Come on over closer to the fire, boys... grab ya a cup a that there java... that's right... now sit down for a spell... You know that old cowboy, name of Pinto Being? Well, all them tall tales he used to tell us around the fire, well, there's whole bunches of 'em in this here new book! Naw, I ain't pullin' yer leg... They's right here! Yup, now just about anybody can read one'a these here stories out loud to their buddies and get a good belly laugh. It's almost like having old Pinto right here with us! My hat is off to you, Pinto, and I can only hope that publisher o' yours brings out a second volume real soon like. Us readers who like cowboys, ponies, shootin' and any story-spinnin' in general have found a true pardner in Pinto Being (Pat Schutz). Now when all a ya's git a chance, order a copy of this here book... You're a daisy if ya do.

Sincerely, Marshal H. B. Thunder

The most rip roarin', horse snortin' tall tales and cowboy horse sense I ever read! Highly entertaining for those who enjoy short stories with a western flavor.

An excellant collection of short stories told in the cowboy way. Pat Schutz(Pinto) is a wonderfull spinner of "windies". When do we see Pinto's Tales 2?.

Red Headed Stranger.

To merely say that the prose is lyrically buoyant is not enough, to say that the writing is merely insightful is not enough. I'd probably need the gifts of Paul West to be able to adequately get across to you just how beautiful the experience of reading this book (3x) was for me.

For me to comment on the book's story or plot would be a waste of time, because turning the pages for me was not a matter of what will happen next but a matter of what deftly rendered prose was waiting. You can get lost in it like a Faustian moment, a Coltrane solo, or an inspiration that makes you miss every exit home.

This is West's best work by far, as well as one of the best works to come out of 20th century literature. He is in absolute command of his voice, of his subject, and of his characters. If you love to read for the sake of reading, read this book. You won't be disappointed.

Back in the fifties, a writer named Jack Green wrote a series of articles blasting the critics for ignoring the genius of William Gaddis's 'The Recognitions'. By and large, the reviews were incompetent and had been cribbed from one another-most reviewers had not even read the book. Green went so far as to take out a full-page ad in the Village Voice, at his own expense, exhorting people to buy 'The Recognitions'. That is the way I feel about 'The Place In Flowers Where Pollen Rests'. The reviewers were anything BUT incompetent-all the reviews I have read have extolled its lyricism, its out-and-out originality and the sheer vision of the author. Readers, however, seem not to have given it its due.

Set on the Hopi mesas of northern Arizona and in the jungles of Vietnam, the book is told alternately by George The Place In Flowers Where Pollen Rests, his nephew Oswald Beautiful Badger Going Over the Hill ("not so much a name as an expedition") and even Sotuqunangu, a Hopi god. "Unhandy names, these," West writes, but they bring something to life on the mesa: a touch of color, which is the obvious thing to say, but also, to the very act of naming, something narrative, as if all of nature had been in motion at the moment of your birth. It was."

Oswald, who has learned to speak English and made his living in Los Angeles as a porn actor, returns after the accidental death of one of the actresses he was working with. He tries to re-establish the relationship with his "uncle", George, a carver of one-of-a-kind kachina dolls (a kachina is a kind of Hopi angel) who is considered the Picasso of his art. Nearly blind and hampered by a failing heart, George, for the first time, has need of Oswald-who is in fact his son-not only as someone to guide him through his perpetual dusk, but to listen to his stories of Hopi gods, Jimsonweed girls and the ghosts of his past. Ironically, it is Oswald who, in his confusion of two cultures, receives guidance and it George's voice, perhaps, that is Oswald's salvation while fighting in Vietnam.

Returning to the mesa after his tour of duty, Oswald tries, after his uncle's fashion, to get up-close and personal with stone formations, with the desert wind and even, after picking up a book on astronomy, with the stars.

There is no page you can turn to in this book where you will not find a sample of an extraordinary prose style or an observation that a lesser novelist would have saved as the punchline to end the book. For example, on the topic of happiness, West writes, "Don't try. Don't try not to try. Happiness is an incidental thing like feathers falling from a bird in flight. Fly, be a bird, and feathers will fall." In these few sentences West has captured the essence of the Baghavadgita and its "Way of Right Action." The book is simply loaded with stunning insights and beautiful sentences--the kind that put many younger authors of "Big Books" (Franzen, DeLillo) to shame. One of the absolute best novels I have ever read, readers have far too long ignored this masterpiece.

PS -- the Voyant edition has two previously unpublished essays at the back of the book; "The Backlash Against the Novel" is a fascinating read all by itself.

Back when the now-infamous Top 100 Books of the Century list was proposed, there were a number of glaring omissions, including Djuna Barnes's Nightwood, William Gaddis's The Recognitions, Thomas Pynchon's Gravity's Rainbow and, yes, The Place in Flowers Where Pollen Rests. With the exception of William Gass's The Tunnel, I have never read such stunning prose so effortlessly rendered. The book centers around Oswald Beautiful Badger Going Over the Hill; too primitive to adopt white mentality, he is "too tainted with book smarts to be at ease among this tribe." He is overshadowed by the looming presence of his uncle, George The Place In Flowers Where Pollen Rests, a legendary carver of kachina dolls. Haunted by his involvement in the death of a porn actress, Oswald is forced to leave the low-budget film industry. A short time later, the Vietnam War pushes him to the perimeter of sanity. Whitmanesque in its simplicity and affinity for nature, West achieves a lyricism that brings concepts as overarching as constellations into the drawing room and hangs them there like bright mobiles. So detailed and incisive are West's descriptions-whether of life on the mesa, George's carving or Oswald's thoughts-the book is more an experience than a piece of literature. Uncle George tells Oswald "a doll covered with chisel scars is not more beautiful than the universe, of course not; but it is cut to our size, like the television." So West takes art, myth and Hopi cosmology and gives them to us in something handy enough to carry on the subway or leave on the bedstand. West's inexhaustible imagination and uncanny skill with language make the reader realize, as Oswald does, that she or he is part of something as eternal as the seasons and as incalculably vast as what surrounds us.

PLACES OF GRACE consists of a series of stunning photographs by Gary Irving and an essay by Michal Strutin. The book covers states in the upper central plains--Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Kansas, Iowa, Ohio and Indiana, although as Strutin notes, some would include other areas.

Strutin asks--what is the American Midwest? She outlines what she thinks comprises the area and discusses the forests, wetlands, huge fresh water lakes, and prairie that can still be found throughout the region. She imagines what the first European explorers must have seen when they arrived. She says, for example, the word prairie is French for meadow. French explorers were the first Europeans to travel extensively through the American plains. They saw the amazing wide open spaces where grass grew 10 feet tall and lacking any other word, likened it to their own grass meadows back home. The French named many places from Des Moines to Des Plains.

Strutin says conservationists are working to restore parts of the prairie to their natural state. She explains some of the research involved in determining the correct proportions of Asclepia (Butterfly Weed); Echinacea; Daisy; and other flora in a region that contains one of the three major U.S. flyways for birds, butterflies and other migratory animals.

PLACES also contains photos and text about non-prairie areas in upper Michigan and Wisconsin where hugh forests once existed as anyone who has ever read Laura Ingalls Wilder's LITTLE HOUSE IN THE BIG WOODS or heard of Paul Bunyun knows. Even today this area is a source of timber and home to many paper mills, though a good deal of the timber is being recovered from the bottom of Lake Michigan where it landed a century ago.

Irving and Strutin could have called their book HIDDEN PLACES OF GRACE. There are many wonderful nooks and crannies that somehow escaped the developer's axe, and today are protected in one way or another. This is an interesting and beautiful book.

A very well composed book featuring fabulous photographs with vivid colors and composition- enjoyable page after page. Books like this succeed for me when I desire to visit these locations. Well done!

Good production values overall make this a nice addition to other landscape photography books. Highly recommended.

Mr.Irving has had some wonderful books in the past,but "Places of Grace"is not only his finest,but is the best collection of landscapes i've seen in a long time!This book is a must for anyone interested in the finest of landscape photography!

I'm only 66 pages into it, but I love this book. I would never have known some of these writers. My favorites so far are the Navajo night chant "House Made Of The Dawn" and the writings of Linda Hogan, John Graves and Louise Erdrich. Thank you for editing this book. What a pleasure to read such high-quality writing. Such a sense of the American West. Such voices. I like the John Graves story about the old buffalo almost as much as I like the writings of Cormac McCarthy. If anyone ever doubted it, this book shows that there is great literature from the West. I will use this as a guide to further reading. I can't wait to read more.

I highly recommend this book. I don't read anthologies usually, but a class that I am taking this semester, "The Western As America," required it. I sighed and picked it up with reservations. I have been won over by the variety and depth with which this anthology brings together. From a Navajo night chant, journalistic reportage by Stienback, "Legends, Heroes, Myth-Figures and other American Liars" by Thomas McGrath, and Alexie Sherman's "My heros have never been cowboys," (just a small example of the range in this book) the anthology questions our conceptions of literature and the essence of America. I couldn't bear to sell this book to anyone and I hope that you will give it a chance.

I am typically not a reader of anthologies. However, I am glad I picked up this one. From the opening section on "Ancient Stories" to the final chapter on "Brilliant Possibilities" I found myself constantly bending back page corners to return to particular passages and authors. In his introduction, William Kittredge wrote, "We name ourselves and our futures through narrative. These stories rest on the West in layers, and reach out and out." Not only do they "rest on the West" but they shake the West alive. Shine lights into dark corners. Through this anthology, the Western stage becomes visable and one can see the true characters milling about. The mythological characters (gun toting individualists/weak women) aren't represented. This anthology clearly forms a basis for putting "Westerns" in the fantasy section and Western Literature next to its Southern conterpart.

The book consists of many vignettes on real people who live, or have lived in Key West.

Each story touched my heart, made me laugh and sometimes cry.

June Keith is a powerful writer on the human condition. Simple, truthful, and to the point. Each story makes you think and reflect.

I also read More Postcards From Paradise, in anticipation of my trip to Key West. The book, made me feel comfortable in a place I've never been before.

June Keith feels like an old friend, even though We've never met.

I half expected to meet her, and the many people she wrote about so eloquently in these two fine books. The photographs really made the stories come alive for me.

Customer Comments Al Mosier (KWkindaguy@aol.com), rating=10: Just returned from a sojourn in the Keys. Seems that everywhere I turned I met June Keith. I purchased her book at Margaritaville on Duval, but saw it everywhere. If you haven't already met June, it's time. June lives, works and writes in Key West. She spends her time waitressing at the Lighthouse Cafe on Duval. She also does a column for the Miami Herald. This book is a compilation of those columns. The title is apt. These are postcards; short sketches about the people and places June has come to know as a nineteen year resident of the southernmost city. She writes about real people; their lives, their loves and their problems. It is a real picture of the town the way it was through the 80's and early 90's. You can't see this town anymore --trust me, I'm just back. The only way to visit what once was KW is through the pages of June's book. Her style is easy and readable. I passed my copy around amongst friends and we all enjoyed her breezy way with words. Be prepared to laugh a littl and cry a lot. The death toll is high. If you really want to see KW as it was before it became a Disneyfied parody of itself, you can do no better than read POSTCARDS.Hemingway, Hersey and Keith. Interesting combination of writers, no?

Midwest Book Review: Columns and essays based on Key West living offer colorful armchair traveller pursuit as they reveal the legends and personalities of the region. This is a hilarious and involving collection of vignettes which will delight a wide audience as well as any with a special affection for and knowledge of the area.

This book is so helpful! Being a stay at home mom of 2 toddlers, I needed ideas for day trips and weekend excursions for the whole family. This book offers ideas for outings plus additional helpful information including directions, what items to bring on trips to various places, information on bathrooms and diaper changing areas, and other helpful tips. It's a great resource and it's also a nice book to give as a gift to other moms or as a shower gift for new moms.

Carolyn Sutton has written this wonderful guide with the amazement and curiosity of not just her children, but herself. The writing is terrific, and the information is well thought out and complete. I like her subjective point of view, and the bits of history she tucks into all her destinations. She gives excellent tips on what to bring, what facilities are available( for those just potty training!!), and Enrichment ideas at the beginning of each chapter. Being a Colorado Native myself, I have explored many places over the years. What I love about this book is that it tells of the major attractions (like the Zoo and Museum of Nature and Science), as well as many places that don't get mentioned much, but are wonderful (Like Hudson Gardens, Colorado Railroad Museum-a personal favorite, and Littleton Historical Museum). I'm glad that the book is the "right size" to pack into a diaper bag. Thanks, Carolyn for your thoughtful, informative book. I wish you could write one for every city, but I have to say, I'm glad it's Denver!! Good Luck!

Families of young kids - there's way more to do out there than the Museum and Zoo! This great new book highlights free or low-cost places for families with small children to get out for fun and educational adventures. All the other family guides are for older children. What to do with your pre-schooler? Here's the book. We grabbed a copy, and now all our friends are too. I've found out there are all sorts of fun, cool places to take my 4-year-old that I never dreamed existed in our area.

Vastly underrated and tragically out of print, _Psychotherapy East and West_ is Alan Watts' greatest work, and is one of the greatest works of psychology/philosophy of the twentieth century written in English. This book is also an ideal introductory course to the psychology of Carl G. Jung. Anyone who wants to read Jung should read this first (even though it came later) because it encompasses all of Jungs key concepts in an ultra-concentrated yet remarkably readable form. That is not to say that Jung is unreadable, because he most certainly is a great, easily translatable writer. But Alan Watts had the advantage of writing in English, and for this reason I believe _Psychotherapy East and West_ is THE ULTIMATE introduction to psychology for the Anglo-American reader. It represents the new wave of fusion psychology/philosophy/religious Asian cusine. No longer should all these fields be separated. Alan Watts and Carl Jung together have succeeded in combining the fields of psychology, philosophy, theology, and anthropological mythology. This is the new wave of generalized spiritual enlightenment which is also unbiased, critical, sceptical and truthful. It has spawned such other great authors as Julian Jaynes and Terrance McKenna. The best thing about this new kind of psychotherapy is that it is not cold and pretentious with regard to religion, but is tolerant and advocating of any type of belief system which enhances people's well being and mental health. Because it is nevertheless rigorous in uncovering the truth, it resembles Eastern Buddhism. Keep in mind that Buddhism makes no firm and unverifiable claims regarding the existence of God or an afterlife; it is simply a stategy for living one's life in the most enjoyable way possible, and _Psychotherapy East and West_ does an excellent job in making this way of life accessable to Americans. This book is the ultimate alliance of belief, spirtuality, psychotherapy, and mental well-being on the one hand, and truthful, critical philosophy on the other. It does not wish to insulate people from spiritual crises and keep them suspended in naive belief, but introduces us to a new wave of spiritualism that is hardened by scepticism and impervious to doubt. While some philosophy might pride itself on debunking unverifiable beliefs, it does not provide a solution to man's broken and neurotic psychological condition due to his lost spirituality. _Psychotherapy East and West_, on the other hand, is respective of truth, critical and sceptical, yet provides firm answers as to how we can avoid the neuroses and depression that might result from an upending of our spiritual beliefs. Unconditionally recommended. One of my top five books of all time, of any genre.

Alan W. Watts' excellent looks into the world of psychotherapy, in particular those dealing with schizophrenia, and a world of Eastern religion; Hindu, Buddhist, Zen, Tao. The main topic of psychotherapy the author reaches is on the subject of the "double-bind" where one is forced to do two things at once. And the only way a human can do two things at once is to split into two people. Thus we have the psychological break. Discussing the writings of such known authors as Norman O. Brown, Wittgenstein, Freud as well as J. Haley, Erickson, Laing, Reich, Watzlawick, and Greagory Bateson. Noting mainly that the result of psychotherapy is that of the East in their liberation. Liberation and a successful therapeutic treatment are one in the same. The individual is free from binds, either double or singular, yet, now and again able to relate to the others world, as well as the world of the self. Watts "dances" about saying that to be therapeutic, one must also initate a double-bind so the patient can struggle to break it by "being himself." In which, as the subject refers to, to "be spontaneous" (which is in itself a paradox, as if someone were controlling you to do something without thinking). Watts concludes in his classic style discussing the liberation from the self in which words are constantly changing no matter where you are going or coming from. Vernaculars and lexicons are part of the moment, not something to be restricted in time; like all things to be - live in the moment. Reccomended for the theoretical psychologist as well as the Eastern frame of mind reader.

I have many books covering the eastern mental and behavioral teachings; taoist, buddhist, zen, meditation,including DT Suzuki, Watts, Trungpa, the Dhali Llama, Lao Tzu, Chuang Tzu, and have snaked through almost all of Castaneda's books. This particular book by Watts slams the topic down with intense clarity, with more power and direct, practical relevance than most books that cover eastern thought. It is intense, challenging, and Watts plows through relentlessly, viewing many cultural habits, and vindicating his central thesis with precision, humour and always good intentions. I have highlighted, re-read, dog-eared and referenced this book the most. Where Lao Tzu could seem overly refined and get vague, Watts turns the table and gets to the nitty gritty with powerful rewards, yet never losing the scope, the reflections, the principle and process that blend with the product. In addition to Edward De Bono and Carlos Castaneda arguing the same point, Watts here also gives intense support to the value and practical applications of HUMOUR in our lives. I love this freedom. If I died tomorrow, and someone wanted to know what my top 50 books list was, this one would be in the top 5.

It is a very well documented book, and provides proof or evidence of each historic event. It is objective and is not biased toward any political view. The best thing of the book is that it fills those empty spaces I had from my years studying PR history. With this book, I was able to see the "whole picture" or in other words "tie those loose ends".

A real gem, in my opinion. I still refer to it a lot. When my kids have questions about Puerto Rico, I read passages from the book to them. I absolutely recommend it.

There is one recommendation I would like to give to the editors. Given the number of significant historic events about the Puerto Ricans that have happened since the book was last published in 1994, I recommend the editors to revise this wonderful documentary to bring it up-to-date.

This book was amazing. I love the format the author used. Unlike other history books the author uses actual documents from Puerto Rico's history to tell her story. After reading this book, I now have an understanding of where my family came from, and more pride in us. Thank you Kal!

This book is a beautiful, engrossing documentary on the history of the Puerto Ricans. It gives the reader an insight into the real history of the island and it unfolds as you turn each page by sharing actual excerpts from letters written by people who were there from when the island was first discovered by Columbus through the days when it became a Common Wealth of the U.S. Every Puerto Rican or person interested in Puerto Rico who is not familiar with its history must read this book! I always look for books by Wagenheim and Jimenez de Wagenheim who truly have such passion for Puerto Rico and who feel it is the readers god given right to know as much as they can about the truth and not the propaganda. This book should be part of the history curriculum at all schools and especially those that have a large number of Puerto Rican children.

Having travelled to Puerto Rico dozens of times over the past twenty years (and I lived there for a time as well), I have to say this is absolutely the most impressive and complete "coffee-table" book on the island that I have ever seen. It is large-format, filled with superb color photographs (including a lot of aerials and a fascinating "then and now" chapter of archival pictures side-by-side with the same scene as it is today). And the text doesn't insult your intelligence -- it's a concise overview of Puerto Rico's history. An added plus is the Spanish translation (done by a Puerto Rican translator) at the back of the book -- too many books about Puerto Rico ignore the island's linguistic heritage! I've given several copies to friends who love the island. The jacket blurb says the author was once a Peace Corps Volunteer, and it shows ... this is a real in-depth portrait, not just "post-cardy" superficial coverage.

For anyone familiar or unfamiliar with Puerto Rico, this superb pictorial and eloquently written portrait of this country, its culture, its people and its history, will bring the reader palpably close to the very pulse of the island. Page after page of breathtaking photography and descriptive narrative succeed in transporting you to the the subject matter at hand. Both visually and verbally, this book lifts you right off each page as it gives you a soaring birdseye view of one of the Caribbean's most beautiful island destinations. The overall impact of this book on one's senses can only be exceeded by actually being there. Otherwise, be prepared for some unsurpassable armchair travel.

This stunner provides you with two books rolled into one, a beautiful and timeless collection of more than 100 lush photographs as well as an easy-to-read history of Puerto Rico. It is apparent from the obvious care and attention to detail that went into this book that the author is both dedicated to his craft and enamored of the people and island that he is profiling. The book depicts the great diversity of Puerto Rico -- from the hustle and bustle of its urban centers (including the grand architectural heritage) to the most desolate and pristine parts of the island, shown both in close-up and from the air. The stars of the book are the people themselves, who act as guides to the island and invite you to visit them for the first time or simply to return again as old friends. A highly recommended work.

Being born and raised in Puerto Rico,I thought I knew all the good places to visit. I bought this book with a little skepticism and what a wonderful surprise it was. The author definitely goes off the beaten path and the tourist traps. My husband and I just came back from there and the directions and the restaurants that the author mentioned were excellent.

If you definitely want to explore the richness of the island and the diversified environments that it offers, this book is for you. I highly recommend it. We took it with us on our recent visit and we really had a very enjoyable time.

As a child, My wife lived in Puerto Rico for several years and thought she was familiar with the Island enough to not need another travel guide. We bought it anyway with a little reservation. Much to our surprise, what an AMAZING book! It gave us the best restaurants (not common tourist traps) to visit while traveling the Island, great maps to situate ourselves, and wonderful points of interest. To us it was invaluable!!! 5 stars!!! A must when traveling to PR. We loaned it to another couple that traveled to Puerto Rico last year, and they loved it too. I guess we will need to polish it off and pack it in our suitcase, since we are headed back next month.

If you're planning a trip to PR and you are interested in being more adventuresome than lying on the beach in San Juan, this book is a great resource. It covers several different trip options around the island. Had I not purchased it we would have never made it to the parts of the island which we did and would have had a far less enjoyable vacation. Also the restaurants that were hi-lighted were extremely helpful in making the trip more enjoyable.