I was lucky to find this book in the library and used it extensively while in Warsaw, Cracow and Prauge. The detail is incredible, the writing style excellent with a lilt of humor. This book -made- my trip so I'm buying my own copy. If you take this book to Europe with you don't bother hiring a guide or taking a tour. It has more than any individual could offer.

This book is a gem! I pick it up and settle down in my chair and am transported in time and place to Eastern Europe. I was in Prague before I read the book (it had not been published yet) and now when I read the Prague sections everything comes to life. Mr. Valley has a way with words. He supples the reader with his dense knowledge of his subject in an easy to read, matter of fact style. I would recommend this book to anyone whether or not they are planning to travel to the cities described. I am eagerly awaiting his next book.

Having known Eli many years ago at University, I couldn't wait to read this book to re-establish spiritual contact. What I wasn't prepared for was the depthand passion that Eli had written on the subject. This is a masterpiece that once you have picked up you will not put down until you have seen the cities and experienced the tours first hand. My only regret is that the vast majority of those reading this book may never actually visit Prague.

(From Planeta Journal) - Ready to explore one of the world's most intriguing regions? Take your trip with Christopher Shaw who introduces readers to the Usumacinta River and its magnificent watershed that stretches across the Mexico-Guatemala border in his new book, Sacred Monkey River (New York: W.W. Norton, 2000).

Subtitled "A Canoe Trip with the Gods," this notable book traces the author's canoe trips running the great river. Unlike many adventure travel narratives in which the author plunges into an unknown terrain, Shaw aims for comprehension rather than searching for misadventure. The result is an account which combines the best of travel literature and environmental reporting.

Few travelers opt for the watery path, particularly with the threat of hijackings and shootings in such a remote area. But Shaw, an accomplished river guide and an enthusiast of the Maya culture, will not be deterred.

"In classical art, two gods pictured as canoeists, accompanied travelers on both actual and metaphysical journeys," Shaw explains. "Both gods paddle the souls of the dead to the Otherworld and the cosmic canoe -- the Milky Way -- across the sky."

Shaw also connects with the environmentalists in the region, including Fernando Ochoa and Ronald Nigh -- two pioneers in developing sustainable agricultural practices in the region.

The book is a veritable "Who's Who" in the region. Meet Scott Davis of Ceiba Adventures, Maya scholars Linda Schele and David Freidel, Moises Morales, the owner of El Pachan and Victor Perera, author of The Last Lords of Palenque.

The book is divided into 12 chapters and boasts the 1953 Franz Blom map of the Selva Lacandona on the inside book cover. What would be useful additions would be a map of the author's expeditions and an index of places and names.

Sacred Monkey River deserves a long shelf-life and it will no doubt be consulted for many years by travelers and environmentalists alike.

This is the real thing folks. No more cute travel stories that romanticize without substance, that Disneyize and exaggerate. This book is the story of the author's courageous and thoughtful trip through an amazingly historical place that is also presently complicated and important. However, the author comes at it from a personal angle: the cosmology of canoes. We learn the importance of canoe travel not only to the Maya but to the author and people in general. That connects to the Maya cosmology and culture, the sense of place that is inherent in living in a watershed and having your existence contingent to flowing water (whether you live in the Lacandon forest or Westchester County), the importance of the geography of the region to the people who live there, and then finally to how all this connects to the Zapatista movement and the modern, and not so modern (this thing is full of scholarly but apt historical asides) plight of the indigenous Maya. All along the way you get to like the author, in his sometimes goofy gringo ways but his omnipresent awareness of his own place within the experience. Sprinkle in healthy doses of heart-thumping whitewater in canoes with inexperienced bow-men, death defying swims, life-threatening bandits, and tight, musical prose, and you've got one heck of a book. I tell you what, Shaw's got it right, the same way Matthiesson did. I recommend this book extremely highly. I wish it were getting more publicity. Read it. Its important.

This book has been a genuine page turner for me, and as I approached the end I tried not to read too much at each sitting so I could prolong its pleasures.

It is for anyone interested in Mesoamerica, Mayan culture, canoeing as adventure, or boats as the movers of trade and ideas. Also for anyone who is lusting for an otherworld experience, metaphorically or actually, though trave, boating, psychogenic drugs, or all of the above. It is full of honest hard-nosed obserevation of nature and the specific nature of this area, and at the same time streches for and is able to peek at the"final" trip, perhaps as many civilizatins saw it, goin on a craft down a river or out to sea/see. shaw effortlessly intertwines some Spanish into his evocative--dare I use the word--poetic English, always aiming for and touching precision and clarity without sacrificing mystery. On, I believe, its deepest level, the language as well as the story drew me into the unknow, into the future, and of course the past as well.

The "great river" is the Mississippi River that provides the western border of Wisconsin. This 250 mile stretch of the river showcases spectacular scenery. Beginning in the north at Prescott, and continuing down to Potosi in the south, there is a superb highway running down along side which is called the "Great River Road". Norm Rogers and Chris Dinesen Rogers have collaborated to produce for the traveler or vacationer traveling along this highway system a highly recommended and very portable compendium of 101 suggestions of things to do and see. Designed with one specific suggestion per page, each entry also includes a specific and relevant fact. If you are planning a day-trip or an extended weekend along Wisconsin's share of the Great River Road, then begin planning your itinerary by browsing through the pages of Norm and Chris Rogers' 101 Things To Do On The Wisconsin Great River Road!

For the past several years, Chris and I have traveled the Great River Road in Wisconsin, and while doing so, looked for the perfect travel guide. Everything we found seemed to be self-serving, paid advertisements, so we decided to write our own. "101 Things To Do" is a list of fun things that can be enjoyed by the entire family. It turned out to be the best little book. Even after driving the Road a dozen times, it still keeps us busy. I would recommend this book to anyone.

A delightful travel companion with interesting suggestions and fun trivia! Definitely leads you down the "road less traveled" with great results!

I have two step-sons, ages 14 and 12. They are not avid readersbut were fascinated by this book. We are planning a trip to Brazil andamong the books I suggested for them was this one. I picked it up at on a recent trip to New York. My kids found it a great adventure book and motivated them even more to want to visit brazil.

This is a good book because it gives a lot of detail of what is going on in it.

Humor based on another time and another place, the California Central Vally 50 years ago, and loaded with insights of the working class there.

Everyone interested in Calif. Oklahoma and Texas must read this book to understand how the Great Central Valley was conquered by these three states.

The book interested me initially because it was about McClures written by a McClure. I was quite amazed at how closely it resembled my own McClure family's saga. I would very much like to discuss it with the author if she reads these reviews.

My mom is a avid reader and has read the series. She will probably read them again, |But she has a question about the quilt that hangs in Indiana. She would like to see it. Could you tell me where it is at. She is a quilter still at 86. Thank you Ann Bingham

After reading Tajikistan: The Trials of Independence (see review), my perspective of this region was broadened immensely with Calming the Ferghana Valley. An in-depth study of Uzbekistan, Tajikistan (with particular focus on Northern Tajikistan) and Kyrgystan, the book acts as more of a petition, or call to action, to secure stability in these regions before the continued fragility, confusion, and disintegration of the political and social structure influences an irreversible course toward explosive upheaval.

The recent events in Afghanistan have demonstrated how far-reaching the effects of socio-political unrest can be. They have also demonstrated how strategically valuable these countries can be, being located in the middle of the tumultuous Asian continent. This book is a first attempt at staving off the violent actions and reactions that may or may not occur as a result of the unrest. But with the bombings in Osh, Kyrgystan; the kidnappings and "disappearances" in Tajikistan, and the secret unrest in Uzbekistan, it does not take much influence to convince one that the unrest may be more violent than diplomatic.
I'm just a guy from Minnesota, USA. I have never been to any of these places and probably never will go. Reading this book, however, gives me an apprecation for the struggles that these people encounter every day--both on an individual level and on the governmental level.
The land is a beautiful land, ranging from deserts to spectacular mountains. The people there have a desire to succeed and, with a little of our help, as proposed in this book, perhaps they will.
Read it--Learn a little about this world that you live upon!

This book offers some very good, concise descriptions of eighteen lesser known fur trappers,traders and mountain men of the early American west. After reading several books on this subject myself,there were some names I never came across before who were very instrumental during this time period: James Kipp, Gabriel Franchere, William Laidlaw, David Dawson, William Gordon and John Sanford to mention a few. Each one of these men's lives had obstacles of hardships, disasters, frustrations, etc. to overcome and all had something to do with the founding and development of the early American west in one way or another. It was a fun book to read and the bibliographies in each chapter simply 'whet the appetite' to read more about these interesting early frontiersmen.

When the subject of the Ozarks comes up in South Alabama, the first word to pop into the minds of most people is "Branson". Phyllis Rossiter's book proves there is much, much more to that complex and beautiful part of the country and its people.

Anybody planning to visit the Ozarks, or anybody living there, would do well to invest in a copy. As a travel guide, it shows there is something in the Ozarks for every taste. It provides great suggestions for fascinating, varied and unexpected things to see and the best ways to see them. Ms. Rossiter also gives addresses for getting more information about the places she describes.

In addition to its excellence as a travel guide, A LIVING HISTORY comes with a special bonus: Ms. Rossiter's insight into history and the Ozark culture and psyche. That insight will help explain the reasons for the uniqueness of the area and its people. Even native Ozarkers will come away with a better understanding of themselves. Don't head for the Ozarks without it!

This guide has detailed information about schools both public & private, baby care centers, healthcare, cost of living items such as grocery prices, rental housing & new homes, profiles of the towns/cities around Sacramento, recreation, crime statistics, weather, commuting & more. It's worth the money to get the details on what each area is like & things you need to know for moving your family to Sacramento.