Gary Snyder is an amazing person. He is an intellect. He is a poet. He is a teacher, a traveler, and he is a deeply spiritual man. He lives the life that we should all attempt to lead, a conscious thinking, methodical, contemplative life, asking questions arriving at conclusions and taking action.

The Gary Snyder Reader is a good compilation of his life's work, the variety inside includes essay, interview, and poetry. This book is a well rounded view of his feelings and belief's about nature, and that of the nature of the soul, the nature of man. I agree with other reviews written here about the power of Synder's writing. His is a strong voice which is able to make a terrific argument about everything from the history of the Christian church and some reasons for underlying social perils to making a call for more activism in one's own community. Make a difference, be responsible, see things for what they are, yes this is all there.

There is also the voice of pain, loss, suffering, anger, and very deep love. Above all else, one REALLY gets the feeling that Synder loves, passionately. Gary Snyder is an extremely talented writer and poet. The same voice that won the Pulitzer is still here. Do more than read and enjoy his works, read and be changed.

most of us first heard of snyder though kerouac's dharma bums. and i must confess that is why i was 1st attracted to him and his writings. but to list snyder as just another beat it not only inaccurate it does a diservice to him, his writings and his fearless intellect. snyder is not only a great poet but is also an insightful naturalist and a true zen master. this anthology is actually a zen bible for the 21st century, filled with enjoyable reading and great insights. these writings would make the soul of han shan dance, and sakyamuni smile. this is one of my favorite books. just reading it will lighten your spirit and make your soul dance with joy.

Gary Snyder's power appears to come from mountain, meandering and meditation. In this thick sampler we visit his life to age sixty-eight through notes, prose and poems. The soil of his writings range across a fire lookout station in the Cascade Range, a Japanese Zen temple, the engine room of a Pacific freighter, an audience with the Dalai Lama, work and climbs with Ginsberg, Kerouac, Lew Welch, and Nanao Sakaki, travel in Botswana and Zimbabwe with his sons. The essence of his power is nature. "Nature is not a place to visit, it is home-and within that home territory there are more familiar and less familiar places." Two sons, one Pulitzer, many other awards so far. He writes, he reads, he teaches. One hopes that he never tires of planting words in the soil that is us. If there are any legitimate Earth heroes, Gary Snyder is one.

With a shelf full of baking and cook books, the one pulled off the shelf the most often at our house is definately this one. I hogged our local library copy as much as they'd let me, (off and on for almost a year! ) til I decided to find my own copy, and one for my daughter in college, but am sad to find it out of print. His step by step pie crust instruction, fulfills, nay, far surpasses, my lifelong fantasy of being able to master a decent result...Thank you, Jim Dodge! Everything we've tried has been magnificent, and even my 12yr old refers to you constantly! The Boston Creme Pie is truly out of this world; my 15yr old son's most requested dessert. Don't miss this gem!

I have over 100 baking and dessert books and if I had to pick the best of all it would be this book. the greatness of any cokkbook is if one goes back to it again and again and if many of the recipes in this book become your standards. this book is true with me and it is a shame that it is out of print. there should be more from Jim Dodge.

Too much is made of obscure, humorless poets with grad school vocabularies and a tenth grade idea of what passes for truth. Dodge isn't one of those academic pretenders. He's the real deal: a living, breathing poet reporting back from the edge where body and mind give way to the world. My only complaint is that his poems aren't as outright funny as his wonderful novels. Fans of the poetry of Gary Snyder, Jim Harrison and the Beats should find much of value in this fine collection. Everyone else should, too.

I found Fup in a thrift shop, it cost me less than a dollar. It was money well spent and I am gong to buy Jim Dodge's other books when I get the chance.

Dodge's story about Fup, his friends Grandpa Jake and Tiny bought tears of sorrow and laughter to my eyes.

Even Lockjaw the rampaging homicidal boar made me chuckle. It is an easy read I would recommend it most heartedly, especially if you're someone who likes to read when they are eating. Just be careful, you might choke on some of the funnier moments, but its worth every cough and splutter.

Fup is a wonderfully funny and bittersweet book that really should be read outloud, I read it to my son when he was ten - carefully editing the few obscenities - and we roared with laughter. Dodge is an honerable heir to Vonnegut (my son , now 12, extremely enjoyed "Stone Junction")- the tales are so goofy , and the charactors are quite endearing. As a previous reviewer said, this should be a must-read for teen-agers . Not a slight to adults , but a recognition that Dodge is - like Vonnegut - a neat introduction to the conflicts of identity and choices that maturity encompasses

My AP Lit teacher read us Fup aloud last year, and within a week I had a hold of my own copy (as did about half the class). Words to not do justice to the beauty of the language, the story, and the moral.

There are few more enjoyable pleasures in this world than being caught completely off-guard by a novel. I picked up STONE JUNCTION at a discount book sale, drawn in by the jacket, and the price. I began reading it with absolutely no preconceived notions as to its content, or worth.

By the end of the story, I knew that this was my favorite novel of all time.

It's the story of Daniel Pearce, an orphaned youngster who is brought under the guidance of some of the most off-kilter and bizarre people imaginable. While this may reek of HARRY POTTER, this is most assuredly a story for adults.

STONE JUNCTION is about the world behind the world, the people we sledom get to know. It is a world of crime, and conspiracies, and greed, and love, and magic. That author Jim Dodge holds it all together is a fine feat in and of itself, but he does more than that; he makes the reader yearn for this life. Although (in my edition) he states emphatically that the novel is a work of fiction ("Believe otherwise at your peril"), Dodge's world is so well-defined that it's difficult not to wish it existed.

The novel also has that one remaining aspect that so many novels, even the truly great ones, lack; it left me wanting more.

i thought that this book was a masterpiece.it seemed like no other piece of fiction that i have read for a long time.it was interesting, intelligent and frankly i couldn't put it down.a marvelous piece of work.highly recommended,it's weird but in a good way.

STONE JUNCTION is one of those books where you never know what is going to happen next. It's best to read it without knowing anything about it beforehand so you can charge through it wildly, marveling at this author's vivid imagination. The story takes a mother, her son, and a group of diverse characters all over the US on an outrageous scheme. It is described as an alchemical potboiler, which it clearly is, so expect magical and inexplicable events. I found this book in London where one of the staff from the bookstore had recommended it. I'm so glad!

This starts off promisingly as a weird road tale full of rock 'n roll and stoned philosophy. A little over halfway through, though, the story just loses momentum and gets as lost as the protagonist, George Gastin, does in the end. I found myself finishing it with a feeling of, "yeah, and the punchline is.....? " It's entertaining enough to read, but there's no payoff when you put the book down.

I couldn't put this one down until it was over - a wild, nostalgic ride back over familiar territory - the characters are vibrant and sometimes brilliant - I was inspired to start my own Buddy Holly novel - still in the works! One of the few books that I have read more than twice!

Wow! I picked up Not Fade Away in a book store for a dollar, not knowing that I had found such a gem. This story was told exceptionally well, crazy, hilarious, and down right odd - I think this book should be read in schools! Put a little free spirit in your life and buy this book!

This book is nothing more than a rehash of Stuart N. Lake's book on Wyatt Earp. Vestal has got Earp carrying the Buntline Special, walking on water and leaping tall buildings. This book would be fine along side a Zane Gray novel.

Stanley Vestal is a good writer when it comes to anecdotal history. The yarns he spins are interesting, and often quite amusing. This book, written in 1952, is not as dated as one might think. One will recognize differences in word choice (political correctness), but overall, this book is a good choice for someone who is not interested in a chronological history of Dodge City, but wants a highly readable book of anecdotes that tell the history of Dodge City. As an additional note, Vestal goes to great pains to disprove many of the myths that popular TV shows and nickel westerns have brought forth about the West, especially Dodge City. Vestal's view of Dodge is not from Gunsmoke! To anyone who is interested in the real story, this is particularly heartening.