Ed Reed examined the rhetoric versus the reality of community policing in Seattle BEFORE the World Trade Organization fiasco exposed it to the world. He has also got important things to say about community policing generally. This is a book that deserves a wide audience.

Families like ours, where one parent has cancer requiring a temporary cross-country move to Seattle's world-famous hospitals, will find this book a perfect one for soothing their children's anxieties. It has lovely pictures of Seattle--including one of the prettiest skyline shots I have seen--as well as descriptions of the people, activities, and history of the region. My six year-old was much less anxious after reading this book, and she enjoyed sharing it with her class as well.

Seattle's best places are spread over a wide area, and even many area residents know about only a fraction of them. This is a great book for discovering places you may love but might not have heard about. The book is getting a bit dated and could use an update, but is still useful.

This appears to be the only book published (1991) by Barbara Holz Sullivan. Loaned to me by a good friend, I have enjoyed this to its fullest. I have long been a Seattleite, yet have learned places-to-go from this charming book ... and her picnic recommendations are positively fabulous (very practical, useful recipes). Unfortunately, I have learned that this book is currently out of print; I would most certainly like to acquire my own copy.

For anyone wanting to run a serious game in the Shadowrun world, this is a must. Not because it's seattle, but because it contains great detailed information about the shadowrun community. And it also has some great maps for locations. Makes it real easy on gamemasters.

While Richard Hoyt seems to me not quite in the leagues with James Hall, Michael Connelly, and Dennis Lehane, he can still captivate and entertain, and his books are always worth a look. Snake Eyes, like so many Elmore Leonard novels, is not really so much about who-done-it.... as much as it is about the characters and their observations on the situations in which they find themselves. In this book, two people are murdered and cattle are deliberately infected with anthrax--it doesn't take a genius to figure out from the very limited number of possibilities who is responsible, but along the way we have the delight of sharing the company of John Denison, who seems rather like a private eye from the beat or hippie generations. His Indian (Native American) partner Willy Prettybird doesn't play much of a role in this book except to set up the speculations on the Great Hoop of Life and do a bit of tracking that those redskins seem to do so well. It's not offensive, but it seemed to me to be the weak point of the book that Prettybird didn't play a larger role. There is almost no resemblance to Tony Hillerman's works, which fully engage one in the culture he writes about.

If you like this one, I'd also recommend the other Richard Hoyt books, particularly Fish Story, Trotsky's Run, and Siskiyou. It's a shame his work is not more well known.

The book Spring Break is one of my favorites. It is a book for christian teenagers. The book focuses on tough teenage christian issues including what god wants me to do and purposes for what God has given me. Spring break is about a girl, named Cooper who moves from new york city to go to a school in Seattle. In college she rooms a girl named Emily who just happens to be Cooper's boy-friends sister. I recomened this book expescialy if you like books which you can't seem to put down!

I had actually bought this book hoping that is was more of a travel guide for the city of Seattle. I was quite suprised that it is more of a guide to help with a residential move to the city. Which I am actually considering in the future! I found it most interesting and informative as it gave details to the various choices of neighborhoods in Seattle and the surrounding areas nearby. It also gave insight as to the educational statistics for the neighborhoods as well. The guide is somewhat small in size but the information contained within would be most helpful to someone who would be a new resident to that area of the State of Washington.

Perhaps I am a bit spoiled with The Murder She Wrote mysteries, but I found this book to somewhat lack character and plot development. While the book is well written and esily understandable, the ending lacked much to be desired. To many twists and turns, much like the Runaway Mountain at Six Flags. All in all a good read and a good introduction to the author.

If you're new to the city or even a longtimer who always wanted to explore the colorful districts of this town on the Sound, Walking Seattle by John Owen is your best guide by leaps and bounds. you won't just read about the sights and sounds of Seattle, but also its origins and beginnings, from the first day of commerce at the Pike Place Market. Most of the city's great walks are covered quite well--the Market, Ballard, the Arboretum, Alki, Diswcovery Park, the Locks. Fremont is the perfect foil for Owen's quirky brand of humor. All in all, Owen won't lead you off course