This is one of the most touching, beautiful books I have ever read. Scannell shares her life with her readers and honors the memories of her AIDS patients through her her series of "anecdotes." Each chapter is a different story, or memory, making it easy to read over a span of a week or more, or even in a day. In it, she touches upon a variety of issues like healthcare, sexuality, gender, death, family, and fear and she talks about her evolving from a good doctor (i.e. seeing the patient's physical needs) to a compassionate doctor (treating the patient holistically and considering their emotional needs).
In the last chapter she reflects on her five years of experience on an AIDS ward and how it helps her cope with her discovery that she has cancer.
When I read this book, I felt like she was next to me in person telling me these stories. I laughed; I got sad; I felt hopeful. This is a testament to human life, and I would recommend this easy read to anyone.

What a wonderful set of truths Scannell reveals in her experiences of caring for dying patients. Honest, raw, funny experiences that shed light into a world few of us can ever know. How great, too, that she "expands the traditional narrative" of physicians' lives.

There exist so few memoirs written by women physicians. It is refreshing to see Dr. Scannell's experience expand the narrative about all physicians' lives. Her mix of humor and sober observation is a beautiful weave of writing.

The author skillfully uses the biography of a San Francisco gold rush pioneer to illuminate the broader history of America's westward movement. Through the prism of one man's experience, a reader comes to understand the impulses and circumstances that constitutes one of America's single-most important developments--the setteling of America's west. Fans of "common-man" history will especially like following the tracings of an average man and family, who, by pluck, industry, and perseverance managed to create for himself and his heirs an authentic, Horatio Alger rags-to-riches success story.

This is a riveting account of one man's journey to the promised lands of California. This is a must read for California history buffs. It is the most impressive and well researched book I have read in a long time!!!

Being new to the bay area need not be daunting anymore. With this book in hand, you can go anywhere you want. All you need is an address. And since the map is in separate A4 size pages, it is very easy to look at different sections at the same time. No need to fold and unfold, no need to be worried about its getting torn.

The maps also have a lookup based on the house numbers. It will be the best investment you will have made in a long long time.

If you live in the Bay Area, the Thomas Bros. map book "Metropolitan Bay Area" is the one volume to keep by your side. It covers just about every single town and street between San Jose and the North Bay. If you're among the terminally lost, this is the book to have...forget those map web sites!

This book is an incredible resource for cyclists. It is unfortunate that it hasn't been given more recent updates, or that the publisher doesn't adequately support it. The degree of topographical detail on the root profiles is unsurpassed on any books I've seen in the United Stages -- perhaps the Atlas les Cols des Alpes comes close. It fails to get a 10 because:
1. it is becoming obsolete
2. there may be some minor errors in the data

This (and its companion book) are the best ride books I have ever read. In fact, they're the only ones I've ever even liked.

Each route is laid out in elevation profile in an attractive, uncluttered profile. Scale is provided in miles and kilometers for the distance; feet and meters for the elevation; 0 at road start for both. The gradient for steep sections is cleanly labeled on the profile itself. Intersections with other major (from the cyclist's perspective) roads are indicated with a reference to the page number for that road.

The short, spare route descriptions do it for me. They're not the usual boring blow-by-blow description of the road. "At this point, if it's spring, notice the colorful flowers on the left." Rather, he provides a spare description of the feel of the riding of the road, as a cyclist would feel them. At least, as I do.

Note: the book also contains a number of black and white photos of the roads, back roads usually empty, with curves, and shot at low angle. The photographer often darkens the road, so there is little contrast between it and the surroundings. The road appears incorporated into the natural environment. Again, a cyclist's feel.

This book is the best resource for a rider that you can find. It's written to appeal to everyone from a budding racer to someone looking for family fun.

He goes round and round trying to use big words. Not only does he not understand what Paramedics are doing from day to day on the streets, he trys to analyze it on a psychological level. Not real readable. Best not to pay such a high price for a man who is still trying to write college term papers for a living.

These are the real voices of real people doing a nasty job for a [crummy]...py company under rotten conditions. The tales are unvarnished, many are "war stories," some are personal reflections. Each thematic section comprises unedited stories of medics, followed by Tangherlini's analysis from his perspective as an Occupational Folklorist. The validity of this perspective may be arguable, but I find it very accurate and insightful. Tangherlini's greatest contribution is letting my friends and coworkers tell their stories.

As with the movie Bringing out the Dead, most EMS personnel either love or hate this book. If you are interested in urban EMS, either as an outsider or reflective insider, it is an excellent book. Should you find it degrading or negative, I think you're missing the point. These are the voices of people working well past the edges of what most EMS professionals consider normal. If you want "Johnny and Roy save the day" try Angels of Emergency.

I thought this would be stories from the heroes we see on news and TV. It isn't. But the stories are really great anyway. Funny, weird--maybe a bit dark, but so was Bringing out the Dead. I guess the book isn't what you'd expect--the paramedics aren't glamorized at all. I guess this guy sometimes sounds like a professor, but that's what he is. None of my professors in college ever came close to writing something this interesting. Personally, I think the book is really readable and enjoyable, at least if you're halfway educated--I read it on a plane and couldn't stop laughing (I think people thought I was nuts since plane trips these days aren't places where too many people laugh). I guess you either really love this book or really hate it. It definitely makes you think. I for one won't look at an ambulance the same way again.

Jeri Howard is not among the strongest representatives of the female PI genre, but these stories are well plotted and believable. This installment has a neat plot twist after making an early point on the evils of stalking and harassment. This book is recommended for a solid, entertaining read.

As always, Janet writes a great story

I have consumed every one of Janet Dawson's series involving private eye Jeri Howard. I love the characters and Jeri's sense of humor, as well as the realism in the issues which she confronts. I heartily recommend any of the Jeri Howard series to anyone who likes mysteries involving female detectives and lots of character!

As far as Bay Area hiking books go, this is the best one I have for the East Bay. However, it is not my *favorite* hiking book. There are a lot of parks & trails that you just won't find in regular Bay Area hiking books. I like that. BUT, I found the trail descriptions long winded & sometimes confusing. What I often do with hikes from this book is find the park & get a real map to sort out my route before I leave my car. Then I leave the book in the car. I just use it as a sort of pre-hike guideline for mileage & scenery, etc.

I'm glad I picked this up. It got me motivated to get out and enjoy the stunning beauty of the East Bay. The book has only a general description of the plant and animal life you would expect to see, so if you're into that you may want to bring an Audubon guide along for more detail. I only wish he was more descriptive about the steepness of some of these trails!

I'm really enjoying this book. I've been hiking in the east bay for long enough that I was in something of a rut and this book is really breaking me out of it. It has good coverage of the area, with one or two good trails per park instead of concentrating in any given area. The hikes are mostly loops, and the distances and difficulty measurements are more realistic than some of these books where the author seems to be trying to show how tough they are. The trail descriptions are actually interesting and there are nice maps, again unlike most hiking books.

GM Johnson has produced a useful, very reasonably priced map book for these counties. Street detail is very good in the densely populated areas, but is often lacking for those places off-the-beaten-track. Therefore, if you just need to get around the cities and towns, this map is great. However, it is really not sufficient for backroad treks.

The book is well organized in content. Vocabulary words are put in a separate section, presented along with illustrations and example dialogues so that readers would understand the application of the new vocab words in everyday use and in sentence structure. Grammar is efficiently explained, especially in part of verb tenses and conjugation. Practice exercises are well suited to each section. The only flaw is that the book is outdated in cultural knowledge. The book is of 1992, in need of newer information about Spanish-speaking world.

This work by an eminent writer on old-time outlaws and lawmen can be viewed from several vantage points: the storied career of Harry Morse, the ins and outs of law enforcement in the Old West, and the interplay between Hispanics and Anglos in Old California. Boessenecker describes Morse as a "gunfighter, manhunter, and sleuth whose career is without parallel in the history of the American frontier." More importantly, the author, like other western historians in recent years, shows the difference between the blood and thunder school of thought about Old West gunfighting lawmen who occasionally pinned on a silver star, and those individuals who saw law enforcement in the American West as a profession. As a career minded peace officer, Morse spent decades learning the techniques needed to investigate crimes and to track and capture outlaws and desperadoes. New Mexico Historical Review, April 1999.

HARRY MORSE WAS A HERO FORGOTTEN . HIS BRAVERY, TENACITY AND COURAGE FAR OUT SHINES THE OTHER MORE POPULAR WESTERN HEROES LIKE THE EARPS. HIS GUNFIGHT WITH JUAN SOTO IS EDGE OF THE SEAT EXCITEMENT AND HIS TALES OF ORDINARY DAY TO DAY LIFE IN OLD CALIFORNIA GIVES AN INSIGHT TO OUR HISTORY..GREAT READING.

In telling Morse's fascinating story, Boessenecker, a San Francisco-based attorney, often allows Morse to do the telling. (Yes, Harry was far more prolific with a pen than either Wyatt or Wild Bill). You'll also find plenty of solid insight into California's battle for law and order after the gold rush. . . . From now on, when someone sings of a lawman being "brave, courageous and bold," it just might make sense to think of Harry instead of Wyatt. Wild West Magazine, August 1999.