They say write about what you know...LeMonds knows the soul of the past and modern logger and writes with as unpretentious style as I've seen in a long time. He uses the language (always loggers...never lumberjacks) and shares with the reader the language and techniques of everything from falling, bucking, setting chokers, to trucking the logs. Furthermore, he does it based upon the real-life experiences of his family. You learn how they used to rig a spar tree and what went through the climbers mind as he accomplished this task 150-200 feet in the air. LeMonds also shares the future of forestry (hand-seeding, herbicides, fertilizer & thinning) to move the life span of high-productive crops like Douglas Firs from hundreds of years to perhaps as little as 35 years as well as what the modern equipment does now and probably into the future.. Perhaps you might find the short chronology of the work history of each of his family members in the logging business too detailed but it's more than worth the wonderful stories and perspectives that go with them. LeMonds acknowledges the scars on the landscape of the past but also the enduring scars on these tremendous men who contributed so much to this Country's development of the 20th century. I don't think one could ask for a more balanced view of this industry and have it written with such class. This is the best book I ever expect to read about this subject, which is so dear to my heart having been raised in a nearly identical community in Southern Oregon. Today I ordered a second copy to send to a dear friend still working in the woods.

James Lemonds peels away the Bunyonesque macho image that has been falsely hung on the loggers of the Northwest and shown them as they are; broken down, disabled and discarded by the industry that exacted a terrible toll on both the workers and the forests.
Anyone wanting to research the human cost the industry extracted should start with this book. Death and disabilty rates beyond the range of nightmares were considered standard and acceptable, simply because the carnage took place outside the public view.
The hard work, honest efforts and caring that the workers brought to the job were repaid with lack of respect and now, lowering wages, no job security and disdain from the general public.
As bad as it is in Lemonds description, the list at the end of the book does not include all the co-workers of any current or former loggers that I have talked to who have read this book, nor co-workers of mine, who were killed on the job. The toll suffered by the workforce was at least equal to that suffered by the forests.
Lemonds tells the story in an even-handed, personal way through his extended family and community. This is a must-read book by any student of Northwest culture of the past century.

Logging in America's Northwest, an industry and occupation which arouses strong passions and polarizing viewpoints.

Jim LeMonds, though not neglecting the emotional and substantive areas of contention, focuses primarily on the human contribution and in some cases sacrifices of the loggers themselves.

This book should be read by anyone with even the vaguest interest in forest management and environmental issues. Although he is from a logging family, I feel that the author has been exceedingly fair in his description of todays industry and what the future holds for this industry and more importantly for logging communities.

To me the efforts and accomplishments of the people featured in this book, and the many thousands like them, are what has made our country great. It is ironic that their contibutions and in some cases sacrifices have not received the recognition that they are rightfully due.

Buy this book, regardless of your political viewpoint on the logging industry, and celebrate the spirit that has enabled all of us to enjoy the many privledges of being Americans.

I thoroughly enjoyed this heartfelt tribute to the author's Italian immigrant grandmother. The recipes are delightful and unusual. A must-have for any gourmet kitchen.

I thoroughly enjoyed this passionate tribute to the author's Italian heritage. The authentic recipes from Basilicata are magnificient. The author shares family photos and recollections of growing up Italian-American. A great gift for fellow Italian-Americans.

"Discovering Basilicata" is much more than a cook book. This book is written from the heart and describes this yet-to-be discovered region of Italy, Basilicata, from someone who has been there and whose roots are from there. Fascinating vignettes of life in Basilicata are interspersed with historical and modern receipes from the region in English and Italian! Soups and Pastas, main courses of game and fish, side dishes and pizza, and deserts. It's all there written in a delightfully personal style. This book would make an excellent gift for anyone, whether they have been to Italy or fondly wish they could go. Basilicata still preserves the essence of old Italy. It lies waiting to be discovered. "Discovering Basilicata" opens the door to this discovery.

Mindy Starns Clark is proving to be a gifted writer. In her second in The Million Dollar Mysteries series, Ms. Clark once again shows her talent for character development, as well as "edge-of-your-seat" suspense! The characters are believable and well rounded. The storyline is at once credible and riveting. Although it helps to have read the first book in the series, it's not necessary. It doesn't take long to make a connection to Callie Webber, the book's main character. She is a woman of faith - strong, yet vulnerable at the same time.

I look forward to book three in the series and to other future books by this author.

It's not often the 2nd book in a series is as good as the first, but I have to say that I absoulutely loved this one better than the first, and the first book was great too!
Not only does Mindy Clark do a great job with her character profiles/backgroud but it makes you feel like you know them and are with them while the story unfolds. I found myself at times talking to them ( the characters).
In this book, Callie not only works on another murder mystery, but she also is going through some personal feelings and changes.
Her boss, Tom, is and enigma to me and there are a few nuggets of info on him that keep you guessing just what is up with him. I am so hoping in the next book that Mindy will give us some more details on him.
Mindy's books both the first in this series ( A Penny For Your Thoughts) and Don't Take any Wooden Nickels are really, really hard to put down.
Enjoy them. I know I sure did.

It is rare that an author writes a 2nd book in a series that is just as good or better than the first. I found this book to be page turning and enjoyable. And the ending was a real surprise too!

Born and raised in Lubec Maine, I grew to love the coast as if it were my own personal playground. As a young lad I would spend my days swimming in the chilly waters off my families private beach, and my nights roasting marshmellows over and open fire. When I was in my teens I went to work in the local sardine factory and spent many days dragging for scallops in the bay.

I moved away from Downeast Maine twenty years ago and I have missed it ever since. I miss the smell of the salt air and the nice cool breeze that always seems to be there. I miss the endless hay fields and the way the trees produce unheard of colors every fall. Most of all I miss the people. They are kind, honest, and carry an accent that could make anyone feel at home.

I bought the book Downeast Maine: A World Apart a month ago and I read it every day. The stories and black and white photos give the reader a true feeling for what it is like living in Downeast Maine. Reading it, I can almost smell the salt air and feel that unforgettable summer breeze. The book really brings me home again. It's wonderfull book!

A summer resident of Maine's easternmost corner, Frank Van Riper goes beyond clam shacks, country clubs and outlet malls to portray how people 'Down East' eke out a living and build a life.

Van Riper, a former White House correspondent for the New York Daily News ably handles both camera and notepad to record vivid, full-frame images of his neighbors. This is fundamentally a book about people, and he has clearly managed to transcend that putoffishness that Maine residents are known for to get their stories alongside their pictures. The text doesn't merely accompany, nor do the photos merely illustrate; they are inseparable components.

There is a timeless quality to these images of people, most seen at work. Only at times does a modern watch or a radar dome on a boat remind you that clams are still dug through back-breaking labor and lobster hauled up one or two at a time. The book was collected over a number of years, and italics note where the subject portrayed died between the portrait and publication -- and you feel the loss.

This is serious documentary, with more than a hint of Walker Evans and Sebastián Salgado, but with light touches as well. Van Riper devotes a page to the peculiar delight of Maine's own Grape Nuts ice cream, a confection that predates -- and in his view, outrates -- Ben and Jerry's chunky conglomerates.

A visually stunning series of what happens when a dead whale washes ashore in his small town of Kennebec closes out the book. The sharply mottled skin of the whale amid the wash-fade of a foggy illustrate the beauty of his corner of Maine, as Van Riper also tells us of hard choices a financially strapped, self-reliant community must face as it struggles to get rid of what is, after all, tons and tons of rotting flesh.

This sensitive portrayal proves that what it means to be from Maine has nothing to do with what bottled water you drink.

Frank Van Riper captures, in his portraits of Maine, the people that he has come to know slowly (is there any other way in Maine?) through his photo excursions to the northeast.

His "moment" photographs are some of my favorites, including the photo of the boy at the pie-eating contest. It's an ageless photograph captured with precision timing and artful composition. These are traits of photographs throughout the book and share the essence of great documentary photojournalism--the ability to capture a simple (almost unseen) moment with artisitc and historic sensibilities. Van Riper captures this quiet beauty in medium format which lends itself to the superb reproductions.

Van Riper's fine images coupled with his words showcase his great ear for telling dialogue honed during his "other" career as a newspaper writer.

I have been searching for this book for 7 years. I could only turn to the libraries and the government Parks Board for reference. So i would very much appreciate if your company could make it available in the market.
It is a brilliant book for reference especially if one is in the industry. I have not come across any books that could come close to Graf's compilation of plants. I am also very interested in his other book Tropica which is also not been made available in the market. So please could i at least order the book from this review column

I have the Series 3 Seventh Edition. It is the best pictorial book on identifying plants that is out and if you are so lucky to purchase one, you will be envied by your fellow gardners. They are scarce and those who have these books treasure them and do not give them up.

I bought my version in 1967 and consider it to be the best illustrated horticultural book I have seen. I still have it. It does suffer a major disadvantage in that it is too thick for one volume making it very unstable to read on your lap,the danger being that it's weight will cause it to drop off while you are holding a page. I have not seen Exotica 4 and would appreciate knowing what changes were made if that is possible. I have to be fair though and tell you that I will not be buying. Thankyou.

Want to get outdoors and be active in the Boston area? Start by buying this book. Lee Sinai describes, in wonderful detail, many of the rides and hikes one can take within a thirty-five-mile radius of Boston. The author has organized the forty trips around geographical areas, north, south or west of Boston, so selecting one is easy. Maps of each destination are included. Each trip description includes what's important to an outdoor enthusiast.... availability of restrooms, closest access to food, degree of difficulty, directions for getting there, and a historical background of the area.
Using this book, I discovered Dogtown, a mountain biking haven in Gloucester. I also experienced Cameron's, home to the best lobster roll in Massachusetts. The author led me to Great Brook Farm in Carlisle for cycling and then to Kimball's for a memorable ice cream treat.
As a guidebook, I give Exploring In and Around Boston on Bike and Foot the highest rating.

Lee Sinai has taken a group of varied and unusual hikes and trails around Boston and compiled them into an informative and accessible guide. We refer to her book often when looking for interesting, new places to explore, and have found it invaluable in "rediscovering" Boston.

Right from the get go I found this hiking and biking guide to be a miracle of organization and indispensable information. This book not only groups locations by geographical location, but also with respect to hiking, road biking and mountain biking. I found the handy reference guide towards the beginning of the book extremely useful while including not only difficulty ratings, but also mileage for each trip, something not always available in one specific location in a guide book. The maps accompanying each site are extremely easy to follow and the descriptions really do fit the terrain perfectly, whether or not you chose to take the book along on your journeys. I found the directions to each location to be extremely useful and especially appreciated the public transportation options that help those city dwellers who lack automobiles. Other handy features include locations and descriptions of local restaurants, attractions and even restrooms. This book included an very helpful mix of locations both in the greater Boston area, as well as highlighting several gems in the neighboring suburbs. I especially appreciated the handy reference map showing the location of all the spots, as well as the ever present tips to find geater enjoyment in your outdoor adventures!

What kind of man, at 45 years of age, slogs 60 kilometres through a Canadian January to give a lecture on icebergs?

The Victorian era has endured much hostile press in recent years. Cultural mores have been challenged, essential ideas decried as "social artefacts" and the reputations of heroic idols, nearly universally male, demolished as shams. It's become a novelty to encounter the celebratory resurrection of a forgotten icon. McGoogan relates the life and accomplishments of Scotsman John Rae, who joined a Hudson's Bay Company ship as surgeon, travelled to Canada in 1833 and remained for twelve years - on the first stay. McGoogan has surveyed many of the resources dealing with Arctic exploration, but Rae's own accounts provide the essential framework for this compelling narrative. The book is nearly two stories in one: Rae's ranging explorations along the Canadian Arctic coast, and the mysterious disappearance of the John Franklin expedition. McGoogan keeps this paired account nicely balanced until they merge to determine Rae's future reputation.

John Rae was a departure from the usual explorer of the Victorian age. Instead of heading complex expeditions, he travelled with a small support group. Instead of ships or extensive caravans, he travelled by canoe or small boat, on land using snowshoes. He was extraordinarily hardy, traversing extensive distances, often alone. He adapted many features of Aboriginal life in his travels when "going native" was disdained by most. He kept his associates fed when other British explorers were starving on government rations. He found the route of the elusive Northwest passage and determined the fate of the lost Franklin expedition seeking that route. Later, he turned from Arctic adventures to the survey of a telegraph line site across the Rocky Mountains. Why have we heard so little of him?

According to McGoogan, one individual maintained a steady campaign to reduce Rae's reputation. Jane Franklin, Sir John's quasi-widow [she refused to admit her husband's death for years], irked by the possibility her husband had turned to cannibalism in extremity, actively challenged many of Rae's accomplishments. She fostered Leopold McClintock as the verifier of Sir John's finding of the Northwest Passage. In her zeal, she even managed to secure the aid of no less a figure than Charles Dickens to her cause. McGoogan contends Dickens' virulent racism aided this assault when the novelist asserted the Inuit were consummate liars and the true cannibals. In the event, John Rae stands out as the only explorer of note that failed to achieve knighthood for his achievements.

McGoogan has produced a noteworthy study, done with lively wit and solid research. This book restores John Rae's position as the true finder of the Northwest Passage and as man with few peers. This book can be read by anyone seeking knowledge of the North or as a model of perseverance and sacrifice. Illustrated with photographs and engravings and including a fine bibliography, this is a real treasure to read and possess.

I bought this book to learn more about John Rae himself. In the history of arctic and antarctic travel and exploration, Rae was unequalled in his ability to travel lightly and quickly. He covered unheard of amounts of ground in short time. On snow shoes he was without peer. He shot game as he went. He could stand huge amounts of fatigue. Amundsen might come the closest for swift and efficient movement but he mostly travelled with skis and with dogs. Rae was mostly on foot, or canoe, where he also was without peer. On one long journey he actually gained weight. He was one of the few who understood the eskimo or inuit and spoke favorably of them which earned him the scorn of his peers and the leading snobbery in England. Yet his peers didn't live with the eskimo as Rae had and did. History has proven Rae honest and accurate in his portrayal of the eskimo and of his reports of cannibalism among the Franklin Expedition. Because he refused to recant this tale of cannibalism (The eskimo had told him this and he knew them to be truthful and stood up for them) he was ostrasized and critisized and lost a knighthood. He stuck with the truth and his principles. Further explorations and discoveries have proven him to be correct. This was a man sans pareil when it came to back country traveling and exploring. A man of integrity and honesty. You don't hear much about such heros. Instead, you hear of so called "heros" among the inept and...Scott of the Antarctic. This book will introduce you to Rae and his explorations and discoveries. I also highly recommend "The Last Place on Earth" by Huntford (about race to the South Pole--shows the stupidity of Scott and genius but flaws of Amundsen) and "Arctic Grail" by Berton (Arctic Exploration).

McGoogan has written an excellent biography of John Rae that conveys not only the struggles that the explorer went through to find the ill-fated Franklin expedition, but also the scientific banishment that he suffered when he reported the bizarre circumstances of their deaths.
Rae was a doctor employed by the Hudson's Bay Company. The HBC had been set up to exploit the vast fur trade in Canada, and had outposts across the North. Rae, an outdoorsman and naturalist, was commissioned to explore the shores of the vast Arctic waters, searching for the last, elusive connection that would allow sailing ships to navigate from the Atlantic to the Pacific Oceans.
Many explorers had gone before Rae. One expedition, headed by Sir John Franklin, had disappeared without a trace in the 1840s. Several search parties subsequently failed to find the explorer and his crew.
Finally, Rae was asked to search for the party. He set out, not with a large crew and ships, but with a small number of natives and Europeans experienced in traveling in the frozen North. After several years, in which Rae found the last remaining link in the Northwest Passage, he finally uncovered the fate of the Franklin Expedition; the boats had foundered in the ice, and the crew had starved to death while marching south.
Rae also uncovered evidence of cannibalism. In their last efforts to remain alive, the crewmen had consumed their dead companions. Rae, in his report, duly noted this observation.

Unfortunately, this was to be his undoing. Led by Franklin's widow, Lady Jane, Rae was ostracized from the Royal Geographical Society and his epic discovery of the final link in the Northwest Passage disparaged. For over a century, his achievements languished in the footnotes of history.
McGoogan set out to rectify Rae's tarnished image. Using research from Rae's extensive notes, as well as primary sources from a multitude of independent sources, he has carefully constructed a description of Rae's achievements, as well as the denunciations that robbed him of his rightful place in history.
As an homage, the author journeyed to the Arctic and placed a memorial at the final discovered link in the Northwest Passage, now officially recognized as Rae Strait.

A slim, accessible and enjoyable introduction to Amazonian botany, ideal for the non-specialist. Contains over 240 colour photos; a handy species list featuring English, Spanish and Latin names; and much fascinating data about the uses to which these plants have been put. Guaranteed to put a friendly face to that mass of plantlife that you see all around you on any trip to the neotropics of Latin America.

A Field Guide to Medicinal and Useful Plants of the Upper Amazon is destined to be a classic. I have read dozens of books and hundreds of papers about the Amazonian flora, and yet, this is the first that combines quality color photographs with accurate botanical text, and ethnobotanical lore in one package. If this small, but valuable tome had only been available for my ethnobotanical field expedition with the Machiguenga in 1995, I suspect that I could have accomplished a great deal more. The same would be true for any scientist, eco-tourist or armchair naturalist who anticipates an Amazonian excursion, even if only a cerebral journey. This book deserves to be widely read and shared. It illustrates the hidden wealth of medicinal plants and the value of biodiversity to our future survival on this planet. This knowledge is essential, and the indigenous people who possess it are vitally endangered. I hope that this book will be translated into Spanish, Portugese, French and Dutch, so that the post-colonial settlers of Amazonia will also come to value and understand the botanical and therapeutic riches of their rainforests.

This is the most helpful guide for me, a frequent visitor. Clear photographs, interesting descriptions, fascinating snippets of rainforest lore and well-researched information on local uses of each plant make for a good read for anyone who is interested in plants and rainforest.

As a native Lagunero (Torreon, Coah) this is one of the best books I've read about the Comarca. It is a must to understand where do we come from.

The Laguna Region has been mis-understood by many; not so a fellow from Australia and this William K. Meyers and some others, including Reed. How strange, that it will take "strangers" to document this part of Old Mexico, and then, so sweet... the Laguna was made by foreign peoples, not only of other States; Zacatecas would probably announce a good part of the population!

The Iritilas lost, of iniquilation due to sickness, and no monument to them: But the "river people" are richly disclosed by Meyers and adds a scholarship bibliography to the history of The Laguna.

If you have ever wondered how it is that the many peoples that inhabit this Region are so jelous of one another, this book could enlighten you. And, if ever you drank a drop of Lagunero water, not only will you recognize the value of IT in a desert, but she (the Laguna) will demand you to return it!

I, a Lagunero, am intriged by the many writtings that this book of Meyers uncovers, and finally come to rest on the "why's" and "porque's".

This scholarly discussion of the origins of the Mexican Revolution in the Laguna region of northern Mexico not only makes plain the complex strands of human interaction that ignited the Mexican conflict but goes far to explain how revolutions arise and dissolve generally. Meyers's style is direct and careful. And he really knows and loves Mexico. (By the way, that LA should be La.

To anyone that is not familar with coal region life...this is a good reflection of what it was like. The hard times, the good times, the cheating and politics that went on even in that era. I thought it was great and very interesting.

I WOULD RECOMMEND THIS BOOK TO ANY ONE THAT ENJOYS A GOOD STORY. I FEEL YOU COULD PUT YOUR OWN ANCESTORY INTO SOME OF THE EVENTS IN THIS BOOK. ALTHOUGH IT WAS WRITTEN ABOUT EARLY DAYS OF THE COAL REGION IN PENNSYLVANIA I THINK LIFE WAS LIKE THIS FOR MOST IMMIGRANTS COMING TO AMERICA IN THIS TIME FRAME. I WOULD LIKE TO READ BOOKS NORM OLEY WILL WRITE IN THE FUTURE IF THE STORY KEEPS ME INTERESTED THE WAY THIS ONE HAS.

this is the 1st book i have read in a long time that made me want to finish it the same day. i found this book to be interesting showing accounts of how events actually happened in the early days of coal discovery in the coal region of pennsylvania. i believe this is a book the whole family would enjoy reading. writing was tasteful. being from the coal region and trying to put my own family history to the book although fiction could possibly been loosely based on facts. i am looking forward to the next book norm oley writes.