This is a great resource book written through actual experiences of the authors. Great pictures and references. The book shares information that is not readily available through tourist information. It makes you want to get out your bike and ride along with nature. One does not have to be biking to enjoy the Bed &Breakfast establishments visited in the book.

I had read this book. I was very impressed with the amount of the information packed into this fine paper back. I think Phil Van Valkenberg had done a superb job! Love the cover photo!

I was just browsing a book store one day, looking for something new, and found this jem. I had been relying on the internet and public radio for my camping information, both good sources to be sure, but this book pretty much gave me the run-down I needed, with all of the necessary maps and directions.

I do hate rvs, concrete slabs, and loud portable stereos when I am camping. This book thoroughly rates each campground according to scenic attractions, quiet (close to highways, noise), privacy, spaciousness, upkeep, and security. It lets you know some history about each campground, attractions of each, such as types of trees and fish that can be caught in nearby or on-site rivers and lakes. I really appreciate knowing which campgrounds need reservations and which are first-come first served. And there's some history about each area to boot.

What is especially nice about this book is how the author rates individual site numbers within the campgrounds - absolutely necessary information if you're making a reservation at a campground you haven't been to before, and are lloking for something specific, such as privacy. I was looking for a site on a lake shore that required boat (not car) access, and I found it pretty quickly. I was looking for a nice site near waterfalls, and there it was. I was looking for something private and spacious in a specific part of the state, and the book laid it all out for me. I was looking for something on a bluff or hillside that had a commanding view, and wasn't disappointed.

Now in a fully updated second edition, Doug Shidell and Vicky Vogels' Bicycle Vacation Guide: Minnesota And Wisconsin has everything the adventurous cyclist would want or need to know about biking the trails and byways of two premier upper Midwest states. If you want to go biking anywhere in Minnesota or Wisconsin for fun and healthy exercise, begin planning for your cycling excursion by reading Doug Shidell and Vicky Vogels' Bicycle Vacation Guide!

Big Bill Thompson has been a political whipping boy ever since he failed to win re-election as Chicago mayor in the 1930s. Subsequent books on Thompson were written by supporters who wished to praise, detractors who wished to condemn or journalists who just wanted to tell a good story. But finally, after 70 years, an objective account has been written of Big Bill Thompson together with the intricate details of the prevailing political climate in Chicago before, during and after the Roaring Twenties.

Learn about the Big Bill Thomson who inherited his money from lucky parents who owned the one section of Chicago which did not burn in the Great Fire of 1871.

Learn about the Big Bill Thompson who was one of the most celebrated athletes in late 19th century Chicago.

Learn about the Big Bill Thompson who as a cowboy turned a profit on his ranch while Teddy Roosevelt was losing money on his.

Learn about a Mayor Thompson who championed an "America First" policy while exploiting class envy for his own political gain.

The reader is left with the impression that Big Bill Thompson invented the type of politics in use today. Rather than focus on Thompson himself, however, the book also explores the campaigns of his opposition, leaving the reader with a full understanding of what worked for Thompson and why it worked.

The scandal involving contributions from gangsters which effectively ended his career is given the space it deserves at the end of the book, but is not the focus of the book, as are most contemporary news stories. The reader is left with a well-rounded and objective account of one of the most successful mayors in Chicago history -- and how he got there.

And as the final coup de grace at the conclusion of the book, the reader will undoubtedly be shocked when they realize that Big Bill Thompson never committed half the indiscretions attributed to Big Bill Clinton.

All in all, it was an excellent and enlightening read. Thoroughly enjoyable.

An "indispensable book for bikers, hikers, walkers, joggers and families who want to enjoy Missouri's trails." Shawn E. Richardson's book Biking Missouri's Rail-Trails follows an identical format to Shawn E. Richardson's other two books Biking Ohio's Rail-Trails and Biking Wisconsin's Rail-Trails. This colorful paperback book includes detailed maps, photos, and a description to each trail. Trail lengths range from 1 mile to 235 miles and include information about trail surface (smooth crushed limestone, asphalt), trail use (biking, roller blading, horses, wheelchair, hiking), parking, and points of interest. Shawn E. Richardson provides informaion about the Missouri Department of Natural Resources and their involvement with Missouri's Rail-Trails. If you live in Missouri, or plan to visit Missouri, this book is a must for any cyclist!

An "indispensable book for bikers, hikers, walkers, joggers and families who want to enjoy Wisconsin's trails." Shawn E. Richardson's book Biking Wisconsin's Rail-Trails follows an identical format to Shawn E. Richardson's first book Biking Ohio's Rail-Trails. This colorful paperback book includes detailed maps, photos, and a description to each trail. Trail lengths range from 1 mile to 96 miles and include information about trail surface (smooth crushed limestone, asphalt), trail use (biking, roller blading, horses, wheelchair, hiking), parking, and points of interest. Shawn E. Richardson provides information about the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and their involvement with Wisconsin's rail-trails. If you live in Wisconsin, or plan to visit Wisconsin, this book is a must for any cyclist!

This wonderful little resource contains pictures of over 100 birds commonly found in the Midwest of the United States, including field birds, water birds, and all others. Included are pictures of males, females, and adolescents, when they have different coloring. The book itself takes the form of twelve cards; all laminated together, that fold up like a map. As such, it is easy to open and reference, quick to fold up, and protected so that it can be left out.

This is one of the best purchases I have made in a while. I keep the thing under my kitchen window, and at the appearance of a bird, I can identify it quicker than lightning. This has come in quite handy, allowing me to identify birds quickly. If you ever put out food for wild birds, then this item is for you.

Black Hawk's Autobiography is reframed in this edition to convey the true voice of the author despite Jacksonian influences of the original editor and interpreter (Patterson and LeClair) who published the first autobiography in 1833. Nichols muses in his introduction,"What is certain is that Black Hawk provided some narrative which has come down to the present...To what extent... does his product offer an authentic Indian voice?...Having worked on this text for some years, it seems to me that we can indeed 'tease out' the Indian's feelings and ideas from the Autobiography...the resulting prose still gives obvious examples of Sauk cultural practices and the warrior's individual attitudes." (p. xix) The value of such an edition is clear. For the first time a mid- 19th century Native American perspective of the experience of American/other territorial expansion, takeover, and ensuing treaties and conflicts between settlers and Native Americans is articulated. What emerges despite the cosmetic grooming efforts of Patterson or LeClair is not pretty or flattering to Americans in any way. Black Hawk is a formidable and resourceful enemy both with the pen and the arrow. What is valuable to Native Americans and other scholars today is both historical and current. Lost, forgotten, buried, disregarded, unperceived, and misunderstood Sauk values and outlooks can be discovered and explored. Perhaps the bitter battle of Wisconsin Heights can engender new insight from current audiences. What is clear and amazing is the evident skill and generalship of Black Hawk, as well as the loyalty and bravery of his band. Nichols begins with a chronology of important events in Black Hawk's life and a series of maps of parts of present day Illinois, Iowa and Wisconsin to clarify and illustrate the progress of the British Band with Black Hawk. It is very clear that Nichols is understating when he states "...modern readers using some care can indeed find much that was Sauk and that was Black Hawk in this account." I found many parts of Black Hawk's Autobiography to be deeply moving. At one part, Black Hawk describes his joy at doing battle with a worthy adversary, a leader who was careful with his men and cautious in the risk of death and injury as well as cunning and resourceful, by saying "I would have liked to shake his hand!" I have spent some time roaming and camping in the land where Black Hawk fought the battle of Wisconsin Heights. Reading his autobiography helps reanimate that haunted, proud and beautiful landscape with the brave members of the British Band and their leader. It makes you feel as though you want to shake his hand.