The field guide was very handy in learning the specific animals and plants I encountered in Arizona.

It is handy to go back and look up an plant or animal in the field guide after a trip - ie. many of my travels were difficult backpack trips and the field guide was left in the car to save weight!!

this is the one to take! Like carrying a park ranger in your backpack to help you know what you are looking at. Trees and wildflowers, animals of the land, sky and water, minerals, stars of the night sky. Increase your knowledge and understanding of the beautiful places you visit and your own backyard. Check out the Audubon Field Guides to Florida and other regions as well. Well worth the money. Lots of color photographs and well organized for easy use.

This is a delight to come home to after a walk or a trip to the river. I try to bring a wildflower home to check out in the book, and am never let down.

While it seems almost an impossible undertaking to include four very large states in one book, in fact the Range guide helps focus the book quite a bit.

As an artifact, the book is well made and should last some time.

If you are looking for old traditional Adobe home plans this is not what you are looking for. Other than, this is a very interesting book, very useful in where to get things done.

This is a terrific book to get started thinking about the adobe home you want to build, especially if you're planning on building "green." The floor plans and accompanying CAD generated images are practical and straightforward. The text covers the basics of adobe home building, including the advantages and disadvantages the owner may want to consider first. If you're considering building a modest adobe home, this book is an excellent place to begin. Working blueprints of the floor plans are available for a minimal cost as well should the owner decide to adopt one as is.

This was one of the few books that I have been able to find that has working house plans for adobe building. Although there are only twelve basic plans, they all have multiple configurations that actually make a wide variety of ideas.

For the most part I find Frommer's travel books to be very good. This one for Thailand was decent. It gave good descriptions of places including how to get there, phone numbers, prices, ect. But this book was definately not meant for the budget traveler/ backpacker. If it offered more information geared to the budget traveler; ie: lower priced places to stay, dining, places to go to (especially the non-resorty places), I would give it 5 stars.

When I went to Thailand last year, I ended up planning most of my trip according to this book. The author never steered me wrong. While this might not be the best source for the backpacker set, the rest of us are well served with a variety of options for most travel budgets. I also liked the author's sense of humor and frank honesty. She has lived in the region and knows what she is talking about. The Thais I encountered during my trip also thought highly of the book. When I return to Thailand in 2003, this updated version of the book will be right there with me. I know it is an "establishment" guide but this is one time when mainstream is not necessarily a bad thing.

Frommer's Thailand is a great guidebook. It is broken down into very helpful sections such as "The Best of Thailand", "What to See and Do" "Where to Stay and Dine" and "Getting There". Jennifer Eveland did a great job writing "Thailand: In Depth". The weight of the book is of perfect weight for carrying around Bangkok and is printed on thick, quality paper. Best of all, the prices are listed for everything! I think that is great because not only do you get only their best recomendations, but you always get the most for your money no matter what your budget. If I fould out any of my friends were going to Thailand, I would definately give them my copy of this guide.

As with all autobiographies this book provides us with a fascinating picture of the adventurous life of Tom Horn. Yet it is the death of Tom Horn that has been the subject of great controversy to the present day; hanged for the murder of a fourteen year old boy, on evidence that was highly questionable.

This book is refered to as a vindication, and though many have disputed this, in some subtle ways it is. Whilst reading this narrative of Tom Horn's years as a scout and interpreter, at no point could I envisage him being the kind of man to kill a boy from ambush. He portrays himself in his autobiography as hard working, fearless, trustworthy, and as a man who served his country well. Though with any autobiography the reader has to accept an elemant of bias, it appears at times as if Tom Horn tries to minimize his own heroics and exploits. To this end the book serves its purpose.

What is most astounding about the book is where it finishes. Tom Horn makes no attempt to explain the events leading upto his conviction and execution. This is both surprising and baffling. Surly most men in his position would have taken the opportunity to plead their innocence. Not so with Tom Horn. He seems content to let the readers make their own decision, by things reported in the newspapers at that time. Maybe he was just confident that people would believe him to be innocent despite much of what was being written.

This edition of the book was supplemented with letters written to and from Tom Horn whilst he was imprisoned. These are valuable as they offer an insight into Tom's state of mind during this period. In a couple of these letters he does choose to explain a little of the events leading up to his arrest, to certain associates

Tom Horn's personal narrative is just as fascinating for what it excludes, as for what it includes. It also provides an excellent look at other celebrated and infamous characters such as Al Seiber, Geronimo and the Apache Kid. For those interested in the life of Tom Horn, or the role of government scouts/interpreters, the book will hold much interest. It is also recommended that readers have some basic knowledge of Tom Horn - particularly his latter life - for a greater understanding.

One somehow hesitates to buy and read biographies about great people of the past nowadays,as the general rule among those who write them seem to be that they haven`t got any book unless they are able to dig up all the dirt they can find about their subject matter.Somehow biographers seem to think that that`s what the reading public wants.Autobiographies can be dubious reading as well,as they are often equipped with additional material(that is,more gossip and scandal)by an additional "author".

Luckily,the publisher of "Tom Horn,Government Scout..." has
allowed Horn to speak for himself,without altering a single word.The result is a wonderful reading experience,a book which is both educating and entertaining,full of stories that will make you laugh as well as cry.Horn really had an amazing way with words as well.This was what surprised me most when I started reading this book. For those who want Horn to tell whether he killed little Willie Nickell or not-sorry,he doesn`t.Horn says he thinks that "journalists" have already taken care of THAT part of the story well enough,and instead chooses to consentrate on his early years and his experiences in the Wild West while it was still to be found-the parts of the story that remained in obscurity for far too long,but,thanks to Horn and this book,became the most important thing after all.

This book was written by Tom Horn while waiting in a Cheyenne, Wyoming Jail to be hanged. It is a very colorful account of the Government Scout, Arizona Territory Lawman, and "foster son" of Geronimo himself. While it is a very one sided story that almost pleads with you to believe that Tom was blameless, it gives a VERY unique look into the solitary life of a scout and hired gun in the real old west. "A Must Read"

I debated between a 3 and 4 on this. So, it's probably a 3.8 overall, with some parts being 4.5. The story of the Preston's journey coupled with the many historic reflections is excellent. Preston has whetted my appetite for more history of the American Southwest. I struggled with the writing. Some expressions used by Preston were trite and distracting. For instance, throughout the book, when Preston meets people along his journey, he inevitably writes, "We shook hands all around." I was left wondering what the significance of that phrase was. In many spots the dialog seemed "canned" and I was wondering if the people interviewed really said those things. There were other writing distractions, but, I always found myself deeply engrossed in the discussions of historical events. Thus, more for the history than the writing, I kept reading, and I'm glad I did.

Reading a book twice is a rarity for me. But this book was worth both the investment (I bought one for myself, one for a friend) and the time. Having lived in and explored most of Arizona through backpacking, hiking, and horse trekking, I found Douglas Preston's recounting of his adventure to be both a delight and a thoughtful read.

Anyone who has experienced the difficulties and beauty of nature first hand, will benefit from this book. All horse lovers will find themselves and their fleet-footed friends well depicted in Preston's travails. And those who simply want to learn more about the Southwest, its original inhabitants, the Spanish conquest and the impact of civilization on this fragile landscape and doomed people will want to explore Preston's sensitive, well-documented exposition. His final observations on our future are prescient and a warning: we, too, may go the way of the Zuni, Navajo, conquistadores and ranchers.

What a wonderful read! From the first page I was gripped with not only the snippets of history of the region, but also the adventure of the author and his companions, riding horseback from Arizona's Mexican border to Santa Fe, retracing Coronado's sesarch for the Seven Cities of Cibola.

The tale is a wonderful one, as the author rides through present day Arizona and finds that the Old West is not dead after all. At considerable risk to life and limb, the adventurers ride the trail which they, and scholars, believe was Coronado's own, and in doing so meet ranchers and cowboys who relate their own histories and adventures in this wild but exciting land.

An incredible travel tale, and a must-read for those who enjoy history mixed with a good adventure.

This is the first guidebook to include the whole Tibetan world. Roughly one third of the main body of the book is devoted to the Tibetan "Autonomous" Region, one third to other Tibetan lands governed by China, and one third to Bhutan and the Tibetan areas of Nepal and India.

It is an intensely practical book, directed to the independent traveller using public transport. It includes information about public transport which is readily available nowhere else; it does not include the telephone numbers of bus stations - an unfortunate omission.

The many excellent maps include regional maps, and no less than 126 maps of towns, many of them mapped in no other available book.

Important improvements would be: the inclusion of Chinese characters where appropriate in the text; the addition of markers to every Chinese word or name wherever it appears to indicate the tones, without which they cannot be pronounced; and a guide to the pronunciation of Tibetan, without which the section Survival Tibetan is scarcely useful.

Some travellers will want more information about the furnishings and images in Tibetan temples. In most of the territory covered, although not for India, Gyurme Dorje's "Tibet Handbook with Bhutan" (Footprint Handbooks) will provide that information, and be a complementary companion book.

The book will be indispensable for the serious traveller who wishes to understand the extent and the diversity of the Tibetan world.

This book is a must for travellers, it has easily the best set of maps to Tibet that I have ever seen and they are really easy to follow. The travel information is also very detailed, especially when it comes to the local public transport timetables and routes. I am also impressed that it covers in detail all the Tibetan areas in the Chinese controlled areas and beyond and not just around Lhasa.

Mapping the Tibetan World is the portable encyclopedia of the Tibetan world i was waiting for !
I have now this wonderful little book always close to me so that i can read a bit here and a bit there whenever i have five minutes to spare.
It has informations on all aspects of Tibetan life, culture, history and geography as well as Tibetan Buddhist philosophy and symbols.
The many maps included makes it easy to plan your trip in Tibet and other Tibetan cultural regions.
The only suggestions i could make to the publisher would be a LARGE PRINT version for people who like me have bad eyesight, and may be a color coding to distinguish the various regions (chapters).
A wonderful job done by this team of young explorers, many thanks to them !

I found this book an exceptionally good read. Bacon takes us on a ride through the hot and crazy world of Jakarta in a way which is both informative and entertaining; summing up with great humour what he rightly describes as a "complex problem". Not only does he cover enough practical information to leave even the most unforwarned visitor feeling fully prepared, but he goes to great pains to explain the nature of 'Indonesian-ness' - and how to avoid the inevitable 'clash of culture' that foreign visitors might expect. As well as covering broader areas such as History, Politics and Culture with clarity and sensitivity, the author peppers the book throughout with the kind of detail and annecdote which brings the book alive. Bacon really hits the mark with this one.

Having lived in Jakarta for 18 months,reading Mr Bacons book took me straight back to the city that's ' in danger of imploding.'Straight back to the smells,the noises and the heat.The infomation and incredible insight that is packed into this book is quite amazing. I think it's difficult to understand quite how accurate this book iis until you've actually lived there. Really humourously written little stories had me chukling all the way through.I reckon , even if you are not about to move to Jakarta or even visit the place ,its well worth reading.

If there's just one book to put in your rucksack on your travels to Jakarta, this is the one. It's obvious that the author not only knows his stuff, but loves Jakarta too! A winner!

I looked forward to reading this book, and like one reviewer, looked forward to a pleasant evening of reading. This book is painfully researched and definitely not an enjoyable read. I have no doubt the author knows what he is writing about, but unless you are really an Earp fanatic, you will not enjoy a pleasant read about a colorful western persona. The book would have been much more enjoyable if the author had presented his version of the history of Wyatt Earp first. It was very distracting with the constant reporting of descrepancies he found in other texts in every chapter, and at least for novices, would have been appreciated at the end of the book as a summary of research.

This is one of the best books on Earp that has been writen. It is easy to read and is hard to put down. The facts are there and are well documented.

I checked out Mr Erwin's book, (You can't tell a book by its cover!) and planned an evening of enjoyable reading.

I first want to thank Mr. Erwin for his great effort and research. Saying that ...

Richard E. Erwin has apparently set forth what he believes are the true facts. However unless you're a lawyer or one of those college professors whose writings are unreadable except to one of their own kind you will NOT enjoy this.

Without studying his book as you would one of your old history books just before a test, you likely will not be able to figure out what facts Mr. Erwin sees as true and false. They may be found within his book, but you better start a blank truth table as well as a flow chart and begin completing it as you read each sentence.

Perhaps, Mr Richare E. Erwin can pursuade someone such as Steven Ambrose or Kenneth Davis to put his trurh into their words.

Perhaps Mr. Erwin can do so himself without the lawyerese. I would likely enjoy such a book. And it would probably sell well at museums and tourist areas in the Western United States.

"For fun and pleasure" is why seventeen year old Lewis Garrard went west with Ceran St. Vrain's wagon train in 1846. What unfolds is a unique first hand narrative of overland travel along the Sante Fe Trail to Bent's Fort, Colorado and then on to Taos, New Mexico. This book is supposedly the only eye witness account of the trials and hangings of the revolutionaries who attempted to overthrow the newly acquired American occupancy in Taos by murdering Govenor Charles Bent and several others. Garrard's writing is commendable, being such that the reader feels they are right there with him. We read descriptions of how it was to live with, travel and meet trappers, frontiersmen, mountaineers, and Indians (both friendly and hostile), go on buffalo hunts, endure starvation, lack of water, the forces of nature, etc. while in the mountains and deserts of the southwest. Considered an historical masterpiece and rightfully so.

Garrard's book, besides being of particular interest, ties in with others about the west that combine to inform the reader as no other way can. The language used by such a young author is remarkable, but we must recall that usage changes with time. It helps to keep a dictionary handy. The first person account puts the reader not only on the trail, but in Cheyenne teepees and Bent's Fort where so much of the history of the west, and of those who opened it, came together. Susan Magoffin's book (Down the Santa Fe Trail, and into Mexico) is of another trip along the same route six months apart, and lends a womanly and complimentary view to that of Way To Yah. For those who found Garrard's book less than five star value, I say, read the book again. Often when I do this, appreciation of the work is enhanced. The more one reads of Santa Fe and those who traveled it's trail, the greater will become their respect for Lewis who opens to us the eyes of a young man thrilled with his situation, and who expresses himself as honestly as anyone I have had the joy to read. We are fortunate that he lived to weave into the fabric of the west his wonderful tale. Susan Magoffin reveals another side of the "trail" in her book, both of which combine to inform the reader while revealing truths of a time unfortunately past. Fascinating reading and a must for anyone seriously interested in the Santa Fe trade. Susan died at home, age 26. Lewis and she each wrote just one book.

This newsy contemporary recounting of a trip that includes being a guest in Cheyenne lodges, freezing on the Texas plains, witnessing the trials of the murderers of New Mexico Governor Charles Bent, and wonderful conversations with mountain men and French Canadian voyageurs is written by a boy with an enthusiasm for his experience and a good eye and ear. Lots about horses, mules, food and dancing. A lovely book and fine language.

In this gargantuan volume, Michael Hickey presents a conspiracy theory in the aftermath of the death of Warren Earp (Wyatt's brother) that would perhaps do credit to a JFK assasination buff, but hardly qualifies as good history. To accept his conclusions, in my opinion, requires the reader to discard logic and common sense. There is a wealth of primary source material presented, and for that I will give the book two stars, but I do not advocate that anyone read this book in the expectation of learning the truth.

Recent years have seen the emergence of someone who has proved to be a relentless pursuer of the truth, an historical researcher of the first order: Michael M. Hickey. In the early 1990s, Hickey published no less than three books looking in great detail at the thirty-second "O.K. Corral" gunfight and then, in 2000, produced a volume that has really given Earp historians something to think about. "The Death of Warren Baxter Earp: A Closer Look" puts forward the proposition that, subsequent to the shooting down of Wyatt's youngest brother, Warren, in an Arizona saloon in the summer of 1900, Wyatt went on yet another "trail of vengeance" and killed all those whom he held responsible.

This enormous book of 759 pages is the most exhaustively researched book yet on the doings of Wyatt Earp - and in an area of his life about which little is known. Aided by a small army of field investigators from all over the States, Hickey has come up with an extraordinary story which, if true, puts a whole new light on the character of Wyatt Earp. This is a truly fascinating read and is the sort of history we Earp enthusiasts want, packed full of primary source material, expertly, and entertainingly, edited.

David Ashford, England

There have been numerous books published about Wyatt Earp and his brothers, "The Fighting Earps", over the years. A few of them are very good. Most of them are very bad; being either a repitition of the well-known facts or a distortion of them to present Earp in a particular way.

Michael M. Hickey's "The Death Of Warren Baxter Earp" is one of the very good books on this subject. Yes, of course, this massive (over seven hundred pages) work on the strange death of Wyatt's younger brother in 1900 can be labled a "conspiracy theory", but with such persuasive evidence it is an intriquing one. Hickey and his team of researchers have discovered an impressive amount of new information on a very familiar topic. All of this primary source material is reproduced on the page so that the reader can judge for themselves. Perhaps Wyatt Earp's vengance against his enemies did not end when he rode out of Arizona in 1882.

If you think you have read everything about Wyatt Earp then this fascinating and provocotive work about a little known part of his life will surprise you. Anyone with an interest in the Earp brothers, western lawmen and outlaws or justice (and the lack of it) in the old west will find this book hard to put down. It is highly recommended.