"What the Heart Knows" is good old-fashioned story-telling at its best. The characters are all fun to read and the plot keeps you going with surprising twists and turns. I can't wait for the next one!

I read Mara Purl's What The Heart Knows at one sitting, and there appears to be no end to her talent. Her verbal imagery is very effective, and she draws her readers into the story easily. Good work!

I have just read "What The Heart Knows" with great enjoyment. All Mara Purl's characters are vivid and each one is memorable. Although there are a lot of them, there's no confusing them. She has excellent control of each one and scatters her hints and clues which I look forward to having explained/ expanded upon as the series continues. This writer is well on her way to giving Danielle Steel a run for her money!

It is amazing to find an author like Stegner whose richness of human understanding increases with his age, while his students like Ken Kesey were such a brilliant and brief flash of light. I found this novel to be among his best -- my other two favorites are Crossing to Safety and Angle of Repose. And like those works this piece stacks full of question and thought and answer, without being pious. This, I think, is his first great novel, and it isn't matched until years later with Angle of Repose (and is much more profound and impactful than its sequel Spectator Bird). His age and wisdom, best described as an openness to the human condition, reminds one of his mortality, of his anger towards that awful reality, while in the same instant one celebrates the beauty and bewilderment of life its self as experineced through Stegner's eyes. A must read. Whenever I feel estranged, a good Wallace Stegner book like this always reminds me that I am not alone, and that is not a feat easily done.

Though it's moral issues are presented a little more black-and-white than in his two more widely acclaimed novels, "Crossing to Safety" and "Angle of Repose," this short novel can be read successfully on a variety of levels. It showcases many of Stegner's recurring ideas: living consciously in an increasingly unethical environment; suicide as an easy escape from responsibility; and how the choice is never between "life and death" as much as it a decision about how you want your life to effect those around you. But analysis aside, I love this book for Marian Catlan, one of Stegner's most intricate women yet. This novel is my personal favorite of all Stegners and one of the best novels I've ever read.

If you don't know Stegner, the title might suggest another pious paean to furry critters and cutesy pets. But Stegner is too much the hard-minded analyst for that. Not at all cold, mind you. This is a supremely pasionate writer. Stegner is the novelist who redeems absolutely the humanity of the Grump. The main character is keenly aware of his flaws, stodginess, and resistance to change, and he agonizes over the conflict between his values of hard work, self-critique, and acceptance of the amorality (read cruelty) of life, and the fuzzy standards of an encroaching young back-to-nature set. There is an amazing love story at the heart of this book--of the avuncular grouch for a young dying mother--so well written it will teach even those who have never been in love what it is to revere the divine in another human being. The dark irony of Stegner's title plays its many levels around and within the woman he loves.

Reading Bay Wolf Restaurant Cookbook is almost like taking a trip to this exceptional restaurant. The photographs and commemorative menus are stunning and the recipes are terrific, but it is the warm, generous personality of the staff, particularly Michael Wild that are expressed in the text that impresses me most of all. You'll want to share this treasure.

The Bay Wolf Restaurant Cookbook reads less like an ordinary cookbook and more like a well-written letter from a dear friend. The reader is, in essence, invited into the charming and interesting world of Michael Wild and The Bay Wolf. The photography is stunning, recipes inspired, and the cover art by Rupert Garcia is brilliant.

It is clear why the restaurant has such devoted clientele, employees, and merchants whose satisfaction is unmistakable. After reading The Bay Wolf Restaurant Cookbook I was inspired to hop the metro nearest my little Parisian apartment, buy a bottle of Californian wine from the local Wine Bar, and make a Duck Cassoulet. . .in the middle of August.

Bravo to Michael Wild, Lauren Lyle, G. Earl Darny and Adele Novelli Crady!

This handsome, well-illustrated book is organized around seasonal menus and features over 100 of Michael Wild's recipes from Bay Wolf Restaurant. The book is a masterpiece of text and layout, allowing the reader-cook to lay the book flat while following the recipes, each of which is printed entirely on a single page. The photography is appetite whetting. My favorite part was the short, charming, italicized prose rapture which introduces each recipe. It is astounding that such a lush production can sell for such a small price.

-California Boomer: Keeper of the Story- was both a joy and trial to read. A joy because it touched me so deeply and showed me how important life truly is. A trial to read because it hits at the marrow of personal emotions; sometimes difficult to look in the mirror! This book is a gift of grace and dignity in its positive outlook, concerned nature, and ability to express at times conflictual themes in a profoundly honest way. "Boomer's" self exposure can, and no doubt will, make some feel very uncomfortable. If you've been hiding out in life this book will just scare the hell out of you. If you have a tidy, well tended emotional life you will be challenged by this book. Easy to read short stories that confirmed one thing for me, "never give up on life!" The author is unique, not easy to define, and just when you think you've figured him out BAM up comes something else. This book is worth your time and money.

As a media person I found "Boomer" an exceptional work. The book offers a tour de force of the California Boomer years with deeply etched personalities, emotional environments, and political-social life. This book is personal and yet cuts through many topics and insights. Any one story stands on its own, but all the stories together provide exceptional reading. Being in Hollywood media I was interested in the stories about Hollywood personalities, some mentioned by name others renamed (but I knew who the author was writing about). Yet the entire work has given me great pause, reflection and a thankfulness for the author's message. Boomer is a good read.

I was given a copy of California Boomer by a friend. Frankly I usually don't like people to buy me books. But this time it turned out to be the exception. I'm not a California Boomer, but a Boomer none-the-less. This book hit me deeply. I find it even now, two weeks after finishing the book, difficult to talk about "Boomer" without feeling emotional. This book offers many unique insights and life lessons. As a dad of 4, (3 boys and 1 girl,) I have taken a new and fresh look at them, our relationships, our lives together, especially as regards one of my sons. The author writes with an almost uncanny honesty and candor which seems to strip away all the fluff of life. This book has also taught me a lot about people from different backgrounds and lifestyles. It has opened me to a new level of compassion and care. This is a gem of a book, a bright soul, a book we all should read. I now have begun to reflect on my own life, and my own stories. I'm grateful to the author.

It's urgent that you and your children visit the redwoods! This book will inspire you to do so. Joan, the author, takes you on a journey through the redwood forest and through your conscience. Her artistic expression of her humanity in words and in nature drawings often made me laugh with the insights ("Humboldt County, Log it or Leave it - a bumper sticker she saw), yet also cry with the vulgarities. It's a wonderful read, but one should also be aware of the astounding photography in the middle section. I kept referring back to the photos the whole time while reading the book. I'll offer TWO of my FAVORITE QUOTES that epitomize the book's strenghts: "Like Kristi, and many other residents of various watersheds who have suffered loss of private property and peace of mind, Mike seemes strangely perfect to be one of the people who have no choice but to stand up to MAXXAM. He can't sell his house because he would have to disclose the danger it is in. He can't rent it out for the same reason. His insurance company has canceled his house insurance. He doesn't have the money to buy a new house and walk away from the situation. Right now his house stands abandoned, simply a liability, while Mike is forced to rent at his own expense in Rio Dell." (p.145) ALSO, Joan includes her 12-year-old son in her adventures. At the end of the book they have this conversation: "At one point he said, 'I forgot what I was going to say.' 'Well, it'll come back to you,' I reassured. 'Yes, but I was just making conversation before. This was something I really wanted to say.'" (p.259) I'm not ruining the end for you by saying that you'll really want to say something, do something, express something when you finish this book!

No book has ever moved me the way this one has, I have tears in my eyes as I write this. I've just read many of the other reviews, and I don't have the way with words that some do, but they tell it like it is. Joan tells it like it is. Books don't get any better, and this one will change your life, like someone said it isn't all about happiness, and I have become informed and aware of too much to not so something about what is being done to our Redwood Forests, and what is being allowed to be done to our envirnment and watersheds. It's a true story, happening right now, this book documents it succinctly with amazing one of a kind pictures. It will open your eyes. Something needs to be done about Charles Hurwitz from Houston, Texas and his company MAXXAM. He is savaging The last of the Virgin Redwood Rainforest in California. I cannot beleive the CDF and the department of Forestry are "letting him get away with it." Not to mention the way he "aquired" the land, which is explained in the book. Please read this book. This book will light a fire in you, and like me you will have to do something. There are several websites listed in the back to point you in the right direction. I beleive this book is THE BEST one on the subject and if you plan on reading only one this should definitely be it. It has the most facts, information, and insight and is so well written, I couldn't say enough. And 57 pages of priceless color pictures! I am buying used copies for people, I would give one to EVERYONE if I could, and I have only said that about 2 books, and I read alot. The book is priceless. Thank You Joan

This journal is a tough analysis of an unscrupulous corporate raider's methods of mining the temperate old growth redwood rain forests of Humboldt County, California. Joan and Doug's curiosity and observations lead her and us through all the resent events and to many victims of such a mass liquidation of forest, soil, waterways and wildlife. As a resident of the area, I have read news accounts regarding the Headwaters Forest, but none have even come close to the articulate passion that Joan has focused on to repeatedly hit her mark. The natural descriptions of the remaining groves and wildlife are tender and capable of grinding the callousness from even the hardest of hearts. I find myself walking in circles of despair for all of the destruction that has already taken place. Doug's photo journal validates every accusation made against this corporations blatant grab for money at the expense our community, our children's future and everything sacred. Read this book, then make it required reading for all of your friends and family.

"Steel Toes" rocks. This sequel to "Another Day in Paradise" starts off with Bobby Prine, dopefeind and convicted felon, surviving a race riot and escaping a gladiator camp in Indiana (circa 1975). Bobby hits the road in a hemi cuda, along with a couple new crime partners and gets back to business - drugs, sex, violence and crime. This book spans from prison, to an Indiana militia compound, to New York's nightlife, to Boston's criminal underworld. Told from Bad Bobby's POV - brutal, funny, scared, hard on himself and others, Bobby pulls no punches. One of the best scenes is when a college chick that Bobby is falling for takes him to the ballet - and he actually digs it. This ain't no cheesy crime fiction, this recurring character moves, sounds and acts like a bonafide life born-to-lose anti-hero. I'm sure major chunks of prose and most of the cast hail from Eddie Little's real life experiences - They're too good not to have. I'm hoping for a third installment of Bad Bobby, like Vachss's Burke, this is one character I could follow for volumes.

"Steel Toes" is the continuing saga of Bobby Prine, the young criminal whom Eddie Little introduced us to in his first novel, "Another Day in Paradise." This sequel opens with Bobby, now 18 years old, having failed at escaping from a gladiator camp in the midwest. But Bobby's got heart, he won't give up. He fights his way through a race riot and finally scales the walls with a couple homeboys. Bobby and his boys hit the road in a souped-up Hemi Cuda and from then on the story is non-stop action. Bobby goes from an Indiana militia compound, to hanging with junkbond salesman in New York, to the criminal underworld of Boston. He hooks up with Syd and Billy Bones, two great characters from his first novel, and gets back to business. Cashing bogus checks, doing burglaries, packing heat, shooting dope and falling in love. Eddie Little has done it again, writing a crime novel that is not only entertaining, but deep. The characters and description is great, you can tell Eddie Little has tread the rough ground of which he writes. Bad Bobby Prine is better than any "recurring" character I've ever followed in other crime novels. I'm waiting for a 3rd installment, this dude keeps you on edge, I could follow bad Bobby for volumes.

No kidding, Eddie's first [Another Day in Paradise] is fantastic. Having said that, I think his latest is even better. The voice is more refined, where it's still all tough, but with more focus. And I found a lot more hope in this one. Rock on, Eddie!

When you have lost all of your faith in sports, buy and read this book. Coach Wooden takes us through the wonderful journey of his life, from a young boy growing up in a small Indiana town to the multiple national championships at UCLA. Its too bad there aren't more coaches like John Wooden, a truly inspiring individual

This book show the Wizard of Westwood's life and accomplishments in an interesting manner. I was surprised at how devoted he is to the Christian faith. The "Pyramid of Success" would be helpful for all of us. I have always been a UCLA fan because I lived in LA and I highly reccomend this book.

This is a wonderful book for anyone who has ever coached kids in any sport at any level through college; or for parents of any kid playing any sport or for any college basketball fan. Wooden tells his philosophy and illustrates it with anecdotes, examples and stories from his life as a player and a coach. Inspirational for coaches and parents of players of any spor

I've been a big fan of the Tra Vigne restaurant for years. It's a fun place with fantastic food, and fun events such as wine tastings. I swear it has the best smelling food of any restaurant anywhere. It's delicious torture to wait for your food and get whiffs of the entrees going by.
It was with this excited expectation that I opened this book. And although I just received it as a birthday gift, I'm anxious to dig and try to recreate some of the fantstic food I've experienced in Michael's restaurant.
I can tell you already that this cookbook has a wonderful layout. For example, the table of contents (usually dreadfully dull) is a beautiful display of graphic design. Along one side are the seasons, and along the top different types of food. It's an unusual and neat way of showing this information and immediately leads the cook to think of seasonal meals and menus.
Some of the recipes in the book look surprisingly complex so this isn't a volume for beginners. But if they can help me recreate the great meals I've had in the restaurant without needing to travel to St. Helena they will be worth the extra effort.

I've had the Tra Vigne Cookbook for a year now, and I use it regularly. It's an attractive book, with beautiful photos and surprisingly intriguing introductions to the recipes. It's hard to stop browsing once you open the book, and it's harder to close the book without doing some cooking. The dishes are fantastic. The Chicken with Roasted Lemon and Rosemary Sauce is a favorite, as is the Fusilli Michelangelo. (Read the intro to either of these dishes and try to resist cooking them.)

The book is arranged seasonally, with chapters on essential ingredients for each season. Spring ingredients include asparagus, garlic, peas, and potatoes. Summer ingredients include corn, tomatoes, and bell peppers. And so on. I shop at a grocery store, not a farmers market, and I've had a less-than-happy relationship with vegetables since infancy, so I was skeptical of the whole seasonal-cooking thing at first. But I enjoy browsing through the new season's recipes as the year changes, and I've tried dishes and ingredients that are not usually a part of my diet. It's hard to object to broccoli when it's served in a creamy Very Green Soup sprinkled with crunchy gremolata.

It would have been nice in book a subtitled "Seasons in the California Wine Country" to have more information about wine. Few recipes actually use wine and there is no advice on what wines to pair with the food.

Despite the elegant presentations shown in the photos, none of the recipes are too difficult to try. They're just challenging enough for the amateur cook who likes to do a little more than the usual home cooking. The Tra Vigne Cookbook is a lot of fun, and the food is delicious.

His PBS show is incredible, his recipes are to die for, and he is gorgeous to boot. What other reasons are there for buying this book?

Jonathan Gold appreciates one of the main benefits of LA-- all the ethnic enclaves with their respective specialized cuisines. As an angeleno, I love the cultural diversity, and I love it even more now with Mr. Gold's guide to eat my way through all the different restaurants. Thank you, Mr. Gold!

Other mainstream guides like Zagat neglect to mention the really great ethnic places, probably because their reviewers don't know about those places. So if you have an adventurous palate, look for an "A" sign (the grade given to the restaurant by the health dept.) in the window and follow Mr. Gold's book.

Jonathan Gold is a master at finding interesting, delicious, out of the mainstream kind of places. He's introduced me to so many different cuisings and he really knows what he's talking about. I always feel like he has researched the different cuisines and goes regularly, unlike most reviewers who deign to visit a hole-in-the-wall once and talk about it forever. With respect to my title, this book proves LA has more interesting ethnic and "real" food restaurants than NY. This book is a bible for serious food people, living in LA or not.

Anyone worth their stuff on underground dining in LA knows Jonathan Gold from his days as a LA Times food critic. His counter intelligence reviews are still proudly displayed by restraunters all over LA. Mr. Gold will introduce you to the astonishing variety of authentic multi-ethnic cuisines that are hidden by LA's huge geographical expanse. The book is heavy on regional Asian and Latin cuisines. The columns are very entertaining. If you are looking for trendy dining experiences, then this book isn't for you. It could use an index that sorts the restaurants by geography. I grew up in LA and make the effort to find out of the way dining experiences, but Mr. Gold takes it to another level. He is the master. I just wish he would bring back his counter intelligence column and make my life a bit easier.

Serannelle's mystery has an interesting main character at least, a homeless woman, a desperate junkie, who is, of course, the main suspect. Other than that bit of originality, this is nothing but trite tripe.

As far as the Venice PD is concerned, the murder of lowlife dealer ``Flower George'' Mancini is a clear case of AVA, NHI- -``a****** versus a******, no human involved.'' So it's no big deal when Mancini's daughter Munch, the chief suspect in his killing, gives Sgt. Mace St. John the slip and disappears into the San Fernando Valley. But when the gun that shot Mancini is linked to a grisly series of dismemberments, Mace wishes he'd paid closer attention to Munch's moves while he had the chance. Even though he squeezes some personal details of her horrible life (her father got her hooked and repeatedly sold her for drugs) out of her attractive probation officer, he has no way of tracing her to Happy Jack's Auto Repair, where she's working as a lippy mechanic and assiduously building the new paper trail that'll bury her old identity for good. While Mace is wrestling with his own father's problems, he has no compassion or understanding for others.

I would be interested in seeing another story with Munch, but Mace St. John can take a hike.

Author Barbara Saranella's first novel, NO HUMAN INVOLVED, is an exceptional debut. In it, we have "Munch" Mancini, a street wise, world weary, over-the-top-cynical ex-prostitute and recovering heroin addict, hiding from both a brutal biker and Mace St. John, the latter a street wise and world weary cop investigating a series of murders in the Los Angeles of the 70's. Munch is a prime suspect in one of the slayings. She's also a crackerjack auto mechanic, a skill she utilizes to bring in a paycheck while she lies low. As for Mace, he lives in a lovingly restored, 1927-vintage Pullman car parked on a spur of unused Southern Pacific track in an unprepossessing part of town.

In so many works of this genre, the author attempts to create sympathetic characters, apparently using some arcane formula that only results in very two-dimensional personae. I can't tell you how many crime thrillers I've finished not caring one iota about the story's hero(es). Somehow, in her first time out, Saranella manages to transcend this trap, creating in Munch and Mace people I cared about from the very first page. This is so refreshing!

The plot of NO HUMAN INVOLVED is revealed to the reader in a manner as smooth and sharp as a scalpel's incision lays open the inside of a cadaver during an autopsy. There's even a bit of humor and pathos along the way in Mace's relationship with a new girlfriend, and with his aging father, the latter suffering a mental deterioration following several strokes. The manner in which Mace acquires two dogs near the book's conclusion is particularly amusing. The story's end involves a satisfying plot twist.

Judging from subsequent releases by the same author, Munch is to be the central character in a continuing series. Bravo! I, for one, immediately added Saranella's two latest books to my Wish List.

I didn't enjoy the 70s, and if I'd picked up earler that this story was set in 1977 urban Southern California, I probably would have given it a pass. A fortunate mistake.

Not that Seranella makes me feel nostalgic. If anything, she paints a bleaker picture than I remember. An asphalt lanscape, populated with self-satisfied, bigoted Angelenos, burned out junkies, cynical cops... And yet she forces us to acknowledge a certain strange beauty in this landscape, where strangers, or even enemies, casually help each other out, or a tough garage owner starts a garden in his parking lot, because he can't bear to uproot a struggling tree.

Then there's a cop who ignores orders to stop working on a horrifying serial murder -- but still finds time to look after an aging father and restore the old Pullman rail car he lifes in.

And most of all there's Munch. Junkie, prostitute, thief. The useless scum referred to in the title? Yes and no. Because she's also a genius -- a wizard at fixing cars, a savant who drinks up the contents of books the way ordinary people drink water. The best parts of this book are about her struggles. With addiction -- which she imagines to be an alter ego, whispering in her ear, "just a taste". With a life stacked against her. With an appalling sense of herself, that horrifying personal dissociation you see in survivors of abuse. And in the end, she's the one who saves the day with a momentous, heroic act.