This is an absolutely amazing book..... MacKenzie flies around his birthplace regions, and then finds these places, that once he photographs, become temples of the ravages of time. These are photos that make one sense's shudder at the visual touch of the moment when something went awry with a schoolhouse, or a barn or a house. He has frozen, via huge, elegant landscapes, a moment in time, an uncomfortable, but spectacular moment. I was stunned by these photographs and by the senseless beauty and brooding quality of them.

Photographic quality and angle of pictures is superb. They lent a poignant yearning of this time period - how nice it would be to see the people and hear their voices at these sites. The accompanying text made the pictures more vivid. Wonderful book - when it is back in print, I'm going to buy it.

i found this book by ordering country barns notecards from amazon.com. Which where from this book i just look at the pictures and go ahh. Wonderful color really touched me

Our family has owned a patch of shore/forest land in Wisconsin for 20 years although none have been birders. With this disk we easily learned to identify species and discovered the diversity that we never noticed previously. The call/naming/call format of this disk is excellent for new birders and the numbers of species covered is ideal. I use the Stokes disk set as a reference but the name/call format and large number species covered does not facilitate learning the calls.

John Feith's Bird Song Ear Training Guide is a unique and impressive CD audiobook providing instructions on how to recognize songs of birds common to the states of the Midwest and Northeast (including Wisconsin where almost all the bird songs were recorded and the post-production work was done). Each distinctive bird song is followed by a mnemonic or a short description. The bird is identified and a review sound is played again that fixes the song's identity in the mind of the listener. The Bird Song Ear Training Guide is enhanced with a quiz format which will aid the listener to focus on learning how to identify the bird songs. A complete list of bird species and mnemonics is included in an insert. All profits from this enthusiastically recommended CD instructional for birdwatchers will go to the Nature Conservancy and the Wisconsin Society for Ornithology.

Actually you'll find it useful and accurate too. Fun to use, lots of songs, and my two feline birders went bananas. Who would know better? Good value for the money and the proceeds go to a good cause.

Laura Johnston keeps it simple. I'm a former Chicagoan and this book has just the right mix of the 'can't-miss' Chicago combined with 'off the beaten track' fun. Doesn't overwhelm with densely-written pages and more choices than one could possibly sample in a few days. Highly Recommended to anyone headed to My Kinda Town for the first time. A winner!

Despite the title, this is actually an excellent guide. Written in the friendly tone of a Chicago inhabitant with an obvious love for the city, it offers the sites, restaurants and activities that you might come across were you visiting a friend. Highly recommended!

Just when you think you know Chicago, Laura Johnston (who, as it turns out, isn't even a native -- but it's hard to tell!) shows you more. I tried to highlight the "good parts" of this book, but now my entire book is marked up because it is just THAT good. From tremendously useful reviews of various sightseeing destinations and restaurants to helpful suggestions regarding bargains (i.e., a chart that shows you free admission days to various attractions), "Chicago for Dummies" is absolutely essential for the Chicago visitor who doesn't want to miss a thing.

Lovely stories that take place in the intersection of dream and waking life, stories you'll want to read again and again from one of the most original and lyrical writers working today.

Stuart Dybek is truly a gifted writer. But moving beyond my humble opinion, this unique collection of short stories shines. Dybek's prose is haunting, his language at times startling and spare, at others languid and nearly musical. His characters are alive and absolutely believable in their mistakes and victories. Each story stands as a reflection on everyday beauty; Dybek that takes time to notice the details other authors overlook or dismiss as mundane. In 'The Coast of Chicago' Stuart Dybek has managed to do something quite rare in the all-too self-conscious realm of short story writing-- create stories that are rich yet still real without trying too hard to be so. Allow yourself to get sucked up into the twisting paths of his Chicago-- it's a journey you won't regret.

Dybek is one of those few writers whose work finds rare common ground between comic naturalism and tragic myth. The language of his stories honors the special poetry of the working class -- a poetry elastic enough to range from street slang to high diction, and from cynicism to a stubborn innocence that approaches the heroic (a touch of Damon Runyan at the one end, a mythic reach at the other). His characters struggle with their hearts and minds in ways that are fresh and original, without giving the sense that Dybek is contriving to keep them so. He is the genuine article, a natural myth-maker with an empathy large enough to let his characters behave badly without trying either to condemn or justify them. Dybek seems awed and enthralled by his world, deeply attentive to its particulars, on the lookout for magic but not desperate for it, with a richness of vision that makes his mythic Chicago echo loudly with the voices of the world at large. A wonderful writer.

This is an awesome book that is well written and an excellent guidebook for the outdoorsman. The photographs are outstanding. The trail maps are very helpful.

This book is one of the best books ever written. It is very easy to read and there are many illustrations to help understand. I really enjoyed this book then I'm planning to give a present to my nephew. If you think you are a biker, Hiram's book is a must. Thanks.

Great reference for someone new to BH. Includes topo maps and clear directions on how to get to the trails. Also has good writeups on each area, with details on the specific trail to follow. When checking ratings, keep in mind these are experienced hikers... you may have a hard time if you're new or out of shape. I take it with me every time I head out.

This is the most poignant and introspective memoir this reader can recall having read. Kendall tells her personal and family story, intermingled with social and political history of the American 1950's and '60's, from the time she was born in 1947, until April 3, 1969, when, on the way to a spring vacation on the Gulf coast of Alabama, her mother was the only fatality in a car accident in which Kendall herself was the driver (She and her three brothers and a sister were all injured, but survived.). Kendall's mother, Betty, began her adult life as a young society matron, married at age nineteen to a charming but temperamental and bullying ex-Marine pilot and Harvard graduate (She herself had attended Vassar, but left college to marry, and never finished her degree.). She had six children, but despite the burden she bore at home managing her large family, she evolved into a civic leader and civil rights activist. In the meantime, she and her eldest daughter Elizabeth came to rely on each other as confidantes, companions, and friends. This book is a chronicle of white, middle class American life in the mid-twentieth century, as well as a loving tribute to a mother who was taken much too soon, and is for anyone who has lost a loved one.

This story of a mother and a daughter strikes a balance between the personal and the historical in an interesting and informative way . Kendall's honesty , humor and intelligence make a personal story a universal one. I was moved by her descriptions of the intense mother-daughter bond and all of it's ramifications. I would recomend this book highly to anyone interested in women's roles in the last half of the twentieth century.

I found this book tremendously interesting and absorbing. It says important, perceptive things about all American mothers and daughters, while describing one specific mother/daughter relationship that was both heroic and tragic. An admirably honest, fascinating book.

This short memoir is a true love story. The author loves both shopwork and his friend Archie. It is hard to tell which this book is more about. You need not be a shop - either metalworking or woodworking - enthusiast to enjoy the book. Archie was a truly interesting guy and the author portrays him well. The memoir is appropriately brief. Mr. Probert does not waste time nor is there any hint of self-aggrandizement (always refreshing in a memoir). An enjoyable quick read.

Some of us are lucky enough to find a true mentor in our lives, someone who opens our eyes to a special world, and in so doing, gives us a glimpse of ourselves. Such a person is Archie Raasch, the subject of Richard Probert's book Archie's Way. A man of few words and many talents, Archie is an unforgettable character whose down-to-earth wisdom is vanishing from our hurried world.

Archie's Way sparkles with the joy of discovery implicit in new relationships. Probert's mastery of visual, sound and textural detail gives the book sensory complexity without being overbearing. A few of the mechanical descriptions, though were a little too technical for one unfamiliar with the landscape of the workshop. But this was only a minor flaw and did not distract from my overall enjoyment of the book.

There is a line of tension throughout the book that is skillfully drawn so as to tantalize the reader to discover the true nature of Archie and to tap the wellspring of his enigmatic quirkiness. The later chapters move from the technica of the machine shop to the mysteries of the wood shop and the labyrinthian paths of Archie's woods. There amidst the fragrance and beauty of the natural world, the layers of Archie's character are respectfully revealed, the book takes on a warmth, much like the patina of well-worked wood.

Probert is an engaging storyteller with a wonderful sense of character. Archie's Way is a rewarding glimpse into a sadly disappearing way of life.

Wonderfully crafted story depicting life in a small midwestern town. Reminded me of my own father's workshop. He and Dick Probert would have been great friends. Causes one to ponder what really is important and how values are formed. As an instructor in a technical college, I would like to have this book on the reading list for every student and faculty member.

Great book with alot of info. VA is great. Keep exploring

I started mountain biking in the last couple of years and I have to say that my horizons were definitely broadened with this book. i've been to about one fifth of the featured trails and looking to get about halfway through by the end of the year.

This book has simply changed my life. After reading it, I now eat better, sleep better and make more money. I have also heard that I'm now more attractive, but that remains to be seen. Strazz is a master with the written word, his tales will titilate for hours on end.

Recently, I managed to get the hay baled, unload several cow-calf pairs at the sale barn, and endure a screaming diatribe from one of my neighbors who was desiring to cut a road across the corner of my property for ill-defined reasons involving an elk hunting camp. When I demurred, spittle flew out of his mouth and he became quite agitated. For a moment, I thought I might have to get the Mossberg. In the end, he promised to make things so hot for me with our County Board that I would think the devil himself was after me. Against this backdrop, I decided it was a sovereign time to go fishing in Yellowstone.

I have mixed opinions about the worth and accuracy of some Falcon Guides, but not this one. Armed with this guide, I wended my way through the bunkers of industrial tourism that blight our otherwise wondrous first national park, dodging the hatch of RVs and uncurious flabbos that choke the roads in high season. I settled first on a stretch of the Lewis River, which Merriwether Lewis never actually saw. It fished about the way the author said it would, and his descriptions were accurate and clear.

Of course, anyone can write a roadside fishing guide but what about the pristine streams and creeks accessible only by foot or horse? I shouldered my pack and hiked twenty miles into the backcountry in search of some of the original strain of cutthroat. Again, his descriptions of Wolverine Creek and the upper Snake were clear and easy to follow. I used various atttractor patterns recommended by the author and some that weren't. Each produced an equal and abundant share of fish. I finished my week with a couple of nights on Pebble Creek in the NE corner of the park, fishing the undercut banks and big pools in the manner the author suggests. The cutthroat were plentiful, surprisingly sizeable, and not too selective. As a bonus, I saw a wolf pack cruising across the valley as I made my way down the stream bank.

The short sections on ethics are a pleasure to read. Use barbless hooks at all times and don't poach another angler's water if he's clearly fishing a stretch you covet. Get out of bed earlier next time. The author occasionally gives short shrift to some of the more difficult trails in the Park, but if you want to get away from your fellow sportsmen and enjoy Yellowstone the way Colter did, take such damnings with a grain of salt. Overall, his impressions of the park's waters and their fishability mirror my own over the last 15 years or so. Also, he is not kidding when he estimates the number of fisherman who crowd popular sections of river, such as Slough Creek and the Yellowstone near Hayden Valley. Leave these waters in high season for the Zebco crowd and plan on fishing them in the off-season.

The best book on access points and times to go inside and outside the park. It provides many useful hints on further exploring you might do as well. It is a perfect complement to Craig Matthews' Yellowstone Fly Fishing Guide, which focuses more on hatches and flies rather than specific access to each stream or river.

I had purchased this book and one other for my trip to Yellowstone. This was by far the best book, had all regulations and great information on where to fish in the area. I studied this book in anticipation of my trip, had always wanted to go to Yellowstone and fish. With the use of this book and its recommendations, I had the best day of fishing in my life, caught 40 trout in one day. All I can say is get the book read it and follow the recommendations and guide you wont be sorry. Jeff