Pacific Books

If you've never been to the sites listed in Adventure Kayaking, Jenner gives the info a kayaker wants to know to make an informed selection: Clear accurate directions to the put-in sites . Comments on winds, tides. Suggested paddle routes. Maps. Notes on the presence or absence of power-boats and picnickers. Where to camp. What a joy to read a guide book, go to a place and experience no major surprises!

Jeneid's writes beautifully of natural features and wildlife encountered. Clearly he has a love for birding. If you are a kayaker and a birder, then I highly recommend this book before you plan your next outing.

I checked this book out at the local library and thought it was so valuable that I bought my own copy. My only complaint is that I wish the book could of been bigger so more trips could be included. I had already done some of the trips in the book and I found the book to give not only a fair representation of the area, but I learned a few new things.

Provides all the information needed for brief or extended solo trips in Glacier Bay National Park. Includes excellent summaries of a dozen multi-day trips including trip highlights, photos, distances, ratings of difficulty, likely hazards, hints for locating campsites and maps suitable for scoping your trip. Also includes additional resources you may need in the appendix along with phone numbers. The book gave me the courage and information I needed for my first long, solo trip in a wilderness area. An excellent addition to my library.

Interestingly written and very informative. His maps are rather crude but used with a NOAA map (17318, 17318a, 17318b) they are excellent guides to camping sites, points of interest, and dangerous currents. 6 of us did a self-guided 115 mile trip over 11 days based on this book. Excellent description of routes almost mile by mile. A must buy if you are going to do any lengthy trip and are trying to minimize surprises.

This is a really good piece of work. I'm a maritime history buff and I enjoyed it a lot. If you're at all interested in the early history of the New England states or especially interested in Nantucket and the way people there made their fortunes, I'd give this book a try. It's a good history that reads like a good novel in places. Highly recommended.

Mawer's splendid "Ahab's Trade" tells the incredible story of South Seas (i.e. Pacific) whaling during the 19th and 20th centuries. The principal character in this book does not have a particular name; the names themselves shift from voyage to voyage - but the constant heroic icon that keeps appearing is the longboat's crewman; the sailor who ventures out onto the high seas in little but a glorified rowboat, harpoon in hand, ready to do battle with a beast that could easily smash the boat to bits. Whatever you think of whaling, you can't deny the bravery of these men.

Mawer does not stop with a strict rendition of whaling, however: he takes the opportunity to share with the reader many a story about the Pacific in general during this fateful period, from the discovery of the Bounty mutineers on Pitcairn island, to the "ExEx" expedition of the 1830s (recently given its own entire history), to the exploits of Confederate raiders during the 1860s. The narrative ends with the (comparatively recent) international ban on whaling - a ban that Mawer does not entirely embrace. Immaculately researched and superbly written.

A great book for lovers of American history, and a real treat for anyone looking for real life examples of how the American capitalistic way of allowing competition in the market place results in better products at lower prices. The book provides insight into how the military industrial complex should work.

Examines the 1984 "war" that pitted Pratt & Whitney against GE in head-to-head competition for multi billion dollar defense contracts to provide high performance engines for front line fighter aircraft. The circumstances surrounding the lengthy battle led to the Air Force decision to split future engine sales between the two. Attempts to cut through emotional opinions of the "combatants," to report reality, & to identify lessons learned. Helps the reader to understand the government-to-contractor personality issues; to understand management styles, business expectations & communication skills of key participants

The first part of the book Van Creveld describes German air operations in the early phases of the Second World War. The Luftwaffe was extremely effective in interdicting and preventing enemy counterattacks, also Luftwaffe officers and army officers directed the attacks. But Van Creveld argues that the Luftwaffe wasted their resourcers against civilian targets such as railroads. The next air force that Van Creveld analyzes is the Soviet air force. The Soviet air force was under complete control of the army and acted as flying artillery to prevent any German counterattacks from appearing, but the Soviet air force engaged in hardly any interdiction missions against the Germans. According to Van Creveld the Soviets had the most effective form of aerial warfare since their role as flying artillery impeded the Germans from stopping the Soviet attacks. The final air force that Van Creveld evaluates is the Israeli air force. During the Six Day War, the Israeli air force was able to destroy lightly armored trucks but could not due any damage to the Arab tank forces. In the 1973 war the Israeli airforce couldn't provide close air support due to the presence of SAMS. Van Creveld than concludes the book by writing a chapter about the Gulf War that is strongly crititcal of the USAF. In Van Creveld's opinion if the USAF wasn't addicted to strategic air warfare than it could have closely cooperated with the ground forces in destroying the Iraqi army. In the appendix chapters USAF generals reply to Van Creveld's criticisms by stating that the Allied bombing campaign in Western Europe allowed the Russians to gain air supremacy and have effective close air support operations and the same applied to the IAF's performance in the Six Day War. The only weakness of Van Creveld's book is that he ignores Allied close air support operations in Western Europe from 1944-45, but otherwise this an excellent description of how the Russain and German airforces operated in the Second World War and how the IAF operates today.

Blargh! That was the sound of my brain spewing out all the garbage thoughts I had about strategy before I read this book. Dr. van Creveld, et. al., provide a remarkable (and concise) analysis of manuever warfare and the coexistent application of airpower. You're missing the boat if you think this book is Stewart Smalley self-motivational testimony for the "Zoomies" (Air Force). This book concisely provides the six tenets of maneuver warfare within the first 10 pages, giving the lay-reader an excellent oversight into how it is that the United States dominates every battlefield (and by extrapolation, the reader can figure out why disasters such as Somalia occur when the military deviates from that 'winning' formula).

In describing the history of maneuver warfare, van Creveld pre-empts the maneuver warfare nay-sayers by going beyond simple parallels of the German model. Yes, he gives the reader an outstanding version how Nazi Germany 'Blitzkrieg' tactics (really the application of maneuver warfare concepts) devasted Europe in the opening months of the Second World War. But Dr. van Creveld also goes into detail regarding the Soviets' masterful turning of the tables on the Eastern Front, Israel's decisive brilliance in the Six Day War, and maneuver warfare's direct role in the defeat of Iraq in 1991.

Now, who should read this book? In my humble opinion this book should be mandatory for all new military officers and senior non-commissioned officer. Not because it espouses air power's importance in modern warfare, but because it gives the reader an excellent template from which to build a cohesive team and winning strategy for overcoming challenges. Hell, you could even cull out all references to air power and strictly look at the six principles of manuever warfare - I'm strongly considering doing my master's thesis on "Maneuver Warfare Concepts and Modern Business Strategy".

In short, whether you're a military member, aspiring military historian, or a business person looking for new creative techniques to conquering the competition, this book is for you!

This book contains a great list of places to stay and eat with prices. Some of my favorite sections of book include the following: Listing of Best Unspoiled Small Towns, which include Kodiak, Petersburg, and Cordova; Listing of Strange Comunity Events which include Cordova's Ice Worm Festival, Fairbanks' Midnight Sun Baseball Game nad Nomes Polar Bear Swim/Bathtub Race. If you are going to Alaska's number 1 destination, Denali National Park, make sure you pick up a copy of Discovering Denali.

I was planning a cruise to Alaska. I chose "Fodor's 2001 Alaska" as a guidebook and was so impressed, I purchased two more of them for my cruise travelmates. This book went with me wherever I traveled in the "land of the midnight sun". Not only did Fodor's guidebook describe the cruise ships to the inth, but all of the activities, etc. Every bit of the text was accurate to my experiences. This was my first cruise, and my first trip to Alaska. I found this book to be indispensible! The data on Alaska, the facts, the figures, the special places to see, things to do, walks, hikes, eats, animals, and people...all here in crisp detail for you to enjoy. Upon my return to the "lower 48", I even narrated my Alaska photo albums with information I retrieved from this book. History, indiginous peoples, it's all here. Do get this book if you are thinking of going to Alaska, or returning to Alaska. All text is up to date, with maps, etc. Excellent resource! From the Inside Passage to Denali National Park I traveled, and I learned much more about this great land we call Alaska because of Fodor's book. I am now planning on going back to this beautiful place in great part due to reading this guidebook.

Excellent quality pictures with extra notes for each month. Important U.S. dates are also noted.

The images in this calendar are wonderful. I bought it as part of a gift for my in-laws who are traveling to Alaska in 2008. They also thought the photography was beautiful.

A wonderful writing style that will charm you and keep your attention right to the last punctuation mark." Dave Fremming, Alaskan Southeaster

A quirky and delightful book

Alaska Rainbows: Fly-Fishing for Trout, Salmon, & Other Alaskan Species by fishing professional Larry Tullis is a gorgeous guide filled with splendid full-color photographs and packed with detailed information on how to catch the best fish and enjoy oneself while doing it in the rugged Alaskan wilderness. Chapters cover trout habitats, fly patterns, Alaskan wildlife, planning a trip to Alaska and much more. Alaska Rainbows is very highly recommended for anyone contemplating a fishing trip to Alaska!

Alaska Rainbows: Fly-fishing For Trout, Salmon, & Other Alaskan Species by experienced guide and angler Larry Tullis offers a wealth of "user friendly" information about Alaskan rainbow trout, salmon, and other game fish species common to the Alaskan wilderness. Ranging from their habits and foods to optimal fly patterns and fishing tips, tricks, as well as proven techniques designed specifically to capture them for delicious feasting, the information presented is accurate, authoritative, comprehensive, and practical. Eighteen fly plates and a fly-pattern chart round out this superbly presented, tell-all guide for fly fishers interested in making the most their expeditions to Alaskan waters.

A friend sent me this book and am I glad she did! It really gave me a broad view of Alaska and the women that have made it their home. It was great to read such a cross section of short stories and tales of our 50th state.

For anyone curious about the mystique of Alaska, this is a must-read. If you can't make a trip to Alaska, this is the next best thing. Not only for women, anyone will enjoy this book.