Herbalist Shatoiya de la Tour, her husband, Richard, along with a very talented photographer, Saxon Holt, have produced a treasure of a book! This book takes us on a journey to visit ten exceptional herb gardens in the United States. First stop - Richard and Shatoiya's own garden which she describes as "a garden to serve the community". She shares her story of how her garden, Dry Creek Herb Farm came into being and has evolved over the years to become a refuge for herb lovers and learners across the country. Next stop is Sage Mountain, the Vermont garden of the highly respected herbalist, Rosemary Gladstar. Also spend time at Deer Run Herb Sancuary, Plimoth Plantation, Evergreen Herb Garden, the city garden of Brian Fikes and Greg Howes, Dr. Dukes "Farmette", Ravenhill Farm, Caprilands, and Saso Herb gardens.
The photographs are exquisite, probably the best gardening photography I have ever seen. You will also get to meet these very interesting gardeners, get a glimpse into their own life stories to learn what first attracted them to herb gardening and how herbs have become the focus of thier lives. I LOVE this book and have turned to it for inspiration over and over again. I feel you will be very pleased with it. Buy it!

THE HERBALIST'S GARDEN is subtitled a "guided tour of 10 exceptional herb gardens" and it is just that. I don't think you could get much closer to the real thing unless you made the actual physical trip to each of these gardens. Perhaps the only drawback for me is that so many of them are on the West Coast because seeing them makes me want to SEE them.

The photographs by Saxon Holt are some of the best. In each picture, I can clearly distinguish one plant from another--no small feat since to capture one plant clearly often causes others to be distorted. For example in one shot the viewer can raise her eyes from lettuce in the first row to cabbage in the second row to onions in the third row. I guess this is "trick" photography, but it's great. Although the photos are not three dimensional, they remind me of old 3-D viewer I had when I was a kid or the holograms of today where you can hold the picture to your eye and feel as if you are "inside" the frame.

The de la Tours have done a fabulous job of compiling, writing, and editing their book. They are down to earth and friendly and the text is newsy and informative. The de la Tours own Dry Creek Farm and Learning Center in Auburn California--the first garden on the guided tour which features the gardens of several other herbalist/gardeners and writers. Each section shows a ground plan for the featured garden. There are plenty of shots of the gardens including entrances and paths, and unique features found at the various sites.

Dry Creek Farm features a children's garden, a medicine-wheel garden, and a moon garden. The medicine-wheel garden is festooned with multi-colored prayer ribbons--hung out by the de la Tour's students at the Spring Equinox--that will be burned at the Winter Solstice. Along the edge of the medicine-wheel garden are plants representing the Zodiac Signs--Lavender for the Gemini, Mint for Virgo, and Lemon Balm for Cancer.

The Moon Garden is composed of a Catalpa tree surrounded by a circle shaped garden. The garden surface is composed of white gravel chips and outlined with smooth river stones. Both the full moon and the cresent are delineated. The full moon is white pebbles sans plants, the crescent is set off by Artemesia, the ghostly white plant that bears the "other" name of Diana, queen of the Fairies, Queen of the Witches and Queen of the Moon. A statue of a coyote (Diana's hund?) sits below the mobile moons hanging from the Catalpa tree.

There are photos of garden layouts, photos of specific beds, photos of smiling owners/gardeners and plenty of close-ups of the herbs recommended by the 10 herbalists. The text is extremely informative and inspiring.

Enhanced with the color photography of Saxon Holt, Shatoiya and Richard de la Tour's The Herbalist's Garden provides the reader with an exception, fascinating, and informative guided tour through ten unique herb gardens, introducing the people who grew them and the plants that inspired those master gardeners. After an informative introduction (The Path of the Herb Gardener), we are treated to the Dry Creek Herb Farm & Learning Center (Auburn, CA); Rosemary Gladstar's Sage Mountain (East Barre, VT); Deer Run Herb Sanctuary (Napa, CA); Plimoth Plantation (Plymouth, MA); EverGreen Herb Garden (Placerville, CA); The City Garden (Sacramento, CA); Dr. Duke's "Farmette" (Fulton, MD); Ravenhill Farm (Vancouver Island, British Columbia); Caprilands (Coventry, CT); and Saso Herb Gardens (Saratoga, CA). A very highly recommended, inspiring, beautifully presented work, The Herbalist's Garden is enhanced with a concluding commentary (Manifesting Your Own Vision), a resources section, and an index.

This is an excellent book for anyone who is interested in orca whales. It has mass amounts of great information, it's easy to read, there are great photographs, and the ID catalogue of orcas is nothing but the best. This book is a must have for any whale-lover, researcher, or someone with just a general interest.

May I first say I have never encountered a better identification book then Killer Whales and Transients. Both books are written by THE wild orca authority in the Pacific Northwest. Catalouged pictures and organized information of each individual in every pod along the coast from WA to northern BC along with accurate info on feeding, behavioral and other habits of the pods in Puget Sound and British Columbia. Truly a great book, and as I plan on researching these animals in my adulthood, it has been a great boost to my knowledge on them.

I just returned from a kayaking trip in the Johnston Straight just East of North Vancouver Island known as the inside passage. We had first hand views of the Orcas. This book was used as a reference manual to identify some of the whales. It has wonderful reference pictures of the known pods (families) in the area. It goes into great detail on their eating habits, language, and family history. It also explains their social behavior, and the differences between the pods. It is a wonderful book full of pictures, and details.

Just Imagine: 250,000 Americans encompassing every race- standing up to be counted in the struggle to fight the demons of inequality. For many, the march for freedom was their chance to make that stand. Of course I've seen countless rolls of footage and viewed PBS specials documenting the March on Washington in 1963 but nothing compares to my reading first hand accounts of committed individuals who threw caution to the wind while enduring the threat of possible bodily harm, sacrificed their jobs and alienation from friends and family who deemed the march "a path for fools to follow" or something worse as the committed and concerned journeyed against the current.
Whether by plane, train, bus, bicycle, or automobile- one thing was certain for those Americans during a warm August in 1963, "They were gonna March on Washington come Wednesday mornin'."

I had the pleasure of enjoying this wonderful book over the Thanksgiving holidays and I will always remember the March on Washington and be thankful for the sacrifices made then I'll pay my respects to those who thought enough of me to do so.

Just Imagine: 250,000 Americans encompassing every race- standing up to be counted in the struggle to fight the demons of inequality. For many, the march for freedom was their chance to make that stand. Of course I've seen countless rolls of footage and viewed PBS specials documenting the March on Washington in 1963 but nothing compares to my reading first hand accounts of committed individuals who threw caution to the wind while enduring the threat of possible bodily harm, sacrificed their jobs and alienation from friends and family who deemed the march "a path for fools to follow" or something worse as the committed and concerned journeyed against the current.

Whether by plane, train, bus, bicycle, or automobile- one thing was certain for those Americans during a warm August in 1963, "They were gonna March on Washington come Wednesday morning."

I had the pleasure of enjoying this wonderful book over the Thanksgiving holidays and I will always remember the March on Washington and be thankful for the sacrifices made then I'll pay my respects to those who thought enough of me to do so.

Like a Mighty Stream is not merely a book about the greatest march on Washington. It is a portal; a literary doorway into the not so distance past using the detailed accounts of actual march participants. The author Patrik Henry Bass, with his fluid style and well researched writing, details a time when we as African-Americans were denied the most basic freedoms and decisions, such as where to live, what schools to attend or what jobs we could hold. His writing evokes the reader to remember our present day lifestyles and freedoms were bought with a price. And the emotionally stirring accounts of the marchers invoke us to make sure the present civil rights ledger is not owing. A truly great read!

I recently bought a copy of BC Wild, the interactive CD-ROM, and I am very impressed with the level of professionalism that Dr. Chestnut has produced.

This CD is a must for any BC wildlife lover like myself. There are some outstanding photos that include labels which really help with identification purposes when I am out in the field. I must admit though, that I failed the quiz, that thing is a killer!

What a great value!

The BC Wildlife CD-ROM is excellent! It is easy to load, great features and has an endless supply of LABELLED photos. The price is reasonable too! I couldn't recommend a better wildlife CD-ROM, great job Malaspina!

The BC Wildlife CD-ROM by C.W. Chestnut is the definitive multi-media product covering selected BC Mammals. It features over 40 species and subspecies. There are over 450 excellent labeled photographs and some short video clips. I found it easy to load and use. The price is a steal and you can print out any photo you want. My favorite feature was the distribution maps. They are Incredibly detailed and must have taken forever to compile. This CD-ROM gets top marks from me and it deserves a place in the library of any student of wildlife.

This Atlas is the best gift that I have ever given my husband! We have seen parts of this magnificent province that we never knew existed. We have travelled on backroads that are on this map but nowhere else! And the accuracy of those roads is perfect. Men may not ever ask directions......but they sure love to read maps!

This atlas is absolutely first rate for anyone wishing to find their way in B.C. Detailed road maps include many of the semi-improved and unimproved roads in a scale that provides details not found on ordinary highway maps. Lakes, rivers, wildlife and recreational sites are detailed on the charts and described in back pages. A must-have for anyone traveling through beautiful British Columbia.

The most comprehensive guide to back-country tourism for the British Columbia traveller. Whether you decide to travel on or off the road you'll find detailed maps and destination spots throughout the BC Rec. Atlas. All the small back-roads and logging-roads are detailed in this 1:200,000 scales mapbook. Even campsites are listed! Your best bet for discovering BC.

This has nothing to do with the televison show since Dawson's Creek isn't real (and isn't even a town) but it is so wonderful! Besides being inexpensive you get four wonderful books in one! If you look in the back you will find other titles that are just as good as British Columbia!

This is the greatest thing I ever read if you aren't a Dawson's Creek fan you will liked and be a fan so readed.

I never tought I will ever read something like this. It doesn't matter if you aren't a Dawson's Creek fan you will enjoy this one some buyed is really a good one.

I've lived in Texas for 24 years and found out recently that I love South Carolina cooking. This cookbook has some real winners in it. The shrimp and artichoke casserole was a big hit at my last dinner party. My Texas friends really liked the corn\black bean salsa.

This was a well written cook book with great recipes and easy to follow instructions. I definitely recommend it. In addition, the young lady I got the book from was gorgeous.

Down By The Water is a fabulous collection of recipes complete with seasonal menus, a wine overview and a resource guide for ordering stone-ground grits and other unique ingredients. There are over 300 triple tested recipes using fresh ingredients. Featured selections are Piedmont Punch, Blueberry Pound Cake, Black Bean Lasagna, Charleston Chicken Salad and many more. Recipes include selections from area chefs as well.

The book is a durable, easily cleaned hardcover and lies flat for convenient use. Friends have mistaken this book for a coffee table book rather than a cookbook because it is so beautiful! Down By The Water is a must have!

Roberto Loiederman and Richard Linnett take the reader on a fascinating voyage into a little-known chapter of the Vietnam era. Meticulously researched, the authors manage to pump prose into this account of an armed mutiny aboard an American ship carrying napalm. A former merchant marine, Loiederman lends authenticity and precision grounding to this sea-going narrative. Here is a rare opportunity to get a glimpse into the mind of a mutineer. Move over Bounty - the Eagle has landed!

Thirty-one years ago was way, way back! Another century. Yet Linnett and Loiederman recreate the intensity and frenzy of that era and make it wholly coherent and contemporary. This fresh, comprehensive, recall reveals a turbulent Vietnam era that is both exotic and accessible.

A fantastic story--incredibly true though it reads like a thriller movie--this mutiny not only happened as described, but becomes a metaphor for the political and social transition that color an entire generation. And like Melville, Conrad, London, Nordhoff and Hall, Wauk and O'Brian, Linnett and Loiederman make of their ship, and it's mutiny, a floating cosmos, where the rules are both observed and bent. Where too, morality is debated and diverted.

We are given two young men coming of age in the late sixties. While both wind up as merchant seamen, Clyde slips in from a life of adventure and twilight while Alvin pushes on from the mainstream. The authors bring those hyperbolic days with their hyperbolic people alive in the same way Clyde and Alvin found them vivid and attractive.

And the Columbia Eagle becomes their crucible as the world and the war plunges forward. The powers play the grand game and, in isolation, the mutineers carry out their plot, ignorant and unaffected. When they finally emerge with the ship and its cargo of napalm in Cambodian waters, players are about to change sides on them and their act of protest is swallowed up in the upheaval, the coup that deposed Sihanouk three days after their arrival.

What follows is a tale of increasing strangeness. The relationship between Alvin and Clyde deteriorates. Their capture, incarceration, escape, disappearance and reappearance are all traced. The inscrutability of both U. S. and Cambodian officials concerning the mutineers' fates, gives rise to conjecture. We're also given an overview of the huge cast of anti-war journalists, Thai and Cambodian peasants, soldiers of fortune, scholars and movement people who cross paths with the mutineers. These were dizzying, heady times, and the authors bring them to life with persuasive, exhaustive research.

At last, we are left with a portrait of an age, a time and a set of personalities shaped by that time. Way back, when passions were enough.

Fascinating research by Roberto Loiederman and Richard Linnett into the little-known cases of a trio of American would-be revolutionaries, two of whom later escaped loose detention in Phnom Penh and set off to join the Khmer Rouge. After falling into the custody of Mam Sabun, a Khmer Rouge district chief, their fates become confused with those of Sean Flynn and Dana Stone, the most famous of the American journalists who disappeared in Cambodia during the 1970-75 era of conflict. This work is a valuable addition to Tim Page's ongoing research to resolve the fates of those who remain "unaccounted-for" in Cambodia. Roberto Loiederman's stunningly detailed account of life aboard the the ship make this story one which anyone who loves the sea will find spellbinding. While this book deals with so-called collaborators, those outside the government who remain interested in the PW-MIA issue will find "The Eagle Mutiny" contains some information which provides new insights.

A story of a courageous strong woman. Descriptions of the environment (land & conditions) enticing. I found myself being scared right along side of Olive. A real adventure story.

A fresh, uncomplicated tale of the people who adventured north in the past. Action packed, engaging and reveling, this book will remain for ever one of my favorite adventure and romance stories. It shows much about how people may face a foreign environment, difficulties, and above all themselves. All comes out in very simple and clear language, with suits the story and the characters divinely.

This was a favorite, and it was done with no bad words or violence, other than from nature, I loved it and still wonder what happened to Olive and her second husband after they were married and flew off in the airplane. I watch it everytime it comes on tv. I have taped it and shown it many times to company.

I truly loved this book. For once, because it's part of my own past, Paul Hertel was my mother's uncle. And second, I like Mrs. Falkenhagens style. It was great for me to learn about my ancestors. Now I understand much better my own urge to discover the world.

"Wilderness Beginnings" is truly an adventure story about two people facing seemingly insurmountable odds both in Pre-WWII Germany and in the wilderness of British Columbia during the 1930's. This true-life book is extremely well written and an easy read. The story draws you in from the start and holds your attention throughout the remarkable journey. There are times it is difficult to believe this is not fiction. I highly recommend this book to readers of all ages.

A true life adventure of a young German immigrant who migrates to the wilderness of British Columbia during the mid 1930's. The adventures and brushes with death from the natural elements remind me of Jack London's "Call of the Wild".