First there was The Black Stallion, then there was The Black Stallion Returns, then there was Son of the Black Stallion. Then the series went rapidly downhill. Of the entire (long) list of Black Stallion books only a few really stand out in my mind years later. This is one of them. Perhaps it's because Farley is writing with a new set of characters, and a new horse - a son of the Black raised for harness racing. Whatever the reason there is freshness to the people and plot here that was sadly lacking in most of the later books.

I have read all of the original Walter Farley "Black Stallion" books, and would have to say that this is one of the best of the sequels (although, since The Black are mentioned only in passing as Bonfire's sire, I don't know if it could strictly be labeled a "sequel"). One of the very few young adult novels I have found that writes about harness racing in an exciting fashion. Reading this book makes me long for the 'good old days' of country fairs where everyone knew everyone else. Walter Farley was gifted not only in bringing the excitement of horse racing and his love of horses in general to life, but in this book the human characters -- Jimmy, Tom, Uncle Wilmer and the others -- are drawn in such a way where the reader can easily visualize them in his or her mind. I couldn't imagine any horse loving person NOT enjoying this book (as well as the follow up "The Black Stallion's Sulky Colt" which I believe is currently out of print, but worth looking for if not only to continue Bonfire's story).

Jimmy Creech was old and tired. He had been harness racing at county fairs for over fifty years which was overcrowded with newcomers who raced at "night raceaways" and wasn't making much money anymore. Jimmy's only hope to keep on making money lay between the Blood Bay Colt and his yound driver and apprentice, Tom Messenger.

*If you like horses, than this is a great book to read!

Very nice. Title should be "Bay Area from Above." It covers Silicon Valley, San Mateo, Marin, and many other parts of Bay Area -- with SF. My only complaint is the 25 overhead views of wineries out of 200 pages -- they all look pretty much the same... Overall, a very good book.

This is a great photo book of the San Fransico bay area. It includes just about every area around, including San Jose, Oakland, Stanford, etc. It has photos of the city, Silicon Valley and most of the major Computer companies and chip makers such as Intel and AMD. Living in this area, I really like this book as I can see what my area looks like and there are a lot of photos, including every major bay bridge.
...

I love the before and after pictures contrasting the same street now vs. 100 years ago. Susan likes it too!

Miles does a decent job of exploring how the Civil War affected those who lived along both shores of the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries. Actually, the region covered includes a wide number of encounters and battles, as well as the capitals of both the Union (on the shore of the Potomac) and the Confederacy (on the shore of the James).

The book opens with the early skirmishes in Maryland, notably the Pratt Street Riot in Baltimore and the occupation of Annapolis by Ben Butler, before moving on to cover the Delmarva Peninsula and a variety of naval encounters in the bay, including the clash between the Monitor and the Virginia. Adding to the interest of the book is the detailing of smuggling and secret mail routes throughout the region. The book is richly illustrated with period photos and drawings, although there could have been a few more maps.

This excellent book fills a gap for those of us who are interested in the story of the Civil War. It is the first time the fascinating tale of the role of the Chesapeake Bay during those years has been documented. Eric Mills uses primary sources to relate the lively activities that took place in and around the estuaries, creeks, and rivers of the Bay. I highly recommend it both for the information it provides and for its sheer readibility. This book is a treasure, sure to delight Civil War buffs.

May 5, 1997. Received a copy of this splendid book Xmas 1996. Have already read it cover-to-cover three times. Have not met its superior for information and entertainment in more than 50 years of reading Civil War material. To those of us with "second homes" on Virginia's Eastern Shore (Chincoteague in this instance), it is a real eye-opener--and long overdue. Highest possible recommendation

This book has a great variety of recipes. It has something to offer for everyone. This is one of the few cookbooks that actually offers several pictures of each recipe while it is being made. This book is great if you want to try something a bit different, and you might not know quite how to do it. Recipes are well written and easy to follow.

On vacation we saw this book at a condo we rented in Tahoe. Pictures were great. Recipes looked great. And concept was great. We checked several book stores and were not able to locate it. Leave to Amazon to have it. It is a large book so it makes sence for Amazon to have it. It probley takes up to much shelf space in a standard store.

every recipe you have ever collected is in here. the spinach salad, moussaka, peking duck, cresent cookies,scones,tapenade,hot mussels in white wine,hotbutter rum,lots of the newest ingredients but interesting and printed in a format that has a picture of each of the recipes and very simplified instuctions. i will be putting away my 30+cookbooks to concentrate on all this has to offer.

Vernon Biever is one of sport's greatest photographers. His coverage of the Green Bay Packers throughout much of the team's history reveals the work of a master of his art. All fans of sports photography should find this collection inspiring. However the book offers far too few photographs to be a true retrospective tribute to Biever's work. Most are black and white, undoubtedly reflecting the medium in which they were shot. Some also are unfocused, indicating poor or sloppy reproduction or camera work. This seriously detracts from the quality of the book. As the book is arranged on a time continuum, and with the blurred images coming later in the book, it appears as if Biever's work began to suffer in later years. One would doubt this is the intention of the editor or the publisher. But it does detract from the quality of the book and is not worthy of Biever's reputation. Perhaps this can be corrected in future editions.

Far and away the best book of its kind. This book is put together on quality paper with large, wonderful photographs, many of which I had never seen. Each photograph is accompanied on the facing page by never-before-published (often quite funny) recollections of Green Bay players past and present. Obviously, the editor put this book together as a work of love for the subject matter. A unique book, and one of the best Packer books ever published.

This unique photo album is like candy for your eyes. A true centerpiece for my collection.

A very entertaining read that caught my eye and I couldn't put it down. Pratt weaves a unique story of love, life in the 50-60's and Vietnam. I found the story to be a real page turner and Pratt's simple but effective prose worked wonders. The life of Levi especially during the war was very well done and the characters were colorful and personable yet also innocent at times. The story itself is a compelling tale yet unrealistic at times the story reads extremely fast. I ploughed through it in a couple hours and I am not a fast reader. Each page kept me going. My only problem with the story was it's Hollywood style happy ending. Filled with grief, mourning, and hardships throughout I was shocked to see that in the end Pratt briefly wraps it all up in a simplistic manner and over the course of only a couple pages. had the ending been more realistic and thoroughly portrayed I would have given it a 5 star rating.

Absolutely a must read for those hopeless romantics that enjoy shedding a tear here and there. As always, James Michael Pratt touched my heart through his story of Paradise Bay. The characters in his stories are so life-like and portray deep emotional feelings, as real-life so often does. He creates his characters and shares their innermost thoughts so that by the time you are just pages into his story you can almost feel yourself as one of the characters themselves. I picked up his first book, The Last Valentine, in paperback at a local store several years ago. . .since then, I anxiously anticipate his next arrival! He goes on my "best reads" list with Nicholas Sparks, Kristin Hannah, and Debbie Macomber. His books are fit for anyone to read--very clean and heartful! Don't miss out!

When I saw this book, I did judge it by the cover, and I thought it would be a pretty good book. So checked it out from the local library and read it. I have to say, I couldn't keep it down, I kept reading till I was done. This book keept me reading from cover to cover. This is an amazingly written book, the idea and plot is unthinkable. This book is worth reading, infact it's worth owning. It would be a pleasure to read it over and over again, which is why I reccomend this book. Rating this book five stars was a mistake, it should be ratied ten stars or a hundred stars, or infinity stars. So if you are looking for a fantastically-great-full of adventure-never put down to stop type of book to read, I more than recommend this book.

Barth is a fine writer who does a marvelous job in creating believable and likable characters. it was fun to sail with him and his yuppy friends in the Chesapeake. (A non-sailer would miss much of the action and pleasure of this novel) The story of the couple and the boat would make a fine but smaller novel. Barth's politics are those of aca- deme and perhaps intrude too much into what is supposed to be only a story...not an effort to convert those who are not PC already. But he sure

can write and OH, I do love KISS just as he does.

Of the maybe five novels of Barth I've read so far in my young life, this is probably my favorite of them all (Sot-Weed Factor does run a close second, however) if only due to the laziness factor since I didn't feel I needed a doctorate in English literature or mythology to understand everything that was going on. All told, on the surface this is probably one of the lighter books he's done . . . it's basically about a couple (teh wife's eight months pregnant) going out sailing in Cheaspeake Bay and to pass time they start telling stories. Except it's about everything else too and slowly the novel starts to incorporate local history, the knots of the characters' lives, mythology, plays, short stories . . . you name it. For someone not of Barth's skill this would come off as a tedious academic exercise merely to show the author's genre bending abilities. Once in a while it teeters toward that but manages to stay on the right side of the line. What helps is the sheer exuburance of the book, the people all seem to like each other (not that there isn't conflict), folks are happy with their lives, never before has Barth managed to create a more three dimensional set of people or given them a more realistic world to inhabit. It's just genuinely enjoyable to read, especially as the stories and stories-within-stories start to bounce off each othere. There are echoes of several of Barth's earlier works here, I spotted definitely Lost in the Funhouse and Chimera (and the Sot-Weed Factor is mentioned) so for long time readers it's a bit of a revisit with old friends. Is the book probably longer than it needs to be? Yeah, but if long books are your problem than you shouldn't be reading Barth. The main couple Peter and Katherine are sometimes a bit too precious for words (the constant renaming of the babies got annoying real fast) and in spurts there is just too much love going around but I can't really level that as a flaw now, can I? Politics does threaten to creep in every so often but it's dated eighties style politics now so I didn't pay much attention to it. Overall, it doesn't break any vibrant new ground for Barth but serves as a fine summing up of his strengths and his skills, the man can tell a decent story and he can write the pants off just about anybody (and no, those aren't the same thing) so if you want a fun "literary" novel that won't overwhelm you with all those nasty post-modern tricks those oh so erudite authors love to pull on unsuspecting readers, this might just be what you're looking for. Just stay away if you're allergic to mythology, if you want to read Barth it's not something you can easily escape from. But I like it anyway.

I'm 5 pages from the end of this book, but I'm postponing reading them because I just don't want it to end. Like The Last Voyage of Somebody the Sailor, this book is escapism at its most extreme.

The framing is phenomenal, mirror images abound, pairs proliferate, and while things constantly remain at the edge of confusion, Barth always reins you in just before you teeter off into chaos. So deft with words, and even more so with their meanings, Barth has written what is quite possibly my favorite book of all time.

Doesn't tell you how to get to the starting point. Maybe should also give directions from major highways. 2) In the mtn bike section, could not figure out where I can start on a path. I chose mtn bike riding because I don't like being on the roads. It was hard to tell the difference on the key between dirt road and paved path. The key icons look very similiar.

April 23, 2002 - The third edition is out now and SHOULD be available at Amazon.com.
This edition offers 13 new rides and addresses observed shortcomings posted by another reviewer. The maps have been improved so that now it's easy to distinguish between dirt and paved roads. There's a section called "How to get there" that describes the best way to get to the start point. Still, I always recommend bringing a road map, if you're unfamiliar with an area.

The book quality is also substantially improved, with better quality paper and rounded corners.

I think you'll enjoy the new rides, most of which are shorter than in past editions. The mountain bike rides are particularly noteworthy.

...Let's ride! Ray Hosler

I bought this book about a year ago when I first moved to the Bay Area, and did all of the East Bay road rides, and a few others. With the exception of one error that I found the hard way (in the Calaveras Road ride, Evans Road doesn't really turn into North Park Victoria Drive -- you have to make a right turn!), this book is accurate, interesting, and the routes are well-chosen and as nice as any I've found in the Bay Area. Most of the rides are fairly challenging for a casual rider, but certainly not impossible. I've used it as a basis for my own explorations, stitching various routes together.

I can't speak for the mountain bike rides, as I haven't tried any of them.

All in all, this is a great sampling of rides and a interesting read with your Sunday afternoon beer, after an invigorating ride through the beautiful Bay Area hills and canyons.

A friend handed me this book knowing full well that I am not a Packers fan or even a football fan. I am, however, a fan of Americana - like a Hot Dog stand that looks like a hot dog, weird social commentary t-shirts and such. THIS BOOK IS AMERICANA. In a strange society-understanding way it brings clarity to why so many people become possessed by the spirit of their home-town football team. The story by Cheryl Paronto Paul on being a Packer Cheerleader is a must-read for understanding the Barbie frame-of-mind. The jokes are SO BAD they are great (you know what I mean). For anyone who has wanted to find a deeper meaning into the reasons why an average guy from a small town in the heartland of America would paint himself green and stand in sub-zero tempretures to NOT see a game because he has to huddle inside a warm bathroom stall every few minutes, I can't think of a better source than this book.Ladies, give this book to your guy (no matter what team he roots for) to let him know you understand his pain.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and I think any Packer fan will. I loved the jokes and cartoons, the stats on old players, and most of all the story about that Packalope guy (I've actually seen him at a game or two!). Read this book, it's sweet!

This is the funniest Packer book that I have ever read. Not only are there great jokes, but there are also really cool antidotes by people associated with the Packers. (I especially liked the story by Brett Farve's brother and the one by the former Packer cheerleader). If you love the Packers, you owe it to yourself to read this book.

A nice little book. Slight, but fun. It deserves 4 stars, except for the typesetting, which is awful. The letters are closer to each other vertically than horizontally. This is good for languages you read vertically, but English reads horizontally.

The author of these short stories has a wonderful sense of whimsy. The main character in this appealing little book is a charming elderly widow whose culinary concoctions are imbued with magic. Men fall in love with her, remarkable things happen in civic association and library committee meetings, etc. Recipes are included so that the reader might try to work the same kind of magic in his or her own kitchen. I loved it!

A delightful book: I can't remember when I've read a book that was so much fun! I felt like I knew many of the characters in the book. Interspersed within the story are several recipes that sound wonderful. I would like to try the pineapple squares, but since I have teenage boys at home I'll have to wait about 10 years. (When you read the book you will laugh and understand what I mean :-) .)