A very relaxing read. Never before have I read a book of true life that was so well-paced and soothing. Harris writes as the river flows: gentle to rough, lucid to terse. With a great sense of personal respect to the reader, "Mississippi Solo" is ther perfect read for anyone who wants to take a vacation in the theatre of the mind. An excellent book for travellers and a must have summer read.

I bought a copy of this book after my own canoe trip down the Mississippi. It was fascinating to compare the experiences of Mr. Harris to my own.

The writing is perceptive, insightful, and entertaining. His observations of the people he met along the river, and himself, come across as very honest. He doesn't portray himself as a hero or an expert, but as the person he really is. His dedication to completing the journey is tenuous, but his appreciation for the lasting value of the experience is sincere.

His perceptions on racial issues were objective and refreshing. Although he had preconceived notions on what he might encounter, (a black man in Nordic northern Minnesota and later in the Deep South) he judged people based on how they treated him, and the vast majority of people treated him with kindness and respect.

His descriptions of the river, towns, weather and scenery are also enjoyable, and the hardships and joys are described with equal eloquence.

I was impressed how such a greenhorn of an outdoorsman would have the boldness to tackle such an adventure. My only disappointment with the book is when he skipped some parts of the river. It was his journey to make, however, and he is honest about any shortcuts he took.

In short, this is a great book. It is worth reading to experience the journey vicariously and for the writing itself. You won't be disappointed.

I found this book at a used bookstore while looking for travel books to read on vacation. What a great book! I'm fascinated by the water and enjoyed the description of his trip down the Mississipi river, but I enjoyed even more seeing how a person who wasn't an outdoorsman or even an experienced boater took on this adventure. His experience with people along the way made me feel at the end that I would enjoy sharing a campfire with him and most of the people he met. Except for the rednecks with guns that is.

I grew up and still live in a rural area but didn't work on a farm. But you could have lived in NYC all your life and still identify with some of these stories. A very raw and real book. I swear when I was reading some of what these guys said, I almost dropped the book because it was EXACTLY what I have fealt and gone through. I wish the author would write another book like this. If you have always thought of yourself as on the outside of gay culture, then you will identify with the experiences documented in the book. Couldn't put it down.

I was more than impressed with this wonderful collection/study of over three dozen rural gay men who grew up on farms in the Midwest. I never had the experience of living on a farm, having lived in the city while I was growing up, so this was a real eye opener for me. These gay coming of age stories told by the individuals are spell-binding. You not only learn about their first gay experiences, what their families were like, and their everyday life on the farms, but what happened to these individuals after leaving, which most of them did, their farming lives.

This is an excellent look into the lives of these rural gay men and their isolated struggles. It should be required reading for any gay history course. It is fascinating and so well-researched. There are many books out there covering gay life in the cities. This is a wonderful and enlightening study of the rural gay man. HIGHLY RECOMMEND!

Farm Boys is a fascinating collection of materials from 37 gay male oral histories of growing up on farms in the Midwest). Fellows provides succinct analysis of the changing economics of agriculture in the region (increasing industrialization of larger and more capital-intensive farms)--changes which few of his interviewees seem to be aware, though some of their natal families have been squeezed out of business and off the land. Fellows arranges the accounts by the year of birth (from 1909 to 1967), and, over the book's span of time, there seems to be a decrease of the amount of dependence on the unpaid labor of children (i.e., the hours of "chores" seem to have lessened). In addition to eliciting revealing accounts from reticent natives of the rural Midwest, Fellows gathered and reproduces photos of many of his subjects, including some who chose to use pseudonyms. Fellows's analyses of the effects of ethnicity (Germanic in contrast to Yankee), industrialization, and other social changes are astute; as are his conclusions about the costs of heterosexism. The accounts he elicited are often moving and are invariably informative about the life experiences and life worlds of heretofore invisible gay men.

Shallow book with not enough information about accomodations or activities, both in amount of coverage as well as in-depth of each issue.

The e-book does not let you print copy/paste, nothing!! even though it is the same price as the paperback. For a book that you need with you on your trip, unless you feel like lugging around your laptop you are stuck.

I didn't know that I can't even print out any pages, so I was surprised.

The paperback maybe is worth it, but the e-book -- don't touch it.

Less than a day's drive from New York City, Boston or Philadelphia, the Catskills have long been a popular weekend and summer retreat for city folk. The area offers fine accommodations, top-notch dining and spectacular surroundings.

This book profiles hundreds of hotels and restaurants, with an emphasis on the very best places. Daytime activities - shopping, antique-hunting and more - are featured. In-margin icons allow you to see at a glance what is being covered in the text.

"If you're headed to the Catskills, you must read this book. If you already live there, you must read this book - you'll learn things about your area you never dreamed of.... Fran Silverman brings alive this wonderfully diverse area for everyone." Travel Smart

Just bought the book in Boston at a Booksigning wish it was longer. I read it in 2 hours. I know I will be reading it again and again. Love the Characters, the Richie Rags, Richie Cats etc. I knew the same guys growing up on my corner in Philadelphia in the 1960's. The nice thing also is that there is no violence in the book. How refreshing.....

The Author Michael Maione-book called Tootys Corner, was absolute the most exciting books I've read, the book talks about life on the South side of Chicago-I want to applaud Michael Maione on a job well done.

Also as a reader of Michael's work, I should ask the question, is there another book coming out in the future? Readers love your work!

I loved it. It is real, and so are the characters. My kind of book to read over and over again.

I was staying at a Bed And Breakfast at Rushford MN and found this book laying on the coffee table upstairs. I started reading and couldn't put it down until I was done at 12:30 am. A very fascinating book. I wish he would write more. I still want to know why Nehring asked him if he wanted to sleep with his wife. There are stories waiting to be fleshed out here. Can't wait. Good book.

Please edit my ealier review. I am not 12 years old I am 54 years old. Thanks Earl Sethre

As a modern-day law enforcement dispatcher, I couldn't put this book down. I laughed and laughed. It was all too familiar, but kind of sad that these days are gone now. Too many new officers these days are in it for all the wrong reasons. They could stand to learn a lot from the old guys like Neil Haugerud who cut the trails of what law enforcement is today.

Any sports fan (especially from the Chicago area) will definitely enjoy this story of growing up as a fan in Chicago. The only thing that keeps me from giving this book 4 stars is the inaccuracies. In several instances, Simon gives incorrect scores, dates and places. You would think it would be easy for someone in his position to have the correct info, so this unfortunately distracted me from an otherwise fine read.

I admit, as a transplanted Chicagoan and die-hard sports fan, its hard to be objective about this book. Scott Simon cleverly weaves his own personal remembrances of growing up in Chicago, into an historic timeline of sports and politics, which amounts to must read for anyone who wants a true glimpse into the soul of 'the city with big shoulders'.
I laughed hard and often at the family anecdotes, its easy to see where Simon gets his sense of humor, thrilled at reliving the Cub season of '69 and saddened, once again, at Brian Piccolo's courageous battle with cancer.
After finishing 'Home and Away', I was compelled to send copies to a few of my sports buddies...less fortunate souls having grown up in cities of less character.
I am a fan of the city, its teams (except the Sox...go Cubbies), and this writer ,who embodies it all so well in this book.
Bravo.

I'm not a sports fan and I absolutely LOVED this book. I've been an avid listener of Scott Simon's Weekend Edition for many years and have always enjoyed his view of the world. When I heard he had a book coming out, I trotted out to buy it (locally, not on Amazon where I could have saved some money - groan!) and read it on a beach vacation. I couldn't put it down. I so thoroughly enjoyed this book! It was a delight to read. (Hey - when I was in Chicago last week for business, I called up an old college friend and convinced him to go with me to a Chicago Cubs game - and had a blast!) Thanks, Scott, for the book, and hurry up and write more!

a bit of a disapointment- nothing really too secret here. relatively good descriptions but don't expect a book of any great beauty or insight. i'd save my money for another.

This is a great idea, and I wish it had been expanded just a bit, to get more of a flavor of the places Weller writes about. There are places in this book which, even as a Chicagoan born and bred, I never knew about. He even has a short chapter about prostitution in the city! You don't get much more secret than that, methinks. But the information amounts to little more than a few lines about each site, and leaves you wanting a bit more.

I also have to wonder how some of the places in the book were chosen. How secret is the Chicago El (elevated) system after all? And why, for example, with literally thousands of little fast food joints in the city, were there only three listed? And how were they chosen? I recognize that there was a space limit on this book, and that Weller covers a great deal of ground here, but as I read I'm occasionally bemused by both inclusions and exclusions. Still, it doesn't pretend to be comprehensive and Weller does do a good job of giving the reader an overview of some of the roads less traveled in a city this size

This is a fun book. Keep one in your glove compartment for impromptu road trips, or give a copy to your Chicago-loving friends. They'll get a kick out of finding new reasons to love this city.

Mr. Weller is a former reporter and must have done a very good job in reporting. This book is not for the typical tourist but for the individual interested in an in-depth look at the city of Chicago. He digs to get the best out of every subject he covers and in very descriptive text and references, gives even the most experienced Chicago visitor and even resident a taste for almost 100 subjects. Listed alphabetically, are a myriad of aspects of the city from architecture and astrology, to almost any subject you can imagine. This is not a typical tour book but one which will entice you to investigate areas of interest and the city that you may not have imagined exist. The author is opinionated and frank, which makes the book even more useful.

A friend and I took this guide and some others on the L&C trail last summer. This is a good guide and it has fantastic information on camping as well as very good maps. I agree with others who have criticized the ads- I bought mine in 2001 and also found ads. Additionally, the binding in my copy was weak and pages frequently fell out. If you are getting a number of guides, I recommend getting this one. However, if you're looking for only one guidebook, I found Julie Fanselow's book more helpful than this one.

Nightguy is right--the book shouldn't have ads. And, coming out next year, the 2nd edition WON'T have them. Also, Joseph Mussulman has been updating maps, Vicky Soderberg the touring information, and I've been fixing historical boo-boos. Glad to say there aren't too many, but our 2nd edition will be sharper. We will say again, right up in the front matter, that the maps and text are intended to be used with STATE HIGHWAY MAPS that give the detail we unfortunately don't have room for.

We just finished our trip using this book as a guide. Most of the book was very helpful. The maps were good, but we were misled a few times because roads were either marked improperly on the maps or not shown on the maps at all. If you do plan on using this book as a guide for your adventure, and I recommend that you do, be careful to check maps. For instance, Spirit Mound is on Highway 19, but the book's map said Highway 12. And we never did find the Gass Election site. The only directions given in the book were "about one mile south of town." We spent about 2 hours trying to find it. With all that said, we still had a great time!

William Ratigan's Great Lakes Shipwrecks and Survivals is a good book if you want a record of each large shipwreck on the Great Lakes. Wrecks that occurred on each of the five Great Lakes organize the book. The last thirty pages are dedicated to the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.
The book is more of an encolpia of shipwrecks than it is a book. It has some suspenseful points, but in general; it's dry and to the point.
There are very minimal pictures (at most 5) in the book. The writing is very informative and jammed packed. This would make a good book for someone who has a lot of time on his or her hands and can read very well. This would also make a good book for a person who had a, "sheltered" life; meaning, no personality, or since of humor.
There are some suspenseful points, but aren't what you think. They are quick and shot to the point. The book jumps from different ships all throughout the book as a cross-reference. Without any real life pictures of the ships the book refers to it becomes difficult to remember what ship they referred to without looking back.
I think there are better books with pictures and that are more user friendly and better organized than this book. My overall view of the book is thick old and dry with no visual aids. But in the books defense, this book does a great job explaining the shipwrecks, if you can stand reading a flood of words that are thicker than the Bible. It would just be that they put some visual aids to give your eyes a break.

"Great Lakes Shipwrecks & Survivals" is probably classified as a book with limited 'regional' interest, which is a shame because it deserves a much wider audience. I think it merits a place on the bestseller list next to "In the Heart of the Sea : The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex" by Nathaniel Philbrick, or "The Perfect Storm: A True Story of Men Against the Sea" by Sebastian Junger.

William Ratigan, a journalist whose father was a steamboat engineer, has written a romantic, blood-curdling maritime history of the Great Lakes, starting with Champlain's canoe as it ventured out onto Lake Huron, and ending with the thousand-foot bulk freighters that now churn our waters.

In his introduction, Ratigan warns the reader that even the biggest freighter is not guaranteed a safe return to port:

"These great ships sail Great Lakes that can swallow them in one black moment without a trace. Storms exploding across hundreds of miles of open water pile up mountainous seas that strike swifter, and more often, than the deadliest waves on any ocean. Before the ship has a chance to recover from the last blow, the next is upon her. The Lakes captain has no sea room in which to maneuver; unlike his salt-water counterpart he must stay on course throughout the storm; he must weather the teeth of the gale."

Each Lake's storms, shipwrecks, fires, and rescues gets its own section within "Great Lakes Shipwrecks & Survivals." The last section of the book's third edition (which I own) is devoted to the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald, the introduction of bulk freighters into the Lakes, and the extension of the shipping season.

I'm glad this book was reissued in 2000, as I will soon need a replacement copy. I reread it almost every November, when gray skies close down over the freighters that still steam up and down the Detroit River near our house.

Are there captains out there, like the captains of the ill-fated Howard M. Hanna, Jr., the Daniel J. Morrell, the Carl D. Bradley, and the Edmund Fitzgerald, who are trying to squeeze in 'one last run' of the season?

As Ratigan says of these captains, "...they often stay out on the Lake beyond the time of regular insurance, beyond the time of navigational prudence. Once in a while, striving to make one last trip before winter locks up the Lakes, they make one last trip indeed---the last trip forever."

This is a very well written collection of stories about shipping disasters on the Great Lakes. The author has a very easy-going writing style that is a joy.

I used to live in Chicago, and I can tell you that had I had this book back then, I would have visited lots of places I never knew existed or didn't fully appreciate at the time. As in most DK Travel Guides, there's lots of information, photos, maps and graphs.

Sure, the book is a bit outdated, but then again, IT'S A BOOK! In any case, the good people at DK keep updating their books from time to time.

I do have one complaint, in the fact that this book has less than half the pages that the New York book's got. Because it's less famous it doesn't mean that Chicago is less of a great city as the big apple is...

Great book, but not as great as other books from that series.

The ethnic neighborhoods, which Chicago is quite famous for, is barely mentioned and offers no instructions on how to visit them. This book is much thinner than the other Eyewitness city Guides.