Although I had been to Mexico several times, I never knew how many different types of spas the country has to offer. "Mexico" Mike has obviously been to every one of them. He showed me that "spa" means a lot of different things and choosing the right one takes more than just asking a travel agent. Thanks to his honest recommendations, I was able to choose a holistic spa instead of the beach resort that my travel agent recommended.

Mike does more than list spas. He tells you the good AND bad points of each one. He peppers his observations with a wry sense of humor and very personal anecdotes that make this an enjoyable read, even if you never leave your armchair.

Besides spas, he covers free hot springs for the adventurous. Although this is not my cup of tea, his stories about finding them had me in stiches!

While reading this book, I felt like Mike was there next to me, guiding my way.

As a Colorado resident I have been fortunate to have visited several of the larger, more popular area hot springs. My search for new hot springs experiences led me to Wambach's "Touring Colorado Hot Springs." This book is well organized and lists the springs according to the region of Colorado where they are found. The included maps are clear and easy to read. Especially helpful information I found to be the "Best Secluded Locations", "Best Family Locations" and "Best Character Locations" section of the book. I found this book so good that I have now ordered 4 more copies to give as gifts.

Owney Madden's first experience with crime occured on a beautiful autumn day when a young thug literally stole the family's dinner right from his mother's hand. Owney decides right then and there that no one will ever steal from him again.

This compelling fictionalized autobiography reveals the life of infamous Irish gangster Owen Madden. In 1902, at the age of ten, his impoverished family sets sail for New York City, minus his father who died from an injury sustained in a boxing match before their ship sailed from England.

Young Owney soon joins up with Jewish Tammany boss, Monk Eastman. Monk is fond of him and the two become almost inseparable. He takes Owney under his wing and begins to teach him "the trade."

In true gangster lingo and style, Owney works his way up through the ranks of the mob, planning one day to be at the top himself. The ruthless Madden takes care of his mother, younger brother and sister while pursuing and cultivating his life of crime. He escapes to the rooftops of their tenement building where he tenderly cares for his pigeons, but also uses these birds to practice how to quickly kill something painlessly.

Owney soon begins to rub elbows with some of the most notorious gangsters. In his 30's, Madden gets sent "up the river" to Sing Sing Prison, where he continues to make new contacts and also pursues his business dealings. Prohibition presents a blessing to Owney, who becomes a brewing king once out prison.

He buys his own clubs so he can control what and who will enter. He owns and turns the famous Cotton Club in Harlem into the best club of its time.

Owney also hires and makes famous singers and actresses like Lena Horn, Valentino, Joe Lewis, Mae West and George Raft. Duke Ellington also begins his career in Owney's Cotton Club.

Walsh's detailed writing and research brings this time period and its characters to life and paints not only a picture of gangster life, but portrays life on the streets in New York City. The corruption of the police, the pay-offs and hush money and the people of this era are revealed on the pages.

At times, Owney Madden is quite a sympathetic character. He reveals his loyalty to others, his family and his principles, but he also kills as easily as one might kill a fly.

Madden was protected by cops and journalists who turned a blind eye to his business dealing for free drinks and other benefits in his club.

In his retirement years, he moves into Hot Springs, Arkansas, where he meets a young Bill Clinton and gives his nod of approval to this ambitious young man. Wracked with emphysema and other ailments left from many surgeries to repair bullet wounds, Madden suffers in his old age. His life and legacy come to an end along with the gangsters of this colorful and tempestuous era.

In 1892 Leeds, England Owney Madden was born to Irish parents who decided to cross the Atlantic and make their fortune in New York. However, Owney's dad died before he left the British Isles, but his mother went ahead with their dream. Accompanied by her three children, she moves to New York's Hell's Kitchen.

By the time Owney turned ten, he belonged to the Gophers, an intimating Irish gang. His prime lesson in Hoodlum 101 was that the real money existed in politics. So he turned to Jewish gang leader and Tammany Hall big shot Monk Eastman as his mentor. Advancing to Hoodlum 201 and 301, Owney learned the art of a well-placed bribe and what to do when the heat became too hot. He was involved with bootlegging during Prohibition and later turned to show business. Ultimately even after the Feds gave him an advanced lesson on closing the books, Owney cut a few last deals before moving to Hot Springs, Arkansas where he died in 1964.

This biographical fiction blends the known facts of Madden's life with delightful period vernacular and tidbits into a strong account of one of the more famous twentieth century gangsters. Readers who enjoy tales like the Untouchables or Scarface will want to read Michael Walsh's fast moving story that is so loaded one must keep saying this is fiction as it seems as if the author interviewed and quoted the gangster. Where is Robinson or Raft with Mae West to play herself because this character and book will fascinate the audience including Hollywood.

Harriet Klausner

I took my family to Yellowstone National Park hoping to see some of the more unusual geysers in action. Carl Schreier's book was a great help in choosing which geysers to wait for to see the eruptions. For each geyser, hot spring, and fumarole, Schreier's book contains a photo and interesting information concerning the discovery of the various thermal sights, and an accurate description of the interval and duration of the geysers. Everyone in our family was reading it.

I cannot speak highly enough of this book.
My boyfriend and I just got back from our first trip to Yellowstone- and this book was invaluable to us.
We took it with us as we went to the various geyser basins. It was incredibly helpful!

We read about the geysers,hot springs, fumuroles and mud pots as we got to each one.

The book also has great color photos of each feature.

It is broken down into these sections:
* Geyser Life
* Mammoth Hot Spring Terraces
* Norris Geyser Basin
* Gibbon Geyser Basin
* Lower Geyser Basin
* Midway Geyser Basin
* Biscuit Geyser Basin
* Black Sand Basin
* Upper Geyser Basin
* Shoshone Geyser Basin
* Mud Volcano Area
* West Thumb Geyser Basin
* Heart Lake Geyser Basin
* New Zealand - (3 hot springs)

As an example, here's what the book says about Fountain Paint Pots (in the Lower Geyser Basin):
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Temperature= 202.8 degrees F
Dimensions: 80 X 40 feet

Fountain Paint Pots was originally named "Mud Puff" by the 1871 Hayden survey and later turn-of-the-century tourists called it Mammoth Paint Pots.But guide books referred to the area as Fountain Geyser and Paintpots and the name was adopted in 1927.

The mud is composed of clay and fine particles of silica broken down by acids and grinding action.
The tinting of the mud in colors of pink and gray from iron oxides is derived from the original rock.
The bubbling action results in escaping steam and gasses- mainly carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulfide.

In the spring and early summer the mud is thin and the pots boil. By late summer and fall there is less moisture and the mud is thicker, creating unusual shapes and formations.
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The only gripe that I have about this book is that it does not list every single feature.
There is a map at the beginning of each section- in red are the features that are talked about- and in black are the ones that are not mentioned.

In the Lower Geyser Basin- there were several feautures that we came to that were not talked about in the book, such as:
Leather Pool, Celestine Pool, Firehole Pool and Surprise Pool, Hot Lake, Jet Geyser, Twig Geyser, etc...

In the Midway Geyser Basin, Opal Pool is not talked about. We walked up to it and wanted to know more about it.

But I do highly recommend this book.
Most of the features are listed. The author talks about the history and goes into detail about the characteristics about the features.
I recommend this book for anyone taking their first trip to Yellowstone. Take this book along with you as you tour the fascinating geological features of the park.You will be glad that you had this helpful guide.
This book also is great for everyone who loves Yellowstone and would like to learn more about the magic of this park.

The Potts Hot Springs/Hot Tub is on Private Property and has never been open to the public with out permission. Because of all the people this Hot tub had been pulled. It is No longer there.

I absolutely LOVE this book. If you're a hot springs addict (like I am) you'll never leave home without it. It has remote hot springs with excellent directions, she-she spas, photos and honest descriptions. Clothing optional to "Versace only bathing suits required." It's the only book you'll need for hot springs if you travel on the west coast. It's definately the most thorough one I've come across.

I bought several guides to hot springs in Nevada & California, and this is clearly the best. Provides a B+W photo for every spring, as well as GPS coordinates, detailed driving instructions, pool temporature and detailed description. This book described several springs that were right under my nose and that were described nowhere else. If you get this guide, you won't need any other.

Hot Springs, Arkansas. 1946. The most wide open town in the United States. The mob owns the police, the judges, and the politicians. Gambling, girls, whatever a man wants is freely available. But a newly elected prosecuting attorny decides to change that. He hires Earl Swagger, newly discharged Medal-of-Honor winner and legendary FBI man D.A. Parker to clean up the town. But Earl Swagger still carries emotional baggage from the war and even further back from his mean drunk of a father. Does Earl have a death wish as he leads ever more violent raids with reckless disregard? And now that the mob is throughly aroused will they bring in outside "hitters" to take Earl and DA Parker down?

This is the prequel to a few of Mr. Hunter's books, namely Black Light, A Time to Hunt, and Point of Impact. These other three books chronicle the life of legendary Marine sniper, Bob Swagger. Bob's father, Earl, is touched on briefly in those books but Hot Springs is Earl's own story.

Like all of the Stephen Hunter books I've read, this one was fast-paced and gripping. It wasn't quite as techincal as his previous books and there was a little more humor in this one. I didn't find it quite as strong as the Bob Swagger books but it is still a very good read. I'd recommend it highly. The reader may also want to read the Bob Swagger books first, but it really isn't necessary to enjoy this one. Another good book from a very good writer.

Heard the taped version of HOT SPRINGS by Stephen
Hunter . . . story of an ex-Marine sergeant, Earl Swaggert, who is
hired to wage a war on corruption in Hot Springs, Arkansas, in
1946 . . . I was afraid that I might not like it because of both the
era and the locale, but was I wrong . . . very quick-moving . . . Hunter
really gives you a feel for what it was like living in the South during
that time . . . this is the first book I have read by the author, but it
probably won't be the last . . . after finishing HOT SPRINGS, I
learned that it is actually a prequel to other novels involving the
Swagert family . . . but that did not impact upon my enjoyment
in this one; i.e., I did not feel "lost" without having Hunter's latter
works . . . Jay O. Sanders, long one of my favorite character
actors, did a superb job of narration . . . he shifted effortelessly
between characters, but perhaps most amazing was the fact
that I did not even recognize Sanders' voice--a real tribute to him.

This is the latest in what we might call Hunter's "Swagger Saga," one of several of his works that features members of the Swagger of Arkansas family. Here, Earl returns home at the end of WWII to get his Medal of Honor, and is drawn into a plan to "clean up" the crime-ridden town of Hot Springs. Earl and a select group of young recruits enter into a violent, bloody battle with organized crime, while Earl's wife is slowly coming to term(s)with her new baby and with Earl. Hunter incorporates "real" history into the novel: there was corruption in post-war Hot Springs, and an attempt to clean it up; characters like Bugsy Siegel (a main player) and Mickey Rooney appear, and the arcania (Hunter especially likes firearms) sounds authentic. So far so good. A lively thriller. But it's far better than that. Hunter writes superbly; one of his paragraphs is so much better than anything, say Parker or Cornwell, can write it's a joke that these two are more popular. Hunter's minor characters are wonderfully sketched; the period comes to life. My comparison to Galsworthy is intentional. Here is the new American South after WWII, the race problem, the concepts of culture, language distinctions, the idea of class, are all rendered. There are only an handful of writers of "mysteries" who are working at this level. James Lee Burke is one; James Crumley was another when he was writing; Michael Connelly until his last 2 books. Hunter is another, among the best. And this book is also among the best--around lately.

Okay...I know the title of this book is "Hiking Hot Springs" but so many are left out that could be called "hiking pools." As you are searching for some of the springs in this book...you are passing perfectly fine hot pools. I would like to return this book and get my money back; too much information withheld.

having just returned home from five weeks of exploring central idaho hot springs with this guidebook all i can say is get ready for one of the most beautiful experiences of your life if you follow any of the trails to springs in this region.being fiarly adept at finding hot springs on my own i know that i could easily have missed several true gems without this book.a must have if you are travelling in the northwest and need a place to soak those road weary bones! i found all the road&trail descriptions to be right-on for getting to some pretty isolated spots. this,without question,has proven to be one of the best books for a hot spring&hiking junkie(that would be me)that i`ve ever encountered! buy the book!go enjoy!thanks evie!

A finely crafted and up to date little hotspring book from a professional writer that has done all of her own research, hiking to the best wild hotsprings in the Pacific Northwest. Unlike some others who curiously omit or give lesser coverage to Idaho (which the cognescenti know has the greatest concentration of wild hot springs in North America), Evie Litton shows her bonafides. From shorter day hikes through Ancient cedars and Grand Fir out to riverside hot waterfalls and steaming turquoise pools to adventurous multi-day backpacking tours into the deep interior, Evie L always trail loops you past a great hotspring. Well deserved soaks, with ready highway access to trailheads, for road foot travelers, horse riders and even weary cross-country motorists with a half-day to invest, amid stunning scenery, where the people are plainly visiting and the real residents are moose, elk, deer, mountain goat, eagle, beaver, otter, cougar and bear. This book features good driving directions AND even map coordinates (!) - right down to the actual USGS topo's and US Forest Service sectionals AND where to obtain them. None of the other books are as "right and tight" in getting you in and out as this one. This one is a Guide from a guide. It belongs in your bag, so grab your shoes and pack a lunch. I'll be the guy coming down the trail with the big smile on his face and good directions to hotter water.

Bought this book and actually used it in California hitting 10 spots in 3 days. One spring was a large pond which we felt was unsafe, even though the author points out the dangers, hot water creeping in from various holes in the ground can be very dangerous. I would have left this one out of the book as it did not warrant a visit.

Others were right on the money. The book provides enough instructions to get you there but leaves in the exploration factor of actually having to find it. Otherwise some of these areas might be overrun by "casual" users unwilling to do some searching.

The roads were as described, passable yet "requires the skill of a country boy" like myself who knows how to drive a 2 wheel drive car where they should not go. Slow and patient, we managed to get the luxury rental car to all the springs without getting stuck and no damage. When the author says the road is impossible after a rain storm, I'd believe it without a doubt. Everchanging conditions such as public access are impossible to keep current, yet the book does "point you in the right direction". If you love the hot pools this is a good resource.

book was perfect for drive across California and Nevada. It opened a new world of adventure. Unfortunately, though, one (of the two) hotsprings we drove to (outside of Unionville) appears to have been bulldozed over. We found this out after an hour or so of driving and another hour walking around looking for the hotspring. But we wouldn't have missed this adventure anyway.

Despite it being written many years ago, the reviews and information on most of the springs are still true. I think I've visited about 11 of the springs mentioned in this book - and all were just as it said they would be. There are interesting stories about the springs, and what kind of waters they have (for example: water to make you youthful, water to promote pregnancy, or water to "invigorate"). The instructions on how to get there and where to stay are clear and easy to follow. I've never been lost on the way to any of these springs. I've read this book cover to cover several times, and then flicked back and forth as a reference. The hardest thing is deciding which of all the springs you want to visit - the authors make them all sound good by picking up points of interest about each one. If you like being lazy, soaking in hot water, having pummelling massages from heated waterfalls, eating and drinking until all you can do is drag yourself back into a hot tub...this book is essential for any trip to Japan. Enjoy reading it before you go - and then make a list of where to visit while you are there. The book itself is not too big, so it will fit in your bag to take along with you. I only gave 4 stars because I am waiting for a new edition to come out!

Owl needs a better editor. The typos in the book are extremely distracting and very large in number. Although I was interested in the plot, I tired of the pathetic characters long before the end. Keep a Spanish dictionary handy if you are not bilingual. (This is another reason that I did not enjoy the book.)

A wonderful story about greed in a small New Mexico town when someone accidentally discovers hot springs. It features great characters including the beleagured lawyer fighting for the underdogs and a confused Peace Corp volunteer. It's the best part of Nichols's New Mexico trilogy.

This novel of the cultural, political, and economic evolution of northern New Mexico, starts with the "miraculous" explosion of a bus filled with dynamite in the 1930's and documents the devastating effect that discovery by the outside world has on separate but intertwined white, Hispanic, and Indian cultures in a small mountain town. This evolution is described through the eyes of strong, well developed characters that sparkle with complexity and humor. Nichols paints a picture of cultural and environmental destruction with dry humor and stark narrative. For anyone wishing to understand the recent history of the most beautiful portions of New Mexico, a must read.