Want to find a great guide for an enjoyable cycling adventure on the Katy Trail across Missouri? While this "escape" is only one of many covered in Gustafson & Jarrett's "Great Escapes from St. Louis", it is worth the price of the book alone. My husband and I have enjoyed several weekend bicycle trips along the trail made more enjoyable by their recommendations for historic sites, restaurants and our favorite experience; staying in a bed & breakfast. Pick up this book if you want to plan a bike trip from beginning to end! It is enjoyable reading while you locate valuable information that takes the guess work out of your travel planning. The authors convince you to travel our part of the country and experience the fun they obviously had while researching this book.

I have lived in Kansas City area for 15 years and had no idea there was so much too see and do here. I had heard about these attractions, but the authors really captured their character and liveliness. Seeing our city through another's eyes made us realize how much we have to offer. We also went to St. Joseph and enjoyed seeing the museums described in the book. We definitely plan on using this book for more "Escapes," especially those to the east. These authors obviously put a lot of time and work into this publication.

This book was a quick reading history of a wonderful area in the south entrance to Rocky Mountain National Park. Anyone visiting Grand Lake should give this a read, well worth the money.

Having visited Grand Lake several times in my life, I was very pleased to get "A Quick History of Grand Lake" as a gift from my family. In this book, Geary offers historical insight and interesting anecdotes on the Grand Lake region couched within comfortable prose. Yes, it's a quick history - but it's hardly dull. Whether you've visited Grand Lake once or 1,000 times, there's something in this book for you.

James Alan McPherson, author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning Elbow Room, has written "in exile" since 1981 in the largely white university town of Iowa City. In this collection of essays, A Region Not Home, he challenges the status quo about race, writing, sports, friendship, ethics, the obligation to take care of Ralph Ellison's widow, trying to fit into Iowa City's Big 10 culture, and other matters. I am awed by his work: every sentence is classically chiseled. And his work will not easily be accepted by blacks or whites, men or women, because of the depth of his talent and thinking.

McPherson, who graduated from Harvard Law School, has a terrific sense of humor--and an appreciation for influential thinkers ranging from Aristotle to Breece Pancake. Skip the first essay and go right to the heart of the book.

As an Iowa City native in exile--yeah, if I moved back, I fear I might find it tough to fit in--I adored reading about McPherson's half-hearted attempts to show Iowa City solidarity by hollering "Go, Hawks!" on game days.

May all his books come back into print soon.

A must read. As a followup to McPherson's book, Crabcakes, these are tight, thought provoking essays on race and region. Not only does each chapter reveal a dimension of the author's life, the are insightful glimpses into social relationships and the shaping of a gifted American writer.

This book has a dictionary-like format, with regions listed alphabetically, and a standardized sequence of topics for each region. It is full of facts and the kind of fascinating detail that gets passed over in general works about Spain. The author treats the history, geography, literature, music, art, even a recipe for each region. Lots of fun to browse or to prepare for a trip! However, not a sit-down-and-read-cover-to-cover type of book.

I found the book to be an excellent source for the history, geography, culture, literature, art, sites, and even dress, cuisine, and dance characteristic of each of Spain's 50 provinces. However, there are several errors in the statistical data given (POPULATION, AREA,ECONOMY), --for example, confusing Huesca and Huelva. I also would have wished to have better maps, more photos and possibly some color in the illustrations. The author also groups the regions and provinces alphabetically which might have been better if done by population or geographically. Overall, however, excellent and a wonderful reference for anyone interested in Spain. I only wish other nations had such a concise yet complete guide by region and political unit as has been done by the author for Spain.

ms. blumberg's book transported me back in time to a place that may have remained a hazy memory. her writing was so vivid tha i could half close my eyes and be back on that country road hitch-hiking (it was okay in the 40's} between hotels.

laced with the humor of the time, the book is a grabber. i also found myself a little teary at times, not from sadness, but rather from sweet memories. however, i found my self reading more and more slowly as i approached the end. i really wanted more.

This book takes the reader back to the heyday of the Catskill resort era. The author attacks the cliches about the Catskills, providing her spin on this great era in the resort industry. What makes this book a truly fun read is the humor. This book brought me back to a place that was special to me.

Rip Van Winkle is a story of an regular man that came in contact with some irregular people that would change his life forever. It all started out one day when Rip decided to go hunting with his dog. Up to this point in his search for freedom, he had lived a sleepy and uneventfull life with two kids and a wife. He was always trying to get out of work and find a way out of doing everything. One day he gets fed up with his life and finds himself out in the woods hunting;There he gets asked by a strange man to carry a keg to a nine pin party. Also during this party he ends up getting drunk and finds himself dosing off to sleep. When he finally wakes up he has a long white beard and twenty years older! He had fallen asleep for twenty years and found that he was now old, grey and still alive. At this point in the story he goes back to the village where he had lived for so long and finds that his wife and friends had all passed away and had left him. He also finds that his daughter got married and was raising a family. She sees him one day and recognizes him to be the man that was once her father. At this point in Rip's life, all he wants to do is settle down and he is satisified to become the village story teller to all who would hear his tales. This is a tale of suspense and just plain old good reading for all ages. It was written many years ago and could speak to all people of all ages and races. I would recomend this book to anyone from my Grandfather to the Queen of England.

Washington Irving's (1783-1859) claim to fame is as a pioneer of American fiction, and he is widely recognized as the "father of American literature." The book that especially propelled him to fame was "The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent." which contained his two most famous fantasy stories - "Rip Van Winkle" and "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" - both of which are contained in this collection.

But it is not merely his ground-breaking efforts that garnered him literary recognition, because Irving's stories are at the same time characterized by charming and colourful prose befitting a skilled writer. The stories in this collection (the "Puffin Classics" series) are an excellent sampling of his craft. It's not always easy reading - in fact many of these stories would be too dense even for older children. His vocabulary is extensive, and sentences structure verbose and lengthy - a style rather unlike that employed by contemporary writers. But despite this, Irving demonstrates a wonderful command of the English language, and has the ability to create a vivid picture of his setting, characters and events. Particularly delightful is the attention he devotes to describing his characters. And yet his stories are far from mere character portraits - they are exciting and enchanting tales that make the reader eager to find out the outcome.

"Rip Van Winkle" has gained the status of a classic, and is familiar to most children, but likely few have read Irving's original. It breathes an authenticity and air not found in the contemporary abridged versions of the story. Irving presents his tale as the alleged discovered manuscript (complete with postscript) of the late Diedrich Knickerbocker. The delightful story of Rip Van Winkle - who fell asleep in the Catskill mountains after drinking a mysterious brew acquired from some strange little men, and then awoke 20 years later - will continue to please readers old and new. In the course of the story, Irving makes a profound social comment about the changes happening in his America. "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" is renowned for its chilling tale of the Headless Horseman, and is a Halloween favorite. Actually, however, it is much more than that. It is not so much a spooky tale of a legendary village ghost as it is a colourful tale about two rival suitors. Ichabod Crane is a simple school teacher who is in love with Katrina Van Tassel, and equally in love with the estates of her father, a wealthy Dutch farmer. His counter-part is the powerful local hero Bram Bones, whose affections for Katrina mirror those of Ichabod Crane, and who is determined to put an end to the affections of underdog Crane by a mysterious and elaborate trickery. As is evident also in his other stories, it is particularly fascinating how Irving exploits the supernatural superstitions of the popular mind to create a sense of mystery and fear, but himself gives a naturalist explanation that rises above such popular notions by explaining the supernatural with natural events.

Though lesser known, the other three stories in the "Puffin Classics" collection are equally enjoyable. "The Spectre Bridegroom" is one of the most fascinating tales in the collection. A young man is mistaken for a bridegroom and received into the castle of a wealthy baron as the husband of the baron's daughter. But before the marriage can be consummated, the bridegroom dashes off, and the baron's family hears shortly afterwards that he's been killed. But then who appears again except the bridegroom - or is it his ghost? - to steal his bride and vanish once more! In the end, it is a satisfying tale more of brilliant scheming than of ghosts - although the fearful superstitions of the general public about the supernatural play an important role in the effective execution of these schemes. "The Pride of the Village" is the tragic tale of a young lady whose heart pines in love for an army officer who has deserted her, only to die at his feet when he returns. "Mountjoy" is a wonderful study of an apparently incurable romantic, described by Irving as a "Castle-Builder". When Mr. Mountjoy discovers a delicate footprint on a sandy shore, his passion for metaphysics, creativity and romance leads him to dream up an imaginary beautiful young maiden, and he promptly fall passionately in love with the nymph of his dreams. The air castle he builds and its accompanying romanticism is crushed numerous times, even drowned, but each time is renewed and revived, just when it seems that "the cobweb romance I had been spinning" would be demolished completely. In the end Mr. Mountjoy meets the girl of his dreams, only to discover that his air castles need to be reshaped once more, and in the end, destroyed completely.

Readers used to the easy diet of modern fiction will find the pioneering work of Washington Irving rather tough to chew on. But those who delight in tasting words, biting on imaginative characters and settings, with a few sips of suspense and supernatural in the process, will discover that Washington Irving's stories are just the literary serving they are renowned to be: a classic. Irving won't please all children of the modern era. But children of literature who have acquired a fine literary taste will find that despite the heightened language of his time, Irving is still digestible and enjoyable.

An excellent book! I find myself continuously recommending it. Fascinating from a geology and local interest point of view. I'll never look at La Jolla, Mission Bay and Point Loma the same way again.

AN EXCELLENT BOOK FOR THE AMATEUR GEOLOGIST, WHETHER YOU LIVE IN SAN DIEGO OR NOT. SO MANY QUESTIONS ARE ANSWERED IN A WAY THAT IS EASILY UNDERSTOOD. VERY WELL WRITTEN, AND VERY THOROUGH. I SEE SAN DIEGO IN A WHOLE NEW LIGHT. THANKS

This illuminating, well-researched book provides a look at a very important but neglected aspect of pre-Columbian Andean history. The re-tracing of ritual and pilgrimage in ancient times brings the reader into contact, with solid scientific basis, with native Andean spirituality, and gives essential insights into the rich and holistic Pre-Columbian Andean American Cosmo-vision. It also brings the Island of the Moon and its ancient sacred role out of undeserved obscurity.

This work is an excellent combination of archaeology and ethnohistory. The islands of the Sun and Moon in Lake Titicaca were two of the most important ritual pilgrimage sites in the Inca empire. Until now, our understanding of Inca religion has been hindered by the lack of a comprehensive study of these mysterious sacred islands. Bauer and Stanish present information from an extensive survey of the islands of the Sun and the Moon in a clear and persuasive manner. They then combine their survey results with what is known about these islands from historical sources to describe the activities of pilgrims and priests at these shrines. Anyone interested in Inca religion and politics will find this book invaluable.

I bought this book today and read it all in one reading, could not set it down one moment. So now I'm on Amazon.com to buy his other book. As I can best describe it, Reveles stories are warm but realistic, light but insightful, and each with their own points of wit. Having lived in Mexico for 7 weeks this summer, I could appreciate the brief inclusions of Spanish vocabulary tidbits and "culturalisms", but Reveles writing brings these cultural pieces to life equally for the American reader unacquainted with life south of the border. I absolutely recommend this book to all ages and both genders alike, and I'd say buy it since those around you will be curious after you laugh out loud while devouring each story in this book. Enjoy!

This is one of the best kept secrets of eloquent writing. I've finished this book in one breath. Since I live in San Diego and have been in Tecate, I can relate to a lot of the descriptions. Reading this book makes me want to visit Tecate again and really look for some of the things described. The style of the book is such that Reveles seems to compose music with his words. The descriptions are original, complex and show a command of the english language like no other. The suspense makes this book a first rank page turner. Great book worth to buy several copies of to send to friends.

PS. I can't believe I found a autographed copy in the dumpster, thrown away by one of my neighbors. What a sin.

This book has been a great find. It is well organized with buildings grouped in sections based on their neighborhood or community location--39 different divisions. Each section provides a building-coded map and a brief but good overview of the area. The biggest plus--a photo for EACH building, unfortunately not always a feature of architectural guidebooks.

This is a fine book -- I already took two of the walking tours and it was very enjoyable to see new places in neighborhoods I thought I knew so well. The author really did his homework, and it shows in the introductions to each area--good, clear writing is so rare these days. Plus the color photographs are excellent and there is one for every listing!