For those of us with an interest in geology, but no degree in the field, this is a well written, easy to read and understand treatment of the subject of Cascades volcanos. It was a thoroughly enjoyable adventure into the world of vulcanism. Well worth reading.

Stephen Harris may be one of the last non-specialist authors. He doesn't confound the reader with copious scientific jargon. Insstead he conveys his love for what may be one of the last wild regions in the United States. In addition to excellent, understandable discussions of each volcano's potential danger and past history, Harris' technique enables the reader to use his book and a simple road map to plot the reader's own choice of which delightful scenic areas to visit.We visited the Oregon and southern Washington Cascades, as well as Mount Shasta, last September, and without Harris' well-planned guidebook, we would have missed many sights, such as Mount Newberry, and would have failed to fully appreciate others, such as the Columbia Gorge.
Harris' doesn't overwhelm the reader with propaganda about environmental spoliation by logging companies, but simply lets the facts speak for themselves. The book is an absolute must for anyone planning a vacation, in whole or in part, in the Cascades or Mono Lake region.

"Fire Mountains of the West" is a well-done account of the volcanoes of the Cascade chain, plus the Mono Lake/Long Valley caldera. I enjoyed each chapeter--indeed have read some two or three times (Mt. Hood and Crater Lake, of course!). The text incorporates all the volconologic knowledge of the 'Cades volcanoes to date (1988 for my copy). This would be a good book for the beginning reader of volcanoes, as well as the more informed home volcanologist. As an artist, I appreciated Chris Hunter's careful line drawings, which depicted the volcanoes, some of the prehistorical eruptions (Mazama), and detailed geological maps. All in all, a book that's worth every cent.

IF YOU WANT TO STRENCH YOUR FAITH FOR DIVINE HEALING.

Read from the very hand of John G. Lake some of his incredible adventures with God. He gives great insight into his ministry. Of great interest is his 8 point commitment to the Lord. A key secret to the power of God operating through him was the deep level of personal integrity that Lake held himself to. Lake's accomplisments; like the establishment of 625 churches in Africa in just 4 years of ministry there. WOW This speaks to what the power of God will do from one ministry that flows in the miracle power of God. Lake is a man wonderfully unique, yet one who can be an example that challenges each of us. God can do the same things through you and me !

I found this small book to be very uplifting. John G. Lake was a gentle, loving servant of God. Who was used to perform unforgetable healings. Everywhere he ministered, God did miracles in the lives of those he prayed for. When Medical Science gave up on them, God intervined through the laying on of hands and they were healed. This book will build your faith. Don't miss reading it for yourself.

Spectacular fall foliage and the beauty of the Queen of American lakes (Lake George) serve as the back-drop for an entertaining murder mystery involving the theft of previously unknown paintings by Georgia O'Keefe. O'Keefe fans in particular will enjoy the historical background that leads to the "discovery" of lost art. A great beach book.

This mystery put all five of my senses right back in the beautiful Adirondacks where I was born and raised and lived untill I was 19. I could smell the wet leaves on the tall trees alongside Bolton Road and see their beautiful array of colors cluster after cluster. I could hear the wakes of the lake smashing against the docks at times and feel the smack of the cold Lake George air on my exposed face on a late October night. I could taste that freezing rain on my tongue during one of the most thrilling nights of the story. I am still thinking about all the characters, weeks after finishing the book,and hoping that Ellen and her friends return in a sequel. And yes, I have this feeling that if Georgia O'Keeffe and Anne White had had the opportunity to meet one another, they would have been best of friends.

I thought this book was terrific. I love Georgia O'Keefe and I've traveled to Lake George a couple of times, and it proved fascinating for me personally. But it's also a great read for anyone looking for a smart mystery. The main character has lots of wit. I can't wait for the next one.

Good, but I had trouble keeping up with the names of the white guys. Seems like someone is always leaving and someone is always arriving, the pictures only confuses me more, because I would try in vain to match up the name with a picture.

Russia's Lake Baikal is the largest, deepest, oldest, and cleanest freshwater lake in the world. It's size is greater than all of five of the North American Great Lakes combined and home to more than 1,500 species of life known nowhere else in the world. Bartle Bull led the first expedition to ever circumnavigate Lake Baikal. While on this epic sojourn, he and his team mapped the devastating impact of human development and industry on this wild and pristine ecosystem. Around The Sacred Sea: Mongolia And Lake Baikal on Horseback is the incredible and riveting story of this valiant trek, an exploration of Baikal's history, ecology, and culture, and well as an informative and engaging survey of incredible and unique plant and animal life. Beautifully written, funny, occasionally suspenseful, Around The Sacred Sea is a unique, engaging, informative, exciting, page-turner of an uncommon, true-life adventure story, ideal reading for the armchair traveler and inspiring for the globe trotter set.

Around The Sacred Sea tells of the author's extrodinary feat of riding horseback completely around Lake Baikal.The book draws you in right from the prologue. Bartle Bull is an excellent writer, who not only describes in beautiful detail the sights, sounds, people and animals he and his friends encounter during the expedition, through his words he brings the reader along with him. I have never been even near Lake Baikal, but I feel like I have. There were moments of danger that had me flipping ahead in the book to make sure everything turned out alright. There were sad moments and there were drunk moments and there were irate moments and there were happy moments. And I felt every single one of them. The book is also illustrated with beautiful photographs taken during the adventure. I loved this book. This book is a must have for people anxious to take their own adventures, people who have any interest in Russia and Lake Baikal and for people who want to have adventures while they are safe and secure at home.

I love beautiful photography of machines and grew up watching the ore boats off of Cleveland. I couldn't resist buying it and I've enjoyed having it. This is a nice picture book and also has an interesting history of the development and demise of the uniquely configured Great Lakes ships. Jay Heise

For those intrigued with American marine technology this is "must buy". As a child growing up near Detroit in the 1940s these huge ships were only in my distant memories until I read Plowdens' narratives and saw the stunning photographs of the ships, the living spaces, the engines and firerooms, scenes underway, and the crew. An excellent work!

David Plowden has spent many hours sailing aboard older Great Lakes Steamships. His goal was to capture the essence and emotion of this unique type of steam vessel. The days of the the reciprocating steam engine aboard commercial frieght ships has come and gone just like the old venerable steam locomotives. The beautiful black and white photographs, coupled with an insightful narrative, gives the reader the most realistic vision of an era which will never again be experienced in human history. When David set out to do this project, he sensed the urgency of his mission. Today, most all of these vessels have been retired or scrapped and will never again feel the the seas, or the warmth and love of thier the crews. I have personally observed David as he stolled about our decks with great love and devotion for these ships. This book is a culmination of that love. This artists goal, to capture these vessels as they lived and breathed, has been majestically fulfilled. It is a must for anyone with interest into the daily workings of steamships, steam engines, and the people who lived among them. This book truly captures an "End of an Era".

I've recently moved to Southern Oregon and this guide has been an invaluable introduction to the hikes in the area. The book is well organized, and does a good job of ranking hikes according to difficulty and seasonality. One failing, however, is the large number of factual errors such as confusing north for south, or mis-stating the number of road miles to the trailhead. These sorts of errors had the positive value of making one more self-sufficient.

Hi, this is Bill Sullivan, the author of this book. Because of the large fires in Southern Oregon this past summer, I've decided to completely update this book. I've rehiked the trails and discovered some interesting new paths. The old edition is now out of print, but I'll have the new second edition available April 1, 2003 -- at the same price. I think it will be worth the wait!

I'm a bit puzzled by the previous review, because Sullivan'sbooks really do have fewer factual errors than most. In fact, he claims to offer a reward to anyone who reports an actual error -- this info is on page 2 of the book -- and he updates the book often, as you can tell by the copyright dates. If the reviewer above really has found a glitch, I'd suggest he report it to Sullivan (the address listed on Sullivan's Website). Maybe the reviewer has an old edition of the book?

Overall the book was quite good, however I do not know why they call it Apple Snails "IN THE AQUARIUM" Only one small chapter in the book is dedicated to that. If you are looking for a good book about Apple Snails this is it. However if you are looking for a book about keeping pet apple snails the info is very limited! You can find that information for free on the web.

This book provides a lot of good information on the world of apple snails, covering much much more than just how to keep them in an aquarium. However, this book should not be confused for the many "how-to" books on various aspects of setting up aquariums. It does not give step-by-step instructions for keeping a snail. Instead, it provides detailed information on the different species and their wild habitats (and how this affects their needs when kept in aquariums) and the result is a great understanding of the ampularids as much more than just tank-cleaners. If you own an apple snail and want to what its needs are so you can keep it as healthy and happy as possible, this book is an outstanding resource.

This title covers all important species of apple snails of the world. It gives taxonomic information, help in distinguishing the species, general apple snail biology, snails in their natural habitat and in the aquarium. It is written by real experts and rectifies many scientific errors that are only too common in fish books that also cover freshwater snails. The text and the photos are both very good and the print quality of this book (especially the photos) is excellent. It is a real must for aquarists who see in apple snails more than a tank cleaning device. I really did not expect that much when I bought this book!

The title is somewhat misleading. This is a guide book, a tour of four Mexican states that focuses almost exclusively on eclisiastical buildings. Useful if you are interested in architecture and are touring in Michoacan, Jalisco, Guanajuatao, and Quertaro. Line drawings are nice, obviously drawn off of photos.

The book is large in format (so a bit awkward to travel with) and the design of the book is mediocre -- headline fonts are quite unattractive.

I would only recommend this book to those with a deep interest in religious architecture and architectural decoration in Mexico.

As a frequent visitor to many of the towns and cities covered in this guide, I thought that I knew a good deal about their history. Not so.

This is Richard Perry's fourth book in a series of illustrated regional guidebooks from the Espadaña Press capturing the unique quality of Mexico's colonial architecture. In 'Blue Lakes' we accompany the author on a winding journey across a broad swathe of west central Mexico that includes the states of Michoacán, Jalisco, Guanajuato, and Querétaro.

We are first introduced to some of the key historical figures of the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries, such as Bishop Vasco de Quiroga and a small group of architects whose names become more familiar as we encounter their work through 272 pages.

Special attention is given to the major colonial centres such as Pátzcuaro, Morelia, Guadalajara, Guanajuato, Querétaro, and San Miguel de Allende, with observations that will enrich any walking tour. The surrounding landscape is also dotted with colonial gems, many of them given little distinction or ignored completely in many guides. Here, less well-known towns ("off the beaten track") are equally well accounted for, and there is a welcome chapter on the missions of the Sierra Gorda in the state of Querétaro. The scope of this large format paperback is comprehensive, and the text is accessible, engaging and peppered with fascinating and sometimes surprising details. But what makes this guide special are the author's own precise line drawings that compliment the absorbing text - more than 200 of them in all. Thus not only does Richard Perry deliver us a fine piece of travel writing but his architectural drawings make their subjects far more vivid than the photos in most conventional guidebooks - in short he is the perfect guide and the book, an excellent companion to any journey to Mexico's colonial heartland.

As well as being ideal for those intending to spend a week or two in the region on a cultural holiday, if you are more knowledgeable about the colonial treasures of central Mexico, then this also becomes an indispensable reference book. I myself was very grateful for the two-page glossary at the back.

On my visits to Mexico I'm inclined to head straight for the nearest market to get my senses bombarded with colour and exotic aromas - or perhaps I might get diverted by a craft shop. Reading this guide, I've made myself a promise: to willingly retrace my steps; where before I skipped passed a church, 'looking but not seeing' (or being able to interpret) a splendid carved facade or nipped inside but missed a mural or ornate altar, in future I will pay more attention, ponder where before I would have barely paused, and generally be more open and receptive to this important chapter in Mexico's rich history.

Thank you Richard Perry. Highly recommended.

Blue Lakes and Silver Cities is an engagingly-written, large-format account of the most outstanding colonial architecture and treasures in Western Mexico, illustrated with over 200 original line drawings by the author. This is Richard Perry's fourth book in a series capturing the unique quality of Mexico's colonial architecture and the best yet! I know personally most of the places Perry describes and cannot believe that anyone is likely to improve substantially on his painstaking research and attention to detail in a very long time. There is virtually nothing else in English on this topic. A wonderful achievement and a fascinating read.

I was a student of Mr. Buckoski's and decided one day to read his books in an attempt to understand him better. Polonaise seems to have a very large shadow cast over it. I was basically unimpressed with the majority of the stories. I will admit to getting in to a couple, but beyond that, they didn't seem to be very distinguished. None really caught my eye. I discussed this with Buckoski and ventured into a debate. He is a wonderful man, but aside from that, his writing is for the birds.

In a blowing, icy storm of clashing cultures, Bukoski climbs an aging train trestle that straddles a frozen river. He pins his characters' stories of hope, their cries for compassion, for deliverance, for understanding even within themselves, to rusting bars. Fluttering madly about, the fragile pages, filled with enduring themes, hold firm.

Scale the trestle and read his provocative words placed in an unusual setting! They are worth exposing yourself to his elements, for Bukoski captures unique emotions from protagonists young and old.

He know his people and lets us glimpse the stranger's mind.

Anthony Bukoski grew up and lives in Superior, Wis., which provides the setting and the material for the stories in this story collection. Superior's working-class Polish community, with its church, school, and cultural life is more than just a backdrop, but forms an integral part of these stories. This is a rich selection of stories about an ethnic group whose experiences are not well-known and not well-appreciated, especially by those who proclaim the doctrines of multiculturalism. Bukoski's work is an important step toward remedying that situation. The story "Old Customs" is especially noteworthy. Told from the perspective of a young school girl watching her elderly Polish aunt in the last days of her life, living in a house and a garden filled with butterflies, the story highlights the losses and pain of the Polish experience in America. Aunt and niece share time looking at a book of dream interpretations, as the girl listens to fragments of her aunt's me! mories and imagines what life in Poland and as an immigrant was like. When young Marta learns, in school, that her aunt has died, she realizes how little she knows about this woman who has been so close to her. Bukoski has a singular ability to ambush the reader's emotions with a single line of dialogue. As Marta runs home, she cries: "Czekaj, auntie! Wait!" But it is already too late, for as a corridor of butterflies opens to the aunt's house hung with black crepe paper "where the old Polish ladies are already washing her body." Other ethnic groups are also present here: Native Americans, Vietnamese, and others, providing a full and rounded picture of ethnic diversity in a northern industrial city in the rust belt. The only minor criticisms of Bukoski's work are his very occasional errors in Polish history (Polish cavalry never charged Nazi tanks) and translation, and the sense that his characters sometimes exude that they, as Polish Americans, are dying o! ut. As CHILDREN OF STRANGERS shows, however, this is hardly! the case. Along with Suzanne Strempek Shea, Natalie Petesch, and others Bukoski is among a renaissance of Polish American literature, written in English, that is helping to redefine the experience of a major ethnic group in America. This book is highly recommended for readers of all ethnic backgrounds.