This book is great for backpackers. Warning: it is not a how-to manual for novices, but rather a guide for experienced backpackers. It offers a wide range of backpacking trips thoughout Oregon. The author rates each trip based on difficulty, solitude, and beauty, and highlights any special advantages or drawbacks to each trip. I was excited to read so many suggestions for varied new backpacking trips (and I have been backpacking in this state for 15 years!) His ratings are absolutely correct for the trips I have gone on.

If you are looking for a REAL backpacking trip guide - not daytrips - this is the best book I have seen for the diverse state of Oregon. It's unique organization style is by season, the perfect way to choose a trip in an area of widely varying climates. It gives excellent, detailed descriptions of 27 different trips, including elevation gains, difficulty, scenery, solitude and side trips. This is not a book for novices, no "how to's" here, just great trip analyses. Includes great maps and B/W pictures. Enjoy!

Doug Lorain has done a wonderful job with this book. I've hiked extensively throughout Washington, and still found this book inspirational. All of the trips described in the book are lengthy backpacking trips. A wonderful job was done linking trails together, providing great, detailed, honest assessments of the route/terrain/difficulty of each trip. Best of all, the book is a joy to read (high praise for a guidebook). Even when not planning a trip, you'll enjoy thumbing through it, dreaming of future trips. A must have for anyone who wants to plan a great backpacking trip in Washington - period.

Dougls Lorain has gone out of his way to be sure backcountry travelers make the most of their time. From avoiding the less than scenic parts of the PCT (Pacific Crest Trail), to providing clues for off-trail/cross country opportunities, it will be difficult to go wrong with the candid advice from Lorain. Like Rick Steves has done for adventure minded European travelers, Doug Lorain provides more than most backpacking/trail book authors. An excellent book for GORP eaters who may be ready to enjoy the backcountry thru the backdoor.

I am leading a Singles Ministry for the first time in my life and after searching the web for information, God led me to this book. It was wonderful for all types of leaders. Whether your church is large or small, regardless of denomination, it has great ideas, training along with scripture references. Definately a "must have" for any ministry leader!!

If you're involved with a ministry with single adults, this is the first book you should own. There's a chapter on every area of ministry: single parents, divorce recovery, Bible study... Each chapter is written by an experienced singles leader or pastor.

With a game I have never thought I was going to play 4 years ago to this day, Baldurs Gate: TOSC has went beyond my expectations. This book was no exception... I really believe that pictures in a book more than express the writing within, and that was why I found this guide to be essential in my quests. For once... the maps and strategy parts were very detailed and gave me a sense of direction. Especially when I found myself caught up with the action and failed to notice what was my next move. It never helps to be fending off dopplegangers when a trap is unoticeably behind you. It is for real. I honestly think this book is top quality and a must have. Anybody can understand this without words.

If you own Baulders Gate already you know the style of the game: quests, dungeons, etc. Tales of The Sword Coast was designed to be a chalanging add on. Even people who had little trouble in the original game may have trouble with the expansion pack.

TOSC is mainly about dungeon crawling; and that is where this book comes in handy. In some levels, there can about 50 traps. This strategy guide includes maps for each dungeon, and tells you exactly where each trap is, what it does, and percentage skill your thief needs to both detect and disarm each trap. IMHO, aside from using a cheat for extra healing potions, I don't think I would have been able to finish some of those dungeons without the book.

Benjamin O. Davis Jr. had a distinguished military career. He graduated from West Point in 1936, joined the Army Air Corps, and led a squadron of fighters in World War II, earning the Distinguished Flying Cross. After the war he continued in service to his country. His service took him to Korea, Taiwan, Germany and the Philippines. Davis rose to the rank of Lieutenant General before his retirement in 1970. What makes Davis' journey so fascinating is that through out his military career he was opposed by those who felt that because of a particular physical characteristic, he was not capable of the job. Benjamin Davis was black. His autobiography, Benjamin O. Davis Jr., American, is a detailed account of his achievements and provides evidence of the success of his philosophy that, 'blacks could best overcome racist attitudes through their achievements.' His story is an inspiring one, though the telling of it is sometimes hampered by the lack of personal detail.
When reading an autobiography the reader evaluates the author as a person, what they did, what obstacles he or she overcame, and what their beliefs and opinions are. Next the reader evaluates how the author tells their story. The title of Davis' book gives us a clue as to the author and his character. It is simply, Benjamin O. Davis Jr. American. It is not 'General Davis,' or 'Black American,' or 'Fighter Pilot,' or any of the other titles he earned. In the title we can discern what he counts as most important, being an American. Perhaps that encompasses the creed of the West Point Military Academy; Duty, Honor, Country. This is ironic in that this same academy treated him so poorly. His persona is of a man with dignity, reserve and dedication to duty. He rarely speaks negatively of anyone with whom he worked. Benjamin Davis Jr. is a great man and his military record is proof of that. He did not need to write a book proving this, it is well documented. However, he was very important to the integration of the military and thus the civil rights movement and so his book helps the reader understand things that are not part of his official record. The purpose of General Davis's autobiography appears to be three fold. First, it is a telling of his extraordinary life. As the leader of a fighter squadron and his rise to Lieutenant General his story is of interest to anyone who is interested in military aviation and military history of these important times. Second, the book shows racism in society and the military and how it was practiced. And thirdly to show how he used achievement to overcome racist attitudes and thus was a factor in the integration of the military. Benjamin Davis focuses on the conviction that, 'blacks could best overcome racist attitudes through their achievements, even if those achievements had to take place within the hateful environment of segregation.' His book is a detailed account of those achievements.
With any good story there are obstacles that the protagonist must over come. His determination is evident as he endures the silencing at West Point and at Ft. Benning. The missions and the deeds of the Tuskegee Airmen in North Africa and Europe are exciting and stimulating. These were dynamic times to be an aviator. Davis' writing style has some faults, though. Too often, especially in the later part of the book, it is dry with little personal detail. At times it seems he is copying from his appointment book: who he met, where he went, or what award he presented.
What makes the book good is tracing the obstacles Davis had to over come to graduate from West Point and to build the first black fighter group. His book is not perfect in that it is dry at times and it leaves the reader wanting to know more of the thoughts, feelings, and opinions of this great man. But to be just, Benjamin Davis set out to be a military man not to be an author. The fact that he writes as well as he does, only increases my admiration for him.

I read this book about 4 years ago. It is a compelling read; one of those kind of books one will want to re-read again and again. The accomplishments of Benjamin Davis, Jr., one of the famous Tuskeegee Airmen, are well documented but not quite as well known. I wish every black person could read this book because what stands out is the excellence of a human being who would not quit. Moreover Gen. Davis, while he stands against racism, does not come across like so many of the racial hacks today (Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson, etc.). He comes across as a man who, though black, follows principle more than some political vision of black triumph, which we have degenerated to today. So even though I say I wish every black person would read it to see how blacks can regain the sort of pride we once had without dependence on government, white people (or any other people) can get a lift from this book because what you see is a human being, who just happens to be black, triumphing with pride and dignity. I was so impressed after I read the book that I looked up Gen. Davis' address and wrote to him, asking for a response so that my sons could read it and I could use it as an example to them of a black man who had accomplished something great. To my surprise he responded very kindly. His book sticks in my mind as a great human triumph akin to the spirit of Richard Wright.

When we were senior high school and university students, I couldn't think of a better way to spend your summers, than working at Bigwin Inn before going back to school in the fall. I spent the summers of 1963 and 1964 there playing the piano in the band. Bigwin Inn became a very special place to most of us who spent time there. I didn't take many photos and now wish I had, but this great book can bring back a lot of your memories because it has lots of photos taken at all stages of this great Inn's life, as well as a history of this grand old Inn.

Relive your memories with this great book!

Bigwin Inn encourages the protection of a unique
landscape and its built environment by examining
Bigwin Island's environmental heritage, the
archaeological heritage of its First Nation burial
grounds, the nautical heritage of the steam yacht
Bigwin and the rare architectural heritage of the
Bigwin Inn complex.

McTaggart states, "If the great legacy of Bigwin
is to survive as testimony to an important part of
the country's identity, the landmark demands immediate
heritage designation, structural stabilizaiton and
protection against the implications of an ill-
defined future". Star columnist Christopher Hume
wrote, "As McTaggart rightly points out, "Bigwin
was the perfect embodiment of an era, a time when
man's ability to master nature with massive and
indestructibe projects was very much in vogue."
The complex consists of numerous buildings-some
huge, some small; some public, some strictly utilitarian
- but all designed with an eye to the environment-physical,
cultural and social. Even as it falls apart, the
Inn remains a magnificent structure. By contrast,
the majority of contemmporary buildings in Muskoka-
mostly cottages-though smaller and more intimate,
are at odds with everything around them.
The difference is that Bigwin Inn's designs assume
the full range of architectural possibilities.
The context is history, not some ersatz notion of
a Muskoka style, or of local color."

Bigwin Inn was presented to Her Royal Highness
Princess Juliana of the Neterlands in memory of
the Royal Family's stay at the resort during World
War II and of the fiftieth anniversary of the end
of World Warr II. "Princess Juliana was pleasantly
surprised and delighted with Mr. McTaggart's book
Bigwin Inn. The book brought back so many good
memories of the time she and the little princesses
spent at the resort. It is sad to see such a
beautiful place fall into a state of disrepair.
An inn with such a historical past should only but
be preserved,wrote her First Secretary.

"Members of the Ojibway trive have visited Bigwin
Island each summer since the 1800s to pay homage
to several of Bigwin Island's First Nation burial
grounds,"McTaggart states. Al Bigwin of the Alderville
Reserve recently wrote, "My wife and I visited Bigwin
Island two years ago. We were delighted to have
secured much prior knowledge from the book Bigwin
Inn."

Patrons of the resort included Ernest Hemingway,
Franklin Carmichael,Clark Gable, Carole Lombard,
John D. Rockefeller, Andrew Carnegie, Henry Longfellow,
Os-Ke-Non-Ton, PM John Diefenbaker, Glenn Gould,
Cameron Peck and Glenn Miller. Lois Maxwell, popular
for her recurring role as Moneypenny in the
series of James Bond spy film classics and for her
Sun column, wrote, "Bigwin Inn, the nostalgic book
...chock-a-block with vintage black and white photographs
and color plates from the 'thirties has jolted into
mind, scenes, scents and images of elegant people,
dancing in the moonlight and hard work. As a 15-year old,
I fibbed about my age so as to work there as
a waitress one summer...I thank you for those
memories of my youth and innocence, Douglas McTaggart.
Bigwin Inn is a winner!

Mahogany launches, flappers, fortunes won and
lost, big bands, trains, gangsters, prohibition,
steamers, black tie masquerades in the dance
pavilion, opera and film stars lounging by the
Rotunda hearths...
Bigwin Inn by Douglas McTaggart will
take you there...

Douglas Florian writes about all sorts of things in his poems: anacondas, squares, elephants wearing pants, and much, much, more! His poems take all different shapes and sizes too: circles, squares, people, and many other fun shapes. If you like to read nonsense poems, you'll absolutely love this book. Bing Bang Boing is good for grades 2-4.

I liked this book and thought it had some good poems like Chess Mess and Melt Down.

Blackbeard, Terror of the Seas is a very well-written book

Full of facts and legends, this book is very enjoyable to read. Ms Day makes you feel as if you're on-board with the fierce pirate! This is also a very good book for children. My 12 year old has read it twice!

Having the opportunity to pre-review this book prior to release, and being married with two children in a non-blended family I wondered how the book could benefit me and my household.

I found it easy to read with personal testimonies that any family can relate to and learn from. I walked away from the book being more thankful for the things I have, and I acquired a stronger commitment to keep my household intact.

I would like to thank the authors of this book for making my husband and I "Renew our marriage vows"

Salvation/Christ focused messages, encourages married couples to stay together/grow stronger, your personal testimonies, written from a realistic and christ centered perspective, targeted specific issues such as finances, discipline, names, visitation, respect, etc., information helpful, applicable and true, not too long, gets the message across clearly, and husband and wife perspectives and input. This book can give anyone married, single, remarried, or engaged a biblical view and understanding of what Christ wants to do in our homes. The authors do an exceptional job at directing the reader to God's plan and provision for marriage and family. Their personal experiences are a testimony to what God can do if we let Him. THE BLENDED FAMILY encourages trust in Christ and the word of God as the blueprint for building a strong family. A must read for anyone in or about to become a blended family.

Those of us who play goal know what unique characters we are. This book highlights all the greats from the early days of the sport up to now. Pictures galore. Spreads of early equipment. Full head shots of masks, old and new. Profiles of many of the greats to ever play the position. The innovators and the champions. A well rounded history of the insanely brave men who guard the cages. I reccomend it to all into the sport or the position.

This is a fabulous and very detailed book about the history of goaltending. The book spans from the very first goaltenders all the way to today's goalies. The book has many great pictures along with stories and interesting facts. The book got me interested right away. It shows pictures all the way from before the 1900's and up to today. Famous goalies such as, Jaques Plante, Terry Sawchuck, and many others. I highly recoment this book for just about anyone. This would be a fabulous book for any goaltender currently playing on a team. The book is so well done and easy to read and follow it really brings you into the time of the earlier goaltenders. Just overall...a great book