I found this book to be very helpful in planning my vacation in Acadia. I have 2 boys aged 5 and 13 and needed hikes that were doable for the youngest one. He turned out to be the best hiker of us all! This book gave me a good sense of what the trails would be like. We only did easy and moderate and one strenuous one (South Bubble Trail). You will need to buy a more detailed map (like from the AMC) but the trails are well marked. I liked the section on the authors' favorite hikes. We did most of our hikes from their recommends. Don't miss the Wonderland and Great Head trails if you go! Happy hiking.

This is an invaluable guidebook for hikers at Acadia National Park. Our family -- including children ages 12, 9 and 3 -- visited Acadia for four days this summer and used this book to select a variety of trails. The authors describe the grade, distance, degree of difficulty and sights of nearly 150 miles of trails. Following their advice, we went along the Wonderland Trail to an enormous tidal pool, and chose the most appropriate route for our group up 1,200-foot Penobscot Mountain; there are many trails to the top of the mountain, and the book helped us choose the right one for our skill and fitness level. The older two children and one parent also climbed the cliffs of the Beehive; it's rightly described as a strenuous trail, but if you're not afraid of heights, the view of the coast is spectacular and the taste of wild blueberries at the top makes it special. (This hike is listed as one of the authors' favorites.) We found the book extremely useful. The book would also be useful for more experienced hikers; the authors have been on all of the park's trails, in all kinds of conditions. And the book fits neatly in a backpack, for handy reference in case you need to check the maps while hiking. Highly recommended.

I live near the Smoky Mountains, and was blown away by the number of campsites I didn't know existed within a 50 mile radius of my city. This is a great book for weekend trips or a small vacation on the cheap. Especially good for novice campers (like me!) who want to get away without going totally backcountry. This is a beautiful area and, though crowded in spots, this guide points you to some of the more secluded and well-maintained campsites.

I bought this book and, first try, camped in the nicest campsite that I have ever driven a vehicle into (still can't beat some backpacking sites, but backpacking sites are not the subject of this book). Besides a descriptive narrative for each recommended campsite, there are very helpful "Key Information" and "To Get There..," sections. Use this book once and it will be worth the money.

If you like noise, crowds of people near your campsite, large RV's with cable TV, or think the best thing about the Smoky Mountains is Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge, this book is not for you. If the your ideal vacation includes none of the above listed things, you will enjoy Johnny Molloy's guide to exploring and enjoying the Smoky Mountains. Well written and well researched, this book is the best I've discovered on finding off-the-beaten path campsites in the nation's most visited national park.

This book, along with Smither's CHRONICLES OF THE BIG BEND, are MUST READS for the serious Chisos Mountains area hiker. Along with the historical/geological/botanical/zoological everything elseical information, Maxwell includes a packet of foldout maps. The maps alone are worth the price of the book. Don't worry about the publication dates of the above books, nature works on a time-scale that makes these books timeless to the human reader. Most of the more recent publications can't come close to adding anything new to this information.

This book does an excellent job of introducing the reader to the Big Bend region. Even those who have experienced the beauty of the region and its people will find this book a handy reference. The author is a former superintendent of Big Bend National Park. As described in the title, the book covers the geology of Big Bend (including an excellent introduction to geological processes for the uninitiated like myself), the history of Big Bend (including the histories of place names and other local legends), and an overview of local vegetation and the native uses of the vegetation by the old curanderos. Included throughout the book are 117 illustrations and black and white photographs. Many of the photographs offer a unique glimpse into the lives of those who settled this rugged country. Also included with the book are five separately printed illustrations, including a 360-degree panorama of The Basin (obviously from days long ago - notice the lack of trees!), and several geological maps. This is definitely the favorite book in my Big Bend library!

This summer while stopped at an overlook on Trail Ridge Rd. in Rocky Mountain National Park, we spoke with a Park Ranger who had Scott Roederer's Birding Rocky Mountain National Park book in her vehicle. She told us that Scott's book was the best book on birding in RMNP. She uses it as a reference for park visitors who have questions about different birds and where to find them. It also is very well illustrated. I would definitely recommend this book for birders who visit this magnificent Park.

As first time visitors to Rocky Mountain Park, we purchased Scott Roederer's Birding Rocky Mountain National Park in the park bookstore, but we wish we had had it to study beforehand. This guide not only focuses on the best locations for specific birds, but also provides careful directions (complete with odometer readings!) to trailheads that go well beyond the general maps available. We were also grateful for his strategies for avoiding the summer crowds, including when to arrive at specific trails and the order in which to bird them. Add to all of this Scott's warm, lucid style spiced with birding anecdotes that we can all relate to, and you get a bible for birding Rocky. Although we are certain that birding the park with Scott would have been the supreme experience, carrying his book in a hip pocket is the next best thing!

Callan's a great storyteller, but this is not just a storybook. He's a great guide, but this is not just a guidebook. Callan beautifully combines the two worlds in BT&BF to lend the reader a guidebook with stories that whet the appetite for an Algonquin trip. Callan gives the reader several options for weekend or week-long trips in the park and spices the descriptions up with his great storytelling ability. The only drawback is the lack of an index where one could compare trip length, difficulty, etc. in a table format instead of having to leaf back and forth through the book, but don't let that dissuade you. This is an excellent resource for the Algonquin canoeist.

The last word was every bit as incredible as the first...WOW! That Brookie on the cover would hit the spot right now... I'm pretty hungry... unfortunately it's only an image printed on paper... not very satisfying or tasty for that matter. The main thing you need to know about this book is that it's ultimately just a bunch of words on paper; like most other books. And hidden beneath this thin veil of "outdoor writing" is really just a silly lesson in Yin and Yang philosophy, as the words of the book depend upon and are largely defined by the Old Growth Forest paper that they are printed upon. And vice versa. Whatever. Spend some money. Check it out. You might be disappointed... then again,you just might not. Besides, everyone needs an extra book or two to fill those annoying gaps that appear in your bookcases when somebody pulls out another book to read, or to slap a fly with, or to use as a temporary, mobile writing platform. Happy reading!

Sylvan Learning Center uses it, that should be enough of a testimony right there!

She used to go ballistic when she had to mentally form a three-dimensional object from a two-dimensional image. After doing the Building Thinking Skills Book 1, she says it's a breeze. Her nonverbal scores used to be low. Now they're higher than her verbal, which were already high. Her creativity and problem solving have also blossomed since she started using these materials.

An excellent overview of wildlife of the Northern Minnesota area. There are interesting and informative descriptions of everything from birds to insects to fish. The scope of the book is so broad that only a few of each type of creature can be listed, but he has chosen the ones, such as loons, herons, and otters, that are so special to the North woods. Highly recommended.

'Nuff said. The rating-stars do not apply, as I have not seen the book, and am not likely to until I can find out more on its content. *-(

IT'S A GREAT BOOK. THE PICTURES ARE VERY TRUE TO LIFE AND NOT STAGED. I LOVE IT.

My name is Jeff Baxter, my daughter and I are pictured in this book, We love it and cut me and see BLUE.

In 1998 and 1999, I spent many of my free weekends in the Catskill Mountains (not too far from where I live), frantically climbing the 35 peaks required for membership in the Catskill Mountain 3500 Club.

As I did, I became more and more interested in the story behind the mystical woods I had become so irrevocably attached to. I learned of this book. I could not find it, but everyone said it was the book to read, referenced in any other book about the region I could find.

Finally I did (not through amazon, but what the hell ...).

I could not put it down - what I had traipsed through came alive on the page, yet many years ago in time.

But you needn't have earned this appreciation to enjoy this book.

Evers, still going strong in his late nineties as the Town of Woodstock historian (I talked to him on the phone once) draws on his extensive training in folklore to make these mountains, America's first wilderness, come alive not just through the lives and works of its rich and powerful but most importantly in the voices of the humble people of the region - the farmers and settlers who in many cases left little to show for their efforts but their names on some feature of land somewhere.

Nor is he dry ... events, whether legendary or factual, that took place centuries ago, like Peter Delabigarre's first recorded ascent of what is now known as Kaaterskill High Peak, or the Anti-Rent War's bloody climax, are related as freshly as if Evers were an eyewitness.

His history also avoids any inadvertent tendency to center on one area and pass it off for the whole Catskill region. He tells the stories of Woodstock well but when he needs to go to Delaware or Sullivan counties, he does, without a hint of ignorance.

And his love for the region ... in his words one can, if one has been there, place oneself amidst the fragrant balsam fir of a high summit, a place like a dream one can always return to no matter the weather or season; athwart a rippling tributary, its clear, trout-friendly waters headed for the taps of New York City, the water John Burroughs said you could live on for a few days. If you haven't experienced those things, he'll make you want to.

So many of these stories - Burroughs' trampings, the construction of Ashokan reservoir, the framing of the Hardenburgh patent, Guyot's surveys - are alone worth the price of admission. You may know them already, but you'll learn so much more.

My only complaint would be the last chapter, an attempt to bring the story into the late 1970s with the Temporary Commission. While this is long on facts, it betrays haste in keeping the book up to date. It lacks the semi-mythical yet assured quality of the rest of the narrative.

But, if your pulse quickens at the mention of placenames like Phoenicia, West Kill, Neversink or Shinhopple; if you have ever braved the spruce ramparts of Rocky Mountain or trudged through snow in waders to cast the Junction Pool's first fly of the season, you will find your ample knowledge of the Catskills amplified a thousandfold.

I purchased this book in 1973 for my Father, who was born and raised in Kingston, New York.

Evers' book is a masterpiece-a popularized history of the Catskills, from the days of the Hardenburgh Patent(early 1700s) up to the time of Woodstock(1969 and immediately after). It is a history which presents the facts, but never loses touch with the human dimension.

It is also serious enough to present the facts as hemlock trees, quarries and other resources were successively pillaged without the slightest concern for the future. This was the world of my Father's childhood and that of my parents, grandparents and great grandparents.

It is a wonderful book and generously illustrated. It helped both my Father and I to develop a coherent picture of our family past. We were able to bridge the gaps between disconnected names, places and events.

I must give this book my highest personal recommendation.

Tim Rawson has written an engaging and beautifully researched book exploring the saga of wolf control in Denali National Park. He also documents this controversial issue outside that park, both in Alaska and throughout the country. It is an unthinking oversight, however, that the publisher neglected--either in the subtitle or in the Library of congress catalog info--to mention the fascinating character who resides in these pages: Adolph Murie. This lesser known brother of Olaus Murie was largely responsible for our modern day understanding that wolves are an essential part of the ecosystem. Pre Adolph Murie it was popular to think of wolves as vermin in need of extermination. Adolph's life work, as it unfolds in Rawson's pages, turns this scholarly history into compelling biography. Even if you haven't read Barry Lopez' OF WOLVES AND MEN (or if you have any interest in wolves in general), CHANGING TRACKS is a true classic.

Alaska residents and students of national parks issues will find Changing Tracks involving: it details the events which shaped both Mt. McKinley Park and the national policy on dealing with predators in national parks in general, outlining the decisions and actions which have influenced park service policies throughout the country. A variety of experiences, from game managers to conservationists, are presented in this scholarly, involving survey.