Written and compiled by holistic veterinarian Donna Kelleher, The Last Chance Dog And Other True Stories Of Holistic Animal Healing is a heartwarming anthology of stories about treating animals ranging from dogs and cats, to horses, turtles, birds, and more, through the application of alternative medicine. Engagingly narrated in a down-to-earth fashion, The Last Chance Dog is an engaging, entertaining, informative, and very highly recommended read for animal lovers everywhere.

I read a LOT of animal-related books, and this is one of the very best. It is so well-written and engaging, that you can hardly put it down (although I had to often, just to process all the new information that Dr. Kelleher gave in each and every chapter). I have learned so much about holistic vet care from this book and really appreciate her knowledge and the way she shares it with us. Each chapter gives a beautiful, moving story about a particular animal and the health problems he or she has been going through, as well as the fears and frustrations that the animals' humans are experiencing. Probably most of us who have ever lived with animals have gone through those most difficult times, and I especially appreciated the love expressed by both Dr. Kelleher and the animals' caretakers in each instance.

I am now determined to find a holistic vet for my cats and am excited about starting them on the homemade cat diet that Dr. Kelleher gives us in the book (and, yes, there's a dog one too!). This is a must-have book for everyone who lives with an animal, and the stories are wonderful to read for all animal lovers.

Okay, once I got past the 50's-textbook-cover design (which does an inadequate job of expressing the vitality of the book and its author), I discovered a dynamic, articulate animal advocate; a very knowledgeable veterinarian (both conventional and holistic, explaining acupuncture and the Chinese medicinal theory behind it, chiropractic, herbal & homeopathic solutions, and other alternative approaches); and a delightful storyteller. Her enthusiasm and personality fairly jump off the pages; her stories are well written and heartwarming/heartbreaking (18 chapters, 18 bouts of tears), and her advice is absolutely essential. The only challenge is keeping track of it all - I have tattered sticky-note bookmarks spewing from the book edges. She uses an interesting and effective structural rhythm: case stories followed by explorations of the medical issues and alternative medicine solutions each story brings up.

Dr. Kelleher is impassioned and opinionated (without ever judging or making me feel inadequate because, for example, I can't get my cats to eat home-cooked food), compassionate (her love of animals is glaringly apparent), brutally honest (revealing her heartbreaking frustration and despair at some cases), thoughtful and interesting (her embrace of holistic medicine is both well-reasoned while also quite intuitive as she tells the tale of her medical-intellectual-emotional-spiritual journey), and, at times, funny, like when she crawls around in a dirty crawlspace looking for her escaped tortoise muttering, "I am the worst tortoise mom in the whole world." By this point in the book, you can see her doing this and chuckling while a tear escapes the corner of your eye.

A great read: entertaining, heartwarming, informative, and ultimately hopeful. Any person owned by a pet will love (and benefit from) this book, even more so if your animal companion has medical challenges.

One of the nice things about the Lonely Planet guides is that they are very good about telling you which things are just tourist traps and which are genuinely worth seeing. I don't think I've yet run into any bad recommendations from this guide, and now that I live in Seattle (I bought the book several years before moving here), I've had pretty good opportunity to try out a lot of their suggestions.

There is lots of good information about interesting spots in many of Seattle's vibrant neighboorhood communities besides just the downtown and Pioneer Square areas. I also appreciated the information on various points of architectural interest, which has made me want to chase down another book about Seattle's architecture.

If you want to get to know Seattle beyond just the touristy stuff that every visitor to Seattle has seen (Pike's Place, the Needle, etc.), you can't go wrong with this book. Even if you are already familiar with Seattle, there is much you can learn from this book -- I intend to try out more of their recommended day trips to the surrounding areas soon!

I bought this book for about 7 months when I was in Seattle for a week. The book has only 200 pages, so that europeans can read the whole book during the fly. The book give you detailed information about facts about and around Seattle. A quickly reference about the history of Seattle can be founded here, but also information about the economy, arts, language and culture. There is a section of 20 pages with color maps needed for a good orientation. This book is highly recommended for all people travelling to Seattle.

Virgilio Krumbacher

As a resident of the area, I have say that this book is a great asset to my bookshelf. I often find myself looking through the book to find new and exotic things to do around the city. Sometimes it is more useful than using the phonebook because there are tidbits on culture, restaurant styles, and where the best places are to rent bikes, canoes, and rollerblades. When friends or relatives visit, I lend them the book so they can easily find the things they need around town. I highly reccommend this book to any traveler heading to the Seattle area!!!!!

With an impending trip to Seattle on the horizon, I ordered this book and some others -- but this one is by far my favorite! Not only is it thorough, scathingly honest in its critiques, and well-organized, but it is an absolute riot to read!!! Seriously, once I picked it up, I couldn't put it down... It is always good to find a travel guide that offers up actual opinions of landmarks, restaurants, hotels, etc., rather than just what seems like a tagline from a brochure -- and this book does not hold back, whether it be to compliment or to criticize...

I HIGHLY recommend this book if you are traveling to Seattle, moving there, etc... You will be entertained from cover to cover!!!

This book is especially great for new residents of the Seattle area. The descriptions on the hot-spots are dead on. Once in town, be sure to pick up a free copy of "The Stranger" weekly newspaper.

Advice: Be careful with some of the listings in the book as they are not around any longer. You may want to consult with citysearch (or call) before making plans.

After growing up in the Puget Sound Area in the pre_1960`s before the changes took place,I saw the Seattle waterfront as one of the coolest spots on the earth,comparable to the waterfront in Hong Kong.Just a seamy world of offbeat characters& some of the best seafood you could possibly imagine.Paula has disovered all those haunts& more.This is the quintessential guide to the best of the best& I recommened it to locals & non_locals to get the most for your $$& to rediscover the way Seattle as it really was.

To the surprise and amazement of most Americans, the events of November 1999 in Seattle came like a lightning bolt out of nowhere. Since the electronic media had done little to inform the average TV viewer of what the World Trade Organization (WTO) was, or what they would be trying to accomplish in their convention in Seattle, no one understood or appreciated the collection of concerns, misgivings, and grievances the protestors were there to use in way of ammunition for making the WTO stand up and take notice. Within a few days, we were all holding our breath.

Not since the heady days of the 1960s, or on a smaller scale, the No-Nukes movement of the late 1970s had such passion, conviction, or energy been thrust into the equation of public politics than was done over that short period of time in Seattle. And here to give us a up-close and personal description as well as a cogent interpretation of those days of confrontation is author Janet Thomas, who, by taking a participant-observer role, attempts to describe, from inside the ranks of the protestors, who they are and why they are confronting the WTO and the forces of economic globalization it represents.

This is a hardly an objective, dispassionate, or even look at the events that transpired over the spate of several days in and around Seattle . Yet in its urgency, passion, and position-taking the reader comes to understand, at least from the myriad of organizations participating in the demonstrations, the reasons for their activities. Given the media's proclivities to dismissing any such protest as the work of mindless anarchists or social, political, and economic trouble-makers, this more introspective approach is a breath of fresh air. Thomas describes the reasoning of the protestors in terms of their concerns for the social, economic, and political costs associated with globalism. As happened with Chicago in 1968, the forces of the organized society seem to all accrue to those in power such as the WWTO, and the citizens are left to explain their actions and their motives between the margins, since the media is seemingly uninterested in their politics or their issues. All the media wanted to concentrate on was the violence, which makes great TV, and requires little explanation.

Thus, by giving voice to the myriad of different organizations involved in the demonstrations, Thomas helps the reader to understand their motives in performing such acts of civil disobedience as well as the issues themselves much better. In this she performs a yeoman service to the general public, who certainly needs to understand the particulars of the issues much better if they are to ever appreciate the terrible danger organizations like the WTO potentially represent. Anyone interested in the ways in which economic globalism works, and the ways in which we each can act to constrain, block, or modify their efforts to encroach on our liberties should read this interesting and well-written book. Enjoy!

Informative detail of just what the agenda of the Seattle and later, the Ottawa protestors wish to accomplish. The TV news doesn't tell us about WTO rules supercedeing laws enacted in Massachusetts. The TV news does not tell the story of the prison-factories in El Salvador. The TV news avoids telling us about the man that makes $104,000 per hour while his Haitian workers make 13 cents per hour. Janet Thomas does. And she also tells us why the TV news skips the real story, because it is controlled by the same people.

While the TV news avoids the story of thousands of peaceful demonstrators attempting to make sure sovereignty and democracy survive the WTO, it concentrates on a handful of violent demonstrators who get out of hand. Janet Thomas tells the story straight.

The truth is hard to take when you realize you are part of a system that does not serve the basic needs of so many around the globe. This book seeks to go beyond the media's focus on a small number of anarchistic acts in Seattle's WTO week. It both reveals and explores in depth the real issues at the base of this 50,000 person protest. Thomas' approach is both scholarly and undogmatic. Individual sketches serve to break down denial in readers such as myself, readers who start out not really wanting to hear the truth. The bonus: at the end, you are not left feeling hopeless. Thomas has compiled a rich and extensive list of resources to further research the information and ideas expressed in her book. If you are interested in learning about world economic justice, read this book.

Birds of Seattle and Puget Sound is our most used identification source. We are beginners, and get confused with tomes which identify every bird in North America. This little book brings us the instant joy of identifying our flying guests while they are still at the feeder or bath. We appear to be "experts" to our house guests who marvel at the variety of birds visiting our yard.

This in an excellent book for the birds in this area. My 5 year old can identify all the birds in our backyard and can easily look up the new birds that come around. A must for parents who have children and birdfeeders.

No more sifting through field guides containing hundreds of birds you will never see around here. The authors of this book have limited their scope to the birds of this region. Many helpful illustrations and charts help a beginner with identification. I plan to use this book to assist Boy Scouts with their Bird Studies Merit Badge

WA Burgess' Cowards is the cohesive and complete portrait of a heretofore unseen segment of American culture. Real and raw and powerful. I only hope he publishes again soon, unless the rumors of his death are true...which would be too sad indeed. A real talent.

After reading the New York Times review of this novel, I had to pick it up. I read it, and was utterly amazed. Burgess dexterously draws you into the story and keeps your attention through a rollercoaster ride of heroin, pot, and romantic obsession. Reminiscent of Irvine Welsh's _Trainspotting_, but with more primal power. Intelligent, realistic, and emotionally gripping, _Cowards_ is a must-read.

If you go into this book expecting a literary masterpiece that will be loved for ages by both young and old, you might be disappointed. If you go into it expecting to learn a bit about a culture that it isn't necessarily safe or prudent to explore on your own; to learn about the minds and lives of so-called junkies; to read about LIFE like it really is, the vulgar and "sordid" together with the beautiful, then you might understand what the author has to say. This isn't commercial fluff. It hasn't been blunted by any publishers' fear of criticism by the 'family oriented'. This isn't a tightly knit book that runs along a predictable narrative. It goes as life goes. This book may be touted as fiction, but the lives of Mitch, of Ziggy, of Theo, could happen to anyone at anytime - is happening, to thousands of people at this moment. There are Sheliah's and Kate's living down the street from you.

The gradual distentigration of Mitch's life, paralleled by the disintigration of the band, is underway from day one, with Mitch skipping work after an extended daydream/acid trip on the bus. The despair the entire band slowly slips into merely increases their reliance on drugs - their little bit of heaven. Then Mitch finds Etta - a "pure" form of heaven - and even after she leaves, Etta stands as a symbol of what-could-be. Burgess' "been there, done that authenticity" adds a spark to this book that would not otherwise be there. This is a magnificent debut novel; it deserves attention.

Yes, I know of no other book guide to Seattle's ethnic food culture. Considering how important a food town this is, it's really a shame this book wasn't written sooner. But, it's here & it's very good. I agree w. almost all of Ms. Calcott's food recommendations.

My quarrels are w. what is left out. What happened to ethnic restaurants?? I know there are many of them & it would've added to the size of the book & the time it took to research it. But a food guide that leaves out restaurants has left out something very important.

Richard

I am a dislocated Appalachian that took the food bull of Seattle by the horns, but that was before this book. Now I am sure I will be THE Seattle epicure-genius among my circle with this book tucked into my collection. I am amazed by the variety of food resources, from chocolatiers to ethnic markets, where to get the greatest baguettes. I also love the anecdotal sections on the pioneers/owners of some of these purveyors. Oh, and recipes! There is humor, knowledge, pleasure, and respect written here, and a love for Seattle and the food treasures it offers. Buy it.

The book is delightful to read. I am not from the Seattle but it makes me want to visit, just to hang out in places like James Cook Ltd for cheese or Gelatiamo for ice cream or Il Fornaio for bread. It provides great inside information on the 'in' places to go to. Miss Calcott is a food connoisseur. I can relate when she says she dreams about food. My imagination often takes me to enchanting places like Florence and Paris and thoughts of fabulous food are never far behind. The anecdotes that precede each section are interesting. Well done!

Good driving directions, good riding directions, good guide to what is actually at the trail. All around a great addition for anyone just getting going in Mt. Biking.

As a visitor to Seattle, I used this book to find some good local mtn. bike trails. The author of the book has detailed every aspect of these trails to the mile. If you use the information and follow your bike computer, you will find your way around some awesome trails. I would suggest photocopying the pages and carrying them with you as the book is too bulky unless you have a big backpack. Luckily, when we rode the Middlefork trail at Snoqualmie we were smart enough to tear the pages out of the book. We misjudged our timing especially due to some of the obstacles we faced on the trail i.e. water crossings, fallen trees, etc. With one light (one burned out in 2 hours) and three people, we followed the book to the "t" and hiked approx. 6 miles of this trail in the dark. Without those torn out pages, we'd have spent the night in Snoqualmie! Great book. Buy it if you want to ride the trails in Seattle!

If you're new to mountain biking or new to the area this book is a "must have." The book is filled with rides within 90 minutes drive of Seattle. Directions to trailheads are excellent, routes provide a good overview of each area, and route maps provide adequate diection. This is THE guide for Seattle-area mountain biking.

Earl Emerson's series of Thomas Black mysteries was my father's favorite line of books. Thomas Black, your everyman's hero, is an ex-cop turned private investigator in the university district of Seattle, Washington. Since I went to the UW I thought it might be fun to read these mysteries. I was pleasantly surprised at these books, which feature a hero that almost any guy can relate to on some level. Thomas Black is wonderfully flawed, with a fetish for large breasts and a jealous side that even he can't seem to understand. I really like the characters in Emerson's mysteries too, but this book was rather disappointing in that it introduced Snake Slezak as though he was Black's lifelong friend, even though we haven't seen him in any of the earlier books. Also, I was really confused by the ending, and after reading it a second time I picked up quite a few holes in the story line. I felt like Kathy Bates in the movie Misery when she screams, "What, have you all got amnesia? He didn't get out of the cockadoody car!" Maybe you think I'm being overly critical like someone who brings up flaws in the plot of a porn movie, but I'm just saying that the story could be tighter. However, even though there are mistakes, Emerson's style will definitely keep you reading if you like mysteries, but don't be surprised if you can pick apart the plot and find major flaws. To be honest, I think the guy should find a better editor, because he's pretty creative, and with a little polishing and revision his books would be great.

This was the first book I read by Earl Emerson. As a Portland resident and a Tacoma native I was able to identify with Emerson as he weaves his plot from Seattle to Portland. Thomas Black is the perfect character for this and the other books in the series. An ex-cop turned private investigator, Black has the feel of a Northwest detective. Living in the U Dub district in Seattle, Black is depicted as a down to earth guy trying to earn a living as a private detective. Emerson draws from his own knowledge of the Northwest as a Seattle firefighter and a Tacoma native in unraveling the plot. Many of the characters he creates are unique and present a great composite of Northwest life styles. A great read and terrific climax.

I bought this book in the Portland airport just before a flight back home. Usually I pick up a book for reading on a flight, and when done leave it for either the airline people or another passenger to pick it up -- but not this one. I was hooked from page one and when finished I kept it and loaned it out to others as a highly suggested read.

This was my first Emerson novel; what is interesting is how it shows that he (the author) had developed his ability to paint characters richly as well as handle plots with more dexterity than in his earlier novels, which I sought out to read after this one. I also have read books he's written since this one (except his latest, "Catfish Cafe"), and feel this is his best effort -- both in the Thomas Black series (this book features Thomas Black) and in the Mac Fontana series.

If you are an Emerson fan and haven't read this one, by all means read it. If you've not read any Emerson books yet, make this your first one. I don't think you'll be disappointed.

If you are a fan of True Crime, then get your hands on this book. Jack Olsen is one of the best True Crime writers around. Not only will this book keep you on the edge of your seat, but it will also enrage you at the injustice put upon one man. I highly recommend this book.

I am a fan of thrillers and suspense books. Books such as this go far in proving that real life events can be far more terrifying than anything we read in fiction. Any fan of real life crime, criminal psychology or of books about our criminal /judicial system really need to read this book.

There are two aspects to this story...more if you want to start considering the many rape victims left in Mac Smith's wake. The first aspect is Mac Smith himself. The story goes very far in explaining how personalities such as Mac Smith's are formed. Jack Olsen portrays Mac as a well-rounded individual, even a likeable person. Yet, Mac is truly twisted and sick. Extremely manipulative. It is frightening to know that this person could be out on the streets in another 4 years...

Then there is the story of Steve Titus. This is, perhaps, the most frightening part of the whole story. It really makes you wonder how often innocent people are convicted of another's crimes. This man suffered for 8 months...through his arrest which he jokingly thought was all a mistake, a trial, a conviction, and finally numerous postponements of his sentencing before his innocence was finally proven with the assistance of a news reporter. His life was destroyed....he lost his job and eventually the woman he loved.

This book is a truly compelling read. I read it in one day of nonstop reading. After reading this book, the next time you hear someone in jail profess their innocence, you will hesitate before you sneer and say, "Yeah...that's what they all say..."

I'd expected the book to be good, but it was excellent. I highly recomend it to all true crime fans. The book gave just enough background, just enough of the trials, just enough opinions etc. It was very informative and such a compelling read. I was already familiar with the wrongful conviction of Steve Titus, and found Olsen's account to be quite accurate and compassionate.