Foremost are the photographs. I would call Annerino's canyon portraits the best of a really good lot, even over big-time large-format photographers. While the large-format works are stunning artistic studies of light and color shot with impossibly huge f-stops, Annerino's canyon photographs give expression to the phrase "wearing one's heart on the sleeve." His photos have an active passion that others lack. Anyone who knows him will say he is among the "hardmen' to tackle the Southwestern mountains and canyons, but that he is definitely the most sincere in his passion for place. Perhaps, because of this he lacks a calculated commercial view of the places he photographs. His images also record his own passion, creating compelling and unique photographs. More than any other contemporary outdoor photographer, Annerino's photos mirror his love of the land's people. In the text, Annerino portrays canyonlands people as part of what makes the places special. He has a deep affection for past and present native peoples, but unlike some Anglo North Americans, Annerino isn't a lost 20th century soul. Rather, he seems to have a straightfoward and genuine admiration for native people, and has learned a great deal about them. His research on each canyon's history is impressive. Annerino writes with an immensity commensurate with his subject. His style is old-fashioned, evoking an older, more grandiose era of writing of explorers like Powell and Pattie. While many modern writers seem bent on infusing themselves into as much of the story as possible, Annerino's style is not so full of himself as full of the intensity of his canyon experiences...Annerino is at his best when he writes about Mexico, especially the Big Bend passage where he talks about the injustices served the Mexican across the river at the hands of our national park there. An optimist who sees great things in the canyons, Annerino neither ignores nor dwells on the obvious problems facing the West like pollution and development. And fortunately, CANYONS OF THE SOUTHWEST is not a treasure map guidebook to these areas. -Desert Skies

John Annerino's pictorial celebration of the canyons of the southwestern United States and northern Mexico is a handsome momento for those who have heard the wind whistling in these haunting canyons, and a beckoning invitation for those who have not yet made the journey. Annerino has spent much of his adult life exploring this territory -- as a wilderness runner, adventurer, and photojournalist -- and here combines his firsthand knowledge with his expertise as a nature photographer and author to create an intimate portrait of some of the most dramatic landscapes in the world. Scores of stunning full-color photographs make plain the basis for the region's appeal. From the centuries-old Anasazi ruins to the breathtaking buttes of Monument Valley, from the Narrows of Zion National Park to the barrancas (canyons) of the frontier of Mexico, CANYONS OF THE SOUTHWEST is a memorable record of one of the earth's most spectacular bioregions.

Everyone knows about the Grand Canyon, but what many of us don't know is that the Southwest is laced with canyons less traveled but no less spectacular. Lucky for us, Annerino spills a few secrets in this book, describing in words and fine photographs such places...an encticement to visit or revisit, in person, this stunning terrain. -Outside Magazine

I've been a big fan of the Tra Vigne restaurant for years. It's a fun place with fantastic food, and fun events such as wine tastings. I swear it has the best smelling food of any restaurant anywhere. It's delicious torture to wait for your food and get whiffs of the entrees going by.
It was with this excited expectation that I opened this book. And although I just received it as a birthday gift, I'm anxious to dig and try to recreate some of the fantstic food I've experienced in Michael's restaurant.
I can tell you already that this cookbook has a wonderful layout. For example, the table of contents (usually dreadfully dull) is a beautiful display of graphic design. Along one side are the seasons, and along the top different types of food. It's an unusual and neat way of showing this information and immediately leads the cook to think of seasonal meals and menus.
Some of the recipes in the book look surprisingly complex so this isn't a volume for beginners. But if they can help me recreate the great meals I've had in the restaurant without needing to travel to St. Helena they will be worth the extra effort.

I've had the Tra Vigne Cookbook for a year now, and I use it regularly. It's an attractive book, with beautiful photos and surprisingly intriguing introductions to the recipes. It's hard to stop browsing once you open the book, and it's harder to close the book without doing some cooking. The dishes are fantastic. The Chicken with Roasted Lemon and Rosemary Sauce is a favorite, as is the Fusilli Michelangelo. (Read the intro to either of these dishes and try to resist cooking them.)

The book is arranged seasonally, with chapters on essential ingredients for each season. Spring ingredients include asparagus, garlic, peas, and potatoes. Summer ingredients include corn, tomatoes, and bell peppers. And so on. I shop at a grocery store, not a farmers market, and I've had a less-than-happy relationship with vegetables since infancy, so I was skeptical of the whole seasonal-cooking thing at first. But I enjoy browsing through the new season's recipes as the year changes, and I've tried dishes and ingredients that are not usually a part of my diet. It's hard to object to broccoli when it's served in a creamy Very Green Soup sprinkled with crunchy gremolata.

It would have been nice in book a subtitled "Seasons in the California Wine Country" to have more information about wine. Few recipes actually use wine and there is no advice on what wines to pair with the food.

Despite the elegant presentations shown in the photos, none of the recipes are too difficult to try. They're just challenging enough for the amateur cook who likes to do a little more than the usual home cooking. The Tra Vigne Cookbook is a lot of fun, and the food is delicious.

His PBS show is incredible, his recipes are to die for, and he is gorgeous to boot. What other reasons are there for buying this book?

Young Mattie Gokey uses words as shields, she stores them away in her mind as buffers against her hard scrabble existence in the early 1900s. Due to the unexpected death of her mother the raising of her younger sisters falls to Mattie. Add to that seemingly never ending, arduous farm chores.

Her dull days aren't even relieved by romance as Royal Loomis is handsome but boring.

Accomplished Broadway actress and active film performer (About Schmidt, Hearts In Atlantis) gives memorable reading to Mattie's thoughts and aspirations, her hopes of attending college in New York City.

Thoughts of her future are pushed aside when the body of a young drowning victim, Grace Brown, is found. As it turns out it was only hours before her death that Grace gave Mattie a packet of love letters. These letters are a landmark in Mattie's life.

Based on a turn of the 20th century murder case that was also the inspiration for Theodore Dreiser's An American Tragedy, A Northern Light is a compelling coming-of-age tale woven of history, mystery, and love.

- Gail Cooke

This is one of those books where about a third of the way through, you anxiously thumb the remaining pages, knowing that despite your best efforts to savor it, the book will be over all too soon. When A NORTHERN LIGHT falls open, you,the reader, will fall in. Descriptions of this book by previous reviewers, while excellent and accurate, still do not prepare you for the sheer delight and pleasure of reading this story. While it has been classified as a Young Adult novel, as it does contain some language and situations, every word is absolutely true to the character who is speaking or being spoken of. I urge every teenage girl to read this, then pass it on to her mother, all of her girlfriends, aunts, a favorite teacher--in short, anyone who has a love of words, of learning, of mysteries, and a belief in the power of young women. A NORTHERN LIGHT is a most extraordinary book. Don't miss it!

I eagerly awaited the publication of this book after reading Jennifer Donnelly's The Tea Rose, which I loved. A Northern Light did not disappoint. Donnelly's first book for young adults is very engaging. I cared a great deal about the characters, especially Mattie, the clever female protagonist trying to do right by herself and her family. I enjoyed the use of vocabulary words as representations of situations or feelings in each chapter. The use of An American Tragedy as a frame for Mattie's coming-of-age is also inspired. Highly recommended for teens and adults!

Recently I was having dinner over a friend's house and the side dish being served was Brussels Sprouts. I never liked them as a child and the thought of eating them now, as an adult, was just as appealing as it was back then. Not to insult my host, I tried some. To my amazement, I LOVED them! I had to have the recipe (Caper Lemon Brussels Sprouts). The delicious side dish comes from the Junior League of Oakland - East Bay's cookbook, California Fresh Harvest, A Season Journey Through Northern California. The book contains recipes of Northern California's famous delicacies including Dungeness Crab, Cioppino, Butternut Squash Soup with Sage, Sizzling Shrimp, Goat Cheese Tart with Lavender Honey, Asparagus and Bell Pepper Risotto, and Mediterranean Penne Pasta to name a few. There are also many recipes for chicken, beef and lamb to give some variety to your usual dinners. The book even gives you menu ideas taken from recipes in the book for such special occasions such as Valentine's Day dinners and Mother's Day Brunch. The main body of the book is split into four main parts, Spring, Summer, Fall & Winter, containing menus, recipes and commodities in each section. The recipes are dishes you would find in the best restaurants but so easy to make even the most inexperienced of cooks, such as I, can make them. Moreover, the recipes do not contain those hard to find ingredients that you need to travel the world to find! I have not tried any of the desert recipes yet but they look awesome. I love the book so much I bought one for my mother and sister-in-law. This is one cookbook that does not just sit in my kitchen for looks

I originally received this cookbook as a gift. I was so delighted with it, I subsequently ordered four additional copies to give as gifts. The recipients are still thanking me! First, the recipes are creative and delicious -- fully enhancing the flavors of bountiful, diverse, fresh ingredients found in the San Francisco Bay Area and Wine Country. (It's hard NOT to eat well in this region!) Second, the cookbook itself is uncommonly successful in evoking this spectacular setting with gorgeous photos, sidebars of interesting sidetrips, local restaurants and wineries, and mind-boggling facts regarding the abundance of local agriculture. Food preparation tips, background information on local food and wine festivals/events, and delicacies such as Meyer Lemons are also highlighted. While it's fun to simply browse through this beautiful cookbook, it's even better to sample the Junior League's trade-mark "home cooking with flair." Full menus are offered here. My personal favorites are the Baja Guacamole, Savory Polenta w/Asiago Cheese, Garlic-Roasted Chicken, Pork Tenderloin w/Apricot Ginger Sauce, and Cherries & Berries Compote w/Crispy Puffed Pancake. The Chocolate Caramel Shortbread Bars are worth the price of admission all by themselves! I'm not surprised this cookbook is winning national rave reviews and awards. They are very well deserved! It is so beautifully rendered, it puts most commercially-produced cookbooks to shame.

This beautiful cookbook is organized by season, with four fresh produce items featured for each season. This allows even the most novice cook to find simple recipes using the freshest of ingredients. This book is a great place to start to add seasonal produce to your menues.

The recipes are not limited to those contributed by Junior League members, but also include recipes from notable California restaurants.

A bonus: this book is so attractive that it could practically be a coffee table book. The photographs and information about Northern California are exceptional.

I have both the big version and this version. Without doubt you need both. One for back at camp reading and the Field Version for, well, the Field. This is quite packable and the layout makes field Identification pretty easy.

A sign of environmental health and richness of biodiversity is the number of birds that a given area supports. Kenya then qualifies as a rich ecosystem with over 1,000 different species of birds.

This book was not around when I was a youngster living in Kenya but thumbing through it as an adult has brought back some fond memories of days out in the bush in Amboseli and Masai Mara or at lakes Nakura, Naivasha, and Victoria. Kenya is a birders paradise whatever your interest. There are fairly familiar Eurasian visiting seabirds and shorebirds and unique and beautiful East African sunbirds, weavers, rollers and bee-eaters. There are multitude birds of prey including the unmistakable tiny-tailed Bateleur Eagle and the most impressive hunting bird i've ever seen - the African Crowned Eagle. I can recall like it was yesterday watching one pluck a male colobus monkey right out of the tree tops. All of the birds are here in splendid color with the most appropriate profile presented to assist in making identification easy. You'll find the underside views of the birds of prey very useful.

While you probably won't see a Crowned Eagle on a casual birding visit to Kenya, any guided trip into the game parks will guarantee you at least 100 different species - probably in a single day! In the right locations, prepare to have your head on a swivel as the variety of birdlife you will behold has to be seen to be believed. You will find yourself regularly flipping through the pages of this book. This book is absolutely essential for your Kenyan trip.

I live and work in East Africa, and this is the book the park rangers all carry in their open Land Rovers. They cover it with canvas so it won't get beat up too fast, and it gets marked with brown circles from the thermos of coffee on the 06:30 game drive. Go to Masai Mara Game Reserve in Kenya for a long weekend with this book, and you'll come home with 150 species. Don't worry about the weight of the book, I started with the Collins field guide and had to buy my copy of Zimmerman in the middle of my first stay because I outgrew it. Buy Zimmerman to start with, you won't regret it.

I first read this book in 1986, when as a student, I acquired an advance copy of it, complete with typo's and spelling errors. Since then, Cosmic Bandito's has taken on the status of a Gutenberg Bible with me.

This tells a relatively straight forward story (hah, hah) of a Dope Smuggler's quest for cosmic philosophic enlightenment thru quantum mechanics, massive quantities of tequila, gratuitous use of high explosives, and a dog. Thus setting Weisbecker up to be my spiritual mentor.

Don't laugh, the author somehow makes it all work. Weisbecker managed to get thru a philosophy degree, several physics classes and 10 years in the military with the power of his admittedly distorted vision.

To illustrate how this works, lets use the Uncertainty Principle, typically taught with the use of Schrodinger's Cat. Weisbecker uses the Bandito Uncertainty principle, with the Observer only being able to see the outside of the Bandito filled tavern, when energy is applied (in the form of Tequila, and Dope) you can see the results visibly as Banditos are launched thru the tavern windows, or out the tavern doors. If, however, the Observer was to enter the Tavern, he or she would immediately impede the progress of the experiment as they would be in the way of flying Banditos.

This may not be for everyone, but I can assure you that once you read this book, you will never ever forget it.

In closing, I must make note of how Weisbecker has pioneered the footnote into a whole new form of literary genre. His use of the Time Traveling Footnote (TTF) has guaranteed him a place in the hall of literary heroes.

When a friend of mine approached me with an old book of his a few years ago named "Cosmic Banditos" all I could do was laugh. However, the last laugh was difinitely on me. Never had I read such a hilarious, nonsensical, and metaphysical book. If only more people had heard of "cosmic Banditos," I truly think it would have become a genuine cult classic. If you haven't read this tale of drugs, corruption, fate, and Mexican spoofs, now is the time to BUY

I completely agree with the one reader review already here for this remarkably insane, yet imminently intelligent, laugh-fest. I've never read anything like it. While many novels have made me chuckle or even bark a little, this is the only novel I've ever read that had me falling out of my chair bellowing laughter. I, too, have no idea why more people didn't find this novel. But I do know that everyone I've ever lent my two copies to has agreed with me. It's well worth trying to find through whichever means you can. Plus, it also has the best author bio I've ever read at the back of the book: "Not much is known about A.C. Weisbecker, and A.C. Weisbecker wants to keep it that way." I re-read this every couple of years, especially when I'm feeling down. It's a written anti-depressant of the highest order, and it's only side effect is laughter.

My wife and I returned from a trip to Northern Ireland in SEP02 and purchased a copy of Belfast Diary. Simply, Belfast Diary is a book about a journalist from Chicago who rents a room in a home in Belfast to learn more about the Troubles. As mentioned by the other people who submitted reviews about this book, I couldn't put it down. However, I couldn't give this book five stars because I thought it painted a picture of the Troubles as seen from one side of the street. The author traveled to Belfast from Chicago (where each year they turn the river green on St. Patrick's Day), he worked on this book in a rented room in a home located in a Catholic section of Belfast, and he mentions that he is married to a Catholic woman from Northern Ireland. In my opinion, this book would have been much better had it been balanced. There are two sides to every conflict.

Thankfully a lot has changed in Belfast since Mr. Conroy wrote this book about what he experienced while living in the British province. Things have clearly changed for Ulster, which has become one of the up and coming destinations for tourists (as mentioned in Travel Weekly magazine in FEB03). A trip to Northern Ireland is a fascinating educational experience.

For anyone interested in or ignorant of "The Troubles" this book is a must read. Written in a clear, concise and straight forward manner this book gives a brief background of the conflict in Northern Ireland, then provides a "snapshot" of life in the war torn city of Belfast from the a first person point of view/reference. Mr. Conroy must be applauded for having the courage and determination to immerse himself in a part of the world and into a subject, which it seems most (American and British, especially) journalists are unaware...by choice. One can only hope that the concept of "equal justice under law" will be the next permanent "fad" to invade Northern Ireland.

Are you the average American completely confused with the subject on Northern Ireland and "The Troubles"? This is THE book for you. John Conroy writes in easy to understand language with an underlining compassion for the people he is writing about. This book is moving and reads like a novel. I couldn't put it down. If you are interested in this subject, please read it. You will not be disappointed.

I have read books written by Lisa before and enjoyed them but this book surpases them by far. I love the Norwegian history and the language, as it is my own heritage and it reminds me of my Great Grandmother. The tale of the Norwegian immigrants tells the story of more than one family and covers so many difficulties and hardships that the immigrants and so many families faced then and now. The characters come to life and are so intwined with each other, but still each have there own stories. I so appreciate the way the characters rely on God, but are still real people with the tempatations that we face. The learn that God's way is best, but not always the first time. I felt encouraged as I read the book. What a wonderful way to spend a lazy weekend. Thanks for the wonderful new style of writing that you have started in this book, Lisa. The history is great and I can't wait to read the next book.

This book is a joy to read. You become quickly involved with the lives of each of the characters. They are people that you feel you know because they are so realistic. They have strengths and weaknesses and its amazing to see how God works in their lives. Its a story that builds you up as you read along.

Lisa Tawn Bergren at her very best! What an incredible tale of adventure, from Norway's sparkling fjords to the high seas of Cape Horn, to the rocky shores and plains of America in the 1880s. Even with such a panoramic backdrop, THE CAPTAIN'S BRIDE keeps its spyglass trained on the lives of people you'll care about deeply, from first page to last, as they wrestle with the temptations of spirit and flesh we all know too well. It's an old cliche, but I really could NOT put this book down until I hit the last page and THEN I couldn't wait to read the next in the series! Do yourself a favor and buy all three--The Captain's Bride, Deep Harbor, and Midnight Sun--so you won't have to say good-bye to these characters until their stories are fully--and wonderfully--told. I loved all three!

Every recipe I've tried from this cookbook is a winner. The Christmas pasta with sugar, almonds and orange zest, topped by a capon has become an annual tradition in our family. Whenever cooking from it, I constantly find myself getting lost in the anecdotes and historical background. In fact, this book actually helped direct us when planning our gastronomical tour of northern Italy.

This past fall we spent a week in the Piacenza area and interviewed relatives on old family recipes. Reading The Splendid Table is like being in Piacenza again...the pictures and stories are a realistic picture of this area of Italy. While some recipes are time consuming, the results are certainly worth the effort. Ms. Kasper's recipe for Pisarei e Faso is identical to an old family recipe; and the Cappellacci with Sweet Squash followed by Sweet Fennel Jewish Style and Chestnut Ricotta Cheesecake were the highlights of our New Year's dinner. This book is a tribute to the cooking of the Emilia-Romagna area and to the traditions of this area.

Lynne truly researches her food topics and background. The book is fasinating - all about the Italian region, its food, and its history. A joy to read and learn from. She is also great to listen to on NPR. N.Alexander

Slightly out of date now (Sybase 12.5 is the current version) but still very useful. I originally purchased my copy when I started at Sybase as a new employee (though I had been using Sybase software for about 10 years prior to that).

I have had my copy now for nearly 5 years, and I still use it as much as ever - though I left the employment of Sybase a long time ago (so this is not an official endorsement).

And I'm not the only one in the office to use it - the book is a very good general reference on Sybase - forget the manuals. This book covers most things you want to know - whether you are a DBA or a developer, but perhaps not always in as much depth as you'll need.

The book covers generally all aspects of Sybase SQL Server using in real life. It is outdated a bit (SQL Server version 11 already isn't latest release of Sybase DBMS), but, in my opinion, it is still the best book for any serious Sybase database administrator or programmer.

This is an excellent Sybase book (probably the best one on the topic), however I still have to go to sybooks.sybase.com for certain things. For example, sp_changedbowner (to change a database owner) isn't mentioned anywhere.