We just finished reading EVERGLADES by Jean Craighead George. The storyteller was a great idea. His words really caught our attention. This book, even though it was about real life, read like a fictional story. We especially liked the way Ms. Craighead George used various synonyms to express just how many creatures were in the Everglades in the beginning. In addition to the colorful language, the incredible illustrations by Wendell Miner made the book come to life. Above all, we learned we should respect nature. A great reading experience!

Another spectacular picture book from one of today's greatest writing/illustrating teams, EVERGLADES isn't just a story--it's an epic, one begun thousands of years ago, when water carved this spectacular ecosystem in Florida. Jean Craighead George, author of over eighty remarkable nature books for young readers, lends awe-inspiring power to the pages of the book, while Wendell Minor's lush, colorful illustrations beautifully depict this environment, full of wildlife and vitality. The book, like Ms. George's many others, also has an important lesson to tell. In JULIE OF THE WOLVES, we see the importance of Alaska's North Slope to the animals that inhabit this seemingly bleak, barren landscape (this area is now in danger of more oil line construction). In FRIGHTFUL'S MOUNTAIN (third in the MY SIDE OF THE MOUNTAIN trilogy), we come to know the threatened peregrine falcon, and the many threats humans have posed to it. In EVERGLADES, one feels a strong admiration toward this magnificent, but, sadly, endangered environment, and those who, like me, have never visited it, will surely long to see it for themselves. The narration is moving and fascinating, as a Seminole Indian describes to a group of children the evolution of the Florida Everglades, and inspires them to fight to help it survive. When one visits the Everglades, they will want to see the alligators, wetlands, and panthers of Mr. Minor's paintings. If you enjoy EVERGLADES, you'll fall in love with other spectacular George/ Minor collaborations, such as ARCTIC SON, the story of Ms. George's grandson who lives at the northernmost point in Alaska. As he grows up, he learns about the Inupiat Eskimos who make their home there and the tundra land around him. Mr. Minor's illustrations are quite lovely, and there's as much snow and ice in ARCTIC SON as there was grass and water in EVERGLADES. There's also MORNING, NOON, AND NIGHT, which focuses on the day-to-day lives of different animals throughout the U.S. The text it written very poetically, and Mr. Minor's illustrations of raccoons, seals, antelope, and birds are full of warmth and inspiration. And next year, a new book entitled LONESOME GEORGE will be published. This is about the famous, oldest Galapagos tortoise. Ms. George has also written a new young adult book about the Okefenokee Swamp, which is sure to be as full of environmental splendor as EVERGLADES. I can't wait to see them.

Jean Craighead George has done it again! What a wonderful perspective and simple telling of the history of the Everglades. As told by a Seminole Indian to the children, this story (and wonderful illustrations) produces a profound respect for the "River of Grass" and its future. As a teacher in Florida, this book was a fantastic read-aloud to my students during our unit on the Everglades. I also used George's other ecological mystery, Missing Gator of Gumbo Limbo, to study Florida's ecology.

I ordered this book for an upcoming hiking and biking trip in the Arches and Canyonland areas. We are striking out on our own after using a guided tour last fall. We are excited and apprehensive that we will not know where to go. This book is very detailed about the trails and we are now more confident about our adventure. I am glad that I ordered it.

This is a terrific book, with all the information necessary to begin some really interesting hikes. Details on each hikes include a description of the scenery, terrain (with a nice graphic showing the elevation changes throughout a hike), difficulty rating, total distance, time required, type of trip and trail. The details give a hikers perspective on each trail. Sections on backcountry roads, are also useful. The book lacks an index at the end. There are some informative tables in the beginning of the book that describe all the trails and a classification for each. Useful to gauge a hike to your experience level. Tons of pictures and maps.

Overall a very useful guide.

Many people think that the best way to see these two great canyonlands parks is to drive through them. But you will have no sense of these places unless you get out of your car and take a walk. You don't have to be a backpacker to experience these places on foot. Exploring Canyonlands and Arches is a great book for short, medium and long hikes and for finding the hike that is best for you and your physical condition.

This volume does cover in a very comprehensive way the artillery used during the American Civil War, as well as of those field pieces surviving on fields of battle up until this day. This is a book you HAVE to own if you are an ACW-artillery nut! It is well worth the price, and since it is in hard-back you won't have any problems with consulting it over and over again.

Every detail of Civil War field artillery is covered in this definitive book on the subject, more than most people will ever want to know. Full profile photos of nearly every type of fieldpiece, both Union and Confederate, facilitate identification of any survivor. In addition to the scholarly text containing more facts on the subject than ever assembled in one source, the appendices list the known surviving Civil War fieldpieces at the time of publication.

If you were to acquire only one reference for Field Artillery, this should be your choice. Everything you could hope for, one chapter on every field piece, used by both Union and Conderacy, plus imports and experimentals. Even a chapter on limbers, carriages, etc.

this book is a lot better than Petersen's previous efforts. Well written, well organized, thoroughly detailed, and chock full of insightful insights. Bravo, Mr. Peterson!

Can you imagine writing 243 pages on just 2 National Parks? That's why I say it's right to the detail!

Like all Frommer's books, the author starts with his recommendations - best vacations, best hotels, best eateries, best sights etc etc - with regards to the region in question (in this case YST & GRT). And it's really not about pure reporting the facts, but personal opinions that encourage rather than dictate your own opinion-forming process.

Other useful information includes month-by-month temperature information, road closures, where to get money, ATM machines etc, and, my favorite of all, When-to-go guide. There's even a section that talks about towns and cities bordering Grand Tetons and Yellowstone National Parks, though they are not part of the region proper!

As we go deeper, the book will further the divide the regions into smaller sub-regions, such as Old Faithful Area, Norris Jct Area and Jackson Hole. You want to know which town really suits you and will make your vacation a memorable one. There's even a map showing which town is nearest to which attractions. For example if you love the Old Faithful, you won't want to fly into Jackson Hole; or if you wanna river raft in the Snake River, Cody is not the right place to reside during your stay!

By the look of how much I know as mentioned above, you know how good the book is! ;O)

As my wife and I were planning our vacation to Yellowstone, we stumbled upon this wonderful resource. Mr. Peterson has done an excellent job presenting accurate and insightfull information that made our preproduction a true breeze! The format of this book was extremely user friendly and it allowed us easy access as we navigated through all of the endless routes and hotels surrounding the park. Bravo! This guide was instrumental in helping us to plan a very wonderful and memorable trip!

As a lifelong fan of the San Francisco Chronicle in general and "Farley" in particular (as well as a total Yosemite freak!), each summer I look forward to the inevitable installments involving Phil Frank's bear trio (proprietors of "The Fog City Dumpster" restaurant in SF) and neatnik camper Mrs. Melmac (who immediately sets off bug bombs in the area around her massive RV when she arrives for the summer) in Yosemite Valley. So you can imagine my delight when I found that all those terrific strips were put in one magnificent collection!

Every summer the bears and Mrs. Melmac take off for Yosemite - Mrs. Melmac in her RV, the bears whichever way they can (one year they hijacked a SF Muni bus) and the fun begins! It's great to be able to relive these moments over and over. Two thumbs up!

Thank you, Mr. Frank! This book helped keep me going thorough a very busy and complicated week. And it will help me again. Very funny -- and like the best humor, based on fact.

I've travelled cross country six times in the last ten years to visit Yosemite. I laughed till my sides hurt reading this book. I really enjoyed the Bear Clan poking fun at the park Vistors "Your Space? I was born here, you smarmy little yuppie!"

We went to Glacier Bay in August 2001 and I can truthfully say that Mr. Kelley's photo's captured what we saw. We never got as close to the brown bear and we didn't see a hoary marmot, but, hey, we're not professionals and we were just there for a week. The glacier shots are so perfect; just open your freezer, put on some warm clothes, look at those photos and save yourself a few thousand dollars in air-fare, etc.

We just came back from kayaking for a week in Glacier Bay and this boook captures the place and the experience beautifully! A "must have" book if you've been there to relive the experience or just to feel like you've been there without leaving home. A great book!

I just bought this beautiful "coffee-table" book in Juneau 2 weeks ago. We had spent almost an entire day cruising Glacier Bay. This is the first collection of pictures I've ever seen that truly does justice to the majesty of the place. I love it so much I'm buying another as a gift. You can tell Mark Kelly lives in and loves this very special part of the world. This guy is gifted!

We purchased this book as a thank-you gift for friends, and we were *delighted* with the quality and beauty of it. Truly glorious photos, not a ton of information but enough, and makes a spectacular gift. Highly recommended.

What a treat to find Great Lodges of the National Parks! Not only is the book full of lucious color photographs of the lodges (both inside and out and every season), but historic images and architectural drawings that make you really appreciate the simple fact that they were built in the first place. You also get the full history along with a sense of what the lodges are like today written in a very accessible style. I know people who are trying to go to all of the lodges in Christine Barnes' books. I plan on beginning this summer. (The book also includes Timberline Lodge in Mt. Hood National Forest outside of Portland.)

This is a gorgeous book.
It has 192 pages--loaded with lovely glossy pictures.
Not all of these lodges, however, are located in the national parks.Timberline Lodge is in a national forest and Oregon Caves Chateau is located at a national monument.
The pictures in this book are breathtaking. Historical pictures as well as present day pictures are located in the book.
This book is VERY similar to the Great Lodges of the West book (also by Christine Barnes). Some of the EXACT same pictures that are in the Great Lodges of the West book are in this book!
But this book adds more pictures.
This one has more pages (as compared to 136 pages) and this one has more pictures. Also covered in this one is Belton Chalet and Sperry & Granite Park Chalets (which the other book doesn't cover in full detail).

16 lodges are featured:
1) Old Faithful Inn (Yellowstone National Park- Wyoming)
2) The Ahwahnee (Yosemite National Park- California)
3) Paradise Inn (Mount Rainier National Park, Washington)
4) Timberline Lodge (Mount Hood National Forest- Oregon)
5) Oregon Caves Chateau (Oregon Caves National Monument-Oregon)
6) Crater Lake Lodge (Crater Lake National Park-Oregon)
7) El Tovar (Grand Canyon National Park- South Rim)
8) Zion Park Lodge (Zion National Park)
9) Bryce Canyon Lodge (Bryce Canyon National Park)
10) Grand Canyon Lodge (Grand Canyon National Park- North Rim)
11) Glacier Park Lodge (Glacier National Park- Montana)
12) Belton Chalet (Glacier National Park)
13) Lake McDonald Lodge (Glacier National Park)
14) Many Glacier Hotel (Glacier National Park)
15) Sperry & Granite Park Chalets (Glacier National Park)
16) Prince of Wales Hotel (Waterton Lakes National Park,
Alberta, Canada)

Also in the front and back is a map that shows where these lodges are located.In the back are Preservation Resources and Travelers' Resources (websites, reservation information, etc...)
Although I didn't know that this book would be so similar to the Great Lodges of the West book--(it's just a bigger version), I do not regret buying it. I have them both and the pictures are mesmerizing.

This is a great book for the first time visitor to the Keys. It gives great tips on where to go to see the Keys from the locals veiw. It tells how to avoid the beaten paths (and tourists!) and see more of the history of the Keys. It has great reviews of the restaurants, entertainment, shopping and hotels available in all price ranges. The book gives great tips for any budget for travelling to the Keys. Its a must for any first time Keys visitor. Best book I've read about the travelling to the Keys.

Candace Leslie's Hidden Florida Keys And Everglades is a compact and reliable guide to the unique attractions and outdoor activities of Florida. Complete travel information is provided for sightseeing, lodging, dining, shopping, and urban nightlife. For the outdoor enthusiast there is sound advice and suggestions for camping, hiking, diving, canoeing, horseback riding, biking, and fishing. For the truly adventurous there are "hidden locales" where you can find such time capsules as the Historic Smallwood Store Museum, built in 1906 as a trading post for settlers and Seminole Indians; underwater attractions such as the San Pedro Underwater Archaeological Preserve where an 18th-century galleon went down in a hurricane; and Civil War sites such the Fort Zachary Taylor State Historic Site featuring the remains of an 1845 fort. If you are Florida bound, begin your trip with a copy of Hidden Florida Keys And Everglades.

This book was great bringing us to some of the most interesting spots in Florida. Highly recommended for the person looking to get off the beaten track.

Hotline Heaven is a work which must not be read solely for its story, although the plot is most interesting and well-crafted. Instead open the novel to the first page and relax into the poetry which Ms. Park infuses with a personal magic into the voice of the female narrator. Here are articulations from the loneliest and most fragile dimensions of the human spirit which emerge in the darkness of a sleepless night. Ms. Park has a very rare ability to produce a story which begs to be read several times for the pleasure of both its beauty and its insights. To truly savor its richness, one must approach it with some experience of the uncertainty and unexpected beauty life has to offer. I await the next world she will create with great anticipation.

This book deserves a very careful reading as Ms. Park displays a rare gift for the articulation of inner landscapes of loneliness, hope and reconciliation. The book has layers of meaning which are woven together through the poetic and evocative talents of its author

I was moved and heightened by Frances Park's novel "Hotline Heaven". Turning each page, I can only compare it to rising higher and higher to another plane where only the inspired go.

This is such a helpful book, I'm almost sorry it was written! This is *the* definitive guide to renting public cabins in southcentral Alaska. As an Alaskan who appreciates the availability of inexpensive cabins -- especially when B&Bs and hotels are $... nightly -- I must say I hope too many travelers don't catch on. Excellent and informative.

Andromeda Romano-Lax's How To Rent A Public Cabin In Southcentral Alaska is recommended for the rugged wilderness traveler: it tells hikers, kayakers, anglers and more how to locate and rent such cabins for very little money. While often bare-bones and lacking amenities, these cabins provide shelter and portals to the wilderness.

Few people who live outside of Alaska know about Alaska's wonderful public use cabins available for rent. This book explains how to enjoy some of the best Alaska has to offer (very inexpensively, by the way). A great resource for vacationing in Alaska.