While many books and much attention has been given to the Impressionists, little mention has been offered to the Society
of Six - California Colorists. The beautiful illustrations and enlightening text provide a case history for the needed aware-
ness of these talented and innovative artists. Nancy Boas has
obviously done a tremendous amount of research resulting in a
spectacular and much needed work on our California art history.
A perusal of this title will be richly rewarded.

One of the best art books around. It not only describes an important art movement, it captures the character of the artists, from the assertive leader, Selden Gile, to the gentle, inward August Gay and the troubled Bernard von Eichman. The book is illustrated with vigorously colorful paintings _ visual evidence of the influence the Six would have on artists for decades to come.

I was unaware of a Californian impressionist movement until I stumbled across this book -- well worth reading & wonderfully illustrated -- Stan Kelly-Bootle

Christy is a beautiful lyrical writer. She holds your interest throughout the entire book and you think you are right in the little fishing town and know all it's inhabitants. I have also read her other novels and am looking forward to the next one.

If you like stories that out of the unusual ~~ this book is definitely for you. Yorke writes a beautiful haunting story of love and life and death ~~ longings and dreams and heartaches. Kate packs up her father and foster son to an isolated fishing village up in northern California ~~ or as she likes to say, she followed the fog. Wayne read an article in a newspaper about the fisherman's life and enraptured by the lonely life of fishing ~~ he told Kate he was moving up there. Kate agreed to take him and her father followed along.

They come to the village slowly eroded by the salt water and the fog ~~ it is always cold and wet there. People are depressed and very supersititious ~~ and there was the laurel tree that oozes sap and "foretells" a fisherman's death at the sea whenever it oozes. There is the local witch/mystic. The village is not pretty nor is it peopled by friendly people. Undaunted however, Kate, Wayne and Gerald decide to stay and make a go of it. However, as they become ingrained in the village's life and with the residents, they wonder if tragedy would be worth the loss of love.

This is a thought-provoking book. It tells of perils of life and love and hope after tragedy ~~ it is a book that will haunt you with its vivid descriptions of the sea and life by the sea. It will lull you into thinking life is grand then tragedy hits ~~ then you wonder how you'll survive. Kate deals with losing Wayne to adulthood ~~ and deals with the news of her son that was abducted 18 years before. She deals with how to live life again ~~ and inspires those around her to believe in love again. Even after death.

This is one of my favorite books this year. It was by chance that I picked this book up ~~ and I hope to read more of her works ~~ as she is a promising writer who captures dreams and write them down for us to read. And she's a beautiful, lyrical writer. It's a definite must-read!

3-30-03

I bought Song of the Seals based on its cover, and am so glad I did! It turned out to be one of the best novels I've read in a long time. I fell in love with the characters. Kate Vegas has survived one of the worst things that can happen to a woman and mother, and faces whatever comes with strength. The teenaged girls, Jenny and Nicole, were so real and interesting, they reminded me of my own daughters. Even the fishermen struck a chord in me. I couldn't stop reading until three in the morning, and was sad when I was finished. Christy Yorke is a great writer, with sentences that are so beautiful they brought tears to my eyes. I'll definitely get her others.

I thoght this book was really good. Joan Lingard wasn't afraid to show you what things are really like. All in all it was EXCELLENT.

By John Pears Cleveden Secondary Glasgow Scotland.(Oban Drive Campus)

I'm still giving this 5 stars, though Across the Barricades was better. It was really good the way they become friends at the end.

What I enjoyed about this book was that it shows no matter how different people they can get along. Kevin and Sadie became friends in the end.

Ulster's White Negroes is an exellent book for all interested in political conflict and social issues. It is writtten from someone who had first hand knowledge and had actually participated in the political process of Northern Ireland. It is a very quick read that will spark your interest in the subject.

In Ulster's White Negroes: From Civil Rights to Insurrection, Fionnbarra Ódochartaigh presents a balanced and insightful account of the social, economic and political conditions that ultimately led to the current conflict. Based on his own experiences and those of others, he describes conditions in Derry and throughout the North between 1967 and 1972. In this book, he gives detailed accounts of events occurring through the initial development of the Northern Ireland Civil Rights Movement, to calls for fair employment and housing practices. Ódochartaigh continues through the Internment period and concludes with the events of Bloody Sunday. After both of these, nothing would ever be the same again. Most important is his description of the initial seeds of the struggle that are all to often forgotten: political indifference, bigotry, British/Unionist elitism and the economic deprivation of Catholic communities throughout the North of Ireland.

This analysis highlights the often forgotten fact that the conflict began as peaceful acts of resistance and nonviolent civil protest, not as acts of revolution. While providing detailed descriptions of human right violations and sectarian violence, this book highlights the often overlooked and everyday conditions that impacted Catholics communities: poor housing opportunities, few chances for employment and a system biased against improving the social and economic conditions of Catholics. This framed the origins of the conflict in a more identifiable light. The events that took place are more the result of everyday social and economic conditions, than they are of age-old symbolism and struggle. Due to Unionist/British responses to a legitimate and justified call for equal rights, the conditions that led to the current struggle were born out of necessity, rather than radical design. One can only wonder what could have been if these protests had been met with constructive debate and responsible political action instead of RUC and British troop deployments.

Ulster's White Negroes: From Civil Rights to Insurrection should be required reading for anyone interested in the origins and evolution of the Troubles. Those interested in the achievement of peace with justice in the North of Ireland owe it to themselves to read this account and understand the events of those early days in Derry and Belfast. This is particularly true for those outside of Ireland, who are often presented with misleading representations of the historical basis for the current struggle. In light of events currently taking place, recognition of the basis for the Northern Ireland Civil Rights movement and the corresponding response by British/Unionist forces, will prove valuable in understanding the problems facing the current peace process.

Ulster's White Negroes sent me back into the throes of the U.S. Civil Rights Movement in the 70's, when I was there - as Fionnbarra's book brought clear realization to me that Northern Ireland was "there" also. Poignant, to the point, ultra emotional and yet on a lighter side - the humor of internment. What a grand author, and what more could any reader wish than to be put into a space of the "real" past. Thank you Fionnbarra. I can't wait to "relive" with your next venture! Chara, Roisin

One of the best things about Catherine Cooksons family saga novels is the way she points out the vast differences in person- ality that the children have. Siblings are usually more different than alike. Parents discover that not only do they sometimes not love their children, they often actively dislike them, and vice-versa.

Cookson's novels aren't afraid to be brutally honest when it comes to the reality of the nuclear family. I find that quite refreshing.

The Upstart is about surviving in the class system and the effects family members have on each other. Janet Fairbrother and Roger Maitland are the obvious good-guys to root for here, we're very happy for them when they finally come together. I found the concept of the perfect butler who's still very human quite interesting. The misguided workaholic Dad was also somewhat sympathetic. I didn't know what to make of Alice the mother though, her cruelty to Janet threw me.

The wealthy have problems too, and Catherine Cookson tends to deal out an equal amount of unhappiness to her rich, middle- class and poor characters alike. This common touch graces her books with heart and believability.

This book is one of Catherien Cookson's best. you can feel for this family the pain & unhappeness they go through. The father thinks he is better than everyone else even though he isn't & the children and his wife are not happy with their lives. Some rebel.

In 1898 England, wealthy shoe merchant Samuel Fairbrother decides to move his wife and eight children out of their working middle class environment into a home once owned by a penniless aristocrat. Samuel wants his family to hobnob with the gentry, though his household is very contented where they are. In spite all of his money, the local gentry refuses to accept him as their equal. Samuel still feels that his money, the home and his butler, Roger Maitland will eventually provide the necessary bridge to his goal. However, his upscale lifestyle begins to fall apart when his wife announces that she no longer loves him because he loves only money.

Nine years later, the world is about to collapse around the Fairbrother family. The oldest son, Howard has become a lying cheat, who tries to get money from anyone he can in any manner he must. Alice, the oldest daughter is falling in love with Roger, an unacceptable situation to Samuel. Because he has failed to love his family, Samuel may end up with no one who cares for him.

Readers will enjoy the latest family drama from the great Catherine Cookson. The story line about the hypocrisy of the British class system is well written and made interesting by the various characters. With THE UPSTART, the author has cooked up a classy Victorian relationship novel that will be devoured by Ms. Cookson's myriad of fans and by readers of historical fiction.

Harriet Klausner

Volcanoes are among the most interesting, awesome, and dangerous of geological phenomena. The also form many of the highest mountains we know-Olympus Mons on Mars, Mauna Kea, Popocatepetl, Kilimanjaro and many others on Earth. In spite of this, the average person has only an imprecise idea of what volcanos are and how they work. Duffield's fine book comes to the rescue.

The book addresses specifically volcanoes to be found in northern Arizona, so includes many pages of road logs intended for the resident or visitor to the area, pleasant excursions whose purpose is to illustrate a wealth of volcanic features. The rest of the book, however, is invaluable to anyone interested in learning more about volcanoes anywhere. Even though Duffield is a professional volcanologist of considerable repute, he uses clear language pleasantly free of technical jargon and aimed at the non-specialist. The many illustrations are lucid and well done, and the wonderful photographs by Michael Collier are a splendid asset.

The person interested in learning about volcanoes won't go wrong with this fine book.

This book is a wonderful introduction to the San Francisco volcanic field, which created the high country around Flagstaff and the San Francisco Peaks, the highest mountains in Arizona. Duffield writes in a clear, direct style that's a pleasure to read. The book grew out of a long series of talks and lectures he's given around the Flagstaff - Grand Canyon area -- he quotes a fifth-grader who wrote a thank-you note for "being interesting and not boring," which is a nice capsule review of _Volcanoes_.

Although he's writing for a general audience, geologists who aren't intimately familiar with Northen Arizona will learn of some neat new discoveries -- such as the remarkable similarity between the Mt. St. Helens blowout and the Peaks' long-puzzling Inner Basin (p. 25). And that recent lava-dams on the Colorado River (near present-day Lava Falls) made lakes in Grand Canyon nearly half a mile deep!

And anyone with working eyes will be pleased with Michael Collier's splendid aerial photos -- if you're new to Collier, you will want to seek out his beautiful, large-format _Arizona : A View from Above_, which might be the best book of artistic air photos yet published (and which, sadly, is out of print).

This book covers it all. Accessible text describes in a concise, but not condescending manner, the history of volcanoes in the northern Arizona and Flagstaff area. Excellent, even striking photography. Fine maps and drawings accent the text. This book is suitable reading material for professionals, college students and tourists alike. And an indispensable reference when traveling and sightseeing around Flagstaff, Arizona.

Most people don't realize that Flagstaff is situated near these barely dormant volcanoes which last erupted less than 800 years ago! Highly recommended!

I love cookbooks and own a lot of them. I bought this book two years ago and have given many copies as gifts to peple who like to cook. My family loves the recipes. We made some of the recipes for my niece's wedding brunch in Denver last year and the guests raved about the food. The recipes and instructions are well-written and the results are great.

This is a fantastic book. Lots of great recipes with new adaptions to ones that have been around for awhile. Using a different spice or combining of various ingredients gives news twists to old standbys and favorites. I am an avid reader of cookbooks and don't have that much time to cook now that my family is grown and left the nest, but with this book, I am very anxious to get back in the kitchen and create some new and exciting things. Cookbooks by Jr. Leagues always have some of the very best recipes and this one is certainly no exception. Highly recommend whether just for reading, or looking for something new and different.

Of all the regional cookbooks I own, this is one of my favorites! This cookbook has great suggestions for things to take to different gatherings from Gold Cup Horse Races to Neighborhood Picnics. I especially love the tips and suggestions at the bottom of the recipes. So far, I have tried about 20 recipes and all of them have been fabulous! The recipes are clear and easy to follow. This book is a necessity for delicious homemade treats to impress your friends. It also makes a great bridal shower and teacher gift.

If you've never been to the sites listed in Adventure Kayaking, Jenner gives the info a kayaker wants to know to make an informed selection: Clear accurate directions to the put-in sites . Comments on winds, tides. Suggested paddle routes. Maps. Notes on the presence or absence of power-boats and picnickers. Where to camp. What a joy to read a guide book, go to a place and experience no major surprises!

Jeneid's writes beautifully of natural features and wildlife encountered. Clearly he has a love for birding. If you are a kayaker and a birder, then I highly recommend this book before you plan your next outing.

I checked this book out at the local library and thought it was so valuable that I bought my own copy. My only complaint is that I wish the book could of been bigger so more trips could be included. I had already done some of the trips in the book and I found the book to give not only a fair representation of the area, but I learned a few new things.

Often scholarly volumes have excellent content but are poorly produced and edited while musem volumes are often well produced and edited but lack serious and contemporary scholarly material--they become catalogues of artifacts without real contextualizing material.

Ainu: Spirit of a Northern People manages to overcome both of these problems. As a scholarly volume it has excellent content (much of which has not been previously available to non-Japanese speakers) and is well-produced and beautifully laid out.

Aside from some small quibbles I have with some other articles seeming truncated for space concerns and others for not presenting enough information (notably the articles dealing with Ainu language/linguistics), I find little to find fault with. Even my concerns about some aspects of the volume are only a request for more, not a complaint with what is in the volume.

Overall this volume does a wonderful job of making contemporary Ainu research accessible to the lay reader while also presenting enough scholarly material to make it worth-while reading for those with a deeper interest in the Ainu. Even though the volume does not deal directly with the area of my research, the amount of knowledge it conveys has foced me to rethink aspects of my own work.

Despite the fact that I have lived in Japan for more than fifteen years, my visit to the Smithsonian's fabulous "Ainu: Spirit of a Northern People" exhibit last year provided my first meaningful look at this long overlooked or misunderstood part of East Asian cultural heritage. I ordered a softcover copy of the (at the time yet to be released) book right away and have since poured through it time and again. Written largely by anthropologists, as a layman I feared that it might well be too scientific to appreciate; happily such is not the case. The book is beautifully written, edited, and illustrated. Anyone with an interest in Japan's northern culture and/or the animist nature of the nation as a whole will find this book profoundly enlightening. I regret that a hardcover edition was not available sooner.

WOW this was really helpful for giving us something fun to do with the new Jeep Rubicon. Ratings are a great guide. Mostly the trails are pretty sedate - but there are are quite a few hard ones listed to keep the rest of us happy. The history of the area is also interesting. The GPS coordinates are a huge bonus, better than wandering around wondering if you are allowed to be on this trail or not. Definately recommend - it worth the money in savings on wasted fuel - and driver/navigator harmony ;-)

We were wondering if the book could be worth it but we thought we'd give it a try. WOW! This book has everything, I mean EVERYTHING you could want to know as you explore the state (directions, lots of photos, interesting history, info about animals and plants w/pics, rating systems, and GPS coordinates)!!
Love this book. I hope that I can collect the rest of the titles about the other states. My book was fun to take along on the vacation drive but I could see just sitting and reading through it at home!