Pacific Books

I bought this little book years ago from an used book store; it was worn and falling apart. I read it so many times, I added to it's ultimate demise. The binding finally fell apart and the pages were falling out...so it's time to get another copy, (hopefully one that's more intact). Great book!

This book has been a great help to me in getting more out of the parables of Jesus. The chapter on the parable of the Talents is worth far more than the price of the book.

One of Ellen White's great small books, she begins by establishing the reason for Jesus' use of parables and relates that back to our time. The author then proceeds to examine many ofthe famous parables in the gospels. The approach focuses on expanding and explaining the story itself and then proceeds to explain the spiritual significance. the language is simple and the writing flows easily. Clearly the work of an insipred person.

CITY SMART: PORTLAND is a great guide to the Portland, OR, metro area, with lengthy discussions on all the culture, recreation, dining, shopping, and other stuff you'll need to know while visiting there. However, the radio station listing comes up very short, failing to include rock stations KUFO, KRVO, KINK, and KGON. Other than that, though, this book is wonderful, so don't pass it up.

I loved it. It was funny and witty and interesting. For the person moving to Portland, this book is for you. It outlines the areas where one should and should not live. It give detailed and interesting reviews of everything from children's parks to gay bars. It illustrated the history of Portland perfectly and was a hoot to boot. Five stars!

When you browse through the US Travel books for something on Oregon or Portland, this is the one book that you can find that goes beyond the cool places, the neat restaurants and the best deals in hotels. It's comprehensive in terms of including information that a person considering the move to the city will find extremely useful! Thanks, City Smart!

This is the greatest guide book to Smith Rock State Park ever. It has it all. That is all there is to it. This is the perfect guide to the perfect climbing area.

Alan Watts did an excellent job in putting together this guide. The topos and maps are high quality, the photos are excellent and it's easy to navigate. But what really sets this guide apart from many others is the quality of the historical perspective and the overall readability of the text. Watts played an important part in the development of sport climbing in the US and thus was a controversial figure for years. His treatment of those tumultious times is worth the cost of the guide.

One of the best guidebooks out there. The topos and pictures are clear and the descriptions are detailed. The author has probably done all the climbs so he should know. The topos even give specific gear needed at certain places on the climb. Where the author's climbing style lays is obvious, he seems to dislike anything with a chimney. Quality of routes are measured by a 4 star system. The author uses R and X rating. This guide has everything you could ask for. If you only want one guide to the area, this is it.

Latino Voices in the Pacific Northwest is a collection of immigrant stories written as loosely translated spoken monologues, each written from the perspective of recent Spanish-speaking immigrants to the Pacific Northwest, with stories based in the healthcare setting, as well as at work and at home. The book speaks to the experiences of many immigrants and travelers across cultural boundaries. After reading this book time and time again, I still find myself laughing aloud or holding back the tears as different stories move me, which is especially impressive and touching as I wrote the book myself.

Wonderful book, reading it has been "deja vu" page after page. In my opinion, this book should be mandatory for all of those who work with the hispanic community in the medical as well as the legal arena in the United States. Like the author said: it makes you laugh out loud on one page, and moves you to tears the next. I'm seriously thinking on buying at least ten books just to have my community clinic co-workers read it!

A wonderful book. Sensitive and though-provoking. I look forward to more by this talented author!

This book is a beautiful tour of Colorado . Very well-written with gorgeous photographs from the entire state. Reading this was a pleasure. If you love the outdoors, you'll love this book.

I have lived in and traveled through Colorado for 40 years and this beautiful book introduced me to places I didn't know existed.The photos and discriptions of the Colorado prarie are special and I shall be heading that way soon! First however a look at Cripple Creek and Leadville may be in order...I hope this book will inspire us all to save this beautiful state.

The photos in this book are stunning and inspiring, a handsome overview of the state to the north of where I presently live. They are vivid reminders of why I moved to the West many years ago, and reinforce the fragility of Colorado's pristine beauty. What completely dazzled me though, was the splendidly crafted text from Judy Sellers, which made my imagination soar. Who could not be moved by this insightful look at Colorado's 'wild,' documented by someone who is actively working to preserve it? While this makes a beautiful coffee table book, it is much, much more, just like the state it portrays.

I enjoyed reading this book. The author compiled notes, diaries, and letters that he kept from battles in the Pacific during World War II. He also utilized the same sources from friends and colleagues to give their points of view of the battles they fought in. It is quite interesting to me that he waited so long before he actually wrote the book. I enjoyed the book so much that I bought another copy for a friend.

Better late than never. I was raised in the same town as Chuck Walker, went to school with one of his daughters. A few years later I spent a summer working for him during his bush pilot phase. Even then I knew he had been through the mill during the war, but that was about it. Until now.

As something of a WWII history student, the content of the book is what I would expect--good, if rough narrative and unvarnished. Moreover, it captures the man as he was--and still is.

Someplace there is a quote to the effect that if you hammer the American fighting man you forge the finest weapon in the world. This book describes that experience.

I thoroughly enjoyed this personal recollection of the author's participation in various campaigns as an Army officer in combat: Guadalcanal, Bouganville, and the Philippines, as well as R&R in New Caledonia. You get a real feel for what jungle fighting against a tenacious enemy was like. I highly recommend this well written and easy to read title.

I really like the way this book is organized. There are sections such as "Desserts" and "Canyons". When I went to Arizona the last time, I wanted to visit desserts, and I wanted to hike some Canyons, so I could simply read these sections and learn pretty much everything I wanted to know, rather than piece this information together as other travel books make you do (since they are usually organized by area). The organization also allows you to skip information such as "Art" and "History". Of course in the end I ended up being interested in these sections after all, so I read them in the care while I was there. And once again, I could focus on these sections rather than finding this information organized by area.

Long story short: I really like reading about an area by topic of interest, rather than by location. It makes travel planning much easier. Of course, your need may be different (you may be in a certain town and want to figure out what to do for instance...). In that case, this book still is useful (it DOES have short sections on individual locations), but there are other books I use for that type of research.

Overall, I can highly recommend this book. In fact, I will order some of the other books from this series for different states.

This book is incredible. It gives all kinds of details ranging from local interest and lore to general information about the state. It reads like a novel and yet is very informative. Even if you have no intention of ever visiting Arizona, this is still a wonderful book to read and the photographs are breath-taking.

Compass Guides are the best series I have ever read. They are literate and beautifully illustrated, laid out well and very logical to use. Of the Compass Guides I've read, Cheek's Arizona is the best (followed closely by his Santa Fe Guide).

He writes with wit and style. He's not afraid to share his opinion, but never takes for granted that his is the only viewpoint. He also adds a human element that few other guides offer. Frequently you'll find sidebar articles that introduce you to a person whose story particularly illustrates the idea or place in question.

I lived in Arizona for 4 1/2 years. This is the guide that I used to learn the state. I would recommend it to anyone. When my wife and I married in Sedona, Arizona we sent copies of this book to our relatives to acquaint them with the wonderful place they'd be visiting. All who read it were delighted. You'll be, too.

This is such a well structured and informative guide that I do not make my numerous trips into wine country without it.

Its one great failing is that the publishers have not seen fit to update it in over 7 years!

I shopped around extensively at local travel bookstores to find a good wine country book, and I think this one is the best. It has beautiful color pictures on almost every page. Many of the pictures show the wine labels, which helps make the book a nice souvenir for you to remember the wine/winery later. The pictures are supplemented with insightful commentary on the wines, history of each winery, and even pictures/descriptions of the restaurants, lodgings. The maps are also in color, and are detailed for each town. Also included is an events/festivals list and analysis of wine vintages by year. All that, and it's still small enough to carry with you when you visit the wineries.

My wife and I were completely delighted following the "tours" in this guide. The maps, directions and winery descriptions were second to none! Anyone contemplating a trip to the California wine country should consider this book a MUST. Of course, if your not planning a trip, you will be after reading this! We stayed at two different B&B's recommended by the book and were very pleased. The book accurately depicted the quality of the rooms and hospitality of the staff. Again, I highly recommend this wine country guide.

For collectors of Cook Islands memorabilia, this compact classic is a natural purchase. I met Elliot Smith at a San Francisco bookstore about a decade ago and we discussed doing the first edition of Cook Islands Companion together. Unfortunately the timing was wrong and Elliot proceeded alone, while I gave my full attention to a new edition of South Pacific Handbook. I'm told Elliot won't be producing a third edition since the market is too limited and his hotel business now gets priority. That's because while researching Cook Islands Companion, Elliot Smith discovered his own corner of paradise on Muri Beach, where his www.shangri-la.co.ck beach cottages are now in high demand. That provides an added incentive to buy the book: While on Raro - even if you're not staying at Shangri-La - drop in and ask Elliot to personally dedicate your copy. It's a great little guidebook which I've taken along on previous trips to the Cooks, and it's still quite usable as things don't change that fast in the islands! I recommend it.

Like Karen and Paulo Kaiser, my wife and I generally rely on Lonely Planet. But the Cook Islands Companion was a better guide, although I am glad we had both along with us, as the maps of the hiking trails in the Lonely Planet were easier to follow. The descriptions of places to eat, things to do on Rarotonga and Atiu, and the stories of Cook Islands goodies, like the Moko Soap, told by Elliot Smith were fantastic. The book is a little dated and out of print, but if you can find a copy of it, get it before you go!

We have used Lonely Planet guides for many countries, travels and years now, but found the Cook Island LP sad compared to the Cook Islands Companion. In fact, we found the CIC to be one of the best guide books we have ever read! Although it is an older edition, it still is more informative and useful than the more recently published LP. And, if you want to personally meet the author, you can find him, and stay, at his hotel - the Shangri-la Bungalows on Muri lagoon.

I have cookbooks with beautiful, inspirational pictures, and lousy recipes; and I have cookbooks with no pictures and great recipes, but this book has both incredible pictures and fantastic, tasty recipes. It has everything from "safe" chicken curries to the slightly bizzare. I love it!

I've had great success with this cookbook. Receipes, ingredient lists and culinary techniques are very explicit and easily followed. The work in the kitchen is neither simple nor quick; these receipes are not shortcuts. But the results have been very rewarding.

There are so many curry cookbooks already on the market today - most from India - that one might wonder at the need for yet another primer on the subject, but COOKING CURRIES offers a different focus which shows curry can be more than a hot or spicy dish, providing recipes for sweet and sour dishes alike, creating variations on traditional curry flavors, and adding new ingredients to encourage cooks to experiment. Author Lawson has over twenty years experience as a professional chef: COOKING CURRIES reflects this background well, adding historical and cultural notes to the recipes and discussing how different international influences have altered curry dishes.