This book is loaded with top quality National Geographic photographs of the National Parks, and the written commentary and the important park information included is excellent. A must book to have for anyone visiting any of the USA parks. In fact, you can stay at home and page through this book, and it is just like a mini-tour of the parks. It is printed on glossy, heavy weight paper that resists tears and spills of over active children, and it allows one to toss it into a backpack or car glove box with minimal damage. Another quality National Geographic publication that deserves 5 stars.

Like all National Geographic titles this book is packed full of great photographs and details about the parks. Having visited many parks already - I am amazed by how up to date all the comments are, together with very good suggestions for times to visit and accomodation available. The layout of the book is superb - its like a travel directory - taking you from one park to another without stepping outside your front door. I feel this guide is essential for anyone visiting America's National Parks - its also just the right size to take with you !. My aim is to visit all the parks - this book has made it easier ! Please get in touch if you have any questions.

I just visited 5 national parks in the last two months. I picked up this book today. I read all the section about the parks I visited. The information is up to dated. Each section also highlight nice spot to visited. This is a good introduction of the national parks. More details can be obtained later on ... the government website for national park.

I first read this book in the '70's. It knocked my socks off. I recently recommended it to someone and thought, "Hmm. Maybe I should read it again." It blew my socks off again. Play of Consciousness is the spiritual autobiography of Sw. Muktananda, an Indian meditation master who died in 1982. In POC, he breaks Hindu tradition by talking about his experiences. He does this for one reason: To serve and guide his students. This is a handbook for meditators, in many ways a survival manual. Muktananda had many of the experiences recounted here -- some of which were terrifying-- without knowing what they were. Here, he lets his students know what to expect in advanced meditation. The book is written in sections. The book opens with a tightly written and comprehensive guide to Hinduism and kundalini yoga. Muktananda lays out the turf-- quoting many major Indian saints and scriptures. This alone is worth buying. The second part describes his spiritual experiences, his sadhana. If you ever thought that meditation was a passive, dopey thing popularized in California, this will change your mind. Muktananda's experiences were big. Explosive. Gorgeous. They read like sci-fi, but you have the sense of their utter authenticity. The final section explains what Muktananda wants from his students. How he sees the universe, and how a good yogi/yogini should live. This is a masterpiece in mystical writing. POC is not an easy read. First, it may induce culture shock. This is not a Western book. It was translated from Hindi or one of the Indian languages and written by an older man, a Hindu monk. The language sounds it-- flowery, exquisite, complex, and somewhat antiquated. Muktananda talks about gurus and disciples. The word "guru" has been maligned in the West. For thousands of years, Indian people have had gurus the way that we have accountants. "Guru" means "teacher", with the root meaning, "bringer of light, taker of darkness." The guru's function. POC is a hard read for another reason: Muktananda's experience roars through it. If you do not know what devotion and love are by the end of this book, there's no hope. His energy permeates POC. You may find yourself nodding off or falling into meditation. You may only be able to read a page to two at a time. That's fine. Just keep reading.

Truly this is the greatest work of liter- ature of any kind I have ever been exposed to. The immense power of Swami Muktananda's state of realization seems to have infused each word with an amazing spiritual force, so that I can usually only read a paragraph or two before I have to put the book down and revel in the presence of his Shakti (spiritual energy). If I were to be left on a deserted island, I often reflect, I would only need this book with me to be completely happy for all time. This is not really a book, it is a doorway God has opened into the mystical realm of His Presence. I have heard of people reading it, and becoming immediately transformed beyond measure...

Orginally published and edited undr the title GURU in the 1970's , this work must be on any seeker into Eastern wisdom. this work plus Autoboigraphy of a Yogi, and the Gita are must reads. We are given a detailed look inot the world of Kashmir Shaivism and the potential of that mysterous force barely known to psycholiogists called Kundalini. The only danger in the presentation is that it may casue the reader to seek out a teacher to place full dependency upon and we have learned well from the past thirty years that this can be a great error as most teachers are subjected to human flaws such as rock star syndrome READ THIS BOOK

As a 28 year old women surfer I'm glad to see someone has finally addressed women surfers as athletes. The yoga stretches are direct and to the point. Surfers don't want to spend a lot of time warming up so the 10 minute yoga routine is great! The Wahine Workout is challenging with lots of good tips. The Surf Flex Workout done on a swissball is without question the best workout a surfer can do outside of the water. "if your going to play on an unstable enviroment doesn't it make sense to train on one?" Makes sense to me. This workout brings all your surfing muscles to the party! See you in the water!

For anyone who wants to improve their surfing, Surf Flex is a must have book. I incorporated many of the flexibility and dry land workouts into my exercise routine, and my surfing has taken off! Not only did my riding and balance get better, but I felt so much better condiditoned to stay out there as long as I wanted. In rough conditions, I immdediately notice the added strength I've developed through the exercises from Surf Flex. If you want things to do outside the water to optimize your time in the water, BUY THIS BOOK. -- DAS, avid longboarder

As a 35 year old surfer I pride myself in my ability to rip! I keep right up with the younger puppies in the water. Lots of them ask me how I do it? I just smile and say 'surf alot'. Fact is I've been doing yoga for 8 years 4-5 times a week. A couple of years ago I was introduced to working out with a swissball. These two elements changed my conditioning radicaly. I never shared it with anyone, because when I'm 45, I plan to still be ripping while most of the young'un have stopped surfing because of bad backs,and shoulders. It may have been a bit selfish, but I thought it would keep the surf population down. So I could have just as easily given Surf Flex a 0 star rating, more healthy surfers more people in the water, bummer dude! But that would have been bad karma! Seeing that I haven't shared my conditioning secrets with my fellow surfers, I must say this is an excellent book. Its not a book that was published by the big surfing guns, Surfer Mag, or Surfing, so it not slick,thats what great about it. What it lacks in slick, it compensates with heart and passion. Ain't that something! Great swissball workouts, good foundations for yoga, dry land training and comments from world class surfers. I applaud the author, but, if I see him out in the water, he owns me a couple of waves :)

I enjoyed, Coco Ways because it is a dynamic collection of poems from the heart and soul recognizing African American Women. The writing personifies the true beauty and strength of women. Trust me, after reading this book you'll have, a better appreciation of the women that influence our lives and make a difference in this world.

I enjoyed this book very much. This comes from an non poetry reader. The poems are easy to relate to and see what the author is trying to get you to see.

Mr. Reed brings the subtleties of the old school classics into being with new world soul. If I were to describe his style of writing it would have to be dubbed as hip-hop waltzing with elegance. This young man is destined to be recognized as a literary force in the future. The very near future! Langston has a son named Darren Reed.

I cannot count how many times I've read this book. A very well written account of the making of a forward air controller (FAC) and his tour of duty in Vietnam. This book is filled with non-stop aerial combat interspersed with wit and humor. I swear you can hear the engines, the explosions, the radio chatter and the myriad sounds of aerial combat. This is the definitive book on the FAC. Harrison's vividly writes about the inter-service rivalries, fighter pilot and elite unit culture. Vietnam had them all, from the ticket punchers to the true professionals, the "conscientious objectors" to the patriots, balls-out young men and know it alls, politicians and name dropers, clowns and cowboys, the scared and all too brave. Harrison's seen and flown with all of them. You will not put this book down once you start reading it. Harrison will hold you in suspense screaming, laughing and dying over and over. You will read it again and again in between browsing the web about the FAC and that "war" fought on the other side of the fence in Laos. How good is this book? I have seen precious copies churned out of copier machines circulating with pilots of the Philippine Air Force, 15th Strike Wing, one of the few users of the OV-10 Bronco in combat in the 21st century. This book should be made into a movie.

This has to be one of the best books on combat aviation in Viet Nam. I've read a lot of book about this subject, but Harrison's ability to describe the life of a Forward Air Controller left me wishing that he had put more in print. There is almost a kinship that develops during the book - you share the sweat and I have seen no one else write about aerial manuevers as vividly. His style sems to assume that the reader has a basic understanding of aviation; he gives vivid descriptions of flight without excessive digression to explain the manuevers.

I won't loan this book to anyone.

Buy it.

Outstanding first person narrative seats readers in the cockpit of Vietnam era reconnaissance aircraft involved in combat. Absolutely one of the five best books I've ever read. Harrison opens Chapter 1 by emersing the reader into the radio chatter of an aircraft fire mission. His flowing and economical style enable the reader to actually place themselves into the scenario. From there the book continues to ride like a modern day Clancy novel. From directing fire missions deep within North Vietnam and Laos to dropping commando teams by parachute behind enemy lines in light aircraft only designed for a pilot and observer. Harrison spins his tales as if he's sitting comfortably in your living room tracing flight manuevers through the air with his hands. A fabulous book that, unfortunately, read too quickly. May slow down some readers who are not famililar with aviation technical terms or slang.

Richard Garfield is the creator of Magic The Gathering card game. This book gives the reader an in-depth look into the game and shows the beautiful illustration that each card contains. This is a must have for all players and collectors of the card game.

Great book of pictures of Mirage, Visions, 5th Edition, Weatherlight & Portal. Helps alot with viewing the cards for collecting.

If you are currently collecting or playing Magic cards, I suggest buying this book if you dont have it NOW! It is filled w/ information, fully illustrated cards, interesting facts, playing tips, etc. Also, buy the Magic Encyclopedia Volume 1.

Paul Rezendes's book "The Wild Within" is a wonderful book, easy to read and sometimes as casual as a hot summer's day and at others intense and deep with illuminating experiences of the searcher for truth, no matter how contradictory this sounds. His life, that of a man trying to find a way to reality if you like when it was always there all the time just waiting to be noticed once the chattering mind has been silenced, is fascinating. His years as leader of a motorcycle gang and then his route to the opposite extreme that of a yoga and ashram founder show how much suffering someone must sometimes go through to reach that impossible peak where you are already standing. Rezendes's book takes turns wandering in different directions, often through a factual journey of animal tracks and behaviour patterns and then to his own experiences with them as he is tracking them and finally to his own very deeply personal experiences in trying to live life as a human being, in the end, must. It is remarkable how the intensity of the book varies throughout, the animal connections are really amazing, such as his direct communication with the Moose and the almost scary reply of the fox to his own infringements on its territory. If you're looking for a strictly tracking book, don't read this, if its more you want, maybe. Delightful and sometimes questing.

Everything Paul Rezendes shows his students is right in front of them and requires no explanation. This is an irony the wilderness student is familiar with, and so is the spiritual practitioner.

THE WILD WITHIN is a book about tracking, and a delightful record of an enthusiastic and engaging teacher. It is also a very open yet unassuming autobiography, including the author's experiences as leader of a motorcycle gang, yoga student, and now ardent outdoorsman. His spiritual insights are without denomination or zeal, and do not intrude in the slightest upon his tribute to the natural world and the wonders it holds for anyone who will walk softly and listen.

The first meeting of a stalking seminar begins when students arrive at the location to find Rezendes's jeep baring a sign that reads, "Your program has begun. You must find your instructor. He is watching you." Students poke around for quite a while, but they cannot find a man who is sitting no more than ten feet away, watching from a thicket. Even when they nearly step on him. Even when he shouts "Turkeys!" at them. Rezendes writes, "Everything we ever need to learn, if we want to know deeply who we are, if we want to know what keeps us from connecting with nature, is all here in front of us all the time. All we have to do is pay attention..." and observe how, as his students learned in this instance, how certain thought habits keep us out of our sensory awareness and separate us from our own life.

By sharing his incredible life experiences, Paul opens himself and the lessons he has learned as a way of understanding the natural world of which we are part. Paul's book has shed light on previously undiscovered and unobserved occurences in the environment that surrounds my house and inhabits my thoughts. As Paul guides the reader through the discoveries of the relationships between animals, plants and the web of life, he also sheds insight into our actions and our relationship to everything we observe, from watching your pets behaviors to reasoning the need to claim our personal space.

I have also attended two of Paul's week-long animal tracking courses. Like the book, his classes have provided a means for any interested person to observe the wilderness, and the wild within. One of my copies of this book has a lot of notes written where the lessons presented offer insight to my experiences, and lack thereof.

If you are interested in an easy-to-read, verifiable page-turner, read The Wild Within, and explore the same.

I originally picked this up because it was by the same publisher as the American Girls Series (I am a huge fan of the Josephine and the Felicity books), along with Spring Pearl. I dove into this book, to say the least. The story is about the daughter of a widowed French man, named Cecile. One day while out in the woodlands, a royal entourage passes by and a woman losses her course and finds Cecile. As it turns out, she is the Duchesse de Orleans from the Versailles Court. Madame as she known as around Versailles adopts Cecile and takes her to the frivolous court where Cecile is introduced to the royal family and the grandeur of France. The stories of the Versailles intrigues w/ Cecile are wonderful. They are very detailed, very amusing, very entertaining, and full of hidden morals. Although some of the scenes were unecessary, the story overall was a grand treat. The best scene I think was perhaps the Christmas ball, as entertaining and scandalous as it was. The story ends in tragedy, with the death of one of the little dauphins. Cecile is banished because she helped keep the other dauphin from his family, therefore putting him in danger (but really saving him). Cecile is sent to a girls' school, and forever leaves behind Versailles behind the gates of gold.
This story was great, the best in the series I'd say. Great details, development, characters, and enough to capture your mind. Although, I may be overating this book, as I am obsessed with the French courts of Versailles, Marie Antoinette, and all French royalty, I am sure everyone who tries this book will enjoy it. And of course, since I am one of the biggest fans of the Royal Diaries out there, I have to add that Marie Antoinette, Princess of Versailles, would be an excellent book to read alongside Cecile.
Bon travail Mary Casanova!

Before you press the NO button on the bottom of this review saying that it is not helpful, please read my review because it is OK. This book is so horribly horible it is wonderful. The book begins at 12 year old Cecile Revel's poor village. She finds a woman (the king's sister in-law to be correct) who is injured and has her father help the lady. The lady then lets Cecile come with her, leaving her life as a peasant to be a servant of dogs at the kings palace. And of course even a servant to dogs at a palace is better than being a peasant in a shack. So then she goes to a life at court and recieves word that her father has died. So then she's all depressed and then she starts to fall for Phillipe, a boy her age that often escorts her around. Then she is accused of killing royalty, and then more royalty, and then again, another member of the royal family. She learns of her father's devestating past. She is not allowed to go to the Royal Christmas Ball. (What a shame that was, I was looking forward to her going with Phillipe) She is sent away to a boarding school at the end of the story. About all of the main characters die. It is a book that is so horrible, but, in a funny way, it is good. I would recommend it to all GIRLS aged 11 to 14.

This book is so good! I cried. I laughed. I felt like I was Cecile!! Mary Casanova is an excellent writer. I don't want to tell you anything about the book, then it'll spoil it and you wont read it!! I also suggest you read the other Girls of Many Lands books, although this is the only one I've read so far.

A glimpse into a forgotten world where men fenced to prove thier worth and women fenced to lose weight. Quite apart from that, this is an incredibly useful book. The complete beginner (at whom "On Fencing" appears to have been aimed) will probably find it a bit overwhelming on account of the minute detail that Nadi goes into, but for the rest of us this is a brilliant guide to polishing our technique as well as a goldmine of practical ideas. The underlying phylosophy is as pragmatic as any competitive fencer could wish for. To be fair, I would say that Aldo Nadi had one serious shortcoming and that was his failure to recognise that not everyone is Aldo Nadi. What worked for Aldo Nadi in 1928 may not work for Mr Smith in 2001, but, all the same, Mr Smith would do well to see if it does.

The current trend in fencing puts much emphasis on winning rather on the form. It is disheartening to watch fencers fence witout respect accorded to tradition. It even seems that fencing today is not fencing at all. How fascinating it is to read about the beauty of fencing from someone who knows what he is talking about. Aldo Nadi has given his insights on the art and science of fencing backed by years of experience as a competitive fencer and as a fencing master. This book is a must. For me personally, I have rediscovered the magic of fencing, not fencing to win at all costs but of fencing with respect to a tradition that binds us. P.S. His account of a real duel he fought should not be missed.

Aldo Nadi was one of the greatest fencers, and his logic is still the greatest, even today. This is book is about great fencing, not the poke and hack technique (could you even call it that?) that is adopted today. If more people were to read this book, the fencing world as we know it would improve greatly. This book is about what makes the sport great-- Finesse over firepower, courtesy over barbarism, and honor over winning at all costs. Definite recommended reading for those who are already fencing, although non-fencers might find it perplexing. He does outline exactly how to come into the guard postion, how to grip the sword (assuming no pistol grip is implemented), however. Recommended reading for all people who aspire to be truly great at fencing.

This is a great book. I use it almost everyday in the shop and the classroom. It is a wealth of information with clear illustrations and a touch of humor. Enjoy!

The Backstage Handbook covers and illustrates much extremely useful information pertaining to the theatre and releated industry. This book should be required reading by ALL college theatre majors - both design/technical and performance. The illustrated references make for easier learning when used in conjunction with hands-on instruction. If you do not own this book and are involved in the entertainment industry, you should purchase a copy right away! -Joshua C. Allen Lighting Design, New York, NY

Of course this book is great, but for the ultimate reference library backstage, please search out a copy of PocketRef or DeskRef. They're the same book, just one is desk size, the other...well, I'll let you figure this one out. Trust me. DeskRef has everything. It isn't geared at theatre directly, so it has lots of formulas that "come up" backstage in those situations where real world advise is needed quickly. Get a copy. Please. You will thank me