... and get out to the mountains he loves.

He was the first person in history to ski down all of Colorado's fourteeners. He's climbed all at least once and many several times. Among his accomplishments are four ascents up the Diamond face of Longs Peak, so it is no surprise that Longs Peak figures prominently in this text. Dawson began climbing at an early age, and has written several other guide books for hikers in Colorado. His illustrations are excellent, and his narratives are brief enough to keep your interest and meaty enough to provide the information most are looking for.

Having climbed Colorado 14ers for more than 30 years, I've used all available guidebooks. First rule, remember that the info in the book is often wrong -- unless you're willing to think for yourself, avoiding mountains is the best bet. After that, to me Dawson is the best guidebook ever. Roach is good too -- it's good to have both. But in spite of the price difference, Dawson's 2 volumes are well worth it. And please, tread lightly!

I've read seemingly every 14er guide available. Much of the information overlaps as one can imagine. However, what really sets this (and the companion volume as well) one apart is the truly four season information that it provides. Louis gives you ratings for summer and snow climbs as well as ski descents. None of the other 14er guides I've read give you that. These volumes are often compared to Gerry Roach's books which are excellent in their own right. However, in my mind the information in Louis Dawson's guides is better as many of us climb in seasons other than summer!

This is a book of exquisite poems. About the violence of the world we live in, the serene, calming beauty which we also live in, this book is of the earth, of the material world, in a shining, and enriching way.

The poem called "Oysters" is all about violence, savoring delicacies, and the need to move, not just think. The tension of the consonants, constantly opposing each other's sounds, in conjunction with languid and nebulous vowel sounds in-between is part of what makes it such a wonder.

This book is a complete masterpiece, and I recommend it to everybody.

This was my first exposure to Seamus Heaney and his work (other than seeing the portly fellow with his unkempt white hair walking purposefully around campus here in Cambridge.) It is still my favorite collection of his work. Like all previous reviewers, I will not critique any particular poem, but only give the volume what can be one of my highest forms of praise: The poems have such a resonance that they have stayed with me long after putting the book down. That is a rare feat, in any artistic genre.

"Old ploughsocks gorge the subsoil of each sense / And I am quickened with a redolence / Of the fundamental dark unblown rose." In the face of such mastery, we cannot comment or explicate, for fear of impertinence; we can only quote, and hope that something of the maker's joy communicates itself.

This was the third book of poetry that this reviewer purchased as a youth, the first two being Eliot's Four Quartets and Rimbaud's Illuminations. This book remains a favourite of ours, fifteen years after its purchase.

The Glanmore Sonnets occupy a central position in this slender but rich volume, as is fitting; it is perhaps Heaney's masterwork. The Elegy to Robert Lowell, the "welder of English" who composed "heart-hammering blank sonnets of love for Harriet and Lizzie" is also noteworthy.

There is much about the sectarian warfare of the troubled six counties of Northern Ireland, but like Dante (who appears via epigraph and translation in this book) Heane!y can transfigure the sins of his land into glorious language that is an exemplar of poetry's redemptive potentiality. "I think our very form is bound to change ... Unless forgiveness finds its nerve and voice."

There is much here about love, nuptial, natural, sexual. At the end of "The Guttural Muse," there is a couplet of exclusion from the joyful earthiness that the poet observes: "I felt like some old pike all badged with sores / Wanting to swim in touch with soft-mouthed life."

There is warfare and loss, violence and bliss, the joys of the flesh and the crucifixion of a country. But after reading the poems in FIELD WORK, the reader will doubtless share in Seamus Heaney's faith that "the end of art is peace."

Prior to THE GIFT OF LIFE, little had been written about the role women play in healing and shamanism in Northern Peru. Part of the reason for this oversight had to do with the way European colonization brought the concept of "witchcraft" to Peru, and the fact that Peruvian women who practiced traditional healing arts were frequently beaten and tortured until they confessed to standard European-style "witchcraft" practices. Author Bonnie Glass-Coffin was trained as an anthropologist, so she knew that women have historically played a large part in shamanism from looking at the ancient sculptures of the Moche and Chimu, which both portray women involved in healing arts. With the intention to find and interview modern-day women shamans in Peru, Glass-Coffin set out to do exactly that.

Bonnie Glass-Coffin shares the stories from five female curanderas (shamans) she met with between April 1988 and September 1989. Her extraordinary book, THE GIFT OF LIFE, describes the daily life of these female curanderas and the story of how they became healers, and includes black and white photographs of their mesas (curing altars) and healing herbs (plants such as the San Pedro cactus). Glass-Coffin's background in anthropology and her accounts of her experiences living in Peru as she grew up give this book a unique feeling of personal relevance and social perspective.

I was impressed that THE GIFT OF LIFE does not shy away from describing the ways curanderas have used their spiritual powers on some occasions for sorcery. Glass-Coffin describes "dano" as intended harm by sorcery, and tells stories and includes pictures of how Peruvians have discovered and dealt with the harmful magic of others. She also describes some of the differences between male and female healers in Peru -- such as the way female curanderas tend to involve patients more directly in their healing. I was also impressed that Glass-Coffin described her own personal involvement being healed by curanderas, giving this book tremendous warmth. The first-hand accounts of what it feels like to suffer as the recipient of a dano help the reader better understand the way our thoughts and feelings affect one another.

I give this book my highest recommendation to anyone who is interested in ancient traditional ways of healing, wishes to know what is unique about women healers, and is intrigued by reading stories about how our thoughts and feelings affect others.

We have all enjoyed the charming and entertaining look at sorcery and witchcraft as experienced by the fictional Harry Potter. No less interesting and fascinating is Bonnie Glass-Coffin's realistic look at sorcery and shamanism as they exist in South America today. "The Gift of Life" incorporates Glass-Coffin's extensive research as a talented anthropologist with her own personal healing experiences to produce a highly readable and well-documented book on female shamans (healers) in Northern Peru. She provides a history of sorcery and healing in South America, a contextual explanation and description of the healing practices of five different female shamans she met while in Peru, and an examination of gender and socioeconomic differences in the world of spiritual healing. Academic rigor does not preclude a "good read". Scholars and general readers alike will be pleased with this book. When I loaned the book to a friend who has traveled in Peru, she returned it quickly, noting "This is too good not to have a copy of my own!" I recommend it highly.

This most engaging book offers a first hand anthropological/sociological look at healing rituals as performed by several women healers in Northern Peru. The book is made richer and more compelling by Glass-Coffin's accounts of her personal growth as a result of her experiences with these gifted healers. This book is a a rich accounting of those experiences. It is not often that one finds such a blend of academic scholarship and personal sharing of self.

THE MORE I READ OF THIS BOOK, THE HARDER IT BECAME TO PUT IT DOWN. I FELT A PART OF THE WRITER'S EXPERIENCES, FRUSTRATIONS AND LONGINGS. READING A BOOK LIKE THIS PUTS ME INTO THE LIVES BEING DESCRIBED AND EXPOSES ME TO THE HEARTBREAK THEREIN. VERY TOUCHING AND ONE THAT I WILL READ AGAIN. MY HEART GOES OUT TO THE SUFFERINGS OF MARION AND AMANDA AND THEIR FAMILIES.

This simple farmer who went to war wrote letters home to his wife and child describing what his daily routines were in the army, including the homesickness and heartaches. The daily truths he describes make it hard to idealize and glorify any war.

If you want to know what it was like to be a soldier in the Civil War, read this book. It gives incredible insight into the day to day hardships that a soldier faced. It is an emotional journey that presents the pride of fighting for a cause and the heartaches of leaving ones family.

This book ends Mandie's trip through Europe in the Summer of1901. Mandie, Celia, Jonathan, Senator Morton, and Grandmother are inIreland when Mandie meets a little Irish girl. Molly is searching for leprachauns, and Mandie and her friends help. Uncle Ned shows up, and helps the search. Their trip is for some reason cut short, and they must return home. Mandie has no idea why, and Grandmother isn't talking. Everyone seems to know something Mandie doesn't. It's a good story, and a great conclusion to the European trip. At the end you also discover who the "Mysterious Women" is, and why she followed them. It is a book that lives up to the Mandie name.

Mandie, Celia, Jonathan, Mrs. Taft, and Senator Morton are touring Europe during the summer, and now they're at Belfast, Ireland. Mandie meets a little girl named Molly who is constantly looking for leprechauns. Mandie is eager to see a leprechaun too, so she and Celia join Molly in her search.
But one night something terrible happens. A fire breaks out in a linen mill and Molly and her mother are trapped inside. Mandie dashes inside to save Molly, and they both come out unhurt. And if things couldn't get more exciting, Mandie comes face to face with the mysterious woman who's been following them through Europe!

Of all the books about Mandie in Europe, this has got to be my favorite. Maybe it's because it's not really a mystery, but about a small, dirty girl who wins Mandie's heart. Molly is so cute, it's no wonder Mandie loved her!
After reading all about the mysterious woman, it was nice to finally find out who she was.
This book is a must read, and I guarantee that you will not be disappointed.

I just finished reading this book and I'd recommend it to everybody. It's a real page turner, I couldn't put it down!I was so scared in the moment that Mandie was in the mill that I actually started to shake! I was really surprised by the ending. It caught me completely off guard.I also really liked the chapter that had the play in it.I was also really surprised when a certain character (dealing with Jonathan)showed up. The bible quote at the begining was really showed in this book. It is one of the greatest Mandie books ever wriiten!

I enjoy this book more for the memories it brings me than the recipies. Both are good though. If you were a fan of the show you are sure to enjoy the book.

I really enjoy this cookbook, not just for its great recipes, but also the photos, quotes, and stories behind the recipes. The index is great because you can look up recipes by the character, or by the name of the recipe. And it even has a section for Thanksgiving, and a section for Christmas. Each recipe reminds me of the episode that it originated from, and it feels like I have a little piece of Cicely in my own home. The recipes are wonderful, and it's also a fun book to browse through and read little tidbits. A must-have for any fan of the show, it's quite a unique book.

This is the only cookbook I've ever read cover-to-cover, and I've read it three times. Some of the recipes get a little silly (Marylin Whirlwind's potatoes: 1. boil potatoes. 2. salt.) but some are fantastic, and the descriptions are hilarious. Whether you're a cook, a NX-junkie, or both, this book is definitely worth getting.

This multi-faceted novel takes place in and around the state of Alaska. Part of it is a multi-generation saga of one family over the last 150 years. It starts with a young woman named Sara Spencer Peek, part of a westward-bound wagon train in the mid 19th century. Back in the present, Bob Thornton is a Wall Street superstar, who, one day, walks away from everything, and heads for Alaska. He's not totally sure where he's going or what he'll do once he gets there, but there has to be more to life than Wall Street. While hitchhiking, he is picked up by Ruben Sanchez, self-educated philosopher. They do a lot of talking about philosophy, most of it centered on the book Moby Dick.

Adam Whitehead is a world-renowned physicist doing his best to drop off the face of the earth. Both his parents died of complications from Alzheimer's Disease, and, being of the age where such a thing is a major concern, he is terrified that he will be next. Should it happen, he will end his own life before he ends up in some nursing home. James Tall Tree, the Presidential Science Adviser, calls out the Alaska State Police in almost-desperate search for Whitehead. His theories have led to a major discovery that is about to be released to the public. Tall Tree wants to officially acknowledge Whitehead's contribution.

It has become possible to go back in time and watch events as they happen in real time. Going to any coordinates, as long as it was outside and there was no cloud cover, it is possible to go back as far as the cavemen and watch it 'live'. Access to this system will be freely available to anyone with an internet connection. The repercussions for all of human society, especially fields like history and archaeology, will, of course, be cataclysmic.

I really enjoyed this book, but it's not for everyone. The reader had better like home-grown, self-educated philosophy, because there is a lot of it in this book. Otherwise, it works as a science fiction novel, as a Jack London-type adventure novel, and it will give the reader plenty to think about. It's very much worth reading.

I first heard of this book when the author posted a note on bookcrossing.com. I could not read this book fast enough! I thoroughly enjoyed the conversation between Ruben and Bob. It was most enjoyable how the story went back and forward in time and how it was woven together, especially with James Tall Tree and Ellen. When "portals" was revealed, one of my first thoughts as an employee of law enforcement was how great this would be to catch criminals in the act. And then right away I thought that the crimes then would be committed at night. And just the thought that I may be able to see my relatives from the past made me wish portals was available today. So, now I just go along my way.... looking up to the sky and waving. Maybe, just maybe, my great-great grandnephews and grandnieces might look me up.

Okay, so it's only in a philosophical sense! This is not only a great read, but it also gives you a whole new way to think about the concept of fate and your own role in history. Bound to be a classic!

saxenian argues that silicon valley's competitive advantage is the vast network of small firms that compose silicon valley and cross pollinate each other. she compares the valley to the route 128 area in boston which she classifies as detrimentally hierarchical, even puritanical.

The best book I have ever read concerning High Tech culture. Everyone should read this book to better understand how to motivate info exchange and networking among our society and world.

Contrary to one of the other reviewer's comments, the importance of this book is in showing precicely that it is not the "endemic" culture of Silicon Valley, but rather the innovative institutions and networked relationships in Silicon Valley that explains the region's success. A great contribution to the literature on embeddedness and network forms of organization.

My sister and I recently discussed how we loved this book as young teens. First read it as a Reader's Digest Condensed book. I loved it so much that I've since purchased many of Ms. Cookson's books. She feeds you some history and flavor of another culture, painlessly wrapped in an emotionally gripping tale. Another favorite from her: Feathers In The Fire.

As a huge fan of Catherine Cookson, I'd have to say The Dwelling Place is the best I have read so far...and I've read many of her books! Don't miss this story of a young girl's struggle to ovecome the odds at keeping her family together. Her selfless strength of character and integrity throughout this story, as well as the satisfying endings to this and all of her stories, are what make Catherine Cookson's books so wonderful and keep the reader coming back for more! Read The Dwelling Place ~ you won't be disappointed!

I have read this book for many years. I bring it out once a year to enjoy it. The courage that Cissy had was so unbelievable. I felt like I was right there in the cave.Catherine Cookson 's books make you feel that you are living a part of history Bravo Catherine Cookson.!

This is the real MCoy. The authors appear to know their subect well and have done their homework. I thank you for that because this is my first read on the subject of real cowboy clothing and I wanted facts. The detail was very good and in some cases too good as in the section on horse bits. What cowboys acually wore and why is fascinating. Don't get me wrong I enjoy the Hollywood costumes but it's nice to know the real story and this is it.

A friend shoved this book in front of me during research for a historical novel, and I found it fascinating! It is a comprehensive guide to the real garb and tack of real cowboys in a real frontier, not a Technicolored Hollywood wardrober's fantasy. I found it expertly written and illustrated, detailed and enormously helpful. This isn't the kind of amateur historical pap you see so often in this category, it's the Real McCoy. Anyone who wants or needs to know how cowboys and frontiersmen dressed needs to pick up "I See By Your Outfit."

I thought this book would be about what you can tell about people from what kind of truck they drive. But it turned out to be a very good reference on historic Western garb.