Frankly, this book cost more than I usually pay for a bottle of wine. If this book were a bottle of wine, I would buy a case of it and share it with my very best friends. After savoring this classy book the wine you experience will never be the same.

Even though Steven Rothfeld's photographs of the Napa Valley and Chef Michael Chiarello's gorgeous presentation of some outstanding cuisine are very pleasing to the eye, the most impressive thing about this book is the history of Napa Valley that unfolds between the photographs.

This book is a beautiful seminar on how amazing it is that you can actually buy so many good bottles of wine. Although I have been to Napa Valley on several occasions and have taken more than a few tours through the various wineries, I did not fully appreciate all that is involved in making a good vintage.

The history of this famous valley and the many trials and tribulations of the wine makers along with the fickle role of Nature that goes into that bottle of wine you just uncorked will make that first sip a lot more meaningful.

This book is an absolute delight. The sheer intimacy of the stories make you feel like an insider, and it provides an insight to the pioneering spirit that has created an industry. I was completely (and very pleasantly) unprepared for how much I enjoyed this book. It is truly a treasure.

This book is amazing. The stories told by the families are so rich and real that one truly begins to understand why the Napa Valley is so special. Michael Chiarello really does such a nice job with the families in the style and respect he shows (just as I have seen in his Tra Vigne Cookbook, and his PBS shows - Season by Season, and Michael Chiarello's Napa). The photography really brings one right into parts of the Napa Valley that have only been known previously by the people that live there. The recipes are so special too, as they come from the kitchens of these families and from Chiarello. This is simply the best book ever on this very special and beautiful place...America's Tuscany.

De Man and Coonrad have done it again with this stunning calendar filled with gorgeous aerial shots of the Napa Valley. Whether your Christmas list includes wine lovers or lovers of natural beauty, this is the perfect gift. Majestic shots of historical wineries, lush vineyards and natural landscapes. De Man again includes an introduction full of historical tidbits about this world-famous wine growing region.

Coonrad and DeMan do it again--the 2002 Napa Valley Cuvee calendar is the ideal gift, both for wine lovers and lovers of natural beauty. The aerial shots are breathtaking and inlcude both well-known and lesser known wineries and vineyards, and majestic shots of Napa Valley's natural beauty.

The aerial photography of the Napa Valley is both precisely clear as well as artistically shot. Both the beauty of the valley and a good sense of its agrarian function are captured. We gave this calendar as a gift to relatives when we first moved to the valley, as an inducement to come and visit and it worked. You view parts of the valley that are well known (Mondavi's Opus One) and those not so well-known, which I think is the best part(like Storybook Mountain and Regusci Winery).

My husband likes Coonrad's golf calendar (Fairways to Heaven, which also makes a great gift, again aerial shots of some incredible golfscapes in and outside of the U.S. Check it out too.

Very rarely does a book come along that you cannot put down. From the time I started reading A Place to Call Home, I couldn't put it down. It is a wonderful description of the lives of two very special people following the Lord's direction in their lives. It describes the road this couple took in reaching His goal and their goal - Wears Valley Ranch. It tells the story of miracles encountered along the way in their lives and in the lives of the people they've touched. A must read! A very special book!

This book is written in a very easy to read format, yet it offers tremendous insight into how God's plan works. This book tells the journey of Jim and Susan Wood and the many miracles which they have encountered as they followed God's will. This book offers encouragement and will definitely help to strengthen your faith.

Would you like to see God at work? Four years ago I asked God to show me how he works in the lives of real people with real problems. He led me to the Wears Valley Ranch in Tennessee. There I met Jim and Susan Wood and an amazing, loving staff of people dedicated to serving God by committing their lives to children who come from difficult circumstances. As a result of my prayer, my family has seen the Sermon on the Mount take on human flesh in the form of God's servants at the Wears Valley Ranch. Susan Wood's A place to call HOME comes from a heart totally committed to serving God by serving His children. This book is a must read for all people who long to better understand how God works in the lives of his people and how he actually conforms us into his likeness.

I thought that it was really sad that Liz didn't take Todd back and I'm glad that Devon,finally, saw how much Liz loves Todd but why did Liz choose to be alone than to keep Todd I mean Todd is so sweet ok so I admit it that sending flowers,candy and cards is like buying back the relationship but it is also thoughtful and nice so why did Liz choose what she did I mean everyone knows that Liz can't live without Todd and be alone so in SVU she is but they are still friends in it and it was Todd who said that he didn't think that he could be anyone's boyfriend in SVU but this is different Todd can't do what he wants right like play basketball but hey no one said love and relationship is easy.not to mention life it self.

I enjoed reading this book because it shows how a girl caught between two guys she cares about feels. It also makes you realize how the guys feel in this situation. although some of the things that happen to the characters is pretty incredible, it just adds to the excitement.

This book was great, but I was kind of disapointed with Liz's decision about Todd and Devon. Jessica ruined her relationship with Devon, and I don't think Elizabeth should end everything because of her cheating twin.

The Rebellion In The Mohawk Valley, The St. Leger Expedition of 1777 is the third book in Gavin Watt's trilogy about the turmoil that swept through that region during the American Revolution. There's a certain sense of dread and doom as one reads through the book, especially for Canadians who may identify with the hopes and aspirations of the Loyalists as the 1777 campaign unfolded.
The book goes into great detail about the victory at Oriskany by Crown Forces, balanced with their failure to take Ft. Stanwix.
It is intersting to note how casualty estimates vary according to which side was reporting, and how the Americans have taken the destruction of the Tryon County Militia and somehow cast it into a Rebel victory. There is, however a balance to the book, and people favouring either side can feel at home reading it.
Aside from the military aspects of the book, you get to know Joseph Brant, Sir John Johnson, Daniel Claus, Nicholas Herkimer and many other central figures. Great military history. Well written. Great biography. Definitely one for anyone interested in that time period.

Gavin Watt's latest contribution to the history of the American Revolution in the Mohawk Valley in New York (Rebellion in the Mohawk) is a wonderful account and the research matches that of his previous books. A very well-written, smooth reading account and once again, the author's research is impeccable. What is particularly appealing (to both scholars and the general reader) is the extensive footnotes which provide the little known (or previously unknown) background details that Watt and his co-author/researcher James Morrison provide along with deductive reasoning and especially the interjection of various small details of original accounts that add "spice" and some levity to the book; for example Watt including this rare quote from original documents relating "the Royal Yorkers being ordered not to wear their shoes when fishing!". Such aspects provide one with a true sense of what it would have been like at that time.
Overall, another excellent addition to the library of those interested in the American Revolution, irregardless of the exact phase; again a fine job by the author. I highly recommend it.

One of the best things about a well written history is its ability to bring the participants to life. Rebellion in the Mohawk Valley does just that for a little know battle of the American Revolution. From the patriots (or rebels depending on which side you feel yourself on) to the Loyal Americans fighting for their very homes and farms I now understand not just what motivated a group of people on both sides who lived through one of the most important events in world history, but I also now know a lot about how they lived, fought and felt. This was war between neighbors, friends and even family and this book's descriptions of that fact brings a whole new dimension to the story.

The author, a Canadian, and the American researchers and historians who contributed to his work have produced a balanced and colourful work. Rebellion in the Mohawk Valley clears up many long held misconceptions about this important battle and the events that surrounded it.

The illustrations and maps are very helpful. When combined with the descriptions of the places, people and events in the book I came away with a clear image of the events it describes and explains. The author clearly knows the time period and the locations in the book very well indeed.

One of the best features of the book are the extensive footnotes and the bibliography. From here one could go on to explore the entire American Revolution. It opened my eyes to the other side's view of the war and made me see this part of it in a much more open way, I'm anxious to do just that.

I'd highly recommend this book to anyone from early teens on in age because regardless of your degree of knowledge or interest in this particular battle of the revolution the quality of the storytelling alone makes it worth the read.

I just wish I could meet some of the people I came to know.

What I like most about Lynne Cherry's environmental history of the Nashua River is that it is not only the story of the death of a river, but also of its rival. "River Ran Wild" begins thousands of years ago when Indian peoples first came through the Nash-a-way River Valley. Cherry tells of the history of the river, surrounding her text with smaller drawings representing the changing cultures of the various times depicted opposite full-page pictures. The two most telling pictures are basically "before" and "after" shots of the same scene: an aerial view of the Nashua River winding through a factory town where the river changes color from blue to green to brown as factories dump their waste into the water, and a final shot of the river restored to health today. Cherry, who has devoted her life to environmental issues, includes a timeline and an introduction that covers in more detail how the ecological death of this river came about, and the various community efforts and governmental laws that resulted in fish and game finally return to the Nashua. All too often book like this can only mourn the loss of another part of our environment, so it is nice to see something that that celebrates one of the all too few instances of success in getting back to what we once had.

I used this book with my third grade class when they were studying the effects of water pollution on a large body of water. They had already studied Native Americans in second grade and this book just blended the two subjects together. The step by step portrayal of man's harm to the Nashua River helped my children learn about how they were harming the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland. Lynne Cherry is a fantastic author and presents two great subjects that are highly interesting to children. Any teacher that teaches either Native Americans or water pollution should include this book in their lessons!

This book was given to me at age 12. I am now 17 and it is still my favorite. I will never outgrow the beautiful pictures, or the very important lesson it teaches. Every page is expertly laid out, with exquisite paintings depicting the river and the era being discussed. The message of environmental conservation and protection is inspiring. Lynne Cherry makes this vital part of our existence understandable to young children, and even adults, often the harder group to reach. I highly reccommend this book for anyone who wants their children to appreciate the world around them and learn that they can, and should, do their best to save it.

can I just say that i agree with the other readers..I laughed silly when Jessica in her hotdog costume returned to consciousness and said,"No Lizzie Im not a hero.Im a hotdog." She is such a nut.

In this one Elizabeth is trying to solve the mystery of the sweetvalley robber.

ps--I think i described this plot when i wrote about Elizabeth the spy,i read so much sweet valley that i get confused

"Robbery at the Mall" was a great book, surprising and not at all predictable. It is focused mainly on Elizabeth and her "detictive" work, but also includes Jessica's humourous compitition with her best friend, and never once does it become dull or slow. ~~~~This book gets the full 5 stars from a very satisfied reader!

I like `Elizabeth'. But after read this book,I like Jessica more. She is cool! I like that "I'm hotdog" It's so fun! Then I like more `sweet valley twins' than ever. Anyways I'm so sorry that I can't speak English well

Charles West scores with this first mystery novel, the tale of an "accidental" detective named Bob Fisher who inherits a collections and investigations agency in a barely-disguised Fresno, California. The Fruit Basket of the World becomes for West the Fruitcake Basket of the Universe. It's a peculiar California demimonde the author depicts, where agrarain tradition is decomposing into urbanization and corporate corruption. It's in this environment that Fisher is hired by the founders of the Eternal Truth Temple to recover the Sacred Disc-- a floppy, in this case-- which contains the tenets of their faith. But any church with high priests who call themselves Yogi Ben Barr and Baba Der Ursus is its own worst enemy. Fisher, in fact, seems born beneath whatever star determines that his karma bring him into constant conflict with phony belief systems. His dissillusioned past is blighted by his televised attempted murder of a televangelist who was scamming veterans, and his relaxed exploration of his own elastic morals drives the development of this novel. West enjoys playing with the mystery conventions, and the characters in the book seem to recognize their parts in the formula, and the chafing against type is one of the unique elements of West's voice. The writing is lean and effective, the story-telling controlled and on target. Don't walk, run to get this book. Read it. Then impress your friends with the new talent you've discovered.

This is a very entertaining and rewarding book. Charles West has a fine talent, and he has created a wonderful character in Bob Fisher, who vividly floats above the conventions of the mystery genre. Fisher is an "accidental" detective, inheritor of an investigations and collections agency, whose life is in something of recoil from his televised attempted murder of a larcenous televangelist. The name "Fisher" is resonant of both Christian and mythic symbolism, and it seems Bob's destiny to confront the phony and insincere in his own struggle for a belief system-- specifically in the book, when he is hired by Eternal Truth Temple to recover a Sacred Disc (floppy) believed to have been hijacked by a committee of disillusioned former acolytes. Bob himself is in some spiritual flounder as a result of his disillusions and disappointments, and attempts to find some comfort in the conventions of the classic crime fiction detectives. It's an overcoat which is mostly as ill-fitting as his former incarnations. The power of this book, and the development, is in the unfoldment of the main character. All takes place within that hotbed of cornpone/cult religiosity, California's Central Valley. It ain't LA, and it ain't New York. In fact, it ain't sure what it is, struggling with the transistion from agrarian fruit basket to urbanized fruitcake basket. What it is is Central California, a place West knows well, and finds a wonderfully believable setting for a delirious cult whose chief potentates are Yogi Ben Barr, and Baba Der Ursus. Charles West is a careful and controlled storyteller with a satisfying and sparse style. The pace is brisk, and West seems to be having a lot of fun with the conventions of a form he has mastered-- the mystery novel. If the characters are sometimes uncomfortable-- hilariously so-- with the familiar and subserviant roles which the genre assigns its players, West is very confident and easy with the assignment. Suspenseful and funny, poignant and cynical, The Sacred Disc is a highly successful first novel. It left me hoping I had not seen the last of Bob Fisher. Something tells me, I haven't.

Charles West is an English teacher in Fresno California and lives in the Sierra foothills. He has impeccable credentials for writing, having been a Fellow in the National Endowment for the Humanities in Shakespeare, the recipient of an award in Chicano literature from the Council for Basic Education, and a fellow at the Teaching Shakespeare Institute at Georgetown University and the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington D.C.. The Sacred Disc is his first novel, and it earned West the Salvo Press Mystery Novel award. Bob Fisher is about to embark on his first assignment as a private investigator. He inherited the Anderson Agency, after working as head of the Collections Division. His first case appears, in the guise of Baba Der Ursus, Yogi Ben Barr, and Cooper Page, attorney-at-law. Yogi and Baba were co-founders of the Eternal Truth Temple, another cult organization situated near Yosemite National Park. Fisher's job is to find a missing computer disk that ostensibly contains the sacred text of the Eternal Truth Temple. They claim one of their committee members is probably responsible, Fisher agrees to take the case, and the search is afoot. Fisher must be a dude, because his presence around women seems to elicit similar results: "That was more than I wanted to know about the weather. It was always hot in San Joaquin during the summer. The variations didn't interest me. Nor did it interest Mrs. Baker very much, though she continued to smile, probably more as a result of the drink she was finishing than pride over her husband's meteorological expertise. It seemed her robe was either shrinking or getting shorter. A latent chauvinist impulse made me wonder if she was wearing anything under the robe." Fisher gets himself into enough mischief to satisfy the reader, while getting closer and closer to the answer to the puzzle. Fisher's sidekick, Holly Pena, is an interesting secondary character who promises to emerge in subsequent sequels. Holly runs the "office," but she also seems to come to the rescue whenever Fisher gets in over his head. All in all, The Sacred Disc is an interesting and entertaining first mystery for Charles West. The writing is crisp, characters are well thought out, and the plot line is simple and believable.

Shelly Glodowski Reviewer

Great cookbook for those special occasions where you want to spend the time and resources on making something special. The recipes are a little more time-consuming, the ingredients a little harder to find, but the result is wonderful. Jacques Pepin is simpler (and excellent) and French Laundry Cookbook is even more complicated (but also excellent) - Terra is a great in-between.

I've cooked over 10 of their recipes already and every single one has turned out really well. They're not simple nor for a beginner cook, but if you have a little experience, it'll make for some very memorable dinners.

The desserts are especially great, as are the appetizers.

For those of you fortunate enough to have dined at this world class restaurant, Hiro & Lissa'a book needs no introduction. I was fortunate enough to have found Terra shortly after it opened in 1988 (living in St. Helena at the time) & have been hooked ever since. The BEST dishes of their menus past & present are included in this beautifully illustrated book. Most importantly the instructions are well detailed & the dishes turn out exactly as they do in the restaurant. What more can I say? THIS IS A FABULOUS BOOK!!!!!

Much like it's worthy counterpart's book (Tra Vigne), this wonderful piece should not fail to delight and please all those who happen across it.

First, if you are lucky enough to have dined at Terra, you'll already understand the beauty of (and behind) this book. Quite simply, this is a work of art. Why is that the case? Well...

Design--Beautiful graphic design and photographs. The layout is incredible and the photos are enough to make you drool.

Dialogue--Add to that delightful text and dialogue. Much closer to what this book achieves is the word "prose" as opposed to merely "text." The stories and dialogue are true pleasure to read. It makes this much more than simply a "cookbook."

Recipes--The recipes are, much like the food at the restaurant, exquisite. They are just delicious. Their difficulty ranges from relatively easy to moderately difficult. But, they are very easy to follow, making even the harder recipes accessible to the average "joe."

I strongly urge those considering this one to just go ahead and make the purchase. You will not be disappointed. It will be book you will treasure, and will reach for time and again.

Also, look into the Tra Vigne cookbook. It too is on the same level as this piece.

I read this book because I wanted to read the SVJH books and i thought that I should read this first. It was actually really good. She sixth grade is going cave exploring for an end of the year trip, only, you have to take a test to see if you're capable of going. Elizabeth, of course, passed with flying colors, and so did Lila and Jessica. Now that might need some explaining. You see, they didn't take the test. They got two other Unicorns to take it for them, so they could go to the GRAND OPENING of a store. Also, there is Aaron, who is acting like such a know-it-all! It ends up that the people going in the most challenging cave are Aaron, Elizabeth, Winston, and ... Lila! So they follow their guide into the cave and he leads them to a beautiful opening, with a bridge. Everyone crossed the bridge and just when Elizabeth, the last person, is crossing there is a mini-earthquake. The bridge collapses! Now we have Elizabeth in the water, Aaron acting like a know-it-all, Lila having no idea in hell what to do, and... their guide is uncountious! Read the book and find out what happens!

This book was so awesome! It is a really good book for a long rainy, summer day. It was so good that I good not put it down until I finished it! The book is about twin sisters who are going on a "cave" field trip. They are told to pack certain things. Elizabeth the smart "professional" packs everything she will need for the hard course. Jessica the ditzy not so smart ametuer packs things you can't use. The girls bags get mixed up and the are in different caves. Something happens and Elizabeth needs her bag, but she gets a bag with nothing she can use. Will Elizabeth ever get out alive?

Read the book to find out, you will love it I guarantee!!

I love this book! I think this is the last well written book Jamie S. wrote. Bye Middle School was okay... but, that could have been better! I thought it could have been better if Jessica went to the Ice Cave!