What a joy and relief this adorable, witty book is during these trying times! Anyone who loves Moose on Frasier will just not be able to get enough of this delightful tome, which continues the show's wit onto the printed page. I was simply enchanted from cover to cover. Truly!

This book had me rolling on the floor! It is wonderful to know that a dog with such a difficult beginning can become the star he is today. Ms. Decagny had her work cut out for her when taking Moose on, and it seems her work has paid off. The little Moose-isms in the book alone make it worth reading. Fabulous book.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was SO funny. Typical Jack Russell Terrier attitude! I guess my favorite part was Moose's phone call to Connie; it was especially hilarious! The part about Tommy, the Morgan Gelding, and how Connie (reluctantly--ha, ha) parted with Moose at the clinic were really funny. I'm sure all of the stories are true, and so typical of Jack Russells. I AM still laughing & telling everyone about the stories in Moose's book, so I guess it was worth the money! Maybe they should make it into a kids' movie, which I could go see. I just LOVE Moose! He's one of a kind!

Elaine's writing makes you laugh and cry and wish you were sitting with her in the park! I had to put the book down so I wouldn't finish the whole book the first day!

"My Peaceful Forest" is hilarious! Give yourself a treat and turn off that computer and cell phone for an hour, and I guarantee you will smile all the way through this refreshing book. If we all viewed life through the eyes of this author, society would be stress-free indeed! It's easy to relate to the lighthearted memoirs of this REAL family. Elaine Breen epitomizes the phrase, "stop and smell the roses".

I could not put My Peaceful Forest by Elaine Breen down until I had read the entire book! Whether you're a resident of Pacific Grove, California, or not, Elaine's insight and humor will keep you turning the pages. My Peaceful Forest will make you smile, will tug at your heart a little but mainly is a simple tale of life and it's ups and downs from a Mother's, Grandmother's, and Wife's perspective.

Frankly, this book cost more than I usually pay for a bottle of wine. If this book were a bottle of wine, I would buy a case of it and share it with my very best friends. After savoring this classy book the wine you experience will never be the same.

Even though Steven Rothfeld's photographs of the Napa Valley and Chef Michael Chiarello's gorgeous presentation of some outstanding cuisine are very pleasing to the eye, the most impressive thing about this book is the history of Napa Valley that unfolds between the photographs.

This book is a beautiful seminar on how amazing it is that you can actually buy so many good bottles of wine. Although I have been to Napa Valley on several occasions and have taken more than a few tours through the various wineries, I did not fully appreciate all that is involved in making a good vintage.

The history of this famous valley and the many trials and tribulations of the wine makers along with the fickle role of Nature that goes into that bottle of wine you just uncorked will make that first sip a lot more meaningful.

This book is an absolute delight. The sheer intimacy of the stories make you feel like an insider, and it provides an insight to the pioneering spirit that has created an industry. I was completely (and very pleasantly) unprepared for how much I enjoyed this book. It is truly a treasure.

This book is amazing. The stories told by the families are so rich and real that one truly begins to understand why the Napa Valley is so special. Michael Chiarello really does such a nice job with the families in the style and respect he shows (just as I have seen in his Tra Vigne Cookbook, and his PBS shows - Season by Season, and Michael Chiarello's Napa). The photography really brings one right into parts of the Napa Valley that have only been known previously by the people that live there. The recipes are so special too, as they come from the kitchens of these families and from Chiarello. This is simply the best book ever on this very special and beautiful place...America's Tuscany.

I received this book as a gift, and read it quickly, almost as a travelogue, wondering what it would be like to live in this vividly described area. Later, I visited Sonoma County and used the book as a guide. I visited a cheese factory, two farmers' markets, a small winery and an artisanal herb garden, led to each location by the informative guide with which I had been gifted. I used several of the clear, easy to follow-and execute-recipes with food bought from the sources suggested in The Cook's Tour. After returning home, I contine to read the book to remind myself of the glorious visit to Sonoma County, and as an inspiration for food purchases and discoveries I would normally have never attempted.

I had my eyes opened when I purchased the original Cook's Tour many years ago. Being a native of Sonoma County, I was fascinated by all the things I didn't know about my home county. Michele gave a face to things I had passed by blindly for years...farms, cheesemakers, gourmet stores, festivals. In the new edition of Cook's Tour she presents us with an ever richer trip through the wonders of Sonoma. She teaches us about the wine appellations and what crops thrive right along with the grapes of that region. She includes political information that supports the farmer and sustainable agriculture. She updates us on new cheesemakers, new purveyors and celebrates the staying power of the old. Once again Michele gives a face to Sonoma County, but this time she introduces us by name and helps us start a conversation. Her recipes are wonderful, making use of all the bounty that is available locally. I feel the circle of belonging to a place close as I drive through the country she writes of with such affection and then buy produce and ingredients, ultimately cooking dishes that are truly local in origin and taste. "The New Cook's Tour of Sonoma" makes me grateful that I live in this magic place. Thanks to Ms Jordan for opening my eyes even wider.

Sonoma County, California is a very special place. From the Pacific ocean on the west to the ridgeline east of the Valley of the Moon, Sonoma County almost has it all.

Michele Anna Jordan helps bring this special place alive with this book. She's an extraordinary writer who infuses her stories and recipes with great commentary.

This particular cookbook is among my favorites -- because it's so much more than just a cookbook. The sidebar commentaries about places in Sonoma County help bring the area to life in my mind's eye.

Highly recommended!

OK, if the humor of the title of this review evades you, this is not the "book" for you. If you think the whole situation is funny, then get this book.

Page after page of doodles and notes that blow political correctness out of the water, and made me laugh out loud. This product is fall down funny.

Again, a classic that is out of print. Shame, shame, shame.

Here it is, four years after I first spent a summer reading and re-reading it with my friends (one of whom must still have it!). I've got to read it again. Maybe e-bay?

without a doubt, the funniest collection of drawings and text on the o.j. situation. a comical view into the demented mind of a lunatic!

From TV to movies to a dark history of mystery noir, we just can't get our fill of that slice of humanity that passes for L.A. underbelly. And when we're talking L.A. Low, we're talking L.A. Law. For some reason, the lawyers getting theirs in this book never come off as quite slime-ball enough for my taste. But in fairness, there's a balancing act going on here between the ongoing plottings of a serial killer (so bland he blends) and his deserving victims. It's hard to tell who the real bad guys are without a good detective so Cannon delivers up her most well rounded protagonist yet - Joanna Davis, an empty nesting middle aged career cop who gets the case of a lifetime - especially after it becomes intensely personal. Cannon's SoCal circus is populated with a great sideshow of characters all given their marching orders by the masterful mystery ringmaster. How she loves to get crack that wit. On Viki Vale, trophy wife: "The lady shopped at some classy stores, but she had a gift for finding the sleaziest apparel each had to offer. Basically this was a room to get naked in. Trash will out." In the whatever happened to Vicki Vale category, hey? What did happen to Vicki Vale? No matter. Another character. "Nothing in this office indicated that its occupant had a personality. Including the occupant." Or the Midwest sheriff. "The big, barrel-chested sheriff wore no overcoat and his improbable uniform featured a lot of silly cords and complicated braids and shiny hardware. He looked like an organ grinder's monkey on steroids." Or a victim's wife as "an ebony stunner". Good stuff. This is a well plotted, highly engaging and entertaining read that cascades to a clever and unpredictable action climax. Mystery trolls will appreciate that this is an honestly written caper - the planted clues all come together in the end as Cannon gets the last laugh. Sometimes the author's sharp wit works against her; i.e. - "The Atterminator" - the name the local then national press ascribes to the lawyer killing antagonist works against giving the book a really gritty anchor. The female detective is almost too perennially optimistic - is this woman too nice to be a cop? I don't know. But she's likable. While investigating a twelve step program, she observes "Nobody had founded Cigars Anonymous, a program she considered desperately overdue." She doesn't have the angst or sex drive of Robert Crais' lady cop in L.A. Requiem and the only reason I bring that up is cause this book is close to being as captivating as that great piece of L.A. noir, imho. Any comparison in that company is pure compliment. Open Season on Lawyers is a good read that really gets up on its legs after the case breaks, running all the way to a heart pounding finish.

If you've ever had a less-than-happy experience with an attorney, you'll LOVE this book! It's everyone's fantasy about how to rid oneself of an enemy. Or perceived enemy, at any rate.

Joanna Davis is a wonderful creation; a police detective on the LAPD force who is tough yet sensitive, smart yet cautious, feminine but strong, a very young grandmother and an almost-menopausal woman, all rolled into one delightful bunch of contradictions. Any woman who reads this book would like to have a Joanna in her life as a friend.

Of course, almost anyone who reads this book would probably like to have the 'perp' as a friend, too, as long as one stayed on his good side. He's clever and funny and thoughtful and kind to the elderly; it's just most of the legal profession of which he's not overly fond.

This is a delightful book, satisfying in every way; it's well-written with a most unusual plot, right up to and including the last page, and peopled by characters you won't soon forget. I'm off to find more books by this author who was previously unknown to me. No longer, though.

This was an extremely fast paced book with infinite innuendoes. The suspect is revealed early on, but the mystery is at large until the very end. Ms Cannon appears to have an in depth knowledge of the LAPD workings and she skillfully uses this to her advantage. Warning - this is a hard book to put down!

With the overtones of Greek Tragedy, the themes of the sins of the father reaching the son, OVER THE SHOULDER takes a lyrical and heartfelt view of what happens when the son begins learning about his father, whom he never really knew. Occasionally overeaching with respect to the pseudo-existential musings of Choice, Chang (Choice/Chang? Choice=Sartre?) delves into the world of bodyguards and hidden secrets, of guarding the body of truth, of the "choice" of the past and the "choice" of the guard. We can read this novel on a few different levels, the easiest being the thriller elements, the more complicated being the issues of race and family legacies, of the disjunction between generations and how the past interferes with the relationships of the present. I was reminded of Walker Percy since the elements of the Search (Percy's term), congregation, and connection are all present. With Percy, in the Moviegoer, we have movie culture as a frame with which to view Binx's relationship with the world, whereas in Over the Shoulder we have the world of security protection (protect Allen's security, his blanket of armor) as the frame. I'm afraid most serious readers might avoid this novel for its lurid cover (What is a novel of "intrigue"? When is a good novel not "intriguing"?), but for those interested in a complex and complicated story with thematic elements echoing Sophocles, all layered with a very well-written mystery, you might try this one.

I've read Mr. Chang's other two novels (one for an Asian-American lit class, another on my own), and was really surprised to see him try this kind of novel. It's a thriller and love-story and it's so different from his other works. I really liked it. At first I was confused, not even sure it was the same author, but then I saw the same kinds of themes he handles, like dealing with past secrets and people being lonely and isolated. I also saw him turning up the plot elements, which was fun. I think most people will like this novel a lot, because it's exciting, and also looks deep into what it means to be alone in the world. I guess I kind of fell for Allen Choice.

This absolutely terrific novel totally subverted my expectations of what an "Asian American" or crime novel ought to be. It's engrossing, fast-paced and intriguing in ways that you won't expect. The crime format provides Chang an opportunity to explore race, class and family without being bogged down by the weight of those issues. And Chang fleshes out Allen's character and touches upon racial issues without ever derailing the fast-paced storyline. And yet, at the same time, this is NOT simply a crime novel, either. It's a blend of both--something really innovative and different.

Don't be put-off because Chang has the courage to move away from stock issues played out by other KA writers. While some people think that Chang Rae Lee is be the best KA writer out there, let it be said: Leonard Chang is BETTER than Chang Rae Lee. In fact, he's a better fiction writer than most of the Asian American writers out there as well. Beacuse he's a WRITER'S writer, i.e. he cares about his craft and not about selling out to mainstream tastes of what an Asian American novel should be. Of course, because he doesn't write about KAs whose mothers happen to be comfort women, intergenerational conflict or "honor killings," Chang will be somewhat underrated and underappreciated by those who prefer sappy melodramas about Asian Americans. Which is a shame because he's one of the most talented and interesting writers to ever come out of Korean America. Read Over the Shoulder. It's truly an immensely enjoyable and exciting novel that will be sure to blow you away.

Please don't go to Yosemite without this book!!!!!
It tells you everything you need to know. With or without a camera,this one you must have.

I love this book!! Thank-you to Michael Frye for taking on this project. I hope he goes to other national parks and writes more books. Michael not only shows photos and tells where to get them, he goes into great detail about what time of day, type of film, use of filters, depth of field, exposure... everything a "professional photographer-in-the-making" can use.

...It has illustrations for all kinds of photographic techniques including advice on seasons, film, lenses needed, important time of days etc. Definitely worth buying it. You can finish reading this book in couple of hours in car while somebody else is driving. i did the same. In my opinion it would really help if the authur included some kind of readmap you can follow so that u can be at right places at right time. (although considering the vastness of yosemite, i am sure it will be a difficult job) All in all great little book. i would recommend to buy it in advance...to take full advantage of authur's suggessions.

Spicer and Ginsberg influenced one another, as is clearly shown in this book. Ginsberg stole a lot of his ideas from Spicer, but he was still the greater poet because he touched upon the conversation of his times, while Spicer went whacko and had no real impact on his culture. Academics have taken up Spicer, but this has again had no echo at all in the popular culture.

It's particularly interesting to study the automatic side of Spicer's poetics from surrealism forward -- the relinquishing of choice for a ouija board automaticism that resulted in odd nonsense that probably did not come from the dead, but resulted in an arcane verse that did indeed catalyze some of the lazier aspects of SF poetry but which was a dead end.

Magisterial biography that brings to life a tormented alcoholic who was not even trying to be nice, or even well-dressed, enough, to enter into the public forum.

His best work is the discussions he offered in The House that Jack Built -- astounding to see what he could do when he DID enter into the public conversation. Too often in his poetry he seems to be mumbling to himself. Poets need to reconnect to the real world -- because the world is real -- it has an ecology and texture, and the poets who got this will survive. Others form dead ends into their lost selves.

Gnosticism is a dead end.

Poets in the 1950s and 1960s have been well served by some of their biographers, and in this thrilling critical treatment of Jack Spicer and the poets of the San Francisco Renaissance, Ellingham and Killian join the ranks of Peter Davison (The Fading Smile: Boston Poets from Lowell to Plath) and Bill Berkson and Joe LeSeur (Homage to Frank O'Hara) in magically capturing the soul of an important school in the poetic ferment of those years. The San Francisco circle around Spicer was intense, prolific and inspired, but they didn't get the publicity that the New York poets received or that the Beats had showered on them. Lack of media attention didn't stop them. They were dedicated to a pure vision of poetry as an almost religious vocation. On his hospital death bed in 1965 (he died at 40 from acute alcohlism), Spicer told friend Warren Tallman, "I was trapped inside my own vocabulary." His genius/mania to use that vocabulary in service of the Muse produced great work and reminded others of the seriousness of their purpose. Spicer, in all his contradictions and drives, leaps from these pages. The book as a whole bristles with the very energy it celebrates, both poetic and sexual (intrigue was in their blood), and is essential reading for all of us interested in the circles that nurture poetry in every creative center. As if that is not enough, the quotations from a vast number of interviews of the surviving participants make this a delicious oral history as well as a compendium of hair-raising gossip of the wild times in North Beach before tourists took it over fom artists.

I have read Poet Be Like God, and I wish neither to rate it (but there's no option available that allows one to opt out of the rating game) nor review it, but to make a correction to the idiotic Kirkus review: Jack Spicer was NOT a "Beat" poet. There were a group of Beat poets in San Francisco in the late 1950s, early 1960s (e.g.,Bob Kaufman), but Spicer wasn't one of them. His intentions in poetry were different from theirs; naturally, so was his aesthetic. Spicer was part of a triumverate of poets that included Robert Duncan and Robin Blaser who met at the end of World War II in Berkeley, Ca., and were sometimes known as the Berkeley Renaissance group, or more simply, and more accurately, as part of the San Francisco poetry scene (which was part of the New American Poetry movement). That the Kirkus reviewer could make such an elementary and stupid mistake should be taken as a clear indicator of the idiocy of the rest of the Kirkus piece of schlock.

Everything you need to know about starting a small business in California is in here. What legal structure to choose, which agencies you need to deal with, what forms you need and where to get them, web addresses, phone numbers, and all the details.

It also has a wealth of information on running a business, including information on accounting, taxation, and employees. It's well organized and easy to read.

The only gaps are in some of the details on forming LLCs and corporations. The reader is referred to other Nolo books for the gritty details. If you're forming a partnership or sole proprietorship -- probably the most common types for "cottage industry" -- the book is reasonably complete.

This book is easy to read and follow. It has a complete list of things you need to do to set up your own business and some good advices. Highly recommended!

This is my first book review, because this is the first book I've purchased where I've truly felt moved to tell people how excellent it is. If you are starting up a small business in California, this book is invaluable. It tells you where to find all of the information you'll need to start up your business, in easy to understand terms. Also includes a CD-ROM with lots of forms. All of her advice is really helpful and I find myself going back to the book all the time. Just knowing it's there makes me feel better!

She includes URLs to web sites with information - and even tells you what other books to get on a subject she doesn't cover too in-depth. And all the information you need is easy to find.

5 stars!