North America Books

I grew up in So. California, so I've been fishing and diving the Pacific for many years. Now I live in Mexico and fish/dive the Gulf of California. I have never found a better field guide for these waters. I keep a copy on my boat and use it constantly.

The full-color illustrations are excellent and the descriptions are precise and accurate. It is laid out logically and is very easy to use. I've settled many arguments and won many bets on the docks with this book.

As a volunteer for the new Long Beach (CA) Aquarium of the Pacific, I needed to quickly learn about fishes of the Pacific coast and how to identify them. This book exactly suits my needs. It is interesting and informative, without being too technical. The color illustrations are beautiful. This is the perfect book for anyone who wants to learn more about Pacific coast fishes.

Fishes of the Pacific Coast is an excellent reference guide with beautiful full color illustrations of approximately 450 fish. I truly appreciated the inclusion of the fish of the upper Sea of Cortez. Small ecological and historical blurbs are fascinating. The handbook size makes it a must have on your diving or fishing boat.

I do a lot of fishing and own quite a few books on fish. I also keep a life-time fish list, a list of every species of fish I have ever caught that I was able to correctly ID. I have found Fishes of the Pacific Coast by Gar Goodson in particular to be very useful for ID purposes, but I also find it to be very good writing, highly interesting, and full of information that most other fish ID books usually lack. For example, he tells you here if a fish is considered good eating, or not. He tells you where they are found, in how deep of water, locals, tidbits of history about the fish, and also what they eat.
I recently bought two new books on fish, one about fish of the Gulf of Mexico and another on fish of the Atlantic Ocean and looking them over I kept finding things missing; I suddenly realized how much better this book of Goodson's is.
The many illustrations by the artist Phillip J. Weisgerber are all excellent and every single one of them is in color. I am a writer myself, author of some 5 published books now,... and I appreciate books that are put together with care, appreciate writing that is fun and interesting and highly informative. Fishes of the Pacific Coast is an inexpensive book and a darn good one. If you fish in the Pacific you'll want to own this book and will find that having it, and bringing it along on fishing trips will add a great deal to your pleasure. Also, I would certainly recommend this book as a present for anyone who is interested in nature,in fish, in fishing. A marvelous book and one of my favorites for sure!

I grew up reading the Famous Five in Denmark. My classmates and I would fight over them in the library. I used to hole up in my room with the Famous Five and wishing I was part of their adventures! I had every one of the books but unfortunately they were given away when I left home. I'm now in the process of collecting them all again.

I read all of Enid Blyton's books as an American child living in Pakiston in the late 1960's. I loved every one of them. I am now trying to find another children's series by Blyton called, "Mallory Towers" a schoolgirl series. There were six books in the series. END

I am german and have read probably all Enid Blyton Books around, they are very popular in germany. My favorite serises of hers was the five friends, it is about friendship, it is mystery, it is catching and it makes you want to read..like all of her books this one is a great present for any occassion and a TUMBS UP! I wish more of her works were available in the United States.

I have read most all of Enid Blyton's books, esply her adventure series of Famous Five, The Five Find-Outers and dog, and also her three boarding school series. Most children outside the US read a lot of her work. Her work is not only creative, thus appealing to children, but it establishes fundmental concepts of right and wrong, and a simple code of ethics. Some would call it old-fasioned, maybe. But in this world of violence, Ms Blytons books are a breath of fresh air. Wish they were available in the US!

Having spent a lot of time looking for information on imaginative & fun (and sometimes luxury) travel with kids, I can tell you that this is a really unique book. It is comprehensive, carefully researched and well written with loads of practical tips. Some 'travel with kids' books might as well just be bland advertising copy, this one really provides good editorial content, with positive and critical comments. It is a pleasure to read and we will use it for a long time. Fodor's should publish more of these for other parts of the US/world.

I loved this book and would recommend it to any family wanting to travel in the northeastern United States. The writers offer tips and reviews on places of interest, resorts, and campgrounds in a wide range of prices. In fact, we have visited some of those places and found a brand new vacation prospect in Lake George which we will be trying out this summer! Definitely one of the most informative travel books on the market today -- entertaining even if you do not go to these places.

Very useful book for locals and visitors. We liked the way it gave us recommended age groups and prices. We can now plan ahead places to visit within and on the way to our next holiday area. We have also used it for planning field trips from the school into San Francisco. Easy to use and enjoyable to read.

I've been searching for a book like this for several years and haven't found one that fit the bill until now! I had a great time reading it - so well written - and got more useful information than I'll ever be able to use in one lifetime! Thanks so much to the writers and publishers!

I love cats and was looking for some books on large cats, especially on the cougar which is my favorite animal. I already knew a lot about wild cats from first hand experience but this book taught me more than experience ever could. I found the information very interesting and the pictures are just beautiful. I was even able to use some of the facts for a research paper I wrote for my taxonomy and systematics class. Great book and I recommend it to anyone who like cats or needs to learn about them for a project.

This book really is wonderful. My interests lie mainly in bobcats, and it is rather difficult to find good sources on these felines. This book is one of the few good bobcat books I have found, giving equal attention to bobcats, lynxes, and cougars. It combines beautiful, vibrant photos with informative, clear text. Color range maps and "basics" boxes appear for each species, and the book even contains several American Indian legends, trivia (such as "How not to become a cougar victim,") and quotes concerning these cats. I am very pleased with this book, and highly recommend it to any lover of American wildcats.

This is a good book to learn about behaviors of the 3 Northern cats. Expecially good for those of us who own, and are interested in learning about the behavior, traits and differences between the species. Of course in tame bobcats, the authors comments about being like a big domestic? housecat are very true. Who can explain "domestic" in any cat species anyway? There are in my opinion only 2 types of cats: feral (wild NO human contact) and Tame: (raised by humans from birth)

We have all enjoyed the fact based information along with the wonderful picutres of Bobcats and Lynx Cats. We were pleased to find the depth of the information provided. This is a wonderful reference for anyone with an interest in these incredible cats.

I thought this would just be a good reference book to have on my shelf.
(And it is) But I picked it up to read a few passages and kept going. Next thing I knew, I had finished reading half the book in one sitting.
It's a great read even if you don't plan on travelling the Northern Plains. I learned a lot about forts in the Omaha area. A few I had never heard of even though it's my hometown.
Stew Magnuson
(Author of The Death of Raymond Yellow Thunder.)

If you have any interest in visiting old forts across the plains, Jeff Barnes has written an updated guidebook that is an essential take along for your traveling adventures. And, even if you can't get out to see th forts, Barnes provides a lot of great background information about these hidden treasures of history. Go forth and explore, but take Barnes' book along for the ride. His work can help you go on the right days and on the right roadways so you don't miss a thing.

Well structured and a fascinating overview of the military posts during this period of American history. One small criticism - the book only whets the appetite and anybody looking for greater detail on the layout and life within one of the forts would find little benefit in buying this book.

Mr. Barnes' book is extremely accurate. It is invaluable for people like me who are really into the Indian Wars in America and who like to conduct our own traveling tours. While I am not discounting books about other wars in American History, I just don't believe enough books have been written about the Indian Wars out west. This book provides a needed boost.

Mr. Dana Jackson, Fairlawn, Va.

If anyone has been to the Four Corners area, particularly the Grand Canyon and Monument Valley, you will appreciate the author who takes you well beyond those more obviously known pleasures and takes you into more remote and attrarctive parts of the large four corners area giving the reader an introduction to geology while explaing in the initial chapyers how the land and continent was formed. The books goes on to discuss each area, its rock formations including mountains, plateaus and valleys and the vegetation that makes each area unique. The author includes interviews with numerous specialists throughout the book along his own personal journey through these ares that he hikes and camps and spends time in some very remote areas. His discussion of the people that once lived on the land and the ones that currently do provides a human linkage to present day. The mystery of the Anasazi is quite fascinating as these ancient cliff dwellers disappaered around 1400 AD but may have become part of the present day Hopi tribe. The description of their cliff like fortess dwellings and the archelogical studies is one of the most interestiung parts of the book. Why did they live along a cliffs in large communities and what happened to them? The book is not a quick read but one that deserves patience to appreciate the indepth descrptions that Brown provides. The only downturn, which is very slight, is that the author has little tolerance for tourists that in his opinion, along with the specialist he meets, strongly feel that tourists overwhelm these sensitive sites. However, for one who loves to travel these wonderful places with great respect for the sensitivity of the environment, we must all do our part to try to rein in those few that unfortunatey create a negative impact no matter where they visit or live.

This is a fascinating account of the land and people of the Four Corners region of the southwestern US. Brown is as interested in the geology of the region as he is in the settlers of it. The book is basically divided into five large sections, one for each major point on the compass and a fifth entitled "Center." He begins each section with a thorough discussion of its geology. From there he proceeds to the peopling of each section, from the early hunters and gathers to the Anasazi, Spaniards, and Mormons. His long sub-section on the Anasazi is especially good. One thing Brown makes clear is that, unlike the "politically correct" view held by many today, the Americas were not a Garden of Eden before European contact was made. Native tribes fought ferociously with one another over land and resources; even slavery was practiced among the tribes. And after the disastrous Pueblo uprising of 1680 that virtually emptied the country north of the Rio Grande of all Spanish inhabitants, the Spanish realized they would have to cooperate with the Natives to insure security and success.

Brown is an excellent writer and captures the uniqueness of the desert Southwest well without going into rapturous (and phony) doggerel. He is a "loner," however, relying on historical records or scientific textbooks for most of his information, and rarely brings along another geologist or historian to hash out information. (This being the case, it's surprising that there is no bibliography included.) Even his own personal observations, other than a few camping/hiking scenes thrown in here and there, are kept to a minimum. Some might object to this impersonal approach, but it didn't bother me at all. The book is interesting and informative - an excellent overview of the desert Southwest.

As a native of Utah and a student of the geology and natural history of the Colorado Plateau, this is without a doubt the best available summary of the fascinating heritage of the Four Corners region. I've read the paperback edition from front to back twice and parts of it three times. I recently managed to find a copy in hard back in excellent condition that I've added to my collection of keepers, and I'll read it again before I make my next trip to southern Utah. It astonishes me that I have yet to find this book at any of the national park bookstores. This book is very highly recommended for anyone with an interest in or planning to visit the most remarkable region of the continental United States. It's a great introduction to so many facets of this awesome area! In my opinion, it communicates the flavor of the country as well as John Wesley Powell's classic documentary of the first formal exploration of the Colorado River. Don't miss this one.

Michael Shea, MD

This book deserves a less prosaic name. With an engaging writing style, Kenneth Brown provides a knowledgeable and highly readable introduction to the natural and human history of the Colorado Plateau, including the geology, forests and biological life zones, and the Anasazi, Pueblo, Navajo, Spanish, Mormon, and recent Anglo influences. I'd highly recommend Four Corners to anyone with an interest in this fascinating region.

Its not a book to read from cover to cover, but beautifully written short pieces that you can skip to and delve into unexplored black gay world of love, passions, sufferings, perspectives. This is NOT for the beginner or the one discovering their sexuality. It is NOT for the gay friendly NOR for the one looking for erotic turn-ons. This is a very mature compilation of different authors writings that will only be appreciated by the one who has already experienced gay black sexuality. Then you will discover, like I did, that there is this wonderful abstract underworld of meaningfulness in being black and gay at the same time not shoving it down your throat, but merely inviting the reader to experience the other end of the burning cigarette. OK this makes no sense to me either... But dont listen to this mediocre review and get the book if you are a mature reader. If you just green at the gay black thang, dont choose this. Look at my other reviews and select the books you think fit you best. I LOVE THIS BOOK! BUT ITS NOT FOR EVERYONE...

Syracuse New York

My brother happens to be gay and I got him this book for christmas. He LOOOOOOOVES it. He says it's one of the best books he's read in years.

Just my two cents.

Forty-seven black gay male writers speak boldly about who they are and the world they live in in this outstanding collection of poetry, prose, essays, and fiction. Edited, compiled, and thoughtfully prefaced by best-selling novelist E. Lynn Harris, Freedom In This Village is both vital and entertaining as it dazzles with a myriad of rich literary styles and re-challenges with thought-provoking, soul-stirring discourse.

How wonderful it is to revisit Exxex Hemphill, regarded the premiere black gay poet in America at the time of his death from AIDS related complications in 1995. His bitter/beautiful five-part poem about love and lust in the ghetto, "Tomb of Sorrow" (1989), represents him here: "Gunshots ring out above our heads,/ a few of us are seeking romance,/ others a piece of ass,/ some--a stroke of dick./ The rest of us are killing./ The rest of us get killed."

From James Baldwin's excerpted swan song "Just Above My Head" (1979) to Randy Boyd's infuriating interracial fiction excerpt "Walt Loves The Bearcat" (2004), we are treated to, shocked by, and enthralled with the literary profound and profane.

Marlon Riggs' 1991 essay "Black Macho Revisited: Reflections of a SNAP! Queen" is a powerfully on-target indictment of black America's distorted view of Black Macho and it's relegation of black male homosexuals to Negro faggotry and minstrelsy, while editor Harris closes this volume with trademark pop lit (What I Did for Love") that dangles enough to hold promise of a new series wide open.

Marvin K. White's "FOR COLORED BOYS WHO HAVE CONSIDERED S-CURLS WHEN THE HOT COMB WAS ENUF" (1990) still retains its sass and sting. Don Belton's 1994 interview "Where We Live: A Conversation with Essex Hemphill and Isaac Julien," conducted on the heels of Marlon Riggs' AIDS related death, is a conversation around Riggs' film "Black Is...Black Ain't" which exploresd the nexes of black identity and masculinity and features appearances by Hemphill, bell hooks, Michelle Wallace, Cornel West, and Angela Davis.

Novelist/journalist James Earl Hardy, founder of the Afrocentric gay hip-hop romance genre, is representred by an excerpt from his classic "B-Boy Blues" follow-up, the satisfying but lesser "2nd Time Around" (1996), Vega by his gentle 1989 poem "Brothers Loving Brothers," while Carl Alan Johnson's 1993 "Post-Nulcear Slut" still reads as fab-nasty as ever.

This collection is too rich to ignore, too diverse to fully assess in this small space. Suffice it to say that this is a keeper to be visited often.

Finally, I must echo the sentiments of a previous reviewer. Reading these wonderful pieces, knowing that so many of the authors have been taken away from us by AIDS--Hemphill, Riggs, Joseph Beam, Steven Corbin, Melvin Dixon, Gary Fisher, David Frechette, Craig G. Harris, and Assoto Saint--is a sad reminder that we have been given limited access to these brilliant minds. So let us cherish this book for its rarity as much as for its insights, illuminations, and artistry.

E. Lynn Harris should be commended for this tremendous undertaking and achievement.

I just started reading it (smile) but am compelled to write the following...If you are a lover of Black Gay Male Literature then this is the book to purchase.

Freedom In This Village: Twenty-Five Years of Black Gay Men's Writing edited and and with an introudction by E. Lynn Harris.

I happened (smile) to be coming from The Abbey during my time home in Los Angeles last week when I passed A Different Light Bookstore. I went in and displayed prominently was this book and of course, I had to have it, and so I bought it, and anticipated reading it once I completed "The Last Dream Before Dawn."

I started reading this book last night on the 2 train (New York City) and while I was reading "About The Contributors" a combination of anger and sadness came over me and one that at this time I cannot capture but it was more to the fact that we need books that celebrate us...Black Gay Men

I was saddened by the number of men who died of AIDS related illnesses and was like what are we doing, what am I doing, to honor these men who made it possible for me to be one that to some degree has a bit more "freedom in the village" than they did.

As I was looking through the "Table of Contents" I saw some familiar names and new names that I look forward to reading.

We need or rather I feel we need books like this on the regular as there are so many voices as one is not merely enough and also cannot tell all our stories.

I implore you, each of you, to rise and have your voices heard and if you are a lover of Black Gay Male Literature then by all means purchase this book if not for you then for someone else.

With that said, I have some reading to do (smile)...

Magnífico estudio de los diferentes grupos de algas de agua dulce presentes en el N del continente americano. Contiene claves, descripciones, y gran cantidad de documentos gráficos. Muy útil para quienes estén interesados en el conocimiento de estos organismos y no sólo de Norteamérica, también de Europa.

It has been over 50 years since the last edition (1950) of Smith's "Freshwater Algae of the United States" and much has changed in our knowledge of the classification of the "Algae". These are now known to contain several quite different organisms from Euglena to Chara and from diatoms to desmids and Spirogyra. The flora is huge and often poorly known. Thus it was with some enthusiasm that I welcomed the publication of this massive tome. A much-needed updating of Smith's classic book and more, it contains numerous black and white photos and drawings, plus extensive bibliographies for each chapter. I also much appreciate the keys, having been involved in writing several for spider genera. The only down side is the rather high price, which is quite a bit more than its companion volume on freshwater invertebrates.

I don't fault this book for lack of color because that might have easily made it even more expensive. If you want to see color photos of algae, and indeed very good ones, try "Freshwater Algae: Their Microscopic World Explored" by Hilda Canter-Lund and her husband J. W. Lund.

Despite the cost, I recommend this book as essential for anyone trying to understand the North American freshwater algal flora.

One thing I look for in a book are color photos from "the wild". I didn't see any of that, but there's plenty of information to go through and lots of references for further study.

This book is a must for the reference library or for the laboratory of pesons who study algae or microscopic aquatic organisms. While it does not substitute for the collective contributions of other scientists over time, it is a great first stop for those who are interested in these organisms. For many there will be no need to search further.
The book is organized in a conventional manner with major groups treated in separate chapters. It is easy to use and well-illustrated. It will find a home with scientists, students, and interested lay persons alike.

If you're at all interested in Latin American culture you'll love this book and he's an amazing person. He'll tal kto you forever about the subject and he's highly intelligent.

While Juan Flores is perceptive in his discussion of the Puerto Rican component of Latino culture, and discusses other major critics like Perez Firmat and Stavans, I was frankly surprised not to see any discussion of William Luis's Dance Between Two Cultures: Latino Caribbean Literature Written in the United States, which in my estimation is as important as those written by the critics Flores discusses. The value of Luis's study is that he addresses the same Puerto Rican community mentioned in Flores' book, but Luis also contextualizes this community by considering its relation to the Cuban and Dominican components of Latino culture. Anyone interested in understanding Latino literature and culture should also read Dance Between Two Cultures, which contains perceptive readings of Latino Caribbean literature unavailable in any other study.

The title of Mr. Flores' book might be a little deceiving for those who are not familiar with the subject matter. Mr. Flores uses music as a jumping off point for some very thought provoking themes that pertain (in my opinion) to all Latino's. Juan Flores goes from scholarly themes like colonialism to thoughts on the funeral of Cortijo and the history of the Boogaloo phenomena in New York City.

Mr. Flores makes you stop and think, then think again about issues you may have had preconceived notions about. I really enjoyed being challenged intellectually as I read this book.

I recently attended a lecture/performance (at the CUNY Graduate Center in New York City) of "From Bomba to Hip-Hop" conducted by Mr. Flores, music historian Rene Lopez and Mike Wallace (who won a Pulitzer Prize for his book, "Gotham.") True to form, it was a very unique, educational and entertaining experience.

As a beginning graduate student in Latina/o Studies, I have been asking myself a simple question over and over: "Where have I been?" I have gone through public education in the United States for 17 years of my life, and have only recently found that there have been people writing since the start of the 1900s about the issues, experiences, struggles, and passions that I have thought were uniquely mine. Piri Thomas published _Down These Mean Streets_ in 1967. I just read it this past summer, my mother--right after I gave it to her. And the thought that has wondered in is, "why wasn't I told about his book earlier?" Is Piri Thomas' experience, a bond with African American culture that Juan Flores addresses in his book, such a marginal experience in American life, that it took a suggestion by Amazon.com for a man with 4 years of university education to be aware of the book? As the population of Latino/as in the United States grows to the levels of being the largest minority group in the country, there will have to be a shifting of Latina/o literature, theory, and any cultural products from the margins of American life to the center contemporary discussion. It is these products that Juan Flores probes and analyses with keen insight that places the Puerto Rican aspect of the Latino experience into mainstream intellectual thought. From "the Madonna incident" in Puerto Rico, to the ties that Puerto Ricans have with Hip-Hop, and the current status of Puerto Rico that he sadly calls a "Lite Colony," Flores' book is one that should be read by anyone interested in the affairs of American culture.

Great book to throw in your backpack and take with you on the cruise. You can bone up on a bit of the history and it will get some ideas ffor excursions or places to visit on the islands.

These books are great tools. I have cruised many times and I still consult them before every cruise. I would say they are must haves for first timers. They summarize the Caribbean, Alaska, Hawaii, as well as many debarkation ports. What I find most useful is the information provided on each of the cruise lines and cruise ships. If you are unsure which ship would be best for you and your family this book will definitely help you decide. I would caution potential buyers visiting very small or less popular islands. Places like Anguilla, Trinidad and Tobago are noticeably absent from the book.

I have always turned to Frommer's for honest reviews of just about any destination. Their website is full of great info too

I have cruised many times before and found this book to be quite honest in its observations. We are sailing to Hawaii and I was able to find the information I wanted. I think this is a great resource for anyone considering a cruise vacation.