Being an Eagle Boy Scout, I was prepared for everything. In fact, I was so prepared I could hardly carry my pack. Ray Jardine has shown me a new way: less is more. Less weight is more enjoyment while backpacking.

The book was great if you can keep an open mind. The book can really change your hiking style.

Last summer I walked 515 miles using the techniques in Jardines book. I walked through the entire state of Washington. I encountered rain, snow, mosquitos galore and a host of other problems that were all easily handled with the techniques outlined in Ray's book. I even made my own backpack on an old Singer sewing machine with the plans in the book. I wore running shoes the whole way. I finished the hike in 23 days, counting the five rest days I took. This book is excellant, not to mention well written.

I must preface this review by stating that I have not read this edition but the original paperback Bantam publication from 1976. Assuming that the contents are the same, I will proceed thusly. . .

This collection of 22 short pieces might prove something of a puzzle for anybody picking it up based on Bradbury's reputation as a science fiction writer. To be sure, there are stories here that fit neatly into that genre due to subject matter (robots, time travel) or setting (Mars) but Bradbury is really not a science fiction writer so much as a storyteller. This is a distinction that seems to be much more clear today than it was back in 1976 when Bradbury seemed to be stuck with the Sci-Fi type despite stories such as those found in "Long After Midnight", which are closer to literary than genre fiction even when employing science fiction devices.

Perhaps a good example of the latter would be "The Messiah". This story simply yet profoundly examines the nature of religious faith via the characters of a missionary priest on Mars and a telepathic, shape changing Martian.

Other pieces defy any easy classification and stand alone as simple revelations of the human condition and the mysteries of life. "Getting Through Sunday Somehow" is such a one. Bradbury's gift for poetic nostalgia is used to brilliant effect here as an American writer in Dublin, facing a gray wall of ennui, is transformed and made aware of his blessings through a bar room philosopher and a street side harp player.

Bradbury, with his seemingly boundless imagination and gift for transcribing the visions of that imagination, is a treasure and these stories are literary jewels shining dark and light.

Recovering from one or two monotonous bores, "Long After Midnight" is an excellent collection of the best of Bradbury. It offers a wide variety of appeals to all audiences and all of the stories are gripping to the point that you feel like it is taking over your life and making it a part of the story. Some of the stories have such parnormality that they could easily be the storyline for an X-Files episode. Yet some are so ordinary and monotonous that it almost seems that it was an ordinary work of literature. But none of the stories in "Long After Midnight" are ordinary. All of them are written with such painstaking detail which make them spectacular. Being as it is "Long After Midnight" is a must read for almost all readers today

The one thing that I used to hate about being on the track team was that I never knew how to train in the summer and winter. My coaches provided little information about specific training for the offseason. Thanks to this book I now know exactly what to do during the offseason to maximize my performances. I've read probably 10 books about training and this is definitely the best one. Why? Because the methods are PROVEN. Sure, there might be some new fancy scientific method that works a tiny bit better, but this training has been proven over decades to work wonders on elite distance runners. Take Ryan Hall and Anita Siraki - they use the program in this book and have run a 3:42 1500 (equivalent to a 4:00 mile) and a low 10:00s 2 mile, repectively. This book tells you exactly what kind of workouts and how much of each for every month of the year to ensure success. I can't imagine what else anyone would need. The only downside to the book is that it doesn't have anything about specific streches, buying shoes, etc. but that's because this book it totally about training. If you don't know how to stetch already then you probably don't need this book. If you have big dreams for your running future, buy Run with the Best. I promise you won't be dissapointed.

Irv Ray and Tony Benson are two extremely successful coaches and students of the sport, yet they do not allow their expertise to disrupt wiht scholarly and technical jargon what is an easily read and understood text on how to train and race your best.

Geared more to the coach, yet applicaple to the athlete, Run With The Best breaks down the training-racing-peaking process into the steps one must take in order to improve as a runner. None of it is theory, it is all time-tested, scientific and proven ... the results of the runners who have trained under Benson's and Ray's tutelage stand as testimony. The book is full of charts and text that explains what it is you are looking at in chart form and it also includes numerous examples of the workouts that fall within the framework of their training system.

I have used the training system with my runners at the high school level and I have found the principles to be successful regardless of the talent level of the athlete. Improvement comes to any runner willing to follow the model set forth in the book.

Highly recommended for anyone seeking a practical and proven method of training successful runners.

I loved this book; I picked it up at the [store] because of the cool cover (shallow, I know, but read on), but within two minutes was so hooked that I couldn't put it down. We live in a society that is both obsessed with being thin, while at the same time grows increasingly unhealthy. Dr. Ray's premise is that we've come to expect degeneration, dependency and disease as a natural part of aging, when in fact all of these things can be retarded, or even eliminated. As a Stanford Med school educated Biochemist, Dr. Ray knows her stuff, and she shares this all important information in a way that is both fun to read and highly compelling. Want to live to experience true longevity, while being vibrant, fit and mentally alert? Start eating and exercising the way we're genetically programmed to do, and stop falling prey to fad diets and more drugs. Dr. Ray offers a bold new look at how to seize control of your health and your future. Warning: this book is recommended for people who are not afraid to look at their lives and their health in a whole new way, and who are willing to explode the myths of pharmaceuticals as cure-alls, and dieting as we know it as the way to health.

One of a handful of childrens books I remember from my early years. I still remember when the three adventures spend the night atop the slide and cook what appear to be baked beans over a camp stove. A bizarre adventure only these three stuffed animals could undertake. Remember when Dolly gets sick and pukes off the ladder? It always looked like candy to me. Authors of childrens books have the power to shape minds. Every illustrated book I see I always compare to The Long slide. Long rainy days wishing for summer, my mom not letting me go outside until my hair was dry. This is what this book reminds me of.

Bruce Roberts may be the best lighthouse photographer working in the U.S. today. The books by him and his partner Ray Jones are really lighthouse travel guides. For each lighthouse featured, you'll get a great picture from Roberts, a little historical story from Jones and directions of how to get there. The lighthouse lover could scarcely ask for more.

This book is great if you love exploring and finding lighthouses. The authors give a nice overview and history of the lighthouse and then give detailed directions on how to find it. We just spent time finding many of the lighthouses described by the authors on the Maine coast and had a great time.

excellent review of all lighthouses in the area. photos superb. recommend it to anyone who loves lighthouses.

It's a shame that this book is out of print, because it tells the story of one man's adventures in a unique time and place in a way that is less successfully done in other such books. Mungo was there at the creation, and he (usually) doesn't gloss over the failings of the hippies' original vision. The book is witty and opinionated, well-written and amusing - and if you're interested in the 1960s you should seek out copies in your nearby library or other such repository.

Mungo's life during those intense years covered in the book (which is circa 1965 through about 1971) traced nearly the entire stereotpical path of the 1960s hippie: from the Haight to political action in Washington and elsewhere (as a member of the Liberation News Service), to a comically unsuccessful stand as a back-to-the-lander communitarian, to a wandering journey to the 'sources of enlightenment' in Asia. The book shows just how it was possible to become entirely burnt out with innovation in just a six or seven year period, and illustrates well the trajectory of the 1960s, from ideal to disillusion to acceptance.

And it's well-written.

I am somewhat disappointed in this book. I felt that many of the "hints" were written over and over. This book could have been written in half the pages and still have been somewhat valuable. I will use this as somewhat as a reference for a while, but will look forward to finding more books with more information. I just went through a volunteer session through hospice and this book left me feeling that there was alot missing.

I was honored to speak with M. Catherine Ray before she died. She was very helpful to me in publishing my book WHAT THE DYING TEACH US: LESSONS ON LIVING. She has a servant's heart that shines through every word in her book. This book offers practical advice to anyone working with the dying. It is a classic. -- Samuel Oliver