This book was introduced to me by Judith herself ( I was looking for material for a research paper ) ...Since I am a "starving" student, my mom bought me the book for x-mas, it sat for a few months since I was burnt out on prisons after my major report was done. But two days ago I picked up the book again, and I could no put it down. I have fallen in love with Spoon, Elmo and Judith's words many times over. I am in awe of her writing and her experience. I would hope that someday I could inspire others as she has inspired me. I have written a poem, I will share it with you all in hopes that you will buy this book...

"I feel as though I am reading a novel...

Everyonce in a while I stop and

remind myself the words I have read

are real."

Molly R>

Judith takes the reader into a world where few go willingly and fewer still would expect to find love. Her journey in story form reveals a great deal about herself and how the men she taught retained their dignity and self respect by sharing their thoughts of home, life, and love through poetry. I am not a poet and quite frankly find it difficult to understand many peots, but such is not the case with the works Judith brings forth from a handful of men most of us have written off as losers. Judith proves that love is present in everyone's heart, even those in prison.

This book takes readers inside a world most of us have never entered: a maximum security prison. But instead of showing the aspects of this world that we're familiar with from movies and TV, we see something different. By telling her own story -- the story of a poet sharing poetry with a particular group of prisoners -- Tannenbaum allows readers to look at our own assumptions about prison, prisoners and what it is to be human.

This is a very important, and very moving, book.

Frank Mullen has added an important book to the history of Donner Party. The tragedy has been the focus of writing since the spring of 1847, but Mullen has found a fresh way to make the story understandable and, perhaps more importantly, human.

The book is a daily chronolgy of the year that it took the party to travel from Illinois to California, and each two-page spread of this large book is carefully laid out and presents a mix of graphics and text. It is rewarding if read straight through, yet very accessible if your reading style is more "grazing" than linear.

Mullen clearly has done his homework. The sheer volume of detail and complexity in the story can be overwhelming, and Mullen includes the details that are needed to clarify and develop the people in the story. He includes wonderful quotes from diaries and supporting material, and drawings of interesting side issues such as an analysis of the probable shape of the "Pioneer Palace Car." Additionally, Marilyn Newton's photographs of the trail as seen today make it real for a modern reader.

When I have given this book as a gift to anyone with an interest in American History, it has been very well received. A truly great book.

The full-color, glossy photographs of major landmarks and points of interest along the Emigrant Trail from Springfield, MO to Johnson's Ranch in Bear Valley are stunning. The color photos, all taken by Marilyn Newton, are grouped together in the beginning of the book, comprising 20 slick pages of almost 50 photos. It's hard to believe that wagon ruts from over 150 years ago still exist in places; happily, our continuous farming, building and paving haven't obliterated all traces of the route that so many people rode--and walked--in order to reach California.

Portraits, maps, drawings and sketches from the period are interspersed with sepia-toned contemporary photographs, some taken by Newton and some by other photographers, and appear on every page of the book. "The Donner Party Chronicles" is visually rich and stimulating. The area around Donner Lake and the route the relief parties followed are depicted in all seasons of the year. Even in black-and-white, the photos of Donner Lake and the surrounding mountains demonstrate the ruggedness of the terrain and deeply impress upon the reader the hopelessness the members of the Donner Party must have felt upon being snowed-in at the lake.

The book reads like a journal that would have been kept by one of the emigrants traveling with the Donner Party. The text is reprinted from installments journalist Frank Mullen, Jr. published in the weekly newspaper "The Reno Gazette-Journal" over the course of an entire year. The daily routine followed, problems encountered, and decisions made by the Donner Party are chronicled in a concise manner. The entries are short, most three or four paragraphs in length.

One very interesting feature of "The Donner Party Chronicles" is the map of the Emigrant Trail that appears on every left-hand page of the book, with the progress of the doomed emigrants clearly marked with a red dot. As you read along through the book, you see on every other page exactly where the emigrants were as the day's events took place. I found this map extremely helpful and fascinating. Watching the movement of the Donner Party as they traveled on foot at the pace of slow, plodding oxen made me better able to understand how great an undertaking their overland journey was. I shared this book with my husband, my Dad and my father-in-law, and they enjoyed it almost as much as I did!

This book is well worth the price, for the interesting text as well as the terrific photos; you can easily find what you're looking for in the pages, as each page is dated and the day's entry fairly short.

The strong point of the book is the day by day account of the Donner Party's journey. Mullen writes as if he were actually on the trail with the party, and the reader has that same sense of being there. Mullen's writing style makes this book the best Donner Party telling since George Stewart's Ordeal By Hunger.

It doesn't get any more real than this!! I really enjoyed this book. It lets you really get to know the people in the book who are real and not just some made up characters. I hope to see more of these type of books from Joseph Rodriguez. I also like the idea that someone made above about the author doing an update to this book. That would be great!!!

Finally someone writes a book and tells the truth i grew up in East los and believe me it was hard but something we chose,we chose to gangbang and finally someone was real about it and wrote this book showing the way it really is and what we really go threw.........THANKS,VBTP

I live in East L.A., and I know two of the young guys that were in the book. This is what life for us is really like.Im 19, and the guys that came out in the book are around 22 now. I think that this guy has come a really long way and hopefully when he looks back at this book he will realize that he has turned into a better and smarter person.The author has my support in whatever he does. To come here to the neighborhood and write about what goes on in here is opening society's eyes to the everyday struggles and pressures that our young Chicano men have to go through. Behind every picture that Joseph has taken there is a story,and the people that live through it are the authors. I am sure that Joseph has some how helped these guys, because when I first met Porky the first thing he told me was that Pony and him had came out in a book!I think that this book should be updated and see how everyone is doing now.I recommend this book to anyone that wants to see some of the hardships of life.Pony died after this book was made but his smile and memory are always with me.When you see his face in this book don't think of it as another gang member, but as someone who was sill a kid that got caught up in the gang life.

This book has it all - beautifully photographs, recipes that actually taste as good as they look, and a little education on tequila. I found myself wanting MORE recipes, but what is here is gold. The book itself is attractive, slim and well-made. It also will educate you on tequila, how to pick it, and what the differences are.

Although, as another reviewer said, it doesn't matter how good the book looks, it's how the recipes turn out. This book delivers, hands down. You'll be glad you bought it.

However attractive the pics may be, you can't shake them up on ice and sip them while the sun slips into the Caribbean. The test of any cooking or drink book is in the tasting, and this is one tasty little volume indeed. Liquid (the best Mai Tai ever) or solid (French Toast Brulee), these recipes are keepers. The book's inexpensive enough--buy two and tuck the spare away in a cupboard, for when the first one is worn out.

After all the gushing about the photos -- okay, they're great -- somebody needs to point out how good the recipes are! Park Kerr offers a wealth of information, in an easy-to-read format. With guests literally walking through the door, I was able to whip up a huge batch of frozen margaritas with next to no effort -- one guest, who has some expertise in these matters, can't stop raving about them -- "By far the best I've ever had," he says. (Kerr's secret ingredients made all the difference.) As with all good cookbooks, this one gives you loads of tips and tricks that make a good recipe ten times more interesting and fun. You get clear explanations about the various grades of tequila, so there's no confusion when you're facing a dizzying array of bottles at the liquor store. All in all, a tight, concise, well-informed guide that is presented with real panache. It's the next best thing to crossing the bridge to Ciudad Juarez, headed for the Kentucky Club on a Friday night. Hats off to Park Kerr, and, yes, a tip of the lens cap to Duane Winfield.

Some time ago I was fortunate enough to bump into the books by Jan Karon's Mitford series. I never ever, in my wildest dreams, imagined that I would or could find another author to compare in almost every way to Ms.Karon. Until JoAnn Levy and her "For California's Gold! Her Sarah Daniels completelly captivated me. She is real, and so very human!She became someone who I knew, not one I simply read about. The events, the happenings, the turmoil, the tragedies, all were not simply constructed descriptions. They catapulted me right into those times, those places, and I shared Sarah's sorrow, her utter despair, kl and her unheralded courage and feelings of fear, guilt and despair. The members of her family became as close to me as they were to her! And when she finally cried, I also cried. And yet, I was so very glad that ultimately she found a measure of peace and acceptance so that she could go on with her life. And so did I. Her most appealing quality was that she definitelyl was NOT a heroine, and the ones she met along the way were definitely not heroes. Thank God for that, and thank you, JoAnn Levy for allowing me to find true and honest ability and talent in a journalistic world filled and overflowing today with incompetence and unmitigated commercialized trash! So JoAnn, I also am pleased to utter what Mr. J.S.Holliday scrawled on your manuscript, "This is good! Ed Stember Sr.

"For California's Gold" filled in a lot of blanks for me, and it should do the same for most readers. We all know the rush west was an extreme ordeal. We all know settling California was an ordeal of another kind. We all know tragedy dogged the steps of the men and women who took on the challenge. But therein lies the unsuspected void in our knowledge, certainly in my knowledge.

Before reading this book I gave no particular thought to the nature of my understanding of these historical events. Now I've learned a new perspective is as beneficial in literature as it is in trying to find the car keys. In one 280-page book, JoAnn Levy has given the whole thing life.

Ms. Levy is a unique writing talent - she has done what few authors have the nerve to try; she has written a historical novel in the first person, and she has done it so beautifully it seems as if the book was indeed written in 1856 by a tempered-by-tragedy woman named Sarah Daniels.

Ms. Levy is remarkably clever in her use of storytelling techniques which successfully weave multiple threads of interest from the first page to the last. The attentive reader will pick up on this finely developed skill in the second sentence of the first chapter. Ms. Levy employs similar techniques throughout, and it is a delight.

This book is such a good read that it is recommended on that basis alone. But if a fascinating and unique look at one of the watershed eras in world history also interests you, then you will be doubly rewarded.

Thank you, Joann, for sharing Sarah Daniels with the rest of the world. I realize that she is a compilation of many of the ladies you found in your research for your earlier books on the Gold Rush, but her character is so real you can just picture her walking through her life with all its joys and sorrows. The numbness she felt at the death of each of her children especially rings true, as I watched my mother do the same thing.

This is Joann's best work yet. I look forward to the next.

I'm not a big fan of detective series because they tend to become robotic in plot and characterization, but the Ross MacDonald/Lew Archer series is an exception. Crisp language, tight plots, and geat dialog make for a gripping story.

A sad sidenote. Don't rent/watch the insipid Paul Newman/Joanne Woodward movie 'loosely' based on the book. Instead of LA they set it in New Orleans and they basically rearranged all the characters into pale versions of their literary counterparts. Just thought I'd let you know.

I hesitate to call this a classic because some people consider "classics" as dull and out-dated. And there's nothing dull or out-dated here (well, maybe that paying $10 to be driven from Las Vegas to L. A. is a bit out of date).

Archer's hired to discover who sent his client's husband a letter accusing her of infidelity. Introduced to the family and friends at a party as a Hollywood agent, he is sensitive to the growing tension and explosive atmosphere. The reader knows of course that somebody's going to be murdered, but these early chapters are among the most skillfully written to build suspense that I've ever read.

Written in 1950, the inclusion of a homosexual couple was quite daring although there is not graphic description, and isn't significant enough a factor of the plot to either offend or attract a reader.

Read this and I'm sure you'll find it on your own list of crime classics.

A Ross MacDonald is like an extremely well crafted 1950's black & white noir movie. Nothing comes through in it's true color, everything is projected in shades of gray, the action is stately yet never drags, and the characters are all vaguely threatening.

All of MacDonald's novels exhibit certain basic themes--tormented families, buried secrets that fester through multiple generations, environmental destruction, and the brutal contrast between rich and poor. The key to MacDonald's long running success was Archers realism and authenticity, MacDonald's ability to craft complex yet understandable stories, his mastery of language, and his ability to generate a specific atmosphere of threatening suspense on a consistent basis.

All of the above referenced themes are present in The Drowning Pool, which I think is MacDonald's best novel, though The Underground Man is right up there as well.

MacDonald's novels aren't just mind candy-reading him is a literary experience. I believe that is why he was successful in a sort of restrained way. Escapists will not get into these books-they are too cerebral. If you want to your books affect you, MacDonald and Archer are your kind of guy's.

A beautiful, seamless blend of yesterday's memories and today's realities I was drawn to follow Ella through her dysfunctional childhood to the one place in her life where she makes a conscious decision. She pulls herself together and takes charge in an effort to find Simon, her missing brother, following her instincts and trusting her strengths. Becoming responsible for her destiny instead of constantly being dragged through the dirt by life's past experiences. It reminds me how fragile and random life is and how brave we sometimes have to be to overcome our weaknesses. A deep and powerful read.

I am ashamed to say that I had never heard of Catherine Ryan Hyde until I saw a trailer for the movie Pay It Forward. I picked up a copy of Pay It Forward (because we all know the book is always better than the movie) and in fairly short succession I read Pay It Forward, Electric God and Walter's Purple Heart. Having liked all three of those titles very much, I tracked down a copy of Funerals for Horses and all I can say is... wow.

Ella's search for her brother and her stubborn cling to sanity will move most readers. But this story will definitely touch any reader whose childhood is something that he or she longs to flee and forget. If your childhood was a place of terror and pain, you will read this book as if you are coming home. You will say "Exactly. That is exactly right."

And if you like horses, well, that's just gravy.

This novel is one of those hidden gems of the literary world. Be glad you are on this page and found it. Read it. You won't regret it.

I've never read anything like it. The author created a unique plot balanced between reality and insanity. While searching for her brother, Ella reminices about her childhood. She uses her past to guide her to her brother. Because of her disease, she slips in and out of reality and into here own world of illusions. It's so in depth and exhilerating. I didn't want to put it down. A wonderful job by Catherine Ryan Hyde.

My only quibble with this book is that the plot verges on something out of Ludlum or (yikes!) Sheldon. But the narrative is wonderful -- smooth and well-paced -- and the characters are interesting and well-drawn. In a field crowded with wooden and poorly-edited clunkers, this was a refreshing find. I hope Mr. Mathes gets noticed by the paperback majors soon -- he deserves it.

This book was incredible. I've read it three times, and every time I get caught up in the story and the characters. My mother read the book, and also loved it. Emma is so well created that I start to feel like I'm living her story, and experiencing what she experiences. I definitely recommend this to everyone!

i read this book in one sitting and couldn't turn the pages fast enough! emma as heroine is alive, spunky and full of zest--her inquisitiveness makes the story happen...a clever title which ties the entire story together!

Like most Falcon hiking guides, this one provides useful and reliable information. The only shortcoming is it doesn't provide comprehensive information on all the trails and destinations. It wouldn't take much to add this info so that a reader who wanted to cobble together a different hike from the ones described in detail could figure out distances and altitudes gained (similar, for example, to AMC guides for hiking in various locales out East).

I purchased this book for a trip to Yosemite that I took earlier this year. The descriptions of the hikes were wonderful and included such key details as where to park and what the water & facility opportunities are on the trails. Another key detail in the book was a breakdown of elevation gain per foot. I used it to help plan my Half Dome hike and it was essential. Unfortunately there was an incident in my pack with the bug spray so I'm online today to purchase this book again to help plan my new conquest - El Capitan.

Great book. Has maps and descriptions for a ton of hikes in Yosemite. Contains a chart of hikes by difficulty, scenery, etc. I'll definitely go with FalconGuide for future hiking books.

When you probate an estate yourself, you're your own lawyer. Fortunately Nissley, et al, and the State of California have made this possible for typical small family estates. Working through our own actual situation, with the help of this book, provided a much-needed education about what to do and what not to do in planning my own estate matters. What the book doesn't address is the difficulty the Executor or representative faces in managing through the attitudes, complaints and opinions of the others affected by the death of a loved one.

This edition seems to have been edited piecemeal to keep up with changing laws and tax matters, and some of the references within the book are incorrect. But my main objection is the unhappy practice in the book of requiring the reader to keep referring to other sections of the book to complete a form or prepare for a filing.

You can buy this with your eyes closed. I'm ain't loaning this one out.

Probate isn't the most exciting subject matter but Nissley will tell you what you need to know to get through it.

I also recommend Mary Randoph's "8 Ways to Avoid Probate".

I ordered several books on estates and what to do after someone passes away; after reviewing all of them, this is THE book I really used. It was the most complete, helpful, and accessible book on the topic. Also, note that it does NOT just deal with Probate -- my situation did not involve probate (fortuntaely!), but I still found this book invaluable in helping me know what to do about all the various matters after my mother passed away. I highly recommend this book.