This book is really geared more toward the academic. I would not find it useful as a field guide, though it makes for fairly interesting biological reading. It is not laid out in a "field guide" fashion, with species listed and illustrations for each provided. It would be frustrating to take the kids to the beach at low tide and attempt to use this unless you are very well acquainted with your marine taxonomy. Most species are not identified by a common name, and the color plates and illustrations are not necessarily near the species text.
This book reads as a textbook for students rather than a useful tool for laymen who just need to know what critter they just found under a rock, and want the information before the tide comes back in.

Though published in the early 1980s, this book does a wonderful job of introducing the active naturalist to the nearshore marine life of the Pacific Northwest. This book includes good illustrations and photographs, descriptions of where marine flora and fauna live and what they do there. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to go the seashore of the Pacific Northwest and figure out what they are looking at. Kozloff has been there and seen everything he's writing about. I use this book as my primary text when I take students to Puget Sound, Washington, for my marine ecology field course. A top notch field guide!

The history of women who served in military special forces or intelligence operations is completely virgin territory. However, the promise of She Who Dared by "Jackie George" is ultimately unfulfilled.

The book, in a similar manner to ex-SAS trooper Andy McNab's Immediate Action, details George's upbringing, joining of the British Army, and recruitment into the British Security Forces operating in Northern Ireland. She mentions the difficulties involved in being a woman in a man's world, but readers should not expect sociological discussions of this!

Most of the book is detailed with her training. The publishers try to tie George's account into the mania for British SAS (Special Air Service) accounts. While SAS members trained her unit, she actually belonged to the 14th Intelligence and Security Company, a highly secret British Army unit performing surveillance on Irish Republican groups.

Readers hoping for detailed accounts of her operations "over the water" will be disappointed. The authors state that the book has been submitted to the Ministry of Defence for review, and that probably accounts for the shortness of these accounts.

A reader well versed in British special forces history or that of Northern Ireland may appreciate this book more. I would refer readers to McNab and the SAS writings of Barry Davies.

George has no love lost for the British Army officer corps and details many of their transgressions with the enlisted ranks. However, she does not really explain why her officers would act in such a manner, or how the British Army managed to operate effectively in spite of this. Her rants thus become a shortcoming.

I give the book three stars, mainly because of the dearth of similar accounts. However, in time, with other accounts, I might have to remove a star.

C. Husing ex-Dept. of the Air Force military historian

an excellent book, information albeit sensitive was put across in a very professional manner,The author managed to maintain the readers interest from the start to the finish also ensure that the human emotions of what was and is a particulary sensitive occupation

I've been to South Dakota a number of times and have had many questions about the landscape, etc. This book has the answers and the pictures to go with it. I especially appreciated the glossary and the further-reading list.

I bought this book for a weeklong driving tour through North and South Dakota, and found this book invaluable. If you are interesting in the natural resources and park systems in these places, it has lotsa info you won't get in maps (especially many beautiful color photos) altho the advice given wasn't always useful.

I found this book in a bookstore in Hay River, NWT on a trip to the NWT. I was entranced with the story. The circumstances Dr. Dale worked under were extraordinary compared to the luxury of what we have further south. After reading his book, I have become interested in working in the NWT myself.

Crisply written, with just enough self-effacing humour and personal narrative mixed with the action, to draw readers into comfortable familiarity, "Snowshoes and Stethoscopes" is a wonderfully insightful chronicel of the author's adventures as one of the last true "Flying Doctors" in the frozen frontiers of the Northwest territories. The reader is drawn into a personal unfolding of this immigrant doctor/pilot's fears and excitement as he tackles isolation which most doctors and pilot's would shy away from. "Snowshoes and Stethoscopes" was a book that has kept many readers entranced fron start to finish and the only crtiticism has been a desire for more stories of this frozen north. The pictures are beautiful and haunting and very real, all well described and fitting into the narrative. The book is a lovely production and the cover design has been entered in a competition by the printer. Good value. Diana Haschke (Nelson)

David Woodman's research for this book is exciting to think about -- carefully turning the thousands of pages from journals written over a hundred years ago -- could he see the fear of frozen fingers (and more) in the marks of thick ink? Woodman's retelling of Sir Franklin's fascinating story is built upon an amazing act of pinning down the oral histories from another culture to the pages of ours. Above all, this book pays tribute to this wonderous art of the Inuit. And speaking of 'our' pages, my paper back edition has come unglued from its spine in just one month! Serious readers my wish to ante up for the hardcover.

Testimony from a number of contradictory sources over what happened to the ships and men; what they were told by ancestors of their beliefs of what may have happened to the men. Much debate over the names of men who were along on the trek. I found the degree of confusion and contradiction interesting in light of what is factually known of Franklin's travels to be very valuable in discounting what is "known" about his journey. While it resolves nothing for sure, it helps to explain why the degree of confusion among early searchers upon trying to get information from Inuits. For the true Franklin researcher, it is highly recommended.

This is an excellent introduction to the native flowers of Utah. The authors present a hundred high quality photos of Utah wild flowers. Each picture has a small informative blurb (about 100 words) about each flower.

The photography is the main value of the book. The authors captures the beauty of the flowers. Unfortunately, the book does not give enough information identifying plants. As mentioned in the first review, many pictures do not show the leaves. Although the author captures the beauty of the subject, the reader may find it hard to use the book for identifying plants.

I would put this book at the top of the list for people wanting to get started learning about the native plants in Utah. I also feel that native plant entusiasts will enjoy the high quality photos. It would make a great gift for any one who enjoys walking in the Utah mountains. However, if you are looking for a primary reference for native plants, I fear that you will be disappointed.

If you live along the Wasatch Front and hike the many canyons of the Wasatch then this is the book for you. The Photographs are beautiful and show the flowers well, the text is interesting and tells of past uses of the plants by indians and settlers, and the book is small enough to carry with you on every hike. "Utah Wildflowers" does show many of the common flowers you may find in bloom during the late spring and summer months. If however you are looking for a comprehensive guide with field "identification" capabilities then I would look elsewhere. With only 102 flowers covered, little or no pictures of leaves, and little said of similar species, habitat or identification difficulties I cannot recommend this guide.

This is the story of the 1994 season in the minor league independent Northern League. 94 of course was the infamous year of the strike and World Series cancellation. Thus it is hardly surprising that Fatsis' most prominent theme, shared by those involved at all levels -- but particularly ownership/management -- of the Northern League, is that MLB and its minors have become hidebound, soulless businesses. This is absolutely true naturally, but all that is required to confirm it is a couple of examples to hammer that point home, not the drumbeat reiteration that Fatsis provided throughout the book. When he concentrates on the personalities, fans, cities, and -- most particularly -- ballpark atmospherics of the Northern League, Wild and Outside gets much more entertaining. My personal favorite was Ted Cushmore, the put-upon owner of the hapless Duluth franchise. Fatsis had lots of access to many participants in the league and, not surprisingly, those who talked most freely to him tend to get the most sympathetic treatment, a bias which colors the history to an extent the reader can only guess at. As baseball reads go, however, this one ranks in the upper middle of the crowded pack.

Well written and packed with information. Excellent read.

This author writes well, and manages to set up the opening situation with a grieving woman who decides to move and start a new life. The manner in which the witches become involved in her life seemed to be intentionally unemphasized, the main character's reactions rather washed out. From there, her descriptions of the characters and making the plot move forward are wonderful. Unfortunately, it seems as though the author is not truly emphasizing the role of the "good" witches so much as the "feminine" role, much more general. It just seemed as though the reader is set up for something exciting and meaningful to happen at the climax, and the climax is over before it starts. Leaving the reader puzzled and unsure of what has just happened. In my opinion, it was a feeling that I had been prevented from completing the transformation into the world of the book. As before stated, the author is technically very talented at description, but the story line seemed shaky, and perhaps the author needed to do some more research into the subject at hand.

Unlike the first reviewer, I fell in love with "The Witching Time". The author, Jean Stubbs, manages to evade the cliches that seem generally inherent in a story line that revolves around witchcraft. Sure, there is the obligatory stone circle and the fight between the the forces of Light and Dark, but it's done with intelligence and a lot of humor.The main character of Imogen Lacey is someone you can relate to. She's good looking without being intimidating...intelligent, but capable of making bad choices...and all-in-all, a very likeable person. In fact, all of Jean Stubb's characters are fully formed individuals. Some you like...some you hate, just like in real life. As for the village of Haraldstone, well, I'd live there in a heartbeat. And to give Stubbs her due, she does manage to make the reader feel as if they DO indeed live among the inhabitants of this quirky little hamlet. This is more than a story about witches. It's a rich blending of the fantastic, mixed with a good old fashioned "Who-Done-It". Take these elements and combine them with a touch of romance and the meaning of true friendship and what you come up with is story telling at it's best. Yes, this may be light-hearted fluff to some, but if you are in the market for an entirely enjoyable mental vacation, then this book has your name on it. I personally rate this in my top 10 books of last year. I work at a library and read over 400 books last year, so this is no small recommendation. At the least, if you are still not certain, go to your local library and check it out. I think you are in for a most pleasant surprise. Enjoy.

Bill Pronzini does a fair job with this book, With An Extreme Buring. He sets up a mystery concerning Dix and his inability to get over grieving over his loving wife's death due to a car accident. It has been about 3 months and he still could not shake himself loose of her death and move back to intergrating himself into his normal flow of events. That in itself begs for something to happen to him which would be out of the ordinary.
Sure enough, it does. As strange as it sounds, someone obligued him and he unfortunately fell for their act. Well, as he poked his noise into the recent past of his deceased wife, he found reason to move on with his life. Good for him that he did or he too would have fallen victim to an insane man's plan to not only wipe him out as he had done Dix' wife but his wife's close female friends' family as well.
Dix and Cecca (wife's female friend) are forced to track down his wife's murderer and turn him in to the police in the end. Too, bad that the murderer turned out to be one of Dix' and Cecca's close friend.--- ...

Dix Mallory had lived in his small town practically all of his life except for a brief absence. He married, taught at a local college and was a faithful husband. A tragic car accident ended the life of his wife and Mallory did his best to deal with her death. Then the phone calls came. At first they were an annoyance then became vicious. A male voice claimed Mallory's wife was unfaithful. Soon we find this average joe questioning himself, his marriage and if indeed his wife's death was an accident or murder. Come follow this intriguing story as we see close-knit friends become suspects, innocent victims become the pariahs of the community and a pathetic man is excused for his sins. See how one murder leads to another but "the law" is unable or unwilling to protect those whose lives are in imminent danger. The implications of these actions taken will have a chilling effect upon you as you witness the widower's woes.

We bought the book and used is exclusively to prepare and conduct bicycle trips in the Hudson valley. The trip length and route layout suites the occasional to average trained cyclist. The routes are using mostly side roads which makes the trips safe and pleasant. The indication of the mileage for each step make sure than no turn or remarkable viewpoint is missed. The abstract that precedes the detailed description of each tour is a good help to pick a route for the day. We highly recommend the book to anyone who has a interest in cycling in the Hudson Valley. Hopefully there will be more cyclists in the future as this area is great to be explored and enjoyed from the bicycle.