This book is a work of sheer genius. It made me laugh and tugged at my heart strings. I have never read a book like this before. It's almost a hymm or prayer. She must have had help from the angels in the universe. I did not want to put it down. I wanted it to go on and on. Oprah Winfry should review it. She would love it. This is a gift for people from age 10 to age 100. This book should get the Newberry Book prize. It deserves it. I have read works of hers before. But this one takes the cake!

...

Kelly Easton is certainly set to be our next star of young female adult fiction. Her book is an absolute delight to read and digest. She captures beautifully the nuances of being a teenage girl and growing up in an uncertain world, America. Her use of language is gifted and insightful and utterly captures adolescence. It's hard to believe Ms. Easton didn't take her own diary entries from her childhood. That's how good she is!

Easton's The Life History of a Star is one the most amusing books I've read in years. The heroine, Kristin Folger is a wise, cynical, and vulnerable teengaer. Her observations on adolescence, the universe, and her dysfunctional family made me laugh out loud, and had tears in my eyes. A wonderful and compelling book. I have purchased several copies for my friends.

For those who enjoy digging in the dirt or simply admiring gardens, Amy Stewart's From the Ground Up is a charming read. The book offers many practical tips but its appeal is more than a "how to" manual. The reader shares Ms. Stewart's excitement in planting her first flowers and veggies in the ocean climate of Santa Cruz, CA, discovering the hard way what really works. The author shops for soil amendments and ladybugs the way some women revel in a Saks Fifth Avenue sale. Recipes using garden bounty pepper the narrative. The mood is like a cozy chat between friends. All this unfolds against a backdrop of a roller coaster next door, tourists stealing plants and cats gamboling in the greenery. Curl up in a comfy chair in a pleasant spot and enjoy the gardening expoeriences of Ms. Stewart from dreamer to doer.

Amy Stewart captures the essence of gardening and living in Santa Cruz, CA. This is a gentle and graceful book that will make you want to run to your local garden center and buy everything, then go home and spend the whole weekend getting dirty. You will greatly enjoy this book regardless of the size or state of your garden or yard. A wonderful read, very well written, almost poetic at times...you will love it.

As I read From the Ground Up I felt torn between the desire to rush out and start gardening and the equally compelling desire to stay in my chair and continue reading.

Amy Stewart makes gardening come alive and she makes reading about gardening fun, both for real gardeners, and non-gardners, like me. I was reminded of Calvin Trillen's, Alice Lets Eat. Trillen made me yearn to join him in the search for the perfect fish boil. Stewart makes you want to be down in the dirt with her digging, laughing and learning.

I would highly recommned the book to anyone who enjoys clever and skilled writing. The fact that the book is crammed with gardening information becomes the icing on the cake. The cake is the writing and the world it lets you enter.

Banned in California schools because ultra-conservative parents are afraid of having their children discuss its marginally erotic contents, this novel deserves to be read and re-read. One way I evaluate the value of a book is by its ability to tolerate multiple readings. This one does--for any one serious about discovering childhood's unspoken secrets or serious about literature that dares to shed light on areas where fiction has not previously been permitted to go.

Everyone knows that the best (movies, music, books, television shows) are not the most popular of their kind. Instead people flock to the crap in life. You want to know why? Cause most people are complete morons who do not understand good things when they see them. Because of this great books like Richard Ferri's Blossom River Drive are not well known throughout the nation. In truth, BRD is one of the best books I have ever read. Ferri masterfully brings us into the mind of a young boy coming to terms with the world and people around him. This alone is enough to make the book great. Although national attention may still not come for awhile read this book now. You will not regret it.

At first, on the surface, this novel appears simple and direct; it is--and yet it manages to introduce the reader into an amazing world where children initiate each other into the world of erotic experience. This is also an world where adults are initiating each other into previously untested waters of treachery and betrayal. The author's writing is a laser beam of truth. A wonderful book which will become an instant classic.

i first met jim quillen when i visited alcatraz on the 18th of march 1995 i talked with him a while and bought his book from him the book is really easy to read and gives a great outlook of his life from tragedy to tragedy as soon as i started reading i could not put it down congratulations on finnishing the rest of your life so well all the best jim phylip a visitor to alcatraz

I just want to start by saying that this book is the best that I have read about Alcatraz. It tells you about how hard life really was on the island. This book also tells you about one mans life that led him to reside behind the unescapeable walls of the most infamous prison in history. In my opinion Mr. Quillens book is the best! I have known him for about five years now and I think the only better way to hear about Alcatraz is to hear Mr. Quillen talk about it himself. If you ever get a chance to visit the island stop by the first desk you see and there you will find Jim Quillen. He is a very soft spoken, kind, and gentle man. Also he is one of the best people that I know. I consider myself very fortunate to have a friend like Mr. Quillen.

I just want to start by saying that this book is the best that i have read about alcatraz. It tells you about how hard life really was on the island. This book also tells you about one mans life that led him to reside behind the unescapeable walls of the most infamous prison in history. In my opinion Mr. Quillens book is the best! I have known him for about five years now and i think the only better way to hear about alcatraz is to hear Mr. Quillen talk about it himslef. If you ever get a chance to visit the island stop by the first desk you see and there you will find Jim Quillen. He is a very soft spoken, kind and gentle man. Also he is one of the best people that I know. I consider myself very fourtunate to have a friend like Mr. Quillen.

Faith is known as a powerful force to enable one to overcome emotional and psychological barriers that would deny their humanity. Jarvis Masters shares with us his spiritual transformation in a setting that is life denying. His poignant stories gives one insight on the culture of prison life on death row.

Of particular interest is Jarvis himself. He is an incarcerated Black man whose embracing of Vyrayana Buddhism has enabled him to move beyond the violence of prison life. Usually American Buddhism is associated with a white intellectual elite group which appears to ignore the sufferings of those incarcerated. Islam has been known as the religion of choice for jailed Black men while Christianity has provided religious solace and comfort to those imprisoned.

Buddha's visit to death row and Jarvis offers a new view of Buddhism. It has broken through its chains of exclusivisity and has offered those who are incarcerated the hope of finding freedom in the worst of circumstances. Jarvis' sharing of his practice of Buddhism is a testament to the great power of a faith to make a difference in one's life. This is a book to be read by all people interested in the transformative power of religion in today's prisons.

In Finding Freedom, author and San Quentin death-row inmate Jarvis Jay Masters compiles a heart-wrenching, funny, and sometimes profane series of anecdotal essays which might make for a simple read were it not for the author's spiritual transformation. If you are looking for a treatise for or against capital punishment or the values or demerits of prison reform, this is not the book for you. Instead, Masters portrays his prison life plainly, and without posturing, religious "one-upmanship", or political commentary. Instead, he tells of his own day-to-day existence and that of his fellow prisoners without the judgment most of us would inject were we in his position. Despair and his probable death are interwoven subtly, but seemingly without guile. His chronicle of improbable transformation from criminal to Buddhist practitioner is applicable to anyone struggling to find a spiritual homestead, and makes the book easy to relate to whether or not the reader shares a similar background with the author. Without explicitly making the intention known, he teaches us all that we are prisoners behind walls of our own erection, and that the only way to escape our prison is to look within.

Not your everyday prisoner's memoir! Jarvis Masters' stories from the "belly of the beast" are well-observed, written with a lot of flair, and often hilariously funny. He has spent a third of his life on death row, yet somehow finds the strength and spirit to grow beyond those walls with his mind and heart, through his life and the stories he shares with us. A truly inspiring book -- I bought it for several of my friends, and they are telling me that they have been distributing it around their own circle. This is not a political book nor an anti-death penalty manifesto, yet it makes its case quietly and simply through the personality of the writer. I can't see how anyone could read it and still be convinced that this man (who didn't kill anyone) deserves to be put to death by the State of California.

River of Souls is a fast paced story of the American west, that is full of historical nuggets. The characters are colorful and rich. The author does a great job of weaving the lives of his characters into the fabric of the events of the times. The author vividly shows the landscape, freedom and harsh justice of that era. It's a good, fun read.

River of Souls has a great combination of historical facts and fictional characters. The plot is solid and the story moves quickly. The dialog is little hard to follow at first , but is acurate and fun. The main charcters are brought to vivd life and you find yourself caring deeply about what happens to them. The author hooks you in to wanting more at the end by not tying up all the lose ends. Will Pete and the girl fall in love? Will Black Hess arise to take his revenge on the family that has defeated him twice? If you want to escape for a while and learn about the early South West, read River of Souls!

River of Souls transports the reader into the real southwest and uses this as a backdrop for exploring coming of age issues in a turbulent time. None of the western stereotypes exist, so when the reader connects with tangential facts and events, it seems all the more real and satisfying. The historical reality combined with the interpersonal intensity of the characters make this a surprisingly enjoyable read.

drug rehab right between the eyes that pulls no pun ches and shows us where we need to go next

Over 2 million Americans in prison, another million each year arrested on drug charges, economic development tied grimly to building prisons and jails. America made a wrong turn somewhere. It isn't like we don't know where and when. It was when we lost faith in the ability of therapists to treat addicts, became afraid and decided they must go to jail and for longer and longer periods of time. Those who understand addiction know that jail sentences do not cure it, regardless of the length. But, judges and prosecutors and victims and voters don't care. They want to feel safe. So the burden falls on those of us who believe drug treatment is a better alternative. And our confidence is shaken by pretty low success rates. Lonny Shavelson has discovered what most have missed. We cannot clean up the addicts until we clean up the treatment system. The system has built a career on convincing us that if someone does not do well in recovery it is not the fault of the therapy or therapist. "The addict just didn't want it badly enough," they say. Not true, Shavelson argues. His book is a must read for policymakers looking for what Shavelson calls, "the elusive secret to effective rehab." It is coerced treatment, make 'em go and make 'em stay long enough for it to work. But...and this is the key to Shavelson's book...the "secret lies...not only in coercing addicts into programs, but in coercing the programs to do rehab right." No legislator or governor should spend another nickel on treatment until they read this book and put it to work in the treatment system. Treatment folks should read it as a "self help" guide. Hold up the mirror to your face! For all of you, a curious thing will happen as you read this book. You will come to understand that no one just becomes an addict. Sure some make bad choices but for most the bad choices were made for them. Childhood traumas, sexual abuse, genetic predisposition. As you read about the lives of the 5 addicts Shavelson tells us about, you find yourself...caring. If we are going to meet this challenge, that is what we must do. Caring is the elusive answer. We must care enough to do what we need to do. For anyone who is involved in the substance abuse issues at any level, this book is required reading. Wonderful book.

This skillfully written account of the struggles of five addicts, each of whom the author followed for several years, is not only informative about the promises and perils of rehab, but incredibly moving in its portrayal of courageous attempts to put wrecked lives back together. Set in San Francisco's maze of competing bureaucracies, with forays into homeless encampments and drug lairs as well as welfare hotels and a suburban home, the book makes a powerful argument for a coordinated approach to treatment that meets an addict's long-term psychological and physical as well as short-term behavioral needs. A surprising finding is that people mandated to treatment by drug courts do better than people who "demand" it: the latter are not only stonewalled by hard-pressed administrators, but abandoned to their old environments after "graduating" from whatever program they managed to get into; whereas the drug courts place their clients, track them tenaciously, and give them chance after chance to succeed, often in the face of public opposition.

Lonny Shavelson is also tenacious in following his chosen addicts, several of whom lapse and relapse and are all but lost to the streets. Each of these five is lit from within, at least briefly. One falls through the cracks, but most appear to have been saved, if not through grace, through their own hard work and the faith of a few people in the system...along with the author. This is a riveting read, about people who demand our attention, respect, and empathy. Others in similar circumstances deserve better from the system.

"The California Pizza Kitchen Cookbook" is a great book to read, with interesting notes about the great pizzas served at the California Pizza Kitchen restaurants along with interesting recipes of the pizzas. The recipes appear complicated, with a long list of ingredients one might not have stocked in their home, but it is somewhat of an adventure to test out the recipes.

At a recent family cookout, our host used these recipes for CPK pizzas and they were amazing! Mind you, it took time. In fact, he prepared the dough the night before and spent quite a bit of time assembling all the ingredients. But it was a fun process because everyone was sitting around the kitchen enjoying conversation while others chopped ingredients or checked the oven. Some things are simply worth the extra time and effort. If you are looking for something quick & easy, this isn't your cookbook. But if you want to take the time for great pizza, plus maybe add a little creativity of your own, the CPK cookbook is perfect. The salad recipes are wonderful, too.

My sister gave me this book along with a Calphalon Pizza Pan and a Bread machine as a wedding gift. We use the bread machine to make our own pizza dough, use the pizza pan to cook the pizza in our own oven, and use the cookbook to make the most amazing and delicious pizzas to serve right in our own home! I use these recipes for entertaining all the time and they are really easy, absolutely yummy (even better than eating at the restaurant), and always get rave reviews from my guests! Thank you CPK for sharing these with us!

This book totally captivated me. I was familiar with most of the areas traveled and found him to be right on target with his descriptions. I love Baja and enjoyed learning the experiences he encountered and how he tackled all the many hardships he faced.

Travel books about daring trips to places filled with hardships erupt like volcanic ash from the "featured on sale" sections of bookstores. Authors fill the shelves, as they have for a dozen decades, with endless sagas of how they climbed-a-mountain-and-everybody-died, why they sailed-the-Pacific-in-a-sea-of-storms, and even all-the-good-reasons-why-people-should-not-do-the-dangerous-pastime-the-author-does.

"Into a Desert Place" features many of the hallmarks of this unfortunate genre of "we nearly died" non-fiction. Baja California's alien landscapes, spiked with impassable mountains, rattlesnakes and boojum trees, certainly qualifies in many regions as a "need a sense of high adventure and a contempt for danger to tour there" area. Yet, "Into a Desert Place" does not repel in the way that "body count on Mount Everest" books can. On the contrary, this book simply charms. "Into a Desert Place" is a complete revelation--an accessible, winning account of how adverse conditions can be met by those most basic values--determination, a good attitude and, indeed, a good heart.

Mr. Mackintosh manages to convey the hardships of the trip, the kindness of most of the people he met along the way, and his own struggles to complete his quest, all without undue sentimentality or boastfulness. The book has a folksy, simple feel about it, but it is anything but a simple book. Instead of the usual travel book conceits based on machismo or "sheer pluck", we see Baja through the eyes of Everyman. We need more books like "Into a Desert Place" and fewer books about how many innocent tourists drowned at sea. We all belong in the desert place to which this book removes us. After reading this book, the reader may not wish to walk around Baja, but the reader might well wish to find that place of quiet, and think a bit.

I bought this book years ago, after reading a typewritten review in one of those "Doomsday Is Comming--Soon!" 'zines. Most of the books reviewed in it were those grim tomes about how to survive by eating nuts and berries after The Big One gets dropped and wipes out 50% of our population. Mr. McKintosh's book proved to be a pleasant suprise--a well- written account, an out-and-out adventure, a walk across the remote desert of Lower California on a shoestring budget.

When he got the idea to actually Do It, McKinstosh was slightly pudgy Scottish college professor whose main exercise seemed to have been lifting a bottle of beer to his lips while he watched football (that's soccer to us Yanks) on the telly. By the time he completed his several month journey, he was lean and sun-baked, the antithesis of his former couch potato self.

In the process, I'd say Mr. McKintosh grew, and actually "found the handle". He figured out what he was about, and what he wanted to do with his life.

For me, some of the most enjoyable parts were those describing how he begged equipment from manufacturers and outfitters, and how he raised funding along the way by writing accounts that he posted to newspapers and magazines.

Of course, there's The Adventure itself, including an amusing account of how he got sloshed from booze he obtained from gathering whiskey bottles that had washed ashore after being thrown overboard from cruise ships. (He sagely notes that staggering around in the boonies at night is risky business.)

Along the way, McKintosh gets befriended by all sorts of interesting, impoverished, and invariably generous folk. Those accounts have a Beginner's Mind freshness to them as well.

Since his original trek, McKinstosh has acquired a modicum of fame. He lectures and writes for the Baja Travel Club, and has since written another book about a second journey with a burro for company. That's a nice piece as well, but I prefer the freshness that only comes from seeing things for the first time.

I'm an old Baja hand myself, and over the years, I've collected a lot of books about Lower California. This one ranks at the very top.

So buy it, read it, and enjoy the photographs. I'm sure you'll find the money well spent.

I'm a cross country skier and avid hiker. I had never been to the Eastern Sierra before and this book piqued my interest. All the trails listed were true to their descriptions. You can really get the flavor of the area from this book. It includes driving tours, fishing spots and tips on how to fit in like a local. It's fun to read and I definitely recommend buying it.

About a decade ago, before I started an academic career, my wife and I reviewed travel guidebooks. We published several books on the subject, the last one covering about 3,000 books. I mention this only to underline the fact that I have looked closely at a lot of guide books, including myriad hiking guides. With that in mind, let me underline my overall opinion: Alpine Trailblazer is as good as they come.

The amount of thought and hard work embedded in this book is amazing. Alpine Trailblazer is more than just a description of hiking trails. It is much more versatile. If you are interested in outdoor activities (be they hiking, packing, biking, skiing, fishing or whatever), if you want to explore the Sierra Nevada mountains from Tahoe to Yosemite, but especially that less-discovered gold mine of a county called Alpine, Jerry and Janine Sprout will provide you with more well-informed, good ideas than any other single resource.

The Sprouts are long-time residents of Alpine County and have enthusiastically explored its trails and hidden pleasures for more than two decades. That they are willing to share their discoveries with you must have come after considerable soul searching. But we are all the beneficiaries.

And such attention to detail! From what should be an award-winning cover to the careful organization of materials, from the informative and beautiful black-and-white photographs to the practical hiking advice and Happy Jack's Campside Cookbook, this book has it all. Each suggested route is tied to the appropriate topo map and succinctly but informatively described. The types of outdoor pleasures most applicable to each route are clearly noted. The many choices are indexed in great detail. For example, routes that are best for wildflowers are then broken down into three subsections: early season, lower elevation; mid-summer, mid-elevation; and high elevation. Day hikes are organized under headings such as falls and cascades, old growth conifer quests, snow-free in late spring, short hikes with small kids and grandparents. And so on in incredible and useful detail. If you can't find what you want here, it doesn't exist.

The hiking tips are short and to the point, capturing the wisdom of years of trail experience. The only advice I take exception to is the choice of external over internal frames for backpacks (though, of course, they are entitled to their opinion). While external frames have certain advantages, as the Sprouts detail, the internal frame provides my back with a comfort I only dreamed of with an external frame--and that, at least for me, is priority number one. Then again, perhaps the Sprouts are made of stronger stuff. Let your own back be the judge.

In any case, I can't yell it loud enough (especially in print): grab a copy of this book without delay and visit the Alps of the Sierra Nevada. You won't be disappointed.

Alpine Trailblazer is a terrific guidebook that feels good in the hand, looks good, and- most importantly- works well at introducing folks to the unspoiled, less-explored Sierra between Lake Tahoe and Yosemite. Everything in this book seems of the highest quality: the maps, the photos, the organization and indexing, the design, the writing. But best of all is its usefulness; it's hard to believe how much solid information these Alpine County locals have been able to fit into a guidebook that can fit nicely in the outside pocket of a backpack. Bookended by quotes from John Muir, this handy volume gives you essential information for hiking, backpacking, cross country skiing, mountain biking, fishing, kayaking, rafting, horseback riding, camping, wildflower sighting, etc. etc. The heart of the book is the excellent, clear trailhead descriptions with good directions, advice, elevations, difficulties, maps, and so forth. In addition you can find driving tours, information on local flora and fauna, resource links to regional services and sights and events, fascinating historical background on this unique area, and even a campside cookbook. My favorite parts of Alpine Trailblazer, however, are the hilarious Glossary to Understanding Alpine Culture and Customs (Example: "Sign of summer: snow shovels are off the porches.") and the witty and wise :"Free Hiking Advice and Opinion." However, the best part of the guidebook is its practicality, usefulness, and abundance of information. If only all guidebooks had this combination of practicality and quality!