If you appreciate old fashioned values and true Americana, get this book. Truly unique and is capturing a part of our histroy that is being lost to development.

This book has won a Southern Books Competition Award of Merit in Book Design from the Southeastern Library Association. This award is given in recognition of the book's aesthetic appeal and design and for fine craftsmanship in its printing and binding. Congratulations to authors Joe Cook and Monica Cook, designer John Langston, printer Pacifica Communications, and the University of Alabama Press.

This is an excellent book which covers its subject more thoroughly and beautifully than any book I have ever seen about this part of the country. It is extremely well written, and the photography is outstanding. Anyone who is interested in the preservation of our enviroment, especially our valuable waterways, should read this book.

In The Barefoot Fisherman Guide To The Emerald Coast, Gregory Dew reveals forty very special spots to fish along the Gulf Shores, Alabama, to Apalachicola, Florida. Also included for the angler is a wealth of sound advice on rigging an outfit, basic angling techniques, special fishing techniques, picking a prime location (considering tides, currents, wind, water, and geography), fish species and habitats, even local recipes! The Barefoot Fisherman Guide To The Emerald Coast is enhanced further with a chapter dedicated to resource websites, addresses, telephone numbers, tackle shops, and selected fishing charters. If you are planning a fishing trip anywhere along this spectacular Gulf of Mexico shoreline, begin with browsing through Gregory Dew's The Barefoot Fisherman Guide To The Emerald Coast!

I am from the midwest and had only engaged in freshwater fishing so it was breaking unfamiliar ground (or water) when my Florida vacation was to include fishing in beautiful St. Joe's Bay. I had no idea what kind of fish were there let alone how to catch them. I purchased Gregory Dew's book, "The Barefoot Fisherman Guide To The Emerald Coast from Gulf Shores Alabama To Apalachicola, Florida" and was not disappointed. The book was easy to read, packed with information and ultimately helped me to catch some fish. The book discusses the proper tackle, rigs, angling techniques in the first chapter. The second chapter is dedicated to picking a prime location. Chapters 3 and 4 were of great interest to me and I read them in detail. Chapter three covers the entire coast from Gulf Shores, Alabama to Apalachicola, Florida and highlights some of the hotspots there. I was delighted to see that one section was dedicated to St. Joseph's bay. Chapter 4 contained great information on the species of fish one might catch and how to fish for them. He also included a rating for edibility. He rated each species of fish on a scale of 1-10 for how good they are to eat. We found his scale to be accurate with the species we caught. Chapters 5 and 6 discuss recipes and gives some Fishing Links for more information. The ultimate measure of the books effectiveness was catching fish. I caught one Speckled Trout that was a keeper and a 23 inch Red Fish (Red Drum). The book helped make my vacation more enjoyable and makes me want to return for more "Barefoot Fishing".

This book is unique in its subject matter. It helps today's reader understand the importance of the entire cotton production, trade, and manufacture.

Ms. Willoughby writes that the cotton trade's impact rippled over many other segments of the national economy and she quotes from another writer that this fiber has been called the most significant ingredient in the economic life of the whole nation [United States] before 1860.

The book describes the connection of cotton to currency and to banking and shows in detail how the banking system was vastly different from our present financial institutions.

The author stresses that much of the cotton business depended on the reputaions of individual men from the planter to the final purchaser and she gives short biographical descriptions of many key individuals.

Transportation facilities were vital to the moving of the cotton from the farm or plantation to the mill. The book describes the importance of vessels and shipping in every phase of the process and also the part that the early railroads played in making important changes in the entire ecomomy.

I would give this book a 10.

The illustrations are excellent. There are numerous keys, which I have not had much opportunity to use. This book is for the advanced student or very well prepared amateur. It is NOT a match the picture guide for the casual nature lover.