This guide provides all the information that you will need for an initial visit to the grand canyon. Both the North and South Rims are covered in some detail and although someone seeking a back-county guide may be disappointed, the average visitor should find more than enough material to plan and enjoy their visit.

As a former educator and current author, I really enjoyed this book. There is so much you can do with the 2 tiered writing style in teaching kids. This approach lets the book grow with your child. The pictures, by Katherine Larson, are filled with great details too. Sleeping Bear Press is doing a whole country's worth of these books and if they're as information packed as this one, they'll make great tools for learning.

Until I came across this book, I had no idea that Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, was a hot bed of classic boating. This book is beautifully photographed and well researched, and will make you want to go to the Lake some sparkling summer day and watch the swells renact the obulence, style, and speed of inland yachting a century ago.

Get real! Read a realistic book. The book Grand Avenue is as real as it could get. It is a book that contains many stories that are linked together. These stories all have many different characters and take place in many different settings. They are so real that a variety of people could relate to them. It is full of anger, lust, personality, and distruction. The anger of one child leads to destruction when she burns down a barn because she couldn't save one horse. Another girl's relationship ended when she made a bad choice. It ends with plenty of life-long lessons that will capture the reader's heart. One reason that Grand Avenue is so easy to connect to is that the time period is so close to ours. The setting takes place in many different areas. Even though they aren't described well there are so many that the reader has to be able to connect to one. By connect , I mean if it sounds recognizable the reader can experience it more. Setting may not be described well, but it is still an important and large part of the book. The main themes are anger, lust, and destruction. The theme creates a world of suspense that is drowning in dangers. The dangers are not just imaginary. These dangers are ones that people have been victims of in the real world, too. One girl is determined to save a horse that she loves dearly. She can't save it so out of anger she burns down the barn that the horse had once been kept in. Another girl knows she's in love, but by making a bad choice her relationship ends. The characters in Grand Avenue have to learn important lessons the hard way. One can avoid the pain the characters go through and still learn life-long lessons, while reading Grand Avenue. Think about your relationships and problems. Do you want some help fixing them or making them better? Let my friends from Grand Avenue help. They'll do the dirty work for you. Make your life a little easier and have fun reading Grand Avenue.

The evocative, stunning illustrations and text certainly accomplish their purpose. Young readers will glimpse the majesty of the Grand Canyon and learn something about its past and present inhabitants. But I must confess, my children don't particularly favor books that describe natural scenery in straightforward detail as in "A ringtail cat drinks from a slower side stream", etc, etc.

The 86 black and white images in this book reflect dozens of visits by Ansel Adams to the Southwest over more than 50 years. Adams liked what he saw, and felt that "this land is offering me a tremendous opportunity; no one has really photographed it."

This volume has two weakneses. The images are often too small to accurately reproduce the detail that Adams intended us to see in the foregrounds and backgrounds, and many are over inked. Second, the introduction by William A. Turnage is not up to his usual standards. He makes a number of strange assertions such as that Moonrise, Hernandez, New Mexico, 1941 (poorly reproduced in this volume) is "beyond doubt, his most famous photograph." Hmmm. What do you think? In other places though, Turnage adds interesting details about Adams' introduction to the Southwest and the influence on his photography of Paul Strand.

The book contains many letters from Adams about his experiences in taking the photographs, including many near disasters with his station wagon breaking down. One of the really interesting ones is to Patsy England in 1936 in which he says that in many ways the "Carlsbad Caverns are symbolic of my life; beautiful and exquisite things that exist only in the light of the moment." That may be the finest characterization of Adams' work that I have read.

Here are my favorite images (as reproduced here) in this book:

Saint Francis Church, Ranchos de Taos, New Mexico, c. 1929

Monument Valley, Arizona, 1937

Canyon de Chelly National Monument, Arizona, 1942

Georgia O'Keeffe and Orville Cox, Canyon de Chelly National Monument, Arizona, 1937

White House Ruin, Canyon de Chelly National Monument, Arizona, 1941

Big Room, Carlsbad Caverns National Park, New Mexico, 1942

Burro Mesa and the Chisos Mountains, Big Bend National Park, Texas, 1942

Farm, Autumn, near Glendale, Utah, c. 1940

Tree Against Cliff, Zion National Park, Utah, 1947

In Cedar Breaks National Monument, Utah, 1947

Manly Beacon, Death Valley National Park, California, c. 1952

Grand Canyon from Yavapai Point, Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona, 1942

Grand Canyon from Yavapai Point (Bright Angel Canyon), Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona, 1942

After you have finished reading about Ansel Adams' adventures and learning in the Southwest, I urge you to take your own driving trip through this beautiful country. Be sure to visit the spots that Adams did. I also suggest that you be sure to add Sedona in Arizona, Mesa Verde, the Meteorite Crater in Arizona, Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesen West in Scottsdale, and the Navajo reservation to the areas depicted here.

See the most beautiful places you can as often as possible! The beauty will seep into your soul.

This thick volume, with a host of diagrams and pictures, appears to be the newest and most thorough discussion of the geology of the Grand Canyon. In a series of chapters, each representing an era in the geologic history of the Canyon, the authors begin with the big picture and then get into such detail that only a professional geologist can really stay with them. The book represents the life work of some of the most prominent scientists associated with the Canyon, and yet is very much up to date with the latest theories unlocking the mystery of how the Canyon was formed. Neither professional nor "rock hound," I was drawn to geology through my hiking adventures in the Grand Canyon and the Colorado Plateau. This book, though certainly not written for the amateur, has provided an opportunity to learn more. I feel fortunate to have a copy, and hopeful that a second edition will be available soon.

This book is a short visual study of a variety of different canyon moods professional photographers have experienced and recorded. It includes the usual viewpoints from the rim in different seasons and lighting as well as the surprising world of the canyon floor. It is arranged in four sections covering the South Rim, Below the Rim, The River, and North Rim. Each section is introduced by a short piece of poetric prose which hints at both the reflections and intent of the authors as they organized the collection as well as the themes which follow. The book is introduced by a brief collection of quotes which attempt to grasp various aspects of a Grand Canyon experience and put into words some of the emotion the sheer beauty of the canyon creates. The emphasis of the pictures is predominanty one of raw form and texture in the canyon rock, complemented by more subtle beauty in the plant life and water. To me, the most obvious theme is one of stark contrast, either between the rock and fine detail or the rim and interesting weather or lighting in the sky. Several pictures include sheer canyon walls broken by a much more delicate subject, leaving a satisfying mixture of conflicting emotion and impression. Others emphasize vast spaces in wide angle views attempting to convey the awesome physical dimensions of the canyon. The book concludes with a few pages of general notes on the Grand Canyon and Colorado Plateau.

I am not sure that the notes are relevent to the subject of the book, but then again the book is marketed towards gift shops and vistor centers. The ideas conveyed by the authors are pretty standard (I assume) for books published by the Sierra Press. The general theme is nature worship, but if that is not your style it does not detract from the overal impact of the visual presentation.

I do not have anything specific to compare this book with as it is my only photographic book on the Grand Canyon. That is why I gave it four stars. I enjoy the book for its beauty, but find the outdoor photography composition and technique just as stimulating. I would recommend the book to any outdoor enthusiast who also enjoys fine photography.

The book is about 8X8 inches and is ideally suited as a unique coffee table book for any fan of natural beauty. The average picture size is about 5X7 inches. I own the softcover edition but would rather own the hardcover as mine has not handled standard wear very well.

Walker Tompkins may be better known in literary circles for his coverage of the California hills, the flora and fauna of the region, and a biography of Roy Rogers... but to Amateur Radio enthusiasts, he is known for this Tommy Rockford stories.

Grand Canyon QSO is one of six stories, and was my favorite of the series.

Tommy is a teenager involved in Ham Radio, and each story uses his involvement in the hobby and the knowledge he's gained from it to get him through various dangers. In "Grand Canyon QSO" Tommy is on a rafting trip down the Colorado River, and their trip is plagued by criminals on the run.

For today's world he comes across as extremely "squeaky clean". Just a little too perfect, but the characterization by Tompkins is sincere, what might for the time be considered the "ideal teenager".

The villians are a little predictable, but I'll admit that is from the perspective of an adult reading a juvenile story.

I would recommend this to any kid ages 12-15 and to anyone of any age who has an interest in Amateur Radio.

Grand Cayman: A Colorful Reflection of Yesteryear Cayman today with the Cayman remembers by grandparents. It uses both photography and writing to captivate the reader and reveal the changes, history, and current life in Grand Cayman. (Grand Cayman is the largest of the Cayman Island British West Indies -- located just south of Cuba.)