My wife and I are volunteer forest service workers in Los Padres National Forest, Ventana Wilderness. We maintain the Pine Ridge Trail, and spur trails, between Big Sur Ranger Station and Sykes Hot springs (with lots of help from friendly hikers). We enjoy exploring other areas for backpacking and camping but don't want to waste our precious leisure time searching for the better hikes, so we use good trail books, like this one, to plan our trips.

Sierra North covers selected better trails in Yosemite National Park, and the following wilderness areas: Mokelumne, Carson Iceberg, Emigrant, Hoover, Ansel Adams and the northern end of John Muir. It meets most of our demands for identifying the better hikes to explore in a convenient easy to use book. It provides good directions to the trailheads and descriptions of the trails, camps and attractions along the way. It provides a description of how strenuous the hikes are and has a neat graph to show the gain and loss of altitude over the distance for each trail. It has a "take out" folded map showing the trails and trailheads and it has a convenient table summarizing information on all the trails to help with trip selection. It is small enough to carry on a backpacking trip.

Some down side knits are. The map is not sufficient for backcountry hiking so, you still need to buy a good trail, contour map. The instructions of how to use the altitude gain and loss graph are located in the Maps chapter (hard to find) instead of in the Introduction with the other information on how to use this book. There is no small single page map showing the general location of all the trails; therefore, you must take out and unfold the larger map each time you want to check a location.

There is a companion book titled "Sierra South" which covers Kings Canyon National Park, Sequoia National Park and John Muir Wilderness. My wife and I use both of these books and recommend them for others. These are good trail books to get you started in one of the above areas. After you make somehikes and wish to explore a specific area more thoroughly, you may want a trail book that specializes in that one area.

Great trip planning resource - more overnighters than Sierra South.

My wife and I are a Volunteer Trail Crew in Los Padres National Forest, Ventana Wilderness. We maintain 12 miles of the Pine Ridge Trail, and spur trails, between Big Sur Ranger Station and Sykes Hot springs (with lots of help from friendly hikers). I also have a full time day job so my leisure time is very precious. I enjoy exploring new areas for backpacking and camping but I want others to do the legwork and report the best trails, so I rely on good trail books.

Sierra South covers selected better trails in Sequoia National Park, Kings Canyon National Park and John Muir Wilderness. It meets most of my demands for identifying the better hikes to explore in aconvenient easy to use book. It provides good directions to the trailhead and good descriptions of the trails, camps and attractions along the way. It provides a description of how strenuous the hikes are and has a neat graph to show the gain and loss of altitude over the distance for each trail. It has a small "take out" folded map showing the trails and trailheads and it has a convenient table summarizing information on all the trails to help with your selection. It is small enough to carry on a backpacking trip. I use It and I recommend it for others.

On the down side: Updates to trail information is provided on a page in the back of the book (easy to overlook/forget). The map does not have elevation contours (you still need to buy a contour map). The description of how to use the altitude gain and loss graph is located in the Maps chapter (hard to find) instead of in the Introduction chapter with the other information on how to use this book. There is no small single page map showing the general location of all the trails; therefore, you must take out and unfold the larger map each time you want to check a location.

There is a companion book titled "Sierra North".

This is a wonderful guidebook with very helpful information about some of the best hikes in the southern Sierra. It's not just a good guidebook, but is also just plain fun to read. The pictures are nice as well. The included map is decent, but could use a little help.

I really like how different paces for the hikes are given, leisurely, moderate, and strenuous. Also, information about what season the hike should be take, early, mid, and late. Also, all the topo maps needed for the hike is given. Introductions to various geographic areas is given as well.

One thing I was really disappointed about, though. The description of the Mt. Whitney Trail from Whitney Portal to the summit is pretty poor. I thought they might describe more about the summit, this being the tallest mountain in the contiguous U.S., but maybe I'll have to wait until I get Secour's "High Sierra".

My copy of this book is nearly destroyed from all the use it receives. This book is not just for winter. Many of the tours described have also turned out to be excellent mountain bike routes and hiking trips. The descriptions of the areas the routes traverse could be expanded, but the route information itself is first class.

I had the first (1985) edition and find the second (1995) edition greatly expanded. It went from 78 to 102 tours in 167 to 256 pages. The maps are more detailed--about 2 inches per mile instead of 1 inch. I find more detailed descriptions of side trips than before.

The tours are described with a mileage log instead of a narrative format. I find it easier to find where I am in this format.

The only thing I would add is an index, but due to its detailedness, I still rate the book excellent and worth buying, even if you have the old edition.

I read Soiled Doves: Prostitution in the Early West by this same author and truly enjoyed it. I wanted to read some more books by author Anne Seagraves so I found Women of the Sierra. It was hardly a disappointment. This book tells the stories of many different flavors of women from the west. It was a great way to read about a variety of women and how they came to be in the west. I can't wait to get the rest of her books!!!

Loved this book, and all the others written by this author.
Wish there were more.

Anna Pigeon, Park Ranger, has been called to New Mexico's Carlsbad Caverns. She is not a spelunker, but her injured friend requested that she be on the team to bring them out of the caverns. The rescuers will descend over 800 feet in a short time.

This story is rich in details that take Anna across underground cliff faces like Razor Blade Run, through rivers and into the depths of airless passages, where all she wants to see is the sky. The descent must be done in such a way to protect the natural wonders of non-public caverns. On arrival Anna's friend tells her, "It was not an accident."

One of the strong, highly trained companions had murder in the heart. Anna must discover who and why before the killer can strike and succeed. Motives abound among well defined suspects.

Nevada Barr convincingly shows why rangers are called to locations other than their assigned park. Her descriptions are so rich that she must have been in the caves. She is a park ranger herself, and her view of the political structure is as eye-opening as the mystery itself.

Ms. Barr is a great storyteller. This is one of her very best novels. She has included enough clues to help the "who done its?" solve the mystery with Anna.

This original (sixth) mystery is a richly woven, caving, climbing and crawling adventure of murder and evil in our parks and wilderness areas. She grabs readers with her adventurous heroine, a yen for the environment, park service life and fear of dark and tight places far away from human comforts. This well-researched story has some of the identity and beliefs flavor of Hillerman and the visceral storytelling of Francis as Nevada Barr takes us to the 300-mile labyrinth of New Mexico caves, 800 feet underground. You have lots of possible villains above and below ground, but you wont get ahead of the story until the end. And you may be surprised. This well researched, craftily written story of expeditions underground unravels in a believable way from this intelligent, strong woman's point of view as she involves us in her natural vulnerabilities, the terror of claustrophobia and the joy of being above ground in New Mexico. Most readers will discover new territory here and clamor for her next book! Each Barr book improves on the last. Like her other stories, you won't soon forget this book. As a caver and environmentalist who lived in our National parks for 11 years, I loved the clear and correct descriptions of the life, the work and the adventure. It is clear that she has been there and lived it.

I have thoroughly enjoyed all of the books in the Anna Pigeon series but "Blind Descent" is the best of the bunch so far. Barr's books are always interesting and well-written but the previous ones sometimes didn't have quite enough clues with the result that the endings came as a bit of a surprise. "Blind Descent" not only has the requisite number of hints, but they are so skillfully interwoven into the story that you will find yourself thinking, "oh of course" at the end. This is a terrific book, the descriptions of the cave are harrowing, the other characters are well-drawn and intriguing and the pace of the book is fast.

Tony Valentine has spent most of his life dealing with creeps, crumbs, crooks, con men, and other assorted low-lifes. First as a cop and now as a freelance investigator, he has used his skill at spotting scams to bust enough grifters to fill a $3.99 buffet. When casino pit bosses find the house getting taken to the cleaners by the best, they know Tony's the man to stop them.

"Grift Sense" is James Swain's first novel and it's a winner. The story is very interesting and unfolds at a well-measured, suspenseful pace. Like Elmore Leonard, Swain has the knack for creating the kind of thugs and larcenous malcontents whom you can't help but be like.

This book is supposed to be the first in a series featuring Tony Valentine. I hope the author is already hard at work on the next volume because I'm looking forward to reading more.

This is the author's first novel and he's off to an auspicious beginning. It's rare that a fresh idea appears in the mystery genre, but Tony Valentine is a unique character. He's an ex-cop with an ability (Grift Sense) to spot grifters and con men who try to fleece casionos, and acts as a consultant to a Las Vegas casino in this series opener.

Swain knows Vegas, and the little touches like having to use a handkerchief on a car door handle to keep from getting scalded, brings back memories of those blistering hot days I spent on the strip.

A great story, too, pitting Valentine against master grifter Sonny Fontana, with a suprise ending and a nice sub-plot about Tony's relationship with his bookie son, Gerry.

Alas, the author could have done some research into polygraph, and how tests are administered. In this area he was completely wrong and it slowed the story down a bit, as he made an attempt to sound like he knew what he was talking about. Next time he should call a real PI and get the straight skinny on how to conduct a polygraph test, which are utilized often by the Vegas police in cheating cases.

A minor quibble, however. This is a fast-paced story with great characters and a terrific sense of place. I had to turn up the airconditioner halfway through the book.

In his debut novel, James Swain introduces us to Tony Valentine, a retired cop in his sixties living in Florida. Valentine is an expert in spotting a hustler and his talents are in great demand by casinos all over the country.

A particularly perplexing case sees Valentine leave the comforts of home to head for Las Vegas, not Tony's favourite city. The casino security staff knows that a man is cheating at blackjack, but they don't know how and it's for this reason that he's been called in to take a look. Things start going wrong the moment he hits town. He receives a death threat, a dealer from the casino (and suspect in his case) goes missing, and low-lifes from his past begin showing up.

Swain has managed to hit upon the winning combination of an interesting subject and a likable protagonist making it a very enjoyable book to read. I found that reading about the intricacies of gambling cheats and how to spot them was fascinating and was very nicely woven into the plot making me want to read more.

We are gradually familiarised with the past of Tony Valentine and, in so doing, learn what makes him tick and what ideals are important to him. It becomes very easy to like him and empathise with his character.

This is a very worthwhile mystery with a few twists to keep you on your toes. The pace is fast, the characters are likeable and the ending is satisfying. I'm looking forward to reading the next Tony Valentine mystery.

To start off, I must say one thing: Wow. Simply put, Desperation is one of the best books that Stephen King has ever graced his readers with. A lot of people, even people that like Stephen King more than just a little, might be discouraged by the size of the book, but they really shouldn't be. I finished the book in three days. King grabs you in the very beginning, dragging you through until he's done. It's great that he doesn't come out and reveal anything about the history of the small mining town of Desperation until he absolutely has to, and when he does, he simply slaps you in the face with it. Readers should be aware (especially those not familiar with King's writing style) that the bad situation he begins the book with continues to decline. It's not a happily ever after story, and I really don't think that anyone below sixteen should read it. Aside from the custom blood, guts, gore, and sex thing, King also drags a good bit of...questionable theology into the plot. Nevertheless, a great book, well worth reading.

I began this book on February 24 and finished it on March 1 (yes, one week). I have only read two other Stephen King books: The Green Mile and Cycle of the Werewolf. I gave both of them a "Good, but..." review. Then I read Desperation, and was amazed. It sounded pretty boring at first, but as I kept on reading, I didn't want to stop. Before I knew it, I was done with it. Now right after I read a book or see a movie, I like it or hate it. But as time passes, I realize how much I like (or hate) it. So I waited a week or so, and I realized how much I loved it. The characters are so well introduced, and the hatred that builds inside you for the antagonist is incredible. Now I am extremely afraid to go to any western state. I swear, if I see so much as a vulture, a coyote, a spider, or a mine, I will freak out and run for my dear life. I guarantee to anyone who reads this book: you will like it. If you don't, you seriously need to get a life. Tak!

Two words: Scary book. I now doubt if I'll ever pass through the state of Nevada, and I will certainly start shaking the next time I see a cop like Entragian. This is my third King book (after The Stand and The Regulators), and I must say that I'm highly impressed! This book started off seemingly predictable, but it only took a chapter or so before Peter and Mary Jackson's fears of the local law from Desperation, Nevada started becoming chillingly real. Next, meet the Carver family, your average all-American gang. They too get swept up by Desperation's evil, and soon you will too. To put this book down before finishing it will give you a serious case of insomnia. Get ready everybody, this one's going to be a New Line movie, and I can't wait! As a final point, I'll quote Collie himself: " I'll tell you one thing, Carvers: when you've got a nutty cop on your hands, you've got a situation." He's not kidding!

Barr's 11th Anna Pigeon story, like all her books except her last ("Hunting Season") which took place in the same locale as "Deep South" {in the Natchez Trace}, has a most unusual setting: the Dry Tortugas National Park in the Florida Keys. Little more than a placeholder for Fort Jefferson, a Union Prison from Civil War days, this small strip of land becomes temporary duty for Pigeon while the former supervisor is on mental health leave. Soon, Anna is embroiled in danger and intrigue - a diving incident nearly proves fatal, and in quick succession she is drugged and locked up by thugs to keep her out of the way of a smuggling operation.
------ Meanwhile, the current story alternates with one Anna is reading from some hundred-year-old letters of a distant relative who is similarly telling a story about alleged Lincoln assassination prisoners befriended by her younger sister at the fort. Suspense builds as we begin to wonder how both stories turn out, which naturally enough occurs in the last two chapters.

Barr has a track record of telling a good tale, with a non-stereotypical, believable leading lady, with more than a modicum of risk-taking, crime, and escape as a dominant theme. "Flashback", referring to both the modern and the old story, is no exception and reveals our heroine at her best, while treating us to the old story as a pastime. While at first we were a little irritated at one story constantly interrupting the other, we were soon enough captivated by both to overlook the somewhat disjointed plot flow. Moreover, in the end, not everything turns out peaches and cream; while both stories come to a logical conclusion, both have factors that dissatisfy and disappoint, a reflection of true life instead of Hollywood. We suspect this latest Nevada Barr will find favor with both her extensive fan club as well as new readers. For a somewhat different forty-ish heroine in wildly different geographic settings, with danger at every turn, give Anna Pigeon and Nevada Barr a try!

Before accepting a temporary supervisor's job at the Dry Tortugas National Park, an island 70 miles off Key West, park ranger Anna Pigeon had never heard of the place. Though most of the park is under water, the above-ground part is covered by Fort Jefferson, a brick behemoth built during the Civil War and obsolete before it was finished. The diving is fabulous, but after two weeks Anna is ready for something else to distract her from thinking about wedlock (fans will remember Sheriff Paul Davidson). She's beginning to understand how her predecessor went mad after his girlfriend left him.

Then her sister sends a box of letters from her great-great-aunt, Raffia, wife of Fort Jefferson's commanding officer in 1865, by which time the fort was a military prison, full of deserters and rebel prisoners. That same night Anna's second-in-command, a spit and polish type, goes missing on patrol. And the story - both stories - told in alternating, cliff-hanger chapters, takes off.

Raffia's story involves her 16-year-old sister, a handsome rebel soldier brutalized by a thuggish sergeant, and the arrival of the Lincoln assassination conspirators, including Dr. Samuel Mudd, who proclaims himself innocent of anything except setting the assassin's leg. Intrigue and collusion are in the charged air and a young girl's romanticism can get people killed. Barr brings the original fort to teeming life through the lonely, compassionate eyes and tart voice of a woman isolated in an uncommunicative army marriage.

The present-day story involves a number of breathtaking near-death experiences for Anna, as well as spectacular dives and dogged detective work piecing together a tangled (but not totally surprising) modern conspiracy which culminates in a gorgeously over-the-top finale. The parallel tale-telling works well to entangle the two though it can be maddening leaving Anna trapped at the bottom of the ocean with her air hose just out of reach....

But, as always, Barr's ("Hunting Season," "Firestorm") evocation of the natural setting (and the human menace) is vivid and the action scenes are among her best.

Barr really did a good job on this particular book. As other reviewers have said, it's nice to see her back on target with her books. What made this particular book so interesting is the background of this park, which I never even knew existed! It's a fortress built about 70 miles out in the Gulf of Mexico from Florida. Originally built to serve military purposes during the Civil War, but the war ended and so it's purpose was changed from a prison to house POWs from the Southern side, to house other more famous prisoners, including some of the men purported to have involvement in the killing of President Lincoln, including the doctor who set the leg of of Lincoln's assasin.

As someone who is very into geneaology, history, old letters, and Lincoln because of being related to him by way of his wife, Mary Todd, this was an incredible historical find, and Barr has whetted my appetite to find out more about Dry Tortugas National park. It's definitely a place I want to visit.

Anna Pigeon is as usual being her own worse enemy. No wonder she likes cats so much...her own curiousity and lack of fear get her into many of her scrapes. All to the good in this story, where she has to save not only herself and her friends in the park, but also rescue illegal immigrants from being slaughtered and taken advantage of. More examples of man's inhumanity to men...like we really need any more.

Anna does finally learn to stop running away from another commitment to a good man because of what happened in her first marriage (her husband was killed in an accident in the first year or so).

This book was a fast read, three evenings in spite of dissertation work. I hope to see more from Barr. She seems to have gotten a second wind, which is rare in series. As always the descriptions of the parks are phenomenal, as Barr knows what she is talking about.

Karen Sadler

I read and enjoyed two earlier works of Jan Burke, "Goodnight, Irene" and "Hocus." When I found Ms. Burke had captured the Edgar Best Novel Award, I was pleased for her and looking forward to reading the book.

The plotting is excellent, and the book gets off to a brisk start. She quickly and efficiently introduces her characters making them stick in our minds. There is a shattering incident in the first third of the book that for most authors would be the grand finale. My first thought was how was she going to top this? Unfortunately, she doesn't. The rest of the book is professionally done. The denouement is Hollywood-Special-Effects worthy, but we are not jarred as we were before. The tension level climaxed before the book was half over.

Irene is a likable, if jittery, protagonist, but she doesn't seem to be the same independent lady she was in "Goodnight, Irene" a few books ago. The strain of multiple homicides has almost done her in. While this is a likely scenario for a typical human being, we expect constant pluck from our serial heroines. She cries and trembles constantly. She has flashbacks that are harrowing, and some of this gets in the way of the story. I had sympathy for these normal, if repetitious, emotions. However, she rambles on about her "guilt" (for what, I could never figure out.) Also there is always a crowd around to "protect" her, therefore, every scene had to account for five or six people which made for confusing reading.

Nicholas Parrish, the mad serial killer, was an extremely campy over-the- top character who seemed left over from some old horror movie. Maybe we have had enough of "serial killers" for awhile. It could be we are jaded and unable to work ourselves up to a good scare.

I'll look forward to meeting Irene Kelly again-after she has fully recuperated.

Being a fan of Jeffery Deaver and Patricia Cornwell, this book was recommended to me by a fellow reader. I had read Burke's "Flight" last year and quite enjoyed it, but found "Bones" a very different kind of story. "Flight" was more of a human interest story with a mystery thrown in, whereas "Bones" definitely enters Deaver "grisly and creepy serial killer book" territory.

Burke's ongoing character Irene Kelly, a feisty journalist, is part of a team of mostly cops and forensic specialists going on a mountain trek with a serial killer to find the body of a victim he says he buried there. Thus begins a harrowing, tragic and creepy cat-and-mouse game that will keep you reading (and maybe even keep you awake) until the end.

I guess my only criticism would be that the book is packed with such an enormous cast of characters that it is sometimes difficult to keep them straight (this is more in the first half, though). Fortunately, the later part of the story focuses most of its attention on 4 or 5 of them so it's easier to follow.

The book's villain is not one you're likely to forget soon!

I picked up this book for the cover, reminiscent of Silence of the Lambs, and when I saw that it had won the Edgar award, I definitely had to read it then. The book starts out with a horrific bang and doesn't let up until the end. Irene Kelly, crime reporter, sucked into the story of Julia Sayer who disappeared five years ago. Julia's daughter is struggling to keep the story alive to try and find out the truth. Nicolas Parrish, one of the most horrific serial killers in fiction today, makes a deal with police to lead them into the desert to uncover the bodies of more victims he has killed, including Julia Sayer. I was truly horrified by the event of this novel and by the creepy ending. Worth buying in hardcover, pick this one up in the paperback, it is not disappointing!

Thanks for reading!

**Pandora

Anna Pigeon is a Park Ranger, as is her creator Nevada Barr. Throughout her stories it is evident that she knows the political structure of her business as well as the "landscape" as a ranger.

Anna also finds murderers and solves many types of crimes--this is no exception.

Endangered Species is set in the Cumberland Island National Seashore park off the Georgia Coast. Lights are not allowed on the coast when the loggerhead turtles are hatching because the hatchlings will go toward the light which must take them to the ocean. Protecting the species is the responsibility of the rangers, and Ms. Barr provides great detail in the settings as well as scientific reasoning.

This is filled with a variety of adventures and intriguing characters--and they are believable. It is easy to become wrapped up in the story.

Nevada Barr is one of the most consistently good mystery writers I have ever come across. The heroine, Anna Pigeon, remains fresh and intriguing in this the fifth book of the series. The story moves along at a brisk pace, the characters are colorful, and the dialog is well balanced. Ms. Barr has included a little more humor in this one and it works so well I am hoping she will continue with it in future books. I don't hesitate buying each Nevada Barr book as it becomes available because I know I won't be disappointed.

Well - Nevada Barr has done it again. Written a smashing good book that makes you want to stay up bleary-eyed to the final page. I have not been disappointed yet in her books. She can spin a yarn in the most interesting and enchanting places. Her summers with the rangers have served her and consequently, us very well. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good mystery novel that keeps you in suspense up to the final line on the final page