My husband and I and another couple travelled with Kate Ratliffe for a week on the Garonne Canalin her barge, the Julia Hoyt. The book describes both the journey and the wonderful food on board. If you buy the book you'll want to take the trip and if you take the trip you'll want to buy the book! Her 800 number is in the back of the book

I first picked this up at my library, expecting another in the growing genre of "lifestyle fantasy literature" -- you know, bohemian boomer quits rat race, goes abroad, buys quaint house (or boat), creates rustic & soul-satisfying alternative lifestyle and then =tortures= the rest of us by writing a glowing book about it... But now, Ratliffe's work is in a hallowed place on my cookbook shelf between Richard Olney's "Simple French Food" and "Lulu's Provencal Table." Like those books, Ratliffe's takes us deep into the heart (and soul) of a regional French cuisine, through timeless villages and fragrant home kitchens. Even if the book were recipes alone, it would be worth its price for the seasonal simplicity of "asparagus with scallions, mint and green garlic shoots," or "radish leaf soup." But Ten Speed Press has made it a feast for the hand and eye as well, with loving photos of the Garonne canal country and buff paper reminiscent of a sketchbook or travel journal. Few chefs write this well about the daily meditation of cooking, the inspirations, the happy accidents and the patiently learned techniques. Even if you never spend a night on the "Julia Hoyt," by the time you cook your way to "Flan au Floc" for dessert you'll feel you know this land and its people intimately.

When I studied poetry in school I didn't particularly like most of what we were assigned to read. And then I read Robert Service's poem The Shooting of Dan McGrew and discovered that I liked it. Next I read The Cremation of Sam McGee and decided that poetry could actually be fun. Eventually I read other poems by Robert Service and discovered that, although most were more serious than Dan McGrew and Sam McGee, they still appealed to me. In fact, thanks in large part to Service, I have now developed a taste for other poetry as well. Robert Service was an adventurer as well as a poet and his adventurer's perspective makes his poems particular appealing. If you're a fan of Robert Service this is a good collection of his work. If you haven't read him yet this is a good place to start. And if you think that you don't like poetry, maybe Service will help convert you as he did me.

This is an outstanding collection of great Robert Service Poetry, superbly illustrated.

What more could one want in a history book? Clean clear writing, plenty of interesting characters, loads of legends, and a starkly beautiful setting to back it all up. Lingenfelter has done a marvelous job. I've poured over his book twice and could easily read it yet again without feeling bored. This book gives a wonderfully complete history of the Death Valley area. Read it first or take it along if you plan to visit. It will increase your appreciation of Death Valley immensely, and you'll be enthralled by the history as its told here.

This book contains an excelent, highly detailed account of the history of Death Valley, CA from the first appearances of man up to it's designation as a National Monument in 1933 by President Herbert Hoover. It is very well researched as evidenced by the bibliography at the end of the book. Mr. Lingenfelter allows the reader to experience the trials and tribulations of the many soles who entered into "The Valley of Death" to discover, the hard way, the many illusions promoted by the published accounts of those who ventured before them. A must read for anyone wishing to visit the National Park for a drive or hike through a very mysterious and beautiful land.

I have read all four Jack Prester mystery books You feel like you are right in the park with him.

Jack Prestor, National Parks Special Agent, is sent to Death Valley to investigate the murder of an accountant. The accountant had been investigating the disappearance of funds from the park. Ev Brant is sent in to continue the investigation where the accountant left off. Before they've even been there 24 hours, another body is found buried at the sceen of the murder. With an attacker trying to stop them from leaving the valley alive, they continue investigating, hoping to find the killer before he or she gets them. To make matters worse, a group of aging Hell's Angles have taken over the park, and Jack is caught in the crossfire between the park rangers and the bikers. It seems that the park will errupt in violence before Jack can even solve his first mystery. This is a good mystery that kept me guessing until the last minute. The clues and red herrings are everywhere. Not to give anything away, but I didn't even interrpret all the clues correctly. Yet, everything fit together perfectly in the end. I highly recommend this exelent book.

If you have been to Sedona this book will bring back pleasant memories. You may learn things about the area that you did not already know. If you haven't been to Sedona, you need to read this before you go. It is filled with anticdotal stories of real experiences of the unusual kind as well as helpful information about where to go and how to get the most out of your trip. Excellent. Highly recommend it.

If you have only a vague idea what Sedona, Arizona, is all about, this book is right for you. It answered many of my questions and gave a great overview of the vortexes in Sedona. Good book!

The book is a simple how to in tenacity. Director and Author Glut ( also the author of the book The Empire Strikes Back ) show what a determined person can accomplish when they are driven to follow thier dreams.

I'm Jason Peters, the actor who plays Karn-Dag, one of the Cavemen in Dinosaur Valley Girls. I give it a 5-star rating because it is a blow-by-blow education in the how-to of making a good movie with an extremely small amout of money. It includes the full original script with footnotes explaining all the changes that had to be made during filming, in order to keep within the budget of time and money. Also details conflicts and compromises, such as the actresses who decided NOT to be filmed topless after signing binding contracts (is there a pun here?) Director Glut writes very well. He is a prolific author who gives a humorous account of the creation of his first full-length motion picture, including how to raise production money from unusual sources, and how to make a low budget look MUCH bigger. Lots of color and B/W photos, and the girls are GORGEOUS!

Imagine piling into the car with 4 kids, luggage and 3 dogs for your next vacation and not having any idea as to what you can do with the dogs once you get there. That was us last summer, heading off to Jackson Hole, and had it not been for this book which was refered to us by another friend, we would have never taken our dogs with us. It explains where good areas our to take your dogs, what to expect if you run into wildlife...bears etc. We never did, but we were prepared thanks to this book. The author did a wonderful job of reasearching all the valuable information in this book. Becuase of the information in this book, the whole family, from the kids tro the pets had a great time. If you are planning a trip to the Jackson Hole area with your pet, this is a MUST read before, and during your trip!!!

Does your dog dislike being left alone? More importantly, do you have a hard time leaving your dog, even for world-class travel destinations? Whether you are a would-be traveler to Jackson Hole Wyoming, or a local with a dog, this book will help and inspire you. "Doggy Doings" is, as the title says, a complete reference of information you will find nowhere else. There are chapters that will give you specific and immediately useful information such as where you can go hiking with your dog. For some reason, I particularly enjoyed the chapters with more "surprising" information: chapters that offered the kind of tidbits you like to think you never will need -- such as what to do if you and your dog encounter large wild animals -- bears or moose. The chapter on dealing with any type of emergency made for suspenseful reading. In all likelihood, most of us never will encounter those situations: the majority of the book deals with all the pleasures that you and your dog hope to find and can expect to find in one of the most beautiful spots on earth. This book, like the area it describes and helps you to access, is truly one of a kind. I highly recommend it and wish there were one like it for every area of the country. I liked how the book took into acount and reached for a true community of people, environment and animals. You will both enjoy and use this book.

This book clearly illustrates how to create the most beautiful, whimsical quilts quickly and easily. I am not an expert quilter, but people are amazed when they see the quilts I have created using this book. All projects are beautiful...I promise, you'll want to make every one of them! The possibilities are endless because all blocks are interchangable. If you want to look like you know what you are doing, buy this book!

Finally, a quilt design book that is simple enough for a beginner to learn, yet challenging for the experienced. I had never paper pieced before I got this book, it was so easy to understand the instructions. I love the country style houses and trees. They really give the designs a down home feeling. The churches and cottage scenes remind me of the countryside where I grew up. I think that the authors did a great job of making the patterns in the book flexible to each person making the quilts. Each pattern block can be substituted in different projects, making each pillow or wallhanging yours personally. I recommend this book to anyone who has never paper pieced before and would like to learn.

I have not yet finished the book, but the rating stars can only increase. We returned from Napa Valley after a three trip and it was interesting to find the places spoken of in the book. Barron writes in a startlingly brutal fashion and probably hasn't been in contact with many of her subject acquaintances. This a beautifully written book, by an artist of our language;not written for the common denominator. I'm awaitng for her next book on any subject.

This evocative portrayal of Napa Valley reminded me of the writings of Peter Mayle. It represents the place through people -- through portraits, (sometimes acerbic) of the owners of some of the area's famous wineries. It's worth the read just for the lyrical writing and the marvellous sense of place. I hated reaching the end of it.

Wonderful narrative of a difficult time in America. Such perspective of events from close to home. I recommend this to anyone who appreciates history unrevised and truthful.
T. Addison

This book is based on a diary which the author began in 1927, when she was 15 and a farm girl in North Dakota, and covers the years from 1927 ro 1937. She worked very hard and lived in grinding poverty. She went to college and then taught school and fended off marriage proposals, and never in the book says a good word for the man she married--who was courting her thru the last years she was keeping her diary. This I found to be quite a book, unpretentious as it holds itself out to be. A most moving account of a time and place one seldom hears about. I recommend it unreservedly.