Ramey knows all the obscure places to hike in Ohio and this book 's organization by region lets you see what is availible in your corner of Ohio. The milage is usefull, though the estimated hiking times are a little long in many cases. I may just walk too fast. I think this is book is essential to help find new places to hike, that would otherwise go unexplored. I'm thrilled that he has written a second book with 50 more hikes.

This book was a gift for my husband who is an avid hiker. Since our home is in Pennsylvania, he is very familiar with local forests, like Allegheny National Forest and Cook Forest. However, Ohio is less then a half hour away, and he needed more information about where to hike and where to take the Boy Scouts for both hikes and camping trips. We never realized Ohio had such wonderful and great sites until we saw this book. The maps and descriptions and information about difficulty of hiking for the various trails are great (except at least one map we used need updating for changes in the path). What is really enjoyed is the historical information given. Sometimes the Scouts need to be given some historical information to make the hiking more interesting, and history always aids in making memories. For an example in the section on Beaver Creek State Park there are a bunch of old locks and damns. One of the locks on the canal was named after the daughter of a worker on the canal who died. Her casket was buried in the lock, and when the worker was finished in Ohio he dug up the casket to take it back to his country. The ship sunk on the ocean and both the worker and the casket were never retrieved. This type of story makes the history of the time period more accessible to both the Scouts and to anyone who is hiking in the area. It certainly is a good reminder of how easy our lives are compared to the 1800's... Great reference book. Karen Sadler University of Pittsburgh

This book features some of the best hiking Ohio has to offer. The hikes range in distance from 1.6 miles to over 20 miles, thus accomodating hikers of every ability. Each hike contains a detailed description of the trail, a trail map, usually taken for the USGS maps, and directions to the trailhead. Ramey has a very warm, friendly writing style. In addition, his considerable experience in hiking and wildlife management makes Ramey the perfect guide for the trail. This book is an essential part of the library of any Ohio hiker.

My kids find the Fandex format easy to use, and the information on them accessible. We have several, and they're fun for all of us to use together.

I like the fact that each state has a map, as well as pertinent info: Admitted to the Union; if and when Seceded from the Union; if and when Readmitted to the Union; Nickname; Motto; Capital; Bird; and Flower. There are also several paragraphs of pertinent information about each state, with some history and a description of the character and things, which make it unique.

The only quibble I have about these decks is that sometimes when they're completely fanned out, the edges of the illustrations get caught up in each other, making it hard to close them properly. But other than that, they're cute, informative, and a nice format for kids.

This was the perfect start-of-school present for my 5th grader. her teacher loved it too and everyone wanted to borrow it. The state reports were a snap.

These Fandex Quick Reference cards are grat to use for students. they can help you write a report, an essay, and they provide lots of interesting facts. They also have cats, dogs, explorers, myths, wildflowers, civil war, and more cards about different subjects.

Having lived in the Caprock area of Texas for a few years I never knew what history and hidden geography were just beyond the flat, flat plain across the highway! After reading this book I must return to the Caprock to discover these things on my own! There is much beyond the state parks that Texans should claim as a part of their heritage and strive to better understand. Get this book and see if you don't agree!

it might not be fair to comment, but i haven't read this book. nevertheless i was flying to san francisco from miami the other day and as the pilot mentioned that we just passed over texico, nm i noticed one of the most arresting sights i have ever seen from a plane.

seemingly endless plains, farmed into a quilted patchwork of green squares and circles, abruptly dissolved into a brownish red fractal universe.

at 34.946 north 103.438 west is one of the most striking features. you can check it out online at the terraserver or on any map program. of course they could never do justice to what it really looks like. i've been obsessing over this area for a few days now, although i hope it'll pass before i crank out bucks for yet another book i don't really need.

I paid over-due fines on this book twice at the Austin library...I wouldn't return it until I was finished. It was worth it though. Flores writes in simple terms and speaks from the heart. This book educated me while causing me to reflect on my life...Imprinted DNA from old relatives...I've believed this for years.

I picked up this book at the library. It is a listing of county parks in Wisconsin and what the facilities are in each. I began bookmarking the pages that I wanted to copy information from. When I got to 30, I decided to buy the book.

This book is especially useful for those that camp. Wisconsin state parks have raised the camping rates and this year even the National Forest sites have to be reserved. This book is a powerful tool for those that make spontanious decisions about how and where to spend week-ends.

This book is so easy to use! It's organized very logically and gives a good summary of the state's county parks. I took it out of the library and have used it to find great camping destinations, but there's also information on other specific activities; i.e., fishing, canoeing, hiking, etc. When used in conjunction with the websites which most of the state's counties now have, it makes planning a camping trip a breeze. I plan on buying the revised addition. All in all, an excellent resource for families or individuals who enjoy the outdoors in the Badger state.

This is one of the best book on parks that I have ever seen. I have 11 excellent books on Wisconsin (camping, hiking, state parks, backpacking, and touring), but this is the best book for finding a good county park while traveling or planning a vacation. This book is a hidden treasure: it contains information on 600 wonderful county parks in Wisconsin. This appears to be the only consolidated book on county parks in Wisconsin. The book is incredibly well-organized: 1- They provided a chapter on the 25 best parks. (This is useful if you are specifically planning to go to one of the best parks out of 600 county parks.) 2- The 600 parks are organized by location, which means when you are traveling in a particular county, you can easily find a county park. The book is organized first by location, and then alphabetical. It is a very clever and helpful way to organize a book because you can find a park in the area you want very quickly. This makes vacation planning so easy. (I own State Parks, Wisconsin by Bailey and while a good book, it's not organized like this, which makes planning a vacation more of a challenge because the parks are scattered in the book because they are not organized by location.) This books is an excellent tool for planning a vacation. 3- Each county represents one chapter in which that one county's parks are described. At the top of each chapter on each county, they have a really handy picture where the county of interest is bolded on miniature Wisc map. So, if you are planning a trip up North, but you're not familiar with all of the names of the northern counties, you'll instantly know if this chapter is the right area for you, just by looking at the picture. This makes it really efficient to find what you need. 4- It's the only book (out of the 11 Wisc books that I bought) that also has a chapter that covers best parks for a particular use. It's "Best Parks for Special Uses" chapter tells you where to find the best parks for: a) Nature Study, b) Horseback riding, c) out-of-the-way camping, d) historic sites, e) bird watching, f) folk art, g) waterfalls, h) Native American history, i) Caving, j) cannoeing, k) family camping, l) winter sports. 5- When describing a park, the book provides the following information: a) directions, b) facilities (e.g. none, swimming, beach, picnic tables, outhouses, toilets, hiking, cross-country skiing, mountain biking, playground, boat landing, grills, picnic shelter, tent sites, trailer sites, hiking, nature trails, etc.) It's a very handy book because of the depth of material that is displayed in a very effective way. I highly recommend this book. It's excellent.

Steelhead Dreams ranks up there as one the best books about the Great Lakes steelhead fishery. Author Matt Supinski is considered one of the top Great Lakes steelhead guru. In this book he shares decades of knowledge and experience. The book has chapters on mastering the rivers, different times of year, presentations and the top Great Lakes rivers.

Steelhead Dreams is a very easy book to follow and understand. This book also has the best fly recipe section I've seen in any book. There are plenty of color plates of popular nymph, egg, and streamer flies. This is an excellent book for the angler deciding to get into steelheading.

This is a "must have" for any Great Lakes Basin Steelhead Fly Fisher. Written from One who has been faced with "4th & goal" and has made the conversion. Matt's underlying theme is that each and every one of us Great Lakes' Steelheaders MUST realize that we have to take care to preserve this awesome privilege that we enjoy. Matt shows how and why the traditional West Coast Methods are very limited in the Great Lakes Basin. He does, indeed cover everything you'll need to know and do to become a more proficient fly fishing steelheader...I promise.

I have been an eastern and great lakes trout and salmon fly fisher for 42 years and fished many of the great lakes rivers for steelhead the last 22 years with the fly rod. Steelhead Dreams presents a wonderful description of the immense steelhead fly fishing opportunities through outthe great lakes states and canada. The history of the fishery, comparisons to the PNW steelhead fishery, tackle, techniques, rivers, and how to approach the four seasons of steelhead fly fishing are discussed in detail to aid both new anglers and more experienced steelhead fly fishers. Matt obviously has a great love for steelhead, fly fishing, and the great lakes fishery. Excellent color pictures of the rivers, fish, tackle, and flies are provided. All great lakes and PNW steelhead anglers will benefit in increased knowledge of this fishery to enhance their angling experience. I learned some new things from Matt which will be applied this year. This is the best indepth book on great lakes steelhead fly fishing I have seen to date. I look forward to more books from Matt on the great lakes fishery.

I found this guide ideal when I used it to locate lights to visit in this region last year. Bruce Roberts' superb photography and Ray Jones interesting and informative narrative significantly enhanced my enjoyment in visiting the lights.

There are directions and other info for finding and visiting lighthouses. They do not always show all lights for a given area. The photos are all color. I own 3 of these books. There are not many other guide books out there so if you are looking for guide books these are good to have. Since there are so many books in this series I thought I'd help people find them easier. This is the series.
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American Lighthouses
California Lighthouses
Eastern Great Lakes Lighthouses - I own this one
Western Great Lakes Lighthouses - I own this one
Southeastern Lighthouses - I own this one
Southern Lighthouses
New England Lighthouses
Mid Atlantic Lighthouses
Gulf Coast Lighthouses

I know that Bruce and Ray Jones don't visit or include all of the Great Lake lights in their books, but it is highly arguable that they do portray the best looking ones. I travel from Chicago to Upper Peninsula and have to include their books on the trip with all of the excellent directions. They are excellent travel guides and provide nice context to why and where they lights originated and give sufficient information about the beacon. They are my number one travel books when I go on a lighthouse expedition and they are bar none no better book published with directions on Great Lake lighthouses.

Forty years ago, when I was squandering my education as a Harvard undergraduate, Bernard Bailyn was a rising star in that university's history department faculty. His immediate predecessor as the dean of Harvard's American studies scholars had been Perry Miller, an intellectual historian who, before his death in 1963, remade the study of American colonial history with his analyses of Puritan ideas gleaned largely from sermons. Indeed, American history and literature, on that campus at that time, was pretty much devoted to the study of big ideas, and not to the study of political, economic, or social events or movements or of artistic form.

Bailyn was one of a new generation of historians who sought out ship registers, merchant's accounting ledgers, estate inventories, and other quantifiable data series, previously ignored, to tell their stories of how, in the late colonial and early national periods, ordinary Americans made decisions of lasting significance. For the next 30 years the study of American history followed Bailyn's lead. Still, Bailyn himself never fully abandoned his grounding in intellectual history. His oeuvre, for example, includes the highly respected "Ideological Origins of the American Revolution" and a study of pamphleteering in the revolutionary period.

With "To Begin the World Anew," Bailyn offers students of American history a thin book consisting of five essays reworked from speeches which he has given over several years. The essays are surely well-written, but they break no new ground. Readers who favor intellectual history may find them interesting enough. Readers who favor quantitative historical analysis will find them lacking.

Thus, for example, taking his cue from an essay by art historian Kenneth Clark, Bailyn writes that Jefferson, Franklin, and the other American "founders were provincials, alive to the values of a greater world, but not, they knew, of it -- comfortable in a lesser world but aware of its limitations. . . . For many -- the ablest, best informed, and most ambitious -- the result was a degree of rootlessness, of alienation either from the higher sources of culture or from the familiar local environment. . . . But the effect of their provincialism ran deeper than that. As their identity as a separate people took form through the Revolutionary years they came to see that their remoteness from the metropolitan world gave them a moral advantage in politics." (31-34) I enjoyed Bailyn's discussion and photographs of revolutionary era mansions and portraiture, in England and America, which he uses to illustrate this point. For my taste, however, his concepts of "provincialism," "rootlessness," "alienation," and "moral advantage" (like his concepts of "realism" and "idealism" in foreign policy) are too amorphous, and the analysis too formulaic, to much rely upon.

I am undoubtedly still squandering that education, but I would suggest borrowing, and not buying, this book. Robert E. Olsen

This is a hard read for such a short book. The subject matter in these essays show how the provicials (Jefferson, Franklin, Madison, Hamilton) created a new world order with their ideas and writings. Such writings as the Federalist papers are now more quoted today than they were when they were created. These ideas revolutionized how other countries changed their societies. That is the essence of this book.
Bailyn describes these ideas in this short book. The concepts are good in terms of how the founders poured the foundations which the United States stands on today. What is missing is how other events (the American and French Revolutions) also changed the Atlantic states. Ideas can help change societies, but force and political power have more relevance in change.
I would not suggest this book to the average reader interested in the American Revolution. These concepts are perhaps too deep for the average reader. Bailyn is writing for the academic audience.

Historical research of the highest quality is frequently driven by a determination to answer questions of compelling importance. That is especially true of this volume in which Bailyn offers five separate but related essays which, together, examine a theme which its subtitle suggests: the nature and significance of "the genius and ambiguities of the American founders." In his Preface, Bailyn identifies two convictions which remain constant throughout all five chapters: that those founders were "truly creative people, and that their creative efforts, the generation-long enterprise that elevated these obscure people from their marginal world to the center of Western civilization, were full of inconsistencies, logical dilemmas, and unresolved problems."

With regard to questions of compelling importance, several can be summarized as follows:

1. Which ambiguities "beset" Jefferson's career? What were their nature and impact?

2. What is revealed by the "strange interplay between lofty idealism and cunning realism in Franklin's spectacular success in Paris"? Meanwhile, what can be learned from the interplay between Franklin and Adams?

3. What is the significance of the fact that the authors of the Federalist papers struggled to reconcile "the need for a powerful, coercive public authority with the preservation of the private liberties for which the Revolution had been fought"? To what extent was such a reconciliation achieved?

These are indeed compelling questions, ones which probably need to be asked today as our nation struggles to decide what its appropriate role is in the global community. After I read this book but before I began to formulate this review, I read Joseph Stiglitz's Globalization and Its Discontents. In it, Stiglitz offers a heartfelt but rigorous examination of globalization, "the removal of barriers to free trade and the closer integration of national economies," asserting that it can and should be a force for good "and that it has the potential [in italics] to enrich everyone in the world, particularly the poor." However, given how globalization has been managed thus far, it should be rethought. Focusing primarily on the International Monetary Fund and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (the World Bank) during the past decade, Stiglitz responds to the basic question: "Why has globalization -- a force that has brought so much good -- become so controversial?"

I had Stiglitz's book in mind as I re-read Bailyn's. Granted, no one knew in the late-eighteenth century that the coalition of thirteen colonies (if it achieved independence) would one day become the single most powerful nation in the world. For me, the single greatest benefit of Bailyn's is his analysis of the nature and significance of "the genius and ambiguities of the American founders," how they created a foundation on which the original thirteen colonies evolved over more than two centuries into the 50 states and their federal government which now, during arguably the most volatile period since the 1770s, struggles to the support the natural rights of humanity by advocating and supporting what Jefferson once referred to as "the sacred fire of freedom and self-government" throughout the world. Challenges of various kinds will, of course, continue to present themselves. Bailyn duly acknowledges that reality while suggesting that "I think an equally important challenge is our own responsibility to probe the character of our constitutional establishment, as the eighteenth century provincials probed the establishment they faced, to recognize that for many in our own time and within our own culture, it has become scholastic in nits elaboration, self-absorbed, self-centered, and in significant ways distant from the ordinary facts of life."

Bailyn's brilliant examination of "the genius and ambiguities of the American founders" is in essence an examination of the heritage of those founders, revealing the humanity of their talents and imperfections, to be sure, but also suggesting the standards of measurement by which we determine the extent to which we have proven worthy of that heritage.

This is very good book about the City of Boston, as it was developed in stages. The Book explains the development and expansion of the city in time and according to location. It is very vivid and especially if you have been a pedestrian offen on the streets of Boston, It starts to make sense and starts to give joy. As I read the book I started to appreciate more and more the efforts of BRA and Back Bay Society.unfortunately before they acted quite a number of beautiful structures has gone.Book has very extensive history from 1700 to 1970's and than it is summary or may be it is a living history for you. There are numerous pictures but the number of pictures is not as much as those you may find in other types of books, like Boston in Pictures, etc. After all it is a narrative book but there is sufficient amount of pictures to help you visulize. I wish a more comprehensive book were to be produces to show in same pages all the developments, similar to "Boston, Than and Now" but with more older pictures and more story as this book has. Read this book and sit across the Charles on Cambridge Side than you start to see Trimont, Mill Dam, Neck. It is great book.

This book is ideal for anyone looking for a general account of Boston history. It acquants one with many of the important stages in the development of the city; covering the period from the colonial to approximately 1970. The information regarding the colonial period is excellent, as is the book itself. It is not specific, but provides an introduction to many great way points for further study.

This book is a fascinating account of how Boston grew and developed. It stays on the point, is concise, and really improves the understanding of this city. A must read for a Bostonian.

Webster's book is a good review of the Collapse theories forwarded to explain the demise of the Classic Maya. While Webster covers all of the relevant arguments in the literature, this book does not cover much new ground. Further, his discussion of the Copan data ignores the possibility of a complete Maya depopulation of Copan at the end of the Classic Period suggested by non-Maya Early Postclassic structures reported from the site center.

Mr. Webster does not make it easy for those who want to read about flying saucers sweeping down and doing/undoing the Maya. His tale is a little bit more down to earth as he undertakes to make sure that the reader understands first a few parameters on how cultures grow and meet their demise. Eventually when you read the sections that actually try to explain how the Maya fell, you sort of guess stuff before he tells you. Probably this comes from a Socratic style of teaching from Professor Webster. It also does not help that he can be tongue in cheek sometimes, and deliberately challenging when he confess that he cannot read Mayan glyphs. Is he serious? After a while this has a salutatory effect: the reader realizes that there is no magical mystery to the Maya: they were just like any other civilization, just a little bit odd. They were humans first and that explains very well why they became great and why they also harbored the seeds of their decline. The only mystery here is the mystery of human genius that made this people build such exquisite ensembles as Tikal, or the author's favorite Copan. Definitely a clear book on what are the current thoughts on Maya history based on recent archaeology, a non sentimental look on the Maya, and the best exposition so far to demonstrate that the Maya demise was not as sudden as people would like to think. Also a very salutary reminder that today natives are the descendents of these fabled rulers and that if they stopped building pyramids it was not because they became stupid and degenerated. The truth might be that they just saw the light and kicked the ruling class out when they realized that they had become a burden they could not afford anymore. Clearly, in spite of serious political and ecological problems, the Maya that "greeted" Cortez were the heirs of the ancient Maya.

Webster's book is extremely well written and should appeal to the general reader regardless of their knowledge of Mesoamerican cultures. As opposed to limiting himelf to Late Classic, he relates this to Mayan Civilization at the conquest, what is meant by the collapse of the Mayan "Civilization" and its relations to other ancient civilizations (although I think he missed the analog to the post-fall city-states of Italy and the possible implications). His evidence is excellent and his agruments eloquent. Readers looking for simple answers are warned - you will not find one answer. On the other hand, for those who want a well-thought out argument by a researcher steeped in the Mayan culture, this is your book.

Just when you thought there were no more plant identification guides to be written, Peterson's came out with this interesting little guide. In its pages you will find the many thousands of uses that numerous cultures have found for North American plants. From dubious cure-alls to modern cancer drugs, this guide describes them all, and their poisonous look alikes. If you already have Peterson's tree or wildflower guides, be prepared for a bit of Deja vu - there is considerable overlap in both text descriptions and illustrations. Also, don't set up your folk remedy pharmacy just yet - this book doesn't give dosage advice for the vast majority of species it describes. The authors are very strident in saying that this book is for information only, not clinical advice. That said, you will find innumerable fascinating tidbits of herbal lore between its covers.

I have just recently become interested in learning about the wild plants of my area and this book seems to be the most extensive resource about medicinal plants available. I like it because it is clear and concise, contains information on plant use and history, has color photographs to go with each entry, and includes poisonous look-a-likes and possible side effects of otherwise safe plants. I do, however, find the organization to be a bit confusing. For instance, it is simple to find the section on plants with yellow flowers, the pages are color coded, but difficult to differentiate between sections for button like composite flowers and dandelion like flowers. This results in a lot of time spent looking at pictures of yellow flowers. I much prefer the orginization of the Peterson Guide to Edible Wild Plants, which is similar but more clearly labled. I also think that the line pictures in that book have many benifits over the photographs contained in the medicinal plants field guide. The drawings offer well focused close up views from more than one angle if neccessary, this is not always possible with photos and a few pictures in the book are fuzzy. Overall I think that this is an excellent resource book.

Here is everything that a field guide should be and contain--small enough to stick into a pocket but comprehensive, definitive, dependable and well-illustrated. Pictures, descriptions, locations, uses, warnings. Foster is not only an herbalist of the first rank but one of the finest plant photographers out there clicking. His gorgeous Healing Plants calendar is on my wall; the verdant photos provide daily pleasure. Herbal preparations as alternatives to synthetic drugs are increasingly chosen. St. John's Wort for depression, Saw Palmetto for prostate treatment, Goldenseal for a multitude of symptoms. Not typically thought of as herbs, trees are also a part of our living pharmacy and 66 are included here. Ginkgolides extracted from leaves of the Ginkgo tree (ginkgo biloba) are the best-selling herbal preparation in Europe. Aspirin derives from the willow. Amongst shrubs I learned that Hawthorn leaf and flower preparations are used in Germany to treat congestive heart failure, based on at least 14 controlled clinical studies. With increasing usage, many plants are in danger of being overharvested. Conservation is necessary to preserve a viable natural community of plants that can and may help alleviate human suffering. Stopping plant thieves is a law enforcement challenge but easy identification of plants may save others of us from bulldozing a patch of ginseng for a house site. It is noted that Pale Purple Coneflower (Echinacea pallida) "is common in eastern Kansas but it is very rare in western North Carolina at the eastern extreme of its range. The plant might be judiciously harvested in Kansas, but in North Carolina it should be left alone." More than just a field guide, Medicinal Plants and Herbs is an essential reference book for our personal library. The value of this big little book can hardly be overestimated.