California - Santa Barbara Books

Ron Ely has done it again. Book has a well contrived plot with interesting beach characters. The volleyball techniques and play was laudable and blended in beautifully with the overall plot. Ron Ely can craft the finest plots and his Jake Sands protagonist is as good as you will find.

Great book. I have lived in Santa Barbara for nearly 15-years and Ron's does a great job of describing the "REAL" SB. The plot is sound and the pacing is excellent.

The Rumor is that he has written three additional novels, but the third Jake Sands novel was too heavily edited for his tastes by the publisher so he has chosen not to release it.

This is a shame, if the rumor is true.

If I ever bump into Ron here in town, I will try to get the facts and report back.

Maybe we should all email Simon & Schuster and express our desire for more Ron Ely works to see the light of day...

Great book. Ticks me off that the author has obviously been under-promoted by his publisher/agent. I enjoyed Ely's book for the ambience of Southern California/Santa Barbara, and for writing extremely well. Few authors, especially mystery writers, sound so natural.

The opening and closing lines in this book says it all. "Just another lousy day in paradise". The characters are so real you feel that you know them. Kudos to Ron Ely and I hope there are more on the way. The storyline is tight and the dialouge is as smooth as a single malt whiskey. I've read this book and Night Shadows several times.

I have always been a Travis McGee fan. Loved most of what John D. MacDonald wrote, but then came Ron Ely and Jake Sands. Never have I been so captivated by such a set of characters and the setting of Santa Barbara. If I could give ten stars, I would.

This book was more than I expected, well written, beautiful pictures. It is the second book I have gotten by this author. Plus it came to me quickly and in perfect condition. Thanks!

I am not related to the author (like the previous reviewer). Loved this book. Couldn't put it down. I'm a long time organic gardener but I found this California farm story fascinating. As soon as I finished it my 18 year old daughter grabbed it and it doesn't look like I'll get it back soon. Two of her friends are in line to read it. Lovely photographs,too.

Reading Michael Ableman's book was like stumbling upon his personal journal. I could imagine it's dirt-stained, hand-written pages - the miscellaneous seed or wind-blown earthen particles stuck deep in the creases of the binding. This book is filled with earnest, intimate tales - the everyday woes and triumphs of a gentle farmer, side-by-side with the battle stories of a true community activist. It is his journey that I found so fascinating, so inspiring. Ableman's story is compelling because he has been on the good path and done the good work for a long time - more than 17 years. From the early days of setting up the produce stand on weekends at a local farmer's market, to lamenting a killing winter frost, he draws the reader into the drama. Ableman's intensely close relationship with the land is his reward for paying close attention to its needs. His goals were clear - to grow healthy food for local people in a way that respected the land's ability to sustain itself. He learned by doing, followed his intuition, and made tough decisions based on what was right, or what he believed to be right at the moment. This book offers its readers as much "food for thought" about life, as it does about farming!

I live in a desert climate, so farming is something that interests me in this desolate place I live in. I really enjoyed this book because of the success story and the farming aspect of the book. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes farms.

This book was an inspiration to read. It gives me hope that urban sprawl might be contained in some small parts of the world. It's also a good guide to organic farming and living, and getting past the "hippie" stereotype that organics still have. I'd highly recommend this book.

Although I was somewhat disappointed with its reference to only three hummingbird species, I've identified several others found in other sources, this book has been helpful with identifying certain bird feeder visitors like the House Finch. I had thought all the small birds in my yard were simply common House Sparrows. A pair of binoculars nearby, come in extremely handy in making out minor details and color patterns. A must for those living in the L.A. area newly addicted to bird watching.

Excellent. This is real book put together with loving care. Also useful for those who sail the coastal waters and who might wonder what kind of little warbler is hitching a ride on the sailboat in San Pedro Bay.

I have tried identifying birds with other books before, and I usually gave up in frustration because there'd be, like, 20 birds that mine could possibly be related to, but no exact match. These were mainly books that covered all of North America, or all of the Pacific states.

With "Birds of Los Angeles," I have actually identified several birds! The pictures are big and colorful, the information (habits, habitat, etc.) enough to tell you what you casually want to know. Its dimensions are compact but it is a little heavy, because of the weight of the glossy paper, but not impossible to take along backpacking.

20 years ago Los Angeles had over one hundred bad quality days (smoggy days). During 1997 only three bad quality days were called.

I suppose the birds never left the place, but now they are more beautiful then ever, and it is a pleasure to go outside to see them.

This book is a wonderful illustrated identification tool, it will augment your enjoyment of birding through this magnificent region.

This book easily deserves a 5 Star rating. It is, I think, the best book to get if you are beginning to get interested in birdwatching and live in the Los Angeles area. First, it is comprehensive - it covers almost all of the birds one is likely to encounter when doing basic birdwatching locally. Second, the illustrations are nicely done and large in size, making it easy for the beginning birder to identify area birds. (Although pictures may seem "better" to the beginning birdwatcher, as you gain experience birdwatching you will eventually learn that illustrations are usually better for birding field guides than photographs.) Third, it is thorough and engaging, each species' listing contains habitat and basic behavior information, (written in a short, concise way - see photos) list of similar species, "quick i.d." guides, and month to month abundance charts. This is all presented in easy to understand, non-pretentious language that is easy for anyone to read, though he also includes a glossary of difficult terms. To round out the complete effort, he includes a few birdwatching sites in Los Angeles (though this is very limited and you'll want to look up more information on each site online), as well as a list of further books you can look at and a list of birds that you can check-off as you go along. Finally, as one would expect of a field guide, the book itself is well made and durable, the spine is sturdy and the pages glossy - a good thing if you end up dropping it along trails (as I have) or read it from cover to cover several times (again, as I have). I disagree with a previous review - it is very lightweight much more manageable than most other field guides. (Amazon's estimate of 9 ounces sounds about right.)

To sum up, this is the book that got my son and I both hooked on birdwatching, and it is still the first book my son (8 years old) chooses to take with him to birdwatch around Los Angeles. It is a superb effort and, at $9.95, a great value. If you remain interested in birdwatching after this guide, you can always "upgrade" to the much more thorough and technical Sibley's Guide to Birds later on. Even though I have Sibley's, I'm looking forward to purchasing the San Diego version of this guide soon!

Steve Edwards' book was my first purchase as an avid rockclimber when I visited Santa Barbara in January 2002 to prepare for my transfer to the area. Even before using the guide to locate the local climbing I enjoyed it immensely for the history and personal flavor given by the author.

There is much more to this book than a climbing guide. It is also a personal pilgrimage. Steve experienced a golden era in Santa Barbara climbing that he describes so vividly yet knows has passed forever. His is the passion of a personal life transition that we all go through and there is both joy and sadness in the writing. His obsessive intensity and endurance for physical training is mirrored by an affection for caffeine, alcohol and nicotine that make him such an interesting character. Steve is also a movie connoisseur from his early days running a video shop in the student quarter (Isla Vista) next to UCSB and he blends this knowledge with climb descriptions for occasional flashes of brilliant humor. And I should refrain from commenting on the Reverend Speefknarkle! Steve's defining picture is buffed and honed on "Pieces of You" atop the fantastic Pine Mountain boulderfield.

The book fulfills its primary purpose as a tool for guiding the climber in locating and selecting appealing routes exceptionally well. My copy is already dogeared and marked up with yellow highlights after just one season and it has never led me astray. Only rarely have I disagreed with the grades Steve gives for difficulty and quality but this is to be expected for these subjective ratings.

In summary, this book is a must buy for any climber interested in the Santa Barbara - Ventura region yet it has deeper appeal as literature capturing one man's personal journey through the 90's. How we all wish to turn back the hands of time!

I visit the Santa Barbara area often. So I picked up this book and thumbed through and became intrigued enough to buy it. Not for the rock climbing information (although the personality and names given to each trail had me captivated); instead I became curious to know this philosophical guide writer, Steve Edwards. Formerly thinking all rock climbers were a bunch of daredevils, this guide opened my eyes to the depth of committment it takes to be a rock climber, much less, write a guide! And their love of the earth is more honest and real than most armchair environmentalists. Reading this book definitely helped me grow. I hope you will read it and then go hug a rock - and maybe even a rockclimber!

I am the author of this title and didn't know where else to submit corrected info. The book is called: Rock Climbing: Santa Barbara & Ventura

220 pages

The guide features over one thousand routes and boulder problems along California's central coast from the outskirts of Los Angeles to the wine country north of Santa Barbara.

I have a jpg of the cover that I will send to you if you email me at: mannyvarjak@hotmail.com

Whether served up with a tray of Bombay Sapphire martinis (shaken, two olives) or a six-pack of ice cold Oly, let this text be your companion to some of the best and most scenic climbing areas in America! Looking for steep, gargantuan sport routes that make your tendons twitch just looking at 'em? How about classic sandstone slabs with holds so fragile they may break if you merely pass gas? Or maybe you're into divine boulderfields so vast that first ascents are possible until Jesus comes back to spot you? This book has it covered. Steve Edwards has done a first class job of directing you in entertaining fashion to the climbing, history, and lifestyle that Santa Barbara climbing is all about. Read it over coffee and cigarettes not just as a guide, but as fine literature. It's better than 'Atlas Shrugged', and shorter too!

This book really shows the heart of Santa Barbara through beautiful photography that really captures all aspects of such an amazing city-- we are using it for guests to sign at our Santa Barbara wedding :)

I have been a Santa Barbara resident for over twenty years and the book truly captures the beauty of our city. We recently purchased the book for family in Germany so they can share in the blessing we call our home.

Sven Klein - Santa Barbara, CA

The pictures are increadible. This truly captures the beauty of Santa Barbara. There are many shots from areas that most tourists will never see. This is a great book to suplement a travel book to help plan a trip.

It's a wonderful book for keepsake!
Great pictures that capture the beauty of Santa Barbara; the book also provides ideas for sightseeing. With the book, you don't have to worry that you don't take good pictures or you miss any thing. If you enjoyed sight seeing or taking photos, this that sure worth what you'd paid for it..

John M. Daniel's VANITY FIRE tells of a publishing firm which burns to the ground, leaving a body and a total loss. For Guy, it's the end of a career and a lover - and possibly the beginning of a new career and encounters with two strippers. It's a Faustian arrangement that blends the irony and terror of murder with a pact that could rescue or condemn Guy in this excellent mystery.

Diminutive Guy Mallon runs a small press firm with his partner Carol Murphy in picturesque Santa Barbara, California. Guy agrees to accept payment from Fritz Marburger to publish singer Lorraine Evans' novel. Fritz, a pushy and shady character, lets it slip that Lorraine's novel might be autobiographical, and the news media swarms her. Upset, Lorraine decides she wants out of the deal.

Guy is left facing debt and paying the rent on a huge warehouse, not to mention the stacks of unsold books. Then his warehouse burns and a dead body is discovered inside it. This is all told to us tongue-in-cheek by the crusty, affable Guy. And how can you not like Guy? He owns an enviable collection of first-edition poetry volumes and has a big heart to boot. But his judgment sometimes isn't the wisest or most practical. A briskly paced mystery, VANITY FIRE is more of a caper about Guy working his way out of a jam with the help of his many equally colorful friends. A fun read.

Guy Mallon is perfectly content running his small publishing company with his business partner and lover Carol Murphy. Trouble comes to the happy couple when retired businessman Fritz Marburger offers to pay them to publish his young lover's book. The author is fancy jazz singer Lorraine Evans. Once Carol and Guy read it, they believe they have a hit on their hands. Marburger is Lorraine's agent and together they set up a publicity scenario where the singer appears on Oprah and does a spread in People.

When Lorraine nixes the People article and refuses to go on Oprah, sales plummet. The warehouse that Guy rents from Marburger to store the books inside also has a tenant, Roger, who is running a POD scam and making a fortune. Carol leaves Guy who in order to avoid bankruptcy; he goes in on the POD scam with one of his authors. The warehouse burns down and all his books are gone. The police determine the cause of the fire is arson and a body is found in the ruins. Roger has disappeared and Guy intends to find him and earn back his self esteem that he lost by dealing with a criminal.

John M. Daniel has written an adrenaline racing, heart bumping crime caper that has so many interesting plot twists that readers really don't have a clue who besides Roger is the antagonist. What this reviewer likes about VANITY FIRE is that nobody can predict what will happen next. This leads to a one sitting reading to find out how Guy's problem all turn out.

Harriet Klausner

Reviewed by Beverly Pechin for Reader Views (7/06)
"Vanity Fire" is truly a suspense novel that as you piece together the facts, you will always come up short. Never ending guessing evolves into utter surprise as you read into the lives of the characters and think you know the answers. The key word here is Think. Fortunately for us, Mr. Daniel knows how to keep you drawing conclusions but never finding answers.
This nonstop thriller will seriously challenge the best of mystery solvers. "Vanity Fire" is a well-written piece of literature that truly would be a wonderful addition to any mystery and thriller collector.
Guy and Carol think all their dreams have come true as they are suddenly blessed with an offer they can't refuse that will put their tiny, lifeless publishing business into the headlines with a best selling novel and a financial backing. But is the dream for real or does it come with unthinkable consequences?
Peppering the story with absolutely wonderful characters, so well described that you know exactly the type he's talking about, you will enjoy seeing some of the most interesting people you've met in a long time become fully engulfed in a rather "scorching" situation. Combining mystery, business, romance, murder and some pretty good disappearing acts, you will come up drawing conclusion after conclusion only to read a few pages further and go "I can't believe it!" as your intuitions are quickly put back on the shelf to rest.
Excellent writing, wonderful characterizations, and an even more intense plot than some of the best mystery writers of today's literature have been able to bring out. Highly recommended for anyone that just can't seem to find a book they truly can't "figure out" before the end, because I guarantee that what you think is happening, definitely is not!

I bought 2 of these for gifts and 1 for myself. The drawings and photos in field guides are always too small. The pictures of flowers in this book leave no doubt about what your're looking at. Non-native (alien) species are identified. Even pine cones and insects are identified. The introduction about habitats, pollinators, soils, climate,etc. is well written. There is a discussion about cameras, lenses and film used. This is not a comprehnsive field guide, but it will help most amateur naturalists identify many common plants. I love this book and hope the authors continue their wonderful work. Last, but perhaps most importantly, this book is incredibly afforable.

An "Elegant Book of California Flora" (as stated in the preface). The book has ~135 gorgeous plates of wildflower pictures, some closeup and some landscapes. The flowers are identified with both common names as well as scientific ones. Dates and locations are shown for each photo. This book is more a photographic study than a wildflower identification book.

Picture books are great. This one is the best. For detail, color, clarity, texture, composition -- every photo is a prize winner. 5 stars!

This is a book to cherish. Larry Ulrich's large format photography brings us into a world of beauty. From the grand views to the tiny details, everything is perfection. All flowers were taken in their setting and at their best. I have the 1994 edition. Printing is one of the sharpest I have seen and colors are sumptuous.

Having recently re-located to the Northcoast of California, we became captivated by this great collection of photographs. All of our family and friends received copies to celebrate the beauty of the Northcoast. This collection is a great way to share what we see every day.

I grew up in Fort Bragg (along the Mendocino Coast) and got my Bachelor's degree at Humboldt State University (just north of Eureka), and I now live in Lansing, Michigan. I love Michigan, but I miss the majestic, rugged scenery of the North Coast of California. This book brought me back to the sights of my memory with such excellent quality photographs, I am tempted to buy it for all of my friends who've moved away from California. Thank you to the authors for choosing the places I love (Fern Canyon, Trinidad Head, Russian Gulch) and for including some of the creatures not found in the Midwest (salamanders, banana slugs!)

This guide gave me all of the information I needed to have a wonderful vacation. The information was candid, and thoughtfully presented. There were many tidbits of information/ sights I would never had thought to see if it wasn't for this book. My vacation consisted of renting a car at LAX touring along the coast (stopping at places recommended in the guide) Heading down to San Diego and then returning to LAX by traveling inland and seeing Temecula etc. It was a fun filled 10 days and all I used was this guide. If you just want the basic tourist jargon, buy a Frommers guide, not a hidden one... :-)

This guide book covers all the bases, and even includes interesting historical digests of various districts in the Los Angeles area, the high desert and the low desert. The information is organized to assist tourists on short or longer visits, includes lots of "hidden" opportunities to eat, sightsee, or shop away from the beaten path, and is even helpful for a new resident to the L.A. area, who may not be sure where to start digesting this incredible city or the landscape around it. Highly recommended.

Hannaford's book is an excellent resource for anyone interested in knowing how the President lived (and worked) away from the White House. The pictures were also excellent.

Ronald Reagan And His Ranch: The Western White House 1981-1989 is a solidly written, vividly presented, behind-the-scenes insider look at the ranch owned by the Reagans during Ronald Reagan's tenure as President of the United States and which came to be nicknamed by the press as the "Western White House". From the security difficulties the ranch posed for the secret service, to humorous anecdotes, to visits by famous and powerful people, and enhanced with black-and-white as well as color photographs, Ronald Reagan And His Ranch is a unique contribution to school and community library American History, and a highly recommended study of the beloved personal retreat of one of America's most popular 20th Century presidents.