Finally a book that's not professorial and gets to the point!

McClure not only compiles lists from several regional experts, she includes down-to-earth quotes from them that lends a lot of authenticity to their recommendations.

She's upfront about what grows well in our alkaline clay soil and what plants can honestly handle the extremes of heat, humidity, drought, rain, cold and wind charactistic of this area.

Another excellent reference for those of us in zones 5 & 6 is Ezra Haggard's Perennials for the Lower Midwest. It's more conversational than a list book, but the accessible text is packed with advice and never rambles. The format gives each plant a page of text with a full-color photo on the facing page.

Saves oodles of time for the gardener who knows "I know there's a plant that works there, but I can't remember its name." Great for taking to the plant store, and for designing the new (or refurbishing the existing) garden. And you know the plants will reliably grow in your zone, which is nice for the novice.

It took me a couple of years to read the book because I spread out the reading to enjoy my armchair travels. My compliments on the work. I can't imagine how all the information was gathered and checked. The author had to travel to each town. I looked up a couple of facts I consider to be little-known facts. They were included in the book, and were correct. I enjoyed reading about places near my weekend cabin. I checked out several of the features. The one I found most amazing was the grave of Comfort Ruggles -- a member of the Boston Tea Party buried in a Missouri country cemetery.

The book is great for the native Missourian and for those travelers who dream of discovering the Show Me State.

Missouri Roadsides is a thorough compilation of almost every town in the state, from the small (Halltown, pop. 161) to the large (St. Louis, pop. 396,685). Based on courthouse records and eyeball observation, you'll find the history of each town, along with recreational areas, attractions, and fascinating tidbits. Armchair historians will like the emphasis on town origins. A special appendix on recreational areas is ideal for travellers, and includes wildlife areas, state parks, even navigable waterways. While the book would have been more complete with more maps and illustrations, Missouri Roadsides is a wealth of information -- and well worth the price!

Richard Gaskell's state fair photographs are well worth a look. His images are respectful of his subject but they avoid the sentimental, nostaligic point of view so typical of much rural art. One is reminded of the great images of rural life that the WPA photographers produced in the 1930's. An excellent book for urbanites who've never been to the fair, but also for rural folks who want an honest but loving point of view of one of their great traditions.

If ever there is a book that captures the beauty and grace that is often hidden under the sweat and tears of hard farmwork, this is it. In a series of haunting photographs, Gaskell has found humor, grit, honesty, and a piece of his own soul. Sunday morning bacon and eggs will never be the same.

As a Missouri native, I assure everyone interested in this book of its usefulness. Informative and well written, this book is a must have for anyone visiting, or living in Missouri!

Although I may be biased, (since C.H. "Skip" Curtis is my mother's boyfriend), I really loved this book. It's extremely informative for anyone--novice to expert--who travels on MO Route 66. Skip knows everything there is to know about Route 66; he's the editor of the Missouri Route 66 Magazine and he travels the road every time he visits my mom (which is a good 200 miles one way). Since I grew up on the Mother Road, I thought I knew every old hotel and shady bar on the route, but I was mistaken. Skip fills his book with two road maps (one from St. Louis going to Joplin and another vice versa), so you won't get lost. Also, there are tons of old photographs and postcards. Plus, my mom, my '55 Chevy and my favorite building are in the book; which puts it on the top of my book list. If you buy his book, you'll become a Missouri Route 66 expert (which comes in handy for parties), he'll become rich and I'll get more birthday presents (so, it's an investment we can all enjoy)! If you have any questions after you buy his book, write to him and he'll be more than happy to assist you. Or you can just ask him what C.H. stand for

This is a book that any mountain biker in Indiana, Eastern Illinois, or Northern Kentucky should have. Dozens of trails, helpful directions, and contour maps. There are a number of terrific, yet out of the way single-track trails included. The only negative is that it is a bit dated.

Layne Cameron has truly given Indiana cyclists something to be proud of. He has displayed, with inciteful commentary and fun humor, the best mountain biking Indiana has to offer and the interesting monuments these trails have near their locale.This book is an all-terrain cycling Bible with wonderful maps and excellent directions. Thanks Layne!

Dear Mike:
I've been trying to get in touch with you. If you are able to contact me please do, okay?

I've wanted to go mountain biking in the Upper Peninsula for a long time, but didn't know where to go until Mike McLelland's book came along.

With his book I was able to plan a seven-day vacation this summer (1998) and tour the U.P. with a couple of buddies. We went up to the Marquette/Munising area and spent a few days on Bruno's Run, McKeever Hills and Grand Island. Awesome trails!!!!

Then we headed west and went on the Ge-che trail and got into some hardcore downhill action at the Copper peak bike park. The chairlifts make short work of some otherwise gnarly uphills. Then your on the top and fly, baby, fly!!!!!

We had a great trip on some of the best trails this mitten state has to offer. I'm planning to bring my girlfriend up there this fall or next year. She's not as hardcore as I am, but Mike's book has trails for everyone's level. I'm planning a different trip for me and her.

Another good thing about the book was the maps and descriptions. I could rule out the trails that didn't sound good to me, and knew what to expect once out on the trail like rocks, water, hills, etc. Another good thing was its size. I put mine in my backpack to use as a reference on the trail.

I always knew the U.P. had some awesome riding, and I'm glad someone took the time to do the research and put all those trails into one book.

A must-have for persons interested in identifying mushrooms (including which might be edible) and fungi (including puff balls, brackens, slime molds and plant pathogenic fungi) of the Northeast (from the eastcoast on over to Michigan). We used this guide as required text in a grad-level course I took on fungi - and I kept it after the class because it was so enjoyable. The author clearly loves his subject..and the photographs and illustrations are excellent. It also includes other vital identifying characteristics such as spore print info that are musts for a proper ID. Great though, for even those only interested in possibly finding out what the weird shelf fungus is growing on a rotting log or casual nature lovers.

This book by George Barron is a wonderful feild guide. Every picture is large and in vivid color not like many books that that have small or unclear pictures. This detail makes distinguishing alike mushrooms simple, and if you are still confused Mr. Barron's simple laid back notes on each will correct any confusion. The book has user friendly color coded sections. There is even extra information on edible and toxic mushrooms overall there is no better book on the market today to identify mushrooms period. Although Mr. Barron is an expert on this subject and has a Ph.D in Mycology he is a master at keeping it simple. If you are intrested in this topic, buy this book!

As a new resident to the area, I found this book to be very helpful, as well as fun to read.

The author's writing is smooth and fun to read. As far as I know there is no other guide book like this around. I live in Chicago, but read A Native's Guide to Chicago's Northern Suburbs to learn about new recreation and entertainment outside of the city. Who knew they had a "leaning tower" in Niles!

I was fortunate to hear David Shevin read from the book and had to buy it. He is a wonderful poet and essayist. His genius, humor, and social conscience resonate through each page

"The particulars of America, a durable, justice-loving America, pour forth their lights in David Shevin's poems. He is an unsparing keeper of the socialist record but also a whimsical human with a humor older than America or himself." --Andrei Codresc

Psychologist James Hillman proposes a model of "growing down" into our lives rather than growing up, citing the "puzzled wonder" of small children over the things of this world. What poet David kherdian does best in THE NEIGHBORHOOD YEARS is express that puzzled wonder at the miracle of the particular street corner, the particular house, the particular friend.

The "particulars" of Kherdian's poems, of course, come from an immigrant neighborhood in Racine, Wisconsin, late 1930's. Those familiar with his poems will recognize this as his stock-in-trade. And, yes, the Armenians, Greeks, Poles, and Germans-as well as the children and drunks-are colorful and loveable.

However, the poems go beyond that surface of pleasant nostalgia-and it is pleasant, make no mistake. The found bicycle, the short cut across the empty lot, the fishing poles: these are ideograms, emblems of a lost America we long for and miss, even if we never knew it.

But let me return to Hillman to make a case for a deeper understanding of these poems. Growing down, as I understand it, involves an individual consciousness taking on more and more deeply the crucifixion of life in a particular body, with everything that implies: the limitation as well as the freedom, the suffering as well as the joy. Reading Kherdian's poems, I have a clear sense that the expression of this idea is what he is up to, has been up to all along.

The exact place--the living room, the crossroads, the neighborhood--of any working out of an individual destiny is precious, of course, because it is the only place we are going to have in this life. And Kherdian reminds of this often, least we forget:

"In size, only five by ten, if that,/ but inside those precious feet of space/ Old Man Cook sold live minnows/..."

Or:

"While I enter solemnly the kingdom/ of lawns and trees & moving water/ beside leaves of grass,/ and those brick-lined passageways/ over which my feet first roamed--/..."

One of the charms of the poems in this volume is the tone of the precocious narrator who speaks in such a calm voice, being both the child of the experience and the man who remembers. The language is plain but musical, relaxed yet strong.

Another of its charms is the almost reflexive reference to fishing that runs throughout the book--water, rivers, lakes, fishing poles, men who cook fish, minnows, bait-creating the impression of a personal, cohesive mythology beneath a deceptively simple surface. This volume joins David Kherdian's previous books of poetry as being a "keeper," if I may be permitted to borrow a metaphor.

As the publisher of David Kherdian's newest addition in his Root River Cycle poems about Racine, Wisconsin, I can only testify to the care and thoughtful prepartion of this volume. It speaks to a dedication to people and places uncommon in American writing today. The book has a good introduction by critic David Shevin and will speak to you..... Welcome to the neighborhood.