California Books

Picked this up for an extended Northern California hiking and riding trip. I purchased about four others as well and I used all of them as each has a little something different. Not a single one was useless and none warranted less than 4 stars. I would reccomend doing the same rather than just picking one for your trip.

As a serious S.F. Bay Area cyclist for over 40 years I approach any guidebook to my "back yard" with a certain degree of skepticism, as in "What new can you possibly show me?" I was delighted to find that Ms. Jackson did indeed show me some new mountain biking delights I'd overlooked, but along the way I learned even more new tidbits about what I supposedly already knew. Almost every featured ride has "enrichment" far beyond the necessary trail and topographical stats. No doubt the author learned things from her literary predecessors, which is as it should be, but there is also no doubt she has written the currently definitive off-road guide for mountain bikers of this region. The miracle of the S.F. area is that 5 million people can live so close to so much open space. It is no mean feat to review it all personally, provide directions that are simultaneously explicit and open ended, and simultaneously appeal to the first time rider and a "show me" old time rider such as myself. But Ms. Jackson has done this much, and more. I mean her guide book is not only that, but a fun read as well. Imagine!

If you love moutain biking in the San Francisco Bay Area, then this book is your new best friend!

Detailed maps, great photos and tons of great rides that will challenge and inspire you as well as leave you breathless (both figuratively and literally). This book's detailed descriptions of where to catch the trails and navigate some of the best mountain biking in the world is a must for both locals and visitors to the birthplace of mountain biking. I especially loved the Marin trails section because it opened my eyes to some rides I didn't know about which have now become some of my favorites. And if you love single track riding, then Jackson will take you on some of the most harrowing rides you can imagine -- I've got the scabs and scars on my knees and thighs to prove it!

Buy this book!

Mountain Biking the San Francisco Bay Area is what the title says it is and much more. Lorene Jackson has tackled a huge subject (argueably the area with the largest number of mountain biking options in the country) and covered it well, providing the rider with all he/she needs to know before hitting the trail. But she does more than that. Beyond describing the ride, the terrain, and what's of interest, she makes each ride enticing.

Beyond offering detailed descriptions of 40 rides around the Bay Area, plus 17 more "Honorable Mentions," she provides much background material and information that will equip the novice and intermediate rider to be prepared and assured of a pleasureable experience.

But what I enjoyed most was her breezy enthusiasm that will draw many armchair riders to actually get on a bike and head for the mountains. Lorene Jackson and this book should spread the mountain biking "gospel" beyond it's current circle. I can't wait for her book on Lake Tahoe rides!

I bought this book for my husband, we are both from Mtn.View, which has changed over the years dramatically. So, to see all these old photos of when we grew up in the 50's and 60's in Mtn View was pure delight. All of the photo's in the book speak a million words, taking us way back to when life was simpler, less hectic, and the valley was covered with cherry, apricot, and peach orchards!

This book is awesome! Very amazing photographs of Mt. View before it became Silicon Valley...Hopefully the talented author will do Mt. View (STORIES of America)!!!

I love any opportunity to get my hands on local history; so I have several titles from this series. I just want to report that this specific one, on Mountain View, is especially well done! Where it shows is the care given to the researching of the photo captions. Eg, the captions in this volume detail which way the camera is facing. (This is something I do not universally find in local photo collections.) Also, the photos cover a satisfyingly broad spectrum.

If you are a collector of history of Mountain View, then you might have reason to already own the excellent book "Milestones" by Mary Jo Ignoffo. If you do, then get this one too: the coverage does not overlap.

Paging through this book is like revisiting my young adulthood spent in Mountain View, my favorite city in what is now Silicon Valley. This book is a collection of photos from circa 1900 (old houses) to the 1990s (Shoreline Amphitheater). If you were there in the 1970s - 1990s, paging through this book will bring back a million memories. Look, it's the Mountain Bay Plaza (being built from the TOP DOWN!)! Look, it's the old Emporium! The Old Mill! The hangars at Moffett Field! The garbage dump that became Shoreline! Castro street over many years! Isn't that bank now a bar?! Fantastic! (I don't know if it's profound, but it's FUN!)

Being an Insider myself, I've seen guides and addresses sold for years. Most of which are a joke. But not this one. E.J. Fleming never fails. He's one of the most prolific and talented writers of our time and this book is a must have for movie and star buffs! Thank you - thank you!

This is a terrific book to use to navigate the Hollywood area for anyone interested in the movies. We drive up and down streets with my husband calling out names and events and loved it. We are locals in the San Fernando Valley and for the LA person comenting that changes have occurred in the area and streets over the years, "duh!." Some of the addresses are 100 years old but in the odd case that a street is not there or has been moved, as far as we could tell there was a note included. We didn't check everything, but we didn't have any problem using the lists. THis is a great resource for movies and LA history and great fun for vacations. It's heavy though!

I envision E.J. Fleming huddled over a pc reviewing census information and entering data in a database and cross checking it against his formidable stacks of notebooks. E.J. is tired, tired, tired. He has worked day and night so I don't have to. Stop, I'm just kidding but this is an incredible collection of information. I am in total awe re: how someone could collect so much data, collate it, and present it in an easily accessible manner.
This directory is exactly what is implied. It is an enormous collection of addresses relating to celebrity homes, film locations, historical sites.......and here's the kicker.....the locations of scandals and crimes. That having been said, this is not a rolling narrative that relates a lot of juicy stories and histories. It presents the facts and it is up to the user to draw in the lines and reach his/her own conclusions.
So why did I drop $75 for this book. I was weary doing this type of research with only lukewarm results and a relatively miniscule database. This book has everything and I can let my fingers do the walking.
Now here is my warning. I reiterate don't buy this if you are expecting a lot of lurid stories as there really aren't any per se. However, buy this book if you want to know things like all the places Humphrey Bogart resided in LA, who cohabitated with Ramon Novarro, or where Laurel and Hardy filmed a lot of their classic shorts. Buy this book if you have a curious mind and the information provided has you asking other questions.
This is an impressive collection of information.

I am a tour guide in Hollywood - one of the very few that actually research our tours. I thought I knew a lot about Hollywood, but this book made my jaw hit the floor.

Mr. Fleming has published the BIBLE for Celebrity addresses. The most comprehensive book on stars homes I have ever poured through. I've even turned a few of my colleagues on to the book, who their own copies immediately.

You've made my job easier Mr. Fleming, and you have published a riveting and important document.

This was the first in the Delafield series that I read and I've been an addict ever since. This book, along with Beverly Malibu, is one of the best in the series and an excellent read. Great story of how lesbians react to their own who wear badges, and how those women officers deal with it.

This book is perfect to me. Every actor seems to be alive. And if you know L.A., you know the Nightwood Bar and every place in this book.

A young woman is found murdered outside a lesbian bar, and Kate Delafield is on the case. The young woman was a prostitute and a junkie who was rejected by her judgmental parents, all of which gives Kate a plethora of suspects. During the investigation, Kate has a brief liaison with a woman from the lesbian bar, and ultimately reconnects with the lesbian community, which she hadn't done for years. And when Kate discovers who killed the young woman, it's a jolt to the reader as well, even if, like myself, you suspected it. Forrest is a gifted writer, showing in her second Delafield mystery the reasons why she has such a devoted following.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! The character development was well thought out, the plot was superiour, and the entire book held my attention from beginning to end! It's also nice to see a lesbian main character go through "real life".

Katherine V. Forrest, in her Kate Delafield series manages to present a tight, taut mystery along with a political statement, which she doesn't present in a heavy-handed manner. The two just seem to blend seemlessly and if you want to ignore the message (if you can), then you can simply enjoy the mystery. Kate and her dullard partner, Ed Taylor, investigate the murder of Teddie Crawford, a very "out" gay man. In fact, even he calls himself a queen. Teddie was stabbed about 40 times, which indicates to Kate that it was more than just a simple robbery. The first half of the book describes Kate and Ed cornering the killer. The fact that the killer, himself, was hurt badly is a big help to Kate as well as the description given by one of Teddie friends, Gloria. Watching Kate using her interrogative skills to trap this man is very tense, especially since she knows that without a confession all they have is circumstantial evidence. As good as the "law" part of the story is, the "order" part is really more fascinating and suspenseful. Kate has found out that the killer's attorney is someone she knows slightly but someone who knows her secret. Throughout the trial, she wonders how he will try to bring it out and taint her testimony. Sadly, no matter what the outcome of this fictional trial, Forrest shows that gaybashing is alive and well in these United States.

I read this book in one afternoon. I was drawn in by the emotion of the killing as well as the trial. I found this book to display the court system at it's weakest and loved the heroine, Kate.

I loved this book. I just found the Kate Delafield series and can't wait to read all the books in this series.

In the Delafield series, this book ranks as one of the most, if not the most, meaningful stories. It didn't have the love scenes I so deeply enjoy reading but the story line more than made up for that. Excellent reading!

_Murder by Tradition_ is an excellent fictionalized account of an actual, brutal, premeditated murder of a gay man, for no reason other than the fact that he was gay. The story is very well told and I didn't want to put the book down from beginning to end.

The first half is devoted to the discovery of the facts of the case and of the identity of the killer. The second half the story of the trial. The suspense is not in discovering the identity of the gaybasher, but in whether or not he will escape punishment.

The victim was stabbed 39 times and bled to death, but the killer has deep wounds on his own hands and claims he was defending himself from a gay man who tried to force him to have sex. There were no witnesses. Can Detective Kate Delafield discover the clues that will convince a jury of what really happened?

..that it wasn't 500 pages longer! What a fun read about often tragic stories. I haven't lived in Fresno all that long, so ALL of these stories were new to me. I am a history and a crime buff, so this well written book was right up my alley. Now I need to take a Saturday and go on a self guided "ghoul tour" using this book as a sort of road map.

Just one glimps at the cover, and a quick skim of the first few pages was enough to draw my family into this book. My wife and I read the book out loud, taking turns every few pages. This book has a little of everthing suspence, history, etc. I reguad this book as esential reading for anyone who lives in the central valley, and a must for lawenforcement.
jason

This book is of interest to me because I live in the Corcoran, CA area and am impressed with the attention to detail given to these historical crimes. The pictures were superb for being as old as they are and the author worked very hard collecting all this data. I am a fan of mystery/crime novels and was enthralled all the more since it is a true account of actual happenings. Hats off to all who made this publication possible!!!

I cannot begin to describe how much I enjoyed Scott Morrison's new book, "Murder in the Garden." Who would have guessed, when walking to school as a child near the corner of Cedar and Dakota Avenues, that a grizzly murder had occurred there. Or, riding down Gettysburg Avenue on a family outing passed the site of another murder. Living far away now so many years later, what fun it is to read of events that once shocked Fresno County citizens. Great reading! I hope more stories will follow.

I read this book as part of a research project that I'm doing. Mr. McKenna did an outstanding job of presenting historical facts, bibliographic material and his own opinions. I highly recommend this book to anyone wanting to further understand the Southern Philippines and the growing strength of the Muslim movement.

Dr. McKenna has obviously spent a great deal of time and study in the southern Philippines. His insights are thought-provoking. I highly recommend this book.

This volume gives us an interesting ethnography of an impoverished slum in Cotabato City called Campo Muslim. The author protracts his study of the slum to encompass anthropological contributions to understanding Gramscian hegemony, nationalism, colonial histories, formation of new, post-traditional elites, and subaltern resistance. Most useful in this book is the account of the construction of Muslim national identity and the account of the elections in the late 80s wherein the Muslim and Islamist participants made an unexpectedly poor showing giving most of the victories to Christian candidates. Parts of the book are uneven; however, the account is consistent to his methodology from the outside and he allows the information to lead him--always be circumspect that ideology or presuppositions don't lead his interpretations by the nose at least in matters of peasant politics. In other words, the peasant remains an autonomous political actor that doesn't merely parrot and conform to the requests of the socially more advantaged.

The most glaring flaw in the book was what I personally found to be an over-identification with Muslim Filippinos over and against Christian Filippinos. Armed separatist movements are portrayed sympathetically, whereas 'Christian' efforts, whether in terms of national integration, militant attemtps to stop succession, and even charity are treated as all being pernicious acts directed against Muslims. One example was the characterization of Mother Theresa's charity for children in the city as being 'perverse' without any such acerbic criticisms for the vicious effects of separatism movement and the deaths it caused given. The same goes for foreign actors. In the work, American actions in the Philippines are sinister and undermine Philippine Muslim identity; whereas, Libyan, Saudi Arabian, and Egyptian interference are merely catalysts for social change.

I'd been flying to and from Cotabato City, the site of Mckenna's research, almost every month for last few months. I'm a Catholic, but the fact is, if you are on business in Cotabato City, you talk to and deal with Muslims. The Muslims I met, Maguindanaons for the most part, were personable and likeable. They're nothing like the vagabond bad guys I heard about from my elders in the 70s, my growing up years and the years of the war in Mindanao.

I also have Catholic relatives who've been there since the 1930s. In one of the early chapters of his book, McKenna wrote that many Christians in Cotabato City knew next to nothing about how Muslims really live and what Muslims really are because they choose not to know.

I believe he's correct since what my Christian cousins and friends say, which is sometimes patronizing and not at all complimentary, do not seem to mesh with what I know of the Muslims I've met in the course of work. In my conversations with my Muslim associates, they eagerly welcome inquiries about what Islam is all about but they are not about to insist that you convert to Islam.

But then again, my cousins and friends been living there for years on end so they should know what they're talking about, right? These days, Cotabato City is a city unlike any I've been to in the Philippines, even among the bigger cities in Mindanao. There is an almost equal number of Christians and Muslims and the physical features of the city reflect this.

I have yet to test this theory, but I think McKenna's book might prove provocative to Muslims who espouse separatism or federalism (as a "softer" form of separatism). McKenna traces the beginnings of a separate Muslim identity to gentle tending by American educators of young Muslim minds who went on to become national leaders and local datus.

I'll be sending a copy of the book to a conservative Muslim Maguindanaon who had some harsh words to say about the 1898 Treaty of Paris and the Americans who governed Mindanao thereafter. It would be interesting to find out what he thinks after reading Mckenna, who wrote mostly of his people, the Maguindanaons.

On another level, I believe this book should be required reading for all Filipinos. Our required history courses concentrate too much on Philippine history in Luzon and the Visayas. We Christian Filipinos hardly know anything about Mindanao except that our national hero, Jose Rizal, was exiled in Dapitan in Zamboanga. (Now, what we know is that Basilan, also in Western Mindanao is the site of the Balikatan activities of American and Filipino soldiers against the Abu Sayyaf, and that Zamboanga is the city center for the Americans.)

The reasons for the rebellion of Christian Filipinos against Spanish and American rule are analyzed to death in our history books and even given symbolic parallels to the Passion of Christ. But no narration even of the Mindanao rebellion against colonial rule is part of our required reading in Philippine history.

During one visit to Cotabato City, an old Maguindanaoan lady proudly told me, a Filipina Catholic from Luzon with a Spanish name and an American education, that her people had never been colonized unlike my forebears. I had nothing to say. But I would be honored if she considered me her countrywoman in spite of everything.

Just the other night, I watched a documentary feature of a battle fought to the death by Maranaos, another Muslim group, against the Americans in 1902 in the town of Bayang in Lanao del Sur. After the battle, only five Maranao men were left alive. Even women and children were killed, their bodies dumped in the trenches. Around 10 American soldiers were killed. American sources tell the story that towards the end of the battle, a white flag was flown outside the fort in Bayang. Thus, they say, the Maranaos surrendered. Actually, among Muslims, a white flag is flown to indicate a death.

Desperate times call for desperate measures, so the saying goes. But what if, in your desperation, you are alone, with nothing but the clothes on your back? And, then, what if you lose those clothes, too? Such are the desperate times of 24-year-old Rita Jackson, who finds herself homeless on the streets of San Francisco, trying to avoid heroin and prostituting herself for money for booze, cigarettes and cheap motel rooms. Rita is the sad, lonely and unforgettable protagonist of Kim Addonizio's new novel, MY DREAMS OUT IN THE STREET.

After a nasty fight, Rita's husband, the dashing and only slightly less dysfunctional Jimmy, storms out of their apartment. By the time we meet them a year later, they have lost each other in the city. Rita circles the city, visiting the places they frequented together. She has lost everything in the previous year, starting with her husband, until she is homeless and strung out --- with no money, no ID and eventually no clothes. She is haunted by her past --- a childhood filled with abandonment, rape, abuse and even murder. Without Jimmy (and even with him), she drinks to numb herself but feels guilty and ashamed of her actions and even for the things done against her.

Jimmy is looking for Rita, but with less intensity as Rita's search for him. He is working as a waiter in a fancy restaurant and has an apartment where he can listen to his blues records. He hangs out in bars with friends, trying (mostly unsuccessfully) to stay out of trouble. He gets a tattoo with Rita's name under a heart, but twice he sees her, disheveled and alone on the street, and doesn't go to her. He, too, is overcome with guilt and shame.

After Rita witnesses a crime in the hallway of a scummy motel, she meets Gary Shepard, a private investigator assigned to the case. Charming and strong, Gary at first feels like a safe presence for Rita. But his attraction to her becomes too intense, and she's still in love with Jimmy. Soon, Rita's life is spiraling down faster than ever. She and Gary end up together in a motel with no belongings and very little money, and a killer is after her because of what she saw in the motel hallway. After leaving Gary, she becomes vulnerable to the madman's clutches; still, she seeks Jimmy and holds on to the hope of their reunion.

MY DREAMS OUT IN THE STREET is intense and gritty. Rita, Jimmy, Gary and the other shadowy characters are all damaged and depressed, violent to themselves and to others. But this is also a love story. Jimmy and Rita seem, in the traditional literary sense, destined to be together --- it's just a matter of finding their way to each other again. We are not given a concrete conclusion but are left feeling hopeful for the couple in the near future (although to contemplate their long-term success doesn't engender much hope at all).

Addonizio's prose is light and forthright --- a realism verging on lyricism, without sentimentality but not lacking beauty. MY DREAMS OUT IN THE STREET is short but doesn't feel sparse at all, and in fact readers may be left wanting more. This is a dark and disturbing, yet oddly romantic, summer tale worth checking out.

--- Reviewed by Sarah Rachel Egelman

Well, this is an amazing book. I've known Addonizio was a phenomenal poet (my personal favorite), but now it seems she is a fantastic fiction writer as well. This book has easily made my list of favorites. It's a tragic love story that picks up where her book of poems, Jimmy & Rita, leaves off. It's a quest that these two young people have in finding each other and the pitfalls that life places in their way. I look forward to more from Addonizio.

I have been a fan of Kim Addonizio's work for several years now. I own and have read almost all of her poetry and fiction. Her latest novel "My Dreams Out in the Street" amplifies her versatility as a poet and fiction writer. She is an inspiration to any woman who seeks to write vivid and honest stories or poems.
I finished this book in three days and later felt bad for going through it so fast, but it was that compelling. The pictures she paints of Jimmy and Rita's lives are gritty and beautiful at the same time. The reader feels every thing that they feel with Addonizio's precise, descriptive language. I highly recommend this book as well as her other works. She'll have you hooked.

Kim Addonizio is a marvelous original. She writes like a divine union of Flannery O'Conner and Virginia Woolf, William Faulkner and Raymond Chandler. She's one of the most unadorned, artful spiritual writers I know.

My Dreams Out in the Street has everything I look for in a contemporary novel.

Rita, its lead character, is compelling. Alternately sexy, mysterious, stupid, resourceful, and inept, She moves through San Francisco's underbelly with unflagging desperation. Struggling to survive, Rita is one of those people who never got an even break. She wants to climb out of the hole she's in to a better life, but doesn't know how. She's hungry to get right with God, who appeared to her once in a childhood vision but has been woefully absent since, and she wants to find Jimmy, her husband who left their apartment one night after an argument and disappeared. Along the way, she sees something she shouldn't, is hunted by a psychotic deadbeat, and hooks up with a married private investigator who helps her and promises to find Jimmy.

The story alternates between these three points of view, and Addonizio does a masterful job of interweaving the characters' separate-yet-parallel stories, especially through the last third of the book as the plot quickens and various elements come together in surprising, satisfying ways. Without giving away everything, I can tell you that I lost two good nights' sleep fearing that Rita would soon be murdered.

All through the narrative, Addonizio's eye for nuance, description, and detail is a gifted poet's eye. Her depictions of homelessness and desperate urban street life are achingly poignant and scary. And yet, and yet! She believes in grace, in spiritual integrity:

"The streetlights came on all together. Lights began flaring in windows up and down the block, where people were returning to families or friends, looking forward to the holiday; soon they would give thanks, grateful to spend a few hours with those they had chosen or been given to love, those they had gathered around them to help them live."

I wish I'd written that! Reward yourself for any little or big thing and spend some time with this book. If you're paying attention, if you've got a pulse, you can't help but fall in love with these characters and their creator.

--Robert McDowell, the Poetry Mentor & author of Poetry as Spiritual Practice, which is coming (July, 2008) from Free Press/Simon & Schuster.

I could not put My Peaceful Forest by Elaine Breen down until I had read the entire book! Whether you're a resident of Pacific Grove, California, or not, Elaine's insight and humor will keep you turning the pages. My Peaceful Forest will make you smile, will tug at your heart a little but mainly is a simple tale of life and it's ups and downs from a Mother's, Grandmother's, and Wife's perspective.

Elaine's writing makes you laugh and cry and wish you were sitting with her in the park! I had to put the book down so I wouldn't finish the whole book the first day!

"My Peaceful Forest" is hilarious! Give yourself a treat and turn off that computer and cell phone for an hour, and I guarantee you will smile all the way through this refreshing book. If we all viewed life through the eyes of this author, society would be stress-free indeed! It's easy to relate to the lighthearted memoirs of this REAL family. Elaine Breen epitomizes the phrase, "stop and smell the roses".

I loved "My Peaceful Forest"! Elaine has such a refreshing writing style. I just came in from shoveling a foot of snow, and I curled up to a warm fire, a cup of tea and got lost in this book. It's best to read it when you want to get away from it all after a tough day. 105 pages of delight. It makes you want to visit the village of Pacific Grove, have a piece of apple pie at Toasties or sitting on the park bench watching the seals and otters swimming near the beach (but not together). I share Elaine's love of cows and Snickers bars. I wonder if you sprinkle chocolate chips on a cow, will you get chocolate milk? (you have to read the book to understand that). Anyway, great job once again Elaine! May God be with you when you bring your '82 Volvo in for its 500,000 mile checkup....I can't wait for your next book.

book came in excellent condition, on time, as expected.

The Nan Jing is a fundamental book in the study of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM).
A lot of books of TSM were translated, but often the translation is not correct or definitively wrong or bizarre.
In this case we have a monumental work with a unique coincidence of positive situations.
The author of the revision is Paul Unshuld, a giant of the study of TCM.
Absolutely no doubt on the knowledge of the language and the understanding of the text.
The original text is present in the book and Paul added the main commentary at the text written by the most famous studious of TCM of all ages.
If you love TCM and you want to understand all subtle questions of this fine art, this is a book you must have.
A concentrate of Chinese TCM, language and culture like no other book.

Unschuld is a scholar, a genuine translator that doesn't leave much to the imagination. His understanding of the cultural contexts (as there are many) in which TCM grew are un-matched in terms of written text. Get his books, if not for the honest look he takes at TCM, but for the fact that his works are the bread and butter of TCM. The gross ignorance of the classics among so called "Doctors of TCM" in the western world is amazing. Don't guess about TCM, either learn to read Chinese or get good translations of the classics. Not pocket translations at a American grade five reading level. If we expect people to view us as Doctors, we should study like one.

If your professors don't quote the classics, they don't understand TCM. If you haven't read them you're really limiting your potential.

This book is the most profound, deep work that has ever been done on this book. As practitioners of Chinese medicine we allways read and give attention to the two books of the Huang Ti Nei Ching,the Su Wen and the Ling Shu. The nan Ching is a must for every Chinese Medicine practitioner. This book gives many aspects that made me think again on theories and practical aspects that I use every day as teacher and practitioner.
It is pointless to mention the vast knowledge and contribution that Pro. Unsculd bring to the field, saying that it is allways has been great to read his books.