John Murray is one of the best writers on the West practicing today, perhaps the best. He has authored or edited more than forty books including such classics as Desert Awakenings, Cactus Country, and the highly acclaimed American Nature Writing series.

This book is a collection of fifteen essays and fifteen stories, both fiction and nonfiction, that celebrate what Murray describes as the most beautiful desert in the American Southwest, the Red Rock Desert. It is loosely located in a triangle shape anchored by the Gates of Ladore to the north, the Grand Wash Cliffs to the southwest, and the Zuni Mountains on the southeast. All things considered, a pretty good boundary description for the Colorado Plateau and the four-corners area. Indeed, the twenty-one locations of his stories and essays are in southern Utah, northern Arizona, and western Colorado.

In his incomparable style of graceful prose and lyrical musings Murray takes the reader into the world of form and color that define such diverse locations as Monument Valley, Escalante Canyon, Navajo Mountain, Grand and Coyote Gulch, Wilson Mesa, Professor Valley, the Burr Desert and a host of other locations that form this wonderland of incredible beauty and harmony and time and space. Using the desert as a metaphor the stories tell of life and death, greed, togetherness and separation, hope and despair and a myriad of other conditions that are so like the West itself. The essays describe the ever changing beauty and danger of the rivers and canyons and space, indeed all of the flora and fauna that comprise the Red Rock Desert and reveals Murray's deep affection for, and encyclopedic knowledge of, this special place. The following from the Afterword will give the reader an idea of the special talent of Murray: "I only know this. There are few things as beautiful as the shapes a desert river carves in the rock of a country, or the way a canyon rose holds it wine-colored blossom toward the sun, or the sound of the wind as you climb to the summit of a solitary peak. To have been among these places is to have known a happiness not often found elsewhere in this world."
Truly a special book about a special place.

John A. Murray's latest book, "Another Country: Encounters with the Red Rock Desert," is a tour de force. Murray has created a new genre, alternating non-fiction nature writing with gutsy, O. Henry-surprising short stories. A lesser writer might founder with this format, but Murray brings home the goods.

From a touching elegy for his mother ("Sandpainting") to hard-ball, edgy murder and action ("The World Behind the Sun"), the author writes with a deft, sure hand and leaves no false notes.

Tying the work together is the place, the sun-splashed, crimson walls of the Four Corners region, Hillerman country, Abbey country - and, now, Murray country. You can't fail to want to grab your sleeping bag, lace up your boots, and head out for a hike to the Red Rock wilderness after reading this book. And after reading the title story, a gut-wrencher with a surprise ending, you'll also remember to bring along a gallon or two of water.

This book is great stuff. Buy it.

I am 40 and suffer from ankylosing sponditis (a form of rheumatoid arthritis) and before I found Dr Murray my back pain was intolerable to the degree I seriously wondered if I would ever have a pain free life again. Dark thoughts entered my head and I grew despondent. Then I found this book in a local bookstore and said, Why not, what do I have to lose? Well pain was the biggest thing :-). I read the book and have in the past 3 months followed somewhat faithfully. It is high on vitamins/minerals and that's where the cost comes in BUT when you figure what pain killers promise and what they deliver it's worth it. I am virtually pain free 75% of the time, sure I have relapses but I have hope and I believe I will be happy and painfree again much less deformed. I love this man and I love this book; what he has done for me goes beyond words. He is answer to a prayer and I thank him for that. He covers all types of arthritis from osteo to ra to as. He has alot of practical suggestions and most importantly it works.

I have arthirtis of the spine (ankylosing sponditis) and been told by doctors that there is no cure just PT. Dr Murray gives you an explanation of what went wrong, (while my disease is genetic why doesn't everyone with the gene get it?), nutritional vitamins and finally a diet to help and somewhat reverse the tide. Has it helped? In the two weeks I bought this book it has; my pain is less, much less, and while I am not totally faithful I am beginning to become a devout convert. If you have arthrits, ulcerative colitis (ra and uc are genetically related) or uncontrolled allergies, this man knows how to handle them. I've searched everywhere and he has the answer. Get this and the Balch Natural Remedies book and mate, you'll be right :-)

Fantastic, a book that covers all.Well worth a look at if you are interested in Australian plants.

Probably the best reference book available for Australian Native Plants

Finally, a comprehensive book about Billy Murray, the most popular and recognizable singer of the acoustic recording period! The discography alone is worth the price of the book. Titles, record numbers, labels, dates of recording, and matrix mumbers are included.

The biography part is somewhat sketchy because Murray was a private person who didn't seem to want to talk about his family or recording career. He was married three times, and had no children. His siblings had no children, either, so there were really no close relatives to provide biographical information. Still, I found the book fascinating, and it is an invaluable resource for those collectors who want to catalog their recordings, and learn about the recordings that they don't have and would like to get.

There are some nice photographs included, among them one that Mr. Murray said was his favorite. Billy was well liked and friendly, and the book was a pleasure to read. I'm glad I have it!

This book represents a fine piece of research, well documented and well presented. It follows the life story of Billy Murray, the first great popular recording artist.

However the book suffers from two serious problems. First of all, it is over-footnoted. I found myself constantly turning pages and being distracted by numerous footnotes that should have been worked into the body of the text. Unfortunately, the footnotes are all endnotes, so the reader needs two fingers to mark where he is and where the footnotes are.

The other problem with the book is more serious. It should have been two books, not one. The biography section ends at page 206. The rest of the book, all 544 pages, consists of appendixes, lots of them, in every shape, form and size. Realistically, the authors need to make one book about Murray, and another one about early recorded music. I get the impression that the authors had a lot of extra information laying around, so they decided to stick it in the back.

To the Billy Murray enthusiast, or the early recorded music aficionado, the book is a must even at $75. For all you other casual readers, check it out of the library before you buy it.

I read this book during a time of great personal crisis. THe Lord used this book to show me how intimacy comes through the cross. The greater the revelation I have of the cross of Christ and the deeper I yield to the power of the blood preapres me to receive a greater impartation of the Holy Spirit. This is not a work of strong will power, but an identification with Christ in the place of the cross. Read this for strength and encouragement in the incredible grace that God releases to us on the basis of Christ's blood in the cross.

In a day when the blood of Jesus is being removed from the very translation of the Bible itself, when the mention of the blood of Jesus is considered offensive even in the churches, this book and Murray's other, "The Power of the Blood of Jesus," are God-sends for those who are willing to accept the ways of God without cringing. Though the blood of Jesus is not in any way magical, it is nonetheless crucial and foundational to receiving ANY benefit whatsoever from God. If one could list all the spiritual blessings in the heavenlies in Christ Jesus (Eph. 1:3), and then search out the sole reason why these benefits are available to born-again Christians, and only to born-again Christians, they would find that every single one without exception is only available because of the shed blood of Christ. Murray clearly shows this truth in his books and mentions over a hundred benefits (between the 2 books) that are only available by Jesus Christ's shed blood. If you want to get back to true biblical Christianity, you must get back to the centrality of the precious blood of Jesus. Otherwise, you have no source of heavenly, spiritual, benefits from God, inlcuding salvation itself. Hebrews says, "Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sin." Murray shows clearly that within that statement is included ALL the resulting benefits of forgiveness, as well.

This book echos the one liner "Fighter pilots make movies, bomber pilots make history."

Seldom do the pilots who made the history have the gift of communicating it to us through art, but Pacific B-17 pilot Paul Eckley's watercolor "Mareeba Maintenance" does just that.

The book serves as a tribute to the bomber aircrews of many nations who fought in WWII. The artwork is excellent. There is not a single mediocre painting reproduced in the book. I own other aviation art books that I cannot say that about... The selections show a variety of styles from a variety of artists. Far more than a collection of "airplane portraits" these paintings showcase aviation art as serious fine art, from landscapes and seascapes to compelling character studies. Among the the treats are the otherwise unpublished works that appear in this book- such as Bill Phillips' Martin B-26 Marauder "Flak Bait".

The text is entertaining and overall, acceptable. As others have already noted, the occasional small errors tend toward the obvious. It is unfortunate that no one noticed that precisely rendered Douglas A-26 Invaders were identified as A-20 Havocs in the manuscript. This is a small disappointment, and should not discourage you from enjoying the book.

For me "Bomber Missions" is an affordable way to enjoy some of the best bomber art ever produced. Paintings demand to be hung, prints insist on being framed, but the aviation art published in books rests comfortably on the shelf, ready to be enjoyed.

Last but not least, far too little mention has been made of the fact this book serves as the companion volume to "Flying Aces" containing WWII fighter aviation art. If you liked one, chances are you'll want the other.

One word can describe this book......AMAZING!.....This book has great art work of american, british, german, and japanese bomber planes, and some fighters. Most of the illustrations were based on actual events which took place in the air, and the illustrations make those events come alive. This book was definitely worth the price, and i would recomend it to any war buff, plane buff, or artist........either way, its a great book to have.

This is a charming book that will delight children and adults alike. The detailed paragraphs of separately identified animals (both exotic and domestic) are fun to read and also informational. With so many animals covered, this book is never boring. The Book of Animals is a great book for birthdays, Christmas presents and even teacher gifts. This book is a real winner!

This is an excellent book for children, particularly those you need to read to.

It's a charming and informative book, with a requisite gentleness for children.

Our five year old granddaughter was enchanted with the book and wants to be read from it every night.

Here is a book with oral histories and folklore tales from ethnographers that went to Africa. The book is an eyeopening one into the sexuality aspect of Africans often challenging theories of sexuality. It is an excellent book to answer to the question of How & Why Does Same Sex Sexual Behavior Varies Cross Culturally? It was writing an essay on this topic that got me to this book, I have always wanted to know about this issue since there has been a lot of denial from African colleagues but once I have read the first few pages of the book that 'denial' and "shh" feelings that exist within many Africans, was brought to light. The same smoothness and revelation is experienced throughout the book. The book seperates Africa into four regional sections to illustrate the diversity of African culture within that vast continent. It is very easy to read and simple too. If you are a book worm, you will love this one. It is the book for History, Anthropology or Gender Study students or those with interest in the above mention + Sexuality. The book now occupies a special place in my selective collection, get one too, I am sure there will be no regrets!

The first book to attempt to survey homosexualities across (sub-Saharan) Africa is also a very good one. At a time when certain East African leaders are trying to hold onto power by scapegoating homosexuality as "un-African," Murray and Roscoe show that there are and have been a wide range of roles in "traditional" African cultures for those who love persons of their own sex. Once this is established - and it is established beyond any reasonable doubt - most readers will probably be more interested in the parts of the book dealing with contemporary individuals (including a young Kikuyu's male's memoir, Amory's chapter on the changing conceptions on the Swahili coast, and an explanation of the view in Lesotho and elsewherre that two women cannot have "sex," so that their physical relations are not seen as "sexual").

The book concludes by looking at the "social construction" of homosexualities by cross-tabulating societies with a kind of homosexuality (with relationships structured by age, structured by gender, or more-or-less egalitarian ones) with other structures (e.g., of inheritance, postpartum taboos) in the same societies. No absolute, categorical patterns emerge. I.e., there are correlations, but no clear "if x, then homosexuality y" conclusions.

This book is a must have for not-for-profit organizations wishing to improve their budgeting process. This book encourages a botttom up budget building process involving those people intimately familiar with each department. In easy to understand language Dropkin and LaTouche walk you through each step of the budgeting process from planning to monitoring. Helpful sample forms and practical resources are included. The Budget Building Book for Nonprofits takes the fear out of budgeting.

This book steps you through the terminology and methodology of preparing and using budgets in the special case of the Nonprofit organization. It is particularly useful for middle (program) managers - how to deal with the Board of Directors, and so on. The book could use a few more computational examples, but it has excellent worksheets and checklists to simplify the task and keep you on track. It says what it has to say very concisely, which helps you to focus on the tips and pointers. It is really like an annotated workbook, complete with a sample budget. If you have to do this stuff, this book is invaluable.

This is exactly what I was looking for, a book that examines the nuts and bolts of the C# while taking advatage of my C foundation. The book also makes language comparisons to Visual Basic, C/C++, Java, JScript, and Visual Foxpro. I thoroughly enjoyed the historical chapter 1, describing the evolution of programming. General programming concepts like proper use of control flow selection, proper initialization, and passing by reference versus passing by value are covered sufficiently and efficiently. C# language features are made clear with example code. The debugging environment in .NET was also covered, explaining the whole set of menu options for debugging.
You are not going to get any programs of that put together all the concepts, but your going to build the foundation to taking that step on your own. The authors are remarkably clear and to the point, usually giving an example where necessary. I'll be interested to try their C# for Windows Programming book next. A final comment: this is not a reference book, it more of an "adapting to C#" type of book, which serves its purpose to the tee.

My boy friend at UCLA let me borrow this book, but I finally bought my own copy. This book covers all of the features of C# which is the new Microsoft language.

If you know any C++, you are going to have no trouble with C# espically with this book. They have included a lot of short example programs that help you understand C# programming features.

They really helped me understand arrays in C# because they are totally different than for C++. Also, get ready for this, pointers are not used in C#, so you have got to do things another way. If you are like me, I didn't get along to well with pointers anyway.

Get the book, dude.