San Diego has a suprising amount of hiking opportunities. This short guide by Sean O'Brien explores some of the easier walks in the Laguna Mountains and Cuyamuca State Park. None of the hikes exceed 5 miles in length, and most have gentle grades. Almost all the hikes listed here are suitable for small children. Strong hikers, by contrast, walk all the trails in this book in a weekend.

One can't really argue with the selection of trails, but the layout of the book leaves something to be desired. I find maps more valuable than Aerial photographs, and occasionally O'Brien outlines the trail with black dots, making it very hard to follow the route on his black and white photos. Still, this is a fine guide for family visits, and worth getting.

It is an almanac it is real pretty it has good information and you can find it easy

This delightfully amusing novel concerns the experiences of the hero in his quest for fulfillment, and employment, in our northernmost state. The focus of the book is not on the geographical setting as much as it is on the inhabitants. This book is not for the squeamish who adhere to political correctness, and there is no doubt that some groups will take umbrage at the jibes taken at the sacred cows the author has chosen. Having said that, perhaps the parody of these groups has sufficient basis in fact to draw some blood. This Northern Huckleberry Finn tale with a political/science fiction twist is a good read, and a funny one at that.

More interesting for an examination of how the perception of Hamilton has changed over time than as a biography (the book is over 100 years old). The author was the Senator who destroyed President Wilson's dream of a League of Nations, leaving him a broken man

This book picks up where "The Last Liberty" left off-the planning of the trip to the 50th Aniv. of D-Day in Europe. The book is huge, and covers everything from the very first idea to go right up to the return home. Most of it deals with the state of mind of the crew but there is also a lot of interesting info about the ship and ports they stopped at in England and France. I was surprised by the complexity of the trip with regard to longistics and planning. The European visitor's comments recorded by the author are very moving and emotional. Before I read this book I thought the British and French had forgotten WW2 but this is not true. Most of the photos are good, but I would have liked more.

Obstetrician Heather Delaney has long dreamed of the day she could transform the beautiful Victorian mansion, one of the Glen's four premiere "season houses" into her combined living and working space. With tentative approval for rezoning, she has invested thousands in the building's restoration. Unfortunately, she also managed to offend the town mayor who, in a petty act of petulance and power, manages to swing the final vote against the rezoning. Since ex-fiancé and board member Griffin Cahill should have been present to help defend her, Heather has no patience when he approaches her to ask for help. When she eventually agrees, she does so only out of concern for the children.

Just before leaving for the town meeting, Griffin finds himself saddled with twin boys, age eight months, and no sitter. His sister-in-law was called away to aid her mother following surgery and his brother dropped off the children on his way to a London business meeting. Bachelor/playboy Griffin finds himself ill prepared for infant care. Certainly his collection of expensive glass and modern architecture is not conducive to infant safety. After three days of no sleep, he admits defeat, and asks ex-fiancée Megan for help. He does not expect himself to like caring for children and enjoy the routine he and Heather establish. Perhaps Playboy Cahill will learn the value of home and family before yet another career opportunity and beautiful bimbo catches his attention.

Author Kathleen O'Brien pens another delightful romance in the second of her Firefly Glen miniseries. O'Brien's has a gift for portraying the challenges and rewards of caring for young infants, creating comic humor in all the disasters and triumphs. One of the best scenes occurs early when the bimbo girl friend destroys the color-coding system and the twin boys become Stewbert-a blend of their two names. The hero's transformation from Playboy Cahill to substitute daddy likewise adds some intriguing moments, especially as the décor of his bachelor pad does not easily transform to a nursery. Heroine Heather Delaney makes a delightful counterbalance, underscoring his need of responsibility and her need a fun. A lovely, entertaining read, BABES IN ARMS comes highly recommended.

In 1893 American Katherine Rourke learns she has inherited property in County Wicklow, Ireland. Escorted by her uncle, she journeys across the ocean with the intent of selling BALLYROURKE, but is stunned by the beauty of the estate that she inherited from her grandmother. Katherine also quickly learns more about the feud between the Irish O'Rourkes and the British Lawthrops with her deceased parents being from both families.

BALLYROURKE estate manager Colin MacCormack wants to buy back the property for his family clan even as Katherine plans to sell the estate so that she can use the proceeds to build an orphanage in her homeland. To their chagrin, Colin and Katherine are attracted to one another. However, he knows she has to be the enemy as her escort is the most hated person in the county and she recognizes that she is not staying in Ireland much longer. Then there are her malevolent mischief maker of an uncle, the good intentional matchmaking of his relatives, and the machinations of the fairies that split the duo further making permanent impossible.

BALLYROURKE is a wonderful historical romantic suspense that seems magical when Linda O'Brien describes the land, the people, and the fairies. The lead couple is a delightful duo whose distrust of one another conflicts with their desires. Though her uncle is a key player in terms of propelling the tale forward, his evil deeds never sit well inside a breathtakingly beautiful and often lyrical late nineteenth century romance.

Harriet Klausner

This is a small board book that is filled with pictures of farm animals. It teaches the child the sounds that the animals make and also teaches them something about each animal as Barney visits each one. For example, for the cow, it teaches children that milk comes from cows and that the sound they make is "Moo, Moo".

I love this book and my 9 month old loves it as well! It is great especially if you make the animal noises realistic!

My only coffee table book of literary criticism, this is an invaluable resource for information and insights into Irish author Samuel beckett, particualry for the early Joyce influenced poems and novels(More Pricks than Kicks, Murphy), but also for interesting glosses on the more obscured prose from the trilogy on to Company. Filled with pictures of the bogs, seasides, asylumns and Dublin streets that set the scene for most of the prose & drama. By paying close attention to the texts, O'brien makes a silent but convincing argument in favor of Beckett the realist, if condensed and reduced to suit his artistic purposes. Filled with cultural detail instead of biographical detail, it is also an interesting look at Dublin before the war. It also contains a printing of "The Capital of Ruins", the short essay Beckett wrote for radio about his experience in St Lo, France, as a memeber of the Irish Red Cross. A quote to show a possible significance:"I mean the possibility that some of those who were in Saint-Lo will come home realising that they got as good as they gave, that they got, indeed, what they could not hardly give, a vision and a sense of a time-honored conception of humanity in ruins, and perhaps even an inkling of the terms in which our condition is to be thought again". A beautiful, well-researched, and thought-provoking study.

Reviewed by Gregory F. Rose (University of Tulsa) in _Envoi: A Review Journal of Medieval Literature_ vol. 6 no. 2 (Fall 1997). This notice was submitted by Envoi.