A wonderfully distressful novel! Mary takes you to many complex levels that are part of the experience of being human. This book will not only force you to look at the complex prejudice and discrimination issues in our culture, but will expose parts of your own heart you may not want to see. The characters become vivid and alive and you will miss them for days after the last page has been turned. Kudos! to Mary Anderson Parks. Please don't make us wait to long for your next book. Yes, please do write a sequel and let us know about Sky and Katherine.

Mary Parks has created a character who is believable and real. She makes choices by intuition to preserve her family and herself by returning to her home on the reservation. After making the choice to be there, she makes the best of her difficult relationship with her mother and the man she gets too involved with. This character stayed with me for days as I read her search for herself and her ability to make wrong choice yet not be devastated by these mistakes. I liked her courage and her inner solidity as she makes her way into a new life. The themes of interracial marriage and raising children in a sometimes hostile world are intriguing and touch us as the sturggles of many women in the 90s.

In Class Politics: The Movement For The Students' Right To Their Own Language, Stephen Parks tells the story of the founding and growth of Composition Studies, including the impact of the civil rights, black power, new left, anti-war, and women's liberation movements on the evolving curriculum. Parks includes accounts of internal struggles of such academic influences as the 1974 Conference on College Composition and Communication; the National Council of Teachers of English, and the Modern Language Association. Class Politics: The Movement For The Students' Right To Their Own Language is an informative, scholarly, exceptionally well presented contribution to the history of American twentieth century college and university academia curriculum development studies and politics.

This is an extremely well-research book about not simply the Students' Right to Their Own Language document of 1974 but also the historical, political, and institutional landscape from which that document emerged. In taking us back to the struggle of the New University Conference to influence organizations like the CCCC and MLA, Parks perceptively traces the ways in which leftist academics have attempted (albeit unsuccessfully) to revolutionize the teaching of English. And perhaps most valuably, Parks offers his own vision of how those working within the university can form political alliances that reach beyond the university. A fine book by an insightful scholar.

A must for anyone wanting to loss weight in a healthy EASY way. The recipes are short and fast and EASY! I have both of Vickie's books and only wish she would do another one! Being from the south, these recipes fit right into my world. Everyday ingredents with little fuss makes this book great for the beginning cook as well as the seasoned one. I think the thing that most impressed me way the ease of preparing the recipes. I work and have little time to spend in the kitchen. The simpler the better.

i was very impressed with vicki and her very straightforward directions for losing weight. everybody tries to claim inside information or a secret solution, but vicki can really help people that desperately need help. i hope everybody finds her book that is searching for an answer to weight loss. i started her plan and followed her recipes the same day i read her book. thank you vicki-i will write back in a year when i have lost 135 pounds. i am confidant that i can thanks to you. sandra fansler

Crimes Against Nature is written by one of America's foremost new thinkers on the environment. Karl Jacoby's book has all the beauty and intellectual force his lectures are famous for.

This book gives a startlingly new perspective on just how we've created our national parks. In doing so, he makes us rethink what we consider our proudest achievements - and at what cost we've achieved them. Five stars.

"Conservation" seems like a completely positive word--e.g., we want to preserve nature for future generations. I remember how in awe I was when I saw the Grand Canyon for the first time.

But after reading Jacoby's book, I feel like I have a whole new perspective. Not that I don't agree that protecting the environment shouldn't be a high priority--for example, I think the idea of drilling into the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for oil when we have all these people driving thes gas-guzzling SUVs is the height of idiocy. But this book shows that there were some human costs to creating the park--the Indians and poor white people who already lived on the land that became parks. I didn't realize that they had the U.S. army patrolling and occupying the Grand Canyon to keep people out--although I do remember thinking that the Forest rangers' uniforms (and Smoky the Bear!) were very militaristic.

Basically, what became parks were already living entities that had people living in and exploiting their natural resources and changing the environment. So now I realize when I see the Grand Canyon, it's not as if it's in a time warp, completely untouched for centuries. I plan to keep traveling and visiting more parts--esp out west, and this book has definitely deepened my understanding of our National Park system!

220 million years ago, Arizona was near the equator. The trees that became the Petrified Forest grew on a broad, humid floodplain with lakes and swamps, somewhat like today's Amazon basin, or a more tropical Louisiana. Most of the trees that were petrified were araucaria conifers, related to present-day Norfolk Island pines. Swimming in these waters were prong-toothed sharks and thorny-snouted fish. Giant carnivorous metoposaurs lurked in the muddy swamp bottoms, while great crocodilian phytosaurs hunted the first true dinosaurs on dryer land.

Doug Henderson's moody, atmospheric paintings bring these scenes to life. Robert Long, formerly park paleontologist at Petrified Forest, assures scientific accuracy. Veteran natural-history writer Rose Houk brings polish to the text. McQuiston, as usual, provides an elegant book design. This is a beautiful book. It would be a fine companion for (or memento of) a visit to the Petrified Forest, and a nice gift for a dino-lover. Highly recommended.

I recommend this book without hesitation for anyone with an interest in paleontology. It provides a balanced view of all forms of life evident at the Petrified Forest National Monument during the Late Triassic, from fish and invertebrates to plants large and small and on up to the most gruesome ruling reptiles and amphibians.

The text is accurate and precise without ever obtrusively presenting theory as fact. This book will age well as future discoveries further refine or reshape our view of the world at that time.

The pencil (charcoal?) and pastel drawings are scientific illustration at its best, with just enough art and dynamic enhancement to make you feel like you really are skipping nimbly around 20 foot phytosaurs, or swimming with freshwater sharks through prehistoric logjams. Each full page drawing is explained by a facing page. Scale and perspective change early and often, leaving you eager to turn the page for the next visual diorama.

The layout is clean and visually elegant, the text easy on the eyes, and the illustrations are easily seen in light from any angle against the high quality semigloss paper.

I have had this book for ten years now, and I still frequently pick it up and let myself drift backwards in time with it until I am rocking gently in warm clear waters in a far prehistoric time. This is truly a first class publication by the Petrified Forest Museum Association. The authors and Museum Association are to be commended!

I own the authors trail running book and liked it so I bought his new book as soon as it came out. It really fills the void in North Cascade guide books-it covers the Mt. Baker side very nicely, where other books ignore it. A definte must if you hike up here! I've carried it in my pack since I bought it. I like the rating system, the kid guide, the directions, and the topos - I also like that it isn't bulky or heavy. I met Mike Mcquaide at a book signing recentley - he really loves the trail!

I got this book because I read Mike McQuaide's "Trail Running Guide to Western Washington" and thought that anyone who could run more than 50 trails around here had to slow down eventually to write a hiking book.
This one is a really good hiking book, too, with quick reference information on each trail at the top of the page. You can get everything you need to know about the hike without reading the whole description. Of course, if you do that, you'll miss some fine writing.
This is another one of those new trail guides that provides the kind of information your feet will appreciate most, and there's none of the preaching and reminiscing you find in a lot of those older guides.
If you're looking for the best guidebook to the trails of the North Cascades, you don't need to look any more.

The second edition of Day Hikes From The River is great! The maps are the biggest change. Though still packed with the same info (and more), the clarity really helps. Thanks Tom for doing this. We used Day Hikes to hike up Vishnu Creek and Kanab Creek to Whispering Falls. Worked great! The resource tips were helpful and not too overbearing. This book is getting real close to a real river guide. The other "guides" give river miles and that's about it. This book ties it all together. I'd sure recommend it for anyone headed down Big Red. The only drawback is that this book is NOT waterproof! I learned the hard way....

We just finished the river trip of our dreams. 18 days to Diamond Creek, my buddy Jim waited 12 years to get his permit. Day Hikes from the River was a must book to have on our trip! We stopped at "Shiver Grotto", Nautiloid Canyon, Nankoweep, Clear Creek, got water at Phantom (easy to find), Shinumo, Elves Chasm, Stone Creek, managed the Thunder River-Deer Creek loop, got aced out at Havasu and thanks to Day Hikes, and had a great time at Tuckup. What a resource. The maps are really clear, and the easy to follow directions made it all work out. Thanks for the great guide!

Very useful simple guide. I use this along with Best Easy Day Hikes to plan my hikes Oct 2002 - see curiouscat.com/travels for photos from the hikes shown in the book.

Small and light (great for backpackers) cheap (great for everyone) and best of all, it gives what the title says. A great day-hiking guide for the park, offering some of the lore and background history of the Tetons, information concerning the park's geology, biotic communities, native wildlife and weather conditions. You'll never find a book on the subject that gives you more (or even close to as much) for such a low price. Can't be beat--a must for anyone planning a trip to the Grand Tetons.

"Day hiking Kings Canyon" may well be the best book on day hikes(1 to 10 miles one way) in Kings Canyon national park and in the wilderness areas surrounding the park. It covers 50 trails in 5 areas: cedar grove, monarch wilderness, grant grove, redwood mountain, and jennie lakes wilderness. Each of the five sections starts with a brief (2-3 pages) introduction about the history, climate, and specific features of the area. The description of the hikes are concise (1-3 pages each), and yet very detailed. There is an individual topographic map for each trail, half-a-page to a whole page in size, which is located either at the beginning or at the end of description of each trail. Besides the total length of the trail, estimated hiking distance, elevation gain, and relative difficulty, the author provides detailed description of what to expect on each mile of the trail, suggests on which parts of the trail it may get hot in summer, where one can expect mosquitos, where the vews are beautiful, and even where one can find swimming holes on the river. Frequently, alternative return routes are suggested to make hikes more interesting. Finally, parts of the trail where the hikers should exercise caution due to slippery rocks or other hazards are indicated.

I studied this book side by side with two others, Frommer's "Yosemite and Sequoia/Kings Canyon National Parks", by Don and Barbara Laine, and "50 best short hikes in Sequoia/Kings Canyon" by John Krist. The first one is a pocket guide, contains much fewer hikes, and the descriptions are about a paragraph each. It is a very decent guide for the visitors arriving for a day by car, but does not help much on the trail. The second one is similar to "Day hiking Kings Canyon" in the way how the hikes are described, but the descriptions are shorter, maps are less acurate, and they are located at the very end of the book, so you have to flip pages from the middle to the end of the book to follow the guidelines. I found it very inconvenient. Hence, of these three books, my book of choice is definitely "Day hiking Kings Canyon". The only two drawbacks are that it does not have ratings of the trails in terms of their scenery, so it takes some reading to decide what to choose, and that it has very few photographs. It also could be squeezed in a smaller format (by using smaller fonts) to make it lighter and easier to carry in a backpack. Other than that, this book is an excellent source of information for any hiker.

our family has been going to KingsCanyon and Sequoia for over a hundred years now, and I wish I had found this book sooner. I have been on a lot of the trails and learned a few. Very easy to understand, an easy read and informative in area history. I am going to give a copy to all my family for Xmas.I'm at the mirror. * randella*

This book is a "must have" for anyone, especially the Wichitans who live where most of Gino's sculptures are located! Artists, sculptors and painters will also enjoy and appreciate the talent of Gino Salerno. Not only does it serve as interesting piece of local history, it would make a great tabletop book or unique gift for someone.

Unfortunately, some of the statues only exist as photos presented in the book, due to acts of vandalism. Some have been relocated to private organizations or homes. It is such a delight to be able to see them around Wichita, and some are still around for our viewing pleasure.

This truly is a beautiful book, with some insights shared by the author on his favorite types of woods and tools that he uses.

He still does sculptures, and his contact information is in the book. After seeing all these, you'll want one of your own.

As soon as Gino started with his wood sculptures, a kind lady started to secretly keep track of his work, taking pictures and notes of all of his pieces.

Some years later she died, and left Gino a complete record of his own artistic carreer.

That's why this book offers a unique perpective of Salerno's art, from it's origins to his last pieces, including some that have been destroyed by vandalism or weather, and others that have been stolen. You'll be able to see all the techniques, styles and themes that the artist has explored over the last decade. Some of the sculptures are simply superb.

It's 95% photographic, with just enough explanation to get an idea of his personality, the way he works and some secrets of intrest for other wood artists.

I have enjoyed exploring the work that this peruvian artist living in Wichita, Kansas; a work that is just starting it's way into the rest of America.