Leagues Books

This is the fourth W.P. Kinsella book I've read, after "Shoeless Joe", "The Iowa Baseball Confederacy", and "The Thrill of the Grass". I loved the first three. The author blends wonderful writing with mysticism, magic, and baseball to create mind-bending stories you can't forget.

"The Dixon Cornbelt League and Other Baseball Stories" disappointed me. "Searching for January", "Eggs", and the title story are memorable; they sparkle with imagination and fine writing. The remaining six tales are just average, below Kinsella's usual high standard.

Baseball fiction is Kinsella's arena. He ranks with Ring Lardner and Mark Harris as best in the genre. If you are new to Kinsella, start with the novels or "Thrill" to catch him at the top of his game.

W.P. Kinsella comes back with another great collection of short stories in this book. His stories are not just about baseball. They are about life itself, with a touch of magic and fantasy. My favorite is the title story, which has a very interesting twist to it. Ever since I found "Shoeless Joe", Kinsella has never ceased to amaze me, and I can read his books again and again without putting them down. Another classic that you should add to your library.

The first story in this book, "The Baseball Wolf," is the greatest short story i've ever read. The descriptions, the humor, and the creativity (the main character's name is "Denny's" after the restaurant) make this story perfection. I've read it over and over and I'm continually marvelled by its ingenuity. Read this story and close the book with a wonderful warmth in your belly.

Baseball and the mystic. Kinsella does a great job of satisfied the baseball addict's need for a good story with the game or its players as the focus. I loved "Shoeless Joe" but was surprised to find these short stories almost as enjoyable. Some of the language is strong but I recommended it to my adolescent son, none the less,and he fell in love in it. Such fun to read. It helped pass those long night between the end of the World Series and the start of Spring training

This is one of the best books, I have EVER read. My favorite, "Searching For January", in which Reberto Clemente paddles ashore, 25 years after his "fatal" plane crash which for him happened only days ago, and discusses with a tourist, returning to the Pittspurgh Pirates, almost made my dad, who remembered Clemente fondly from his youth, cry when I read it to him. This is one beutiful collection of stories. Don't miss it.

As a regular spring travelor, I found this book helpful in some regards, but somewhat limited. The author has consolidated a lot of travel-info into one volume. For example, there is a lot of info regarding the ticket prices and concession items at each of the 17 spring parks in Florida. What the book lacks however, is a historical context that allows readers insight into the history of each ballpark and town. I found "Spring Training Handbook," which provides travel and historical information about the Grapefruit AND Cactus Leagues, much more fulfilling in this regard.

Happy traveling.

Finally someone wrote a book on the Spring Training experience for fans. So much info is written on players and teams, it leaves fans somewhat in the dark as to how to experience spring training throughout the various cities in Florida. This book gives you facts and information that is useful in experiencing spring training statewide. Thanks Byrd.

We've been going to Florida for spring training for most of the past 25 years. We bought Byrd's guide at the first 2005 spring training game we went to. The reviews of the spring training sites, shade/sun available, autograph opportunities, and food served at the games are right on! We have several other guides, but this one is the best! We used this one for the entire week we were in Florida.

If you're looking for a book about the rich history of the Grapefruit League, keep moving. This book is a straightforward how-to of gameday. I've been to six of the parks in Florida already and the book's information was very accurate. This makes me feel better about this upcoming spring when I get to visit some different parks. If you want to maximze your gameday experience, this is the book for you. Info on seating, parking, directions, traffic, food, programs, and the ever-important autograph tips make for a great book. Also includes 5 one week vacation itineraries to help you plan a vacation. If you want to make the most of your time at a Grapefruit game, this is the guide for you!

This book is a total success in fulfilling its remit, that as a practical guide to touring the various venues of the Grapefruit League in Florida. The advice is uncomplicated, the observations are sharp and the recommendations are worthwhile.

If you are looking for a book that provides a broader perspective on the traditions or history of Spring Training, then perhaps you should look elsewhere. Alan Byrd does not really attempt to cover this here but should not necessarily be faulted for this.

From personal experience of visiting five different venues during Spring Training 2005, this book was a tremendous help and eliminated a lot of mistakes that would otherwise have been made when visiting ballparks for the first time.

This book is old and tired. I'm very sorry I bought this and the Centennial book. I tested recipes for California Fresh over 20 years ago and they remain superior to this collection.

This is my all-time favorite cookbook - the one I always reach for first. I have made numerous recipes from this book especially for entertaining and am always asked for the recipe. You won't be disappointed if you like delicious food. I even give the book as gifts and it is very much appreciated.

This cookbook has rapidly become my new favorite! Every recipe I've tried has been outstanding. I highly recommend it.

Also included are descriptions of community programs sponsored by various local Junior Leagues. Funds from cookbook sales go toward supporting these important efforts.

Once again Junior League has produced another fabulous cookbook. These cookbooks make such great hostess gifts!

I bought this a year ago for my wife for her birthday on the recommendation of a friend. It has proven to be one of the hest gifts I've given her in the 27 years we've been together.

The Junior Leagues individual chapters have published about a zillion individual chapter versions of their cookbook. This represents a sort of "best of" version.

It's excellent for several reasons:

--It includes recopies from all regions of the country, giving it both a national as well as a regional flair.

--It contains more than four hundred recipes, ranging from classic dishes to contemporary fare that have never before been gathered into one volume.

--It includes many original essays on regional cooking and foodways which are both informative and entertaining.

--It provides dozens of sample menus that make planning and organizing meals a breeze.

--It's printed on sturdy, water resistant stock in a spiral binding making it a good choice for family cooking where the kid's are "helping" you with the meal.

Over the past year my wife has used this more than all her other cookbooks combined. She's enjoyed using it immensely--and I've enjoyed the fruits of her labor immensely.

For down home family cooking success, this is as good as it gets!

I started reading the first one of the series: Tornado's Path and was totally hooked onto it. So I had to buy this one. I really liked it, ofcourse I had to go back to my library and borrow the Infinite Crisis, since I was confused about some parts of it, but it made sense later on :) In all this is a must read. I can't wait to get the last one in this series. The Walls story was slight confusing to me since I couldn't quite understand why they had that in it, since I was trying to connect it with the main story, but it was a good read. -- Just my 2c

This is the great follow up to The Tornado's Path. It is written by two very superb writers Brad Meltzer (Identity Crisis), and GEOFF JOHNS (Green Lantern/Infinite Crisis/52)! It reveals the conclusion as to why Karate Kid was in the past posing as Trident, and hosts the return of a certain superhero thought to be dead. Also the trade gives a few building block for the upcoming Injustice League. All and all this is another great addition to the JLA storyline.

Hey there back again for another review. Like my other reviews no SPOILERS...I think a review can be helpful and knowledgeable without giving away the butler did it.

Anyway moving on to the THE LIGHTING SAGA. First off like my title suggests, this collection is nowhere near what we got with The Tornado's Path which was the first Justice League collection...which is amazing and I gave it 5 stars...if you don't have it yet...go throw it in your shopping cart right now! I'll wait for you...go ahead. You got it...ok, good we can continue. Anyway saying this book isn't as good as the first is sort of a backhand compliment, because it's still really an incredible read. It's kind like me saying a Porsche isn't a fast as a Ferrari...when they both are pretty damn fast....Well faster then my mini-van anyway. Well getting back to my review....That's why I'm giving it four stars out of five. This story arc includes issues of both Justice League of America and the Justice Society of America....and the story crosses over between issues...which sometimes doesn't always mesh well. In this case however it does....and it does it extremely well. The writing from Brad Meltzer and Geoff Johns is top notch and will engross the reader immediately from page one. The only problem I had is where Ed Benes art shines...it makes the other artist in the book fall a little flat. The story does make up for that in a huge way. This collection has one of those moments where the writers pull the rug right out from underneath us....because just when we think we see where Johns and Meltzer are talking us...they pull a really hard 90 degree left turn...and leave us speechless. Yeah so do yourself a favor...go ahead and put this in your shopping cart next to volume #1. Oh and when you wife or spouse gives you grief cause you are reading 'Comics' or 'Funny Books'....tell them they are GRAPHIC NOVELS....the same thing works on when they might say something is a 'Doll' or 'Toy'....you can correct them and let them know it's not...it's a COLLECTIBLE or ACTION FIGURE. See how this works? Anyway do yourself a favor pick up The Lighting Saga...it will be a wonderful addition to your collection.

Thanks for reading!

Im not to much of a justice league guy but this book and part one are great toread and try to like the league.

I recently picked up volumes 1-10 of the previous JLA series -- the one that started with Grant Morrison's very good "New World Order" -- and I have to say that over the course of 10 volumes I pretty much lost interest in the League. I loved Bruce Timm's Justice League Unlimmited cartoon, but as far as League comics go, they just seemed bland and unimportant overall (with the exception of New World Order, and the also very good Tower of Babel storylines.)

The previous series had lots of big action, but it didn't have much if any continuity. It didn't have character development, it didn't have a sense of history to it, it didn't even really have any character moments (again, with the exception of the two volumes listed above.) It was pretty much all big action with larger than life stories that in the end were all chaos and violence amounting to nothing.

I almost didn't buy the Tornado's Path (Meltzer's first collection) or the Lightning Saga because I'd honestly lost interest in the JLA comics over the course of the prevous 10 volumes. In fact, if I hadn't bought all ten volumes at once, I would have stopped after the first three or four most likely. I'm glad I had a change of heart and decided to give Melter's take a chance (based on his excellent Identity Crisis.)

Meltzer brings real character, emotion, and history to the series. His stories have continuity. He knows where the League has been, and he gives a sense that it's going somewhere. Reading Meltzer's stories, the League's past matters and it's future matters and its characters matter. I honestly don't think any of that was true for most of the previous JLA series. And because Meltzer makes you care about the character and grounds them in a world where the past seems to matter and consequences carry forward, it makes the action far more interesting (plus Meltzer just writes really good action sequences, his best being the JLA vs Deathstroke scene in Identity Crisis.)

I honestly came to care about the JLA again over the course of Meltzer's two volumes. And while I like longer story arcs better, I have to say Walls was an amazing stand alone story (that still, despite being a stand alone story, had some lasting reprecussions in later issues.) Monitor Duty was also very good and really showed the importance Meltzer places on characterization and the continuing story of the League. Too many League stories in the past felt like they happened in a vacuum, with no consequesnces, coming from nowhere and going nowhere. Meltzers stories felt like they evolved from what came before, like they mattered more, and like they would continue to matter as the League's story went forward.

The final issue in the Lightning Saga collection, issue zero, really exemplifies the epic, historical, character driven nature of Meltzer's work on the series, and was truly enjoyable and affecting.

Overall, I recommend both of Melter's Justice League collections -- the Tornado's Path and the Lightning Saga. To me, they are the Justice League done as they should be done, similar to the way Geoff Johns is currently doing the JSA -- like a team of real people with a real past and a real future. There's far more emotion invested in Meltzer's two volumes than in the first ten of the previous series. And boy, it was great to see Meltzer's and John's take on the Legion of Superheroes in volume two. They did a great job of instiling a sense of history and importance to the Legion in just five issues (and they made Karate Kid a much more interesting character than he's ever been.)

Intriguing, enlightening, excruciatingly detailed...if you have a passion for mlb history you will not be able to quit this exhaustive analysis.
It exposes how, nothing less than corruption was overlooked for the benefit of the continued success of the Bronx Bombers. Jeff Katz is a baseball scholar that has written an exposé that captures all the details while keeping you captive for more!

If even half this well-researched, well-written, and well-argued volume is true, then-Commissioner Ford ("It's a league matter") Frick, who seemed to spend more time jerryrigging the obstruction of any attempts to break Babe Ruth's records than he did shepherding baseball, was derelict in his duties as the steward of the game. And, an awful lot of baseball fans---in New York, Philadelphia, and Kansas City alike---were had.

The incestuous relationship between Arnold Johnson and Del Webb should have been one of baseball's most grotesque scandals, enough to make the dubious manner in which the eventual Yankee sale to CBS went down (reference Bill Veeck, "The Hustler's Handbook") resemble a gentleman's agreement. Baseball government's apparent silence/inaction during the height of that relationship (although, to his rare credit, then-Cleveland Indians general manager Frank Lane did harrumph to anyone who'd listen---unlikely, considering Lane's own dubious ways of running the Tribe in those years---that, if he'd known his prime young right fielder Roger Maris would end up a Yankee, he wouldn't have swapped Maris to the A's himself) should be considered at least as much a stain on the great and glorious game as were such affairs as the gambling scandals of the 1910s-1920s, the Pete Rose contretemps, and today's contretemps over actual or alleged performance-enhancing drugs.

Yankee haters won't like this, but the shameful story of the 1950s Yankee administration viz the Kansas City Athletics makes the worst excercises of the Steinbrenner era seem tame aberrations. I'd thought for a long time that a good book needed to be written about that story, and here it is.

Kansas City is certainly not up to date. The city's citizens are constantly being made the patsies in any deal, whether it involves the organized crime of the Pendergast era, the attempt to stop light rail in the city or the building of its baseball/football complex out in Independence. Author Jeff Katz shines a bright light on baseball's cold-war era, focussing on the horrific collusion scandal of the 1950s, whereby the hated New York Yankees swiped all of KC's good baseball players under a secrecy that rivals today's steroid cover-up.

Of course, the citizens of KC always knew what was going on but couldn't stop it. Organized crime flourished and KC was appalled. Did they do anything about it? No, not for years.

The citizens knew a ball park belonged in KC's downtown, but they couldn't stop the building of two stadiums in Independence. Now, KC is in deep doo-doo trying to revive its downtown, after once again refusing the chance to move the stadiums there and with the "great" Sprint Center for basketball and hockey way behind schedule.

Katz, in his poorly-titled book, uses mostly contemporary 1950s newspaper articles to build his case against the Yankees during a time when they were using the Kansas City A's as a "minor-league" outlet for fire-sale bargains. Maris, Lopez, Maas, Trucks, Dickson and many more good KC players became Yankees because the Yankees controlled the KC team and Commissioner Ford Frick and even the United States Congress allowed it to go on illegally for years. And the KC fans? They let it happen too, just as they might let a great light rail plan be emasculated by the city's so-called power brokers here in 2007.

I feel very sad for Kansas City fans. They get dumped on so easily, but they always seem to smile and forget. Maybe that's what makes this city so easy to fool. Maybe being the perfect patsy makes KC great in some, warped, crazy-little-woman way.

by Larry Rochelle, author of TEN MILE CREEK, DEATH AND DEVOTION, CRACKED CRYSTALS and BLUE ICE

I grew up as a Yankee fan in the 1950s and it was obvious that this was going on. Kansas City never had a good ball club but whenever they got talent they traded the player to the Yankees for very little in return. Sometimes it was just cash. The biggest gain was when KC got Roger Maris from Cleveland and after one strong year with KC he was tradedf to the Yankees where he hit 39 home runs in 1960 and 61 in 1961. The As were essentially a farm system of the Yankees but instead of being sent down to the minors a Yankee who needed seasoning was traded to KC where he could face major leaguers including the Yankees. When the Yankees thought the player was ready they brought him back. Here are some of the Yankees that went back and forth: Norm Siebern, Bob Cerv, Irv Noren Marv Throneberry, Hector Lopez. The Yankees got Bud Daley and Bobby Shantz in addition to Maris from the KC As. Billy Martin was traded to KC but only because the Yankees thought he was a bad influence on Mantle. They didn't plan to ever bring Martin back.

Of course the Commissioner ignored the obvious as he let the iwners do whatever they wanted. I never could understand why Kansas City wuld do this. This book explains it all as the KC owner seemed to share outside business interests with Topping and Webb, the Yankee owners.

"The Wrong Half of the Yankees" is about the bizarre relationship between the New York Yankees and Kansas City Athletics in the years 1955-1960. The principal characters are A's owner Arnold Johnson and Yankees co-owners Del Webb and Dan Topping. The 3 had deep interests in the Automatic Canteen Company and Topping/Webb sold Yankee Stadium to Johnson. The Yanks main farm team was in KC. Del and Dan just happened to include in the Stadium deal the sale of the Kansas City ballpark to Johnson as well! Moreover, Del and Dan then strong-armed the American League to rubber stamp Johnson's purchase of the moribund Philadelphia A's and to approve the franchise shift from Philly to KC. This, despite the fact that higher offers were on the table, with at least one from interests that might have kept the A's in Philly. Once Johnson was safely ensconced in KC, the teams engaged in some 20 trades, nearly all favoring the Yankees. The fodder for a fine baseball story is all here but author Katz takes far too pages to tell it. Included in the text are a history of the Philly franchise and infighting twixt various members of the Mack family, who had controlled the A's for decades. The result is an almost deadening load of information which might have been fascinating had it only been served in smaller portions. WHY is one of those works which cry out for that proverbial stern editor with a sharp blue pencil to trim down the text. Not until Chapter 11 does Katz cover the good stuff: those trades. These encompass the period when this reviewer was just a kid- and a Yankee fan. Even a boy could smell a rat at some of these transactions. Most may cavil at the lopsided deal for Roger Maris but this observer recalls the round trip trades for pitcher Ralph Terry. A young RT plainly needed seasoning and wasn't going to get it in the Bronx bull pen, so he was farmed to the A's in 1957 (the Billy Martin trade). In 1959, the by then seasoned Terry was back in pinstripes! Even a 12 year old Yankees fan smelled something fishy. A nice inclusion is the images of 78 trading cards for many players. Included are 4 of Harry "Suitcase" Simpson and the '57 card of pitcher Art Ditmar listed as a Yankee -but plainly in an A's uniform! The back of that card actually acknowledged the misprint The bottom line: Insufficient space is given to the trades, far too much to kvetching about franchise shifts, stadium deals and Mack family squabbling. One suspects that some of the text qualifies as mere filler. A scaled down WHY would be excellent as a feature article in a magazine. As a full length, 200 page book it falls short.

Seutonius did the world a great service when he wrote his "The Lives of the Twelve Caesars". This was one of the first primary sources that I read, and it remains a favourite of mine.

Seutonius tackles each of the first twelve Caesars in chronological order, with a section on each one. He claims he has used many sources, and has even included some hearsay or otherwise unconfirmed information. He certainly was not shy about airing their dirty laundry.

Unlike a lot of ancient authors that get translated into English, Suetonius' style is very relaxed and very easy to get absorbed into. Even in translation, the book maintains a brisk pace and has enough to keep one interested until the last page.

Suetonius' "The Lives of the Twelve Caesars" is a fascinating book, written with access to sources long lost to us. This is a great book to read and enjoy, simultaneously being good for those interested in serious study of the period.

Suetonius book covers the lives and works of the 12 leading Romans of the periode from ca. 70BC to 96AD: Julius Caesar, Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, Nero, Galba, Otho, Vitellius, Vespasianus, Titus and Domitianus. He describes their commendable achievements first an then goes in depth into their not so nice qualities too. The account he gives is lively and alive with quite private details of the 12 men. It's a fascinating read that also gives the reader an insight into Roman live in the first century AD

In historical study there are two types of literature. Secondary sources are written based on the original writings which are known as Primary sources. If you want to lern about the earliest Roman Emperors this source is indispensable. True, some of it is not historical and Suetonius is somewhat of a gossip monger at times, seeing as he explains in detail the various sexual appetites of each Caesar as well as other deviant behaviour. Still, this is one of the foremost primary sources about those famous Romans and most of the history books written on the Caesars are standing on Suetonius' shoulders.

Not much is known about the life of Gaius Suetonius Tranquillis. He was probably born in A.D. 69--the famous 'year of four Emperors'--when his father, a Roman knight, served as a colonel in a regular legion and took part in the Battle of Baetricum.

Suetonius became a scribe and noted secretary to the military set, eventually ending up in the service of Hadrian, who was emperor from A.D. 117-138. He was dismissed for 'indiscreet behaviour' with Hadrian's empress, Sabina, but not before doing sufficient research to complete many books of a historical nature. His attempts at philosophy were much less well received, and most of his history has been overlooked by all but classical scholars, but this work, 'The Twelve Caesars' has held the imagination of more than just the scholarly set since it was first written.

Suetonius had the good fortune of speaking to eyewitnesses from the time of the early Caesars. Much of his information about Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, and Nero in fact comes from those who observed and/or participated in their lives. Suetonius is in many ways more of a reporter than an historian--he would record conflicting statements without worrying about the reconciliation (this set him apart from Tacitus and other classical historians who tried to find a consistency in stories and facts.

Suetonius has been described as the tabloid journalist of ancient Rome, because not only did he not appear to check facts (which in fact is not true--he did check, he just didn't try to smooth over the conflicting facts), but he choose to concentrate on the private lives, motivations and personality quirks of his subjects rather than their grand plans, policies and military/political victories. Thus, many details of the lurid scene appear. Suetonius, and this volume in particular, formed much of the basis for Robert Graves as he wrote 'I, Claudius' and 'Claudius the God', which in turn pulled up the popularity of Suetonius in this generation.

Suetonius had first hand knowledge of many of the Caesars who followed the Claudians, and ready access to the archives of the imperial family and the Senate, given his imperial posting.

This translation is not intended to be a faithful rendering of the language (which might well result in a stilted English construct) but rather a faithful account of the stories Suetonius tells. Graves has taken the liberty of changing monetary, date, and technical terms into standard English measurements of close kinship of meaning.

For the record, the twelve Caesars, about whom Suetonius writes, are:

+ Julius Caesar
+ Augustus
+ Tiberius
+ Gaius Caligula
+ Claudius
+ Nero
+ Galba
+ Otho
+ Vitellius
+ Vespasian
+ Titus
+ Domitian

Suetonius held nothing back in writing about the personal habits of the emperors and their families, nor did he hold back in his moral judgement of them. Of Tiberius, for instance, he wrote that Tiberius did so many other wicked deeds under the pretext of reforming public morals--but in reality to gratify his lust for seeing people suffer--that many satires were written against the evils of the day, incidentally expressing gloomy fears about the future.... At first Tiberius dismissed these verses as the work of bilious malcontents who were impatient with his reforms and did not really mean what they said. He would remark: 'Let them hate me, so long as they fear me!' But, as time went on, his conduct justified every line they had written.

Graves' edition of Suetonius is available under many covers, from hard-back study editions to Penguin paperbacks, including a wonderful, finely printed edition by the Folio Society. Take a step back into the seemier side of ancient Rome, the side most history courses overlook in favour of more traditional historical events, and hie thee to the bookstore for this work.

I find this book essential not, as most readers see, a simple history of Rome, but rather as a grim example of the excesses possible when democracy fails and absolute power is contained in one human being(Rome beginning its career as a wonderfull Republic). Although most see Suetonius' vivid descriptions of lust and other deviant vices as mere gossip, I propose that is exactly what he is trying to elucidate for the ages to see. These same excesses gave rise to almost the entire fundamental ideas of the religion known as Christianity and their whole hearted opposition to orgies, torture, crucifictions, feeding to the lions and the like, all due to the whims of deranged monkeys who called themselves Caesar. Read for yourself, for example, the history behind St. Valentine's day.

Good source for the serious baseball fan who may want a more analytical review of their favorite prospects and future mlb stars.

All one has to do is a little research as to the prognostication record of minor league "gurus" and they'll discover that Deric McKamey's accuracy is at the top of the heap. For anyone who loves minor league baseball, this book is written by the one of the best. For those who have attended any of BaseballHQ's live seminars, they would agree. Deric doesn't use notes as he fields questions about any prospect. The reason? This book is written by a real MLB scout who has seen most of the players that he writes about.

If you are in a fantasy baseball league that includes minor leaguers, THIS is the book you want.

This book contains detailed scouting reports on hundreds of potential major league ball players. The amount of information garnered is truly amazing. Every serious baseball fan should have this book.

I really like this book for the information that it has. You can really look into the guts of a players ability by the stats and writes ups that are provided by the writer. Anyone trying to find a future star in baseball needs to have this book.

Only issue I had is that there are a few older minor league players in this book. These guys to me seem to be 4A players for their career and could have been left out for me.

I was hungry for another set of prospect evaluations after digesting all of the "Baseball America Propsect Handbook" and figured for $13 and from an author I was familiar with, what the heck.

I was impressed at the number of velocities he had(everyone's fastball) for the prospects secondary pitches and Home to First Base times he had for the position players( a 1/3 approx.). He also had his own top rankings for every position on the diamond including separating starting from relieving. There's over a 1000 players evaluated(around 35 for each) so you really get a good feel for each player with the combination of grades(on a 5 point scale), sabermetric stats and blurbs(and for 3/4th velocities or times). Not really a fan of sabermetrics but I liked the one used here to try to see how my favorite Giant prospects matched up with other team's.

He was really stingy with his accolades. He didn't hand out many 5's(his highest grade for the tools or pitches) and the ones he did hand out backed up what I've heard from a couple different sources. He also got a lot(around 95% for my Giants) of the velocities and times to 1b absolutely correct, as a couple places have gotten some exaggerated reports. Very interesting that he could have such a good read on so many players on what has to be a limited budget. Like the guy before me said, I will definetly be picking one up next year.

The history of the city of San Francisco has always intrigued me, and this book gave me insight and glimpses that I might never have been exposed to otherwise. Given the fact that this book was written in the early 1900s, Asbury was able to speak with and interview people that actually lived in SF in the late 1800s, and these first hand accounts are invaluable. Anyone interested in SF history should definitely pick up this book!

Fabulous book about San Francisco from 1849-1900's! Well written easy to follow, and interesting and funny history of the Barbary Coast. I lived there for a good part of my life and can tell you it was fascinating to read how it began...I had no idea!

San Francisco is an amazing city. Each time I visit I discover something new along its narrow alleys, panoramic vistas and historical landmarks. North Beach has always been my favorite SF neighborhood. It is amazing to me that such wickedness prevailed on these streets in the not so distant past. When I picked up the Barbary Coast, I was surprised that it was an older novel (first published in the 1930's). Don't let that persuade you from reading it. Asbury's frank and colorful descriptions of the old Barbary Coast will capture your imagination from the first page. Starting with the gold rush, Asbury describes the incredible influx of people onto the peninsula within a few short years and the lawlessness it creates. The stories of the prostitutes, gamblers, thieves, gangs, saloon keepers, brawlers, and corrupt politicians are all richly told in Asbury's colorful language that keeps the reader's attention all the way through. This book is a must for anyone interested in the history of the gold rush and San Francisco's past.

I'd seen this book on the shelves at the library, but I had always passed over it because it was too non-linear for my research. Boy, was that a mistake. This is THE best book about San Francisco's Barbary Coast in existance. It came to my attention again because of 'Gangs of New York', and I went ahead and bought it this time. Read this book and find out how tame everyone from San Francisco is these days in comparison.

"And Hell, yawning to receive the putrid mass, is there also".

Such is the description of San Francisco's Barbary Coast cited from another publication by author Herbert Asbury.

THE BARBARY COAST, first published in 1933, is a history of that vicious and squalid section in the heart of the City by the Bay devoted to all forms of crime, vice, lewd conduct and wickedness for the period 1849 to 1917. Asbury's fascinating narrative includes the dance halls, music saloons, dives, brothels, and gambling dens that infested the area, as well as the criminal gangs, hoodlums and cutthroats that preyed on the men lured there. The book's scope also encompasses the rising population of Chinese residents that coalesced into Chinatown, as well as the yellow slavery, tong wars and virulent anti-Chinese sentiments that evolved concurrently. And, since San Francisco is one of the world's greatest natural ports, the author describes the perils to both arriving and departing sailors, who were drawn to the Barbary Coast as insects to Venus Flytraps.

The twin pillars of the Barbary Coast were robbery and prostitution. Despite the early successes of vigilantism in ridding the burgeoning metropolis of undesirables, the fact that both thrived for so long can be attributed to the toleration and blatant corruption of the city's law enforcement officials and governing politicos. Of the two, prostitution was the foundation of the area's iniquity since, as the author is careful to point out, the Barbary Coast didn't finally die until the California Legislature passed the Red-light Abatement Act of 1914. Therefore, it's no surprise that much of the volume is dedicated to the Oldest Profession: the cribs, cow-yards, parlor houses, pimps, madames, and debasing working conditions.

THE BARBARY COAST comes near to being a book in the "couldn't put down" category. However, it sorely lacks the illustrations and period photographs that enhanced the Asbury's "prequel" volume, THE GANGS OF NEW YORK. Nevertheless, once read, you'll not see the modern streets of San Francisco in the same way again.

I began collecting the Record and Fact Book & it's predessor,the NFL Record Manual in 1975.Not only is buying the 1999 NFL Record & Fact Book the essential book for every current statistic you can think of, it becomes a piece of NFL history in the years to come. The only reason I gave it only four stars is that it's time to add some new stats. It's been a few years. Football fans: YOU NEED IT. BUY IT1

This source not only gives facts about the stadiums, player rosters, draft choices, etc., but also has biographies about the staff. In addition, it explains NFL rules, outlines weekly schedules & times of games, has a section on NFL records & stats, and was a main source when I was an NFL reporter for United Press International.

The 1999 NFL Fact and Record Book provides a wealth of knowledge not available at any other location. This is like having the answer to any NFL Trivia Question in the palm of your hand. A definite must for the true NFL fan.

and he should not be on this cover. However, the information in this book is a MUST for the serious football fans.

I began collecting the Record and Fact Book & it's predessor,the NFL Record Manual in 1975.Not only is buying the 1999 NFL Record & Fact Book the essential book for every current statistic you can think of, it becomes a piece of NFL history in the years to come. The only reason I gave it only four stars is that it's time to add some new stats. It's been a few years. Football fans: YOU NEED IT. BUY IT1

This cookbook is one of the best I have seen for a long time (yes, the cover is very creative and fun!). It truly reflects the talent and creativity of the women belonging to the Junior League of Phoenix who spent countless volunteer hours creating this current gem of a cookbook. The recipies are very easy to follow and turn out fabulous. I especially enjoyed the menu planners located in the front section of the book. I would highly recommend this exceptional cookbook to everyone. I have also purchased several copies to give as gifts and have received rave reviews from the recipients of these gifts! Two thumbs up on this one ladies!!

I'm a lifelong collector of cookbooks. Some of my favorites are those put out by the various Junior Leagues across the country, invariably wonderful snapshots of local culture. Reflections Under the Sun, is, however, probably the single biggest disappointment that I have acquired over the years. Charleston Receipts this is definitely not!

There is very little that is local to Phoenix, Arizona or the Southwest in Reflections. The book is chock full of restaurant recipes, seafood and goat cheese, while the true flavors of Arizona are scarce at best.

Not a "bad" book - but certainly no star!

This cookbook is one of the best I have seen for a long time (yes, the cover is very creative and fun!). It truly reflects the talent and creativity of the women belonging to the Junior League of Phoenix who spent countless volunteer hours creating this current gem of a cookbook. The recipies are very easy to follow and turn out fabulous. I especially enjoyed the menu planners located in the front section of the book. I would highly recommend this exceptional cookbook to everyone. I have also purchased several copies to give as gifts and have received rave reviews from the recipients of these gifts! Two thumbs up on this one ladies!!

Reflections Under the Sun has to be one of my favorite cookbooks for everyday cooking to family entertaining. It is contains healthy recipes for everything from soup to nuts. Some of my favorites are the Calico Chicken Chili (wonderful on a cold winter's day) or the Pear and Blue Salad (so simple to make). I also love the Cowboy Carmel Corn and so do my kids. It is the perfect snack anytime! Reflections Under the Sun, makes a wonderful addition to any cookbook collection and I think is the perfect gift for family and friends!

Reflections has some wonderfully Southwestern recipes like Southwest Black Bean and Wild Rice Salad and Green Chile Cornbread. There are even wine recommendations with almost all the recipes--for people like me who don't know what to serve with dinner. And there are all kinds of menu suggestions from Fiesta to Summer dinners. The desserts are incredible. The Grand Chocolate Mint brownies are beautiful to look at and truly decadent. And my kids love the Wrangler Ranger Cookies. There are so many great recipes in the book, it's hard to decide what to make first. The San Francisco Chicken is so easy to make, and delicious too. I often make it when we have last minute dinner guests. This is a great value cookbook for all the wonderful recipes. I highly recommend it.