As the author of "Offbeat Houston", I'm always looking for interesting and fun places to see in Houston. "Exploring Houston with Children" is packed with lots of great places to go and fascinating things to see. If you're looking for ways to entertain and educate the kids, you'll find lots of great ideas here. There are many suggestions on integrating the featured attractions into lesson plans, and the resources, photos and web listings provide plenty of additional information. The kids will have fun while learning and, who knows, you just might learn a thing or two yourself!

This is a wonderful resource to have for showing Houston to out of town guests. Visitors can tell you what they would like to see,and there is no guess work left for the host. It is a great book to have on hand for young or old visitors. I have also given the book to families with children and grandchildren.

This is Deborah Frontiera, Jasper Frontiera's wife speaking in this review. As a kindergarten teacher in Houston, ISD, who is in charge of planning field trips for the grade level, I am always on the look out for good resources. Elaine Galit and Vikk Simmon's book, Exploring Houston With Children, is one of the best, most complete, easy to use resources I have seen in a long time. Everything I need is right there all in one place and neatly organized.

Probably one of the best wildland fire books I have ever read. In my 25+ years of firefighting this one captures the scenes of a wildland fire the best. The pictures are great and the narration and stories truly catch you up in the whole fire scene. Buy it for the pictures or the stories--but get a copy, You will enjoy it for years to come.

This coffee-table sized book has some incredible photos and a great human-interest slant on the world of wildland firefighting. There is a bit on the history of wildland fire in America and on tactics and fire ecology, but the author really shines when he describes the subculture of those who fight wildland fire, and why many of them forsake "normal" careers or social status to come back year after year. Wildland fire in rural America is one of the few paths to genuine adventure still available in the modern world, and is probably the closest thing to a positive rite of passage there is today. It is an opportunity to live and work in the wilderness which most people will never have. I've been there, done that myself and found this book of much interest. Although, with the catastrophic fire seasons of 2000 and 2002 this book is no longer quite up to date. Looking forward to a revised and updated edition.

When I first picked up a copy of Michael Thoele's Fire Line, I was quite skeptical, having served 5 years in the late 1990's as a Region One Firefighter for the U.S. Forest Service in Montana while working my way through college to earn an engineering degree at Montana State University. All too often, Books, Documentaries, and movies leave much to be desired when it comes to correctly describing the world of Wildland Firefighting and the characters that inhabit that world. After having read the work completely, I must say that I am very impressed. I have read it now more than a few times, and still return to it when I feel the need to keep alive all the wonderful memories of the unique people that I met and the experiences that we shared.

Having started out as an "Engine Slug" on the Gallatin National Forest, and having worked my way up and around the fire eschelons-- serving as a helitack crew member, eventually earning my quals as an Incident Commander, and serving my time as a Rookie Smokejumper in Missoula, I have seen and done much that Mr. Thoele accurately describes. I think what makes the book work so well is that the author lets the book be itself. By this, I mean that many of the stories and photos are those related to and given to the author. The research for this book is absolutly top-notch, [as it MUST be], and takes nothing away from the fast-paced, hard-hitting, gritty and spine-tingling stories related by the author.

In my opinion, this is the finest book currently on the market that documents Wildland Firefighting in the western United States, both in scope and depth. It is a fitting tribute to all Wildland Firefighters, Past, Present and Future.

About two pages into this I realized I'd come across an incredibly sublime, intelligent, and aware narrative voice, that of a 12-yr-old girl in turn-of-the-century London, and from that point on read the rest of the novel in a page-turning fever of amazement, delight, and pleasure. Ostensibly a fictionalized account of Rebecca West's real family, the story follows the lives of the narrator, Rose Aubrey, her twin sister Mary (both of whom are prodigies on the piano), their older sister Cordelia, who apparently stinks at the piano, but doesn't realize it, much to the chagrine of the rest of the family, their thoroughly adored younger brother, Richard, a flautist, and their ragged, brilliant mother who tries to keep the family running while the father, a brilliant essayist and pamphleteer who is completely lacking in all matters of practicality and stability, loses one job after another. A brilliant cast indeed, but it's West's inimitable prose and intelligence and generosity and imagination and wit that brings the trials and tribulations of the Aubrey family to unforgettable life. When you close the book, you feel as if you had just remembered moments from a real family you'd known while growing up but who you lost touch with because your family moved away. Astounding. Please, if you love beautiful things, read this.

Rebecca West's THE FOUNTAIN OVERFLOWS, published in 1956, is one of the last great British modernist novels. Usually overlooked on modernism course syllabi in favor of West's shorter (but not as profound) THE RETURN OF THE SOLDIER, THE FOUNTAIN OVERFLOWS is an exceptionally funny and evocative portrait of a shabby-genteel family of thinkers and artists at the turn of the century in a London suburb. The narrator, Rose Aubrey, and her twin sister Mary are young pianists; like their younger brother, the adored and otherwordly Richard Quin, a flautists, they are encouraged by their nervous and kindly mother, herself an accomplished musician in her youth. (The musical inadequacies of the eldest daughter, Cordelia, form the lonegest running joke in the novel--and eventually its greatest emotional payoff.) They live practically hand-to-mouth given their unending state of destitution wrought upon them by their handsome and mercurial father, who loves his family but cannot provide a stable life for them. Yet despite their poverty the family's life is never shown to be anything less than magical, given the gifts and talents the children's parents for seeing the world always as a wondrous place. This sense of the ordinary transformed into the extraordinary, the book's great theme, is mirrored both in West's gorgeously descriptive prose and in the family's regular encounters with the supernatural: ghosts, telepathy, and poltergeists play important parts in the novel. The novel is episodic, in the way of its comic antecedents, such as Fielding, early Dickens, and Elizabeth Gaskell's CRANFORD. Still, West's sense of a strong narrative to the family's fortunes keeps you in narrative suspense nonetheless: as you read it you cannot wait to see what happens to the family next.

I have been reading, reading, reading for fifty plus years. Oddly I don't dream about books, but this one was an exception. The character Cordelia came to haunt my sleep, lively and unforgettable. A vidid, surprising, unpredictable, eccentric, and thoroughly original work. Seek it out.

We own the Legacy Ranch high in the mountains of Northeastern Utah. For years we have loved the beauty of the unspoiled wilderness. Nursing newborn elk calves, watching Canadian Lynx outside their lairs, and many other adventures have cast us in the mold of lovers of the wilderness. To read the adventures of true cowboys, who started with nothing else but their "grit" and ended up with lives spent plumbing the depths of fun and hard work was one of the top literary experiences of our lives. This book, far better than the sequels, will be part o four Christmas giving this year.

Nothing to reading it, that is. This is one of the first nonfictions books I've read that I have ever liked. I got interested in it when I saw the TV show 'Nothing Too Good For A Cowboy' and had to read the books. This book made me laugh and almost made me cry. The characters are too funny and very heart-warming.

Outstanding! This book was an absolute, heart pounding thrill to read. An epic illustration of the unstopable drive of the human heart and the unyeilding will of man to print his own name across the pages of time. Men and women of a class that survives now, only in the memories or our lost heritage. People with unconquerable spirit and no notion of the impossible. If comparison were possible, this book would be the Bendigo Shafter of non-fiction but even the endless imagination of the great Louis L'Amour could not stand against the unforgiving truth of a land not tamed by man. The writing is clear and descriptive, showing the obvious education and experience of it's author, a man who chose ranching by choice rather than out of necessity. As the pages turn, the reader gets a look into the lives of these mountain men and without effort, we learn to understand each and every character, almost to the point of friendship. Quite an accomplishment in a fast-paced 250 page book. The pride, drive, knowledge, and respect of these men for the world they lived in is unparelleled. Though I was forced to perform certain daily activities, my mind never left the book until I could complete it's last inspiring page and sit breathlesly paralized in awe and admiration of this newly created dream world. This is the greatest book that I have ever been given the pleasure to read and I don't hesitate to say that the next two books I read will be the conclusion to it's sequence.

Having known Tom for many years as a fascinating guy with a "past" that he only hinted of( with his knowledge of snakes, for instance )which he shared with the Boy Scouts-but you never really knew how or where he had acquired this knowledge-then when The Gringo Kid was published, voila, now we know. Karen Fisher did such a great job in capturing Tom -in his speech patterns and vernacular what a talent she has. I hear a mini series is in the works for t.v. Can hardly wait to see it. I have shared the book with many people- always the same response - GREAT!

The book caught and held my interest. Tom obviously has nine lives to have lived through the adventures that he experienced. The book is written like it is being told by a great storyteller; something that Tom definetly is. I would reccomend this book to anyone who enjoys reading about the untamed southwest. The fact that it is based on Tom's life makes it even the more interesting.

Whether you are a reader of westerns (I'm not) or a James Ellroy fan (I am), you will be caught immediately by this disarming narrative of honor and courage. The time is 1940, but it might as well be 1880. This is the old southwest as it must have been...as I like to think it was. I didn't want this book to end.

1993-4 was a horrible year for Steve Dixon until a 1973 Morgan 27 sloop hove into view & enticed him into the clear & shining waters around the Hawaiian Islands. In this lively & eminently readable first effort, Steve Dixon skippers us on some of the grandest, wettest & funniest voyages around paradise.

With bright energetic writing, an addendum of navigation charts & a slew of vivid snapshots, this latter-day salty dog gives us a winter's worth of sailing yarns, geological & historical sightseeing tips & an invitation to come play around his necklace of tropical islands cast upon a fabulous sea.

This is a warm & personal account of the thrills, history & romance of sailing the Hawaiian passages with his spunky Commodorable Lila & about the lessons he learnt during his passage from despairing novice to joyous seasoned cruiser. Do check out my exhilarating eInterview Skipper Steve Dixon!

This book has it all adventure, romance, history and of course it is very informative for any one wanting to sail the Hawaiian Islands. The book includes many trial and error stories of sailing the Hawaiian Islands. This experienced sailor writes about many do and don't of the Islands. He also writes of some very exciting places to visit and tells of his stories there. I highly recommend this book for anyone wanting to sail the Hawaiian Islands. It is also very enjoyable to read as entertainment whether you are a sailor or not.

What a wonderful book for anyone interested in the islands of Hawaii. This is not just a book for the avid sailor. I have never been on a sailboat or even had the vaguest desire to do so, but I enjoyed this book because of its descriptions of Hawaii and I am still pondering the fact that geologists claim that the entire Sierra Nevada range could fit in the crater of the volcano Mauna Loa. Steve Dixon incorporates his sailing experiences with his own life experiences and also the history and culture of the islands. I read this book straight through at one sitting and then began to reread several passages that had intrigued me. I can't even imagine what a thrill it must be for someone who understands the intricacies of sailing to read a book like this one.

This book is another in the long line of books to come out of the former USSR after the clod war came to an "end". The author is relating his experiences in the arm of the KGB that was responsible for information gathering, primarily against the U.S. and NATO. If you have read a number of these books in the past there is not a great deal of new information in the book. There are some interesting bits and you get a good look that this authors insight to "the game". If you are an armchair expert on the topic then this is another of the titles you will undoubtedly already have or will need to pick up. If you are the general reader then this is a broad description of the subject, but not the definitive one volume work.

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In my profession I attended a number of C.I.A. classified briefings during the cold war years and became a close friend of at least one high profile Soviet defector. Kalugin's book rings absolutely true to what I and many others already knew with respect to the bumbling and decay of the entire Soviet socialist system. We could have given them all of our classified secrets and they would have found a way to screw it up.

Kalugin's book fleshed out the KGB skeleton as we understood it. He filled in the details. Written in an easy to read style, layman and professional alike will find it fascinating. It is not filled with the statistics, tables, graphs, and charts that many technical researchers are so fond of. Instead, The First Directorate reads like both a fascinating novel and a biography. It takes the reader through the gradual disillusionment of an avid believer in the Communist system to one who gradually began seeing it for what it really was.

Oleg Kalugin is a genuine hero of both the Soviet Union and its succeeding Russian Republic. He never defected and served both governments with distinction because he was a patriot first and a KGB officer and politician second. He wanted what was best for his country and his people and was for reform, not revolution.

This book shows the KGB for what it once was and how it degenerated into a bumbling state sponsored Mafia that in the end attempted to devour the state itself. At their worst the CIA and FBI could never have been as incompetent as the KGB. Kalugin shows how the KGB had a mixture of competent men with a sense of justice and others who were stupid cold hearted psychopaths. He relates how attempts at reform by the good agents were squashed by others in the system who were both corrupt and incompetent, and how they protected each other from prosecution.

"The First Directorate" presents specific cold war events as they were seen from the other side of the looking glass. Kalugin handled spies and defectors like Burgess and Walker. He noted that he had more respect for someone who turned against their country for idealistic reasons than one who betrayed their country for money.

Much, much, more could be said in praise of "The First Directorate." It isn't about Kalugin as much as it is an expose of the inherent weaknesses of Socialism and especially the KGB whose job it was to protect the Socialist form of government from internal corruption and external infiltration.

Kalugin clarifies many events that changed the world during the 70 years of the USSR's experiment with Communism. He could speak with authority because he was on a first name basis with the top players in both the KGB and the Soviet government.

This book should send chills up the spine of any American wanting to socialize the government and put big government in control of all aspects of our lives, from taxes that redistribute wealth, to control of our schools and businesses.

Buy "The First Directorate" and read it, and you won't be so hard on our guys.

Oleg, now a green-card resident of the U.S. is our most personable and enjoyable former opponent on the intelligence speaking circuit, and both Bill Colby and I supported him in his efforts to move permanently to America. His book is a marvelous account on the general details of his formidable career that culminated in his being elected to the Russian Parliament. Page 222, "Kill the dog!", has a special meaning for professionals the world over.

My husband and three children just spent three weeks driving across the country to California and back. We stopped at Yellowstone, Yosemite, Grand Canyon, Badlands, Mount Rushmore, and a few others. I purchased this book one year before the trip to help me plan, but it was equally helpful as a quick reference. The maps are great, the directions fabulous, and the reviews of restaurants and accomodations right on point, except for the prices, which of course are now higher. The descriptions of the hiking trails and points of interest are worth the price of the book alone, but there is much more than that. I would categorize this as a "must-have" for anyone visiting one or more of the western national parks. By the way, everyone needs to see these places!!

This is a nice guidebook. If you are planning a trip to the Rockies and are a first time visitor, this book is a valuable aid.

In addition to descriptions of what there is to see at the National Parks of the West, the book abounds in useful and practical information. There a driving guides, a very helpful "If You Only Have One Day" write-up, places to stay and a lot of helpful advice. I particularly appreciate the "..One Day" part, since it helps focus on the most interesting things to see for those who are making a whirlwind tour of the area.

This book is neatly organized and very accessible. I can't recommend it highly enough for anyone planning to take in some of our Western national parks.

This book contains an amazing amount of relevant information. We first used it to get preliminary info on a trip we made this summer to eight National Parks and the book proved to be accurate and very helpful. It is an excellent overview and yet has enough depth to be valuable both before and during a trip.

Catton has a fine narrative style which is a pleasure to read, and the book includes insights into Grant's personality and the growth in his generalship, as well as detailing political and military history of the Western Theatre 1861-1863. The war in the west has been overshadowed in history by the war along the Atlantic coast (even by Catton, with his Army of the Potomoc trilogy), but it is arguably more important than what was going on in Virginia in this period. The book shows Grant feeling his way to an understanding of what it would take to win the war, and it becomes clear why Lincoln, by the end of the book, chooses him for head of the Union armies. For example, at the battle of Shiloh (1862), the Union forces were surprised and almost beaten the first day, but Grant retained his optimism and rallied the troops to fight hard and hold off the Rebels until reinforcements arrived that night. The next day they took back all the ground they had lost, although they didn't take the opportunity to destroy the Army of the Tennessee. Any other Union general in that situation would have (and did, in similiar battles in Virginia) retreated the first evening and lost the battle. One comment: If you want a hardback copy of this book, it can be easily obtained in on-line used bookstores. I just bought a good copy for 7.95 + taxes and shipping.

Although Bruce Catton was an accomplished historian in his own right, one cannot help but notice the influence of the great Sherman biographer Lloyd Lewis. Anyone who has read Lewis' _Sherman: Fighting Profit_ will recognize similarities; the heavy reliance on primary sources and the uncanny ability to allow the reader to draw his or her own conclusions without explicitly stating the writer's intentions. Catton imitates Lewis' sinuous narrative style that captivates and draws the reader deeper into the manuscript. Unfortunately, however, Lewis only lived to publish the first of a multi-volume biography Ulysses S. Grant titled Captain Sam Grant . Lewis' widow commissioned Catton to finish the project utilizing much of the notes Lewis had gathered in the course of his research. The results are the two subsequent biographies authored by Catton: Grant Moves South and Grant Takes Command Catton begins his duel biography in June 1861 when Grant, appointed Colonel, takes command of the 21st Illinois Volunteer Infantry. Catton portrays Grant as a man of few words, yet possessing an ability to quickly earn the respect of his men. Grant stresses discipline and training particularly of his company grade officers. About half of the book is devoted to Grants participation at the battles of Belmont, Fort Henry, Fort Donelson and the near disaster at Shiloh. The remainder of the text focuses on the Vicksburg Campaign. Catton prefers a loosely structured chronological approach and provides his readers with a commanding view from headquarters. Catton relies upon letters, cables, and other communiques between officers, which tends to keep the focus on Grant and other high level players. Besides handwritten orders and other official documentation, Catton allows Grant to speak for himself through the only vestige we have: his memoirs. In contrast, Catton listens to what other observers have to say about Grant in their memoirs, particularly William T. Sherman and the unpublished memoir of Grant's wife, Julia Dent Grant. Juxtaposing this top-down approach is Catton's ability to portray the human frailties of Grant's personality. Grant's drinking is a recurring theme in which Catton bestows an admirable defense. Catton devotes considerable space to the Grant's uneasy relationship with General Henry Wager Halleck. To Halleck's charge that Grant disobeyed orders and failed to communicate his intentions at Fort Donelson, Catton counters by stating the Union communication system, as a whole was substandard. He suggests Confederate sympathizers manned telegraph offices squelching vital communiques.   Catton credits Halleck for saving Grant's command during the controversial political maneuvering of General John A. McClernand. Overall, Catton concludes that Grant certainly had his hands full during his early campaigns. On the one hand, Grant had the Vicksburg Campaign to plan and orchestrate; On the other hand, Grant was the target of dubious machinations from jealous staff officers and politicians in Washington bent of relinquishing his command. What is more, Grant was faced with economic issues and the problem of what to do with displaced contraband slaves that were pouring into his army camps on a daily basis. Referring to the former slaves as "Darkeys." Grant immediately put the Negro refugees to work maintaining roads, bridges and other military necessities that required manual labor.Catton again comes to the defense of Grant in his handling of these sensitive civil-military relations. In a controversial order, Grant categorized northern businessmen attempting to exploit profits from the sale of cotton as "Jews." Though these complex themes surrounding Ulysses S. Grant, are significant, they tend to diminish the genius for war Grant displayed during the Vicksburg Campaign. Taking into account that this is a biography of Grant and not a comprehensive treatment of the campaign that sealed his place in history, Catton could have evened out the balance rather than treating the campaign as a mere backdrop. Catton's eloquent literary style and his excellent syntheses of primary sources, make this a must have for any Grant afficionado.

In this book Catton describes Grant's movements in the West. From Belmont to Vicksburg. It is outstanding, because it also desribes the soldiers story, without being a novel.

This wonderful book absolutely made our recent vacation to Hawaii. It was our first trip to Hawaii, and our whole itinerary was devised from reading the Moon handbook. The handbook is completely comprehensive, giving everything from the history of each place, to where to get your photos processed. It provides detailed descriptions of every single hotel (or so it seemed), not just the selection of a few that most guidebooks provide. The detail of the hotel information encouraged me to make some nontraditional choices (a bed and breakfast, a condo) that turned out to be very pleasant and exactly as described. The book also got us to some corners of Hawaii that I would have never contemplated otherwise. The advice given to travelers goes the extra mile to identify many options for visitors to enjoy their stay in Hawaii. Its only drawbacks are no color pictures and it is a bit heavy to lug around in your suitcase (but don't leave home without it).

We lived in Hawaii for a year and used this book to find every nook and cranny on 4 of the islands. I had no idea what a WONDERFUL job this book did until we moved to Brazil and there was no Moon Handbook. Other guides just don't compare.

I got this book for Christmas from my son the month before we went to Hawaii. I would never have purchased such a (very) thick stodgy looking guide if I saw it in the bookstore. I devoured it during the thirteen hour flight to Hawaii and must say it was by far the very best travel guide that I have ever read and used to any destination. (And I have read them all.) It is so comprehensive and the writing is so well done that reading all of the information was almost like reading a page turner novel for me. I could not get enough. Once we were in Hawaii (three islands) we found it totally indispensible. We traveled with three other guides but with all of their color photograpy and fancy maps eventually this heavy one was the only one we eventually felt was worthwhile. After touring extensively on the islands I read it with even more interest on the long flight home. We plan to return to see more Hawaiian islands and this is the one we will bring. It is not glitzy it is the real thing. Enjoy.