Burleigh recounts a brief but traumatic period of RichardByrd's life based upon Byrd's diary and book "Alone." Foralmost six months, Byrd observed and recorded the Antartic night, while based in a manmade tunnel where temperatures could drop to 60 degrees below zero. What could the man have been thinking about? The intense cold and dark are nicely illustrated by Krudop's somber colors. A good initial introduction, for the younger reader, to the life of Admiral Byrd.

A wonderful dip into the world of classic pulp noir. The hero is, of course, a wise-cracking, smart guy who strays into trouble not of his own making that involves a traveling carnival, a sexy woman, an ex-wife and murder. And crocodiles. And a midget. Tarzan's tree house. Rubes and Carnies. Cops and Bad Guys. This is a definite must-read for both Raymond Chandler and Mickey Spillane lovers. Alter has all the swing and poetry of the classic mystery noir thrillers and he reels it off like one of his own carnival barkers selling the bearded lady show. Buy the ticket: The ride's worth it.

I LOVE jazz AUTObiographies. There's something about reading the authors own words which conjurs actual images of that person's life. Without exception, each jazz autobiography has made me feel as if I've actually met that person.

Bud Freeman was on the Chicago jazz scene in the 1920's when a lot of the "so called" New Orleans names were there. I say "so called" because Freeman says that people like Louis Armstrong and King Oliver were more Chicago musicians than they were New Orleans musicians. Freeman's stories about Chicago during those years almost makes you feel like you've been there before.

One thing which really made an impression on me is Freeman's descriptions of road life, as a jazz musician. I would strongly recommend this book to anyone who is aspiring to be a professional musician, if for no other reason than to get a glimps of the less glamorous aspects of that life style.

Dumping in Dixie is far more complex than the title implies. The book provides a detailed history of why the ecological movement failed to resonate with many disadvantaged groups, in particular, the African-Americans in the South. Participation was co-opted in part by lack of resources, and also by economic pressures. The threat of exit was effectively used by corporations that did not want to be subjected to restrictions on polluting activities. Business leaders quashed activism on the grounds that precious jobs would be lost. It was not until the 1990's that African-Americans became more involved.

Initially, the environmental movement was populated by the more affluent white American who seemed to be more concerned with the preservation of nature and clean space for leisure activities. Other motivations were less clear, and emerged with the maturity of the movement. Bullard details this history well. The only failing I found was the end of the book that tails off into solutions that seem impractical.

Although born and raised in Denver, one genre I have read very little is the "western" novel -- cowboys, rodeos, horse thieves, and the like. Because of this unfamiliarity, I do not know with what to compare Robert Laxalt's novella Dust Devils. In broad outline, the plot seems pat, almost cliche: teenaged boy wins Arab horse for bronco-riding in rodeo; horse thieves steal animal; boy and best friend -- an Indian -- take off after thieves and regain horse; boy shot by thieves and nursed back to health by shaman and Indian girl whom boy loves; boy and girl decide to marry in traditional Indian rite; boy's father -- a life-long Indian-hater -- renounces life-long prejudice and embraces new daughter-in-law and her tribe. And all of this in just 102 pages! What redeems this book is Laxalt's unerring gift of description and character. His world -- both moral and physical -- rings true. Having never read Louis L'Amour or any of the popular western novelists, I do not know how Laxalt's book compares. I do recommend it. (I also commend our local librarian for adding this book -- published by the University of Nevada Press -- to her collection. One of the particular gifts of local libraries and thoughtful librarians is the placement of obscure or unfamiliar books on the shelves which the community can sample for "free").

All around me, I see people spending a FORTUNE in time, money and effort "maintaining" their lawns, and it doesn't appear that they've done as much as read a pamphlet, book or web site on lawn maintenance. They water at the wrong time. They fertilize too much. They cut their grass too low or too often.

EVERY FLORIDA HOMEOWNER SHOULD OWN AND READ THIS BOOK! The lawn is a large investment, and this is a small price to pay to take care of it. This is the bible for Florida lawnowners.

This book is very complete. There are chapters on planting, water, fertilizing, insects and disease. And there is a chapter (or two!) on each common variety of Florida turf grass. This book is written by Florida university researchers and agricultural extension agents, so is the most authoritative reference there is.

I have two main complaints, although these problems are often interlinked. First, the chapters are written by different authors. As a result, there is some inconsistency in advice and writing style, and many topics are repeated. The second is that it can be a little technical. This could be remedied with an introductory chapter with pictures and definitions of the terminology used in the book. The authors assume that you know what the different parts of the grass plant are. As a new homeowner, I didn't even know what thach was.

I am going to use the info from this book and from the St. John's River Water Management District web site to write an article for my homeowner's association newsletter. Perhaps the neighbors will quit wasting water watering the mailbox in the evening from which I have to retrieve my mail.

For those new to the work of R. Crumb or those who want a compilation of "women" drawings this is a nice book. Great productions values: the cover, endpapers, binding, paper stock are all first class. The reason I didn't give this 5 stars is because there is very little work from recent years. I counted 6 drawings from 2002, 5 drawings from 2001, and only 2 from 2000. (There are no drawings from 2003). Most of the material is from the 1980's. I would have liked a more even sampling of material throughout the years and would have really been interested to see what new and recent work (if any) he's been doing on the subject of women. If you have the Crumb german sketchbooks, or are collecting the Fantagraphics sketchbooks then there's really no need for this. This is a good "general interest" Crumb collection.

Archer's work is a thorough history of the Lehigh Valley that chronologically follows the story of the Valley from construction to its eventual demise. It is well-written and includes a fine selection of black and white photographs. The only shortcoming in the book is that it does not have a locomotive roster

I just started reading this book a few days ago, but I all ready feel as though I'm on my way to becoming a pro at playing gospel music. Robert makes learning simple and easy without all the lingo that can sometimes deter an aging mind. I hope to purchase volume 2 in the future!

This book although not very entertaining, is perfect for someone writing an essay on segregation or more particulary Central High. This book was my main topic of research for my essay. A good Read.