

Glendon's down-to-earth writing style and his epic adventure story make this book an addictive page turner. Included is everything from running world class dog teams across the icy tundra, to sipping Kava in the South Pacific. Read it for yourself and find out what draws a man to Alaska.

What an honest and brave guy to write this book. Glendon Brunk, one of those ultra-manly men, writes so honestly about what it means to be a man in a world dominated by men, and how, through the amalgamating forces of pain and growing self-awareness, came to see a different way. It's a book set in Alaska, with all the raw power of conquering the wilderness and living wild, with facing grizzly bears and extreme cold, but it's really not about Alaska. It's about growth and coming into consciousness. It's about driving sled dogs competively and coming to realize that winning the world championship of sled dog racing - a feat akin to any great athletic endeavor - was empty. It was because of a single-minded obsession to win, to conquer, to be the best, to control, all the manly perceptions that have the world in so much trouble today. Yearning Wild is about one man coming to see his responsibility for wounding, not only himself, but women and children and the land. It's about awakening. This book is a brave beginning, and it needs to be out there. I - a man - would encourage every man, every woman to buy it and to pass it on. Because it's one of those books that's desparately needed for the times we live in. Do it, please.

Here's a book with the romanticism of Davy Crockett, weather the likes of A Perfect Storm, herds of caribou familiar through Never Cry Wolf, and a cast of sled dogs paling Lassie, Old Yeller, Sounder, and Where the Red Fern Grows.
It's a book for children because of the raw adventure: watch our protagonist shoot a bear that's about to knock down his cabin door and eat his baby daughter (and then watch him leave, tossing his wife butchering instructions). Hear him call "Trail" as he and his sixteen world champions pass the favored dog team and head into Fairbanks and the crowd's cheers.
It's a book for women because its central figure is the stuff of endless heartbreak: a doer, a pacifist, a romantic, a man with a guitar and songs and dreams as big as all outdoors, a man whose restlessness is the stuff (in women's eyes) of pathology. This man from Mars retreats not just to his cave; he moves to Fiji, to Australia, New Zealand, Hawaii, Guatemala, Mexico, and Africa.
It's a book for men because this writer lived most men's dreams. Brunk's woods were not Thoreau-sized; his peace required the presence of Alaskan wildlife which had never before seen a human.
He yearned really wild, and, as Mary Renault says, "Longing performs all things." R. Glendon Brunk performed.
It almost killed him. The real gifts in this amazing book are Brunk's courageous candor in addressing the essential emptiness he found once he realized his dreams. He does not flinch in the face of his paradoxes: he admits, for example - acknowledging a tension that must exist among almost all men -- that having a child was not in his dream. But this is a healing book. The adventure stories are only preliminary to Brunk's more central journey here: the one inward and the one backwards: back to the courage it takes to stay.
Read this book. Give it to your husband, your son, your son's teacher, your ex-husband, your boss, your mailperson. This is a great book.

This book gives all pertinent information regarding many bars in L.A. The descriptions of setting and atmosphere are accurate and it even provides history and interesting stories and facts about L.A. bars. It provides a variety of different bars in L.A., from the most trendy, hip places, to the divey hole-in-the-walls. I've been to most of these places and frequent some, but this book makes me want to try each bar mentioned!

This was probably the best guide to bars I have seen for Los Angeles. The writing is witty and the choice of bars is great. My only complaint is the layout. It would be cleaner to list the bars in the appendix by area and attractions, rather than just one big list. If you live in L.A., this is a great book to own, if you want to discover a few new places.

Frank has put together a great selection of bars from Santa Monica to Pasadena. He loads each review with little tidbits that are seldom known by even the most travel worn Angelenos: Irish commanders leading Mexican troops past the current day Molly Malone's, the biggest sports bar in the world on Santa Fe Street (which unfortunately closed at Prohibition), and Walt Disney's first studio...just down the street from the Ye Olde Rustic Inn.

It's a good book to have laying next to your Zagats guide when planning an excursion to a new part of town.

THis book is a great trail map for bars in Los Angeles. Mr. Mulvey is a truly likable man with a genuine interest in the semi-lost tradition of decent dives. The format of the book is convienent and has within it, a lot of interesting facts and anecdotes. If you are interested in bars, or if you aren't, this is the book for you. It will bring you up to speed about what's cool in LA.

Cannot go wrong with the art book about Chinese art. It's an excellent one, used a lot as a textbook both by university art teachers as well as teachers of Chinese culture and history.

It is difficult to write "Short History of Chinese Arts". Suppose that an honest scholar start preparing his lecture note of " Chinese Arts", he shall struggle with selecting subjects and plates. Moreover, for example, he feels that he be an expert on ancient bronzes, and a beginner of export wares in 17th century. Leaving the purgatory, he would want help to a standard textbook.

Among English books, this noted book may have used in many college courses. 1st edition(1967) and The revised edition(1973) were welcomed by many students and scholars. Even a japanese translation had been popular for many years. In this 4th edition, 84 old respectable scholar still attracts me with lucid style.

For beginners, this should be a good introduction. Appreciating artifacts in Museum, finding something in antique shop, or reading books/papers/articles about a particular subject, it needs some elementary background knowledge for chinese arts and history. This offers such COMMON SENSE.

For experienced scholars, this is an interesting reading. This might look a mean textbook for them. Before reading, I minded I become tired for many facts already learned, but I enjoy this book even in commute train, although this edition format is too large. Because not only this is Readable for a japanese, but also gives many (sometimes implicit) skeptical suggestions. At 258p, about Wan Hui (1632-1677, painter), "The Palace Museum collection also contains a number of clever pastiches of tenth-century and Northen Song landscapes that are almost certainly his work"; keen insight!.

I should regretfully notice that some illustrations/items might be inadequate, blurred, or damaged. I hope that they will be changed at next chance.

The colour illustrations in this book are lovely to behold. Many show restored artifacts from China's long history. Vases, stoneware, flasks, paintings, handscrolls and much more. From the paintings, you can see where the traditional misty style of Chinese landscape paintings arose. There are even genres, like bamboo painting. Just like the Europeans developed portraits of horses and landed gentry.

Naturally, there is also extensive coverage of porcelain plates and containers. Beautifully decorated. The items that the Europeans would call "china"; so close was the identification of the objects with China itself.

But more than just objects, the narrative also gives insight into the various Chinese dynasties from which these arose. And also the provinces, like Jiangsu and Anhui, that were artistic centers.

The book, The Arts of China, was book I needed to purchase for a college level Asian Art History class focused on China. Each chapter was divided into dynasties and within each chapter sections were written on: background history, ceramics, paintings, sculpture, and other various topics. There are lovely color pictures with high resolution, which are an essential to any student or scholar studying this art. The writing is clear and even enjoyable. I'd highly reccommend this book!