The book is a delight not only for children but also for parents. The whilmsical detail is most unusual for childrens' books and will delight any adult perusing the book with a child -- or without the child. It is guaranteed to generate chuckles.

I read Animal House and thought the pictures were great. You find things that are like what humans use only geared to that certain animal. As in the dog's house instead of a candy dispenser there is a shoe dispencer and instead of an animal's head on a plaque the mailman's head is on the plaque. Little subtleties like those really make this book good. Also Melissa Bay Mathis is my aunt. I'm Melinda one of the people it is dedicated to.

Bay is a lesson on relationships and feelings. This book reveals super writing with a down home style. I could not put it down. Read the book.

Finally I can read a book about Black people down South without hearing the bashing of the White man. Thank you Mr. Manson.

This book is amazing. If you or anyone you know is from Bay Ridge get this book. I have recently moved out of Bay Ridge, but this book makes me want to go back. To see the changes that the neighborhood has gone through it incredible. This is a must have for your personal library.

This journey by text and antique photos of Bay Ridge and Fort Hamilton is a must read and a must own for those of us who lived the good life on these pleasant streets. Gone forever but still alive in our memories are the Staten Island Ferry and some of the small movie theatres that represented escape from the hot summers of the inner city. The majestic mansions that dotted Shore Road are gone but their replacements, though slightly less opulent, retain the gentile grandeur of the area. Fort Hamilton High School and Public School 102 remain as they were still serving thousands of Bay Ridge children. Send this book to anyone you know who grew up in Bay Ridge. They will thank you for this delightful trip back in time.

Mrs. Kiviat obviously has a full grasp of nature at its best. Her talents as a writer, journalist, and photographer keep the reader fully motivated to keep reading further. Any reader of any age and background will not only be greatly educated about this wondrous area but also enticed to visit it. Her self-taught background would rival the efforts of any research biologist, and to personally speak with her in itself becomes an adventure. I personally have purchased many copies of her book to give as gifts to friends and relatives. Congratulations Mrs. Kiviat for a well-crafted piece of journalism. I look forward to any of your possible future works with great anticipation. Thank you for this awe-inspiring adventure into this realm of nature. Also thanks go to Amazon.com for helping to spread Mrs. Kiviat's words that inspire the spirit of the conservation of nature to the world.

Way to go Mrs. Kiviat!! The photography in this book is stunning. It made me FEEL LIKE I WAS THERE!! It's so great that this book is on Amazon.com so that other people can experience the joy of nature like I have. It is such an honor for my name HEATHER KAYAL to be acnowledged as a middle school student who reviewed Changing Tides. Mrs. Kiviat, thankyou so much. For everyone who is reading this review, buy this book, because you won't be let down.~Heather K.~

This book is a compilation and expansion of two smaller works - one on log canoes and the other on the history of the bugeye. It is extremely well researched and includes detailed drawings / plans. Since the original pamphlet drafts date to the 1940s, the author had access to the actual builders and designers as well as to those that captained the boats either tonging or dredging for oysters. I read it from the perspective of someone interested in the history and culture of the Bay and thought the bugeye section was great. Since a stated purpose of the book is to capture specifications and how to build type information, the casual reader will probably find some of it somewhat dry.

As a Chesapeake Bay native and avid log canoe sailor I found this book well-researched and amply illustrated. It is a bit dated, but no other work is as comprehensive. Model builders will find some line drawings, but HAMMS and Chapelle's "Small Sailing Craft" are probably better sources for that specific aspect of the working Bay craft. I would recommend this book for canoe/skipjack afficianados, modelers looking for an interesting alternative to square riggers, and marine history buffs who are not familiar with the genre. Brewington's narrative includes information that would be of interest to just about anyone interested in the Bay and its colorful history.

I realy thought that this book was a great source of information! It told you how to groom and care for your chesepeake. It also said alot about where and how the breed originated. It is realy good for new Chessie owners.

This new Barron's paperback is a much better guide to Chessie ownership than the Henschel book. References Chessie's throughout the book. Example: Specific guidelines on how to shop for a Chessie pup - not just pups in general, depending on your need - show, hunt, or companionship. This 100 page book will get you off to a good start, or help explain the Chessie's reputation, help with training, and increase your general understanding of this underappreciated breed. Get it!

Ms. Vojtech captures the heart and soul of the Chesapeake bay with her delightful book on skipjacks. If you think that this book is just a book of pictures, you're wrong. While the photographs are superb, it is the writing that brings to the forefront the hard and lonely life of a waterman.

This book should be an essential element of personal library within a few hours drive of the bay.

This is a must have book for Chesapeake Bay skipjack devotees as well as others interested in work boats. Pat's over 50 beautiful color photos of skipjacks in action on the Cheapeakee Bay are worth the price by themselves. Ms Vojtech supports the photos with a facinating history of the oyster tonging and dredging along vignets of actual people in the trade. Interesting, is the discussion of economics which has extended the lfie of working sail on the Chesapeake to protect the oyster beds from depletion.

Whitey knows his crabs, his crabhouses, and where the best ones are located. He doesn't mix in foodie terms, trends, or hype to confuse and confound those looking for a great meal. As a newcommer to the Chesapeake Bay, I have used Whitey's recommendations to locate some pretty tasty eating establishments and have experienced some sublime crabs! Reliable? Yes! Thank you, Whitey!

This another of Whitey's wonderful guidebooks that help you to understand and share the unique culture of the Chesapeake Bay region. Being a native, it guided me to places I'd never been in my pursuit of good seafood eating. For folks new to the area, I've seen it open a whole new arena of exploration. Whitey's unique character shows through in this and his other travel and cookbooks. They are a joy.

The Chesapeake: An Environmental Biography by educator and political history expert John Wennersten is the informed story of the Chesapeake Bay (also called the Crown Jewel of Maryland) and the Mid-Atlantic region. From its ice age origins 20,000 years ago to how its modern-day health reflects directly on the health of waters all over the world, The Chesapeake: An Environmental Biography covers all that human science and history have known about this remarkable body of water. Strongly recommended for environmental studies reading lists and reference collections.

This book confirms Wennersten's place as a premier authority on the Chesapeake Bay region. Like his earlier books, it renders massive, meticulous scholarship in eminently readable form for the general public. Beginning before the arrival of human beings, his story traces the impact of humans on their habitat and its impact on them from the First Native Americans through the tobacco kingdoms of the colonial period and the systematic exploitation of land and water down to the present day, concluding with hopes (dim though they may be) for the future, in the face of the staggering complexity of technological, political and economic forces. With a significance that goes well beyond its regional focus, the book is far from a sentimental plea for the reclamation of lost forests and dying waterways. Instead, Wennersten presents us with a daunting vision of the kind of rethinking that might help us to resist the continued commodification of nature, and to understand the need to reconsider some or our fundamental values. The fabled independence of the waterman, the vaunted creativity of the entrepreneurial spirit, and the generally unchallenged desirability of infinite economic growth all need to be reexamined. This book is an excellent gift for anyone who wants to begin understanding the processes -- natural, economic, cultural and political -- that could very well put human beings themselves on the endangered species list.