A World Destroyed is a very good accounting of the United States's building of the first atomic bombs, with a great emphasis on the diplomatic and political players, rather than the scientists. The author has updated the book to include the latest possible historical information from recently (book was printed in 1977) declassified material. Sherwin's major shortcoming is his ability to leave the reader asking even more questions than he started with. However, it is still worth reading for those who want to know more about such a revolutionary invention than you learn in high school.

To the above post, I would reply that to leave the reader asking questions is not a shortcoming at all. Rather, continually questioning and revising conclusions is what historical study is all about. The first mark of a good historian is the ability to ask the right questions--and this task is not nearly as easy as it may seem, as evidenced by the plethora of bad histories out there. And that a historian succeeds in prompting and inspiring the reader to ask his or her own questions after putting down the book can only be considered an exceptional quality. I would seriously question any historian who claimed to have all the complete answers to all of his or her questions.

A beautiful book. Get insight into the delicate ecosystem, the people and the wildlife in this amazing natural wonder.

Another wonderful book from National geographic. Get insight into the world's nest natural geysers. A must have for people planning to visit the beautiful park.

Superb photography of a supreme sport,a class book

I got this book by mistake, because one of Donald Westlake's pseudonyms is "Richard Stark." With this hilarious operatic travesty, the real Richard Stark has far surpassed the man behind his namesake. Let me explain.

One of the funniest Westlake novels is "Dancing Aztechs." Perhaps five times in the course of a first reading I had to put it down because I was laughing so hard I couldn't go on. "Screaming and Yelling," by way of comparison, reduced me to the same helpless state two or three times *per chapter*.

If you're musical you'll love it; if you're not, you'll love it anyhow. Buy, buy, BUY!!

(Carping cavil: Stark needs a proofreader. The typesetter uses "principle" for "principal" and "de rigeuer" for "de rigueur"; punctuation is annoyingly random, with plenty of unbalanced commas and sentences reaching full stops before arriving at their verbs. This is distracting. Often the reader must stop reading to figure out what he meant. I'm sending the author my own proofread copy, which I hope his publishers incorporate in the next printing.)

--Anders R. Sterner

THIS BOOK IS A USEFUL GUIDE TO THE HOTELS OF THE PAST WHICH SHAPED THE AMERICAN IDEA OF VACTION AND LUXURY. ARRANGED BY REGION, IT IS QUITE USEFUL IN PLANNING TRIPS TODAY, ESPECIALLY FOR THOSE INTERESTED IN HOW AMERICA TRAVELLED. IT IS A SHAME HOW MANY OF THESE GRAND HOTELS HAVE FALLEN AWAY AND THIS BOOK IS INVALUABLE IN CAPSULIZING THOSE THAT ARE LEFT. ITS TOO BAD THAT THERE ARE NOT FURTHER VOLUMES TO EXPLORE THE SUBJECT MORE EXTENSIVELY

This book contains the only cut-away illustration of the famous Moto Guzzi V8 that I've ever seen. I was also impressed with the amout of historic photos used to show the progress and path of GP motocycle development. The only area I felt the book was lacking was current development. Very little current technology, other than Honda's big-bang engine were mentioned. All in all though, the book is well worth the reading.

If you want to know exactly what happened in the garages, this is the ultimate resource. Far too dense for the casual fan, and full of British Dullness -- when you see the phrase "poor Smythe-Warrington," you know it will be followed by "smote the banking at Grickles, killing himself and four nuns, and ending the service life of chassis 73/01."

Having said that, I must also say that I have read and referred to my copy so many times that the binding is destroyed and I am looking for an undamaged copy.

Muriel Marshall has done it again. This prolific chronicler of Western Slope history is well known for her histories of Escalante Canyon, Grand Mesa, The Uncompahgre Plateau, and the Gunnison-Uncompahgre river region. She has a well-earned reputation for highly readable, authoritative writing that is unmatched for its clarity and scholarship. Thus, it was with great anticipation that I awaited the arrival of her latest effort, a history of the 'Dobie Badlands. The 'Dobies(locals shun the word "adobe")are found along the base of mountain ranges in such diverse areas as Utah, New Mexico, Arizona, Kansas, eastern Colorado, the Dakotas and a barren looking patch stretching between Grand Junction and Delta, CO. Casual observers tend to describe the 'Dobie's as a barren, desolate, desert that is truly a "no-mans-land." Ah, but they haven't seen them through the eyes or pen of Marshall. What an eye-opening view it is! True to form, Marshall provides the reader with a wonderful description of the history of the 'Dobies which were seas, fresh water lakes and islands some 100 million years ago. She traces the evolution of the area with its diverse geology, flora, fauna and characters that are every bit as awesome as the 'Dobies themselves.While she does justice to the entire area she favors the area along the Gunnison river in Western Colorado. Here we learn that what some call a wasteland is a beautiful, haunting, mesmerizing "pure abstract art form." What do the 'Dobies look like? Well, that depends... "...like hell, if you listen to herders who have lost sheep in them, truckers who've been mired up to the axle during a thaw..." "...like heaven if you listen to photographers, artists, and rockhounds..." "...like haven to runaways. The 'Dobies are a terrible place to finad a cow or a crook..." Its all here, the stories of the men and women that tried to make a life among the unique features of the 'Dobies. The disappearance of a nine-hole golf course; the raising of peacocks; the railroads attempt to tame the terrain; and Doc Holiday's search for outlaws! The history of the 'Dobies is anything but barren or desolate after reading Marshall's exciting work. It was worth the wait to get this marvelous history of an area much misunderstood. Marshall is to be complemented on a job well done.

Look interesting and informative for people who are planning to go to Escalante soon. Good resource. I saw Bryce and Zion Parks on my first trip to Utah- can't wait to go back The escalante looked so beautiful even though I only saw part of it on the way to Capitol Reef National Park

I find this book to be very interesting and educational although, I am not very sure that the kids will find it too interesting where it talks about politics and religion. Its very interesting to read about Velma and her family and their struggle, but some of the things are boring to read even for me and I am Velma (the main character in the book). This is one of those books that might make people stop and think for a second about their life and what they have. The sad thing is that its only for a second that they stop and appreciate life. Robin tried to explain the best way she could what happens when people come to the US and also the reason for their coming. The book is not very hard to understand especailly since everyone has heard of Bosnia and what happened there. I had fun reading it for the first time (I kind of laughed at some of the things I said). I guess now that I am 17 years old, I don't think the same way. Overall the book gives you a warm feeling at the end to know that Velma and her family made it and that they are safe.