This is an excellent true story. I think it would be very good for people in the medical and/or caregiving professions to read. Dr. Beisser is very inspirational in his journey to overcome his disability. The concepts in the book that were important to me are those feelings and experiences he relays about being dependent on physical care from nurses and doctors. Specifically, I learned alot from what he said he felt like when they cared for him grudgingly or with indifference; and also how he was affected when they simply would not listen to him. I have taken these words into my life and I always try to remember them when I am caring for someone who is dependent on me. Another important concept is the persistence he embodied. He simply never gave up, even when everybody was telling him to 'throw in the towel'. He did accomplish exactly what he set out to do, despite his obstacles. And finally, the concept of gratitude was BIG in this book. He was grateful even for his disability in the end. As amazing as this sounds, it is a pure and simple truth that we all must be grateful for absolutely everything that happens to us. Dr. Beisser shows the reader this lesson in a big way at the end of the book when he talks about his total acceptance of his circumstances and all the personal growth he has attained from those circumstances.

I'm 25 hispanic female that recently read this book. I just became fascinated for the optimistic attitude and spirit of life that this book has. No words to describe what has done in my life

Arnold Beisser grew up with two life goals: To be a doctor and to be a national tennis champion. At 23, he achieved his first goal; at 24, his second. The year was 1950. Soon after his tennis victory, en route to basic training that would have brought him to Korea as an army doctor, he developed a high fever and was brought to a military hospital. Within 24 hours, he was paralyzed from the neck down. As Beisser puts it, one moment he was a doctor; suddenly he was a patient, requiring an iron lung to breathe. He had contracted polio. This outstanding book examines the funny, sad and philosophical aspects of life with a disability and its social consequences. Particularly fascinating are Beisser's stories of the stigma many people attach to disability. His courtship and marriage, as well as his career as a psychiatrist treating professional athletes, make for compelling reading. Anyone who has struggled in life - because of disability or any other tribulation - will be permanently enriched by this unforgettable memoir.

Since this is a Fodor's guide, you get decent coverage of lodging and dining at the end of the book. What makes the book worthwhile, though, is the photographs. They are plentiful and great. Most are current color photos, but some of the vintage black-and-white (some from Ansel Adams) are excellent. Many of the wineries are shown as well as different aspects of the wine-making business. Even street signs and other everyday activities are included, making it a down-to-earth tour guide and photo book. Very appealing to the eye.

This is a great book on the wine country. Full of some of the most informative prose regarding where to go, how to get there and what to expect. Doerper sets out mini "tours" of the area. My wife and I mapped out our trip by the book and had a wonderful time. The book was right on. Highly recommended!

I would highly recommend this book to anyone visiting Napa and/or Sonoma Valleys. We were able to trust the information in this book and it did cover a lot of information, from: restaurants, vineyards, antique shops and farmer's markets (plus much more). To the author John Doerper, thank you for making our holiday very enjoyable by writing candid and factual information for this guide book.

My husband and I enjoyed a lovely weekend in a cabin that was recommended in this book. We will certainly use it again!

What I especially liked about this book was the author's recommendations for best cabins and cottages for: hiking, fishing, horseback riding, boating, winter sports, families, most unusal, best in desert,best value, most luxurious, best for beach activities, and most seclued. With these recommendations and cabin descriptions we've planned a family vacation, a romantic getaway, a girlfriends retreat, and a star-gazing party with friends. This book is a hit in our household.

Ann Marie Brown's book is beautifully written. It not only gives reviews of quaint out of the way cabins, but is sprinkled with a lot of charming personal observations. Her book is just out, and her review of the one place we stayed at was 'dead on". I would have never found this place without her book!

I love this cookbook, not only because I love the flavors of the wine country and John Ash has a great mix of recipes that convey them, but also because the philosophy behind the recipes relies so heavily on using fresh, seasonal, local ingredients. The recipes are not super-simple, but if you have some cooking experience and are willing to take the time to search for the best ingredients, the rewards are well worth it.

I have used this book more than any other cookbook in my home. I am constantly learning about new, fresh ingredients and the results are really wonderful. Every time I cook using these recipes, my friends ask me for the recipe. I've purchased this book for several friends too - it's a great gift, especially if you live in Northern California. Visiting John Ash's restaurant is a wonderful experience too!

As a collector of cook books and as one who entertains regularly (both for friends and for business - it is not unusual for us to have over a100 people in a month at home for corporate related dinners) I find this book the one that I most often turn to. It is imagnative yet practical, sufficiently different to a lot of theothers that I have and everything that I have tried has been a huge success. Would love to know if John Ash has written another one.

I selected this book from a list given in my college English class. The list of books were all nonfiction so I knew it would be a book based on fact. I knew nothing more. As I read, I could not put this book down. The story takes place beginning in Iowa the year 1849. "Gold fever" was born. The Royce family was on the move from their home to the great golden state of California. Sarah has more passion, faith, and drive than I've ever seen in a book. She is an example indeed of strength and inner peace throughout many challenges in a small amount of time. I was so grateful to see this book is still in print! It was first published in 1932 never meant to be a book at all. It was Sarah's gift to her son. She wrote about her journey using her journal she kept as they traveled. I will buy this book not only for my children, but for gifts as well. By the way, Sarah and her family end up living here, in the Sierra Foothills, and that is where I live! I've never read a story about the Gold Rush or the 49er's. I always thought it would be too depressing. There are sad times in this book, but as you read you can't help but believe with Sarah that they will beat all the odds.

This little gem of a book should be on the shelves at every library. Aside from the likable Sarah, the wonderful social history is very absorbing for those interested in women's lives during the 1850's. Even if you are not particularly interested in the Gold Rush, you will be interested in the experiences of one of our formothers. Buy this as a gift for your daughters.

Joy Melcher, Civil War Lady Magazine

Sarah with husband and daughter, Mary, move to California in 1849. Trusting the God of the Bible, the Royces experience life (and almost death) on the trail to California. Second to the last party to complete the trip into northern California before winter, they eventually settle in Grass Valley. Her son, Josiah Royce, becomes the famous Harvard historian and philospher with new ideas (Royce Hall of UCLA), but his mother, Sarah, retains her faith in the God of the Bible. First hand look at San Francisco and northern California in the 1850's. Sarah is my great-great grandmother and Mary, the little girl in the story, is my great-grandmother. Easy reading and great book to take on a plane. We buy and give these books to many guests at our company ...they are very popular.

I've found the only and best way to travel ever!! I wanted a book that I could use easy fast and dependable, I found it at last! This book has a number of different ways to make travel easy. Everything is organized by category starting with Amusement Parks, Arts and Crafts, Beaches etc. After you find your category look for the city your in then just find the places and read the review. I've talked with the author and she said that her and her three boys and they've been to every place so they could write from personal perspective. In the back four more way to find an awesome place. Every review has hours admission and directions and much more. It's a travel Bible for so. CA. a must have for travelers!!

I have a 10 month old and an 8 year old stepdaughter who visits a few times a year. With this book, I can easily find places they'll both enjoy. The indexes are fantastic too; there's one alphabetical and one by cost and location.

if you are looking for a guidebook of places to take your kids, this is the only one you'll need. it is thorough, gently opinionated, and most importantly, lists absolutely everything of interest from san diego to santa barbara. one really gets the sense that the author has actually checked out every listing - an amazing feat. if you are just visiting the area, this book will probably overwhelm. in fact, its length and breadth make it dense reading and not easily flipped through in the car. it is not organized by location which makes it somewhat hard to use, especially on the fly, but thats my only criticism. a great buy.

This book is great for parents because it's easy to use and it tells you exactly what to do to get the school you want. -- Chine Wong, parent

Choosing a high school is not just up to parents. It's up to teenagers, too! This book will help you get the high school and the future you want. -- Cindy Camacho, student, Wallenberg High School

A much-needed guide through the public school enrollment maze. As a parent and as a former teacher, I wish I'd had a resource like this. -- Tom Ammiano, San Francisco city supervisor

Most students of the Wild West who persist are surprised to find that the real Wild West occurred much sooner than when most of the movies are placed. Calfornia in the 1850s was the most dangerous place and time in America, the classic Wild West period later on was tame by comparison. As usual, history is more interesting and fascinating than fiction and a lot of the roots about the way we think of things were planted as the 49ers struggled to survive in the killing gold fields. A great job of research and a valuable 'must' addition to any serious Western library.

A Review from Wild West Magazine, October 1999:

It is an odd twist of history. Hollywood created the gunfighter myth and placed its heroes primarily in Texas, with overlapping gun-toting cowboys in Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, Montana, Oklahoma and the Dakotas. Yet, when we think of California in terms of the Wild West, we usually think of someone salting a gold mine...period. It's high time, on the 150th anniversary of the Forty-Niners' rush to the far coast, to rethink Old California.

San Francisco attorney and historian John Boessenecker has done as much as anyone to change and illuminate California's Wild West image. With intense research and fine writing skills, Boessenecker brings us gunfighters, thieves, assassins, gamblers and highwaymen, the likes of which one seldom reads about. And these are not just ordinary ruffians and ne'er-do-wells; these people stole from other folks in a wide variety of ways and made an art out of shooting and cutting up friends as well as enemies.

So while we have plenty of biographies of Billy the Kid and lots of reruns on the OK Corral, it's refreshing that Boessenecker presents solid information on interesting but mostly overlooked California characters and events. The author says that the decade of turbulence and bloodshed that followed the discovery of gold "has not been equaled before or since in the history of peacetime America." In the epilogue, Boessenecker presents some murder-rate figures that lend support to that statement. He concludes that the gold seekers' ready resort to violence "left an enduring mark on our nation's history."

If you would like a good read (367 pages) about how gold fever ignited a rush not only of families, but of prostitutes, feuds, lynchings, duels, bare-knuckle prize fights, and vigilantes, then this is the place to start, the book to open.

Leon Metz

Boessenecker's Gold Rush era-California is wilder than Tombstone, Dodge City and Deadwood on a Saturday night Fourth of July weekend. I thought I knew the Old West, but I didn't, because I didn't know Old California. Now I do. The chapter on Joaquin Murrieta is worth the price of the book and clears away a cloud of unknowing about California's most legendary bandit. I hope this is just volume one. --- Allen Barra, author of Inventing Wyatt Earp

Gold Fever by Roz Schanzer is a terrific book, not only with the information that it covers, but with its glorious illustrations. The children I teach are totally entralled when we read this book together. Hope to see more great work from this author/illustrator in the future.

The story of the California gold rush is told through (short) actual quotes from those involved, arranged in a sequential manner. This non-fiction book is entertaining and informative and reads like a comic book. It is a historical edition and has excellent color illustrations. Recommended reading for 1st through the 6th grade, as well as the teachers of these grades,

The quotes make the telling very readable and enjoyable. I like the style of paper and the way Ms Schanzer did the pictures, told the story and made the reader feel like he/she had more information and a feel for the times. Good work!

Terrific. A sleeper. Full of intriguing Hollywood golf lore and L.A. land history. Captivating photos, but what kept me up late was the text that brings the pictures alive. I found this a surprisingly substantive, well researched piece of work: a topical history of L.A. from an oblique angle--the conception, building and peopling of the city's great golf courses and golf clubs. On top of that it's an eyeball on the entertainment world through the leveling prism of golf: Stars, producers, directors striving to shine or at least //look// good at the maddening game. Easy, amusing writing. Who is the scratch-handicap actor who plays with his shoelaces untied so as not to overswing?

I thoroughly enjoyed the great photos, and the interesting stories in this book. It's rare to find a golf book this entertaining, and well-researched.

I loved the photos, and thoroughly enjoyed the stories of Hollywood's elite. For golfers like me who play the local municipal course, I wish I could tee it up on these great courses, and swing away with the stars!