Trees Of Golden Gate Park And San Francisco is a 'must' bible of detail for any San Francisco resident or enthusiast who wants to know more about the city's urban forest and landscape. Chapters are packed with details ranging from early San Francisco landscape history to the evolution of its parks. The presentation is based on the writings of botanist Elizabeth McClintock, and presents the stories of almost two hundred different trees located in Golden Gate Park. No color photos, but the depth of text and detail doesn't need them; the b/w line drawings are enough.

...that there should be people in my community as to write such a book. Starting with the park's planning phases (did you know that Mr. Central Park himself, Frederick Law Olmstead, recommended putting the park along what is now the Van Ness corridor!), the book quickly progresses to encyclopedic coverage of the trees of the park... Sections from this book are destined to become long and enjoyable walks for us in the near future! Unlike many field guides, very fitting for pleasure reading.

This is a beautiful book and very interesting view of the Missions...

It is wonderful if you are interested in California Missions.

Father Tupa's paintings provide a unique view of the missions and chart the physical and spiritual pilgrimage to the California missions. His works are presented here with over twenty oil paintings and over 40 watercolors interpreting California's past and the history of each mission. An Uncommon Mission accompanies a traveling exhibition of the same name.

This guide is packed with great information to get whatever it is you're looking for in San Francisco. I found the book to be user friendly, down to earth, and honest. Since I am a vinyl junkie, I was thrilled to look in the index and find the heading for "Record Stores". This guide was extremely useful when exploring "The Haight", my favorite area of The City. Bravo to the contributors, and to the Manic D production team, for this great Second Edition!

This guidebook is a wonderfull resource if you're just visiting or planing to stay awhile. Each section is written by a different person, with different interests and perspectives (bars, thrift stores, piercing, poetry readings, bookstores, etc.) It also has useful sections on Oakland and Berkeley. If you're thinking of moving to the "Bay Area", there are handy guides to housing and employment. It's a great book, and worth every penny!

I had the privilege of being one of Dr. Saltman's students in 1998 and 1999 at the University of California, San Diego. After taking his courses in metabolic biochemistry and nutrition, and after reading this EXCELLENT book from cover to cover at least five times, I can tell you that Dr. Saltman's methods are rock-solid. Rather than focusing on any type of "fad diet", Dr. Saltman lays out the scientific basis - the what, when, and why of nutrition- in an easy-to-follow regimen. He helps deconstruct the myths of unsound diets and dietary techniques, and instead guides the reader to the understanding of WHAT we need and WHY we need it. I took his course in nutrition at UCSD (a 10 week course) and lost 45 pounds in the process. And never once did I feel hungry, tired or "cheated" out of favorite foods.

Dr. Saltman was not only one of the most motivational instructors I've ever had in my life, but also one of the best mentors I have ever had. He was the biggest student advocate I have ever known, and I am honored to have been one of his students. He is sorely missed and loved here in the scientific community at UCSD (and everywhere else, for that matter), but his sound beliefs and wisdom live on in this book. Do yourself a favor and go buy a copy. It will forever change the way you look at food, exercise, nutrition and weight management.

In this book, Paul Saltman approachs nutrition from the point of view of "What does the human body need to be healthy?". That makes this book a refreshing change from the typical approach, which is to dream up an unusual, usually misguided, diet regimen, then concentrate on selling as many books about it as possible.

He starts with the idea of TPN, total parenteral nutrition, which is how people who have had their gastro-intestinal tract removed are kept alive and healthy. TPN is administered intravenously, and so delivers nutrients directly into the blood. Over the years, physicians have identified 44 nutrients (water, sugars, minerals, vitamins, etc) that must be in the bag in order for people on TPN to stay alive and healthy. Guess how much Vitamin C goes into the bag? Answer: the recommended daily allowance. Duh!

Saltman returns to the idea of TPN often, as a starting point for his very readable discussions of all of the nutrients, starting with water. Along the way, he debunks a lot of ridiculous diets, and what a relief that is (yes! I can eat some fat! I can eat some sugar!). He has no axe to grind, no magic protein drink to sell, no line of sportswear, just this excellent book.

I keep the book handy, as a reference. I plan to buy copies for all the people that I care for.

Unfortunately, Dr. Saltman died on August 27, 1999.

What a great read. The story is at turns violent, insightful, clever, and funny. The characters are thoroughly believable -- from the series' regular cops to the minor characters(especially Doleen). And ever since I read 'No Human Involved' I've believed that Munch is a very real person. This ain't no cozy. And I highly recommend it.

After some heavy rains, a woman's body is found in the drainage sewer at the exclusive Riveria Country Club. The woman was badly beaten and her body tied to two cinder blocks so that she would sink without a trace. LAPD detective Mace St. John, back on the job after suffering a heart attack four months ago, leads the investigation. He learns the victim is Jane Ferran.

When he looks at her file he sees Munch Mancini's face with Jane's name underneath it. When he goes to question Munch, she tells him that she used her friend's name when she was arrested for a DUI. Munch has a feeling one of her druggie friends from years ago might have killed Jane but she can't tell Mace about it because she would implicate herself in a decade old triple homicide. It is only when it looks like Thor is going to kill anyone connected to that incident does she come forward and offers herself up as bait to trap a killer.

Munch is an ex-druggie, a recovering alcoholic and a former prostitute but she has turned her life around. She goes to AA meetings, has an adopted daughter and has a good job working as a mechanic in Brentwood. She is a role model for people who want to start over and make something of his or herself. The perpetrator of the murder will come as a shock to the reader because everyone involved in the case is missing a vital piece of information. Barbara Seranella, known for her urban noir thrillers, once again has created a realistic who-done-it that is both exciting and poignant.

Harriet Klausner

This book made a remarkable impression on me...Judge Wapner writes in a fun, intelligent way about life's little encounters. I will remember it forever.

Anecdotal voyage through Wapner's career as a judge. Great insight and sense of humor.

I enjoed the scenery as if I was onboard. For a more fictional train ride try Playtrain.

I liked Wagon Train by Sydelle Kramer because it is about people travelling. I liked when they went through the water and I liked the storms they had in the book. I liked the pictures expecially the one with the family in the wagon with the dog in it. I like reading about them dancing until their feet were sore. That is what I liked about the book.

18th century California was a time of prejudice. Walk Across the Sea, centers around independent Eliza Jane, a young teenage girl who lives with her parents in a northern California lighthouse. When a mysterious Chinese immigrant boy saves her goat from the California waters, she tries to find him to pay him back. She soon learns that prejudice surrounds the Chinese by the people of her town. Along the way helping her is her brave and helpful friend Sadie, her open minded and kind neighbor, Dr Wilton and her pet goat Parthenia. This story has a mix of friendship, prejudice, religion, compassion, and morality. This out of the ordinary story shows prejudice back then and gives lessons on how we can be rid of prejudice today. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who is interested about life in general. Walk Across the Sea makes you think about things that you normally wouldn't think about in life. You learn you always have to been open minded and very conscious of other people and their beliefs. If you want to read a different story, Walk Across the Sea is for you! I also recommend ALL books in the Dear America, My Name Is America, and Royal Diaries Series.

Ever since she was three years old, Eliza Jane McCully has lived in the lighthouse at Crescent City, California, where her father is the keeper. Now thirteen, Eliza has many responsibilities, helping her father to keep the light burning, and eagerly awaiting the birth of her new baby sibling. One day while chasing her stubborn goat across the pathway to the island, she is caught by a wave. A Chinese boy saves her goat and warns her about the wave just in time. Eliza is confused, because her father has taught her that the Chinese are evil heathens. An unexpected tragedy causes Eliza to doubt her own beliefs as well as questioning her father's. When the townspeople run the Chinese out of Crescent City, Eliza watches in horror, unable to do anything. But when the boy who rescued her comes to her for help, Eliza must make the ultimate decision. Is she is brave enough to openly defy her father? I highly reccomend this novel to readers who enjoy historical fiction.

I love this book. I have done about 7 of the walks so far and they have all been brilliant. I am going to do them all before I leave San Fran in a couple of months time. The guides take you to all the most famous locales and sites with many good suggestions for shops and cafes along the way.

But what I love best is that the book is small enough to slip into your pocket. I frequently leave my apartment" with no other guidebook but this one. I really, really recommend it to anyone who wants to get off the beaten track - it is so much more fun to see a city that way.

Of all the guide books I have consulted, this San Francisco compilation of walking tours is the most diverse and complete. Not only are familiar and less familiar parts of the city covered, but also how to reach starting points by pubic transportation (vital for pedestrians), time required, degree of difficulty, and special points to note. It's a great introduction to this fair city.

In 1849, the news the gold had been discovered in California swept the country and launched a mass migration of men seeking their fortunes in the goldfields of the west. There were three routes to California. The first was by sailing ship around Cape Horn. Fleeing prison and a duel in Charleston, Rob Merriman and Clayburn Collins booked passage on the Inverness to Boston, only to have the ship's crew mutiny and take the ship to the new gold fields. A second route was by stern-wheeler through the Gulf of Mexico, and then go overland to the Pacif. This was the choice of Trevor Sloan, father of the man Merriman killed in the duel took in his mission to even the score. The third way was overland by wagon train, horse and on foot. Lisa Sizemore's parents sold their inn to finance the family's trek. Lisa felt she would never see Clay Collins again. Those who survived their arduous and dangerous journeys come together in California with very unexpected results in Tim Champlin's highly recommended Wayfaring Strangers. Champlin is a superb storytelling with a masterful ability to seize his reader's total attention with a vivid narrative, memorable characters, and unexpected plot twists.

In 1849, the news the gold had been discovered in California swept the country and launched a mass migration of men seeking their fortunes in the goldfields of the west. There were three routes to California. The first was by sailing ship around Cape Horn. Fleeing prison and a duel in Charleston, Rob Merriman and Clayburn Collins booked passage on the Inverness to Boston, only to have the ship's crew mutiny and take the ship to the new gold fields. A second route was by stern-wheeler through the Gulf of Mexico, and then go overland to the Pacif. This was the choice of Trevor Sloan, father of the man Merriman killed in the duel took in his mission to even the score. The third way was overland by wagon train, horse and on foot. Lisa Sizemore's parents sold their inn to finance the family's trek. Lisa felt she would never see Clay Collins again. Those who survived their arduous and dangerous journeys come together in California with very unexpected results in Tim Champlin's highly recommended Wayfaring Strangers. Champlin is a superb storytelling with a masterful ability to seize his reader's total attention with a vivid narrative, memorable characters, and unexpected plot twists.