As a high school English teacher who is designing a course on the literature of the Bay Area, I have found this collection of critical essays indespensible. The introduction sets the stage, tying together the landscape, history, and culture of the San Francisco area in order to generate a cohesive view of the literature of this region. The key question here is what makes the literature of the Bay Area distinct? What unifies the literature of this region? Fine and Skenazy present a view of Bay Area writing that ranges from the post-gold rush, pre-earthquake days of Mark Twain, Bret Harte, and Ambrose Bierce to modern voices such as Amy Tan, Richard Rodriguez and Maxine Hong Kingston. They illustrate the ways in which the literary scene of the Bay Area has grown and transformed, moving from the newsapaper articles and short stories written from a predominantly white male perspective, to a more inclusive, broder regional identity. Incidently, their definition of "San Francisco stories" is admittedly wide-ranging; they have included writers from as far afield as Santa Cruz to the south and Sacramento to the west. The essays feature analyses of the work of Frank Norris, Jack London, Dashiell Hammett, William Saroyan, Jack Kerouac, Wallace Stegner and others I've mentioned above.

While my interests in the subject at hand are mostly academic, I imagine that anyone interested in the rich--if brief--history of the Bay Area would enjoy reading these essays. As a collection, the essays raise and adress interesting questions about how a place can shape writing. They also ask the reader to look at the character of the Bay Area and consider why it is as it is--unique and complex, a land of travelers, heading forever west, hoping to strike it rich.

This book provides a good introduction to SanFrancisco. The technique of creating an application as a learning tool is good and easy to follow. SanFrancisco is a large and complex project. The authors have done a good job at making this understandable.

A great source book of information about Camp Santanoni for anyone who has visited this or any other great camp in the Adirondacks. The book is full of historical information, stories, drawings and photographs chronicalling Camp Santanoni - from the influences of Japanese culture on Robert Pruyn (Santanoni's original owner) as a young man, to the present state of this wonderful Adirondack treasure. The photos of the families influenced by Santanoni, the illustrations of the conceptual framework of the architecture, and photos of the land and supporting buildings are numerous and well placed. Simply a thorough and entertaining book.

A great read. I keep mine next to the toilet after making the mistake of reading it on public transportation. After laughing out loud for the umpteenth time, I noticed other riders staring at me like I was some sort of a freak...which is hard to imagine when you consider the number of actual freaks who ride public transporation. A deftly researched book that is a must for any sports fan. Filled with no-hitter nuggets and other assorted sports buffoonery. More fun that a twi-night double header at Candlestick!!

It is tough to find guides to Sardinia. This one (Cadogan) is the best available. The Insight Guide gives you interesting information about the island, but it doesn't tell you where to stay or eat. The Eyewitness Guide gives a limited amount of information about hotels and lodging, but does offer helpful explanations of the local food, including pictures. This is great since we do not speak italian. My Cadogan Guide is well worn, the mark of a truly useful book.

great text that shuttles between two (or three) kinds of paris - interesting reading of sartre with derrida and foucault

Even glacing through this superbly written volume will whet the appetite to sample the riches Prof Jackson discusses in this thick volume. This is not a pedantic dissection of broadcast after broadcast. Prof Jackson flows from one to another (not always in chronological order) with ease and smoothness. His history of how the Met broadcasts began and the evolving politics over the ensuing seasons makes for fascinating reading.

I first read Saucer of Loneliness in Sturgeon's E. Pleribus Unicorn. It instantly became my favorite and still is in this new book. Its always a pleasure to read his works.

I am a mother of two children married to a successful business person. This book helped me prepare my case and find assets in the business. Our case is still pending but I have already received more information from this book than I have from my lawyer during the entire case. I recommend it to anyone considering a divorce. I especially appreciate the list of professionals contained in the back of the book and the social security information. This should be required reading for anyone who is going through a divorce.

An excellent reference work this book contains almost exclusively fine 3 view drawings of a wide range of aircraft. Civil and military aircraft from World War One through to World War Two are exhaustively covered. There are also a number of high quality black and white photos also featuring interior views. One of the great things about this book is that it does not cover the usual run of the mill aircraft but a wide range of unusual planes - especially thrilling to scratchbuilders ! The scales are a bit wide ranging 1/96th to 1/32nd but these can be easily rephotocopied to the desired scale. A great addition to any modeling reference library !