An excellent value. Beautiful photographs, with concise text on natural history, including geologic formation, human history, ecology, climate, and flora and fauna. A well balanced, informative introduction to the region. I plan on buying more from Wuerthner.

What Cooper's book is not: ponderous or trite, heavy-handed or unthinking. On the contrary, Cooper does a wonderful job of blending keen observations with a terrific simplicity. It didn't tell me what to think or see, but it did a wonderful job of showing me what the state was about--warts and all. Rarely have I felt that a place was so well captured. And it took all that Cooper did, the pictures and the text, to pull it off. Without either, it wouldn't have worked, falling into simplicity or pedantry. But it does work. Imagine Bruce Chatwin with a sketchbook. It was a real joy to read.

As a travel journalist and Publisher/Editor of Travel with a Challenge web magazine, I have specialized in researching meaningful "alternative" travel for the past decade, that is, ecological, educational, cultural and volunteer vacations worldwide. As such, I welcome this guidebook which breaks new ground in educationally directing vacationers to health and wellness travel opportunities in the Hawaiian Islands. It is a pathbreaking guide to a theme that is clearly in demand, especially within the growing mature travel audience I largely serve, a travel audience either trying to get well or determined to stay well far into their elder decades. The variety of options is mindboggling, catering to every taste from ultra-conservative to way-out New Age. Hawaii is one of the most popular travel destinations on earth -- this book will help all styles of vacationers discover how to move way beyond Waikiki with existing vacation plans to the Islands, or maybe attract new vacationers there for the first time.

This well-researched book by sisters Laura and Betsy Crites is a welcome addition to the growing health and wellness revolution that is joyfully happening in our beautiful 50th state. In addition to excellent information written by various health care practitioners, it offers clear insight into Hawaiian cultural traditions relating to healing and suggests different types of wellness vacations, such as "Nature as Healer," "Lifestyle Modification," and lots of treatment therapies that can be found on the various islands.
The second two thirds of the book provide the reader with detailed information about each island and what is available there, including, most importantly, listings of places to visit, practitioners of all kinds who are available to augment a wellness vacation, healing accommodations, and much, much more! It is truly a treasure for people who are seeking lifestyle changes, healing from physical and emotional illnesses, and even for those of us who live in Hawaii. We now know who is out there practicing various healing modalities and that we are not alone in our personal quest for healing and for spreading the good word about the wonderful healing resources available in this rapidly-growing area of Hawaiian tourism.

This is a very helpful campground guide for Oregon. Each listing gives a description of the campground and its surroundings, as well as vital stats like how many campsites there are. It includes out of the way forest service campgrounds with no amenities, as well as larger state campgrounds with many spaces and RV hookups, so this is a great guide for all campers.

Canine Oregon: Where To Play And Stay With Your Dog by Lizann Dunegan is a handy travel guide for Oregon pet owners who reside there, or who simply come a pleasant vacation with their canine companion. Listing suitable canine accommodations, pet-oriented shopping, doggie daycare, hiking routes, and more, Canine Oregon: Where To Play And Stay With Your Dog is an excellent fact-filled information resource which is especially commended to the attention of Oregon bound dog owners.

The nine short stories here are all linked to the Pacific Campaign of WWII (Malaysia, the Philippines, New Guinea), encompassing the native civilians and combatants as well as the Japanese, American, and Australian soldiers who traveled far to fight each other there. More than anything, the stories are about the suffering-both physical and psychological-of both those who fought and those who were bystanders. Occasionally these drift into a surreal realm (not magical realist) inhabited by the dead and the walking spiritually dead.

"Order of Precedence" is a deceptively simple tale of Harry Gillen, an Anglo-Indian officer interred in the Changi POW camp (made famous by real life POW James Clavell's novel King Rat). When his former commander in India appears as a POW, Gillen's story flashes back to his days in India, where he is an officer, but never accepted as a full gentleman. "Guinea" follows two American soldiers, Francino and Burns, lost in the jungle of New Guinea, they bicker and take a Japanese prisoner. "Walkabout" is about an Australian veteran who survives life as a POW building the railroad to Burma (as seen in Pierre Boulle's book and the subsequent film, The Bridge on the River Kwai). After the war, as a rancher, he is haunted by those who never came home from the jungle. "Folly" tells of a Dutch plantation manger, the Indonesian guerilla leader who tries to buy guns from him, and how the war changed their lives. "Colossus" is similar to "Walkabout " in that it's main character is a former POW (this one American) who will never escape the horrors of being a POW. in old age, he is able to repay the Filipino who rescued him from the Bataan Death March (which is well-described in the history Ghost Soldiers).

"Intramuros" is a series of brief vignettes about a Manilla family, and how the war affected it. It's the most seemingly autobiographical story in the collection, but also the least strictly constructed. "The Caprices" is also about a Filipino family, and the terror of the Japanese occupation brings to them. Set in the early '70s, "Yashamita's Gold" is a mini-thriller about missing treasure from the war. Japanese Gen. Yashamita purportedly had a massive hoard of gold and jewels looted from occupied territories that vanished during the tail end of the war. The story tells of the possible surfacing of that treasure and how it affects two Japanese in hiding in Manila many years later. Finally, the most fanciful story of the collection is "Position," which posits a tired Amelia Earhart scouting Saipan in 1937 and being captured by the Japanese.

These stories are an invaluable addition to WWII literature, all the more remarkable for being written by a woman several generations removed from the war. They provide a rare glimpse into the impact of the Pacific Campaign on the Filipino people, and a haunting reminder of how long war's wounds can linger.

After reading Steven Callahan's ADRIFT, I picked this up. Whereas Steve's own experience pitted him alone against the elements, this book pits 4 men together against the elements and their frustrations throughout it all. They managed to survive in the upsidedown hull of a trimaran (they termed "the cave") for four months, the four of them sleeping on one bed less than 4' wide. Very gripping reading, one of those you may well finish (all 200+ pages) in a single sitting

A super book for Hawaii lovers! The photos are mostly spread over two pages to give the full impact and the colours and sharpness of the images are good. The photos span most of the Hawaiian islands and focus on landscapes as well as seascapes and towns. The written accompanying information is brief but concise and useful, as the main focus is on the beauty of the image. Certainly a book you can lose yourself in for a while. My only regret, is that there were not more pictures!

Tom Walker makes terrific nature photographs and this book has a lot of them, but this is not just a picture book. The author adds natural history information and his personal observations to create images that are more than visual. One is left with a feeling for a wild and lonely land and the place of the caribou in it. This is a good introduction to the natural history of these fascinating animals.

Anyone whose ancestors were in the Pacific Northwest during the 1830's-1840's should find this book of great interest. I found several ancestors listed in this book. It gives marriage dates, dates of baptism's and death's.